Jake Epstein News

Actress and songstress Julie Benko makes her cabaret debut at New York City's legendary Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street, Manhattan) on Wednesday, February 27th at 9:30 PM in her act Wandering Star: Tales of the Road.

SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark is now in its 2nd smash year on Broadway, and has been seen by more than 1 million audience members from around the world. It features music and lyrics by 22-time Grammy Award-winners Bono and The Edge, direction by Philip William McKinley (The Boy From Oz), and a book co-written by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger(Underneath The Lintel) and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Fantastic Four and Spider-Man comics, 'Big Love'). On Saturday, December 29, Joan Collins and her family attended the matinee performance of SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark and you can check out a photo of Collins backstage below!

Jake Epstein, best known as the star of the hugely popular teen series "Degrassi: The Next Generation," will make his Broadway debut as the Peter Parker / Spider-Man Alternate in Broadway's SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark. Epstein will play Saturday and Sunday matinee performances beginning on December 8, 2012 at the Foxwoods Theatre (213 West 42nd Street).

This past Monday, stars of Toronto's theatre scene joined together for a fundraiser in support of Acting Up Stage, a 'modern musical theatre' company in Toronto. Artistic Director Mitchell Marcus once again teamed with Musical Director Reza Jacobs to create an evening filled with unique songs by popular composers. Tapestries featured the music of Carole King and James Taylor and included stars such as Cynthia Dale, Jake Epstein, Josh Young and more. BWW is thrilled to bring its readers photos from the special evening.

Acting Up Stage presents TAPESTRIES this Monday, a unique concert featurin the music of Carole King and James Taylor as arranged by Reza Jacobs. These concerts take place once a year and feature some of Canada's best and brightest musical theatre talent paying tribute to some of the most well-known and loved music of the past century. This year's show features Cynthia Dale, Josh Young, Jake Epstein, Arlene Duncan, Sterling Jarvis and more. Reza spoke to BWW about how he goes about putting the show together, how he feels about Toronto's musical theatre landscape and why people should come see the show.

Toronto International Film Festival®(TIFF) breakout talent, Tatiana Maslany (Picture Day, The Vow), has been cast to star in the new original series Orphan Black, produced by Temple Street Productions for BBC AMERICA and Canadian cable channel, SPACE. The announcement was made as Maslany was feted for her starring role in the feature Picture Day, which made its world premiere at this year's festival. The Genie and Gemini-nominated actor, who received the 2010 Sundance special jury prize for Grown Up Movie Star, is capturing the increasing attention of fans and industry elite alike - including recent critical acclaim from The Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, and NOW Magazine. Set to begin production in Toronto this October, additional casting for the 10 episode series will be announced soon.

The Orpheum Theatre is set to welcome the AMERICAN IDIOT national tour this summer, the punk rock adaptation of Green Day's conceptual album of the same name from July 1 through the 8th. For more information on the national tour of AMERICAN IDIOT, visit www.americanidiotthemusical.com. Tickets are available at www.san-francisco-theater.com.

Rarely am I this surprised by a show, especially one I've already heard. But last night I had to completely change my tune over Green Day's "American Idiot", currently playing at the Paramount Theatre. Filled with stunning performances, inventive staging and poetic songs the show went from one I was mildly curious about to breathtaking evening.

While watching the super-charged, though slightly frustrating Tony-nominated alt-rock musical AMERICAN IDIOT--whose national touring company recently spent a brief week at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County, CA--one can't help but feel genuinely entertained by the spectacle of it all, yet many (myself among them) may find themselves wondering: well, we know we're watching something awesome... but WTF is actually happening? More rock concert than your typical Broadway musical, AMERICAN IDIOT succeeds not as a complete musical stage play but rather as a visually-enhanced showcase for its rousing Green Day score and the staggeringly talented cast tasked to perform it.

Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong made a surprise visit last night to the first national tour of Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT. Check out a snapshot below!

The Winspear Opera House welcomes the AMERICAN IDIOT national tour, the punk rock adaptation of Green Day's conceptual album of the same name from tongiht, May 11 through May 20.

Arizona State University closes tonight, April 29, the Tempe performance of AMERICAN IDIOT's national tour, the punk rock adaptation of Green Day's conceptual album of the same name.

Arizona State University welcomes the AMERICAN IDIOT national tour, the punk rock adaptation of Green Day's conceptual album of the same name from April 24 through April 29. The show is scheduled to play Gammage Auditorium at the Tempe campus.

Young Hollywood takes you backstage at the Ahmanson Theatre and behind the scenes of the rockin' musical, 'American Idiot', based on the Grammy-winning Green Day album of the same name! Stars Van Hughes and Jake Epstein rest their pipes and sit down with us to talk about the show's amazing run and success -- hear how Van went from stand-in to leading man, and Jake shares a specific pitfall of spending the entire show on stage! Hosted by Lesley Robins. Check out the behind the scenes video below!

The national tour of Green Day's 'American Idiot' just opened in Los Angeles on March 14 at the Ahmanson Theatre. Original Broadway cast member Van Hughes stars as Johnny, a role in which he concluded the 'American Idiot' Broadway run, along with original Broadway cast member Joshua Kobak as St. Jimmy, Jake Epstein as Will, Scott J. Campbell as Tunny, original Broadway cast member Leslie McDonel as Heather, Gabrielle McClinton as Whatsername and Nicci Claspell as The Extraordinary Girl. The national tour of American Idiot celebrated its 100th performance on Friday, March 23 and you can check out photos from the festivities below!

The Orpheum Theatre is set to welcome the AMERICAN IDIOT national tour this summer, the punk rock adaptation of Green Day's conceptual album of the same name from July 1 through the 8th. For more information on the national tour of AMERICAN IDIOT, visit www.americanidiotthemusical.com. Tickets are available at www.san-francisco-theater.com.

The national tour of Green Day's 'American Idiot' just opened in Los Angeles on March 14 at the Ahmanson Theatre. Original Broadway cast member Van Hughes stars as Johnny, a role in which he concluded the 'American Idiot' Broadway run, along with original Broadway cast member Joshua Kobak as St. Jimmy, Jake Epstein as Will, Scott J. Campbell as Tunny, original Broadway cast member Leslie McDonel as Heather, Gabrielle McClinton as Whatsername and Nicci Claspell as The Extraordinary Girl. Check outhighlights from opening night in the video below!

Based on a concept album by the punk rock band Green Day, American Idiot, like Rent before it, revolutionizes musicals as it is one of a chosen few to combine genuine rock music with a narrative. It is big, bold and uninhibited in structure and style, and with next to no dialogue whatsoever, is able to convey the rage and joy experienced by its trio of male pals and their women. At the Ahmanson until April 22, the Tony nominated musical may not be everyone's cup of tea, but its roar should be acknowledged and appreciated on its own terms. Green Day's frenetic score certainly matches the glaring videos and images projected onto multiple screens all over the set that illustrate just how excruciatingly unpleasant life can be.

The national tour of Green Day's 'American Idiot' opened in Los Angeles last night, March 14, at the Ahmanson Theatre. Performances continue through April 22, 2012. Check out photos from the star-studded opening night below!

The national tour of Green Day's "American Idiot" opens in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 14 at the Ahmanson Theatre at 8 p.m. There is a preview on Tuesday, March 13 and performances continue through April 22, 2012.