James A. Rocco News

In the mid-'60s, the music business migrated from Tin Pan Alley and the Brill Building in New York City to Los Angeles, California. The Beatles, the British Invasion performers, and Motown artists dominated radio airwaves, but a new sound was brewing in Laurel Canyon.

From 2011 through 2017, the award-winning series Broadway Songbook played to large crowds at The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and other venues around the country. Since then, loyal supporters have asked, 'when is the Songbook coming back?' And the answer is now! The Songbook is back, with a new name and an expanded concept.

It's become an annual holiday tradition, A Country Christmas Carol 'On Air,' The Musical, hosted by Hal Linden, narrated by Terrance Mann, on Audio Stages, WBAI 99.5 FM 8 pm, December 25, 2021. 

A kaleidoscopic flashback through game shows, sitcoms, disco, earth shoes, pet rocks, and lava lamps, Streakin' Thru the 70s is an outrageous, mind-blowing dash through the much maligned 'Me Decade'. 

Abingdon Theatre Company (Chad Austin, Artistic Director) will present a virtual reading of The Inferno, a new play by Chris Sherman on April 5th at 7pm ET via their YouTube channel.

Actor-director David Edwards, host of the weekly 'Beyond the Green Room' discussion series on all things theatrical, welcomes Nicolas King, Karen Mason and Lisa St. Lou on Sunday, March 21 at 1 PM ET.

Winners have been announced for the 2020 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Awards - which were back bigger than ever, celebrating the best in local theatre of the past decade! 

James A. Rocco (Minneapolis/St. Paul based producer, director, writer and performer) and Jayme McDaniel believe #NothingCanStopLiveTheatre, not even a pandemic. Reviving a project that works well as audio, A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS CAROL, ON AIR, comes to Audio Stages tonight, Dec. 19; star-studded cast album drops Monday, Dec. 21

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, A Country Christmas Carol “On Air,” The Musical will premiere on Audio Stages, WBAI 99.5 FM on December 19, 2020, at 7pm. Just two days before the release of the show’s Studio Cast Album. Below, check out an exclusive first listen of 'Count to Ten Bobbie Jo' from the new album!

A Country Christmas Carol “On Air,” The Musical will premiere on Audio Stages, WBAI 99.5 FM on December 19, 2020, at 7pm. Just two days before the release of the show’s Studio Cast Album.

Lori Dokken and James A. Rocco have been each other's fans for 15 years.  On Friday, October 30, 2020, at  5 pm Central, they are joining forces for a relaxed musical “snack.” live-streamed to https://www.facebook.com/unityminneapolis/ and https://www.facebook.com/lori.dokken

Lori Dokken and James A. Rocco have been each other's fans for 15 years.  On Friday, October 30, 2020, at  5 pm Central, they are joining forces for a relaxed musical “snack.”

Paper Mill Playhouse has shared a flashback installment of its Humanitarian Symposium Series taking an inside look at critics and criticism. 

Today (July 16) in live streaming: Broadway barks is back, MCC presents Good As New, and so much more!

Minneapolis and Saint Paul theatre artists joined James A. Rocco to create HOLD YOUR HAND TWIN CITIES, proving #NothingCanStopLiveTheatre

The life and times of legendary showman George M. Cohan explode into the 21st century in a sensational musical, Yankee Doodle Dandy! For the first time, the complete recording of this remarkable new musical is available on CD, digital and streaming formats. The Seattle Times called the show, 'Irresistible!' It features a book by David Armstrong (Artistic Director Emeritus of The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle) and new songs inspired by unfinished Cohan melodies, including the heartbreaking ballad, Pick Up Your Dreams, by Albert Evans (Nite Club Confidential, Pageant).

The Ogunquit Playhouse production of Annie is helmed by Broadway Director/Choreographer James A. Rocco. The cast includes Josie Todd as Annie, Emmy nominee Robert Newman as Oliver Warbucks, and Broadway veterans Angie Schworer as Lily St. Regis, Jeffry Denman as Rooster Hannigan, and Gail Bennett as Grace Farrell.

Broadway's Ruth Gottschall has returned to the seacoast to step into the role of Miss Hannigan in the Ogunquit Playhouse production of Annie now on stage at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The Music Hall and Ogunquit Playhouse have announced the cast and creative team of the beloved musical Annie, on stage November 27 through December 22 at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.