James Holmes News

When Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band premiered Off Broadway in 1968, a year before the Stonewall Riots, it was groundbreaking in its depiction of a community of gay men. The work - later adapted into a film - has since fallen in and out of favour, its frank emphasis on self-loathing and catty, camp one-liners at odds with some positive image-focussed equal rights campaigners.

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From Amadeus and a starry Stoppard revival to exciting new musicals, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews…

The first class revival of Mart Crowley's ground-breaking play, THE BOYS IN THE BAND, opens at Park Theatre in London this autumn, then tours to The Lowry, Theatre Royal Brighton and West Yorkshire Playhouse. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Producers Tom O'Connell and James Seabright present the first class revival of Mart Crowley's ground-breaking play, THE BOYS IN THE BAND, opening at Park Theatre in London this autumn, then touring to The Lowry, Theatre Royal Brighton and West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Actor Ian Hallard has done a range of work, from musicals and Shakespeare to phone-hacking play Great Britain at the National Theatre and TV staples like Doctor Who and Poirot. He also co-wrote a Poirot episode with his husband Mark Gatiss, and the pair are now starring together in a revival of Matt Crowley's seminal play The Boys in the Band, which changed the landscape of gay theatre on its Off Broadway premiere in 1968. It begins previews tomorrow at Park Theatre, where it plays until 30 October, and will then tour to Manchester, Brighton and Leeds

Three productions inspired by William Shakespeare make up Welsh National Opera's Autumn season, which will comprise a British premiere and two new productions.  The season is part of the official Shakespeare 400 celebrations to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the great bard's death whilst continuing WNO Artistic Director David Pountney's creative approach to themed seasons.

Producers Tom O'Connell and James Seabright are pleased to announce further casting for the first class revival of Mart Crowley's ground-breaking play, THE BOYS IN THE BAND, opening at Park Theatre in London this autumn, then touring to The Lowry, Theatre Royal Brighton and West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Producers Tom O'Connell and James Seabright are pleased to announce further casting for the first class revival of Mart Crowley's ground-breaking play, THE BOYS IN THE BAND, opening at Park Theatre in London this autumn, then touring to The Lowry, Theatre Royal Brighton and West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Commissioned by the Finborough Theatre, Horniman's Choice brings together four plays by the leading figures of the 'Manchester School' of playwrights - Harold Brighouse, Stanley Houghton and Allan Monkhouse, all originally championed by Annie Horniman, owner of Gaiety Theatre, Manchester, the first regional repertory theatre in Britain. Horniman's Choice runs at the Finborough Theatre, playing Sunday and Monday evenings and Tuesday matinees from Sunday, 27 September 2015 (Press Night: Monday, 28 September 2015 at 7.30pm).

A hit production of the classic American musical, Carousel, is returning to the UK stage this spring.

A hit production of the classic American musical, Carousel, is returning to the UK stage this spring.

In a record-breaking year for the number of prizes and total cash awarded, Lauren Michelle, of Los Angeles, won the $15,000 First Prize in the finals of the 2015 Lotte Lenya Competition, sponsored by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music and held on April 18, 2015, in Kilbourn Hall of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Robin Bailey, of London, U.K., and Jordan Davidson, of Philadelphia, N.Y., both won Second Prizes of $10,000, and two Third Prizes of $7,500 each were awarded to Adam Fieldson, of Lincoln, Neb., and Michael Maliakel, of New York.

Aria Entertainment's Katy Lipson is taking over the Old Red Lion this May to present a revival of the renowned Portia Coughlan; a ferocious, haunting and beautiful Irish tale by Marina Carr, writer of By The Bog of Cats, The Mai and Ullaloo.

Fourteen exceptionally talented singer-actors from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany have been selected as finalists in the 2015 Lotte Lenya Competition, held annually by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. They will compete for top prizes of $15,000, $10,000 and $7,500 on Saturday, April 18, 2015, in Rochester, New York.

Jay Records, with the support of The Kurt Weill Foundation, digitally released the first complete recording of composer Kurt Weill and lyricist Ogden Nash's score to the 1943 musical ONE TOUCH OF VENUS on October 7, 2013, and the sterling recording had its physical CD release on May 13, 2014. Originally announced over ten years ago, fans eagerly anticipated the album for years. Luckily for us listeners, the recording was well worth the wait.

59E59 Theaters will welcome the US premiere of PAT KIRKWOOD IS ANGRY, written by Jessica Walker, with Joseph Atkins at the piano, and directed by Lee Blakeley, with musical arrangements by James Holmes. PAT KIRKWOOD IS ANGRY begins performances on Tuesday, June 10 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 29. Press opening is Sunday, June 15 at 7:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8:30 PM; Saturday at 2:30 PM & 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.

Updated 'Black Mondays: Worst Decisions of the Supreme Court' Published Hard Cover: ISBN 978-0-9814510-6-0, $45.00 Paperback: ISBN 978-0-9814510-8-4, $20.00 Ebook/iBook: $9.95 Inprint Books announced the publication of the revised and significantly updated 'Black Mondays: Worst Decisions of the Supreme Court (Fourth Edition)' by Joel D. Joseph. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the foreword for the first edition and it is included in this edition as well. The author found, 'The worst decision in recent history was Bush v. Gore in which the Supreme Court enacted a judicial coup d'état, installing George Bush as President of the United States, overruling Florida and Congress.' Florida was not allowed to finish the counting of the ballots even though the Supreme Court ruled that prior counting violated the Constitution of the United States. Joseph added, 'And by the way the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution specifically provides that Congress shall count the votes of the presidential electors. If two competing slates of presidential electors from one state are presented to Congress, Congress, not the United States Supreme Court, decides which slate of electors are counted.' In 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments into law that gave Chief Justice Roberts the power to appoint all members of the FISA Court without Senate confirmation. Concerning government spying, the Supreme Court has ruled that the ACLU does not have standing to challenge the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, thus allowing virtually unlimited surveillance by the government. In recent years, the Supreme Court has taken charge of gun control, video-game violence, campaign finance and class actions. It has taken power from States and cities and given them to corporations. 'Corporations are people,' the Court has announced, allowing unlimited corporate involvement in political campaigns. Corporations can now dictate that disputes with customers are settled in arbitration, not in court. The Supreme Court has ruled that these arbitrations cannot be class arbitrations overriding State law and individual rights. Mr. Joseph blames the Supreme Court for overturning laws that regulated violent video games and limited gun control laws. 'The Supreme Court ruled that California could not limit sales of violent video games to minors. Two of the mass shooters of this past year, Adam Lanza in Newtown, Connecticut and James Holmes in Aurora, Colorado, were violent video game addicts who acted out their fantasies in real life. The Court has blood on its hands, particularly Justice Scalia, who found that there is not connection between violent video games and actual violence.' The Supreme Court is now the center of controversy for gun control, voters' rights, civil rights, consumer rights, privacy and access to justice. This book will be the subject of many talk shows from coast to coast. The author will tour major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston and Cleveland. For More Information Contact: Joel D. Joseph, 310-820-2211

The critically acclaimed Brits Off Broadway festival, host to the UK's most innovative and provocative theater in New York City, returns for its 9th season of New York premieres of new British theater. Presented by 59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer), Brits Off Broadway launches on Tuesday, April 1 and runs through Sunday, June 29. The single ticket prices range from $25 - $70 ($17.50 - $49 for 59E59 Members). Tickets to Brits Off Broadway go on sale on February 28, with a special pre-sale for 59E59 Members beginning February 21. Tickets are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org. For more information on Brits Off Broadway, visit www.59E59.org or www.britsoffbroadway.com.

The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music has announced the online release of Singing the Story: The Lotte Lenya Competition, a new documentary film about the prestigious international contest for singer-actors.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has chosen Abrams Artists Agent Beth Blickers, OBIE and Drama Desk Award-winning actress Donna Lynne Champlin, Tony Award and Drama Desk Award-nominated actor Hunter Foster, Tony Award and Drama Desk Award-nominated composer and lyricist Amanda Green, Tony Award-nominated director Thomas Kail, Associate Producer of the Old Globe Eric Louie, Outer Critics Circle-nominated director and choreographer Josh Prince, Tony Award and Drama Desk nominated actor and writer Tony Sheldon, Tony Award-nominated and Grammy-winning composer Lucy Simon, and two-time Tony Award-winning actor Michael Cerveris to serve as the Grand Jury of this year's Next Link project.