Jeff Whitty News

AVENUE Q keeps singing in Sumter while SWEAT closes at Trustus!

The Group Rep presents AVENUE Q, Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, Book by Jeff Whitty, based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, Orchestrations by Stephen Oremus, directed by Patrick Burke, produced by Drina Durazo and Kevin Hoffman, Jr., Music Direction by Paul Cady, and Choreography by Michele Bernath.

Avenue Q officially ends its 15+ year run tonight, May 26.

Sumter opens AVENUE Q and Trustus' run of SWEAT continues!

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) today announced the 2019 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by the current stars of Waitress, Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan, at the official announcement event at Sardi's Restaurant, which was streamed live online here at BroadwayWorld.

Play On Shakespeare today announces an expansive list of compelling actors and dynamic directors confirmed to participate in the Play on! Festival, presented in association with Classic Stage Company (CSC) and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). Play on! features 39 readings of new, work-in-progress translations of Shakespeare's plays into contemporary modern English by some of today's most exciting playwrights-May 29-June 30 at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater at CSC (136 E. 13th Street). In 2015, Oregon Shakespeare Festival launched an ambitious 39-play, three-year commissioning project, Play on!, tasking 36 playwrights-more than half of whom were women and playwrights of color, each paired with a dramaturg-to translate Shakespeare's canon in celebration of the enduring impact of the Bard's work. Supported by a generous grant from the Hitz Foundation and inspired by long-time patron Dave Hitz's passion for Shakespeare, the project was and continues to be led by Lue Morgan Douthit. For more information, visit playonfestival.org.

Kokandy Productions is pleased to announce casting for its Chicago premiere of the bold new musical comedy HEAD OVER HEELS, featuring songs by The Go-Go's, based on The Arcadia by Sir Phillip Sidney, conceived and original book by Jeff Whitty and adapted by James Magruder.

Run, don't walk to The Ringwald to see their production of Head Over Heels! The production is the first one since the hot Broadway debut of the show that features songs of the 80s music icons, The Go-Gos, closed in January and will be at the beloved Michigan theatre until June 10th in Ferndale. The hilarious and inclusive musical celebrates love in its infinite varieties and includes iconic Go-Go's hits like 'We Got the Beat,' 'Our Lips Are Sealed,' and 'Vacation,' plus Belinda Carlisle's 'Heaven is a Place on Earth' and 'Mad About You,' and many more! It's the perfect show for The Ringwald's stage and the company does it marvelously. From the fantastic performances to the glorious costumes to the boppin' beat - The Ringwald's, Head Over Heels has it - and it should not be missed!

AVENUE Q - winner of three 2004 Tony Awards including Best Musical - will close May 26 Off-Broadway at New World Stages (340 W. 50 Street). The musical which has been a part of the New York theatrical landscape for 15+ years, both on Broadway and Off Broadway is produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, Jeffrey Seller, Vineyard Theatre and The New Group, will have played a total of 6569 performances upon closing: from its first Broadway preview on July 14, 2003 to its final performance May 26, 2019.

The Outer Critics Circle Award winners have been announced! The big winner this year is Hadestown, taking home 6 awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical, Outstanding New Score, and Amber Gray for Outstanding Featured Actress!

The Ringwald is absolutely thrilled to present the first production of Head Over Heels, running May 13th through June 10th, after its hot Broadway debut that features the songs of 80s music icons, The Go-Go's. The show was named one of Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 Stage Picks of 2018 and recently closed this January to the heartache of beloved fans. 'Head Over Heels combines The Go-Go's music with a gender-queer sensibility that everyone from 16-60+ will fall in love with,' said Joe Bailey, the director. 'It's energetic, funny, breezy and the perfect spring musical!' The hilarious and inclusive musical celebrates love in its infinite varieties and includes iconic Go-Go's hits like 'We Got the Beat,' 'Our Lips Are Sealed,' and 'Vacation,' plus Belinda Carlisle's 'Heaven is a Place on Earth' and 'Mad About You,' and many more! The show is based on The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney and Head Over Heels was conceived by Jeff Whitty and adapted by James Magruder. A modern musical fairytale where once-upon-a-time is right now, Head Over Heels follows the escapades of a royal family who set out on a journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction only to find love and comedic complications along the way! BroadwayWorld Detroit spoke with Joe about directing Head Over Heels and why The Ringwald is so excited to be the first theatre to present the show since it closed on Broadway. Read our fun interview below!

It's like 'Sesame Street' meets 'Rent,' with more than a dash of 'Book of Mormon' humor thrown in for good measure.

New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," has announced its 29th season of adult, alternative musical theatre, including the return of the wild, comic rock musical CRY-BABY,  which New Line first produced in 2012 in its American regional premiere, based on the John Waters film, running Sept. 26-Oct. 19, 2019; followed by the electrifying new rock musical fresh from Broadway, in its regional premiere, HEAD OVER HEELS, a high-energy, adult romp about gender and sexuality, based on a 16th century novel and using the songs of the pop group The Go-Go's, running March 5-28, 2020; and the season closes with the return of one of New Line's biggest hits, which the New Liners first presented in 2007, the pitch dark satire URINETOWN, the hilarious, outrageous fable of greed, corruption, love, revolution, and urination, running June 4-27, 2020.

Theater fans and collectors can have their very own bit of Broadway when set pieces and props from the Tony Award-winning musical AVENUE Q will be made available for an online auction on the Broadway Design Exchange website from May 6 to 16. The auction coincides with the May 26 closing of AVENUE Q, which has played 16 years on Broadway and Off-Broadway, as well as in theaters around the world. 

Three of the puppet stars of the Tony Award-winning musical AVENUE Q - Kate Monster, Nicky and Rod - have been chosen to be part of the permanent Popular Entertainment collection at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, it has been announced by Rick Lyon, who conceived and designed the long-running show's furry cast of characters.

The Off Broadway Alliance, an organization of Off-Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents, and marketing professionals, has announced the nominees for the 9th Annual Off-Broadway Alliance Awards, honoring commercial and not-for-profit productions that opened Off Broadway during the 2018-2019 season.

Artistic Director Mathew Wright today announced AGENTS OF CHANGE, ArtsWest's 2019-20 Season, with six productions - featuring plays by Tony and Nobel Prize-winning playwrights, a boldly reimagined classic, and a world premiere from local luminary Sara Porkalob - all centered on revolutions, and the people who create, fuel and represent them.

The Outer Critics Circle, the organization of writers covering New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers, national publications and other media beyond Broadway, welcomes 'Tootsie' star Julie Halston along with 'Torch Song' sensation Michael Urie to announce the nominees for the 2018-19 season today, April 23rd. Click here to watch live!

Hot off its Broadway run, Head Over Heels-featuring the songs of 80s music icons The Go-Go's-will rock The Ringwald from May 10 to June 10. The Ringwald presents the first production of this smashing show after its Broadway debut.

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) today announced the 2019 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by the current stars of Waitress, Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan, at the official announcement event at Sardi's Restaurant, which was streamed live online here at BroadwayWorld.