Jeff Whitty News

Avenue Q, winner of the 2004 Tony awards for Best Book, Best Musical, and Best Score, makes its Playhouse at Westport Plaza debut, and, although I've seen other fine productions of this musical, Westport is the perfect venue-intimate and cozy-for this beloved brazen show.

The Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA) Musical Theater Department will present Bring it On The Musical with an all-student cast on Saturday, February 9 and Sunday, February 10 at THE BLACK BOX in downtown Franklin. FSPA student productions are directed, choreographed, and music directed by FSPA's outstanding faculty, but Bring It On the Musical also required some outside coaching for the cheerleading stunts central to the musical's plot. FSPA brought in alumna Brooke Collins to work with the students and turn a group of musical theater students into convincing cheerleaders.

AVENUE Q will welcome the return of Veronica J. Kuehn beginning February 18, as Kate Monster/Lucy. Ms. Kuehn resumes the role having last performed in the production from July 20, 2011 through February 9, 2015. Shereplaces current cast member Gizel Jimenez, who will play her final performance on February 17, 2019.

"The Favourite" was the favorite film of more than 2,500 users who voted for the 17th Annual Gold Derby Film Awards nominations. It scored 12 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director (Yorgos Lanthimos), Best Actress (Olivia Colman), Best Supporting Actress (Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz) and Best Ensemble. Scroll down to see the complete list of contenders in all 22 categories, watch our complete video announcement above, and vote for the winners right here and now.

Melissa McCarthy is masterful in the captivating account, based on a true story, of Lee Israel, a best-selling celebrity biographer in the 1970s and '80s. When Lee (McCarthy) comes to the realization that she's no longer en vogue, she spins her art form into a perilous web of lies, deceit and outright crime to get back on top.

Avenue Q got a surprise visit from boyband superstars The Backstreet Boys at yesterday's performance. BroadwayWorld was there as the band hung out backstage with the cast. Check out the photos below!

This morning, nominations for the 91st Oscars will be announced by Tracee Ellis Ross and Kumail Nanjiani.

For legions of musical theater fans brought up on daily trips to Sesame Street, thanks to the fine folks at Children's Television Workshop, there is quite possibly no show more beloved than Avenue Q - the grown-up version of the kind of programming directed at children in hopes of helping them navigate the vagaries of childhood and adolescence. To be certain, Avenue Q is not for the easily offended or politically conservative, but the Tony Award-winning best musical of the 2004 Broadway season is an ideal outing for anyone with a highly developed sense of humor and a fondness for pushing the envelope, musical theatre-wise.

The USC Libraries has announce the finalists for the 31st annual Scripter Awards, which honor the year's best adapted screenplays in film and television along with the works on which they are based.

The Group Rep's Co-Artistic Directors, Larry Eisenberg and Chris Winfield announce the Group Rep's 45th Season (2019) with six eclectic and unique plays: Laundry and Bourbon & Lone Star, two one-act comedies by James McLure, directed by Barbara Brownell (January 25 - March 3),  The Secret of Chimneys, a long lost play by Agatha Christie, directed by Jules Aaron (March 29 - May 5), Avenue Q, the wry, Broadway musical written by Jeff Whitty, Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, directed by Patrick Burke (May 31 - July 7),  Loose Knit, a modern comedy by Theresa Rebeck, directed by L. Flint Esquerra  (August 2 - September 8), Night of the Living Dead, a gripping terror-filled drama based on the George Romero film, adapted by Gus Krieger directed by Drina Durazo (October 4 - November 10), and the beloved farce The Man Who Came to Dinner by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, directed by Bruce Kimmel (December 6, 2019 - January 12, 2020).  The six shows will be performed on the Main Stage, first floor 90 Seat Theatre.

Last night, the Critics' Choice Awards were announced. Taking home the top prize of Best Picture was Roma. Also, in a surprising turn of events, both Lady Gaga and Glenn Close took home the award for Best Actress, for A Star is Born and The Wife, respectively.

Fresh from its Broadway run, Head Over Heels-featuring the songs of 80s music icons The Go-Go's-will make its Midwest premiere at The Ringwald. Running from May 10 to June 10, this production will replace Fun Home on The Ringwald's season calendar.

AVENUE Q - winner of three 2004 Tony Awards including Best Musical - will celebrate its 15+ year run on the BroadwayCon MainStage this weekend, Saturday, January 12, when Original Broadway Cast and Creative Team members will reunite for a special Q&A Panel. Robert Lopez, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Howie Michael Smith, Erin Quill, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, and Ann Harada are confirmed to attend. BroadwayCon moderators, Ben Cameron and Danny Jordan will host the event scheduled to take place from 4:40-5:30pm at the Ziegfeld Ballroom, (141 West 54 St.) in Manhattan.

The Athena Film Festival (AFF) at Barnard College announced today its film slate, including opening night, closing night, and centerpiece films, as well as additional programming for the 2019 festival. The ninth annual festival, co-founded by the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College and Women and Hollywood, will take place February 28 to March 3, 2019, at Barnard College in New York City. AFF showcases films, television and content that tell the extraordinary stories of fierce and fearless female leaders from all walks of life. Stories of ambition, courage, and resilience amplify the voices of strong, bold women, curating a public discourse on gender equality, and changing the cultural conventions surrounding leadership.

BAFTA has announced the nominations for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2019.

 The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in screenwriting and videogame writing during 2018. Winners will be honored at the 2019 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 17, at concurrent ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.

According to Collider, the nominations have been announced for the 2019 Dorian Awards. The awards celebrate the best and brightest in film, TV, artistic accomplishment of the year.

According to Variety, the National Society of Film Critics has announced the winners of their 2019 awards.

AARP The Magazine today announced the nominees for the upcoming 18th Annual Movies for Grownups® Awards, with A Star Is Born, BlacKkKlansman, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Green Book and Roma contending in the Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups category. The awards celebrate 2018's standout films with unique appeal to movie lovers with a grownup state of mind and recognize the inspiring artists who make them. Celebrated comedian and actor Martin Short will host the star-studded evening at the Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills on Monday, February 4. 

Sure, Broadway is traditionally known for its glitz and glamour, but New York audiences have never shied away from socially relevant theatre, either. And while controversial issues are more frequently discussed Off-Broadway, 2018 saw a great many political and social themes brought up throughout Manhattan's stages. So here are ten times New York theatre tackled political and social issues in 2018