Jerry Zaks News

Produced by Whoopi Goldberg and Stage Entertainment, SISTER ACT began preview performances March 24 and will open on Wednesday, April 20, 2011. SISTER ACT features an original score with music by multi-Academy, Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning composer Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Enchanted), lyrics by Tony Award-nominee Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid), a book by multi-Emmy Award winners Cheri and Bill Steinkellner ('Cheers'), and additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane (Xanadu, The Little Dog Laughed). Directed on Broadway by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks (Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing...Forum, Smokey Joe's Café), the production features choreography by Tony and Olivier Award nominee Anthony Van Laast (Mamma Mia, Bombay Dreams) and is based on the Touchstone Pictures motion picture Sister Act written by Joseph Howard. Meet the male half of the cast in the video below!

The hit musical THE ADDAMS FAMILY, based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, celebrates its first anniversary on Broadway Friday, April 8 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street).

This class will be taught by Charlene Tilton and actor Bob Rusch. Classes will be on-camera audition technique for half hour comedy, hour long drama and film roles by putting the actor in a professional audition setting. Helps the actor make strong choices, improve their cold reading skills, and how to have better 'In the room' presence, which enables them to audition with more confidence.

This class will be taught by Charlene Tilton and actor Bob Rusch.

Produced by Whoopi Goldberg and Stage Entertainment, SISTER ACT began preview performances March 24 and will open on Wednesday, April 20, 2011. SISTER ACT features an original score with music by multi-Academy, Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning composer Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Enchanted), lyrics by Tony Award-nominee Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid), a book by multi-Emmy Award winners Cheri and Bill Steinkellner ('Cheers'), and additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane (Xanadu, The Little Dog Laughed). Directed on Broadway by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks (Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing...Forum, Smokey Joe's Café), the production features choreography by Tony and Olivier Award nominee Anthony Van Laast (Mamma Mia, Bombay Dreams) and is based on the Touchstone Pictures motion picture Sister Act written by Joseph Howard. Hear from two of the show's stars, Patina MIller and Victoria Clark, as well as producr Whoopi Goldberg in the video below!

Produced by Whoopi Goldberg and Stage Entertainment, SISTER ACT began preview performances March 24 and will open on Wednesday, April 20, 2011. SISTER ACT features an original score with music by multi-Academy, Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning composer Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Enchanted), lyrics by Tony Award-nominee Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid), a book by multi-Emmy Award winners Cheri and Bill Steinkellner ('Cheers'), and additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane (Xanadu, The Little Dog Laughed). Directed on Broadway by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks (Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing...Forum, Smokey Joe's Café), the production features choreography by Tony and Olivier Award nominee Anthony Van Laast (Mamma Mia, Bombay Dreams) and is based on the Touchstone Pictures motion picture Sister Act written by Joseph Howard. Become acquainted with the all-star cast with the video below!

Broadway's hit musical comedy THE ADDAMS FAMILY welcomes stage and screen star Brooke Shields in the role of Morticia beginning Tuesday, June 28 at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street). Two-time Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth will play her final performance in the role on Sunday, June 26. Ms. Shields will play opposite Roger Rees, who stars as Gomez.

This class will be taught by Charlene Tilton and actor Bob Rusch. Classes will be on-camera audition technique for half hour comedy, hour long drama and film roles by putting the actor in a professional audition setting. Helps the actor make strong choices, improve their cold reading skills, and how to have better 'In the room' presence, which enables them to audition with more confidence.

Grandma Addams, the feisty potient-brewing matriarch of the Addams clan (played by comic actress Jackie Hoffman), turned 116 on Wednesday, March 30 and to celebrate, the producers of THE ADDAMS FAMILY treated the star to a Sweet (One) Sixteen cake and free tickets to the matinee for 116 real grandmothers age 60 or older who were born in March. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the celebration and brings you photo coverage below!

The national tour of the new Broadway musical comedy THE ADDAMS FAMILY, based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, announces the first leg of its tour route through the New Year. Launching on September 15 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in New Orleans, the national tour of THE ADDAMS FAMILY will visit: New Orleans, LA 9/15 - 9/24 Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts St. Louis, MO 9/27 - 10/9 The Fabulous Fox Theatre Charlotte, NC 10/11 - 10/16 Ovens Auditorium Tampa, FL 10/18 - 10/23 David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts Miami, FL 10/25 - 10/30 Adrienne Arsht Center Orlando, FL 11/1 - 11/6 Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre West Palm Beach, FL 11/8 - 11/13 The Raymond Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Toronto, ON 11/16 - 11/27 Toronto Centre for the Arts Schenectady, NY 11/29 - 12/4 The Proctors Theatre Buffalo, NY 12/6 - 12/11 Shea's Performing Arts Center Chicago, IL 12/13 - 1/1 The Cadillac Palace Theatre The production will continue on to more than 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada in 2011 and 2012, including Houston, Boston, Hartford, Durham, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Paul, San Diego, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh and more. Additional cities will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, please visit www.TheAddamsFamilyMusical.com. THE ADDAMS FAMILY, entering its second year on Broadway, began performances in March 2010 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and immediately became one of Broadway's biggest hits, regularly grossing over $1 million a week. To date, it has grossed over $59 million. Prior to Broadway, the musical grossed $12,031,010 during 8 weeks at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, becoming the most successful pre-Broadway engagement in that city's history (a city that also hosted the world premieres of such huge successes as The Producers and Spamalot). Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune described the production as "classic, full-tilt, fast paced, old-fashioned musical comedy!" and John Simon of Bloomberg News called it "uproarious! A glitzy-gloomy musical entirely worthy of the macabre drawings by Charles Addams." THE ADDAMS FAMILY features a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. The production is directed and designed (sets and costumes) by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch with creative consultation by Jerry Zaks and choreography by Sergio Trujillo. The production features lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Acme Sound Partners and puppetry by Basil Twist. The production also features music supervision by Mary-Mitchell Campbell, orchestrations by Larry Hochman, dance arrangements by August Eriksmoen, hair design by Tom Watson, make-up design by Angelina Avallone and special effects design by Greg Meeh. THE ADDAMS FAMILY features an original story. It's every parent's nightmare. Your little girl has suddenly become a young woman, and what's worse, has fallen deliriously in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family. Yes, Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has a "normal" boyfriend, and for parents Gomez and Morticia, it's a shocking development that turns the Addams house upside down when they are forced to host a dinner for the young man and his parents. In a prolific career spanning six decades, Charles Addams created several thousand cartoons, sketches and drawings, many of which were published in The New Yorker. But it was his creation of characters that came to be known as The Addams Family that brought Addams his greatest acclaim. With a unique style that combined the twisted, macabre and just plain weird with charm, wit and enchantment, Addams' drawings have entertained millions worldwide and served as the inspiration for multiple television series and motion pictures. THE ADDAMS FAMILY is produced on Broadway by Stuart Oken, Roy Furman, Michael Leavitt, Five Cent Prods., Stephen Schuler, Decca Theatricals, Scott M. Delman, Stuart Ditsky, Terry Allen Kramer, Stephanie P. McClelland, James L. Nederlander, Eva Price, Jam Theatricals/Mary Lu Roffe, Pittsburgh CLO/Gutterman-Swinsky, Vivek Tiwary/Gary Kaplan, The Weinstein Co./Clarence, LLC and Adam Zotovich/Tribe Theatricals, by special arrangement with Elephant Eye Theatrical. For more information on THE ADDAMS FAMILY, visit Uwww.theaddamsfamilymusical.comU. For tour booking information, please contact Meredith Blair at The Booking Group (212) 869-9280 mblair@thebookinggroup.com

THE ADDAMS FAMILY welcomed five new principal cast members beginning Tuesday, March 8 at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street) when Heidi Blickenstaff ([title of show]) assumed the role of Alice Beineke, Adam Grupper (Brighton Beach Memoirs) the role of Mal Beineke, Brad Oscar (Tony-nominated for The Producers) as Fester, Rachel Potter (Wicked nat'l. tour) as Wednesday Addams and Jesse Swenson (Spring Awakening) as Lucas Beineke. Original cast members Nathan Lane, Kevin Chamberlin, Terrence Mann, Carolee Carmello, Krysta Rodriguez and Wesley Taylor will give their final performances on Sunday, March 6.

PlayhouseSquare announces today its entire seven-show line-up for the 2011 - 2012 KeyBank Broadway Series at PlayhouseSquare.

Broadway In Chicago has announced the complete 2011-2012 subscription series. The upcoming season will include WEST SIDE STORY; LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE; ANN: AN AFFECTIONATE PORTRAIT OF ANN RICHARDS; MEMPHIS; DONNY & MARIE: CHRISTMAS IN CHICAGO; LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and COME FLY AWAY. Off-season specials include CHICAGO, MARY POPPINS, ROCK OF AGES, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and THE ADDAMS FAMILY. Season ticket packages go on sale to new subscribers this Friday, April 1. Tickets are available now to all shows for groups of 15 or more.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY welcomed five new principal cast members beginning Tuesday, March 8 at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street) when Heidi Blickenstaff ([title of show]) assumed the role of Alice Beineke, Adam Grupper (Brighton Beach Memoirs) the role of Mal Beineke, Brad Oscar (Tony-nominated for The Producers) as Fester, Rachel Potter (Wicked nat'l. tour) as Wednesday Addams and Jesse Swenson (Spring Awakening) as Lucas Beineke. Original cast members Nathan Lane, Kevin Chamberlin, Terrence Mann, Carolee Carmello, Krysta Rodriguez and Wesley Taylor will give their final performances on Sunday, March 6.

South Florida theater goers are in for a parade of solid hits direct from Broadway and South Florida premieres with the announcement that the current smash hit, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, opens the all musical Broadway in Miami 2011 - 2012 season at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Scheduled as a lead-up to Halloween, from October 25 - 30, THE ADDAMS FAMILY will be followed by SHREK THE MUSICAL, a pre-holiday show that is great fun for ogres and ogresses of all ages, December 6 - 11; MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, introduces families to one of the greatest moments in rock ‘n' roll history, set to bring in the New Year, December 27 - January 1; and Twyla Tharps's loving ode to Frank Sinatra, COME FLY AWAY, locked in as the spring entry, March 20 - 25. For the first time in Miami, Disney's THE LION KING, the recordbreaking musical set in the African pride lands, will play May 15 - June 10 as the season's stunning finale.

Rehearsals are underway for the Broadway revival of John Guare's comedic masterpiece THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES starring Ben Stiller, Edie Falco and Jennifer Jason Leigh. THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES, directed by David Cromer, will open on Monday, April 25, 2011 at the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street). The strictly limited 16-week engagement will begin previews on Monday, April 4, 2011. In the following video, HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES star stops by The Late Show to chat with David Letterman about the show.

Produced by Whoopi Goldberg and Stage Entertainment, SISTER ACT begins preview performances tonight, March 24 and will open on Wednesday, April 20, 2011. SISTER ACT features an original score with music by multi-Academy, Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning composer Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Enchanted), lyrics by Tony Award-nominee Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid), a book by multi-Emmy Award winners Cheri and Bill Steinkellner ('Cheers'), and additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane (Xanadu, The Little Dog Laughed). Directed on Broadway by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks (Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing...Forum, Smokey Joe's Café), the production features choreography by Tony and Olivier Award nominee Anthony Van Laast (Mamma Mia, Bombay Dreams) and is based on the Touchstone Pictures motion picture Sister Act written by Joseph Howard.

The new Broadway musical SISTER ACT will offer a limited number of $26.50 rush tickets (price includes $1.50 facility fee) in the front row of the orchestra for each performance. These rush tickets, which are available to all patrons, can be purchased at the box office only, beginning at 10:00am the day of the performance (12:00pm on Sundays). There is a limit of 2 tickets per person.

This class will be taught by Charlene Tilton and actor Bob Rusch.

SISTER ACT will begin preview performances at the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway) on March 24, 2011 and will open on Wednesday, April 20, 2011.In the following video, the cast chats exclusivly about Alan Menken's music in the new show!