Joan Marcus News

Matt Manuel was born and raised in Detroit, MI, 'the heart of Motown.' He got his start as a competitive gymnast. When he was 13, he had to quit gymnastics, which he says broke his heart. His mother convinced him to try a piano lesson while his brother took a voice lesson. The teacher accidentally switched their lessons, which made Manuel realize he could sing. He studied theatre in high school, but once in college, focused more on vocal performance, so he would be classically trained. He was a contestant on season 13 of AMERICAN IDOL, which jump started his career. Since then, he has never stopped working. Manuel plays Marvin Gaye in MOTOWN THE MUSICAL. I had the chance to speak with him while MOTOWN recently had a tour stop in Boston, MA.

If the rousing and prolonged applause and immediate standing ovation is any indication, this show is going to wow local audiences all throughout the summer.

Love Never Dies will make its premiere in Memphis' Orpheum Theatre from September 4-9, 2018 as part of a North American Tour. Tickets will go on sale Friday, July 13 and will be available for purchase online at the official Orpheum Theatre website, www.orpheum-memphis.com, the Orpheum Box Office (901.525.3000), and Ticketmaster.  The 2018-2019 Orpheum Broadway Season is generously sponsored in part by Memphis Area Honda Dealers and SunTrust Bank.

Roger Sanders and Dana Scott Galloway present the New York premiere of The Klunch's production of LAURA BUSH KILLED A GUY by Ian Allen. Directed by John Vreeke, the production stars Lisa Hodsoll, who received a 2018 Helen Hayes Award nomination for her portrayal of the former First Lady in the acclaimed Washington DC premiere. Previews begin June 14 at The Flea Theater with opening night slated for Thursday, June 21.

Tony-Award Winner Carol Burnett stopped by The Cher Show at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago to visit her designer-of-choice, Bob Mackie. She was there to support his new show starring Stephanie J. Block at the final dress rehearsal before opening night.

'Vassar. See yourself there,' a successful adult advises a high school student who has impressed him with her talent for writing poetry, but not with her low expectations for securing a spot in a good college.

Actors' Equity Association has announced that Once on This Island will receive the twelfth annual "ACCA" Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus. Presented by Equity's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA), the ACCA Award is the only industry accolade of its kind to honor the distinctive talents and contributions made by the original chorus members of a Broadway musical.

Sugar in Our Wounds is now in previews ahead of a Tuesday, June 19 opening night. Check out photos of the production below!

Roundabout Theatre Company's world premiere production of Skintight, by Roundabout Underground alumnus Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other), with direction by three-time Obie Award winner Daniel Aukin (Bad Jews) is currently in previews. The cast includes Will Brittain as 'Trey,' Stephen Carrasco as 'Jeff,' Eli Gelb as 'Benjamin Cullen,' Cynthia Mace as 'Orsolya,' Idina Menzel as 'Jodi Isaac' and Jack Wetherall as 'Elliot Isaac.'

Sugar, butter, flour! Sara Bareilles' musical WAITRESS opens at the Saenger Theatre tonight! It's about a young woman named Jenna who works at a bakery and is trying to figure out her life. She's in an abusive marriage, finds out she's pregnant, and it forces her to take a look at what she really wants. With the help of her best friends, an unexpected romance with a doctor, and a pie-baking contest her future starts to look a whole lot brighter.

Producer Jeffrey Seller and Hennepin Theatre Trust announce today that tickets for HAMILTON will be available online through Ticketmaster Verified Fan, on Thursday, June 21 at 10 a.m.  Verified Fan is a new fan-facing technology from Ticketmaster that allows pre-registered fans to unlock access to tickets without competing against scalpers and bots.

Broadway legend Chita Rivera will be presented with a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre at the 72nd Annual Tony Awards on June 10, 2018. This award recognizes theatre artists that have made significant contributions to theatre throughout their life.

Dan Cody's Yacht opened last night June 6 at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I. Let's see what the critics had to say...

When Broadway's Once On This Island performs at the Tony Awards on June 10, the eight-time Tony Award-nominated Best Revival of a Musical will be playing to three audiences: the home viewing audience, the 6000+ people in the auditorium at Radio City Music Hall, and 130 special guests who will be in onstage seating surrounding a set that includes a sand-filled beach, water, goats, and chickens. The onstage guests will be comprised of volunteers and staffers from three organizations that bring relief to areas impacted by natural disasters: All Hands Volunteers, Americares, and UNIDOS Disaster Relief and Recovery Program.

The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park production of OTHELLO is currently running at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park through Sunday, June 24. Get a first look at the production below! 

There comes a moment late in act two of Waitress, the Jessie Nelson-Sara Bareilles musical now onstage at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall, when Desi Oakley - the actress portraying Jenna Hunterson, the show's very pregnant heroine - finds herself bathed in the bright glow of a spotlight and she delivers the show's stirring and emotionally driven climax: a performance of Bareilles' plaintive pop ballad "She Used to Be Mine," arguably the score's best-known and most beloved song.

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of Dan Cody's Yacht, written by Anthony Giardina and directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes, opens tonight - Wednesday, June 6 - at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street). Performances began on Tuesday, May 15.

The 2019 National Tour of the Lincoln Center Theater Broadway Production of FALSETTOS, William Finn and James Lapine's groundbreaking, Tony Award-winning musical announces its complete touring schedule for the 2018-2019 season.

The Phantom of the Opera has returned to town, but there will be no familiar 'Music of the Night.' Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has been penning a sequel to his blockbuster for years, and it has been performed in many versions, as LOVE NEVER DIES. Buffalonians may remember being titillated with the announced world premiere in Toronto years ago, but alas that announcement, as well as one of a Broadway production never occurred. London got dibs on it's premiere, then a reworked version went to Australia and now a new American tour is on the road letting the US decide what they think of the story.

Casting has been announced for the Salt Lake City engagement of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit musical JERSEY BOYS, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, playing the the Eccles Theater June 15-17. 2018. The cast of JERSEY BOYS will be led by Tommaso Antico (Bob Gaudio), Aaron De Jesus (Frankie Valli), Corey Greenan (Tommy DeVito) and Chris Stevens (Nick Massi) and as The Four Seasons.