Joan Marcus News

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: ANTHEM opens off-Broadway tonight, the NYPL hosts a discussion in honor of the O'Neill Center's 50th anniversary, and the creator of SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE Otis Sallid boogies down at 54 Below!

We all know the annoying trend of turning every well-regarded or sellable movie into a Broadway Musical. Do we really need a stage version of the popular film especially when that film is pretty much a musical already such as with the indie sleeper hit "Once"? Well, I don't know if we need it but in this case I'm actually glad we have it as they have taken this lovely romance and just simply let it be told through it's gorgeous music and some very simple staging and the result is a great big sigh (and maybe even a few tears) at the end of a truly entertaining evening.

After breaking box office records and selling out in record time in 2012, Wicked, Broadway's biggest blockbuster, will return to Sacramento Community Center Theater from tonight, May 28 through June 15 as part of the Broadway Sacramento series.

Today, Krass speaks exclusively with BWW about designing costumes for this unique production and shares why the experience was 'the best job I've ever had!'

Well this is it, Dear Readers. The trip has come to an end (sigh) and even as I type this I am winging back to the Emerald City and leaving the Mothership behind. It's been an exciting trip with tons of thrilling theater. But before we wrap up, we still need to talk about one more show, "If/Then'.

Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week or you're just in the mood for a recap, BroadwayWorld's 'This Week in Pictures' is here to satisfy your end-of-the-week fix! Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to The West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more. Highlights this week include a first look at 'Just Jim Dale,' the Stars in the Alley concert, the cast of 'Submissions Only' at 54 Below, and more!

Kate Del Castillo, currently starring in the groundbreaking Spanish production of Eve Ensler's Los Monologos de la Vagina, will appear on the "Visiones" segment of WNBC's "Weekend Today in New York" tomorrow, May 24 at approximately 9:15am (Channel 4 in the New York area; check local listings).

Second Stage Theatre presents Bess Wohl's AMERICAN HERO, opening tonight, May 22, and running through June 15th. Directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman, American Hero features Ari Graynor (2st Trust), Daoud Heidami (Bengal Tiger at The Baghdad Zoo), Jerry O'Connell (Seminar) andErin Wilhelmi (The Great God Pan). Let's see what the critics had to say...

The producers of Los Monologos de la Vagina announced today that beginning June 3 the production will make complimentary English translations headsets available to audience members.

AMERICAN HERO opens tonight, May 22 and is presented at Second Stage Theatre's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on Broadway at 76th Street.

Roundabout Theatre Company presents Tony Award® winner, two-time Grammy Award winner and two-time Academy Award® nominee Jim Dale in his solo show, Just Jim Dale, directed by Tony Award winner Richard Maltby, Jr. The show is currently in previews, and you can check out photos from the production below!

Due to popular demand, Second Stage Theatre will extend the limited run of Bess Wohl's AMERICAN HERO one week, now running through June 15th. Directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman, AMERICAN HERO features Ari Graynor (2st Trust), Daoud Heidami (Bengal Tiger at The Baghdad Zoo), Jerry O'Connell (Seminar) and Erin Wilhelmi (The Great God Pan).

Henry Haun recently published this article about Jim Dale in Playbill Magazine. They've been kind enough to let us reproduce it in full below:

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) kicks off the 2014 Uptown Series with the New York premiere of AMERICAN HERO, written by Bess Wohl and directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman (Violet). AMERICAN HERO features ARI GRAYNOR (2ST Trust), DAOUD HEIDAMI (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), JERRY O'CONNELL (Seminar) and ERIN WILHELMI (The Great God Pan). Previews began Monday, May 12th and opening night is Thursday, May 22nd. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast in action below!

BroadwayWorld.com thought it would be interesting to go a little more 'in-depth' about the recipients, to help you better understand their being chosen and to look more closely into their lives, worlds and work. In addition, we wanted them to be interviewed by someone with whom they shared some sort of history.

As a bonus, we delved into Joan's archives to pick 10 of her most iconic photos (a near impossible task!). Scroll below for some of our favorites...

Day three was yet another roller coaster of emotions as we went from the tragic yet beautiful to the hilarious. I guess I planned this schedule pretty well. Let's start with the beyond words amazing Audra and then we'll move on from there.

Day two, my three show day, is behind me Dear Readers and it was an absolutely exhilarating one filled with laughs, tears, and culminating in a stunner of a show. But we'll get to Neil in a minute.

The Bridges of Madison County, the new Broadway musical by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning team Jason Robert Brown and Marsha Norman, starring five-time Tony Award-nominee Kelli O'Hara as Francesca Johnson, and star of screen and stage and 2014 Drama Desk nominee Steven Pasquale as Robert Kincaid, plays its final performance today, May 18, 2014, having played 137 performances. Below, BroadwayWorld takes you back through BRIDGES' beginnings on Broadway!

The Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 announced that on Sunday May 18th, it will hold an exceptional educational workshop for a group of New York public school students, in collaboration with the Broadway production of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH.