Joan Marcus News

EBONY Magazine, the curator of the African American experience, past, present and future, today announced that it will host a gala event in New York City at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on Monday evening, November 4, 2013 to celebrate the honorees on its annual EBONY Power 100 list. The event is presented by Nationwide Insurance, and this is the second year the company holds the presenting sponsor title.

Bruce Norris' new play, commissioned by Lincoln Center Theater, is about politics and gender involving a husband and wife (played by Jeff Goldblum and Laurie Metcalf) whose marriage is upended when they become embroiled in a scandal.

Manhattan Theatre Club and MCC Theater's world premiere of Sharr White's The Snow Geese opens tonight, October 24, at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). Let's see what the critics had to say...

Sharr White's drama of a family losing its wealth is enhanced by Daniel Sullivan's handsome, mostly well-acted production,

ANNIE, Broadway's favorite musical for all ages, invites your family to celebrate Halloween at the Palace Theatre (Broadway at 47th Street) on Thursday, October 31st. Come in your Halloween costume and get a trick-or-treating surprise.

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director) is currently in previews for the return engagement of THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING, the first play in the tetralogy, The Apple Family Plays: Scenes from Life in the Country. Written and directed by Richard Nelson, the acclaimed plays will run in repertory through Sunday, December 15 and culminate in the world premiere of the fourth and final play, REGULAR SINGING, which opens on the day it is set, November 22 - the 50th Anniversary of JFK's assassination that shocked the world.

Today, Mary Bridges Davies speaks exclusively to BroadwayWorld about her love of the blues, her Broadway debut and why playing the role of Janis Joplin may have been her destiny.

Producers Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris and Berry Gordy have announced 'Makin' It Motown,' a nationwide open call casting search for African-American singers for both the Broadway production of MOTOWN THE MUSICAL and the upcoming national tour, with a rare opportunity to audition for this hit Broadway musical at the Actor's Theatre of Charlotte (650 E. Stonewall Street) in Charlotte, NC, on Saturday, November 9. The first national tour will launch in Chicago in April 2014 with Charlotte performance dates to be announced at a later date.

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced a special talkback at Bad Jews featuring NYC faith leaders, playwright Joshua Harmon and actor Michael Zegen following the 7:30pm performance tonight, October 24. The talkback is complimentary for ticketholders to this performance, and a limited number of tickets are still available to purchase.

Playwrights Horizons World Premiere production of THE PATRON SAINT OF SEA MONSTERS, a new play by Blackburn Prize winner Marlane Meyer (The Chemistry of Change and Moe's Lucky Seven for PH; Etta Jenks), is currently in previews off-Broadway. Directed by two-time Obie Award winner Lisa Peterson (The Chemistry of Change for PH; An Iliad, Slavs!), the production has an Opening Night set for Tuesday, November 12 at 7PM and will play a limited engagement through Sunday evening, December 1 at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 West 42nd Street). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

There are many good rules pertaining to the creation of a new Broadway musical. Two of them are, 1) Just because you have the technology to do something doesn't necessarily mean that you should do it and 2) Some movies just shouldn't be made into musicals. The first U.S. national tour of Ghost: The Musical, playing at Providence Performing Arts Center is an excellent example of what happens when both of those are thrown out the window.

Four-time Tony Award nominee Tovah Feldshuh (Irena's Vow, Golda's Balcony) recently assumed the role of 'Berthe' in PIPPIN on September 24th. Feldshuh previously played the role during Tony Award winner Andrea Martin's vacation in August. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the star in action!

Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori's adaptation of Alison Bechdel's graphic novel demands to be seen by anyone who takes musical theatre seriously.

Casting has been announced for the Los Angeles return engagement of Disney's THE LION KING. Los Angeles' most eagerly awaited stage production ever will leap onto the Hollywood Pantages stage from November 20, 2013 - January 12, 2014. The press opening night is Friday, November 22 at 8pm. The landmark musical will return to Los Angeles for the first time since its triumphant return engagement in November 2006, where the production played a sold-out run at Hollywood Pantages.

Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce that a WICKED day-of-performance drawing for a limited number of orchestra seats will take place inside Block Thirty Seven. Block Thirty Seven is located at 108 N State, across from the Oriental Theatre. An additional pair of tickets for each performance will be given away, courtesy of Block Thirty Seven, in honor of the 10th Anniversary of WICKED. WICKED begins performances at the Oriental Theatre on Wednesday, October 30.

Tickets will go on sale Saturday, November 9 at 10am for the St. Louis return engagement of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit musical JERSEY BOYS, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, playing the Fox Theatre February 19-March 2, 2014.

This week, the fabulous frocks and fierce fun of the first national tour of the hit stage musical PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT returns to Southern California for a one-week limited engagement at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County, October 22 - 27. Before the colorful caravan parks itself here in Costa Mesa, Bryan West---who plays young Adam (aka Felicia)---agreed to answer a few silly questions from BroadwayWorld's Michael Lawrence Quintos...

The task of wrapping up a musical involving Ugandan warlords, closeted Mormons, and amphibious fornication might prove to be rough for the average lyricist - but SOUTH PARK masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone have done it nicely with the THE BOOK OF MORMON's 11 o'clock performance of 'Tomorrow is a Latter Day,' and the infamous anthem 'I Believe.' As do KINKY BOOTS' flashy footwear-driven 'Raise You Up/Just Be,' proving everyone loves a good drag queen in six-inch heels, or PIPPIN's big reveal in 'Finale/Magic Shows and Miracles.'

Playwrights Horizons presents its New York premiere production of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, a new play by Anne Washburn, with music by Obie Award winner Michael Friedman. Directed by Steve Cosson, the Obie Award-winning Artistic Director of The Civilians, Mr. Burns is being presented as the first production of Playwrights Horizons' 2013/2014 Season.

Manhattan Theatre Club and MCC Theater's world premiere of Sharr White's THE SNOW GEESE, opens Thursday, October 24 at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). This strictly limited 11 week engagement began previews on Tuesday, October 1. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!