Joan Marcus News

ONCE, the Tony and Grammy Award winning Best New Musical celebrates its 500th performance on Broadway. Once is based on the 2007 Academy Award-winning film and plays on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street). The production opened on Sunday, March 18, 2012.

MCC Theater's Reasons to be Happy, starring Leslie Bibb (Iron Man, ABC's 'GCB') and Jenna Fischer (NBC's 'The Office') making their New York City stage debuts opposite Josh Hamilton (The Coast of Utopia) andFred Weller (MCC's Still Life and In a Dark Dark House), is Playwright-in-Residence Neil LaBute's new play, which LaBute will also direct. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast in action below!

In all honesty, I was dreading seeing Broadway Across America - Houston's presentation of SISTER ACT's First National Tour at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts last night. As a fan of Alan Menken, I was elated to get my hands on a copy of the Original London Cast Recording in 2009. After giving the disc a whirl, I was anything but impressed. The musical ran at the London Palladium from June 2, 2009 to October 30, 2010. As it journeyed across the pond, the book was significantly reworked by Douglas Carter Beane for its rather successful April 20, 2011 to August 26, 2012 Broadway run at the Broadway Theatre. Between London, New York, and Houston, magic has definitely happened. The show, as it stands now, is a divinely delightful comedy that will leave audiences pumped and gushing about how truly fabulous it is.

Native Voices at the Autry, America's leading Native American theatre company, continues its tradition of excellence, developing plays by new and established Native American Playwrights at its highly regarded PLAYWRIGHTS RETREAT AND FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS, and culminating in free staged public readings of three intriguing new works today, May 29, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, May 30, 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, May 31, 2013, 7:30 p.m., at the Autry National Center's Wells Fargo Theater in Los Angeles.

ANNIE, the new production of the classic Tony Award-winning musical, is now playing at the Palace Theatre (Broadway at 47th Street). Below, BroadwayWorld has a first look at Jane Lynch strutting her stuff on the Broadway stage!

The four talented young stars spoke with BWW about their first Broadway experience portraying the 'brave, strong and magical' character Matilda.

The Tony Award nominated MATILDA THE MUSICAL and the Scripps National Spelling Bee both celebrate the power of words, learning and education. The Bee will open with a segment shot on stage at Broadway's Shubert Theatre featuring a monologue performed by Tony Award nominated Bertie Carvel as the terrifying Miss Trunchbull. The monologue was penned by MATILDA THE MUSICAL's Tony nominated book writer, Dennis Kelly.

Playwrights Horizons sold-out world premiere production of the new musical FAR FROM HEAVEN opens June 2, and runs through through June 30 at the Mainstage Theater. Today, BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast, featuring Kelli O'Hara, Isaiah Johnson, Steven Pasquale, and more! Check them out below!

On Friday evening, May 24, Playbill's Blake Ross and BroadwayWorld.com's Rob and Jennifer Diamond co-hosted the only birthday party that took two editors of two major theatre web sites to plan ... Director/Producer Richard Jay-Alexander's 60th Birthday Bash! The party, held on the third floor of theatre district hot spot Angus McIndoe's restaurant, played host to friends, family, colleagues and more, so we couldn't resist sharing some of Linda Lenzi's wonderful pictures with you. Happy 60th Birthday!

One Chekhovian country house exits the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater and a new Chekhovian country house enters.  But Richard Nelson's Nikolai and the Others, enjoying an elegant staging by director David Cromer, is a more sober-minded effort than the venue's last tenant, Christopher Durang's Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike.

Tune in tomorrow, Wednesday May 22 to 'The View' on ABC to watch the cast of MATILDA THE MUSICAL perform 'Naughty' and 'Revolting Children' live. 'The View' can be seen on Channel 7 in the New York metro area; check local listings.

Due to overwhelming demand, The Public Theater announced a final four-week extension for the critically acclaimed world premiere musical Here Lies Love, with concept and lyrics by David Byrne, music by David Byrneand Fatboy Slim, additional music by Tom Gandey and J Pardo, and choreography by Annie-B Parson. Directed by Alex Timbers, Here Lies Love officially opened on Tuesday, April 23 and has been extended a fourth and final time to Sunday, July 28.

The Constitution is the only document you get more knowledge of it, the drunker you get.  Why?  It was written during a four month drunken binge. The bills from those days show thousands of dollars in wine, port, beer.  They were all drinking.

MURDER BALLAD, the critically acclaimed new musical which has been nominated for Best Musical by the Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and Lortel Awards, has extendded, with tickets on sale through Sunday, September 29 at the Union Square Theatre (100 East 17th Street). Murder Ballad is now in previews at the Union Square Theatre with an official press opening set for Wednesday, May 22 featuring John Ellison Conlee, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Caissie Levy, and Will Swenson. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast in action below!

While SISTER ACT's First National Tour was playing in Durham, North Carolina, I got a chance to talk with Kingsley Leggs, who plays Curtis Jackson, Deloris Van Cartier's gangster boyfriend and the show's villain. Kingsley Legs, who originated the role of Curtis Jackson on Broadway, spoke with me about his career, SISTER ACT's rehearsal process, preparing the First National Tour, SISTER ACT itself, and life on the road.

'Gossip is the lube by which this town slips it in.'

According to a casting notice for Columbia Pictures' upcoming reboot of ANNIE, production on the film will begin in August on location in New York City.

Arthur Darvill and Joanna Christie recently made their Broadway debuts starring in the 8-time Tony Award-winning Best Musical Once at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on April 23rd. The actors took over from the temporary leads Ben Hope and Laura Dreyfuss, who, as planned and scheduled, resume being standbys for 'Guy' and 'Girl.' Check out photos of the new cast in action below!

I suppose Richard Foreman doesn't have many talkbacks after performances of his plays because, really, how many times can you respond to an audience member asking, 'What the f***?'

Five months…  FIVE MONTHS after their previous musical comedy, Jumbo, opened at the Hippodrome, the trio of Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and George Abbott had a brand new one at the Imperial.  But far from seeming a rush job, their 1936 On Your Toes can easily be argued to be a huge step forward in refining musical comedy into a sophisticated art form.