Joan Marcus News

“This—something, life and...breath?” my friend read as she tried to decode my jumbled mess of notes while I drove us home from the show. “Oh no,” I answered, 'that says, 'This musical lives and breathes.” That short phrase is the most indicative of my experience at ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, a show whose movement, melodies, and people formed together before us, seemingly as a new animate creature. A tale of “two worlds never meant to meet”, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND delivers a 90-minute sung-through litany of joyous song, dance, and storytelling.

From February 26th to March 1st only, the national tour of My Fair Lady makes its way to Wharton Center. BroadwayWorld Detroit recently had the pleasure of interviewing Leslie Alexander, who plays Mrs. Higgins in the national tour of My Fair Lady.

Now performing at the Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater as part of the Famous Artists Broadway Theater Series: Broadway in Syracuse is the touring production of A Bronx Tale the Musical. The musical features a book by Chazz Palminteri, music by Alan Menken, and lyrics by Glenn Slater. This touring production features a dynamite cast with stellar vocals that mesmerized the audience.

The first thing that happens in director Timothy Douglas' Classic Stage Company mounting of Tristan Bernays' adaptation of Mary Shelley's beloved gothic novel, Frankenstein, is that actor/musician Rob Morrison, playing a one-member chorus, comes out on stage and tunes the three string instruments he'll use during the 90-minute production.

In this version, Count Dracula is not an obvious outlier with fangs and pale skin, but a charming fellow you'd never suspect is spreading the acceptance of patriarchal attitudes and gender roles through his seductive bites.

HAMILTON has proven its lasting power in the five years since it debuted on Broadway, and after landing in several international locations, the mega-hit musical about America's ten-dollar founding father has crossed the border.

Kennedy Caughell gives a heartfelt performance as Carole King in 'Beautiful,' an otherwise flawed musical that does to King's career what most Broadway musicals do to the subjects of jukebox musicals. The musical element of the show, however, overcomes its many deficiencies to result in an overall enjoyable production.

WE'RE GONNA DIE is a non-musical/non-play/non-concert that is not about dying. It's a celebration of the things we do, say, and sing to keep ourselves going as we hurtle toward the finish line. Through a series of stories and songs both hilarious and heartbreaking, WE'RE GONNA DIE offers proof positive that being alive is about more than just awaiting the inevitable.

Cambodian Rock Band began performances on February 4 and opens on Monday, February 24 on the Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street). The production is an limited engagement through March 15, 2020.

The MEAN GIRLS National Tour is trying to make fetch happen at DPAC this week. If you like high school drama, big flashy vocals, and lots of pink costumes, then it's the perfect show for you. Everyone probably knows of the 2004 comedy film a?oeMean Girls,a?? written by Tina Fey, that starred Lindsey Lohan, Rachel McAdams, and Amanda Seyfried. It absolutely took over pop culture and is still considered one of the most quotable movies today.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts and NETworks Presentations has announced full casting for the 2019-2020 North American Tour of A BRONX TALE, the new musical featuring a book by Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri, music by Oscar, Grammy and Tony Award winner Alan Menken, and lyrics by Grammy Award winner and Oscar and Tony Award nominee Glenn Slater. The show will play Segerstrom Hall March 10 - 22, 2020.

Roundabout Theatre Company's Darling Grenadine opens tonight at the Black Box Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre!

Most people know the music pretty well, but few knew the band had a colorful history full of crimes and mob connections that were against the clean cut tradition of their era. They seemed to be more than a boy band and bordered on a gang in many ways. Forget BTS, One Direction, or even the New Kids on the Block a??. these guys were hanging tough for real!

Today's subject Marva Hicks is currently living her theatre life onstage at Signature Theatre in the World Premiere Musical Gun & Powder. The production runs through February 23rd in Signature's MAX Theatre space. You'll be able to see my review of the show on Broadway World soon. Trust me it will be worth the wait.

Once On This Island, playing at the Ordway Theatre through February 9th, is an exhilarating musical fable that seeks to transport the audience into the world of Haitian folklore through a story of love, resilience and sacrifice.

A producer cannot just license any property s/he wants. Yes, MAME is available for licensing on the Concord Theatricals website, but if I wanted to mount it on Broadway it would be a little more complicated than shelling out cash. Hurdles for non-professional productions are not substantial, but many professional productions require levels of permission. Jerry Herman, who passed away on December 26, 2019, was a man unlikely to give permission for professional productions of his shows unless he thought they would be good.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces today that single tickets for the Washington, D.C. return engagement of Hamilton will go on sale to Kennedy Center Members on Monday, March 2 at 10 a.m. and to the public on Monday, March 9 at 10 a.m. online at www.kennedy-center.org, in person at the Kennedy Center box office, or by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324. Tickets will be available for performances June 16-September 20, 2020.

One of the longest-running musical partnerships in Broadway history, lyricist and director Richard Maltby, Jr. and composer David Shire, will be honored, along with a diverse group of 17 other outstanding artists, at the 35th Annual Bistro Awards on Monday, March 9 at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W. 23rd St.

They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever hearda?? and the radio just couldn't get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story a?" a story that has made them an international sensation all over again. Go behind the music and inside the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons in the Tony Award-winning true-life musical phenomenon, JERSEY BOYS. From the streets of New Jersey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this is the musical that's just too good to be true.

In all the times that I have seen FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (and they have been many ~ whether on stage or film), I have never seen a production as inspired, imaginative, and moving in its staging as Bartlett Sher's. The vision of this Tony Award-winning director imbues this musical classic with a singular vitality and soulfulness that distinguishes it from its antecedents. Now appearing at ASU Gammage through February 2nd, the show is a stunning and magical mix of superb performances, Christopher Evans's dazzling and muscular choreography, and Michael Yeargan's vivid and ethereal set designs.