Joe DiPietro News

An absurd, dark comedy about a New Jersey family who finds themselves suddenly dealing with an environmental cleanup in their backyard - literally - makes its debut at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, N.J., with a pair of 8pm performances June 3 and 4, with post-play discussions to follow each night.

Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham is thrilled to announce the sixth and final show in the Laguna Playhouse 2015-2016 season, Emerson Collins starring in BUYER AND CELLAR, written by Jonathan Tolins and directed by Larry Raben.

Sharon Playhouse, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Simpkins and Managing Director Justin Ball, announces casting and creative teams for the 2016 summer season of musicals and plays Gypsy; Big River; Quartet; I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change; and the new musical, Judge Jackie: Disorder in the Court.

La Jolla Playhouse presents the world premiere of HOLLYWOOD by Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro (Memphis, Chasing the Song) and directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. Starring Harriet Harris, Patrick Kerr, Kate Rockwell and more, HOLLYWOOD runs through June 12 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre, with an official opening on May 18. Check out a first look at the cast in action below!

Theatre at the Center presents the Chicagoland premiere of the Broadway hit NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT. This new musical features a book by Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro, and a treasure trove of George and Ira Gershwin's most beloved, instantly recognizable tunes (Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, Someone to Watch Over Me, 'S Wonderful). NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT runs now through June 5 at Theatre at the Center. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

When Director and Co-Choreographer Jordan Nichols first saw and enjoyed MEMPHIS THE MUSICAL, he knew that he just had to stage a production in the city itself; as polished and entertaining as it was, it needed just a little something . . . 'an infusion of Memphis grit.' In Playhouse on the Square's powerful, pulsating production of the musical, he has achieved just that. Memphians are very proud and protective of their musical heritage, and though originators Joe DiPietro and David Bryan have not attempted to portray real persons and events, their knowledge of the early 'rock and roll' era and its personalities has resulted in a satisfying approximation. Having few musical gifts outside a kazoo, I could nonetheless play 'Six Degrees of Elvis Presley' with some confidence: My third cousin was Bill Black, bassist for Elvis Presley in those early days; and my first cousin's brother-in-law was cult rockabilly musician Charlie Feathers ('Tongue-tied Jill'). I remember enjoying disc jockey Dewey Phillips (on whom MEMPHIS protagonist 'Huey Calhoun' is based) and his outsized personality, and anyone with any knowledge of Sun Studios and the early careers of Jerry Lee Lewis (who shocked an older generation with his marriage to a younger cousin), Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley know that these artists came from humble ('cracker,' in the play) beginnings. These icons always acknowledged their debt to black gospel and blues musicians. All of that, together with racism and interracial relationships, surfaces in MEMPHIS.

Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment in association with the King's Head Theatre, Guy James and Szpiezak Productions presents the European premiere of THE TOXIC AVENGER, directed by Benji Sperring with musical director Alex Beetschen. Performances run now through Saturday 21 May 2016. Click below for a new trailer featuring highlights from the show!

Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment in association with the King's Head Theatre, Guy James and Szpiezak Productions presents the European premiere of THE TOXIC AVENGER, directed by Benji Sperring with musical director Alex Beetschen. Press night was last night 26 April at 7.30pm, and performances run through Saturday 21 May 2016. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The music of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, those fabulous girl groups of the 50's and 60's and an Aaron Sorkin courtroom drama will light up the TexARTS Kam and James Morris Theatre during the 2016 - 2017 Professional Series. 

By 2009, when the musical MEMPHIS opened on Broadway, America had nearly 60 years since the Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950s. But, despite significant progress, headlines even today continue to affirm our society's failings in the areas of discrimination and prejudice. Monday night, when the house lights faded for opening night of MEMPHIS at Theatre Three, the crowd cheered. Although I was just as eager to support the company's newest production, I'd not considered how moved I would be by the historic, but still timely themes.

Good People Theater Company and Producer Alejandro Patiño announced the first Hollywood Fringe Festival production of THE TOXIC AVENGER MUSICAL, 2009's winner of the Outer Critics Circle's award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical.

Florida Repertory Theatre, recently called 'one of the top regional troupes in the United States' by 'The Wall Street Journal', is pleased to announce its 2016-2017 Season in the Historic Arcade Theatre and ArtStage Studio Theatre. Running October 7 to May 14, the season includes Agatha Christie's most famous whodunit, a Tony-winning musical, multiple comedies, an American classic, a world-premiere, and more!

Now Cabrillo Music Theatre brings this amazing story to life with THE LITTLE MERMAID, live on stage! This is not simply a children's show - it's a brand-new fully-developed Broadway musical, in the spirit of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, THE LION KING, and MARY POPPINS, and Cabrillo Music Theatre's production will be the first in the region!

Memphis is set in the 1950s where rock 'n' roll was born: the seedy underground nightclubs, radio stations and recording studios of the musically-rich Tennessee city. With an original book and score by David Bryan (keyboard player, songwriter and founding member of Bon Jovi) and Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and All Shook Up!), it tells the fictional story of Huey Calhoun, a white radio DJ with a passion for R&B music and Felicia Farrell, an up-and-coming black club singer that he meets one fateful night on Beale Street. Despite the objections of their loved ones (Huey's close-minded mama and Felicia's cautious brother, a club owner), they embark on a dangerous affair. Filled with high-octane dancing, songs that perfectly capture the era, and an absorbing tale of fame and forbidden love, the show offers soaring emotion and roof-raising rock 'n' roll.

The Off-Broadway sketch comedy musical about relationships is back, and Oyster Mill's got it.

Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment in association with the King's Head Theatre, Guy James and Szpiezak Productions presents the European premiere of THE TOXIC AVENGER. It runs through 21 May 2016. The production just officially opened, and BroadwayWorld brings you a look inside the after-party!

Theatre Three presents the Tony Award-winning rock 'n' roll musical MEMPHIS by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro, running April 28 - May 22, 2016, with opening night set for May 2. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast in costume below!

The citizens of Tromaville are crying out for a hero - enter Melvin Ferd the Third, an aspiring earth scientist determined to clean up the toxic waste problem. But when a corrupt Mayor and her government goons try to stop this heroic feat, Melvin is tossed into a vat of toxic waste and transformed into The Toxic Avenger, New Jersey's first superhero!

Single-show tickets are now on sale for all shows in the 2016 Sacramento Music Circus season at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, the 66th season for the venerable institution.

BWW Previews: NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT is gettin' it at Virginia Musical Theatre