John Hill News

I was a freshman at Sam Houston State University when I first read Gregory Maguire's riveting and racy novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. That same year, on October 30, 2003 WICKED opened on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre. I was first bewitched by WICKED when the Original Broadway Cast Album was released on December 16, 2003. In October 2005, I saw the miraculous show for the first time when the First National Tour landed in Houston. Now, WICKED is retuning to Houston for the fourth time and the musical's Broadway production will turn 10 years old this year. It is currently the 12th Longest Running Show in Broadway history. WICKED, with its multiple productions all over the world, is a musical phenomenon that enchants audiences everywhere it goes.

Ben Rimalower: 'PATTI ISSUES' - the hit Off Broadway solo play hailed as 'ecstatically vivid' by The New York Times and praised for its 'wit, feeling and conviction' by Time Out New York - has added a second performance for its Chicago premiere due to high ticket demand. In addition to the show on Thursday, June 13, there will be an additional show tonight, June 14. Both will be at Mary's Attic at 8:00 PM. After rave reviews and a host of awards, the New York production of 'PATTI ISSUES' was recently extended for the sixth time and will run through June 29 at The Duplex in the West Village. Other summer tour spots include Fire Island Pines and Provincetown, hot off a recent string of sold-out performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Berkeley. Tickets for all shows can be purchased at PattiIssues.com.

The company of the second North American tour of WICKED is thrilled to welcome John Hillner as Dr. Dillamond and Jenny Fellner as Nessarose on Monday, July 1 in Milwaukee, WI and Kathy Fitzgerald as Madame Morrible on Wednesday, July 10 in Houston, TX.

BEN RIMALOWER: "PATTI ISSUES" - the hit Off Broadway solo play hailed as "ecstatically vivid" by The New York Times and praised for its "wit, feeling and conviction" by Time Out New York - has added a second performance for its Chicago premiere due to high ticket demand. In addition to the show on Thursday, June 13, there will be an additional show on Friday, June 14. Both will be at Mary's Attic at 8:00 PM. After rave reviews and a host of awards, the New York production of "PATTI ISSUES" was recently extended for the sixth time and will run through June 29 at The Duplex in the West Village. Other summer tour spots include Fire Island Pines and Provincetown, hot off a recent string of sold-out performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Berkeley. Tickets for all shows can be purchased at PattiIssues.com.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced the lineup of special events, concerts, student productions, and free developmental readings for its 10th annual festival. The festival also announced three additional full productions. This year's Festival will begin July 8th and continue through July 28th.

Tickets go on-sale today for NYC rockers SKATERS upcoming tour with their Warner Music Group label-mates Portugal. The Man, which kicks off June 7th in Philadelphia.

The Hollywood Reporter reports exclusively that Jessica Chastain is currently in talks to star in Niki Caro's upcoming drama THE ZOOKEEPER'S WIFE. The project is an adaptation of Diane Ackerman's 2007 best-selling novel of the same name.

NYC rockers SKATERSwill join Warner Music Group label-mates Portugal. The Man as support for a string of U.S. tour dates in June, all of which are listed below. The band recently performed a series of live dates on the East Coast and will hit the road in May for an extensive U.K. tour, where they have amassed a loyal following.

PERFECT CRIME, the Off-Broadway 'whodunit,' is turning 27 on April 18th - continuing on as the longest running play in the city's history. The smart, funny and fast-paced thriller at the Anne L. Bernstein Theater in the Snapple Theater Center in Times Square will have played over 10,648 performances since it first opened in 1987 - to much fanfare, worldwide.

Variety reports that Jessica Chastain is in 'final negotiations' to star in Guillermo del Toro's horror thriller CRIMSON PEAK from Legendary Pictures.

For a 17th consecutive year, the Hollywood Film Awards continues its mandate of celebrating Hollywood cinema and recognizing excellence in Hollywood, both in-front and behind the camera. This year the Hollywood Film Awards Gala ceremony takes place on October 21, 2013, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills.

BEN RIMALOWER: "PATTI ISSUES" - the hit solo play hailed as "ecstatically vivid" by The New York Times and praised for its "wit, feeling and conviction" by Time Out New York - has announced a sixth extension after more rave reviews and a host of awards. The show will now run through June 29 at The Duplex in the West Village. Since "PATTI ISSUES" opened in August, it has become a must-see show on the downtown theater scene, garnering great word-of-mouth from attendees such as Alan Cumming, Michael Kors, Justin Vivian Bond, Tonya Pinkins, Perez Hilton and Ms. LuPone herself ("I was moved," she said. "He's a very talented man and I'm so proud of him.") Included as "Best New York Theater of 2012," The Advocate called the show "smart, poignant and dishy as hell," while it was dubbed "pithy and unforgettable" by The Huffington Post and "a very fierce comedy" by BroadwayWorld.com. "PATTI ISSUES" received a special Bistro Award for solo play in March and just won the MAC Award for "Male Debut." The show will be performed in Berkeley, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles between March 26 and March 30. BEN RIMALOWER: "PATTI ISSUES" is directed by Aaron Mark (Another Medea with Tom Hewitt, Random Unrelated Projects).

Erin Markey returns to Joe's Pub tonight, March 15. Known for her dark wit and absurdist transformations, Markey has been likened to Kristen Wiig, Kathy Acker and Eileen Brennan. Erin weaves together an exciting bill of R&B, 90's pop and grunge, standards and original music under the direction of Ben Rimalower (Leslie Kritzer is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches) with musical direction by Tony-nominated Kenny Mellman (Kiki and Herb).

Will Jessica Chastain be the next Queen of the Jungle? According to a report in this morning's NY Post, the Academy Award-nominated actress is considered to be the frontrunner to play 'Jane' in an upcoming Warner Bros. reboot of the classic film TARZAN.

Jessica Chastain recently wrapped up a limited run on Broadway in THE HEIRESS, but that was far from her first time on stage. According to Celebuzz, Chastain led San Francisco Bay's Theatreworks production of Romeo and Juliet back in 1998. Click here to check out more photos from the production!

Today in 1992, Crazy for You opened at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 1622 performances. Crazy for You is a musical with a book by Ken Ludwig, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Billed as 'The New Gershwin Musical Comedy', it is largely based on the songwriting team's 1930 musical, Girl Crazy, but interpolates songs from several other productions as well. Crazy for You won the 1992 Tony Award for Best Musical. The Broadway production was directed by Mike Ockrent and choreographed by Susan Stroman.The cast included Jodi Benson as Polly, Harry Groener as Bobby Child, Bruce Adler as Bela Zangler, John Hillner as Lank Hawkins, Michele Pawk as Irene Roth, Jane Connell as Mother, and Beth Leavel as Tess.

Jessica Chastain - who recently wrapped up a limited run on Broadway in THE HEIRESS, opposite Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens - says that she'd love to continue to perform on stage, this time in the West End.

From Kristin Chenoweth to Deborah Cox to Idina Menzel to Barbra Streisand to Michael Crawford to the Ladies of THE VIEW to Adam Pascal, Patti LuPone, Raul Esparza, Alan Menken, Lea Salonga, Bernadette Peters, Laura Osnes, Victoria Clark, GLEE and Everything in Between - It's the BroadwayWorld.com 2013 Valentine's Day Special - It's the Biggest Ever!

The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced that Golden Globe winner and two-time Academy Award nominee actress Jessica Chastain will appear today, February 8th at 3:00pm at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater for a conversation on film in a special free-to-the-public event.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced that Golden Globe winner and two-time Academy Award nominee actress Jessica Chastain will appear on Friday, February 8th at 3:00pm at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater for a conversation on film in a special free-to-the-public event.