John O'Neill News

Christopher John O'Neill has just announced via Twitter that he will soon join the Broadway company of The Book of Mormon. O'Neill, who previously played role in the national tour, will join the cast on January 6- the same night as Gavin Creel, who will play Elder Price.

BOOK OF MORMON, the smash hit, 2011 Tony Award winning musical by SOUTH PARK creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with Robert Lopez (AVENUE Q, FROZEN) says 'Hello' to Montreal in a short 8 performance run.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Austin Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 25th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Austin Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 25th.

I am pleased to announce the nominees for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Toronto Regional Awards. The response this year from Toronto's theatre community and fans has been incredible. The BroadwayWorld Awards are an award decided by the fans - from nominations all the way to selecting the final winner.

The Wallis Center for the Performing Arts (aka "The Wallis") and Writers Bloc, Los Angeles' acclaimed reading and conversation series founded by Emmy-nominated Andrea Grossman, are partnering to present Leon Panetta in Conversation with Jessica Yellin (Wednesday, October 15 at 7:30pm), and Dick Cavett in Conversation with Paula Poundstone (Thursday, November 6 at 7:30pm). The events are part of The Wallis' ongoing new series, "Arts & Ideas: Conversations at The Wallis," and will be held in the Bram Goldsmith Theater.

Nominees for the 2014 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced on the evening of Monday, September 22 at Native Voices at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. The nominations were revealed by past Ovation Award recipients Gigi Bermingham, Brighid Fleming, Parmer Fuller, Jennifer Haley, Brian Kite, Glynn Turman, and John Zalewski, along with LA STAGE Alliance Chief Executive Officer Terence McFarland.

Nominees for the 2014 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced on the evening of Monday, September 22 at Native Voices at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. The nominations were revealed by past Ovation Award recipients Gigi Bermingham, Brighid Fleming, Parmer Fuller, Jennifer Haley, Brian Kite, Glynn Turman, and John Zalewski, along with LA STAGE Alliance Chief Executive Officer Terence McFarland.

I see them occasionally - white shirts (usually with pockets), black trousers, clean-shaven, and cradling folders and totes. They often are on a corner; at times, they are walking through the parking lots of apartment complexes. They are unfailingly polite; more often than not, they respect our 'Puh-lease'-don't-bother-me looks or our efforts to look as if more important business is calling us elsewhere. These sweet-natured people are usually more interested in our welfare than we ourselves are, and, well, that's nice.

How do you take a devout, sacred religion like Mormonism, pack in a bunch of old, Ohio conservatives, and somehow manage to have them laughing in stitches on topics like female circumcision, rape, AIDS, and homosexuality? That's the genius of South Park writers, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with AVENUE Q co-creator Robert Lopez, who accomplished just that. With 9 Tony Awards under its belt (holding in the maggots), THE BOOK OF MORMON is a truly brilliant creation of musical comedy, combining shamelessly offensive language with a generous heartfelt story, uplifting songs, terrific choreography, and quick wit. Continuous tornado sirens on opening press night didn't stop Ohioans from cramming in the Ohio Theatre to worship this truly amazing production.

It's difficult to argue with anyone who says that Providence Performing Arts Center has had a spectacular season. You'd be hard pressed to find such an impressive collection of musical productions brought together during a single season anywhere. Of course, this is just what organizations like PPAC do, they put together impressive seasons filled with stunning theatrical spectacles, from newer shows, like Once and Ghost: The Musical, to all-time Broadway favorites like Phantom of the Opera and Man of La Mancha. The season ends on another high note with one last smash hit Broadway musical, both critically acclaimed and a fan-favorite, The Book of Mormon.

Washington theatre celebrated its highest honors for achievement at the 30th Annual Helen Hayes Awards tonight, April 21, 2014 at the National Building Museum. Scroll down for the full list of winners!

This tour is quite well done, with strong vocals for the leads. Evans nails 'I Believe' and Ncube shows a lovely soprano in her national tour debut. O'Neill, making his professional debut, shows solid comic ability as the awkward Cunningham

The Arches has announced the programme for the 2014 Behaviour Festival.

So, after trashing Mormonism, and by implication most other faiths (since most have foundational myths about as likely-sounding as the LDS ones, and taboos that are no less but also no more sensible than those which restrain the Mormons), there are two natural places to end up. One would be in some kind of existential humanism, the other in some kind of existential despair. But the creators don't want to go either place. So they have to fudge it, with a huge spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down and a philosophically confused but dramatically permissible twist. There is some kind of reason for the whole cast and the audience to be exultant at the end.

Rehearsals begin tomorrow, February 11, 2014, for Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's 'Harmony,' A New Musical, which opens March 12, 2014, at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and plays through April 13. (Previews begin March 4.)