Jonathan Larson News

Ghostlight Records will release the Original Cast Recording of the musical, DOGFIGHT later this spring. The show - which debuted Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre last year - features music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (A Christmas Story), a book by Peter Duchan (IFC Films' Breaking Upwards) and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Wicked, Glengarry Glen Ross).

One month ago, 35 gifted lyricists, composers and librettists took up residency at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, CT for the first ever Johnny Mercer Writers Colony to participate in an environment of discovery and inspiration. Working in teams and housed in specially constructed quintessential New England two story cottages each equipped with a piano, the teams worked on over 30 musicals during the course of the month. On Saturday February 16, the residency program concluded with a Salon as had been done each week featuring a sparkling sampler of new musicals that were worked on throughout the month. Scroll below for photos from the event!

Prospect Theater Company will present a developmental reading of TAMAR OF THE RIVER, a new music theater work with music and book by Marisa Michelson and book and lyrics by Joshua H. Cohen. The reading will be directed by Daniel Goldstein.

Via email, Nikki Snelson, the Broadway actress, dancer, and choreographer arguably best known for her role as fitness queen Brooke Wyndham in the screen-to-stage adaptation of "Legally Blonde," has confirmed with BroadwayWorld that she will indeed travel to Manila, Philippines to hold a weekend of jazz class, singing/acting master class from Saturday, March 9 to Sunday, March 10.

Prospect Theater Company will present a developmental reading of TAMAR OF THE RIVER, a new music theater work with music and book by Marisa Michelson and book and lyrics by Joshua H. Cohen. The reading will be directed by Daniel Goldstein.

Bay Area Cabaret presents the Bay Area concert debut of Britain's dazzling Elaine Paige. Dubbed 'The First Lady of Musical Theatre,' Ms. Paige will perform an evening of the career-defining showstoppers that earned her a place among Broadway and the West End's most treasured performers.

The American Theatre Wing announced today that the recipients of the 2013 Jonathan Larson Grants are writing team Joshua Salzman (music) & Ryan Cunningham (book and lyrics); and Kamala Sankaram. The prestigious grants, totaling $10,000, will be presented on Sunday, March 24, 2013 at a private event at the WNYC Greene Space. The event will feature special performances of the recipients' work.

Ocean State Theatre Company (OSTC), the not-for-profit which brought new life to the historic Theatre By The Sea for the past five years, continues their Inaugural Season with Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking musical, RENT, which opens in previews on Wednesday, February 20.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo have announced that performances begin tonight for the New York premiere of Belleville, written by Amy Herzog and directed by Anne Kauffman, at NYTW, 79 East 4 Street, between Bowery and Second Avenue. Opening night is set for Sunday, March 3 at 7pm. Belleville is scheduled to run through Sunday, March 31.

The winners of the 2013 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater were announced today by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which administers the Rodgers Awards. The winning musicals are: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy, and The Kid Who Would Be Pope by Tom and Jack Megan. Both shows were awarded studio productions.

24-year-old performer Margot Bingham currently stars as the female lead in the hit web series In Between Men. In Between Men examines the lives of the four young men and one woman from different walks of life and of differing sexualities, who do not fit into the lives and perceptions expected of them in New York City. The web series became a major hit in its first season with over 2 million viewers in 150 countries. The much anticipated Season 2 premiere debuts today, February 12th, 2013 worldwide.

CAP21 will augment its 20th Anniversary Season with the addition of F#%king Up Everything, the award-winning rock musical comedy opening Off-Broadway.

New Georges (Susan Bernfield, Producing Artistic Director; Sarah Cameron Sunde, Deputy Artistic Director; Jaynie Saunders Tiller, Managing Director) will present the World Premiere of Lynn Rosen's (Apple Cove with Women's Project) GOLDOR $ MYTHYKA: A HERO IS BORN directed by Shana Gold (Food and Fadwa with New York Theatre Workshop) April 3-27 at The New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington). Casting will be announced on Friday, February 22. Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 1.

Libra Theater Company presents Songs You Should Know, A Concert of New Music from Great Writers, including new and rarely performed songs. Hosted by John Early, the concert is set for tonight, February 11th, 2013 at 9:30 pm (Doors open at 9:00 pm) at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd Street.

Strand Theater Company joins forces with StillPointe Theater Initiative to co-produce The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin - an Obie Award-Winning, autobiographical, 'smartly sweet' musical about a woman named Bubbly learning to embrace her color, as she pursues a dream of becoming the greatest dancing star in the world. Directed by Ryan Haase. The production will begin with Previews tonight, February 8-14, will officially open on February 15, and run through February 23.

Libra Theater Company presents Songs You Should Know, A Concert of New Music from Great Writers, including new and rarely performed songs. Hosted by John Early, the concert is set for Monday, February 11th, 2013 at 9:30 pm (Doors open at 9:00 pm) at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd Street.

It's been said that an artist's primary goal is to create something unique and specific that is at the same time universally identifiable. As a performer, Anthony Rapp has been doing just that since the age of 9, most notably as Mark Cohen in the hit musical "Rent". Now, Rapp has added author to his list of artistic credits and the results are simultaneously unique and universal.

The CAP21 Theatre Company will kick off its 20th Anniversary Season tonight, February 4th with the opening of Unfinished Business starring Karen Mason (Wonderland, Mamma Mia!).

Today, February 3 at 5 p.m., in the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, Carnegie Hall gives Broadway fans the exclusive opportunity to sing along with the brightest stars of today at a FREE Community Sing presented by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. Mandy Gonzalez, Rachel Potter, Caesar Samayoa, and many more join Leslie Stifelman, musical director and conductor of Chicago: The Musical, and host Thomas Cabaniss in guiding the audience through the show-stopping, electrifying numbers of your most beloved Broadway musicals including Hair, West Side Story, Rent, and LES MISERABLES.

The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team for the world premiere of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, a new musical comedy with book by Robert L. Freedman, music by Steven Lutvak and lyrics by Freedman and Lutvak. Former Old Globe Co-Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak returns to the Globe to direct the production. Based on the novel Israel Rank by Roy Horniman, the musical also features choreography by Peggy Hickey. A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder will run March 8 - April 14, 2013 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run March 8 - March 12. Opening night is Wednesday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m. A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is a co-production with Hartford Stage. Single tickets go on sale Sunday, Feb. 3 at 12 noon. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.