Jonathan Larson News

Laughter and tears, gossip and home-grown advice are as prevalent as hair rollers in Truvy's Beauty Salon, the setting of the heartwarming comedy-drama Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, playing at Bristol Riverside Theatre on March 20-April 8. Susan D. Atkinson directs an ensemble cast of BRT favorites including Jennie Eisenhower, Diane Findlay,Laura C. Giknis, Barbara McCulloh, Susan Moses, and Jo Twiss.

Henry and Mudge, Cynthia Rylant's best-selling children's series, comes to life as part of the Walnut Street Theatre for Kids Series! This heartwarming musical adaptation will charm your entire family on Saturday, February 4, with performances at 10:30am, 1pm and 3:30pm.

The Wagner College Theatre has named Karen L. Lewis, a multiple Emmy and Writers Guild award-winning television writer, the winner of the 2012 Stanley Drama Award for her play, "The Perfect Wife."

American Theater Company (ATC), together with About Face Theatre, announces its co-production of Jonathan Larson's Rent, directed by David Cromer.

As BroadwayWorld previously announced, Gerald Goehring, Michael F. Mitri and Dorothy Berloni are developing BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE, a new Broadway musical based on the popular 2000 novel by Kate DeCamillo. Casting for a developmental reading is currently underway and set to take place in early March. This is set to be followed by an out of town engagement and Broadway production, the timing of which will be confirmed at a later date.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) will conclude its 33rd season with the World Premiere of the new musical, DOGFIGHT, featuring music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, a book by Peter Duchan and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello. Winner of the prestigious 2011 Richards Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre, DOGFIGHT will be performed at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theatre (305 West 43rd street) this summer. Exact dates, casting, and complete creative team will be announced shortly. For more information, please visit www.2ST.com.

An award-winning musical, a Broadway superstar and a world premiere highlight Bristol Riverside Theatre's 25th Anniversary season featuring Barrymore by William Luce, Gypsy with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Arthur Laurents, A Raw Space by Jon Marans, Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, and Rent by Jonathan Larson.

4@15: Four New Fifteen-Minute Musicals, performed in conjunction with NYU Steinhardt, will commence performances this weekend, January 28 and 29, for five performances only.

Utilizing two different casts to tell a story spanning four decades, Triad Stage and NewBridge Bank present the entire New Music trilogy by Reynolds Price, directed by Preston Lane, in a two part extended run-Part I, comprised of the plays, August Snow and Night Dance, and Part II, the final play in the series, Better Days-produced together for only the second time since they were written.

The Department of Theatre at Barnard College has initiated a collaboration with the award-winning nonprofit company New Georges to launch "New Plays at Barnard," a program to showcase works by emerging playwrights.

4@15: Four New Fifteen-Minute Musicals, performed in conjunction with NYU Steinhardt, will commence performances this weekend, January 28 and 29, for five performances only.

Porchlight Music Theatre will present the Chicago premiere of John Bucchino and Harvey Fierstein's A Catered Affair, directed by Nick Bowling with music direction by Doug Peck, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.

Bristol Riverside Theatre kicks off the new year with the world premiere of A Raw Space by Jon Marans on January 31 - February 19. Directed by Susan Atkinson, the ensemble case features BRT's Artistic Director Keith Baker, Madi Distefano, Jack Koenig, and Anette Sanders.

Bristol Riverside Theatre has announced a banner year of unprecedented successes during its 25th Anniversary Season, with an enhanced season, a dramatic increase in subscription sales, and their highest grossing show to date.

Broadway veteran and last year's Tony Awards host Neil Patrick Harris recently spoke for TEDxBroadway on customer service with regards to theatre, talking about what's good, what needs work and even predicted where customer service might end up in twenty years. Hear what he had to say on the matter below!

NCTC will present the San Francisco Premiere of The Story of My Life by Brian Hill and Neil Bartram.

Libra Theater Company will present Songs You Should Know, a concert of new and rarely performed songs by some of today's most prolific music theater writers. Hosted by Jeremy Morse (Drama Desk nominee, Bloodsong of Love) and Jennifer Ashley Tepper (If It Only Even Runs a Minute), Songs You Should Know includes new work from Brad Alexander Sam Carner and Derek Gregor, Joshua H. Cohen and Lavell Blackwell, Bobby Cronin, Adam Gwon, Caleb Hoyer, Joe Iconis, Russ Kaplan and Sara Wordsworth, Pete Mills, and Will Reynolds. The concert will feature performances by Anne Bobby, Alex Brightman, Sarah Corey, Scott Coulter, Matt Dengler, Katrina Rose Dideriksen, J. Austin Eyer, Melanie Field, Blair Goldberg, Jessica Grove, F. Michael Haynie, Jeremy Jordan, MK Lawson, Kevin Michael Murphy, and Jason "SweetTooth" Williams.

The American Theatre Wing (Theodore S. Chapin, Chairman, Board of Trustees; Heather Hitchens, Executive Director) has relaunched its popular podcast series, Downstage Center, with an all new format.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus is excited to announce the launch of BARNUM BASH(SM), an all-new 45-city US tour. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents BARNUM BASH introduces the Ringling Bros.® Ringlettes, who are the stylish hosts of the swankiest circus party in town. The Ringlettes are ready to inviteChildren of All Ages® in on the hippest circus spectacular that The Greatest Show On Earth® has ever produced!

Today, as a special corollary column to this weekend's extensive InDepth InterView with Tony-nominated stage and screen star Constantine Maroulis, we are shining a special spotlight on his career trajectory as he has risen up through the ranks to become one of the most successful alumni of AMERICAN IDOL from humble beginnings in the non-Equity tour of RENT. Since that landmark Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, Constantine has carved out a unique niche in the Broadway landscape as one of most charismatic and compelling performers of rock-based musical theatre, who has also shown considerable skills tackling the more diverse scores of shows such as JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS, THE WEDDING SINGER, and, now, THE TOXIC AVENGER, co-composed by the Tony-winning team behind MEMPHIS comprised of Bon Jovi's David Bryan and Joe DiPietro. Of course, no Constantine-centric conversation would be complete without a thorough look at his unforgettable turn in the hit 80s rock jukebox musical ROCK OF AGES, the expanded film adaptation of which he will be taking to the big screen later this year. RENT to IDOL to TOXIC AVENGER and beyond, Constantine Maroulis is one of the brightest shining new Broadway stars of the 21st century and it will be a treat to see and hear TOXIC AVENGER as it sets its sights on the Great White Way.