Julius Thomas News

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, January 18, 2015 - Sunday, January 18, 2015.

The touring production of MOTOWN the Musical sent a special 'Happy Trails' to the Broadway Production of MOTOWN, closing today, Sunday Jan. 18. With direction and arrangement by Jesse Nager (Smokey Robinson) the video features Julius Thomas III (Berry Gordy), Allison Semmes (Diana Ross), Jarran Muse (Marvin Gaye), Krisha Mercano (Suzanne De Passe), and Rod Harrelson (dance captain), all of whom joined the tour from the Broadway company. The video also has appearances from the entire company currently in Philadelphia. Check it out below!

Any long-time theatregoer will have horror stories of audiences that got too enthusiastic at a show with well-known music, especially jukebox musicals made up of mostly pre-existing pop tunes. I've known people to hum or outright sing along, whoop, cheer and scream like they're at a concert, or even get up and dance in the aisles. At most shows, this behavior is frowned upon by other audience members, or suppressed by ushers. However, at 'Motown,' the Berry Gordy bio-musical, this engaged behavior is encouraged- hell, it's part of the show. You see, audiences at 'Motown' fill a triplicate role: first, the traditional audience at a play, watching the events unfold through the fourth wall; second, the (in-world) audience watching a Motown retrospective show; finally, the various real, historical audiences at performances by Motown artists, from Parisians getting to hear the first international performances by The Supremes, to a spontaneously integrated audience in the Deep South, at a Motown show interrupted by gunshots.

Producers Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris and Berry Gordy, and Hennepin Theatre Trust are proud to welcome Motown The Musical, tonight, December 16, through the 28th at Hennepin Theatre Trust's Orpheum Theatre (910 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis) as part of the 2014-2015 Thrivent Financial Broadway on Hennepin Season.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: POCATELLO opens off-Broadway, MR. MAGOO'S CHRISTMAS and 26 PEBBLES benefit good causes, and NOT THE MESSIAH begins tonight at Carnegie Hall!

Producers Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris and Berry Gordy have announced that MOTOWN THE MUSICAL original Broadway cast member Julius Thomas III will join the First National Tour for a limited engagement in the leading role of Berry Gordy on Friday, December 12.

The 2014 Broadway's Carols for a Cure, Volume 16 is on sale now! This 2-disc, annual CD of original and traditional holiday music features stars and casts from the current Broadway line-up, and benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA), one of the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. Broadway's Carols for a Cure, Volume 16 can be ordered for only $25 through BC/EFA at broadwaycares.org or by calling (212) 840-0770 x238 Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST. Volumes from previous seasons are available, too (check online or call for price). BroadwayWorld is excited to continue our exclusive photo coverage of the recording sessions for this year's album with the cast of Motown, who sing 'Another Christmas Eve' and 'I Am Here.' Check out photos of cast members Crystal Joy, Rebecca E. Covington, Dionne D. Figgins, Marva Hicks, Moeisha McGill and more below!

WITNESS UGANDA, created by Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews, which had its premiere at A.R.T. earlier this year under the direction of Diane Paulus, will receive an upcoming reading in New York City, produced by Kevin McCollum and Ashley Melone. Much of the cast from the reading is returning from the ART production.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Party Monster The Musical tonight, August 27th at 9:30pm. This one night only presentation, hosted by downtown superstar Leo Gugu (Stylist/Nightlife Personality), will showcase the worldwide premiere of select songs from Party Monster The Musical.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Party Monster The Musical on Wednesday, August 27th at 9:30pm. This one night only presentation, hosted by downtown superstar Leo Gugu (Stylist/Nightlife Personality), will showcase the worldwide premiere of select songs from Party Monster The Musical.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Party Monster The Musical on Wednesday, August 27th at 9:30pm.

A great, big Broadway season is on its way, with fourteen productions already slated to open in the next few months. With weeks until the craziness begins, there is still plenty of time to catch up on what's been going on at Broadway's already occupied theaters. BroadwayWorld will be profiling the hits of the Great White Way that continue to draw crowds after months, years, and (in some cases) decades. Meet the current cast of Broadway's MOTOWN below!

Below, check out the brand new commercial for Broadway's smash hit musical, MOTOWN THE MUSICAL.

Broadway's smash hit Motown the Musical just marked the production's 500th performance on Broadway last night, June 26 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. MOTOWN THE MUSICAL, featuring music and lyrics from the legendary Motown catalogue and a book by Berry Gordy, opened on Broadway on April 14th, 2013 at The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street). BroadwayWorld was there for the special celebration and you can check out photos below!

Broadway's smash hit Motown the Musical is thrilled to mark the production's 500th performance on Broadway today, June 26 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

Broadway's smash hit MOTOWN THE MUSICAL is thrilled to mark the production's 500th performance on Broadway on Thursday, June 26 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

The producers of MOTOWN THE MUSICAL have announced that Josh Tower (The Lion King, original cast of Ragtime) will assume the role of "Berry Gordy" beginning Today, June 17 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

The producers of MOTOWN THE MUSICAL have announced that Josh Tower (The Lion King, original cast of Ragtime) will assume the role of "Berry Gordy" beginning Tuesday, June 17 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL cast members Rebecca Covington, Marva Hicks, Crystal Joy, Mykal Kilgore, Julius Thomas III, and Donald Webber, Jr. will appear at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center this evening when the Visible Ink writing program holds its sixth annual staged reading of unforgettable, inspiring, and hilarious works by patients.