Katie Finneran News

Lane talks about his return to Broadway's IT'S ONLY A PLAY and discussed some of the biggest Broadway flops he's been involved in, including the 1970's musical 'Merlin,' starring magician Doug Henning.

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: SMASH alumni star in SOMETHING ROTTEN!, beginning tonight, SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS opens at Ars Nova and more!

The Outer Critics Circle, the organization of writers covering New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers, national publications and other media beyond Broadway, has announced that multi-award-winning stars Raul Esparza and Katie Finneran will announce the nominees for the 2014-15 season on Monday April 20th (11 AM) at The Friars Club (57 East 55th Street- between Park and Madison Avenues.) Outer Critics Circle will post award nominations in 24 categories and are the first major Broadway/Off-Broadway award nominees of the New York theater season.

Producers Tom Kirdahy, Roy Furman, and Ken Davenport announced today that T.R. Knight, Emmy Award nominated actor, will join the cast of Broadway's smash hit comedy It's Only a Play in the role of 'Frank Finger' on March 31, 2015, on the same day that 2-time Tony Award winner Nathan Lane returns to the cast in the role of 'James Wicker', as previously announced. Both will continue with the production through its scheduled closing date of June 7, 2015.

On March 20th, Netflix audiences around the world will meet the Rayburns, a contemporary American family who are hard-working pillars of their Florida community.

Just last night, he New Group just honored Founding Artistic Director Scott Elliott and celebrated its 20th Anniversary season. Scott Elliott is an award-winning stage director, filmmaker and the founding Artistic Director of The New Group, where he recently directed the critically acclaimed revival of David Rabe's Sticks and Bones. At The New Group, he has directed world premieres by Thomas Bradshaw, Ayub Khan Din, Francine Volpe, Erika Sheffer and Tommy Nohilly; and the world premiere of the 2010 musical The Kid (Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical; Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Musical). Other credits include The New Group's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie starring Cynthia Nixon; David Rabe's Hurlyburly; and numerous collaborations with Ayub Khan Din, Wallace Shawn and Mike Leigh. Broadway credits include Present Laughter, Barefoot in the Park, The Threepenny Opera, The Women and Three Sisters. This spring at The New Group, he directs the world premiere of The Spoils, written by and featuring Jesse Eisenberg. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside the gala below!

Want to get a fabulous prize and help support women in theatre? Bidding is now open for the 2015 LPTW Annual Auction!

Roundabout Theatre Company presented its annual 2015 Spring Gala 'There is Nothing Like a Dame' last night, March 2, 2015 in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria (301 Park Avenue, NYC). The evening was a celebration of Oscar, Emmy, and Golden Globe winner Helen Mirren, who was presented with The Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre. The tribute featured appearances by Jennifer Garner & Alessandro Nivola and performances by Laura Benanti,Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Santino Fontana, Victor Garber, Donna Murphy, Kelli O'Hara, Alessandro Nivola,Laura Osnes and Betsy Wolfe.

Producers Tom Kirdahy, Roy Furman, and Ken Davenport announced today that Tony Award winner Nathan Lane will return to the Broadway's biggest hit comedy It's Only a Play in the role of James Wicker on March 31, 2015 and will continue with the production through its scheduled closing date of June 7, 2015. Lane departed It's Only A Play on January 4, 2015 due to a previously scheduled commitment with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) staging of The Iceman Cometh.

Tony and Emmy Award winner MARTIN SHORT sits down with Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan on today's 'LIVE with Kelly and Michael.'

On last night's TONIGHT SHOW, Jimmy and guest Martin Short get cards with random words, such as tetherball and Beer Nuts, and must work them into a casual conversation about Short's role in Broadway's IT'S ONLY A PLAY.

On Monday, March 16, 2015, the League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW), a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting visibility and increasing opportunities for women in the professional theatre, is pleased to recognize the talents of five outstanding women: Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Kathleen Chalfant, Sandra A. Daley-Sharif, Rachel Dickstein, and Donyale Werle.

Williamstown Theatre Festival just hosted its annual WTF Gala at City Winery in New York City (155 Varick Street) last night, February 9. The evening featured appearances and performances by Tony and Emmy Award-winner Martin Short, two-time Tony Award-winner and Williamstown veteran Katie Finneran, the acclaimed PigPen Theatre Co., up-and-coming singer/songwriter Benjamin Scheuer (The Lion), New York favorite Rebecca Naomi Jones and more. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside the special night below!

On his recent appearance on DAVID LETTERMAN, the funny man flew in a la Peter Pan above the studio audience while singing, 'Fly Me Through The Room'!

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: PHANTOM gets a new masked man, Williamstown Theatre Festival hosts its 2015 gala and more!

Williamstown Theatre Festival hosts its annual WTF Gala at City Winery in New York City (155 Varick Street) tonight, February 9, 2015 at 6:30 PM.

On Monday, February 9 2015, the Theater People Podcast welcomes Keala Settle, Tony nominee for HANDS ON A HARDBODY, currently starring as Madame Thenardier in the Broadway production of LES MISERABLES Keala shares stories from her three years on the road as Tracy Turnblad in the national tour of HAIRSPRAY, making her Broadway debut in PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT, how the HARDBODY Tony nomination changed her life, and how she won the role of Thenardier having never seen a single production of LES MIS. Keala also talks about the darker side of the business, the heartache of HANDS ON A HARDBODY being a a critical failure which resulted in a swift closure,how the HAIRSPRAY tour led to her decision to step away from acting, and her cherished time working as a stagehand while she tried to figure out if she should take another stab at performing.

Legendary comedian Martin Short stopped by this week's THE DAILY SHOW on Comedy Central to express his amazement at Katy Perry's Super Bowl halftime performance and discusses his memoir, 'I Must Say' as well as his starring role in Broadway's IT'S ONLY A PLAY.

IT'S ONLY A PLAY's Martin Short joined the hosts of ABC's THE VIEW yesterday to discuss taking over the lead role from Nathan Lane in the hit Broadway play.

According to Telecharge.com, Martin Short will only be continuing with the production through the original closing date of March 29th. He is also out of the show on Sunday, February 15. We'll have to see who steps up as Short's replacement come spring!