Kevin Thomas Garcia News

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: MATILDA gets a cast album, ONCE performs outside, MENAGERIE meets the press and so much more!

ONCE, the Tony and Grammy Award winning Best New Musical, in in the midst of 'ONCE WEEK', during which the show is having a lottery to distribute 20 free tickets per performance. Fans are invited to come to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street) for free events, prizes and a chance to win FREE tickets to the show. To celebrate the show's dedicated fans, the cast gave a special performance outside of the theatre yesterday and you can check out photos below!

Just yesterday, Cuba Gooding Jr. was joined by Sardi's president Max Klimavicius and cast members of Broadway's TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL to unveil his Sardi's caricature. BroadwayWorld was there for the special event and you can check out complete photo coverage below!

The producers of the Tony Award-winning Matilda The Musical announced last week that the original Broadway cast recording will be produced by Michael Croiter and Christopher Nightingale for Broadway Records/Yellow Sound Label and will be released digitally and be available at the Shubert Theatre beginning Friday, September 27, 2013. The CD will be available in stores on Tuesday, October 22, 2013. The album can be pre-ordered at www.BroadwayRecords.com. Amazon.com pre-order coming very soon. The cast was in the recording studio earlier today and you can check out photos from the special day below!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST takes a bow in the Park, The Matilda's have a Potter experience, FIRST DATE hits the recording studio and so much more!

Spider-Man from Broadway's high flying spectacular SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark, along with 'Trading Spaces' and Broadway star Paige Davis (currently starring as Roxie Hart in Chicago), and countless volunteers organized and stuffed backpacks at Volunteers of America (VOA) Greater New York's Operation Backpack 'Sort Day' yesterday. For more information or to donate, visit www.OperationBackpackNYC.org. Check out photos from the special event below!

Atlantic Theater Company welcomes Robert Beitzel, Halley Feiffer, Susan Pourfar and Tony Award nominee Deborah Rush to star in the world premiere production of Academy Award winner Ethan Coen's first full length play WOMEN OR NOTHING, staged by acclaimed director David Cromer. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast in rehearsal below!

XL Nightclub has officially taken over Musical Mondays, which have been renamed as Monday Musicals, and kicked off with an exciting lineup of special events beginning with a performance by Tony Award winning Kinky Boots star Billy Porter who helped launch the series last night. BroadwayWorld was there for the first night and you can check out photo coverage below!

The actress joins Matt Dillon, Carla Gugino, and Melisa Leo for the new event series, slated for a premiere in 2014. Based on the best-selling novel 'Pines' by Blake Crouch and brought to life by suspenseful storyteller M. Night Shyamalan ('The Sixth Sense,' 'Signs'), WAYWARD PINES is the intense new mind-bending event thriller evocative of the classic cult hit 'Twin Peaks.'

Deborah Warner, director of the Met's season-opening new production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, will be unable to direct her staging at the Met due to an unexpected surgical procedure and the anticipated recovery time.

The Fab Four hit Broadway this summer in Let It Be, a spectacular concert experience direct from London's West End, where it continues its celebrated open-ended run, featuring 40 of The Beatles' greatest hits. Born as a West End production to celebrate the legendary band's 50th anniversary, Let It Be uses state-of-the-art projection technology and 3D sound to put audiences at the heart of The Beatles' meteoric rise from their humble beginnings in Liverpool's Cavern Club, through the heights of Beatlemania, to their later studio masterpieces with live performances of songs including 'Twist and Shout,' 'She Loves You' and 'Drive My Car,' 'Yesterday,' 'Hey Jude,' 'Come Together' and, of course, 'Let It Be.' LET IT BE began previews Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at Broadway's St. James Theatre and opened last night, July 24th. The show will play a limited engagement through December 29, 2013. BroadwayWorld was there for the big opening and you can check out complete photo coverage below!

The concert that was held on Saturday, July 13th, in the auditorium of Lower Cape May Regional High School, in Cape May, NJ, began as a tribute to a beloved English teacher, Paul Mathis, and, sadly, wound up as a memorial concert as Paul passed away before the event was held.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: BROADWAY BARES is back, TKTS celebrates 40 years, Willy Wonka gets a West End debut, and so much more!

Today marks the debut of The Ensemblist, a new audio podcast for those curious about how Broadway really works. Interviewing musical theatre's unsung heroes, the podcast explores the unique aspects of these performers' lives, both on and off the stage.

BROADWAY BARES 23: UNITED STRIPS OF AMERICA, a randy road trip of modern-day burlesque featuring 220 of New York's sexiest dancers, raised an all-time record high for the fourth year in a row on Sunday, hitting $1,430,241 to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you an extend look at what went on inside this year's event!

The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) is pleased to announce the VIP presenters for the 34th annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards, to be held Monday, June 24 at 7pm at St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts' (StLC) Bluma Appel Theatre and which will also be live-streamed to the TicketPro Doratron in the StLC's Jane Mallett Theatre due to popular demand.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Broadway celebrates its biggest night, the Public brings back PENZANCE, CINDERELLA gets a cast album and so much more!

The third annual "Night of A Thousand Judys" - presented by The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre - has added Maude Maggart (Entertainment Weekly's "Must List"), Tituss Burgess ("30 Rock," Jersey Boys), Rachel Shukert (Starstruck), John Early ("30 Rock") and Becca Blackwell (Untitled Feminist Show) to the lineup of talent for the show on Monday, June 17. The Pride concert to benefit The Ali Forney Center will take place at Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Center (129 West 67th Street in New York). "Night of A Thousand Judys" will honor the legendary singer and actress Judy Garland with special skits, tributes and songs from her storied career. There will be a pre-show VIP reception at 6:30 PM and the show at 8:00 PM. The show is written and hosted by Justin Sayre and Lance Horneserves as music director, with choreography by Jason Wise and costumes by Sean Barrett.

In an interview with USA Today, KINKY BOOTS composer and lyricist Cyndi Lauper revealed that she intends to write another musical eventually. The recent Tony Award winner shared that she 'would love to work with Harvey' [Boots' librettist Fierstein] again.'

The cast and creative team of Matilda continued celebrating their four Tony wins last night after the ceremony at Radio City Music Hall and BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside the exclusive party below!