Laurence Olivier News

Back by magical demand, POTTED POTTER: The Unauthorized Harry Experience (A Parody by Dan and Jeff) returns to Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati City from Tuesday, September 30, to Sunday, October 5! And before opening night, #pottedpottermnl and BroadwayWorld.com (BWW) are hosting a trivia challenge, where a you can win a pair of tickets to the show on Friday, October 3, at 5 p.m.

Back by magical demand, POTTED POTTER: The Unauthorized Harry Experience (A Parody by Dan and Jeff) returns to Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati City from Tuesday, September 30 to Sunday, October 5! And before opening night, #pottedpottermnl and BroadwayWorld.com (BWW) are hosting a trivia challenge, where a you can win a pair of tickets to the show on Friday, October 3, at 5 p.m.

Following its Edinburgh Fringe sell out success, Kingmaker comes to St James' Theatre this September for a strictly limited run.

Following the Paris World Premiere season in 2013, and special performances celebrating Vivien Leigh's 100th anniversary, Donald Macdonald's new VIVIEN: Letter to Larry plays Jermyn Street Theatre's inaugural Matinee Seasons, in Autumn 2014, starring Susie Lindeman. The show runs 29 September - 5 November 2014 at Jermyn Street Theatre. Press performance October 1 2.30pm.

The UK and Ireland tour of SHREK THE MUSICAL® premiered Wednesday 30 July at the Grand Theatre in Leeds then launches in Bristol, Nottingham, Belfast, Dublin, Oxford, Manchester, Aberdeen, Canterbury, Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow, Sheffield, Norwich, Southampton, Plymouth and Milton Keynes with further venues still to be announced. Check out a first look at the brand new trailer below!

The Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Roald Dahl's MATILDA the musical will hold a special Gala performance in aid of BBC Children in Need on Tuesday 4 November 2014. The evening will be hosted by BBC Radio 2's Sir Terry Wogan with a special appearance from the charity's mascot, Pudsey. BBC Radio 2 presenters and celebrities will be in attendance alongside members of the public. At least 50% of the proceeds from this performance will benefit the BBC Children in Need Appeal, and its work with disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

After two successful shows in the winter, Patty & Emily are bringing their special brand of fangirl enthusiasm to The Laurie Beechman! Join in the obsessive Broadway chat with this late night talk show. Patty & Emily, along with their music director Jeremy Robin Lyons, will welcome Broadway guests Lesli Margherita, Alexis Fishman, and more for performances and interviews, all the while gushing over them embarrassingly. There will be gasping, laughing, probably a lot of tears, and a whole lot of Broadway love.

Jamie Hendry Productions is delighted to announce the West End transfer of Chichester Festival Theatre's critically-acclaimed production of Neville's Island which will run at the Duke of York's Theatre from 10th October with opening night for press on 21st October 2014.

The Daily Mail reports that star Alan Cox will travel with KINGMAKER when the play transfers from Edinburgh Fringe to the St. James Theatre Studio in London, beginning September 25, 2014.

Star Trek fans worldwide made their voices heard by donating over $650,000 on Kickstarter and through PayPal to finance the independent film Star Trek: Axanar (follow-up to the highly-successful - and Kickstarter-funded - short, Prelude to Axanar). The viral marketing campaign stands as a prime example of the power of grassroots social media efforts, and was capped by actor George Takei, Star Trek's original Sulu, taking to Facebook and Twitter to promote the project, boosting its final tally by 50-percent on its last day. Spearheaded by producer/writer Alec Peters and writer/director Christian Gossett, creator of the critically acclaimed graphic novel The Red Star, Star Trek: Axanar is the story of Captain Kirk's hero, Garth of Izar, a character only seen in one episode of the original Star Trek. Axanar focuses on Garth and his crew during the Four Years War with the Klingon Empire, twenty-one years before the original Star Trek - a war that almost tore apart the Federation and set the stage for Star Trek mythology as we know it. Peters, who wrote the original fan fiction twenty years ago, partnered with Gossett to turn the story into a screenplay worthy of inclusion in the Trek universe. The duo worked hard to show that Axanar would distinguish itself from other fan-based Star Trek productions by bringing in acting (and science fiction) legends Tony Todd, Kate Vernon, Richard Hatch, Gary Graham, and J.G. Hertzler to play the key roles, and an award-winning crew including Oscar-winning sound designer Frank Serafine (The Hunt for Red October), and makeup artist Kevin Haney (Driving Miss Daisy). They are complemented by visual-effects magician Tobias Richter, whose work has been used in the remastered Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-rays. 'There is no difference between this and any other terrifically managed and organized independent production I've ever been a part of - this is much better than almost all of them,' says actor J.G. Hertzler, who portrays Starfleet Admiral Samuel Travis. An initial successful Kickstarter campaign in March 2014 raised over $100,000 to produce Prelude to Axanar; a 20-minute short film modeled after the PBS documentaries of Ken Burns and the Sir Laurence Olivier-narrated The World at War. The short gives the viewer a look at the events leading up to the Battle of Axanar and presents both a historical and personal account of the war. In addition, it allowed the cast and crew to prove their ability to deliver a professional-quality Star Trek production. 'In twenty minutes, Prelude gave us new Star Trek characters and situations and proved that it was worthy of the name Star Trek,' said Robert Meyer-Burnett, award-winning writer and director of the film Free Enterprise and many other Star Trek productions. So what made this crowdfunding campaign so successful? 'The most important part was Prelude itself,' said Peters, 'because it gave us enormous credibility. Combine that with an amazingly-loyal and passionate group of donors from our first Kickstarter, who tirelessly evangelized for us, and the aid of the geek media, which got behind the project after seeing our first trailer, and there was no stopping the momentum we'd built up.' About Star Trek: Axanar Star Trek: Axanar is a not-for-profit film project produced by Axanar Productions, Inc. Axanar uses the intellectual property of CBS, Star Trek rights holder, under the provision that Axanar is completely non-commercial. Axanar is being funded entirely through donations from fans. In March 2014, the short film Prelude to Axanar executed a successful fundraiser that totaled over $100,000. Prelude was filmed in May and premiered during the San Diego Comic-Con on July 26, 2014, launching the feature-length film's Kickstarter campaign that raised over $650,000 on Kickstarter and PayPal. Axanar begins pre-production in September with production scheduled to begin early 2015. Additional information can be found at www.startrekaxanar.com. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTrekAxanar Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/194429923/star-trek-axanar Twitter: https://twitter.com/startrekaxanar Please note: STAR TREK and all related marks, logos and characters are owned by CBS Studios, Inc. This film, the promotion thereof and/or any exhibition of? material created by the filmmakers are not endorsed or sponsored by or affiliated with CBS/Paramount Pictures or the STAR TREK franchise.

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced additional casting for The Real Thing, starring Ewan McGregor as 'Henry,' Maggie Gyllenhaal as 'Annie,' Cynthia Nixon as 'Charlotte' and Josh Hamilton as 'Max.' Tom Stoppard's Tony Award-winning play The Real Thing, directed by Sam Gold begins preview performances on Thursday, October 2, 2014 and opens officially on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42ndStreet). This is a limited engagement. The cast also includes Alex Breaux as 'Brodie' and Madeline Weinstein as 'Debbie.' Final casting to be announced.

Houston Grand Opera's 2014–15 season, the company's 60th anniversary season, includes the world premiere of A Christmas Carol by Iain Bell—the company's 55th new commission —from award-winning Dickens authority Simon Callow; the continuation of HGO's first Ring cycle, with the American premiere of La Fura dels Baus's groundbreaking take on Die Walküre; the American premieres of Sir Nicholas Hytner's The Magic Flute and Lee Blakeley's Sweeney Todd; a 60th Anniversary Gala Concert featuring mezzo-soprano (and HGO Studio alumna) Joyce DiDonato; and a host of career-shaping role debuts that speak to Patrick Summers's gift for casting. Together with the company's first presentation of John Cox'sOtello, and the returns of Göran Järvefelt's beloved Così fan tutte and Michael Grandage's hit staging of Madame Butterfly, these rich offerings serve once again to illustrate some of the ways that HGO—still the only opera company with two Grammys, two Emmys, and a Tony—epitomizes “one model of what a forward-looking opera company could be” (Greg Sandow, Arts Journal).

In the coming months, Broadway will welcome a fresh crop of productions- many of which will mark the Broadway debuts for a slew of talented actors. Whether they are fresh faces or established stars, these Broadway babies will soon take their very first bows on the grandest stages in the world. Meet all of the Great White Way's newest stars below, and be sure to let us know who you're most looking forward to seeing onstage!

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents Isango Ensemble's The Magic Flute (Impempe Yomlingo), bringing thirty actors and musicians from South Africa to Chicago as part of CST's celebrated World's Stage Series. The Magic Flute reimagines Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's most beloved operatic work, incorporating African singing, pulsating beats and spirited storytelling into this 223-year-old classic. Based in Cape Town, the vibrant company of the Isango Ensemble unites the diverse nation of Africa by reinventing classics from the Western theater canon within a South African setting. Adapted and directed by Isango co-founder Mark Dornford-May, The Magic Flute took London by storm, garnering London's prestigious Laurence Olivier Award. The production will be performed at Skyline Stage on Navy Pier (next door to CST) for a limited engagement, September 25-28, 2014.

The Menier Chocolate Factory has announced that its upcoming season will include productions of ASSASSINS by Stephen Sondheim & John Weidman, BUYER AND CELLAR by Jonathan Tolins & starring Michael Urie, plus AN EVENING WITH JOAN PLOWRIGHT.

The world premiere of Alecky Blythe's new play inspired by the 2011 London riots, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins, LITTLE REVOLUTION, will play the Almeida Theatre. This is Alecky's first new London production after the success of London Road at the National Theatre.

Arden Theatre Company begins its 27th season of great stories with La Bete by David Hirson, under the direction of Emmanuelle Delpech. The production appears on the Arden's F. Otto Haas Stage from September 11 through October 12, 2014.

Film and stage legend and two-time Tony Award winner Lauren Bacall, passed away last week (first reported by TMZ) at the age of 89. The legendary actress suffered a massive stroke and died at home (New York City's famous Dakota Building) according to a family member. BroadwayWorld remembers the legend below.

There's a sad phenomenon that occurs when an artist shows extreme talent and brilliance in one artistic medium. We tend to reward that talent by unjustly pigeonholing that artist into that medium alone. Case in point: Chekhov. We revere the Russian artist as a playwright, but we forget that he wrote an abundance of short stories as well.

THE LION KING Broadway cast member ALTON FITZGERALD WHITE will play his 4,000th performance as Mufasa in the landmark musical event this Saturday evening, August 23rd, 2014. White originated the role of Mufasa in the US touring production in 2002 and in a sit-down Las Vegas production in 2009, in addition to leading the flagship Broadway company intermittently since.