Laurence Olivier News

Attached and below please find the highly anticipated first look image of Scottish actor Sam Heughan in character as Jamie Fraser for STARZ and SONY PICTURE TELEVISION'S original series 'Outlander.'

No Strings Theatre Company presents 'Heroes' by Gerald Sibleyras, translated by Tom Stoppard and directed by Larry Chandler. 'Heroes' runs through Sunday, October 27 at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N Downtown Mall in Las Cruces. The play, which is hilarious and moving tells of 3 old men plotting their escape from an old soldiers' home and stars Doug Roby, Gorton Smith and Monte Wright.

Presenting one of the most popular ballets of all time, visionary director and acclaimed choreographer Matthew Bourne returns to New York with the completion of his Tchaikovsky ballet trilogy begun with NUTCRACKER! and continuing with his celebrated SWAN LAKE at City Center this month with the New York City bow of his newest theatrical venture, SLEEPING BEAUTY.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF is thrilled to present the epic theatrical event The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I and II. Written by David Edgar and adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens, the production is produced in Collaboration with Theatre UCF. Co-directed by Artistic Director Jim Helsinger and Theatre UCF Chair/Artistic Director Christopher Niess, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I & II is presented in rotating repertory from January 22 to March 9, 2014 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park. Tickets ($17-$40) are available by calling (407) 447-1700, online at http://orlandoshakes.org, or in person at 812 East Rollins St., Orlando, FL 32803. Dinner and hotel packages are also available at http://www.orlandoshakes.org/nickleby.

The Tempe return of Disney's THE LION KING opens tonight, October 24 at 7:30 p.m. at ASU Gammage for a limited engagement of four weeks through November 17. In Tempe, THE LION KING plays Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m., and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. "We are thrilled to have THE LION KING back in Tempe," said Colleen Jennings Roggensack, Executive Director of ASU Gammage. "There are still wonderful seats available, so be sure not to miss this show and create lasting memories with your family."

Garth Fagan's love of strong women is front and center in "No Evidence of Failure," which receives its world premiere when Garth Fagan Dance returns to The Joyce Theater, November 12-17. The two-program season also features the world premiere of "Gin," marking Norwood Pennewell's third work for the company. The season's revivals include Fagan's 1983 classic "Easter Freeway Processional" and "Senku," whose music will be played live by concert pianist William Chapman Nyaho. Also slated for Fagan's New York season are sections from last year's hit "Lighthouse/Lightning Rod," as well as Fagan's perennial opener "Prelude: Discipline is Freedom"

Disney's THE LION KING continues to reign across North America with a sold-out engagement in Dallas, which concluded on Sunday, October 20 at The Music Hall at Fair Park. The triumphant three-week return grossed over $4.9 million at the box office and entertained more than 79,000 patrons during 24 performances. The award-winning musical returned to Dallas following a six-week sold-out premiere in 2002 and a successful five-week return in 2007 at The Music Hall.

This Holiday Season, journey to North Carolina circa 1916 as a young man rises to fulfill his destiny to be 'somebody' . Based on Thomas Wolfe's autobiographical novel of the same name, Look Homeward, Angel examines the life of a young man growing up in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina during the early part of the 20th century. Brimming with fascinating and colorful characters, the play is funny, engaging, and ultimately poignant as our hero, Eugene, finds his way through love and loss.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) has just announced the full cast joining Golden Globe nominee Rebecca Hall as "Young Woman" in a new Broadway production of Machinal, by Sophie Treadwell, directed by Lyndsey Turner.

Today, October 22, 2013, marks the official 50th anniversary of the National Theatre of Great Britain. The National Theatre first opened its doors in 1963 at the Old Vic, under Laurence Olivier. 800 productions later, they are marking their half-century with a short season celebrating the remarkable people and plays that have made the NT one of the most cherished and creative of great British institutions.

Casting has been announced for the Los Angeles return engagement of Disney's THE LION KING. Los Angeles' most eagerly awaited stage production ever will leap onto the Hollywood Pantages stage from November 20, 2013 - January 12, 2014. The press opening night is Friday, November 22 at 8pm. The landmark musical will return to Los Angeles for the first time since its triumphant return engagement in November 2006, where the production played a sold-out run at Hollywood Pantages.

Below, Ball gives BroadwayWorld a special shoutout at the Spamalot press night!

West End veteran Michael Ball will be the next star to join the cast of SPAMALOT, beginning tonight at the Playhouse Theatre, as 'God' on screen. Past participants have included Hugh Bonneville, Bradley Walsh, Barbara Windsor, Simon Callow, Christopher Biggins, Michael Palin, Larry Lamb, and Brian May, who have taken part in the 'The Summer of Charity Spamalot Gods (in 2D).' All play 'God' on screen during Spamalot for a week at a time, with money being donated to their nominated charities.

To celebrate its 50th Anniversary, the National Theatre of Great Britain presents a once-in-a-lifetime performance, broadcast to cinemas around the world. Screening at Riverside Theatres on Saturday, 7 and Sunday 8 December, National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage will be a thrilling evening of live theatre.

Today we are talking to a three-time Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress who has made a major mark on the West End with her peerless string of richly varied performances - ranging from premiere UK productions of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE and PASSION to LADY IN THE DARK, RAGTIME and THE WOMAN IN WHITE, as well as her various solo engagements, who now also excels as a director of theatre and opera, as well - the gifted Maria Friedman. Discussing all aspects of the recent West End production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's anomalous musical experiment MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG - cited by the master himself as the best production of the show to date - and now the fantastic Fathom film presentation of it arriving in movie theaters nationwide (and around the world) on October 23. Detailing the finer points of the reverse-chronological tale of show business ambition and its effects on friendships and relationships, Friedman paints a vivid portrait of her process in bringing the emotionally bracing and musically thrilling stage show to the big screen byway of this passionately played, dramatically captivating and incredibly detailed film preservation. Additionally, Friedman also sheds some light on participating in the Haymarket Theatre production of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG herself as an actress nearly twenty years ago and the effect, if any, that experience has had on her perception of the dense and fiercely idiosyncratic musical now, as a director of the piece. Plus, Friedman also touches upon some of her most celebrated roles to date in other Sondheim shows as well as abundantly imparts her deeply held appreciation and affection for his work and personal friendship in her own life, citing his elemental influence on MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG as well as her career in general. All of that and much, much more awaits!

Roundabout Theatre Company presents The Winslow Boy, starring Tony nominee Michael Cumpsty as 'Desmond Curry', Academy & Tony Award nominee Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as 'Grace Winslow', Alessandro Nivola as 'Sir Robert Morton' and Tony Award winner Roger Rees as 'Arthur Winslow'.

Theatre Exile opens their 2013/14 season with the Philadelphia premiere of Cock, the Laurence Olivier Award-winning play by British playwright Mike Bartlett. Directed by Exile's Producing Artistic Director Deborah Block and starring Wes Haskell with John Jarboe, Mary Tuomanen and Benjamin Lovell, Cock runs tonight, October 17 - November 10. The play unfolds on an intimate, bare bones stage that removes the boundaries between actors and audience at Studio X in South Philadelphia.

The Phoenix, the new theatre company founded by long-time PICT artistic director and founder Andrew Paul and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre founder and former director of theatre initiatives at the August Wilson Center, Mark Clayton Southers, will debut with a four week run of Joe Penhall's provocative, caustically funny, Olivier Award-winning play Blue/Orange. The production will star acclaimed actors David Whalen, Sam Tsoutsouvas, and newcomer Rico Parker, with direction by Andrew Paul and scenic design by Mark Clayton Southers. Blue/Orange, sponsored by founding Phoenix Board Member and noted arts philanthropist Richard E. Rauh, plays November 1-23, 2013 at the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, 937 Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, this month, Disney's THE LION KING will become the first Broadway show to reach $1 billion in cumulative gross

Chicago Shakespeare Theater kicks off this season'sWorld's Stage Series with Blind Summit's The Table, a production from the United Kingdom, which launches its first United States tour Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare for a limited two-week engagement, tonight, October 16 to 27, 2013.