Laurie Beechman News

Cast members from A Bronx Tale boogied on down to Broadway Sessions on a recent Thursday night. Stars Ariana DeBose, Bradley Gibson, Christiani Pitts and Kirstin Tucker gave us some insight into the kind of talent that keeps the box office burning up over on Belmont Avenue. Cast members tested their Alan Menken musical knowledge and even got our audience up and dancing Bronx Tale-style. The evening also featured performances by Broadway vet JR Bruno and vocalist Lillian Andrea de Leon. Check out highlights here.

This Thursday night, May 4th, Broadway Sessions welcomes the '17 graduating Music Dance Theatre class from BYU alongside Broadway alumni.

Join the lovely and talented - and completely off-her-rocker, but in a completely entertaining and intriguing way - Sara Kistner as she takes you backstage, onstage, offstage and beyond with the cast and crew of The Larry Keeton Theatre's Daddy's Dyin'…Who's Got the Effin' Will? today as part of her Takeover of @BWW_Nashville Twitter. As we understand it, there's a dream ballet sequence that cannot be missed!

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! This morning (which according to our watch is Friday, April 28) we come to you to pose this musical question: What have they done to poor Heather Morris on Dancing With the Stars? Seriously, what did they do? We don't watch that show but have picked up some rumblings on the mean streets of Music City that intrigue is afoot among the over-teased and body-glittered cast of the ABC Monday night juggernaut - please fill us in, theaterati. Inquiring minds want to know.

The Takeover of @BWW_Nashville's Twitter account continues unabated. Today, Matthew Hayes Hunter, the 2012 First Night Most Promising Actor who tonight takes to the stage of Murfreesboro's Center for the Arts to play Seymour Krelbourn, the geeky shopboy who brings the monstrous Audrey II to life in the musical Little Shop of Horrors, wrests control from Lipscomb University's Hunter Martin who kept things moving on Thursday in anticipation of LU's Senior Theatre Showcase on Saturday.

The talent floodgates have opened and the streets are drenched in the promise of stars to be… I'm speaking of course, about "Showcase"Season." That special time of year when the college kids with stars in their eyes make the transition to "just plain" star and strut their stuff in the big apple. We netted star-making Baldwin Wallace to strut their stuff at Sessions recently. The '17 grads shone brightly alongside BW alum pro's Patty Lohr (Kinky Boots), Zach Adkins (Anastasia) and super star Ciara Renee. Enjoy highlights here… and you may just want to jot down a few names. You know you'll need to know 'em.

NYSP Presents, in conjunction with the University of California, Irvine, will commence performances of EXCUSE ME! on Saturday, April 22, and Monday, April 24, at The Playroom Theatre. Lex Leigh serves as Music Director. Myrona DeLaney directs.

This Thursday night, April 20th, Broadway Sessions welcomes cast members from A Bronx Tale and more.

Statistically speaking, it's safe to say that just about every Broadway show boasts cast members who graduated from Cincinnati University- College Conservatory of Music, or CCM. The school's legacy is woven deep into the fabric of the Broadway community. We took some time to shine a light on that legacy at Broadway Sessions recently. The '17 graduating class took the stage alongside alumni Jessica Hendy (Cats), Julian R. Decker (Sunset Boulevard), Sean Montgomery (Groundhog Day), Christine Cornish Smith (Cats) and Josh Daniel (Book of Mormon. Enjoy highlights here.

Like You Like It RADcording cast members Nick Cearley ('The Skivvies,' Pageant), and Lesli Margherita (Matilda) will appear at The Drama Book Shop along with authors Daniel S. Acquisto and Sammy Buck for a book & CD signing celebrating Shakespeare's birthday. Friday, April 21st, 5:00pm event is free to the public. Copies of the script, published by Playscripts, Inc., and the CD, from Broadway Records, will be available for purchase.

'Raunchy Romeo of Burlesque' Chris Harder presents the latest installment of his drag and burlesque series at the Laurie Beechman Theater!

Robin's Nest Creator and Host, Robin Westle, is pleased to announce the the 10th edition of Robin's Nest, starring Broadway's Mandy Gonzalez, best known for her current role as 'Angelica Schuyler' in the smash hit,  Hamilton.

It's been said that you gotta have heart to move to The Big Apple and pursue your dreams on the Great White Way, and boy do these graduates of The Hartt School have it. See what we did there? We heartily welcomed the 2017 graduating class to New York alongside headliners and notable Hartt School alums, Kevin Duda, Douglas Lyons and Anthony Fett! We also had a special guest appearance from West End star, Jason Denton and rising star Amanda Nelson! Watching these grads take the stage at Broadway Sessions really warmed our hearts (ok we'll stop with the heart/Hartt jokes now.) Check it out now!

Following last year's hit debut season, BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you a brand new season of Turning the Tables! Featuring Ellyn Marie Marsh, Andrew Briedis, Andrew Chappelle, Julia Mattison, and created by Marsh, Turning the Tables caught fire in 2016 with a season devoted to Broadway's hottest casting directors getting the tables turned on them by the actors. The improv based series featured your favorite casting directors such as Rachel Hoffman, Bernie Telsey and Tara Rubin. Season two will feature a brand-new and unique take on the popular niche web series.

This Thursday night, April 13th, BROADWAY SESSIONS welcomes alum and '17 graduating class from Baldwin Wallace University.

Andrew Lloyd Webber was backstage today at the Olivier Awards and talked about JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, and his hopes for what we'll next see of the show that's about to celebrate its 50th Anniversary.

With a regal violet gown covered in jewels for days and a mile-high bouffant that would leave Priscilla Presley gagging, Latrice Royale ambled up to the stage of the Laurie Beechman Theatre. When her hair, teased to the gods, soon brushed against the ceiling, she said, with a cackle, "My hair's too high, and I'm not." But, as the title of the show says, LIFE GOES ON, and so did Royale.

Broadway singer and actress D'Vorah Bailey returns with her solo cabaret show, Wishful Thinking, at The Metropolitan Room on Saturday, April 29 at 7:00 pm.

The Laurie Beechman Theatre is proud to announce the return of The Fabulous Equinox Orchestra, the most unconventional soulful Southern big band you'll ever love.

Milford Arts Council and Pantochino Productions present A Nite Spot Nights concert with RAISSA KATONA BENNETT & KENNETH GARTMAN in 'WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD' on Saturday, May 13th at 8 pm at the Milford Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Avenue, Milford, CT.