Alex Boniello has officially joined the cast of Dear Evan Hansen as Connor Murphy! In honor of his first performance last night, a video was released of himself and current Evan Hansen, Taylor Trensch, performing Disappear. Check out the video below!
As the UK premiere of Spamilton: An American Parody goes on sale to the public, the Menier Chocolate Factory announce a brand new pricing policy across the season - tickets will be available for all performances of Spamilton, and The Gronholm Method from just £19.50. These tickets go on sale at 9am on 16 May, and are available to everyone to enable work at the company's home to be accessible to all.
The DC theatre community hurried along the waterfront on Monday night, attempting to beat the looming, black storm clouds that threatened, but this could not dampen the vibrant crowds as they entered the recently opened Anthem for this year's Helen Hayes Awards. This stunning, modern space will be greeting the likes of Belle & Sebastian, Janelle Monae, and Nine Inch Nails in the coming months, and on this evening, theatre creative showed off their finest.
The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) will begin previews for the 2018 Free Shakespeare in the Park production of OTHELLO beginning Tuesday, May 29 at the Delacorte Theater, continuing a 57-year tradition of free theater in Central Park. Directed by Tony Award winnerRuben Santiago-Hudson, OTHELLO will officially open on Monday, June 18 and will run through Sunday, June 24.
For three years, I have obsessed over the Original Broadway Cast Album of Lin-Manuel Miranda's ingeniously constructed, powerfully-rendered musical masterpiece HAMILTON, mostly because it just wasn't possible for me to see the show at its home at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. Fast forward to Fall of 2017 and the show finally makes its long stop in Los Angeles. I snagged a ticket and it was transcendent. Fast forward again to now May 2018, and the show's second national tour has finally arrived in my back yard at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa for a three-week run through May 27. This production not only successfully reignited my love for this show, but it has also promptly solidified it as, in my humble opinion, one of the best musicals of all time. Apart from being one of the most undeniably creative stage shows ever produced for the American theater, HAMILTON is also one of the most deeply moving and shrewdly intelligent stage musicals I have ever experienced---made even better thanks to an insanely talented ensemble cast that raps, sings, and acts their way into this gripping, very American story.
All that hype? Completely justified.
This evening, the 34th Annual Helen Hayes Awards celebrated Washington's diverse and vital theatre community with a gala event at The Anthem, recognizing 258 Helen Hayes Award nominees and 48 award recipients drawn from 202 eligible productions presented at 64 theatres in 2017. GALA Hispanic Theatre's Spanish-language production of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes' In The Heights received nine awards, putting them at the top of a list of 20 theatres receiving Helen Hayes Awards this year.
Ghostlight Records has announced it will record the New York City Center production of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical Brigadoon, for a new cast recording to be released this fall. Brigadoon has book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Starring Kelli O'Hara, Patrick Wilson and Stephanie J. Block, the show features The Encores! Orchestra, led by Music Director Rob Berman. The cast headed into the recording studio this week. Check out some shots below of the making of the Brigadoon cast recording!
Heralded costume designer Paul Tazewell told the Class of 2018 at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) to embrace their role as pioneers. Tazewell, a 1986 graduate of the School of Design and Production who won a Tony Award in 2016 for the costumes he designed for the Broadway smash 'Hamilton,' spoke May 5 to the largest graduating class in the history of UNCSA.
Mike Faist's final performance in Dear Evan Hansen will be Sunday, May 13. Alex Boniello will join the company as Connor Murphy beginning Today, May 15. Additionally, Will Roland will play his final performance as Jared Kleinman on Sunday, June 10. It has yet to be announced who will take over as Jared.
GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has announced it will record the New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, New York City Center President & CEO) production of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical Brigadoon, for a new cast recording to be released this fall. Brigadoon has book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Starring Kelli O'Hara, Patrick Wilson and Stephanie J. Block, the show features The Encores! Orchestra, led by Music Director Rob Berman. The Annual Gala Production was directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, with Jack Viertel serving as artistic advisor. The album is being produced by Kurt Deutsch, Lawrence Manchester, Rob Berman and Emily Altman.
The Hackensack Main Street Business Alliance and the City of Hackensack will soon be welcoming another big name - Broadway and television star Mandy Gonzalez - to the Hackensack Performing Arts Center (HACPAC) stage on Saturday, June 2, as part of its PAC the House series.
Watch below as he is joined by his cast mates and fellow Tony nominees Lindsay Mendez and Alexander Gemignani for a very bluegrass rendition of 'Mr. Snow.'
Azuka Theatre ends the 2017-2018 season with the world premiere of Mrs. Harrison, by R. Eric Thomas, from May 2 to20, 2018. Mrs.Harrison is the third and final show of the season that celebrated Azuka's commitment to notable Philadelphia playwrights and unique Philadelphia voices. Producing Artistic Director Kevin Glaccum directs this suspenseful dark comedy and drama about two women, one story and their very different memories about their relationship in college. The show runs through May 20, 2018, for a total of 18 performances. All performances will take place at the Louis Bluver Theatre at The Drake, 302 S. Hicks Street. Tickets for shows this season are Pay What You Decide, whereas audience members see a show first, and pay what they decide after the performance. For reservations, visit azukatheatre.org. This production is produced with support from Honorary Producers Robin and Patrick Tracy.
Backstage at the Geffen, the Geffen Playhouse's annual fundraiser event, has launched its online auction featuring luxury vacations, one-of-a-kind artwork and VIP experiences. Proceeds will benefit the Geffen's mission to produce original, quality work and raises funds for its award-winning education and community engagement programs, which bring live theater to more than 15,000 disadvantaged youth, seniors and veterans annually.
Multiple award-winning actor, playwright, composer and lifelong 'DuckTales' aficionado Lin-Manuel Miranda makes his debut as Gizmoduck (aka Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera) in a new 'DuckTales' episode, premiering FRIDAY, MAY 11 (8:00 p.m., EDT/PDT) on Disney Channel and DisneyNOW, as part of the inaugural 'Duck Week.'
According to Variety, Sam Rockwell and Chance the Rapper have signed on for the voice cast of DreamWorks Animation's "Trolls 2," joining Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake.
HAMILTON producer Jeffrey Seller announced that a new block of tickets for the Broadway production will be made available through Ticketmaster Verified Fan. Tickets will go on sale Friday, May 18 at 10AM ET.
#EduHam is a series of HAMILTON Wednesday matinees made available to New York City schools with a high concentration of students from low-income families for the ticket price of only $10. This educational partnership, made possible through a $1.46 million grant by The Rockefeller Foundation, is not only providing 20,000 NYC public school students with the opportunity to see HAMILTON on Broadway, but provides educational material by Gilder Lehrman to incorporate material from the musical into the American History curriculum.
Check out photos from the latest #EduHam below!