Lynn Ahrens News

The Pepperdine University Fine Arts Division announces several music and theatre performances, listed below, during the months of September through December 2019.

Pittsburgh CLO proudly welcomes two Tony Award-winning shows direct from Broadway, starting with THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL, the bold, original smash hit The New York Times declares, a?oeBRILLIANT!a?? Second up is the stunning ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, a visionary tale about a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world. Winner of the 2018 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND features choreography by Camille A. Brown (Pittsburgh CLO's ONCE) and book/lyrics from Lynn Ahrens and CLO alum, Stephen Flaherty. ONCE ON THIS ISLAND is a timeless testament to theater's unlimited possibilities.

For RAGTIME, director Mark Edward Smith and his crew have crafted one of the most appealing and stately sets I've seen at the Garden Theatre. The blocking is clever and thoughtful - important when you have a big ensemble cast on a small stage - and the lighting and costumes are on point. The vaudeville era must be the Garden's charm, because this is certainly the best staging I've seen here since the last season opener, Gypsy. But whether you've seen RAGTIME or not, it's the cast here that is really going to wow you...

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

Pride Films and Plays Executive Director David Zak today announced the remaining productions in the company's 2019-20 season a?" an eclectic mix of LGBTQIA+ themed plays and musicals that will include world, US, and Chicago premieres as well as revivals.

PRIMARY STAGES is proud to announce that tickets are now on sale for the first two productions of its 35th Anniversary season. The season will kick off in the fall with the world premiere of On That Day in Amsterdam, written by Clarence Coo (Beautiful Province (Belle Province)-a?'Yale Drama Prize) and directed by Kareem Fahmy (3/Fifths). Performances begin at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street) on October 29, 2019, with opening night set for November 19, for a run through December 18, 2019.

The upcoming season of Crossroads Theatre Company's three plays and Genesis Festival of new works was recently featured at their 2019/2020 announcement at The Heldrich in New Brunswick.

Cast members from the Broadway company will lead the national tour of 2017 Broadway revival of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND!

One night, the archipelago of the Antilles is shaken by a terrifying storm. To distract a little girl from the wind and rain, people from the village get together to tell her the story of Ti Moune, a peasant orphan who falls in love with a young a?oegrand hommea?? (one of the light-skinned descendants of the original French planters and their slaves) who lives on the other side of the island.

Oh gods, oh gods! The 2017 Tony Award-winner for 'Best Revival,' Once On This Island, will be making waves as the national tour plays the Mead Theater Oct. 22-27.

Produced by The British Theatre Academy, this is a youth production of the multi award-winning Broadway hit, from the Tony Award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Anastasia, Seussical, Ragtime).

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will begin the 2019-2020 season with the vibrant one-act musical, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND on Sept. 7 in the Marx Theatre. The production will run through Oct. 6, with opening night on Sept. 12.

Robert ('Bob') Ullman (left), the legendary theatre press agent, whose career included Ethel Merman and Mary Martin: Together on Broadway, A Chorus Line (from workshop to Public Theater to Broadway), Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Visit, Lauren Bacall in Cactus Flower, The Dining Room, Driving Miss Daisy, Sunday in the Park with George, and over 150 additional Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals, died on July 31, 2019 in Bayshore, Long Island, New York. He was 97. The cause of death was cardiac arrest. Bob's death was announced by Rev. Joshua Ellis, a long-time Ullman friend, a former Broadway press agent, and now, an Interspiritual minister.

Once on This Island will play eight performances in the Peace Concert Hall, Nov. 5-10, 2019, as part of the Peace Center's 2019-2020 Broadway season.

a?oeThe Bachelorettea?? favorite Andi Dorfman will sit down with a?oeGleea?? co-stars turned besties Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz for the first live version of their hit podcast, a?oeShowmancea?? on August 15 at WeWork Now (902 Broadway). The event is part of the TodayTix Presents live events series

Award-winning director and choreographer Jonathan Cerullo (The Boys from Syracuse, Big Apple Circus), has been named an Artistic Associate at Amas Musical Theatre. Donna Trinkoff announced Cerullo will be joining SDC director and choreographer Christopher Scott and Lynne Taylor-Corbett.

Pride Films and Plays will stage the first Chicago production in more than a decade of A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, the heartwarming musical created by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Terrence McNally, the team that wrote RAGTIME and ANASTASIA. A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE is based on a 1994 film starring Albert Finney as a Dublin bus conductor and features a gorgeous Irish-influenced score. Donterrio Johnson, the Jeff award-winning actor who directed PFP's BUYER AND CELLAR earlier this year and is currently appearing in THE SPITFIRE GRILL with American Blues Theater, will direct. Music direction is by Robert Ollis, who most recently music directed SOUTHERN COMFORT for Pride Films and Plays and was a 2019 Jeff nominee for his music direction of HAYMARKET: A NEW FOLK MUSICAL. Ollis was Music Director for the 2008 production of A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, which earned five Jeff Award nominations for Bailiwick Repertory.

According to the annual high school play survey conducted by the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), The Addams Family; Almost, Maine; and Check Please received top billing for the most produced musical, full-length play, and short play, respectively, during the 2018-19 school year.

According to the annual high school play survey conducted by EdTA, The Addams Family; Almost, Maine; and Check Please received top billing for the most produced musical, full-length play, and short play, respectively, during the 2018-19 school year.

Stagecrafters presents Ragtime, onstage at the Baldwin Theatre from Friday, September 13, through Sunday, October 6, 2019.