Lynn Ahrens News

The Weston Playhouse of Weston, Vermont has announced its summer 2010 season. The season will include four mainstage productions--THE 39 STEPS, AVENUE Q, DAMN YANKEES, and DEATH OF A SALESMAN-- as well as other productions.

Marcia Milgrom Dodge, whose critically acclaimed production of 'Ragtime' transferred from the Kennedy Center to Broadway last fall and is nominated for six Helen Hayes Awards, will direct and choreograph the Reprise Theatre Company production of the 1962 Pulitzer Prize winner 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.' The production will end its run May 23rd.

Kicking off their 2010 season, Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, IL, will close their epic production of the nostalgic and powerful portrait of life in turn of the century America, RAGTIME on May 23rd. The production is directed and choreographed by Rachel Rockwell, who received a Jeff Award nomination for her direction of last season's smash hit Miss Saigon. Quentin Earl Darrington will star as "Coalhouse Walker" (Broadway: RAGTIME, National Tours of THE COLOR PURPLE, RAGTIME and THE LION KING; and Regionally RAGTIME at Paper Mill Playhouse; ABYSSINIA at Goodspeed Opera House; A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at California Music Theatre, and DREAMGIRLS at Madame Walker Theatre; and Valisia Lekae (Broadway: RAGTIME, 110 IN THE SHADE, THE THREEPENNY OPERA; Off-Broadway: ALMOST HEAVEN; 1st National Tours of ALL SHOOK UP, MAMMA MIA) will star as "Sarah".

Beck Center Youth Theater presents SEUSSICAL! on the Mackey Main Stage, May 14 through 22, 2010.

It's the turn of the 20th century. The world is changing and anything is possible. 'Ragtime,' set in the volatile melting pot of New York City, weaves together three distinctly American stories -- that of a stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant, and a daring African-American musician.

Blue Spruce Theatre will present Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's Once on this Island October 7-24, 2010 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts (321 Arsenal St., Watertown, MA). Show times are 7:30 pm on Thursdays; Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm; matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $22-$25 (+$1.99 fee for credit cards) and are available by phone 1-800-838-3006. For more information visit http://www.bluesprucetheatre.org.

Theatre Hopkins will open its final production of the season, the Maryland premiere of the musical comedy, The Glorious Ones on Friday, June 11, at the Swirnow Theater in the Mattin Center on The Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus, 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. The score and book are by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, who received the Tony Award for their musical Ragtime. The production is directed and choreographed by Todd Pearthree.

Last night, May 18, acclaimed actors Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Cherry Jones joined conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra for the world premiere performance of The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers, at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA. Written by composer Peter Boyer and lyricist Lynn Ahrens and commissioned by Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops, The Dream Lives On pays tribute to the legacies of John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy.

Last night, May 18, acclaimed actors Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Cherry Jones joined conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra for the world premiere performance of The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers, at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA. Written by composer Peter Boyer and lyricist Lynn Ahrens and commissioned by Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops, The Dream Lives On pays tribute to the legacies of John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy.

Tony Award-winning lyricist and librettist Lynn Ahrens talks about penning the narration for 'The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers' receiving its world premiere on Tuesday, May 18 with the Boston Pops

Tony- and Emmy award-winning actress Cherry Jones joins Keith Lockhart, the Boston Pops, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and special guests-actors Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris-for the world premiere performance of The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers-the centerpiece of the Boston Pops' 125th anniversary season celebration-on May 18, at 8 p.m. (repeated on May 19), at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA. Cherry Jones, who can currently be seen in the hit TV show 24 as President Allison Taylor, has appeared in Oceans Twelve, The Village, Signs, and Cradle Will Rock, and in guest appearances on television shows including 'The West Wing' and 'Frasier.' Ms. Jones won Tony awards in 1995 for her leading role in The Heiress and in 2005 for her leading role in Doubt, and won an Emmy award in 2009 for her role in 24. The world premiere performances of The Dream Lives On are the centerpiece of the Boston Pops 125th anniversary season, May 4-June 20.

Acclaimed actors Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman give life to the words of John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy, respectively, when they join conductor Keith Lockhart, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus for the world premiere performance of The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers-the centerpiece of the Boston Pops 125th anniversary season celebration-on May 18, at 8 p.m. (repeated on May 19), at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA.

The Boston Pops world premiere of The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers, which will take place at Boston's Symphony Hall on May 18 and 19, is set to receive a live audio recording for later release. The event will also be documented in a video exclusive, featuring interviews with composer Peter Boyer, lyricist Lynn Ahrens, and conductor Keith Lockhart, as well as excerpts from the show itself.

Broadway actors Christine Toy Johnson and Jose Llana, in partnership with The Eastern Region Equal Employment Opportunity Committee of the Actors' Equity Association, held a sold-out, all Asian-American concert performance of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's Tony Award-nominated musical 'Once On This Island' at the York Theatre in New York, NY on Sunday, May 16, 2010.

Autistic students, in 6th to 8th grade at PS 094 in Manhattan are preparing for a performance at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway (249 West 45th Street) on Monday, May 17th from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Disney's High School Musical star Corbin Bleu will be on hand to lend his applause and serve as the event's master of ceremonies.

A group of Asian-American Broadway performers will come together to perform a concert version of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty on May 16 at the York Theatre.

A concert version of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's Once On This Island will hit the stage on May 16th at 7:30pm at the York Theatre. The concert will be performed in connection with Asian Heritage Month and will be directed by original cast member Gerry McIntyre. Randy Redd will serve as musical director.

Albuquerque Theatre Guild announces June 2010 Performance Calendar. More theatrical performances take place every weekend here in Albuquerque than in any other U.S. city of its size.

Beck Center Youth Theater presents SEUSSICAL! on the Mackey Main Stage, May 14 through 22, 2010.