Marcy Heisler News

Signature Theatre releases the sixth episode of The Signature Show, a free biweekly half-hour digital experience featuring performances by acclaimed artists, interviews, celebration of new musical voices and memories of Signature’s past and a glimpse into its future. This episode features an interview with recent Helen Hayes Award winners Jeff Gorti and Samantha M. Gershman from A Chorus Line, a discussion with writing team Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler with one of their songs performed by Crystal Mosser, a performance by Claybourne Elder and Brynn O’Malley, the stars of Signature Theatre’s 2015 production of Sunday in the Park with George, and concludes with Signature favorites performing Stephen Sondheim’s “Take Me to the World”. All episodes can be found on Signature Theatre’s YouTube Channel @sigtheatre (YouTube.com/sigtheatre).

The ASCAP Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the inaugural Peggy Lee Songwriter Award, an honor created to mark the centennial of the extraordinary artist while nurturing the careers of promising new songwriters.

Earlier this year, it was announced that a new kind of princess is officially coming back to the stage.  Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical Cinderella will premiere at The Gillian Lynne Theatre in London next year, putting an all new spin on a beloved classic.

August 7th, 2020 kicks off Elm Street Cultural Arts Village's bold new season for 2020 and 2021 - A Season of Character. Associate Artistic Director Siobhan Brumbelow discusses how the productions reflect the season theme: a?oeCharacter is a reflection of who we are, both individually and demonstratively.

Concord Music Publishing has signed an exclusive worldwide administration agreement with composer-lyricist Tom Kitt. The new deal, effective immediately, covers his full music publishing catalog and future works.

The Audio Drama Initiative today announced that the cast and creators of the new podcast musical LITTLE DID I KNOW, the first Broadway-level podcast musical, will present a special interactive 'improvised jam session' on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 5pm EST, 2pm PST, and 10pm BST.

LITTLE DID I KNOW, the first Broadway-level podcast musical, released by The Audio Drama Initiative, based on the novel by Mitchell Maxwell, and newly released on Apple Podcasts, soared to #3 on the Apple podcast charts this past weekend, making it one of the top 5 Arts podcasts in the United States on Apple podcasts and in the top 40 overall.

Need something new to listen to or read? Check out this week's list of new and upcoming releases!

The new podcast musical LITTLE DID I KNOW from The Audio Drama Initiative, based on the novel by Mitchell Maxwell, will release its first three episodes on Apple Podcasts on Tuesday, March 31.

Musical Theatre of Anthem has announced their 2020-2021 Lucky 13th Season, bringing to the stage some new performances sure to delight patrons of all ages.  MTA will produce 8 shows offering tremendous opportunities for performers of all ages, including casting all youth who audition in productions for performers ages 6-19, as well as opportunities for adult performers.  

The Circuit Playhouse, Inc., parent company to The Circuit Playhouse, TheatreWorks at the Square, and Playhouse on the Square have announced their 2020-2021 Season.

The Black Box Performing Arts Center has moved to Englewood - and so has Junie B.! Junie B. Jones is back with new friends, different dance numbers, and the same lovable story that is sure to delight fans of all ages!

Just last week, award-winning songwriters Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler ('Taylor the Latte Boy', 'Alto's Lament', Ever After) brought their vivacious, eclectic, romantic, and seriously funny songbook to Feinstein's/54 Below.

Forget that other show. I was in the REAL room where it happened last weekend at the 4th Annual Junior Theater Festival West (JTF), which celebrates youth theatre and encourages students and teachers to keep theatre alive in their community. Each year it follows the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, which just finished its 15th season. Over 2,200 people participated in the three-day festival, some coming from as far away as Australia, England, and South Korea. Students and educators benefited from the knowledge of top Broadway professionals in the form of adjudications, workshops, and a discussion panel entitled Pathways to Success, in which the featured guests shared how they forged their own paths to Broadway and beyond.

Michael Childers' presents One Night Only benefitting the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center. a?oeThe Way We Were: Songs of the '70'sa?? features the best of Broadway and pop music from that era, for one performance only on April 22 at 6:30 pm, at The McCallum Theatre. With Direction & Choreography by Scott Coulter and Music Direction by Todd Schroeder, the cast features the best of Broadway and Hollywood performers. I had the chance to catch up with director, Scott Coulter, as he was preparing the production for rehearsal. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation:

The USM Department of Theatre, in collaboration with USM School of Music, continues its season-long celebration of women's voices with a musical for the young and young-at-heart, Dear Edwina. Music by Zina Goldrich and book & lyrics by Marcy Heisler. Directed by Joyce A. Presutti with Musical Direction by Edward Reichert.

From Hello, Dolly! and Mame to La Cage aux Folles, no one has written 'showtunes' with as much exuberance as Jerry Herman whose musicals offer an optimistic approach to the human condition, finding common ground with his audience by showing us that the differences between us are, in fact, what unite us. Lyrics & Lyricists 2020 season continues with a celebration of the composer, lyricist and songwriter whose joyful scores have sent us from the theater humming for more than 50 years. Singing them at L&L are Quentin Earl Darrington (Once on This Island), Cady Huffman (The Will Rogers Follies, Chicago, The Producers), Bryonha Marie Parham (The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Prince of Broadway), and Ryan Vona (Once, Beautiful).

Sneak a peek into the 'Top-Secret Personal Beeswax Journal' of the outspoken and lovable Junie B. Jones!

Lyrics & Lyricists opens its new season with a salute to Yip Harburg, who appeared on the 92nd Street Y stage for L&L's first show in December 1970. Harburg was a master lyricist, poet, and book writer who worked with more than 40 composers in writing over 600 songs, including such classics as 'April in Paris,' 'Old Devil Moon,' 'Lydia, the Tattooed Lady,' 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?,' 'Paper Moon,' and, of course, 'Over the Rainbow.' Mikaela Bennett, Clifton Duncan, Desi Oakley, Megan Sikora and Nick Spangler bring Harburg's story to life-from his Lower East Side childhood to being blacklisted by HUAC. Matt Kunkel's direction, with musical direction by Paul Masse and a script by Jon Marans, weaves together Harburg's comedic and political sides.