Matt Lenz News

Happy Holidays! The latest wave of standings have been announced as of Monday, November 27th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Rockland / Westchester Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

The latest wave of standings have been announced as of Monday, November 20th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Rockland / Westchester Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

Winner of the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Solo Show, the critically acclaimed off-Broadway musical, Walking with Bubbles, is set to release its original cast album on Friday, December 1st.

Check out new photos of Hairspray on tour, and see if the show is coming to a city near you!

THE SOUND OF MUSIC Global Tour - Second Season Launches in Shanghai, China. Broadway International Group and Broadway Asia are launching a second season of the international tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Get ready for a toe-tapping experience! HAIRSPRAY, the hit musical, is coming to Playhouse Square in December. Find out all the details about the dates and venue for this exciting production. Don't miss your chance to catch this fabulous show live on stage. Book your tickets now!

Get your tickets now for A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL at the Ahmanson Theatre. Find out the dates and venue information for this holiday musical adaptation of the beloved movie. Don't miss out on this festive production!

What did our critic think of HAIRSPRAY at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre?

HAIRSPRAY, Broadway's Tony Award-winning musical comedy phenomenon, has announced casting and the touring schedule for the 2023-2024 season. This new North American tour, helmed by original director Jack O'Brien and original choreographer Jerry Mitchell, will visit 45 cities including premiere engagements in Calgary, AB; Charlotte, NC; Cleveland, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Edmonton, ALB; Houston, TX; Nashville, TN; Ottawa, ONT; Vancouver, BC; and many more.

Get ready for an unforgettable experience as Broadway veterans Emily Skinner, Lesli Margherita, and more join the talented cast of IN THE WORKS~IN THE WOODS FESTIVAL. Don't miss out on this star-studded event happening soon!

Center Theatre Group has announced upcoming 2023 – 2024 programming at the Ahmanson Theatre, plus a show for all ages at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

The award-winning and critically acclaimed off-Broadway musical, Walking with Bubbles, currently playing at the AMT Theater through Sept 10th, is heading into the recording studio.

HAIRSPRAY is a chipper, wildly energetic show, and if you can leave your inner skeptic at the door, you might see a glimmer of hope. If not that, then you’ll certainly have basked in some joy for a couple of hours.

Jessica Hendy’s powerful new autobiographical musical, originally slated to close June 18th, will be extending performances through September 10th, with a new summer schedule.

The third annual In the Works~In the Woods at Forestburgh Playhouse, (under the leadership of Franklin Trapp, Producing Artistic Director for the Forestburgh Playhouse and Broadway veteran Matt Lenz, Festival Artistic Director and Director of Creative Development), will be held September 8 through 10.

Aerosol is in the air as Tracy Turnblad, Penny Pingleton, and the teens of Baltimore bring politics and pizzazz to Hollywood with a stunning production of one of the best and beloved musicals of all time.

As if the universe knew that our increasingly divisive country is in desperate need to revisit this hit 2002 Tony Award-winning musical again, HAIRSPRAY has now embarked on a brand new non-equity national tour starring RuPaul's Drag Race fan favorite Nina West. The show, now at Segerstrom Center for the Arts through April 30, does not disappoint.

The new North American tour of Tony Award-winning Hairspray lands in Southern California, first at Segerstrom in Costa Mesa April 18th though April 30th, and then at the Dolby in Hollywood May 5th through May 21st. This cast, headed by Andrew Levitt (aka Nina West) as Edna Turnblad and Niki Metcalf as Tracy Turnblad, is helmed by Hairspray’s original director Jack O’Brien and original choreographer Jerry Mitchell. Playing the Turnblads’ nemesis Velma Von Tussle is the delicious Addison Garner, whom I got a chance to pose some queries to.

HAIRSPRAY is a toe-tapping, dance in your seat, good time show with a message we still need to hear. With an audience who came ready for a party, the show hummed along with enthusiastic support from the crowd. With catchy tunes, over-the-top characters, and energetic dance numbers, HAIRSPRAY is a whirl of excitement. Beyond the flash, the show has a poignant message of inclusion, self-worth, and acceptance.

Lauren Kidwell, who plays Mother Abbess in the US National Tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 'The Sound of Music,' reprises the same role in the Asian tour engagements of the beloved family musical, which plays the Samsung Performing Arts Theatre at Circuit Makati until March 26, 2023.