Matt Shingledecker News

The 2013 Festival opened earlier this week and BroadwayWorld wants to keep you in the loop on highlights of this season. Check out some of the most buzzed-about productions below!

William Blake (Male Vocalist of the Year, BWW Cabaret Awards), Tony Award Nominee Will Chase (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Aida, Billy Elliot, Rent, Miss Saigon), Julia Murney (Wicked, Lennon, The Wild Party, Saved!), singer-songwriter Samia Najimy Finnerty, N'Kenge (Motown The Musical, Sondheim on Sondheim), Jill Paice (A Little Night Music, Curtains, The Woman in White, The 39 Steps), Matt Shingledecker (West Side Story, Rent, Spring Awakening), A. J. Shively (Unlock'd, La Cage Aux Folles, February House), American Idol Top 10 Finalist Erika Van Pelt and Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line, On The Town, White Christmas) will perform songs from the Billy Joel songbook at the July edition of The Pop Show at Birdland Jazz Club.

The producers of 'Grind' have announced Pasha Pellosie has joined the project as their final lead, Thane. A relative newcomer, Pasha has been on The Carrie Diaries and Law and Order: SVU. He joins previously announced Anthony Rapp (RENT) and Claire Coffee (NBC's Grimm) in this independent musical short film.

Dwelvan David (Caroline, or Change, The Wiz, Songs for a New World), Jenna Leigh Green (Wicked, Bare, "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"), Alex Goley (Big River, The Berenstain Bears Live!), Eryn Murman (Spring Awakening), Darren Ritchie (Wonderland, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Dracula The Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, Nerds) and Matt Shingledecker (West Side Story, Rent, Spring Awakening) will lead the cast of STANDBY, an Official Selection of the 2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival Next Link Project.

The off-Broadway production of Rent closed last night, September 9, at New World Stages. The production played 32 previews and 450 performances. Rent, which is written by Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif, opened at the theater on August 11, 2011. Check out photos from the final curatin call below!

The off-Broadway production of Rent will close after the performance today, September 9, at New World Stages. The production will have played 32 previews and 450 performances. Rent, which is written by Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif, opened at the theater on August 11, 2011. Below, BroadwayWorld takes you on a multimedia flashback through the show's return to New York!

Broadway foodies Adam Chanler-Berat, Andy Señor Jr. and Matt Shingledecker kick off their food-related web series Broadway Bites with the premiere of their first episode 'Times Square.'

Not to be outdone by their female counterparts, the men of Broadway can boast a banner year. Norbert Leo Butz won a second Tony for Catch Me If You Can, Harry Potter mega-star Daniel Radcliffe made his debut in a Broadway musical to tremendous acclaim, Matt Stone, Trey Parker and Robert Lopez rocked Broadway to its core with the Rialto's latest certified Blockbuster, The Book of Mormon, and Pee-Wee Herman came to the stage at last.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, December 18, 2011 - Sunday, December 18, 2011.

The cast of the landmark musical Rent performed on CBS's 'The Early Show' yesterday. Adam Chanler-Berat and Matt Shingledecker sang the show's title number, and were joined by the cast to perform Rent's signature song, 'Seasons of Love.' Check it out below!

The cast of the off-Broadway hit Rent will perform the 2011 Rent Holiday Christmas Pageant Extravaganza Spectacular on Monday, December 5, at 11pm at New World Stages, 340 West 50 Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.

The cast of the off-Broadway hit Rent will perform the 2011 Rent Holiday Christmas Pageant Extravaganza Spectacular on Monday, December 5, at 11pm at New World Stages, 340 West 50 Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.

The cast of the landmark musical Rent performed today on Regis Philbin's final episode of 'Live! with Regis and Kelly.' Mr. Philbin's extraordinary run was celebrated in his final minutes on the show with a surprise performance of Rent's signature song, 'Seasons of Love,' with special lyrics penned for the occasion by the production teams of both shows. Check out the performance below!

The cast of the landmark musical Rent will perform today on Regis Philbin's final episode of 'Live! with Regis and Kelly.

The cast of the landmark musical Rent will perform today on Regis Philbin's final episode of 'Live! with Regis and Kelly.' Mr. Philbin's extraordinary run will be celebrated in his final minutes on the show with a surprise performance of Rent's signature song, 'Seasons of Love,' with special lyrics penned for the occasion by the production teams of both shows. The episode airs in New York on WABC-TV at 9am. (Check local listings for times in other areas.)

Many of Broadway's stars are participating in the 13th annual Carols for a Cure album, and the latest participants were the cast of off-Broadway's RENT!

The new, off-Broadway production of RENT opened August 11 at New World Stages. The resurrection of the cult classic, written by Jonathan Larson, is being directed by Michael Greif, who directed the show's original off-Broadway and Broadway productions. The creative team includes choreographer Larry Keigwin, music supervisor Tim Weil, set designer Mark Wendland, costume designer Angela Wendt, lighting designer Kevin Adams, sound designer Brian Ronan, and projection designer by Peter Nigrini. In the video below, original and current costume designers Angela Wendt and Lisa Zinni talk about how the costumes in 'RENT' have evolved over the years and what can be expected in the Off-Broadway revival.

In a week where we've been reminded how even the classics of the American musical stage are rarely revived in Broadway or Broadway-bound productions without their deceased authors' work being anything from tweaked to drastically rewritten, it's very refreshing to see a major revival where the material has been kept as it was and the show has simply been creatively refreshed. Director Michael Greif, who staged the original New York Theatre Workshop production of Rent that quickly moved to Broadway, gives us a new Off-Broadway mounting at New World Stages that looks at the material from a wholly different angle without any noticeable changes to the late Jonathan Larson's text. While still a life-affirming celebration of youthful passions and the need to create, this presentation is grittier and more realistic than the original, performed by an excellent ensemble placing their own interesting stamps on what, after 12 years on Broadway, many would consider iconic roles.

The new, off-Broadway production of RENT opened on Thursday, August 11 at New World Stages and BroadwayWorld TV was there to talk to the show's new cast all about bringing the new production to the stage!

The new, off-Broadway production of RENT opened last night Thursday, August 11 at New World Stages. The resurrection of the cult classic, written by Jonathan Larson, is being directed byMichael Greif, who directed the show's original off-Broadway and Broadway productions. The creative team includes choreographer Larry Keigwin, music supervisor Tim Weil, set designerMark Wendland, costume designer Angela Wendt, lighting designer Kevin Adams, sound designerBrian Ronan, and projection designer by Peter Nigrini. Check out our photo coverage of the opening night party below!