Matthew Blank News

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! This weekend's big news: BROADWAY BARES: STRIP U sizzles at the Hammerstein Ballroom this Sunday!

A chat with KINKY BOOTS' Blair Goldberg, who made her Broadway debut as a child opposite Bernadette Peters in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN.

The New York cabaret scene has found itself a new star, whether or not anyone was asking for it. Broadway album designer and social media demagog Robbie Rozelle, who has previously created solo shows for Melissa Errico and Kate Baldwin, decided it was finally Robbie's Turn and brought us SONGS FROM INSIDE MY LOCKER. When he regally ascended to the stage at Feinstein's/54 Below on June 9 as though he were the goddamn mayor's wife, it became immediately evident that this was a man set to lay it all out there for the enjoyment of the masses.

Raymond J. Lee talks about GROUNDHOG DAY, his experience as an Actor-of-Color and newest gig as a Disney Daddy!

Stage veteran Orville Mendoza, currently starring in Classic Stage's revival of PACIFIC OVERTURES, opens up on a number of provocative and essential topics.

South Bay Musical Theatre, a renowned Bay Area company for over 50 years, will present CHESS IN CONCERT May 28 and June 3. We speak with the creatives about the show's appeal and have a little fun with the material.

We talk to Grace McLean, who dazzles audiences nightly in her show-stopping turn as Marya in NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812.

An interview with Emily Borromeo, making her Broadway debut now in SCHOOL OF ROCK!

I have met Master Sondheim exactly three times in my life.  Twice was just in passing at various press events.  But the third time, I found myself sidled up next to him at the Glass House Tavern on 47th Street and actually got a chance to chat with the man.

Alex Chester, Diane Phelan and Rebecca Lee Lerman get real in this discussion of diversity and what it means to be 'Other' in America. We So Hapa stages its second cabaret March 27 at 8 PM.

Matt Blank shares his experiences with suicide, depression and tragedy, and sits down with the stars of the March 26 performance of 54 LOVES YOU: A CONCERT FOR MENTAL HEALTH. The evening features the best of stage and screen… and a few teen stars of our generation you just might want to see while supporting a vitally important cause.

Over the years, as we all orbit in the same Broadway Asian community, I got to know Ali Ewoldt and see her perform various roles, including Carrie in CAROUSEL, Tuptim in THE KING AND I, and Luisa in THE FANTASTICKS. Always happy to be supporting part of the Tribe and seeing someone who looked like me starring in these iconic shows, it became evident that Ewoldt possesses one of the most pristine soprano voices out there today. I knew that it would only be a matter of time before her next big Broadway break, and that brings us to today. She stars as Christine in the long-running mega-hit THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and will be making her solo debut at Feinstein's/54 Below with FROM PHANTOM TO PHANTOM on March 12. Ahead of the show, Ewoldt was kind enough to take time to answer a few questions for us.

Multi-award winning Foothill Music Theatre will give Bay Area audiences their first look at the 2014 revised version of the acclaimed Broadway musical Side Show. This dazzling work, featuring music by Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls), and book/lyrics by Bill Russell (Pageant, Lucky Duck), was nominated for four 1998 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress.

A new musical version of the classic movie comes to the stage for the holiday season. The story  takes place in the 1940s in Indiana and focuses on a child named Ralphie, a daydreamer who spends his days counting down to Christmas. He wants a Red Ryder BB Gun, but as his parents and teachers warn him, "You'll shoot your eye out!"  All of the movie's best-loved moments are here, including the Old Man's leg-shaped lamp, the tongue-on-a-flagpole scene, the bunny suit, the Santa slide and all of Ralphie's extravagant daydreams. It's a big Broadway musical, complete with dazzling dance numbers and gorgeous sets.

TUCK EVERLASTING will play its final performance on Sunday, May 29, 2016 at 7:30pm after playing 28 previews and 39 regular performances at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre (235 W. 44th St.). TUCK EVERLASTING began previews March 31 and officially opened on April 26, 2016.

The Drama League (Executive Artistic Director, Gabriel Shelian-Shanks) gathers today for the 82nd Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony, hosted by 2016 Tony® Award-nominees, Zachary Levi (She Loves Me) and Megan Hilty (Noises Off), in the Broadway Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis Times Square (1535 Broadway). 

TUCK EVERLASTING, the new musical based on Natalie Babbitt's beloved best-selling novel of the same name, will record a cast album to be released by DMI Soundtracks and distributed by Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Corporation.TUCK EVERLASTING's cast album will be produced by Frank Filipetti, Chris Miller, and Sean Patrick Flahaven, and will be recorded and mixed by Frank Filipetti. The album will be released digitally on Friday, June 10, 2016 and in stores wherever CDs are sold on Friday, July 1, 2016.

The 2016 Drama League Award Nominees for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award were just announced this morning at Sardi's, by Aladdin stars Adam Jacobs, Courtney Reed and James Monroe Iglehart. Check out the full list of nominees below!

9 to 5: The Musical opened on September 20th 2008 at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. Performances will continue through October 19, 2008.