Matthew Hydzik News

The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield Magazine Broadway and Cabaret Series and Pepsi Rock Series presents Jesus Christ Superstar - The Rock Opera on Saturday, March 25 at 2pm and 8pm and is partially underwritten by Adam Broderick Salon & Spa and Bart's Tree Service. Considered one of the most iconic musicals ever written, 'Jesus Christ Superstar' includes legendary hits such as 'Everything's Alright,' 'I Don't Know How To Love Him,' and 'Gethsemane.' This is a unique adaptation of the multiple Tony Award winning, and Laurence Olivier Award-nominated, classic Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice production and is produced by ACT of Connecticut.

Featuring a cast of Broadway stars alongside Broadway's finest rock band - The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield Magazine Broadway and Cabaret Series and Pepsi Rock Series presents Jesus Christ Superstar - The Rock Opera on Saturday, March 25 at 2pm and 8pm and is partially underwritten by Adam Broderick Salon & Spa and Bart's Tree Service.  

Pioneer Theatre Company continues its popular concert series with Chess, written by members of the pop music group ABBA, running for three performances only, March 10 - March 11, 2017 at Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre. 

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! This weekend's big news: COME FROM AWAY and CRAZY FOR YOU open on Sunday!

The Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut, will present JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR on Saturday, March 25 at 2:00pm and 8:00pm. Produced by ACT of Connecticut, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is directed by Daniel C. Levine (Artistic Director of The Ridgefield Playhouse Broadway & Cabaret Series) and music directed by Bryan Perri (Broadway's WICKED), with casting by Craig Burns, CSA (Telsey + Company).

Today's big news: Tanya Saracho's FADE begins at Primary Stages, while 'GEORGIE' starts Off-Broadway, and Brian Stokes Mitchell & Ana Gasteyer launch AMERICAN SONGBOOK AT NJPAC tonight!

The York Theatre Company, dedicated to the development of new musicals and the preservation of musical gems from the past, as part of its acclaimed Developmental Reading Series, will present the staged reading of the new musical Benjamin Button The Musical with music by Natalie Tenenbaum (More Stars Than There Are in Heaven), and book and lyrics by Brett Boles ('From Broadway With Love: A Benefit Concert for Sandy Hook' on PBS).

Producer Stephen DeAngelis, who has produced over 200 different Broadway concerts at venues in New York and across the United States, will return to his native Rhode Island to produce his first concert in his home state.

After 312 performances in 25 cities across the United States, the National Tour of If/Then concludes its run today in Atlanta, GA. At seven select cities, the tour featured several of the stars from the original Broadway run, including Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, LaChanze, and James Snyder.

IF/THEN, the original Broadway musical which reunites composer Tom Kitt, book writer/lyricist Brian Yorkey, and director Michael Greif, the creative team behind the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, Next to Normal, will play its final performance on tour in Atlanta this weekend. To mark the occasion, the cast put together a hilarious 'Drunk History' parody. We don't know about you, but we think this should become the Broadway community's next viral trend. Click below to watch the silliness!

Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if you had made different choices? Would you have a different job? A different love? Would your life have been better, or maybe worse? In the first show of Hartford's 2016-2017 Bushnell Broadway Series, IF/THEN, one woman finds herself at the intersection of choice and chance, and takes audiences on a journey guided by the whims of fate. Playing, Elizabeth, the woman whose life splits into parallel paths due to one fateful choice, is Jackie Burns, a Connecticut native who is returning to her home state to bring this contemporary musical to the Bushnell stage. I caught up with Jackie to talk about the show and hear how it feels to return home with IF/THEN.

It's always a challenge to find a fresh, new, innovate way to tell a story. It seems at times like every story out there has already been told so the only option is to tell it again, but tell it differently. Use a storytelling technique that excites and engages the audience, and maybe it won't even matter what the story is. That idea, while it might sound good, just doesn't work in reality, as demonstrated by the current touring production of If/Then, now playing at Providence Performing Arts Center. The interesting way of telling the story just can't mask the fact that the story being told is incredibly ordinary, unoriginal and dull.

Who would have ever thought a musical about urban planning could be as effective and engaging, and as thoroughly compelling (if somewhat confusing and confounding, by turns) as If/Then, the latest work from the Pulitzer Prize-winning (for next to normal) duo of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey?

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Washington, DC, Phoenix, Singapore and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include a 'bold, new' THE TAMING OF THE SHREW in DC, HOSTAGES in Phoenix, and an interview with Simon Gleeson on the Singapore return of LES MIS, just to name a few.

If/Then is an original musical that tells the story of Elizabeth Vaughan, a 40-year-old woman who moves back to New York City seeking a fresh start to her life. The musical depicts two different paths of where Elizabeth's life could take her.

Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Atlanta announced today that tickets for the National Tour of IF/THEN, which was named the "Best Musical of the Year" by New York Magazine, will go on sale Sunday, May 22. IF/THEN will perform a limited one week engagement from August 9-14 at Atlanta's Fox Theatre to close the 2015/2016 Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Atlanta Series.

If/Then, a musical from the creators of Next to Normal and the director of Rent, opened last night at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. The show, which was written as a star vehicle for Idina Menzel, is one of the most exhilarating new musicals I've seen in a decade – and mere moments in any concerns that the show lacks something without a celebrity in the lead were put to rest.

An incredible opportunity has presented itself to the cast of If/Then upon arriving in St. Louis last Tuesday to carry out a 2 week run at The Fabulous Fox Theatre (March 15-27th). After sitting and talking with Anthony Rapp (star of If/Then, RENT), he told us that the Hard Rock Cafe contacted them and offered to donate their space for them to perform in, if they could find a use.

It's interesting to me that IF/THEN is billed as 'a new musical'. It's the use of the word 'new' that I find puzzling. The concept certainly isn't an original one, having been explored on the big screen in the films Blind Chance (1981) and its sort-of remake, Sliding Doors (1998). And, even though neither of those movies were musicals, they both featured the idea of having their lead traverse optional story lines, with Blind Chance even offering up three different scenarios for its protagonist to experience. But, this show is new in the sense that it explores contemporary trends, with the caveat that some audiences may not find much to identify with, and it features a wonderfully fresh and tuneful score (music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey). All of that just might be enough to make this show worth seeing. Because it does feature a talented cast who have the ability to pull off these roles and the memorable songs provided with considerable conviction. But, the trickery seems a bit cloying at times, and the show does seem to drag at over 2 ½ hours. I guess, like our heroine, Elizabeth, I'm straddling the fence too, at least when it comes to my opinion.

Hard Rock Cafe in St. Louis presents IF/THEN's 'Now/Then: A Benefit Cabaret for BC/EFA', Monday, March 21 at 7pm to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.