Maury Yeston News

Get your tickets for a night of side-splitting satire! Musical Theatre West is excited to announce that the highly-anticipated cameo role of King George will be played by Broadway and musical theatre star Jason Graae in the Long Beach premiere of Spamilton: An American Parody.

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced that the 2021 ICON Award-recipient and Broadway legend Chita Rivera of New York City, New York has joined Porchlight’s Advisory Board.

Titanic the Musical opened on Broadway in April of 1997. The musical tells the story of the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, or what would soon be aptly named “The Unsinkable Ship.” However, as history tells us the ship sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912. The 1997 Broadway production won five Tony Awards including Best Musical and was directed by Richard Jones. Following the opening of its Broadway run, Titanic was adapted for film and released the same year in 1997 by James Cameron starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Both of which the musical and film have no correlation to the other. Maury Yeston who was a Broadway composer and lyricist for Nine was inspired by the discovery of the wreckage of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland in 1985. Yeston said he was inspired by all the ship represented. So Yeston met with Peter Stone who wrote the libretto and Titanic the Musical was born. Of the five Tony’s that Titanic went onto win among them were Best Score, Best Book, Best Orchestrations, Best Scenic Design as well as Best Musical mentioned above. Previews started in 1997 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and received mixed but positive reviews. After 804 performances, Titanic the Musical closed in March of 1999. Boasting a whopping 20 musical numbers in Act One and 12 in Act Two this behemoth of a musical is grand in design, and song. This musical also features a cast of 37 some doubling multiple roles. Proving to be a huge undertaking for amateur productions and professionals alike.

Musical Theatre West has announced the Long Beach premiere of Spamilton: An American Parody written and created by Gerard Alessandrini (Forbidden Broadway), directed and choreographed by Gerry McIntyre, with music direction by Wilkie Ferguson III.

Produced by Danielle Tarento, Steven M Levy and Vaughan Williams in association with Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, the production will open at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley on 16 March 2023, 10 years since it made its critically acclaimed debut at Southwark Playhouse in London.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater has announced the complete cast and creative team for five-time Tony Award-winning musical Titanic The Musical with story and book by Peter Stone, music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and orchestrations by Joshua Clayton April 5 – May 15, 2022.  

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present Karen Mason in her show “Kander & Ebb…And All That Jazz” on Monday, March 28 at 7:00 PM. The evening honors John Kander and Fred Ebb, the Tony Award-winning songwriters behind Broadway’s Cabaret, Chicago and more.

As I walked through the parking lot of Heritage Hall's Howard Theatre, 1800 NW 122nd Street, in Oklahoma City, I knew TITANIC THE MUSICAL was a fitting show to see as I climbed over the literal ice bergs to get to the door. Just prior to the show dates Feb. 24-27, an ice storm came across southern United States and closed schools, making it difficult to have rehearsal and even cancelling the first performance due to inclement weather. However, the ice did not sink the show, and the cast was able to perform the last three shows.

BroadwayWorld reviews Brian Stokes Mitchell's glorious concert at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek on February 25th. When Mitchell announces at the top of his show that his hope is for you to leave the theater feeling better than you did when you came in, you had better believe he means it. By the end, he leaves the audience floating on air.

Next week, FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

The Kleban Foundation will present the 32nd annual Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre in a virtual ceremony streaming online at Broadway On Demand starting Monday, February 21 at 7PM.

FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW will present Andrew Zachary Cohen in Don’t Ask the Lady on March 2 at 9:45 PM. While ushering at the New Am, his boss said that positioning him in the balcony was akin to putting the Mona Lisa in a warehouse.  So now momma’s lettin’ loose Gypsy style, movin’ down from the balcony to center stage, and not lettin’ go of the mic. 

The Tony Awarded Musical from Maury Yeston ( Music and Lyrics) and Peter Stone ( Book) brought back on stage at the beautiful Landestheater Linz, one of my favorite modern theatres in our hemisphere. A show with many different stories, full of tragedy and sadness, all about a supposed to be, unsinkable ship, created to write history. History was written on April 14, 1912, but not how J.Bruce Ismay ( Karsten Kenzel) hoped. It went out to become a historical tragedy, remembered even after more than a hundred years as the fatal collision with an iceberg, and many lost souls in the Atlantic Ocean.

On Sunday, March 20, 2022, Encompass New Opera Theatre, The Board of Trustees and The Encompass Honorary Gala Chairs, Sheldon Harnick and Maury Yeston will pay tribute to Legendary Theatrical Icon and Tony Award-winning luminaries, CHITA RIVERA and DANNY BURSTEIN, with a star-studded musical salute.

The Kings Theatre Portsmouth has announced the first round of casting for its in-house production of Titanic The Musical, featuring over 40 talented performers from across the region.

The Kleban Foundation is celebrating the 32nd anniversary of the annual Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre with the announcement of the 2022 prizewinners. The Kleban Prize for the most promising musical theatre lyricist has been awarded to César Alvarez (they/them).

Sargent Aborn, long-serving CEO of Tams-Witmark, will retire at the end of this month to spend more time with his family. He has spent over 40 years with the company.

Heading into the 2022 theatre season, Austria has a wealth of productions that deserve your attention. In this feature, I break down some of the shows that I will definitely be getting tickets to see. From Saigon to Rydell High, a ton of shows to choose from, so go out there and get your tickets before they're gone!

FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club, will present Andrew Zachary Cohen in Don’t Ask the Lady on March 2nd at 9:45 PM.  While ushering at the New Am, his boss said that positioning him in the balcony was akin to putting the Mona Lisa in a warehouse. 

Revival Theatre Company (RTC) announces the cast for its opening show for 2022, Titanic.