Michael Barra News

The Players, the historic private social club on Gramercy Park, will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the cult comedy classic "Clue" with an all-star tribute performance honoring Jonathan Lynn, the film's director and screenwriter, on Sunday, December 13th.

Broadway's elite turned out in style for the finals of the 2015 New York New Works Theatre Festival!  Industry leaders congregated at the sold out Elektra Theatre for a superb evening of performances that were mentored by the panel of Broadway Producers and Emmy Award winners.  

Some of Broadway's most prominent players are donating their time to mentor the next generation of industry writers and those writers have been announced!

The New York New Works Theatre Festival has announced the 2015 group of distinguished panelists offering their expertise and guidance to this year's participants.

LIVE FROM GRAMERCY PARK is the continuing concert series featuring dynamic, glamorous evenings of eclectic entertainment that celebrate the best of New York City's cultural landscape, in the tradition of The Players, the historic club where the series is presented. Curated and hosted by Emmy Award winning composer/performer Lance Horne, LIVE FROM GRAMERCY PARK is dedicated to presenting celebrated music, theater and cabaret stars as well as introducing dynamic rising talent. LIVE FROM GRAMERCY PARK will present its next evening, LIVE FROM GRAMERCY PARK: LOVE at The Players (16 Gramercy Park, Manhattan) on Monday, February 9th, 2015 at 8:00 PM. Special guests for this Valentines edition will include Lauren Elder (Side Show, Hair); Fair Play, the musical trio featuring original Once cast members David Abeles, Will Connolly, and Tony nominee Elizabeth A. Davis; Tony nominee Karine Plantadit (After Midnight, Come Fly Away, Movin' Out); composer/pianist Samora Pinderhughes and co-Juilliard Jazzers Riley & Jehbreal ; and the legendary Marti Stevens, protégé of Marlene Deitrich and original cast member of London's Company, High Spirits, and No Strings). Mr. Horne is the evening's Musical Director. Tickets, starting at $25, are now available online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1178948.

LIVE FROM GRAMERCY PARK at The Players with LANCE HORNE - the new concert series dedicated to presenting the best music, theater and cabaret stars along with dynamic rising talent - will take place tonight, October 27th at 8:30 PM.

Production company Stageworks Media, best known for adapting music, publishing and film studio source material directly for the stock and amateur theatrical licensing marketplace, proudly announces its new global publishing/distribution deal with leading stage publishing and licensing company Playscripts, Inc. The deal's inaugural projects include two new titles from Stageworks' Pop Musicals Collection, Cyrano de BurgerShack by Jeremy Desmon, and Emma! A Pop Musical by Eric Price.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents their June panel, Music Licensing vs Musical Licensing Acquiring Rights and Avoiding Wrongs on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 7:30pmat The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street, 3rd floor Loft Theatre, NYC. Doors open at 7pm for networking and refreshments, presentations and roundtable introductions start at 7:30pm (come prepared with your best half-minute summary of who you are, and what you need).

Stageworks Media will present an industry reading of GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN, a New High School Musical written by Eric Price and directed by Daniel Goldstein (Godspell). Set in a prep school, GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN is a modern retelling of the Jane Austin classic Emma, and features a score comprised of contemporary pop songs made famous by female singers, songwriters, and female-led bands. GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN will be presented on Friday, June 20th at 11:00 am at 54Below (254 West 54th Street, NYC).

LIVE FROM GRAMERCY PARK at The Players with LANCE HORNE -- the new concert series dedicated to presenting the best music and theater stars along with dynamic rising talent -- will take place tonight, May 14 at 9:00 PM.

LIVE FROM GRAMERCY PARK at The Players with LANCE HORNE -- the new concert series dedicated to presenting the best music and theater stars along with dynamic rising talent -- will take place on Wednesday, May 14 at 9:00 PM.

Stageworks Media will present an industry reading of Cyrano de Burger Shack, A New High School Musical written by award-winning playwright Jeremy Desmon and directed by Jeremy Dobrish, which will take place on Friday, February 7th at 1:00 pm at 54Below (254 West 54th Street, NYC). Featured in the cast of Cyrano de Burger Shack are F. Michael Haynie (Wicked) as Cyrano, Julia Mattison (Godspell) as Roxanne, and Michael Campayno (Sound of Music Live) as Christian, as well as Ashley Kate Adams (La Cage aux Folles), Trista Dollison (Avenue Q), Rebecca LaChance (Beautiful), Ellyn Marie Marsh (Kinky Boots), Shina Ann Morris (Cinderella), Jeremy Morse (Papermill's Oliver!), and Alex Wyse (Lysistrata Jones). The music director /arranger is Meg Zervoulis.

Stageworks Media proudly announces the launch of the LIVE FROM GRAMERCY PARK cabaret series at The Players Club (16 Gramercy Park South). The series will kick-off on Monday January 27th, 2014 with Tony nominee Euan Morton, backed by Grandpa Musselman & His Syncopators. Mr. Morton and the six-piece jazz ensemble will perform a repertoire of turn of the century ragtime, 1920?s jazz and depression-era swing by composers such as Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton and Duke Ellington. Show times are at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM (doors open 45 minutes prior to show time). Tickets are priced at $25-$35 (cocktails and light fare will be available, but there is NO food or drink minimum). Tickets are available now at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/537761.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Saturday, October 12, 2013 - Saturday, October 12, 2013.

Variety writes that KINKY BOOTS and A TIME TO KILL producer Daryl Roth has named Erica Lynn Schwartz as director of Daryl Roth Productions' DR Theatrical Licensing. She will replace Michael Barra.

Media Executive Michael Barra announces the launch of STAGEWORKS MEDIA, a multi-platform production company focused on adapting content for stages around the globe, and developing theatrical-inspired stories for film, TV, digital, and publishing.

It's laughs galore at the Ivoryton Playhouse on May 18th, when the Ivoryton Village Alliance sponsors its biggest event of the year to raise funds for the spectacular Ivoryton Illuminations.

Gotham Stage Company's third installment of their new play series will be co-presented for the first time by Slant Theatre Project. Launched in 2011, the SPRINGBoard reading series exists to nurture new plays and to provide opportunities to both early and mid-career theatre artists. Past featured playwrights have included Carrie Barrett, Randall David Cook, and Ethan Lipton.

It's laughs galore at the Ivoryton Playhouse on May 18th, when the Ivoryton Village Alliance sponsors its biggest event of the year to raise funds for the spectacular Ivoryton Illuminations.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announces its April panel, One Word, Many Meanings: The Diverse Roles That 'Licensing' Plays in Theater on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 7:30pmat The Players Theatre's Steve & Marie Sgouros Theatre, 3rd floor, 115 MacDougal Street, NYC. Doors open at 7pm for networking and refreshments, panel starts promptly at 7:30pm.