Michael Grandage News

Last August, an agreement was reached to resolve a potential labor crisis at the Metropolian Opera, the nation's largest performing arts organization.

Pauline McLynn (Father Ted, Shameless, EastEnders) will play Ella Khan in Ayub Khan Din's critically-acclaimed play East is East, embarking on a 16 week national tour and making its Scottish debut at the Theatre Royal Glasgow from Monday 10 until Saturday 15 August 2015.

Pauline McLynn (Father Ted, Shameless, EastEnders) will play Ella Khan in Ayub Khan Din's critically-acclaimed play East is East, which was part of Jamie Lloyd's second Trafalgar Transformed season, directed by Sam Yates, on a 16 week National Tour from 11 June 2015, commencing at Theatre Royal, Brighton. East is East is designed by Tom Scutt, with lighting by Richard Howell and sound and music by Alex Baranowski.

Laura Linney (The Big C, The Savages) and Seth Numrich (AMC's TURN, Broadway: War Horse) will perform in the Geffen Playhouse production of Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith (The Female of the Species, The Gift). This co-world premiere with Sydney Theatre Company will be directed by Mark Brokaw (Broadway: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, The Lyons) in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse now through April 19, 2015. Opening night is tonight, March 13.

Laura Linney (The Big C, The Savages) and Seth Numrich (AMC's TURN, Broadway: War Horse) will perform in the Geffen Playhouse production of Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith (The Female of the Species, The Gift). This co-world premiere with Sydney Theatre Company will be directed by Mark Brokaw (Broadway: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, The Lyons) in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse from tonight, March 6 to April 19, 2015. Opening night is Friday, March 13.

Tony Maudsley (ITV1's Benidorm) will play Edna Turnblad in the major 40-week UK tour of Hairspray which will open at Curve theatre in Leicester this autumn. He will be joined by TV and stage actress and presenter Claire Sweeney (Educating Rita, Guys and Dolls) as Velma Von Tussle, Olivier Award nominated actor and much-loved Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan (BBC1 Tumble) as Wilbur Turnblad and British singer and West End performer Brenda Edwards (Chicago, We Will Rock You, The X Factor) as Motormouth Maybelle. Freya Sutton will reprise the role of Tracy Turnblad alongside established musical theatre performer Jon Tsouras (A Chorus Line) who will play the role of Corny Collins. Dex Lee (The Scottsboro Boys) will play Seaweed, Ashley Gilmour (Miss Saigon) will play Link Larkin, Lauren Stroud (Wicked) will play Amber, Monique Young (Top Hat) will play Penny, Karis Jack (Urinetown) will play Little Inez, Adam Price (Hairspray) will play Male Authority Figure, Tracey Penn (Made in Dagenham) will play Female Authority Figure and Layton Williams (Bad Education, Billy Elliot) will play Duane. Further casting will be announced in due course.

I consider Mozart's DON GIOVANNI at the top of my list of favorite operas--the music starts to go through my head without much encouragement and gets stuck there. Yet, it's also one of the most problematic in performance, calling for a large group of A-list singers to do justice to the ripe and sometimes rollicking score--and frequently falling short. Luckily for current audiences at the Met, the cast is headed by Swedish baritone Peter Mattei, who already triumphed in Mozart at the Met this season in the new NOZZE DI FIGARO and there are enough other first-rate principals to make it work.

Alan Gilbert, music director of the New York Philharmonic, conducts Mozart's Don Giovanni with an internationally renowned cast led by Swedish baritone Peter Mattei, who is widely recognized as one of the world's foremost interpreters of the title role. South African soprano Elza van den Heever returns to the Met for the first time since her acclaimed debut two seasons ago as Queen Elizabeth I in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. In Don Giovanni, she takes on the demanding role of Donna Anna, who seeks to exact revenge on the infamous rake who has killed her father. British sopranoEmma Bell returns as the lovelorn Donna Elvira and young American mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey adds a new role to her Met repertory as the ingenue Zerlina. Russian tenor Dmitry Korchak makes his Met debut as Anna's patient fiance, Don Ottavio, and Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni returns as Don Giovanni's comic sidekick, Leporello, a role that won him plaudits at the 2011 premiere of this production by Michael Grandage. Czech bass-baritone Adam Plachetka makes his Met debut as Masetto, and veteran James Morris sings the role of the Commendatore, following his triumph as Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg earlier this season. Sets and costume designs are by Christopher Oram, lighting by Paule Constable, and choreography by Ben Wright. At the final performance on March 6, Jennifer Check will sing Donna Elvira, and Ievgen Orlov will sing the Commendatore.

Laura Linney (The Big C, The Savages) and Seth Numrich (AMC's TURN, Broadway: War Horse) will perform in the Geffen Playhouse production of Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith (The Female of the Species, The Gift). This co-world premiere with Sydney Theatre Company will be directed by Mark Brokaw (Broadway: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, The Lyons) in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse from March 6 to April 19, 2015. Opening night is Friday, March 13.

Following the final performances in his celebrated Nielsen Project and his triumphant Verdi Requiem with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in seven years to conduct ten performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni, from tonight, February 4 to March 6, leading Mozart's retelling of the Don Juan legend in Michael Grandage's production.

Following the final performances in his celebrated Nielsen Project and his triumphant Verdi Requiem with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in seven years to conduct ten performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni, from February 4 to March 6, leading Mozart's retelling of the Don Juan legend in Michael Grandage's production.

Houston, January 29, 2015-Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 2015-16 season showcases the vibrant and diverse artistic mix that marks HGO as a leading 21st-century American opera company: Wagner's Siegfried, the third installment of La Fura dels Baus's imaginative Ring cycle featuring a new generation of Wagnerians; the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Prince of Players; Dvo?ak's fairy tale rarity Rusalka; a holiday revival of family favorite The Little Prince from the award-winning composer Rachel Portman and librettist Nicholas Wright; a new production of The Marriage of Figaro and a new-to-Houston Eugene Onegin; a beloved core production, Tosca; and the Houston debut of Broadway sensation Rob Ashford's take on the classic musical Carousel. Through its community collaboration program HGOco, the company will present two additional world premieres: O Columbia, a chamber opera by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Royce Vavrek that examines the past, present, and future of the American spirit of exploration; and another chamber opera, by composer David Hanlon and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann, about the impact of hurricanes on the Texas Gulf coast.

Following the final performances in his celebrated Nielsen Project and his triumphant Verdi Requiem with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in seven years to conduct ten performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni, from February 4 to March 6, leading Mozart's retelling of the Don Juan legend in Michael Grandage's production.

Get ready Shakespeare lovers! Shakespeare Uncovered returns to PBS this Friday, January 30th. Like the first series, the second celebrity-hosted installment will cover a wealth of information, including a look at some iconic performances, historical and biographical data, and new analysis by noted scholars and guests, all of which will open up six of Shakespeare's greatest plays.

Eddie Redmayne has won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayl of Stephen HAWKING in THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING.

On a recent appearance on the GRAHAM NORTON SHOW, Tony award winner Eddie Redmayne recalled one of his first musical theater experiences, starring in a production of 'Oliver.'

The Daily Mail reports that Sheridan Smith is in negotiations to star in a London workshop of Irving Merlin's EASTER PARADE, featuring a new book by Ken Ludwig and additional songs by Berlin. Jerry Mitchell will direct.

After a resoundingly successful fall season and the launch of its new holiday opera series with the world premiere of Iain Bell and Simon Callow's A Christmas Carol, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) rings in 2015 with two beloved productions: a reprise of Michael Grandage's knockout staging of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, which triumphed at its 2010 Houston debut, and the American premiere of Sir Nicholas Hytner's iconic English National Opera staging of Mozart's The Magic Flute in a revival directed by Ian Rutherford.

The actor revealed that he did in fact audition for the role of Bilbo Baggins and tried his best to make an impression at his audition. Unfortunately he didn't get a call back.

Dozens of shows celebrated opening nights over the past twelve months, making 2014 a truly epic year in theatre. While some of those shows are still around and others have already wrapped up their Broadway runs, all of them had equally thrilling opening celebrations- welcoming celebrities of the stage and screen to the red carpet. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you a roundup of red carpet photo coverage from the past year!