Michael Peters News

NATURAL GAS, the five-year-old house improv team of The Gift Theatre, has taken up residence Friday nights at Wicker Park's The Den Theatre. NATURAL GAS @ The Den shows will alternate between entirely improvised group sets (NATURAL GAS) and a two-person, entirely improvised show featuring Michael Patrick Thornton with a guest (NATURAL GAS presents: YOU & ME (Michael Patrick Thornton)). On Friday, November 29, special guest Ed Flynn joins Thornton's two-person show. An updated schedule can be found at thegifttheatre.org/shows-events/gas-the-den

Writers Theatre has announced the On To A New Stage Campaign, a $31 million fundraising campaign that will establish the nationally-recognized company's new home - a theatre center designed by Chicago's internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects, led by principal Jeanne Gang.

ROCKERS ANONYMOUS took over The Bowery Electric for its ninth engagement entitled Rockers Anonymous: Let's '69!!! on Nov. 3. Hosted by Mike Kelton, the line up included Mary Michael Patterson (THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, ANYTHING GOES), Carlos Valdez (ONCE, JERSEY BOYS tour), Mykal Kilgore (MOTOWN, BOOK OF MORMON tour), Kate Loprest (FIRST DATE, WONDERLAND), Jason Gotay (SPIDER-MAN), Kent Overshown (MEMPHIS tour, PORGY AND BESS tour), Emma Hunton (SPRING AWAKENING, NEXT TO NORMAL and Off B'way RENT), Caitlin Lester-Sams, Darren Bluestone (AVENUE Q), Julius Thomas III (MOTOWN, PORGY AND BESS), Sheila Coyle (RENT National Tour), Vishal Vaidya, Hernando Umana, and Camille Trzcinski, Aashley Morgan. Check out a look back at the performances below!

The Gift Theatre artistic director and co-founder Michael Patrick Thornton proudly announces its 2014 season featuring two Chicago premieres and the theater's first staging of Shakespeare. The season includes Bethany, reuniting the writer and director of the 2013 Gift Theatre hit Mine. Bethany premiered Off-Broadway in January to raves with America Ferrara in the title role. The Gift Season Subscriptions, starting at $75, offer theatergoers the opportunity to be part of the exciting revolution of The Gift and Chicago's Northwest Side; Jefferson Park was recently recognized by the Chicago Sun-Times and Nadig Press as 'Chicago's newest theater district.'

Chromolume Theatre has announced its next production, the world premiere of Love Songs, A Musical with book, music and lyrics by Steven Cagan, and directed by Kay Cole. Featuring orchestrations and arrangements by Doug Walter and music direction by Richard Berent. Opening is set for tonight, June 22 at 8pm. Love Songs will play a limited engagement through July 28 only.

Chromolume Theatre has announced its next production, Love Songs, with book, music and lyrics by Steven Cagan, and directed by Kay Cole. Featuring orchestrations and arrangements by Doug Walter and music direction byRichard Berent, there will be one preview performance on June 21, andopening is set for Saturday, June 22 at 8pm. Love Songs will play a limited engagement through July 28 only.

Today we are continuing BroadwayWorld's 2013 Tony Awards Clip Countdown with a special spotlight focused on a multi-Tony Award-winning choreographer, director and performer who was involved with many landmark musicals of the 20th century - Michael Bennett.

Today we are continuing BroadwayWorld's 2013 Tony Awards Clip Countdown with a special spotlight focused on two of the most memorable musicals of the 1980s, DREAMGIRLS & NINE!

MeLu Communications Group announces the release of 'American Mambo'... the exciting new CD by Lucio Fernandez a.k.a. 'The Cuban Kid'. A feel good production... from dance tracks, to boleros, to hard driving ballads... this is 'American Mambo'.

DREAMGIRLS, the smash hit musical about an up-and-coming 1960s singing girl group, debuts in Las Vegas at West Las Vegas Theatre, tonight, March 7 & 8, 7PM and March 9 & 10, 2013 at 1:30PM. With music by Academy Award nominee Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tony and Grammy-winning Tom Eyen, it features the unforgettable hits, 'One Night Only', 'I Am Changing' and the powerhouse ballet 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.' DREAMGIRLS, which was made into an award-winning film, is presented by A Source Of Joy Theatricals and will mark the second production of 2013 Broadway In The Hood - Las Vegas Season.

Broadway World [BWW] sat down with Broadway veterans, Lloyd Culbreath and Valarie Pettiford, to discuss their efforts to preserve Bob Fosse's legendary choreography for the next generation of dancers. The pair held an exclusive Fosse Workshop in early February and invited fifty professional dancers to learn the signature style and articulation of Fosse choreography.

DREAMGIRLS, the smash hit musical about an up-and-coming 1960s singing girl group, debuts in Las Vegas at West Las Vegas Theatre, March 7 & 8, 7PM and March 9 & 10, 2013 at 1:30PM. With music by Academy Award nominee Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tony and Grammy-winning Tom Eyen, it features the unforgettable hits, 'One Night Only', 'I Am Changing' and the powerhouse ballet 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.' DREAMGIRLS, which was made into an award-winning film, is presented by A Source Of Joy Theatricals and will mark the second production of 2013 Broadway In The Hood - Las Vegas Season.

Victory Gardens Theater announces The Warriors for Newtown, a benefit to support the Sandy Hook Elementary Victims Relief Fund. The evening will include a one-night-only reading of The Warriors by Evan Linder, conceived by Mary Hollis Inboden with contributions by Sarah Gitenstein, Wes Needham, Whit Nelson, Nicole Pellegrino and Michael Peters, followed by a community conversation. Kimberly Senior will direct the benefit reading. The Warriors for Newtown will be held on Sunday, January 6, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. at the Victory Gardens Zacek McVay Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Victory Gardens Theater announces The Warriors for Newtown, a benefit to support the Sandy Hook Elementary Victims Relief Fund. The evening will include a one-night-only reading of The Warriors by Evan Linder, conceived by Mary Hollis Inboden with contributions by Sarah Gitenstein, Wes Needham, Whit Nelson, Nicole Pellegrino and Michael Peters, followed by a community conversation. Kimberly Senior will direct the benefit reading. The Warriors for Newtown will be held on Sunday, January 6, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. at the Victory Gardens Zacek McVay Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood.

It's quite an achievement for any theater company to mount a credible "Dreamgirls," frankly, with its casting challenges, costume budget and high energy performance level. But Robin's Marriott "Dreamgirls" succeeds on many levels. It never stops moving, and it frequently moves the audience as well....

Today we are talking to a Tony Award-winning legend famous for his performances starring in the original Broadway productions of PIPPIN and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, as well as his celebrated turns in stage and screen projects as diverse as ALL THAT JAZZ, SWEET CHARITY, CHICAGO, FOSSE, WICKED, GRIND, ROOTS, I'M NOT RAPPAPORT, GOLDEN BOY, IDLEWILD, FUNNY LADY, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and many more - the simply incredible Ben Vereen. Discussing many of his most fondly remembered roles and recounting his experiences working with many legendary directors and collaborators - Bob Fosse, Hal Prince, Tom O'Horgan, Herbert Ross, Ann Reinking, Dan Sullivan, Sammy Davis, Jr., Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and many more among them - Vereen paints a vivid picture of a bygone Broadway and reminisces about many of the most significant theatrical creators of the past fifty years and his roles in their stage and film projects. Additionally, Vereen fills us in on what we can expect from his upcoming solo spotlight show - a career retrospective - that will be kicking off at 54 Below on July 10 for a two-week engagement before an even larger, Broadway-bound mounting later this year at Princeton. Also, Vereen elaborates on the causes closest to his heart, shares thoughts on GLEE and SMASH, future plans and much, much more!

A Chorus Line, the powerful and emotion-filled musical about the trials and tribulations of forging a life in the theater, will play in Pittsburgh tonight, June 15 through June 24 at the Benedum Center. Directed and choreographed by original A Chorus Line cast member Baayork Lee, this bona fide Broadway hit features an incredible ensemble cast composed of exciting Broadway stars and Pittsburgh CLO veterans.

A Chorus Line, the powerful and emotion-filled musical about the trials and tribulations of forging a life in the theater, will play in Pittsburgh June 15-24 at the Benedum Center. Directed and choreographed by original A Chorus Line cast member Baayork Lee, this bona fide Broadway hit features an incredible ensemble cast composed of exciting Broadway stars and Pittsburgh CLO veterans.

Yesterday in the 2012 Tony Awards Clip Countdown - a look at the finest moments in theatre history as shown on the Tony Awards telecasts over the last sixty years - we focused on the 1982 Best Musical winner, NINE. While Tommy Tune's Fellini-inspired fever dream won the big prize, Michael Bennett's innovative and visionary R&B pop opera DREAMGIRLS won many of the night's most significant awards and has certainly firmly established itself as a firmament of the history of the modern musical in the intervening years. Among the prizes won by the DREAMGIRLS cast and creative team: Best Actress for Jennifer Holliday, as well as wins in the Featured Actor In A Musical category, Best Book for Tom Eyen and wins in the technical categories for the unprecedented, hi-tech design.

Welcome to BroadwayWorld.com's newest photo series 'Photo Blast From the Past'. Featuring some of the collected theatre gems of BroadwayWorld's own senior photographer Walter McBride, the series will feature images from his archives of theatre and Hollywood related gems. Today, we bring you DREAMGIRLS collaborators Jennifer Holliday and Michael Bennett in 1984.