Natasha Katz News

MOTOWN is getting a new Smokey! Not only that, but the Daily Mail writes that the West End production of Motown the Musical is extending through October 2017. Obioma Ugoala will join the cast as 'Smokey Robinson' starting July 4, 2016.

SCHOOL OF ROCK is officially headed to London this autumn!

Ahead of its West End premiere at the Prince Edward Theatre, rehearsal images for ALADDIN have been released today. The new Disney musical previews from May 27, opening on June 15, and is booking till October 1. Dean John-Wilson stars as Aladdin, alongside Jade Ewen as Jasmine, Broadway cast member Trevor Dion Nicholas as Genie, Don Gallagher as Jafar, Peter Howe as Iago, Irvine Iqbal as the Sultan, Nathan Amzi as Babkak, Stephen Rahman-Hughes as Kassim and Rachid Sabitri as Omar.

?Tickets go on sale for the brand new production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien on May 20 at 10AM. This lavish new production will make its Las Vegas premiere August 2 - 14 at The Smith Center as part of a North American tour.  Tickets can be purchased at www.TheSmithCenter.com. For more information, please visit www.TheSoundOfMusicOnTour.com.

The Daily Mail reports that the West End production of School of Rock - The Musical, previously announced for a May 2017 bow at the New London Theatre, might be bringing the Gods of Rock to London sooner.

Today in 2006, Tarzan opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 486 performances. Tarzan: The Musical is based on the Disney film of the same name and the story by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The songs are written by Phil Collins and David Zippel, with a book by David Henry Hwang. The production was nominated for a Tony award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Natasha Katz). The cast Featured Josh Strickland, Jennifer Gambatese, Shuler Hensley, Merle Dandridge and Chester Gregory.

BroadwayWorld is happy to report that four theater artists will be honored by the Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee during the presentation of its 2015 Awards in a luncheon ceremony, set for the coming fall.

Producers The Shubert Organization and The Nederlander Organization have announced the cast for the first-ever Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's iconic musical, CATS. One of the biggest hits in theatrical history, CATS will return to Broadway this summer at the Neil Simon Theatre(250 W 52nd Street) with preview performances beginning Thursday, July 14, 2016, and an official opening set for Sunday, July 31, 2016.

Just In! The Outer Critics Circle, the organization of writers and commentators for media covering New York theatre announced today its award winners for the 2015-16 season in 25 categories.

Producers Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris and Berry Gordy, and Broadway Sacramento, are proud to announce that MOTOWN THE MUSICAL will play at Community Center Theater for a two-week engagement May 18 - 29. Tickets start at $24 and are available now at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office, 1419 H Street, Sacramento, or by calling (916) 557-1999; they are also available at the Convention Center Box Office, 1301 L Street, Sacramento, or by calling (916) 808-5181, or online at Tickets.com. Sacramento Community Center Theater is located at 1301 L Street in Sacramento.

Disney's Broadway-bound FROZEN has officially found its Anna for this week's developmental lab!

Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC is still popular today, and there's really no need to wonder why. The songs are undeniably familiar, and the story and characters go through a number of compelling moments. However, it does require a good, solid cast and sharp direction to live up to the expectations of all those folks who have seen the 1965 film over and over and over again. Thankfully, this touring company currently playing The Fox Theatre (through May 8, 2016) is more than up to the task. This classic still has its many charms. and holds up remarkably well despite its age and overexposure in various forms over the years.

BWW Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Goes Beyond Skin Deep

Below, check out how each show fared individually in BWW's list of nominations by show.

MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL is a jukebox musical that premiered on Broadway in April 2013, receiving four Tony Award nominations. Based on Berry Gordy's 1994 autobiography To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown, it tells the story of how he founded and ran the Motown record label. It also touches on his relationships with Diana Ross (Allison Semmes), Marvin Gaye (Jarran Muse), and Smokey Robinson (Jesse Nager). Digging deep into the Motown catalog, the show contains over 60 songs. With that many songs one would expect a pretty thin book; however, by wisely placing most of the focus on Gordy (Chester Gregory) and Ross' relationship and the rise and fall of Motown, we are given a compelling portrait of both Gordy and the music industry. MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL is a celebration of the Motown sound… that sound that joined black and white America in ways nothing else has equaled before or since...that magical period in our past when we were invited to go dancing in the street to a brand new beat.

Roundabout Theatre Company, in association with Ryan Murphy, presents Eugene O'Neill's LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, starring Academy and Emmy Award winner Jessica Lange as 'Mary Tyrone.'

Producers Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris and Berry Gordy, and Broadway San Jose, a Nederlander Presentation, are proud to announce that MOTOWN THE MUSICAL will play a one-week engagement at San Jose's Center for the Performing Arts (255 Almaden Blvd.) from June 21-26, 2016.

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS will launch a national tour in Boston at the Citi Wang Theatre October 25-November 6, following a preview period at Proctor's in Schenectady, NY. As previously announced, Garen Scribner,currently playing Jerry Mulligan in the Broadway production, will star in the tour along with Sara Esty, who plays Lise Dassin at various performances on Broadway. Additional casting for the tour will be announced in the coming months.

Check out the 2016 Tony Award nominees below and follow us throughout the day for exclusive nominee interviews, special coverage and lots more!

An American in Paris bursts into life on the West End stage for the first time when ChristopherWheeldon's multi award-winning new Broadway musical comes to London's Dominion Theatre next spring.