Nell Benjamin News

A new Broadway-bound musical based on the award-winning children's novel by Kate DiCamillo, BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE is poised to become the first Broadway musical starring a live dog as the main character! A gentle, warm and enthralling story about the intimate friendship between a young girl and her dog, WINN DIXIE shows how the smallest act of kindness can ripple into a celebration of community. Was there a family pet that taught you how to love and forgive? Tickets will sell fast for this show-the only way to guarantee seats is to subscribe. Young and old, alike, will find their lives changed...because of Winn Dixie. Check out a sneak peek at the cast and creatives in rehearsal below!

Civic Theatre of Allentown announced today it will take part in the second annual National Evening of Science on Screen on Monday, March 16.

Broadway In Chicago has announced the upcoming 2015-2016 season line-up celebrating Broadway In Chicago's 15th anniversary. The hits just keep on coming to Chicago with the Pre-Broadway World Premiere of GOTTA DANCE and Tony Award-winning musicals A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER, CABARET and MATILDA THE MUSICAL plus IF/THEN and DIRTY DANCING. The 2015-2016 season will go on sale Sunday, March 8.

Dallas Theater Center announced today Megan Hilty and Seth Rudetsky will headline Centerstage 2015 on Saturday, May 9. Chaired by Yvette Ostolaza, with Underwriting Chair Kersten Rettig and Honorary Chair Jeanne Marie Clossey, Centerstage 2015 will take place at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, which will be transformed for the evening.

The School of Theatre at Florida State University has announced its 2015-2016 season. Internationally renowned School of Theatre faculty will team up with the talented students and community members of Tallahassee, FSU alumni, and visiting artists from around the country to present a season that will inspire and entertain audiences throughout the southeast. Through the development and presentation of challenging classic and contemporary work, the School of Theatre at Florida State University continually uses the evolving, live, collaborative art of theatre to develop artists and scholars who have a lifelong passion for the arts.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. 'Carousel,' 'The King And I' and 'The Merry Widow' at Lyric Opera, and the upcoming season at Porchlight. Plus 'Merman' transfers, 'Mormon' arrives, 'First Wives Club' and 'Gotta Dance' try out, the 'Pride And Prejudice' reading moves, Quest Theatre mounts two, Pasek and Paul's 'Peach,' Bailiwick's 'Wonderful Town,' the Mosh Pit in the Tribune and more honors for Jessie Mueller! Whew!

Producers Dori Berinstein and Bill Damaschke announced today that Gotta Dance, a new musical based on the critically acclaimed 2008 documentary of the same name, will have its pre-Broadway World Premiere this year at Broadway In Chicago's Bank of America Theatre.

As part of the Alley Theatre's inaugural season in its renovated downtown building, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan's All The Way, a co-production with Dallas Theatre Center, will be performed in the new Hubbard Theatre. Members of the Alley's Resident Company will join with members of the Dallas Theater Center to create this monumental play about Lyndon B. Johnson's early days in office, rehearsing and performing in Houston in January 2016 and travelling to Dallas for a second run in March 2016.

Have you ever dreamt of traveling to exotic lands? Discovering new and uncharted territories? Coming face to face with some of nature's most dangerous creatures? If you answered yes to any of these questions, a membership into one of the most exclusive clubs in London could be just the thing for you. However, do not just ask for a drink at the bar or you could find yourself falling into a ridiculous matter of circumstance.

Mad Cow Theatre presents The Explorers Club, by Nell Benjamin, set to open tonight, January 23, 2015 in The Harriett as part of Season 18. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Mad Cow Theatre presents The Explorers Club, by Nell Benjamin, set to open January 23, 2015 in The Harriett as part of Season 18. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Manhattan Theatre Club announces the upcoming Sloan Panel Discussion on Constellations, which will be held following the Thursday, January 15 performance of the play at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street), and is open to anyone attending the evening's performance. The panel, which will be presented in partnership with the World Science Festival, will focus on the role of science in the play and will feature playwright Nick Payne and Brian Greene, professor of Physics and Mathematics at Columbia University and co-founder of the World Science Festival. Social commentator Faith Salie will moderate.

Mad Cow Theatre is pleased to announce the cast and creative team for its upcoming run of The Explorers Club, by Nell Benjamin, set to open January 23, 2015 in The Harriett as part of Season 18.

Mad Cow Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for its upcoming run of The Explorers Club, by Nell Benjamin, set to open January 23, 2015 in The Harriett as part of Season 18.

Dallas Theater Center heads back to the Kalita Humphreys Theater with The Book Club Play by Karen Zacarias. Meredith McDonough, who previously worked on the new hit musical Fly By Night, returns to make her DTC directorial debut in this comedy about books and the people who love them. The Book Club Play begins previews tonight, January 1, 2015 with a Pay-What-You-Can performance and runs through Sunday, February 1.

Water Tower Theatre presents a variety of shows for their winter 2015 season. Check out a full listing below!

Dallas Theater Center heads back to the Kalita Humphreys Theater with The Book Club Play by Karen Zacarias. Meredith McDonough, who previously worked on the new hit musical Fly By Night, returns to make her DTC directorial debut in this comedy about books and the people who love them. The Book Club Play begins previews on Thursday, January 1, 2015 with a Pay-What-You-Can performance and runs through Sunday, February 1.

The Muny announced today the directors, choreographers and music directors for the Muny's 2015 Season, which opens on June 15 with My Fair Lady. 'This is a thrilling roster of artists,' said Muny Artistic Director and Executive Producer Mike Isaacson. 'We look forward to bringing their vision and talent to our grand stage.'

Director and Choreographer Jacque Lueken of Fox Valley Repertory and the Youth Ensemble present Legally Blonde Jr. to the Fox Valley Area. Under the musical direction of Jeffrey Poindexter, the FVR Youth Ensemble brings this upbeat musical, based on the popular movie, to the Pheasant Run Resort Mainstage today, December 6-21, 2014 (4051 East Main Street, St. St. Charles).

It's London, 1879, and The Explorers Club is in crisis. A woman has been proposed for membership! The members of this venerable club are in shock-who could imagine such a thing? What's really needed here is a good stiff drink, but unfortunately, they have the worst bartender in all of London. And this is just the beginning of the hijinks in Nell Benjamin's The Explorers Club, a co-production with WaterTower Theatre, beginning its 6-week Stage West run today, November 28. (After the holidays, the play will move to WaterTower Theatre for a run from January 16-February 8.) BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!