Nikki M. James News

THE BOOK OF MORMON composer and co-creator Robert Lopez recently visitied Studio 360, where he peformed 'I Believe,' at the piano. Click below to catch a sneak peek of the song that will be perormed by Andrew Rannels at the 2011 Tony Awards!

Ghostlight Records releases the Original Broadway Cast Recording for THE BOOK OF MORMON in stores today, Tuesday, June 7. The packaging for the album features a booklet with color photos, complete lyrics and liner notes by Frank Rich. The recording's digital release is already the fastest selling Broadway cast album in history. A free stream of the recording is also available at www.BookOfMormonCastAlbum.com.

THE BOOK OF MORMON has been nominated for 14 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and is the winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, five Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical, Best Music (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone), Best Lyrics (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone), Best Director (Casey Nicholaw, Trey Parker) and Best Orchestrations (Larry Hochman, Stephen Oremus), four Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone), Best Actor in a Musical (Josh Gad) and Best Director (Casey Nicholaw, Trey Parker) and the Drama League Award for Best Musical. This weekend, Richie Ridge had a special sit down with the shows 4 nominated stars to talk Tonys, Mormonism, what it's like backstage, and how it feels to be a part of the season's blockbuster.

Hundreds of thousands of theatregoers and fans weighed in, breaking site traffic records (including last year's record breaking tally) and further solidifying the BroadwayWorld.com Awards place as the largest and most popular online Broadway polling event of its kind, open to all and with fully visible and audited results. So, who what shows, performers and creative teams were the favorites of the theatregoing public? Let's find out...

The Drama Desk Awards ceremony was hosted by Harvey Fierstein on May 23 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan Center. This year, for the first time, a 90-minute Highlights Special of the Drama Desk Awards Ceremony will be televised nationally on OVATION, the national cable network dedicated to presenting creative arts programming to national TV audiences. The ceremony will be given two primetime broadcasts plus four other airings between June 4 and June 19, 2011.

Voting opened on May 5, 2011 and runs through June 3, 2011 for the 9th Annual BroadwayWorld.com Awards! Here are the current standings as of 6/3

Last week on 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,' BOOK OF MORMON star and Tony Award nominee Andrew Rannells stopped by to hit some high notes with Jimmy and Ed Helms. Afterwards, he stuck around to answer some questions from fans via twitter. Click below to hear him talk about averything from goofing lyrics on stage to his favorite cereals!

THE BOOK OF MORMON has been nominated for 14 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and is the winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, five Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical, Best Music (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone), Best Lyrics (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone), Best Director (Casey Nicholaw, Trey Parker) and Best Orchestrations (Larry Hochman, Stephen Oremus), four Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone), Best Actor in a Musical (Josh Gad) and Best Director (Casey Nicholaw, Trey Parker) and the Drama League Award for Best Musical. The show's cast and creators were featured on 'CBS Sunday Morning' on May 29. Click below to check it out!

The New York Civil Liberties Union (The New York State affiliate of the ACLU) today announced a star-studded lineup of award-winning performers for Broadway Stands Up for Freedom, its annual benefit show scheduled for Monday, July 25 at the NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts.

Voting opened on May 5, 2011 and runs through June 3, 2011 for the 9th Annual BroadwayWorld.com Awards! Here are the current standings as of 5/30

Casey Nicholaw, co-director, choreographer and Tony nominee for THE BOOK OR MORMON, recently sat down with 'Theater Talk' to discuss his switch from performing to directing.

Yesterday, May 26, The Outer Critics Circle honored Broadway's and Off Broadway's best of the 2010-2011 season. BroadwayWorld was on hand at Sardi's for the ceremony and brings you photo coverage below!

Facebook fans of THE BOOK OF MORMON can now listen to a free stream of the Broadway musical's newly released cast recording from Ghostlight Records. Visit THE BOOK OF MORMON on Facebook at facebook.com/TheBookOfMormonOnBroadway. The cast album stream can be found by clicking on 'Cast Album' in the left-hand column. Fans can listen to a stream of the cast album and share it with friends.

The 2011 Tony Award nominees were announced live from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. The next day, proud nominees gathered at the Millenium Hotel in Times Square to celebrate and meet the press. Broadway Beat was on hand, of course, to speak with all of the proud nominees. In anticipation of Tony night on June 12, 2011, BroadwayWorld will be bringing you new clips of the stars in conversation each week so be sure to check back! Below, we bring you Nikki M. James, Best Featured Actress in a Musical for The Book of Mormon. James has additionally appeared on Broadway in All Shook Up and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording for THE BOOK OF MORMON, released digitally by Ghostlight Records on May 17, is the fastest selling digital release of a cast recording in history, according to Billboard Magazine. THE BOOK OF MORMON's cast recording was the #6 digital download of the week. Ghostlight Records will release the CD for THE BOOK OF MORMON on Tuesday, June 7, featuring a booklet which includes color photos, complete lyrics and liner notes by Frank Rich.

Last night on 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,' BOOK OF MORMON star and Tony Award nominee Andrew Rannells stopped by to hit some high notes with Jimmy and Ed Helms. Click below to check out the video!

Michael Riedel reports in the New York Post this morning that The Book of Mormon's Andrew Rannells will perform the song 'I Believe' for the Tony Awards ceremony. This was reportedly a plan B for the production, which had wanted to open the telecast by knocking on the doors of nominated celebrities in character, hitting up Neil Patrick Harris last who would also emerge as a Mormon. This idea, according to Riedel, was reportedly nixed and Harris will simply open the show with a musical medley instead.

Last night, May 23, the 2011 Drama Desk Awards Ceremony took place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. The Book of Mormon, Anything Goes, War Horse and The Normal Heart were the night's big winners, with favorites Sutton Foster, Norbert Leo Butz, Bobby Cannavale, Frances McDormand, Laura Benanti, John Larroquette, Brian Bedford and Edie Falco taking home the evening's top performance honors. The Awards ceremony was hosted by Harvey Fierstein. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the evening's starry opening red carpet and brings you Part 1 of our complete photo coverage below!

The Awards ceremony was hosted by Harvey Fierstein last night at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan Center! BroadwayWorld was updating the winners list live throughout the evening.

Nominations for The 56th Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced on Friday, April 29, 2011, at 9:30 AM at the New York Friars Club, 57 East 55th Street, in Manhattan. Amongst the shows with multiple nominations were THE BOOK OF MORMON with 12, ANYTHING GOES with 10, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE with 7, BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, SEE ROCK CITY & OTHER DESTINATIONS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN with 6.