In 1976 on Broadway, just 11 songs into the 2-hour performance, the audience erupted into a show stopping standing ovation. That, and the well-earned nightly show-ending standing ovations proved how powerful and moving this musical was in '76 and will be again in February, with the re-imagined 21st century version of Hamlet The Rock Musical.
David Mamet's new play, THE CHRISTOPHER BOY'S COMMUNION, will be staged for the first time, for a limited time only. Featuring a cast, that includes Rebecca Pidgeon, William H. Macy, Clark Gregg and recent Tony Award nominated Fionnula Flanagan, the story follows a grisly murder that has taken place in Central Park. It runs February 13 - 23, 2020 as a guest production at the Odyssey Theatre, for 10 performances only.
The Philly POPS starts the new year with a tip of the hat to one of Broadway's greatest luminaries, Marvin Hamlisch, conducted by Marvin's mentee and friend, Music Director Todd Ellison, January 17a?"19, 2020. HAMLISCH: With Love features Disney Broadway powerhouse Ashley Brown and four Musical Theater students from Temple University's Boyer College of Music and Dance.
The 30th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement throughout Los Angeles, were presented on Monday, January 13, at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown LA.
Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced that Bay Area natives and provocateurs, Culture Clash, are returning with their latest production, Culture Clash (Still) in America. The play, written and performed by Culture Clash and directed by Obie Award winner Lisa Peterson, marks the fifth time the satirical group has performed at Berkeley Rep.
Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer) in association with Eric Krebs will present the Off-Broadway premiere of Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn, with book and lyrics by Mark Saltzman, music adapted from classic Italian melodies, and directed and choreographed by Justin Ross Cohen. Previews begin at the Mezzanine Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theatres 502 West 53rd Street (10th Avenue & 53rd Street) tomorrow night, Tuesday, January 14th at 7pm with an official opening on Thursday, January 23rd at 8pm. Performances will continue through February 16, 2020.
Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) has announced the ninth annual Roundabout Underground Reading Series, a five-night event that includes nightly readings of new works written and directed by emerging artists, as well as post-show receptions. The Reading Series will feature new works by Benjamin Benne, Majkin Holmquist, Shayan Lotfi, Nick Mecikalski and Harrison David Rivers.
On the heels of the company's New York Times Critic's Pick premiere of ¡Guaracha! A Musical, Pregones/PRTT has announced a strictly limited 12-performance encore run of the acclaimed first full-length play by poet, actor, singer, and Latinx favorite Flaco Navaja, directed by Jorge B. Merced. Evolution of a Sonero returns to its home at Puerto Rican Traveling Theater following sold-out and standing ovation engagements at The Public Theater/ Under The Radar in NYC, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA, Ann Arbor Summer Festival in Ann Arbor, MI, and Cara Mía Theatre's inaugural Latinidades Festival in Dallas, TX. Start your New Year 2020 with this fresh and resonant epic about growing up, feeling the music, and going for the win! Just in time for Las Octavitas ! | January 9-19, 2020 at PRTT in Manhattan.
Presenters have been announced for the 30th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards on Monday, January 13, at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Red carpet arrivals will begin at 6pm and the ceremony, hosted by George Salazar, is set to begin at 7:30pm.
Erik Lee Preminger, the son of legendary burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee (whose 1957 memoirs inspired the classic musical GYPSY) and film director Otto Preminger, will appear in-person at Naples's Theatrezone on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 to present his one-man show about his famous mother (featuring rare home movies, television shows, newsreel footage, a question-and-answer session, and more).
He was kind enough to give me and BroadwayWorld readers some insight into his life and his show ahead of the January 15 performance; read below.
The 28th Annual Bounce Trumpet Awards, an exciting and inspirational night recognizing African-American achievements and contributions, world premieres Sunday, January 12 at 9:00 p.m. ET on Bounce.
The Actors' Gang Theater continues its 2019-20 season with a workshop production of Fritz Lang's M. Originally written by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou, and adapted and directed by Tess Vidal, M performs through Sunday, January 19th.
As part of The Soraya's Family Fun series, The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts presents Hotel a?" the fifteenth show by the acclaimed Canadian troupe Cirque Eloize, now celebrating its 25th anniversary - for two performances only, January 25 and 26, 2020. Like Saloon presented last year at The Soraya, audiences will once again be amazed by and delight in powerful acrobatic feats in a light comic show, this time with a classic hotel setting.
The Muny announced today the directors, choreographers and music directors for its 2020 season, which opens June 15 with Kander and Ebb's internationally-acclaimed Chicago. Among the talented list are a mix of Muny favorites and newcomers. In addition to casting, a comprehensive list of design teams for each production will be released later this spring. Telsey + Company is the official casting partner for Muny.
BroadwayWorld has learned that WICKED Broadway alumni Donna Vivino will go past the Russel Hotel to the Heaviside Layer as Grizabella on the CATS tour beginning February 2020.
The Blank Theatre in partnership with LA City College Theatre Academy is now seeking submissions nationwide from playwrights 19 years of age and younger for the 28th Annual Young Playwrights Festival. Submissions must be made online or postmarked by March 15, 2020. The winning plays will be presented by professional actors and directors in June of this year at LA City College's Caminito Theatre in Hollywood, CA. The Blank Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival is a nationwide competition that produces the work of 12 young writers each year. Since 1993, the festival has produced 332 plays by playwrights 19 and younger from 34 states.
Montalvo Arts Center brings the hit public radio show Selected Shorts to Saratoga live on stage as part of its Carriage House Concert Series. Conceived in 1985, Selected Shorts is a weekly public radio show with a simple premise: take great stories by well-known and terrific writers and have them performed by actors of stage and screen. Today, its podcast consistently ranks as one of the most popular NPR shows on iTunes. From fiction to classic and beyond, the stories of Selected Shorts are brought to life by actors from stage, screen, and television. At Montalvo, Selected Shorts will include special guests David Strathairn and Jane Kaczmarek, and others to be announced, presenting Unexpected Encounters, an evening of funny, moving readings about unlikely connections.