Peter James Zielinski News

New York Musical Theater Festival will kick of its sixth season with a Gala Celebration of its first five years, called BEST OF THE FEST, on Monday, April 20th at 7 PM at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). Tickets are NOW ON SALE at Telecharge.com or by phone at 212/239-6200.

Disney Theatrical Productions is celebrating 15 years on Broadway by offering ?$15 FOR 15? - 15 days to purchase companion tickets for THE LITTLE MERMAID, MARY POPPINS or THE LION KING for $15. Beginning at noon this Sunday, April 5 until 11:59 PM on Sunday April 19, theatre-goers will have the opportunity to buy a $15 companion ticket for all three popular Disney on Broadway shows with the purchase of a regular priced ticket to more than 125 performances throughout the spring.

BROADWAY FOR A NEW AMERICA, a gala benefit for The Jewish Alliance for Change (Doni Remba, President) will take place on Monday, April 13th at 7:00 pm at Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (at 95th Street). The concert will feature a host of stars from Broadway, screen and music as well as prominent political leaders, progressive and LGBT activists.

The Lincoln Center Theater presents the new musical HAPPINESS at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. HAPPINESS has a book by John Weidman, music by Scott Frankel, lyrics by Michael Korie and direction and choreography by Susan Stroman, and features Fred Applegate. Sebastian Arcelus, Miguel Cervantes, Hunter Foster, Joanna Gleason, Ken Page, Robert Petkoff, Jenny Powers, Phyllis Somerville and Pearl Sun.

Jim Caruso's Cast Party has announced that Jason Robert Brown, the award-winning composer/lyricist (Parade, The Last Five Years) will be returning to Broadway at Birdland for a five (5) night engagement (March 31-April 4) that will feature new material from the past five years.

The Fire Dept Artistic Directors Erica Gould and Audrey Rosenberg presented The Minotaur, the first installment of the company's 2009 Salon Series, the cast for the performance included Mario Cantone, Jill Clayburgh, Phoebe Neidhardt, Ethan Peck, Campbell Scott, and Jeremy Webb. The Minotaur, written by Anna Ziegler; directed by Erica Gould; and produced by Audrey Rosenberg, took place Friday, March 27 at 7:30pm at the historic Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South at 20th Street.

Leftfield Productions, Inc. along with Bud Negley, WHY and The Hard Rock Café announce that on Thursday, April 30th 'Neil Berg's 100 Years of Broadway' will perform a fundraising concert in Times Square at the Hard Rock Café featuring Broadway's Rob Evan (Jekyll and Hyde), Rita Harvey (Phantom of the Opera), Steve Blanchard (Beauty and the Beast), Carter Calvert (Ain't Nothin' But the Blues), Danny Zolli (Jesus Christ Superstar), Andrea Rivette (Miss Saigon), Tad Wilson (Rock of Ages), Capathia Jenkins (Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me), Eryn Murman (Spring Awakening) and Gerard Canonico (Spring Awakening). The show will be introduced by Charles Grodin and Vincent Pastore with more special guests to be announced.

On Wednesday, March 25, Cherry Lane opened its newest theatre The Cherry Pit on Bank Street, with the Off-Broadway premiere of Deirdre O'Connor's play JAILBAIT -- about two fifteen-year-old girls who spend a night at a Boston club posing as college students.

Emmy and Tony Award winner Tyne Daly, most recently on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Rabbit Hole, will preview her cabaret show on Sunday, April 26, 2009, to benefit Abingdon Theatre Company. Her one-time performance in the June Havoc Theatre will be followed by Miss Daly's debut May 12-16 at Feinstein's at Loews Regency.

FEINSTEIN'S AT LOEWS REGENCY, the nightclub proclaimed 'Best of New York' by New York Magazine, and 'an invaluable New York institution' by The New York Post, continues its 10th Anniversary season with the return engagement of Tony Award winning Broadway legend Barbara Cook from April 14 to May 2 in her new show 'Here's To Life.' In an exclusive three-week run, Ms. Cook will perform selections from the worlds of theater, swing, pop and jazz. Songs include 'What A Wonderful World,' 'Written In The Stars,' 'I Want To Be Happy' and numbers from her newest CD, Rainbow ?Round My Shoulder. The show - featuring Lee Musiker heading an all-star quintet - runs at the Regency Hotel (540 Park Avenue at 61st Street).

The stars of the new smash hit Broadway show SHREK THE MUSICAL; Brian d'Arcy James (Shrek), Sutton Foster (Princess Fiona), Christopher Sieber (Lord Farquaad) and Daniel Breaker (Donkey); will appeared at Border's at Time Warner Center on Tuesday, March 24th to sign copies of the new original Broadway cast album.

Signature Theatre Company celebrated the Opening Night performance of Charles Fuller's ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN on Tuesday March 24th, the play is the final production of Signature Theatre Company's (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) 2008-2009 season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC). BroadwayWorld's cameras were there to celebrate to opening of the production!

Last night at CHICAGO, the Tony winning hit musical celebrated a big milestone -- the production played its 5,125th performance, which made it the seventh-longest running show in Broadway history! The previous record-holder was 'Rent,' with 5,125 performances.

Multiple Drama Desk and Tony Award winning actor/writer Harvey Fierstein will host the 54th Annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony on Sunday, May 17, 2009, at 9 PM at the F.H. LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, it was announced by Robert R. Blume, Executive Producer of the annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony, and William Wolf, President of the Drama Desk, an organization of theater critics, writers and editors that honors excellence in all areas of New York theatre, including Broadway, Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway and not-for-profit theater. This will be the fourth time in the past six years that Fierstein has hosted the Drama Desk Awards, having emceed the Awards in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce casting and dates for the world premiere production of Academy Award winning film maker Ethan Coen's OFFICES, directed by Neil Pepe (Speed-the-Plow).

Jim Caruso's Cast Party has announced that Jason Robert Brown, the award-winning composer/lyricist (Parade, The Last Five Years) will be returning to Broadway at Birdland for a five (5) night engagement (March 31-April 4) that will feature new material from the past five years.

The Official Idina Menzel fan club is reporting that the Tony winning star will be performing at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ on March 21, 2009. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, December 17th at 12PM EST. However, members of Idina's official fan club will have access to pre-sale tickets.

To celebrate the official kickoff to the Fidelity FutureStage Playwriting Contest, members of the Billy Elliot the Musical cast surprised students from three schools that were among the earliest contest registrants. David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish, the three young stars playing the title role in the new Broadway hit, made the students day with the surprise appearance.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) began previews on Tuesday, March 3 for Tracey Scott Wilson's THE GOOD NEGRO, which will run through Sunday, April 19. The official press opening took place on Monday, March 16th and BroadwayWorld was there!

The Town Hall (Executive and Artistic Director Lawrence Zucker) continues its ninth season of the critically acclaimed Broadway By The Year? series with the Broadway Musicals of 1931 on MONDAY, MARCH 30th. The series is created, written and hosted by Scott Siegel for The Town Hall.