Phelps News

Lesli Margherita -- Matilda the Musical's long-running 'Mrs. Wormwood' -- will play her final performance in the Broadway show today, Sept. 6.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. It's a Super September Preview! We've got the low-down on 16 musical productions you will want to see this month, from city to suburbs, big theaters to small, premieres and old favorites galore! 'Side Show,' 'Dogfight,' 'Next To Normal,' 'Oklahoma!,' 'Spamalot,' 'Blood Brothers,' 'October Sky,' CST's 'Ride The Cyclone' and much more!

Citadel Theatre is proud to present Judith Guest's Ordinary People, adapted for the stage by Nancy Gilsenen and directed by Artistic Director Scott Phelps, September 18 - October 18 at Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Rd. Press are invited to final preview Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. or the opening Friday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $35 Thursdays and Fridays, $37.50 Saturdays and Sundays.  Tickets are available online at www.CitadelTheatre.org or over the phone by calling the Citadel Theatre box office at 847.735.8554. Discounts are available for seniors, students, theatre industry professionals and groups.

Dark & Stormy Productions today announces the producers, venue, and partners for its upcoming production of Extremities by William Mastrosimone. Previously, Dark & Stormy has presented Outside Providence by Edward Allan Baker, Speed-the-Plow by David Mamet, The Receptionist by Adam Bock, The Drunken City by Adam Bock, and The Hothouse by Harold Pinter. Extremities will be the first production of Dark & Stormy's 2015 season.

 There was an explosion last night at the finale of 'Mama's Next BIG Act!' at Don't Tell Mama. In a giant win, Amorika Amoroso came out on top of a remarkably gifted and well-matched group of performers who treated the standing-room only audience to an evening of sustained artistry and passion.  Amoroso, a deliriously funny R&B and blues singer/bad-ass who slices and dices with stories of growing up unique, sang 'Moving on Up,' which not only blew the roof off the joint, but also served notice that a major star was marching onto the scene in New York cabaret.

Roald Dahl's popular childrens' book MATILDA comes to life in Tim Minchin (music and lyrics) and Dennis Kelly's (book) heartfelt musical interpretation, MATILDA THE MUSICAL. The timeless story of the smart little girl that dares to change her story and stand up for what is right that first captured hearts on paper and then on stage in the West End and Broadway has finally made it to Australia and been met with thunderous applause.

The Canada Water Culture Space autumn 2015 programme features an exciting mix of comedy, contemporary theatre, dance and music - programmed by the Albany in partnership with Southwark Council.  Highlights include contemporary theatre from Pilot Theatre with Outsiders - an adaptation of Camus' classic L'etranger - and 154 Collective's chilling and atmospheric Under the Bed. Jay Phelps and an all-star band in Projections of: Miles and sharp folk-rock from The Rails.

Beginning September 8, the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit MATILDA THE MUSICAL will welcome Natalie Venetia Belcon as Mrs. Phelps, Allison Case as Miss Honey, Rick Holmes as Mr. Wormwood, and Amy Spanger as Mrs. Wormwood. They join a principal cast that features Christopher Sieber as Miss Trunchbull, and the four girls sharing the title role: Mattea Conforti, Rileigh McDonald, Mimi Ryder, and Alexandra Vlachos.

Radio show co-hosts Jill Whelan (Love Boat, Airplane, Celebrity Wife Swap) and Alexander Rodriguez (Happy Hour) from Universal Broadcasting Network's newest show "On The Rocks" will hit the stage on August 24th debuting their new duet cabaret show, 'Musical Madness!' - a roller coaster of stories, audience participation, and dramedy, belted out by your co-hosts featuring music from stage, screen and pop.

Following critically acclaimed sell-out runs at the Almeida Theatre and in the West End, King Charles III embarks on a UK tour this autumn.

TIME Magazine's #1 Show of the Year, Matilda The Musical, is coming to Houston as part of Theatre Under The Stars' 2015/16 season. Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Dodgers, the first national tour of Matilda The Musical will be coming to The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts October 6 - 18.

With just under a year to go until the Opening Ceremony, NBC Olympics announced today that Ryan Seacrest will serve as host for NBC's late night coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

SEATTLE, WA – For the second program of its 43rd season, Pacific Northwest Ballet provides a crystal-ball look at the next generation of dance makers with EMERGENCE, a program of four contemporary works. PNB audiences have been counting the days until they could see Crystal Pite's Emergence again, and PNB dancers have felt the same way. Kiyon Gaines' Sum Stravinsky was another immediate favorite when it debuted in PNB's 2012 ALL PREMIERE program. The Calling, a haunting work by choreographer Jessica Lang, artistic director of Jessica Lang Dance, receives its PNB season premiere, alongside a world premiere by PNB's own Price Suddarth. EMERGENCE runs for seven performances only, November 6 through 15 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $30. For more information, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, in person at 301 Mercer Street, or online at PNB.org.

SEATTLE, WA – Pacific Northwest Ballet opens its 2015-2016 season with SEE THE MUSIC, a terrific triple-bill of repertory works. After an eight-year hiatus, PNB welcomes the return of George Balanchine's Prodigal Son, choreographed by the ballet master at the age of 25 for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Another relative youngster, Christopher Wheeldon (recent Tony Award-winner for An American in Paris), shares the bill with Mr. B., represented by his dramatic Tide Harmonic, created for PNB in 2013. The program comes to a comic close with Jerome Robbins' hilarious The Concert (or, The Perils of Everybody). SEE THE MUSIC runs for seven performances only, September 25 through October 4 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $30 and may be purchased by calling 206.441.2424, in person at the PNB Box Office at 301 Mercer Street, or online at PNB.org.

After another night jam-packed with daring artistry and scintillating talent, "Mama's Next BIG Act!" the genre-bending talent contest, is slimming down dramatically today.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Tours of 'Persuasion,' 'Pippin' and '42nd Street,' dueling productions of 'American Idiot,' Michael Kingston and Jane Lynch solo out, 'Bette' adds a date, Theo Ubique announced 'Blood Brothers,' Porchlight sets the season, and 'The Wiz Live!' gets movin' down the road!

Today, August 5, marks one year out from the start of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

GRAMMY award-winning Southern blues-rockers, The Kentucky Headhunters, have announced 25 new tour dates to wrap up the summer and bring their rowdy, high-energy shows to fans nationwide well into fall.

Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre Artistic Director and Co-Founder Fred Anzevino has announced the cast for Blood Brothers, the megahit British musical by Willy Russell that will open the company's 2015-16 season, The musical drama is the story of twin brothers separated at birth - one raised by a rich family, the other by the impoverished birth mother of the boys. In the leading role of the boys' mother, Mrs. Johnstone, will be Kyrie Anderson. Her sons Mickey (the son she kept) and Edward (the son adopted by a wealthy couple) will be played by Charlie Mann and Cody Jolly, respectively. Victoria Oliver and Darren Hill have been cast as Mr. and Mrs. Lyons, the couple who adopt Edward. Dana Anderson will play Linda, the romantic interest of both brothers, and Cullen Rogers will be the criminally inclined Sammy. Jordan Phelps has the role of The Narrator and Whitney Rappana, Ryan Dooley and Ryan Armstrong will comprise the  ensemble.