Playbill News

The Festival Theatre stage will transform into a small Jewish village through the heartwarming tale of hope, faith and tradition that is Fiddler on the Roof. One of Broadway's longest-running and most celebrated musicals begins previews in Stratford on Tuesday, April 23, marking the first performance of the 2013 season.

Theater Hall of Fame 2012 honoree, Tony Award Winner and legendary Broadway star Betty Buckley will be offering her Song Interpretation & Monologue Workshops this Summer in Fort Worth, Denver and Los Angeles.

It was the best of musicals, it was the worst of musicals.  It was a score of wisdom, it was a book of foolishness.  It was the epoch of belief in the entertainment value of songs like 'Dancing In The Streets' and 'My Girl,' it was the epoch of incredulity in hearing lines like 'Your little Stevie is a wonder' and 'You built a legacy of love.'  We had everything before us, we had nothing before us.

According to the New York Times, Julie Taymor came out of her lawsuit against the producers of SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK with better billing. As of March 2011, when Taymor was officially fired as director of the musical, Taymor was credited on the show playbill with 'Original Direction By' just under Philip Wm. McKinley, who was credited as director. Now as per terms in the settlement, Taymor is listed as director above McKinley, who's credit has been changed to 'additional direction by.'

For this, the third installment of my in-depth analysis of all things PETER, I have decided to pull back the curtain of New World Stages and provide you with a pictorial backstage tour. If pictures say a thousand words, then here's 18,000 words.

Music Director Jacques Lacombe and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra present Tchaikovsky's mighty Fifth Symphony on a concert program that features the East Coast premiere of Steven Mackey's Stumble to Grace Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with pianist Orli Shaham. The Orchestra performs the Princeton University professor's concerto as part of the New Jersey Roots Project, which celebrates the music of composers whose artistic identity has been influenced by their time in the Garden State.

Virginia Repertory Theatre announces the opening of Red by John Logan on Friday, April 26, 2013 with a preview on April 25. The show will run through June 16 at Theatre Gym at Virginia Rep Center, 114 West Broad Street.

MJXpressions LLC is proud to present an innovative production of Smooth Criminal Murder Mystery. The Smooth Criminal Murder Mystery is a 2-3 hour dinner event spotlighting 5-star Michael Jackson Tribute Artist, MJX, and a cast of dancers, singers and hosts. Interacting with the dinner guests, the cast performs Michael Jackson hits, including full costume changes and custom choreography. The guests vote on which character is the murderer of Little Susie and prizes are awarded.

Marin Theatre Company, in a co-production with Virginia Stage Company, stages the regional premiere of Matthew Lopez's Civil War drama The Whipping Man in Mill Valley from March 28 to April 21, 2013. MTC's artistic director Jasson Minadakis directs the production. Featuring popular Bay Area actors L. Peter Callender, Nicholas Pelczar and Tobie Windham, as well as the design team from MTC's 2011 San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award nominated production of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, this co-production rehearsed and ran at VSC in Norfolk, Virginia, from February 26 to March 17, 2013, before tonight's move to MTC. Opening night at MTC is tonight, April 2.

This week's topics:mediocre shows with great scores, RIP Richard Griffiths, Protestors outside of The Testament Of Mary, BOMBSHELL or HIT LIST, Bible verses in Playbills, Thoughts on MOTOWN, Legends of this Generation

The Stratford Festival has just announced that matinee performances of Mary Stuart have been added to the 2013 schedule on August 27 and September 20. Tickets are available online and through the box office.

British theatre troupe Propeller is presenting Taming of the Shrew in repertory with Twelfth Night at the Guthrie Theater through April 6. Two of the 14 actors in the company sat down one recent afternoon to talk about Minneapolis, Shrew and Shakespeare. This is part one of two.

Artistic Director Bill Rauch announced the directors for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2014 season. The 2014 season playbill was unveiled on February 1.

The newly minted Saratoga Springs Theatre Company has announced its inaugural season, featuring a regional premiere production of Shrek the Musical. It will be the first theatre in Utah, and among the first in the nation, to produce the Broadway show.

With only 35 days until the launch of the 2013 Stratford Festival Season, we bring you a preview of their 61st season with 12 productions taking the stage. Watch the video below!

Following Tuesday evening performances of Tina Packer's Women of Will 'The Overview' the cast (Tina Packer and Nigel Gore) have been indulging curious audience members with weekly post show talk-backs. Now beginning Tuesday, March 19 Ms. Packer and Mr. Gore will welcome a few notable names to the 'Tuesday Talk-backs with Tina and Nigel' in the form of a moderator - currently announcing five moderators, with additional names and dates to be announced at another time.

Starring Mark Evans as Elder Kevin Price and Christopher John O'Neill as Elder Arnold Cunningham, the comedy duo bring convulsive comedy to the stage rivaling veteran actors Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Each elder attempts to spread the good news in his own way; Arnold seems to pull scripture out of his a$$ to fit whatever point he is trying to promote. Kevin tries the traditional method but winds up having to pull the actual book out of his a$$ after it was unceremoniously placed there by a terrorist. It's never fun being the butt of a joke.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College (BCBC) continues its 2012-2013 Season with The Freddy Cole Quartet tonight, March 16, 2013 at 8pm. Tickets are $36 and can be purchased by phone at 718-951-4500 (Tues-Sat, 1pm-6pm), or online at www.BrooklynCenterOnline.org.

Part of the Kennedy Center celebration of everything Scandenavian, 'Nordic Cool' is overwhelming.

Broadway in Indianapolis announces its 2013-2014 season. From the creators of South Park and winner of nine Tony Awards, THE BOOK OF MORMON will play a limited two-week engagement January 17-22, 2014. The New York Times calls it 'the best musical of this century' and Entertainment Weekly says it's 'the funniest musical of all time.' Season Subscribers receive priority ticket opportunities to shows so a season subscription is the best way to guarantee seats to THE BOOK OF MORMON.