Playbill News

During the Annual General Meeting held earlier today, the Shaw Festival announced positive financial results for the 2019 season. Kevin Patterson, Treasurer of the Board of Directors, shared with an audience of patrons, donors and company members that both sales and fundraising revenues achieved all-time highs, resulting in a $519,000 season surplus.

BroadwayWorld has teamed up with renowned caricature artist Ken Fallin, a life-long theater enthusiast, who has drawn many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Below, check out his latest illustration, featuring Linda Purl and Ryan Spahn in MR. TOOLE.

I am an actor. One that has lived in New York City a long time. Long enough to call myself a New Yorker.

University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) Dean Stanley E. Romanstein has announced the appointment of Eric Santagata to the position of Associate Professor and Patricia A. Corbett Distinguished Chair of Musical Theatre at CCM. A 2004 graduate of CCM's nationally recognized BFA Musical Theatre program, Santagata's appointment begins on Aug. 15, 2020.

Award-winning singer/actress Laura Dreyfuss has announced today's premiere of her new single. 'Sidelines' is available now via S-Curve Records/BMG at all DSPs and streaming services; an official music video - directed by Marysia Makowska - is streaming now via Dreyfuss' official YouTube channel.

A superb play, The Diary of Anne Frank is now on stage at The Summit Playhouse. Based on the Anne Frank's journal accounts, it is written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, adapted by Wendy Kesselman and directed by Karen Thornton.

Once in awhile a musical comes along that strikes the right chord. Irish musician Glen Hansard and Czech pianist Marketa Irglova collaborated on a stage version of the 2007 film by John Carney. This deceptively simple story won a Tony Award for Best Book by Enda Walsh along with 7 more wins out of 11 Tony nominations in 2012, including Best Musical, Best Orchestration, and Best Direction. Its most familiar song, 'Falling Slowly,' won an Academy Award and the cast album captured a Grammy.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) will officially launch its 85th year and Nataki Garrett's first full season as artistic director on March 6. Preview performances of five plays begin on February 28, and the 2020 season will continue through Nov. 1, with six more plays opening in the spring and summer.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT) is pleased to present the seventh year of its annual Young Artist Program, through which Troupe members are able to showcase their talents with self-produced, one-person shows. The first Young Artist showcases of the 2019-2020 season, featuring popular WBTT artist Derric Gobourne Jr., take place Sunday, March 15 (this show is sold out) and Monday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m.

This show can't miss. It has a message. It is beautifully presented. It is superbly acted. And it's gut-shaking funny.

The Central New York Playhouse is now entertaining audiences with the delightful romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love. The play by Lee Hall is adapted from the popular 1998 film of the same name. With numerous productions of Romeo and Juliet occurring throughout Central New York the timing is perfect for a refreshing relief, a play that is about writing Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Even better, the production is witty, refreshing, and entertaining.

Oregon Children's Theatre is excited to bring Eric Carle's classic characters back to the Winningstad stage! This revived version of the family-favorite is an adaptation of four classic stories from award-winning Carle, including The Very Lonely Firefly, Ten Little Rubber Ducks, Brown Bear Brown Bear, and-of course-The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It debuted in Australia in 2015 and has performed all over the world since then, from the UK to Dubai. Along the way, the show has garnered rave reviews. The New York Times called it 'Bedazzling' and Time Out said that it was 'Beautiful, rhythmic, and faithful to the author's works.'

Get ready because we're giving you a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Norm Lewis in concert with Seth Rudetsky! The winner will receive two tickets to the concert on March 6, 2020 at The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in Scottsdale, Arizona. The contest will run now through February 28th at 11:59PM EST, so make sure to enter for your chance to win TODAY!

Yesterday, Playbill broke the news that the critically acclaimed graphic novel THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER by Jen Wang will be the next project for husband-wife team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who previously worked together on the music for Disney's Frozen, Coco, and Frozen 2. Robert is a two-time EGOT winner -- he is the youngest to win the award, to have won it in the shortest amount of time, and to have won it more than once. He broken out with his work co-writing Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon.

Anatomy of a Suicide began performances on February 1 and opened on Tuesday, February 18 at Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street). The production is a limited engagement through March 15, 2020.

NYTB/Chamber Works (Diana Byer, Founder and Artistic Director) announces Sleeping Beauty performances (February 29 & March 1) at Florence Gould Hall (55 East 59th Street, NYC). Tchaikovsky's captivating score sets the mood for James Sutton's hour-long version of Sleeping Beauty from the Co.'s Once Upon a Ballet Series (suitable for ages 3+). Set in a magical fairy kingdom beneath the roots of a great tree, this beloved classic, filled with magic and poetry, tells the enchanting tale of Princess Aurora from her fateful birth to her triumphant wedding. The set, property design, & scenic painting are by Gillian Bradshaw-Smith, and costumes are designed by Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan

Broadway in Indianapolis has announced the 2020-2021 Season headlined by the six-time Tony Award-winning Best Musical, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, and the ferociously funny new musical MEAN GIRLS. Fall in love all over again with the dazzling PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL, based on the beloved romantic comedy film. The series also boasts the Indianapolis premieres Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, with the spectacular return of Andrew Lloyd Webber's JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - 50th Anniversary Tour.

Having quick access to professional theatre no doubt made an impact on my love for the arts. Growing up in Minneapolis, I was surrounded by a booming arts community with opportunities to watch or perform pretty much whenever I wanted to. I didn't realize how rare and fortunate that was until I moved out of the Twin Cities for college. Now, I live in a wonderful small town in Iowa, but there is no professional theatre in sight.

Playwright Marco Ramirez's The Royale at 1st Stage is a rare and thought-provoking theatre experience.