Ricky Ian Gordon News

BroadwayWorld Congratulates the 2009 Tony Award Honorees, Non-Competitive Categories

The Tony Administration Committee revealed the names of a quartet of honorees who are to be recognized in the four non-competitive Tony categories. Composer/lyricist Jerry Herman, Virginia's Signature Theatre, and longtime press agent Shirley Herz will be honored at the 63rd annual Tony Awards ceremony on June 7. Actress/writer Phyllis Newman will receive the newest Tony Award for her volunteer work as an advocate for women's health.

Vineyard Theatre announces cast and creative team for Lab Production of new musical THE BURNT PART BOYS Developmental Lab Production set to conclude June 6 at The Vineyard Theatre

THE BURNT PART BOYS -- a new musical by Mariana Elder (book), Nathan Tysen (lyrics) and Chris Miller (music) -- will be presented as a developmental Lab Production, May 26-June 6 at The Vineyard Theatre (108 East 15th Street) in Manhattan. Erica Schmidt (HUMOR ABUSE) is set to direct.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is pleased to announce its new American play Superior Donuts, by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning ensemble member Tracy Letts and directed by ensemble member Tina Landau, will open on Broadway October 1, 2009 (at a Shubert Theatre to be announced). Superior Donuts makes its Broadway debut direct from its sold-out world premiere at Steppenwolf last summer. Casting for the Broadway engagement will be announced shortly.

BroadwayWorld Presents The 2009 Tony Award Honorees for Non-Competitive Categories

On Monday, May 5, the Tony Administration Committee revealed the names of a quartet of honorees who are to be recognized in the four non-competitive Tony categories. Composer/lyricist Jerry Herman, Virginia's Signature Theatre, and longtime press agent Shirley Herz will be honored at the 63rd annual Tony Awards ceremony on June 7. Actress/writer Phyllis Newman will receive the newest Tony Award for her volunteer work as an advocate for women's health.

Epic in vision and scope, Giant chronicles The Life and times of cattleman Jordan 'Bick' Benedict, his naïve young society wife, and their family in the sweeping panorama of Texas, the land that brings them together and almost splits them apart. A sensational story of power, love, lust, and bigotry among the wealthy Anglo cattle barons and oil tycoons, and the downtrodden Mexican-Americans who work for them, Giant is based on the classic novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edna Ferber, which also inspired the film starring James Dean, ElizaBeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson. Written by Michael John LaChiusa, considered one of today's most intelligent and innovative musical theater composers, Giant is the first work produced through Signature's multi-year American Musical Voices Project.

Eric Schaeffer, Artistic Director of Signature Theatre, presents the world premiere production of the musical Giant by composer Michael John LaChiusa and playwright Sybille Pearson.

The New Amsterdam Singers (NAS), led by Music Director, Clara Longstreth, will perform Song and Dance: Circles, Sets, and Cycles, a program featuring choral cycles by Debussy and Ravel in collaboration with Nimbus Dance Works and its choreographer Samuel Pott, Wednesday May 27, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. at the Riverside Theatre.

JESSICA MOLASKEY, the Broadway musical actress, jazz singing sensation, recording artist and radio personality, will perform an exclusive week-long engagement at the legendary jazz club Birdland (315 West 44th Street in Manhattan) from March 31 to April 4. She will be joined by the John Pizzarelli Quartet featuring John Pizzarelli on guitar, Larry Fuller on piano and Martin Pizzarelli on bass, Aaron Weinstein on violin and Tony Tedesco on drums. The show will feature selections from her critically acclaimed albums that she hasn't performed live, in addition to the possibility of special surprise guests. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM. There is a $30 general admission cover charge and $40 premium seats, both with a $10 table minimum. For reservations and further information, please call (212) 581-3080 or visit www.birdlandjazz.com.

The Stonewall Chorale, the first mixed-voice gay choir in the U.S., presents its annual spring concert, entitled Eternal Light, featuring Durufl?s Requiem, and choral works by Elgar, Mawby and Grainger, at the Church of the Ascension, 5th Ave at 10th St., one of NYC?s finest acoustical spaces. The event will be taking place on Saturday, Mar. 28, 8 pm at the Church of the Ascension, 5th Ave. at W 10th Street, New York, NY.

Eric Schaeffer, Artistic Director of Signature Theatre, today announced casting for the world premiere production of the musical Giant by composer Michael John LaChiusa and playwright Sybille Pearson.

Tony Award-winning actress and mother Victoria Clark and musical director, Ted Sperling will lend their talents for a one-night concert to benefit the Bank Street School for Children (610 West 112th Street) on Monday, March 23rd at 7PM.

American Theatre Wing presented the 2009 Jonathan Larson Grants on Tuesday, March 17 at Touch 240 West 52nd Street, NYC (Between Broadway and 8th Avenue).

Tony Award-winning actress and mother Victoria Clark and musical director, Ted Sperling will lend their talents for a one-night concert to benefit the Bank Street School for Children (610 West 112th Street) on Monday, March 23rd at 7PM.

JESSICA MOLASKEY, the Broadway musical actress, jazz singing sensation, recording artist and radio personality, will perform an exclusive week-long engagement at the legendary jazz club Birdland (315 West 44th Street in Manhattan) from March 31 to April 4. She will be joined by the John Pizzarelli Quartet featuring John Pizzarelli on guitar, Larry Fuller on piano and Martin Pizzarelli on bass, Aaron Weinstein on violin and Tony Tedesco on drums. The show will feature selections from her critically acclaimed albums that she hasn't performed live, in addition to the possibility of special surprise guests. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM. There is a $30 general admission cover charge and $40 premium seats, both with a $10 table minimum. For reservations and further information, please call (212) 581-3080 or visit www.birdlandjazz.com.

Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer today announced Signature's 20th anniversary season, saluting the two decades that have led the company to its position as one of the nation's leading forces in musical theater. The company will present a world premiere musical through its innovative American Musical Voices Project; a masterpiece by the composer for which the company is renowned, Stephen Sondheim; the Washington premiere of a recent Broadway hit; and the reinvention of a classic musical, supporting Signature's 'much-deserved reputation for excellence in revisionist musical theater' (Chicago Tribune).

The Stonewall Chorale, the first mixed-voice gay choir in the U.S., presents its annual spring concert, entitled Eternal Light, featuring Durufl?s Requiem, and choral works by Elgar, Mawby and Grainger, at the Church of the Ascension, 5th Ave at 10th St., one of NYC?s finest acoustical spaces. The event will be taking place on Saturday, Mar. 28, 8 pm at the Church of the Ascension, 5th Ave. at W 10th Street, New York, NY.

The 2009 Festival of New American Musicals, a four-month musical theatre festival, will be held in April through July, 2009, throughout Southern California. Marcia Seligson, Bob Klein, and Linda Shusett are the Executive Producers of the second annual Festival.