Roald Dahl News

The Last Act of Lilka Kadison/by Nicola Behrman, David Kersnar, Abbie Phillips, Heidi Stillman, Andrew White/directed by Dan Bonnell/Falcon Theatre, produced in association with the Lookingglass Theatre Company*/through April 19

Excitement and pride will soon fill the air when more than 1500 students from 43 elementary and middle schools across the area participate in Blumenthal Performing Arts' annual Broadway Junior Theater Celebration over the course of three days, April 7-9.

Philippa Pearce's classic children's story, Tom's Midnight Garden has been adapted for the stage by the multi-award winning playwright, David Wood and it will be playing at Coventry's Belgrade from Tues 15 to Sat 19 April.

piece by piece productions and Rising Phoenix Repertory in association with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater will present the world premiere of A Fable, written by David Van Asselt and directed by Daniel Talbott, beginning Saturday, May 3 at 7pm at the Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street. The opening night is set for Thursday, May 22 at 7pm. A Fable is scheduled to run through Sunday, June 28.

Parson's Nose Theater (PNT) will conclude their 2013-14 Season next month with a Readers' Theater Series performance of Little Sophie's Misfortunes by Comtesse de Segur.

MainStreet Theatre Company is delighted to announce their final show of the season - the west coast premiere of Roald Dahl's The Magic Finger. British Playwright David Wood did the adaptation, which premiered at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, MD in 2013. Mr. Wood has continued to work on the play, and MainStreet will be producing a brand new version. Abigail Deser is the director. The production will play two school performances on May 2nd, and open to the public on Saturday, May 3rd at 4pm. The strictly limited engagement will run through Sunday, May 18th only.

Artistic Director Jim Helsinger and Managing Director PJ Albert announced the 10 productions that will comprise Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF's upcoming 2014-2015 Season. Featuring a mix of Shakespeare favorites, popular stories for children of all ages, daring new plays, and a musical event of epic proportions, the celebrated Theater's 26th Season offers something for every audience in Central Florida and beyond.

The four girls sharing the title role in Broadway's MATILDA THE MUSICAL are featured in today's New York Times. In light of Warren Buffet and Quicken Loans' recent announcement of a billion dollar prize for correctly picking the winners of all 63 NCAA men's basketball tournament games, the Times consulted three pundits: a mathematician and his students who are using a linear algebra program to make their picks, a sportswriter with a coin to flip, and the four 'Matildas.' Follow the link for the video feature, where you can watch Ava Ulloa, Gabriella Pizzolo, Paige Brady and Ripley Sobo explain their bracket-picking methodology. Check out the video below!

The Broadway League has awarded coveted New York Education Grants to the Broadway productions of Act One, Matilda the Musical, and Violet. Each production receives a $5,000 grant towards its 2014 educational and community engagement initiatives. The grants aid the growth and development of theatre education in the city as they encourage Broadway productions to create more opportunities for young people. This is the first year that the Broadway League has awarded three grants instead of two, due to the increased number of proposals of quality programs.

Following a demanding assessment day at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Friday 7th March, Ruth Blakey, Kayleigh Chapman, Jenny Milner, Erin Rankin and Lois Taviner have been offered a week-long 'Golden Ticket' paid work placement, working backstage on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the seven-time Olivier Award-nominated musical.

Meet Broadway's newest MATILDAS in today's Wall Street Journal where Ava Ulloa, Gabriella Pizzolo, Paige Brady and Ripley Sobo talk to reporter Sophia Hollander about their experience joining the Broadway smash, MATILDA THE MUSICAL. Check out their interview below!

Christopher Sieber, who will be Broadway's newest Miss Trunchbull in Matilda, will have to wait to play the tyrant headmistress on stage .During rehearsals for his debut as Miss Trunchbull in MATILDA THE MUSICAL last month, Sieber fractured a bone in his hand. He is now expected to begin performances on Tuesday April 8 if his hand is fully healed. Cast member Ben Thompson will perform the role beginning this Tuesday March 18 when Mr. Sieber had hoped to begin performances in the show.

The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati ends its 89th MainStage Season with ROALD DAHL'S WILLY WONKA JR. directed and choreographed by Jay Goodlett. Words and music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, adapted for the stage by Leslie Bricusse and Timothy A. McDonald, based on the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.

Lesli Margherita, who stars in Broadway's MATILDA THE MUSICAL as Mrs. Wormwood, was interviewed recently on WAMC Radio's program 'The Roundtable.' Listen to her conversation with host Sarah LaDuke about her social media following, Mrs. Wormwood's similarities to Miss Piggy, and the beauty of performing with four different Matildas each week.

Barry James, Josefina Gabrielle, Richard Dempsey and Kirsty Malpass will join the previously announced Alex Jennings (Willy Wonka) in the cast of the record-breaking West End production of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Students from the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT) will perform in four nationally distributed choreography DVDs for the Music Theatre International (MTI) Broadway Junior collection of musicals. The news was announced today by Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) and educational musical theatre consultancy firm iTheatrics. iTheatrics, which is based in New York City, is producing the DVDs, which will feature original choreography by its chief choreographer, Steven G. Kennedy.

The Douglas Morrisson Theatre continues its 2013-2014 season with James & the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl's Fantasy Adventure for Children dramatized by Richard R. George. Directed by the Dawn Monique Williams, the play features an ensemble of local performers: Janelle Aguirre, Jordan Battle, Rebecca Fox, Don Hardwick, Amir Hasan, Travis Himebaugh, Carlos Joachin, Danny Martin, Joe Metheny and Belgica Rodriguez.

Today, March 4, Matt Harrington joins the cast of Matilda. He will be playing the role of Mr. Wormwood, Matilda's father, and replacing Gabriel Ebert. Harrington recently appeared in Broadway's Twelfth Night and Richard III, which transferred from the Shakespeare's Globe in 2013.

Atlanta's nationally acclaimed Alliance Theatre and Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Susan V. Booth just announced the 2014/15 Season for the Alliance Stage, Hertz Stage and Theatre for Youth and Families series. The 46th season includes seven exciting world premieres, including two new American musicals.

Barry O'Farrell announced today that the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Matilda The Musical will make its Australian Premiere at Sydney Lyric Theatre in August 2015.