Robert Lopez News

The First National Tour of THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, will play a strictly limited nine-day, 11-performance engagement from Saturday, October 12 through Sunday, October 20, 2013 at the Orpheum Theater, 409 South 16th St., Omaha, Nebraska. The production will open the 2013/2014 Omaha Performing Arts. Broadway Series, the balance of which will be announced at a later date.

The Gexa Energy Broadway at the Hobby Center 2013-2014 season, announced today, brings some of Broadway's biggest hits to Houston.

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) has announced its nominations and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre in 2012. The 44th annual LADCC Awards ceremony will take place on Monday, March 18 at historic, heralded Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring Street in downtown L.A.

FAIRWINDS Broadway Across America - Orlando announces the First National Tour of THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, will headline the FAIRWINDS Broadway Across America - Orlando 2013-2014 season. FAIRWINDS Broadway Across America - Orlando season ticket holders will have the first chance to purchase tickets to THE BOOK OF MORMON on Tuesday, February 12 as part of their subscription package. The full schedule for the 2013-2014 season will be announced on February 11.

Broadway in Austin at Texas Performing Arts has announced an amazing 2013-2014 Season with four Austin premieres and two all-time favorites.

Beck Center Teen Theater presents the regional premiere of Avenue Q: School Edition, February 8-10 and 14-17, 2013 on the Mackey Main Stage. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays with a special student matinee performance 10 a.m. Thursday, February 14. Tickets are now on sale.

THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, has broken its own house record in Seattle. The show grossed $2,107,505.00 for the week ending Sunday, January 20 at the Paramount Theatre. THE BOOK OF MORMON first broke the record the week of January 13, previously set by WICKED in 2009.

According to the New York Times, the Avenue Q puppets will soon be featured in several HIV public service announcements. 'Lucy the Slut,' ' Ricky,' and 'Rod' will discuss 'talking frankly about sex with partners and seeking treatment if diagnosed as HIV positive' in the PSAs, which are set to start airing January 28 during LOGO's 'RuPaul's Drag Race.'

THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, debuts in Minnesota February 5-17, 2013 at Hennepin Theatre Trust's Orpheum Theatre for a limited engagement. In Minneapolis, the production has announced a pre-show ticket lottery, making a limited number of tickets available for $25 each, cash only, at the Orpheum box office, 910 Hennepin Avenue. THE BOOK OF MORMON is presented by Hennepin Theatre Trust as part of its 2012/13 Broadway Across America-Minneapolis Season.

AVENUE Q, the bawdy and downright naughty Tony Award-winning musical by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx, and Jeff Whitty opens at the State Theatre located at 109 N. Bay Street in downtown Eustis January 25 and will run through February 17. Called "one of the funniest shows you're ever likely to see" by Entertainment Weekly, AVENUE Q features a cast of humans and puppets who tell a story about trying to make it in New York City with big dreams and a tiny bank account. This production is directed by Joel Warren, director of BSP's Second Stage Series. John deHaas is the musical director, and choreography is by Amanda Warren. AVENUE Q is generously sponsored in part by Kevco Construction Group.

NBC's new comedy 1600 PENN came to the White House on January 9 as President Obama hosted the cast and crew at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for a screening and reception for the series. Hear what star Josh Gad had to say about the screening, the show and more below!

THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, has broken the house records in Seattle for the weeks ending January 13, 2013 and January 20, 2013.

The Second National Tour of THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, broke the house record in its first week of performances at the Bank of America Theatre (18 West Monroe). The show grossed $1,493,961 for the week ending December 16. THE BOOK OF MORMON began performances on December 11, 2012, with performances now extended through September 8, 2013.

Today, Monday 14 January 2013, sees the start of rehearsals for the London production of The Book of Mormon, which previews at the Prince of Wales Theatre from 25 February 2013. The full cast, which is led by Gavin Creel as Elder Price and Jared Gertner as Elder Cunningham includes: Mark Anderson, Stephen Ashfield, Benjamin Brook, Daniel Buckley, Daniel Clift, Ashley Day, Terry Doe, Candace Furbert, Patrick George, Nadine Higgin, Tyrone Huntley, Evan James, Chris Jarman, Michael Kent, Alexia Khadime, Matt Krzan, Oliver Lidert, Daniel McKinley, Luke Newton, Terel Nugent, Haydn Oakley, Olivia Phillip, Lucy St. Louis, Yemie Sonuga, Giles Terera, Kayi Ushe, Sharon Wattis, Tosh Wanogho-Maud and Liam Wrate.

The New York Times has reported that SOUTH PARK and BOOK OF MORMON creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have formed Important Studios, a new production company they plan to announce tomorrow.

The juggernaut has arrived! Yes the winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, "The Book of Mormon", has come to the Paramount Theatre to sold out houses. But can this highly anticipated touring show live up to all the hype and deliver? Do the Elders in Africa put on fabulous tap numbers? Well, for those that haven't seen the show yet, the answer to that is a resounding, "YES!"

Rory O'Malley has announced on his Facebook page today that he will be exiting the Tony-award winning musical BOOK OF MORMON. According to the post, his last performance will be on Sunday, January 27th.

NBC's new comedy 1600 Penn comes to the White House today, January 9 as President Obama will host the cast and crew at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for a screening and reception for the series that premieres on Thursday, January 10 (9:30-10 p.m. ET).

The producers of the national tour of the new musical THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, and Broadway In Detroit announced today that single tickets will go on sale Friday, January 18 at 10 a.m. Tickets begin at $49 and will be available at the Fisher Theatre box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 1-800-982-2787, and online atwww.ticketmaster.com or www.broadwayindetroit.com. For additional information, call (313) 872-1000 or visit www.BroadwayinDetroit.com.

As expected (thankfully) 2012 provided Southern California audiences--specifically here in Orange County and nearby Los Angeles and San Diego--a season full of outstanding, remarkable theater offerings from touring companies, impressive regional productions, and even some tiny black box theaters. And, of course, as is the common practice during the ushering of a new year, the enjoyable past-time of putting together a year-end 'best of' list is something contributor Michael Lawrence Quintos truly looks forward to doing, especially when there's a plethora of great work to choose from--many of which he had the pleasure of reviewing exclusively for BroadwayWorld.