Robert Wankel News

The big day is finally here! The stars are shining on the Tony Awards red carpet, and BroadwayWorld's got a first look - check out the first batch of arrivals below, including Camille A. Brown, Robert Horn, and more!

The 14th annual Shubert Foundation/Music Theatre International Broadway Junior® Student Finale took place earlier today, May 14,  at Broadway's Imperial Theatre, hosted by James Harkness and Jawan M. Jackson, stars from Broadway's new hit, Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations.

The Actors Fund Home (155-175 West Hudson Avenue, Englewood, New Jersey), an acclaimed short-stay rehabilitation, assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care facility for the performing arts and entertainment community, celebrated the opening of The Samuel J. and Florence T. Friedman Pavilion at their facility in Englewood, New Jersey on Thursday, April 25, 2019.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), last night presented the 2019 'Mr. Abbott' Award Gala, hosted by SDC Member, and Tony Award winner David Hyde Pierce. In addition, SDC Member, 2015 'Mr. Abbott' Award recipient, and Tony Award winner James Lapine presented a special 'Mr. Abbott' Award to Victoria Traube. 

 On Monday June 18, TDF, which is celebrating 50 years of service to audiences and the performing arts community in 2018, honored Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright TONY KUSHNER at its 50th Anniversary Gala. Mr. Kushner's Tony Award-winning masterwork, Angels in America, which is currently receiving its first Broadway revival with the National Theatre production at the Neil Simon Theatre is running through July 15.

Bay Street Theater and Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to announce a successful opening night for the World Premiere of FELLOW TRAVELERS, a new play by Jack Canfora, directed by Michael Wilson. The show opened on Saturday, June 2 and was met with rave reviews and a positive audience response. FELLOW TRAVELERS, open now through June 17, 2018, is the first show in Bay Street Theater's 2018 Mainstage Season. Single tickets are on sale now, and tickets are also still available as part of a Mainstage Subscription. To purchase tickets and subscriptions, call the Box Office at 631-725-9500 or purchase online at baystreet.org. Special guests included Steve Kroft from CBS, and wife and author Jennet Conant, actress Mercedes Ruehl with artist David Geiser, Robert Wankel, President of the Shubert organization, and his wife Lynn, Producers Leonard Soloway and Evan Bergman. Other producers included Paul Libin and Manny Kladitis.

The New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO executive board of 39 unions from across the city wrote a letter to Broadway League Chairman Robert Wankel today, demanding fair treatment for theater's casting directors.

The Theatre Hall of Fame recently welcomed its 2017 class of eight inductees including (in alphabetical order) Matthew Broderick, Oskar Eustis, Tina Howe, Arthur Kopit, Marin Mazzie, Daryl Roth and Ernie Schier.

The first-ever Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's iconic musical, Cats, returned to Broadway just last night at the Neil Simon Theatre (250 W 52nd Street). After the curtain came down, the company gathered for their very own jellicle ball, and you can check out photos from the celebration below!

STARS IN THE ALLEY, presented by United Airlines, took place just last week in Shubert Alley. Hosted by Tony nominee Sean Hayes and Mo Rocca, Broadway's best once again turned out for the annual performance - including the casts of Aladdin, An American in Paris, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, Bright Star, Chicago, The Color Purple, Disaster!, Fiddler on the Roof, Finding Neverland, Fun Home, Jersey Boys, Kinky Boots, LES MISERABLES, Matilda The Musical, On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan, The Phantom of the Opera, She Loves Me, Something Rotten!, Tuck Everlasting, Waitress, and Wicked.

Theatre Development Fund (TDF), the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts, honored Disney Theatrical Productions and Thomas Schumacher, its president and producer, last night at TDF's Gala on Monday, March 14 at Manhattan's historic Gotham Hall (1356 Broadway @ 36th Street, NYC).

Just yesterday, Schumer joined Robert Wankel (Chairman of the Broadway Theatre League) and some of the Broadway community to commemorate the long sought after federal change. BroadwayWorld's Michael Dale was on hand for the special day, and you can read more about the event HERE. Check out more photos from the big day below!

A new change in tax laws will greatly encourage more investments in live theatre, creating more jobs.

Just yesterday, the Actors Fund officially renamed their Manhattan residence, "The Aurora," (West 57th and 10th Avenue) at a special ribbon cutting ceremony.  The residence will now be called "The Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence."  Brian Stokes Mitchell and Chita Rivera were there for the occasion, and BroadwayWorld brings you an inside look at the festivities below!

Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine: A Benefit Concert for Viva Broadway took place last night, September 14th at the Minskoff Theatre, 200 West 45th Street in Manhattan. They returned to New York City to perform a special concert comprising their greatest hits including: 'Get On Your Feet,' 'Conga,' 'Rhythm is Gonna Get You,' 'Mi Tierra,' and more! They were even joined by the cast of Broadway-Bound ON YOUR FEET! and a special performance by Emily Estefan.

The list of final 2014 Broadway Global Producer of the Year nominees are the who's who list for Broadway investors, each making changes in global arts.

Dress Circle Publishing has announce a partnership with Theatre Development Fund (TDF). Part of the proceeds of The Untold Stories of Broadway, Volume 2 by Jennifer Ashley Tepper will benefit education programs at TDF, one of the nation's largest not- for profit performing arts service organizations dedicated to the audience.

Jennifer Ashley Tepper's The Untold Stories of Broadway, Volume 2 officially hit the shelves yesterday, November 18, from Dress Circle Publishing. The second book in a multivolume collection examines eight Broadway theaters and over 70 years of theatrical history through the voices of such Broadway greats as Jason Robert Brown, Joanna Gleason, Jonathan Groff,Jeremy Jordan,Laura Linney, Joe Mantello, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robert Morse, Harold Prince, Charles Strouse, Alex Timbers, Julie Taymor, Robert Wankel, George C. Wolfe and more. The eight Broadway theaters featured in the second book are the Palace Theatre, the Barrymore Theatre, the Gershwin Theatre, the Circle in the Square, the Shubert Theatre, the Criterion Center Stage Right, the Vivian Beaumont Theatre and the Nederlander Theatre. Tepper and her Broadway friends just celebrated the launch of the book at Sardis and you can check out photos from the special event below!

Jennifer Ashley Tepper's The Untold Stories of Broadway, Volume 2 officially hits the shelves today, November 18, from Dress Circle Publishing.

To celebrate the publication of The Untold Stories of Broadway, Volume 2 on November 18 by Dress Circle Publishing, Jennifer Ashley Tepper will be sharing three short excerpts about each of the Broadway theaters featured in the book-countdown style! Today: The Nederlander Theatre