Sean Michael News

Casting and tour dates have been announced for the 2017-18 touring seasons of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit musical JERSEY BOYS, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.  The cast of JERSEY BOYS will be led by Tommaso Antico (Bob Gaudio), Corey Greenan (Tommy DeVito), Chris Stevens (Nick Massi) and Jonny Wexler (Frankie Valli) as The Four Seasons.

Originally conceived by artistic director Scott Miller over 20 years ago, OUT ON BROADWAY (THE THIRD COMING), is, as titled, the third incarnation of a revue designed to reinterpret songs from an array of classic and offbeat, but brilliant, musicals ( this time with a new song from Jason Robert Brown, 'Hope'). This production acts to show just how much these works still retain their emotion, even when the players in each are now gay. I can assure you that the meaning remains, and so does the depth of feeling. It's a collection of over 30 pieces that are arranged to weave together a kind of narrative. Some people might find some of the choices obscure, but that actually adds to the charm for me, because then I'm exposed to things that I'll want to seek out afterwards. I'm late with this review, so forgive me, but life intrudes sometimes. But, if you didn't catch it you really missed an exceptional theatrical cabaret of sorts, which was truly wonderful, and which I hope sparks a fourth coming!

New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," closes its 26th season of adult, alternative musical theatre with the world premiere of the third installment of New Line's own creation, the new revue OUT ON BROADWAY: THE THIRD COMING, running now through August 19, 2017, at the Marcelle Theater, the new blackbox theatre in Grand Center, St. Louis' arts district. Tickets are on sale now.

New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," closes its 26th season of adult, alternative musical theatre with the world premiere of the third installment of New Line's own creation, the new revue OUT ON BROADWAY: THE THIRD COMING, running August 3-19, 2017, at the Marcelle Theater, the new blackbox theatre in Grand Center, St. Louis' arts district. Tickets are on sale now.

The Off-Off-Broadway company, Always Love Lucy Theatre, has announced that it will present Hello to Rose, four of Tennessee Williams' one act plays featuring a cast comprised mainly of older actors and actors of color. The production will run 6 performances only, July 11 to July 15 at The Bridge @ Shetler Studios, 244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor.

After a record-breaking run at the Greenhouse Theater Center, STRANGEST THINGS! THE MUSICAL will shutter on July 8th after an impressive fifty performances. The production, written by Bryan Renaud and Emily Schmidt, and directed by Tommy Rivera-Vega, has extended twice since opening March 3rd, 2017.

New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," closes its 26th season of adult, alternative musical theatre with the world premiere of the third installment of New Line's own creation, the new revue OUT ON BROADWAY: THE THIRD COMING, running August 3-19, 2017, at the Marcelle Theater, the new blackbox theatre in Grand Center, St. Louis' arts district. Tickets are on sale now.

After a record-breaking run at the Greenhouse Theater Center, STRANGEST THINGS! THE MUSICAL will shutter on July 8th after an impressive fifty performances. The production, written by Bryan Renaud and Emily Schmidt, and directed by Tommy Rivera-Vega, has extended twice since opening March 3rd, 2017.

New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," announces its 27th season of adult, alternative musical theatre, including the St. Louis premiere of the four-woman rock opera LIZZIE, a very different take on the Lizzie Borden legend, running Sept. 28-Oct. 21, 2017; followed by Cole Porter's satiric masterpiece ANYTHING GOES, running March 1-24, 2018; and the St. Louis premiere of the world's first bio-historical musical comedy, YEAST NATION, written by the Urinetown team, running May 31-June 23, 2018. All New Line's mainstage shows will be in the company's home, the Marcelle Theater, in Grand Center, St. Louis' arts district.

The Off-Off-Broadway company, Always Love Lucy Theatre, has announced that it will present Hello to Rose, four of Tennessee Williams' one act plays featuring a cast comprised mainly of older actors and actors of color. The production will run 6 performances only, July 11 to July 15 at The Bridge @ Shetler Studios, 244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor.

There are so many things to love about New Line Theatre's latest production, SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, that this review is certain to be filled with superlatives. I've watched the 1957 film a number of times, and I like the way John Guare's book for the show uses the first act as a backstory before it touches on the events that actually take place in the movie during the second act. By attacking the story this way Guare adds depth and establishes the characters in ways that the film doesn't. The score is a cool and jazz-tinged effort by the late Marvin Hamlisch, with lyrics, by Craig Camelia, which give the numbers added bite. It's clear to me that the show requires the intimacy this production provides to fully succeed, and also explains its short run on Broadway. That's just one of the things that New Line does so consistently well. The movie is a dark, film noir masterpiece, and in adapting it as a musical for a large stage that claustrophobic atmosphere that is so necessary to the genre is lost. Here, the viewer becomes a fly on the wall, observing the machinations of the plot unfolding in the same way that the film utilizes closeups and shadows to pull us into its cynical world. Superior performances, a great band, and sharp direction make this show a must-see.

Welcome to Broadway, the glamour, power, and sleaze capital of the universe.

New Line continues its 26th season with the local premiere of the fiery 2002 jazz-rock musical THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, by legendary film and stage composer Marvin Hamlisch (his last theatre score), lyricist Craig Carnelia, and Tony-winning playwright John Guare, based on the famous short story and film. The show was nominated for seven Tonys, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score, and eleven Drama Desk Awards. It's a Faustian moral nightmare, all set to a sizzling 'jazz noir' score from the composer of the stage musicals A Chorus Line, They're Playing Our Song, Smile, The Goodbye Girl, and the film scores for The Sting, The Way We Were, Sophie's Choice, and many others. 

Cuff Me: The Fifty Shades of Grey Musical Parody! is the hilarious parody of the Fifty Shades of Grey bestselling book/movie/t-shirt phenomenon!  Grab your bestie, your entourage, and that family member that always drinks a little too much and get ready to laugh at this irreverent, hysterical romp in an evening of goofy, satirical fun. The show bounces between nail salon gossip and an exaggerated telling of the erotic novel while the cast of four belt out parodies of songs like 'Hit Me Baby' and 'Call Me Maybe' while spoofing Fifty Shades of Grey!

Shortlists for the third annual Also Recognised Awards have been announced by MyTheatreMates, founded by Mark Shenton and Terri Paddock. These audience-voted industry accolades celebrate talent in fields often overlooked by other award bodies. Voting is now open for all categories and closes on Sunday 26th March 2017. Cast your vote at www.mytheatremates.com/AlsoRecognisedAwards-2017!

The nominations for the 8th Annual Indie Series Awards were revealed on Wednesday, February 1. The ISAs celebrate the best in independently produced scripted entertainment created for the Web. Nominations were announced in 29 categories.

Metal Rabbit, in association with The Bunker Theatre, present the London transfer of critically acclaimed 2015 Edinburgh Festival sell-out Tonight with Donny Stixx, running Tuesday 8th November - Saturday 3rd December 2016. Press Night: Today 11th November 2016, 7.30pm. Click below to go behind the scenes with the cast and creative team!

Metal Rabbit, in association with The Bunker Theatre, present the London transfer of critically acclaimed 2015 Edinburgh Festival sell-out Tonight with Donny Stixx, running Tuesday 8th November - Saturday 3rd December 2016. Press Night: Friday 11th November 2016, 7.30pm. Click below to go behind the scenes with the cast and creative team!

Two years ago, Philip Ridley called me up to say he was working on a companion piece to one of our previous collaborations, the explosive Dark Vanilla Jungle, which had charted the downfall of a vulnerable young woman in our increasingly violently patriarchal society. This would be the journey of a young man who had become victim and perpetrator in that same violent world - a sensitive soul with a dangerous edge, who you wanted to cuddle one minute and run away from the next. He was Donny Stixx, an entertainer with the confidence to go all the way to the top. I fell for him from the start.

Though I'm extremely familiar with Tom Jones' (words) and Harvey Schmidt's (music) most popular work, THE FANTASTICKS, I had never seen their follow up, CELEBRATION. What I'd read while doing research was that it really fizzled once it was on Broadway. However, after seeing it I can understand why; it's a smaller scaled show that requires just the right venue to succeed. That's why I'm so glad New Line Theatre opened their 26th season with this fanciful and tune-filled musical. Through their superlative efforts we're able to see the premiere of a version that's been revised by Tom Jones. I'm not sure what was changed, but what we're privy to is a very engaging and entertaining production that will make you wonder why it isn't performed with more regularity. The score itself is gorgeous, and I cannot recommend this neglected gem highly enough.