Second Stage Theatre News

Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), under the leadership of Vivienne Benesch Artistic Director and Sarah Clare Corporandy Managing Director, is proud to announce casting for its 30th Anniversary season featuring Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof(June 28-July 7), the Pulitzer and Tony-winning Clybourne Park (July 19-28), Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors (August 9-16) all on the Bratton Theater Mainstage, in addition to The Romeo & Juliet Project (July 27) in the renowned 5,000-seat Chautauqua Amphitheater.

Second Stage Theatre will present the new musical comedy, NOBODY LOVES YOU, featuring Heath Calvert (world premiere of Nobody Loves You at the Old Globe Theatre), Bryan Fenkart (Memphis), Roe Hartrampf (Second Stage Theatre Uptown's The Bad Guys), Autumn Hurlbert(Legally Blonde), Leslie Kritzer (Legally Blonde, A Catered Affair), Lauren Molina (Sweeney Todd, Rock of Ages), Rory O'Malley (Tony nominee for The Book of Mormon) and Aleque Reid (Really Really). Check out a just-released promo for the show below!

Producers Joey Parnes and Larry Hirschhorn have announced that Christopher Durang's new comedy, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which last night won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, will again extend its premiere Broadway engagement at the Golden Theatre. With this second and final extension, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will now end its run Sunday, August 25 (it was originally scheduled to end its run on Sunday, June 30). The critically lauded play has swept the awards circuit this year, having now been named Best Play by every major theatrical awards organization including the aforementioned Tony Awards, the New York Drama Critics' Circle, the Drama Desk, the Drama League, and the Outer Critics Circle. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike began performances on Tuesday, March 5 and opened on Thursday, March 14.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) extends the world premiere of The Tutors, written by Erica Lipez and directed byThomas Kail through June 23rd. The Tutors opened on Wednesday, June 5 and is presented at Second Stage Theatre's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on Broadway at 76th Street. Tickets are $30-$35 and can be purchased by calling the Second Stage Theatre Box Office at 212-246-4422 or online at www.2ST.com.

The New York Times Arts Blog reports that Stephanie J. Block and Will Chase will star in the Second Stage Theater's upcoming production of the new musical LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. The actors recently received Tony nominations for their co-starring roles in Broadway's 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood.'

JEFF BLUMENKRANTZ and BRETT RYBACK to Co-Star in Second Stage Uptown's MURDER FOR TWO

When newly-minted Round House Theatre Producing Artistic Director Ryan Rilette announced that Gina Gionoffrido's Becky Shaw would replace another show - selected by his predecessor - in the theatre company's current season, I was pretty interested to see how it would turn out. I had the chance to check out the 2009 New York premiere at Second Stage Theatre and was largely impressed with not only the cast, but the play itself. Not your run of the mill kind of schmaltzy and cutesy romantic comedy, this play veers toward the edgy and dark side while offering valuable insights on human relationships and related boundaries/rules of the road with the help of some richly drawn characters.

El trabajo del musico y letrista catalan, que ha colaborado con compañias como Dagoll Dagom o La Cubana, ha cruzado fronteras este año, llegando hasta Puerto Rico con la version en español del musical de Stephen Sondheim Into The Woods. De esto y de Tots Fem Comedia, la nueva obra de Joaquim Oristrell, en la que ademas participa como actor nos habla en esta entrevista para BroadwayWorld.

Hangar Theatre kicks off its 2013 season on June 13th with Neil Simon's irresistible comedy Last of the Red Hot Lovers, which runs through June 29. Featuring a stellar cast including three Broadway favorites, this seminal work will be directed by Hangar Associate Artistic Director Jesse Bush. Last of the Red Hot Lovers had its original Broadway run from 1969-1971 and received four Tony nominations, including for Best Play. The Hangar production features the talents of Jordan Gelber (Broadway's Avenue Q, All My Sons, Elf) as Barney Cashman, Jennifer Cody (Shrek, Urinetown) as Elaine Navazio, Leenya Rideout (Company, War Horse, Cabaret) as Jeannette Fisher, and Natalie Walker as Bobbi Michele.

The REP, Point Park University's professional theatre company, will produce four works, including a world premiere and a Pittsburgh premiere, in the 2013-2014 season. The season begins Sept. 6 and runs through April 6, 2014, at the Pittsburgh Playhouse.

Making his Broadway debut, Derek Klena will assume the role of Fiyero in the Broadway production of WICKED on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. Mr. Klena has previously worked with both WICKED's newest Elphaba, Lindsay Mendez, and director Joe Mantello, in the off-Broadway world premiere musical, Dogfight.

"Humor Abuse," the hilarious and heartfelt story of growing up in a circus, created by Lorenzo Pisoni and Erica Schmidt, directed by Schmidt and featuring a tour de force performance by Pisoni, will be presented at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum, September 17 through November 3, 2013. The opening is set for September 21. Get a first look at Pisoni onstage below!

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has announced that the new musical comedy, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, with book and direction by James Lapine and music and lyrics by William Finn, will kick off the theatre's 35th anniversary season this fall. James Lapine and William Finn return to Second Stage Theatre where they most recently collaborated on The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Previews for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE begin October 15, 2013 with an official opening in mid- November. Casting, full creative team, and opening night date will be announced at a later date.

Pasek and Paul - along with Lindsay Mendez, Derek Klena and other original cast members - will also appear at an in-store performance and CD signing at Barnes & Noble on the Upper East Side (150 East 86th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues) tonight, May 23 at 7:00 PM. Call (212) 369-2180 for details.

According to the New York Times, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, which premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in 2011 and has long been buzzed about for a New York Transfer, will open at Second Stage Theatre in October 2013. Composed by William Finn and written by James Lapine, the show currently has no plans for a Broadway run after playing at Second Stage but a transfer is a 'possibility, given the talents involved.' Previews are set to begin on October 15.

Actor/sword fighters Jacqueline Ann Holloway and Robert Westley will be joining NYCB dancers Jared Angle and Megan LeCrone and members of the Sebastians Chamber Orchestra for On Point: From Duel to Pas de Deux, to be presented by Salon/Sanctuary Concerts. An exploration of the shared origins of sword fighting and ballet, On Point will be presented on Monday June 3rd at The Liederkranz Club at 7:00PM. Musical selections will include Heinrich Ignaz von Biber (1644 - 1704)Battaglia a 10 in D Major; Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (1620 - 1680) Balletto for Strings and Continuo in G 'Die Fechtschule' and GF Handel (1685 - 1759), Sonata in B-flat, Op. 2, No. 3, HWV 388.

Second Stage Theatre's Spring Gala celebration honored The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, which has been an ongoing supporter of New York City arts and Second Stage Theatre for many years, as well as playwright and filmmaker Paul Weitz, whose plays Privilege, Show People, Trust, and Lonely, I'm Nothave all premiered with the off-Broadway company. The evening will also celebrate the first ten years of Second Stage Uptown and its curator, Christopher Burney, which has become an incubator for many theatre artists in the past decade. The gala was held last night, May 20, 2013 at Best Buy Theatre, 1515 Broadway at 44th street.

Second Stage Theatre's Spring Gala celebration will honor The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, which has been an ongoing supporter of New York City arts and Second Stage Theatre for many years, as well as playwright and filmmaker Paul Weitz, whose plays Privilege, Show People, Trust, and Lonely, I'm Nothave all premiered with the off-Broadway company. The evening will also celebrate the first ten years of Second Stage Uptown and its curator, Christopher Burney, which has become an incubator for many theatre artists in the past decade. The gala will be held tonight, May 20, 2013 at Best Buy Theatre, 1515 Broadway at 44th street. The evening begins with cocktails at 6:00pm; dinner and the performance begin at 7:00pm.

In May, it was announced that Ghostlight Records will preserve the hit Second Stage Theatre production of The Last Five Years, created and directed by Jason Robert Brown. Second Stage Theatre has extended this production starring Adam Kantor and Betsy Wolfe three times. The Last Five Years is performed at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theatre (305 West 43rd street) through today, May 18, 2013. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you a flashback of the musical's run off-Broadway!

BrightSide Theatre closes their Second Season with the entertaining and enlightening Modern MasterpieceJonathon Larson's Pulitzer and Tony Award winning rock opera, "RENT".