Second Stage Theatre News

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.

Joe's Pub at The Public welcomes world premieres, highly-anticipated debuts and the return of many esteemed performers this May and June. Funny girl JULIE KLAUSNER makes her debut with two evenings of cabaret. Legendary downtown performance artist JOHN KELLY returns to premiere Rebel Songs. The 60s-inspired flight attendant PAM ANN returns for five nights in the Cockpit. Elsewhere: Tony Award-winners TONYA PINKINS and LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, Once star CRISTIN MILIOTI, TAYLOR MAC'S epic exploration of popular music, a special appearance from Justin Vivian Bond, JOEY ARIAS, the greatest rapper in the world, CHAMPAGNE JERRY and more. Read on for more May and June cabaret, comedy, Broadway and musical theater highlights at Joe's Pub at The Public.

The Old Globe presents the West Coast Premiere of Bekah Brunstetter's quirky and tender comedy Be a Good Little Widow. Directed by Hal Brooks, Be a Good Little Widow will run tonight, May 11 - June 9, 2013 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad PrebysTheatre Center. Preview performances run tonight, May 11 - May 15. Opening night is Thursday, May 16 at 8:00 p.m. Meet the cast in the photos below!

BENJ PASEK and JUSTIN PAUL have added a second show at Joe's Pub at The Public on Wednesday, May 15. An 11:30 PM show was just added due to popular demand after the 9:30 PM show sold out. The Tony Award nominated composer and lyricist team is celebrating the new Ghostlight Records cast recording of Dogfight. Both shows will features performances by the original cast of the Second Stage Theatre production and other special guests. Dogfight just won the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for "Outstanding Musical." Tickets to Joe's Pub are $25 and on sale now at JoesPub.com.

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 on Monday, 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.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo have announced the new 2050 Fellowship Program to begin with the 2013/14 season.

The Off-Broadway League today gave out awards in 14 categories and two additional special awards for the 2013 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. The Lortel Awards were handed out on Sunday, May 5, 2013 at NYU Skirball Center, hosted by acclaimed stage and screen actors Aasif Mandvi and Maura Tierney. This year's event once again benefited The Actors Fund.

The Off-Broadway League previously announced award nominations in 14 categories and two additional special awards for the 2013 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. The Lortel Awards will be handed out today, May 5, 2013 at NYU Skirball Center beginning at 7:00pm EST, and hosted by acclaimed stage and screen actors Aasif Mandvi and Maura Tierney. This year's event will once again benefit The Actors Fund.

humRumbleROAR Productions has announced the world premiere production of Chisa Hutchinson's ALONDRA WAS HERE, directed by Jade King Carroll. ALONDRA WAS HERE will play a limited engagement at The Wild Project (195 East 3rd Street, NYC). Performances begin tonight, May 4 and continue through Saturday, May 18. Opening Night is Wednesday, May 8 (7 p.m.).

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will celebrate the new Ghostlight Records cast recording of Dogfight with a special concert at Joe's Pub at The Public on Wednesday, May 15 at 9:30 PM which will features performances by the original cast of the Second Stage Theatre production and other special guests. Tickets are $25 and on sale now at JoesPub.com. 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) on Thursday, May 23 at 7:00 PM. Please call (212) 369-2180 for details.

For the last two years, the Memorial Day Weekend has seen special theatrical presentations from Stocking Productions. Last year's Frederick premiere of the smash hit musical RENT played to sold out houses. This year, Stocking Productions will once again produce a Frederick premiere with its presentation of the rock musical Next to Normal.

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.

Ghostlight Records will present the Original Cast Recording of the musical DOGFIGHT with a digital release today, April 30 and the CD in stores on May 21. The show - which debuted Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre last year - features music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (A Christmas Story), a book by Peter Duchan (IFC Films' Breaking Upwards) and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Wicked, Glengarry Glen Ross). DOGFIGHT is based on the Warner Bros. film and screenplay by Bob Comfort.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for Kenneth Lin's Warrior Class. Kenneth Lin is a staff writer on Netflix's House of Cards and the creator of a new limited series, American Way, for USA Networks. Warrior Class, which won the Theatre Communications Group Edgerton New Play Prize, is directed by Wilson Milam and runs May 3 through June 2, 2013 on the Neuhaus Stage.

The plot: self-made vindictive wealthy person, inhibited daughter, handsome suitor who may be after her money, parent attempts to torpedo the relationship. Sound familiar? It should. That's basically the storyline of the Henry James novella WASHINGTON SQUARE and the play and film, THE HEIRESS. It's also the basic description of Victoria Stewart's RICH GIRL which takes from the past, but the play which is opening Cleveland Play House's 2013 NEW. THEATRE. FESTIVAL., adds comedy, infuses a little intrigue, and takes a 21st century twist.

Stage and screen star Zach Braff has established a Kickstarter account as a means to fund his new feature film project, WISH I WAS HERE, based on an original screenplay co-written with his brother, and celebrity fans have begun to share - and Tweet - their support.

The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team for the West Coast Premiere of Bekah Brunstetter's quirky and tender comedy Be a Good Little Widow. Directed by Hal Brooks, Be a Good Little Widow will run May 11 - June 9, 2013 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run May 11 - May 15. Opening night is Thursday, May 16 at 8:00 p.m. Meet the cast in the photos below!

The Guthrie today announced that it has commissioned Tony Award and Drama Desk Award-winning Broadway songwriter and composer Jason Robert Brown to create an original music piece for its 50th-anniversary gala performance BEHOLD. Brown's composition will be based on text excerpts from Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The Cincinnati Pops' Lollipops Family Concerts are interactive programs specifically designed for children aged three to ten and their families. This weekend, the program will feature a new orchestral piece from lauded composers Jason Robert Brown and Georgia Stitt.

Brooks Ashmanskas (Tony nom. Fame Becomes Me; The Producers), Andrea Burns (The Nance; In The Heights), Hunter Foster (Hands On a Hard Body; Tony nom. Little Shop of Horrors), Jessica Molaskey (A Man Of No Importance, Sunday in the Park with George, Parade) , Martin Moran (All The Rage; Obie Award, The Tricky Part), Kelsey Fowler (Mary Poppins, Sunday In The Park With George) and Alex Sheitinger (Mary Poppins, Beauty And The Beast) will perform in a reading of a new play, THE DRAMA DEPARTMENT by James Hindman, directed by Peter Flynn (Our Town, On the 20th Century, Chess).