Signature Theatre News

'The Maria Callas of American musical theater,' as Opera News has called her, referencing both her crystalline voice and dramatic, expressive intensity, Melissa Errico is an actress, singer and author. First known for her starring roles on Broadway, her latest album, Sondheim Sublime, was called by The Wall Street Journal 'The best all-Sondheim album ever recorded.' Nothing in her work has been more constant than her association with Michel Legrand. Having starred in his sole Broadway show, 'Amour', she went on to collaborate with him on the iconic album 'Legrand Affair'. After his death in 2019, she was asked to write his eulogy by The New York Times - where she is a frequent contributor- and was then invited to become the sole American performer to participate in the extraordinary two-day memorial to Legrand held in April at Paris' Le Grand Rex Theatre, work that led one critic to announce that, 'Errico is, and will continue to be, the premier interpreter of the musical legacy of Michel Legrand.' This fall 2019, Ghostlight Records reissues her symphonic album, which Legrand arranged & conducted, as 'Legrand Affair Deluxe Edition.'

Tantrum Theater, Ohio University's professional theater company, announces an innovative new collaborative partnership with Musical Theatre Factory (MTF), a leading non-profit organization focused on developing bold and inclusive new musicals by early career artists. The first new work from this partnership will be a developmental reading of the new musical Eighty-Sixed by Sam Salmond and Jeremy J. King, with a public performance on January 18, 2020.

Ensemble Studio Theatre/Los Angeles in association with VS. Theatre Company has announced the world premiere production of The Water Tribe, a new play by Don Cummings. Under the direction of Tricia Small, there will be three preview performances January 10a?"12 and opening is set for Friday, January 17, at 8pm. The engagement will run through February 9 at VS. Theatre.

We're heading into the final week of voting for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Washington, DC Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! Vote today to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

We're heading into the final week of voting for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Wichita Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! Vote today to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

NextStop Theatre has announced the creation of the 'Front Row to History' Initiative, which will provide free, front-row tickets for local high school students to see THE MOUNTAINTOP, a play about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Broadway actress Jennifer Damiano will perform at Holmdel Theatre Companys Broadway at the Barn Series on January 4.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, has announced the 2020 TCG Gala: Our Stories will be held on Monday, February 3, 2020 at The Edison Ballroom (240 W 47th Street). The Gala will honor the National Black Theatre Festival of Winston-Salem and David Henry Hwang and will include festive performances, inspiring speakers, and a celebratory dinner with theatre leaders, celebrities, and enthusiasts. A 6:00pm cocktail reception will be followed by a 7:00pm seated dinner, with entertainment beginning at 7:20pm. Additional programming will be announced soon.

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Wichita Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The people have spoken nominations are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Washington, DC Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The people have spoken nominations are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

Solea Pfeiffer (New York City Center's Evita, West Coast Premiere of Hamilton) and Emmy Raver-Lampman (Netflix's The Umbrella Academy, Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton) are set to star as the Clarke sisters, Mary and Martha, in Signature Theatre's world premiere production of Gun & Powder with book and lyrics by Angelica Chéri and music by Ross Baum. Gun & Powder will run from January 28 a?' February 23, 2020 in Signature Theatre's intimate MAX Theatre and will be directed by Robert O'Hara (Broadway's Slave Play).

Vineyard Theatre's Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern and Managing Director Suzanne Appel announce that the company's 2020 Gala fundraiser will celebrate Tony Award-winning producer Daryl Roth and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel. The annual benefit Gala will take place on Monday, April 20, 2020, beginning at 6:00pm at 583 Park Avenue. Vineyard Theatre Board Member Sally Horchow will chair the event.

Tickets are now on sale for the Signature Theatre (Paige Evans, Artistic Director; Harold Wolpert, Executive Director) world premiere of The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall, directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. The production will also be extended one week and will play from February 11 to March 22, 2020 with opening night set for March 1 in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Click here for more information.

The La Paloma Prisoner Project is Raquel Almaƶán's theatre and outreach project about the reclamation of identity by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women, and sharing those stories through workshops, advocacy and community partnerships. Developed from her longstanding work with incarcerated and impacted communities, the associated play, LA PALOMA PRISONER, directed by Estefanía Fadul, will have its World Premiere at Next Door @ New York Theatre Workshop (79 East 4th Street between Bowery & 2nd Avenue) alongside a series of initiatives aimed at raising awareness and inciting action towards the end of global mass incarceration. The play is a New Georges Supported Production. Performances begin April 19, 2020 and run through May 9, 2020. Tickets will be available at https://www.nytw.org/show/la-paloma-prisoner/. To make an advance reservation, please visit www.lapalomaprisonerproject.com

Casting is set for Studio Theatre's production of Pipeline, playwright Dominique Morisseau's searing drama about the school-to-prison pipeline and a mother desperately trying to keep her son from becoming ensnared in it. The production runs January 15-February 16, 2020 and is directed by Awoye Timpo. Starring are DC theatre favorite Justin Weaks (Studio's Curve of Departure) as high school student Omari and Andrea Harris Smith making her Studio debut as his mother, public school teacher Nya. In its recent People Issue, Washington City Paper's called Weaks a 'standout,' going on to say: 'D.C. theater audiences love Justin Weaks. ...Weaks came to D.C. for a job about four years ago, not expecting to stay. But he kept getting cast in shows, and lucky for local theatergoers, he's still here.'

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) will present Audrey Cefaly's Maytag Virgin, a sweet, Southern romance about starting over again, from January 8 to February 2 at the Nancy L. Donahue Theatre at Liberty Hall, according to Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas and Interim Artistic Director Terry Berliner. Eleanor Holdridge directs.

Director/Producer Stan Zimmerman is putting the finishing touches on The Wendy Chronicles with the casting of Academy Award nominee Michael Lerner, two-time Emmy nominated Mindy Sterling and five other up and coming film and television actors -- Allie Gonino, Danny Gomez, Melody Peng, Brittannie Bohman and Raviv Ullman.

Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Michael Stotts- Managing Director), recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, begins the new year with the world premiere Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and written with Richard Curtis. Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber begins performances Thursday, January 30, 2020, and will continue through Sunday, March 1, 2020 at Paper Mill Playhouse (22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ). JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the major sponsor of Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Paper Mill Playhouse's 2019-2020 season is proudly sponsored by Investors Bank. Opening Night is Sunday evening, February 9, 2020 at 7:00pm.

The 5th Avenue Theatre has announced complete casting for the world premiere of Bliss, an empowering original musical fantasy that flips the traditional princess narrative upside down.

Ford's Theatre Society announced full casting and the design team for Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson, a captivating play based on the life of trail-blazing astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. The Ford's Theatre production is directed by Seema Sueko and features Laura C. Harris (Arena Stage's The Heiress, Signature Theatre's The Flick) as Henrietta Leavitt, Nora Achrati as Annie Jump Cannon, Emily Kester as Margaret Leavitt, Jonathan David Martin as Peter Shaw and Holly Twyford as Williamina Fleming. Performances are January 24 to February 23, 2020. A media performance is scheduled for January 29, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.