Susan Draus News

What began in book writer Douglas McGrath's head as a jukebox musical centered around the relationship between competing songwriting teams Carole King and Gerry Goffin and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil evolved into something slightly different. This was due to the fact that the show stopped before Carole's ground-breaking, highly personal, and still relevant album, 'Tapestry'. So, the show was altered to place the emphasis on King's story, although there's still a lot of interplay between the couples. And, if you happened to catch the 'American Masters' special on King on PBS, then her story will be familiar to you already, but you'll also catch a few historical inaccuracies here and there. BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL is a wonderful look at King's rise to fame as a teen who could conjure up melodies that caught the public's ear. It's a sheer delight, packed to the hilt with gorgeous songs that are a part of pop culture history. This is a feel-good, genuinely terrific show that I urge everyone to see immediately!

The U.S. National Tour of BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL plays a two-week engagement at the Boston Opera House. Focusing on King's early life and career, the good-time time machine rolls out the incredible string of hits written by the composing teams of Carole King/Gerry Goffin and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil. Abby Mueller is a standout in the role of the music industry icon and BEAUTIFUL excels as a musical journey.

The North American Tour of the Tony® & Grammy® Award-winning Broadway hit Beautiful-The Carole King Musical, produced by Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, has officially launched at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI, on September 18, 2015. The run at PPAC was September 15-20, 2015, and the production will next play Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, NC from September 23 - October 4, 2015. Current schedule at www.beautifulonbroadway.com/tour.  BroadwayWorld is excited to show you the opening night pics below!

BEAUTIFUL'S national tour kicks off in Providence, and even in the first days of performance, the cast proves the depth of its talent and ability.

Two weeks after conservative Tennessee voters turned the Volunteer State a deeper shade of red and some three years after I was told The Book of Mormon likely would never play the Tennessee Performing Arts Center because its plot is too outlandish, its book too profane, its tenor too irreverent, the second national touring company of the nine-time Tony Award-winning musical came to Nashville and gave audiences a much-needed jolt of electricity that elicited one of the longest, uninterrupted standing ovations I've ever witnessed in TPAC's Jackson Hall.

Theatre Aspen announced the launch of a new play development series today, with the early workshopping of Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater musical Alice By Heart, based on the Lewis Carroll novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Sheik and Sater are best known for their 2007 rock musical Spring Awakening which won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score.

Part dude. Part lady. Full-time lesbian. The insanely adorable (or is that adorably insane?) Beth Malone will take audiences from Castle Rock, Colorado to the South Pacific on a journey of little girl crushes to grown-woman heartbreak. Malone's one-woman show is part musical, part comedy, part tragedy (and part crush on Connie Chung).

Theatre Aspen's upcoming summer season, reported Artistic Director Paige Price. The award-winning regional theatre unveiled the brand new Hurst Theatre in Rio Grande Park on June 24th with two musicals and a comedy. The theatre's 28th season of summer repertory features the regional premiere of Becky's New Car, by native Coloradan Steven Dietz, starring Emmy- and Tony-nominee Sandy Duncan. Opening July 7th is the beloved musical Annie, by Thomas Meehan (book), Charles Strouse (music) and Martin Charnin (lyrics), and the new musical Vices: A Love Story, (story by Michael Heitzman & Ilene Reid, and music and lyrics by Susan Draus, Everett Bradley, Michael Heitzman and Ilene Reid). Vices closes out the season with a final performance on August 20th. Check out photos of the productions below!

Casting is complete for Theatre Aspen's upcoming summer season, reported Artistic Director Paige Price. The award-winning regional theatre unveils the brand new Hurst Theatre in Rio Grande Park on June 24th with two musicals and a comedy. The new theatre tent was installed during a snow storm on May 19th, work on the interior will begin immediately.

Casting is complete for Theatre Aspen's upcoming summer season, reported Artistic Director Paige Price. The award-winning regional theatre unveils the brand new Hurst Theatre in Rio Grande Park on June 24th with two musicals and a comedy. The new theatre tent was installed during a snow storm on May 19th, work on the interior will begin immediately.

Casting is complete for Theatre Aspen's upcoming summer season, reported Artistic Director Paige Price. The award-winning regional theatre unveils the brand new Hurst Theatre in Rio Grande Park on June 24th with two musicals and a comedy. The new theatre tent was installed during a snow storm on May 19th, work on the interior will begin immediately.

Theatre Aspen is pleased to announce that tickets for the upcoming season will go on sale April 15th, 2011. Theatre Aspen enters its 28th season with an award-winning array of musicals and comedies in the brand new Hurst Theatre, in Rio Grande Park.

Theatre Aspen is pleased to announce that tickets for the upcoming season will go on sale April 15th, 2011. Theatre Aspen enters its 28th season with an award-winning array of musicals and comedies in the brand new Hurst Theatre, in Rio Grande Park.

Award-winning Theatre Aspen is thrilled to announce that its summer repertory season will feature the actress Sandy Duncan, in Steven Dietz's comedy Becky's New Car

Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions celebrated the opening of the 2009 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Billy Elliot the Musical at the Durham Performing Arts Center. The show, currently playing through November 14, 2010, celebrated their opening week with a kickoff party at Pops, a local Durham restaurant, on Sunday evening. Joining the company were director Stephen Daldry, writer and lyricist Lee Hall, American Idol-runner up Clay Aiken along with other producers and show management.

The show that garnered 8 Carbonell Award Nominations and won two awards, for Holly Shunkey, (Best Leading Actress in a Musical) and AC Ciulla, (Best Choreography) returns to the theater that provided its World Premiere production, Caldwell Theatre Company.

It's the early 1970s and the Weismann Theatre in New York is about to be demolished. Before the wrecking ball transforms the theatre into a parking lot, a reunion is taking place for members of the Weismann Follies. As the evening goes on, the former performers relive many of their past experiences, both good and bad. Sally, a former Follie, meets the man that she's always loved, Ben, and the two middle-aged people end up kissing. By the end of the night though, they each go back to their perspective spouses and the various Follies continue on with their lives.