Taylor Hicks News

There are few better moments for theatre people than discovering our favorite songwriting team has written more than just that one hit show we love (looking at you, Lin-Manuel Miranda). In Monday's episode, Sally and Ashley discuss when they have experienced such moments with Lin himself, Andrew Lippa, and Tom Jones/Harvey Schmidt of THE FANTASTICKS.

Musical theatre has a history of big, splashy, high-kicking casts, and that’s what many people think when they hear the word “musical.” The increasing trend for writers wanting to tell a poignant, dramatic story (and producers wanting to pay fewer actors) is to use a tiny cast of six or fewer to narrow the focus without getting distracted by glitter.

Due to overexposure to wildly overdone musicals in community theatres (looking at you, SEUSSICAL), Sally and Ashley now have the Community Theatre Formula down to a jazz-handed science.

The only thing more exciting than a Disney movie is a Disney Broadway musical. While the House of Mouse gave the people what they wanted via Broadway mounts of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, THE LION KING, FROZEN, etc., did you know there are Disney shows that have played regional theatres around the world and still haven't made it to Broadway?

In the third episode of THE BROADWAY GINGER PODCAST, host Sally Henry Fuller and co-host Ashley Elliott discuss the miles they have traveled to see some favorite musicals (and the times their parents have fought ushers for programs).

In the debut episode, we discover that Sally fell in LOVE with THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL as a child, and Ashley went full homeschooler on her THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA obsession by reading the book first. After making a case for why LES MIS=ALADDIN, they take a deep dive into LES MISERABLES with a constructive dump on the 2012 movie.

This fall, a humorous lovenote to Broadway is making its debut on podcast platforms everywhere. The Broadway Ginger Company has announced the release of THE BROADWAYGINGER PODCAST, an upbeat new show for theatre nerds by theatre nerds.

Craft Recordings announces a 25th anniversary reissue of Collective Soul's acclaimed self-titled sophomore album.

The All-American Boys Chorus, one of the nation's premier boys' choirs, will perform its season finale concert in Southern California at Calvary Church in Tustin on July 3, 2019 before setting off on a 3-week national tour. Serving as one of two full-chorus concerts open to the public each season and led by Artistic Director Wesley Martin, the season finale summer concert will cover patriotic favorites and modern classics.

Returning for its second US edition July 8-14, 2019, Independent Venue Week, with Eventbrite and Songtrust returning as sponsors, has announced its first round of shows, including performances by DIY star Soccer Mommy at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Pittsburgh and The Broadberry in Richmond, New Zealand indie rock upstarts The Beths at Indianapolis' HI-FI, and Welsh experimental songwriter Cate Le Bon at The Crocodile in Seattle. 

SHENANDOAH opened at Serenbe Playhouse in Atlanta on March 13 and is running through April 14, 2019. The story of one family's struggle living in the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War leaps to life in a hidden field in Serenbe, transporting you to the rolling hills of Virginia. A theatrical journey of heartbreak and ultimately hope in a fight for human rights will erupt out of an actual Civil War reenactment with over 100 soldiers, canons, horses and with an all-star cast of singermusicians in a fight for Freedom and Love!

Serenbe Playhouse is proud to announce the musical SHENANDOAH, starring American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks and Broadway and The X Factor finalist Rachel Potter will extend through April 14th only.

Get ready for an inside look at Serenbe Playhouse's new production, Shenandoah, with one of its stars, Rachel Potter as she takes over BroadwayWorld's Instagram Story today, March 29th! Make sure to tune in to go behind-the-scenes and see what it takes to put on this unique outdoor theatrical experience at a Civil War-era camp! You're not gonna want to miss this!

BroadwayWorld has a first look at Serenbe Playhouse's SHENANDOAH, starring American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks and Broadway and The X Factor finalist Rachel Potter. Check out the video below!

It's sunset on a Sunday evening as I walk up a dusty pathway heading for the Horseman's Meadow at Serenbe Playhouse where a new production of Shenandoah, a musical adapted from the 1965 Jimmy Stewart film of the same name, plays through April 14.  Brilliant orange and purple light blankets the open field to my left.  To my right, a Civil War campsite moves into view.  Canvas tents soak up the last of the sun, and shadows fall on the faces of soldiers as they rest.  Here a few soldiers play poker.  There a soldier holds a live chicken, dinner for the weary troops.  Still farther on, a few tend to the tired horses. The camp is a spectacle that almost trumps nature's best spectacle, the dazzling sunset of an early spring.  But even the grand spectacle of the campsite pales in comparison to the battle that unfolds only moments later on the empty meadow. Terrence J. Smith and Cast Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus Men, some atop real horses, come from nowhere, and we are drenched in the chaotic sound of rapid artillery fire and the light of explosions - the remnants of shots fired from rifles and the fuses of cannons.  We are spectators at some battle where many men will die and where few will be able to articulate what it has all been for.  That's the Serenbe way of opening a Civil War play.  It's the classic Clowdus go-big-or-go-home welcome, and this play needs all the  help it can get to rise above its challenges, a heavy-handed script troubled by weakly drawn characters and a lackluster score.  Though the challenges are significant, visionary director Brian Clowdus, along with his creative team and talented cast, including a tentative American Idol-winner Taylor Hicks in his first principal acting role and Broadway's vibrant Rachel Potter, prove that the challenges are not insurmountable as they turn out an effective and memorable staging.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Happy first full day of Spring! Start the season right by checking out some of the top Broadway news!

Serenbe Playhouse presents the musical SHENANDOAH, starring American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks and Broadway and The X Factor finalist Rachel Potter, now playing through April 14th.

Serenbe Playhouse has become known in Metro Atlanta for its immersive outdoor productions, and for their latest endeavor, director Brian Clowdus has recruited musical star power.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at a performance video for Serenbe Playhouse's SHENANDOAH, starring American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks and Broadway and The X Factor finalist Rachel Potter. Wathch as American Idol Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks performs on 'Atlanta & Company' in the video below!

BroadwayWorld has a first look at a new music video for Serenbe Playhouse'z SHENANDOAH, starring American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks and Broadway and The X Factor finalist Rachel Potter. Check out the video below!