The Booking Group News

Producer Ken Davenport announced today that the new Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz's legendary rock musical GODSPELL will launch its first national tour in the 2013-2014 theater season.

Producers of The Gershwins' PORGY AND BESS have just announced plans for a national tour of the critically-acclaimed Broadway revival, set to launch in the Fall of 2013.

On Stage Touring, LLC, in association with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., announced today the performance dates and venues for the new theatrical concert experience ELVIS LIVES 'The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Event.'

The national tour of the Tony Award® - winning musical, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, announces additional cities following the tour launch October 11 - 23, 2011 at PlayhouseSquare in Cleveland. The Broadway musical inspired by the electrifying true story of four rock ‘n' roll icons, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins will continue onto a 30 city run in the U.S from 2011 to 2012.

Full casting has been announced for the upcoming national tour of THE ADDAMS FAMILY, a new musical based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams. Rehearsals for the tour begin today in New York City. Joining the previously announced Tony Awardâ nominee Douglas Sills as Gomez and Sara Gettelfinger as Morticia are Tony Awardâ nominee Martin Vidnovic as Mal Beineke, two-time Tony Awardâ nominee Crista Moore as Alice Beineke, Blake Hammond as Uncle Fester, Pippa Pearthree as Grandma, Tom Corbeil as Lurch, Patrick D. Kennedy as Pugsley, Brian Justin Crum as Lucas Beineke and Cortney Wolfson as Wednesday.

On Stage Touring, LLC, in association with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., announced today the performance dates and venues for the new theatrical concert experience ELVIS LIVES 'The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Event.'

Presented by NCM Fathom and Broadway Worldwide, MEMPHIS was captured live in performance at Broadway's renowned Shubert Theatre in New York City, and will be broadcast to more than 530 movie theaters nationwide through NCM's exclusive Digital Broadcast Network. Broadway Worldwide's production team is led by founder and executive producer Bruce Brandwen, Emmy Award®-winning director Don Roy King (Saturday Night Live, CBS' The Early Show, Survivor) and Grammy® and Emmy Award®-winning sound producer Matt Kaplowitz (Ghandi, PBS' To Bear Witness). Check out photos from the screening below!

The national tour of the new Broadway musical comedy THE ADDAMS FAMILY, based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, announces the first leg of its tour route through the New Year. Launching on September 15 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in New Orleans, the national tour of THE ADDAMS FAMILY will visit: New Orleans, LA 9/15 - 9/24 Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts St. Louis, MO 9/27 - 10/9 The Fabulous Fox Theatre Charlotte, NC 10/11 - 10/16 Ovens Auditorium Tampa, FL 10/18 - 10/23 David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts Miami, FL 10/25 - 10/30 Adrienne Arsht Center Orlando, FL 11/1 - 11/6 Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre West Palm Beach, FL 11/8 - 11/13 The Raymond Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Toronto, ON 11/16 - 11/27 Toronto Centre for the Arts Schenectady, NY 11/29 - 12/4 The Proctors Theatre Buffalo, NY 12/6 - 12/11 Shea's Performing Arts Center Chicago, IL 12/13 - 1/1 The Cadillac Palace Theatre The production will continue on to more than 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada in 2011 and 2012, including Houston, Boston, Hartford, Durham, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Paul, San Diego, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh and more. Additional cities will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, please visit www.TheAddamsFamilyMusical.com. THE ADDAMS FAMILY, entering its second year on Broadway, began performances in March 2010 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and immediately became one of Broadway's biggest hits, regularly grossing over $1 million a week. To date, it has grossed over $59 million. Prior to Broadway, the musical grossed $12,031,010 during 8 weeks at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, becoming the most successful pre-Broadway engagement in that city's history (a city that also hosted the world premieres of such huge successes as The Producers and Spamalot). Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune described the production as "classic, full-tilt, fast paced, old-fashioned musical comedy!" and John Simon of Bloomberg News called it "uproarious! A glitzy-gloomy musical entirely worthy of the macabre drawings by Charles Addams." THE ADDAMS FAMILY features a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. The production is directed and designed (sets and costumes) by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch with creative consultation by Jerry Zaks and choreography by Sergio Trujillo. The production features lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Acme Sound Partners and puppetry by Basil Twist. The production also features music supervision by Mary-Mitchell Campbell, orchestrations by Larry Hochman, dance arrangements by August Eriksmoen, hair design by Tom Watson, make-up design by Angelina Avallone and special effects design by Greg Meeh. THE ADDAMS FAMILY features an original story. It's every parent's nightmare. Your little girl has suddenly become a young woman, and what's worse, has fallen deliriously in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family. Yes, Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has a "normal" boyfriend, and for parents Gomez and Morticia, it's a shocking development that turns the Addams house upside down when they are forced to host a dinner for the young man and his parents. In a prolific career spanning six decades, Charles Addams created several thousand cartoons, sketches and drawings, many of which were published in The New Yorker. But it was his creation of characters that came to be known as The Addams Family that brought Addams his greatest acclaim. With a unique style that combined the twisted, macabre and just plain weird with charm, wit and enchantment, Addams' drawings have entertained millions worldwide and served as the inspiration for multiple television series and motion pictures. THE ADDAMS FAMILY is produced on Broadway by Stuart Oken, Roy Furman, Michael Leavitt, Five Cent Prods., Stephen Schuler, Decca Theatricals, Scott M. Delman, Stuart Ditsky, Terry Allen Kramer, Stephanie P. McClelland, James L. Nederlander, Eva Price, Jam Theatricals/Mary Lu Roffe, Pittsburgh CLO/Gutterman-Swinsky, Vivek Tiwary/Gary Kaplan, The Weinstein Co./Clarence, LLC and Adam Zotovich/Tribe Theatricals, by special arrangement with Elephant Eye Theatrical. For more information on THE ADDAMS FAMILY, visit Uwww.theaddamsfamilymusical.comU. For tour booking information, please contact Meredith Blair at The Booking Group (212) 869-9280 mblair@thebookinggroup.com

MEMPHIS, winner of four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical, celebrates its 500th performance on Wednesday, December 29th at 2pm at the Shubert Theatre.

The winner of four 2010 Tony awards including Best Musical, MEMPHIS celebrates its one year anniversary on Broadway Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at the Shubert Theatre. The Mayor's office has deemed tomorrow - Tuesday, October 19th MEMPHIS Day! The mayoral proclamation will be read directly after the curtain tomorrow on the show's year anniversary. In addition, one lucky audience member will win a trip for two to Memphis, Tennessee to see the opening night of MEMPHIS on tour at the Orpheum Theatre.

The winner of four 2010 Tony awards including Best Musical, MEMPHIS will celebrate its one year anniversary on Broadway Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at the Shubert Theatre.

The winner of four 2010 Tony awards including Best Musical, MEMPHIS celebrated its one year anniversary on Broadway Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at the Shubert Theatre and again on Sunday, October 17 at B.B. King.

The winner of four 2010 Tony awards including Best Musical, MEMPHIS will celebrate its one year anniversary on Broadway Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at the Shubert Theatre.

Continuing the celebration of the King of Rock 'n' Roll's 75th birthday in 2010, On Stage Touring and Troika Entertainment, in partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., today announced the plans for the first-ever North American ELVIS LIVES Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artists Event.

PlayhouseSquare honored Broadway producer Kevin McCollum with its highest award, the PlayhouseSquare Star Award for Achievement in the Performing Arts, at its annual Chairman's Dinner last night. Past honorees include legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch and Disney Theatricals President Thomas Schumacher.

DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Productions, Ltd. are pleased to announce that the ?big fat hit?* Broadway production of SHREK THE MUSICAL with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, directed by Jason Moore, will launch a National Tour in Chicago. SHREK THE MUSICAL will play the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre (24 W. Randolph St.) for a limited engagement beginning in June 2010.

Variety reports that Stacy Keach will return to the role of Richard Nixon for three perfs in the national tour of 'Frost/Nixon,' currently onstage at the Ahmanson Theater. After Keach suffered a mild stroke last week, his understudy, Bob Ari, took over the role of the former president in the Peter Morgan-penned play, helmed by Michael Grandage. Ari understudied the role under Frank Langella in the Broadway production.

Stacy Keach, who had been hospitalized earlier today has been diagnosed as having suffered a very mild stroke, according to a statement released by Center Theatre Group, which can be read below.

FOX News is reporting that Stacy Keach has been hospitalized and was replaced by his understudy in a Los Angeles stage production of 'Frost/Nixon.'

Tonight, September 30th the first performance of the national Frost/Nixon tour will begin in Des Moines, IA The 2007 Tony Award® -nominated new play by Peter Morgan, the award-winning author of The Last King of Scotland and The Queen, will run at the Des Moines Civic Center through October 5th.