Tom Kitt News

He brought us a Tony-winning rap musical, IN THE HEIGHTS. He showed us another side of the founding fathers and landed Broadway squarely in the popular spotlight with HAMILTON. He's just an Oscar away from an EGOT. And he's 36 today.

Throughout the week, BroadwayWorld has been rolling out some preview tracks from the album, and we have another one today! Below, take a listen to 'Made of Stone.'

BroadwayWorld learned tonight at GREASE: LIVE's TCA panel that IF/THEN, NEXT TO NORMAL and FREAKY FRIDAY songwriters Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey have written a new tune for 'Frenchy', played by Carly Rae Jepsen in FOX's upcoming live production.

Refuge Theatre Project's second season will open on January 29, 2016 with High Fidelity - the musical based on Nick Hornby's 1995 novel and on Stephen Frears' 2000 feature-film adaptation that starred Chicago natives John Cusack, Joan Cusack and Lili Taylor.

The Dramatists Guild of America has announced the recipients of their annual awards, which will be presented at their annual meeting on Monday, February 22, 2016, at The American Airlines Theatre Penthouse Lobby in New York.

Beginning today, fans who pre-order the album on iTunes will be able to download four tracks, including the soaring 'Out There,' immediately. Below, watch Michael Arden record the moving number 'Out There' from the production.

On the heels of the news that Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's new musical adaptation of FREAKY FRIDAY will hit the stage in Washington, D.C. this fall, theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) just announced it has secured worldwide licensing rights for the show and will allow professional -- and eventually amateur theatres -- to produce the musical after its debut.

Get ready for a supernatural mother-daughter body swap -- onstage! BroadwayWorld is excited to report that D.C.'s Signature Theatre will present the world-premiere production of the new musical FREAKY FRIDAY.

In addition to Idina Menzel's predictably powerhouse vocals, IF/THEN features a stellar performance by LaChanze. She is a non-stop engine of energy, delivering one knockout song after another and acting up a storm. Janine DiVita stands out as well as a talent to watch.

Second Stage Theatre's 37th Anniversary Gala celebration will honor Producer DAVID STONE, celebrating his ongoing 12 year relationship with the Off-Broadway Company.  The evening's Honorary Chair is James M. Nederlander and the Co-Chairs are Marc Platt, Patrick Catullo, and Nancy Coyne.  The gala evening, which will be directed by James Lapine, will be held on Monday, May 2, 2016 at Cipriani 42nd Street.  The evening's entertainment, which will feature stars who have appeared in Stone's productions over the years, will be announced at a later date.  This is the first time Second Stage's annual gala will be honoring a Broadway producer.

Hennepin Theatre Trust announced today that tickets for the Minneapolis debut of the national tour of If/Then, named the "Best Musical of the Year" by New York Magazine, will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 8, 2016.

Happy New Year, BroadwayWorld! As we eagerly anticipate the amazing musicals and plays coming up in 2016, we're taking a moment to look back at the significant Broadway closings of 2015.

As previously reported, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton will receive a behind-the-scenes book from Grand Central Publishing next spring. In anticipation of its release, Miranda has once again taken to Twitter to confirm that the book, which he's aptly calling '#Hamiltome' on the social media network, is now available for pre-order. In addition, he's also offered up a new peek inside. Check it out below!

As previously reported, Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical Hamilton, now playing to packed houses at the Richard Rodgers Theater, is getting its own life in print via Grand Central Publishing. Miranda just took to Twitter to announce he is almost finished proofing the behind-the-scenes book, and then it's off to the printer!

SubCulture, the music and performing arts venue in downtown Manhattan, is pleased to announce the return of their Artist-In-Residence concert series from Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown. The series opens on January 25th with Emmy- nominated guest artist Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Jersey Boys and The Little Mermaid on Broadway).

During the seventies, the adult film industry went through a very strange period of trying to make adult films with actual plots and dialogue. The attempts, to put it mildly, were laughable. The 'acting' was, at best, wooden and the dialogue ranged the gamut from stilted to repetitive. During this period, which has been dubbed 'The Golden Age of Porn' or 'Porno Chic', came some big box office successes. Among the biggest hits of this era was the film 'Debbie Does Dallas', released in 1978, close to the end of the period. By the early eighties, home video effectively ended the era where people went to movie theaters to see porn.

The L.A. Premiere engagement of IF/THEN, starring Tony Award-winner and Broadway superstar Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent, Frozen, Glee), began performances at Hollywood Pantages Theatre on December 8, 2015 for a limited four-week engagement through January 3, 2016. Menzel recently stopped by FOX 11 Los Angeles to talk about the show. Click below to watch her interview!

Hollywood with a divine program of entertainment. Among the stellar singers were Joan Ryan, Ruth Williamson, Sharon Catherine Brown, Scott Harlan, Jeffrey Christopher Todd, Walter Winston ONeil, Chelsea Field and producer Dianne Fraser, and a very special treat Tim Curry and one of his original song partners from the days of Rocky Horror onstage Jamie Donnelly, all under the baton of the one and only musical director Brad Ellis. This was not a Christmas program as such, but Broadway fare sprinkled with a couple of holiday tunes. Ellis, as always, with his inimitable style - he looks and comes off totally dry and unrehearsed - was sheer delight as he opened the show with 'You're Here', a delicious original composition.

Ghostlight Records and Two River Theater announce the release of the Original Cast Recording of the new musical BE MORE CHILL, with physical CDs in stores and online today, December 18.

The New York premiere of Pulitzer Prize finalist and Emmy Award nominated writer Rolin Jones and Tony Award nominee and Grammy Award winning Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong's new play with music THESE PAPER BULLETS!, directed by Jackson Gay, opened last night, December 15, at Atlantic Theater Company. Let's see what the critics had to say...