William Finn News

Today in 2005, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where it ran for 1136 performances. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one act musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three equally-quirky grown-ups. The 2005 Broadway production, directed by James Lapine, was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning two, including Best Book. The show has spawned various other productions in the U.S., including a national tour with performances in Canada, and Australian productions.

Theatre Development Fund, the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts, will honor three of the organization's "Unsung Heroes" - Ted Chapin, Jeffrey Gural and Robert Zukerman at TDF's Gala on Monday, June 15 at the Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).  TDF is honoring these "heroes," as they have assisted the organization in fulfilling its mission of supporting works of artistic merit and helping to make theatre accessible to all.

Screen Actors Guild Foundation and Broadway World have partnered for filmed Conversations Q&A series to recognize and celebrate the vibrant theatre community in New York City and the union actors who aspire to have a career on the stage and screen. The most recent conversation featured Jonathan Groff, moderated by BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge. As a part of the special event, Groff and Ridge spoke in depth about his his time in Spring Awakening. Read on below to find out what he had to say about the show that changed it all for him!

Screen Actors Guild Foundation and Broadway World have partnered for filmed Conversations Q&A series to recognize and celebrate the vibrant theatre community in New York City and the union actors who aspire to have a career on the stage and screen. The most recent conversation featured Jonathan Groff, moderated by BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge. As a part of the special event, Groff and Ridge spoke in depth about his current role is the hit Broadway-Bound musical- Hamilton. Read on below to find out what he had to say about playing King George III! Check out the full interview here!

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson, is proud to announce the 2015 season of performances at Mr. Finn's Cabaret, located on the lower level of the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden Street, Pittsfield.

"April showers may come your way, they bring flowers that bloom in May!" So go the words of the old Tin Pan Alley song. When the days begin to get longer, and the daffodils work to pop up through the dirt, we know that spring is just around the corner. April is that gateway to birds singing, grass growing, and romance blooming. This month we look at spring and the season's sweet rains that give life to young love.

Screen Actors Guild Foundation and Broadway World have partnered for filmed Conversations Q&A series to recognize and celebrate the vibrant theatre community in New York City and the union actors who aspire to have a career on the stage and screen. The most recent conversation featured Jonathan Groff, moderated by BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge. Watch below to find out how things are going at Hamilton, how he feels about the end of Looking, and so much more. Check out the full interview below!

Today we are shining a spotlight on some rarely discussed and unusual connections between the world of William Shakespeare and theatrical pop culture at large. Given the wide breadth of material contained within the canon of the Bard, it is certainly no understatement to claim that the connections are virtually endless between many modern tropes, terms, themes and ideas that derive in his classic plays - whether they be tragedies, comedies, histories or latter plays - yet the intriguing aspects of many of the lesser-known theatrical connections between Shakespeare and modern theatre are illuminating and fascinating to unearth. Ranging from the influence of Shakespeare on some of our greatest musical theatre masters - Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and William Finn included - through to the inspiration behind both Broadway's most lucrative production in history (THE LION KING) and the longest-running show in NYC to date (THE FANTASTICKS), the impact of Shakespeare on Broadway is impossible to accurately calculate - and, now, with the lovable and hilarious Shakespeare paean SOMETHING ROTTEN! poised to open later this month, the Bard is about to get a fresh jolt of electricity, buzz and excitement from the theatre community at large. Fear no more, indeed.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Chuck Cooper and Taran Killam will join the previously announced Ellen Greene in the Encores! Off-Center concert production ofHoward Ashman and Alan Menken's Little Shop of Horrors, running July 1-2, 2015. NOTE: A third performance has been added at 2pm on Thursday, July 2 in order to meet ticket demand. The production will be directed by Dick Scanlan, with choreography by Patricia Wilcox. Jeanine Tesori is the Artistic Director of Encores! Off-Center, and Chris Fenwick is Music Director. The show will mark the musical theater debuts of both Gyllenhaal and Killam.

Tony and Emmy Award winner Tyne Daly, Tony Award winner Harriet Harris, Sierra Boggess and Lisa Howard head an outstanding cast in It Shoulda Been You, the hilarious and heartwarming new musical comedy that proves when it comes to wedding day insanity, everything is relative. It Shoulda Been You, which had a sold-out premiere at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse, officially opens tonight, April 14, 2015 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Scroll down to learn more about the cast, plus watch interviews with the company!

The Playwrights Horizons world premiere of IOWA, a new musical play written by Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist Jenny Schwartz (God's Ear, Somewhere Fun), music by Todd Almond (Stage Kiss at PH, Kansas City Choir Boy, The Tempest, On the Levee) and lyrics by Mr. Almond and Ms. Schwartz, opens tonight, April 13, 2015.

The Centenary College Theatre Department launches its new musical theatre concentration this spring with the wildly funny and entertaining Broadway smash musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, April 30-May 10 in the Lackland Performing Arts Center, Hackettstown NJ. Winner of the TONY and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee features the fast-paced book by Rachel Sheinkin and a lively and witty score by William Finn.

The new kids on the musical theatre block are here! Five really promising (and really young - under the age of 26!) have just won New Musical Inc.'s 2015 New Voices Project.

Barrington Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson, announces additions to its 2015 season schedule.

Screen Actors Guild Foundation and BroadwayWorld have partnered for a filmed Conversations Q&A series to recognize and celebrate the vibrant theatre community in New York City and the actors who aspire to have a career on the stage and screen. On April 10 (2-4PM) join us for a career Conversations with Jonathan Groff and moderated by BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge of 'Backstage with Richard Ridge', at NYIT-Auditorium on Broadway (1871 Broadway).

The ability to spell is the unlikely subject of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a 2005 Broadway musical by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin now playing to hysterical audiences at the 150-seat Brisbane Arts Theatre.

HAMILTON's Lin-Manuel Miranda gave co-star Jonathan Groff a belated (and hilarious) birthday Vine today - check it out below!

The final two performances of the Sierra Stages production of the Tony Award winning comedy VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE play on Friday & Saturday March 27 & 28 at 8 PM at the historic Nevada Theatre in Nevada City. BroadwayWorld brings you photos of the show below!

Well, they can spell, but can they get a life? The Players Club of Swarthmore Theater invites audiences to laugh at the nerdy antics of some quirky spelling contestants, in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, directed by Chaz Meyers. These serious spellers hit the Players Club of Swarthmore stage for 10 performances: March 20th to April 4th.

In celebration of the third annual International Day of Happiness at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the NGO Relations and Advocacy Section of DPI held an expert global panel yesterday, exploring scientifically proven data that demonstrates the inverse relationship that wealth (both national and personal) can have on happiness. Broadway Conductor and Composer Mary-Mitchell Campbell, currently serving as musical director of Finding Neverland, and Founder of Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP) served as the event's Moderator. Campbell called upon her friend Jonathan Groff, who is currently appearing onstage in Hamilton, to celebrate the special occasion on Good Day New York. Below, watch as they perform 'Happy Days are Here Again' and 'Get Happy.'