William Finn News

With apologies for a little self-promotion, I will be a guest on 'Mid-Day with Dan Rodricks' radio program between 1-2 p.m. (WYPR-FM, 88.1) on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 for a discussion on theater coming this spring to the Baltimore/Washington area and Broadway. You can access the program live on www.wypr.org or for about a month after the program on the WYPR web site. I hope to hear from many of my readers. You may call during the program at 410-662-8780 or long-distance at 866-661-9309.

Rehearsals will begin on Tuesday, April 8 for the Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) World Premiere production of the new musical SAVED.

The cast and crew of South Pacific celebrated their opening night in style. The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic opened its first ever revival on April 3.

Under the mentorship of Tony Award-winning composer/lyricist William Finn, Barrington Stage Company is proud to announce the third exciting season of its acclaimed Musical Theater Lab. Developed by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd in conjunction with Finn in 2006, the Lab is designed to nurture and assist musical theater writers, composers, and lyricists as they create new works. These musicals, when fully developed, will result in workshops and/or full presentations. Since its founding, the Musical Theatre Lab has already presented six original/new musicals/revues, in addition to numerous readings and workshops.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced additional casting for the sixth and final production of its 2007/2008 Season, the World Premiere of the new musical SAVED.

An interview with Broadway star (and Maryland native) Barbara Walsh, soon to star in A Little Night Music at CENTERSTAGE.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) has announced that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's new play, GOOD BOYS AND TRUE, will begin preview performances on Wednesday, April 23 at Second Stage Theatre (307 West 43rd Street, just west of Eighth Avenue).

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) is now accepting entries for its popular online lottery LIVEforFIVE for $5 tickets to its next production, The Drunken City, a new play by 2007 Obie Award winner Adam Bock (The Receptionist, The Thugs, Swimming in the Shallows). A total of 40 tickets will be available for the show via the lottery.

San Jose Repertory Theatre's Artistic Director Timothy Near announced the Rep's 2008-2009 line-up, with five of the six plays of the season, which begins August 20, 2008 and runs through June 7, 2009.

On Monday, February 18 at 9:30PM a one-night-only concert of Tammy Faye Sings: Songs from Big, Tent The Tammy Faye Bakker Musical was be presented at the Metropolitan Room

The American Theatre Wing and XM Satellite Radio proudly present an interview with Tony Award winning actor Michael Rupert, on their weekly theatrical interview show, 'Downstage Center,' on XM's On Broadway (XM Channel 28).

This month you can join Broadway actor-singer, Michael Winther (Mamma Mia, 1776, Songs From An Unmade Bed) and one of Broadway's top musical directors, Kimberly Grigsby (Grease, Spring Awakening, Light In The Piazza) with special guest, Sally Wilfert (William Finn's Make Me A Song) for a unique, romantic evening of new love songs by some of our best contemporary theater composers and lyricists. Among the songwriters represented will be Deborah Abramson, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Jason Robert Brown, Mark Campbell, William Finn, Jenny Giering, Ricky Ian Gordan, Adam Guettel, Fred Hersch, Steve Marzullo, Chris Miller, Joe Thalken and more. The songs were selected especially for Valentine's week.

Join celebrated cabaret performer Jamie deRoy when she celebrates 'Oscar' with an evening featuring Academy Award- winning songs and winners as the theme of her Multi MAC Award-winning variety show, Jamie deRoy & friends on Wednesday, February 20 at 7:30PM at the New York hotspot The Metropolitan Room

London's Player's Theatre will play host in March to the UK premiere of the recent Off-Broadway show, Make Me a Song - a 'songfest' of numbers from the inspirational pen of Tony Award winning composer/lyricist, William Finn.

Here's a look at the February lineup at the Metropolitan Room:

The West Bank Café announces our February, 2008 line-up of live entertainment, to be presented in The Laurie Beechman Theatre.

REVIEW: The new musical, Glory Days, by local 20-somethings Nick Blaemire and James Gardiner, has its world premiere at Virginia's Signature Theatre.

Friends and stars of stage and screen gathered together for a surprise party at Sardi's Restaurant on January 18 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Michael Rupert's Broadway debut!

After running for three years in New York City, the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee plays its final Broadway performance today, Sunday, January 20, 2008 at Circle in the Square Theatre

'Homecoming' is the theme of Barrington Stage Company's 14th Season. The theatre that developed and premiered William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on its Stage II in 2004 welcomes home the award-winning Broadway hit to its Mainstage from June 11 through July 12. Long-time BSC director Rob Ruggiero returns to direct Richard Greenberg's The Violet Hour, which will play July 17 through August 2. Julianne Boyd will direct Noel Coward's delicious battle-of-the-sexes comedy Private Lives starring Christopher Innvar from August 7 through 24. Private Lives marks the fifth stage collaboration between Boyd and Innvar.