Williamstown Theatre News

Broadway legends and Tony nominees Chita Rivera and John Kander talked to USA Today and explained how their work is their real reward.

Williamstown Theatre Festival  has announced further programming and special events to join the 2015 summer season including: the legendary Late-Night Cabaret, the ever popular Fridays@3 Reading Series, and this summer's Developmental Workshop Series. Also announced are this year's Boris Sagal and Bill Foeller Directing Fellows: Dustin Wills and Adrienne Campbell-Holt.

Paper Mill Playhouse presents the world-premiere musical Ever After, directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes, Nice Work If You Can Get It), featuring a book and lyrics by Marcy Heisler and music by Zina Goldrich. Ever After begins performances tonight, May 21, 2015, and runs through Sunday, June 21, 2015.

Just yesterday, special Tony honoree Tommy Tune,  who is referenced in It's Only A Play and who won his first Tony® in the Featured Actor category, celebrated Micah Stock's first Tony nomination by surprising him ON STAGE at the curtain call of Wednesday's matinee. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside the special event below! 

Bucks County Playhouse (BCP) announces Bucks County's own John Augustine to return (The Hummingbird's Tour, 2014, Director) to the Bucks County Playhouse stage as 'Larry' in Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY, running May 29-June 21. Augustine will play alongside Broadway's Candy Buckley (Scandalous, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Cabaret) as 'Joanne'.

The complete cast and creative team have been announced for The Old Globe production of William Shakespeare's delightful and romantic Twelfth Night. Rebecca Taichman, whose production of the time-traveling Time and the Conways fascinated audiences last April, is back to direct the first show of the 2015 Summer Shakespeare Festival. The Old Globe engagement will begin performances on June 21 and run through July 26, 2015, with opening night on Saturday, June 27 at 8:00 p.m., in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.

A work-in-progress presentation of Lucy Alibar's 'Throw Me On the Burnpile and Light Me Up' begins a limited engagement at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre tonight, May 21, as part of CTG's DouglasPlus programming. It will continue through May 31 with only 11 public performances.

The Muny announced today the cast for its production ofHairspray. Winner of the 2003 Tony® Award for Best Musical, it features music by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman with a book by Mark O'Donnell & Thomas Meehan. The Muny's production of Hairspray is directed and choreographed by Dan Knechtges and music directed by Charlie Alterman.

The Visit, recently nominated for 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical, will host a conversation with two iconic composers following this evening's performance, May 20. Tony Award-winning composer of The Visit, John Kander, will sit down with Tony Award winning composer of the upcoming Broadway musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

George Street Playhouse and Artistic Director David Saint are pleased to present Tony and Emmy Award winners DAVID HYDE PIERCE and DEBRA MONK in A.R. Gurney's classic love story, Love Letters, on the New Brunswick stage for one night only Wednesday, June 3 at 8pm.  The modern classic two-hander will be helmed by GSP Artistic Director DAVID SAINT. 

Second Stage Theatre welcomes film star Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables, Dear John, Mamma Mia!, upcoming Ted 2 and Pan) in her off-Broadway debut opposite Thomas Sadoski (The Newsroom, Wild, upcoming in NBC's The Slap) in the world premiere production of NEIL LaBUTE's drama, The Way We Get By. Directed by Tony nominee LEIGH SILVERMAN, the production began previews on April 28, 2015 and officially opens tonight, May 19, 2015 at Second Stage Theatre, 305 West 43rd Street.

Having just finished a recorded-breaking run on Broadway, Scott Ellis' acclaimed production of The Elephant Man will transfer to London with the US cast starring Bradley Cooper, Patricia Clarkson and Alessandro Nivola this spring. The production is now confirmed to play a strictly limited season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from tonight, May 19th until August 8th.

BROADWAY GYPSY TEA DANCE recently gathered at the rooftop bar Top of the Strand at the Strand Hotel (33 West 37th Street) to celebrate Chita Rivera's 2015 Tony Award nomination, enlisting dancers from most of Broadway's shows. Those represented included The King & I, Aladdin, Kinky Boots, Something Rotten, Wicked, American in Paris, The Lion King and gypsies who danced with Rivera in her last Broadway show A Dancer's Life. Check out a look back below!

TED SOD: Will you give us some background information on yourself?

Tickets for the West End production of Motown the Musical, opening at the Shaftesbury Theatre in February 2016, are released for sale today (15 May 2015).  With music and lyrics from the legendary Motown catalogue and book by Motown founder Berry Gordy, Motown the Musical is directed by Charles Randolph-Wright.  London previews will begin on 11 February 2016 with press night on 8 March 2016 with the show booking to 22 October 2016.  Casting and further information about Motown the Musical will be released shortly.

Penguin Rep Theatre's 2015 season officially begins tonight, May 15, 2015, with the New York premiere of Small World by Frederick Stroppel, directed by artistic director Joe Brancato.

A work-in-progress presentation of Lucy Alibar's "Throw Me On the Burnpile and Light Me Up" begins a limited engagement at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre next Thursday, May 21, as part of CTG's DouglasPlus programming. It will continue through May 31 with only 11 public performances.

Palm Beach Dramaworks concludes its fifteenth anniversary season with Lanie Robertson's Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, a moving and surprisingly joyous look back at the too-short, turbulent life of the legendary Billie Holiday. Lady Day opens at  the Don & Ann Brown Theatre tonight, May 15 and continues through June 7.

It was announced today that The Visit, recently nominated for 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical, will host a conversation with two iconic composers following the evening performance on Wednesday, May 20.  Tony Award-winning composer of The Visit, John Kander, will sit down with Tony Award winning composer of the upcoming Broadway musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda.  Tickets are available for this special performance and talkback at telecharge.com (212-239-6200). The Visit is on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater (149 West 45thStreet, NYC).  Time Out New York is the sponsor for the evening. 

Andrew Lippa along with Kate Baldwin and Conor Ryan, the stars of the recent acclaimed Keen Company production of John & Jen, the musical with music by Andrew Lippa, lyrics by Tom Greenwald, and a book by Greenwald and Lippa, will head over to 54 Below (254 West 54th Street) on Saturday June 6th, to celebrate the upcoming release of the 2015 Off-Broadway Cast Recording for Broadway Records.  A June 16th release is planned. Andrew Lippa and Michael Croiter produced the album. Musical Director is Lily Lang.  This recording will include the premiere of the new song, "Trouble with Men,' as well as new orchestrations and two songs from the score never before recorded.