A 24-Decade History of Popular Music - 2016 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 1

NJPAC revealed the lineup for the 15th annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival in Newark, featuring an Ben Vereen 80th birthday celebration, and performances by Gregory Porter, Charles Lloyd, and Christian McBride.

Friendship is nearly always a side element in musicals. From the comic sidekick of the leading character to the backup pals who provide background vocals, friends are part of the fabric of many shows—but rarely are they the main event. 

In April, 54 Below will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond, including Marilyn Maye, Claybourne Elder and many more. 

LA Phil President & CEO Kim Noltemy has unveiled the 2026/27 LA Phil season at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The season features figures including Esa-Pekka Salonen, who takes up his newly established role of Creative Director.

There is a version of this story that would have gone very differently. A talented violinist from Belarus finishes conservatory, wins some competitions, sends out recordings, and waits. Maybe a label picks him up. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe he spends the next decade playing regional venues, genuinely skilled, but known only to a small professional circle. That version was completely possible. It just isn't what happened.

The LA Phil has revealed the 2026 Hollywood Bowl summer season with performances at the world-renowned amphitheater in the Hollywood Hills from June to September 2026.

Join Robin Ince and Professor Jen Gupta for an evening of music and astrophysics with THE EXOPLANETS at Hackney Empire. Learn more about the event here!

Miss Saigon will play a strictly limited West End season in 2027, more than a decade since Miss Saigon last performed in London, at that same theatre.

The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin have unveiled the 2026–27 season—Nézet-Séguin’s 15th as music and artistic director—full of epic musical events, bold artistic experiences, and new musical journeys.

SFJAZZ will present a diverse lineup of jazz performances in February 2026, featuring renowned artists and ensembles. The month-long event will take place at the iconic SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco.

During and prior to the Golden Age of Broadway, songs regularly premiered on stage and then charted, spending time on the radio and becoming popular worldwide. In the 1960s, Broadway songs and popular music diverged, and work from musicals was no longer synonymous with chart hits. There have certainly been a good share of exceptions since that decade, as Broadway has evolved to mirror popular, current music genres. Several of the songs that have broken through to the Billboard charts can be heard on Broadway! 

It wasn’t until later on in theatre history that revivals began including shows that weren’t initially well received or financially successful in their initial engagements. As musical theatre continued to evolve, and more shows entered the canon, a consensus began to grow about shows being worthy of additional exploration even if they hadn’t been hits the first time around. What about musicals that had been ahead of their time, musicals that had fallen prey to circumstances, early works by writers who became successful later on, and of course, shows that found an audience after closing via their cast recordings?

The San Francisco Giants organization has acquired the historic Curran from Shorenstein Hays in a private transaction.

54 BELOW will celebrate the happiest time of the year with an incredible lineup of performances by Tony winner Christine Ebersole with Billy Stritch, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Darius de Haas, and more.

Hadestown, the winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards including Best New Musical and the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, will return by popular demand to the Marcus Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee for three performances only and we've got all the details on how to get the best priced tickets. .

While different tryout theaters have different relationships to the development of new shows, it’s worth looking at both which commercial rental theaters and which non-profit theaters have had the most Best Musical Tony Award winners come from their stages.

The Broadway blockbuster Wicked will return to the Providence Performing Arts Center from March 4–22, 2026, as part of the Taco and The White Family Foundation Broadway Series.

The Spire Center for Performing Arts will present four new shows. Internationally beloved Chicago bluesman Toronzo Cannon will play, plus more. See the full lineup and learn how to purchase tickets.

This past season contained a higher than usual amount of Broadway shows involving death; in fact, Operation Mincemeat and Dead Outlaw both specifically revolved around transporting a corpse! And Death Becomes Her leans into the hilarity as two women become gorgeous living corpses before our very eyes, thanks to a touch of magic. But plays and musicals about death and its attendant macabre topics have been a part of the theatre landscape for many decades...

Sir Rod Stewart, the legendary two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted singer-songwriter, announced that he’s bringing his highly anticipated “One Last Time” tour to the Brandon Amphitheater.

Just In Time’s origin story as well as overall conceit has much in common with one of Broadway’s very first jukebox musicals, which was ahead of its time. In 1985, Leader of the Pack, telling the story of pop singer-songwriter Ellie Greenwich, opened at the Ambassador on Broadway. Learn all about pop music bio-musicals here!

Few honors in entertainment are as coveted—or as rare—as achieving EGOT status. This elite distinction marks a career filled with versatility, longevity, and extraordinary talent across multiple mediums. What does it all mean? We're taking a closer look at the artists who have managed to join one of the industry’s most exclusive clubs.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills is announcing its 2025-2026 season led by performances of the Los Angeles premiere of the Atlantic Theater Company and Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway production of English by Sanaz Toossi (April 4 - 24, 2026).

FRIGID New York will present the 11th annual Queerly Festival at UNDER St. Marks. This year Queerly is presenting shows that celebrate queer/LGBTQIA2S+ resilience, power, determination, persistence, and resistance.

South Coast Repertory has announced its 2025-26 season, featuring the return of Million Dollar Quartet, the milestone 45th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and more.