As Is - 1987 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 1

One of the greatest joys of experiencing live theater comes from the ability to revisit a past show through a new lens. When shows are revived or a new company mounts their own production, this allows newer voices to put their stamp on timeless material. The hallmark of any timeless story is its ability to transform and adapt with the changing times. Part and parcel with this is a willingness to step out of one’s comfort zone in order to provide a new emotional truth to material that is both familiar and unknown.

Classic Albums Live will perform Guns N' Roses – “Appetite for Destruction” on the Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center stage. With songs like “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Mr. Brownstone,” “Paradise City,” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine.'

Drummer and bandleader Cindy Blackman Santana has released her new album Coherence via Mack Avenue Records, featuring guest appearances by Carlos Santana and Snoop Dogg.

Over the years, Broadway has seen a number of family acts sharing the stage. It’s extra special when family members team up to write a Broadway show together. The Great White Way has seen many instances of this historically, in a variety of different situations. While last week’s column focused on spouses penning shows together, this week is all about blood relatives partnering to write work. 

Tickets are on sale for the world premiere production, part of The Rep's 2026 golden SummerStage season in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Eureka Entertainment will release BENEATH THE TREES: FOLKTALES AT DEFA II, a limited three-disc Blu-ray box set collecting five folktale films from East Germany's DEFA studio, in the UK.

Reviews are in for Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular, now playing at Radio City Music Hall through August 9. Check out photos from the production below!

Eureka Entertainment will release a three-film Hong Kong and Taiwan horror collection, restored in 2K, on a limited-edition UK Blu-ray featuring Chow Yun-fat, Wu Ma and Ricky Hui.

Let's go crazy! BroadwayWorld has just learned that 42 years to the day since Prince’s legendary film premiered, and three weeks since the album re-entered the Billboard 200, the stage adaptation of PURPLE RAIN will arrive on Broadway. PURPLE RAIN will premiere next spring at the Majestic Theatre, beginning previews on  Friday, March 12, 2027, and officially opening on Monday, April 12, 2027. We have all of the details here!

Rick Moranis made a surprise appearance at San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H panel for SPACEBALLS: THE NEW ONE, joining Josh Gad, Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman, and Daphne Zuniga for the Amazon MGM Studios sequel.

Conejo Players Theatre will present STEEL MAGNOLIAS, Robert Harling's play about friendship, family, and resilience, for a limited run in Thousand Oaks. Learn more here.

Swans announced NEWLY SENTIENT BEING, a live recording capturing the band's final 'Big Sound' performance, set for release via Young God Records.

Cabaret Voltaire's CODE is set for a remastered reissue, giving fans a restored version of the influential electronic album.

THE JACKIE MASON MUSICAL – A COMEDY, starring Jackie Mason look-alike Ian Wehrle and Mason's real-life daughter Sheba Mason, will play Actors Temple Theatre on West 47th Street in New York City.

Julien's Auctions will present the Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation 2026 Auction in Los Angeles, featuring stage-worn gowns, jewelry, and memorabilia, with 100% of proceeds benefiting the Foundation's scholarships and youth initiatives.

Sharon Stone is hoping to make her Broadway debut someday, with many ideas for shows she'd like to star in, including a gender-swapped La Cage aux Folles, a stage production of All About Eve, and a punk-era Mame.

Tony Award nominee Alison Fraser and Bernard Dotson will lead a new professional production of DRIVING MISS DAISY at Bell Theater at Bell Works in Holmdel, NJ, directed by Nate Patten.

Laurie Woolery will direct the first post-Broadway production of Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, playing at Pasadena Playhouse in spring 2027 as the 3rd Mainstage offering of the theatre's 2026-2027 season.

TexArts turns up the volume with Rock of Ages, a hilarious, over-the-top celebration of '80s arena rock. Packed with iconic hits, outrageous comedy, and an energetic onstage band, this jukebox musical had much of the audience singing and dancing along. A fun, nostalgic night at the theatre from start to finish.

Complicité co-founder Annabel Arden will play Nell in Flabbergast Theatre's Edinburgh Fringe production of Samuel Beckett's ENDGAME, joining artistic director Henry Maynard, Simon Gleave, and Derek Elwood at the 375-seat Lomond venue.

OFC Creations founder Eric Vaughn Johnson discusses the 2026-2027 Broadway in Brighton Series, a season of six musicals featuring rarely produced titles, a North American premiere of THE OSMONDS, and a New York State premiere of THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK.

Cyril Nri will take on the role of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's DEATH OF A SALESMAN at the Liverpool Everyman, directed by Olivier Award-winning Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu.

Spaceballs: The Plot. The official synopsis has been revealed for Spaceballs: The New One, the highly anticipated sequel to Mel Brooks' 1987 sci-fi comedy.

THE JACKIE MASON MUSICAL, set in Miami Beach and tracing the comedian's romantic misadventures and rise to Broadway stardom, will play the Actors Temple Theater in New York City, featuring Jackie's lovechild Sheba Mason and impersonator Ian Wehrle.

Borgersen and McIntosh are a dynamic duo as Lettice and Lotte, lighting up the stage with their energy. They are masters at creating and resolving tension in a scene, taking the audience on a ride that will keep them laughing throughout.