Back From Broadway - 2002 - Broadway Articles Page 19

Hey Melbourne, welcome to the 60's! It's time to put on your most colourful and crazily patterned outfit, tease your hair big, bold, and beautiful, and head on down to the Regent Theatre. Hairspray is back and this time it's the original Broadway version of the musical! Having grown up listening to the original Broadway cast album, it was a sheer delight for a theatre nerd like me to see the original version of Hairspray here in Australia. Seeing this production's opening night performance which coincided exactly 20 years from Hairspray's Broadway premiere was also a big fat cherry on the top! While some elements of the original version do now feel slightly dated and some of this production's casting choices don't always allow Hairspray's vibrant characters to shine as brightly as one would like, you can't deny that this show is just so much fun. From the moment the show opens with 'Good Morning Baltimore' to the standing ovation worthy finale of 'You Can't Stop The Beat', Hairspray will put a smile on your face and have you dancing in your seat.

Jesse L. Martin is known for his Tony-winning role as Tom Collins on Broadway in Rent. He reprised his role in the 2005 feature film adaptation. Martin also starred on NBC's Law & Order for nine seasons. He just completed his eight-year run on The Flash, where he played detective Joe West, and recently wrapped filming NBC’s pilot Irrational.

Tony winner Danny Burstein, Susan Sarandon, Justin Marcel McManus, John Turturro, Carmen Ejogo, Hart Bochner, Ben Shenkman, Leon Addison Brown, and Dan Finnerty all appear in a tale about a hypnotist blackmailed into becoming a hitman. Parker is an 18-Year Old Writer, Director, Actor, and Producer.

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) announced the exciting line-up of the highly anticipated TD James Moody Jazz Festival. This year's program offers events combining jazz luminaries in collaboration with artists known for R&B, poetry, hip hop, and so much more.   

At an annual meeting held on July 26, the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), the national human services organization for everyone in performing arts and entertainment, welcomed five new members to its Board of Trustees and reelected Tony Award-winning actor Brian Stokes Mitchell as Chair, his nineteenth term of serving in this role.

Skylight Music Theatre has announced the creative team for the smash hit musical Mamma Mia! running from September 23 – October 16, 2022. Performances take place in the Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center.

Jobsite Theater, resident theater company at the Straz Center, is thrilled will kick off its 24th season with this hilarious comedy from the original “wild and crazy guy,” Steve Martin.

Special Offer: More Tony Nominees Join the South Carolina New Play Festival

The Board of Directors for the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation will welcome Cait VanDeWiele in the position of Executive Director.

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present Bobby Conte – currently playing the role of PJ in the Broadway revival of Company – in his acclaimed solo concert “Along the Way” on Monday, August 15 at 7:00 PM.

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center has announced MagicSpace Entertainment Presents: Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis on November 16, 2022 and Alton Brown Live: Beyond The Eats – The Holiday Variant on December 2, 2022. 

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater are open this August with a full slate of nightly performances!  At Birdland Jazz Club, catch John Pizzarelli Trio, Sam Gravitte, Alexa Tarantino Quartet, Karen Mason, Artemis, John Yao Orchestra Plays Bird, Bobby Conte, and more.

Performance artist/comedian/ writer Kristina Wong (in partnership with API RISE) returns to East West Players with her new rendition of From Number To Name: Back To Life livestreaming August 5th through 7th. As Kristina described in her last interview with me: “From Number To Name is a devised theater piece created with formerly incarcerated Asian Pacific Islander Americans. The cast is formerly incarcerated APIs, folks with family on the inside and their supporters. It's storytelling we rarely see in our community, from the people who have experienced it.” I got Kristina to say a few words before turning this interview over to Kirn Kim, one of the formerly incarcerated featured in From Number To Name.

Tony & Emmy Award Winner Hal Linden (The Rothschilds, Barney Miller) and legendary television star Bernie Kopell (The Love Boat, Get Smart, That Girl) will pair up for the world premiere of the new comedy Two Jews, Talking.

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present the return of Karen Mason – honoring her three-decade collaboration with music director Christopher Denny in the new show “30… And Counting” – on Monday, August 8 at 7:00 PM.

This July, Berkshire Theatre Group will present Songs For a New World, the first musical by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown at The Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, MA, and also the 2022 Colonial Concert Series: Featuring Broadway Luminaries Chita Rivera and Charl Brown at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA.

Williamstown Theatre Festival is presenting Most Happy in Concert! One of its stars, Maya Lagerstam, will take you behind the scenes. Stop by our Instagram all day as Maya takes the social media reigns for an exclusive look backstage.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley announced its 52nd season, featuring six plays and musicals to be presented November 2022 through August 2023. Three of the season's productions will be mounted at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, and three will be staged at Palo Alto's Lucie Stern Theatre. Subscriptions are now available; single tickets will be available in the coming months at TheatreWorks.org.

The star-studded New York City Center Encores! production of James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's beloved musical, Into the Woods, has officially opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. Let's see what the critics had to say about the new revival.

Diversionary Theatre has announced its 2022/2023 season: the legacy revival The Mystery of Irma Vep (December 2022), by Charles Ludlam and directed by Matt M. Morrow; the American Premiere of The High Table (February/March 2023), by Temi Wilkey, directed by Bibi Mama; and more.

 La Jolla Playhouse has announced the cast and creative team for its world-premiere production of Here There Are Blueberries, by Tony Award nominee Moisés Kaufman (Playhouse’s 33 Variations) and Amanda Gronich, conceived and directed by Moisés Kaufman.

 On July 1st, 2022, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey will re-open its ever-popular Outdoor Stage venue with Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. As always, this summer’s show is a comedy and appropriate for all ages – from the youngest tots to venerable seniors.

Winners for the 2022 Chita Rivera Awards have been announced! In keeping with the mission of the Chita Rivera Awards, nominators considered outstanding choreography, featured dancers, and ensemble in shows on Broadway and Off Broadway, as well as outstanding choreography in film that opened pre-Covid as well as in the 2021-2022 season.

Complete casting announced for the Harvey Evans Tribute includes Jim Brochu, Anita Gillette, Joel Grey, Kurt Peterson, Marianne Tatum, Penny Worth and Tony Yazbeck, directed by Lawrence Leritz. Tony nominated Broadway star Tony Yazbeck will join A Toast to Harvey - Celebrating the Life and Career of Harvey Evans on Wednesday, June 22nd, from 6 - 9 PM at The Triad Theatre.

Opening tonight at Darkhorse Theater in Nashville is That Woman – The Monologue Show, which explores the stories of women who involved or rumored-to-be involved with President John F. Kennedy. Co-written by Nashville-area women playwrights and actors, it is performed by a diverse ensemble of actors who bring the women to life “in a fascinating look at a lesser-known aspect of history and a thought-provoking and entertaining evening of theatre.”