Broadway Man - 2004 - Chicago Articles Page 1

Theatrical Press Agent, award-wining Author (Jameson Currier), Independent Publisher devoted to gay literature and later an Artist, died of a sudden heart attack at his home in in Chatham Center, New York.

Jaiden Leo Riley discusses making his professional leading man debut as Edward Lewis in PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL at Clear Space Theatre Company, running July 1 through August 25, 2026 in Rehoboth Beach.

“Politics have no place in theatre,” says a person who has no idea that some of the first-ever plays from Ancient Greece were political. From Antigone by Sophocles to Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, there has been no shortage of bold theatre spreading a message.

What did our critic think of URINETOWN THE MUSICAL at Osceola Arts?

Since The Lost Boys took Broadway by storm this spring, there has been much chatter about the “vampire curse” on Broadway being lifted. In the early 2000s, Broadway received a string of three vampire musicals, which all closed relatively quickly. Dance of the Vampires (2002), Dracula (2004), and Lestat (2006) each received attention in their own right, but they also received attention as a group, since it was remarkable that they came along in such quick succession. But the early 21st century wasn’t the first time vampires thirsted on Broadway. The play adaptation of Dracula was a hit all the way back in 1927 and an even bigger hit in a 1977 revival. And there have been vampires lurking in the theatre district in all sorts of other projects too…

Whether you are Team Black or Team Green, there is probably a stage veteran on your side. Like other HBO shows such as The Gilded Age and Julia, the Game of Thrones spin-off, House of the Dragon, is full of Broadway, West End, and stage alums. 

Jane Asher and Samantha Womack will lead the UK tour of BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT, Daisy Goodwin's debut play, directed by Anthony Banks, visiting Cambridge Arts Theatre and several other venues.

Mimi Rogers will star as Sister Aloysius Beauvier in John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award–winning drama Doubt: A Parable, directed by Beejan Land playing as part of Ensemble Theatre Company's upcoming season.

Newsies, featuring music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, and a book by Harvey Fierstein premiered on Broadway in 2012. BroadwayWorld is looking back at what the cast has been up to since the show first burst onto Broadway!

After a sold-out performance last year, Matthew Rosenstein brings Make Me French back to the Beechman for Bastille Day, 7/14. The show follows Rosenstein, “a bagel who dreamed of being a croissant,” on his journey to become as French as possible, including moving to Paris, through stories and song! Recently, we had the chance to speak with Rosenstein about bringing the show back to the Laurie Beechman Theatre. We discussed the creative process for a cabaret show like Make Me French, what audiences can expect from the show, and even some of the cultural differences he’s noticed between the French and Americans!

'...today's musical theater performer kids are smart...they understand...that there is an innate honesty to the material, all the while inhabiting this kind of stylistic choice in allowing it to be bigger than life.'

Check out new production photos of Chromolume Theatre's Elegies: A Song Cycle by William Finn, now playing as part of the 2026 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Directed by Carol M. Becker with musical direction by Isaac Schanno Johnson, the intimate and moving song cycle celebrates the lives of friends, family members, and loved ones lost, balancing heartfelt reflection with humor and hope.

Mirvish Productions will present the North American premiere of 13 GOING ON 30 - THE MUSICAL at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre. The WhatsOnStage Award-winning production, executive produced by Jennifer Garner, played to sold-out houses at its world premiere in Manchester.

Tony and Emmy Award-winner Billy Crystal’s new one-man show, 860 will play a limited run at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre, beginning in October of 2026. The complete creative team will be announced in the coming weeks. 

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music announced its 2026-27 performance schedule, featuring 15 concerts and stage productions including LA BOHÈME, RENT, and CABARET, with tickets on sale now.

Much has been written about the proliferation of pop singer-songwriters writing new musicals for Broadway and off-Broadway. Less covered is the trend of pop singers performing on Broadway, which has made for a number of memorable appearances in current and recent seasons. 

The 79th Annual Tony Awards are this Sunday, June 7, 2026. It's the biggest awards show of the Broadway season and it closes out a long awards season for Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and plays. Which Best Musical and Best Play nominees will take home the ultimate prize?

These performers may have received other awards and accolades, but a Tony Award is shockingly not on their résumé.

THE NOTEBOOK The Musical was a charming chamber piece when I first read Bekah Brunstetter's adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' breakout bestseller. But the touring version is now playing to bigger houses than either its original Chicago premiere or its New York engagement. With Broadway-extravaganza pretensions. Call me back when a local company decides to mount this musical at an appropriate scale.

Based on Ron Chernow's 2004 biographical book titled Alexander Hamilton, this musical tells the true story of America's $10 Founding Father. The story begins when he was an immigrant who came to New York from the West Indies. Eventually, he became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was later named the nation's first Treasury Secretary.

Jesus Christ Superstar began as a concept album in 1970 before making its stage debut in 1971. The original 1970 concept album was the brainchild of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice.

Veteran theatrical press agents Heath Schwartz and Michelle Farabaugh have acquired principal ownership of Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Inc., a publicity firm with over three decades of experience serving the theater industry, rebranding the company effective June 1, 2026 as Aperture Public Relations.

The stage production does make a lot of strides that strengthens the endurance and popularity of this love story. It repeats iconic moments from the popular 2004 film, but isn’t aping the original screenplay in any way. A new libretto offers a fresh take that borrows the basic structure of the novel and memorable film moments, whilst breathing in new voices and new scenes that add different layers to these familiar characters.

What did our critic think of GEM OF THE OCEAN at Actors' Shakespeare Project?

There’s a strange dichotomy that exists in live theater. I may not like the material, but will still find reason to love its execution. And at Theater West End, they’ve culled together a company of players who help elevate the material of POTUS into a comedy that now exists thanks to their approach to the characters. They form a symbiotic relationship with the audience throughout the two acts to make us still care for them, for their arcs, and for their resolutions – no matter how far-fetched it may seem. This is where the production of POTUS shines.