Character Man 2014

A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER is one of my absolute favorite musicals, so I was thrilled when I learned that Murry's Dinner Playhouse in Little Rock was bringing it to the stage! Then I saw the cast list, and my excitement went through the roof!

New York Festival of Song will present THIS NOW NAKED LIFE, a program of contemporary vocal works curated by pianist Nathaniel LaNasa, featuring world premiere selections from composer leiken's I HAVE BEEN THE BLUE SALMON.

54 Below will present Broadway and cabaret artists next week, including Tony and Grammy winner John Lloyd Young performing SONGS FROM THE ROAD and Tony nominee Jenn Colella.

A recent audience disturbance at Wicked on the West End caused the performance to be paused for an hour. Unruly patrons were singing along, talking loudly, sneaking in their own alcohol, and generally creating an unpleasant experience for their fellow theatergoers. They were finally ushered out of London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre successfully by the heroic front of house and security teams. The situation went viral thanks to TikTok, with theatre fans and professionals around the world weighing in on what happened at the show.

NOSTALGIA BAIT was an excellent night of fun that celebrated growing up as a theater kid in the early 2000s. Creative choices were made that enhanced the show into a full production.

Karole recently appeared in Cygnet Theatre’s production of Sondheim's Follies, winning a San Diego Craig Noel Award for her performance. Other notable stage credits include the Old Globe’s production of Murder on the Orient Express, the reprise of Jelly’s Last Jam, at The Pasadena Playhouse, and regional appearances of her LA Ovation award-winning performance as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill. She has won numerous Best Actress awards for the short film Light Bunny, by Valerian Zamel. Karole is a multi-hyphenate artist who has had an extensive career in stage, film, and television.  She also produces through her company Signal Hill Sandbox, Inc. and has won awards for her writing. Her most recent collaboration is a jazz holiday song SANTA ZADDY written with Damon Carter and Karl Vincent. https://release.landr.com/991048980792

Big Shot Pictures has optioned film rights to the South Korean gaming franchise COOKIERUN, which has over 300 million downloads. The film will target a global release aligned with the franchise's 20th anniversary.

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein will perform recitals at The Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in Boston and MIT's Thomas Tull Concert Hall in Cambridge as part of her 2026–27 residency with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

The Canadian Opera Company’s remount of its 2014 production of Cosí Fan Tutte, originally directed by Atom Egoyan, brings to bear all of the performance and creative excellence for which the COC is known. However, in the post- #MeToo era, and amidst the Cornell 7 scandal, this 236-year-old work hits different. A discerning viewer in 2026 can’t fail to notice the centuries-long throughline of misogynistic beliefs about women’s sexuality and bodily autonomy that raises questions about the role of art in preserving and dismantling social systems.

54 Below will present performers from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and entertainment, including artists in October, including Jenn Colella, Ali Ewoldt, Christine Ebersole and more.

Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter have joined Tom Holland in the Fred Astaire biopic in which Holland will star as the famed actor and dancer from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Phylicia Rashad will direct August Wilson's Fences at the Mark Taper Forum. Set in segregated Pittsburgh in the 1950s, Fences depicts the life of Troy Maxson, a former Negro League baseball star now scraping by as a sanitation worker.

To kick-off the 2026-2027 run of their often Broadway-centric Cabaret Series, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa tapped not only a proven Broadway star, but an OC native, too for a triumphant homecoming concert: Krysta Rodriguez. Marking her Center cabaret debut, Rodriguez performed to rapturous crowds for three consecutive nights at the Samueli Theater from September 10-12, 2026.

Blue Pearl Theatrics begins its fall semester of a tuition-free conservatory-style performing arts program for ages 7 to 14 at Bronx River Art Center, culminating in a spring production.

The ACANSA Arts Festival of the South is in full swing, and if the sold-out crowd I joined Monday night is any indication, Central Arkansas is ready to celebrate the arts!

A brilliantly cast, beautifully judged French production of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, where British manners, French theatrical tradition and comic murder collide at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal.

It’s been more than 17 years since the hit Fox musical series 'Glee' premiered in May 2009. BroadwayWorld looks back on the show, which ran for six seasons from 2009 to 2015.

Helane Blumfield will present an encore of her cabaret show INVISIBLE TO INVINCIBLE at Don't Tell Mama, exploring reinvention, resilience, and self-discovery through storytelling and song.

Second Stage Theater just announced complete casting for the upcoming Broadway premiere of THE FANTASTICKS, directed and  choreographed by Christopher Gattelli.  The company of THE FANTASTICKS will feature Maxim Chlumecky (Appropriate, Harry Potter and the Cursed  Child) as The Boy (Matt), Kevin del Aguila (Some Like It Hot, Frozen) as The Man Who Dies (Mortimer), David  Patrick Kelly (Once, The Warriors) as The Old Actor (Henry), Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Spamalot, Beetlejuice) as Matt’s Mother (Mildred Hucklebee), Nathan Levy (& Juliet, Aladdin) as The Boy (Lewis), Ruthie Ann Miles (Sweeney Todd, The King and I) as Lewis’ Mother (Bessie Mae Bellomy), Zane Phillips (“The Comeback,” “Mid Century Modern,” Fire Island) as The Narrator (El Gallo), and Ahmad Simmons (Illinoise, Hadestown) as The  Mute. Mr. Phillips will be making his Broadway debut.  

What did our critic think of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Centennial Park Bandshell?

Bass-baritone Christian Van Horn will star in Mozart's Don Giovanni, directed by Robert Falls and conducted by Enrique Mazzola, launching Lyric Opera of Chicago's new season.

Based on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel of the same name and (to a lesser extent) Disney’s 1996 Academy Award nominated animated film musical. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is set in 15th century Paris.

Theatre has always intersected with politics, and the presence of American presidents in Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theatre plays and musicals is a major part of this. Did you know that all of our heads of state have been featured in shows, whether as characters or as plot points that are part of the action? Dramatizing current and former leaders of our nation is a way to examine their affect on society at the time and how political events, even those of many years ago, still impact us all. 

Celebration Theatre is honored to present the West Coast Premiere sneak peek of CAPTAIN SHOW BIZ, and Bruce won't be taking the stage alone. Joining him is a genuinely staggering roster of screen and stage talent: five-time Golden Globe nominee MARILU HENNER (Taxi, Evening Shade, Broadway's Chicago); two-time Emmy winner SALLY STRUTHERS (All in the Family, Gilmore Girls); Emmy winner and original Queer Eye 'Fab Five' star JAI RODRIGUEZ (Broadway's Rent, Bros); GRANT SHOW, the primetime icon of Melrose Place and Dynasty; Ugly Betty scene-stealer and acclaimed comedian ALEC MAPA; and GARRETT CLAYTON (King Cobra, Hairspray Live!) — with more great names still to be announced. Trust us: you'll want to be in the room! site click: celebrationtheatre.org

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater in New York revealed a monthlong slate of jazz performances, including Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes, Monty Alexander, and the MIKI YAMANAKA TRIO.