Into the Woods - 1986 - San Diego, CA (Regional) Articles Page 15

The Chicago Public Library Foundation and the Chicago Public Library have announced that the 16th annual Carl Sandburg Literary Award will be presented to legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. Universally heralded for his immense contributions to musical theater in a career spanning more than 50 years, Sondheim will be honored at the Carl Sandburg Literary Awards Dinner Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at The Forum (725 W. Roosevelt Road) on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler today announced the four conductors for the 2015-2016 season in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Gary Thor Wedow (pictured, left, Mozart's Don Giovanni), and David Charles Abell (Bizet's Carmen) will be returning to the Lyric Opera. Alexander Polianichko (Dvorak's Rusalka) and Christopher Allen (Donizetti's The Elixir of Love) will be making their Lyric Opera debut.

Musical theatre is not generally known for being an early adopter of up-to-the-minute trends in popular music, particularly since the advent of rock n roll and the great divide between popular music and theatre music began in the 1950s. Nevertheless, the presence of modern music idioms in contemporary musicals is a fascinating and often wildly entertaining element to assess when analyzing the great pantheon of scores that have graced the Great White Way. With the predominance of rap music in popular music for the majority of the last 30 years, it comes as no surprise that many musicals have employed the genre in the storytelling and song styling designed specifically for the shows, but the level of success as storytelling devices, character showpieces and as authentic rap music itself varies. Of course, with HAMILTON set to open on Broadway later this month, all of New York City is talking about the persuasive power of the scores of Lin-Manuel Miranda, he who was responsible for multiple rap showstoppers in his self-penned Tony Award-winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS as well as the hip hop tunes in the screen-to-stage adaptation of BRING IT ON, so now is a perfect time to take a look back at some of the most memorable and revolutionary uses of rap music on Broadway to date.

2015 HELPMANN AWARDS ***THIS ARTICLE WILL BE UPDATED LIVE ON MONDAY 27TH JULY 2015***

Producing Artistic Director Chuck Tobin recently announced the area premiere of John Patrick Shanley's new Irish comedy Outside Mullingar, which had its world premiere on Broadway last year.

Producing Artistic Director Chuck Tobin today announced the opening of the area premiere of John Patrick Shanley's new Irish comedy Outside Mullingar, which had its world premiere on Broadway last year. 

San Francisco Playhouse will complete its twelfth season with Stephen Sondheim's trailblazing musical comedy, Company, directed by Susi Damilano. The play will feature a cast of local favorites, with Keith Pinto (Into the Woods) starring as Robert, along with Teresa Attridge, Velina Brown*, Morgan Dayley, Michelle Drexler, Ryan Drummond*, Richard Frederick*, John Paul Gonzalez, Monique Hafen*, Stephanie Prentice*, Chris Reber*, Abby Sammons, Nicole Weber and Michael Scott Wells.

Eddie Cooper and Joe Grifasi join Ellen Greene, Jake Gyllenhaal and Taran Killam in the Encores! Off-Center concert production of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, running for three performances, tonight, July 1, and tomorrow, July 2, 2015 at New York City Center.

Tonight, the countdown to the 2015 HELPMANN AWARDS began with the announcement of the 2015 HELPMANN AWARDS Nominees.

Quick, name the best composer/lyricist in the history of the musical theatre. Did you say Stephen Sondheim? If not, you're wrong. We love Mr. Sondheim so much here at BroadwayWorld that we are giving away the six-DVD set THE STEPHEN SONDHEIM COLLECTION to one lucky fan.

Atlantic Theater Company presents revivals of Ghost Stories: The Shawl and Prairie du Chien, two haunting short plays by Atlantic co-founder and Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet. Ghost Stories: The Shawl and Prairie du Chien began previews on May 27 and officially open tonight, June 16, for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 28 Off Broadway at Atlantic Stage 2 (330 West 16th Street).

Grammy Award and three-time Parents' Choice Award winners, The Okee Dokee Brothers, kick off Segerstrom Center's 2015-2016 Family Discovery Series on September 27 in Samueli Theater with two performances.

San Francisco Playhouse will complete its twelfth season with Stephen Sondheim's trailblazing musical comedy, Company, directed by Susi Damilano. The play will feature a cast of local favorites, with Keith Pinto (Into the Woods) starring as Robert, along with Teresa Attridge, Velina Brown*, Morgan Dayley, Michelle Drexler, Ryan Drummond*, Richard Frederick*, John Paul Gonzalez, Monique Hafen*, Stephanie Prentice*, Chris Reber*, Abby Sammons, Nicole Weber and Michael Scott Wells.

After completing a 15th anniversary season which featured a critically heralded performance of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, David Bernard, Music Director of the award-winning Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, has announced the ensemble's 2015-16 season of concerts.  Highlights include a roster of superb soloists (pianist Jeffrey Biegel, jazz pianist  Ted Rosenthal, and cellist Inbal Segev,) insightful programs spanning music from Beethoven through Bartók, and a new concert format where the audience sits among the players of the orchestra for a performance of Beethoven's  Fifth Symphony.

The 69th Annual Tony Awards are this Sunday June 7th at 8/9c hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming. It's the biggest award show of the Broadway season and it closes out a long award season for Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and plays. We can't help but wonder what chances this year's Best Musical and Best Play nominees have of taking home the ultimate prize. 

In honor of the 2015 Tony Awards, BroadwayWorld brings you a look back at this year's nominees in previous stage roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theaters. Check out photos below!

After auditioning performers in New York City, Los Angeles and Sacramento, California Musical Theatre has confirmed casting for all six shows in the 65th Music Circus season. The stellar cast for the season is loaded with Broadway veterans, some of whom are making their Music Circus debuts, Tony nominees and audience favorites from previous Music Circus productions.

Eddie Cooper and Joe Grifasi will join the previously announced Ellen Greene, Jake Gyllenhaal and Taran Killam in the Encores! Off-Center concert production of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's Little Shop of Horrors, running for three performances, July 1-2, 2015 at New York City Center. Eddie Cooper replaces his father Chuck Cooper, who will be starring in the upcoming Broadway musical Amazing Grace.

Atlantic Theater Company is proud to announce complete casting for the revival of Ghost Stories: The Shawl and Prairie du Chien, two haunting short plays by Atlantic co-founder and Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet.

Today in 2002, the first Broadway revival of Into the Woods opened at the Broadhurst Theatre, where it ran for 279 performances. Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Into the Woods won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason), in a year dominated by The Phantom of the Opera. The main characters are taken from the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, tied together by a more original story involving a baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family, most likely taken from the original story of Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Chuck Cooper and Taran Killam will join the previously announced Ellen Greene in the Encores! Off-Center concert production ofHoward Ashman and Alan Menken's Little Shop of Horrors, running July 1-2, 2015. NOTE: A third performance has been added at 2pm on Thursday, July 2 in order to meet ticket demand. The production will be directed by Dick Scanlan, with choreography by Patricia Wilcox. Jeanine Tesori is the Artistic Director of Encores! Off-Center, and Chris Fenwick is Music Director. The show will mark the musical theater debuts of both Gyllenhaal and Killam.

Bring home 6 Sondheim classics in a new DVD box set!

Tony and Emmy Award winner Tyne Daly, Tony Award winner Harriet Harris, Sierra Boggess and Lisa Howard head an outstanding cast in It Shoulda Been You, the hilarious and heartwarming new musical comedy that proves when it comes to wedding day insanity, everything is relative. It Shoulda Been You, which had a sold-out premiere at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse, officially opens tonight, April 14, 2015 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Scroll down to learn more about the cast, plus watch interviews with the company!

Tomorrow is a day for celebration, musical theatre fans, as Image Entertainment releases THE STEPHEN SONDHEIM COLLECTION. This collection includes some of the most glorious productions of the musical theatre icon's works. Ranging from original Broadway casts to starry-concerts, THE STEPHEN SONDHEIM COLLECTION includes DVDs of five of Sondheim's most influential shows, and a sixth disc of the master's 80th Birthday Concert.

Giovedi 2 aprile e finalmente uscito in Italia il film 'INTO THE WOODS'. Dopo anni di attesa (la produzione del film e stata annunciata nel 2012), resa ancor piu insostenibile dallo spostamento della data d'uscita dal 25 dicembre (come negli Stati Uniti) al 2 aprile, anche noi poveri e sconsolati italiani possiamo godere di questo spettacolo. Per chi ancora non lo sapesse, 'Into The Woods' e un musical di Stephen Sondheim (musiche e testi) e James Lapine (libretto), che ha debuttato a San Diego nel 1986, per poi aprire a Broadway l'anno successivo. Vincitore complessivamente di 5 Tony Awards (tra il cast originale e il revival), 8 Drama Desks e, per le produzioni inglesi, 4 Olivier Awards, il musical s'ispira ai personaggi delle fiabe, tra cui Cappuccetto Rosso, Raperonzolo, Cenerentola e Jack (di Jack e il fagiolo magico). Le strade dei vari personaggi che animano questo mondo fiabesco s'intrecciano all'interno del bosco, simbolo della vita stessa, dove ognuno insegue il proprio desiderio.