Little Piece of You - - West End Articles Page 13

What did our critic think of Trinity Rep's NEXT TO NORMAL at Trinity Rep?

Recently, we had the chance to speak with Misia Butler, who is playing Lysander, one of the four lovers, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We discussed what made him want to be a part of this production, what it is like to prepare to perform theatre outdoors and even why he thinks Shakespeare is still so relevant today.

From the joyful opening number, “Good Morning, Baltimore,” to the to the rousing vibrancy of the finale, “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” Maine  State Music Theatre’s revival of HAIRSPRAY, a co-production with Lancaster, Pennsylvania‘s Fulton Theatre, which opens the 2026 season, offers the audience pure optimism and joy. Despite - or perhaps because of - the more serious underlying themes that the musical tackles such as racism, segregation, body positivity, and inclusion - HAIRSPRAY remains the perfect theatrical evening where entertainment and inspiration combine. This new production, directed and choreographed by Kenny Ingram with a superbly talented cast that features an extraordinary blend of Broadway, MSMT veteran, and young professional talent invites audiences to marvel at the company’s artistic range and to revel in an exquisitely delightful evening’s entertainment.

Stages St. Louis opened their 40th Anniversary season with one of the most adorable and wittiest ensemble theater pieces written in the past 25-years. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is the award winning, silly, and relatable musical comedy about a group of quirky middle schoolers competing to win a trip to a national spelling bee competition. Stages St. Louis frolicsome production of The 25th Annual Spelling Bee is gleefully irreverent carefree fun. Directors RonnGibbs and Gayle Holsman Seay capture the script’s humor and the heart that is carefully tucked behind the comedic playfulness.

What did our critic think of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Orpheum Theatre Memphis?

Transport Group announced Ali Stroker and Damon Daunno have joined the cast of LIZA! AT 80: A CELEBRATION IN SONG AND DANCE at Carnegie Hall, with Mo Rocca and Marc Shaiman set to host the one-night tribute.

Kiln Theatre announced its upcoming season, featuring the UK premieres of TABLE 17 and BERLIN, a new production of NINE NIGHT directed by Artistic Director Amit Sharma, and a community production with 80 cast members.

The 79th Annual Tony Awards have come and gone! As winners took the stage at the big event, BroadwayWorld brought you full text of all of the acceptance speeches; from the emotional to the humorous, and everything in between.

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

There is a distinct alchemy that occurs when a massive, legendary rock opera is stripped of its traditional stadium-sized distance and placed directly in front of an audience. At Studio Tenn’s Turner Theatre at The Factory in Franklin, Tennessee, director Patrick Cassidy has done just that, turning Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar into a visceral, in-your-face exploration of celebrity, devotion, and mortal terror.

The Cleveland Play House is launching the world premiere of the new musical Freak the Mighty. Adapted from Rodman Philbrick’s novel, the story follows the adventures of two young outsiders who form an unlikely friendship.

What did our critic think of STEEL MAGNOLIAS at Arkansas Repertory Theatre?

WAM Theatre has announced its 2026 summer programming, featuring the return of the Fresh Takes Play Reading Series at Ventfort Hall and the launch of the Fertile Ground New Works Residency Program at the ’62 Center.

Brian Leonard's current show, Therapist Zero, is directed by Ken Sonkin, in a raw and deeply human production that recently completed a limited Off-Broadway run and was named a San Francisco Chronicle “Critic’s Pick.” The performance traces Brian’s two-decade journey parenting an emotionally volatile daughter through a confounding mental health system, while reflecting on his own unconventional Southside Chicago childhood.

True to the series' M.O., the day featured a nice compliment of new, contemporary works alongside older classical ones, as well as a chance to see the Festival’s Composer-in-Residence, Allison Loggins-Hull, in action today as a flutist

Contemporary circus company, Circa, has come to Charleston, South Carolina, as part of Spoleto USA’s 50th season,  with their Humans 2.0.  This is the next installment after their successful Humans production — although with their current creation and context, the “2.0” more ironically evokes a software upgrade than a performance sequel.

For the PBS culture series CANVAS, arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown caught up with Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf, who have received Tony nominations for their fresh performances in Death of a Salesman. Watch the full segment, which also features footage from the production. 

There is exactly one joke in Peter Shaffer's 1965 farce: when the lights come on, the characters are in the dark. Everything else — the borrowed furniture, the hapless sculptor, the stern colonel, the ex-girlfriend arriving at the worst possible moment — is just escalation.

May 19's ESCAPE: THE MUSIC OF RUPERT HOLMES at AMT Theater was a cabaret with the songwriter himself in attendance, on-stage, and in good spirits, along with some cast members from the hosting J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company

The 33rd annual Great Blue Heron Music Festival will bring 48+ artists across four stages to the Heron Farm & Event Center in Sherman, New York, with a lineup spanning funk, groove, reggae, and old-time mountain music.

At the heart of every female friendship group, no matter the age group, is love and a joint effort to make sure you’re in each other's lives until you’re old and grey. Our Mother’s Daughters looks at the question of ‘is loving someone enough to look past their political views and belief systems?’, and wonders how complex being alive actually is. 

Told through a series of vignettes, Crossing Delancey examines Bubbie's belief in the old-world Jewish family custom of all young women needing to find a husband as soon as possible to settle down and raise a family against those of Isabel, a modern 1980s Jewish woman in New York City learning to stand on her own two feet. I spoke with Holly Sidell who is portraying Isabel in the current production at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills through June 21.

After performing as Christine Daaé in Masquerade in New York City, Anna Zavelson has begun playing the same role - this time in the London production of Phantom of the Opera! Recently, we had the chance to speak with Zavelson about her West End debut. We discussed what it has been like going from Masquerade to Phantom, how she has made the character of Christine her own and her favourite part of the show.

The separation of the Washington National Opera from the overrun-and-soon-to-close  Kennedy Center has meant next season’s eight planned productions, including five full length operas, will occur on five different stages in the D.C. area. 

TUBE : Formed by vocalist Nobuteru Maeda, guitarist and keyboardist Michiya Haruhata, bassist Hideyuki Kakuno, and drummer Ryoji Matsumoto, TUBE is a four-piece band that has long defined the sound of Japanese summer. Since their debut in 1985, the group has built an enduring legacy through sun-drenched songs. Launched in July 2025, their nationwide tour TUBE LIVE AROUND 2025-2026 Keep On Sailin’ spanned an extraordinary ten months, traveling from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south. Now that this passionate journey, befitting the band’s 40th anniversary, has reached its triumphant conclusion, this review looks back on one of its highlights: the January 11, 2026 performance at Grand Cube Osaka.