Ohio

Based on Sara Gruen’s beloved 1932 novel - and its 2011 film adaptation, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is a technical triumph wrapped around a dramatically uneven musical.  Directed by Tony Award nominee Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo), with book by three-time Tony nominee Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, Peter and the Starcatcher), and score by PigPen Theatre Co., WATER FOR ELEPHANTS leans heavily into spectacle over storytelling: aerial silks, acrobatics, puppetry, and constant physical motion that dominate the stage.  However, this spectacle overwhelms the story rather than serving it, resulting unfortunately in a flop under the big top.

Actress Miriam Margolyes and Troma Entertainment co-founder Lloyd Kaufman are named Raindance Icon Award recipients, with a posthumous honor going to rock & roll legend Eddie Cochran at the festival's 34th edition.

Set and costume designer David I. Reynoso thought his chances for making it on Broadway greatly diminished after moving 2,400 miles away from New York City.

Beck Center for the Arts will present the Northeast Ohio premiere of Mean Girls the Tony-nominated Broadway musical by Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond, and Nell Benjamin, as the final production of its 2025-2026 professional theater season.

Actress and special lecturer Milica Govich is retiring from Oakland University's School of Music, Theatre and Dance after 22 years, leaving a legacy in Acting for the Camera education and student mentorship.

Saturday Night Live alum Marcello Hernández will serve as the host of The 2026 ESPYS Presented by Capital One, the annual ceremony honoring achievements in the world of sports.

Eliya Smith's DAD DON'T READ THIS, a New York Times Critic's Pick directed by Chloe Claudel, transfers to Greenwich House Theater following a sold-out, twice-extended run at St. Luke's Theatre.

Ryan J. Haddad, Zhailon Levingston, Michael Mayer, Sam Pinkleton, Stark Sands, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson hosted the “Men of Broadway Celebrate Liberation” cocktail party, which was held at Dear Irving. Check out photos here!

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.

Ava DeMary and Tony Award nominee Jeanette Bayardelle will join the cast of Heathers The Musical next month. DeMary will play the role of Heather McNamara, and Bayardelle will play Ms. Fleming/Veronica’s Mom.

Laguna Playhouse will present RED, John Logan's Tony Award-winning two-character drama about painter Mark Rothko, directed by J. Scott Lapp, starring Rob Nagle and James Hayden Rodriguez to close its 2025-2026 season.

Ed Harris has revealed that he will be returning to the stage this year, starring alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Allison Janney in a production of Jon Robin Baitz's family drama, Other Desert Cities.

Sullivan Rep will present BANDSTAND, the rarely produced Richard Oberaker musical, as the opening show of its third season at The Mother Brook Arts & Community Center in Dedham, MA.

Pop-culture-inspired instrumentalists Vitamin String Quartet's “Crazy Ordinary World” Tour with vocal trio Girl Named Tom, are bringing their arrangements across the U.S. this fall, with a stop at the Southern Theatre.

Genevieve Simon's PUNCH BACK, a play about trans college students in Ohio, has been named the winner of the Leah Prize, earning a $5,000 award and a public reading at Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College.

Multi-genre artist Dax has unveiled his next headline run, The Anger Management Tour, set to visit 46 cities across North America starting this fall. Presale is now open with general onsale beginning Friday, May 22 at 10 a.m. local time.

Eric Marlin's WHAT A WORLD! WHAT A WORLD!, directed by Ilana Khanin, will receive its world premiere at The Tank NYC, featuring Queen-Tiye Akamefula and Annie Hoeg in a two-hander centered on a 1943 melodrama.

BroadwayWorld has just learned that Liberation, winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and recently nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Play, will be produced in London in 2027.

The North American Tour of THE NOTEBOOK announced 26 new cities for its upcoming season, including stops in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, and Houston, after welcoming over 500,000 patrons since its launch.

BroadwayWorld has just learned that the Tony Award winning and Grammy Award nominated musical, and the most nominated production  of the 2024/2025 Broadway season, DEATH BECOMES HER, will conclude its Broadway run. WE have all of the details here.

CAPA announced the winners of its 2026 Marquee Awards at the Ohio Theatre, recognizing central Ohio high school musical theatre talent across 13 categories. Best Actor and Actress winners will compete nationally at the Jimmy Awards.

CAPA announced the schedule for its 57th Summer Movie Series at the historic Ohio Theatre in Columbus, featuring 28 films over nine weeks, including 13 series premieres, anniversary screenings, and two free Ohio Goes to the Movies presentations.

The National Tour of Wicked will welcome new principal cast members next month, including Aline Mayagoitia as Elphaba, Claudia Bennett as Glinda, Susan Cella as Madame Morrible and more.

CAPA will present PUNCH BROTHERS at Columbus' Southern Theatre as part of the Grammy-winning band's 64-city North American tour, supporting their new all-instrumental album featuring fiddle player Brittany Haas.

The Pulitzer Prize Board has just announced that Bess Wohl's Liberation has won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Other finalists included: Nazareth Hassan's Bowl EP, and Talene Monahon's Meet the Cartozians.