Ragtime - 1996 - Toronto Articles Page 14

This July and August, 54 BELOW presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street. For a detailed schedule of upcoming performances at 54 Below and to purchase tickets, visit www.54Below.com.

My first experience with LES MISERABLES was in 1996, as a tween performing in my school's musical review. While most other kids learned the material and moved on, I saved my pennies for the cast recording, memorizing the show word-for-word. After moving to New York in 2004, my work provided me with virtually unlimited tickets to the city's hottest shows. By the time LES MISERABLES returned to Broadway (in 2006, with a carbon-copy revival of the original production that had closed three years previously), I was a jaded New York twenty-something, no longer inspired by the 'tourist trap' hits. Then, as I sat in the darkened Broadhurst Theatre, the turntable moved, and I realized I was watching an unparalleled piece of theatre history.

Jenni Barber, Quentin Earl Darrington, Bradley Dean, Dan Fogler, Ana Gasteyer, Josh Lamon, Aaron Lazar, Alyse Alan Louis and Rema Webb join Jonathan Groff in the Encores! Off-Center production of William Finn and James Lapine's A New Brain, running tonight, June 24, through June 27, 2015. The production is directed by James Lapine, with choreography by Josh Prince.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is proud to announce FUSE@PSO, a new series of early evening concerts at Heinz Hall conducted by Steve Hackman.

(Millburn, NJ) June 2, 2015 - As one of the nation's leading regional theaters and producing partners for Broadway, Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Todd Schmidt-Managing Director) has a well-earned reputation for launching both performers and shows for the Great White Way.  Since their inception in 1996, the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre have ignited the careers of many notable performers, all of whom attended high school in New Jersey.  Among the early nominees and winners are Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Tony Award winners Laura Benanti (Gypsy) and Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Tony nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin), and UK Olivier Award nominee Jared Gertner (The Book of Mormon - West End)  The 2015 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards ceremony took place at Paper Mill Playhouse on Tuesday, June 2, at 7:30pm, featuring presenters from Broadway and beyond. Union High School won the coveted title of Outstanding Overall Production and left Paper Mill Playhouse with a total of nine Rising Star Awards.  

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. 

To celebrate its 20-year milestone, the 2015 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards will be broadcast live online and available on HomeTowne Television.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is proud to announce FUSE@PSO, a new series of early evening concerts at Heinz Hall conducted by Steve Hackman.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is proud to announce FUSE@PSO, a new series of early evening concerts at Heinz Hall conducted by Steve Hackman.

Jenni Barber, Quentin Earl Darrington, Bradley Dean, Dan Fogler, Ana Gasteyer, Josh Lamon, Aaron Lazar, Alyse Alan Louis and Rema Webb will join the previously announced Jonathan Groff in the Encores! Off-Center production of William Finn and James Lapine's A New Brain, running June 24 - 27, 2015. The production will be directed by James Lapine, with choreography by Josh Prince.

From tonight, May 8 to June 6, 2015, SpeakEasy Stage Company will present the New England Premiere of MOTHERS & SONS, a timely and touching new play about love, loss, and family, written by Terrence McNally.  

As one of the nation's leading regional theaters and producing partners for Broadway, Paper Mill Playhouse has a well-earned reputation for launching both performers and shows for the Great White Way.

From May 8 to June 6, 2015, SpeakEasy Stage Company will present the New England Premiere of MOTHERS & SONS, a timely and touching new play about love, loss, and family, written by Terrence McNally.  

Audra McDonald brought her Broadway prowess to Carnegie Hall last night, April 29, 2015 and performed 'Rainbow High' from Andrew Lloyd Webber's EVITA -- a role she first took on at the age of 16 in Fresno, Calif. Watch a clip of her fierce performance below!

Audra McDonald performs tonight, April 29, 2015 in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. She will be joined by music director and pianist Andy Einhorn, bassist Mark Vanderpoel, and drummer Gene Lewin.

The new musical comedy Something Rotten!, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Aladdin), with music and lyrics by Grammy Award winner Wayne Kirkpatrick and Golden Globe Award nominee Karey Kirkpatrick and a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and best-selling author John O'Farrell, officially opens on Broadway tonight, April 22, 2015 at the St. James Theatre (246 West 44th Street). Scroll down to learn more about the company and watch interviews with the cast!

In its 65th season, Middle Tennessee's oldest community theater company presents an exciting and challenging new revival of playwright William Inge's seminal 1953 Pulitzer Prize-winning play about repressed desires and haunting recriminations: Picnic. Opening tonight, March 26, at Hillsboro High School Theatre in Nashville, Picnic runs through April 4.

Following the success of the previous two festivals, the 3rd Annual New York Hot Jazz Festival -- produced by the impresario Michael 'Misha' Katsobashvili, performer Bria Skonberg, and composer/producer Patrick Soluri (of Prohibition Productions and The Salon) -- returns to The Players this year and promises some of the biggest stars of the Hot Jazz and swing scenes in a summit of uptown and downtown talent spanning three generations.

Bristol Riverside Theatre explores what it means to be an American with its production of Ragtime tonight, March 17-April 12.

Today we are celebrating this week's hot news of Audra McDonald's big Broadway return next season!

Next spring, Tony Award winners Audra McDonald, George C. Wolfe, and Savion Glover will team up to collaborate on SHUFFLE ALONG, Or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, a musical about the events that led to the creation of the groundbreaking Eubie Blake-Noble Sissle musical Shuffle Along. Starring Audra McDonald as the 1920's star Lottie Gee, directed by George C. Wolfe -- with a book written by Wolfe -- and choreographed by Savion Glover, the musical marks the first time that the writer/director and choreographer will have worked together since their 1996 hit Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk. Previews will begin Monday, March 14, 2016. Opening night is Thursday, April 21, 2016 at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street).

The Off-Broadway League has announced details for the 2015 Lucille Lortel Awards, which will celebrate 30 years of recognizing Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. The 30th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards will be handed out on Sunday, May 10, 2015 at the NYU Skirball Center, beginning at 7:00 PM EST. The program will be co-hosted by Emmy Award Nominees Jesse Tyler Ferguson ("Modern Family") and Anna Chlumsky ("Veep," Broadway's upcoming "Living on Love").

In its 65th season, Middle Tennessee's oldest community theater company presents an exciting and challenging new revival of playwright William Inge's seminal 1953 Pulitzer Prize-winning play about repressed desires and haunting recriminations: Picnic. Opening Thursday, March 26, at Hillsboro High School Theatre in Nashville, Picnic runs through April 4.

The mesmerizing songstress Audra McDonald, will grace the Van Wezel stage on March 22, 2015 at 7:00pm with a dazzling performance of her favorite show-tunes and songs from her new album Go Back Home. Her breadth and versatility as both a singer and an actress combines to make her the powerhouse artist that she is. With a record six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and a whole catalogue of other awards to her name, making her one of today's most highly regarded performers.

Audra McDonald has earned Tonys, Grammys and other accolades for her work on stage and screen. Soon, the multitalented performer will add another accomplishment to her extensive resume.