The Will and the Way - 1957 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 1

RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA has held sway over audiences since its television premiere in 1957. Beef & Boards has brought its many charms and magic to life with a dazzling production that is the family show for the season.

Bill Kenwright Ltd's acclaimed West End production of TWELVE ANGRY MEN will tour the UK this autumn, led by Gray O'Brien, Bill Ward, Ricky Norwood, Tristan Gemmill, and Ben Nealon in Reginald Rose's classic courtroom drama.

Astounding triple-threat talent is on display in big production numbers with attention-grabbing scenic elements by brilliant designers add to the artistic wonder of the entire production helmed by EWP Artistic Director Lily Tung Crystal, choreographed by Janelle Dote Portman, with music direction by Marc Macalintal.

The Greek National Opera is presenting a new, captivating production of Anna Bolena, conducted by Jacques Lacombe and directed by Themelis Glynatsis. Learn more here!

“Elvis and Elton Together” rates a big five stars.  Victor Trevino Jr. as Elvis is back and is as good as ever. Sean McGibbben becomes the incredible Elton John.   Victor and Sean wisely introduce themselves as tribute artists rather than impersonators.

An embarrassment of theatrical riches, bordering on sensory, stimulating overload, is on display in an exceptionally bold and satisfying reimagining of the very influential musical Pal Joey—now reconceived as Chez Joey. The show still takes place in the 1940’s Chicago music/nightclub scene, but it has been opened up to explore potent possibilities that are realized in this production.

 Lyric Opera of Chicago will Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo Cruz’s El último sueño de Frida y Diego. What unfolds is a dreamlike journey through memory, passion, and everything they created together — both on canvas and in life.

The festival runs from 25 February to 8 March in Glasgow.

While much of the dramatic weight of Angels in America undeniably stems from the specter of AIDS, it would do the play a huge disservice to reduce it to a story about disease alone. What Theater West End makes clear is that Kushner’s work is as much about identity, loss, and the human struggle to reconcile who we are deep down with who we present to the world.

“The Everly Brothers Experience” featuring the Zmed Brothers will return to Bucks County Playhouse for two performances. The concerts mark the fourth appearance of the tribute at the Playhouse and are part of the theater's Visiting Artists Series.

Dance Camera West’s 26th season of the world-renowned Los Angeles–based Dance Camera West Festival has been revealed.

While different tryout theaters have different relationships to the development of new shows, it’s worth looking at both which commercial rental theaters and which non-profit theaters have had the most Best Musical Tony Award winners come from their stages.

The Al Hirschfeld Foundation is celebrating the release of Hirschfeld’s Sondheim with nationwide events in New York, California, Pennsylvania, and more. The new poster book, featuring over 50 drawings of Stephen Sondheim’s works, includes essays by Bernadette Peters, Ben Brantley, and David Leopold.

Liverpool’s Royal Court will launch the first wave of its 2026 productions with four shows rooted in Liverpool culture. The lineup includes Conteh, a new play about boxing legend John Conteh; Laurence Clark’s Cured; Gerry Linford’s The Peaceful Hour 2; and Come Together, a Beatles-inspired acoustic rock-umentary.

Before this world ends, you need to see Catastrophic’s staging of ENDGAME starring Greg Dean and directed by Jason Nodler. They never truly seem to be finished with this one, but you can’t honestly expect the world to be here for a revival in thirteen years.

 In celebration of the Music Hall at Fair Park Centennial, Broadway Dallas and The Dallas Opera partner together to bring audiences a surreal, one-night-only concert event—Maria Callas in Concert: The Hologram Tour.

Charles Kirsch is the 17-year-old host of the theater podcast Backstage Babble, where he has conducted over 250 in-depth interviews with some of Broadway’s best. In “Stage Direction,” he will be using material from the podcast and additional interviews to chronicle the career and impact of some of the most influential theater directors. 

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been taped at the Ed Sullivan Theatre located on Broadway between 53rd and 54th Streets since it began in 2015. Before the Broadway-loving Colbert took over The Late Show, the host was David Letterman, who ruled late night from 1993 onward via his perch at 1697 Broadway.

The brilliance of the script is that, although first written in the 1950s, it still has so much relevance to our world today. The audience at the performance I saw was one of the most robust, vocally supportive and emotional audiences I have ever seen. 

In honor of the late singer Connie Francis, one of the most iconic voices of the 20th century, Republic/UMe is rereleasing several selections of her music in a variety of formats.

Head Trick Theatre’s emotionally intense, and powerfully performed production of Erwin Sylvanus’ ‘Dr. Korczak and the Children’ translated by George E. Wellwarth, immerses the audience in a heartwrenching true story that is ever so timely to this day.

The Times Square Church, located on 51st Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue, is an extremely storied New York City spot. While it may not be apparent to those who unknowingly pass by the church, the venue across from the Gershwin’s stage door was once a glorious Broadway theater… and could potentially be one again someday.

Dr. Korczak and the Children will run at Head Trick Theatre from August 14 through August 24. The show is written by Erwin Sylvanus, translated by George E. Wellwarth, and directed by Rebecca Maxfield. 

Maine State Music Theatre (MSMT) is proud to conclude its 2025 mainstage season with one of the most celebrated musicals in American theatre history - West Side Story, running August 6–23 at the Pickard Theater.

“The role requires quite a range of acting; it calls for all the colors of true love, as well as grief, anger frustration, the whole spectrum playing out in the two-day time period of the show. And Bernstein’s score is groundbreaking. It’s full of so many colors that accurately express the emotions and subtexts of all the characters through these little motifs.  It stands alone; it’s unique in style.” Actor Coleman Cummings is musing on the challenge he is undertaking in making his role debut as Tony in Maine State Music Theatre’s WEST SIDE STORY, which runs from August 6-23, 2025 at Brunswick’s Pickard Theater. For Cummings, this will be his second appearance with the company, having portrayed Dimitry in ANASTASIA earlier in the season.