Pacific Overtures Photos -

BroadwayWorld was saddened to report that Broadway veteran Merwin Foard recently passed away at 59 years old. Born September 16, 1960 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Foard was last seen on Broadway in Aladdin as a standby for Jafar/Sultan.

Last night, supporters of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley gathered to hear the 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award-winning company and its Board of Trustees announce the launch of its 50th Anniversary Campaign, a $5 million fundraising campaign to ensure the future success of the nationally-acclaimed theatre, including commissions for new plays and musicals. 

Zions Bank in partnership with Spike150, CRWDA and Ogden Musical Theatre presented Gold Mountain, written by 2017 ASCAP Foundation's Cole Porter Award recipient Jason Ma as a series of semi-staged concert performances at the Regent Street Black Box at The Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City and in partnership with Ogden Musical Theatre, at the historic Peery's Egyptian Theater in Ogden, May 8 - May 11.

Prospect Theater Company celebrated twenty years of bringing to life original musical theater works at their 2019 Gala at Manhattan Penthouse in New York on April 8.

Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) presented the MOCA 2019 Lunar New Year Soiree at the famed Rice & Gold, a unique Asian Eatery in the Hotel 50 Bowery on February 20, 2019.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Tony Award-winning musical The Bridges of Madison County, based on the 1992 bestselling novel by Robert James Waller about love both lost and found. Set amidst the cornfields of Iowa in 1965, this passionate musical follows the unexpected affair of a devoted Italian-born housewife and a roving National Geographic photographer set over four sensual, heart-stirring days. Brilliantly adapted by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Marsha Norman ('night Mother, The Secret Garden, The Color Purple) with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade), it captured the 2014 Tony Award for Best Musical Score. The Bridges of Madison County, directed by TheatreWorks Artistic Director and founder Robert Kelley will be presented April 4 - 29, 2018 (opening night: April 7) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Tony Award-winning musical The Bridges of Madison County, based on the 1992 bestselling novel by Robert James Waller about love both lost and found. Set amidst the cornfields of Iowa in 1965, this passionate musical follows the unexpected affair of a devoted Italian-born housewife and a roving National Geographic photographer set over four sensual, heart-stirring days. Brilliantly adapted by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Marsha Norman ('night Mother, The Secret Garden, The Color Purple) with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade), it captured the 2014 Tony Award for Best Musical Score. The Bridges of Madison County, directed by TheatreWorks Artistic Director and founder Robert Kelley will be presented April 4 - 29, 2018 (opening night: April 7) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

East West Players (EWP) and Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) present stage, television, and film star George Takei in the Los Angeles premiere of the Broadway musical Allegiance.

Michael Boyd's much anticipated production of The Cherry Orchard has begun rehearsals for the Bristol Old Vic and Royal Exchange Theatre co-production. Rory Mullarkey's brand-new translation will be directed by Boyd, celebrated former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Having studied Russian and trained as a director in Moscow, extraordinarily, he will be directing Chekhov - the literary love of his life - for the first time.

PACIFIC OVERTURES with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman, with additional material by Hugh Wheeler had its Broadway premiere in 1976 and was presented in Kabuki style, with men playing women's parts and set changes made in full view of the audience by people dressed in black. It opened to mixed reviews and closed after six months, despite being nominated for 10 Tony Awards. Given the unusual casting and production demands, there is good reason why this remains one of the least-performed Sondheim musicals. So it's no wonder it has been 19 years since the musical has been presented in Los Angeles.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley celebrates the holiday season with a riotous escapade, Around the World in 80 Days. Taking place in an 1870s alive with danger, romance, and comic surprises, fearless adventurer Phileas Fogg and his faithful valet circle the globe in an unheard-of 80 days. In the hilariously theatrical style of The 39 Steps, five actors portray dozens of characters in a thrilling race against time and treachery, recreating one of the greatest adventures of all time. Full of stampeding elephants, raging typhoons, and runaway trains, Around the World in 80 Days, adapted by the award-winning playwright Mark Brown, offers an imaginative and ingenious expedition for the whole family. Directed by TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley, Around the World in 80 Days will be presented November 29 December 31, 2017 (press opening: December 2) at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley celebrates the holiday season with a riotous escapade, Around the World in 80 Days. Taking place in an 1870s alive with danger, romance, and comic surprises, fearless adventurer Phileas Fogg and his faithful valet circle the globe in an unheard-of 80 days. In the hilariously theatrical style of The 39 Steps, five actors portray dozens of characters in a thrilling race against time and treachery, recreating one of the greatest adventures of all time. Full of stampeding elephants, raging typhoons, and runaway trains, Around the World in 80 Days, adapted by the award-winning playwright Mark Brown, offers an imaginative and ingenious expedition for the whole family.Directed by TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley, Around the World in 80 Days will be presented November 29 December 31, 2017 (press opening: December 2) at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

Prospect Theater Company launches its 2017-18 IGNITE Series tonight at 8pm, with a concert of GOLD MOUNTAIN, with book, music, and lyrics by 2017 ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award winner Jason Ma. This original musical spins an epic love story, set against the backdrop of the 1860s construction of The Central Pacific Railroad.

Prospect Theater Company launches its 2017-18 IGNITE Series on Saturday, October 21st at 8pm, with a concert of GOLD MOUNTAIN, with book, music, and lyrics by 2017 ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award winner Jason Ma. This original musical spins an epic love story, set against the backdrop of the 1860s construction of The Central Pacific Railroad.

Primary Stages presents The New York Premiere of THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens AND COUNT Leo Tolstoy: DISCORD written by Scott Carter and directed by Kimberly Senior.

The Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre presents Frederick Knott's 'Dial 'M' for Murder' directed by Bruce Kimmel, produced by Mannette Antill for the Group Rep.  In this mystery thriller play that inspired Hitchcock's suspense classic, a cunning man marries a wealthy woman for her money and plans to murder her to get her fortune. He devises a perfect murder, blackmails a criminal and arranges a brilliant alibi. To say more about a twisty and surprising thriller simply wouldn't be sporting, would it?   

Disney's Aladdin, the hit Broadway musical, welcomes Broadway vet Telly Leung as the title character beginning Tuesday, June 13, 2017. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the star in costume below!

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley continues its 2016/2017 season with a musical saga of immigrant America, Rags. From the creators of Fiddler on the Roof and Wicked, this exhilarating musical follows the journey of Jewish immigrants Rebecca and her son David, who find themselves navigating the teeming, turn-of-the-century tenements of New York. A soaring, tuneful score (music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz) illuminates this sweeping saga (book by Joseph Stein) of dreams and disillusions, love lost and inspiration found, and the heart and soul of the American character. It was declared "A winner, warm and witty. You are tempted to rise cheering," by The Mercury News. Rags will be directed by TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley, who notes "this production could not be timelier. As America debates immigration policies, what better time to present this deeper look at the newcomer's experience." Performances are April 5-30 (press opening: April 8) at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($35-$86) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.orgor call (650) 463-1960.

The annual KLEBAN PRIZE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE presentation took place just yesterday, February 6 at ASCAP.  Some of Broadway's legendary musical theatre creators and young-up-and-comers will come out to honor the two prize winners, perform some of their material, and present their prizes at a food and drink reception hosted by ASCAP and BMI. 

Contemporary musical theater and jazz, are two major contributions to the arts of the world that have come from the United States. Originally filled with escapist reviews and song and dance shows, with no story or purpose other than to entertain, the American musical has evolved into a format to tell tales of importance (HAMILTON), highlight sociological and societal changes (HAIR) and make pleas for understanding (RENT).