The Who's Tommy Revival

Top stories: inside the 2023 Jimmy Awards, read the reviews and check out footage from the Goodman Theatre's production of The Who's Tommy, and more!

A new play about the decades-long, tempestuous friendship between Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley will receive an industry reading on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.

 Nancy Manocherian’s the cell theatre and Nightclub Cantata LLC, by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals, have announced the cast of Elizabeth Swados’ 1977 breakout sensation Nightclub Cantata, a provocative, eclectic and heralded theatrical creation rarely seen since its inception decades ago.

The Muny announced today the directors, choreographers and music directors for The Muny’s 2022 season, which opens on June 13 with the celebrated return of the 2021 hit that audiences went “Whoopee!” for, the Tony Award-winning Chicago.

Exciting jazz programming is on the slate at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater running December 13 - December 26. 

The 92Y School of Music has announced new guests for their popular interview series, Cabaret Conversations, now in its second year: Lillias White (Nov 1), Ben Cameron (No 22), and Ricky Ritzel (Dec 13). Previous speakers in the BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award-nominated series have included Chita Rivera and Joe Iconis, among others.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced its 2021–2022 Theater season featuring hit Broadway musicals, acclaimed plays, Kennedy Center productions, special programming for the Center’s 50th Anniversary, and more, beginning in October 2021.

The criteria are that these shows have been nominated for Best Musical from the 3rd Tony Awards (the ceremony that started the Best Musical category) in 1949 to the nominations of what will now be the 74th Tony Awards in 2021. I will be determining their signs based upon their Broadway premiere date. With those rules in mind, here we go!

Making for a special one-of-a-kind event, they’ll join the previously announced performers: Jeff Schroeder of The Smashing Pumpkins, Katie Cole, Kevin Rudolf and Tommy Marz.

Join WGN-TV's a?oeAround Towna?? correspondent Ana Belaval and a star-studded line-up of more than 20 top Chicago stage performers for Chicago Offstage! Live at Home, a virtual streaming event debuting live on Season of Concern's new YouTube channel (https://tinyurl.com/soctube) on Sunday, April 19, at 6 p.m. CST.

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best film musicals since the sound era began; see if your favorites made the list!

The Philly POPS kicks off Spring Break with a splash of Broadway magic at The Met Philadelphia in Disney's Broadway Hits.

Mercury Theater Chicago announced today the cast and crew of the spectacular musical comedy PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT, running in the Venus Cabaret Theater from March 20 through June 28.

In what has become an annual ritual, a total of 40 established and emerging composers, lyricists, and librettists will converge on the Goodspeed campus from mid-January through mid-February 2020 to participate in the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing 15 new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration.

Multi-talented artist Darrian Ford brings his celebration of the singer Sam Cooke to The Cutting Room for an exciting one-night only experience. Ford, along with the amazing horns of Brass Illusion, will bring Cooke's unparalleled mastery of Gospel, Pop, Jazz and Blues to life in THE COOKE BOOK: THE MUSIC OF SAM COOKE on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, on what would have been Cooke's 89th birthday. Tickets for the performance are $35 and can be purchase online at www.thecuttingroomnyc.com, by calling 212.691.1900, or in person at The Cutting Room, 44 E. 32nd Street in New York City, one hour before the show. Doors will open at 7:30 pm with an 8:30 pm showtime.

A Christmas Carol is now in previews on Broadway! The holiday masterpiece, A Christmas Carol, comes to Broadway this holiday season for eight weeks only following critically acclaimed runs at London's Old Vic. Two visionary talents, playwright Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and director Matthew Warchus (Matilda), offer a magical new interpretation of Charles Dickens' classic story, starring Campbell Scott ('House of Cards,' Dying Young) as Ebenezer Scrooge. Beginning previews on Thursday, November 7 at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street), with the opening night set for Wednesday, November 20, A Christmas Carol will play a strictly limited engagement through Sunday, January 5, 2020 only.

Today's conversation is with Lang Leav- an international best-selling author and social media sensation. She is the winner of a Qantas Spirit of Youth Award and coveted Churchill Fellowship. Her books continue to top bestseller charts in bookstores worldwide. 

On Friday, August 30, the theatre community lost dramaturg Robert Blacker, who passed away suddenly at the age of 71. Longtime collaborator Des McAnuff, who worked with Blacker at La Jolla Playhouse and Stratford Shakespeare Festival, writes a tribute to his friend below:

Today's top stories: the soundtrack to JUDY is coming September 27 featuring Renee Zellweger, and more!

Tony Award-winner John Lloyd Young will be presenting his gorgeous vocals in his 'Jukebox Hero' set at Feintein's at Vitello's August 2 and 3. A well-rounded, socially-conscious person of the world, one of John's proudest achievements include being appointed to former President Obama's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Catching John at his special guest appearance at The Texas Tenors' one-nighter at Feinstein's at Vitello's in June, I managed to wrangle some interview time with John.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts.

Music Theatre Festival 2019: THE BRITISH INVASION kicks off for Marymount Manhattan College with a brand new musical revue of material from the Perfect Pitch New British Musicals songbook-directed and choreographed by Larry Fuller (Evita, Sweeney Todd)-with an assist from Daniel Kermidas (West Side Story, Newsies)-and music direction by Steven Cuevas (Kinky Boots, Once On This Island.)

Music Theatre Festival 2019: THE BRITISH INVASION kicks off for Marymount Manhattan College with a brand new musical revue of material from the Perfect Pitch New British Musicals songbook-directed and choreographed by Larry Fuller (Evita, Sweeney Todd)-with an assist from Daniel Kermidas (West Side Story, Newsies)-and music direction by Steven Cuevas (Kinky Boots, Once On This Island.)

Written by Nobel Prize Award-winner Luigi Pirandello, in a new version by Nicholas Wright, Naked begins performances Today, September 27 at 7pm at The Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, MA. Opening night is set for Saturday, September 29 at 7pm. Directed by Eric Hill (BTG: At Home at the Zoo, The Homecoming, Poe), the production features: David Adkins (Homeland BTG: The Petrified Forest, At Home at the Zoo) as Alfredo Cantavalle; Haley Aguero (BTG: Tarzan, The Music Man) as Emma; James Barry (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson BTG: The Caretaker, The Who's Tommy) as Franco Laspiga; Jeffrey Doornbos (A Thousand Miles Behind) as Consul Grotti; Tara Franklin (Sleep No More BTG: At Home at the Zoo, The Homecoming) as Ersilia Drei; Barbara Sims (A Streetcar Named Desire BTG: Benefactors) as Signora Onoria; and Obie and Drama Desk Award-winner, Rocco Sisto (The King and I BTG: The Homecoming) as Ludovico Nota. This production is sponsored by Lead Sponsor, Bobbie Hallig; Furlano and Arace, PC; The Westifeld News Group; Massachusetts Cultural Council and The Shubert Foundation.

Six of Broadway's most sought-after stars will join Mark Cortale's "Broadway @ The Art House" and "Broadway @ Town Hall" concert series in Provincetown in August.