Hottest Articles on BWW from Thursday, Jan. 3

1) LES MISERABLES Film Soundtrack Reaches #2 on Billboard 200 Chart!

According to Billboard.com, Les Miserables: Highlights from the Motion Picture Soundtrack has now hit #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, topped only by Taylor Swift's Red album. (more...)

2) Photo Flash: First Look at Danielle Wade, Lee MacDougall and More in Toronto's North American Premiere of THE WIZARD OF OZ

Producers Bill Kenwright, The Really Useful Group, David Mirvish, Troika Entertainment & Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures present the all-Canadian cast of the North American premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage adaptation of THE WIZARD OF OZ. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below. (more...)

3) BWW Blog: Meet Cody Williams of R+H's CINDERELLA

Hi! My name is Cody Williams and I am so excited to be working on Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella. Over the next month I'll be blogging about my rehearsal experience for this INCREDIBLE production. We rehearse at the historic 890 Broadway building, home to the American Ballet Theatre, Gibney Dance Center, and some of the nicest elevators in all of New York! My time with R+H's Cinderella started this summer with a month long workshop, continued with a reading in October and although we hadn't yet started actual rehearsals, we performed in the Macy's Day Parade this Thanksgiving (check that sucker of the bucket list!) We started rehearsal for the Broadway production the first week of December. (more...)

4) Meet the Cast of the PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT National Tour!

Troika Entertainment presents the international hit, Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical. Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical launches its national tour on January 8 in Minneapolis, MN at the Orpheum Theatre. (more...)

5) Breaking News: A.R.T.'s PIPPIN is Heading to Broadway in March!

Producers Barry & Fran Weissler and Howard & Janet Kagan present the American Repertory Theater's 40th Anniversary production of Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz's PIPPIN, directed by Diane Paulus, on Broadway in the Spring of 2013. (more...)

6) SMASH's Jennifer Hudson Has Eye on Broadway

In an interview published in today's Entertainment Weekly, Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Hudson revealed that she considers her upcoming guest spot on NBC's SMASH as training for her Broadway debut. (more...)

7) BWW TV Exclusive: Backstage at the Brooks Atkinson with PETER AND THE STARCATCHER's Adam Chanler-Berat & Celia Keenan-Bolger- Part 2!

BroadwayWorld was invited backstage at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre for a special two-part tour from Celia Keenan-Bolger (right before she left the show) and Adam Chanler Berat. Click below to watch Part 2 and be sure to check back later for a special chat between the castmates! (more...)

8) High School Production of ALL SHOOK UP Cancelled Due to 'Offensive' Content

According to the Star, a high school in Utah has cancelled a student production of All Shook Up because of a 'sexually suggestive song.' Rehearsals for the production had already begun but the Herriman High School announced that a different show would be selected due to offensive content. (more...)

9) WICKED Breaks Record to Become Highest Grossing Production in Nine Consecutive Years

The blockbuster musical WICKED has achieved an unprecedented Broadway milestone as it enters its 10th Anniversary year, becoming the first Broadway musical ever to remain the highest grossing production for a record-breaking nine consecutive years. Since opening in 2004, its first full year at the Gershwin Theatre, WICKED has remained at the top of the Broadway grosses. (more...)

10) Stephen Bogardus, Jeffry Denman, and More Join Classic Stage Company's PASSION- Full Cast Announced!

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, today announced complete casting for the company's upcoming new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Tony Award-winning musical PASSION, to be directed by John Doyle (director of the acclaimed Broadway revivals of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and Company). Joining previously announced Melissa Errico (Clara), Judy Kuhn (Fosca) and Ryan Silverman (Giorgio) in the production are Stephen Bogardus (Colonel Ricci), Jeffry Denman (Lieutenant Barri), Jason Michael Evans (Private Augenti), Amy Justman (understudy), Ken Krugman (Lieutenant Torasso), Orville Mendoza (Sergeant Lombardi), Tom Nelis (Doctor Tambourri) and Will Reynolds (Major Rizzoli/Ludovic). PASSION is slated to begin performances on February 8, 2013 at CSC (136 East 13th Street), with an official press opening scheduled for Thursday, February 28, playing a limited engagement through Sunday, April 7. Tickets will go on sale to the public beginning at Noon on Thursday, January 3. (more...)

11) THE BOOK OF MORMON Extends Chicago Run Through 9/8

Broadway In Chicago and the producers of the new musical THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, announced today that tickets will be available for 14 additional weeks of performances of THE BOOK OF MORMON at the Bank of America Theatre (18 West Monroe). A new block of tickets for performances June 4 – September 8, 2013 will go on-sale to the public on Monday, January 7 at 10 a.m. Tickets are sold out through March 3, 2013, with some tickets still available March 5 – June 2, 2013. (more...)

12) Adam Lambert Addresses LES MIS Twitter Comments

Adam Lambert has found himself in the center of a heated controversy over remarks he posted on Twitter earlier this week regarding his opinion of the recently released film LES MISERABLES. The singer took to Twitter late last night to clarify his criticism of the film as well as his comments on the actors' singing abilities. (more...)

13) BWW TV: Sneak Peek of Laurie Metcalf and More in The Other Place- Production Highlights!

The Other Place, the new play starring Laurie Metcalf, is now in previews at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). The Other Place will open Thursday, January 10. The Other Place stars Laurie Metcalf ('Roseanne,' November), Daniel Stern ('The Wonder Years,' Diner), Zoe Perry (Broadway debut), and John Schiappa (Assassins, Take Me Out). Get a first look at the stars in action below! (more...)

14) VIDEO: Two Deleted Scenes from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Film!

Below, check out recently discovered deleted scenes from the 1986 film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical comedy LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Included in the videos are cut lines, alternate shots and extended scenes, as well as a cut verse of 'The Meek Shall Inherit.' (more...)

15) A.R.T.'s PIPPIN Starring Matthew James Thomas, Patina Miller, Terrence Mann and More Opens Tonight!

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) opens its production of Pippin tonight, January 3, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Roger O. Hirson, directed by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus. The show runs through January 20, 2013. (more...)

16) Cheyenne Jackson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and More Featured in ONE NIGHT STAND Film; Opens in Movie Theatres 1/30

Giving audiences an unbridled and candid look behind the scenes of the Broadway curtain, NCM(R) Fathom Events, Overnight Musicals and The Broadway League present 'One Night Stand: Creating a Play in a Day,' a unique one-night event broadcast to movie theaters nationwide on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. local time. This fast-paced, hilarious and entertaining film follows some of New York's top actors, including Cheyenne Jackson (30 Rock, Glee), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family) and Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live), as well as teams of writers, composers and directors as they are given 24 hours to write, cast, compose, rehearse and perform four short musicals. At the end of the 24 hours, the musicals make their opening, and closing, night at New York City's Gramercy Theatre. The event will also present exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the stars of 'One Night Stand' as they share intimate stories of life on Broadway. (more...)

17) HOMELAND's Damian Lewis in Talks to Star in ME AND MY GIRL West End Revival?

According to the Daily Mail, 'Homeland' star Damian Lewis is in talks to star as 'Bill Snibson' in a new West End revival of the musical Me And My Girl. No official offer has been made, but the Mail's Baz Bamigboye reports that Lewis has spoken with producer Alex Armitage. Me And My Girl is aiming for a fall 2013 opening on the West End. (more...)

18) Destiny's Child's Michelle Williams Joins FELA! National Tour

Producers Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith and Ruth & Stephen Hendel have announced that Grammy Award-winning recording artist and former member of Destiny's Child Michelle Williams will join the national tour of the hit Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! when it opens at Sidney Harman Hall in Washington, DC on January 29. Fela! received three 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Choreography. (more...)

19) BWW TV: First Look at Nova Y. Payton and More in Signature Theatre's DREAMGIRLS - Highlights!

Signature Theatre presents the Tony Award-winning musical Dreamgirls, playing in the MAX Theatre now running through January 13, 2013. Directed and choreographed by Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner (Xanadu, Really Really), this much-loved show captures the heart and hopes of a soulful female singing trio as they rise to international fame. BroadwayWorld has a first look at scenes from the production below. (more...)

20) Photo Flash: In Rehearsal with the Cast of MOOSE MURDERS!

The Beautiful Soup Theater Collective presents the first ever New York revival of Arthur Bicknell's Moose Murders, the most notorious flop in the history of modern theater. Performances begin January 29, 2013 at the Connelly Theatre. Check out photos of the cast in rehearsal below! (more...)