Hottest Articles on BWW from Wednesday, Feb. 20

1) BREAKING NEWS: Jane Lynch to Replace Katie Finneran as 'Miss Hannigan' in ANNIE Beginning May 16

Emmy Award-winning actress Jane Lynch, who stars in the hit FOX television show "Glee" as ruthless cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, will take on another great tyrannical role as evil orphanage matron Miss Hannigan in the new Broadway production of ANNIE at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets). Lynch, a stage veteran of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company and The Second City, will be making her Broadway debut. She will play Miss Hannigan for eight weeks only, from Thursday, May 16 through Sunday, July 14. (more...)

2) BWW TV UK EXCLUSIVE: Inside Opening Night of DEAR WORLD Starring Betty Buckley! Interviews & Sneak Preview!

The British premiere of Jerry Herman's musical Dear World, starring Betty Buckley and Paul Nicholas and directed and choreographed by Gillian Lynne, runs through 30 March 2013. The show officially opened on Wednesday 13 February, and BroadwayWorld UK TV was there to capture the excitement of opening night including a show preview and interviews with Betty Buckley and Gillian Lynne. (more...)

3) Confirmed! LES MIS Cast & More to Celebrate Movie Musicals on OSCARS Telecast; Zeta-Jones, Hudson & More

Academy Award winners Jennifer Hudson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Russell Crowe join this year's Oscar nominees Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway along with Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, and Helena Bonham Carter in a celebration honoring movie musicals of the last decade, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. (more...)

4) STAGE TUBE: Forbidden Broadway Parodies LES MISERABLES' 'Bring Him Home'

Forbidden Broadway: ALIVE AND KICKING! has released a video parody of Hugh Jackman in the film Les Miserables. Check it out below! (more...)

5) Shia LaBeouf Tweets New Details About ORPHANS' Creative Differences

Shia LaBeouf revealed additional details this evening on Twitter about why he dropped out of ORPHANS on Broadway. He Tweeted emails with Alec Baldwin, Tom Sturridge and more, as well as his audition tape. (more...)

6) Kristin Chenoweth to Perform Oscars Closing Number with Seth MacFarlane!

Oscar show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today that Kristin Chenoweth and Seth MacFarlane will participate in a special show closing musical performance. (more...)

7) Robert DeNiro to Helm Broadway Musical A BRONX TALE

As first reported on Showbiz411, Academy Award-winning actor Robert DeNiro is set to direct a musical stage production of A BRONX TALE, a film he helmed back in 1993. (more...)

8) SMASH Ratings Take Dip Against Tough Competition

Ratings for the second episode of the new season of SMASH took a dip last night as the show aired against some tough network competition. The NBC musical drama was pitted against the season premieres of ABC's popular crime drama Body of Proof and The CW thriller Cult. (more...)

9) STAGE TUBE: Lea Salonga Joins Judging Panel for THE VOICE PHILIPPINES

Broadway favorite Lea Salonga is set to judge the Philippines' version of 'The Voice', which will begin auditions later this week. Check out a promo featuring Salonga below! (more...)

10) Shia LaBeouf Backs Out of ORPHANS Due to 'Creative Differences'

Due to creative differences, the producers of ORPHANS and Shia LaBeouf will be parting ways and he will not be continuing with the production. An announcement on the replacement for the role of 'Treat' will be made shortly. (more...)

11) MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Announces West End Transfer

Following a sell-out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth transfers to the Harold Pinter Theatre for 12 weeks only 100 stalls and dress circle seats at £25 available for every performance until 1 June* (more...)

12) BWW EXCLUSIVE: Tony-Winning Set Designer Derek McLane Takes On the OSCARS

The Tony Award-winning set designer took a break from his busy Oscar rehearsal schedule to speak exclusively with BWW about his illustrious career, and even gave us a sneak peek at what we can expect to see on Sunday night's big event! (more...)

13) Photo Flash: Inside Rehearsal for NY Philharmonic's CAROUSEL with Kelli O'Hara, Nathan Gunn & More!

The New York Philharmonic will present Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel, February 27-March 2, 2013. As previously announced, the production will star Kelli O'Hara as Julie Jordan, Nathan Gunn as Billy Bigelow, Stephanie Blythe as Nettie Fowler, Shuler Hensley as Jigger Craigin, Jason Danieley as Enoch Snow, Jessie Mueller as Carrie Pipperidge, Kate Burton as Mrs. Mullin, and John Cullum as Fisher. Check out photos from inside rehearsal below! (more...)

14) BWW TV: Watch MARY POPPINS' Current Cast in Action!

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins, one of the biggest Broadway successes in recent memory, enters its final two weeks tonight. It concludes its historic Broadway run at The New Amsterdam Theatre on Sunday, March 3, 2013 at 3:00pm after 2619 performances and more than six years. With attendance totaling nearly four million guests, the show has been seen by more people in the last six years than any Broadway show except Wicked and The Lion King. Check out highlights of the current cast in action below! (more...)

15) Official: Jessie Mueller Will Star in NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT Beginning 4/2; Matthew Broderick Extends Through 6/15

The producers of the Tony-winning hit musical comedy NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT have announced that two-time Tony Award winner Matthew Broderick has extended his run in the production and will now perform through June 15th. His co-star four-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O'Hara will play her final performance on March 31st. Tony Award nominee Jessie Mueller will join the show in the role of 'Billie Bendix' on April 2nd. (more...)

16) Jeremy Jordan Sings 'I'm Not Lost' On Next Week's SMASH

NEWSIES star Jeremy Jordan sings a new SMASH song appearing in next week's episode - appropriately titled 'The Song' - in this brand new clip. (more...)

17) Photo Coverage: REALLY REALLY's Opening Night Curtain Call!

MCC Theater presents the New York premiere production of Paul Downs Colaizzo's Really Really, directed by David Cromer (the Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award-winning director of hits Our Town, Adding Machine and Tribes). The production, which marks Colaizzo's New York playwriting debut, plays at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC) through March 10, 2013. The opening was last night, February 19. BroadwayWorld was there for opening night and you can check out photos from the curtain call below! (more...)

18) VIDEO: Sneak Peek - Jeremy Jordan Performs on Next Week's SMASH

On next week's episode of NBC's SMASH titled 'The Song', Tom (Christian Borle) takes time out of his hectic schedule to give Karen's new talent, Jimmy a shot to impress him. Check out a sneak peek of Newsies's star Jeremy Jordan performing on the upcoming episode airing Tuesday, February 26th at 10:00 pm/ET.! (more...)

19) Vintage Jessica Chastian on Stage in ROMEO & JULIET!

Jessica Chastain recently wrapped up a limited run on Broadway in THE HEIRESS, but that was far from her first time on stage. According to Celebuzz, Chastain led San Francisco Bay's Theatreworks production of Romeo and Juliet back in 1998. Click here to check out more photos from the production! (more...)

20) VIDEO: Josh Gad 'Auditions' for STAR WARS Film on Jay Leno

1600 Penn star Josh Gad stopped by last night's TONIGHT SHOW WITH Jay Leno and decided to use the appearance to audition for J.J. Abrams upcoming Star Wars installment. Check out the appearance below! (more...)