Benjamin Franklin News

While the rest of the country celebrates Independence Day with barbeques and fireworks, musical theatre lovers like me will gather around their television sets for the traditional viewing of what I and many others call the finest film ever made from a Broadway musical, 1776.

Paper Mill Playhouse's 1776, Directed by Gordon Greenberg and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, will run at the Millburn theatre from April 15 through May 17, 2009. 1776 was selected by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as part of the American Masterpieces Series in New Jersey. American Masterpieces is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts. The production officially opens tonight, Sunday, April 19th.

Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Artistic Director, Mark W. Jones-Executive Director) is proud to announce casting for 1776. Directed by Gordon Greenberg and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, 1776 will run at the Millburn theatre from April 15 through May 17, 2009. 1776 was selected by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as part of the American Masterpieces Series in New Jersey. American Masterpieces is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts. Press Opening is Sunday, April 19th at 7:30pm

Paper Mill Playhouse's 1776, Directed by Gordon Greenberg and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, will run at the Millburn theatre from April 15 through May 17, 2009. 1776 was selected by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as part of the American Masterpieces Series in New Jersey. American Masterpieces is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts.

1776 held a press 'meet and greet' rehearsal yesterday at the New 42nd Street Studios in Times Square, BroadwayWorld.com was there to spend the day with the group of 'historical' greats!

Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Artistic Director, Mark W. Jones-Executive Director) is proud to announce casting for 1776. Directed by Gordon Greenberg and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, 1776 will run at the Millburn theatre from April 15 through May 17, 2009. 1776 was selected by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as part of the American Masterpieces Series in New Jersey. American Masterpieces is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Bond Street Theatre returns to BTP with the world premier of The Mechanical. Parts Monty Python and The Twilight Zone, The Mechanical transplants the outcast creature from Mary Shelley's novel 'Frankenstein' into the true story of a sensational chess-playing robot built in the late 18th century. Known as The Turk, the chess-playing automaton amazed royalty, foreshadowed computers, and duped the public with its clever design.

Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening may have been banned from the stage in the 1890s, but unlike the troubled adolescents whose lives it chronicles, the play survived those growing pains to become one of the seminal works of German drama, not to mention the template for just about every teen tragedy from Rebel Without a Cause onward.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops? steps into the magical life of one of the world's greatest entertainers, Frank Sinatra, with its sensational series Celebration of Ol' Blue Eyes. With his unmatched vocal stylings, Sinatra and his legendary friends embodied the very essence of hip. Vocalist Steve Lippia, who is known for his interpretations of the Sinatra songbook, joins Peter and the POPS as it pays homage to this late, great icon. Performances of Celebration of Ol' Blue Eyes take place February 15 at 3:00 p.m., February 18 at 8:00 p.m., February 20 at 8:00 p.m., February 21 at 3:00 p.m., and February 22 at 3:00 p.m.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops? steps into the magical life of one of the world's greatest entertainers, Frank Sinatra, with its sensational series Celebration of Ol' Blue Eyes. With his unmatched vocal stylings, Sinatra and his legendary friends embodied the very essence of hip. Vocalist Steve Lippia, who is known for his interpretations of the Sinatra songbook, joins Peter and the POPS as it pays homage to this late, great icon. Performances of Celebration of Ol' Blue Eyes take place February 15 at 3:00 p.m., February 18 at 8:00 p.m., February 20 at 8:00 p.m., February 21 at 3:00 p.m., and February 22 at 3:00 p.m.

Sam Mendes directs a transatlantic company of actors in a double-bill of classic works for The Bridge Project's inaugural 2009 season, which pairs a new version of The Cherry Orchard by Tom Stoppard with The Winter's Tale. A formidable transatlantic company and creative team will mount these two new productions for seven internationally renowned theaters. Simon Russell Beale leads the British/American cast, playing Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard and Leontes in The Winter's Tale. He is joined by Sin?ad Cusack as Madame Ranevskaya and Paulina, Richard Easton as Firs and Old Shepherd, Rebecca Hall as Varya and Hermione, Josh Hamilton as Yasha and Polixenes, Ethan Hawke as Trofimov and Autolycus, and Paul Jesson as Gaev and Camilo.

Come hear those sleigh bells ring! Peter Nero and the Philly Pops present 10 performances of Holiday POPS - a beloved family tradition. The von Trapp Children will captivate audiences, along with organist Peter Conte, the POPS Festival Chorus, and the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Gospel Choir.

Come hear those sleigh bells ring! Peter Nero and the Philly Pops present 10 performances of Holiday POPS - a beloved family tradition. The von Trapp Children will captivate audiences, along with organist Peter Conte, the POPS Festival Chorus, and the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Gospel Choir.

The Flea Theater presents a limited engagement revival of CATO, by famed English essayist Joseph Addison, beginnig October 10th. Written in 1712, the play was one of the most popular English plays of that period. T

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops open its 30th anniversary season with the sensational annual hit series known as Broadway Showstoppers! Once again, Peter Nero combines Broadway's most exceptional talent with the magic of The POPS by inviting three of New York's top talents to share the stage for these performances. Broadway star Anne Runolfsson (James Joyce's The Dead, Victor/Victoria), Julia Murney (Wicked, The Wild Party) and POPS veteran Gary Mauer (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables), perform Broadway's biggest hits together with 'the best orchestra of its kind in the entire cosmos' in one absolutely unforgettable performance!

Philadelphia Orchestra Association President and CEO James Undercofler announced today that Maestro Peter Nero, Artistic Director of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®, has agreed to a five-year contract extension that will insure his presence on the podium through the 2013-14 season.

The Flea Theater presents a limited engagement revival of CATO, by famed English essayist Joseph Addison, beginnig October 10th. Written in 1712, the play was one of the most popular English plays of that period.

Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, Artistic Director; Jon Steingart and Jenny Wiener Steingart, Executive Producers) will present the ravishing musical stylings of LANCE HORNE and a concert reading of a new musical, STRAIGHT UP VAMPIRE, from creators of the smash hit Jollyship the Whiz-Bang.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents PASSION PLAY by Pulitzer Prize nominee and MacArthur Foundation Fellowship recipient Sarah Ruhl, directed by OBIE Award-winner Mark Wing-Davey at the University Theatre (222 York Street, New Haven), September 19-October 11 only. Opening Night is Thursday, September 25

Whodunit by Dame Agatha Christie Entertains at the Olney Theatre Center