Jake Epstein News

National Alliance for Musical Theatre has announced final casting for the 27th ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS, which takes place on Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16 at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues).

Coming to the Durham Performing Arts Center from September 23rd-October 4th is the national touring production of the Tony and Grammy Award-Winning Broadway Hit, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical featuring Liam Tobin as Gerry Goffin. A role originated on Broadway by Jake Epstein.

On June 9, cast members from the Broadway and touring companies of Spring Awakening reunited on the stage of 54 Below for SPRING & SUMMER. Below, check out performance videos from the three concerts held that evening, captured by FamousInNY!

?Tonight, June 9th, the Broadway and touring companies of Spring Awakening will reunite on the stage of 54 Below. Just announced to the cast are Jenna Ushkowitz (Glee), Alexandra Socha (Fun Home) and Ben Moss (Brooklynite).

This week at 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

On June 9th, the Broadway and touring companies of Spring Awakening will reunite on the stage of 54 Below. Newly announced to the cast are Jenna Ushkowitz (Glee), Alexandra Socha (Fun Home) and Ben Moss (Brooklynite).

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Daniel Quadrino at 54 Below; Spring & Summer: Spring Awakening Cast Reunion; Seth Sikes Sings Judy Garland on Her Birthday; Michele Lee: Nobody Does It Like Me, The Music of Cy Coleman; and Liberty: A New Musical Cast Album Release.

Craving a show after the show?  54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, is expanding its popular late-night series with fresh faces and hot new performances to keep the party buzzing into the wee hours. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551. 54 BELOW welcomes you to loosen your tie and embrace the night at its upcoming event: 

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when walking into Therefore Choose Life, a new play based on a true story by Broadway leading man Jake Epstein and his mother Kathy Kacer, produced by The Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company. The play is about a man (Joseph, played by Avery Saltzman) who is married during the holocaust, and presumes his wife dead after being separated in a concentration camp. After the war he moves to Toronto and eventually remarries and has a son, never forgetting the love he lost. Thirty years later, just before his 25th wedding anniversary, he learns his first wife is alive and coming to see him. 

The Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company will present the world premiere of mother and son writing team, Kathy Kacer and Jake Epstein's THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE, which will also launch the company's residency at the new Greenwin Theatre at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.

After an 18-month run on Broadway, Tony Award winner Jessie Mueller will say goodbye to the biomusical BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING STORY tonight.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Award-winning Canadian actress Chilina Kennedy, who made her Broadway debut as 'Mary Magdalene' in Jesus Christ Superstar, has nabbed the title role in Beautiful-The Carole King Musical, the smash hit musical about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter. Kennedy begins performances on March 7, 2015, succeeding Tony Award-winner Jessie Mueller, who will play her final performance in Beautiful later this week on March 6 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd Street). Below, we tribute Mueller's final week of performances with a special flashback of her journey with the show.

The Bijou Theatre presents The Fairfield County Jazz Guild Series. The local Big Band fills the Bijou with the sounds of 20th Century American Music on Sunday, February 22nd & Saturday, March 22nd at 4:00pm. Tickets are $25 for theatre seats and $35 for table seats.

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL has won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album!

Ghostlight Records announced today that a podcast containing exclusive commentary from cast members of the Tony Award-winning hit Beautiful-The Carole King Musical is now available for download.

The Toronto premiere of KINKY BOOTS has found its Charlie Price. Multiple entertainment industry professionals have been tweeting the last few days congratulating Graham Scott Fleming on being cast as the coveted role in the Tony Award-winning musical.

In just over two weeks since she wowed crowds at Soulpepper's Global Cabaret, the great Jackie Richardson joins some of Canada's finest musical theatre talent to celebrate the ;music of Billy Joel and Elton John. Following last year's sold-out Sting concert, 'Uncovered: Billy Joel & Elton John,' this is Acting Up Stage Company's eighth annual concert dedicated to the musical catalogue of a pop star. And for the first time this year, the company has added a second concert to meet demand. The concert will take place Wednesday and Thursday Nov. 12th and 13th at Toronto's Koerner Hall in the Telus Centre for Performance and Learning, aka the Royal Conservatory of Music. Show time is 8 p.m.

Campbell took the time to chat with BroadwayWorld about stepping into Goffin's shoes, sharing the stage with Tony winner Jessie Mueller, and more. Check out the full interview below!

Ghostlight Records has announced the launch of the new series 'Ghostlight Shines On...' presenting exclusive audio commentary on some of its major recordings from Broadway and beyond. The series currently features commentary for two hit albums the label released in 2014: the Broadway smash Beautiful - The Carole King Musical and the beloved score for The Bridges of Madison County, which won 2014 Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations.

Just yesterday, beloved songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, along with cast members from Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, gathered at Serendipity 3 to celebrate their 60th Anniversary with the unveiling of a new treat, the 'Pleasant Valley Sundae': a chart-topping concoction of three scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, drizzled with 'Some Kind of Wonderful' caramel, chocolate, and white chocolate sauces, balancing a solid dark chocolate Baby Grand Piano, holding yet another scoop of vanilla ice cream rising to stardom and completed with a dark chocolate piano lid, grasping a music legend cloud of whipped cream, leading down to a 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' sprinkled with candy musical notes to surely make 'The Earth Move' under your feet! BroadwayWorld was there for the special unveiling and you can check out photo coverage below!