Matt Shingledecke News

Jenna Leigh Green, Eryn Murman, Darren Ritchie and Matt Shingledecker are among the cast of STANDBY which begins performances July 19 as part of the 2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival's Next Link Project.

Ron Bohmer, star of Broadway's A Little Night Music, Ragtime, The Phantom of the Opera, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Woman in White and Les Miserables, has joined the lineup for The Pop Show Presents...Billy Joel! on Monday, July 29 at Birdland Jazz Club. Also joining the lineup is Christian Macchio, lead vocalist of the Long Island-based band Captain Jack.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) began earlier this week on July 8th and will continue through July 28th. An additional slate of special events, free events, staged readings and several educational panel discussions will be announced shortly. Below, check out a roundup of photos of this year's casts!

The 2013 Festival opened earlier this week and BroadwayWorld wants to keep you in the loop on highlights of this season. Check out some of the most buzzed-about productions below!

William Blake (Male Vocalist of the Year, BWW Cabaret Awards), Tony Award Nominee Will Chase (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Aida, Billy Elliot, Rent, Miss Saigon), Julia Murney (Wicked, Lennon, The Wild Party, Saved!), singer-songwriter Samia Najimy Finnerty, N'Kenge (Motown The Musical, Sondheim on Sondheim), Jill Paice (A Little Night Music, Curtains, The Woman in White, The 39 Steps), Matt Shingledecker (West Side Story, Rent, Spring Awakening), A. J. Shively (Unlock'd, La Cage Aux Folles, February House), American Idol Top 10 Finalist Erika Van Pelt and Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line, On The Town, White Christmas) will perform songs from the Billy Joel songbook at the July edition of The Pop Show at Birdland Jazz Club.

The producers of 'Grind' have announced Pasha Pellosie has joined the project as their final lead, Thane. A relative newcomer, Pasha has been on The Carrie Diaries and Law and Order: SVU. He joins previously announced Anthony Rapp (RENT) and Claire Coffee (NBC's Grimm) in this independent musical short film.

Dwelvan David (Caroline, or Change, The Wiz, Songs for a New World), Jenna Leigh Green (Wicked, Bare, "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"), Alex Goley (Big River, The Berenstain Bears Live!), Eryn Murman (Spring Awakening), Darren Ritchie (Wonderland, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Dracula The Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, Nerds) and Matt Shingledecker (West Side Story, Rent, Spring Awakening) will lead the cast of STANDBY, an Official Selection of the 2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival Next Link Project.

Musicals Tonight! continues its ongoing salute to Broadway and Off-Broadway Standbys and Understudies with its next editions of At This Performance…™ to be held on Sunday, October 17th and Monday, October 18th at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre, 2162 Broadway, (above the Promenade Theatre- Broadway at 76th Street), 3rd Floor at 8 PM.

Musicals Tonight! continues its ongoing salute to Broadway and Off-Broadway Standbys and Understudies with its next editions of At This Performance…™ to be held on Sunday, October 17th and Monday, October 18th at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre, 2162 Broadway, (above the Promenade Theatre- Broadway at 76th Street), 3rd Floor at 8 PM.

Musicals Tonight! continues its ongoing salute to Broadway and Off-Broadway Standbys and Understudies with its next editions of At This Performance…™ to be held on Sunday, October 17th and Monday, October 18th at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre, 2162 Broadway, (above the Promenade Theatre- Broadway at 76th Street), 3rd Floor at 8 PM.

COSTA MESA, CA-As part of the celebration for the Orange County stop of the 1st National Tour of SPRING AWAKENING, cast members have been promoting the two-week run of the show with various promotional appearances, including an in-store performance by Taylor Trensch and Steffi D. at Bloomingdale's - South Coast Plaza for a gathering of fans and press on Thursday, November 19. Later, after the Friday, November 20 performance, cast members Matt Shingledecker, Anthony Lee Medina, Steffi D., Krystina Alabado and Kayla Foster met with a few lucky members of the 'Guilty Ones' as part of an exclusive meet-and-greet for earning the highest points within the Orange County chapter. Among the excited fans in the cast encounter was Peter Armado, the winner of Spring Awakening's Fan Halloween Costume contest. One of five semi-finalists, Armado, from nearby San Diego, was voted on as the winner by the cast. Performances of SPRING AWAKENING continue at the Orange County Performing Arts Center through Sunday, November 29.

Before arriving for a two-week run at the Orange County Performing Arts Center from November 17 through 29, SPRING AWAKENING's Jake Epstein-the newest lead actor to play Melchior in the tour-sits down with BroadwayWorld correspondent Michael Lawrence Quintos to talk about his early work as a TV heartthrob, his passion for acting, and, of course, joining the cast of the hugely popular, multiple Tony® award-winning stage musical.

Tony Winning (x7!) musical Spring Awakening is currently playing at the University of Texas' Bass Concert Hall, and I was in attendance Wednesday night.