Terence McNally News

Following an exhilarating 2018-19 season, Hillbarn Theatre, the Peninsula's premier theatre company, announced the productions that will comprise its 2019-20 season. Highlights include the hilarious maritime musical, ANYTHING GOES; the satirical farce, IT'S ONLY A PLAY; the Tony Award-winning musical, NEWSIES; the Broadway sci-fi cult musical, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS; the sidesplitting play, LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR; and the critically-acclaimed musical, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. Hillbarn Theatre closes its season with the world premiere play THE FOUR GIFTS, based on the memoir of San Mateo local Fr. Joseph Bradley. All performances will be held at Hillbarn Theatre, (1285 East Hillsdale Blvd. Foster City). Subscriptions ($210 - $336) are on sale now at hillbarntheatre.org or by calling 650.349.6411. Tickets for individual productions will go on sale at a later date.

Bid to win 2 orchestra seats to The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, plus a backstage tour led by Phantom star Jay Armstrong Johnson ('Raoul') after the show!

At an SRO ceremony held at Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield, the Board of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association presented the Berkshire Theatre Awards on the evening of Monday, November 12, 2018. This was the third year the awards have been presented to honor and celebrate the excellence and diversity of theatre in the greater Berkshire region.

This week the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association is voting on the final award list in preparation for the Third Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony to be held on Monday, November 12 at 7 pm at the Zion Lutheran Church, 74 First Street (Route 7) in Pittsfield, MA.

Beetlebung Road LLC, a new theater production company, will launch November 15 to December 9 with a bi-coastal production of Sam Shepard's 'Fool for Love,' to be presented November 15 to December 2 by Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., Manhattan and December 6 to 9 by The Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles.  The production, directed by Kymberly Harris, will arise from a careful artistic process of immersion on many levels.  The company chose to debut at Theater for the New City (TNC) as part of that process: to honor and recapture the path of Shepard's 'Buried Child,' which was commissioned by TNC and premiered there in 1978.

Arizona Broadway Theatre's production of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN makes for good summer fare...cool, innocuous, and passably entertaining..but Frank Abagnole's story gets lost in the mix. Through August 12th.

Before now, eighteen different men have fallen for Christine as the Vicomte de Chagny. Nineteenth in line is Jay Armstrong Johnson, who earlier this summer officially took over the role of 'Raoul' in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, succeeding Rodney Ingram, who played the role for over 400 performances.

Earlier today, BroadwayWorld's Steve Schonberg is got up close and personal with Broadway's newest Raoul, Jay Armstrong Johnson! Miss the conversation? Catch up on the full chat below!

On Wednesday, July 18, (6:00pm EST) BroadwayWorld's Steve Schonberg is getting up close and personal with Broadway's newest Raoul, Jay Armstrong Johnson! Don't forget to tune in to our official Facebook page to submit your questions live or send us questions in advance on Twitter @BroadwayWorld with #AskJayBWW.

The play is set in Frankie's cramped Hell's Kitchen apartment, here Frankie and Johnny have repaired after a satisfactory first date. But after satisfying their mutual desires, they're soon saddled with violently diverging ones. Frankie is ready to withdraw back into her comfortable cocoon of emotional reticence; she wants him out, five minutes ago. Johnny is ready to sing an aria, to dance an endless pas de deux, to buy a tract house. He certainly isn't ready to go home.

Beginning Monday evening, April 30, Broadway's Jay Armstrong Johnson will make his PHANTOM debut, assuming the role of Raoul, the dashing vicomte vying for the heart of the innocent soprano, Christine.

Award winning writer Geoffrey Nauffts will workshop his new musical at Texas State University as part of The Harrison/Bowman New Works Commission, funded in part by The Stillwater Foundation. Switched is a new musical with book by Geoffrey Nauffts and music and lyrics by Jonatha Brooke. The workshop will be directed by Tony nominated director Sheryl Kaller.

Jack Maple Productions will stage the first London revival in 20 years of THE RINK by the Tony and Olivier Award-winning John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics), the creators of musicals such as Chicago, Cabaret, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and The Scottsboro Boys, and a book by Tony Award-winning Terence McNally (Ragtime, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Master Class).

Abingdon Theatre Company announces the initial lineup for its 25th Anniversary Season. With a list of celebrated and promising new artists, Abingdon Theatre Company's 2017 - 2018 season features premiere productions on the main stage, a one-night-only gala event honoring and featuring legendary artists, and ongoing initiatives fostering the work of emerging theater-makers.

Award-winning writers Theresa Rebeck and Geoffrey Nauffts will both workshop new musicals at Texas State University as part of the Harrison/Bowman New Works Commission.

Feinstein's at the Nikko is honored to welcome internationally acclaimed soprano Lisa Vroman on Friday, September 15 (8 p.m.) and Saturday, September 16 (8 p.m.). Making her Feinstein's at the Nikko debut, Lisa will perform Broadway classics by Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, as well as a selection of songs from up-and-coming musical theatre composers. In between, Lisa will share stories of her life on (and off) the stage. Tickets for Lisa Vroman range in price from $35-$70 and are available now by calling 866.663.1063 or visiting www.ticketfly.com.

Following years of the best efforts from Hollywood and Broadway notables to save the late Lucille Lortel, Queen of Off-Broadway's White Barn Theater in Norwalk, Connecticut, the historic venue was demolished last week. 

Do This, a new play by Karen Siff Exkorn (bestselling author of The Autism Sourcebook) and starring Annie Parisse (Clybourne Park, The Layover, 'Law and Order') will be performed at an invitation only developmental reading on Thursday, April 27th at 3pm at The Loft at the Davenport Theatre (354 W. 45th Street).

The inaugural Explorations series continues with Elvis Costello's The Juliet Letters, Jan. 28 and 29 at the Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building at the Richard J. Stern Opera Center.Explorations features eclectic programs in intimate spaces, with programming that crosses musical borders and experiments with a wide range of lyrical expression.

The inaugural Explorations series continues with Elvis Costello's The Juliet Letters, Jan. 28 and 29 at the Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building at the Richard J. Stern Opera Center.Explorations features eclectic programs in intimate spaces, with programming that crosses musical borders and experiments with a wide range of lyrical expression.