Black Girl Photos - Off-Broadway

First of all, kudos to director James Esposito for discovering the musical DESSA ROSE, based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Sherley Anne Williams. This awe-inspiring musical received its New York premiere at Lincoln Center in 2005 and it's a wonder no other theater group has decided to produce this timely exploration about the universal need for freedom and equality. With book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, it tells the story of a young black woman (a runaway slave) and a young white woman (an abandoned mother) beginning in the years just prior to the Civil War and continuing through their journey to acceptance in the antebellum South. The audience has the role of playing their grandchildren, to whom the elderly pair tell their story as it is presented to us.

The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre presents the psychedelic musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors, now through October 15. Expect the unexpected as Little Shop of Horrors is presented to our audience in a brand new and exciting way. Remember whatever you do, DO NOT FEED THE PLANT! BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Sex, power, institutional failure, human frailty, betrayal, dreams and madness are at the core of celebrated Cuban-American writer Maria Irene Fornes's Pulitzer-Prize nominated play What of the Night?

Broadway fans had plenty of reasons to celebrate this year, with dozens of shows having opened since January, hundreds of actors having made their debuts, and many more having returned to the stage for critically acclaimed performances. Not all news was good though, as we also suffered a loss of an incredible amount of talent. Below, BroadwayWorld sends a fond farewell to those who passed away in 2014.

A new promotional image for the upcoming Broadway production of ROMEO AND JULIET, directed by five-time Tony Award nominee David Leveaux, has been revealed, featuring international film star Orlando Bloom and two-time Tony Award nominee Condola Rashad as Shakespeare's titular star-crossed lovers. Check out a first look at the pair below!

Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. presents the return of its Jeff Award nominated production of SUPERIOR DONUTS by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts, directed by Matt Miller and featuring nearly all of the original Mary-Arrchie cast. SUPERIOR DONUTS will play now through November 25, 2012 at The Royal George Cabaret Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Get a first look at the cast onstage in the photos below!

Roundabout Theatre Company announced the full cast this July for the new Broadway production of Rupert Holmes' Tony Award-winning musical comedy The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The show is set to open on November 13, 2012 and will star Stephanie J. Block as Edwin Drood. Meet the whole cast in the video and bios below!

Drury Lane Theatre continues their acclaimed 'Year of the Director' by presenting award-winning director and choreographer David H. Bell's exuberant international smash hit musical HOT MIKADO. Bell, the original creator of the musical that has now been produced across the world, directs and choreographs the not-to-be-missed piece.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director), THE PUBLIC THEATER (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director), and BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE (Tony Taccone, Artistic Director; Susan Medak, Managing Director) present the world premiere of COMPULSION by Rinne Groff, directed by Oskar Eustis, at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street, New Haven) January 29-February 28. Opening Night is Thursday, February 4.

Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls and renowned actor Brian Dennehy bring their artistic partnership to new heights with Eugene O'Neill's haunting drama, Desire Under the Elms?marking their fifth collaboration on O'Neill's work over two decades. Falls' cast includes stage and screen stars Carla Gugino (Entourage, Spy Kids, Sin City) Pablo Schreiber (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Awake and Sing!), Boris McGiver (The Wire) and Daniel Stewart Sherman (Broadway's Cyrano de Bergerac). The centerpiece production of Goodman Theatre's two-month 'A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century,' Desire Under the Elms appears January 17 ? February 22 in the Goodman's 856-seat Albert Ivar Theatre. Tickets are $25 - 82.