Brief 7/6: SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE Begins Previews, and More!

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1) Review Roundup: Barrington Stage's THE ROYAL FAMILY OF BROADWAY With Music and Lyrics by William Finn

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in downtown Pittsfield, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, presents the world premiere musical, The Royal Family of Broadway. Performances run through July 7 on the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage (30 Union Street).. (more...)

2) Roger Bart, Ali Stroker & More Complete Cast of Hollywood Bowl's ANNIE
by BWW News Desk - July 05, 2018

Casting is now complete for the Hollywood Bowl's upcoming production of Annie. The new cast members are Roger Bart as Daniel 'Rooster' Hannigan, Kaylin Hedges as Annie, Ali Stroker as 'Star-to-Be,' Amir Talai as Bert Healy, Marlow Barkley as Kate, Amadi Chapata as Pepper, Noe Lynds as July, Rae Martinez as Tessie, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja as Molly, and Olivia Zenetzis as Duffy.. (more...)

3) Original CHICAGO Revival Cast Member Jeff Loeffelholz Passes Away
by BWW News Desk - July 05, 2018

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Jeff Loeffelholz, an original cast member of the 1996 revival of Chicago, passed away.. (more...)

4) AVENUE Q Shares Schedule of Original Cast Members' Return
by BWW News Desk - July 05, 2018

AVENUE Q will mark its 15th anniversary with two weeks of special unique performances at New World Stages from Monday, July 16 to Sunday, July 29, 2018. Each of the special anniversary shows will feature audience giveaways and a different surprise number in the show by members of the musical's legendary original Broadway company and other AVENUE Q alumni. Find out who will appear when below!. (more...)

5) BWW Review: THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE, Noel Coward Theatre
by Nicole Ackman - July 05, 2018

I didn't know it was possible for a play this bloody to be so funny. Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a dark comedy about terrorism and violence set in Ireland in 1993. When Irish National Liberation Army member Padraic finds out his beloved cat is poorly, he immediately heads home only to find the cat already dead and violence ensues. It's an enthusiastically gory piece that isn't for the faint of heart. . (more...)

Today's Call Sheet:

-Previews begin tonight for SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE!

-Tickets go on sale today for the pre-Broadway run of TOOTSIE!

BWW Exclusive: She Believed She Could: Princesses, Producing, and PUFFS with Sally Cade Holmes

What we're geeking out over: WAITRESS' Katharine McPhee and Company Are Opening Up in 360!

What we're watching: Watch Susan Blackwell & Company Preview Michael Friedman's GONE MISSING at Encores! Off-Center

And a Happy Birthday shout-out to Claude-Michel Schonberg, who turns 74 today!

Composer, librettist, and record producer Claude-Michel Schönberg is one half of a hit songwriting team, with lyricist Alain Boublil, that is responsible for the Les Misérables and Miss Saigon. The duo first teamed up in 1973 to write Boublil's first musical, La Revolution Française, in which Schönberg played the part of King Louis XVI. The following year, Schönberg recorded an album of original material entitled Le Premier Pas. He teamed up with Boublil again in 1978 to work on the score of Les Misérables, which opened in Paris two years later. The original cast recording won two gold discs by 1981 and the Broadway production that followed garnered two Tony Awards (1987 Best Score, Best Book). Schönberg and Boublil followed up with another wildly successful musical, Miss Saigon, which opened in London in the fall of 1989 and internationally shortly thereafter. The duo's next musical, Martin Guerre, opened in London in the mid-'90s. Schönberg also produced an opera album with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and Julia Migenes-Johnson, and participated in all of the castings for Les Misérables.

See you bright and early Monday, BroadwayWorld!