Jessica Lewis - Page 211

Today, the Off-Broadway League announces the date and venue for the 25th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. This year's ceremony will benefit The Actors Fund and will be held on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at Terminal 5, 610 West 56th Street. Arrivals / Cocktails begin at 6 PM EST with the ceremony beginning at 8 PM EST.

The Washington Post reports today that Catalyst Theatre Company, the intimate, edgy experimental theater organization, famous locally for its productions of 1984 and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, is folding due to financial troubles.

Ford's Theatre has partnered with Bread for the City to create a donation drive around its run of 'A Christmas Carol.' During the curtain calls for performances of 'A Christmas Carol' on December 1-6, 2009, the cast of 'A Christmas Carol' will collect monetary donations on behalf of the Washington-based Bread for the City. Patrons can also make donations through the Ford's Theatre Box Office; in exchange for a $10 contribution to Bread for the City, patrons can receive $5 off a single ticket to a performance of 'A Christmas Carol' from December 29, 2009, through January 3, 2010. All donation checks should be made payable to 'Bread for the City.' This offer is available only at the Ford's Theatre Box Office, only on performances between December 29 and January 3, and cannot be combined with other special offers or applied to previously purchased tickets.

Three-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch and 2009 Astaire Award nominee Jeffrey Denman will star as the Holiday Guyes in a celebration with Broadway stars for 4 nights only at Gotham Comedy Club on Monday evenings December 7, 14, 21 and 28.

In celebration of WICKED's return to PlayhouseSquare tonight, November 18, the venue will be hosting a Young Professionals Night on Friday, December 4. Professionals ages 21 - 40 are invited to enjoy free valet parking, compliments of Lexus, at the Wyndham Cleveland hotel and a pre-show cocktail in the Wyndham's Blue Bar before watching the evening performance. After the show, the group is invited to come back to the Wyndham for the exclusive, limited access 'Defying Gravity' post-show party, sponsored by Seagram's escapes, with WICKED cast members in the 14th floor presidential suite. The post show party also includes complimentary cocktails and appetizers.

It is has been quite a season on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Contestants Ultimate Fighter Chuck Lidell and former Senator Tom DeLay (both of whom were cast off the show relatively early on) sparred; DeLay and Kathy Ireland and Kelly Osbourne suffered the expected bumps and bruises; and superstars such as Alicia Keys, the Bee Gees provided musical backdrops.

Variety has confirmed that Jennifer Hudson, the multi-talented actress-singer whose accolades include an Academy Award for the movie 'Dreamgirls' and a Grammy for 'Best R&B Album' is set to star in the indie biopic about South African leader Winnie Mandela.

The year keeps getting better and better for Adam Lambert. A relative unknown before becoming American Idol's season 8 runner up, Lambert has since become a national icon that fans across genres can not seem to get enough of. In addition to the countless number of magazine covers and talks shows he has graced, Lambert's debut album entitled For Your Entertainment hits stores on November 23rd and has recorded a new song for the number 1 movie in the U.S. at the moment, 2012. Lambert is no stranger to the theatrical stage having gotten his early start behind the footlights.

Whatsonstage.com is reporting that the UK tour of High School Musical 2: Live on Stage will close three months early. The production, a follow-up to the wildly successful original High School Musical, was initially scheduled to close on 29 May, 2010 after launching at London's New Wimbledon Theatre on 22 August. It will now take its final bow on 27 February, 2010.

GQ online has offered a sneak peak of its selections for Men of the Year before the magazines hit newsstands this week. The annual GQ Men of the Year awards gives GQ magazine's 800,000 readers the chance to vote for the most influential figures in a variety of fields over the past year. Among the honorees this year are stage and stars Bradley Cooper and Chris Pine are included this year's list.

Broadway's James Barbour will present holiday concerts in New York City at Bill's 1890 Restaurant & Café from December 11-19 and in Los Angeles at the Colony Theatre on December 21.

Mint Theater Company today announced that its second offering of the season, So Help Me God! by Maurine Dallas Watkins (the author of Chicago, the play upon which the musical is based), directed by Mint Artistic Director Jonathan Bank, will begin as scheduled on Wednesday, November 18th, with opening night set for December 7th at the Lucille Lortel Theater. As previously announced, Mint Artistic Director Jonathan Bank recently took over the direction of the piece, stepping in for Martin Platt, who left the production in early November for personal reasons.

Broadway's Spencer Liff is set to debut as a new Broadway choreographer on Fox Tv's So You Think You Can Dance in tonight's episode, November 17. Liff will be choreographing a piece for contestants Karen Hauer and Kevin Hunte, who found themselves in the bottom three last week. The episode airs at 8:00pm EST on Fox.

As previously reported, screen star and Drama Desk-winning actor Anthony Hopkins will star in Thor, the Kenneth Branagh helmed film for Marvel Studios. Production begins in January and Paramount Pictures will distribute the film on May 20, 2011.

Lincoln Center Theater's production of IN THE NEXT ROOM or the vibrator play, a new play by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Les Waters, will open on Thursday, November 19 at the Lyceum Theater. The cast features Laura Benanti, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Michael Cerveris, Maria Dizzia, Thomas Jay Ryan, Wendy Rich Stetson, and Chandler Williams.

The Tony Award-winning Vineyard Theatre will present the world-premiere of the new musical THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, with music and lyrics by Tony Award-winners John Kander and Fred Ebb, book by David Thompson and directed by Tony Award-winner Susan Stroman with musical direction by David Loud. Previews begin February 12, 2010 prior to an official opening date of March 10, it has been announced by Vineyard Artistic Director Douglas Aibel.

Columbia Records and Twentieth Century Fox Television today released select songs on iTunes featured in this week's episode of GLEE, including cast versions of Diana Ross and Lionel Richie's 'Endless Love,' The Pretenders' 'I'll Stand By You,' Jennifer Paige's 'Crush,' Paul Anka's '(You're) Having My Baby' and Bill Withers' 'Lean On Me,' as well as a cast mash-up of The Police's 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' with Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's 'Young Girl.'

Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Sugarland, Rob Thomas and Usher To Ring in the Holidays with TNT's Annual Music Concert CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON. The event will be hosted by George Lopez and premieres exclusively on TNT on Sunday, December 20, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

Oprah will get up close and personal with the cast of the hotly anticipated movie version of the Tony-Award winning musical NINE tomorrow, November 18. Oprah airs at 4pm EST on ABC.

The 92nd Street Y has announced casting for the 2010 season of Lyrics & Lyricists. Lucie Arnaz, Debby Boone, Capathia Jenkins, James Naughton and Raúl Esparza are among the performers who will present the music of the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, Johnny Burke and Hoagy Carmichael. The season also includes a night of songs made famous by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and one devoted to the art of the satirical song, featuring works by Tom Lehrer, 'Yip' Harburg, Stephen Sondheim and others. The season is curated by series artistic director Deborah Grace Winer, and a line-up of guest artistic directors - Lucie Arnaz, Daryl Sherman, Rob Fisher, and Ted Sperling.