Jessica Lewis - Page 8

The cast and creative team of the first New York revival of the acclaimed Off-Broadway classic musical, Closer Than Ever, including multi Tony, Academy, and Grammy Award-winners Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire, 2012 Kleban Award-winner musical director, Andrew Gerle, and Broadway veterans Jenn Colella, George Dvorsky, Tony nominee Christiane Noll, and Sal Viviano, met the press today.

Signature Theatre opens MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA! by Athol Fugard and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson tonight, May 24. The production began previews May 1 and runs through June 10, 2012 in The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at the Company's new home, The Pershing Square Signature Center. Production footage has just been releases and BroadwayWorld brings you a first look below!

Producer Dianne Fraser has acquired the exclusive first-class stage rights to GILLIGAN'S ISLAND: THE MUSICAL with hopes to mount the show on Broadway.

Kristin Chenoweth has been knocking 'em out on her first ever world tour which opened in Seattle on May 9th. To all the BroadwayWorld-ers in Texas - get yourself to Kristin's concerts pronto. Yee Haw!

The White House program, which was taped by WETA Washington, D.C. as part of the 'In Performance at the White House' series, will premiere on PBS stations nationwide tonight, May 21, 2012 at 9 p.m. EDT (check local listings) as 'Burt Bacharach & Hal David: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song In Performance at the White House.' BroadwayWorld has just received preview clips of tonight's broadcast and brings them to you below! Click to watch Mike Myers, Sheryl Crow, Smokie Robinson and more honor the musical greats at the White House presentation and be sure to tune into PBS tonight for the full show.

Lisa D'Amour's play Detroit premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre in 2010, directed by Austin Pendleton, and was scheduled to open on Broadway in the 2011/12 season.

On May 8, The Library of Congress kicked off a series of events honoring Grammy- and Academy-Award-winning songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David, recipients of the 2012 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, culminating a special tribute delivered by President Barack Obama. The prize commemorates George and Ira Gershwin, the legendary American songwriting team whose extensive collection resides in the Library of Congress. The White House program, which was taped by WETA Washington, D.C. as part of the 'In Performance at the White House' series, will premiere on PBS stations nationwide tonight, May 21, 2012 at 9 p.m. EDT (check local listings) as 'Burt Bacharach & Hal David: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song In Performance at the White House.'

An Officer and a Gentleman, directed by Simon Philips and co-written by Douglas Day Stewart and composer and lyricist team Ken Hirsch and Robin Lerner, made its world premiere performance on May 18 at the Lyric Theater in Sydney, Australia. Photos of the production have been released on the production's official Facebook Page and BroadwayWorld brings them to you below!

An Officer and a Gentleman, directed by Simon Philips and co-written by Douglas Day Stewart and composer and lyricist team Ken Hirsch and Robin Lerner, made its world premiere performance on May 18 at the Lyric Theater in Sydney, Australia. Despite the hype of the much anticipated musical, which is believed to have Broadway aspirations, the production was received with little enthusiasm by many critics (revisit the Review Roundup here). Now, the movie and show's scribe, Douglas Day Stewart, has taken to the media to defend the piece in an open letter in The Australian against their negative reaction.

Leadership and Public Service High School in Manhattan was selected as one of the first 20 schools across the nation to participate in "NBC's 'Smash': Make a Musical," a new initiative from NBC and iTheatrics' Junior Theater Project that builds self-sustaining musicals in schools.

The company of the first North American tour of WICKED welcomes PJ Benjamin as The Wizard on Tuesday, May 8 and Nicole Parker as Elphaba on Friday, May 18 in Denver, CO.

The world premiere of the musical "Los Otros" begins previews on Wednesday, May 23 at 8 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum. With book and lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh and music by Michael John LaChiusa, "Los Otros" opens on June 3, 2012. Performances continue through July 1. Tony Award-winner Michele Pawk has been cast to play the role of Woman and Julio Monge will play the role of Man. Check out the first shots of the company in reheaarsal below!

Alan Menken has taken to his twitter just now to announce that LEAP OF FAITH will be recording a Broadway cast album sometime soon. No details regarding a label, recording or anticipated release date have been confirmed at present.

Signature Theatre began performances for MEDIEVAL PLAY, written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, on May 15 in anticipation of a Thursday, June 7 opening night in The Irene Diamond Stage at the Company's new Frank Gehry-designed home, The Pershing Square Signature Center. Want to meet the cast? Click below to hear from Anthony Arkin, Heather Burns, Tate Donovan, Kevin Geer, Josh Hamilton, Halley Feiffer, and C.J. Wilson. David Pittu also stars.

Each summer, the best of Broadway is presented free on six consecutive Thursdays with '106.7 Lite fm's Broadway in Bryant Park' - a lunchtime series that plays the Bryant Park Stage. Sponsored by Bank of America, and Clean Air NY, and hosted by Lite fm's on-air personalities, the twelfth annual presentation of open-air, On- and Off- Broadway lunch hour performances will kick off on Thursday, July 12, 2012. The 2012 series will play each Thursday through August 16, 2012.

The new off-Broadway show OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES began performances on Tuesday May 1 and will open on May 20 at The Westside Theatre (407 West 43rd Street). Want to meet the hilarious company at - where else - a deli? If so, click below!

According to an Equity Audition notice, the Steppenwolf's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf will begin previews on Broadway on September 27, 2012 in anticipation of its previously announced October 13, 2012 opening at a Shubert Theatre to be announced. Pam Mackinnon will continue to helm the project. Jerry Frankel, Jeffrey Richards Susan Q. Gallin and Mary Lu Roffe will produce.

The New York Times is reporting that PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT will play its final performance on Broadway on June 24, 2012 after 23 previews and 526 performances.

As previously announced, BRING IT ON: THE MUSICAL is headed to Broadway following a tour that began in 2011. The show will play Broadway's St. James Theater, beginning previews on July 12th, opening August 1st and running through October 7th. Curious about how the cast reacted when they heard the good news? BroadwayWorld brings you a video of the company announcement and cast reaction below!

The Old Globe is presenting the West Coast Premiere of The Scottsboro Boys, the critically acclaimed musical about an infamous chapter in American history. Nominated for 12 Tony Awards, The Scottsboro Boys features music and lyrics by the legendary team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, libretto by David Thompson, musical direction by Eric Ebbenga and direction and choreography by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. The Scottsboro Boys began performances on April 29 and runs through June 10 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Official production highlights have been released and below, BroadwayWorld brings you a first look!