Leslie Fazin

Zarin Mehta, President and Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic,will step down upon the expiration of his current contract, today, August 31, 2012, after 12 years of leadership, and shortly before his 74th birthday.

Unique New York Productions (UniqueNewYorkProductions.com) has done it again with their hilarious parodies, this time with the 'Sonic Yoga Tango,' a spoof on CHICAGO'S 'The Cell Block Tango, 'featuring Broadway's Deidre Goodwin (CHICAGO, A CHORUS LINE, NINE, and 'Chicago' - the movie), and J. Elaine Marcos (A CHORUS LINE, WEDDING SINGER, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT, and 'Morning Glory') along with Emilee Dupre, Kaitlyn Davidson, Elizabeth Clinard, and Patrice Bunch as the Hell's Kitchen Yoginis. These girls discuss what it's like to be living in NYC, and what they do when they reach their boiling point.

MadLab will present Love In the Time of Comedy at 8:00, January 20 through February 12, 2011, Fridays and Saturdays, opening Thursday, January 20 at MadLab Theatre and Gallery, 227 N. 3rd St., Columbus. Tickets cost $10, $8 Students/Seniors, $6 Members. Call 614-221-5418 or visit www.madlab.net/MadLab/Buy_Tickets.html.

Jamie Adkins' one-man circus comedy, 'Circus INcognitus' begins performances Saturday, January 15 at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre. The special treat for families and children runs for six public performances only through January 23, 2011, as part of DouglasPlus programming. 'Circus INcognitus,' is a show filled with hilarious circus hi-jinks and zany acrobatics as the audience follows Jamie on an adventure about having the courage to try new ideas and not giving up when all goes wrong. 'Circus INcognitus' is part of DouglasPlus programming.

Actress/singer/stage star Vanessa Williams has been confirmed to host the first live theater screening of a Los Angeles Philharmonic concert led by Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, Sunday, January 9, 2011, at 2 p.m. Pacific/5 p.m. Eastern.

Check out this video of Reeve Carney, star of Julie Taymor's original Broadway production, SPIDERMAN: Turn Off The Dark, and of her new film The Tempest, singing 'O Mistress Mine.' This song is featured on The Tempest's soundtrack!

An intimate evening of talk and song celebrating the male roles from the musical songbook of 5-time Tony nominated composer, Michael John LaChiusa, whose works include Little Fish, Marie Christine, See What I Wanna See, Hello Again, and The Wild Party, will be presented at a one-night-only event on Monday, January 10 at 7 PM at Playwrights Horizon.

FOOTLOOSE: The Dance Musical will begin performances for its fifth UK tour on Friday, January 21 at the Newcastle Theatre Royal, ending its run at the Leeds Grand Theatre on Saturday, July 2, 2011.

Kenneth Lonergan, Academy Award nominee, screeenwriter and playwright, has agreed to pen the new HBO comedy, Taxi-22, according to Deadline.com. Taxi-22 will mark Lonergan's first TV debut, having earned Oscar nominations for his screenplays for You Can Count on Me and Gangs of New York. The comedy, adapted from a Quebec series, will center on a politically incorrect cab driver in New York City. Lonergan will execute produce the show with James Gandolfini, who is best known for his role as Tony Soprano on HBO's The Sopranos. Gandolfini has also appeared on Broadway in GOD OF CARNAGE, ON THE WATERFRONT and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE.

Dane DeHaan and Rebecca Wisocky have joined HBO's True Blood as guest stars, according to Deadline.com. DeHaan, whose stage credits include THE ALIENS, AMERICAN BUFFALO, SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE and END DAYS, will play Timbo, a teen looked after by Ryan Kwaten's character, Jason. Currently, DeHaan plays Jesse on the HBO series, In Treatment. Wisocky will play Queen Mab, a quick-temptered leader who presides over a fantasy land. She has been seen on stage in AMAZONS AND THEIR MEN, for which she received an Obie Award. Other stage credits include GOD'S EAR, 36 VIEWS, and SUENO. She has also been cast on 90210, The Mentalist, CSI and Big Love and will have a future engagement with the film, Atlas Shrugged.

GLEE fans who love comic books will be in luck just in time for the holidays -- the stars of Fox's hit television show have now been made into characters in the 32-page comic biography, Fame: The Cast of Glee, released today by Bluewater Productions.

Music icons Neil Diamond, Tom Waits, Dr. John and Alice Cooper, as well as Broadway veteran Darlene Love, will be the new inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 2011. They will be honored at a ceremony at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria on Monday, March 14. Leon Russell will also be awarded for musical excellence. Nonperformer honors will go to Specialty label's Art Rupe and Elektra Records founder, Jac Holzman.

Stage and screen actress Nicole Kidman, who made her Broadway debut in the 1998 production of THE BLUE ROOM, will join her husband Keith Urban on the November 30 episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Their appearance will be among other celebrity Aussies -- who have yet to be confirmed -- who will help whisk Oprah and 300 of her audience members off on an eight-day trip to Australia, 'Oprah's Ultimate Australian Adventure,' one week later. Kidman and Urban will discuss what audience members venturing on the trip can expect in the 'land down under.' The couple will reconvene with Oprah on the show's taping in Sydney on December 14.Theatre-enthusiasts can expect to see Kidman back on the Broadway stage next fall, when she stars in the revival of Tennessee Williams' SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH.

The Theatre School at DePaul University proudly presents the U.S. premiere of The Monster Under the Bed, by Kevin Dyer, directed by David Catlin, as the second installment of the 2010-2011 Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences Series. This production opens Tuesday, January 11, and runs through Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at DePaul's historic Merle Reskin Theatre. Performances are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 10 AM and Saturdays at 2 PM. There will be no performances on January 22, 25, 27, or 29.

Christoph von Dohnányi will lead the New York Philharmonic in seven concerts in January that will feature works by Dvorák, Schumann, Jörg Widmann, and both Brahms piano concertos, with pianists Yefim Bronfman and Radu Lupu as soloists. The first concerts, Thursday, January 13, 2011, at 7:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, January 14-15, at 8:00 p.m., will comprise Widmann's Con brio, Concert Overture for Orchestra, Schumann's Symphony No. 4, and Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2, with Yefim Bronfman as soloist. Mr. Dohnányi will conduct the Orchestra in the Rush Hour Concert on Wednesday, January 19, at 6:45 p.m., with a program comprising Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1, with Radu Lupu at the keyboard. The concert on Thursday, January 20, at 7:30 p.m., will feature Widmann's Con brio, Concert Overture for Orchestra, Schumann's Symphony No. 4, and Dvorák's Symphony No. 8. Mr. Dohnányi will conclude his visit with the Philharmonic on Friday and Saturday, January 21-22, at 8:00 p.m., conducting Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Mr. Lupu, and Dvorák's Symphony No. 8.

According to Showbizspy.com, actress Amy Adams would love to follow in Gwyneth Paltrow's footsteps and guest star on an episode of GLEE.

Broadway veteran Kevin Anderson leads the cast in the Los Angeles run of world premiere production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon. The Break of Noon, which is a co-production with MCC in New York, will feature Catherine Dent as well as Tracee Chimo and John Earl Jelks, who performed their roles in the New York portion of the run. Helmed by director Jo Bonney, The Break of Noon begins in previews on January 25, 2011 and officially opens February 2, 2011.

A trailor for the new musical adaption of MATILDA, A Musical, running at the Courtyard Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, has been released. Click to watch it below!

The Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced that Renée Fleming, internationally known soprano singer, will join the company's board of directors as the creative consultant -- a first in the company's history. She will commit to the role immediately and has signed on for a term of five years. She, along with Sir Andrew Davis, Lyric's music director, have also been elected to the Board of Directors as Vice Presidents.

Dee Snider chats about his experience with ROCK of AGES and schools Jimmy Fallon about the proper use of 'metal horns.' Check out the video clip below!