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BLACK THEATRE UNITED Announces 2023 Gala Performers & Honorees October 30

By Suki Jefferson — 1 year ago

BLACK THEATRE UNITED Announces 2023 Gala Performers & Honorees

Black Theatre United (BTU) is proud to announce its inaugural Gala on Monday, October 30 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York.

“A Salute to Broadway Legends: Past, Present, and Future”

Supported by Business for Good (BFG), the theme is “A Salute to Broadway Legends: Past, Present, and Future” and will be a star-studded evening in celebration of the indelible mark that Black culture has had and continues to have on Broadway.

Featuring performances by BTU Founders Vanessa Williams, Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, LaChanze, Billy Porter, Capathia Jenkins, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Darius de Haas, Natasha Yvette Williams and Lillias White, the Gala will honor Grammy-winning producer, singer and songwriter Kandi Burruss; actress, director, producer and philanthropist LaTanya Richardson Jackson; Academy Award-winning actor and philanthropist Samuel L. Jackson; President of Trate Productions Robyn Coles; Chairman of the Board for Cerevel Therapeutics Dr. N Anthony Coles; and Award-winning Arts & Culture Executive and Director of Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Dr. Indira Etwaroo.

In addition to an evening of performances honoring trailblazing leaders in Black theatre who are inspiring the next generation of Black theatre professionals, there will also be a live auction featuring one-of-a-kind experiences. Additional talent will be announced at a later date.

BTU Co-Founder Vanessa Williams said, “Black Theatre United is thrilled to have Business for Good be our lead sponsor for our first annual gala. BFG invests in people to build better businesses, stronger communities, and a more equitable world. A perfect alignment for BTU’s vision and commitment. Diversity is a fact but inclusion is a choice.“

Tickets begin at $1,000 and tables begin at $10,000. They are available now at https://us.givergy.com/BTUGala.

You can also be a part of the call to action to inspire the next generation of Black theatre professionals in all communities across the country by becoming an inaugural sponsor.

BTU, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, was founded to build pathways of access and opportunities for Black and other students and industry professionals who have been historically marginalized in the theatre community. Proceeds from the gala will support BTU’s empowering programs in Mentorships, Student Internships, BTU’s Annual Advocacy Summit and BTU’s Education program.

AWARENESS • ADVOCACY • ACCOUNTABILITY

As members of the Black theatre community, we stand together to help protect Black people, Black theatre, and Black lives of all shapes and orientations in communities across the country. Our voices are united to educate, empower, and inspire through excellence and activism in the pursuit of justice and equality. We will tell our stories, preserve our history, and ensure the legacy of Black theatre as American culture. Join us.

This call to action is just the beginning. It was the latest manifestations of police brutality that galvanized Black Theatre United into being. With roots reaching into all 50 of the United States this coalition can harness invaluable political scope and influence. To elevate a cause or to overturn policies that target black people in any one state or community, the group will draw on members with local connections to use their visibility and influence for good in theater and on the national stage.

ABOUT BLACK THEATRE UNITED

Watch the video announcing the creation of Black Theatre United.

Join the mailing list by filling out the form HERE.

DONATE to Black Theatre United.

For more information visit www.BlackTheatreUnited.com.

Passionate and committed, BTU’s founding group of actors, directors, musicians, writers, technicians, producers and stage management includes: Lisa Dawn Cave, Darius de Haas, Carin Ford, Capathia Jenkins, LaChanze, Kenny Leon, Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, Michael McElroy, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Wendell Pierce, Billy Porter, Anna Deavere Smith, Allyson Tucker, Tamara Tunie, Lillias White, NaTasha Yvette Williams, Schele Williams and Vanessa Williams.

ABOUT BUSINESS FOR GOOD

With values rooted in equity, access, opportunity, and prosperity, Business for Good has advanced the model of traditional venture philanthropy to Do Good and Give Back to communities in the Greater Capital Region of Albany.

Formed in 2020, BFG seeks to give back to move forward and is rooted in the core principle of “for good, not gain.” Its efforts were recognized on a national level with a 2022 Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Honorable Mention, which recognizes pioneering teams that are playing an important role in the betterment of the world through intentional philanthropy. Comprised of a mission-focused team, Business for Good™ believes no challenge is insurmountable through hard and thoughtful work. With a goal to provide businesses and organizations with sustained support, BFG invests in people for the long term and in every way.

Business for Good: building better businesses, stronger communities, and a more equitable world. To learn more, visit bfg.org.

BIOGRAPHIES

KANDI BURRUSS is a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, TV personality, actor, producer of television/film/stage and Broadway, serial entrepreneur and restaurateur. Never one to slow down, she is juggling her wide array of business ventures from Kandi Koated Entertainment, Bedroom Kandi, Kandi Koated Cosmetics, Tags Boutique, and her Atlanta restaurants, Old Lady Gang and Blaze Steak and Seafood; as well as maintaining her spot on-top dominating music, Broadway, film and television.

LATANYA RICHARDSON JACKSON is a critically acclaimed actress, director and producer of the stage and screen. She recently made history as the first female to direct an August Wilson play with her Broadway directorial debut of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” revival starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, and Danielle Brooks. In 2014, Richardson Jackson received a Tony Award Best Actress nomination for her performance as “Lena Younger” in the Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” She also received the Distinguished Performance Drama League Award nomination. Richardson-Jackson also starred on Broadway as “Calpurnia” in Aaron Sorkin’s critically acclaimed adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” alongside Jeff Daniels, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Dakin Matthews, and directed by Bartlett Sher. In 2020, Richardson Jackson and her husband, Samuel L. Jackson produced EPIX award nominated docu-series ENSLAVED via their production company UppiTV. In 2018, Richardson Jackson narrated the feature length documentary “Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart” on playwright Lorraine Hansberry, who penned the iconic “A Raisin in the Sun.” Richardson Jackson has received numerous awards for her philanthropic work including The United Negro College Fund and the N.Y. Keeper of the Dream Award. She was honored by the Ladylike Foundation, which is a faith based non-profit organization whose purpose is to educate, empower and inspire young women living in underprivileged communities. In 2016, she and her husband Samuel L. Jackson were honored by the Children’s Defense Fund for their longstanding commitment to the organization and their “Leave No Child Behind” mission. Richardson and her husband Samuel L. Jackson established the Samuel L. & LaTanya R. Jackson Foundation to carry out their commitment to a range of philanthropic issues in the United States and Africa. A graduate of Spelman College, she has served on their Board of Trustees and presently serves on the Advisory Board of their Women’s Center. She serves on the advisory council of Atlanta’s True Colors Theatre, the Ebony Repertory Theatre of Los Angeles, and is currently a board member of the American Theatre Wing and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. LaTanya Richardson Jackson and her husband Sam have one incredible, Emmy Nominated daughter, the beautiful Zoe Dove.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON. Appearing in well over 100 films, Samuel L. Jackson is one of the most respected actors in Hollywood. Jackson’s portrayal of ‘Jules’, the philosopher hitman, in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” made an indelible mark on American cinema. In addition to unanimous critical acclaim, he received Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Tony nominations, as well as a Best Supporting Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Among his many award-winning performances, Jackson made movie history with his portrayal of a crack addict in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever when he was awarded the first and only Best Supporting Performance Award ever given by the judges at the Cannes Film Festival. Jackson received an honorary Academy Award at the 12th Annual Governors Awards in January 2022. Most recently, Jackson can be seen reprising his role of Nick Fury in the Disney + original series, “Secret Invasion,” which premiered in June 2023. Jackson executive produced and starred in this latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside Emilia Clarke, Don Cheadle, and Kingsley Ben-Adir. Last year, Jackson returned to Broadway with a revival of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, “The Piano Lesson.” The show opened onThursday, October 13th and ran until Sunday, January 29th . Jackson’s performance earned him his first Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. In 2022, Jackson produced and starred in the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ original series, “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.” Jackson received a Critic’s choice nomination for Best Actor in a Limited Series for Television for his performance in the deeply emotional drama based on the bestselling novel.The series also received seven Black Reel Award nominations, four of which it won, and six NAACP Image Award nominations. In 2021, Jackson reunited with Salma Hayek and Ryan Reynolds for Lionsgate’s “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,” the sequel to the 2017 film, “The Hitman’s Bodyguard.” He can also be seen in the newest “Saw” sequel, “Spiral,” with Chris Rock and Max Minghella and in Lionsgate’s “The Protégé.” In 2020, Jackson starred in the EPIX docuseries, “Enslaved,” which he also executive produced with LaTanya Richardson Jackson. “Enslaved” won three awards at the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards and two awards at the 2021 Impact Docs Awards. He also starred opposite Anthony Mackie in the Apple drama “The Banker.” In 2019, Jackson starred in Warner Bros.’ “Shaft” and Sony’s “Spiderman: Far From Home.” Jackson also starred as a young ‘Nick Fury’ opposite Brie Larson in the massive global hit, “Captain Marvel.” Jackson also reprised his role as ‘Mr. Glass’ in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Glass.” The film is the final installment of the universe Shyamalan created, which also includes “Split” and “Unbreakable.” In 2018, Jackson lent his voice to the Academy Award-nominated film “Incredibles 2,” reprising his role of ‘Lucius Best/Frozone.’ In 2017, Jackson starred in Warner Bros. “Kong: Skull Island” with Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston. In 2015, Jackson appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-nominated Western “The Hateful Eight.” He starred as Major Marquis Warren, alongside Walton Goggins, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kurt Russell. That same year, Jackson appeared in Matthew Vaughn’s “Kingsman: The Secret Service” and Spike Lee’s “Chiraq.” In 2016, Jackson was seen in David Yates’ “The Legend of Tarzan,” starring alongside Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie and Christoph Waltz in addition to Tim Burton’s “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.” Also in 2016, Jackson completed production on Brie Larson’s directorial debut “Unicorn Store,” “The Last Full Measure” with Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer and Ed Harris as well as Dan Fogelman’s “Life Itself.” In 2012, he co-starred in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” as ‘Stephen,’ with Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio. He also starred in “The Avengers,” which is part of his 9-picture deal with Marvel Studios. Jackson reprised his role in both Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” which was released in April 2014, and the 2015 sequel “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Jackson made his Broadway debut in 2011 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in “The Mountaintop,” where he portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. The play also starred Angela Bassett and was directed by Kenny Leon. Jackson’s career began onstage upon his graduation from Morehouse College in Atlanta with a degree in dramatic arts. Among the plays were Home, A Soldier’s Play, Sally/Prince and The District Line. He also originated roles in two of August Wilson’s plays, The Piano Lesson and Two Trains Running at the Yale Repertory Theatre. For the New York Shakespeare Festival, Jackson appeared in Mother Courage and Her Children, Spell #7, and The Mighty Gents. Additional film credits include: “RoboCop,” “Oldboy,” “Mother and Child,” “Iron Man 2,” HBO’s “The Sunset Limited,” “Lakeview Terrace,” “Soul Men,” “The Spirit,” “Jumper,” “Resurrecting the Champ,” “1408,” “Black Snake Moan,” “Snakes on a Plane,” “Freedomland,” “Coach Carter,” “Star Wars: Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith,,” “S.W.A.T,” “Changing Lanes,” “Formula 51,” “Stars Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones,” “Caveman’s Valentine,” “Eve’s Bayou,” “Unbreakable,” “Rules of Engagement,” “Shaft,” “Deep Blue Sea,” “Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace,” “The Negotiator,” “The Red Violin,” “Jackie Brown,” “187,” “A Time to Kill,” “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” “Jungle Fever”, “Sphere,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” “Ragtime,” “Sea of Love,” “Coming to America,” “Do the Right Thing,” “School Daze,” “Mo’ Better Blues,” “Goodfellas,” “ Patriot Games,” and “True Romance.” On the small screen, Jackson served as Executive Producer for the Spike TV animated series, “Afro Samurai” which premiered in 2007. The series received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Animated Program from the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences. The first edition of the “Afro Samurai” video game launched in February 2009. Jackson also starred in John Frankenheimer’s Emmy Award-winning “Against the Wall” for HBO. His performance earned him a Cable Ace nomination as Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries, as well as a Golden Globe nomination.

ROBYN COLES is currently President of TRATE Productions, a producer of television, film, and theater. Mrs. Coles is an avid supporter of the arts and social justice. Mrs. Coles is a board member of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, Black Economic Alliance, American Theatre Wing and former trustee of Playwrights Horizon, Alvin Ailey, A.C.T. SF, the San Francisco Opera Guild and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Foundation and a member of their finance committee.. Mrs. Coles is a Co-Producer and Tony Award winner of A Strange Loop and Parade. Prior to her current duties, Mrs. Coles served as the CEO of Computer Marketing Services and CEO of Scientific Supplies Network, a medical supply company. Mrs. Coles received her bachelor’s degree in Urban Affairs and Economics from Goucher College.

N ANTHONY COLES, M.D. has served as the Cerevel Therapeutics chairperson of the board of directors since December 2018 and previously was also the chief executive officer of Cerevel from September 2019 to June 2023. Previously, Dr. Coles served as co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yumanity Therapeutics, LLC, from October 2014 until September 2019, and he continues to serve as the Executive Chair of the Board. Dr. Coles served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from 2012 until 2013, having served as its President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of its board of directors from 2008 until 2012. Prior to joining Onyx in 2008, he was President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the board of directors of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Coles currently serves on the board of directors of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the Council on Foreign Relations and is board Co-chair of Black Economic Alliance. Dr. Coles is a member of the Board of Trustees for Johns Hopkins University, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and is currently the chair of the Council for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., In 2022, Dr. Coles was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Educated at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Coles earned a medical degree from Duke University and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. He completed his cardiology and internal medicine training at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School.

INDIRA ETWAROO (Award-winning Producer, Director, Scholar, and Arts and Culture Executive) has worked across the world to develop multiplatform venues and content that represents the exquisite and complex diversity of the world. She currently serves as the Director of the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple in California. Dr. Etwaroo was a major force for content innovation and inclusion in the public media field, as the Founding Executive Producer of The Greene Space in NYC and Founding Executive Producer of NPR Presents to bring live, on-air and online content to audiences across the world. She Executive Produced the American Broadcast Premiere of the 75th Anniversary of Zora Neal’s Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching Godand the first-ever recordings and live broadcasts of August Wilson’s entire American Century Cycle. She led The Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn through radical growth, as its Executive Artistic Director, leading to the Presidential Medal of the Arts for the 2020-2021 season under her tenure. In response to the converging pandemics of 2020, she spearheaded the launch of the first-ever national strategic plan for Black theater institutions across the nation, raising $10.5 million for the field. Dr. Etwaroo has been a professor of graduate studies at Temple University and NYU and has lectured and published extensively on the performing arts, race, womanhood and equity.

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SAG, WGA strike: 2 Hell’s Kitchen restaurants invite striking actors, writers to eat for free

By Katie Macken — 1 year ago

For the SAG, WGA strike, 2 Hell’s Kitchen restaurants invite striking actors, writers to eat for free.

Striking workers in the entertainment industry aren’t just receiving support from the wealthy top Hollywood actors. They’re also getting help from small businesses, like two restaurants in New York City.

Just around the corner from the Theatre District: Marseille and Nizza

Just around the corner from the Theatre District on 9th Avenue by 44th Street are two restaurants: Marseille and Nizza. Both owned by the same company.

They both are now offering free meals to striking actors and writers any night of the week after 9 p.m.

“It’s just our way of giving back to the community that has supported us for so long,”

PR Director Steven Hall

The restaurants are asking strikers to present their union card and take care of their own liquor bill, tax, and tips.

At the end of the strike, if the entertainers can pay back for all their meals, great. If they can’t, their running tab will be forgiven.

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Sarah Paulson Returns to Broadway in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate at Second Stage Theater

By Contributor — 1 year ago

Sarah Paulson to Return to Broadway in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate at Second Stage Theater

Second Stage Theater (Carole Rothman, President and Artistic Director; Lisa Lawer Post, Interim Executive Director) today announced that Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award winner SARAH PAULSON returns to Broadway starring in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ APPROPRIATE, directed by Lila Neugebauer.

This production marks Ms. Paulson’s return to the New York stage since she was last seen co-starring opposite Danny Burstein in Lanford Wilson’s Talley’s Folly in 2013.

Part of Second Stage’s 45^th Anniversary Season, APPROPRIATE will begin previews Tuesday, November 28^th and will officially open on Monday, December 18^th at Second Stage’s Hayes Theater (240 West 44^th street).

This production marks Mr. Jacobs-Jenkins’ Broadway debut.

Two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (An Octoroon) and Drama Desk Award winner Lila Neugebauer (The Waverly Gallery, 2ST’s Mary Page Marlowe) invite you to one helluva reunion in the darkly comic American family drama,APPROPRIATE.

It’s summer, the cicadas are singing, and the Lafayette family has returned to their late patriarch’s Arkansas home to deal with the remains of his estate. Toni (Paulson), the eldest daughter, hopes they’ll spend the weekend remembering and reconnecting over their beloved father. Bo, her brother, wants to recoup some of the funds he spent caring for Dad at the end of his life. But things take a turn when their estranged brother, Franz, appears late one night, and mysterious objects are discovered among the clutter. Suddenly, long-hidden secrets and buried resentments can’t be contained, and the family is forced to face the ghosts of their past.

Additional casting and creative team members will be announced in the coming weeks.

Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award winner SARAH PAULSON last appeared onstage in New York in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Lanford Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Talley’s Folly in spring 2013. Other stage appearances include the Broadway productions of Collected Stories, opposite Linda Lavin, and The Glass Menagerie alongside Jessica Lange; the Mark Taper Forum production of The Cherry Orchard opposite Alfred Molina and Annette Bening; and off-Broadway in Tracy Letts’ critically acclaimed Killer Joe. Paulson received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her portrayal of attorney Marcia Clark in FX’s critically acclaimed miniseries “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” Paulson also received a Golden Globe® Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics’ Choice Award and a Television Critics Association Award for this role. Her many additional TV credits include her performance as Linda Tripp in FX’s “Impeachment: American Crime Story” (Emmy nomination, also Executive Producer); the title role in the Netflix series, “Ratched” (also Executive Producer), which debuted at number one across 50 countries worldwide and earned Paulson a Golden Globe® nomination; the FX on Hulu Emmy-nominated limited series, “Mrs. America,” opposite Cate Blanchett; Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (Golden Globe nomination); HBO’s “Coastal Elites” and “Game Change” (Emmy and Golden Globe nominations); ten installments of Ryan’s Murphy’s award-winning television series “American Horror Story,” where she also made her directorial debut with the 78-minute crossover episode, “Return to Murder House.” Paulson has received five Emmy® nominations for her roles in the franchise, as well as two Critics’ Choice Awards for her roles in the anthology series. Paulson’s many film credits include Warner Bros.’ Ocean’s 8; Todd Haynes’ critically acclaimed Carolalongside Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara; Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, which received an Academy Award® for Best Picture. She has also appeared in Steven Spielberg’s The Post opposite Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep; Aneesh Chaganty’s Run for Hulu; M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Glass for Universal; Netflix’s Bird Box opposite Sandra Bullock; DreamWorks Animation’s Abominable. Other film credits include Martha Marcy May Marlene; Down with Love; What Women Want, The Other Sister. Upcoming, she will executive produce and star in Searchlight’s horror thriller, Dust; will appear in Bruce Norris’ film adaptation of his Pulitzer, Tony, and Olivier award-winning play, Clybourne Park, directed by Pam MacKinnon; and in Bad Robot’s series adaptation of Glennon Doyle’s memoir, “Untamed.”

BRANDEN JACOBS-JENKINS is a Brooklyn-based playwright and producer and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Recent theatre credits include The Comeuppance, which recently ran at the Signature Theatre; Girls (Yale Rep); Everybody (Signature Theatre), War (Yale Rep; Lincoln Center/LCT3); Gloria (Vineyard Theatre); Appropriate (Obie Award; Signature Theatre); An Octoroon (Obie Award; Soho Rep, Theatre for a New Audience); and Neighbors (The Public Theater).

He was showrunner, executive producer, and writer for HULU/FX’s drama series, “Kindred,” based on Octavia E. Butler’s groundbreaking novel. He currently teaches at Yale University and serves as Vice President of the Dramatists Guild council and on the boards of Soho Rep, Park Avenue Armory, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and the Dramatists Guild Foundation. Honors include a USA Artists fellowship, a Guggenheim fellowship, the MacArthur fellowship, the Windham-Campbell Prize forDrama, and the inaugural Tennessee Williams Award.

LILA NEUGEBAUER is an award-winning stage and screen director.

LILA NEUGEBAUER is an award-winning stage and screen director. Broadway: Kenneth Lonergan’s The Waverly Gallery.

Recent Off-Broadway credits include Simon Stephens’ Morning Sun (MTC), Tracy Letts’ Mary Page Marlowe (Second Stage); Annie Baker’s The Antipodes; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Everybody; Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo: Homelife/The Zoo Story (Signature Theatre); Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves;and Zoe Kazan’s After the Blast (Lincoln Center).

As co-Artistic Director of The Mad Ones: Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie (Ars Nova) and Miles for Mary (Playwrights Horizons), among others. Lila is an alum of the Drama League, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, an Ensemble Studio Theatre member, New Georges Affiliated Artist, and New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect. Obie Award, Drama Desk Sam Norkin Special Award, and Princess Grace Award recipient. TV: “Maid” (Netflix), “The Last Thing He Told Me” (Apple TV+), “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” and “Room 104” (HBO Max). Lila’s directorial feature debut Causeway, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry (Oscar nomination), is available on AppleTV+.

Second Stage Theater’s programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

The Season is supported by a grant from the Howard Gilman Foundation.

Second Stage Theater’s 45^th Anniversary Season will kick off in November

Second Stage Theater’s 45^th Anniversary Season will kick off in November at the Tony Kiser Theater with the world premiere of Guggenheim Fellow Jen Silverman’s (Collective Rage) play, SPAIN, directed by Tyne Rafaeli (The Coast Starlight), off-Broadway at the Tony Kiser Theater (305 West 43^rd Street). The season will also include the world premiere of an untitled new play by Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel (How I Learned To Drive), directed by Tina Landau (The SpongeBob Musical) at the Hayes Theater. Additional productions will be announced at a later date.

Single tickets for APPROPRIATE will go on sale at a later date. Currently, Season Subscriptions are available: full season 5 Show packages are $445; 3 Show packages are $350. For those 30 years of age and younger, Flip the Script 5 Show packages are $150. To purchase a subscription, please visit 2ST.com or call 212-246-4422. Subscribers receive early access to a winter festival of plays and readings by new American writers.

SECOND STAGE THEATER operates three New York City venues

Under the artistic direction of Carole Rothman, SECOND STAGE THEATER operates three New York City venues, exclusively dedicated to producing living American playwrights.

Among Second Stage’s 180 productions are the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis; the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey; the 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegria Hudes; Mary Page Marlowe by Tracy Letts; The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown; Dogfight by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Peter Duchan; Dear Evan Hansen by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Steven Levenson; Clyde’s and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage; Trust and Lonely, I’m Not by Paul Weitz; Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl; The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz; Everyday Rapture and Whorl Inside a Loop by Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott; Let Me Down Easy and Notes From the Field by Anna Deavere Smith; Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo; Torch Song by Harvey Fierstein; Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; Jitney by August Wilson; Crowns by Regina Taylor; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo’s Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan; Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; A Soldier’s Play by Charles Fuller; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry; andTiny Alice and Peter and Jerry by Edward Albee.

The company’s more than 170 citations include the 2022 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play for Take Me Out, as well as Best Featured Actor in a Play for Jesse Tyler Ferguson; six 2017 Tony Awards for Dear Evan Hansen (Best Musical; Best Lead Actor in a Musical, Ben Platt; Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Rachel Bay Jones; Best Book of a Musical; Best Original Score; Best Orchestrations); the 2009 Tony Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley, Next to Normal), Best Score (Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Next to Normal), and Best Orchestrations (Tom Kitt and Michael Starobin, Next to Normal); the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed); the 2005 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin, …Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler, …Spelling Bee); the 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary Zimmerman for Metamorphoses); the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, 29 Obie Awards, 11 Outer Critics Circle Awards, four Clarence Derwent Awards, 20 Drama Desk Awards, 11 Theatre World Awards, one Dorothy Louden Award, 20 Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 23 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theater opened The Tony Kiser Theater, its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theater, designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. In 2002, Second Stage launched “Second Stage Theater Uptown” to showcase the work of up-and-coming artists at the 99-seat McGinn/Cazale Theater.

In 2018, Second Stage began producing at its 581 seat Broadway home, The Hayes Theater. Originally named “The Little Theater” and built in 1912, the city landmark has been remodeled by David Rockwell of Rockwell Group.

The Theater supports artists through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and commissions, and engages students and community members through education and outreach programs.

For more information, please visit www.2ST.com or follow Second Stage on Twitter: @2STNYC, Instagram: @2stnyc and Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/2STNYC/

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Broadway: BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical Announces Digital Lottery & General Rush Ticket

By Contributor — 1 year ago

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical begins previews on Broadway Friday, June 30^th, 2023, at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre .

A limited number of $45 tickets will be available via digital lottery, subject to availability. The digital lottery opens at 12AM ET one day before the performance and winners are drawn at 10AM ET and 3PM ET that same day.

Tickets are non-transferable and limited to 2 tickets per person. For additional rules and to enter visit rush.telecharge.com.

A limited number of $40 in-person general rush tickets will be available every day when the Winter Garden Theatre box office opens, on a first-come, first-served basis. Maximum of two tickets per person, subject to availability. Seat locations and the number of tickets available are subject to availability and determined at the discretion of the box office.

Produced by Colin Ingram, together with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment film, the 2022 Olivier Award-winning Best New Musical, BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical has a book by Bob Gale, new music and lyrics by Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Alan Silvestri and six-time Grammy Award-winning Glen Ballard, with additional songs from the film including “The Power of Love” and “Johnny B. Goode.” Bob Gale is the co-creator and co-writer of the Back to the Future film trilogy and Alan Silvestricomposed the iconic film score for the series. BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical officially opens Thursday, August 3, 2023 at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre (1634 Broadway).

Tickets for BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical are now on sale at www.BackToTheFutureMusical.com, through Telecharge by calling 212-239-6200 or visiting Telecharge.com, or at the Winter Garden Theatre box office. Prices start at $69.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical stars Tony Award winner Roger Bart (Doc Brown), Casey Likes (Marty McFly), Olivier Award nominee Hugh Coles (George McFly), Liana Hunt (Lorraine Baines), Jelani Remy (Goldie Wilson/Marvin Berry), and Nathaniel Hackmann (Biff Tannen). The ensemble includes Merritt David Janes (Strickland), Mikaela Secada (Jennifer Parker), Amber Ardolino, Will Branner, Victoria Byrd, Brendon Chan, Kevin Curtis, Nick Drake, Samuel Gerber, Marc Heitzman, Kimberly Immanuel, Joshua Kenneth Allen Johnson, Hannah Kevitt, JJ Niemann, Becca Petersen, Emma Pittman, Jonalyn Saxer, Blakely Slaybaugh, Gabi Stapula, and Daryl Tofa.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is directed by Tony Award winner John Rando and features a multi-Tony and Olivier Award-winning design team that includes Tim Hatley (set and costume design), Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone (lighting), Gareth Owen (sound) and Finn Ross (video), with choreography by Chris Bailey, musical supervision and arrangements by Nick Finlow, illusions by Chris Fisher, orchestrations by Ethan Popp and Bryan Crook, dance arrangements by David Chase, music direction by Ted Arthur and casting by Tara Rubin.

Marty McFly is a rock ‘n’ roll teenager who is accidentally transported back to 1955 in a time-travelling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown. But before he can return to 1985, Marty must make sure his high school-aged parents fall in love in order to save his own existence.

The critically acclaimed West End production of BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical has been seen by over 800,000 people to date, broken Adelphi Theatre box office records and recently extended to February 11, 2024. The production won the Best New Musical Olivier Award as well as multiple WhatsOnStage Awards and a Broadway World Award for Best New Musical. BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical had its world premiere at the Manchester Opera House on March 11, 2020 and officially opened in London on September 13, 2021.

The Original Cast Recording of BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is available now from Sony Masterworks Broadway in all formats, including vinyl. (https://soundtracks.lnk.to/BTTFAlbum)

Back to the Future the film was released in 1985, starring Michael J. Fox as “Marty McFly” and Christopher Lloyd as “Dr Emmett Brown.” The film grossed $360.6 million at the box office worldwide and the total box office for all three films in the Back to the Future franchise was $936.6 million (over $1.8 billion in today’s money).

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is produced by Colin Ingram, Donovan Mannato, Tom Viertel/ Steven Baruch/ Marc Routh/ Richard Frankel, Hunter Arnold, Playing Field, Robert L. Hutt, Ivy Herman/Hallee Adelman, Teresa Tsai, Bob McLynn, Gavin Kalin, Kimberly Magarro, Crush Music, Universal Theatrical Group, Sony Masterworks, Augury, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, in association with Neil Gooding Productions, Ricardo Marques, James L. Nederlander. Bespoke Theatricals serves as General Manager.

Hugh Coles is appearing with the support of Actors’ Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance with this production.

Follow BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical at @bttfbway on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

For more information visit www.BackToTheFutureMusical.com/NewYork.

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Tony Nominee joins! Broadway’s THE SHARK IS BROKEN Announces Full Cast

By Suki Jefferson — 1 year ago

Broadway’s THE SHARK IS BROKEN Announces Full Cast

The Tony-Award winning team of Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Landis, and GFour Productions are delighted to announce today, on JAWS Day (48 years since the film opened on June 20, 1975), full casting for THE SHARK IS BROKEN at Broadway’s John Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street).

Alex Brightman is Richard Dreyfuss

Colin Donnell is Roy Scheider

…joining Ian Shaw as his Father Robert Shaw

Ian Shaw with his Father Robert Shaw

Two-time Tony Award nominee Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice, School of Rock) will star as Richard Dreyfuss opposite Colin Donnell(Anything Goes, “Chicago Med”) as Roy Scheider, joining Ian Shaw who will make his Broadway debut portraying his father Robert Shaw, who played “Quint” in JAWS.

Ian Shaw as his Father Robert Shaw

Co-written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, this new Olivier Award-nominated comedy imagines what happened on board “The Orca” when the cameras stopped rolling during the filming of Stephen Spielberg’s blockbuster, JAWS.

FADE IN: The open ocean, 1974. Production on JAWS is delayed…again. The film’s lead actors—theatre veteran Robert Shaw and young Hollywood hotshots, Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider—are crammed into a too-small boat, entirely at the mercy of foul weather and a faulty mechanical co-star. Alcohol flows, egos collide, and tempers flare on a chaotic voyage that just might lead to cinematic magic…if it doesn’t sink them all.

The smash-hit of the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, THE SHARK IS BROKEN opened at the West End’s Ambassadors Theatre in 2021 to critical acclaim and an Olivier Award nomination for Best Comedy Play, extending its limited run in 2022.

Directed by Guy Masterson, THE SHARK IS BROKEN has scenic and costume design by Duncan Henderson, lighting design by Jon Clark, sound design and original music are by Adam Cork, video design by Nina Dunn, and casting by Jim Carnahan Casting. Beginning performances Tuesday, July 25 after critically acclaimed runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and on London’s West End, THE SHARK IS BROKEN officially opens on Thursday, August 10, 2023, for a strictly limited 16-week engagement.

Tickets are on sale now for THE SHARK IS BROKEN at Telecharge.com (212.239.6200) and range from $49 – $119 (including $2 facility fee) during the specially priced preview performances.

The playing schedule for THE SHARK IS BROKEN is as follows: Monday – Saturday at 8pm, with matinees on Saturday at 2pm. Please note: There will be an added 2pm matinee on Wednesday, August 2 and Wednesday, August 9. Beginning Friday, August 11, the performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday – Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 8pm, with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm, and Sunday at 3pm. Please note: There will be no matinee on Sunday, August 13.

For more information, visit TheSharkIsBroken.com

BIOGRAPHIES

Alex Brightman

Alex Brightman (Richard Dreyfuss) is a two-time Tony-nominated actor for his performances in Beetlejuice the Musical and School of Rock. Other Broadway credits include Matilda, Big Fish, Wicked and Glory Days.

Alex can be seen on the current (and final) season of “The Blacklist” on NBC as forensic analyst Herbie Hambright. Other TV credits include “Law & Order: SVU,” “Documentary Now!,” “The Good Fight,” “Blue Bloods,” and “Important Things with Demetri Martin.” Alex is the voice of Pugsley/Temeluchus on the acclaimed Netflix animated series “Dead End: Paranormal Park” as well as the voice of Fizzarolli on “Helluva Boss.”

As a writer, Alex has developed series with NBC, Universal, 20th Century, and Warner Brothers. Alex’s play, Everything Is Fine, recently received a developmental reading at Manhattan Theatre Club directed by Cynthia Nixon. He dedicates this performance to those living with chronic pain and illness and urges you to check out and donate to The Arthritis Foundation. Alex has a dog named Kevin and two adorably awesome nieces.

Colin Donnell (Roy Scheider) can most recently be seen as the lead of Peacock’s “Irreverent.” Colin is known for his work as Dr. Connor Rhodes in NBC’s drama “Chicago Med” and as Tommy Merlyn in CW’s “Arrow.” Other appearances include Scott Lockhart in Showtime’s hit series “The Affair”, “Pan Am,” “Person of Interest” and “The Mysteries of Laura.”

His film appearances include Every Secret Thing, which also starred Diane Lane and Elizabeth Banks, and Almost Love opposite Michelle Buteau.

On stage, Colin Donnell recently starred as Russell Hammond in the musical adaptation of Cameron Crowe’s acclaimed show Almost Famous at The Old Globe.

His Broadway work includes Violet, Anything Goes (which garnered him Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Astaire nominations), and Jersey Boys. Among his other notable stage appearances are Follies, Merrily We Roll Along, Lady Be Good at the New York City Center, the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Loves Labours Lost and Meet Me in St. Louis. Additionally, he’s toured with productions of Wicked and Mamma Mia. Born in St. Louis, Donnell is a resident of New York.

Ian Shaw

Ian Shaw (Co-Writer, Robert Shaw) trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, having obtained a BA in American Studies at Sussex University.

Theatre includes War Horse and Common (National Theatre); Widowers’ Houses, The Importance of Being Earnest, Nude with Violin, The Philadelphia Story, andThe Brothers Karamazov (Manchester Royal Exchange); Three Sisters (Nuffield and Theatre Royal Bath); Private Lives and Closer (Birmingham Rep); The Rivals(Derby Playhouse and Philadelphia Walnut St); The Tempest (SRT) and Much Ado About Nothing in London’s West End. Television includes “Sharpe,” “Soldier, Soldier,” “Medics,” “Wuthering Heights,” “The Queen,” “Ghost Hour,” “Silent Witness,” “Cambridge Spies” and the Emmy award-winning “Hiroshima.” Film includes Century, Moondance, The Boys and Girl from County Clare, The Contract and Johnny English Reborn.

Joseph Nixon (Co-Writer) is the author (with Brian Mitchell) of the plays Those Magnificent Men (New Perspectives, 2010); Big Daddy vs. Giant Haystacks (The Foundry Group, 2011); Seven Studies in Salesmanship (The Foundry Group, 2013); and the musical The Opinion Makers (Mercury Theatre/Derby Theatre 2013.) He has written material for Joanna Neary, Jo Caulfield, Jerry Sadowitz, and Basil Brush.

Guy Masterson (Director) is a London based, multi-award-winning theatre producer & director with over 150 credits over 30 years. A 29-year veteran of the Edinburgh Festival, he has produced or directed many of its biggest hits including THE SHARK IS BROKEN in 2019 – which was subsequently produced in the West End in 2021 by Sonia Friedman Productions and received an Olivier Nomination for Best New Comedy. His 2009 production of Morecambe also transferred to the West End and won an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. His 2003 production of 12 Angry Men became the biggest grossing drama at Edinburgh – a record broken by his subsequent productions of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (starring Christian Slater), and The Odd Couple (with Bill Bailey and Alan Davies) which he also directed. Other acclaimed productions include Scaramouche Jones, Adolf, Austen’s Women, Absolution and Playing Burton (a solo play about his uncle, Richard Burton). Most recently, he co-directed an award-winning original musical, The Marvelous Elephant Man in Australia. Guy is also internationally renowned for his solo performances of Under Milk Wood, Animal Farm, Shylock and A Christmas Carol (which is to play in NYC over Christmas ‘23). His company, Theatre Tours International, remains the most awarded and nominated independent theatre company presenting at the Edinburgh Festival.

Duncan Henderson (Designer) Productions include Hangman (Two Bins Theatre Company), Bloodlines (Talia Randall), Betrayal, The Polished Scar, Underneath the Lintel (Pretty Villain Prods), Crave (Little Warrior Theatre Prods) and 9 Circle (Theatre Tours International).

Jon Clark (Lighting Design) is a Tony and Olivier award-winning designer. He has designed extensively for the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, in the West End, on Broadway and with many other companies internationally. Recent theatre: A Doll’s House (Broadway), The Motive and The Cue (National); The Lehman Trilogy, Betrayal, The Inheritance, King Charles III (Broadway & West End); Cyrano de Bergerac (BAM & West End). Recent Opera: Hamlet, The Exterminating Angel (Metropolitan Opera), Lucia di Lammermoor, Written on Skin (Covent Garden).

Adam Cork (Sound Design and Original Music) has written mainly for the stage, blending original composition with sound design to create integrated music/sound scores for many celebrated productions. Adam’s musical London Road (co-authored with Alecky Blythe) premiered at the National Theatre in 2011, won the 2011 Critic’s Circle Award ‘Best Musical’, was nominated for the 2012 Olivier Award ‘Best Musical’, and a film version was released in 2015 (BBC Films/Cuba pictures). In 2010 he received a Tony Award for the music and sound score for Red (Donmar/Broadway), and an Olivier Award in 2011 for King Lear (Donmar), also receiving the Evening Standard ‘Best Design’ Award 2011 for Anna Christie and King Lear (Donmar). In 2010 he was nominated for the Tony Award ‘Best Score’ (Music & Lyrics) for Enron (Broadway/West End). Other theatre includes: Leopoldstadt (Wyndham’s/Longacre) Patriots (Almeida/West End); The Hunt (Almeida), Ink (Almeida/Duke of York’s/MTC); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Harold Pinter); Travesties (Menier Chocolate Factory/Apollo/American Airlines Theatre); No Man’s Land (Wyndham’s); Les Blancs, Three Days In The Country, Phedre, (National); Hughie (Booth Theatre); Photograph 51, Henry V (Noël Coward); Frost/Nixon (Gielgud/Jacobs), Hamlet (Donmar/Broadhurst Theatre); Ivanov (Donmar/Wyndham’s); Six Characters in Search of an Author (Headlong/Gielgud); Richard II, A Streetcar Named Desire , The Chalk Garden, Othello, Creditors, The Wild Duck, Caligula (Donmar); Don Carlos (Gielgud); Romeo & Juliet, The Tempest (RSC); Suddenly Last Summer (West End); Paradise Lost (Headlong). Adam is an Associate Artist of the RSC. Television includes Scores for The Hollow Crown: “Richard II,” “Macbeth” and “Frances Tuesday.” Film includes Scores for London Road, Genius, Hamlet, Macbeth. Radio includes Losing Rosalind, The Luneberg Variation (BBC Radio 4), The Colonel-Bird (BBC World Service), Don Carlos, Othello, On the Ceiling, The Chalk Garden (all BBC Radio 3).

Nina Dunn (Video Design) has designed Video & Projections for a wide range of shows, working internationally and spanning Theatre, Opera, Dance, Musical Theatre, Immersive, Fashion, Opening Ceremonies, Live Events and Public Art And is the Creative Director at PixelLux. She is also an educator within her industry. Work for theatre includes: Bonnie & Clyde, City of Angels, No Man’s Land, Cookies (West End); Spitting Image Live (The Rep); The Trials (Donmar Warehouse); 9 to 5 The Musical (West End, UK and Australian Tour); Othello, Manor, Emperor & Galilean (National Theatre); The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Lazuli Sky (Birmingham Royal Ballet); Seven Deadly Sins, Bluebeard’s Castle (Teatro Colón Buenos Aires); A Christmas Carol (Nottingham Playhouse / Alexandra Palace); A Museum in Baghdad, Venice Preserved, Miss Littlewood, The Seven Acts of Mercy, Volpone (RSC); Hamlet, The Mountaintop (Young Vic); Extinct (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Shedding a Skin (Soho Theatre); Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella (Imagine Theatre); Plenty, Copenhagen, Fiddler on the Roof, Forty Years On (CFT); L’Orfeo, Der Freischütz, Macbeth (Wiener Staatsoper); Spring Gala (ROH); Phantom of the Opera (Cameron Mackintosh, UK, US and Australian tour); The Rocky Horror Show (European tour), Armstrong and Miller Live (Hat Trick). Awards include Best Video Design for Bonnie & Clyde (Broadway World UK), Best Video and Electronic Content for Alice’s Adventures Underground (Knight of Illumination), Best Design for Cinderella and Beauty and The Beast (UK Pantomime Awards) and a nomination for Best Video Design for THE SHARK IS BROKEN (WhatsOnStage).

Jim Carnahan, CSA (Casting) has cast over 150 Broadway shows. Broadway: Leopoldstadt; A Beautiful Noise; Almost Famous; New York, New York; Funny Girl; Harry Potter; Moulin Rouge! Off-Broadway: Merrily We Roll Along, Little Shop of Horrors. London: Eureka Day, Best of Enemies. Upcoming film: Ari Aster’s Disappointment Blvd.

Life of Pi plays its final Broadway performance on Sunday, July 23.

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Broadway’s ‘Life Of Pi’ Sets Closing Date

By Suki Jefferson — 1 year ago

Broadway’s ‘Life Of Pi’ Sets Closing Date

Life of Pi, Lolita Chakrabarti’s stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel, will play its final Broadway performance Sunday, July 23.

For the cast, Hiran Abeysekera, who won an Olivier Award for his role as the title character Pi Patel, play his final Broadway performance on Sunday, July 9, with cast member Uma Paranjpe taking over the role on Tuesday, July 11.

As an interesting twist, Paranjpe’s Pi will be portrayed as female in a gender-flipped version of Chakrabarti’s original script.

A North American tour of Life of Pi is already scheduled to launch in fall of 2024. Locations and dates to be announced in the future.

On March 30, the play opened at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. It recently won three Tony Awards for its scenic design, lighting and costumes, which is respectable, but a more modest showing than the nine Olivier Awards – including Best New Play and Best Featured Actor (Abeysekera) – for its West End staging.

Life of Pi, directed by Max Webster, utilizes an impressive menagerie of life-sized puppets to tell the tale of 16-year-old Pi who survives a shipwreck only to share a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Royal Bengal tiger.

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Melissa Etheridge Comes To Broadway – 9 weeks only – This Fall with MY WINDOW; Begins Sept 14 at Circle in the Square Theatre

By Katie Macken — 1 year ago

Melissa Etheridge Comes To Broadway – 9 weeks only – This Fall with MY WINDOW; Begins Sept 14 at Circle in the Square Theatre

Grammy and Academy Award-winning rockstar Melissa Etheridge will debut her acclaimed theatrical event, Melissa Etheridge: My Window on Broadway in a limited nine-week residency at the Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50th Street) beginning Thursday, September 14, with an official opening night of Thursday, September 28, 2023. Tickets are on sale now at Telecharge.com.

Melissa Etheridge: My Window on Broadway

Etheridge said:

“I truly love Broadway, and it’s long been a dream of mine to tell my story and share my music there.

I never felt more connected to this community and New York audiences than I did after telling my life story off-Broadway last year.

The intimacy of the live theatrical stage is like no other, and Circle in the Square is going to be a magical home for my show’s Broadway debut. I can’t wait to come back to the City! It’s a deeply personal experience to be able to tell these stories again, in a fresh and exciting way, and reconnect with my fans and theatergoers.”

Melissa Etheridge Comes To Broadway - 9 weeks only - This Fall with MY WINDOW; Begins Sept 14 at Circle in the Square Theatre

Known for her confessional lyrics and raspy, smoky vocals, Melissa Etheridge has lit up airwaves and arenas across the world for more than two decades with instant classics like “I’m the Only One,” “Come to My Window,” “I Want to Come Over,” and more. Melissa Etheridge: My Window is an intimate experience like never before, inviting theatergoers into an exhilarating evening of storytelling and music. From tales of her childhood in Kansas to her groundbreaking career highlights – with all of life’s hits and deep cuts between – Etheridge opens her heart and soul on stage to fearlessly dazzle audiences of all generations.

In October 2022, Etheridge celebrated the world premiere of Melissa Etheridge Off Broadway: My Window – A Journey Through Life. The three-week, sold-out engagement was performed at New World Stages in New York City. The New York Times calls the show “honest and searing. The smoky-voiced, out-and-proud trailblazer finds her own way in ‘My Window’…. pairing completely charming tales with staggeringly beautiful renditions of her songs.” Theatermania says My Window is “A GREAT Party. Etheridge delights us with a dry sense of humor and a whole lot of tremendous music as she recounts her life. She’s an amazing performer – had me in the palm of her hand!” Queerty declares, “Etheridge’s star power is undeniable, she delivers the emotional ferocity that is the very definition of rock ‘n roll. And her stories have the well-crafted arc and casualness of sitting at your favorite bar with a bestie.”

Melissa Etheridge Comes To Broadway – 9 weeks only – This Fall with MY WINDOW; Begins Sept 14 at Circle in the Square Theatre

The Broadway residency is produced by Michael Cohl and EMC Presents; in association with Larry Mestel, Deborah Klein, and Steven Greener for Primary Wave Music. Glenn Orsher serves as Executive Producer.

Melissa Etheridge: My Window is written by Melissa Etheridge, with additional material by Linda Wallem-Etheridge (“Nurse Jackie” showrunner, “That ‘70s Show”), and directed by Amy Tinkham (Aerosmith’s “Deuces Are Wild” Las Vegas Residency, Dancing with the Stars Live). The creative team includes scenic design by Emmy Award nominee Bruce Rodgers (Super Bowl Halftime shows since 2010), lighting design by Abigail Rosen Holmes (Phish, David Byrne’s “Contemporary Color”), projection design by Olivia Sebesky (James Taylor, Chad Deity), and sound design by Colle Bustin (West Side Story).

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE & TICKETING

Tickets start at $99.50 plus fees and are on sale now at Telecharge.com. The regular performance schedule is Wednesday at 7 pm, Thursday at 7 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 8 pm, and Sunday at 3 pm. (Note: There are also several Monday and Tuesday evening performances.) The performance schedule varies; check the website for the most up-to-date information.

ABOUT MELISSA ETHERIDGE

Melissa Etheridge (Writer/Performer) stormed onto the American rock scene in 1988 with the release of her critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, which led to an appearance on the 1989 Grammy Awards show. For several years, her popularity grew around such memorable originals as “Bring Me Some Water,” “No Souvenirs” and “Ain’t It Heavy,” for which she won a Grammy® in 1992. Etheridge hit her commercial and artistic stride with her fourth album, Yes I Am (1993). The collection featured the massive hits, “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window,” a searing song of longing that brought Etheridge her second Grammy® Award for Best Female Rock Performance. In 1995, Etheridge issued her highest-charting album, Your Little Secret, which was distinguished by the hit single, “I Want to Come Over.” Her astounding success that year led to Etheridge receiving the Songwriter of the Year honor at the ASCAP Pop Awards in 1996.

In February 2007, Melissa Etheridge celebrated a career milestone with a victory in the “Best Song” category at the Academy® Awards for “I Need to Wake Up,” written for the Al Gore documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth. As a performer and songwriter, Etheridge has shown herself to be an artist who has never allowed “inconvenient truths” to keep her down. Earlier in her recording career, Etheridge acknowledged her sexual orientation when it was considered less than prudent to do so. In October 2004, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer, a health battle that, with her typical tenacity, she won. Despite losing her hair from chemotherapy, Etheridge appeared on the 2005 Grammy® telecast to sing “Piece of My Heart” in tribute to Janis Joplin. By doing so she gave hope to many women afflicted with the disease.

On October 7, 2016, Melissa Etheridge released Memphis Rock & Soul, her first album since 2014’s critically lauded This Is M.E. Recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis, the album received stellar reviews from the likes of Entertainment Weekly, Parade, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter and more. She followed that up with the release of The Medicine Show in April 2019. For The Medicine Show, Melissa reunited with celebrated producer John Shanks and sounds as rousing as ever, bringing a new level of artistry to her 15th studio recording. The Medicine Show deals with universal themes of renewal, reconciliation, reckoning, compassion, and, most profoundly, healing.

In June 2020, Etheridge launched her own live-streaming subscription and single-ticket concert platform, Etheridge TV, and has done over 200 live stream events since 2020.

On September 17, 2021, Melissa released a new album called One Way Out. The 9-track album is a collection of songs Etheridge wrote in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s that never made the cut….until now! The time is finally right, and fans will finally get a deeper glimpse into who Melissa was then.

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SNL star James Austin Johnson, Grammy winners, Broadway favorites stop by Little Island for free Summer Series 2023

By Contributor — 1 year ago

SNL stars, Grammy winners, Broadway favorites Stop By Little Island for free this summer.

NYC offers free concerts all summer-long throughout the city. Little Island’s 2023 schedule is bringing in big names.

The public park, which “floats” at Pier 55 off the west side’s Hudson River Park, announces their free summer shows, including DJ sets, drag bingo, dance parties and a wide variety of intimate performances—stand-up comedy, spoken word, live jazz—held in the park’s scenic stage, The Glade.

SNL star James Austin Johnson, Grammy winners, Broadway favorites stop by Little Island for free Summer Series 2023

Summer Series features:

Saturday Night Live’s James Austin Johnson, Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins, Grammy winners Joshua Henry and J Hoard.

Just some of Little Island’s summer event calendar, which runs June 7 to September 3, are Saturday Night Live cast member James Austin Johnson, Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins (Sweet Anita in Jelly’s Last Jam), Grammy winners Joshua Henry and J Hoard, Emmy nominee and Joe’s Pub favorite Shaina Taub, and many more.

Little Island will also host Creative Breaks, free all-ages art-making activities held every Wednesday through Saturday beginning June 7 and culminating on September 2, presented in collaboration with guest partners such as The Free Black Women’s Library, the Greenwich House Music School, The Center For Fiction and the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art (MoCADA).

If your kids are a little too old for arts and crafts, the island’s Teen Nights will also return, with social mixers and workshops going from June 16 through August 25.

Union Square Events will also be back as the island’s food and beverage partner, with sandwiches, salads, snacks and sips (yes, including beer and wine) to fuel your al fresco fun. (Vegan Italian hoagie, anyone?)

Little Island opened on May 21, 2021, and in the nearly two years since has become a popular attraction for both locals and tourists alike, welcoming more than three million visitors and hosting more than 572 free performances.

See the full lineup for summer 2023’s programming at the official Little Island website.

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‘Harmony’ Barry Manilow, Bruce Sussman musical Sets Broadway Fall Opening

By Katie Macken — 1 year ago

Barry Manilow, Bruce Sussman Musical ‘Harmony’ Sets Broadway Fall Opening

Harmony, the musical that played a sold-out run at New York’s National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene last spring, will move to Broadway this fall.

Previews will begin at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre on Wednesday, October 18, with Monday, November 13 as the official opening night.

Harmony chronicles the real-life story of The Comedian Harmonists, who sold millions of records in the 1920s and ’30s, made dozens of films, and sold out major venues around the world. The official synopsis “Their heavenly harmonies and musical comedy antics catapulted these six talented young men from singing in the subway tunnels of Berlin to international superstardom. What happened next is the story of Harmony.”

The musical features an original new score by Manilow with lyrics and book by Sussman. Warren Carlyle (The Music Man, Hello, Dolly!) is the director and choreographer, with Ken Davenport, Sandi Moran and Garry Kief producing.

“Broadway is where we always dreamed we would be,”

said Manilow and Sussman in a joint statement.

“Dreams really do come true.” Said Carlyle, “I’m so thrilled that we are bringing the amazing, true story of Harmony to Broadway. It’s a great honor and privilege to both direct and choreograph such an important story.”

Joining the producing team are Hunter Arnold, Marco Santarelli, Jonathan and Rae Corr, Adam Riemer, Scott Abrams, Amuse, Inc., Patty Baker, Tom and Michael D’Angora, Susan DuBow, Michelle Kaplan, Steve Kyriakis & Matt Donaldson, Harold Matzner, and Neil Gooding Productions. Harmony is produced in association with Wilfried Rimensberger and Stiletto Entertainment.

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Complete Broadway Cast for BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL opens August 3, 2023

By Suki Jefferson — 1 year ago

Complete Broadway Cast for BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL opens August 3, 2023

Lead Producer Colin Ingram together with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale are proud to announce the full Broadway cast of BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical.

Previously announced Tony Award winner Roger Bart (Doc Brown), Casey Likes (Marty McFly), and Olivier Award nominee Hugh Coles (George McFly) will be joined by Liana Hunt as Lorraine Baines, Jelani Remy as Goldie Wilson/Marvin Berry, and Nathaniel Hackmann as Biff Tannen.

Complete Broadway Cast for BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL

The ensemble includes Merritt David Janes (Strickland), Mikaela Secada (Jennifer Parker), Amber Ardolino, Will Branner, Victoria Byrd, Brendon Chan, Kevin Curtis, Nick Drake, Samuel Gerber, Marc Heitzman, Kimberly Immanuel, Joshua Kenneth Allen Johnson, Hannah Kevitt, JJ Niemann, Becca Petersen, Emma Pittman, Jonalyn Saxer, Blakely Slaybaugh, Gabi Stapula, and Daryl Tofa.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical begins Broadway performances Friday, June 30, 2023, and officially opens Thursday, August 3, 2023 at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre (1634 Broadway).

Based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment film, the 2022 Olivier Award-winning Best New Musical, BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical has a book by Bob Gale, new music and lyrics by Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Alan Silvestri and six-time Grammy Award-winningGlen Ballard, with additional songs from the film including “The Power of Love” and “Johnny B. Goode.” Bob Gale is the co-creator and co-writer of the Back to the Future film trilogy and Alan Silvestri composed the iconic film score for the series.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is directed by Tony Award winner John Rando and features a multi-Tony and Olivier Award-winning design team that includes Tim Hatley (set and costume design), Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone (lighting), Gareth Owen (sound) and Finn Ross (video), with choreography by Chris Bailey, musical supervision and arrangements by Nick Finlow, illusions by Chris Fisher, orchestrations by Ethan Popp and Bryan Crook, dance arrangements by David Chase, music direction by Ted Arthur and casting by Tara Rubin.

Tickets for BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical are now on sale through Telecharge by calling 212-239-6200 or visitinghttps://www.telecharge.com/Broadway/Back-to-the-Future-the-Musical/Overview?AID=BWY001390400.

The critically acclaimed West End production of BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical has been seen by over 800,000 people to date, broken Adelphi Theatre box office records and recently extended to July 23, 2023. The production won the Best New Musical Olivier Award as well as multiple WhatsOnStage Awards and a Broadway World Award for Best New Musical. BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical had its world premiere at the Manchester Opera House on March 11, 2020 and officially opened in London on September 13, 2021.

The Original Cast Recording of BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is available now from Sony Masterworks Broadway in all formats, including vinyl. (https://soundtracks.lnk.to/BTTFAlbum)

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is produced by Colin Ingram, Donovan Mannato, Tom Viertel/ Steven Baruch/ Marc Routh/ Richard Frankel, Hunter Arnold, Playing Field, Robert L. Hutt, Ivy Herman/Hallee Adelman, Teresa Tsai, Bob McLynn, Gavin Kalin, Kimberly Magarro, Crush Music, Universal Theatrical Group, Sony Masterworks, Augury, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, in association with Neil Gooding Productions, Ricardo Marques, James L. Nederlander. Bespoke Theatricals serves as General Manager.

Hugh Coles is appearing with the support of Actors’ Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance with this production.

Follow BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICIAL at @bttfbway on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

For more information visit www.BackToTheFutureMusical.com/NewYork.