Broadway alum Aaron Lazar, who will be seen as Larry Murphy in the forthcoming national tour of the Tony-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen, will bring his acclaimed solo concert to Birdland prior to the tour.
Lazar will offer Broadway to Hollywood September 11 at 7 PM at the Birdland Theater. Attendees can expect an evening of comedy and romance with dozens of Broadway’s greatest songs from stage and screen.
Co-written with Bruce Vilanch, the concert will feature musical direction by Jesse Kissel.
The Off-Broadway transfer of the Bard SummerScape production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! has been extended and will now continue through November 11. As previously reported, the acclaimed production from 2015 will be remounted at St. Ann’s Warehouse this fall and will star Rebecca Naomi Jones as Laurey and Ali Stroker as Ado Annie.
The Off-Broadway run is presented by producer Eva Price and St. Ann’s Warehouse. Performances will begin September 27 in the Brooklyn theatre ahead of an October 7 opening.
Directed by New York-based director Daniel Fish, the acclaimed production returns to the stage for the first time since playing to sold-out audiences at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College.
The production’s original cast members Damon Daunno (Curly), Patrick Vaill (Jud Fry), Mary Testa (Aunt Eller), Mallory Portnoy (Gertie Cummings) and James Patrick Davis (Will Parke), will return to the musical. New cast members will include Anthony Cason as Cord; Michael Nathanson as Ali Hakim; Will Mann as Mike; and Mitch Tebo as Annie’s father.
Oklahoma! features music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs, with original dances by Agnes de Mille.
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Broadway) • Digital release: July 20 • CD release: TBA • Label: Republic Records • Writers: songs by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, and Paul Jabara • Performers: LaChanze, Ariana DeBose, Storm Lever, Aaron Krohn, Ken Robinson, and Jared Zirilli
Young Frankenstein (London) • Digital release: August 10 • CD release: TBA • Label: YF London Limited • Writers: music and lyrics by Mel Brooks • Performers: Ross Noble, Hadley Fraser, Dianne Pilkington, Summer Strallen, and Lesley Joseph
The Beast in the Jungle (Off-Broadway) • Digital and CD release: September 14 • Label: Broadway Records • Writer: music by John Kander
Pretty Woman (Broadway) • Digital release: September 21 • CD release: October 26 • Label: Atlantic Records • Writers: music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance • Performers: Samantha Barks, Andy Karl, Eric Anderson, Jason Danieley, Ezra Knight, and Orfeh
Hundred Days (Off-Broadway) • Digital release: September 21 • CD release: TBA • Label: Ghostlight Records • Writers: music and lyrics by The Bengsons • Performers: Colette Alexander, Abigail Bengson, Shaun Bengson, Jo Lampert, Dani Markham, and Reggie D. White
Miss You Like Hell (Off-Broadway) • Digital release: October 5 • CD release: TBA • Label: Ghostlight Records • Writers: music by Erin McKeown, lyrics by Quiara Alegría Hudes and Erin McKeown • Performers: Marinda Anderson, Danny Bolero, Andrew Cristi, Latoya Edwards, Shawna M. Hamic, Marcus Paul James, Gizel Jiménez, David Patrick Kelly, Michael Mulheren, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Martín Solá
NO RECORDING ANNOUNCED:
Sweeney Todd (2017 Off-Broadway revival) Head Over Heels (Broadway) Smokey Joe’s Cafe (2018 Off-Broadway revival) Carmen Jones (2018 Off-Broadway revival) This Ain’t No Disco (Off-Broadway) Twelfth Night (Off-Broadway)
RELEASE DATE TBA:
Gettin’ the Band Back Together (Broadway) • Label: Sh-K-Boom Records • Writers: music and lyrics by Mark Allen • Performers: Mitchell Jarvis, Jay Klaitz, Manu Narayan, Paul Whitty, Sawyer Nunes, Marilu Henner, Kelli Barrett, Becca Kötte, Garth Kravits, Tamika Lawrence, Noa Solorio, and Brandon Williams
Songs for a New World • Label: Ghostlight Records • Writers: music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown • Performers: Shoshana Bean, Colin Donnell, Mykal Kilgore, and Solea Pfeiffer
Unexpected Joy (Off-Broadway) • Label: Jay Records • Writers: music by Janet Hood, lyrics by Bill Russell • Performers: Courtney Balan, Allyson Kaye Daniel, Luba Mason, and Celeste Rose
Bella: An American Tale (Off-Broadway) • Label: Yellow Sound • Writers: music and lyrics by Kirsten Childs • Performers: Ashley D. Kelley, Yurel Echezarreta, Kenita R. Miller, Paolo Montalban, Gabrielle Reyes, Marinda Anderson, Brandon Gill, Olli Haaskivi, Kevin Massey, Jo’Nathan Michael, Britton Smith, and NaTasha Yvette Williams
The Clockmaker’s Daughter: Studio Cast Recording • Label: Auburn Jam Records • Writers: music and lyrics by Michael Webborn and Daniel Finn • Performers: Christine Allado, Ramin Karimloo, Fra Fee, Matthew Croke, and Lauren James Ray
Follies: National Theatre Live Cast Recording • Label: First Night • Writers: music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim • Performers: Imelda Staunton, Phillip Quast, Janie Dee, Peter Forbes, Tracie Bennett, Di Botcher, Dawn Hope, Zizi Strallen, Fred Haig, Adam Rhys-Charles, and Alex Young
People Like Us (London) • Label: JAY Records • Writers: music by Todd Almond, lyrics by Almond and Gus Kaikkonen. • Performers: Matt Bogart and Pamela Bob
SOLO, RE-RELEASES, AND OTHER RECORDINGS
Jason Robert Brown: How We React and How We Recover (Ghostlight)- June 29 digital, physical TBA Renee Fleming: Broadway (Decca Classics)- September 7 2fer Songs From Sunset Boulevard and Evita (Jay Records)- Release date TBA Lena Hall: Obsessed Project (Sh-K-Boom)- First Friday of every month throughout 2018
RECENTLY RELEASED
Desperate Measures (Off-Broadway) • Digital release: July 13 • CD release: August 10 • Label: Masterworks Broadway • Writers: music by David Friedman, lyrics by Peter Kellogg • Performers: Conor Ryan, Gary Marachek, Peter Saide, Emma Degerstedt, Nick Wyman, and Lauren Molina
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) • Release: July 13 • Label: Capitol Records • Writers: songs by ABBA • Performers: Christine Baranski, Pierce Brosnan, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth, Andy García, Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Cher, and Meryl Streep
The Cradle Will Rock (Opera Saratoga) • Release: July 6 • Label: Atlantic Records • Writers: music and lyrics by Marc Blitzstein • Performers: Ginger Costa-Jackson, Keith Jameson, Christopher Burchett, Audrey Babcock, and Matt Boehler
Mean Girls (Broadway) • CD release: June 15 • Digital release: May 18 • Label: Atlantic Records • Writers: music by Jeff Richmond, lyrics by Nell Benjamin • Performers: Erika Henningsen, Taylor Louderman, Ashley Park, Kate Rockwell, Kerry Butler, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Grey Henson, Cheech Manohar, Kyle Selig, and Rick Younger
Frozen (Broadway) • CD release: June 8 • Digital release: May 11 • Label: Walt Disney Records • Writers: music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez • Performers: Caissie Levy, Patti Murin, Jelani Alladin, Greg Hildreth, John Riddle, Robert Creighton, Kevin Del Aguila, Timothy Hughes, Andrew Pirozzi
My Fair Lady (Broadway) • Release: June 8 • Label: Broadway Records • Writers: music by Frederick Loewe, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner • Performers: Lauren Ambrose, Harry Hadden-Paton, Norbert Leo Butz, Diana Rigg, Allan Corduner, Jordan Donica, Linda Mugleston, and Manu Narayan
A Letter To Harvey Milk (Off-Broadway) • Digital release: May 22 • CD release: TBA • Label: Yellow Sound • Writers: music by Laura I. Kramer, lyrics by Ellen M. Schwartz, additional lyrics by Cheryl Stern • Performers: Adam Heller, Julia Knitel, Cheryl Stern, Michael Bartoli, Sarah Corey, Jeremy Greenbaum, Aury Krebs, Philip Hoffman, CJ Pawlikowski, and Ravi Roth
Hello Again (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) • Release: April 27 • Label: Broadway Records • Writers: music and lyrics by John Michael LaChiusa • Performers: Audra McDonald, Martha Plimpton, T.R. Knight, Rumer Willis, Cheyenne Jackson, Jenna Ushkowitz, Tyler Blackburn, Sam Underwood, Nolan Gerard Funk, and Al Calderon
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (London) • Release: April 20 • Label: Wilton Way Records • Writers: music by Dan Gillespie Sells, lyrics by Tom MacRae • Performers: John McCrea, Josie Walker, Mina Anwar, Lucie Shorthouse, Phil Nichol, Tamsin Caroll, Luke Baker, Lauran Rae, Harriet Payne, Courtney Bowman, Kirstie Skivington, Ryan Hughes, Jordan Cunningham, Shiv Rabheru, Daniel Davids, Daniel Jacob, James Gillan, Alex Anstey, and Ken Christiansen
Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (Original TV Soundtrack) • Digital release: April 6 • CD release: April 20 • Label: Masterworks Broadway • Writers: music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice • Performers: John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Brandon Victor Dixon, Alice Cooper, Ben Daniels, Norm Lewis, Jason Tam, Jin Ha, Erik Gronwall, Melody Betts, Felicia Boswell, Abby Corrigan, Micaela Diamond, Rory Donovan, Christine Dwyer, Mike Evariste, F. Michael Haynie, Charissa Hogeland, Bre Jackson, Mykal Kilgore, Billy Lewis Jr., Justin Gregory Lopez, Angel Lozada, Vince Oddo, Kyle Taylor Parker, Joel Perez, Jonah Platt, Conor Ryan, Christina Sajous, Justin Matthew Sargent, Heath Saunders, Joey Taranto, Syndee Winters, and Lauren Zakrin
Prince of Broadway (Broadway) • Release: April 20 • Label: Ghostlight Records • Writers: music and lyrics by various artists; “Overture” and “Do the Work” by Jason Robert Brown • Performers: Chuck Cooper, Janet Dacal, Bryonha Marie Parham, Emily Skinner, Brandon Uranowitz, Kaley Ann Voorhees, Michael Xavier, Tony Yazbeck, and Karen Ziemba
Calendar Girls the Musical (London) • Release: March 9 • Label: Decca Classics • Writers: music and lyrics by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth • Performers: Anna-Jane Casey, Rebecca Storm, Lorraine Bruce, Denise Welch, Ruht Madoc, Sara Crowe, and Fern Britton
Once on This Island (Broadway) • Release: February 23 • Label: Broadway Records • Writers: music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens • Performers: Hailey Kilgore, Lea Salonga, Alex Newell, Merle Dandridge, Quentin Earl Darrington, Phillip Boykin, Kenita R. Miller, Isaac Powell, Alysha Deslorieux, David Jennings, Darlesia Cearcy, Rodrick Covington, Emerson Davis, Tyler Hardwick, Cassondra James, Grasan Kingsberry, Loren Lott, T. Oliver Reid, Aurelia Williams, and Mia Williamson
Escape to Margaritaville (Broadway) • Release: February 16 • Label: Mailboat Records • Writers: music and lyrics by Jimmy Buffett • Performers: Paul Alexander Nolan, Alison Luff, Lisa Howard, Eric Petersen, Rema Webb, Don Sparks, Andre Ward, Matt Allen, Tessa Alves, Sara Andreas, Tiffany Adeline Cole, Marjorie Failoni, Samantha Farrow, Steven Good, Angela Grovey, Albert Guerzon, Autumn Guzzardi, Keely Hutton, Justin Keats, Mike Millan, Justin Mortelliti, Ryann Redmond, Jennifer Rias, Julius Anthony Rubio, Nick Sanchez, Ian Michael Stuart, and Brett Thiele
Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (Off-Broadway) • Release: February 9 • Label: Broadway Records • Writers: music and lyrics by Brendan Milburn and Val Vigoda • Performers: Val Vigoda and Wade McCollum
Muriel’s Wedding (Australia) • Release: January 19 • Label: Sony Music Australia • Writers: music and lyrics by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall; additional songs by Benny Anderson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson • Performers: Maggie McKenna, Madeleine Jones, Justine Clarke, Briallen Clarke, Michael Walley, Connor Sweeney, and Helen Dallimore
The Band’s Visit (Broadway) • Digital release: December 15 • CD release: February 23 • Label: Ghostlight Records • Writers: music and lyrics by David Yazbek • Performers: Katrina Lenk, Tony Shalhoub, John Cariani, Ari’el Stachel, George Abud, Etai Benson, Adam Kantor, Andrew Polk, Bill Army, Rachel Prather, Jonathan Raviv, Sharone Sayegh, Kristen Sieh, and Alok Tewari
SOLO, RE-RELEASES, AND OTHER RECORDINGS
Mean Girls (Vinyl Re-Release) (Atlantic Records)- August 24 This is Leonard Bernstein: His Greatest Recordings (Sony Classical)- August 17 Jessica Vosk: Wild and Free (Broadway Records)- August 10 George Salazar/Joe Iconis: Two-Player Game (Ghostlight)- July 27 physical, May 11 digital Be More Chill (Vinyl Re-Release) (Ghostlight)- July 27 In the Heights: Original Broadway Cast Recording (Vinyl Re-Release) (Ghostlight)- July 13 Judy Garland: I Can’t Give You Anything But Love: 1938-1961 (Jasmine Music)- July 6 Gay Love: Songs of Love, Loss, and Longing… (Chip Deffaa/Garret Mountain Records)- June 29 2018 Tony Award Season (Broadway)- June 8 Betty Buckley: Hope (Palmetto)- June 8 Sutton Foster: Take Me to the World (Ghostlight)- June 1 Audra McDonald/New York Philharmonic: Sing Happy (Decca Gold)- May 25 physical, May 11 digital Oklahoma!: Original Cast Recording (75th Anniversary Reissue) (Verve)- May 25 The Grass Harp: Original Cast Recording (Reissue) (Kritzerland)- May 18 Alexis Michelle: Lovefool (Broadway Records)- May 11 Louise Dearman: For You, For Me (Big Hand)- April 27 Kate Rockwell- Kate Rockwell: Back to My Roots (Broadway Records)- April 27 Pat Suzuki: Complete Album Series (Stage Door)- April 20 Shoshana Bean: Spectrum (Shotime Records)- February 9
Chris McCarrell, who created the role of Percy Jackson in the Off-Broadway production of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, will reprise the role for the show’s national tour, which launches in Chicago in January 2019.
In a statement, McCarrell said, “I’ve never been done with Percy. Even during our closing night Off-Broadway, I knew it wasn’t my last time playing him. To me, Percy symbolizes my scattered youth, the seemingly aloof boy who adults rarely seemed to get. Percy is the rock star who came out of that. I always said it would take a special show for me to pack up and tour, and TheLightningThief is just that. It blew up while we were in New York and too few half-bloods were able to see it.”
Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
The Lightning Thief has a Drama Desk-nominated book by Joe Tracz, music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki, direction by Stephen Brackett, and choreography by Patrick McCollum, with set design by Lee Savage, costume design by Sydney Maresca, Obie Award-winning sound design by Ryan Rumery, lighting design by David Lander, fight direction by Rod Kinter, and orchestrations by Wiley DeWeese and Rob Rokicki.
The musical debuted in 2017 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, where it played an acclaimed, extended run and was nominated for three Drama Desk Awards. The story follows a young man who discovers he is the son of gods, and suddenly has powers he can’t control.
IMcCarrell (Les Miserables, Peter Pan Live, The OA) starred Off-Broadway alongside Carrie Compere, James Hayden Rodriguez, Sarah Beth Pfeifer, Jonathan Raviv, current Be More Chill star George Salazar, and Kristin Stokes.
The upcoming tour is produced by is produced by TheaterWorksUSA, Martian Entertainment, Greg Schaffert, Lang Entertainment Group, Lisa Chanel, Jennifer Doyle and Roy Lennox, Neil Gobioff, Glass Half Full Productions, Hummel/Greene and in partnership with The Road Company. The production is presented by special arrangement with Rick Riordan and the Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency.
In 2004, Disney Theatrical Group began licensing titles—distributing scripts, scores, tools for theatres around the country (and globe) to create their own productions of Disney titles—beginning with Beauty and the Beast as the first full-length title. Since then, Beauty and the Beast has played more performances than the four longest-running Broadway shows combined.
Thomas Schumacher Walt Disney Studios
Disney musicals are so pervasive, so woven into the fabric of Americana, that 38 percent of the U.S. population have engaged with a licensed Disney show either as part of the cast, crew, or audience. Just weeks ago it was announced that Beauty and the Beast was the most-produced musical in high schools across the country, The Little Mermaid the third most-produced; Peter and the Starcatcher was the third most-produced play, surpassing the classic Our Town.
“This is the new American songbook,” says Thomas Schumacher, producer and president of Disney Theatrical Productions. “We are this new era of Broadway.” It’s true. Disney animated musicals practically raised the next generation of ticket-buyers, be it for Broadway or regional productions or as parents at school productions. “When you see the affection that 30-year-olds and 35-year-olds have when they go to Broadway shows, it’s impossible to separate that from two things: MTV, when it actually showed music videos, and Disney-animated musicals.”
Disney licensing works in two ways: the licensing of shows created and mounted by Disney (typically on Broadway) that play professionally around the world and remain supervised by Disney (think of The Little Mermaid playing Japan or any of the six overseas productions of The Lion King) and the licensing where Disney creates a score, script, and production concept—worked out onstage in smaller markets—for others to mount however they will (think The Hunchback of Notre Dame).
Rooted in Disney or not, licensing is key to the longevity of all musical theatre. Those photos of now theatre stars and award winners in school productions of Pippin and Fiddler on the Roof shared on the 2018 Tony Awards broadcast are a result of those titles being licensed to schools and community theatres. Theatre happens everywhere.
“I grew up doing this stuff,” says Schumacher. Despite some reticence to license in the earlier days, with folks concerned about the quality of outside productions, Schumacher felt just the opposite: that licensing would preserve artistic integrity. “With licensing you have a standard,” he says. “My affection is so deep and I kept trying to say, within the company, ‘[Licensing] won’t degrade it. It’s actually going to build affection for it.’
“The care with which these materials are prepared and the assistance the teachers get—these remarkable men and women around the country who are running these theatre programs—it makes them love this stuff,” Schumacher continues. “They learn to literally walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. All the soft skills that you need, they’re learning.”
And, in a time where towns continue to slash or discontinue arts budgets entirely, Disney’s licensing model provides an invaluable resource to continue the legacy of theatre and build a sense of community around it. In addition to a title’s script and score, “we have choreography DVDs, there’s four different ideas of how to do a flying carpet in Aladdin, how you can do these scenes in Beauty and the Beast. We do karaoke disks, so we can have an orchestra if you don’t have all those resources.”
What’s more, Disney has invested in the creation of junior and kids versions of beloved works. Aladdin JR., 101 Dalmatians KIDS ,TheJungle Book KIDS, and Cinderella KIDS were all launched at the same time as Beauty and the Beast in 2004. “We can reduce shows down, make them singable, make them produceable, and make it possible,” says Schumacher. “The rules are different in Pop Warner football than they are in the NFL. We have touch football. We have flag football. We have tackle football. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t do the same theatrically.”
Heidi Blickenstaff and the cast Jim Saah
Disney’s catalog includes 35, the nost recent being two versions of Freaky Friday, the mother-daughter body swap story based on the books by Mary Rodgers. Having developed a Freaky Friday stage musical specifically for licensing purposes, the Disney Channel (looking for its next original movie) wound up using the stage show as a launchpad for its made-for-television musical adaptation, which also premieres August 10 on the Disney Channel starring Broadway’s Heidi Blickenstaff and Cozi Zuehlsdorff. The junior version will reflect the Disney Channel Original Movie and the full-length version, which enjoyed a five-city U.S. tour in 2017 and includes more scene work and about five more songs from award-winning Broadway songwriters Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey.
That launch in 2004 was truly a gamechanger in the contents of the theatrical landscape. There have been over 90,000 licensed productions of Disney titles in the U.S. and Canada—over 250,000 performances in all. “These titles bring people to theatre.” As Schumacher points out, “They don’t know if it was on Broadway or not, they want to see a great show with a great title they know.”
Courtesy Disney Theatrical Group
As Broadway theatres continue to fill with successful productions that remain popular for years on end, Disney Theatrical Group wants to continue to feed the theatre with new work—even without Broadway aims. The list of titles in consideration for development for a licensing track is long. As the decision-maker, Schumacher says the choices are a combination of audience demand and artist ambition. “You don’t want to do something that nobody wants to see,” he says. “And then it’s when there are artists who align with [a project]. The fact that Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey wanted to do Freaky Friday [made it worth doing]. Artists want to write and create things that are interesting.” No matter the size of the spotlight on the stage in the end.
“Is it going to drive enthusiasm, connection, enlightenment, engagement, and commitment to our craft?” says Schumacher of questions guiding his team. “That’s what we can do.”
The New York premiere of Be More Chill celebrates its official opening in the Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center August 9. The coming-of-age musical, which features a score by Joe Iconis and a book by Joe Tracz, makes its Off-Broadway debut with an all-new production.
Will Roland Maria Baranova
Based on Ned Vizzini’s novel, Be More Chill tells the story of an average teenager, played by Dear Evan Hansen‘s Will Roland, who takes a pill purported to make people more easygoing. The musical, which began performances July 26, is directed by Stephen Brackett and choreographed by Chase Brock.
The cast of the Off-Broadway premiere is made up of Gerard Canonico (Spring Awakening, Groundhog Day) as Rich, Katlyn Carlson (Dirty Dancing, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin) as Chloe, Stephanie Hsu (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Christine, Tiffany Mann (Waitress, Jerry Springer the Opera) as Jenna, Lauren Marcus (The Humans at St. Louis Rep, Company at Barrington Stage) as Brooke, George Salazar (tick tick BOOM!, Godspell, The Lightning Thief) as Michael, Britton Smith (Shuffle Along, After Midnight) as Jake, Jason Tam (Jesus Christ Superstar,KPOP) as The Squip, and Jason SweetTooth Williams (Freaky Friday, Benny and Joon, Bloodsong of Love) as Jeremy’s Dad/Mr. Reyes.
Be More Chill premiered in 2015 at New Jersey’s Two River Theater before gradually amassing a large fan following online due to the release of the cast album. Several members from the original company are reprising their performances Off-Broadway, including Salazar, Canonico, Carlson, Hsu, and Marcus.
Check out photos from the production, scheduled through September 23, below.
First Look at the Off-Broadway Premiere of Be More Chill
The production features scenic design by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt (Come From Away); costume design by Bobby Frederick Tilley II (Lizzie Borden, Top Girls); lighting design by Tony Award winner Tyler Micoleau (The Band’s Visit); sound design by Ryan Rumery (Fool For Love); projection design by Alex Basco Koch (Buyer & Cellar); musical direction by Emily Marshall; orchestrations by Charlie Rosen (Prince of Broadway, Honeymoon in Vegas); casting by Telsey + Company / Adam Caldwell, CSA & Rebecca Scholl, CSA; production stage management by Amanda Michaels (The Children, The Ballad of Little Jo); general management by Lisa Dozier King; and production management by SenovvA Production Core.
The Off-Broadway premiere of Be More Chill is presented by Gerald Goehring, Michael F. Mitri, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Marc David Levine, Marlene and Gary Cohen, 42nd.club, The Baruch Frankel Viertel Group, Alisa and Charlie Thorne, Jenny Niederhoffer, Chris Blasting/Simpson & Longthorne, Brad Blume/Gemini Theatrical, Jonathan Demar/Kim Vasquez, Ben Holtzman and Sammy Lopez,Koenigsberg/Federman/Adler, Ashlee Latimer and Jenna Ushkowitz, Jenn Maley and Cori Stolbun, Robert and Joan Rechnitz, Fred and Randi Sternfeld, YesBroadway Productions, in association with Two River, which originally commissioned and produced the musical.
The 2018 Broadway revival of Carousel will offer its final ride this fall. The production, directed by Jack O’Brien, will close at the Imperial Theatre September 16. Performances began in February prior to an official opening April 12.
Renée Fleming and Lindsay Mendez Joseph Marzullo/WENN
The production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical stars Tony winner Jessie Mueller as Julie Jordan, Joshua Henry as Billy Bigelow, Renée Fleming as Nettie Fowler, Lindsay Mendez as Carrie Pipperidge, Alexander Gemignani as Enoch Snow, Margaret Colin as Mrs. Mullin, John Douglas Thompson as the Starkeeper, Amar Ramasar as Jigger, and Brittany Pollack as Louise.
Mendez earned a Tony Award in June for her performance, as did choreographer Justin Peck. The revival received nine additional nominations.
Rounding out the ensemble are Colin Anderson, Yesenia Ayala, Nicholas Belton, Colin Bradbury, Andrei Chagas, Derrick Davis, Leigh-Ann Esty, Laura Feig, David Michael Garry, Rosena M. Hill Jackson, Amy Justman, Cory Lingner, Skye Mattox, Matt Meigs, Kelly McCormick, Anna Noble, Adriana Pierce, Rebecca Pitcher, David Prottas,Craig Salstein, Ahmad Simmons, Corey John Snide, Erica Spyres, Ryan Steele, Sam Strasfeld, Halli Toland, Ricky Ubeda, Scarlett Walker, Jacob Keith Watson, and William Youmans.
The creative team for the new production (the first Broadway mounting in over 20 years) includes set designer Santo Loquasto, costume designer Ann Roth, lighting designer Brian MacDevitt, sound designer Scott Lehrer, orchestrator Jonathan Tunick, and musical director Andy Einhorn.
The ZACH Theatre in Austin, Texas, will launch its 2018–2019 season with the Texas regional premiere of Once, the Tony-winning musical featuring a cast of actor-musicians. Performances run September 19–October 28.
Broadway actor Kevin Cahoon, who performed as John Cameron Mitchell’s alternate in the original Off-Broadway run of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and went on to headline the show’s sit-down Boston premiere, will direct the award-winning rock musical, which runs January 23–March 3, 2019.
Also on the season slate: Anna Deavere Smith’s Notes from the Field, the docu-drama about America’s school-to-prison pipeline (February 27–March 31); the Tim Minchin-scored stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda (April 3–May 12); the new musical The Ballad of Klook and Vinnette, by British soul singers Anoushka Lucas and Omar Lyefook and book writer Chet Walker (April 24–May 26); Terrence McNally’s recent Off-Broadway play Fire and Air, exploring the history of the Russian ballet company (June 12–July 14).
The season will close with Holland Taylor’s bio-play Ann, about the life of late Texas Governor and Democratic political pioneer Ann Richardson (July 31–September 8).
Holiday programming includes A Christmas Carol (November 21–December 30) and The Santaland Diaries (December 5–30).
Visit zachtheatre.org for tickets and subscription information.
