OG Wildcat Corbin Bleu visited the Disney Imagination Campus August 22 to chat with students from Florida’s Maynard Evans High School theatre group as they rehearsed a scene from Disney’s Frozen. 

Bleu originated the role of singing basketeer Chad Danforth in the High School Musical franchise and currently stars in season three of the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series as a “dick-ish” version of himself. He’s also starred in Broadway productions of In the Heights, Godspell, Holiday Inn, and Kiss Me, Kate.

“I really hope the biggest takeaway all these students walk away with today from the campus, is how many people have actually come to give back to teach and bestow their wisdom,” says Bleu. “I really hope that they actually take all that to heart and not only apply it to their performance, but also know how important it is to pass along that information.”

READ: Favorite Theatre Camp Memories With Tim Federle, Corbin Bleu, and Julia Lester from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

He continues, “As a performer, I have learned so much from different people throughout the years, not only from teachers and mentors, but fellow colleagues who have imparted their wisdom. I wouldn’t be the artist that I am today had it not been for people like myself, giving back and imparting that wisdom. I hope they go ahead and continue to pay it forward.”

The latest season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series began airing July 27 on Disney+ and follows the Wildcats of East High to Camp Shallow Lake, where they will put up a production of Disney’s Frozen. In addition to featuring songs from Disney’s Frozen (penned by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez), the season contains hits from the High School Musical and Camp Rock franchises, as well as the original song “Finally Free” by main cast member Joshua Bassett.

Along with Bassett, returning cast members include Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie, current Broadway Into the Woods star Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez, and Saylor Bell Curda, and guest star appearances by Kate Reinders, Olivia Rodrigo, Olivia Rose Keegan, Larry Saperstein, Broadway favorite Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Nickelodeon star JoJo Siwa.

See photos from Corbin Bleu‘s visit below.

The West End production of & Juliet is welcoming three new performers to its company: Nicolas Colicos, Billy Nevers, and Joe Foster. The show first opened November 2, 2019 at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London and is currently booking through September 2023.

Nicolas Colicos, whose previous credits include starring in the original London casts of Sister Act and Mamma Mia, will play Lance. Billy Nevers Francois, featured in the original ensemble of & Juliet and last seen in the Regent Park Open Air production of Legally Blonde, will return to the show to play Francois, and Joe Foster, who also appeared in Legally Blonde at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, will play May. 

The cast continues with Miriam-Teak Lee as Juliet (2020 Olivier Award for Best Actress) with Cassidy Janson as Anne Hathaway (2020 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress), Oliver Tompsett as William Shakespeare, Tom Francis as Romeo, and Malinda Parris as Angelique.

The ensemble includes Ebony Clarke, Bessy Ewa, Collette Guitart, Cassandra Lee, Nathan Louis-Fernand, Zara MacIntosh, Carl Man, Christian Maynard, Rachel Moran, Owen Saward, Aaron Shales, Benjamin Terry and Suki Wong, who join Ivan De Freitas, Rhian Duncan, Alex Tranter, Sophie Usher, and Rhys Wilkinson.

Featuring a book by Schitt’s Creek writer and Emmy winner David West Read and music from Grammy winner Max Martin, & Juliet irreverently considers a new story for Shakespeare’s tragic heroine and lovestruck teenager Juliet in which she chooses to live after Romeo dies, with a score featuring familiar pop songs from the last three decades such as “Since U Been Gone,” “Roar,” “Baby One More Time,” “Larger Than Life,” “That’s The Way It Is,” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling.” The work premiered at Manchester Opera House in 2019 ahead of moving to the West End’s Shaftesbury Theatre, where it continues to play an open-ended run. 

Luke Sheppard directs with choreographer Jennifer Weber, scenic designer Soutra Gilmour, costume designer Paloma Young, lighting designer Howard Hudson, sound designer Gareth Owen, and video and projections designer Andrzej Goulding. Bill Sherman serves as musical supervisor, orchestrator, and arranger, with Patrick Hurley as music director. Casting is by Stuart Burt. 

The West End favorite is set to make its jump to Broadway this season, with performances set to start October 28 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. The show will officially open November 17. The Broadway debut follows the work’s North American premiere at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre.

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Carole Buggé’s new play Strings Attached begins previews August 29 for its limited run at Theatre Row. Opening night is September 8 and the show will run through October 1.

The show is directed by Alexa Kelly and features Robyne Parrish (A Man Called Otto), Brian Richardson (A Man for All Times), Paul Schoeffler (Sweet Charity), Bonnie Black, Jonathan Hadley (Jersey Boys), and Russell Saylor.

Based on real events, the comedy follows three scientists on a train ride from Cambridge to London to see Michael Frayn’s play Copenhagen, which premiered in London in 1988 and was adapted into a movie in 2002. They discover a theory of the Big Bang en route and are visited by Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, and Max Planck.

The work is presented by Off-Broadway’s Pulse Theatre and features scenic design by Jessica Parks, lighting design by Joyce Liao, costume design by Elena Vannoni, videography by Katerina Vitaly, and sound design by Louis Lopardi.

Elizabeth Grunewald is production stage manager, John Lant is production manager, Joseph Longthorne is production company manager, and Christine Cirker is associate producer. Casting is by Jamibeth Margolis.

Visit TheatreRow.org.

Robert LuPone, an actor and artistic director who co-founded and led MCC Theater for nearly 40 years, has passed away following a three year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 76.

Mr. LuPone was born July 29, 1946, in Brooklyn, NY to Angela and Orlando LuPone, a school librarian and an educational administrator. He trained as a dancer, and graduated from Juilliard, where he studied with Martha Graham, Antony Tudor, and José Limón. He entered the world of theatre through the HB Studio under Uta Hagen, and quickly became an in demand performer in New York, appearing in the original Broadway runs of Noël Coward’s Sweet Potato, Minnie’s Boys, The Rothschilds, and The Magic Show. 

In 1973, Mr. LuPone made his credited film debut in Jesus Christ Superstar, portraying the Apostle James. In 1975, he returned to Broadway, and Mr. LuPone was Tony nominated for his role as Zach in the original production of A Chorus Line. A decade later, Mr. LuPone would co-found the Off-Broadway theatre company MCC Theater alongside Bernard Telsey and William Cantler. Founded as an artists collective designed to offer peer based classes and playwright development, MCC Theater is a leading Off-Broadway company, having produced six Neil LaBute plays, as well as Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play, Robert Askins’ Hand to God, and Margaret Edson’s Wit, which received the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Mr. LuPone also served as the director of the MFA program at The New School, which provides graduate degrees in playwriting, directing, and acting.

Mr. LuPone remained a frequent face on stage and screen throughout his career, with his Broadway credits including Saint Joan, A View From The Bridge, True West, and A Thousand Clowns. He appeared in sixteen feature films, and thirty one television shows, including several prominent runs in the variations of the Law and Order franchise. He was also a stalwart member of many soap operas, including Search for Tomorrow as Tom Bergman, Ryan’s Hope as Chester Wallace, All My Children as Zach Grayson, Another World as Neal Cory, Loving as Leonard Brill/Charley Nichols, and Guiding Light as Leo Flynn.

Mr. LuPone is survived by his wife Virginia, his son Orlando, his sister Patti, and his brother William.

Beginning August 26, the Broadway-aimed musical Sing Street starts its Boston run at The Huntington’s Calderwood Pavilion. Performances for the coming-of-age story, with music and lyrics by Gary Clark and John Carney and a book by Tony winner Edna Walsh, are scheduled to continue through October 2. 

Eighteen year old Conor Lawlor and his schoolmates try to escape their troubles through music and stumble headfirst into first love in this new musical which transports audiences to 1982 Dublin.

Starring in the cast are Adam Bregman as Conor Lawlor, Michael Lepore as Gary, Courtnee Carter as Raphina, Billy Carter as Robert Lawlor, Dónal Finn as Brendan Lawlor, Alexa Xioufaridou Moster as Anne Lawlor, Dee Roscioli as Penny Lawlor, Jack DiFalco as Barry Bray, Anthony Genovesi as Declan, Diego Lucano as Darren Mulvey, Elijah Lyons as Larry, Anne L. Nathan as Sandra, Gian Perez as Kevin, Armand Schultz as Brother Baxter, and Ben Wang as Eamon. The understudies for the production will be Gable Kinsman, Ale Philippides, and Virginia Vogel.

Directing the production is Tony winner Rebecca Taichman, joined on the creative team by Tony- and Obie-winning choreographer Sonya Tayeh, Tony-winning scenic designer Bob Crowley (Once, An American in Paris), costume designers Crowley and Lisa Zinni (Freestyle Love Supreme), Tony-winning lighting designer Natasha Katz (Once, Frozen), and Tony- and Grammy-winning (and Olivier nominee) sound designer Peter Hylenski (Moulin Rouge!).

Rounding out the team are video designers Luke Halls (The Lehman Trilogy) and Brad Peterson (West Side Story), and hair and makeup designer Tommy Kurzman (Mrs. Doubtfire). Music supervision is by Peter Gordeno and Kris Kukul (Beetlejuice), Fred Lassen (Prince of Broadway) is music director, with casting by Tara Rubin Casting. The production stage manager is Karyn Meek, and the stage manager is Amanda Spooner.

For tickets and more information, visit HuntingtonTheatre.org.

Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives, Lois and Clark, national tour of Cabaret) will play Morticia Addams in 5-Star Theatricals’ fall production of the 2010 Broadway musical The Addams Family.

Directed by Kirsten Chandler, performances will begin October 14 and continue through October 23 at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center in Thousand Oaks, California.

Darby Epperson will choreograph the musical with music direction by Ryan O’Connell, who will also conduct. Additional casting will be announced.

The Addams Family has a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa.

Tickets are on sale at 5StarTheatricals.com.

The National Black Theatre has appointed Kamilah Long as its first director of development. Long joins the New York company after serving as executive director of Play On Shakespeare, the former Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

“I met [NBT founder] Dr. [Barbara Ann] Teer while I was a graduate student at the University of Louisville. Listening to her powerful words changed my life,” shares Long. “The decision to take this very important and newly created position with NBT is my way of paying homage to Dr. Teer and her vision, which is built on LOVE, one of the principles of Black Liberation.”

Long’s seven-year tenure with Oregon Shakespeare Festival saw her as associate director of leadership engagements, director of leadership gifts, and senior director of individual giving and development operations before being named executive director in 2020. She is also on the board of directors for Southern Oregon Public Television, serves on the Oregon Arts Commission, and is founder and CEO of The Black Whole, a multimedia company focused on centering the global Black community through the arts and storytelling.

“We are thrilled to welcome Kamilah Long to the NBT family,” says NBT CEO Sade Lythcott. “Kamilah brings with her both extensive experience in institutional advancement and as a former practicing artist, a deep love, understanding, and dedication to our culture and community of artists whom we serve. We are looking forward to her leadership as NBT continues to grow in its reach and impact through our programs, productions, and capital projects.”

Long joins the company as it is in the midst of a capital campaign that looks to fund the construction of a 21-story project that will provide 222 units of mixed-income apartments and a performance space for NBT.

Visit NationalBlackTheatre.org.

Treason the Musical in Concert plays the Theatre Royal Drury Lane August 22–23. The performances follow recent concert versions of Chess and Kinky Boots at the famed London venue.

The cast is led by Carrie Hope Fletcher as Martha Percy, Bradley Jaden as Thomas Percy, Simon-Anthony Rhoden as Robert Catesby, Les Dennis as Robert Cecil, Emilie Louise Israel as Eleanor Brooksby, Rebecca Lachance as Anne Vaux, Daniel Boys as King James, Cedric Neal as Earl of Northumberland, Waylon Jacobs as Jack Wright, and Adam Pearce as Thomas Wintour. Poet and activist Debris Stevenson, who provides narrative material for the concert, is also the narrator.

The artists are backed by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra.

Treason, the new musical about the gunpowder plot, features music by Ricky Allan and a book and lyrics by Allan and Kieran Lynn.

Hannah Chissick directs with choreography by Taylor Walker, musical supervision by Nick Pinchbeck, musical direction by Alan Berry, orchestrations by Matthew Malone, lighting design by Simisola Majekodunmi, sound design by Tom Marshall, video design by Gino Green, casting by Harry Blumenau, dramaturgy by Hannah Chissick, and sound by Callum Wills and Olly Smith.

The company stage manager is Rachael Downey, the deputy stage manager is Bryony Relf, and the assistant stage manager is Emily Mei-Ling Pearce.

Visit LWTheatres.co.uk.