All stories by Michael Gioia on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Hal Prince On Prince of Broadway, Pop Music, the Future of Theatre and Getting “Lucky” by Michael Gioia

When you're Harold Prince, with a record 21 Tony Awards and a life in the theatre that has ushered some of the best-known productions of the past half-century to Broadway, how do…

SOURCE: Playbill at 02:20PM
Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Andrew Lippa Will Perform Alongside College Students to Fund Musical Theatre Scholarships by Michael Gioia

The Texas State University Department of Theatre and Dance, in collaboration with The Bowman Guest Artist Series and the Harrison New Works Commission, will present Andrew Lippa and Friends …

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:01PM

What’s It Like to Be a Starduster? Going Behind the Scenes at Broadway’s Singing Stardust Diner by Michael Gioia

On the corner of 51st Street and Broadway in the heart of Times Square, 11 o'clock numbers are being belted out around the clock…and they come with a side of fries. Get to kno…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM

Idina Menzel Launches If/Then National Tour Tonight in Denver by Adam Hetrick and Michael Gioia

The national tour of the Tony-nominated Broadway musical If/Then, featuring original stars Idina Menzel, LaChanze, Anthony Rapp and James Snyder, launches Oct. 13 at Denver's Buell T…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Monday, October 12, 2015

What Would Happen If High Schools Did Hamilton? The Parody You Must Watch (Video) by Michael Gioia

Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, a musical breaking ground on Broadway, is all the rage this season. But, what will happen to the show when it's finally licensed out to high school…

SOURCE: Playbill at 06:09PM

bare Casts Remember the Pop Opera That Rocked L.A. and NYC With Memories and Never-Before-Seen Pics! by Michael Gioia

It's been 15 years since bare: A Pop Opera made its world premiere at the intimate Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, and put a forbidden gay love story (set at a catholic school where s…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Thursday, October 8, 2015

Act One, With Santino Fontana and Tony Shalhoub, Will Air on PBS in November by Adam Hetrick and Michael Gioia

Act One, the 2014 stage production based on the memoir of Broadway playwright, director and lyricist Moss Hart that starred Santino Fontana, Tony Shalhoub and Andrea Martin, will be broadcas…

SOURCE: Playbill at 04:50PM

Get to Know the Estefans And How They Chose Their Onstage Counterparts For On Your Feet! by Michael Gioia

The Estefans are coming to Broadway, and they've enlisted Ana Villafañe and Josh Segarra to tell their story. Get to know how Villafañe and Segarra booked the gig a…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Wednesday, October 7, 2015

The Last Five Years Will Play Limited Engagement in New Jersey by Michael Gioia

4th Wall Theatre will open its 2015-16 season with Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, about a couple falling in and out of love. Performances will be held Oct. 23-25.

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:35AM

Urinetown Will Return to its Original Off-Broadway Home, Examining “Black Lives Matter” by Michael Gioia

Fracture Theatre Co. will recreate Urinetown: The Musical in its original Off-Broadway home, The American Theatre of Actors, with a cast of 23. Performances will run Oct. 16-24.

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:41AM
Monday, October 5, 2015

Michael Emerson, Larry Kramer, Jonathan Groff and Sally Field Lead Tonight’s Reading of Play Banned by Michael Gioia

The Tectonic Theater Project presents a benefit reading of Moisés Kaufman's Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde — the award-winning play ab…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM

Get On Your Feet! Gloria Estefan’s Musical Hits Broadway Tonight by Michael Gioia

On Your Feet!, the new musical based on the lives of seven-time Grammy winner Gloria Estefan and her husband, producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan, begins previews on Br…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Saturday, October 3, 2015

Santino Fontana and Jessica Hershberg Share Their Wedding Photos by Michael Gioia

In a real-life fairy tale moment, Broadway couple Santino Fontana, Tony-nominated for his role as Prince Topher in Broadway's Cinderella, and actress Jessica Hershberg, …

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:47AM

Speaking the “Same Language,” Actors Talk About Transforming Into Directors This Season on Broadway by Michael Gioia

Actors are going behind the curtain this Broadway season to take the reins as director. Michael Arden and Douglas Hodge, at the helm of Spring Awakening and Old Times, respectively, talk abo…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Thursday, October 1, 2015

“It’s the Story of Caged Animals,” Says Keira Knightley of Thrse Raquin, Starting Tonight on Broadwa by Andrew Gans and Michael Gioia

Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway revival of Thérèse Raquin, featuring a new adaptation by Helen Edmundson, based upon the novel by Émile Zola, begin…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Could Hamilton’s Music Hit the Radio? “I Think It Might,” Says Lin-Manuel Miranda by Michael Gioia

Musical theatre enthusiasts can't get enough of the recently released Hamilton cast album, but is it possible for the music to go mainstream and hit the airwaves any time soon? Lin-M…

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:43PM
Monday, September 28, 2015

Lea Michele Chats “Scream Queens,” Her New Book, Returning to Broadway and a New Album by Michael Gioia

After six years of running the show (and, more importantly, the glee club) on the Fox musical series "Glee," Lea Michele is taking on a supporting role, complete with a neck brace,…

SOURCE: Playbill at 04:20PM

“Smash” Songwriter Goes Solo at Webster Hall Tonight by Michael Gioia

Musical theatre songwriter Drew Gasparini, who began his career touring and playing with acts such as Jason Mraz, Third Eye Blind and the Plain White T's — and whose music was …

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, September 27, 2015

Radical Reinvention of Spring Awakening Opens Tonight on Broadway by Michael Gioia

The Deaf West production of Spring Awakening, re-imagined and performed simultaneously in English and American Sign Language, officially opens on Broadway Sept. 27 at the Brooks Atkinson…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Saturday, September 26, 2015

Although Lea Michele Can’t Make It, Her Mom Will Be at Spring Awakening’s Opening (as Jonathan Groff by Michael Gioia

Lea Michele can't make tomorrow's Sept. 27 opening night of Spring Awakening — the Broadway show in which she starred as Wendla Bergman when it stormed the Great White Way …

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:19PM
Friday, September 25, 2015

Pasek and Paul’s Musical Dear Evan Hansen Sets New York Dates by Robert Viagas and Michael Gioia

Dates have been set for the acclaimed new musical Dear Evan Hansen by Tony Award-nominated songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. According to an Actors Equity auditio…

SOURCE: Playbill at 05:23PM

Complete Cast Revealed for If/Then Tour With Idina Menzel by Adam Hetrick and Michael Gioia

Full casting has now been announced for the the national tour of If/Then, which will reunite original stars Idina Menzel, LaChanze, Anthony Rapp and James Snyder. The tour launches Oct. 13 i…

SOURCE: Playbill at 05:06PM

Spring Awakening’s Best and Worst High School Memories Learning “I Am Gay,” Getting Suspended and M by Michael Gioia

It's back-to-school month for the cast of Broadway's Spring Awakening, who revisit the classrooms of 19th-century Germany when the revival officially opens Sept. 27, so w…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Thursday, September 24, 2015

Volume 2 of “Seth’s Broadway Diary,” With Inside Scoop from Seth Rudetsky, Will Hit Shelves Next Mon by Michael Gioia

The second volume of Sirius XM Broadway host, actor, musician and Playbill.com columnist Seth Rudetsky's "Seth's Broadway Diary" will be released by Dress Circle P…

SOURCE: Playbill at 04:53PM

Despite Her Singing Skills, Keira Knightley Rules Out a Future in Musicals by Michael Gioia

Although she played a singer-songwriter in the 2013 film "Begin Again" opposite Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley — who is about to make her Broadway debut in Th…

SOURCE: Playbill at 04:35PM
Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Stage Parody of D.A.R.E. Program, With Audience as the Class, Aiming to Bow in November by Michael Gioia

The Drugstoppers, a play by Gili Malinsky that parodies the D.A.R.E. program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) taught in schools to prevent drug use — with the audience as the clas…

SOURCE: Playbill at 04:20PM

Rent Returns to New York City Area Tonight! by Michael Gioia

Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical Rent returns to New York Sept. 23, hitting Long Island City's Secret Theatre.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Broadway-Bound Bollywood Musical Monsoon Wedding Has NYC Reading by Michael Gioia

Monsoon Wedding, a new stage musical adaptation of the award-winning 2001 Bollywood film of the same name — that was originally reported to premiere on Broadway in November 201…

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:48AM
Monday, September 21, 2015

“Smash” Songwriter Will Go It Solo at Webster Hall; Listen to a Pop Cover and Read What to Expect by Michael Gioia

Musical theatre songwriter Drew Gasparini, who began his career touring and playing with acts such as Jason Mraz, Third Eye Blind and the Plain White T's — and whose music was …

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:48PM

AT&T Advertisements, Promoting Phone Use in the Theatre, Continue; Watch the Video by Michael Gioia

Although wireless provider AT&T took heat last week when it sent out a tweet promoting cell phone use in the theatre, the company has released its latest video campaign that…

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:08AM

Memorial for Tony Winner Roger Rees Held Today by Michael Gioia

A memorial for late Tony Award-winning actor Roger Rees is held Sept. 21 at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre, home of Disney's Aladdin.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM