News From Broadway

Zachary Levi Makes Broadway Debut In FIRST DATE Opposite Krysta Rodriguez

Tony^® Award-winning producer Junkyard Dog Productions (Memphis) is proud to announce that leading man Zachary Levi, star of TV’s “Chuck,” Disney’s feature film Tangled and the upcomingThor: The Dark World, will make his Broadway debut starring opposite Broadway and television ingénue  Krysta Rodriguez (“Smash,” The Addams Family) in First Date, Broadway’s new romantic musical comedy.  Witha book byAustin Winsberg (“Gossip Girl”), music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (Secondhand Lions, Twice Charmed) and musical staging by Josh Rhodes (Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella) First Date is directed by Bill Berry (Producing Director of The 5^th Avenue Theatre).  Featuring Sara Chase (“Arrested Development,” The Toxic Avenger), Kristoffer Cusick (Wicked, Rent), Blake Hammond (Sister Act, Billy Elliot) and Kate Loprest (“Boardwalk Empire,” Hairspray), the cast of First Date also includes Vicki Noon (Wicked, Mamma Mia!). First Date begins performances Tuesday, July 9, 2013, and opens Thursday, August 8, 2013, at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre (220 West 48^thStreet).  Additional casting to be announced shortly.

When tightly wound Aaron (Zachary Levi) is set up with serial-dater Casey (Krysta Rodriguez) a quick drink at a busy New York restaurant turns into a hilarious, high-stakes dinner.  As the date unfolds in real time, the couple quickly finds they are not alone on this date as Casey and Aaron’s inner critics take on a life of their own when other restaurant patrons and the wait staff get into the act.  Dinner is served with sides of Google background checks, fake emergency phone calls, supportive best friends, manipulative exes and protective parents, who sing and dance them through ice-breakers, appetizers and potential conversational land mines. First Date is Broadway’s new hysterical and hopeful new musical about the chances we take to find love.

Broadway.org is The Broadway League’s on-line headquarters for Broadway tickets and information in NYC and across the nation.

Guthrie announces Vincent Kartheiser as Mr. Darcy in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

The Guthrie Theater announced that Vincent Kartheiser, known to worldwide audiences as advertising executive Pete Campbell in the ongoing Golden Globe, Emmy and SAG Award-winning series “Mad Men”, will be featured in the iconic role of Mr. Darcy in the theater’s upcoming production of Pride and Prejudice based on the novel by Jane Austen, adapted for the stage by Simon Reade and directed by Joe Dowling. The final show of the Guthrie’s 50^th anniversary season, Pride and Prejudice will begin previews on July 6, with an opening night of July 12, and will run through August 31.

Broadway.org is The Broadway League’s on-line headquarters for Broadway tickets and information in NYC and across the nation.

A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER To Open On Broadway This Fall

Following critically acclaimed, smash-hit runs at Hartford Stage and San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder will open on Broadway in the fall of 2013.  Starring Tony Award^®-winner Jefferson Mays in a highly acclaimed, tour de force, multi-character performance, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder features a book by Robert L. Freedman, music by Steven Lutvak, and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak. Darko Tresnjak directs and Peggy Hickey choreographs.  The production will begin performances on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre.  The opening night is set for Sunday, November 17.

Additional information, including complete casting, will be announced shortly.

When Monty Navarro, a disinherited relative of the rich and powerful D’Ysquith clan, learns he’s ninth in line to inherit the earldom, he sets out to secure his future by, er, process of elimination.  Each of the eight heirs perilously standing in the way of Monty’s fortune are played by Tony® Award-winner Jefferson Mays, in one of the most tireless, whiplash-inducing performances ever attempted on the American stage.   Based on the novel Israel Rank by Roy Horniman and set in England’s elegant Edwardian era, this uproarious new musical comedy shows just how low we’ll go to make it to the top.

Broadway.org is The Broadway League’s on-line headquarters for Broadway tickets and information in NYC and across the nation.

VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE Extends Through July 28

Producers Joey Parnes and Larry Hirschhorn announced today that Christopher Durang’s new comedy, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, will extend its premiere Broadway engagement at the Golden Theatre by four weeks due to popular demand.  The production is now scheduled to play through Sunday, July 28 (it was previously scheduled to end its run on Sunday, June 30). 

Riffing on some of Anton Chekov’s most time-tested themes, Christopher Durang proves in his hysterically funny and surprisingly affecting new romp, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, that whether you’re in 19^th Century Russia or 21^st Century Pennsylvania, the human condition never changes.  Vanya (Pierce) and Sonia (Nielsen) have never left the confines of their childhood home – a rambling farmhouse in Bucks County, PA – while having to witness the glamorous exploits of their sister, Masha (Weaver), a famous movie actress, from afar.  A surprise visit from Masha and her 20-something boy toy, Spike (Magnussen), throws the normally quiet household int0 utter upheaval as its residents and visitors get swept up in an intoxicating mixture of lust, rivalry, regret, and the sudden possibility of escape.  Only one thing is certain: no one will get out of this without looking absolutely ridiculous!

PIPPIN To Launch US National Tour In September 2014 In Denver

Producers Barry & Fran Weissler and Howard & Janet Kagan are pleased to announce that the critically acclaimed and Tony-nominated Broadway musical Pippin will launch a US national tour in September 2014, at the Buell Theatre in Denver, CO. Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz’s beloved coming-of-age musical comedy Pippin is directed by Diane Paulus featuring choreography by Chet Walker in the style of Bob Fosse and circus creation by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers). The production is now playing at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45^th Street).

For more information, visit www.PippinTheMusical.com

MTC Announces 2nd Extension For THE ASSEMBLED PARTIES

Manhattan Theatre Club is pleased to announce a second extension for The Assembled Parties, the hit world premiere play by Tony Award winner Richard Greenberg, directed by MTC’s award-winning artistic director Lynne Meadow. An additional three weeks have been added to the critically acclaimed limited engagement, with tickets now on sale through Sunday, July 7 at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47^th Street).

For more information on MTC, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

Billy Crystal Will Return to Broadway in 700 SUNDAYS

Billy Crystal will return to Broadway this fall for a 9-week-only limited engagement of his Tony Award-winning, record-breaking play  700 Sundays. This will mark the final engagement of this production. Previews will begin Tuesday, November 5, 2013 at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street) with opening night scheduled for Wednesday, November 13, 2013 and a final performance set for Sunday, January 5, 2014. 700 Sundays is performed and written by Mr. Crystal with additional content by Alan Zweibeland direction by Des McAnuff.

“700 Sundays has, without question, been the most satisfying experience of my career,” said Crystal. “When we originally opened on Broadway, all I knew was that I had a story that I was compelled to share.  Now that I’ve performed my play across the country and internationally, I’m gratified to know that the love of family, through joy and pain, is perhaps the most universal story. I’ve now decided to tell this story one last time in my own backyard, where it all took place.  It is a privilege to return to Broadway to say goodbye to one of the greatest thrills of my life.”

700 Sundays, an autobiographical journey, is an original two-act play in which Billy plays numerous characters that have influenced who he is today. It deals with his youth, growing up in the jazz world of Manhattan, his teenage years, and finally adulthood. It is about family and fate, loving and loss.

The Recording Academy Honors 2013 Celebrates Melissa Etheridge, Joshua Bell, Ashford & Simpson, Trey Songz, and the Creators of LES MISERABLES on June 25

Songwriters/performing artists Ashford & Simpson, GRAMMY^®-winning violinist Joshua Bell, GRAMMY-winning artist Melissa Etheridge, GRAMMY-winning creators of “Les Misérables”  — Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmerand Claude-Michel Schönberg — and R&B singer/songwriter Trey Songz are recipients of the New York Chapter Recording Academy Honors 2013. The Recording Academy Honors^® was established to celebrate outstanding individuals whose work embodies excellence and integrity and who have improved the environment for the creative community. The event, which will attract recording artists, key entertainment executives and community leaders, will be hosted Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at 6 p.m. at 583 Park Avenue. This gala will support the Chapter’s ongoing advocacy, education and professional development programs. 

Tune in to watch WABC-TV’s Broadway Backstage: Spring Preview Saturday 5/18

WABC-7 airs a half-hour special covering highlights of the spring season on Broadway, including Annie, The Assembled Parties, I’ll Eat You Last, Jersey Boys, Lucky Guy, Matilda The Musical, Motown The Musical, Pippin and more. “Broadway Backstage: Spring Preview” airs on Saturday, May 18 from 7:00-7:30PM.

Hosts Michelle Charlesworth and Vanessa Williams, currently starring in THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, present an exciting look behind the scenes at this spring’s biggest stars, blockbuster musicals, riveting revivals and brand new dramas on Broadway.

WABC-7’s Broadway Backstage: Spring Preview continues to focus the spotlight on the remarkable, one of a kind, institution that is Broadway. If you can’t make it to every show or just want to be in the know, this is the one to see for a complete rundown of all that the Great White Way is offering this season. The program can also be seen following the broadcast at www.7online.com/broadway.

Emmy Award Winner Neil Patrick Harris Returns to Host the 67th Annual Tony Awards® - Sunday, June 9 on CBS

Emmy Award-winning actorNeil Patrick Harris, star of the CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother,” returns to host The 67th Annual Tony Awards® live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Sunday, June 9 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network. This will be Harris’ fourth time hosting the Tony Awards.   Previously, Harris served as the host of the 63rd, 65th and 66th Annual Tony Awards. As he did in 2012, Harris will also act as a producer, along with executive producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment.

“I’m very excited to be back hosting the Tony Awards at the legendary Radio City Music Hall. It’ll be more impressive than ever - if my math is correct, it will be 267 times bigger than last year,” said Neil Patrick Harris. “Oh, wait.  No, that can’t… hold on… carry the one… I’m awful at math.  But rest assured, the show will rock!”

“Neil is a multi-talented performer whose showmanship, wit and energy command the stage of live events,” said Nina Tassler, President of CBS Entertainment. “He is a master of ceremony, who truly loves celebrating the performing arts with the highest level of entertainment, and it’s quite obvious to the audience he’s having a lot of fun along the way.”

“We are thrilled that Neil will be joining us, once again, at Radio City Music Hall to host ‘The 67^th Annual Tony Awards,’ said Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League and Heather Hitchens, Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing. “Neil’s creativity and passion for Broadway shines through when he is on the stage and off – and we cannot wait to see what surprises Neil will have up his sleeves!