News

The Off Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors, already sold out well before its first preview on Sept. 17, has released an additional eight weeks of tickets, producers announced today. Tickets for the landmark Howard Ashman & Alan Menken musical, set for the Westside Theatre and starring Jonathan Groff, Tammy Blanchard and Christian Borle, are now on sale through Sunday, January 19, 2020.

Directed by Tony winner Michael Mayer, Little Shop officially opens on Thursday, October 17. As previously announced, Tony nominee Gideon Glick (To Kill A Mockingbird) will join the production for a two-week (November 5 through November 17) as Seymour while Groff is on a scheduled leave.

Also in the cast: Tom Alan Robbins, Kingsley Leggs, Ari Groover, Salome Smith, Joy Woods, Stephen Berger, Chris Dwan, Kris Roberts, Chelsea Turbin, Eric Wright, and Teddy Yudain.

Described as “an intimate new production,” Mayer’s staging of Little Shop...

Tony Award-winning producers Tom Kirdahy, Robert Ahrens, Hunter Arnold, Mickey Liddell, Curt Cronin and John Joseph, have just announced that Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's landmark musical Little Shop Of Horrors will return to its Off-Broadwayrootsthis fall. Two-time Tony Award nominee Jonathan Groff Hamilton, Spring Awakening, 'Mindhunter' will play Seymour in the long-awaited revival, opposite Emmy Award winner Tammy Blanchard Life with Judy Garland, Gypsy as Audrey, and Tony Award winner Christian Borle Something Rotten, Falsettos as Orin Scrivello D.D.S. Directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Idiot, the production begins previews Tuesday, September 17, with an official opening night of Thursday, October 17, at the Westside Theatre 407 W 43rd St. Tickets are available now at Telecharge.com, through November 24 only.

The 2019 Tony Awards are almost upon us. Before you watch the CBS ceremony hosted by James Corden on June 9, make sure to check out these 11 conversations with Tony nominees. Follow the links below to watch all of our exclusive interviews with these nominated performers.

See Tony Awards predictions slugfest: 3 Experts track hottest races [Video & Audio Podcast]

Derrick Baskin (“Ain’t Too Proud”): Baskin portrays Otis Williams, the founder of The Temptations, in “Ain’t Too Proud.” It’s a role so large that he never leaves the stage. His previous Broadway credits include “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Memphis.” This is Baskin’s first Tony nomination. (Click here to watch the full interview)

Stephanie J. Block (“The Cher Show”): Block transforms herself like never before to emobdy the pop icon Cher. This marks Block’s third Tony nomination, after previously competing for “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” and “Falsettos.

If you were worried Hulu’s adaptation of “Catch-22” won’t capture the sardonic humor of Joseph Heller‘s iconic World War II novel, fear not. The new trailer, released Wednesday, is a nearly two-minute capsule of satire, morbid humor and George Clooney‘s mustache.

The clip wastes no time explaining what a catch-22 is to those unfamiliar with the phrase or who’ve never read the 1961 novel. Essentially, as Christopher Abbott‘s Capt. John Yossarian learns, the maddening paradoxical rule states that not wanting to die on duty indicates a person is sane and is thus therefore ineligible to be relieved from duty. “That’s some catch, that catch-22,” he says.

Unlike the first teaser trailer, which focused more on the prestige factor of the upcoming limited series — executive-produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov — this one totally plays up the dark humor that’s made Heller’s tome a classic.

Jonathan Groff has signed with CAA, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.

The actor and singer will next be heard reprising his role as Kristoff in Disney's eagerly anticipated Frozen sequel. He also stars as FBI profiler Holden Ford in Mindhunter, which Netflix has renewed for a second season.

Groff first began amassing his fan base in 2006, when he originated the lead role of Melchior Gabor in Broadway's Spring Awakening, for which he received Tony and Drama Desk nominations and won a Theatre World Award. He was again nominated for a Tony in 2016 after returning to Broadway to portray King George ...

Jonathan Groff has signed with CAA, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.

The actor and singer will next be heard reprising his role as Kristoff in Disney's eagerly anticipated Frozen sequel. He also stars as FBI profiler Holden Ford in Mindhunter, which Netflix has renewed for a second season.

Groff first began amassing his fan base in 2006, when he originated the lead role of Melchior Gabor in Broadway's Spring Awakening, for which he received Tony and Drama Desk nominations and won a Theatre World Award. He was again nominated for a Tony in 2016 after returning to Broadway to portray King George ...

For her pending nuptials, Lea Michele is getting a little help from her friends and fami-glee. (I'm . . . so sorry.) In a recent interview with Brides, the actress and singer revealed she's already asked her Glee and Scream Queens boss Ryan Murphy to officiate her forthcoming wedding to her longtime friend-turned-fiancé Zandy Reich.

Following her engagement nearly a year ago, Lea shared a picture with her close friend Jonathan Groff with the caption, "Maid of honor." Though the actor is primarily known for his Broadway background with roles in Spring Awakening and Hamilton, he too was in Glee as Jesse St. James, Rachel Berry's rival and eventual husband.

Oh, but that's not all: Lea said Darren Criss, who portrayed Blaine Anderson, will also be in attendance, as well as Becca Tobin, who portrayed Kitty Wilde on the beloved six-season series. Lea and Darren actually went on tour together last year,...

George Clooney’s Hulu limited series “Catch-22” is dropping just in time for Emmy consideration: Friday, May 17. The streaming service revealed the date Monday at the Television Critics Association press tour, along with a teaser trailer (watch above).

Instead of employing its usual weekly episode release, Hulu will premiere all six episodes of “Catch-22” that day, ensuring that the project is eligible for September’s Emmys by the May 31 deadline.

Based on the acclaimed 1961 Joseph Heller novel and directed by Clooney, the series follows Capt. John Yossarian (Christopher Abbott), a World War II U.S. Air Force bombardier who is enraged by the bureaucratic rule known as Catch-22, which stipulates that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that are real and immediate is the process of a rational mind.

See Hugh Laurie joins George Clooney’s Hulu series ‘Catch-22’ — is this his ticket to an overdue Emmy?...

Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, the Tony- and Grammy-winning creators of the hit Broadway show Spring Awakening, have reunited, along with director and co-book writer Jessie Nelson (Waitress), for a new take on perennial classic Alice in Wonderland. Titled Alice by Heart, this adaptation of the Lewis Carroll tale is set amid the rubble of World War II London. Leading the cast of the McC production, which has its opening night set for February 26th, is Molly Gordon as Alice and Colton Ryan as Alfred/The White Rabbit.

Sheik was...

Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles has been nominated for a little bit of everything, but as she joked with her Tony Awards co-host Josh Groban earlier this year, she hasn’t actually won anything yet. Will “Jesus Christ Superstar” finally get her on the board at the Grammys?

Bareilles is nominated for Best Musical Theater Album for the soundtrack for “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the live NBC concert event that also earned her an Emmy bid for Best Movie/Mini Supporting Actress a few months ago. She played Mary Magdalene, and she’s one of the principal soloists credited with the nomination along with Alice Cooper, Ben Daniels, Brandon Victor Dixon, Erik Gronwall, Jin Ha, Norm Lewis, Jason Tam and Jesus himself, John Legend.

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That’s a lot of star power for one album. Legend is a 10-time Grammy champ, and a winner...

In Wednesday’s roundup, Netflix announces family comedy series “Family Reunion,” and the company is also bringing back its Spanish original series “Elite” for a second season.

Development

Netflix has announced “Family Reunion,” a multi-generational live action comedy series. The series, which recently began production, stars Loretta Devine (“The Carmichael Show”) and Tia Mowry. Mowry will play Cocoa McKellan, a free-spirited mother who travels from the big city with her family to a small town for her family reunion and gets to know their extended clan. Devine will portray the loving but strict matriarch of the family, M’Dear, and Anthony Alabi (“Insecure”) plays Cocoa’s husband. Rounding out the cast as the McKellan children are Talia Jackson as 14-year old Jade, Isaiah Russell-Bailey as 12-year old Shaka, Cameron J. “Cj” Wright as 10-year old Mazzi, and Jordyn James as 8-year old Ami. The show is executive produced and created...

Amazon is developing a contemporary musical television series inspired by Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It comes from Spring Awakening‘s Steven Sater, Insatiable creator Lauren Gussis, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend executive producer Marc Webb and Ryan Seacrest Prods. CBS TV Studios, where Gussis, Webb and Rsp have had deals, is the studio, co-producing with Amazon Studios.

Written by Sater and Gussis with Webb set to direct, the untitled series tells the complicated love story between a young man and biological young woman who, over the course of the series, begins to identify as gender-fluid. In order to hold onto the love of his life, our young male hero writes an original musical version of Twelfth Night for his beloved to star in and perform over winter break. But they’re not alone — a group of college kids find themselves sequestered on an empty snowbound campus — and when the magic of the play kicks in,...

One of William Shakespeare’s most enduring comedies may soon find itself on television, with a contemporary twist. Amazon is developing a musical series inspired by Twelfth Night, one that swaps the play’s central storyline of mistaken identity for gender fluidity.

The untitled project, written by Spring Awakening’s Tony-winning writer Steven Sater and Insatiable showrunner Lauren Gussis, is described as a complicated love story between a young man and biological young woman. The latter, over the course of the series, begins to identify as gender-fluid.

“In order to hold on to the love of his life, our young male ...

This week’s round-up for Texas and the South gathers together roles both large and small. Background work is available for a number of films and promotions in Texas and Louisiana. Bigger roles are available, too, for both stage and screen. The hit musical “Spring Awakening” is casting Equity actors for a production in Dallas, Texas. Non-Equity actors can find work with Pegasus Theatre’s upcoming Living Black & White production. Plus, a new dark comedy film, “Drama Queen,” is casting a shoot in San Antonio, Texas. “Spring Awakening”A new production of the hit musical “Spring Awakening” is opening in Dallas, Texas. The production is casting male and female Equity actors, aged 17 and older, for all roles. Most of the roles in the show are for characters between the ages of 16 and 18. Actors should feel confident in their ability to portray a teenager. The show contains adult language and deals with adult subject matter.

This Is Us fans can agree that we're doing just fine when it comes to good looking men on the show. Between adult Kevin, grown Randall, and yes, both young and old Jack, we are set - but when a mysteriously attractive blond man swooped in and surprised Rebecca during the season three premiere, we had no idea that it was the strikingly attractive Hunter Parrish hiding behind that retro mustache. While producers did an excellent job of concealing the actor during the final seconds of the episode, a quick glance at the credits acknowledged Hunter as "Alan," who fans are assuming is a former beau of Rebecca's.

Personally, I've been swooning over Hunter since he stole my (and every girl in Agrestic's) heart as Mary-Louise Parker's rebellious son on Weeds, but without further adieu, let us introduce you to Hunter Parrish: the strikingly attractive actor who we're *hopefully...

His performances in Spring Awakening and American Idiot are probably what John Gallagher Jr. is most known for at the moment (he won a Tony for the former), and are often what get him labeled a “musical theater guy,” but they were the only musicals he’s done in his 20-year career. I ask him about two recent play productions (Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Jerusalem) that I suspect were very formative for him, and his latest screen role in the important and moving indie The Miseducation of Cameron Post. And, of course, I couldn’t let him go without talking […]...

His performances in Spring Awakening and American Idiot are probably what John Gallagher Jr. is most known for at the moment (he won a Tony for the former), and are often what get him labeled a “musical theater guy,” but they were the only musicals he’s done in his 20-year career. I ask him about two recent play productions (Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Jerusalem) that I suspect were very formative for him, and his latest screen role in the important and moving indie The Miseducation of Cameron Post. And, of course, I couldn’t let him go without talking […]...

Producer Ken Davenport has racked up an impressive collection of Tony Award nominations (and a couple of wins) for shows like “Once on This Island,” “Kinky Boots,” and “Spring Awakening.” But co-writing the book (with improv comedy group the Grundleshotz) for “Gettin’ The Band Back Together,” a musical about a 40-year-old Jersey boy who realizes his dream of starting a rock ‘n’ roll band, was surely a singular labor of love. At a recent preview, Davenport actually got up on stage before the show to tell us so, getting a big laugh by sharing the information that his Barry Manilow high-school tribute band called itself “The Barely Manilows.”

The writer-producer’s affection comes through in the show, which opens, appropriately enough, with a song called “Jersey.” “Perfect beaches and snow-capped hills / It’s like New York but you can pay your bills,” sing the hard-working chorus boys and girls, amusingly...

For better or worse, Broadway’s Head Over Heels is stuck with being known as “the Go-Go’s musical” – better because of the good will floating on stage with all those lighter-than-air hits by Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, et.al., worse because the hard-working new production can’t seem to keep itself from popping those effervescence tune bubbles one by one.

With the Go-Go’s music shotgun-wedded to Sir Philip Sidney’s 16th century prose poem The Arcadia – a marriage conceived by Avenue Q‘s Jeff Whitty, who wrote the original book before splitting, reportedly in part over his inclination to rewrite some of the Go-Go’s lyrics – Head Over Heels is Elizabethan farce by way of ye olde MTV. The verse may be archaic, but the we’re here sentiment is as up to date as last week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Further adapted by James Magruder...

Who will earn Emmy nominations tomorrow in the race for Best Drama Actor? Gold Derby has hosted exclusive video interviews with five of this year’s candidates. Click the links below to be taken to their full interviews.

Jonathan Groff (“Mindhunter”): Groff plays Holden Ford, an FBI agent delving into the psychology of serial killers to try to understand the criminal mind. His stage work in “Spring Awakening” and “Hamilton” brought him two Tony nominations and a Grammy win, but he has yet to be nominated for an Emmy despite past roles in “Glee,” “The Normal Heart” and “Looking.” (Click here to be taken to his full interview)

See Over 200 video interviews with 2018 Emmy contenders

Freddie Highmore (“The Good Doctor”): Highmore plays Dr. Shaun Murphy, an autistic surgeon at a prestigious hospital. This performance brought him a Golden Globe nomination earlier this year. He is also a two-time...

Exclusive: “A part of me, like, wants to go back to being a normal teenager again, but I just feel like how can you go back when all of this is happening?” wonders 16 year-old Sawyer Garrity who is one of the students featured on the short documentary Awakening: After Parkland. The play, and the doc, follows young actors — which includes students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — as they stage a play through Barclay’s Performing Arts to try to bring a semblance of normalcy back to their lives and the surrounding community. The 20-minute short was directed by Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster whose Science Fair won the Audience Award at Sundance.

Three students in the featured play are from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and are guided by a dedicated Boca Raton-based theater director, Christine Barclay. The two leads of the play are Garrity and Cameron Kasky.

Texas actors, dust off your stage skills for an amazing theater opportunity next season! Mary Moody Northen Theatre has an open casting call for equity actors for its upcoming 2018-2019 season. The theater is located at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. Auditions are taking place locally. Mary Moody Northen Theatre is at the center of the performing arts training at St. Edward’s University. The theater is currently one of the few undergraduate-only programs with hands-on professional training for young actors. The upcoming season includes “Men on Boats,” written by Shaun Sides, “The Three Musketeers,” written by Megan Monaghan, and “Spring Awakening,” with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik. More details about the productions are available on the casting notice. The theater is seeking equity actors to serve as guest artists during the season. Male and female talent, aged 18 and older, is encouraged to schedule an audition.

A Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway success known for musicals including High Fidelity and Next to Normal, Tom Kitt has over the past several years followed his passion for the world of film and television, making inroads on projects including Pitch Perfect and Penny Dreadful before finding a very personal role as music director of NBC’s drama Rise.

Having scored Broadway musicals and performed a great deal himself—with vivid memories of his own high school musical experiences—Kitt was the perfect fit to help facilitate this series about a working-class high school’s drama department, starring Josh Radnor and Moana‘s Auli’i Cravalho in her first live-action role. Depicting all the drama, excitement and magic that comes with the territory in youth theater, the series watched as a group of students came together to put on a production of Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s Spring Awakening.

A look back at the highest kicks (and notes) over the history of the Tony Awards telecast celebrating Broadway

“Grand Hotel” (1990)

Michael Jeter, perhaps best known from the sitcom “Evening Shade,” was a rubber-limbed sensation playing a tipsy bookkeeper in the number “Let’s Take a Glass Together.”

“Dreamgirls” (1992)

Jennifer Holliday’s rendition of “And I’m Telling You…” has been widely imitated, and this is the performance that is most often imitated. A-ma-zing.

“Rent” (1996)

Jonathan Larson’s rock opera version of “La Boheme” gained extra poignance with his unexpected death after the first Off Broadway preview. The show became a phenomenon, and launched the careers of Idina Menzel, Jesse L. Martin and Taye Diggs. Tony Awards

“Promises, Promises” (1979)

Ok, the song “Turkey Lurkey” frankly doesn’t make any sense — and the whole office holiday party is kind of shoehorned into the plot. But Michael Bennett‘s choreography is head-bobbingly,...

Recently, BroadwayWorld had the opportunity to interview Dane Laffrey who recently received his first Tony nomination for his work on the Broadway hit Once On This Island. Dane's design is an explosive exercise in controlled chaos. Since Once On This Island is a tale of magical realism set in the Caribbean, Dane channeled the current conditions of regions hit by 2016's Hurricane Matthew. The stage is covered in sand, a crashed semi-truck takes up a corner of the space, a pool of water is held back by a pile of sand bags, and a downed power line has even crushed some of the seats. It's a complex set that has engrossed countless audiences seated in its theatre in the round setting. A seasoned scenic design veteran, Dane has designed sets for productions across Japan, Australia, Norway and the United States. Throughout his twelve years in the New York circuit, he's...

Alex Wyse and Wesley Taylor star in Indoor Boys.Indie Series Award-winning series Indoor Boys, created, directed, and starring Broadway's Wesley Taylor ("SpongeBob SquarePants"; NBC's Smash) and Alex Wyse ("Spring Awakening"; CBS' The Bold and the Beautiful), will return later this month for its second season. With a total of eight new chapters, Season Two premieres June 25 on HuffPost Queer Voices, with two episodes released each Monday for 4 weeks.

After last year's award-winning, critically-acclaimed first season in Los Angeles, Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse are at it again. But this time we find our duo in the Big Apple... as they continue to explore the boundaries of their no-boundaries friendship. Watch the two homebody millennials as they navigate a family reunion in New York City.

The critically-acclaimed first season of Indoor Boys premiered on HuffPost Queer Voices and received four 2018 Indie Series Award nominations, including Best Comedy Series.

On Broadway and beyond, a curtain can rise as quickly as it can fall; a star can be swapped as easily as Bernie Telsey can say, “That’s enough.” Theater is the beating heart of New York show business and, if you want to make it here, it’s crucial you’re up to date on incoming projects, latest castings, and other industry news. Don’t worry, Broadway baby, Backstage has your back. Every week, we’re rounding up the can’t-miss stories no thespian should live without, so you can focus on important matters like hitting your high F. Curtain up and light those lights! The Atlantic sets a stellar slate.The Atlantic Theater Company, announcing its 2018–19 season, has secured Academy Award nominee Isabelle Huppert to lead the English language adaptation of Florian Zeller’s “The Mother,” which will be directed by Trip Cullman. Additionally, the Off-Broadway institution will...

The Secret Life of Bees, a new musical based on the best-selling novel and with music by Dunan Sheik, will make its world premiere next May at the Atlantic Theater Off-Broadway. The production will be directed by Tony winner Sam Gold (Fun Home).

The musical, with a book by Lynn Nottage and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd, is part of the Atlantic’s 2018-19 season announced today, a roster that includes The Mother, a new play starring Oscar-nominated actress Isabelle Huppert.

Sheik’s 2006 Spring Awakening won the Tony Award for Best Musical. His 2016 American Psycho, though, was a Broadway flop.

Bees would seem altogether likelier musical material than the bloody, bloody American Psycho. Kidd’s 2001 novel, set in 1964, was adapted into a 2008 film starring Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah, and tells the story of, as the Atlantic describes it, “a restless white teenager...

How did it all end for the Stanton High teens?

That was revealed on Rise Season 1 Episode 10 as the production of Spring Awakening finally opened, but drama behind the scenes threatened to derail the whole thing. 

Watch Rise Season 1 Episode 10 Online

Meanwhile, Simon struggled to overcome his biggest fear as his parents continued to be overbearing. 

Also, Lilette hid a huge secret from Robbie, but who took great pleasure in revealing all about it?

Use the video above to watch Rise online Rise online right here via TV Fanatic. 

View Slideshow: Cancellation Scorecard 2017-2018: Which Shows Got Cut?

Get caught up with all the latest developments right now. ...

Welcome back to Tune In: our weekly newsletter offering a guide to the best of the week’s TV.

Each week, Variety’s TV team combs through the week’s schedule, selecting our picks of what to watch and when/how to watch them. This week, several shows will air their series finales due to a recent string of cancellations, and the second season of “13 Reasons Why” debuts.

“Lucifer,” Monday, 8 p.m., Fox

In the show’s series finale, shocked by someone’s death, Chloe, Lucifer and the rest of the team work together to investigate and take down the killer. Then, Lucifer has an epiphany, Maze decides to mend a broken friendship, and Chloe finally sees the truth

“Superior Donuts,” Monday, 9 p.m., CBS

In the show’s series finale, an armed robbery at the donut shop prompts Arthur, Franco and Sofia to make life-changing decisions about their futures.

NBC is dropping the curtain on Rise, canceling the musical theatre drama after just one season.

Rise starred Josh Radnor as Lou Mazzucchelli, a history teacher-turned-director whose attempt to stage a production of Spring Awakening — a cautionary tale about the dangers of repressing sexuality, set in 19th-century Germany — shook up the small town of Stanton, Pa., clashing with co-director Tracey Wolfe (played by Rosie Perez) every step of the way.

But the drama wasn’t merely confined to the musical; Rise‘s secondary storylines tackled topics like religion, alcoholism, infidelity, teen pregnancy, coming to terms with one’s sexuality and...

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the season finale of 'Rise' will feature a new 'Spring Awakening' song titled 'All You Desire.' The song was written specifically for theNBCseries by the Broadway musical's Tony Award winnersSteven SaterLyrics andDuncan SheikMusic. The season finale of 'Rise,' titled 'Opening Night,' airs Tuesday, May 15 at 9pm Etpt on NBC.

Catch-22, Hulu’s high-profile limited series co-starring and directed by George Clooney, has cast its Merry Band. Daniel David Stewart (The Band’s Visit), Austin Stowell (Battle of the Sexes), Rafi Gavron (Counterpart), Graham Patrick Martin (Major Crimes), Pico Alexander (A Most Violent Year), Jon Rudnitsky (Saturday Night Live), Gerran Howell (Young Dracula) and Lewis Pullman (Battle of the Sexes) have joined the series, written by Luke Davies and David Michôd based on the seminal Joseph Heller novel, from Paramount TV and Anonymous Content.

Set in Italy during World War II, Catch-22 is the story of the incomparable, artful dodger Yossarian (Christopher Abbott), a bombardier for the U.S. Air Force, who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy, but rather his own army which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service.

Feature premiered at the recent Tribeca Film Festival.

The Seagull, Michael Mayer’s drama that recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, has been picked up for UK distribution by Thunderbird Releasing.

Starring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss and Corey Stoll, the film focuses on eight people at a country estate in Russia, all grappling with various romantic entanglements while exploring the dangerous nature of narcissism.

The film’s UK release is slated for summer 2018.

The deal was negotiated by Edward Fletcher, managing director of Thunderbird Releasing, and Carl Clifton, president of sales representative Hyde Park International. On the acquisition,...

“You fall in love with your characters,” reveals writer/producer Jason Katims in our exclusive webcam interview (watch the video above) about the secret to connecting with an audience and making them feel something. “I know these people, these are people I have come to know and love,” he explains. “That’s a combination of what you do in the room and what the actors bring to it, and that’s the alchemy of it. When you fall in love with them, things naturally start to become emotional.”

Katims has a long history of writing and producing TV series about everyday people in familiar situations that tug at the heartstrings, whether that be as a close-knit family in “Parenthood,” or a high school football team in “Friday Night Lights,” or his new show, “Rise,” which focuses on a Pennsylvania high school’s theater program, and explores the lives of the...

A new musical by the Tony-winning duo behind “Spring Awakening,” Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, and another by Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown are on tap for the 2018 season of Powerhouse, the theater development program presented annually by Vassar and New York Stage and Film.

Powerhouse has played a role in the development of a number of notable stage titles in recent years, including “Hamilton,” “The Humans” and Off Broadway breakout “The Wolves.” “Head Over Heels,” the Go-Go’s musical that just opened in San Francisco ahead of a Broadway run this summer, was also among the works developed at Powerhouse.

Running June 22-July 29 at the Vassar College campus in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Powerhouse has a slate that includes two mainstage productions, four musical workshop presentations, two “Inside Look” workshops and a number readings of new works by playwrights including Halley Feiffer.

The musical workshop slate includes:

“Alice by Heart...

Great plays are plays for a reason. If something succeeds onstage, it’s usually because it was written for that medium. Of course, if Hollywood can make a blockbuster out of a video game, classic Russian dramas are fair game as well. Unfortunately, although “The Seagull” sports a winning cast, the latest adaptation of the stage classic should have let Anton Chekhov’s writing speak for itself.

The drama unfolds on a Russian country estate, and it involves the intertwining love lives of the actress Irina Arkadina (Annette Bening), her lover and well-known author Boris Trigorin (Corey Stoll), her lovesick son Konstantin (Billy Howle), and their young neighbor Nina (Saoirse Ronan). Konstantin loves Nina and envies Trigorin’s success, Nina is starstruck and becomes infatuated with Boris, who’s aroused by Nina’s admiration, and Irina is too busy tracking Trigorin’s waning desire to take an interest in her son.

You can feel the heat, temperature and otherwise, in Michael Mayer's sultry screen adaptation of Anton Chekhov's classic 1896 play. Rather than the reams of dialogue you would normally expect, this streamlined version scripted by Tony Award-winning playwright Stephen Karam (The Humans) delivers sensuality in spades. Sure, the characters constantly talk about their unfulfilled lives and unrequited loves. But they also skinny-dip in the lake and constantly make out with each other. A stodgy The Seagull this is not. Would you expect anything else from theater director Mayer, who picked up a Tony himself for the sex-drenched musical Spring Awakening?...

From showrunner Jason Katims and Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller, the NBC drama series Rise follows Lou Mazzuchelli (Josh Radnor), a dedicated teacher who sets out on a mission to take over the school’s lackluster theater department and turn it into what he believes it can be, even if no one else sees it. And as he works with the students in the high school production of Spring Awakening that he’s directing, not only does it revitalize his passion for teaching, but it gives the teenagers a new outlook on their own lives, families and …...

In late April, theater lovers devote most of their attention to the clutch of Broadway shows rushing to open before the eligibility cutoff for Tony nominations. But this year fans should be keeping an eye on things downtown too: New projects by or about Broadway talent aren’t onstage. They’re at a film festival — the Tribeca Film Festival (running April 18-29), where Terrence McNally, Howard Ashman, Michael Mayer and Stephen Karam are all in the mix.

Every Act of Life (pictured top)

Jeff Kaufman and Marcia Ross’ documentary, making its world premiere at the festival, chronicles the life of McNally, the veteran, out-and-proud playwright and four-time Tony winner behind “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Ragtime,” “Love! Valour! Compassion!” and more. The biopic — which counts Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, Angela Lansbury, Meryl Streep and Bryan Cranston among those involved — touches on everything from McNally’s romance with Edward Albee to...

Damon J. Gillespie is no stranger to the theater versus football conundrum his character Robbie Thorne faces on “Rise,” NBC’s new drama from Jason Katims.

“I grew up with theater and sports at the same time. So it was very easy to tap into Robbie,” Gillespie says.

The actor who embodies Stanton High’s resident star quarterback-cum-thespian grew up doing musical theater, appearing on Broadway in shows including “Aladdin” and “Newsies.” He even previously portrayed “Spring Awakening’s” Melchior — the role his “Rise” character inhabits in the show-within-the-show — on stage at a local theater in his home state of Tennessee.

“Just jumping into this type of production in general, it’s still a little unreal to me. I’m still like, ‘Okay. This is the good part of the dream, so I’m destined to wake up at any time,'” Gillespie says.

Here, Gillespie talks with Variety about...

From Jason Katims, executive producer and showrunner of 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Parenthood,' and 'Hamilton producer' Jeffrey Seller comes a heartening new drama about finding inspiration in unexpected places. When dedicated teacher Lou Mazzuchelli Josh Radnor sheds his own self-doubt, and takes over the lackluster theater department and its ambitious plans for a school production of 'Spring Awakening,' he galvanizes not only the faculty and students but also the entire working-class town.

Today, Atlantic Records has unveiled another brand new cast recording of one of the songs that will be featured in next week's episode of 'Rise,' NBC's new drama series from the producers of 'Hamilton,' 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Parenthood.' An exclusive rendition of 'Left Behind' by the 'Rise' cast, featuring Ted Sutherland - originally featured in the Tony Award-winning musical, 'Spring Awakening' - is now available at all DSPs and streaming services.

It was the people vs. the Stanton High School theater program on Rise Season 1 Episode 2 as the ramifications of performing Spring Awakening continued to cause myriad problems. 

Spring Awakening may be a provocative play, but the issues being highlighted in the community just go to show that this town is still living peacefully in a decade long ago. What they think they don't know doesn't hurt them. 

There's no way the theater program is going to trump football with the residents of the town. At least not with some significant change. That much was reiterated with a resounding thud during the meeting about how resources are being spent. 

It was frustrating that Lou did not want to be the person who went into the meeting with an agenda. If there was no agenda, then why was he attending the meeting in the first place?

Enter Tracey, who absolutely nailed it.

If you ended last week’s series premiere of Rise by asking yourself, “Who’s going to pay for all the costumes these young hoodlums just burned in the school parking lot?” then Tuesday’s follow-up was probably music to your ears.

The musical drama’s second episode began by confronting this very issue, with the principal informing Mr. Mazzu that the cost would be coming out of Spring Awakening‘s budget, bringing its grand total to zero dollars. The principal also agreed to stay out of the theatre department’s affairs, telling him, “I’m just going to let you fail on your own.

From showrunner Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) and Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller, the NBC drama series Rise follows Lou Mazzuchelli (Josh Radnor), a dedicated teacher who sets out on a mission to take over the school’s lackluster theater department and turn it into what he believes it can be, even if no one else sees it. And as he casts the roles in the high school production of Spring Awakening that he’s directing, not only does it revitalize his passion for teaching, but it gives the students a new outlook on their own lives, families and relationships. …...

NBC’s new drama “Rise” stars Rosie Perez as a high school teacher who struggles with being pushed aside when another teacher, played by Josh Radnor, makes a play for her job as head of the theater department.

Perez and Radnor’s characters, Tracey Wolfe and Lou Mazzuchelli, eventually form an alliance, for the sake of the kids hungry to be challenged by putting on an ambitious musical — but the fact that Perez’s character, a Latina woman, is passed over by a white man is extremely timely in this age of “Time’s Up” and #MeToo.

“I think for her to get passed over in the way that she was passed over hurt to her core,” Perez said of Tracey. “This was her dream to run the department. It stings that a middle-aged white guy gets the job, not the Latina woman. That’s a bitter pill to swallow.

If you had asked me a few months back if I would be watching NBC's Rise, I would have probably laughed in your face. 

I can't be the only one who pegged it as the next Glee.

By that, I mean a light, fluffy show filled excruciating performances that served very little to the overall plot. 

NBC's relentless promotional campaign and the added benefit of it coming from the people who brought us Friday Night Lights made me give the show a shot. 

And boy, I am so thankful I did. 

Rise Season 1 Episode 1 successfully introduced us to a brand new band of characters who are, like, some of the most relatable on all of television. 

Josh Radnor stars as Lou Mazzuchelli, a down on his luck English teacher who is bored with his job at Stanton High. Having him turn to the theater program would have been out...

NBC on Tuesday lifted the curtain on Rise, an engaging musical drama about… well, a lot of things.

From executive producer Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood), it tells the story of Lou Mazzuchelli (played by Josh Radnor), a frustrated English teacher who assumes command of his high school’s theatre department despite [1] being woefully under-qualified, and [2] the department already having a director in Tracey Wolfe (played by Rosie Perez). In fact, the only rationale given for Ms. Wolfe’s ousting is that she’s “a pain in the ass,” which is a pretty bold statement to make about someone...

In the series premiere of Rise, How I Met Your Mother's Josh Radnor stars as Lou Mazzuchelli, a bored English teacher who finds inspiration in trying to revitalize the school's theatre department. His decision to change the musical production to Spring Awakening is extremely controversial, as are his casting choices for the lead roles. These changes cause a ripple effect for his colleagues and students, some of whom we get to know in the show's premiere.