All stories by Kenneth Jones on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

"Smash" Gets a Ratings Boost for Feb. 27 Episode by Kenneth Jones

Viewership for NBC's "Smash" was up slightly in its fourth week, according to ratings company Nielsen.

SOURCE: Playbill at 02:20PM[SHARE]

DC's Helen Hayes Nominees Include Hairspray, Eric Schaeffer, Jan Maxwell, Imagining Madoff by Kenneth Jones

Nominees for the 28th Annual Helen Hayes Awards, representing excellence in the Washington, DC, theatre community, were announced Feb. 27. The list of more widely-known performers nominated …

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:34PM[SHARE]

Off-Broadway's Lonely, I'm Not Will Star Topher Grace and Olivia Thirlby by Kenneth Jones

Second Stage Theatre's world-premiere production of Paul Weitz's comedy Lonely, I'm Not will star Topher Grace ("That '70s Show") and Olivia Thirlby ("Juno,&qu…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:58PM[SHARE]

Katori Hall's Hurt Village Extends Off-Broadway Run by Andrew Gans and Kenneth Jones

Hurt Village — the new work by Katori Hall, the Olivier Award-winning writer of The Mountaintop — which officially opened Feb. 27, has extended its engagement at Signature Theatr…

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:39AM[SHARE]

Disney's Jungle Book, Crafted by Mary Zimmerman, Will Premiere at Goodman; Season Includes Other Desert Cities by Kenneth Jones

The Goodman Theatre's 2012-13 season will include The Jungle Book, a new musical based on the 1967 animated Disney film and the stories of Rudyard Kipling. Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerm…

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:33AM[SHARE]

Sweet Little Devil, Jazz Age Musical From George Gershwin and B.G. DeSylva, Will Get Premiere Recording by Kenneth Jones

PS Classics, the label dedicated to the heritage of Broadway and American Popular Song, has begun pre-production on its next vintage restoration and studio recording: composer George Gershwi…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:01AM[SHARE]

Once Begins Broadway Run; Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti Play Musicians Who Are "Falling Slowly" by Kenneth Jones

Once, the new stage musical based on the independent film about an Irish singer-songwriter named Guy, who meets a muse in the person of a Czech immigrant named Girl, begins performances on B…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]

Michael Esper, Virginia Kull Offer Assistance, a Play About a Nightmare Boss, Opening in NYC by Kenneth Jones

Bobby Steggert, Michael Esper, Sue Jean Kim, Virginia Kull, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe and Amy Rosoff play satellites spinning around an unseen, bullying international mogul in the world premiere…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 27, 2012

THE "SMASH" REPORT: Episode 4, Or, What a Swell Party This Is by Kenneth Jones

Playbill's weekly overview, with notes and comment, of the latest episode of the NBC series "Smash," about the people behind the creation of a new Broadway musical. Here's …

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:04PM[SHARE]

Prizes and Giveaways Will Greet Nice Work If You Can Get It Ticketbuyers at B.O. Opening by Kenneth Jones

The Imperial Theatre box office for the new Broadway musical comedy Nice Work If You Can Get It will open March 1 with special giveaways for early birds.

SOURCE: Playbill at 03:28PM[SHARE]

Leap of Faith Offers a Leap Year Sale on Feb. 29; Tickets Are $29 for Special Week by Kenneth Jones

Happy Leap Year! That's the message from producers of the new Broadway musical Leap of Faith, who are offering $29 seats in the orchestra and mezzanine for the first week of previews, Ap…

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:14AM[SHARE]

Mountaintop Writer Katori Hall's Hurt Village Opens Feb. 27 in World Premiere by Kenneth Jones

Signature Theatre Company's Romulus Linney Courtyard Theater in the new Pershing Square Signature Center on West 42nd Street is officially open for business Feb. 27 with the opening of t…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 26, 2012

Swinging "Skiffle" Rock of One Man, Two Guvnors Will Be Heard on U.S. Release of Cast Album by Kenneth Jones

The London cast album of the inbound Broadway comedy One Man, Two Guvnors, featuring the band The Craze performing original songs by Grant Olding, and using original troupers including star …

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]

Irish Rep's Beyond the Horizon, Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer-Winning Work, Opens Off-Broadway Feb. 26 by Kenneth Jones

Rod Brogan, Patricia Conolly, Lucas Hall, Jonathan Judge-Russo, Aimee Laurence, Joanna Leister, Wrenn Schmidt, David Sitler and John Thomas Waite are featured in Irish Repertory Theatre'…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]

PLAYBILL BRIEF ENCOUNTER With Sam Gold, Director of Seminar and Look Back in Anger by Kenneth Jones

Sam Gold began his life in theatre as a young actor, appearing as a replacement understudy in Broadway's The Diary of Anne Frank in 1997-98. What a difference 15 years has made. He's…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]

"The Artist," "The Help," "War Horse," Meryl Streep, Viola Davis Among Oscar Nominees Feb. 26 by Kenneth Jones and Adam Hetrick

Billy Crystal hosts the 84th Academy Awards ceremony on Feb. 26, honoring excellence for the 2011 year in film. Among the nominees for Best Picture are "War Horse," "The Artis…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 24, 2012

How I Learned to Drive's One-Week Extension Canceled by Andrew Gans and Kenneth Jones

The previously announced one-week extension of the Second Stage Theatre revival of Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive has been canceled, the not-for-profit Off-Broadway company announc…

SOURCE: Playbill at 06:56PM[SHARE]

Michael Mayer Will Make Metropolitan Opera Debut in 2013; Bartlett Sher, Robert Lepage Will Also Direct by Kenneth Jones

Tony Award-winning directors Bartlett Sher (South Pacific) and Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) will direct classics in the 2012-13 season of the Metropolitan Opera.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:08PM[SHARE]

Rhythm and Rhyme: NY Pops Gala Benefit Will Feature Songs of Broadway's Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty by Kenneth Jones

The annual New York Pops Gala benefit on April 30 will honor the Tony Award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. A 7 PM Carnegie Hall concert called Journey On, borr…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:56AM[SHARE]

Rhythm and Rhyme: NY Pops Gala Benefit Will Feature Songs of Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty by Kenneth Jones

The annual New York Pops Gala benefit on April 30 will honor the Tony Award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. A 7 PM Carnegie Hall concert called Journey On, borr…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:56AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 23, 2012

Times Have Changed! Stephanie J. Block Is New "Reno" of Broadway's Anything Goes by Kenneth Jones

Stephanie J. Block, the game leading lady who stepped into the tap shoes of Sutton Foster in Anything Goes in fall 2011, when Foster was filming a TV pilot, will permanently take over the ro…

SOURCE: Playbill at 07:27PM[SHARE]

Ken Ludwig and Jeffrey Hatcher Are 2012 Edgar Award Nominees for Their Mystery Plays by Kenneth Jones

Mystery Writers of America announced two theatrical titles as nominees for its annual Edgar Awards, honoring the best in mystery, thriller and crime literature and nonfiction across multiple…

SOURCE: Playbill at 06:23PM[SHARE]

In This House, a New Musical, Will Star Chuck Cooper, Brenda Pressley, Jeff Kready and Margo Seibert by Kenneth Jones

Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper, Jeff Kready, Brenda Pressley and Margo Seibert will star in the world premiere of the New Year's Eve-set chamber musical In This House by Two River Theate…

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:30PM[SHARE]

Very Potter Musical Troupe's Next Parody Is Holy Musical B@man!, for April Launch by Kenneth Jones

Team StarKid, the troupe behind the popular internet musical parody A Very Potter Musical will launch its new spoof — the comic-book-inspired Holy Musical B@man! — this spring wi…

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:33AM[SHARE]

ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Exit Music at Musicals by Robert Simonson and Kenneth Jones

Ask Playbill.com answers a question about the music that you hear when you're leaving the theatre after a performance of a musical.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:01AM[SHARE]

Bertolt Brecht's Galileo, Starring F. Murray Abraham, Opens Off-Broadway by Kenneth Jones

Classic Stage Company's new production of Bertolt Brecht's Galileo, starring Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham as the persecuted scientist, opens Feb. 23 following previews from…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Songbook Classics To Get Fresh Listen in Michael Feinstein Tin Pan Alley Concert, With Kate Baldwin, Adam Swanson by Kenneth Jones

Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin, pianist Rob Berman and 19-year-old ragtime pianist Adam Swanson will join singer-pianist Michael Feinstein for the Feb. 29 performance of Standard Time with …

SOURCE: Playbill at 06:32PM[SHARE]

Barbra Streisand's Relationship With Columbia Records Going Strong; DVD Set Planned by Kenneth Jones

Barbra Streisand and Columbia Records announced on Feb. 22 that Streisand's recording contract with the label has been extended, and revealed that Columbia will release a 12-set DVD, &qu…

SOURCE: Playbill at 04:26PM[SHARE]

How I Learned to Drive Extended Off-Broadway by Kenneth Jones

The Second Stage Theatre revival of Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive will get an extra week, now to March 18, the not-for-profit Off-Broadway company announced.

SOURCE: Playbill at 02:56PM[SHARE]

Blood and Gifts Joins La Jolla Playhouse Lineup This Summer; Lucie Tiberghien Directs by Kenneth Jones

La Jolla Playhouse announced the addition of J.T. Rogers' Blood and Gifts, the play about international military intervention in Afghanistan, as part of its 2012-13 season. Lucie Tibergh…

SOURCE: Playbill at 02:37PM[SHARE]

Jessica Love, Bill Buell, Kristine Nielsen, Austin Durant Will Bring Anna Christie To Life at Old Globe by Kenneth Jones

Jessica Love will play Anna Christie, the estranged prostitute daughter of a crusty sailor in Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, March 10-April 15 at The Old Globe in San …

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:07PM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off