Mark Martino News

Jed Bernstein, Producing Director of Theatre Aspen, announced today that the Tony Award winning musical Ragtime will kick of the 2018 summer production slate. Mark Martino, Carbonell Award winner, will return to Theatre Aspen for his tenth season to direct.

An exciting new musical, JOHNNY MANHATTAN is set in a New York City nightclub when places like the Copacabana, The Latin Quarter and El Morcoco were filled with socialites and glamorous showgirls. This is it's world premiere at The Meadow Brook Theatre, and the critics are weighing in!

More than 40 years after its creation, Dan Goggin and Robert Lorick's musical, Johnny Manhattan, will have its world premiere at the Meadow Brook Theatre (378 Meadow Brook Road) in Rochester, Michigan.

More than 40 years after its creation, Dan Goggin and Robert Lorick's musical, Johnny Manhattan, will have its world premiere at the Meadow Brook Theatre (378 Meadow Brook Road) in Rochester, Michigan.

'We are all there for each other,' Kevin Nietzel asserts, affirming the bond that is making Maine State Music Theatre's Grease so electric. 'It is very rewarding,' adds Neil Starkenberg, MSMT's Danny Zuko. Co-star Chelsea Williams, who plays Sandy to Starkenberg's Danny, continues the thought: 'Neil and I have had conversations about how we could do this show for a really long time. It is so much fun, and I think that must be obvious to the audience. The energy is so palpable that it is a special joy to work that hard every night. Everyone is having the time of his life!' These three actors together with principals Gerrianne Perez (Rizzo), Charis Leos (Miss Lynch), Costume Designer Travis M. Grant, and MSMT Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark all joined BWW's Maine editor Carla Maria Verdino-Sullwold for the third panel discussion in the theatre's Peek Behind the Curtain series held each summer at Curtis Memorial Library. In an especially lively and far-ranging conversation that highlighted not only the challenges but also the camaraderie of this ensemble, the panel and capacity audience explored the history, characters, and production process for MSMT's summer mega hit.

Rock'n roll, teen rebellion, a collection of quirky, lovable characters, and a musical score seared into the American cultural fabric - all these come together in a breathless and breathtaking joy ride that pulsates with electrifying energy in Maine State Music Theatre's third main stage show, Grease. The Jim Jacobs/Warren Casey musical, which reminisces nostalgically about the joyful, naughty, unforgettable days of senior year in mythical Rydell High in 1959, has seen numerous permutations since its original production as an edgy, raunchy musical play called Vaseline in 1971, to its Broadway debut in 1972 and through various film versions including the iconic 1978 movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Here in its Broadway version, amplified with a number of the favorite songs from the movie, MSMT has created a high-flying confection that is a valentine to a simpler era with just the right sparks of sass and sweetness that combine for an irresistibly engaging evening that is sure to prove the summer theatre scene's mega hit.

'I think other people first recognized that I was geared to being a performer. I didn't necessarily recognize that myself, but when I performed in my first musical in high school, I suddenly said to myself 'Nothing else makes me feel like this. I felt these amazing vibrations between me and the audience and me and the rest of the people on stage; I felt connected to the world - more like my true self myself that I had ever felt before, and that's how I knew.' Chelsea Williams is talking about discovering her vocation as an actress and the creative journey which has taken her to the nation's leading theatres. This July and August the Windham, Maine, native returns to her home state to play Sandy in Maine State Music Theatre's production of Grease, which begins its run at the Pickard Theater on July 19. Williams made her MSMT debut last summer as Sophie in MSMT's blockbuster hit, Mamma Mia!, reprising the role that constituted her big career breakthrough. Like Mamma Mia!, Grease is blessed with an unforgettable score and a story that is both endearing and totally joyous, and the new MSMT production in which Williams stars promises to be the mega hit of the company's summer season.

'I imagine that Danny is the youngest in a family of boys, and he feels he has to live up to the name Zuko at Rydell High. In the movie he says 'I've got a reputation to protect,' and I think that goes a long way to explaining his behavior.' Neil Starkenberg is commenting on his role debut in Maine State Music Theatre's upcoming production of Grease, which begins a run at the Pickard Theater on July 19. For the twenty-eight year-old actor, the iconic part of the fifties greaser, Danny Zuko, is a dream come true, and Starkenberg has spent a great deal of time preparing for the part.

Theatre Aspen announced casting for the organization's upcoming season of summer shows, which includes Hairspray, Sex with Strangers and The World According to Snoopy.

Theatre Aspen announced that season passes go on sale today for the upcoming summer season. A variety of passes, with exclusive access to booking seats, no fees and other benefits, are available, including specially priced preview passes and the popular Local's Pass for valley residents, offered through June 5. Season Passes are on sale for as low as $80 for the Preview Pass.

Theatre Aspen announced that season passes go on sale today for the upcoming summer season.  A variety of passes, with exclusive access to booking seats, no fees and other benefits, are available, including specially priced preview passes and the popular Local's Pass for valley residents, offered through June 5. Season Passes are on sale for as low as $80 for the Preview Pass.  Single tickets will be available May 15th. Passes are available at TAtix.co and complete schedules and pricing can be found on the organization's website at theatreaspen.org. The season opens with previews beginningJune 24, 2017.

'At the end of last summer I told myself that we were not going to try to top the 2016 season. I was going to think of 2017 as a completely separate and unique adventure, but the end result is that we are already topping our previous metrics in terms of ticket sales.' The speaker, Curt Dale Clark, Maine State Music Theatre's energetic and charismatic Artistic Director, is reflecting on the sold out 2016 season which garnered the company lavish critical and audience acclaim and made an MSMT ticket one of the hottest items in the region.

Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA's songs from "Dancing Queen" and "S.O.S." to "Money, Money, Money" and "Take a Chance on Me," Mamma Mia, is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found.  Following the production's epic 14-year run on Broadway. Mamma Mia!  is on the WBT stage  March 23 through June 25, 2017.  

Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA's songs from "Dancing Queen" and "S.O.S." to "Money, Money, Money" and "Take a Chance on Me," Mamma Mia, is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found. Following the production's epic 14-year run on Broadway. Mamma Mia! is on the WBT stage March 23 through June 25, 2017.

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre has just the solution for you this season with the hit Broadway blockbuster The Producers, set to take the Theatre by storm January 10 through 29.

There was a buzz of excitement in theatres across the country on Wednesday, January 4, as Broadway World Regional Managing Editor Christina Mancuso announced each region's winners in the 2016 Broadway World Audience Choice Awards. Here in Maine within seconds of the postings, congratulations and comments poured in on social media and websites. Hoping to get a measure of the reaction, we contacted all the winners and took a sampling of responses to share with everyone.

So you wanna be a producer?

Having had the privilege to serve as Broadway World's Maine Editor for more than three years now, I can say with pride that the state, though remote as it may seem from the epicenter of the theatre world, Broadway, is blessed to be home to so many thriving theatre companies who produce exciting, vibrant seasons. As I compiled my list for 2016 with many familiar names, I was also struck by the extraordinary consistency of excellence these companies maintain. Here are my personal choices of the best in Maine, grouped by theatre and show.

Theatre Aspen announced the lineup for its 34th season today. The Hurst Theatre opens with the Tony Award-winning musical HAIRSPRAY, running in repertory with Laura Eason's popular play Sex with Strangers, and a new version of the musical The World According to Snoopy. The organization also announced the return of the Aspen Theatre Festival for new work at the end of August.

'It's the music and the storytelling; the storytelling walks a fine line between being universal and silly. There is a lot of humor and a lot of warmth and so many relationships you can connect with. All that coupled with joyful, upbeat, recognizable music - those crazy tunes by those inspired creators - make for magic.' Leading lady Lauren Mufson is explaining what she believes to be the enduring appeal of the joyous ABBA musical, Mamma Mia! In which she is currently playing Donna Sheridan, a role she performed on Broadway and national tour. She is joined by a panel of other artists - actors Ian Knauer (Sam Carmichael), Mylinda Hull (Rosie), Chelsea Williams (Sophie) and stage manager Mark Johnson - all involved with the stunning revival that opened to rave reviews at Maine State Music Theatre on August 11th for the last in the Peek Behind the Curtain series of interviews by Broadway World's Carla Maia Verdino-Sullwold, held at Brunswick's Curtis Memorial Library on August 17th.