Raúl Esparza News

Injecting diversity, switching genders pell-mell, and even gifting us with a gay couple, Marianne Elliott's overhaul of Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY isn't more illuminating or revelatory than the 1970 original. But the horseplay and the gay wedding-day shenanigans are wildly entertaining - and the superb score still transcends the George Furth book.

The Met presents a special benefit concert in celebration of the 75th birthday of Stephen Schwartz, the Oscar and Grammy Award–winning composer of Broadway smash-hits Wicked, Godspell, and Pippin, and lyricist for beloved film classics Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Enchanted, and more.

The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund (DLDF) has announced the second edition of Banned Together: An Anti-Censorship Theatre Podcast. This year's edition will feature two episodes, which are available now. Episodes will be available to stream until November 30.

What did our critic think of TICK,TICK...BOOM! at Volksoper?

THE 24 HOUR PLAYS' 23rd Annual The 24 Hour Plays On Broadway event took place last night, honoring playwright and screenwriter Warren Leight, a longtime supporter of the organization. Check out photos from the event here!

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is October 24, 2023 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.

Additional talent has been announced for the 23rd Annual The 24 Hour Plays On Broadway. Find out who is joining the lineup here!

Initial talent has been revealed for the 23rd Annual The 24 Hour Plays On Broadway. This one-night-only event featuring distinguished artists from the New York entertainment community and beyond will be held this year on Monday October 23, 2023 at The Town Hall. Find out who will appear here!

Birdland Jazz Club will welcome the return of George Abud and Katrina Lenk  in an encore performance of their sold-out show “Swung” on Monday, November 6 at 7:00 PM. Learn more about the performance and how to get tickets here!

Off-Brand Opera presents Riders to the Sea: The Musical, an experimental production blurring the lines between opera and musical theater. Join us at Brooklyn Art Haus from June 9-11 for this modern adaptation of the classic Vaughn Williams opera. Tickets available at offbrandopera.org/riders.

The Barn Players' production of TICK, TICK. . .BOOM! opened Friday, September 8 at the Black Box Theatre inside the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center in Overland Park. Directed by Kipp Simmons, with vocal arrangements and orchestrations by Stephen Oremus the musical runs at the center through September 17. Delano Mendoza and Kevin Bogan provide musical direction for The Barn Players’ production.

Broadway performers and award-winning artists under the direction of acclaimed conductor, music director, orchestrator, composer, arranger, and Arts Ignite Founder, Mary-Mitchell Campbell will gather for an arts education benefit GLOW! Celebrating our Arts Education Champions.

Off-Brand Opera will return this June with Riders to the Sea: The Musical - an adaptation of the classic Vaughn Williams opera that furthers the Off-Brand Opera mission of blurring the lines between standard performance genres.

This week on the Little Known Facts Podcast, Julian Lerner takes us behind the scenes from audition to performances as The Artful Dodger in the most recent production of Oliver! at City Center with  Benjamin Pajak, Raul Esparza, Lilli Cooper and more. Plus, deep dive into life on the set of The Wonder Years reboot and what he learned from working with Jennifer Garner.

BroadwayWorld is thrilled to remind you to tune in tonight, May 12, to your local PBS station and go for a fantastic ride with GREAT PERFORMANCES: Celebrating 50 Years of Broadway’s Best. We were lucky enough to receive an advance sneak peek and were enthralled for 1 hour and 26 minutes of some real razzle-dazzle.

Two-time Tony Award nominee Gavin Lee will be going on tonight as Fagin in Oliver! at New York City Center!

Looking for the best deals on Broadway shows? Welcome to our new weekly guide to the most popular shows listed on BroadwayWorld. Check out which shows are selling this week, May 8, 2023.

Raúl Esparza, who is curently starring as Fagin in the New York City Center Encores! production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!, will be the focus of an exclusive Drama Desk interview program at 4:00pm on Tuesday, May 9.

The New York City Center production of Oliver! began performances last night, May 3. BroadwayWorld was there and you can check out photos of the cast taking their first bows here!

See first look video of the New York City Center production of Oliver! The production is led by Lilli Cooper as Nancy, Raúl Esparza as Fagin, Julian Lerner as The Artful Dodger, Tam Mutu as Bill Sikes, Brad Oscar as Mr. Bumble, Benjamin Pajak as Oliver Twist, and Mary Testa as Widow Corney.