James Paul News

WaterTower Theatre (WTT) concludes its 2008-2009 season with the comic romp Unnecessary Farce. It will run July 16 - August 2, 2009.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Bill Rauch has put the finishing touches on the design teams for OSF's 75th anniversary year. The 2010 season was announced in March, but a few directors had not yet been announced.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival will open its summer season with one of Shakespeare's rarely produced history plays, Henry VIII. Last produced at OSF in 1984, the play will be staged with all the spectacle of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Some tickets remain available for previews and openings. To purchase tickets go to www.osfashland.org or call the Box Office at (541) 482-4331.

WaterTower Theatre (WTT) continues its 2008-2009 Discover Series with the regional premiere of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's comedy, Based on a Totally True Story. It will run April 16 - May 3, 2009. Ethan Keene, playwright and comic book writer, is on the verge of having it all - success, money, and a Hollywood movie credit. But getting to that Hollywood Premiere may be more dramatic than the movie. His father is having a marital crisis, his boyfriend is begging for more attention, and his producer is demanding a re-write. Based on a Totally True Story is the story of one wanna-be screenwriter's attempt to find his own happy ending before the final credits roll.

On Good Friday (April 10th) THE AFTER PARTY welcomes the cast of In The Heights and more with WILLIAM WADE at the piano! From In The Heights... Sex and the City's JOSHUA HENRY and After Party favorite MARCUS PAUL JAMES and making his debut at The After Party... LUIS SALGADO

Musicals Tonight! continues its ongoing salute to Broadway and Off-Broadway Standbys and Understudies with its next editions of At This Performance...TM to be held on Sunday, March 22nd and Monday, March 23rd at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre, 2162 Broadway, (above what was the old Promenade Theatre - Broadway at 76th Street), 3rd Floor at 8 PM.

WaterTower Theatre (WTT) continues its 2008‐2009 Discover Series with the regional premiere of Roberto Aguirre‐Sacasa's comedy, Based on a Totally True Story. It will run April 16 - May 3, 2009. Ethan Keene, playwright and comic book writer, is on the verge of having it all - success, money, and a Hollywood movie credit. But getting to that Hollywood Premiere may be more dramatic than the movie. His father is having a marital crisis, his boyfriend is begging for more attention, and his producer is demanding a re‐write. Based on a Totally True Story is the story of one wanna‐be screenwriter's attempt to find his own happy ending before the final credits roll.

WaterTower Theatre (WTT) continues its 2008-2009 Discover Series with the regional premiere of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's comedy, Based on a Totally True Story. It will run April 16 - May 3, 2009. Ethan Keene, playwright and comic book writer, is on the verge of having it all - success, money, and a Hollywood movie credit. But getting to that Hollywood Premiere may be more dramatic than the movie. His father is having a marital crisis, his boyfriend is begging for more attention, and his producer is demanding a re-write. Based on a Totally True Story is the story of one wanna-be screenwriter's attempt to find his own happy ending before the final credits roll.

Musicals Tonight! continues its ongoing salute to Broadway and Off-Broadway Standbys and Understudies with its next editions of At This Performance...TM to be held on Sunday, March 22nd and Monday, March 23rd at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre, 2162 Broadway, (above what was the old Promenade Theatre - Broadway at 76th Street), 3rd Floor at 8 PM.

The Laurie Beechman Theatre, located within The West Bank Caf? (407 West 42nd St.), is pleased to continue our Friday night soiree, THE AFTER PARTY. Now going strong it's third, THE AFTER PARTY is billed as 'a weekly schmoozefest for the theatrically inclined.' Every Friday from 10:30 pm until the wee hours, pros from Broadway and aspiring stars alike belt it out on the stage of The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Join hosts BRANDON CUTRELL (Bistor, MAC and Nightlife Award winner) and ALYSHA UMPHRESS (Make Me A Song) with RAY FELLMAN (Bistro Award winner) at the piano for this weekly party in the theatre district. There is no cover charge for this event. Come and sing yourself as the mic is always open, or sit back and enjoy a cocktail with friends. Located just blocks from the Great White Way, you never know who might drop in.

The Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival opens its 74th year the weekend of February 20-22 and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Elizabethan Stage. In honor of that milestone, OSF is dedicating the 2009 season to principal theatre and scenic designer, Richard L. Hay, acknowledging his creative work that spans more than 50 years at OSF and includes the design of all three theatre spaces, beginning with the current Elizabethan Stage in 1959, half a century ago.

The Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival opens its 74th year the weekend of February 20-22 and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Elizabethan Stage. In honor of that milestone, OSF is dedicating the 2009 season to principal theatre and scenic designer, Richard L. Hay, acknowledging his creative work that spans more than 50 years at OSF and includes the design of all three theatre spaces, beginning with the current Elizabethan Stage in 1959, half a century ago. 'I am deeply moved as I reflect on the achievement and commitment of our extraordinary theater artist, Richard Hay,' OSF Artistic Director Bill Rauch said, 'whose dedication to our artform and to OSF is an inspiration to all of us. The remarkable spaces he designed allow for a connection between actors and audiences that make OSF's theater experience unique and richly satisfying. And he remains an unstoppable creative force, designing scenery for two world premiere adaptations this season: The Servant of Two Masters and Don Quixote.' The 2009 season opens at 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 20, in the Angus Bowmer Theatre on the battlefields of Scotland with William Shakespeare's tragic play, Macbeth, directed by guest artist Gale Edwards. On Saturday, February 21 at 1:30 p.m. in the Angus Bowmer Theatre, theatergoers will have the opportunity to see the rarely produced Death and the King's Horseman,, written by Nigeria's Nobel Laureate playwright Wole Soyinka and directed by Goodman Theatre resident artist Chuck Smith. At 8:00 p.m. that evening, audiences will be treated to Meredith Willson's classic American musical The Music Man, directed by Rauch.

Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller and Jill Furman, the producers of the 2008 Tony Award-winning Best Musical In The Heights, announced that Javier Munoz will take over the role of 'Usnavi' on Monday, February 16, 2009 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 West 46th Street). Javier Munoz joined In The Heights for a reading in 2005 and has been involved ever since, in the ensemble and as understudy for ?Usnavi? at the O?Neill Theater Workshop and in the 2006 Off-Broadway and current Broadway productions. Lin-Manuel Miranda?s last performance will be Sunday February 15, 2009.

Tony Winner Lin-Manuel Miranda played his final performance as 'Usnavi' in his acclaimed Broadway hit, IN THE HEIGHTS on Sunday, February 15th, 2009 at 7pm. After his emotional final performance the cast and crew let loose to celebrate Lin-Manuel's inspirational journey in the role and BroadwayWorld's cameras caught at the festive fun

Tony Winner Lin-Manuel Miranda played his final performance as 'Usnavi' in his acclaimed Broadway hit, IN THE HEIGHTS on Sunday, February 15th, 2009 at 7pm. BroadwayWorld's cameras cheered on his final Broadway bow and he bid his show farewell.

Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller and Jill Furman, the producers of the 2008 Tony Award-winning Best Musical In The Heights, announced that Javier Munoz will take over the role of 'Usnavi' on Monday, February 16, 2009 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 West 46th Street). Javier Munoz joined In The Heights for a reading in 2005 and has been involved ever since, in the ensemble and as understudy for ?Usnavi? at the O?Neill Theater Workshop and in the 2006 Off-Broadway and current Broadway productions. Lin-Manuel Miranda?s last performance will be Sunday February 15, 2009.

Tony Winner Lin-Manuel Miranda will play his final performance as 'Usnavi' in his acclaimed Broadway hit, IN THE HEIGHTS on Sunday, February 15th, 2009 at 7pm. IN THE HEIGHTS opened to critical acclaim, going on to win four 2008 Tony Awards (Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography, Best Orchestrations), and garnering a 2008 Grammy Award nomination for the original cast album. In November, 2008, Universal Pictures acquired the rights to produce a feature film based on IN THE HEIGHTS.

Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller and Jill Furman, the producers of the 2008 Tony Award-winning Best Musical In The Heights, announced today that Javier Munoz will take over the role of 'Usnavi' on Monday, February 16, 2009 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 West 46th Street). Javier Munoz joined In The Heights for a reading in 2005 and has been involved ever since, in the ensemble and as understudy for ?Usnavi? at the O?Neill Theater Workshop and in the 2006 Off-Broadway and current Broadway productions. Lin-Manuel Miranda?s last performance will be Sunday February 15, 2009.

The Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival opens its 74th year the weekend of February 20-22 and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Elizabethan Stage. In honor of that milestone, OSF is dedicating the 2009 season to principal theatre and scenic designer, Richard L. Hay, acknowledging his creative work that spans more than 50 years at OSF and includes the design of all three theatre spaces, beginning with the current Elizabethan Stage in 1959, half a century ago. 'I am deeply moved as I reflect on the achievement and commitment of our extraordinary theater artist, Richard Hay,' OSF Artistic Director Bill Rauch said, 'whose dedication to our artform and to OSF is an inspiration to all of us. The remarkable spaces he designed allow for a connection between actors and audiences that make OSF's theater experience unique and richly satisfying. And he remains an unstoppable creative force, designing scenery for two world premiere adaptations this season: The Servant of Two Masters and Don Quixote.' The 2009 season opens at 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 20, in the Angus Bowmer Theatre on the battlefields of Scotland with William Shakespeare's tragic play, Macbeth, directed by guest artist Gale Edwards. On Saturday, February 21 at 1:30 p.m. in the Angus Bowmer Theatre, theatergoers will have the opportunity to see the rarely produced Death and the King's Horseman,, written by Nigeria's Nobel Laureate playwright Wole Soyinka and directed by Goodman Theatre resident artist Chuck Smith. At 8:00 p.m. that evening, audiences will be treated to Meredith Willson's classic American musical The Music Man, directed by Rauch.

Variety reports the good news that despite the continuing sharp economic downturn in the final quarter, London theater had a record-breaking year in 2008, with attendance for the year totaling 13,807,286, up 1% on the previous record set in 2007. Box office revenue hit 480,563,674 ($658 million), a 3% rise on the 2007 high.