Matthew Amira News

The legendary Ogunquit Playhouse is thrilled to announce a sensational lineup of shows for audiences in 2019. For the first time in over a decade the Playhouse will stage a non-musical play in addition to five musicals, including the return of the multi-Tony Award-winning, international sensation Jersey Boys; the quintessential tap dancing extravaganza 42nd Street; and the iconic and powerful jazz musical Cabaret. The play that will ignite the stage with murder and mystery is the beloved Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Closing out the season is a hilarious musical comedy that will be announced soon and a Tony Award-winning, smash hit musical which will be announced in May.

Maine seems to be enjoying a theatrical renaissance with large and small companies vigorously engaged in producing a wide range of repertoire throughout the state. Several of the leading professional theatres have become destinations in and of themselves - (witness the inclusion of Maine State Music Theatre and Ogunquit Playhouse in Scott Andrews' upcoming book, Vacationland) - while venerable community groups continue to raise the bar for their work. I am privileged to get to sample these performances as Broadway World's Maine editor and to be able to compare many of them favorably with shows I see across the country, in New York and London. These are my personal choices of the best in Maine for 2018, grouped by theatre company and show. MAINE STATE MUSIC THEATRE delivered a 60th anniversary season that redefined the meaning and substance of 'gala.'

The rise of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons is played out in Jersey Boys.

The multi-Tony Award-winning, international sensation that took Broadway and the world by storm, makes its Northeast premiere at the Ogunquit Playhouse, on stage through October 28. Get a first look at the cast in action below!

The multi-Tony Award-winning, international sensation makes its Northeast premiere at the Ogunquit Playhouse, on stage September 5 through October 28. Jersey Boys takes audiences on an exhilarating journey behind the music of mega-stars Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Josh Tolle in "Tolle: Volume I" on Sunday, July 15th at 9:30 p.m. This emerging singer/songwriter, Kinky Boots actor, and vocalist in the Feinstein's/54 Below hit concert series, Broadway Loves, makes his solo debut with a collection of raw and emotional original material. Experience an unveiling of music that will impact audiences and leave them humming the whole subway ride home. Tolle's unique style and powerful vocals are not to be missed. Come for the brand new music and raise a glass to electrifying covers of artists ranging from Paramore to Rihanna. A name you may not know, but a musical journey you will never forget - step into the spotlight of love, loss, and love again with Josh Tolle.

Gloucester Stage Company opens its 39th season of professional theater on May 11 with the world premiere of Madame Defarge, Wendy Kesselman's new musical inspired by Charles Dicken's classic A Tale of Two Cities. The world premiere musical runs from May 11 through June 2 at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. A passionate re-imagining of Dickens' infamous Madame Defarge illuminates this new musical by Wendy Kesselman.

The Fabulous Fox Theatre announced today that Christopher Tierney and Bronwyn Reed will star as Johnny Castle and Frances "Baby" Houseman in the St. Louis premiere of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage.

The producers of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage announced casting today for the third year of the North American Tour, which coincides with the film's 30th anniversary. Christopher Tierney, having originally performed the role of Johnny Castle during the 2015 Toronto engagement, returned to the show during its most recent North American tour and will once again thrill audiences alongside the fast-rising young star Bronwyn Reed as Frances 'Baby' Houseman. Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage is coming to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County beginning November 29 through December 4, 2016. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the show!

The producers of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage announced casting for the third year of the North American Tour, which coincides with the film's 30th anniversary. Christopher Tierney, having originally performed the role of Johnny Castle during the 2015 Toronto engagement, returned to the show during its most recent North American tour and will once again thrill audiences alongside the fast-rising young star Bronwyn Reed as Frances "Baby" Houseman. Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage is coming to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County beginning November 29 through December 4, 2016.

The producers of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage announced casting today for the third year of the North American Tour, which coincides with the film's 30th anniversary. Christopher Tierney, having originally performed the role of Johnny Castle during the 2015 Toronto engagement, returned to the show during its most recent North American tour and will once again thrill audiences alongside the fast-rising young star Bronwyn Reed as Frances 'Baby' Houseman. Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage is coming to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County beginning November 29 through December 4, 2016. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the show!

The producers of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage announced casting for the third year of the North American Tour, which coincides with the film's 30th anniversary. Christopher Tierney, having originally performed the role of Johnny Castle during the 2015 Toronto engagement, returned to the show during it most recent North American tour and will once again thrill audiences alongside the fast-rising young star Bronwyn Reed as Frances "Baby" Houseman. 

The Ogunquit Playhouse in southern Maine has been setting the bar higher and higher with each new production under Bradford T. Kenney, artistic director. What used to be a quintessential ocean-side summer stock house now operates from May through November, often mounting New England, and occasionally national, regional premieres. Its current musical, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, is the company's most ambitious venture yet. Adapted from the 1996 Disney animated film which was based on the classic Victor Hugo novel "Notre Dame de Paris," the Ogunquit production boasts a towering vaulted set design, a 21-member cast of Broadway veterans, and a tremendous 32-member choir. This HUNCHBACK delivers soaring vocals as big as its epic themes.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Maine, Chicago, San Diego and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include LuPone/Ebersole in Goodman Theatre's WAR PAINT, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME at Ogunquit, and SENSE AND SENSIBILITY at The Old Globe, just to name a few.

Ogunquit Playhouse's third season offering is an epic production of the Alan Menken-Stephen Schwartz- Peter Parnell musical version of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This is only the third regional production of this adaptation of Hugo's 19th century novel set in 15th century Paris and represents another major step in the development process which will likely eventually bring this show to Broadway.

Our Mutual Friend, A New Musical based on Charles Dickens' final novel with music and lyrics by Larry Gelb and book adapted by Elizabeth and Larry Gelb will be performed in Staged Reading format featuring the composer at the piano, with bass (Myles Sloniker) and drums (Daniel Rabinow) at Actors' Temple Theater on Monday October 19th at 2PM and 7PM.Mark Harborth directs. The cast includes Matthew Amira* (The Most Happy Fella at Goodspeed), Mark Blowers, Kathryn Boswell* (Gigi on Broadway), Kyle Bradford, Jamie Buxton*(Me and My Girl at Reagle Theatre), Joseph Cassese*,James Patterson* (Beauty and the Beast on Broadway), Erika Person* (Iolanthe at City Center), Matthew Wages* (The Pirates of Penzance at City Center), Nicholas Wuehrmann*, Elizabeth Urbanczyk and Jacob Voight. (*Member of Actors' Equity)

The Final Blog….

Kayaks, TV Spots, Swing Ons, and Talk Backs

Boy have I been looking forward to this one all week long, lol. This was an especially tough week for a lot of us as we not only had our normal 8 show week, we also had some understudy rehearsal on Thursday and Friday to be ready if the chance arose when we would have to go on. Don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate being able to work on the material in a different way and it is always a treat when you get to hear different interpretations of the story. However, with all that said and done I was still extremely exhausted at the amount of work we had been doing. So the prospect of two days off was a spectacular one. It started out rather a bit intense and not necessarily what one would think would be a relaxing morning. However getting to the gym is something important and actually was the perfect way for us to gear up for our epic day off. Since I have started this job, and a bit before, I have been trying to keep up with a regular routine of gym as well as eating a much more strict diet. So far it has been going well, but there are definitely those times where I would love a large pizza and some beer, ha!!!

Director Rob Ruggiero changes the focus for the production running over at Goodspeed, which has been extended through Sept. 12.