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Producers Shawn Jay Z Carter, Will amp Jada Pinkett Smith, Ruth amp Stephen Hendel, Ahmir Questlove Thompson and The National Theatre of Great Britain today announced the return of the critically acclaimed, award-winning production of Fela, currently on a multi-city world tour, for a limited run of 32 performances Only at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre 302 West 45th Street from July 9 August 4. Exploring the extravagant world of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, this provocative hybrid of dance, theatre, music, biography and a party like no-other is directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Bill T. Jones, with a book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones. The world renowned Antibalas and other members of the NYC Afrobeat community, under the direction of Aaron Johnson, again perform Kutis rousing music live onstage. Recipient of three 2010 Tony Awards Best Choreography, Best Costumes, Best Sound Design, Fela, featuring the music and lyrics by Fela Kuti, was conceived by Bill T. Jones,...

On Twitter Watch, Ahmir Questlove Thompson wrote Breaking News best ever come july NYC you get One More Chance to see the return of felamusical itsback on broadway dontsleepFELA will play the Oriental Theatre 24 W. Randolph St. through April 15, 2012. It is directed by Bill T. Jones, is a provocative hybrid of dance, theatre and music exploring the extravagant world of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti. The show has become an international sensation having been performed in three continents.Olivier and Tony Award-nominated actor Sahr Ngaujah will lead the cast of Fela He is joined by Melanie Marshall and Paulette Ivory, who co-starred with Ngaujah in the Olivier-nominated Royal National Theatre production. This touring production is a once in a lifetime experience, a glorious amalgam of the original casts of both Broadway and Londons Royal National Theatre.A triumphant tale of courage, passion and love, Fela is the true story of Kuti,...

Kim Cattrall has been nominated for a coveted theater award. The "Sex and the City" star's turn as Amanda in "Private Lives" sees her considered for the Best Actress in a Play prize at the 11th Whatsonstage.com Awards.

She will face competition from "End of the Rainbow" star Tracie Bennett, Helen McCrory for her role in "The Late Middle Classes", "Ruined" star Jenny Jules, Nancy Carroll from "After the Dance" and "All My Sons" actress Zoe Wanamaker.

The Best Actor in a Play award will be contested by Benedict Cumberbatch from "After the Dance", Kim's "Private Lives" co-star Matthew Mcfadyen, "Hamlet" and "Measure For Measure" star Rory Kinnear, "Deathtrap" and "London Assurance" actor Simon Russell Beale, "The Real Thing"'s Toby Stephens and "All My Sons" star David Suchet.

"All My Sons" received more nominations than any other production, being considered for accolades in six different categories. The most...

Making for quite the glamorous evening in the Big Apple, the stars gathered together at Radio City Music Hall for the 2010 Tony Awards on Sunday night (June 13).

With Sean Hayes acting as the evening's host, big names such as Katie Holmes, Daniel Radcliffe, Beyonce and Jay-z, and Lea Michele all turned up for the annual Broadway event.

During the course of the evening, big winners included the lovely Scarlett Johansson as Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her work in "A View From a Bridge," as well as Denzel Washington as Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his stage duties in "Fences".

Also taking home trophies were Catherine Zeta Jones as Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for "A Little Night Music," along with "Red," which received the best play prize and five other trophies.

The complete list of...

There are so many movie and television faces nominated for the Tony Award this year that one begins to worry about how any stateside stage actor can earn a living. The answer, appears to be get famous in another medium in order to get plum stage roles.

Jude Law (Hamlet) is equally at home on screen or stage

This can work against the audience, this self destructive drive to only see the familiar, if it robs them of great stage trained actors in meaty roles. But thankfully this isn't a problem with actors who are adept at changing their "scale" for any medium. Take The Lovely Laura Linney, for instance, who no one would dare accuse of being out of her element whether she's on the silver screen, the living room telly or treading the boards on Broadway.

Lead Actor in a Play

Jude Law, Hamlet

Alfred Molina, Red

Liev Schreiber,...

Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge's "La Cage aux Folles" musical and Broadway show "Fela!" are leading the way at this year's Tony Awards after scooping 11 nominations each. "Fela!", about the life of revered African world music star Fela Kuti, will go up against Green Day's "American Idiot", "Memphis", and "Million Dollar Quartet" in the coveted Best Musical category at the 64th annual prizegiving, which honors the best on Broadway.

Meanwhile, Grammer and Hodge, who star as a camp gay couple in "La Cage", will compete against Sean Hayes ("Promises, Promises"), Chad Kimball ("Memphis)" and Sahr Ngaujah ("Fela!") for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. The evening is sure to be a star-studded event, with Hollywood actors Jude Law ("Hamlet"), Alfred Molina ("Red"), Liev Schreiber ("A View From the Bridge"), Christopher Walken ("A Behanding in Spokane") and Denzel Washington ("Fences") pitted against each other for the...

Broadway hit it big this season with even bigger stars that included marquee names like High Jackman, Daniel Craig, Scarlett Johansson, Denzel Washington, Catherine Zeta-Jones and much more.

The nominations for the Tony awards were narrowed down on Tuesday morning (May 4) by the American Theatre Wing that began with Fela!, about Nigerian Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kutie, as well as La Cage Aux Folles, that included Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge, which had 11 nominations.

Also taking bids for awards was August Wilson’s Fences, which starred Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, and received 10 nominations.

In leading actor in play, Lieve Schriber in A View from the Bride and Christopher Walken in Martin McDonaugh’s A Behanding in Spokane square off for top honors.

In leading actresses, Viola Davis, Valerie Harper, Linda Lavin, Laura Lenney and Jan Maxwell were all nominated. Best play nominations went to In the Next Room, Next Fall,...

One has to hand it to the Tony nominators: They didn't follow conventional wisdom nor did they particularly pay heed to commercial considerations.

Indeed, some of the biggest noms went to shows that are either long gone ("Ragtime," "Finian's Rainbow," "In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play," "Time Stands Still") or lagging at the boxoffice ("Fela!" "Memphis," "Next Fall," "Million Dollar Quartet").

The biggest surprises Tuesday were the omissions.

"The Addams Family," the most successful new musical of the season, was thoroughly dissed, failing to get noms for best musical, for its stars Nathan Lane or Bebe Neuwirth, or even for its production design. And though it did get one for original score, that's not exactly a coup in a season in which only one other musical, "Memphis," even had one. The category had to be embarrassingly filled out with the forgettable music from "Enron" and Branford Marsalis' incidental music for "Fences.

Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge's La Cage Aux Folles musical and Broadway show Fela! are leading the way at this year's Tony Awards after scooping 11 nominations each.

Fela!, about the life of revered African world music star Fela Kuti, will go up against Green Day's American Idiot, Memphis, and Million Dollar Quartet in the coveted Best Musical category at the 64th annual prizegiving, which honours the best on Broadway.

Meanwhile, Grammer and Hodge, who star as a camp gay couple in La Cage, will compete against Sean Hayes (Promises, Promises), Chad Kimball (Memphis) and Sahr Ngaujah (Fela!) for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.

The evening is sure to be a star-studded event, with Hollywood actors Jude Law (Hamlet), Alfred Molina (Red), Liev Schreiber (A View from the Bridge), Christopher Walken (A Behanding in Spokane) and Denzel Washington (Fences) pitted against each other for the Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play award.

Washington's co-star Viola Davis will battle it out in the category for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, against Valerie Harper (Looped), Linda Lavin (Collected Stories), Laura Linney (Time Stands Still) and Jan Maxwell (The Royal Family).

Catherine Zeta-Jones (A Little Night Music), Kate Baldwin (Finian's Rainbow), Sherie Rene Scott (Everyday Rapture), Montego Glover (Memphis) and Christiane Noll (Ragtime) received nods for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, and Scarlett Johansson's Broadway debut in A View from the Bridge has earned her a nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.

Nominations for Best Play include In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), Next Fall, Red and Time Stands Still.

The winners will be announced on 13 June at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

The main list of nominees is as follows:

Best Play:

In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)

Next Fall

Red

Time Stands Still

Best Musical:

American Idiot

Fela!

Memphis

Million Dollar Quartet

Best Book of a Musical:

Everyday Rapture - Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott

Fela! - Jim Lewis & Bill T. Jones

Memphis - Joe Dipietro

Million Dollar Quartet - Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre:

The Addams Family - Music & Lyrics: Andrew Lippa

Enron - Music: Adam Cork, Lyrics: Lucy Prebble

Fences - Music: Branford Marsalis

Memphis - Music: David Bryan, Lyrics: Joe Dipietro, David Bryan

Best Revival of a Play:

Fences

Lend Me a Tenor

The Royal Family

A View from the Bridge

Best Revival of a Musical:

Finian's Rainbow

La Cage aux Folles

A Little Night Music

Ragtime

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play:

Jude Law - Hamlet

Alfred Molina - Red

Liev Schreiber - A View from the Bridge

Christopher Walken - A Behanding in Spokane

Denzel Washington - Fences

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play:

Viola Davis - Fences

Valerie Harper - Looped

Linda Lavin - Collected Stories

Laura Linney - Time Stands Still

Jan Maxwell - The Royal Family

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical:

Kelsey Grammer - La Cage aux Folles

Sean Hayes - Promises, Promises

Douglas Hodge - La Cage aux Folles

Chad Kimball - Memphis

Sahr Ngaujah - Fela!

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical:

Kate Baldwin - Finian's Rainbow

Sherie Rene Scott - Everyday Rapture

Montego Glover - Memphis

Christiane Noll - Ragtime

Catherine Zeta-Jones - A Little Night Music

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play:

David Alan Grier - Race

Stephen McKinley Henderson - Fences

Jon Michael Hill - Superior Donuts

Stephen Kunken - Enron

Eddie Redmayne - Red

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play:

Maria Dizzia - In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)

Rosemary Harris - The Royal Family

Jessica Hecht - A View from the Bridge

Scarlett Johansson - A View from the Bridge

Jan Maxwell - Lend Me a Tenor

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical:

Kevin Chamberlin - The Addams Family

Robin De Jesus - La Cage aux Folles

Christopher Fitzgerald - Finian's Rainbow

Levi Kreis - Million Dollar Quartet

Bobby Steggert - Ragtime

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical:

Barbara Cook - Sondheim on Sondheim

Katie Finneran - Promises, Promises

Angela Lansbury - A Little Night Music

Karine Plantadit - Come Fly Away

Lillias White - Fela!

Best Direction of a Play:

Michael Grandage - Red

Sheryl Kaller - Next Fall

Kenny Leon - Fences

Gregory Mosher - A View from the Bridge

Best Direction of a Musical:

Christopher Ashley - Memphis

Marcia Milgrom Dodge - Ragtime

Terry Johnson - La Cage aux Folles

Bill T. Jones - Fela!

Best Choreography

Rob Ashford - Promises, Promises

Bill T. Jones - Fela!

Lynne Page - La Cage aux Folles

Twyla Tharp - Come Fly Away

Best Orchestrations:

Jason Carr - La Cage aux Folles

Aaron Johnson - Fela!

Jonathan Tunick - Promises, Promises

Daryl Waters & David Bryan - Memphis

Best Scenic Design of a Play

John Lee Beatty - The Royal Family

Alexander Dodge - Present Laughter

Santo Loquasto - Fences

Christopher Oram - Red

Best Scenic Design of a Musical:

Marina Draghici - Fela!

Christine Jones - American Idiot

Derek McLane - Ragtime

Tim Shortall - La Cage aux Folles

Best Costume Design of a Play:

Martin Pakledinaz - Lend Me a Tenor

Constanza Romero - Fences

David Zinn - In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)

Catherine Zuber - The Royal Family

Best Costume Design of a Musical:

Marina Draghici - Fela!

Santo Loquasto - Ragtime

Paul Tazewell - Memphis

Matthew Wright - La Cage aux Folles

Best Lighting Design of a Play:

Neil Austin - Hamlet

Neil Austin - Red

Mark Henderson - Enron

Brian MacDevitt - Fences

Best Lighting Design of a Musical:

Kevin Adams - American Idiot

Donald Holder - Ragtime

Nick Richings - La Cage aux Folles

Robert Wierzel - Fela!

Best Sound Design of a Play:

Acme Sound Partners - Fences

Adam Cork - Enron

Adam Cork - Red

Scott Lehrer - A View from the Bridge

Best Sound Design of a Musical:

Jonathan Deans - La Cage aux Folles

Robert Kaplowitz - Fela!

Dan Moses Schreier and Gareth Owen - A Little Night Music

Dan Moses Schreier - Sondheim on Sondheim

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre:

Alan Ayckbourn

Marian Seldes

Regional Theatre Tony Award:

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Waterford, Connecticut

Isabelle Stevenson Award:

David Hyde Pierce

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre:

Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York

B.H. Barry

Tom Viola...

New York – Star wattage will burn bright at the 2010 Tony Awards with Denzel Washington, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Kelsey Grammer among those receiving nominations Tuesday.Washington and Law were each cited for best actor performances in "Fences" and "Hamlet," respectively. Zeta-Jones was nominated for best performance by a leading actress in a musical, "A Little Night Music," and Grammer was nominated for lead actor in a musical, "La Cage aux Folles.""Fela!" — nominated for best musical — and "La Cage aux Folles," nominated for the best musical revival, each received 11 nominations, followed by "Fences" with 10 nods.Nominated for best play were "In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)" by Sarah Ruhl; "Next Fall," by Geoffrey Nauffts; "Red," by John Logan, and "Time Stands Still," by Donald Margulies.Best musical nominations went to Green Day's "American Idiot"; "Memphis"; "Million Dollar Quartet," and "Fela!"The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford,...

Jeff Favreproduction: A Beautiful View, Son of Semele Theatre; Robots vs. Fake Robots, Powerhouse Theatre; Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, Geffen Playhouse.Playwriting: David Largman Murray, Robots vs. Fake Robots.Direction: Don Boughton, A Beautiful View; John Doyle, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre; Tiger Reel, Cartoon, Art/Works Theatre; Elise Robertson, The Women, Circus Theatricals.Music Direction: Sarah Travis, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Scenic Design: Simon Higlett, The School of Night, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum; Christine Jones, Spring Awakening, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre; Anthony Ward, My Fair Lady, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre.Lighting Design: Russell H. Champa, The School of Night; Richard Jones, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.Costume Design: Anthony Ward, My Fair Lady.Sound Design: Dan Moses Schreier, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.Perfomance In A (Primarily) Straight Play:Gregory Itzin,...

By Stephen Saito

[For complete coverage of the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, check out Ifc's Tribeca page.]

When Lucas Jansen, Adam Kurland and Spencer Vrooman had to come up with a title for their first documentary, "This is Not a Robbery," they looked to the René Magritte surrealist painting "This is Not a Pipe" for inspiration. While there was very little that was artistic about the robberies attempted by the film's subject, J.L. "Red" Rountree . who merely went into a bank and handed a teller an envelope with the word "robbery" scribbled on it . there was something positively surreal about the fact that Rountree was 86 years old when he decided to first rob a bank. Rountree died in 2004 after starting out with great success in the oil business and ending in prison, though not before a series of incredible twists and turns of fate led the octogenarian to turn to a life of crime. Jansen, Kurland and Vrooman recently sat down to reflect on Rountree's legacy,...