News

Covid has caused a lot of uncertainty around Broadway. Several shows have had to suspend performances, go on hiatus, or close permanently. And the American Theatre Wing hasn’t announced key dates for this year’s Tony Awards yet. Though with that being said, we are now about halfway through the Broadway season, and there are six productions of musicals set to open this spring. Could we see any of them contend at the next Tonys? Below is a look at the plot of each musical as well as the awards history of their authors, casts, and directors, plus the opening and (where applicable) closing dates.

See‘Mj The Musical’ reviews: Myles Frost ‘mesmerizing’ as Michael Jackson, but musical is ‘surface-skimming’

“Mj the Musical”

This jukebox musical follows the life and career of singer Michael Jackson. Centered around the making of his 1992 Dangerous World Tour, the show offers a rare...

Updated with full cast: Producers of the upcoming Broadway musical Mj, which begins previews December 6 at Neil Simon Theatre ahead of opening night February 1, has unveiled the full cast joining Myles Frost as Michael Jackson.

The show originally had been set to begin previews in mid-2020 before the Broadway lockdown. It features a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and a score made up of Jackson’s hits, depicting the singer and his collaborators as they rehearse for the 1992 Dangerous Tour.

Joining Frost in the cast are Quentin Earl Darrington as Joseph Jackson / Rob, Whitney Bashor as Rachel, Gabriel Ruiz as Alejandro, Antoine L. Smith as Berry Gordy / Nick, Joey Sorge as Dave, John Edwards as Jackie Jackson / Ensemble, Ayana George as Katherine Jackson, Apollo Levine as Quincy Jones / Tito Jackson, Tavon Olds-Sample as Michael, Lamont Walker II as Jermaine Jackson / Ensemble, and Zelig Williams as Marlon Jackson / Ensemble.

Radial Park openedits latest cinemersive experience last nightwith the iconic, blockbuster, fan-favorite film, The Blues BrothersThe Blues Brothers, features a live band and theatrical performances seamless timed in-sync with the movie in a one-of-a-kind hybrid mashup. The Blues Brothers, is directed by Kristine Bendul and Waldemar QuinonesVillanueva, and features a cast that includes Broadway's Charity Angel Dawson, Nick Rashad Burroughs, F. Michael Haynie, Brian Charles Johnson, and Antoine L. Smith, along with Ladonna Burns and Anne Fraser Thomas.

The first annual Antonyo Awards honoring black Broadway and Off Broadway theater artists is set for streaming on June 19.

Created by Broadway Black, a multimedia organization that includes a website and podcast, the new awards ceremony will feature presenters and performers including Audra McDonald, Tituss Burgess, Alex Newell, Jordan E. Cooper, Teyonah Parris, Ephraim Sykes, Lachanze, Derrick Baskin, Nicolette Robinson, Jelani Alladin, Christiani Pitts, James Monroe Iglehart, Amber Iman, Kalen Allen, Nzinga Williams, Jackson Alexander, Cody Renard Richard, Ashton Muñiz, Shereen Pimentel, Kirsten Childs, Aisha Jackson, Antoine L. Smith, Griffin Matthews, Michael McElroy, Jocelyn Bioh and L Morgan Lee.

Online voting is open to the public through midnight Friday, June 12. Four special “Kinfolk Awards” – the Lorraine Hansberry Award, the Langston Hughes Award, Welcome Award and The Doors of the Theatre are Open Award – will be presented to members of...

Broadway’s upcoming Michael Jackson musical Mj has announced additional casting, with Grammy nominee Quentin Earl Darrington, Hamilton‘s Raymond Baynard and The Bridges of Madison County‘s Whitney Bashor among those who’ll join the previously announced Ephraim Sykes in the bio-musical opening this summer.

The casting was announced today by Lia Vollack Productions and The Michael Jackson Estate. Preview performances begin Monday, July 6, at the Neil Simon Theatre, with opening night set for Thursday, August 13.

In addition to Darrington (Grammy-nominated for Once On This Island), Bashor and Baynard, Mj‘s newly announced cast includes Gabriel Ruiz, Antoine L. Smith, Joey Sorge, Darius Barnes, Coral Dolphin, John Edwards, Ayana George, Kali May Grinder, Apollo Levine, Ryan VanDenBoom, Lamont Walker II, Naomi C. Walley and Zelig Williams.

Roles for the actors have not yet been disclosed.

Sykes, currently starring as David Ruffin in Broadway’s Temptations musical Ain’t Too Proud,...