Michael Grief News

Five years ago, Tony Award winner Idina Menzel made her long-awaited return to Broadway, teaming up with her Rent director Michael Grief for Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's original musical If/Then! To celebrate the occasion, we're throwing it back to the show's opening night at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Check out all the footage below!

This week, New York Theatre Workshop hosted its NYTW 2019 Gala celebrating 40 Years!  The evening featured performances from Alice Ripley (Next to Normal); Anthony Rapp (RENT), Daphne Rubin-Vega (RENT), Amber Gray (Hadestown); Nathaly Lopez (What's It All About); Cristina Monet ("Disco Clone") plus members of the original casts of RENT; Bright Lights, Big City; What's It All About; Hadestown and more.  See photos from the evening below!

The Majestic Theatre announced its line-up of shows for the 2019-2020 North Park Lexus Broadway in San Antonio Season. Pop-culture phenomenon DEAR EVAN HANSEN and Disney's ALADDIN anchor the season with eight performances of DEAR EVAN HANSEN, December 17-22, 2019, and a three-week run of ALADDIN, March 25 April 12, 2020. With eight productions, the season includes a mixture of Blockbuster Tony Award -winners, acclaimed revivals, four market premieres and beloved family favorites.

Today, Hancock Whitney Broadway in New Orleans at the Saenger Theatre announced its 2019 - 2020 season line-up of shows, headlined by the six-time Tony Award and 2018 Grammy Award-winning Best Musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN and also includes MEAN GIRLS; A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL; MISS SAIGON; Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY; ANASTASIA; and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. The 2019-2020 season is presented by the New Orleans Theatre Association and will begin in the Fall. The new season represents a wide range of Tony Award winners and Broadway blockbusters for New Orleans audiences to enjoy.

Now in its 18thyear, the Broadway Teachers Workshop has connected thousands of theatre teachers from around the world with Broadway's most prominent artists. Past guest speakers include Lin Manuel Miranda Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Bobby Lopez, Chita Rivera, Michael Mayer, Jerry Mitchell, Michael Grief, Jason Robert Brown, Alex Timbers, Kathleen Marshall, Roger Rees, Harvey Fierstein, Charles Strouse, Marsha Norman, Chris Gattelli, Jeanine Tesori, Stephen Flaherty, Walter Bobby, Matthew Warchus, Ken Billington, William Ivey Long, Susan Stroman, and many more.

Since Dear Evan Hansen launched its tour in Denver, my Facebook feed has been filled with friends obsessing over its emotional magnitude, and rightfully so. The Tony-winner for Best Musical is a powerful piece. It tackles the kinds of subjects you don't often see in musical theatre.

Broadway Kids Jam has released their latest jam, "What You Own" from the critically acclaimed Broadway musical, Rent. This jam features Paul "Luke" Bonenfant (School of Rock, Dallas), and Joshua Turchin (The Pill, TrevorLIVE LA, A Christmas Story the Musical). See the BroadwayKids Jam video here

Teaser:  There is a knockout of a surprise moment, cleverly devised and wonderfully played, contained within Pulitzer-winner Bruce Norris' mini-epic THE LOW ROAD, now getting a rollicking production at The Public, with a terrific ensemble of players guided by the talented hand of director Michael Grief.

One of the great characteristics of live theatre is that, as opposed to film and television, no matter how iconic a performance is, no matter how indelibly attached an actor may seem to a role, there will be other actors playing it.

Two-time Tony and GRAMMY Award winner Patti LuPone returns to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis), as part of the acclaimed Broadway @ The Wallis series, for a one-night-only Valentine's Day event featuring two intimate concerts at 7:30pm and 9:30pm on Wednesday, February 14, 2018. The Broadway legend will be joined on stage by Broadway @ The Wallis series host and music director Seth Rudetsky who wrote and starred in the Broadway musical Disaster! in a not-to-be-missed night of singing and conversation produced by Mark Cortale. The Broadway @ The Wallis concert is made possible by generous support from Ken and Wendy Ruby.

BroadwayWorld has teamed up with Broadway alum Ilana Levine, who makes her entrance onto the podcast stage with her new show Little Known Facts. Ilana's unique brand of celebrity interview, 'Podcast Verite,' is unfiltered, raw, honest and uniquely funny.

New York City Center brings the Lerner and Loewe classic, Brigadoon, out of the Highlands mist for the musical's 70th anniversary in a star-studded concert production that unites celebrated talents from the worlds of stage and screen.

David Marshall Grant's 1998 hit play Snakebit has been reimagined thanks to a collaboration with the Bachelor of Fine Arts Acting students at the School of Performing Arts of the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences at Pace University.

'If you knew in advance exactly what was going to happen in your life, and how everything was going to turn out, and if you knew you couldn't do anything to change it, would you still want to go on with your life?'

Dimitri Joseph Moise is a New York based actor, singer, and writer. Broadway: The Book of Mormon. Off-Broadway: Joan of Arc: Into the Fire at the Public Theater. National Tour: The Book of Mormon (1st & 2nd National). TV/Film: Honest Trailers' 'The Lion King' as the male solo/voice of Scar; The Last O.G. on TBS (upcoming). 

As part of BroadwayWorld's expansive coverage of the 71st Annual Tony Awards, we are providing the full text of all of the 2017 Tony Award acceptance speeches; from the emotional to the bizarre, and everything in between. Keep up with all of the winners' speeches on our continuously updated list below.

Welcome to BroadwayWorld's Tony Award Countdown: 30 Days of TONY, a loving look at some of the most memorable moments from Tony's history featuring today's nominees!

In Broadway by Design, BroadwayWorld is shining a spotlight on the stellar designs of this Broadway season, show by show. Today, we continue the series with David Korins, and Japhy Weideman, who acted as scenic and lighting designers for Broadway's emotional triumph, Dear Evan Hansen.

Director Michael Greif, who has directed seminal Broadway musicals including Rent, Next to Normal, Grey Gardens and many more, just received a Sardi's portrait to celebrate his career and work on Broadway directing this season's new musicals Dear Evan Hansen and War Paint. The casts from both of his shows came out to celebrate the occasion and BroadwayWorld was there!

Just last night, MCC Theater presented their annual Miscast gala, celebrating the 30th Anniversary of MCC Theater. The performers included: Tony winners Norbert Leo Butz, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Jennifer Holliday and Kelli O'Hara; Tony nominees Stephanie J. Block, Carmen Cusack, Brian d'Arcy James and Brandon Victor Dixon; plus Dear Evan Hansen breakout Ben Platt and Hamilton star Mandy Gonzalez. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from the red carpet below!