Off-Broadway News & Features

Broadway Drive-in movie experience opening in New York

UPDATE: Purple Rain will be the next movie screened at Radial Park. The drive-in experience will feature select songs from the talents of Aaron Marcellus, Nick Rashad Burroughs and Lenesha "Sister" Randolph from October 10-25.A Broadway-themed drive-in combining music and live theatre will open in New York this weekend. Created by Friends of Halletts Point and Stark Production Group, live performances will be staged at Halletts Point Play, an open-air space in Astoria, Queens. The event begins...

Public Theater’s Fall 2020 online season announced

The Public Theater's Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham announced works which will be performed as part of their latest season. The entire season will be available to access for free, with virtual programming including visual art, podcasts and the world premiere of a Public Works documentary.Speaking about the season, Eustis said in a statement: "Now, more than ever, we need what the theater has to offer: hope, truth, joy, solidarity, beauty. The artists of...

Virtual Broadway flea market to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

UPDATE: The 2020 Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction raised $316,282 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.One of Broadway's well-known annual events will go online for the first time this year, as the Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction becomes virtual. Scheduled for September 20, members of the public can bid on meet and greets with critically-acclaimed performers, raising money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.Among the 85 silent auction lots found here include:- One-to-one...

New York City Center Encores! announces two musicals for 2020-21 season

New York City Center has announced its 2020-21 Encores! season, which will include two musicals centered on Black stories. The season will include The Life directed by Billy Porter and The Tap Dance Kid directed by Kenny Leon. No dates have been announced for either production. A third musical will be announced at a later date. This season marks the first under the leadership of Lear deBessonet as the Encores! artistic director, and Clint Ramos will also step into the new role of producing...

St. Ann's Warehouse announces virtual fall season, including 'Romantics Anonymous'

St. Ann's Warehouse announced its fall season on Friday, which includes a mix of in-person programming and virtual events. The season will include the American premiere of Romantics Anonymous as well as concerts and installations at the theatre's waterfront building.Susan Feldman, founding artistic director, said in a statement: "In trying to think of how we could give back, support the Black Lives Matter protests, and get artists back to work without the benefit of our indoor space, I was...

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular cancelled due to Covid-19

The holidays might be months away, but one things for sure: There will be no synchronized kicklines or falling tin soldiers at Radio City Musical Hall in 2020. Madison Square Entertainment, which oversees Radio City Music Hall, confirmed that the iconic Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes will not take the stage this year, the company confirmed to The New York Times. MSG Entertainment cited uncertainty over the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for cancelling this year's...

A Strange Loop, Heroes of the Fourth, and more receive 2020 Obie Awards

Recipents of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hggq7SDHdTk&feature=emb_logo"2020 Obie Awards were announced on Tuesday night in a pre-recorded streamed ceremony, hosted by Cole Escola. Presented by the Village Voice and the American Theatre Wing, the Obie Awards celebrate the best in Off- and Off-Off-Broadway theater, and this year's awards honored a shortened season due to the Covid-19 theatre shutdowns. Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop and Will Arbery's Heroes of the Fourth...

Live-streamed play THE LINE, starring Santino Fontana and Alison Pill, will premiere July 8

Broadway theaters might be closed until 2021, but The Public Theater is going virtual with new play production. The world premiere live-streamed play THE LINE, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen and directed by Blank, will premiere on July 8 at 7:30PM ET. The stream will be available to watch for free via YouTube and The Public Theater's website. The play chronicles the first-person stories of first responders in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. The complete cast will feature...

New musical Between the Lines postponed until Spring 2021

Producer Daryl Roth has now confirmed that the New York premiere of Between the Lines, which was scheduled to officially open at the Tony Kiser Theater last week, has been postponed until spring 2021. The musical was originally scheduled to begin previews on April 21, 2020, ahead of an official opening on May 7.In addition, Frozen alum Jake David Smith has been cast as Prince Oliver, replacing previously reported Jason Gotay due to scheduling conflicts.Smith joins an Off-Broadway cast that...

A Strange Loop wins 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

The New York Theatre Guide congratulates Michael R. Jackson, who has been awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his celebrated musical A Strange Loop and will receive a $15,000 reward.Produced by Playwrights Horizons in association with Page 73, A Strange Loop staged its world premiere off-Broadway from May through July 2019, opening to excellent reviews.Synopsis: "Usher is a black, gay writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a black, gay...