B'way/Off-B'way Update: LCT Season; Mean Girls Cast

Jasmine Amy Rogers will star in two Broadway
shows this season; Bradley Whitford and Tom
Blyth will headline A Few Good Men.

The Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved classic of the Von Trapp Family Singers and that famous climb over a mountain to escape the Nazis, is returning to Broadway as part of Lincoln Center Theater's 2026-27 Broadway and Off-Broadway season which will also include revivals of A Few Good Men and August Wilson's Seven Guitars and a new play from Kimberly Belflower, author of John Proctor Is the Villain. 

Tony nominee and Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle winner Jasmine Amy Rogers (Boop!, Spelling Bee) will headline The Sound of Music revival, scheduled to begin performances at the Vivian Beaumont on March 23, 2027, with an opening set for April 15. Tony nominee and Drama Desk winner and LCT artistic director Lear de Bessonet (Ragtime, Into the Woods) will direct. The Sound of Music opened in 1959, ran 1, 443 performances and won five Tonys including Best Musical. The 1965 movie version starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer won five Oscars and became one of the top grossing films of its day. A 1998 revival ran 533 performances.

BTW, before wandering through the hills and singing about how they are alive, Rogers will star in Manhattan Theater Club's production of School Girls or the African Mean Girls Play, opening Sept. 28 at the Samuel Friedman. Her co-stars are Tony nominee Denee Benton (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, The Gilded Age), Tony winner Patina Miller (Pippin), Drama Desk nominee Erin Morton (Heathers), Nia Otchere-Sarfo, Jordan Rice, Obie winner Heather Alicia Simms (Purlie Victorious), and Lucia Aremu (Cold War Choir Practice).

Back to Lincoln Center: Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men starring Emmy winner Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, The Handmaid's Tale, Transparent) and Tom Blyth (The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), begins previews at the Beaumont Oct. 8, opening Oct. 19. Tony winner Michael Arden (The Lost Boys, Maybe Happy Ending, Once on This Island) directs.

At the Off-Broadway Mitzi Newhouse, Ruben Santiago-Hudson will direct a revival of August Wilson's Seven Guitars, set in 1940s Pittsburgh. Santiago Hudson won a Tony for Featured Actor in a Play for the 1996 original Broadway production. Previews Nov. 5, opens Nov. 23.

Kimberly Bellflower follows up her Broadway debut of John Proctor Is the Villain with Born in the Dirt, reuniting her with director Danya Taymor. The story concerns a young woman in a small Souther town working at a "hospital" that produces dolls for collectors. Previews April 14, 2027, opens May 6. 

Also at the Newhouse will be Playing Burton by Mark Jenkins, directed by Bartlett Sher, a one-man play about the legendary film and stage star Richard Burton, played by Matthew Rhys. Dates to be announced.

Lincoln Center's LCT3 at the Clara Tow Theater will present creation stories and the important importants by Mfoniso Udofia (performances begin Sept. 15) and Pretend It's Pretend by Emma Watkins (beginning Jan. 28, 2027).

B'way Update: All Out, Casts for Joe Turner, Giant

Ray Ramono, Jon Stewart and Ashley Park
are among the performers announced for
All Out: Comedy About Ambition.

The creators of last season's All In: Comedy About Love will follow up with All Out: Comedy About Ambition, employing the same format with a revolving cast of four enacting Simon Rich's short stories with Tony winner Alex Timbers directing. Performances begin Dec. 12 at the Nederlander Theater for a limited run through March 8, 2026. The rotating cast will include Eric Andre  (December 12-28), Jim Gaffigan (December 12-January 11, 2026), Abbi Jacobson (December 12-28), Jon Stewart (December 12-21), Ben Schwartz (December 22-January 11, 2026),  Wayne Brady (December 29-January 18, 2026), Cecily Strong (December 29-January 18, 2026), Mike Birbiglia  (January 13-18, 2026), Heidi Gardner (January 20-February 15, 2026), Jason Mantzoukas (January 20-February 15, 2026), Craig Robinson (January 20-February 15, 2026), Sarah Silverman (January 20-February 15, 2026), Nicholas Braun (February 17-March 8, 2026), Ashley Park (February 17-March 8, 2026), and Ray Romano (February 17-March 8, 2026). Additional casting to be announced.

Lortel, Bistro, MAC Award Dates Announced

Ruben Santiago-Hudson
will receive a Lifetime Achievement
Award at the Lortels

The 39th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards – honoring excellence in the Off-Broadway theater – will be handed out in the annual ceremony on Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 7PM at NYU Skirball. Special Award recipients for 2024 have also been announced. The Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and the Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional support provided by TDF.

Special Award honorees include actor-director Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Lackawanna Blues, Jitney) for Lifetime Achievement; Dominique Morriseau (Skeleton Crew, Sunset Baby) will receive the Playwrights Sidewalk Honor outside the Lucille Lortel Theater; and Ars Nova for Outstanding Body of Work. 

Nominees for the Lortels will be announced on April 4 and there will be a Nominees Breakfast on April 17. The Lortels are presented for Off-Broadway work from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024. . Representatives of the Off-Broadway League, Actors’ Equity Association, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, United Scenic Artists, the Lucille Lortel Theatre, in addition to theatre journalists, academics and other Off-Broadway professionals, serve on the Voting Committee (though no members' names are listed in the press release or on the Lortels' website.)

The event will, as always, be open to the public, with tickets available for purchase beginning April 4 at tickets.nyu.edu or at the NYU Skirball box office Tuesday – Saturday 12pm–6pm. As always, the Lortel Awards is a benefit for the Entertainment Community Fund and fans are encouraged to make donations at LortelAwards.org.