You may have heard of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, but chances are, you never saw it the way it was originally intended. Most of the productions that have reached the mainstream have been performed for adults and written and scored in the style of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best work. However, the musical was first created for and performed at Colet Court, a preparatory school for St. Paul’s School in London.

The child’s production was only 15 minutes long and was envisioned as a “pop cantata”, to be sung by the school choir. The choir, along with a rock group called The Mixed Bag and an orchestra performed the piece, and it was so well-received, that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s father arranged for an encore. As the production continued on, it added more songs and more numbers, eventually growing into a full length musical. After the success of Jesus Christ Superstar the full production of Joseph was marketed as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s follow up effort. It went on to receive multiple Tony Award nominations in 1982 including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Performance by a Featured Actress and Featured Actor in a musical.

The great news is that Marriott Theatre is now presenting a new version of Joseph that goes “back to its roots”. This production is tailored towards younger audiences, though performed by experienced actors. Like the original production, the musical is all singing, no dialogue, and features a variety of instruments.

This musical is based on the biblical story of Genesis and features famous songs like “Any Dream Will Do” and “Close Every Door”. The story concerns the humble origins and subsequent rising to power of Joseph, as he contends with his jealous brothers, his father, and various characters in Egypt.

This is a family-friendly production with catchy tunes, worthy of a Disney film (actually lyricist Tim Rice did co-write the songs from The Lion King). The play has been performed by over 20,000 schools throughout its run. If you have never seen the production before then now is your opportunity. Share this wonderful production with your children and teach them the value of the theatre!

What better time than during Black History Month to teach kids today about the Underground Railroad? That’s just what the traveling theater group, Bright Star Touring Theater, thought when they came up with the idea for their show, “Heroes of the Underground Railroad.” During the show, two actors take this very difficult and complicated subject matter and tailor it to school-aged children. The show is entertaining and educational, and is truly something the entire family can enjoy!

The shows two performers, Kaurie Daniels and Travis Emery, take on the roles of six different characters: Harriet Tubman, Levi Coffin, Henry “Box” Brown, and John Parker to name a few that were monumental in the success of the Underground Railroad. As they take to the stage and re-enact traveling the different routes to safe houses along the “Railroad” way, the story unfolds about how badly slaves were treated in the late 1800s, and the heroic measures they, and the abolitionists that supported them, took to escape the life of slavery.

To get children even more involved and educated about this meaningful time in American history, there is a question and answer period at the end of every show. But this show isn’t just about kids. While it’s especially made for school-aged children in grade three and higher, all of the parents that come love taking the time to hear a story they haven’t heard in years, and to brush up on their history.

If you want to learn more about the Underground Railroad including the secret that were used along the way, and the true danger that both the slaves and the abolitionists put themselves at risk for, visit the Orange County Main Library, where the show is running until March 31, 2012. It’s the seventh year that the show has returned, and it becomes more popular every year. Get your tickets now and embark on an afternoon of fun and history, all wrapped into one!

Who wasn’t moved by the amazing 2000 film Billy Elliot? This film by Stephen Daldry told a simple tale of a boy who loved to dance, as well as the journey to the top of the mountain. A rarity of entertainment; Billy Elliot actually started as a screenplay (precisely what you saw in the movie) and then became a novel by Melvin Burgess and then a musical play in 2005.

The film was an amazing demonstration of filmmaking, as it was a simple and yet very grand and emotional drama that shattered clichés of ballet being a woman or gay man’s art. The story is that of a boy named Billy Elliot, who has no mother, a disapproving father, and a talent for ballet–one that he prizes far above the “manly” sport of boxing. Much of the film’s pathos comes as a result of the time period; right at the peak of the U.K. Miner’s Strike.

The musical is based on the movie and features original songs as well as the familiar story. Of course, it’s hard to follow up such a great film without something extra. That’s why the music features the talent of Sir Elton John, with lyrics by original screenwriter Lee Hall. The musical was highly successful and won many awards, including America’s most prestigious Tony Award for Best Musical. In fact, it swept the Tony Awards entirely in 2009, winning Best Original Score, Best Actor and Best Director, among other awards.

Now Billy Elliot‘s legacy continues on, as it has toured all over the U.K. and Australia, in overseas countries, on Broadway, on tour in the U.S. and even in youth theatre. The true legacy of Billy Elliot is in its message; that regardless of gender or background, a dream is a dream and it can be accomplished against the odds. The final moments of the film and the play both end on a happy note, and the latter with two memorable musical numbers: “The Letter (Billy’s Reply)” and “Finale”.

Come see the magic in person and feel the “electricity” that happens when a boy realizes his dream!

You don’t hear much about Sigmund Freud these days, as pop psychology (ala Dr. Phil and Oprah) is the definite trend in 2012. However, Freud, even in all his antiquated ideas, was a revolutionary that practically invented most of what we know today as individual psychotherapy.

You wouldn’t think such a complex figure would be stage material, but the legendary psychiatrist proves his versatility in Freud’s Last Session. This play tells the story of a meeting between psychiatrist Dr. Sigmund Freud and a young rising author and critic, C.S. Lewis. The drama is set into place as the invited Lewis clashes with Freud, not over Lewis’ satirical depiction of him, but over much larger and significant issues.

The play is a cross between a debate on the meaning of life and a touching drama, as it takes place two weeks before Freud’s self-willed death, and just before England enters into World War II in 1939. The bold new play was written by Mark St. Germain, a playwright and TV writer whose claims to fame include The Cosby Show and the documentary My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story. His new newest feature premiered in 2009 at the Barrington Stage Company, MA and is now playing in New York City at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater. It has already won an award: the Best Play Award from the Off Broadway Alliance!

The play currently stars Mark H. Dold (C.S. Lewis), Martin Rayner (Sigmund Freud) and

Tuck Milligan as standby. This is a great play for history buffs, Freud followers and really anyone that loves well written, tragic-comical story. It’s not just a play about god, sex and life–it’s about everything we know as the human experience.

If you do a image search for this play, you will see some great pictures with pop-in celebrities who went and saw the production. We’re talking the likes of Alec Baldwin and Dr. Ruth. Hey, who needs to do Dr. Phil when you can hang out with the master of psychiatry himself? Come and experience the last session of Dr. Freud on stage!

Sure, there is plenty of adult fun to be found in Las Vegas, but the most mainstream and popular Vegas show for the ladies is Stripper 101, the number one pole dancing and strip tease class in the world. It is one of the must-do events in town and is often the show of choice for bachelorette parties, birthdays and “girls’ night out.”

As with any Vegas live show, tickets must be purchased in advance. Here, women can learn strip tease moves with poles, chairs and boas from professional dancers. R-rated choreography is taught in this class and students are encouraged to let go of inhibitions and have fun with their sexy new talent.

However, don’t expect any elitism or American Idol type criticism here. The pole dancing classes of Stripper 101 are designed to help women of all ages, shapes and sizes feel sensual and confident about their bodies. After the classes conclude, ticket buyers take home an official and yet cheeky souvenir: a Las Vegas Stripper License.

Stripper 101 is hardly a seedy affair, as it has received mainstream attention from A-list entities like Cosmopolitan, People, the LA Times, USA Today and InTouch Magazine. It was also featured on the E! Entertainment Channel. You can buy tickets for the show online. The show is not actually touring, but is exclusive to Las Vegas, specifically at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, inside an exclusive room in the V Theater (Miracle Mile Shops).

The show is for all women over the age of 18 and casual wear is encouraged, such as workout shorts, t-shirts, tank tops or skirts. However, because everyone loves the shoes, high heels are also a must-bring. And yes, it is a universal rule in school that showing up for class late is disrespectful to the teacher, so all attendees must arrive 45 minutes in advance of the starting time.

If you’re looking for some steamy but not too kinky bachelorette fun while in Vegas (and a way to spice up your love life just the same) then don’t forget to visit Stripper 101 one of Las Vegas’ hottest “hot” shows.

While it might sound like a tired show about Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and of course, Tinkerbell, the newest show bringing Peter Pan to Broadway takes a whole different look at the story. In this play, Peter and the Starcatcher, Peter isn’t Peter Pan just yet; he’s just an orphan boy who’s about to learn what it’s like to never grow up. Those other characters are there too, just in a way like we’ve never seen before. Unless of course, you managed to catch the show in its previous off-Broadway run at the New York Theater Workshop. 

The play that will run on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theater will run from March 28 – April 15 and based on critic and audience reviews of the previous production, this is sure to be a good one. Although, the cast of 12 that takes on about 50 different characters might not be entirely the same. Christian Borle, who played the character of Captain Hook Off-Broadway won’t be returning as he’s going to be jumping back into his role of NBC’s “Smash.” No members of the cast have been confirmed yet, but the lead role of Peter could be the same, as Adam Chanler-Berat is just wrapping up his role in the Off-Broadway production of Rent.

The concept of this Peter Pan isn’t entirely new. The play is based on the book of the same name written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson in 2004. The book was published by Hyperion Book, which is a subsidiary of Disney; and the play is also co-produced by Disney Theatrical Productions.

Hugh Jackman earned a reputation as a Broadway-caliber thespian even after his career-defining role as Wolverine in Marvel’s X-Men films. Jackman has since done everything to expand his range, from romantic dramas like Australia to even one-man shows on Broadway. His latest work, Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway, has been playing in the New York theatre district (the Broadhurst Theatre) since October of 2011 and is set to finish in 2012.

So successful was Jackman’s latest performance that even A-lister Scarlett Johansson recently bid on his “sweaty shirt” for charity. Though Johansson is a friend of Jackman’s, it was quite a scene to witness Jackman auction off his shirt, and then see Johansson (accompanied by Uma Thurman) run onstage in a chunky sweater, woolly hat and glasses, and then proceed to bid $3,000 on the shirt. Of course, she was outbid in the end–it sold for $30,000!

Jackman’s show is something amazing to behold. While it is a “one-man show,” it is anything but a lonely night. He typically performs with six female back-up dancer and singers, as well as an 18-piece orchestra. Sometimes, indigenous Australian vocalists and didgeridoo players accompany him in making international melody.

Jackman’s is loved everywhere, from the Tony’s to the Emmy’s. He won a Tony Award for playing in the musical, The Boy from Oz. (A production that still tours today) He also won an Emmy Award for his hosting the Tony Awards in 2004. The most exciting gossip about Jackman is that he may be in the running to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s upcoming musical movie Sunset Boulevard, along with Ewan McGregor. Sunset Boulevard is perhaps the one great musical movie that we have yet to see, as it was based on the legendary 1951 film, with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton.

Hugh Jackman is a multi-talented performer who has a promising career ahead of him, both in movies and on Broadway. See him in person while he’s still playing on Broadway and then catch The Boy from Oz touring near you, a role that he helped to shape. All that and maybe you can grab his $30,000 shirt!

Evita, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on the life of Argentina-leader Eva Peron, is touring across the United States again! You may know of the play, thanks to the 1996 film starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. However, the musical is what first earned Webber acclaim and theatre fame. Yes, you are correct in assuming that the play eventually closed down. However, it was revived in London in 2006, and most recently on Broadway, scheduled for a 2012 release.

The newest revival on Broadway is going to show at the Marquis Theatre, and will star Elena Roger as Eva Peron, and Ricky Martin as Che, the narrator. Contrary to popular belief, the character Che has never been directly identified as an homage to

Che Guevara, but plenty of critics and fans have made comparisons, since Che’s philosophy and criticism of Peron does seem consistent with what Guevara might have believed.

Political agendas aside, Evita the musical is an amazing experience, heightened by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s brilliant soundtrack, which includes memorable songs such as “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”, “High Flying, Adored” and “Oh What a Circus.”

While the movie version of Evita was evenly praised when it comes out, it wasn’t universally loved. Mostly cited was the uneven performance of Madonna as well as the music-video like direction that took place under Alan Parker. No wonder that the country of Argentina released its own bio film of Peron as a rebuttal to Evita, to correct alleged “distortions” of the truth in the 1996 American version.

Yes, this is indeed a universally popular story. When it was first released in 1980, it won eight of its twelve Tony nominations, including Best Musical and Best Actor and Actress respectively for Patti LuPone and Many Patinkin. Not only has the play been performed in Brazil and throughout the U.K. and the U.S., but it has also been translated into multiple languages, including Spanish, German, Japanese, Hebrew, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Portuguese, and Swedish. Even in American pop culture, the play’s relevance continues; it has been parodied on The Simpsons and honored on the musical TV series Glee.

Come see Evita in person and experience the emotionally charged lyrics and what is arguably Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best stage work!

You probably know what The Odd Couple is, since Neil Simon’s Broadway play has been touring consistently since its debut in 1965. The tremendous success of the stage play has brought about a film adaptation, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau as well as a TV series starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, who outlived them all, and who still works periodically in show business (most recently Camera Obscura in 2010).

However, what you probably don’t know is just how many odd couples have been matched together in the long touring Odd Couple production. First, let’s review the cast of characters–easy one, only two. We have Felix Ungar, the neat freak news writer (or sometimes a photographer), and Oscar Madison, a messy sportswriter.

Much of the characters’ personalities were based on the original actors who performed the show on Broadway, and the first pairing was Art Carney and Walter Matthau. Eventually the originals were replaced and numerous changes were made to accommodate film and TV productions. However, if you ever happen to catch The Odd Couple in person, live and in theater, you may have the privilege of witnessing some truly bizarre couplings.

Some of the following mismatches have already toured on and off Broadway, much to the amusement of a live audience. How about Martin Short as Felix. Eugene Levy as Oscar and Dave Thomas as Murray? How about a Scotland version of the play with Gerard Kelly as Felix and Craig Ferguson as Oscar?

It doesn’t get much stranger than this: Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak and Hawaii TV News anchor Joe Moore in a special show for Hawaii’s Minoa Valley Theater. For about two weeks, Broadway’s favorite pair Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick played the role in 2005 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York. When Lane bowed out, Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) took his place.

The mismatches continue: Ethan Hawke and Billy Crudup, and even odder, Sally Struthers and Rita Moreno in a female version of The Odd Couple. Last but not least, just imagine how much fun it was to see an all female Japanese version of The Odd Couple starring Yu Todoroki as Oscar and Misa Noeru!

The mismatchings continue well into 2012, but that’s all part of the charm: Felix and Oscar never quite match, but they’re still loads of fun to watch on stage! Get your Odd Couple tickets today at TicketSupply.com.