All stories by Brett Zongker on BroadwayStars

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Broadway team begins developing 'Dear Evan Hansen' in DC by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Growing up in the age of social media, dealing with the drama of high school and feeling like an outcast all at the same time will provide some key ingredients for a n…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 10:15PM
Monday, May 25, 2015

Winfrey, McCartney Join Top Kennedy Center Artists by Brett Zongker

Oprah Winfrey has come a long way since her childhood years in a Mississippi shack with a poster of The Beatles on her bedroom wall. Sunday, she was honored with one of the Beatles she so lo…

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM
Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Team behind Tony Awards to produce Kennedy Center Honors by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Producers who have created the Tony Awards show for the past 12 years will be given a "clean slate" and a mandate to update the "Kennedy Center Honors," marking a new …

SOURCE: Associated Press at 04:14PM
Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Stephen Colbert to host Kennedy Center Honors by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts says Stephen Colbert will host this year's Kennedy Center Honors, bringing a new touch to the annual awards show....

SOURCE: Associated Press at 01:05PM
Thursday, October 23, 2014

'Little Dancer' musical readies for opening in DC by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen," a famous sculpture by Edgar Degas that can be seen in museums around the world, is coming to life in a new musical exploring the story o…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 09:28AM
Monday, May 19, 2014

Frankie Valli to headline July 4 celebration in DC by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- That trademark falsetto behind "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry" and other hits from 50 years ago will help celebrate July 4 on the National Mall this year as Frankie Va…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 04:43AM
Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Holbrook's 'Mark Twain' show reaches 60th year by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hal Holbrook is in the midst of a marathon of theater and has no intention of stopping....

SOURCE: Associated Press at 02:21PM
Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Kennedy Center names 1st woman to lead arts group by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The head of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was named president of the Kennedy Center, becoming the first woman to lead the performing arts center since it opened in 19…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 01:09PM
Thursday, December 5, 2013

Report: Arts, culture add $500B to nation's GDP by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Creative industries led by Hollywood account for about $504 billion, or at least 3.2 percent of U.S. goods and services, the government said in its first official meas…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 04:53AM
Friday, November 29, 2013

'If/Then' brings new life to DC's National Theatre by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Washington theater with a long history of incubating Broadway-bound shows is getting a rebirth of its own while hosting a new world premiere from the creative team b…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 09:26AM
Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Kennedy Center to host Broadway revival of 'Gigi' by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Theater producers planning a Broadway revival of the musical comedy "Gigi" will open the production at the Kennedy Center in Washington....

SOURCE: Associated Press at 01:20PM
Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Ford's Theatre in DC to reopen with private funds by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ford's Theatre will reopen its doors and resume performances Wednesday, using private funding, even though the government shutdown has continued into a third week....

SOURCE: Associated Press at 05:05PM
Friday, May 31, 2013

DC's National Theatre gets new start after neglect by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The oldest continuously operating theater in the nation's capital that has drawn top performers dating back decades before the Civil War is getting a fresh start and a…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 11:48AM
Thursday, February 28, 2013

Colleges, theaters to create new Civil War plays by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Four major universities are joining theater companies in Boston, Baltimore, Washington and Atlanta in a project to commission new plays, music and dance compositions a…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 12:07AM
Friday, June 15, 2012

Early outrage over AIDS crisis reaches DC stage by Brett Zongker

The nation's capital is getting its first look at a story recalling the early days of the AIDS crisis when foot-dragging politicians and bureaucrats denied an unfolding epidemic that would k…

SOURCE: Boston Globe at 06:49AM

Early outrage over AIDS crisis reaches DC stage by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's capital is getting its first look at a story recalling the early days of the AIDS crisis when foot-dragging politicians and bureaucrats denied an unfoldin…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 06:45AM
Thursday, April 12, 2012

DC's historic Howard Theatre opens new chapter by Brett Zongker

Before there was the Apollo in Harlem, there was the Howard Theatre in the nation's capital.

SOURCE: Boston Globe at 12:22PM
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

National Opera plans to stage 'Ring' cycle in 2016 by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Washington National Opera, which recently merged with the Kennedy Center after struggling financially for years, announced an ambitious long-term agenda Tuesday, inclu…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 10:54AM
Thursday, December 1, 2011

Russian billionaire gives DC's Kennedy Center $5M by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Billionaire Russian investor Vladimir Potanin announced a $5 million gift Thursday to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to mark its 40th anniversary and suppo…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 12:41PM
Monday, October 10, 2011

APNewsBreak: Arts Funding Doesn't Show Diversity - ABC News by Brett Zongker

Billions of dollars in arts funding is serving a mostly wealthy, white audience that is shrinking while only a small chunk of money goes to emerging art groups that serve poorer communities …

SOURCE: ABC News at 12:26PM
Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Kennedy Center's 'Follies' to move to Broadway by Brett Zongker

The Kennedy Center's revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical "Follies" is moving to Broadway this summer.

SOURCE: Boston Globe at 04:41PM

Kennedy Center's 'Follies' to move to Broadway by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Kennedy Center's revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical "Follies" is moving to Broadway this summer....

SOURCE: Associated Press at 04:21PM
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Arena Theater Takes Grisham Novel to the Stage by Brett Zongker

It's the first theatrical adaptation of a Grisham novel after a series of hit movies made from his legal thrillers, including "The Pelican Brief," "The Firm" and others.

SOURCE: Backstage at 03:27AM
Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Kevin Spacey calls for arts funding in Congress by Brett Zongker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Kevin Spacey is offering some impromptu "street theater" to call on Congress for continued funding of the National Endowment for the Arts....

SOURCE: Associated Press at 12:28PM
Thursday, October 21, 2010

NPR fires news analyst after remarks about Muslims by Brett Zongker

By BRETT ZONGKER 2010-10-21T13:53:04ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Longtime news analyst Juan Williams, who has written extensively on race and civil rights, has been fired by National Publ…

SOURCE: Associated Press at 09:53AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards