Love Twilight and musicals? Then you'll be thrilled to learn that the highly successful book-turned-film franchise is going to be made into a musical. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), the musical is not expected to have a very long run; Twilight: The Musical will make its off-Broadway debut as a one-night only staged reading on January 16th with proceeds going to the charity Blessings in a Backpack.

The musical original premiered and was workshopped last year in New York. There is some blurry footage available on YouTube. With lyrics such as "I wish I had a boyfriend" and "Nothing ever happens in forks", it appears as though Twilight: The Musical will be in the same vein as A Very Potter Musical in that its a fun parody by people who loved the original.

The show has no official affiliation with Twilight author Stephanie Meyer or Summit. While parodies are typically alright, the show needs to emphasize the fact that its "unofficial" or a "spoof". The fact that proceeds are going to charity though probably helps their case.

Sylvester Stallone is teaming up with boxing champs Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko to create a musical version of the legendary boxing film "Rocky".

At a press conference held in Hamburg, Germany, late Sunday evening, Stallone, 65, said:

"I've always thought 'Rocky' had the right stuff for a musical and have wanted to do it for a long time."

Stallone said that he wants the musical to focus on the love story. Tony-award winning songwriter Lynn Ahrens and composer Stephen Flaherty will write the musical score, which will of course include the film favorites "Eye of the Tiger" and "Gonna Fly Now." The Klitschko brothers will produce the show and will also train the lead actor to ensure that he authentically represents a boxer in training.

The Ukrainian Klitschko brothers reside in Germany and between them have a combined boxing record of 99 wins and 5 defeats (as of Sept. 2011).

HGR seeks talented local artists to participate in the First Annual Chair&Tell. In partnership with local public art recipients, the event showcases the creative reuse of materials from HGR's warehouse as local Cleveland artists are invited to build a stunning and unique chair out of industrial surplus equipment. With over 12 acres of items to choose from at the HGR showroom in Euclid, OH, the artists will select up to $300 worth of materials that they will transform into a chair iconic of industrial equipment.

"I like to think of myself as a chair guy," says Kevin Busta, Artist and Chair&Tell participant. "Walking around HGR is inspirational...Sometimes I'm pulled to a certain angle of a piece."

But Chair&Tell is not just about innovative design—it is also about the process behind it. Artists will document the transformation through photos and videos. The images will be displayed on the Chair&Tell website and at the kick-off Chair&Tell event this fall at Tower City where artists will be available to tell the story of the transformation.

Unless the run is extended, you probably won’t be able to secure tickets for God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse currently at Karamu, since the remaining dates are virtually all sold out. But if enough people call and ask — nay, make a demand for tickets — the run just might be extended… and well it should. Your soul will be the poorer for it if you miss this magnificent, moving and multi-faceted theatrical experience.

Director Terrence Spivey seemingly has topped his last year’s production of this 34-cast member (backed by a dozen musicians, choreographers and stagecraft professionals) extravaganza… creating the illusion of a cast of thousands as the packed stage explodes in joyful celebration of James Weldon Johnson’s 1927 paean to Black spiritual life and interpretation of Gospel.

On Wednesday, KeyBank announced it's line up for the KeyBank 2011-2012 Broadway Series at Playhouse Square, which includes:

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
October 11- 23, 2011
The musical inspired by the true story of the famed recording session where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins played for one unforgettable night.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
November 8 - 20, 2011
The indisputable musical comedy classic that won the Best Musical Revival Tony Award® in 2010.

HAIR
January 17- 29, 2012
The new Tony Award®-winning production of the hit musical featuring “Aquarius,” “Let the Sun Shine In,” and "Good Morning, Starshine".

MEMPHIS
February 28 - March 11, 2012
The Tony Award®-winning Best Musical with explosive dancing, irresistible songs and a thrilling tale of fame and forbidden love.
Learn More about Memphis.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY
April 10 - 22, 2012
A hit musical comedy that brings the darkly delirious world of Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley and Lurch to spooky and spectacular life.

COME FLY AWAY

Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF) announces auditions for non-Equity actor/teachers for its School Residency Program for the 2011-2012 school year. Actors of all cultural backgrounds are encouraged to audition. These are full-time, seasonal, paid positions, offered from September, 2011 through May, 2012. All auditions are by appointment only.

Requirements include an undergraduate degree in any discipline, as well as previous stage experience or actor training. Teaching experience or prior work with elementary, junior high or high school age students a plus, but not required. Applicant must have use of a reliable automobile.

Applicants are requested to prepare one Shakespearean monologue and one contrasting contemporary monologue for the audition. Both monologues should total no more than three minutes combined.
Send photo and resume to Lisa Ortenzi, Great Lakes Theater Festival, 1501 Euclid Avenue, Suite 300, Cleveland, Ohio 44115.

Cleveland’s Classic Theater Company
Comically Conquers the Bard’s Entire Canon With
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare

Three actors tackle all thirty-seven of Shakespeare’s plays in two hours.
Critically-acclaimed vocalist HELEN WELCH headlines post-show music series.

Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF), Cleveland’s classic theater, kicks off the second half of its 2010-11 season with the riotously irreverent, three-actor romp, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Complete Works] by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield. The production will be performed in the company’s revolutionary and audience-friendly home at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, March 11-27. 2011. The Festival’s Producing Artistic Director, Charles Fee, will direct.

The production sponsor of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) is PNC. Great Lakes Theater Festival’s season is generously funded by the citizens of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. The Festival receives additional season support from The Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council. Media sponsors for GLTF’s 49th season are Cleveland Scene, The Plain Dealer, WCLV 104.9 FM, WCPN 90.3 FM ideastream and WKSU 89.7 FM.

If you love musicals, but prefer a more darker fare, then the musical version of "American Psycho" will be right up your alley. The musical, which tells the tale of Patrick Bateman - a fictional Wall Street banker obsessed with Phil Collins, designer clothes, rape and murder - has been in production since 2008.

David Johnson, Jesse Singer, Nate Bolotin and Aaron Ray bought the rights to adapt the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis, which was also made into a feature film starring Christian Bale in 2000.

Duncan Sheik signed on as the show's new composer back in February, along with playwright Robert Aguirre-Sacasa. The full draft of the musical is expected by early 2011.

Aguirre-Sacasa said:

"There are murders, and they are on stage in full view of the audience. An ax and a chef's knife will be used. I think there's going to be a lot of blood."

The playwright also said he hopes to include the following scenes from the novel into the musical:

• Bateman lures business associate Paul Owen back to his Manhattan apartment. Bateman puts on a raincoat so his designer suit doesn't get bloody and hacks up Owen with an ax.

Hendrix meets Mozart at the Palace Theater in Cleveland on December 11th as internationally renowned guitar virtuoso Neil Zaza intertwines holiday standards, classic Rock favorites, classical repertoire and orchestral arrangements in a unique instrumental concert production that has to be experienced to be believed.

Now in its eighth year, Neil Zaza's "One Silent Night" is not just another tired, boring take on the standard holiday concert, but rather a supercharged, vibrant celebration of music itself with one of world's greatest guitar masters! It's a Christmas dose of sheer sonic bliss the whole family will enjoy, brought to Cleveland by Playhouse Square and Melodik Productions LLC.

To add to an already electrifying performance this year, the rich and powerful voices of Cleveland's own Prayer Warriors will lend their special blend of "Inspirational Groove" to the show. The Prayer Warriors are known to rock everything from Amazing Grace to Another Brick in the Wall.

The stage of the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare will glow with good spirits and time-honored tradition when Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF) presents its annual production of Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol, running December 3 - 23, 2010. The production has delighted more than 550,000 people in its history, making it one of northeast Ohio’s most-loved and best-attended holiday events.

Great Lakes Theater Festival’s twenty-second annual production of A Christmas Carol is sponsored by Parker Hannifin. The Festival’s 2010-11 season is presented with support from The Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council. GLTF is also generously funded by the citizens of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. A Christmas Carol’s media sponsor is Soft Rock 102.1 F.M. WDOK. GLTF’s season media sponsors are Cleveland Scene, The Plain Dealer, WCLV 104.9 FM, WCPN 90.3 FM ideastream and WKSU 89.7 FM.

Director Victoria Bussert, will stage former GLTF Artistic Director Gerald Freedman’s heartwarming adaptation of A Christmas Carol. The production features a multi-generational cast of actors, singers and dancers led by longtime Festival company member Aled Davies, returning for his third season in the role of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge.