Ron LaRosa, the associate director of the touring and Broadway companies of Les Miserables since 1997, will leave producer Cameron Mackintosh to be a casting director for Walt Disney Entertainment in Florida in early March 1999.

In 1996, the long-running revival of Chicago, starring Ann Reinking and Bebe Neuwirth, opens at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

Eisner founded the Off-Broadway company dedicated to amplifying the voices of playwrights.

The 2004 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre will be awarded at a special ceremony on Oct. 26.

Hugh Jackman — the star of the new Broadway musical The Boy From Oz — will take part in the first annual Tony Honors celebration Nov. 14.

Here is a complete list of the 2003 Tony Award winners, announced June 8 at Radio City Music Hall.

Here is a complete list of the 2003 Tony Award winners, announced June 8 at Radio City Music Hall.

Hugh Jackman, the film star and headliner of the upcoming Broadway musical, The Boy from Oz, will host the 2003 Tony Awards ceremony.

The complete list of 2003 Tony Award nominees — announced May 12 by John Lithgow and Melanie Griffith — follows:

The Tony Award nominations for the 2002-03 Broadway season were announced 8:30 AM (ET) May 12 at Sardi's restaurant by John Lithgow and Melanie Griffith. The 57th annual Tony ceremony will take place June 8 at Radio City Music Hall, to be televised live on CBS (8-11 PM, ET).

For weeks, The Producers, a stage adaptation of Mel Brooks' classic comedy film, seemed to be alive but dormant, with little known about it except that Susan Stroman had been tapped to direct and choreograph, Nathan Lane was all-but-inked to star, and Annie librettist Thomas Meehan was co-writing the book.

The chances of Naomi Wallace's Birdy reaching Broadway are now seemingly tied to whether the producers can find a developmental or nonprofit theatre to take the drama under its proverbial wing. As such, the earliest the show could find its way to New York would be spring 2001, with the 2001-02 season looking more likely than that.

The first production of Naomi Wallace's drama, Birdy, went well enough at North Carolina's Duke University in March to keep the show on pace for a Broadway arrival sometime this season. General manager Roger Alan Gindi had hoped to bring the play in during 1999-2000, but all year long there was a traffic jam of shows trying to squeeze into too few available houses. Instead, Gindi told Playbill On-Line (June 1) Birdy will fly in either in the fall or, much more likely, spring 2001: "We don't know whether we want to come directly into New York in the spring or do an out-of-town tryout (a Shubert in Boston kind of thing) and then come in. Then again, if a not-for-profit came around and said, `come to us in October and hit New York in November,' we haven't ruled that out either."

The first production of Naomi Wallace's drama, Birdy, went well enough at North Carolina's Duke University in March to keep the show on pace for a Broadway arrival next season. General manager Roger Alan Gindi had hoped to bring the play in this season, but all year long there was a traffic jam of shows trying to squeeze into too few available houses. Instead, Gindi now says Birdy will fly in either in the fall or spring 2001. "We're currently investigating an out-of-town tryout or another not-for-profit venue before we come into New York," Gindi told Playbill On-Line (April 6). "We're not sure about that situation yet."

Students and theatregoers in Durham, North Carolina are getting ready to watch the Birdy this week and next, as Naomi Wallace's drama comes to Duke University, March 7-19, officially opening March 9. However, Broadway plans for this season are almost certain to be pushed to the fall, according to general manager Roger Alan Gindi.

Grant Show, seen off-Broadway in Wit and best known for his years on TV's "Melrose Place," will play Al in Duke University's staging of Birdy by Naomi Wallace, March 7-19. Wallace Acton will play the title character in the drama, which has hopes of flying into a Broadway theatre this spring. Acton received a 1996 Helen Hayes Award for his work in a Washington DC mounting of Henry VI.

Casting director Tara Rubin shares insight on what makes the perfect match for Broadway’s longest-running show.

Naomi Wallace's drama, Birdy, hopes to fly into a Broadway theatre this spring. As reported by Theatrical Index, Spring Sirkin and Benjamin Mordecai are co-producing the play, based on William Wharton's off-beat novel.

A memorial service will be held to celebrate the life and career of late Broadway casting director Vincent (Vinnie) G. Liff 2:30 PM May 13 at the Majestic Theatre.