Michael Cerveris burst onto Broadway in 1993 with his breakout performance in The Who's Tommy, and in the years since his name has become synonymous with musical theater, thanks to starring roles in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Sweeney Todd, Assassins and, most recently, Road Show (the latter three all Stephen Sondheim joints). But as the Tony-winning actor told us during our chat last week, he never intended to specialize in musicals, and is glad to once again appear in a play that doesn't require him to worry so much about his vocal cords. more ›

It was announced today that the upcoming Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls will star Gilmore Girls actress Lauren Graham! She'll be making her Broadway debut as Miss Adelaide, the fiancée of Nathan Detroit, to be played by Oliver Platt. The Frank Loesser musical originally debuted in 1950; it'll be back in February. In other Broadway casting news, Michael Cerveris and the Off Broadway favorite Paul Sparks have joined the cast of Christopher Shinn's "new interpretation" of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler at the Roundabout in January. Mary-Louise Parker will play the title role, with Cerveris as her boring husband and Sparks as his academic rival. Also, the less boldface casting was just announced for the anticipated revival of West Side Story in February. more ›

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MOVIE: Last week Bryant Park was packed as Annie Hall played on the big screen. This week grab someone who's hand you'll be able to squeeze tight as the classic horror flick, The Thing, plays in the park. The timeless flick watches the sci-fi terror unfold as "scientists at an Arctic research station discover a spacecraft buried in the ice. Upon closer examination, they discover the frozen pilot. All hell breaks loose when they take him back to their station and he is accidentally thawed out!" more ›

Stars of stage and screen will be rearing their boldface names on April 9th to blow out 443 candles for the boldest face of all: Billy Shakespeare. Broadway’s Michael Cerveris (Sweeney Todd), Debra Messing (Will & Grace), the esteemed Philip Bosco (Copenhagen) and other notables will perform scenes from the Bard’s plays at The Shakespeare Birthday Marathon at Hunter College’s Kaye Playhouse. But perhaps the most anticipated star at this free event is TV’s Rainn Wilson – who embodies the obsessive Dwight Schrute in The Office – as he unleashes of his Shakespearean side. (Safety goggles recommended.) Details. more ›

When one thinks of King Lear, the image of a half-naked, feeble old man wailing away on a dark stage comes readily to mind. Shakespeare’s tragedy is typically performed as a bleak meditation on man’s helplessness in an inhospitable universe. So the current Public Theater production, starring Kevin Kline as Lear and Michael Cerveris as Kent, is something of a departure. From the haunting (but not heavy) Sondheim score to the colorful and inventive staging, this King Lear is almost defiantly buoyant. more ›

Broadway star Michael Cerveris (Hedwig, Sweeney Todd, 21 Jump Street) has joined the already exciting cast of King Lear, which opens next month. He’ll be squaring off in the role of Kent across from Kevin Kline’s hotly anticipated Lear. But according to Isaac Butler’s Parabasis, the production’s real star is “genius-level Shakespearean actor” Philip Goodwin in the role of the Fool. But that’s not all! The Public Theater is giving a young upstart named Stephen Sondheim his big break by enlisting him to compose the music. (Tickets go on sale at the Public Theater’s box office this Sunday.) more ›