Raúl Esparza and F. Murray Abraham have been added to the lineup of stars set to appear in the Nightlife Awards concert on Monday, January 12 at The Town Hall. Esparza will open the show with a performance of "Why" from tick...tick...BOOM! and Abraham will present an award to his Triumph of Love co-star Betty Buckley. [ Read more... ]

At least one Taboo actor has his next gig lined up. Raúl Esparza is set to star in the Worth Street Theater production of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart, which is being presented at the Public Theater starting April 6. [ Read more... ]

Raúl will also take part in Embrace!, a concert benefitting the Matthew Shepard Foundation, on February 19 at 8:00 p.m. at the Westside Theatre (407 West 43rd Street, betwen 8th and 9th Avenues). Tickets are $50 and can be ordered online by clicking here or by calling 212-730-9500, ext. 202. For a list of performers or to read more about the the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the concert, please visit the Matthew Shepard Foundation website.

Up next, Raúl is scheduled to perform at Embrace! A Broadway Benefit for the Matthew Shepard Foundation on February 19, and he will star in The Normal Heart at the Public Theatre beginning April 6. See the Projects section for further details.

[The event's emcee, Willie] Reale introduces the one and (certainly) only Raúl Esparza, who portrayed Larson in tick, tick...BOOM!, and now reprises the show's opening number, "30/90." It sure resonates through the room when Esparza sings such bittersweet lyrics as "They're singing 'Happy Birthday,'" "Bang -- you're dead," and "It feels like Doomsday." Esparza remarks, "I haven't sung this in three years," which isn't far from the truth. But he makes the song sound fresh.

The article in its entirety has been added to the Press section.

Quick link: Broadway.com Photo-Op - Raúl at Sutton Foster's final performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

To view the full list of nominees, please visit the Drama League website. Winners will be announced at the Annual Awards Luncheon on May 14.

Site update: Scans of the Newsday cover story have been added to the Press section.

Quick links:
Playbill Online: Worth Street Opens Its Heart Off-Broadway April 21
Theatermania.com: Photo File - American Theatre Wing luncheon
Broadway.com: Photo-Op - American Theatre Wing luncheon

Articles will be added throughout the day as they come in, so keep checking back! Drop us an email at webmaster@raulesparza.com if you find a review online that has not been listed. High-resolution scans of hardcopy articles are also welcome.

Site updates: More reviews and articles added.

The 49th Annual Drama Desk Awards will be held on May 16 at the La Guardia Concert Hall in Lincoln Center. Tickets are available for purchase through the Theater Mania website. The ceremony will be aired on NYC TV channel 74 on May 19 at 9:00 p.m., May 22 at 4:00 p.m., and May 23 at 8:00 p.m.

Quick links:
TV Guide: Spotted: Billy Warlock, April 23
Broadway World: Roundabout Theatre Company's 2004 Spring Gala Celebration, April 26
Playbill Online: Roundabout Theatre Company's 2004 Spring Gala Celebration, April 26

Update: The DRG Records website has updated its Taboo Original Cast Recording information page with a new release date of May 25 for pre-order sales. Visit the DRG website to listen to select tracks and to pre-order the cd for $11.98.

Another Taboo CD update, from the official Taboo website's Forum (registration is required to access the forum):

We have GREAT news for all that pre-ordered the CD via the website and in the theater.

WE WILL BE SHIPPING YOUR TABOO CD TO YOU THE WEEK OF MAY 17, 2004 and WE HAVE REDUCED THE COST OF THE CD OF $11.98 + SHIPPING AND HANDLING.

The total cost to you (which will appear on your credit card bill) will only be $18.93 (this price includes tax, shipping and handling).

All pre-orders from the theatre and this website will be charged the reduced price now through May 31st.

The 58th Annual Tony Awards ceremony will be held at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 6 at 8:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on CBS. Tickets to the ceremony can be purchased by calling 212-307-4544. Visit the Tony Awards website for more information.

Congratulations, Raúl! There are no words to express how thrilled and proud we are. - Karen and Becky

Quick links:
Playbill Online: Photo Call - Tony Nominees Begin Awards Push by Greeting the Press, May 12
Playbill Online: Off-Broadway’s Normal Heart May Last Out the Summer, May 12

Please note: There has been no official announcement of another extension for The Normal Heart. Watch this space for any news about the show's run at the Public Theater.

DRG Records proudly announces that the highly anticipated original Broadway Cast Recording of TABOO featuring Boy George will be released in stores on Tuesday, May 25, 2004. There will be a CD signing and live performance from the show on Thursday, May 27th, 2004 at the Virgin Megastore Times Square at 5PM.

Site update: A review of The Normal Heart from the New York Observer and features from the Tony Nominees brunch by Broadway.com and Theater Mania have been added to the Press section.

Quick links:
Newsday: Tony picks prove: lots to love, May 13
Newsday: Photo Gallery (includes Taboo and The Normal Heart), May 13

Quick link: Broadway.com Photo-Op - Drama League luncheon - May 14

Coverage of the Drama Desk Awards added to the Press section.

Articles added to the Press section.

Quick link: BroadwayWorld.com Photo Coverage: 49th Annual Drama Desk Awards, May 18

The Tony Awards website includes video clips of this year's nominees, plus interview features and profiles. Please visit www.tonyawards.com.

Quick links:
Village Voice: 2004 Obies Party Photos, May 17
Playbill Online Photo Call: Tony Time: Distinguished Nominees Gather for Annual Portrait, May 20
Broadway.com Nominee Poll: Where Were You When You Heard You Were Nominated?, May 21
Theater Mania Photo File: 60th Annual Theatre World Awards ceremony, May 25

Quick link: Broadway.com Photo Op: 2004 Theatre World Awards Honor Newcomers

The Worth Street Theater production of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart is taking a two week hiatus. Performances of the drama have been cancelled from June 1 through June 13 due to scheduling and casting issues, according to a production spokesperson. [ Read more... ]

Broadway.com's photo-op of the Virgin CD signing and Theater Mania's review of the Taboo cast recording have been added to the Press section.

A new documentary about the London and Broadway productions of Boy George's Taboo will premiere June 9 at the Brooklyn Museum. [Read more...]

Visit the Brooklyn Film Festival website to order tickets to this event.

Quick links:
Broadway World Photo Coverage: Taboo CD signing at Virgin Megastore, May 27
Broadway.com Photo-Op: Euan Morton Wows 'Em at Joe's Pub, May 30
Broadway World Photo Coverage: Euan Morton in Concert at Joe's Pub, May 30
Playbill Online: The Leading Men: It's Reigning Men, June 1
Broadway World: "As the Tonys Approach...", June 2
Broadway World Photo Coverage: Celebrity Freeze Frame, June 4

Coming to the City: When I Get My Name in Lights

Raúl Esparza, who recently lorded over Taboo as London club czar Philip Sallon, came to New York for college (NYU), but he allowed himself The Dream. "One of my first weeks here in college, I went to the top of the Empire State Building, and I went at night," he remembers. "There's something about being up there at night, with all those lights blinking and New York spread out beneath you. It's like a scene from every Woody Allen movie ever made — a city of so many possibilities. You can image a thousand lifetimes in this city because you've seen them on the screen. There was something so huge about the city spread out at my feet that I just started trembling with all this possibility and what I could become here."

That euphoria came with a terrible undertow. "I just loved acting in plays so much. I would always make the sacrifices necessary to do the next job, but I never thought it'd be a way I would always pay my rent and have a life."

Upon graduation, he got his ego together and took it to Chicago, where "I met actors who had homes and families and worked in theatre and weren't big stars. I began to realize it's not about being a big star. It's about doing the best you can, competing with yourself in a way to be better the next time, knowing 'That's not good enough for me. Keep going.'"

Lisa Kron will replace Joanna Gleason in the Worth Street Theatre Company's production of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart starting June 15. The show went on hiatus for two weeks beginning June 1. Gleason has accepted a part in the new Broadway-bound musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. [ Read more ]

Side Show's Robert Longbottom will direct the upcoming "Broadway Under the Stars" concert in Bryant Park. The 75-minute show, which combines live performances and underscored movie montages, will feature the talents of Nikki Renee Daniels, Linda Eder, Raul Esparza, Sutton Foster, John Hill, Emily Hsu, Andy Karl, Telly Leung, Tyler Maynard, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lillias White, Tom Wopat, Christy Carlson Romano, Anika Noni Rose and Kelly Sullivan. Edie Falco and Bronson Pinchot will co-host the annual event. [ Read more ]

Bryant Park is located on Sixth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets. The concert will be held on June 14 at 8:30 p.m. and will be taped for a June 19 broadcast on CBS. Check local listings.

Quick links (Tony Awards coverage):
Broadway.com Video Feature: Tony Nominees Do Brunch, May 12
Broadway.com Photo Op: Stars Shine on the Red Carpet, June 6
Broadway.com Photo Op: A Starry Tony Ball, June 6
Broadway World Photo Coverage: Tony Party Central!, June 6

Quick links (Broadway Under The Stars coverage):
Broadway.com Photo Op: Stars Lights Up Bryant Park, June 14
Broadway World Photo Coverage: Broadway Under The Stars, June 14

Quick Links to coverage of the Hair benefit concert from rehearsals to the gala event:
Actors' Fund photo gallery
Broadway.com: Hair Tease, September 13
Broadway World Photo Coverage: HAIR-raising benefit, September 15
Playbill Online PHOTO CALL: Esparza Lets Down His Flaxen Waxen Hair at Concert Rehearsal, September 14
Theater Mania: Loose Lips: Raúl Esparza, Annie Golden, RuPaul, and other stars prepare to let their Hair down for The Actors' Fund, September 17
Broadway.com: Stars Let Down Their Hair for The Actors' Fund, September 20
Playbill Online PHOTO CALL: "Long As God Can Grow It": Stars Let Down Their Hair at Actor's Fund Concert, September 21
Theater Mania: Hair Today: The Actors' Fund presents a star-studded concert version of the seminal rock musical Hair at the New Amsterdam Theatre, September 21
Broadway World Photo Coverage: Actors' Fund Hair Concert, September 22
Playbill Online DIVA TALK: A Chat with Stage and Screen Star Dixie Carter Plus the Hair-Raising Benefit Concert, September 24

The recent all-star concert of Hair — benefiting the Actors' Fund of America — will be recorded by Sh-K-Boom Records.

A spokesperson for the record label confirmed that the star-studded company from the recent concert...will record the sixties musical Oct. 1 at the Hit Factory. The single disc is expected to be released some time after the New Year on Sh-K-Boom's new imprint, Ghostlight Records. [ Read more ]

The 92nd Street Y is located at 1395 Lexington Avenue. $25 tickets may be purchased by calling (212) 415-5500. Please visit the 92nd Street Y website for more information and to purchase tickets online.

Quick links:
Playbill Online: Photo Call - Trying opening night, October 14
Broadway.com: Photo Op - Trying opening night, October 14
Broadway.com: Photo Op - Passion benefit concert for Friends In Deed, October 20

Quick links:
The Washington Times: Dull Tour of 'Broadway', November 2004
Broadwayworld.com: Photo Coverage: Euan Morton at the Zipper Theater, November 14
Broadway.com: Photo Op - 20 Years Later, Whoopi Returns, November 17