Jaret Landon

If you want a high-energy show, Smokey Joe's Café is definitely for you. The musical revue, on Broadway from 1995-2000, highlights the music of songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The spectacle features their hit songs done back to back including 'Love Potion Number 9', 'Yakity Yak', 'Stand By Me' and 'Jailhouse Rock'. Believe me when I say that you will be dancing in your seat at some point.

Smokey Joe's Cafe has officially opened at the John W. Engeman Theater. Check out production photos below!

Smokey Joe's Cafe officially opened at the John W. Engeman Theater and BroadwayWorld was there.

The John W. Engeman Theater has announced the cast and creative team for their upcoming production of Smokey Joe's Cafe. Performances begin on Thursday, September 16 and run through Sunday, October 31, 2021.

World premiere musical theater piece adapted by Davone Tines and Michael Schachter from 1931 Langston Hughes poem, 'The Black Clown.' Dramatic monologue with orchestral accompaniment is part elegy, part declaration of independence, and part celebration which resonates in 2018 America. Tines gives a full-throated performance as the titular character with support from a twelve-person ensemble of singularly-talented singers and dancers.

Check out photos of American Repertory Theater's world premiere production of The Black Clown!

Get a first look at rehearsals for The Black Clown at Loeb Drama Center!

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University (A.R.T.), under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, announces complete casting and creative team for The Black Clown. The production begins previews Friday, August 31; opens Wednesday, September 5; and closes Sunday, September 23, 2018 at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, MA.

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University (A.R.T.), under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, announces complete casting and creative team for The Black Clown. The production begins previews Friday, August 31; opens Wednesday, September 5; and closes Sunday, September 23, 2018 at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, MA.

Long Wharf Theatre, in association with the McCarter Theater Center, presents the 15TH anniversary production of Crowns, written and directed by Regina Taylor.

Long Wharf Theatre, in association with the McCarter Theater Center, presents the 15TH anniversary production of Crowns, written and directed by Regina Taylor.

Long Wharf Theatre, in association with the McCarter Theater Center, presents the 15TH anniversary production of Crowns, written and directed by Regina Taylor. Performances take place April 18 through May 13, 2018 on the Claire Tow Stage in the C. Newton Schenck III Mainstage. Tickets start at $30.

Long Wharf Theatre, in association with the McCarter Theater Center, presents the 15TH anniversary production of Crowns, written and directed by Regina Taylor. Performances take place April 18 through May 13, 2018 on the Claire Tow Stage in the C. Newton Schenck III Mainstage. Tickets start at $30.

Fifteen years after its world premiere at McCarter Theatre Center, Crowns is returning. When Yolanda's brother is killed on the streets of Chicago, the shaken teenager is sent to live with her grandmother in South Carolina, where she embarks on a journey toward discovering her place in the world, and in her family. Produced in association with Long Wharf Theatre, Crowns runs March 13 - April 1 in McCarter's Matthews Theatre.

Fifteen years after its world premiere at McCarter Theatre Center, Crowns is returning. When Yolanda's brother is killed on the streets of Chicago, the shaken teenager is sent to live with her grandmother in South Carolina, where she embarks on a journey toward discovering her place in the world, and in her family. Produced in association with Long Wharf Theatre, Crowns runs March 13 - April 1 in McCarter's Matthews Theatre.

You don't have to be Christian to love THE CHRISTIANS (with apologies to the 1960's famous ad 'You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's Jewish Rye Bread). But I do think a new name of the play would be appropriate. Have there been plays called 'The Hindus', 'The Jews',

Although I never watched their program, I do remember that Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were wildly known almost as much for their outrageous personalities and sartorial style as their devotion to preaching the gospel of Jesus. It is easy to see why the pair became an unlikely surrogate family for the two teenagers from Detroit raised on that same belief, as they rapidly became the hottest stars in televangical America. But for the naive siblings, especially BeBe, it's not an easy lesson learning how to reconcile the temptations of fame and fortune with the things he ultimately values more. It's a wildy funny yet emotional journey toward self-discovery, told with great music and outstanding performances by siblings Juan Winans and Deborah Joy Winans (the children of Carvin Winans, Sr. and Deborah Winans) who portray their aunt CeCe and uncle BeBe with the utmost respect, magical stage presence, and the most amazing vocal pipes!

Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels announce a one-week extension to the World Premiere, hit production of A Wonder In My Soul, written by ensemble playwright Marcus Gardley and directed by Chay Yew, with music direction by Jaret Landon. A Wonder In My Soul will now run through March 19, 2017 at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

In Kurtis Boetcher's set design for Marcus Gardley's world premiere A WONDER IN MY SOUL, the backdrop for the South Side beauty shop where the play is set prominently displays the photographs of black female icons ranging from Diana Ross to Beyonce-and all of course have fabulous hair in the photos. And as we learn in the play, Aberdeen "Birdie" Calumet (Greta Oglesby) and Bell Grand Lake's (Jacqueline Williams) fictional beauty shop has played host to a number of these famous black women over the years. But what Gardley's play does so beautifully is take the story of these specific, everyday characters and lend a universality to them. The play takes place primarily in 2008 but shows us flashbacks of young Birdie (Camille Robinson) and young Bell (Donica Lynn) as they make their way from Mississippi to settle in Chicago and start their business. Along the way, Gardley weaves a narrative that is warm and sometimes funny but also ultimately serious and touching. And as one would expect, Johnny Jamison's hair and wig design is just superb.

Victory Gardens Theater continues its season with the World Premiere of A Wonder In My Soul, written by ensemble playwright Marcus Gardley and directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew, with original music by Jaret Landon. A Wonder In My Soul runs now through March 12, 2017, with the press performance on Friday, February 17, 2017, at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!