Michael Bates

The 2023 US edition of Jazztopad, from June 23-30, will feature a series of commissions from the acclaimed Lutosławski Quartet in collaboration with jazz piano luminaries Craig Taborn and Uri Caine, EMMY-winning composer Don Davis and sought-after bassist and composer Michael Bates. Iraqi-American trumpeter and composer Amir ElSaffar will also perform on opening night in a return Jazztopad engagement.

Dance of the Mystic Bliss also marks Blake’s recording debut (as a leader) on flute, an instrument he spent time woodshedding during lockdown. In a 25-year career spanning 15 albums, not to mention innovative stints with the Lounge Lizards, the Jazz Composers Collective and much more, the 58-year-old Blake is reaching for new sounds.

NYC has long been an incubator for cross-genre pollination and experimentation in all corners of the music community, not least of all in the classical and jazz scenes.

 In 2014, The Speakeasy Society presented the smash hit Ebenezer, an immersive adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. To close out the tumultuous 2021 year, The Speakeasy Society has adapted that adaptation into a holiday internet spectacular that translates the free roaming exploration of the original Ebenezer to a virtual format.

In 2020, the United States Library of Congress selected A Clockwork Orange for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.'

Audience members traverse memories, dreams, emotional and real battlefields, coming in contact with a multitude of characters from Dalton Trumbo's life and novel, as we re-visit Johnny's childhood loves, family members, war room generals, soldiers, nurses, and even major religious figures, each performed to perfection while maintaining the ability to guide and interact with audience members who are often asked to participate and/or share comments during each scene. Soon it becomes apparent in THE JOHNNY CYCLE that each character, whether intentional or not, has sent Johnny to his destiny as he desperately struggles to be heard, trapped between the living and the dead without a voice. Immersive theater at its best!

Tickets are now on sale for the much anticipated production The Johnny Cycle by The Speakeasy Society. 

Experiencing a preview of MWM Immersive's latest virtual reality project CHAINED - A VICTORIAN NIGHTMARE left me in an amazed daze. I was WOWed with the vivid visuals and imagery of creator/director Justin Denton's interpretation of the three ghosts of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. I then got the chance to sit down (in a real couch), with MWM Immersive's executive producer Ethan Stearns in GreatCo's outer gallery to discuss what I had just witnessed.

This is the hilarious adults-only parody of Sesame Street.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica and The Speakeasy Society present the world premiere of WILD PARTY: A Jazz Age Immersive Experience on Saturday, February 3 at 6:00pm and 9:00pm. This special event is part of The Broad Stage's 10th Season Celebration programming and funds raised will help sustain The Broad Stage's programming, operations and student education and community initiatives.

Concerts for the culturally curious - Polyphonic Ground is a new local initiative by live music presenters committed to building and sustaining Toronto as a global music city. Polyphonic Ground Presents is a series of monthly concerts curated by diverse pairings among the twelve founding organizations for an authentic musical exploration.

Dynamic and diverse performances by world-class artists will be heard at the first American Sephardi Music Festival.

Concerts for the culturally curious - Polyphonic Ground is a new local initiative by live music presenters committed to building and sustaining Toronto as a global music city. Polyphonic Ground Presents is a series of monthly concerts curated by diverse pairings among the twelve founding organizations for an authentic musical exploration.

Dynamic and diverse performances by world-class artists will be heard at the first American Sephardi Music Festival.

BOOTLEG THEATER is thrilled to announce the Los Angeles premiere (second half of a rolling world premiere) of I CARRY YOUR HEART, written by Georgette Kelly and directed by Jessica Hanna (as part of the Hope & Optimism Initiative's 'Hope On Stage' playwriting prize project (www.hopeoptimism.com).

BOOTLEG THEATER is thrilled to announce the Los Angeles premiere (second half of a rolling world premiere) of I CARRY YOUR HEART, written by Georgette Kelly and directed by Jessica Hanna (as part of the Hope & Optimism Initiative's "Hope On Stage" playwriting prize project (www.hopeoptimism.com). I CARRY YOUR HEART will preview on Thursday, May 18 at 7pm; will open on Friday, May 19 at 7pm and run through Saturday, June 10 at 7pm at the Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles.  

BOOTLEG THEATER is thrilled to announce the Los Angeles premiere (second half of a rolling world premiere) of I CARRY YOUR HEART, written by Georgette Kelly and directed by Jessica Hanna (as part of the Hope & Optimism Initiative's "Hope On Stage" playwriting prize project (www.hopeoptimism.com). I CARRY YOUR HEARTwill preview on Thursday, May 18 at 7pm; will open on Friday, May 19 at 7pm and run throughSaturday, June 10 at 7pm at the Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles.

Spectrum Listings for September 2016 SPECTRUM 121 LUDLOW STREET, 2nd FLOOR New York, NY Subway: F, M, J & Z trains to Essex/Delancey station Admission left to artist discretion: usually $15; $10 Students & Seniors Spectrum

The Moving Art Collective, a movement-based theatre ensemble will showcase two shows, Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis and Thirteen's Spring, both directed by Fernando Belo at the Hollywood Fringe Festival beginning June 3rd 2016.