William Mead

Timber Lake Playhouse, located in Mt. Carroll, Ill., the professional, non-profit summer theatre company established in 1961 with a mission of 'providing the best expression of theater arts to the regional community by presenting creative works that entertain and inspire while helping aspiring artists transition to the profession,' has announced today the appointment of award-winning director and choreographer Paul Stancato as Artistic Director for the 2018-19 season.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC), in collaboration with the Boston Lawyers' Chapter of the Federalist Society, will present its annual Shakespeare and the Law series, focusing this fall on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, directed by CSC's Associate Artistic Director Adam Sanders and produced by McCarter & English partner Daniel J. Kelly. 

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC), in collaboration with the Boston Lawyers' Chapter of the Federalist Society, will present its annual Shakespeare and the Law series, focusing this fall on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, directed by CSC's Associate Artistic Director Adam Sanders and produced by McCarter & English partner Daniel J. Kelly. 

Tickets for Virginia Stage Company's Season 39 have been on sale for just a few days and have broken multiple sales records, seeing more than a threefold increase on opening day over last season. This combined with season membership sales, that have already exceeded all of last season, shows promise for what was anticipated to be Virginia Stage's most blockbuster season in years.

Ring of Fire is a jukebox musical featuring the music of Johnny Cash, but it's not necessarily biographical.

From the songbook of The Man in Black himself, comes the musical adaptation "Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash". Performed by a multi-talented cast of 10, the show features 38 Cash classics including "I Walk the Line", "A Boy Named Sue" and "Folsom Prison Blues". This lively musical about love and faith, struggle and success, and rowdiness and redemption, opens at Syracuse Stage on June 9 in the Archbold Theatre at Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex, 820 E. Genesee St. Preview performances are June 7 and 8.

Virginia Stage Company and Norfolk State University Theatre Company's production of The Wiz concluded April 30 after rave reviews, smashing attendance records and selling out five performances - something not seen at the Wells Theatre is many years. By pooling the resources, talents, and staffs of the two organizations, the production was elevated to a height otherwise unachievable. 

Johnny Cash.  Just the name is iconic, but his music and that deep, calm bass-baritone voice made the "Man in Black" an American legend. From his songbook comes this crowd-pleasing, foot-stomping musical celebration that tells a fascinating story of love and faith, struggle and success, rowdiness and redemption, home and family.

Virginia Stage is excited to announce what they have in store for their 39th season. The lineup includes an additional production, the return of fan favorite Crowns. The full lineup has through lines of gospel and comedy and includes a Pulitzer Prize winner, two musicals, a new work, and adaptations of three classic works of literature.

Much has changed in Buffalo, including it's theatrical scene. A coming home of sorts is happening at SHEA'S 710 THEATRE. RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH has returned to the stage where the production began. In 2005 Studio Arena Theatre produced this jukebox musical created by Richard Maltby Jr and conceived by William Meade. After a short run that earned much local praise, the production moved to Broadway, something not typical for Buffalo. Unfortunately the New York critics and audiences were less enthusiastic, and the production shuttered after a very brief run. But RING OF FIRE, much like Studio Arena and Buffalo itself, was to have it's own rebirth. A reworked version in 2013 by Maltby and Jason Edwards has become much more of a success and audiences across the United States have been quite receptive. Amherst's MusicalFare Theatre presentation from last season is now playing out in a lively and pitch perfect production.

Known by legions of fans as 'the Man in Black,' artist and performer Johnny Cash was a musical jack-of-all-trades. A singer, songwriter, and guitarist all in one, his music incorporates country-western sounds with gospel and blues influences. Syracuse Stage celebrates this American icon with 'Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash,' an addition to the theater's 2016/2017 season.

PRESENT LAUGHTER is a 1939 comedy by Noel Coward. The play's title comes from a song in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, 'present mirth hath present laughter', that urges the sense of carpe diem. Coward repeats one of his signature theatrical devices at the end of the play, where the main characters tiptoe out as the curtain falls - a device that he also used in Private Lives, Hay Fever and Blithe Spirit. The plot follows the life of self-obsessed actor Garry Essendine (Marc Pouhe) as he prepares for a theatrical tour in Africa. Amid a series of events that border on farce, Garry has to deal with women who want to be with him, placate both his secretary and his estranged wife, cope with a more than slightly crazed young playwright, and overcome an impending mid-life crisis. The story has been described by Coward as 'a series of semi-autobiographical pyrotechnics'.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is coming to the stage! The world's favorite storyteller, with more than 250 books in print, is bringing a select group of its 20,000-plus stories to life through live theater for audiences of all ages. Chicken Soup for the Soul has teamed up with Stellation Entertainment to adapt a wide variety of diverse stories to be performed for live audiences. These shows will be distributed worldwide by theatrical licensing agent, R&H Theatricals, a division of Rodgers & Hammerstein, An Imagem Company, for performances by schoolchildren, amateurs and professional performers.  

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, starts its 43rd season with the celebrated musical featuring the music of American Icon, Johnny Cash, in Ring Of Fire. Sponsored by John & Marilyn McConnell and Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers' Group, Ring Of Fire plays the Stark Stage from October 25 through November 13, 2016.  

WaterTower Theatre Managing Director Greg Patterson and Associate Artistic Director Kelsey Leigh Ervi today announced casting and creative team details for the Regional Premiere of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, Directed by B.J. Cleveland, with Musical Direction by Sonny Franks. Created by Richard Maltby Jr., Conceived by William Meade, with Orchestrations by Steven Bishopand Jeff Lisenby, Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash will run October 7-30, 2016 in the Canterbury Family Main Stage at the Addison Theatre Centre. The cast features Spencer Baker as Eddie, Ian Ferguson as Mark, Sonny Franks as David, Katrina Kratzer as Trenna, and Brian Mathis as Jason.

Austin Shakespeare is kicking off the 2016-2017 season with a staged reading of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (Part I only), running September 22 - 25, 2016 at the Rollins Studio Theatre at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. Mantel's best-selling novel, which was adapted for stage by Michael Poulton, is a thrilling reimagining of life under Henry VIII with an unlikely hero at the center, Thomas Cromwell, the son of a blacksmith who rose to become one of the most powerful men in England. After a sold-out Broadway run and rave reviews, Austin Shakespeare is thrilled to produce the Southwest premiere of Wolf Hall with a fully costumed staged reading directed by Artistic Director Ann Ciccolella.

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, starts its 43rd season with the celebrated musical featuring the music of American Icon, Johnny Cash, in Ring Of Fire. Sponsored by John & Marilyn McConnell and Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers' Group, Ring Of Fire plays the Stark Stage from October 25 through November 13, 2016.  

WaterTower Theatre Managing Director Greg Patterson and Associate Artistic Director Kelsey Leigh Ervi today announced casting and creative team details for the Regional Premiere of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, Directed by B.J. Cleveland, with Musical Direction by Sonny Franks. Created by Richard Maltby Jr., Conceived by William Meade, with Orchestrations by Steven Bishopand Jeff Lisenby, Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash will run October 7-30, 2016 in the Canterbury Family Main Stage at the Addison Theatre Centre. The cast features Spencer Baker as Eddie, Ian Ferguson as Mark, Sonny Franks as David, Katrina Kratzer as Trenna, and Brian Mathis as Jason.

Take an exuberant ride alongside an American icon in the regional premiere of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, playing at People's Light from July 20-August 14, 2016. Virtuoso David Lutken, star of the hit show Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie, returns to the Leonard C. Haas Stage in a musical mosaic of the "Man in Black". People's Light is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA 19355. For tickets, call 610.644.3500 or visit peopleslight.org.

?WaterTower Theatre Managing Director Gregory Patterson and Associate Artistic Director Kelsey Leigh Ervi today announced the directors for the upcoming 2016-2017 WaterTower Theatre Main Stage Season in The Canterbury Family Main Stage at the Addison Theatre Centre.   Directing the season opener, Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash (October 7- 30, 2016) is B.J. Cleveland with Musical Direction by Sonny Franks.  Next up, the regional premiere of Silent Sky (January 20-February 12, 2017) will be directed by Kelsey Leigh Ervi.  The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord (April 14-May 7, 2017) will be directed by Emily Scott Banks.  Rene Moreno will return to direct Native Gardens (June 2- 25, 2017). Sunday in the Park With George (July 28-August 20, 2017) will be directed by Terry Martin, with Musical Direction by Jeff Lankov.