Basil Twist News

The University of Washington School of Drama will present Naomi Wallace's poetic 1994 drama, In the Heart of America, March 6 - 17, 2019 at the Jones Playhouse at UW.

Sometimes a show completely defies expectations. And in the case of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, that's a good thing. I settled into my seat at the Durham Performing Arts Center Tuesday night and drew forth my pen, my weapon choice, completely prepared to obliterate this production. Then the music started. Cue the ensemble. "Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with dew…" Suddenly there I was, smiling, strangely finding comfort in the familiar, when I heard a sound that would completely disarm me. A nine-year-old kid behind me named Blake laughed, an infectious sort of laugh that served as a bit of a wake-up call that this show wasn't calculated for me. This show, this moment, and this performance belonged to him and every other dewy-eyed kid in the audience.

Ashley Wheater, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, proudly announces an impressive 2019-2020 season featuring a Chicago premiere from Northern Ballet Artistic Director Cathy Marston, along with a Chicago premiere from Tony Award-winning choreographer and New York City Ballet Resident Choreographer Justin Peck, plus the return of an audience favorite by choreographer Yuri Possokhov, and Christopher Wheeldon's holiday classic The Nutcracker. The Joffrey Ballet begins its 64th season with Marston's modern re-telling of Jane Eyre, October 16-27, 2019, followed by Wheeldon's magical holiday classic The Nutcracker, November 30-December 29, 2019. For its winter engagement, the Joffrey presents a mixed repertory program that includes the Chicago premiere of Peck's acclaimed The Times Are Racing, the Chicago premieres of Mono Lisa and The Sofa by Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili, Wheeldon's Commedia, and Bliss!, a new work from Stephanie Martinez, winner of the Joffrey's 2015 Winning Works choreographic competition, February 12-23, 2020. Closing the season is the return of Possokhov's Don Quixote, April 22- May 3, 2020, which received its world premiere in Chicago in 2011.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present its 2019-20 season with a broad repertoire of operas in productions that have never been seen by Houston audiences. The 65th season will open October 18, 2019, with Verdi's classic Rigoletto. Tomer Zvulun returns to direct the season opener after successfully opening the 2018-19 season with his production of The Flying Dutchman. American baritone Brian Mulligan sings his first Rigoletto leading an outstanding cast filled with renowned HGO Studio alumni, including Mexican tenor Arturo Chacon-Cruz as the Duke of Mantua and Armenian soprano Mane Galoyan as Gilda. Paired with Rigoletto is the North American  premiere of the dramatic oratorio Saul in a much-lauded and imaginative production by Barrie Kosky. Christopher Purves returns to the title role after his celebrated performance at the Glyndebourne Festival and is joined by countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and Korean soprano Pureum Jo, both HGO Studio alumni.

The Boston premiere of the US National Tour of Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY opened at the Boston Opera House this week, just a year after the Broadway production closed. The core of the Broadway creative team brings in a 36-member cast, including the beguiling candy man Willy Wonka and the Oompa Loompas, his odd little troupe of orange-haired factory workers.

The spectacular new musical Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory begins on stage tomorrow,  5 January, at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, ahead of the official Opening Night on Friday 11 January. With January shows nearly sold out including extra school holiday matinee performances added due to huge demand, best availability for tickets is February and March performances.

This winter, the University of Washington School of Drama will present two works by eminent female dramatists, Rutherford and Son by Githa Sowerby, and In the Heart of America by Naomi Wallace. The productions are master's theses for our graduating MFA directors, Cody Holliday Haefner and Amanda Friou.

Heart On Sleeve Productions (Johnnie Moore Hawkins, Executive Producer) is delighted to present the world premiere of The Apple Boys: A Barbershop Quartet Musical, a one-of-a-kind musical that propels the uniquely American art form of the barbershop quartet into the stratosphere. Hilarious and heart-warming, The Apple Boys features a book by writer and performer Jonothon Lyons, music and lyrics by 2017 Jonathan Larson Grant recipient Ben Bonnema (Adult Swim's Peter Panic, Boys Who Tricked Me), and is directed by David Alpert (If/Then, The Trip to Bountiful). Performances will begin November 30 and run through December 23 at HERE (145 Sixth Avenue) with an opening on December 9.

Cast members of The Apple Boys: A Barbershop Quartet Musical are scheduled to make several high-profile appearances on October 31 as part of New York City's 45th Annual Village Halloween Parade. At 9:30 AM, The Apple Boys will appear on Fox 5 TV's 'Good Day New York,' singing an original song. At 7:45 PM, The Apple Boys will perform outside the landmarked Jefferson Market Library as Basil Twists' iconic 14-foot spider descends the clocktower.

The Joffrey Ballet's critically acclaimed reimagined classic, The Nutcracker, by Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, returns to open the holiday season at the historic Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, in downtown Chicago at 50 East Congress Parkway, in 29 performances, December 1-30, 2018. 

Broadway In Boston is thrilled to announce that Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY will go on sale Sunday, October 28, 2018. Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY will play at the Boston Opera House January 8 - 20, 2019 as part of the 2018-2019 Lexus Broadway In Boston Season.   

In 1993, HERE barged into Soho and threw one hell of a party. It's been 25 years and the world has changed, but the OBIE-winning producer and presenter is still HERE.

The Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) is pleased to announce that Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY will go on sale today, October 12 at 10A. Tickets will be available at the PPAC Box Office, online at www.ppacri.org and by phone at (401) 421-ARTS (2787). Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY will play at the Providence Performing Arts Center, February 5 - 10, 2019. Ticket prices start at $41; all ticket prices include a $3 per ticket restoration charge and are subject to change without notice.

The Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) is pleased to announce that Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY will go on sale on Friday, October 12 at 10A. Tickets will be available at the PPAC Box Office, online at www.ppacri.org and by phone at (401) 421-ARTS (2787). Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY will play at the Providence Performing Arts Center, February 5 - 10, 2019. Ticket prices start at $41; all ticket prices include a $3 per ticket restoration charge and are subject to change without notice.

The chocolate factory is coming to a city near you! The tour for CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY launched last month at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY, before an official opening in Chicago last week. Check out all-new production photos of the touring company below!

HERE announces that applications for the HERE Artist Residency Program (HARP) are currently open. This multi-year, $100,000 residency program was created in 1999 and serves as a national model.

The chocolate factory is coming to a city near you! Full dates and cities have been announced for the upcoming North American tour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The tour will launch at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY, before bringing Wonka's world of pure imagination to previously announced engagements in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and more. Casting will be announced at a later date.

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's 42nd annual Village Halloween Costume Ball on Monday, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue. This unique festival continues as a grand coming-together for real witches, everyday New Yorkers and artists alike. An explosive fall tradition, the event is held annually on the actual night of Halloween and celebrates artistic creation and fertilization.

Broadway In Chicago has announced that a digital lottery will begin October 1 at 9 a.m. for Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.  Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY will play a limited engagement at Broadway In Chicago's Oriental Theatre (24 West Randolph Street, Chicago, IL) from October 2 - October 21.

Heart On Sleeve Productions Presents the World Premiere Of The Apple Boys: A Barbershop Quartet Musical, November 30 - December 23