Craig Smith News

When it opened at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway in 1975, The Wiz was heralded as a groundbreaking theatrical event because it was a large-scale, big-budget musical featuring an all-African American cast. The Wiz laid the foundation for other African-American hits including Dreamgirls. Most recently, The Wiz Live! was featured on NBC in December of 2015, and beginning on March 23, The Wiz will ease on down to Jacksonville with its debut at the Alhambra Theatre & Dining featuring a big cast, big costumes and a big set. The show will run through April 24.

Gary Naylor sees a simply staged but powerful production of Gluck's 18th century opera about the sister and brother reunited far from home who seize the opportunity to fulfil their destinies.

Craig Smith, a devoted writer and author, has completed his new book 'Journey into the Dark Realm': a gripping and exhilarating work of fiction that the reader won't be able to put down until the very end.

LINDON, Utah, February 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/

CLUE is at Dutch Apple. Mrs. White and Mr. Green reveal secrets of the musical murder mystery, and of the couple's favorite shows together -- off stage, when they're not up to their necks in murder, they're engaged.

In what has been a closely guarded secret until Tuesday when it was released to its newsletter and season ticket subscribers, the Alhambra Theatre & Dining announced that its summer show will be Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The show will be Alhambra's longest engagement of the year, running from June 15 through July 31. Tickets are now on sale to the public.  The Alhambra has traditionally staged a family-oriented show for its summer time period. Recent summer shows have included Shrek!, Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonkaand Cinderella. Last year's summer show, Seussical: The Musical, was a sell out, and the Alhambra expects the same for Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

LINDON, Utah, February 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/

After a successful first season of Alhambra After Dark concerts and tribute acts in 2015, The Alhambra Theatre & Dining is launching its 2016 Alhambra After Dark music series with a more diverse slate and promising more shows (along with some of those that proved popular last year). In 2014 The Alhambra launched a branded series of non-theatrical programs called Alhambra After Dark so it could offer slightly more diverse fare from its traditional show schedule. Alhambra After Dark (AAD) has ranged from concerts to comedians and trivia nights to one-person shows, but it has set its biggest footprint to date on the nationally-burgeoning genre of musical tribute acts.

Phoenix Theatre Ensemble (PTE) announces that its winter rep will run from January 21 through February 14 with the world premiere of Glyn Maxwell's The Gambler based on the novella by Dostoevsky, and David Greig's dynamic version of Strindberg's Creditors, and a late-night production of Al Pagano's Filibusted, an irreverent view of the current US political mileau. All performances will be at the Wild Project @ 195 East 3rd Street in the East Village. 

Phoenix Theatre Ensemble (PTE) announces that it will be remounting its 2014 production of August Strindberg's searing domestic drama Creditors in the celebrated translation by Scottish playwright David Grieg (Donmar Warehouse 2008; BAM 2010) for 10 performances (Jan 26 - Feb 10) playing in rotating repertory with Glyn Maxwell's The Gambler at the Wild Project at 195 East 3rd Street (between Avenues A and B). 

Guerilla Opera enthusiastically welcomes Susan Larson to their Board of Directors. In her retirement, Larson worked as music writer for The Boston Globe and is now a published author, but many know her best from Peter Sellars' innovative productions of the late 1980s. She is one of the groundbreaking artists of her generation that changed the opera director's and opera audience's perception of what an opera singer is capable of. Subsequent generations of opera singers evolved because of dynamic singing actors like her.

The Red Ryder BB Gun and the fishnet-clad leg lamp grace the Dutch Apple stage for the Christmas season.

One of the most explosive movie musicals in recent memory bursts onto the live stage with exhilarating results.

One of the most explosive movie musicals in recent memory bursts onto the live stage with exhilarating results.

The 49th season for the Alhambra Theatre & Dining has been so well received by its existing subscriber base, the iconic theater had to add staff to keep up with demand. Its nine-show slate received nearly a 100% renewal rate and the second wave of sales to newsletter subscribers received the highest volume in the six-year history of the new ownership group. Subscriber packages, known as Season Partnerships, as well as single-show tickets are on sale Thursday to the general public.

Chorus pro Musica (CpM), under the direction of Jamie Kirsch, commences its 2015-16 season at 8 p.m. on November 7 at First Church Cambridge with a program, With Strings Attached, that features choral works highlighting the special connection between stringed instruments and the human voice.

Think OKLAHOMA! is a nice, wholesome musical full of midwestern cheer and a bit of drama? Think again, as Dean Sobon takes Dutch Apple's OKLAHOMA! back to the grit and the dirt of territorial Oklahoma

Disney XD has ordered two new action-packed seasons of the popular animated series on the Marvel programming block - continuing the adventures of Earth's Mightiest Heroes with 'Marvel's Avengers: Ultron Revolution' and introducing a new band of villains in 'Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6.'

Disney XD has ordered two new action-packed seasons of the popular animated series on the Marvel programming block – continuing the adventures of Earth's Mightiest Heroes with 'Marvel's Avengers: Ultron Revolution' and introducing a new band of villains in 'Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6.' Produced by Marvel Television, both series deliver the biggest, most explosive seasons yet with some of Marvel's most aspirational super heroes facing off against some of the greatest threats in the Marvel Universe. Both of the new seasons are currently in production and slated to premiere in 2016 on Marvel on Disney XD.