David Allen News

100 Shades of Green presents the world premiere of The Fourth Messenger, a brand new musical by celebrated local playwright Tanya Shaffer and popular singer/songwriter Vienna Teng. What if the Buddha were a woman? What if she were alive today? How would the world view her life and teachings differently? Loosely inspired by the life of the historical Buddha, the captivating new musical imagines a modern-day 'awakened one' named Mama Sid. BroadwayWorld has a first look below.

Aurora Theatre Company continues its 21st season with the World Premiere of OUR PRACTICAL HEAVEN from acclaimed playwright Anthony Clarvoe (Pick Up Ax, Show and Tell, Ambition Facing West). This family drama, which originated as one of Aurora Theatre Company's Global Age Project (GAP) finalists in 2011, is the third main stage production to develop from the GAP. OUR PRACTICAL HEAVEN plays tonight, January 25 through March 3 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley.

On the Jan. 21 episode of CBS's comedy MIKE & MOLLY, entitled, 'Molly's Birthday,' Mike prepares to spoil Molly for her birthday, but his plans go awry after he eats psychedelic gelato made by Victoria's friend Tom, on MIKE & MOLLY, Monday, Jan. 21 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Multi-award winning Foothill Music Theatre and Foothill Theatre Arts presents SPRING AWAKENING. Winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, this groundbreaking musical with its bold rock score is a universal coming of age story that tells the timeless story of teenage self-discovery and budding sexuality as seen through the eyes of three teenagers. SPRING AWAKENING, with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater, will be directed by Milissa Carey, with musical direction by Mark Hanson and Choreography by Amanda Folena.

Aurora Theatre Company continues its 21st season with the World Premiere of OUR PRACTICAL HEAVEN from acclaimed playwright Anthony Clarvoe (Pick Up Ax, Show and Tell, Ambition Facing West). This family drama, which originated as one of Aurora Theatre Company's Global Age Project (GAP) finalists in 2011, is the third main stage production to develop from the GAP. OUR PRACTICAL HEAVEN plays January 25 through March 3 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley.

The editors at Scholastic have been publishing, curating and distributing award-winning books for children for decades, and have become experts at predicting exactly where kids' book interests will go next. Today, the editors of Scholastic Book Clubs and Scholastic Book Fairs, along with editors in the Trade Publishing group, present their list of top ten trends in children's books for the coming year.

Dallas Theater Center will present Dickens' classic tale, A Christmas Carol, at the historic Kalita Humphreys Theater. DTC Associate Artistic Director Joel Ferrell will direct and choreograph this festive holiday story of redemption and forgiveness that has become a holiday tradition for DTC and for theater-goers across North Texas. This year marks the eighth and final season for this version of A Christmas Carol, which runs from Tuesday, November 20 - Sunday, December 23. Single tickets to A Christmas Carol are on sale now at www.DallasTheaterCenter.org and by phone at (214) 880-0202.

Bay Area audiences will have the opportunity to experience a lost musical theatre treasure when 42nd Street Moon presents the first ever post-Broadway production of a musical collaboration by the composers of My Fair Lady and Brigadoon, CARMELINA. The show has a beautiful score by Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane and a saucy book by Lerner and Joseph Stein, whose Fiddler on the Roof remains one of the world's most popular musicals, but CARMELINA nevertheless vanished from sight. CARMELINA plays October 31 - November 18, 2012 (press openings November 2 and 3) at the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco. Get a first look at the cast in the photos below!

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 21st season with the coveted Bay Area Premiere of Kristoffer Diaz's smart, hilarious power-slam of a play, THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY. Jon Tracy makes his main stage directing debut at Aurora with this sardonic critique of pop culture and political correctness. Featuring Rod Gnapp, Tony Sancho, Beethovan Oden, Dave Maier, and Nasser Khan, THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY plays tonight, August 24 through September 30 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!

Only two weekends remain to experience Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine at Grove Theatre Center in Burbank. The show runs through Saturday, August 18, 2012.

Originally set to close August 11, Grove Theater Center's production of Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine has been extended through Saturday, August 18, 2012, at GTC Burbank.

Foothill Music Theatre presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, directed by Jay Manley, with musical direction by Catherine Snider and choreography by Dottie Lester-White. With score and lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING plays tonight, July 20 - August 12, 2012 at the Smithwick Theatre at Foothill College in Los Altos. For tickets ($10-$28) and information, the public may visit www.foothillmusicals.com, or call the box office at (650) 949-7360. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the production photos below.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 21st season with the coveted Bay Area Premiere of Kristoffer Diaz's smart, hilarious power-slam of a play, THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY. Jon Tracy makes his main stage directing debut at Aurora with this sardonic critique of pop culture and political correctness. Featuring Rod Gnapp, Tony Sancho, Beethovan Oden, Dave Maier, and Nasser Khan, THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY plays August 24 through September 30 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) presents a revival of Neil Simon's 1965 comedy classic THE ODD COUPLE starring Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak and veteran TV news anchorman Joe Moore -- real life friends since their tour of duty in Vietnam. Performances began June 21 at The Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, directed by Vincent J. Cardinal. The show runs through July 7. Watch a video with highlights from the show below!

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) presents a revival of Neil Simon's 1965 comedy classic THE ODD COUPLE starring Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak and veteran TV news anchorman Joe Moore -- real life friends since their tour of duty in Vietnam. Performances began June 21 at The Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, directed by Vincent J. Cardinal. See below for photos of Sajak, Moore, and the rest of the cast, on stage!

Closing Aurora's 20th season is the World Premiere of SALOMANIA, Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross's first new play commission for the company, written and directed by award-winning Bay Area auteur Mark Jackson (Metamorphosis, Salome, Miss Julie). We have a first look at the production photos below!

Imagination Stage, in a collaboration with The Washington Ballet, presents THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE. In this fusion of theater, dance, and puppetry, based on the novel by C.S. Lewis, the roles of the four children are played jointly by an actor and a dancer, and the courageous lion Aslan is portrayed by a life-size puppet operated by three actor/puppeteers, similar to the puppets used in the Broadway production War Horse.