David Black News

Rehearsals have begun for August Wilson's blazing masterpiece 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' which begins previews September 1, opens September 11 and continues through October 16, 2016, at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum. BroadwayWorld has a peek at the company in rehearsal below!

Episode 2, 'Hollywood & Race,' of A&E's first-ever original comedy series, the racially charged, bitingly funny BLACK AND WHITE airs Wednesday night August 3rd at 9:30/10:30c with special guest David Alan Grier (In Living Color, NBC's The Wiz). The show is hosted by Christian Finnegan and Sherrod Small. Check out a sneak preview of the interview below!

Center Theatre Group has announced the casting for August Wilson's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' which begins previews August 31, opens September 11 and continues through October 16, 2016, at the Mark Taper Forum.

DOGFIGHT is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul and a book by Peter Duchan. It is adapted from Nancy Savoca's 1991 film and premiered Off-Broadway in 2012. The current production by Austin Theatre Project is the Central Texas premiere. An intimate new musical with a small cast, DOGFIGHT shines a light on the nastier aspects of young Marines, especially the ritual where each man tries to find the ugliest girl to bring to a bar to win a bet. It is this ritual that gives the work its name. A look at swaggering, macho culture at its worst, dehumanizing both the women and the faceless enemy the boys are being dispatched to fight.

Hillbarn Theatre closes out its record breaking 75th Anniversary Season with Neil Simon's hit musical, SWEET CHARITY.

The Story: Power Broker Jonah Gray is home. But does that mean Amsterdam, or New York City? Will he be Ivan Janse or Jonah Gray?

Smoketown Brewing Station is proud to announce the grand opening of its taproom and brewery in Brunswick, Maryland. Founded by David Blackmon, the location at 223 W. Potomac Street in Brunswick, brews traditional craft beers in their 7 barrel brewhouse. The 16,000 square foot, two story building was previously home of the Brunswick Volunteer Fire Station. David had a vision to recreate a place where people would come from the community, but also a place local tourists can visit. The location is just steps from the Potomac River, C&O Canal and MARC train.

Hillbarn Theatre closes out its record breaking 75th Anniversary Season with Neil Simon's hit musical, SWEET CHARITY.

Actor David Alan Grier stopped by CBS' s THE TALK to share how he felt winning his first NAACP Image Award for his role as the Cowardly Lion in THE WIZ LIVE.

On CONAN, David brings in a pair of adorable bear cubs & Conan goes into cute overload.

We continue our series on Austin theatres and producers with David Blackburn and the award winning Austin Theatre Project. In just four short years, Austin Theatre Project has become a company known for new and edgy musical productions. We sat down with him to learn a little more about both him and Austin Theatre Project.

For three months in 1970, the Trump name could be seen above a Broadway title.

FIRST DATE THE MUSICAL is a new musical with a book by Austin Winsberg and music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner. It's based around the various permutations of blind dating. It made its world premiere in 2012 at Seattle's ACT Theatre in a 5th Avenue Theatre co-production and made its Broadway debut in 2013. FIRST DATE THE MUSICAL has a noticeable sitcom quality. It also has genuine wit, charm and a musical panache that is a breath of fresh air compared to the overblown musicals being created these days. Set mostly in a Manhattan restaurant, it shows the audience the extremely awkward first date of Aaron (Scott Garrett Graham) and Casey (Marett Hanes), a serial dater who's clearly more experienced with romance Russian roulette. This blind date is Aaron's reentry into the world of romance after being ditched at the altar by his fiancee, Allison (Kate Sullivan Gibbons), and his nervousness is clearly evident. The couple's inner thoughts are revealed in the evening's musical numbers.

This March, Harper Lee's beloved novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, comes to life at Hillbarn Theatre. Set in Alabama during The Great Depression, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel sees racial injustice envelop a small-town community. Through courage and compassion, lawyer Atticus Finch seeks the truth, and his feisty daughter, Scout - a young girl on the cusp of adulthood - brings new hope to a neighborhood in turmoil. This timeless classic compels audiences to take an honest look at our nation's past and humanities moral responsibility to each other.

Big news today in the world of music! Universal Music Group (UMG) has named renowned producers David Blackman and Scott Landis to lead its development and production of film, television and theatrical projects. Their appointments are effective immediately, and both report jointly to UMG Executive Vice President Michele Anthony and Universal Music Publishing Group Chairman and CEO Jody Gerson, reflecting the unique and important role that publishing and recorded music play in creating film, television and theatrical properties.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, is pleased to announce the newest member of its executive leadership team, Joyce Friedmann, who will serve as TCG's Chief Development Officer.

Formed in 2008 in the sweaty dancehalls of Lafayette, Louisiana, GIVERS are back with their sophomore album, New Kingdom, due out November 13th via Glassnote Records

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW is a musical with music, lyrics and a book by Richard O'Brien. A camp tribute to the drive-in science fiction and horror B movie double features of the late 40's through early 70's, it tells the story of newly engaged couple Brad Majors (Daniel Cline) and Janet Weiss (Becca Seferian) who get caught in a storm and come to the castle of mad transvestite scientist Frank N. Furter (Kirk Kelso) on the night he unveils his new creation. That creation is an artificially made, physically perfect muscle man named Rocky (Alejandro Rodriguez), complete 'with long hair and a tan'. The musical was later adapted into the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which has the longest-running release in film history after bombing at the box office on its initial release. The musical has been ranked eighth in the BBC Radio listener poll of the 'Nation's Number One Essential Musicals'.

Formed in 2008 in the sweaty dancehalls of Lafayette, Louisiana, GIVERS are back with their sophomore album, New Kingdom, due out November 13th via Glassnote Records

Hillbarn Theatre, the Peninsula's premier theatre company, follows up on the success of their 2015-16 season opener, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, with Neil Simon's award-winning classic, THE ODD COUPLE.