Jack Benny News

The 50th Anniversary screening and celebration of Stanley Kramer's “IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD” which opened The Cinerama Dome 50 years ago,

The Best of Broadway & Cabaret will come out in support of the Actors' Temple, (est. 1917) on Monday, November 18, 2013 at 7:00 PM. The Fourth Annual Concert Fundraiser will take place at the Temple, 339 West 47th Street. This musical celebration will benefit the theater district historic landmark which has been struggling to survive in recent years.

The Actors' Temple (Congregation Ezrath Israel) has announced its first "Broadway Shabbat"-a special short service prepared for performing artists that will conclude in time for performers to make their half-hour calls that evening.

BroadwayWorld.com, the largest theatre site on the Internet, is excited to announce a new feature to its comprehensive regional coverage - the Featured Regional Theater of the Week! Each week, BWW will introduce its readers to a regional theater located in one of our (over 130!) coverage cities. By exploring these different venues, their history and showcasing the production seasons, BWW continues its commitment to expand our presence in communities and cities across the United States. This Week's Featured Regional Theater: Fisher Theatre in Detroit, MI

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS opens September 27, in the Dr. Lynn Schornick Theatre in the Jack Benny Center for the Arts, 39 Jack Benny Drive-Bowen Park, Waukegan, IL. Performances run September 27, 28, October 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13. Curtain for Friday and Saturday performances is at 8 PM; and for the Sunday matinees at 3 pm. Tickets may be purchased through on-line registration at www.waukeganparks.org, by calling 847-360-4740, or at the door. Single adult tickets are $20; senior/military/seminary student tickets are priced at $15; and student tickets are $10.

Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston (RMT), pays tribute to an America sentimental journey with the revival of their popular original musical revue Remembering the 40's on Saturday, October 5, at 2 and 7 pm, and Sunday, October 6 at 2 pm at Reagle Music Theatre, 617 Lexington Street, Waltham. Veterans of all wars are honored guests with free admission, who are welcome to appear wearing service attire or uniform, adding a deep sense of patriotism to the production.

Sally-Jane Heit will return for her 4th Annual Benefit Performance at the Guthrie Center on August 17 at 7:00pm. This year she'll bring something entirely new to the stage, or entirely old depending how you look at it; Vaudeville - A Valentine to an Old Theatre Art Form. Sally-Jane fell in love with vaudeville when, as a young child her mother would bring her to vaudeville performances performed between the movies at theatres in New York. By the time she embarked on her long career in theatre, television, and movies, vaudeville was dead. She says, 'Before it was eaten alive by television, Vaudeville was the place anyone with a dream could test their wings.'

Bay Street Theatre presents the final production of the 2013 Mainstage Season with A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, beginning August 6 and running through September 1. The show stars Peter Scolari with Conrad John Schuck and Jackie Hoffman. The book is by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim; music direction by Ethyl Will; and directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

Bay Street Theatre presents the final production of the 2013 Mainstage Season with A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, beginning tonight, August 6 and running through September 1. The show stars Peter Scolari with Conrad John Schuck and Jackie Hoffman. The book is by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim; music direction by Ethyl Will; and directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

Daytona is a brand new play by Oliver Cotton, which today announced its UK tour. After its premiere at the Park Theatre, London on tonight, the 17 July, Daytona will embark on a seven week tour visiting Rose Theatre Kingston, Watford Palace Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Oxford Playhouse, Lyceum Theatre Sheffield, Malvern Festival Theatre and Bath Theatre Royal.

Bay Street Theatre presents the final production of the 2013 Mainstage Season with A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, beginning August 6 and running through September 1. The show stars Peter Scolari with Conrad John Schuck and Jackie Hoffman. The book is by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim; music direction by Ethyl Will; and directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

Daytona is a brand new play by Oliver Cotton, which today announced its UK tour. After its premiere at the Park Theatre, London on the 17 July, Daytona will embark on a seven week tour visiting Rose Theatre Kingston, Watford Palace Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Oxford Playhouse, Lyceum Theatre Sheffield, Malvern Festival Theatre and Bath Theatre Royal.

BroadwayWorld Toronto Contributor Alan Aronshtam sat down for an interview with Michel LaFleche, who plays Munkustrap in the new Canadian Production of Cats.

Sally Struthers of 'All in the Family' and 'Five Easy Pieces' fame comes to Totem Pole Playhouse in May, kicking off the summer season with SIMPLY SALLY STRUTHERS.

BELZ! THE JEWISH VAUDEVILLE MUSICAL is the story of a movement that ultimately had a profound effect on American popular culture as Jewish performers from Eastern Europe and their immediate descendants took their acts from the shtetls to the rest of the world.

The Florida East Coast Chapter of The National Society of Arts and Letters will honor Palm Beach Opera's General Director Daniel Biaggi at their annual Red Rose Dinner Gala today, April 4th at the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club.

When Dana Lorge's run as a Variety Show hosted ended at the Iguana Restaurant last July-and after winning two 2012 MAC Awards for 'Best Variety Show' and 'Best Variety Show Host'-who knew she'd be reduced to being a cabaret audience member searching for a new showcase? But a Metropolitan Room Mentch has come to the rescue in the form of Bernie Furshpan (the Met Room's General Partner and Manager), who has provided Dana with a monthly forum for her unique brand of cabaret shtick beginning Friday, April 5 at 7-8:15 pm. While the new show won't be the two-hour plus extravaganza of yore featuring more than a dozen performers, Dana's new 'Variety Show' promises to feature a solid group of experienced and well-known cabaret and musical theater pros. For the April 5 opener, the Lorge Lineup features Richard Skipper, her former Award-winning Co-host from the Iguana days; film and stage actor Jim Brochu (of Zero Mostel One-Man Show fame), singers LaTanya Hall (from the CBS show 'Blue Bloods) and Peggy Herman Klat, Rick Crom (Creator of Newsical the Musical), and Mr. Furshpan, who will show off his stand-up comedy chops. But the real star of the show will always be the hilarious, unpredictable, darling Dana, who will both crack you up with her infectious humor and surprise you with her engaging singing performances.

Veteran Las Vegas performer Steve Connolly stars as the legendary Elvis Presley in the stage production SPIRIT OF THE KING, which premiered March 6 for an open-ended engagement in the Cascade Lounge of the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs. Dubbed "The hardest working KING in show biz," Steve Connolly has performed as Elvis Presley more than 4,000 times in his career and was chosen by the Las Vegas Review Journal's staff as "Best Elvis in Las Vegas" in 2006 and 2007. I had the chance to see the production on opening night and again this week and it could, and very well should, become one of the "must see" attractions in Palm Springs. But, even though Connolly is at the top of his game, it just misses the mark. It is, however, still a "work in progress" and so I have extremely high hopes for its success.

One World Theatre, Austin's premiere music venue known presenting diverse music and cultural arts in an up close and personal setting has announced its 2013 Summer Season. Highlights include top singer-songwriters like Dar Williams and Jimmy Webb, contemporary jazz greats like Euge Groove and Earl Klugh, Latin music icons like Sergio Mendes and Arturo Sandoval and local favorites like Walking Woody's Road featuring Jimmy LaFave, Eliza Gilkyson, Slaid Cleaves and Sam Baker. One World Theatre will also present GRAMMY Award winning trumpeter, Chris Botti at Riverbend Centre.