James Lee News

Producer Hal Luftig announced today the first-ever Broadway revival of the Tony Award-winning play Children of a Lesser God. Written by Tony Award-winner and Academy Award nominee Mark Medoff and directed by this year's Tony Award-winner Kenny Leon, Children of a Lesser God will open in the upcoming 2015-2016 Broadway season.

Today in 1989, the first Broadway revival of Shenandoah opened at the Virginia Theatre (now the August Wilson Theatre), where it ran for 32 performances. Shenandoah is a musical that was written in 1975 with music by Gary Geld, lyrics by Peter Udell, and a book by Udell, Philip Rose and James Lee Barrett, based on Barrett's original screenplay for the 1965 film Shenandoah. The musical first opened at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1974 and then transferred to Broadway, opening on January 7, 1975. It ran on Broadway for a total of 1,050 performances, closing August 7, 1977. The production was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and won two, one for Best Actor in a Musical (John Cullum) and the other for Best Book of a Musical.

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN will star stage and screen leading man Maxwell Caulfield as studio boss 'R.F. Simpson', Coronation Street favourite Vicky Binns as starlet 'Lina Lamont', James Leece as 'Don Lockwood', Amy Ellen Richardson as 'Kathy Selden' and Stephane Anelli as 'Cosmo Brown'.

Glenn D. Lowry, Director of The Museum of Modern Art, announces that Senior Museum Archivist Michelle Elligott has been named Chief of Archives, effective July 1. In this newly established position, Ms. Elligott will lead the institution's program of acquiring, preserving, and making accessible archival and primary source collections related to 20th- and 21st-century art. Her chief responsibilities include enhancing the use of archives for research and in Museum exhibitions, leading an initiative for the creation of an electronic archive, and promoting online access to digitized items from the archives. Ms. Elligott joined MoMA as a Mellon Fellow in 1995 and subsequently became Assistant Archivist in 1996; Interim Manager, Museum Archives/Associate Archivist in 1998; and Rona Roob Senior Museum Archivist in 1999. As Chief of Archives, she will report to Peter Reed, Senior Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs.

Nothing defines a summer more than the experience of being engrossed in a really good book. Its ability to sweep the reader away to another time, to be part of another family, or even to inhabit a world of crime and intrigue - all from the comfort of one's own deck chair - is a seduction few readers can refuse. Indeed, whether it's a critically acclaimed novel, an 800 page romp, or a chilling page-turner, there is nothing quite like getting lost in a book on a summer's day.

Eleven additional Rouses Supermarkets opened their doors to the fastest growing barbecue sauce in grocery stores today; J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce. The sauce that says 'Put It On Anything' on its label, the taste that "All Families Love', the sauce that earned top 1% placing from the 2014 National Barbecue Association's contest; recently gained acceptance from Rouses Supermarkets to be added to six stores in south eastern parts of Louisiana and five newly opened stores surrounding Mobile, Alabama. The Alabama Rouses are located in Gulf Shores, Spanish Fort, Saraland, Theodore, and Mobile. The Louisiana locations are in Slidell, Covington and Mandeville; with two stores located in each city. All locations have received their initial shipment and have J. Lee's available for purchase.

The highly anticipated Las Vegas production of Mamma Mia! begins performances at The New Tropicana resort in Las Vegas tonight, May 8. The talented cast features Mamma Mia! alumni, including all three Dynamos as well as several Las Vegas locals who will join the company.

J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce,the sauce that carries the statement 'Put It On Anything!', recently adopted a new look to its label but insists the same great taste remains inside the bottles. The new label bears the former soldier and founder of J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce Mr. James Lee's uniformed photo. The significance of the change lies in the fact that this is the first barbecue sauce to feature a uniformed soldier on the bottle; and J. Lee's is soon to be the first nationally distrubuted product with a soldier on the label. The new label continues to recognize Lee's hometown and the origin of the sauce, Biloxi, Mississippi, and boldly states 'A Taste All Families Love' and 'Put It On Anything!'

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. 'Peter' plays Monroe Street, new musicals try out in Wicker Park and Bucktown, 'Evita' lights up Cicero, 'Hot Mikado' jazzes up Rogers Park, The Hypocrites announce a trilogy, three Tony winners start rehearsal here and Las Vegas calls on the Windy City's finest!

After a nationwide search, full casting has been announced for the highly anticipated Las Vegas production of MAMMA MIA!, which begins performances at The New Tropicana resort in Las Vegas May 8. The talented cast features MAMMA MIA! alumni, including all three Dynamos as well as several Las Vegas locals who will join the company.

Following its recent sell-out season in London's West End, Birmingham Hippodrome is delighted to announce that the critically acclaimed Chichester Festival Theatre production of the musical SINGIN' IN THE RAIN will play Birmingham Hippodrome from tonight 18 March to Saturday 5 April 2014 as part of a national tour.

Direct from the West End this classic musical tells the story of Monumental Pictures producting their first musical film during an age of silent pictures.

Robert Crais and Carolyn Hart have been chosen as the 2014 Grand Masters by Mystery Writers of America (MWA). MWA's Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. Mr. Crais and Ms. Hart will be presented with their awards at the Edgar Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, May 1, 2014.

Premier Digital Publishing is honored to announce that novelist, essayist and screenwriter Christine Wiltz has been named recipient of the prestigious Louisiana Writer Award for 2013. The Louisiana Writer Award is chosen annually by a State Library-appointed committee to recognize extraordinary contributions to Louisiana's literary and intellectual life.

Using the WWII internment of Japanese Americans as the underpinning for a present-day detective novel, Patrick Linder's Ghost Music moves readers through a multi-generational mystery that stretches from Seattle to the Kansas Plains. Published by Oak Tree Press and formally launching today, Oct. 5, 2013 at the Wordstock Festival in Portland (Ore.), Linder's novel asks readers to re-evaluate the past as we search for meaning in the present.

The old way to order food delivery or takeout consisted of keeping a stack of paper menus from local restaurants that deliver, somewhere in the house. When one was hit by a craving for Thai food, pizza or empanadas one would rummage through those menus, place many phone calls and order by phone.

Using the WWII internment of Japanese Americans as the underpinning for a present-day detective novel, Patrick Linder's Ghost Music moves readers through a multi-generational mystery that stretches from Seattle to the Kansas Plains. Published by Oak Tree Press and formally launching on Oct. 5, 2013 at the Wordstock Festival in Portland (Ore.), Linder's novel asks readers to re-evaluate the past as we search for meaning in the present.

Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1 and Chief Curator at Large at The Museum of Modern Art, announced today that Peter Eleey has been named Curator and Associate Director of Exhibitions and Programs at MoMA PS1. In this role, Eleey will continue to serve as the museum's lead curator, while also working closely with Mr. Biesenbach to expand the institution's exhibitions and programs and to build its overall capacity in partnership with colleagues at The Museum of Modern Art.

Music Director Marin Alsop will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture on Friday, September 20 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, September 22 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, andSaturday, September 21 at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore. Also on the program is the United States' premiere of the BSO co-commission of John Adams' Saxophone Concerto, performed by Tim McAllister. BSO opens the subscription season with a performance of the national anthem, arranged by James Lee III. Please see below for complete program details.

Reza Aslan can continue to thank Fox News for that infamous interview that provided his book, ZEALOT: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS OF NAZARETH, with an unstoppable Internet following. For the second week in a row, ZEALOT topped Amazon's best seller list, as well as the non-fiction side of the New York Times' list.