Jim Henson News

Some great shows are coming up next week including a special free screening of GHOSTBUSTERS on Monday on the beach on Coney Island; a dedication to the diversity, daring, and charm of our country with short films on Independence Day

Some great shows are coming up next week including a special free screening of GHOSTBUSTERS on Monday on the beach on Coney Island; a dedication to the diversity, daring, and charm of our country with short films on Independence Day

William Schermerhorn has won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Original Song that was perfomed in 85th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC, called (Won't You) Join Our Parade. The Emmy award winning song (Won't You) Join Our Parade was performed by Stage Door Manor and written by composer, Doug Katsaros and lyricist, William Schermerhorn.

Berkeley Playhouse closes its 2011-12 main stage season with a delicious adaptation of ROALD DAHL'S WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Berkeley Playhouse founding Artistic Director Elizabeth McKoy helms this musical treat, based on Roald Dahl's stylish children's story about the world famous candy man, starring noted Bay Area singer/songwriter, musician, and recording artist Vernon Bush in the title role. ROALD DAHL'S WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY plays July 14 through August 19 at the Julia Morgan Theatre in Berkeley.

AFA (Heidi Leigh & Nick Leone) and Sloan Fine Art (Alix Sloan) are pleased to present 'Awakened,' an exhibition and fundraising event inspired by, and benefitting, the pet companions that brighten all of our lives. For this special ten-day exhibition, curator Alix Sloan has challenged over fifty artists to create works inspired by the powerful impact of animals in our lives and homes. A portion of the proceeds from every sale will be donated to Adopt-a-Pet.com in support of their mission to help find loving homes for homeless pets.

The Jim Henson Company may be commonly known for its children's programming such as Sesame Street - but the brand of pioneers of puppetry isn't afraid to show off the subversive underbellies of its fuzzy, legless characters, and the actors that control them. STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG, an improvisational puppet show billed as 'adults only,' created by Brian Henson, the son of Jim Henson, and actor/improv wonder Patrick Bristow (SEINFELD, ELLEN), is set to play the Bank of America Theater in Chicago from June 12-17. The show is performed centerstage, where the actors/puppeteers are completely visible, and the stage is flanked by two monitors, in which the puppets are shown from the waste up - what Brian Henson calls 'the Henson technique.' BroadwayWorld was fortunate enough to sit down with creators Brian Henson and Patrick Bristow (who serve as a puppeteer, and director/host, respectively,) as well as puppeteers Peggy Etra and Victor Yerrid.

The Muny announced today principal casting for the third show of its 94th season, Disney's Aladdin (July 5-13), directed by Gary Griffin, and choreographed by Alex Sanchez. Tony® Nominees Robin de Jesus and John Tartaglia star as Aladdin and the Genie, respectively. Joining them will be Jason Graae as Omar, Curtis Holbrook as Iago, Francis Jue as Kassim, Eddie Korbich as Babkak, Samantha Massell as Jasmine, Ken Page as the Sultan, and Thom Sesma as Jafar.

Center for Puppetry Arts® is pleased to announce its upcoming 2012-2013 season, a journey filled with classic tales, lovable characters and plenty of adventures and fun for the entire family. Puppet lovers will have numerous opportunities to catch a show as this action-packed new season will feature a total of 665 theatrical performances - an average of almost 13 shows per week! In addition to hosting shows produced by the Center Company, Center for Puppetry Arts is proud to remain a premier destination for touring puppetry groups. This season, the Center will host productions from eight cities across the U.S. as well as an acclaimed production from Perth, Australia.

John Tartaglia, who earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance in Avenue Q (where he currently serves as Resident Director), Emmy Award nomination for Playhouse Disney's Johnny and the Sprites, Drama Desk nomination for John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean, and has twelve seasons of experience on Sesame Street (where he continues to guest star), today announced that he'll be holding an all new master class intensive in theatre and television-style puppetry.

Under the direction of Lab Director Matthew Acheson, participating artists and their collaborators met weekly over several months to develop projects, share puppetry elements and other design and technical ideas, discuss plot structure and character development, and work on narrative.

The EMMY-nominated animated children's series DINOSAUR TRAIN premieres the new 'Dinosaurs A to Z' one-hour special today, May 14 on PBS KIDS to encourage preschoolers to practice the letters of the alphabet while learning about the diversity of dinosaurs. The episode will repeat on May 18 (check local listings).

Variety reports that famed director Guillermo Del Toro will helm 'Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio' along with Mark Gustafson, animation director on 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox.'

Goodspeed Musicals' bold and brassy musical comedy MAME runs now through July 1 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., with an official press opening of tonight, May 9, 2012. See photos from the production, featuring Louise Pitre, in dress rehearsal below!

Goodspeed Musicals will 'coax the blues right out ‘a the horn' with its much-anticipated new production of MAME. The bold and brassy musical comedy will runs now through July 1 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. [Official Press Opening is tonight, May 9, 2012.] Check out a sneak peek into the April 28 dress rehearsal for MAME. Watch the video below!

Ten schools across the nation have been selected for the second phase (Fall, 2012) of 'NBC's 'Smash': Make a Musical.' The philanthropic initiative, sponsored by NBC's hit musical drama series 'Smash' and administered by iTheatrics' Junior Theater Project, works with under-served schools across the country to stage their own productions and implement self-sustaining theater programs.