Josephine Baker News

Have a backstage visit with Audra McDonald after enjoying SHUFFLE ALONG from house seats.

There were no original cast albums in 1921, so this scene by scene synopsis of the original SHUFFLE ALONG is augmented by various recordings of songs from the score.

VIVIAN REED, the two-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway star and concert artist called "remarkable and ferocious" by The New York Times, will return to New York on Saturday April 2 at 9:30 PM, with the opening night of her new show "Standards and More" at The Metropolitan Room. Her special guests for this performance will be Metropolitan Opera soprano Janinah Burnett and Broadway star Raun Ruffin, who appeared in The Civil War. Reed will also appear at The Metropolitan Room on May 23, June 17 and July 21, backed by a four-piece band led by Billy McDaniel. The evening will include unique arrangements of classic standards by Duke Ellington, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter and George Gershwin in a dazzling blend of pop, jazz, soul and R&B.

Asolo Rep will present the world premiere of the Broadway-bound new musical: JOSEPHINE. Previews for JOSEPHINE begin April 27, press opening night is Friday, May 6 at 8pm, and the musical runs through Sunday, May 29 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

Just in, Broadway's SHUFFLE ALONG has canceled a third preview performance slated for tonight, March 23rd, at the Music Box Theatre, due to the illness of Audra McDonald.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts joins forces with the Ojai Music Festival for the first time to present a lively Arts & Ideas conversation between groundbreaking opera and theater director Peter Sellars and The New Yorker music critic Alex Ross. The conversation will take placeon the stage of the Bram Goldsmith Theater on Monday, May 16 at 7:30pm.

Just in, Broadway's SHUFFLE ALONG has canceled a second preview performance slated for tonight, March 22nd, at the Music Box Theatre. A notification -- without any explanation for the last-minute change -- was sent to ticket buyers.

It's about to get 'Mighty Real'... Make sure to watch or set your DVR for THE PRANCING ELITES PROJECT, airing tomorrow, Tuesday, March 22 at 9pm/8C on Oxygen. The producers of MIGHTY REAL: A FABULOUS SYLVESTER MUSICAL (Anthony Wayne, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Kendrell Bowman) will appear on the season finale ahead of the show's return to New York City this May.

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network unveiled today a first look at its new original drama series GREENLEAF from Lionsgate TV and Emmy-nominated writer/producer Craig Wright

Performances begin tonight, March 15, for Shuffle Along Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, the new production that presents both the 1921 musical itself, and additionally details the events that catalyzed the songwriting team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, and librettists F.E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles, to create this groundbreaking work.

Performances begin tomorow, Tuesday, March 15, for SHUFFLE ALONG Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, the new production that presents both the 1921 musical itself, and additionally details the events that catalyzed the songwriting team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, and librettists F.E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles, to create this groundbreaking work. SHUFFLE ALONG has a new book and is directed by George C. Wolfe, choreographed by Savion Glover, and stars six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, Tony Award winners Brian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter, and Tony Award nominees Brandon Victor Dixon and Joshua Henry, heading a cast of 34. Opening night is Thursday, April 28 at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45 Street).

MIGHTY REAL: A FABULOUS SYLVESTER MUSICAL, the hit musical celebration of the life and music of the original 1970s 'Queen of Disco,' Sylvester, returns to New York City this May following an acclaimed, sold-out engagement in San Francisco at The BRAVA! Theater. 

?VIVIAN REED, the two-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway star and concert artist called "remarkable and ferocious" by The New York Times, will return to New York with a four-performance run of her show "Standards and More." She will appear at The Metropolitan Room on April 2, May 23, June 17 and July 21, backed by a four-piece band led by Billy McDaniel. The evening will include unique arrangements of classic standards by Duke Ellington, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter and George Gershwin in a dazzling blend of pop, jazz, soul and R&B.

While the nation transitions from Black History Month to Women's History Month, Theater for the New City is presenting an evening of one-act plays from the Harlem Renaissance, including four by women and a fifth focusing on women's right to vote.

Lincoln Center and Ehrenkranz Artistic Director Jane Moss announced today the 50th Mostly Mozart Festival, one of the world's major music festivals and a beloved summer New York tradition, with events taking place across Lincoln Center July 22-August 27, 2016.

Stand-up comedian, actor and writer Mark Roberts returns home for the Midwest Premiere of NEW COUNTRY at The Den Theater, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. The no-holds-barred show runs now through May 14, 2016. Under the direction of Ian Streicher, the uncensored comedy about a country star's Nashville bachelor party going wildly amiss is sure to entertain audiences looking to push the proverbial envelope for a moving and hilarious night out. Scroll down for photos from the opening night festivities!

Stand-up comedian, actor and writer Mark Roberts returns home for the Midwest Premiere of The New York Times' Critics' Pick NEW COUNTRY at The Den Theater, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. The no-holds-barred show, described by Stage and Cinema as a"...hilarious, poignant, and at times heart-wrenching comedic drama," previews February 20, 2016 and runs through May 14, 2016.  Under the direction of Ian Streicher, the uncensored comedy about a country star's Nashville bachelor party going wildly amiss is sure to entertain audiences looking to push the proverbial envelope for a moving and hilarious night out.

Stand-up comedian, actor and writer Mark Roberts returns home for the Midwest Premiere of The New York Times' Critics' Pick NEW COUNTRY at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. The no-holds-barred show, described by Stage and Cinema as a '...hilarious, poignant, and at times heart-wrenching comedic drama,' previews tonight, February 20, 2016 and runs through May 14, 2016.

We go around our Broadway World to feature France as our newest International spotlight. Below, we round up the top 10 theatre companies in France. Check out the list below!

SHUFFLE ALONG was an unlikely hit in 1921. It was one of the first hit Broadway shows starring, written, and directed by African Americans, but it has been overwhelming ignored in theatre history. Ninety-five years later, George C. Wolfe is preparing to bring the show back to Broadway, with a new and updated book by Wolfe. The revival will not only bring the original show' music and lyrics back to the stage, but will also tell the backstage story of its creation, and the impact it had on the theatre scene. SHUFFLE ALONG, OR, THE MAKING OF THE MUSICAL SENSATION OF 1921 AND ALL THAT FOLLOWED, is set to shuffle onto Broadway in the spring, so we're taking a look at the inspiration driving the revival, and a look back on the show's remarkable history.