Matthew Shepard News

On Thursday July 25th, 2019 at 8 p.m., TheatreWorks New Milford's Page 2 Stage series presents a special free staged reading of 'The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later', featuring many members of TheatreWorks' 2003 production of it's predecessor 'The Laramie Project' reprising their roles and is directed by the production's original director, Jane Farnol. 

The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), along with the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) announced today the second cohort of the Made in NY Writers Room, a six-month television writing fellowship that provides mentorship, industry access and financial support to underrepresented writers who reside in New York City and seek to tell stories that are not often depicted on television.

Hailed as "one of the great amateur choruses of our time (New York Today) for its "full-bodied sound and suppleness (The New York Times)," The Dessoff Choirs today announced its 2019-20 season. The Dessoff Choirs celebrates its 95th season with performances of choral masterworks by both 20th century luminaries and today's most innovative composers. In addition to Dessoff's popular holiday concerts, the season features the New York premiere of Craig Hella Johnson's Considering Matthew Shepard, a reprise performance and CD release of Margaret Bond's The Ballad of the Brown King, and the Faure Requiem in the original 1893 version. (The complete season schedule is below.)

 On June 28, 1969, a routine police raid of a gay bar in New York City turned into a violent conflict that ignited protests lasting for days. The Stonewall Inn Uprising is celebrated by many as the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. But the history of gay life in America extends far before and after Stonewall. Using commentary from LGBTQ+ allies and icons (including Matthew Shepard's parents, Stonewall eyewitness participant Mark Segal and Gene Robinson, the first openly gay priest to be consecrated a bishop by the Episcopal Church) and expert perspectives from Smithsonian curators, new documentary SMITHSONIAN TIME CAPSULE: BEYOND STONEWALL tells the story of the LGBTQ+ community in America through an exploration of rare artifacts in the Smithsonian collections, predominantly from the National Museum of American History. SMITHSONIAN TIME CAPSULE: BEYOND STONEWALL premieres Monday, June 24 at 8 PM ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel.

Cincinnati's very own May Festival opens this weekend at Music Hall with the U.S. premiere of British conductor Mark Simpson's The Immortal. The concert starts at 8 PM on Friday (May 17) and features the May Festival Chorus, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the 8-member vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth.

After considering hundreds of live stage productions, concerts, and art exhibitions in Austin between the dates of May 1, 2018, and April 30, 2019, members of the Austin Critics Table have announced their nominees for outstanding dance, classical music, visual art, and theatre with the nominees for the 2019 Critics Table Awards.

From May 17th through May 26th, Lakeland Players in Waterford Township will put on a production of the award-winning rock musical Next to Normal. Next to Normal is the story of what happens when a family is met with death, mental illness, addiction, and the ethics (or lack thereof) of modern psychiatry. BWW Detroit had the opportunity to talk to the director of this production, Maria Mikulec.

The Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains presents the final event in its four-part Musical Masters Lecture Series for adult music lovers on Sunday, May 19, 2019 at 2pm.

The Austin Critics Table, composed of reviewers both from the print media and from on-line platforms, announces the following awards honoring artists and supporters of the arts for its 26th year of activity:

Theatrical Outfit, Atlanta's second-oldest professional theatre, proudly announces its 2019-2020 Season, which also marks the final season under the leadership of Artistic Director Tom Key. The season promises to be a powerful representation of the kind of work Key loves to produce at the theatre's home in the heart of downtown Atlanta:

Theatre of Young Audiences/USA (?TYA/USA?)?, the national service organization supporting, connecting, and advocating for the field of theatre for young audiences, will present the ?2019 National TYA/USA Awards? in three categories: ?Stan Foote ?and? Rosemary Newcott? will receive the ?Harold Oaks Award for Sustained Excellence in TYA?; ?Chicago Children's Theatre? (Jacqueline Russell, Artistic Director) will receive the ?TYA Artistic Innovation Award?; and ?Courtney J. Boddie ?will receive the ?TYA Community Impact Award?.

Written in response to the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, the play's story parallels the New Testament account of the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. In McNally's version the Christ figure is named Joshua, born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, in the early 1950s. Joshua, who is gay, leaves Corpus Christi to find a more accepting environment and gathers a group of disciples with his message of love and tolerance. The play is rated R for adult language, simulated violence and adult themes.

The Sauk, Hillsdale County's community theatre, will present THE LARAMIE PROJECT, for four performances only, March 28-31.

This Autumn Season, join the New Wolsey Theatre as they present the brilliantly funny ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS by Richard Bean in association with Nuffield Southampton Theatres.

An affecting and thoughtful portrayal of a watershed event

UCSB's Department of Theater and Dance presents The Laramie Project, a verbatim play recounting the hateful act that took the life of Matthew Shepard in October 1998 and sparked anger across the nation. Directed by UCSB's Eric Jorgensen, The Laramie Project is an iconic play with a long-lasting impact in its depiction of hope, honesty, and a community uniting to understand and fight against intolerance.

UCSB's Department of Theater and Dance presents The Laramie Project, a verbatim play recounting the hateful act that took the life of Matthew Shepard in October 1998 and sparked anger across the nation. Directed by UCSB's Eric Jorgensen, The Laramie Project is an iconic play with a long-lasting impact in its depiction of hope, honesty, and a community uniting to understand and fight against intolerance.

Platinum selling recording artist and Tony Award nominated actor Sam Harris is set to bring his new show Stripped to Martinis Above Fourth in San Diego on February 21 and Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood on February 22 and 23, it was announced today by Chris Isaacson Presents. Along with his longtime musical director Todd Schroeder, Harris will perform Broadway and pop songs from his stellar 30-year career. No band, no backup singers. Just two musical stars and a piano.

The Sauk, Hillsdale County's community theatre, is thrilled to announce the cast for the upcoming production of 'The Laramie Project.' The play will be presented for four performances only, March 28-31.

Current star of America's Got Talent – The Champions Brian Justin Crum is set to make his Los Angeles concert debut at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood for one show only on Thursday, March 7, at 8:30pm, it was announced today by Chris Isaacson Presents. Crum will present a very special evening featuring all of his AGT favorites and more. He will also debut his new single, “Circles.”