Michael Brown News

Mercury Theater Chicago, 3745 N Southport Ave., presents The Hypocrites' production INTO THE WOODS, directed by Geoff Button* with Musical Direction by Matt Deitchman, previewing February 6, opening Tuesday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. and running through Sunday, March 30.

The vibrant young pianist Anna Han, First Prize Winner of The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation's 2012 New York International Piano Competition (NYIPC) will be heard in recital on Sunday afternoon, February 2nd at 3:00pm at Park Avenue Christian Church, 1010 Park Avenue, York, NY.

Concert aficionados from around the country will want to mark their calendars for Music Mountain, America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, when it kicks off its gala 85th Anniversary Season beginning Saturday, June 7th! To commemorate the milestone, Music Mountain will continue their season past Labor Day - making the 85th anniversary season the longest running season since the 1930s! The summer will include returning chamber ensembles, first time guests and the ever-popular Saturday Evening Twilight Series featuring Jazz, Country, and Folk Music. Concerts are scheduled through September 14.

The UAW and Chrysler Group LLC today unveiled an art show that recognizes multidimensional employees from the shop floor and celebrates the role of the creative process in manufacturing automobiles.

newportFILM will screen TRASHED tonight, November 14 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church , 324 East Main Road, Portsmouth, NH.

This winter The 5th Avenue Theatre presents a singing and dancing spectacular not to be missed: Lionel Bart's beloved classic, Oliver!, the holiday treat that will have audiences saying "Please sir, I want some more." The iconic musical returns to the celebrated 5th Avenue stage for the first time in 20 years, and will feature stunning costumes, dazzling sets, and a massive local cast of 66 (including 36 youngsters), singing and dancing their way through the streets and alleys of Victorian London. Based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, Oliver! is filled with memorable tunes including "Who Will Buy?", "I'd Do Anything," and "As Long As He Needs Me." Oliver! features direction by David Armstrong and will starDavid Pichette as Fagin, Grayson Smith as the Artful Dodger, Hans Altwies as Bill Sikes, and Merideth Kaye Clark as Nancy. Oliver Twist will be played by Jack Fleischmann and Mark Jeffrey James Weber at alternating performances.

An all-star cast takes the stage at The 5th Avenue Theatre in the celebrated organization's 15th new musical, Secondhand Lions. Based on the beloved film starring Michael Caine and Robert Duvall, Secondhand Lions springs to musical life in Seattle with a superbly talented cast of Broadway stars and Seattle musical theater actors. Check out some highlights below!

OK, so we're all sick of the trend of movies turned into musicals but, Dear Readers, just as movies have to keep remaking themselves, Broadway will keep culling from film vaults for new musicals. Let's face it, it ain't going anywhere. But if they're going to do it, such as with the current production of 'Secondhand Lions' being tried out on the stages of the 5th Avenue Theatre, let's make sure it can be done on a stage and still make sense. Yes, the fanciful stories and budding and heartfelt relationship between the two old curmudgeons and their young nephew are still there and done quite well in moments. But the attempt to jam that title down our throats without even the slightest hint of the actual lion storyline feels a bit insulting to anyone who saw the film. But we'll get to that in a minute.

An all-star cast takes the stage at The 5th Avenue Theatre in the celebrated organization's 15th new musical, Secondhand Lions. Based on the beloved film starring Michael Caine and Robert Duvall, Secondhand Lions springs to musical life in Seattle with a superbly talented cast of Broadway stars and Seattle musical theater actors. Below check out a sneak peek of 'You Have Brought Me Love'.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts & McCoy Rigby Entertainment presents the first production in its 2013-1014 season of shows, the Tony Award-winning play, BROADWAY BOUND, written by Neil Simon and directed by Jeff Maynard. BROADWAY BOUND runs through Sunday, October 13, 2013 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada. Check out the opening night shots below!

An all-star cast takes the stage at The 5th Avenue Theatre in the celebrated organization's 15th new musical, Secondhand Lions. Based on the beloved film starring Michael Caine and Robert Duvall, Secondhand Lions springs to musical life in Seattle with a superbly talented cast of Broadway stars and Seattle musical theater actors. Check out a first look at the production shots below!

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -  The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco and Destination Cellars have joined forces to create Sonoma Private Wineries, an exclusive weekend experience for members of The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Program on Saturday, November 2, 2013. The excursion features round-trip luxury coach transportation from The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco to Sonoma, lunch and wine tastings at Kosta Browne Winery, an afternoon excursion, dinner and wine tastings at Flanagan Vineyards and a two-night stay at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco in the heart of downtown San Francisco. Both winery experiences will include the opportunity to meet the owners and winemakers, together with expert commentary throughout the day from Sean Q. Meyer who has worked as sommelier and wine director for some of the world's greatest culinary talent, including Chefs Thomas Keller, Frank Stitt and Tim McKee.

An all-star cast will take the stage at The 5th Avenue Theatre this fall in the celebrated organization's 15th new musical, Secondhand Lions. Based on the beloved film starring Michael Caine and Robert Duvall, Secondhand Lions springs to musical life in Seattle with a superbly talented cast of Broadway stars and Seattle musical theater actors. Lead by Tony Award nominees Gregg Edelman and Mark Jacoby, this adventure story also features Jason Danieley, Jenny Powers, Kevin Earley, Jared Michael Brown, Kendra Kassebaum, Sophia Anne Caruso, and Justin Huertas. Johnny Rabe, star of Broadway's A Christmas Story, takes center stage as Walter.

An all-star cast will take the stage at The 5th Avenue Theatre this fall in the celebrated organization's 15th new musical, Secondhand Lions. Based on the beloved film starring Michael Caine and Robert Duvall, Secondhand Lions springs to musical life in Seattle with a superbly talented cast of Broadway stars and Seattle musical theater actors. Check out a sneak peek below!

An all-star cast will take the stage at The 5th Avenue Theatre this fall in the celebrated organization's 15th new musical, Secondhand Lions. Based on the beloved film starring Michael Caine and Robert Duvall, Secondhand Lions springs to musical life in Seattle with a superbly talented cast of Broadway stars and Seattle musical theater actors. Click below to watch Jason Danieley and Kevin Earley perform 'Unlike Anyone I've Ever Known' from The Secondhand Lions Spotlight Night at 5th Avenue Theatre on August 20!

An all-star cast will take the stage at The 5th Avenue Theatre this fall in the celebrated organization's 15th new musical, Secondhand Lions. Based on the beloved film starring Michael Caine and Robert Duvall, Secondhand Lions springs to musical life in Seattle with a superbly talented cast of Broadway stars and Seattle musical theater actors. Lead by Tony Award nominees Gregg Edelman and Mark Jacoby, this adventure story also features Jason Danieley, Jenny Powers, Kevin Earley,Jared Michael Brown, Kendra Kassebaum, Sophia Anne Caruso, and Justin Huertas. Johnny Rabe, star of Broadway's A Christmas Story, takes center stage as Walter.

A number of program changes and additions have been made to the performances, screenings, and events presented by Great Performers and the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center this season. Below is a final schedule of events for both series through June 4, 2013.

I hope you will indulge me, Dear Reader, as I will not be reviewing the current production of "The Pirates of Penzance" at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Instead let's call this what it is, a thank you letter to the remarkable cast and crew at the 5th Avenue for infusing a musical theater classic with such heart, fun, humor, talent and beauty that even a diehard fan of the show found himself leaving the theater with a huge grin on his face and a renewed love for the piece. (I'm referring to myself, of course.)

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the leading global music rights organization that represents more than 600,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music and more than 7.5 million works, is partnering with New York real estate company Silverstein Properties, Inc. to host the 3rd annual concert series of free summer music performances in the park in front of Silverstein Properties' 7 World Trade Center (located at 250 Greenwich St.) in downtown Manhattan. The music festival, known as '7@7' is taking place on seven Fridays from July 12th through August 23rd, at 12:00 p.m. with an eclectic lineup of talented performers taking to the BMI stage.