Michael Gray News

Kick off your holidays with City Theater Company, opening their 23rd season this December with La Cage Aux Folles. The hilarious musical comedy by Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman inspired the hit film The Birdcage and is one of Broadway's most popular and enduring shows.

Kick off your holidays with City Theater Company, opening their 23rd season this December with La Cage Aux Folles. The hilarious musical comedy by Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman inspired the hit film The Birdcage and is one of Broadway's most popular and enduring shows.

Kick off your holidays with City Theater Company, opening their 23rd season this December with La Cage Aux Folles. The hilarious musical comedy by Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman inspired the hit film The Birdcage and is one of Broadway's most popular and enduring shows.

'Nine' makes its audiences work to achieve full understanding

Spinning Tree offers Kansas City audiences opportunity to see rarely-produced Broadway gem NINE.

Spinning Tree offers Kansas City audiences opportunity to see rarely-produced Broadway gem NINE.

Michael Gray, a retired remodeling contractor, motivational speaker, coach, volunteer, self-help writer and author, has completed his new book 'Your Life? It's Your Choice': a gripping and enlightening guide book to self and life fulfillment. This book aims to motivate the reader to gain control of one's life and remove the negativity.

Hale Centre Theatre's production of BIG RIVER in West Valley is joyous and tender, with a literal rush of water that amazes. If you're a fan of Huck Finn's story and have never experienced this musical retelling, this BIG RIVER is worth taking a raft ride down.

The power struggle between two musical geniuses in 18th century Vienna is at the center of Peter Shaffer's play "Amadeus" that will be presented by Spinning Tree Theatre, April 28 through May 15 at the Arts Asylum, 1000 E. 9th St., Kansas City, Missouri.

The power struggle between two musical geniuses in 18th century Vienna is at the center of Peter Shaffer's play "Amadeus" that will be presented by Spinning Tree Theatre, April 28 through May 15 at the Arts Asylum, 1000 E. 9th St., Kansas City, Missouri.

Michael Gray, a parent, coach, mentor, counsellor, and foster parent, has completed his new book 'Holding the Hand of God': a moving, unique and universal array of parenting skills to be used in any area of childcare to help a child become all they can be.

The musical '13' is a delightful story that everyone can relate to having lived through those awkward teen years. Spinning Tree Theatre presents the Kansas City professional premiere of '13' with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn.

Spinning Tree Theater's upcoming KC professional premiere of the Jason Robert Brown musical "13" features 19 Kansas City teens who are stars-in-the-making.

Hale Centre Theatre's memorable production of BIG FISH, directed by the extraordinary John Sweeney, features fantastic performances, a unique set design, and heartwarming family relationships.

Only weeks ahead of Halloween THE TURN OF THE SCREW opened this weekend at the Just Off Broadway Theatre in Kansas City. Julie Shaw directs the Spinning Tree Theatre production of the novella from the story by Henry James. THE TURN OF THE SCREW runs through Halloween weekend, closing on Sunday November 1.

Spinning Tree Theatre presents 'Turn of the Screw' Oct. 15-Nov. 1 Critically-acclaimed Spinning Tree Theatre is once again bringing to the stage a Kansas City premiere with 'The Turn of the Screw,' beginning Oct. 15 and continuing through Nov. 1 at Just Off Broadway Theatre, 3051 Penn Valley Drive, Kansas City, Missouri.

Michael's novel draws directly on his experience working with the disabled (For more than five years he's also been President and sometimes ED of Pathways Academy, a school for kids with Autism and other learning issues). Falling tells the story of people who have been shelved in nursing home warehouses, or have otherwise lost their livelihood and value to society, and the narrative arc explores how the human dimension continues to shine in these human beings. In his own life Michael has discovered that people who are in the process of losing their identities, occupations, and old friends are able to help him recognize a deeper truth about the human predicaments they share. This is a human truth which he also finds celebrated in Eastern spiritual teachings. Encountering the core of humanity in people whose familiar lives have dissolved, he seeks to learn their secret while he still has time on my side. About the Book: Larry works in an Albuquerque nursing home and like many of its residents he is not thrilled to be at this last-stop warehouse for old folks. Trained as a counselor, he hardly notices the human spirit flowing around him until he meets Bill Foster. Bill, a successful clinical psychologist, is lying comatose after a left hemisphere stroke, as Philip Cook, one of his oldest patients, leans over the hospital bed listening intently to his inarticulate attempts to speak. Through Philip's uncanny understanding of Bill's incoherent mutterings, an unlikely collaboration begins, linking the unconfident Larry with the experienced but speech-damaged Dr. Bill. That summer, with Larry's wife and son out of town, Bill's counseling practice helps renew Larry confidence as a therapist andat the nursing home-he starts to see residents, families, and fellow staff as fellow human beings. But old traumas (the drowning death of his brother and his misplaced blame of his father) run deep: each step seems to open the door for further falls from grace. This is a novel about disability and the human depth that is left behind after the loss of physical and cognitive faculties. It is also a book about the power of forgiveness. Falling on the Bright Side is available in both print and ebook formats. Book Details: Falling on the Bright Side By Michael Gray Publisher: ABQ Press ISBN: 978-0991604630 ASIN: B00U6JZFZ0 Pages: 325 Genre: Fiction (mainstream) About The Author: Before coming to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he now reside with his wife and two sons, Michael Gray lived in Montreal, Canada and published short stories and poetry in the Antigonish and Wascana Reviews. He traveled in Europe for six months and South America for three months, but it was while working on farms, ranches, and an open-pit copper mine in Canada that he heard a door into the future creak open. Michael's memoir, The Flying Caterpillar (ABQ Press, 2012), as well as being a travel log of his life to-date, gives an account of his two decades with Friends in Time and explores the teachings and encounters which have proved to be valuable for a lifetime. In 2012, he also published Asleep at the Wheel of Time (ABQ Press), a SF novel about Whales, Aliens and humans. Both these books express his concern about the state of planet Earth in light of our accumulating indifference to the plight of our only home. For review copies, author interviews, or more information please contact: Michael Gray Email: mgray (at) nmia.com Author: http://www.michaelgrayauthor.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelGrayAuth Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Michael.Gray.Author

Gang violence erupts at the Arts Asylum in Kansas City and the audience erupts with a thunderous standing ovation for WEST SIDE STORY on opening night Saturday August 22. Michael Grayman and Andrew Parkhurst direct WEST SIDE STORY, which opens the fifth season of Spinning Tree Theatre, recreating the choreography of Jerome Robbins who directed and choreographed the entire original production.

West Side Story opens the fifth season of productions for Spinning Tree Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, running August 20 through September 5. The musical production will be staged at The Arts Asylum located at 1000 E. 9th Street in Kansas City. The Arts Asylum was established to provide assistance, studio, and gallery space for a variety of artists.

As spectacular as the lights of the Aurora Borealis, that is how Spinning Tree Theatre lit up the stage on opening night of Fiddler on the Roof at the Just Off Broadway Theatre. Jerry Bock wrote the music, Sheldon Harnick the lyrics, and Joseph Stein the book for Fiddler on the Roof, a musical based on Tevye and his Daughters (or Tevye the Dairyman) and others stories written by Sholem Aleichem.