Michael Mendez News

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will present its first WBTT Voices program of the season with “Playing Through: The Story of Ann Gregory,” on November 10. The free program will explore the struggles and triumphs of Ann Gregory, a woman of color who was a pioneer in the elite and competitive world of golf. The program will include a panel discussion and the showing of preview clips from the movie.

Westport Country Playhouse has selected two HD videos from its archives of performances captured live on stage for streaming on demand. The Playhouse’s 2018 production of “Man of La Mancha,” the Tony Award-winning musical following Don Quixote’s quest for “The Impossible Dream,” will stream on-demand from Monday, August 23-Sunday, September 5.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will present the eighth year of its annual Young Artist Program, through which Troupe members are able to showcase their talents with self-produced, one-person shows.

For more than a decade, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe has offered the lively and music-filled fundraiser, the April Fools Fête, to support its education programs. This year, with social events cautiously returning to the scene, WBTT has moved the event outdoors to its theatre arts center for a socially-distanced live audience on April 5. It will also offer a livestream option so the rest of the community can join the party virtually while supporting the Troupe.

This week's list includes a new limited edition orange vinyl of the 2017 revival cast recording of Once on This Island, as well as a purple vinyl edition of the 1964 cast recording of My Fair Lady. Plus, the latest volume of The Untold Stories of Broadway by Jennifer Ashley Tepper is now available!

This week's list includes The Wellsongs Project, featuring Kate Baldwin, Ethan Slater, and more. Plus, check out Don't Lose Your Head: Life Lessons from the Six Ex-Wives of Henry VIII, which has been described as 'An Unofficial Survival Guide for Fans of the Musical Six.'

Broadway Records today released THE WELLSONGS PROJECT, a collection of 16 new songs performed by an all-star broadway cast including Kate Baldwin, Christine Andreas, Lisa Howard, Ethan Slater, Jason Gotay, Margo Seibert, Allie Trimm, Lisa Brescia, Bradley Gibson, Halle Hunt, Marissa McGowan, Michael Mendez, Will Reynolds, and Vishal Vaidya.

Dress Circle Publishing has announced the release of THE UNTOLD STORIES OF BROADWAY, VOLUME 4, the latest in a series by historian and producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper. The book will be available on Tuesday, March 9 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 2020-2021 Broadway shutdown.

In April, the day after John Prine died, renowned folk singer – and recent transplant to Sarasota – Janis Ian wrote a new song, “Better Times Will Come,” and then posted it online.

Goodspeed has released the latest video in their Staff Pick series, 'Heart' from Damn Yankees.

Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts announced today that world-renowned Broadway stars and music industry veterans Capathia Jenkins, Marissa McGowan, Michael Mendez, Pam Sousa, Michael Keller, and Doug LaBrecque will join the line-up of Performing Arts School faculty to participate in 'Wednesday Webinars at Wharton'.

For more than a decade, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe has offered the lively and music-filled fundraiser, the April Fools Fête, in the ballroom at Michael's On East. This year, with social events shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, the organization will offer a high-energy, 75-minute recorded program a?' a?oeAn Evening with Sheldon Rhoden & Friendsa?? a?' online from 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 21 through 10 p.m. on Monday, May 25.

It's the last week to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just one month left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just one month left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

Is there anything that Mark Lamos can't do extremely well when it comes to theater? His latest show at the Westport Country Playhouse, Man of La Mancha, is beyond masterful, from the direction to the performances to the choreography to the set design. Even if you think you've seen this show at least once before, you haven't really seen it until you've seen Lamos's Man of La Mancha. Dale Wasserman's book, Mitch Leigh's music, and Joe Darion's lyrics are still delightful, but Lamos's magic touch adds so much more.

Westport Country Playhouse stages "Man of La Mancha," the Tony Award-winning musical about Don Quixote's quest for "The Impossible Dream," now playing through October 14. Directed by Mark Lamos, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director, the story of Quixote's battle for good and the love of his fair maiden is written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion.

Westport Country Playhouse is currently staging "Man of La Mancha," the Tony Award-winning musical about Don Quixote's quest for "The Impossible Dream," from September 25 through October 14. Get a first look at the production below!