Michael Spencer News

Cal and Beth are selling their home. They're visited by Skip and Ellie, an engaged couple, very much in love who are eager to buy their first home. They're joined by Mike and Liz, apparently a couple of lookie-loos who decided to drop by and take a peek at the house for sale. The three couples get to chatting and begin to marvel at just how much they have in common. WAY too much in common, in fact. So much in common that it begins to become surreal.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival invites audiences to enjoy two plays by William Shakespeare-plus one about saving his words and securing his legacy-under the stars when its flagship outdoor theatre opens the weekend of June 15-17, 2018. The Allen Elizabethan Theatre will feature Romeo and Juliet, directed by Damaso Rodriguez; Lauren Gunderson's The Book of Will, directed by Christopher Liam Moore; and Love's Labor's Lost, directed by Amanda Dehnert. Previews begin June 5, and all three shows will run through the weekend of October 12-14.

The Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program announces the debut performance of the Class of 2020. Fifth of July, from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson, will run in the Helen Theatre at Playhouse Square.

The Michael Bonanomi Foundation is excited to announce that Dustbowl Revival will headline the third annual 'Brighter Sun' benefit concert at El Rey on Saturday, March 10 at 7:30pm. Proceeds will support the Foundation's efforts to encourage children and adults to pursue their musical talent, through donations, scholarships and financial assistance to those programs or individuals who demonstrate both a financial need and a commitment to music.

The Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival will launch its 83nd year with preview performances beginning on February 16. The 2018 season officially kicks off Friday night, February 23, in the Angus Bowmer Theatre with Shakespeare's Othello (director, Bill Rauch). On Saturday afternoon, Shakespeare's Henry V (director, Rosa Joshi) opens in the Thomas Theatre, and the West Coast premiere of Kate Hamill's adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility (director, Hana S. Sharif) opens that evening in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. On Sunday afternoon, Karen Zacarias's Destiny of Desire (director, Jose Luis Valenzuela) will be staged in the Angus Bowmer Theatre.

he Grand Theatre is thrilled to announce the world premiere of SILENCE, which brings an untold Canadian story to life on stage. This inaugural production from the COMPASS New Play Development program features a cast that embodies the best in Canadian theatre with actors who are hearing, Deaf, and hard of hearing.

General ticket sales are underway for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's (OSF) 83rd season, which begins with the first preview on Feb. 16 and continues through Oct. 28. The 2018 season features four plays by William Shakespeare, a re-imagined classic musical, two West Coast premieres, one U.S. premiere and two world premieres as well as a host of events and opportunities to further engage with the onstage works.

The Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program opens their 2017-18 season with Shakespeare's timely classic: Macbeth.

In the madcap comedy tradition of Lend Me a Tenor, the hilarious Moon Over Buffalo centers on George and Charlotte Hay, fading stars of the 1950s. At the moment, they are playing Private Lives and Cyrano De Bergerac in rep in Buffalo, New York with five actors. On the brink of a disastrous split-up caused by George's dalliance with a young ing nue, they receive word that they might just have one last shot at stardom: Frank Capra is coming to town to see their matinee, and if he likes what he sees, he might cast them in his movie remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Unfortunately for George and Charlotte, everything that could go wrong does go wrong, abetted by a visit from their daughter's clueless fianc and hilarious uncertainty about which play they are actually performing, caused by Charlotte's deaf, old stage-manager mother who hates every bone in George's body. Performances for the Moon Over Buffalo are November 1, 2, 3, 4, at 7:00 pm., and November 5 at 2:00 pm. For tickets: (740) 681-3353 or online at: https://commerce.cashnet.com/oul-theatre. Ohio University Lancaster - Wagner Theatre, 1570 Granville Pike, Lancaster, Ohio. Produced by special arrangements with Samuel French Inc.

The Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program today announced its Class of 2020.  The four women and four men represent eight different undergraduate programs from across the United States.

Known for its “powerfully engaging” (New York Arts) choreography, Ariel Rivka Dance reflects on 10 seasons of provocative modern dance with a pair of career-spanning programs to be performed at New York Live Arts from September 6-9, 2017.

This season at the Stratford Festival has proven to be a stellar one, and Jackie Maxwell's production of Thomas Middleton and William Rowley's THE CHANGELING on the Tom Patterson Theatre stage is no exception. The questionable morals and values of the characters, and the intense relationships between certain characters leave the audience feeling uncomfortable (as was likely intended by the playwrights) but the performances by the members of the company and the overall impact of the production itself, leaves the audience feeling exhilarated.

The Grand Theatre is thrilled to announce an extraordinary line-up of local and national, returning and debuting artists in the 2017/18 Season. The season features a stunning artistic presence including Tara Rosling, Benedict Campbell, Catherine Joell MacKinnon and Daniel Williston. In addition, the Grand welcomes nationally and internationally renowned directors including Peter Hinton, Tracey Flye, Carey Perloff, and the Grand's Artistic Director Dennis Garnhum, who makes his Grand directing debut in his first season. Single tickets go on sale Tuesday July 4, 2017.

TIMON OF ATHENS opened at Stratford Festival's Tom Patterson Theatre on Friday night. It is probably one of the more relatable cautionary tales that Shakespeare has produced, which explains why the Festival continues to have it set in modern times. Director, Stephen Ouimette takes this production on for a second time, as he also directed it in Stratford in 2004. I did not have the opportunity to see his previous production, but this one is impressive.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! The calendar (not that I have an actual calendar hanging on a wall or anything like that, mind you) tells us that today is May 9, 2017, which prompts us to ask the musical question: Why aren't you all better at marketing your shows?

We managed to corner Vickie and three of her actors - Drew Sanford, Tabby Ragland and Mandy Ray-Jones - and convince them to answer our famous Friday 5 (+1) questions, giving us some insight into why they do what they do (and how they do it), as well as to offer up some suggestions about why you should make certain you don't miss their show…

The hilarity of the Futrelle clan and their own special brand of Southern Hospitality opens Friday night, March 24, running through April 8 at The Arts Center of Cannon County.

The Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival will launch its 82nd year with preview performances beginning on February 17, and the season officially kicks off Today night, February 24, in the Angus Bowmer Theatre with Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (director, Shana Cooper).

First Night's Top Ten of 2017 - critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual review of the best in Tennessee theater - were revealed tonight during a live Facebook broadcast at 7:30 p.m. (CST), with Actor's Bridge Ensemble and Studio Tenn/TPAC leading the nods in this year's listing of categories.