Mr. Davis News

I think it's safe to say that everyone, by now, has heard that the hills are alive with THE SOUND OF MUSIC. The Broadway musical, which starred Mary Martin in 1959 (and Julie Andrews on film six years later), is easily one of the most familiar titles in the musical theater catalog. With family audiences fawning over more contemporary classics like WICKED, THE LION KING and MATILDA, bringing back an old chestnut comes with a risk.

The start of the holiday season is here, and with it comes Performance Network Theatre's tandem productions that run in repertory November through December. Beginning the festivities is the Michigan premiere of WHY NOT ME? A SAMMY DAVIS JR. STORY written by Tim Rhoze running November 24­ - December 19, 2015. Continuing the season is the world premiere of DICKENS: AN A CAPELLA CAROL by Charles Dickens running November 27­ - December 20, 2015.

The Cast features Barry Gordon as Androcles and Ian Sproul as The Lion. Completing the cast are company members Jill Rogosheske as Meghaera, Marisa Chandler as Lavinia, James Calvert as Captain, Paul Perri as Ferrovius, John Harnagel as Caesar, and Lance Davis as Centurion. The design team includes sound and lighting design by Angie Vaughn, costume design by Holly Willaume, and set design by Jen Orsini.

On Thursday, October 22 (7:30 pm) at Manhattan School of Music's Borden Auditorium, and on Monday, November 23 (7:30 & 9:30 pm) at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the MSM Concert Jazz Band, under the direction of Justin DiCioccio (MM '71), will pay tribute to Herbie Hancock's seminal Blue Note Records album, Maiden Voyage. The album, which received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999, turns 50 this year.

Parson's Nose Theater (PNT), the acclaimed classical comedic theater company, begins its 16th Season with Androcles and the Lion, opening Saturday, October 31st. This is Shaw's whimsical retelling of Aesop's fable, adapted by Artistic Director Lance Davis.

This production is a fascinating twist on a classic, always thrilling, but is it necessary?

Parson's Nose Theater, led by Artistic Director Lance Davis, announces its 16th anniversary season of classic theater in Southern California.

Through a partnership with Logic Solutions in Ann Arbor, patrons will be treated to a redesigned online experience when visiting www.pntheatre.org to purchase single tickets which are on sale now for the 2015-2016 Performance Network Theatre season. Tickets range in price from $25 to $44 and include a special Pay-What-You-Can rate for the first Thursday preview. Discounts are available for all performances, but cannot be combined, and include student, senior, military and group rates. To purchase tickets or for more information on events at the Network, call the box office at 734-663-0681 or go online to www.pntheatre.org.

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center's  Board of Directors welcomes several new leaders while saying thank you to a number of retiring board members. Thomas Boldt, John Davis, Kevin Gilligan, Frank Kearny and Daniel Neufelder will fill vacancies created by retiring board members Robert Abernathy, Barb Merry, Cathie Tierney and Sarah Traas. 

The Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 honors legendary Music Producer Clive Davis as the 2015 recipient of the Order of the Golden Sphinx award.

Following the success of the previous two festivals, the 3rd Annual New York Hot Jazz Festival -- produced by the impresario Michael 'Misha' Katsobashvili, performer Bria Skonberg, and composer/producer Patrick Soluri (of Prohibition Productions and The Salon) -- returns to The Players this year and promises some of the biggest stars of the Hot Jazz and swing scenes in a summit of uptown and downtown talent spanning three generations.

MISTER DAVIS A NIGHT WITH SAMMY featuring Solomon Kee as Sammy Davis Jr. continues its quest on bringing Sammy back to life with A NIGHT WITH SAMMY FUNDRAISER GALA. Featuring notable singers from Broadway and Off-Broadway and of course, Sammy Davis will be making an appearance. The gala will take place tonight, January 27, 2015 at 8:00pm.

This is a tremendous show, filled with lots of dark humor and plenty of tears. It's a wonderfully written play that has found a venue (and talented cast) where it gets to beautifully shine.

MISTER DAVIS A NIGHT WITH SAMMY featuring Solomon Kee as Sammy Davis Jr. continues it's quest on bringing Sammy back to life with A NIGHT WITH SAMMY FUNDRAISER GALA. Featuring notable singers from Broadway and Off-Broadway and of course, Sammy Davis will be making an appearance. The gala will take place on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 8:00pm.

CAMPBELL, Calif., Jan. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ Premiere/FastPencil (a publishing imprint distributed by Dover Publications) announces the release of The Partisan Divide: Congress in Crisis, a powerful and important new work by two former congressional leaders, one Democratic and one Republican.

The incomparable 'Queen of Soul' and eighteen-time Grammy© Award winner Aretha Franklin makes her Kimmel Center debut on Monday, December 29 at 8 p.m. in Verizon Hall in support of her recent album release, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics (RCA Records, Oct. 21). Franklin will perform a range of greatest hits as well as selections from the new album.

Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, releases Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances today, November 10.

Parson's Nose Theater (PNT) continues their 2014-15 Season with their first Full Production, The Pied Piper of Hamlin (A Musical), an original piece from Artistic Director, Lance Davis, based off an Eastern European Folk Tale.

Parson's Nose Theater (PNT) continues their 2014-15 Season with their first Full Production, The Pied Piper of Hamlin (A Musical), opening this weekend. This is an original piece from artistic director, Lance Davis, based on the famous Eastern European Folk Tale.

Parson's Nose Theater (PNT) continues their 2014-15 Season with their first Full Production, The Pied Piper of Hamlin (A Musical), an original piece from Artistic Director, Lance Davis, based off an Eastern European Folk Tale.