Mrs. Jones News

When I heard that actor/singer Adam Jacobs, who originated the role of Aladdin on Broadway, would be doing a cabaret on Friday November 22 at Feinstein's Upstairs at Vitello's, I changed other plans and quickly made press reservations. I saw the affable performer when he opened Aladdin at the Hollywood Pantages in January 2018. I wrote the following in my review of the evening: LA audiences are exceedingly lucky to have the original Aladdin Adam Jacobs playing the role for a couple of weeks. Handsome with a sensational vocal instrument, this young lad is top notch. There is a sincerity within that makes Aladdin a winning personality. Not only can he fly the magic carpet, but in Jacobs' hands, he finds his truth and lives it.

Late Spring.  Early Summer.  An Autumn Afternoon.  Am I describing the time periods of 2014's Orlando Fringe darling SEASONS or the seminal works of film director Yasujirō Ozu?  Ironically, I had watched Ozu's Late Spring a few days before heading out to Dr. Phillips Center to attend the opening performance of SEASONS. As a result, Ozu's post-war film about parenthood and reluctant marriage was on my mind for much of the show, drawing parallels I had not expected, but certainly welcomed.

From Orlando-based writers Elaine Pechacek and Katie Hammond, New Generation Theatrical presents SEASONS THE MUSICAL. SEASONS will play at the Dr. Phillips Center's Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater September 12-21.

That fact is proven every time we see a new staging of the Rachel Sheinkin/William Finn show, originally conceived by Rebecca Feldman. Now onstage at Murfreesboro's Center for the Arts, in an immersive production directed by Rachel Jones and brought to life by a stellar cast of promising young actors, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee guarantees every audience member will be engaged by the onstage antics of its young stars and the adults in their make-believe world who are responsible for ensuring the bee - rife with intrigue and true-blue competitive spirit - comes off without a hitch.

American Blues Theater announces the addition of five new Ensemble members and one new Artistic Affiliate to the Blues family. Joining the Ensemble is director, designer and Associate Producer Elyse Dolan, who directed several works in past Ripped and Blue Ink festivals; designer Jared Gooding, lighting designer of Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story; actor Philip Earl Johnson, who is slated to appear in the upcoming Chicago premiere of Steven Dietz's On Clover Road; director Chuck Smith, director of the recent American Blues production of Pearl Cleage's Flyin' West; and actress and playwright Wandachristine, who won many awards for her solo performance Beauty's Daughter. Actor Zachary Stevenson has been named an Artistic Affiliate. Stevenson recently made his Chicago debut as 'Buddy Holly' in American Blues Theater's Joseph Jefferson Award-winning musical Buddy - the Buddy Holly Story, in which he also won a Jeff Award for Performance in a Musical.

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced casting for the final show of its 2017-18 Sandbox Series-the world premiere of Washed Up on the Potomac, written by Lynn Rosen. Jose Zayas will direct.

ArtsEmerson today announced the principal cast and full creative team for the New England Premiere of Born for This - A New Musical, which plays a limited summer engagement at Boston's Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre from June 15-July 15, 2018.

ArtsEmerson today announced the principal cast and full creative team for the New England Premiere of Born for This - A New Musical, which plays a limited summer engagement at Boston's Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre from June 15-July 15, 2018.

Established to perform intimate and unique opera performances, Opera180 is launching its 2018 season with the highly interactive production of Bon Operatit. Performing at the Squeezebox Theatre on April 27-29, this exciting event will consist of three parts including composer Lee Hoiby's Bon Appetit based on Julia Child, a cooking demonstration by a local KC chef, and Jennifer Jolley's Krispy Kremes and Butter Queens inspired by the colorful Paula Deen.

tackroom theatre today announces full casting for the world premiere production, Why is the Sky Blue? (Or How to Make Slime). Abbey Wright directs Tiani Hoath, Marina Marchevska, Louis Holley, Oscar Bennett, Gracie Weldon, Reuel Guzman, Osian Thompson, Violet Tucker?Steel, Hal Gordon, Lewis Elliot, Harrison Slater, Sophie Alibert, Jamal Simon, Zachary Hing, Millie Thew, Michael Sookhan, Ruby Ablett, Annie Hawkins and Corey Peterson. Devised by the company around a collection of interviews with children from around the UK, it opens in The Little at Southwark Playhouse on 1 May, with previews from 26 April and runs until 19 May.

Seattle Repertory Theatre today announced complete casting for its production of Familiar by playwright and actor Danai Gurira, directed by Taibi Magar. A co-production with the Guthrie Theater, Familiar is set in the suburbs of Minneapolis and takes a fresh look at tradition, immigration, and assimilation as a Zimbabwean American family gathers together at their home before the rehearsal dinner for their elder daughter's wedding.

Continuing its ongoing commitment to preserving and celebrating timeless recordings, the Recording Academy has announced the newest inductions to its distinctive GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

En Garde Arts, the company behind acclaimed recent works including Wilderness and Basetrack Live, is pleased to announce its timely new project, Undocumented.

The Donmar Warehouse and Sheffield Theatres today announce full casting for Donmar Associate Director and Sheffield Theatres Artistic Director Robert Hastie's new revival of Peter Gill's modern masterpiece The York Realist.

As the days become shorter and the crisp air signals the time when the Xmas sweaters are taken out of mothballs, it can only mean one thing. It's time for what has become a San Francisco tradition the annual production of The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes.

American Blues Theater opens its 2017-2018 Season with the Chicago Premiere of Beauty's Daughter by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Ron OJ Parson, and Artistic Affiliate Wandachristine. Beauty's Daughter runs July 7 - August 5, 2017 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago.  

American Blues Theater opens its 2017-2018 Season with the Chicago Premiere of Beauty's Daughter by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Ron OJ Parson, and Artistic Affiliate Wandachristine. Beauty's Daughter runs July 7 - August 5, 2017 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago.  The official press opening is Thursday, July 13, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.

A high school experiment spirals out of control in Joseph Robinette and Ron Jones' The Third Wave, played to perfection in Escondido's Patio Playhouse Youth Theater. This production (cast primarily with local youth, but with three adults playing the adult roles) is, chillingly enough, based on a true story.

For urban contemporary listeners and music critics alike; there is no doubt which R&B artists deserve a place among the greatest of all time.

On last night's TONIGHT SHOW, guest Anthony Anderson serenaded Jimmy and the Tonight Show audience with his go-to Billy Paul karaoke song.