Northwestern University News

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) today announced that Jen Bender has been named as the new Director of Programming and Artist Services for the organization. Jen returns to NYMF after having served as a founding producer of the Festival in 2004.

On Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 7:30 pm, 92Y will host a conversation with PETER PAN LIVE!'s Allison Williams and comedy star Seth Meyers.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center's Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center proudly welcomes author Cynthia Bond for a free, one-night appearance.

'Fabulation, or the re-education of Undine,' Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage's dark comedy, will open the winter season at Northwestern University's Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts.

Philippe Treuille's Requiem will receive its world premiere tonight, January 30th, 2015, at 8:00 PM, at the Church of the Incarnation, in New York City. The 9-movement work is the first large-scale work by the NYC-based, Juilliard-trained composer, and will feature 50 performers from the Symphony Chorus, conducted by maestro Henric Idestrom. The hour-long Requiem blends traditional and modern compositional techniques, with a choir of 28 including 4 soloists and a 22-piece orchestra. The text is drawn entirely from the original Latin Mass for the dead.

Decadence and jealousy drive Andrew Lippa's Drama Desk award-winning musical "The Wild Party." The upcoming show is part of the winter 2015 Mainstage season at Northwestern University's Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Musical television series abound! Also special nights for 'Allegro' and 'Reefer Madness,' that Dolphin show at Annoyance, Mercury's 'Addams Family,' a big children's premiere, the return of 'Option Up!' and a surprising, real live 'Beauty!'

Wonderland, Alice's Rock & Roll Adventure, a new family musical created by top Chicago director Rachel Rockwell and music director Michael Mahler, is Chicago Children's Theatre's big 10th anniversary season finale.

Launching the Fountain Theatre's 25th Anniversary Season, Simon Levy directs Kristin Carey, Ryan Doucette, Joanna Strapp - and some very unusual, one-of-a-kind dolls - in the Los Angeles premiere of Reborning by Zayd Dohrn. How far would you go to create a family? A darkly funny psychological thriller that takes an unsettling look at work, motherhood and the power of healing, Reborning opens at the Fountain Theatre on Jan. 24. Check out photos from the show below!

DALLAS, JANUARY 22, 2014 –The Dallas Opera and The Dallas Opera Guild are proud to announce historic levels of participation in the first phase of the newly expanded Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition, scheduled to take place on the weekend of April 18-19, 2015 in the acoustically acclaimed setting of the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre continues its 50th anniversary celebration with An Iliad, directed by Kansas City Repertory Theatre's Producing Director Jerry Genochio and starring the return of former Kansas City Repertory Theatre's Resident Director Kyle Hatley.

The Dolphin Show, America's largest student-produced musical, announces TITANIC as the 73rd Annual Dolphin Show. TITANIC is to be directed by Communication senior Brendan Flynn and produced by Communication senior Jack Eidson and School of Education and Social Policy senior Izzy Garcia, with support from a cast and team of over 150 Northwestern University students. TITANIC will run for five performances from tonight, January 23rd through January 30th in Cahn Auditorium.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. The Paramount's 'Tommy,' Drury Lane's 'West Side' and the Marriott's 'La Cage.' Plus 'Stomp' puts its foot down, 'Gent's Guide' books the fall, new shows in development and rewrite, plus 'Louis And Keely' at the Royal George, 'Titanic' at Northwestern and 'Grease' on FOX!

Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the United States premiere of Red Bud by Brett Neveu and directed by Brant Russell at Signal Ensemble Theatre, 1802 W. Berenice Ave., tonight, January 22 - February 28.

Triumvirate Artists is pleased to announce the World Premiere of Delirium's Daughters, a new and refreshing take on Commedia Dell'Arte by Nicholas Korn (Stage First Cincinnati), directed by Kathleen Butler (Originated roles in Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, Occupant and Marriage Play). Delirium's Daughters will play a three week limited engagement at The Studio Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, Manhattan). Performances begin Thursday, February 26th and continue through Saturday, March 14th. Opening Night is Saturday, February 28th at 8 p.m.

Step Up Productions continues its 2014-15 season with a special one-week engagement of the touching and humorous two-man show HANDICAP THIS! - part comedy, part storytelling and part insight on living with disabilities. Written and performed by nationally acclaimed duo Mike Berkson and Tim Wambach, HANDICAP THIS! is inspired by the original script by Molly Mulcrone and directed by Denis Berkson. This special collaboration will play tonight, January 21 - 25, 2015 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago.

The star-studded 17th Costume Designers Guild Awards with Presenting Sponsor LACOSTE will take place on February 17, 2015 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Actress Emmy Rossum will host the Awards Gala.

From February 10-12, 2015, EarShot (the National Orchestral Composition Discovery Network) and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO), JoAnn Falletta, Music Director, will present the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra New Music Readings at Kleinhans Music Hall (3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo). On Wednesday, February 11 at 7pm at Kleinhans Hall, the public will have the opportunity for a behind-the-scenes look at the process of bringing brand new orchestral works to life, as music by the four selected composers is read by the BPO under the baton of associate conductor, Stefan Sanders. The composers – Cody Forrest, Jay Hurst, Yuan-Chen Li, and Scott Ordway – were selected through a national call for scores, and during the Readings will receive feedback from BPO Musicians, Sanders, and mentor composers Robert Beaser of The Juilliard School and artistic director laureate of American Composers Orchestra, Rob Deemer from SUNY Fredonia, and Pulitzer Prize winner Melinda Wagner. Afterwards, the audience is invited to be a part of a discussion Q&A with the young composers, the conductor, and mentor composers.

Apropos of nothing other than their love of The Divine Miss M, Stefanie Black and Tom DeTrinis star in the world premier of 'A Day at The Beaches' this Sunday, January 18th at 8pm at 3 Clubs in Hollywood.

The play's afoot! Sherlock Holmes battles one of his greatest mysteries to date at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, a world-premiere adaptation from Tony Award-winning playwright Ludwig (Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor). Adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved The Hound of the Baskervilles, this fast-paced comedic tale of murder, intrigue and a wild hound is directed by Amanda Dehnert (Arena Stage's The Fantasticks) as part of Arena Stage's 65th anniversary season. A co-production with McCarter Theatre Center, Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery runs tonight, January 16, through February 22, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater.