Robert Jones News

MerleFest, presented by Window World®, is pleased to announce Trent Wagler (of The Steel Wheels), Darrell Scott, and David Holt as judges for the 28th Annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest (CASC). 

On Friday, January 31, 2020, at 7:30 PM, The Little Theatre of Manchester (LTM) hosts Reverend Robert Jones & Matt Watroba as they present 'Music That Matters,' a performance of American roots music, including folk, blues, and spirituals.

Lyric Opera's special holiday engagement of Adam Guettel's THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, one of the few contemporary musicals written in a style that harkens back to the Golden Age, is beautifully sung with the composer's complicated and melodious score performed by a superb orchestra. The musical focuses on Margaret Johnson and her daughter Clara, who take a vacation to Florence, Italy in the summer of 1953a?'and find their lives forever changed after Clara has a chance encounter with Fabrizio Nacarelli, a young Italian man. It should come as little surprise that Renèe Fleming has a radiant turn as Margaret. Vocally, Fleming's take on the role is pristine, but she also plays out the tension between Margaret's fiercely protective instincts when it comes to her child and her yearning to empower Clara to lead her own life as a young adult. While I wish to avoid spoilers, it's key to share that the musical has a twist that includes a revelation about Clara that shines light on precisely why Margaret feels so compelled to keep watch over her daughter.

The Light in the Piazza at Lyric Opera House stars four-time Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Renée Fleming. The limited holiday engagement runs through Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019.

The Light in the Piazza at Lyric Opera House stars four-time Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Renée Fleming. The limited holiday engagement runs through Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019.

Get ready because BroadwayWorld is giving you the chance to win tickets to see Solea Pfeiffer, Renee Fleming, and more in The Light in the Piazza at Chicago's Lyric Opera House! The winner will receive two tickets to the production's December 27th performance. The contest will run now through December 22rd, at 11:59 PM EST. Be sure to enter for your chance to win TODAY!

Rehearsals are underway for Scenario Two's presentation of the beloved Tony Award-winning musical The Light in the Piazza at Lyric Opera House, starring four-time Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Renée Fleming. The limited holiday engagement opens this Saturday, Dec. 14 and runs through Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019.

MerleFest, presented by Window World, is proud to announce the next round of artist additions for MerleFest 2020, which will be held April 23-26. John Prine, Billy Strings, Colin Hay, Kelsey Waldon, and Gangstagrass will be joining the annual homecoming of musicians and music fans on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Tyrone Huntley today announced the nominations for the 20th annual WhatsOnStage Awards via WhatsOnStage's social channels, the only major theatre prize-giving decided entirely by the theatregoers themselves. The announcement of the nominations marks the opening of the final voting stage (until 27 January), with winners announced at the annual Awards Concert held on 1 March 2020 at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

With Anupama Chandrasekhar's When the Crows Visit playing its final week and Mike Bartlett's Snowflake in rehearsals, Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre, Indhu Rubasingham, today announces the full cast for her production of the UK première of Antoinette Nwandu's Pass Over. Joining the previously announced Paapa Essiedu (Moses), are Alexander Eliot (Mister/Ossifer) and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr (Kitch). The production opens on 19 February 2020, with previews from 13 February, and runs until 21 March.

Production images for the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) new musical The Boy in the Dresshave now been released.

Three-time Olivier Award winner Alex Jennings (Netflix's The Crown), in Chicago rehearsing for his upcoming role in the Tony Award-winning musical, The Light in the Piazza, at the Lyric Opera House Dec. 14-29, will make a special appearance at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (164 N. State Street) following the National Theatre Live screening of the engrossing new work, Hansard, in which he co-stars with Olivier and Tony Award-winning actress Lindsay Duncan (Private Lives), Friday evening, December 6, at 7:45pm.  Jennings will be on hand afterwards to answer questions about his acclaimed Broadway, West End, and TV career.

Carnegie Hall celebrates the holiday season with a variety of festive concerts this December. On Friday, December 20 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 21 at 8:00 p.m., jazz star Tony DeSare and Broadway star Capathia Jenkins join The New York Pops' annual holiday celebration, ringing in the most wonderful time of the year. Hear such favorites as a?oeHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,a?? Jenkins reprising Ella Fitzgerald's classic take on a?oeSanta Claus Is Comin' to Town,a?? DeSare revisiting Frank Sinatra's beloved arrangement of a?oeO Come, All Ye Faithful,a?? a rock shuffle duet of a?oeLet it Snow,a?? a?oeJingle Bell Rock,a?? a?oeWinter Wonderland,a?? the New York City premiere of a?oeEight Days of Lifea?? in celebration of Hanukkah, and more.

MerleFest, presented by Window World, is proud to announce the initial lineup for MerleFest 2020, which will be held April 23-26. The annual homecoming of musicians and music fans returns to the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. “For over 30 years, one of the major factors that has built and sustained MerleFest has been the quality of the artists and performances that our guests see over the 4-day festival,” says Ted Hagaman, Festival Director. “People truly feel that the festival is a great value and that is why music fans and families return year after year. We feel that the 2020 lineup again reflects the diversity and quality of performers, and we look forward to another successful festival in April.” The complete lineup for MerleFest 2020 will be announced over the next few months. 

The full Chicago cast has been announced for the limited holiday engagement of beloved Tony Award-winning musical The Light in the Piazza, for ten performances only, December 14-29, 2019, at Lyric Opera House. The cast includes Renee Fleming and Rob Houchen, along with three-time Olivier Award winner Alex Jennings (Netflix's The Crown) and rising star Solea Pfeiffer (Almost Famous, Hamilton), as well as world-renowned soprano Marie McLaughlin, Broadway star Eric Sciotto (Something Rotten) and award-winning soprano Suzanne Kantorski. Additional casting includes West End talent Malcolm Sinclair, Rhona McGregor, Matthew Woodyatt and ensemble members Jordan Castle, Nicholas Duncan, Chlöe Hart, Molly Lynch, Tom Partridge and Monica Swayne.

Calendar Girls The Musical comes to Storyhouse in Chester next week for its final tour dates in the North of England.

L.A. Opera presents The Light in the Piazza!Renée Fleming and Emmy winner Dove Cameron star as Margaret and Clara Johnson, two American tourists in Italy. Their grand vacation plans take an unexpected detour when young Clara is swept off her feet by a local charmer. Brian Stokes Mitchell plays the role of Signor Naccarelli, the debonair father of a wealthy Florentine family.

On Saturday Evening, October 12, 2019, Los Angeles Opera presented Adam Guettel's THE Light In the Piazza. A musical theater work rather than an opera, Piazza provided the audience with a nostalgic excursion to Florence and Rome in the 1950s. For opera star Renée Fleming it was a tour de force as she not only showed onlookers various stages of her character's complete change of heart, but also gave us the glorious high notes and legato singing of opera along with the snappy repartee of musical theater. 

With her production of the world première of Anupama Chandrasekhar's When the Crows Visit in rehearsals, Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham today announces Pass Over, A Museum in Baghdad and The Glee Club which will be staged at Kiln Theatre in 2020, following the previously announced Snowflake by Mike Bartlett.

Casting is complete for LA Opera's upcoming production of The Light in the Piazza. West End musical theater stars Rob Houchen, Liam Tamne and Celinde Schoenmaker, along with celebrated soprano Marie McLaughlin, join a formidable cast led by Renée Fleming, Dove Cameron and Brian Stokes Mitchell.