Roger Guenveur Smith News

Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks' poignant new drama, FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3) opened last Sunday, April 17, 2016, at Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum. Directed by Jo Bonney, the West Coast premiere of 'Father Comes Home...' plays through May 15. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening festivities below!

How often have you wondered what it would be like to go back in time and talk to an historical icon? Katori Hall's THE MOUNTAINTOP is a gripping and often humorous re-imagining of events the night before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that won London's 2010 Olivier Award for best new play. It's one of the best ways imaginable to honor Dr. King, Black History Month and the Black Lives Matter movement by experiencing its Los Angeles premiere at the Matrix Theatre, directed by Obie Award-winner Roger Guenveur Smith and starring Larry Bates and Danielle Truitt. I cannot imagine any two actors more suited to step into the shoes of these two characters, having worked together in a previous production of the play at San Diego Rep, also directed by Smith.

The Matrix Theatre Company honors Black History Month with the Los Angeles premiere of The Mountaintop, directed by Obie Award-winner Roger Guenveur Smith and starring Larry Bates and Danielle Mone Truitt. Recipient of London's 2010 Olivier Award, Katori Hall's gripping and often humorous re-imagining of events the night before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. takes on new meaning with the advent of the Black Lives Matter movement. The Mountaintop opens at the Matrix Theatre on February 6, with previews beginning January 28. (Scroll all the way down to view links to high resolution photos.)

The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced the complete list of 2015 award recipients tonight at the 31st Annual Bessie Awards ceremony. Produced in partnership with Dance/NYC, The Bessies were held at the legendary Apollo Theater at 7:30pm. The full list of Bessie Award recipients follows!

The New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), New York City's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, celebrate the winners from the 2014-15 season at its annual ceremony tonight, October 19.

It's a great week around our Broadway World!  In addition to featuring our Top 10 regional stories, we have now opened public nominations in over 40 regions so far for our annual BroadwayWorld Regional Awards, including: Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boise, Boston, Buffalo, Central Pennsylvania, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Connecticut, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Long Island, Los Angeles, Madison, Maine, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, WI, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Jersey, New Orleans, Omaha, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Philippines, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, Rhode Island, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Seattle, South Africa, St. Louis, St. Petersburg, Toronto, Washington, DC, and Wichita.  Be sure to nominate your favorites through October 31st!  Look for more cities coming soon!

'Can we all get along?' This famous plea uttered by Rodney King during the 1992 L.A. Riots, a reaction to the acquittal of the four LAPD officers who severely beat him a year earlier, is often what he's most remembered for. I admit that after more than 20 years, I had forgotten many of the details, and didn't even realize that he died three years ago. But in this one-man show written and performed by Roger Guenveur Smith, Rodney King's story comes alive again - the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's a virtuoso performance that is poetic and lyrical, harsh and disturbing. Roger has performed this piece around the world and has brought it to St. Paul's Penumbra Theatre for just two weeks. It's definitely something to see.

The New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), New York City's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, today announced the nominees for the 2014-15 season at its annual press conference. The 37 nominees were selected by the Bessies Selection Committee, an independent committee of 39 dance industry professionals. Produced in partnership with Dance/NYC, Bessie Award categories include Outstanding Production, Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Music Composition or Sound Design, and Outstanding Visual Design. The list of nominations follows. 

The Brooklyn Film Festival today announced their full slate of films for the 2015 edition of this Brooklyn cultural mainstay.

Powerhouse Latino theatre group Culture Clash's 'Chavez Ravine: An L.A. Revival,' opened last night, February 4, at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Performances run through March 1, 2015. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has expanded its 2015 Off Center Festival to include two Parties-on-the-Plaza (POP) tonight, January 24 and Friday, January 30.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has expanded its 2015 Off Center Festival to include two Parties-on-the-Plaza (POP) Saturday, January 24 and Friday, January 30. The first POP will feature Orange County rocker Nick Waterhouse. On January 30, the party continues with the cumbia, afrobeat, trad funk fusion of Jungle Fire and the cold-blooded blend of deep soul, rare funk, and afro- disco (with a raw rock star edge!) of Orgone.

PlayMakers Repertory Company will present the regional premiere of "Wrestling Jerusalem," written and performed by Aaron Davidman, Jan. 7-11.

The Old Globe today announced it will present the Second Annual New Voices Festival, a weekend of readings of new American plays by professional playwrights, this weekend, December 12 - 14, 2014.

Following its New York premiere at the 2013 Under The Radar festival and an international tour, BRIC will present Rodney King, Roger Guenveur Smith's solo performance on the legacy of Rodney King. The critically acclaimed production was listed in The New York Times as a Critics' Pick and described as 'sinuous, complicated, [and] deeply moving.'

The Old Globe today announced it will present the Second Annual New Voices Festival, a weekend of readings of new American plays by professional playwrights, December 12 - 14, 2014.

For 23 years the NAACP Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch has produced a star-studded gala honoring thespians for their astonishing achievement in entertainment and theatre.

Following its New York premiere at the 2013 Under The Radar festival and an international tour, BRIC will present Rodney King, Roger Guenveur Smith's solo performance on the legacy of Rodney King. The critically acclaimed production was listed in The New York Times as a Critics' Pick and described as "sinuous, complicated, [and] deeply moving."

The 2014 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement during the past 12 months, were presented on Sunday, November 2 at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse.

The Kirk Douglas Theatre was originally an historic 1940s Streamlined Moderne-style movie house called the Culver Theater, and it is believed that Kirk Douglas' movie "Spartacus" played there in the early 1960s. In 2003 it was transformed into an intimate 317-seat live theatre venue and named for the theatre's initial major donor: Kirk Douglas. On Tuesday, October 14, 2014, CTG's Kirk Douglas Theatre celebrated its 10th birthday with Anne and Kirk Douglas in attendance.