Sara Jane News

For the second year in a row the Pink Lady Jackie Goldberg presented an attention-grabbing Senior Talent Competition. This year's show was very different, as it had two contests on two separate days, one on Saturday November 5 and the other on Sunday November 6 at the Wadsworth Theatre in West LA, and included an endearing salute to our veterans.

The great genius of contemporary musical theater, creator of Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Company, Stephen Sondheim leads audiences on a tuneful revue of presidential assassins and would-be killers from John Wilkes Booth to John Hinckley. The performance is guided by the Proprietor (brilliantly portrayed by Will Shure) who takes you through a most unusual musical history lesson in the form of a carnival game called "Shoot the Prez - Win a Prize" during which the sounds of each era accompany riveting portrayals of history's most impassioned and deranged. Thought-provoking and darkly delightful, ASSASSINS won five Tony Awards in its first revival on Broadway and remains one of the most controversial Broadway musicals ever written.

freeFall Theatre Company will open their 2016/2017 season with Stephen Sondheim'sAssassins. Directed by Chris Crawford, the show will star Susan Haldeman (Sara Jane Moore), Robert Teasdale (Leon Czolgosz), Thomas Mothershed (Samuel Byck), Britt Michael Gordon (John Wilkes Booth), Marissa Toogood (Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme), John Mark Jernigan (John Hinckley), Lucas Wells (Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald), Pasqualino Beltempo (Giuseppe Zangara), and Alan Mohney Jr. (Charles Guiteau).

The cast of freeFall Theatre Company's upcoming production of the Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical Asssassins has just been announced. Directed by Chris Crawford, the show will star Susan Haldeman (Sara Jane Moore), Robert Teasdale (Leon Czolgosz), Thomas Mothershed (Samuel Byck), Britt Michael Gordon (John Wilkes Booth), Marissa Toogood (Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme), John Mark Jernigan (John Hinckley), Lucas Wells (Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald), Pasqualino Beltempo (Giuseppe Zangara), and Alan Mohney Jr. (Charles Guiteau).

Idle Muse Theatre Company will produce the Chicago premiere of The Woman Who Amuses Herself, by Victor Lodato, directed by Idle Muse ensemble member Nathan Pease. The Woman Who Amuses Herself will run June 23rd through July 24th, 2016 with previews June 23rd and 24th and will be presented at Edge Theater, 5451 N Broadway Ave, Chicago, IL 60640. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Run time is approximately 2 hrs including 1 ten-minute intermission. Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $15 for students/seniors. Tickets for previews are $10. Every Thursday is Industry Night with $10 tickets for industry members with headshot/resume. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.idlemuse.org or by calling 773-340-9438.

On Monday, June 20 at 7pm, Grammy nominee Alexandra Silber (currently starring as Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway) will celebrate the release of the world premiere recording of Arlington, by Victor Lodato and Polly Pen, with a special concert at Birdland titled, "Al(exandra) Silber's Casual Monday."

On May 6th, 2016, Civic Theatre will open ASSASSINS, which will be produced in Civic's historic 19th Street Theatre and will run through Sunday, May 22nd.

?Broadway Records has announced that Arlington: World Premiere Recording will be released digitally and in stores on June 17, 2016. The album is currently available for pre-order at www.BroadwayRecords.com and Amazon.com

Directed by Michael V. Hartsfield with Musical Directors Billy George & Mimi Kuhn McGinniss, Producer Maureen Rogers and Costumer Carol Mead Cartmell, ASSASINS will play Laurel Mill Playhouse (508 Main Street, Laurel, MD 20707) April 29 - May 22, 2016.

Directed by Michael V. Hartsfield with Musical Directors Billy George & Mimi Kuhn McGinniss, Producer Maureen Rogers and Costumer Carol Mead Cartmell, ASSASINS will play Laurel Mill Playhouse (508 Main Street, Laurel, MD 20707) April 29 - May 22, 2016.

On May 6th, 2016, Civic Theatre will open ASSASSINS, which will be produced in Civic's historic 19th Street Theatre and will run through Sunday, May 22nd.

Analise Langford-Clark and Jonathan Blum will shine in California Stage's production of Arlington. A favorite with audiences in San Francisco and New York, California Stage now brings this provocative new chamber musical to Sacramento starting April 1st.  Bob Irvin also makes his California Stage directorial debut.

The 9th Annual Welcome to Boog City Festival -- 5 Days of Poetry, Music, and Theater -- is headed to New York City!

If you are socially conscious or have some type of social media account, you are well aware of the social injustices that seem to flood the timelines. In this past year, we have witnessed young black men assassinated at the hands of police officers as well as a massacre in Charleston, South Carolina where a deranged racist killed nine parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Hashtags such as #Handsupdontshoot and #BlackLivesMatter have become the popular catch phrases in the juggernaut of social media. I know you are asking, 'What in the hell does this have to do with ASSASSINS the musical?' This show addresses so much more than the psychopathic motives of the nine assassins; it makes one question the gun control laws of then and now. Going into the theatre, I was excited to see a musical that I love and know very well, but my thoughts changed immediately at curtain call.

The 9th Annual Welcome to Boog City Festival -- 5 Days of Poetry, Music, and Theater -- is headed to New York City!

Taffety Punk's current production of The Tempest demonstrates how Shakespeare's work is infinitely elastic in terms of creativity and casting. Riot Grrrls, a faction of Taffety Punk Theatre Company dedicated to all-female productions of the Bard's works, has come up with a low-tech, low-cost, intimate staging that is as finely tuned as anything you'd pay big bucks for uptown.

Menier Chocolate Factory Artistic Director David Babani welcomes Jamie Lloyd's major revival of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's ASSASSINS as part of the theatre's 10-year anniversary season. Joining Carly Bawden, Simon Lipkin, Mike McShane, Andy Nyman, David Roberts and Catherine Tate are Stewart Clarke, Harry Morrison, Aaron Tveit and Jamie Parker. The production opens tonight, 1 December 2014, and runs until 7 March 2015. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

?From November 21, the Chocolate Factory presents the musical ASSASSINS by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman. Broadway favorite Aaron Tveit will make his UK stage debut as 'John Wilkes Booth', alongside Carly Bawden as Squeaky Fromme, Simon Lipkin as The Proprietor, Mike McShane as Samuel Byck, Andy Nyman as Charles Guiteau, David Roberts as Czolgosz and Catherine Tate as Sara Jane Moore. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside rehearsal below!

Below you can check out photos of the company in the BroadwayWorld.com series 'In The Spotlight' by acclaimed photographer Walter McBride!

Vineyard Theatre (108 E. 15 St.) presents the new musical ARLINGTON by Victor Lodato and Polly Pen, directed by Carolyn Cantor (THE GREAT GOD PAN, AFTER THE REVOLUTION). ARLINGTON stars Alexandra Silber(MASTER CLASS on Broadway with Tyne Daly, THE WOMAN IN WHITE) as Sara Jane, a young wife who valiantly tries to remain hopeful while her husband is away at war, despite a growing concern that something is not quite right. This new music-theatre piece is a stirring and powerful work that explores complex questions about history, identity and power as it takes us deeper into the storm stirring beneath Sara Jan's sunny exterior.