Sheldon Epps News

Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre latest mainstage production the “Best Musical” Tony Award-nominated Blues in the Night, conceived by Sheldon Epps, with the music of Bessie Smith, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Gordon Jenkins, Alberta Hunter and others, is now playing through March 13 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St.

Before Rosa Parks refused to go to the back of the bus, before Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired a movement, Lloyd Price's music brought Black and white youth together. From his obscure beginnings to overnight teen sensation, from unsung trailblazer to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the story of Lloyd Price has never been told onstage — until now.

 Porchlight Music Theatre announces new dates for Porchlight Revisits Passing Strange, Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. and Thursday, May 19 at 1:30 and 7 p.m. and the staged reading of Paul Oaley Stovall’s+ Clear, A New Musical Experience, Tuesday, May 31 at 7 p.m.  

Porchlight Music Theatre announces new dates for Porchlight Revisits Passing Strange, Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. and Thursday, May 19 at 1:30 and 7 p.m. and the staged reading of Paul Oaley Stovall's Clear, A New Musical Experience, Tuesday, May 31 at 7 p.m.  

International City Theatre has been honored with three wins and 20 additional nominations for four different productions by longtime theater reviewer Rob Stevens, who has announced his 35th annual “Robby Awards for Excellence in Southern California Theatre.”

Due to the current virus surge in Chicago and out of an abundance of caution regarding the public health concerns for artists and audiences, Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre announces its three events scheduled for January and February 2022: Blues in the Night, Clear, A New Musical Experience and Porchlight Revisits Passing Strange have been rescheduled to later this year, new dates for Blues in the Night are listed below, new dates for Clear, A New Musical Experience and Porchlight Revisits Passing Strange are to be announced.

Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre announces the cast for the “Best Musical” Tony Award-nominated Blues in the Night, conceived by Sheldon Epps+, with the music of Bessie Smith, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Gordon Jenkins, Alberta Hunter and others, January 15, 2022 - February 27, 2022 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts.

Set in 1948 in a Chicago hotel that has seen better days, the interwoven stories of BLUES IN THE NIGHT evoke the misery and humor of life, love and the dogged determination to do more than just survive. The drama reveals itself through glorious songs by Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Alberta Hunter, Harold Arlen, Jimmy Cox, Ida Cox and more.

Ebony Repertory Theatre in Association with International City Theatre is presenting the Tony and Olivier Award-nominated musical BLUES IN THE NIGHT, conceived by Sheldon Epps, directed by ERT Producing Artistic Director Wren T. Brown, choreographed by Keith Young, and music directed by William Foster McDaniel.

Windows, a new play written by Tawni O'Dell, adapted from the highly acclaimed top-rated audio drama Closing the Distance, has announced that it will make its Broadway premiere next Spring.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation has named director and playwright Emily Mann, the former artistic director of the McCarter Theatre, as the recipient of its annual Gordon Davidson Award.

MY LORD, WHAT A NIGHT at Ford's Theatre is a fascinating story of a surprising friendship developing at a critical time in history. We don’t see the characters as mythological beings in this production, thanks to the expert cast we are drawn to the approachable – very human – personal stakes, strong bonds and real concerns that compel action.

Ebony Repertory Theatre announces full cast and creative team for BLUES IN THE NIGHT, the Tony and Olivier Award-nominated musical conceived by Sheldon Epps. Presented by Ebony Rep, in association with International City Theatre, ERT's Founder and Producing Artistic Director Wren T. Brown (ERT's Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill) directs this powerful and soulful blues celebration.

Pioneering arts leader Paul Crewes, who has served since 2015 as the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts' first Artistic Director, steps down from his position at the end of this year and transitions to a new role as Artistic Advisor for the balance of The Wallis' 2021-2022 Season, it was announced by Michael Nemeroff, Chairman of the Board.

Ebony Repertory Theatre has announced full cast and creative team for BLUES IN THE NIGHT, the Tony and Olivier Award-nominated musical conceived by Sheldon Epps.

The soul of the blues wails out full and strong when Long Beach's International City Theatre, in association with L.A.'s Ebony Repertory Theatre, presents the Tony and Olivier award nominated, Sheldon Epps-conceived musical Blues in the Night.

People's Light invites you back to the theatre for its 2021/2022 Season, featuring outrageous comedies, tour de force performances, Tony Award nominees, and three music-filled world premieres. 

Directed by Ford’s Theatre Senior Artistic Advisor Sheldon Epps, the remarkable new drama is based on true events and the friendship between contralto Marian Anderson and physicist Albert Einstein.

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced its return to live performance with its 27th season that includes the 2021 – 2022 Mainstage, Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway seasons. 

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, announces the election of Justin Emeka, Doug Hughes, and Seema Sueko as the newest members of the SDCF Board of Trustees. They join President Mark Brokaw, Vice President/Secretary Anne Kauffman, Sheldon Epps, Linda Hartzell, Dan Knechtges, Laura Penn, and Victoria Traube as Trustees of the Foundation. Hughes will serve as the Foundation's Treasurer.