The Old Globe News

Come and dance the blues away with Five Guys Named Moe! Helen Hayes Award winner Robert O'Hara (Bootcandy, director of The Mountaintop at Arena Stage) returns to Arena Stage to direct an explosive, reimagined tribute to the 'King of the Jukebox'-legendary composer and saxophonist Louis Jordan. This modernized production features new orchestrations for classic songs, including 'Let the Good Times Roll' and 'Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby,' and a contemporary twist on the five Moes, now a hit boy band set in 2014. This dynamic musical revue features musical direction by Darryl G. Ivey (assistant music director for original Broadway production of Five Guys Named Moe) and choreography by Byron Easley (off-Broadway's Langston in Harlem). A co-production with Cleveland Play House, Five Guys Named Moe runs November 14-December 28, 2014 in the Kreeger Theater.

Cleveland Play House proudly introduces their production of How We Got On, the coming-of-age story of three teens whose passion for hip-hop and determination to succeed generates creativity, artistry and friendship. Playwright Idris Goodwin's How We Got On will delight Cleveland audiences with its uplifting message and great grooves. Directed by Jaime Castañeda, and featuring an eclectic cast of actors including Cleveland School of the Arts graduate Cyndii Johnson, How We Got On is sure to have audiences of all ages feeling the beat October 24 - November 16 in the Outcalt Theatre at PlayhouseSquare. This production of How We Got On is sponsored by Cleveland Clinic.

The Laguna Playhouse Executive and Artistic Directors, Karen Wood and Ann E. Wareham are thrilled to present the second show of their 2014-2015 season, THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion and directed by Jenny Sullivan (Steel Magnolias). 'To have Linda Purl on our stage with one of the more powerful pieces of theatre I have come across is just a triumph that our audiences and subscribers are going to treasure,' offers Wood. 'Jenny Sullivan is quite simply one of our best theatre directors working today and to have her bring her magic touch to the powerful words of Joan Didion is simply a dream realized,' adds Wareham. THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING will begin previews tonight, October 8 and will open on Saturday, October 11 at 7:30pm and run through Sunday, November 2, 2014 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

What I found so utterly engaging about the world premiere of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's new musical BRIGHT STAR is its complete unpretentiousness. Certainly its musical style --American bluegrass with a heaping helping of laid back mountain charm -- has the kind of lilting homespun ease that makes you feel like you're listening to the neighborhood jug band on mama's back porch, and there's something oddly comforting about that.

Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and American Blues Theater, Chicago's second oldest Equity ensemble, are proud to announce the return of the critically acclaimed It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!, directed by Marty Higginbotham on the mainstage of the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., November 23 - December 28.

Kaliyuga Arts and Bridge Street Theatre present The Philadelphia Artists' Collective Production of The Rape of Lucrece by William Shakespeare Adapted and Performed by Dan Hodge November 7 and 8 at 7:30 pm, November 9 at 3:00 pm

Rogue Machine presents the World Premiere of NICE THINGS by Vince Melocchi opening tonight, October 4, 2014 with reception to follow 8pm Fridays and Todays, 3pm on Sundays through November 23, 2014 5041 W. Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90019

The Old Globe presents Marco Ramirez's ('Orange is the New Black,' 'Sons of Anarchy') wildly theatrical new play The Royale, directed by two-time Obie Award-winning and Drama Desk Award-nominated Rachel Chavkin, Founding Artistic Director of New York's the TEAM, Chavkin most recently won accolades for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (The New York Times, Time Out New York, and New York Post Critics's Picks, and Top Ten of 2012 and 2013). The Royale will run tonight, October 4 to November 2 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run tonight, October 4 - 8. Opening night is Thursday, October 9 at 8:00 p.m. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast below!

Sir Howard Stringer, Chair of the American Film Institute's Board of Trustees, announced today the Board's decision to honor Steve Martin with the 43rd AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film.

Canyon Crest Academy Envision Theatre (CCA) Envision Theatre is thrilled to present the comedic play 'Museum' by Tina Howe, November 7, 8,13,14 & 15, 2014 at the CCA Proscenium Theatre. Guest Directed by Jason Maddy with Technical Direction by Jeremy Sewell and Costumes by Janet Pitcher.

The Old Globe presents World Premiere of Bright Star, a new American musical featuring music by Edie Brickell and Steve Martin, lyrics by Brickell, and book by Martin, based on an original story by Martin and Brickell. Directed by Walter Bobbie, Bright Star runs now through November 2, 2014 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Scroll down for photos from the opening festivities!

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for Dracula, the Original Vampire Play, the second production in the 'Alley Theatre @ UH' season. Featuring iconic costume and set designs by Edward Gorey, the Alley's production is based on the original 1927 adaptation of the classic thriller that marvelously balances the menace of the horror tale with sophisticated satire.

The Public Theater announced a four-week extension for the world premiere musical HAMILTON, with book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Inspired by the book 'Alexander Hamilton' by Ron Chernow and directed by Thomas Kail, HAMILTON begins performances on Tuesday, January 20 and was originally scheduled to close on Sunday, February 22. The musical will now run an additional four weeks to Sunday, March 22, with an official press opening on Tuesday, February 17.

ARIELLE JACOBS who appeared on Broadway and in the touring company of IN THE HEIGHTS and STACIA FERNANDEZ, currently appearing on Broadway in MAMMA MIA!, have joined the cast of BARCELONA in the roles of 'Julianna' and 'Kathryn'.

The Old Globe will present a one-night-only event, Barry Edelstein In Conversation with Nathan Englander, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. This special discussion will reunite Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and award-winning playwright and novelist Nathan Englander, whose play The Twenty-seventh Man, about a group of writers imprisoned in Soviet Russia under mysterious circumstances, makes its West Coast premiere at The Old Globe in February, directed once again by Edelstein. The event will explore the evolution of the play; its fascinating historical setting; Englander's work in fiction versus theatre; and literature's place in modern American culture.

It's time to brush up your Shakespeare, only this time visualize turn of the 20th Century Coney Island rather than the Old Globe. Possum Point Players' New Faces of Shakespeare present 'Twelfth Night' Friday, Oct. 17, 7:30 pm, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2 pm and 7:30 pm, and Sunday, Oct. 19, 2 pm.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: CAN-CAN begins previews at Paper Mill, BILLY & RAY starts off-Broadway, and TAIL! SPIN! opens tonight!