Thomas Jefferson News

Asolo Repertory Theatre challenges its audiences to answer questions both women and men have been asking themselves since the second wave of feminism emerged in the 1960's: is it possible for women to balance a career and a family at the same time? If yes, then does 'having it all' equate fulfillment in life? The Heidi Chronicles, Wendy Wasserstein's 1989 Pulitzer and Tony Award winning play, maps the coming of age of Heidi Holland, a member of the baby boomer generation and a successful art historian, during the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's.

A total of 35 established and emerging writers, composers and lyricists will converge on the Goodspeed campus this month to participate in the first-ever Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing more than twenty new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration.

The Metropolitan Playhouse and JAJ Production present the World Premiere of David Koteles' My First Lady, directed by Jason Jacobs as part of the Metropolitan Playhouse Founder's Festival (running tonight, January 14-27) The Playhouse is located at 220 East 4th Street.

Metropolitan Playhouse, Obie Award winner for exploring American culture through theater, hosts The Founder's Festival, the theater's eighth annual Living Literature Festival of performances inspired by the lives and works of the individuals who helped to shape America. The Festival is a collection of eight new works by artists and companies from near and far taking their inspiration from the Founding Father's public and private lives. Each new work is presented four times over the festival. (Project descriptions and schedule follow.) Several evenings will be complemented by readings of salient documents.

The Metropolitan Playhouse and JAJ Production present the World Premiere of David Koteles' My First Lady, directed by Jason Jacobs as part of the Metropolitan Playhouse Founder's Festival (running January 14- 27) The Playhouse is located at 220 East 4th Street.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Timberlake Wertenbaker's Olivier Award-winning play, Our Country's Good, Out of Joint will present a series of staged readings of Timberlake's work. This will include the acclaimed play Three Birds Alighting on a Field, which will be directed by Max Stafford-Clark, and The Grace of Mary Traverse directed by Blanche McIntyre. Out of Joint will also present the world premiere of Timberlake's new play - Jefferson's Garden.

Montblanc announced it will open its first U.S. pop-up shop during the Presidential Inauguration week in Washington, Jan. 18 to 22. Montblanc is partnering with the St. Regis hotel in Washington D.C., as well as publisher Thornwillow Press, to create an boutique. The in-lobby shop will offer a variety of leather goods, cuff links, signature pens and more. To celebrate President Obama's second inauguration, Montblanc is offering a bound book of Obama's first inaugural address.

Pittsburgh Public Theater's MADE IN AMERICA season reaches its highpoint with 1776, the biggest production in Public Theater history. This Tony-winning Best Musical features book by Peter Stone and music & lyrics by Sherman Edwards. Directed by Ted Pappas, 1776 runs Jan. 24 - Feb. 24, 2013 at the O'Reilly Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater's home in the heart of Downtown's Cultural District.

John Grisham's latest novel, THE RACKETEER, kept the No. 1 spot on Publishers Weekly's best-seller list on Thursday.

Historical hijinks abound in PLEASURES AND PALACES, the unknown masterpiece from the composer of GUYS AND DOLLS. Lyric Stage is proud to present Frank Loesser's PLEASURES AND PALACES in concert January 24-27, 2013. Performances are January 24, 25 & 26 @ 8:00 PM and January 27 @ 2:30 PM in the Irving Arts Center's Carpenter Performance Hall, 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving, TX.

Amazon.com has just released their list of top selling books for the online marketplace as of today, 12/23: from children's stories to political assasination conspiracy theories, this week's Top 10 Reads includes a little something for any reader. Check out the list below!

Hennepin Theatre Trust today announced the new fall 2012 honorees from Minnesota high schools recognizing theatre accomplishments by school and category for the 2012-13 SpotLight Musical Theatre Program. Now in its eighth successful year, SpotLight is Hennepin Theatre Trust's flagship educational initiative which honors, supports and advocates for Minnesota high school musical theatre students and programs. This year, 56 schools, including nine from greater Minnesota, are presenting musicals made possible by the collaboration of almost 5,000 students and annually seen by an estimated 105,000 audience members.

Amazon.com has just released their list of top selling books for the online marketplace this week: J.R.R. Tolkien's THE HOBBIT made a push for the top spot following the release of its film adaptation, but finished in second place. Once again, the seventh book in the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series continues its reign on the best seller list. Check out the full list below!

Metropolitan Playhouse, Obie Award winner for exploring American culture through theater, hosts The Founder's Festival, the theater's eighth annual Living Literature Festival of performances inspired by the lives and works of the individuals who helped to shape America. The Festival is a collection of eight new works by artists and companies from near and far taking their inspiration from the Founding Father's public and private lives. Each new work is presented four times over the festival. (Project descriptions and schedule follow.) Several evenings will be complemented by readings of salient documents.

Amazon.com has just released their list of top selling books for the online marketplace this week: a push of political novels and nonfiction pieces have taken some of the top spots on the list, with the seventh book in the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series continuing its reign on the best seller list. Check out the list below!

The GRAMMY Foundation® (www.grammyfoundation.org) today announced that 129 schools nationwide have been selected as GRAMMY® Signature Schools semifinalists (www.grammyintheschools.com) for 2013. Created in 1998, the GRAMMY Signature Schools program recognizes top U.S. public high schools that are making an outstanding commitment to music education during an academic school year.

Amazon.com has just released their list of top selling books for the online marketplace this week: a push of political novels and nonfiction pieces have taken some of the top spots on the list, with the seventh book in the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series continuing its reign on the best seller list. Check out the list below!

On Monday, November 19, the membership of the Audience Development Corporation honored the Castillo Theatre with wins in all five of the categories in which it was nominated for the Vivian Robinson AUDELCO Recognition Awards for Excellence in Black Theatre (aka the Viv Awards) for its production of Sally and Tom (The American Way) by Fred Newman and Annie Roboff, directed by Gabrielle L. Kurlander. The musical looks at the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, his slave and mistress for 30 years, exploring the tragic contradiction at the heart of American history and culture.

Yesterday's MEET THE PRESS WITH DAVID GREGORY featured interviews with Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), House Homeland Security Committee chairman Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and Honeywell CEO David Cote; and a roundtable conversation with MSNBC's Rev. Al Sharpton, National Republican Senatorial Committee vice chair Carly Fiorina, New York Times columnist David Brooks, documentary filmmaker and historian Ken Burns, and NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell.