Joseph Photos - Broadway

It is a brilliant production of the second-most produced American opera. (After 'Porgy and Bess') Gorgeous scenic effects and world-class voices.

The Inspired Acting Company, Oakland County’s newest professional theatre opens its inaugural season with Private Lives by Noël Coward. See photos from the production.

When we last met Eugene Jerome, he was coping with adolescence in 1930's Brooklyn. Here, he is a young army recruit during WW II, going through basic training and learning about Life and Love with a capital 'L' along with some harsher lessons, while stationed at boot camp in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1943.

What happens when the sting of betrayal's flame is fanned by the heat of the Nile? MURDER! Agatha Christie's classic play Murder on the Nile, celebrates its 75th birthday this year having opened in Scotland at the Dundee Reparatory Theatre on January 17, 1944. Be Bold Productions has mounted a faithful production of her smoldering work Off-Broadway at the Player Theatre.

For the past several summers, I have attended the Festival of Arts and The Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. But this year, I also decided to also visit two other art festivals along Laguna Canyon Road rather than spend any time cruising the town as I had done before. The full-day of exploring all the artistic delights on display this year at all three locations left me dazzled by all the talent on display, while wishing I had lot of extra income to purchase and bring home many of the awe-inspiring items that caught my fancy. But the real highlight of the day was viewing the abundance of 'local color' on display in this summer's 'Under the Sun' themed Pageant of the Masters.

The psychological arcs of history are sometimes lost in the details and dates. THE BOOK OF JOSEPH amplifies those emotional truths as it follows the Hollander family's past struggle to survive World War II and present struggle to deal with the reverberations of a past we both wish to remember and seek to forget.

NightBlue Performing Arts's production of Woody Allen's stage musical based on his Academy Award-winning film a hilarious and high stepping homage to both the gangster films and movie musicals of the 1930's - opened to press on Monday, September 11. The production will run through Sunday, October 8 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago.

The Theatre Group at SBCC opens the 17/18 season with Cole Porter's sparkling musical, HIGH SOCIETY, July 12-29 in the Garvin Theatre. 

Rubicon Theatre Company celebrates Black History Month with THE DEVIL'S MUSIC: THE LIFE AND BLUES OF BESSIE SMITH, starring singer and actress Miche Braden of the original Off-Broadway production (named one of the 10 Best Off-Broadway productions of the year by the N.Y. Daily Times). Described by CBC as a, "bawdy, bluesy, boozy rollicking night out at the theatre," the show follows the life, loves and career of blues and jazz singer Bessie Smith, called the "Empress of the Blues." 

Shattered Globe Theatre is pleased to continue its 2016-17 season with the Chicago premiere of Meg Miroshnik's drama THE TALL GIRLS, an ensemble piece about five young women in the 1930s rural Midwest who discover a way to escape their crumbling town - by playing basketball. Directed by Ensemble Member Louis Contey, THE TALL GIRLS will play January 12 - February 25, 2017 at Theater Wit 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.theaterwit.org, in person at the Theater Wit Box Office or by calling (773) 975-8150. 

With its emphasis on improvisation, stock characters, and a genial carnival atmosphere, the Commedia dell' arte (dating back as early as the 16th century) has never had much appeal to me; I generally find the productions thumb-twiddling after a while. I certainly had my reservations about Playhouse on the Square's current production, ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS, adapted by British playwright Richard Bean from a 1743 play by Venetian Carlo Goldoni. However, as much as I cringe at the thought of a play written in this tradition, at the opposite end I am very much a fan of British humor at its silliest - from the 1930's and 40's comedies of Will Hay (who, at least in a number of films, utilized his own kind of stock company) to the sketches of Benny Hill and Rowan Atkinson's delightful MR. BEAN (and wasn't there a group called MONTY PYTHON?) That said, Mr. Bean's sublimely silly little take on the Goldoni play, removed in time and place to early 1960's Brighton, has a plot that bounces from corner to corner of the proscenium like a ping pong ball on Ritalin.

San Diego Musical Theatre announces Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show, at the Birch North Park Theatre from September 27 - October 13, 2013 at the Birch North Park Theatre. The outrageously prodigious comic and musical soul of 1930's Harlem lives on in this rollicking, swinging, finger-snapping revue that is still considered one of Broadway's best. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

The summer theater season wouldn't be complete without multiple interpretations of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream to quench our appetite for the Bard's most beloved comedy. I have never seen a production more understandable or better staged than the current one at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presented by the New American Theatre, directed by Jack Stehlin.

Puppets and live performers enact an enigmatic tale of early World War II in 'King Executioner,' the newest creation of Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre written and directed by Vit Horejš. The play is loosely based on 'When you are a King, You will be an Executioner' ('A Jak Krolem a Jak Katem Bedzies,' 1968) by the Polish magical realist novelist Tadeusz Nowak (1930-1991). Theater for the New City will present the world premiere of the work March 21 to April 7. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!

Don't just hunker down during Cleveland's upcoming season of discontent and snow, support the local theatres. BTW…tickets or gift cards to local theatres make great holiday presents!

'Anything Goes' opens Friday, December 7 at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina on Hilton Head Island. The classic show features the music of legendary Cole Porter, including such hits as 'Anything Goes', 'I Get a Kick Out of You', 'You're the Top', 'Blow, Gabriel, Blow', and 'It's De-Lovely'. A large cast of professional actor's based mostly out of New York City joins some favorite local performers to round out a large cast of 30. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the show below.

The Royal Wedding. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The Olympic Games and Ceremonies. Rubicon Theatre Company celebrates our "love affair" with all things British with Private Lives, an elegant and sophisticated comedy by Sir Noel Coward which previews September 5 and opens Saturday, September 8 at the theatre's intimate home in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District. A co-production of Rubicon and Laguna Playhouse, Private Lives runs Wednesdays through Sundays through September 30. Get a first look at the cast onstage below!

ENTER LAUGHING, The Musical, the hilarious production, began previews on August 9 with a standing ovation after the brilliant and much appreciated performance.

Set in 1930's, ENTER LAUGHING, The Musical tells the story of young, hapless David Kolowitz, a shop boy from the Bronx who pursues his dream of becoming a leading man on stage while facing mounting pressures from his despondent girlfriend, dismissive boss, distracted best friend, disgusted acting coach and disapproving parents.

ENTER LAUGHING, The Musical, the hilarious Broadway-bound production, is now in rehearsal at the New 42nd Street Studios. The first preview is August 9. A limited number of 'Pay What You Can' tickets will be available on that date after 2 pm at the Box Office. The show runs through September 4. The show features a book by the legendary Joseph Stein (Fiddler on the Roof, Zorba), music and lyrics by Stan Daniels ('The Mary Tyler Moore Show,' 'Taxi').

Tom Hewitt, Lesli Margherita, Meg Gillentine and Seán Martin Hingston are the Broadway and West End stars that will lead the cast of Reprise Theatre Company's third production of the 2010-2011 season, 'Kiss Me, Kate', playing May 10 to 22 (press opening May 11, 2011) at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. The musical - with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Samuel and Bella Spewack will be directed by Michael Michetti, co-artistic director of The Theatre @ Boston Court and choreographed by Lee Martino. Michael Paternostro will serve as musical director.

Girl Crazy, is the first Encores! production of the New York City Center season, starring Ana Gasteyer, Wayne Knight and Marc Kudisch running November 19 - 22. Girl Crazy, directed by Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Warren Carlyle with Guest Music Director Rob Fisher, has music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan.

Girl Crazy, the first Encores! production of the New York City Center season, will star Ana Gasteyer, Wayne Knight and Marc Kudisch and will run November 19 - 22. Girl Crazy, directed by Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Warren Carlyle with Guest Music Director Rob Fisher, has music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan.

Academy Award-nominated director Gus Van Sant's Milk, starring Academy Award winner Sean Penn as gay rights icon Harvey Milk, had its world premiere at San Francisco's historic Castro Theatre (at 429 Castro Street) tonight. The evening benefited multiple charities supporting LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) youth. Dinner and dancing followed at City Hall.

The Romance of Magno Rubio -- Ma-Yi Theater Company's acclaimed, OBIE Award-winning production based on a short-story by the McCarthy-era blacklisted novelist Carlos Bulosan -- will be presented for a limited Off-Broadway engagement with previews to begin May 19, prior to an official press opening May 27 at The Culture Project