ANDREA J LOVE

Theatre Now New York has announced the casts and creative teams of the 10 short musicals to be presented in its SOUND BITES ELEVEN Festival of 10-Minute Musicals.

Theatre Now New York has selected 10 finalists to be presented in its SOUND BITES ELEVEN Festival of 10-Minute Musicals. The festival will take place on May 6th at 7pm at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center.

The next generation of songwriters is busy working and took a night off to play and sing at The Green Room 42 on February 3rd. A full room of supportive music appreciators heard some new musical theatre-style material based on assignments like 'Imagine Blanche DuBois singing' or 'write a love song without the word 'love.''

The 5th Avenue Theatre has announced the full cast for its new production of Austen's Pride: A New Musical of Pride and Prejudice, which is now in rehearsals and begins performances in Seattle on October 4, 2019.

The Davis Shakespeare Festival is wrapping up its 9th season with the comedy As You Like It. It is one of Shakespeare's audience-pleasers and, interestingly, has the most songs in it of any Shakespeare play. The entire show is infused with pastoral music that has been modernized to a folk rock style by Timothy Nutter, who plays the guitar throughout. It serves as a bridge from the Shakespearean dialogue to the modern costumes and set pieces while successfully supporting the bohemian energy of the show.

3 Girls Theater Company presents the 2018 edition of its New Works Festival, this year taking place at Z Below in the Mission District. Now in its 7thyear, this year's festival is designed around the theme of "Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble," a line lifted from Shakespeare's MacBeth where three witches acting as prophets not only foretell the future, but then apply all their natural talents, inclinations and cooking skills to make it happen before serving it all up as a nice meal at their new pop-up, Burnham Wood and Dunsinane.

you are my sunshine - a new play with folk songs …based on a true story by Kelli Kerslake Colaco is a multi-decade (1927-1956) character study of a man of mythic American proportions whose passions and demons lead to tragedy. Narrated in Woody Guthrie-style folk songs - accompanied by Bay Area music favorites Chris Haugen (guitar) and Trevor Marcom (vocals/guitar), the fact-inspired ensemble drama focuses on the search for truth behind a dark family legend vis-a-vis an ancestor and the women and children in his life.

Capital Stage presents the Special Holiday Production and Sacramento Premiere of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. This instant holiday classic continues the story of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and has delighted audiences since its premiere in 2016. Miss Bennet will be directed by Capital Stage Co-Founder Peter Mohrmann and is a special production in addition to the 2017/18 Season. Performances will run from December 6 - 30, 2017 with a Press Opening on Saturday, December 9, 2017 at 8:00 pm.

Capital Stage presents the Special Holiday Production and Sacramento Premiere of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon.

Nikita Burshteyn, 22, is an award-winning actor who's making a name for himself in the San Francisco Bay Area, and not just because he's got a tricky name to pronounce. When he played Judas in 'Jesus Christ Superstar' at STAGE 1 Theater in Newark, Linda and Nick Hodges of BroadwayWorld.com raved: 'The show should be renamed 'Nikita Burshteyn Superstar.' The theater should be filled with talent agents waiting to give him an offer.' When he played Tony in 'West Side Story' at Broadway by the Bay in Redwood City, Joanne Engelhardt of the Palo Alto Daily News gushed: 'With Tom Cruise-good looks and an angelic voice, Burshteyn is the real deal.' And when he did his San Francisco cabaret act, 'Livin' Nikita Loca,' Richard Connema of Talkin' Broadway compared his 'full-throated voice and flawless phrasing' to Jonathan Groff's.

Don't let the title fool you, in the hysterically clean Urinetown, The Musical, Les Miz, Fiddler on the Roof, and even West Side Story gets spoofed in this Tony Award winning, socially aware comedy that takes on corporate greed and environmental responsibility while spoofing some of Broadway's biggest hits.