Bruce Ward

Theatre Memphis was awarded nine top honors at the 37th annual Ostrander Awards on Sunday, August 31, 2020.

The Earlville Opera House will present a virtual live streaming concert from its very own historic stage on Friday, August 28 beginning at 7pm!

There is always something new and interesting happening at SNAP! Their plays do not end in the theatre.

Last evening, the 1980 musical based on the beloved novel Flowers For Algernon came to life again for one night only at Feinstein's/54 Below.

The 1980 musical based on the beloved novel Flowers For Algernon will come to life again for one night only at Feinstein's/54 Below tonight, September 16.

Additional casting has been announced for Charlie and Algernon: In Concert at Feinstein's/54 Below. As previously reported, the 1980 musical based on the beloved novel Flowers For Algernon will come to life again for one night only, with the show's original star, P.J. Benjamin (Wicked, Chicago, Sophisticated Ladies and more).

Next week, Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

The 1980 musical based on the beloved novel Flowers For Algernon will come to life again for one night only at Feinstein's/54 Below on September 16.

Theatre Memphis has made its play selections for the 2016-17 season and they include a variety of entertainment that touches many bases. Featuring musicals, comedy, drama, classics and new work, the season offers options and regional premieres to Memphis patrons.

Additional casting has been announced for Charlie and Algernon: In Concert at Feinstein's/54 Below. As previously reported, the 1980 musical based on the beloved novel Flowers For Algernon will come to life again for one night only, with the show's original star, P.J. Benjamin (Wicked, Chicago, Sophisticated Ladies and more).

Debbie Sings: Judy, Just for You, is presented July 15 - 31, 2016, in the Next Stage at Theatre Memphis as an encore production of the original show created by Theatre Memphis Resident Costume Designer Andre Bruce Ward and performed by Theatre Memphis Executive Producer Debbie Litch. First produced as a "thank you" to upper level Theatre Memphis donors, the positive response was such that the Judy Garland-inspired musical presentation was added as a Summer Showcase Production that would be open to the public.

Theatre Memphis has made its play selections for the 2016-17 season and they include a variety of entertainment that touches many bases. Featuring musicals, comedy, drama, classics and new work, the season offers options and regional premieres to Memphis patrons.

Let's see now -- older married man with mistress, seething ex-wife, resentful and mistrustful offspring -- where was Dr. Phil? Alas, nowhere in sight in Chinon during the Christmas of 1183, as the powerful English king Henry II has released his imprisoned wife (and sparring partner) Eleanor of Aquitaine and allowed her admittance to a family gathering (along with his mistress Alais). Is it for personal or political reasons? Perhaps a bit of both? Henry, great in stature and accomplishments, has to decide which of his sons (none of whom will historically 'measure up') will become the future King of England. It's a Lear-like choice, and poor Henry has 'slim pickings.' With the oldest son dead, the three remaining are a snarling, disgruntled lot -- in one corner (Eleanor's), there's the pillage-prone Richard (later Richard the Lionhearted, who will spend most of his time abroad); in the other (Henry's), there's the pimply, unwashed, and feckless John (later, a famously unpopular king who will be forced to capitulate to baronial pressure and sign a little document known as the Magna Carta). Oh, yes, and then there's the ignored, Machiavellian Geoffrey, mistrusted by both parents and willing to play anyone on the human chessboard.

? LAZARUS SYNDROME, an acclaimed new comedy by Bruce Ward about the power of faith and family, is Richmond Triangle Players' entry into the city-wide Acts of Faith festival.  The production opens Thursday, February 25 at 8 pm, following a low-priced preview on Wednesday, February 24 at 8 pm.  RTP's production is the play's second, following its premiere at DC's Theatre Alliance in 2007.

The Drama Bookshop will play host to a reading of Steven Carl McCasland's play, THE HALLS OF IMPORTANCE, tonight, September 9th, at 7:00pm. The reading is free to the public.

The Drama Bookshop will play host to a reading of Steven Carl McCasland's play, THE HALLS OF IMPORTANCE, on September 9th at 7:00pm. The reading is free to the public.

Working closely with New York City based professional playwright Bruce Ward, eight high school student playwrights from across the Commonwealth will bring their original one-act plays to life on the stage at the 26th Annual New Voices for the Theater Festival of New Works, held July 10 & 11, 2015 at Shafer St. Playhouse at Virginia Commonwealth University (221 N. Shafer St). 150 plays were submitted to SPARC - School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community this year and eight resident winners and four honorable mentions were chosen.

George Cukor's 1940 film version of Philip Barry's THE PHILADELPHIA STORY was Katharine Hepburn's return to glory after the actress had been labeled 'box office poison' after the failure of several films. 021The savvy Hepburn was able to bend MGM to her will when it wanted to film Barry's play, and the end result rewarded everyone involved: Hepburn, her old RKO co-star Cary Grant, and the up and coming James Stewart. Not only were Oscar nominations and wins in store, but at the center of it all was Hepburn in all her patrician, high cheek-boned elegance. She may have given greater performances as the tragic, dope-addicted 'Mary Tyrone' in the film version of Eugene O'Neill's LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT or as the caustic, sparring 'Eleanor of Aquitaine' in James Goldman's THE LION IN WINTER, but for those who want to see Hepburn at the height of her unusual beauty and comedic gifts, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY is a must. Having seen the film numerous times, I was wary of Theatre Memphis' staging of Barry's work. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, once seen, leaves such an impression that it's rather like tackling a remake of THE WIZARD OF OZ or GONE WITH THE WIND or THE GODFATHER. Director Jason Spitzer has taken the dare, and he and his cast have mostly succeeded in the satiny, stylized production currently playing at Theatre Memphis.

There was a time when it seemed as if any talent contender in a beauty pageant would lay into 'Don't Cry Out Loud' (later, Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' seemed to supplant it). It crept out of every radio station ad nauseum. Its almost iconic 'ear candy' status rendered it cringe-inducing, as far as I was concerned. Moreover, its composer and interpreter, Australian Peter Allen, was not the kind of performer I enjoyed - I prefer my talent without the 'over the top' exclamation point; he belonged, to my way of thinking, to the Liberace/Barry Manilow/Liza Minelli kind of performer. (Admittedly, I have a number of friends who take issue with this and who, rope in hand, would gladly pursue me if lynching were acceptable.) Their 'showmanship' and 'over the top' self-promotion proved exhausting. However, the intervening years have reconciled me to Allen's music, and THE BOY FROM OZ. with a book by Martin Sherman and Nick Enright and a parade of Allen songs, has, in Theatre Memphis' latest offering, even somewhat endeared me to him.

THE HEIRESS, Ruth and Augustus Goetz's 1947 adaptation of Henry James' WASHINGTON SQUARE and currently occupying the Lohrey Stage at Theatre Memphis, has had a long and steady run on stages throughout the world - and why not? Tightly corseted, polite to a fault, and observing proprieties, this intelligently written script captures the essence of the James source material without the convoluted, complex sentences that, alas, repel many readers. As tautly drawn as the material on one of the samplers for which its heroine is noted, when one of the characters punctuates the prevailing politeness with a barbed or telling line of dialogue, it's as if a sharp and jagged blade suddenly ripped through the fabric of the needlework itself. All this play needs for a successful run is a handsome set, period costumes - and four or five gifted players.