Daniel Perelstein

Once On This Island is a pretty good show, but this production is closer to great. As with the recent Broadway revival, Robert Fleming exploits the aspect of fable or folk tale at work in the story to interject thoughts of the aftermath of generations of colonialism and the state of island cultures brutalized by nature and Superpowers.

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will begin the 2019-2020 season with the vibrant one-act musical, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND on Sept. 7 in the Marx Theatre. The production will run through Oct. 6, with opening night on Sept. 12.

It feels in many ways poetic that both the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and the 200th anniversary of Walt Whitman's birth fall on the same year. That's precisely where The Bearded Ladies Cabaret comes in. The Philadelphia-based experimental cabaret troupe is part of La MaMa's STONEWALL 50 celebrations, joining a group of LGBTQ+ artists from around the globe. The Beards' contribution is the New York premiere of their CONTRADICT THIS! A BIRTHDAY FUNERAL FOR HEROES, which---spoiler alert---starts as a birthday party for 'much-lauded homo poet' Walt Whitman and descends into a trial, taking on Whitman's problematic political views, our imperfect heroes, and cancel culture as a whole.

Cake, coffin, gavel, choir, composers, live musical trolling! On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the much lauded poet Walt Whitman's birth, a group of Philly queers and misfits known as The Bearded Ladies Cabaret gathers to put this ancestor and his legacy on trial. Should Whitman be canceled? Can he be? Come with friends, complaints, heroes and villains alike. All are welcome. Presented by La MaMa, the New York premiere performances will take place in the Ellen Stewart Theater (June 20 - 29).

Contradict This! A Birthday Funeral for Heroes will take place as part of Stonewall 50 at La MaMa, a month-long celebration of World Pride with exciting voices from around the globe and down the block, featuring multiple generations of queer performers as they pose questions, honor legacies and ignite the present.

Cake, coffin, gavel, choir, composers, live musical trolling! On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the much lauded homo-poet Walt Whitman's birth, a group of Philly queers and misfits known as The Bearded Ladies Cabaret gathers to put this ancestor and his legacy on trial. Should Whitman be canceled? Can he be? Come with friends, complaints, heroes and villains alike. All are welcome. Presented by La MaMa, the New York premiere performances will take place in the Ellen Stewart Theater (June 20 - 29).

Cake, coffin, gavel, choir, composers, live musical trolling! On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the much lauded homo poet Walt Whitman's birth, a group of Philly queers and misfits known as The Bearded Ladies Cabaret gathers to put this ancestor and his legacy on trial.

“I was, like many composers, not someone who was immediately in love with the human voice, the operatic voice, in new music,” says Lembit Beecher, whose opinion has definitely changed. He has become a powerful new force in the medium, with his new opera, SKY ON SWINGS, written with librettist Hannah Moskovitch and directed by Joanna Settle, opening the second year of Opera Philadelphia's Festival, O18, on September 20. It stars two formidable mezzos, Frederica von Stade and Marietta Simpson.

After producing six world premiere plays by Philadelphia playwrights, Orbiter 3 is presenting their seventh and final production this May: A People by L M Feldman. In just three years Orbiter 3 has brought new work by local playwrights to the stage (six of the seven plays directed by women) and leaves a legacy of creating sustainable and radical theatre.

Arden Theatre Company celebrates the 20th Anniversary Season of Arden Children's Theatre with the World-Premiere of SNOW WHITE, written and directed by Greg Banks on the Arden's Arcadia Stage at 40 N. 2nd Street in Philadelphia. The Production Sponsor is Comcast and the Honorary Producer is the Hamilton Family Charitable Trust.

The 102nd Season at Cleveland Play House (CPH) continues with The Invisible Hand by Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Ayad Akhtar. The Invisible Hand tells the story of American investment banker Nick Bright as he risks everything to return to his family. Held hostage in Pakistan by Islamic revolutionaries, his last chance for freedom depends on his ability to play the stock market to benefit his captors. This sharp geo-political thriller from Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar takes us to the treacherous intersection of terrorism and capitalism, where greed and deceit prevail and no one escapes without blood on their hands. Directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh, The Invisible Hand runs February 17th through March 11, 2018 in the Outcalt Theatre at Playhouse Square.

Lantern Theater Company continues its 24th season with Michael Frayn's award-winning play Copenhagen. Considered the greatest play ever written about science and winner of two Tony Awards including Best Play, Frayn's riveting drama puts us in the heart of the greatest moral dilemma of the 20th century. Kittson O'Neill will make her Lantern directorial debut, working with cast members Charles McMahon, Sally Mercer, and Paul L. Nolan. Theater critics and members of the press are invited to attend opening night on Wednesday, January 17 at 7 p.m. A full schedule is included in the fact sheet below.

Greater Cleveland is blessed with a vital theater scene. It the purpose of BROADWAY WORLD.COM-CLEVELAND PROFESSIONAL THEATER TRIBUTES (BWW-CLE Theater Tributes), to recognize theatrical experiences that, in the subjective view of this reviewer, were excellent and deserve recognition.

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. These words will come alive again as Cleveland Play House produces The Diary of Anne Frank, providing an immersive experience for the audience in this adaptation never-before seen on the CPH stage.

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. These words will come alive again as Cleveland Play House produces The Diary of Anne Frank, providing an immersive experience for the audience in this adaptation never-before seen on the CPH stage.

Theatre Philadelphia, the region's marketing and leadership organization for theatre, has announced the 2017 nominees for the Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre.

It's the summer of 1977 and 22-year-old Lenka is fleeing authoritarian Czechoslovakia for the art and beauty of New York City. At the start of her journey, Lenka is confronted by an Old Woman from an extinct Slavic tribe who guides her through a dream-like world where the past and future meet and multiple realities collide.

Philadelphia Theatre Company continues its 2016-2017 season with the Tony-nominated comedy Hand to God by Robert Askins on March 31-April 30.  Directed by Matt Pfeiffer with Robert Smythe as puppet designer and puppet movement director, the all-Philadelphia cast features Grace Gonglewski, Alex Keiper, Aubie Merrylees, Matteo Scammell, and William Zielinski.

Geva Theatre Center presents The Lake Effect, Rajiv Joseph's play about family, friendship and food. The Lake Effect will be performed in the Fielding Stage now through February 19, 2017. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!