Jim Lewis

Return Engagement of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST With Jade Jones & Evan Ruggiero Announced for Olney Theatre 2022-23 Season

Olney Theatre Center announced its 84th season today, unveiling plans for seven theatrical productions that will serve as the tentpoles for an increasingly diverse slate of cultural offerings.

Olney Theatre and Round House Theatre to Co-Produce Local Premieres of FELA! and INK

Olney Theatre Center and Round House Theatre will produce the Broadway musical Fela! (July 7, 2023 - August 13, 2023) on the Olney Mainstage and will mount James Graham’s Tony-nominated play Ink on Round House’s Bethesda stage during the 2023-24 season.

Olney Theatre and Roundhouse Theatre to Co-Produce Local Premieres of INK and FELA!

Montgomery County’s two leading theatre companies are teaming up again to co-produce a pair of shows in 2023. Olney Theatre Center and Round House Theatre will produce the Broadway musical Fela! (July 7, 2023 - August 13, 2023) on the Olney Mainstage and will mount James Graham’s Tony-nominated play Ink on Round House’s Bethesda stage during the 2023-24 season. The two organizations last collaborated in 2016 and 2017 to produce both parts of Angels in America at Round House, followed by In the Heights at Olney Theatre, the latter of which went on to win the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical.

Artisan Center Theater to Present SCROOGE THE MUSICAL

Artisan Center Theater will present SCROOGE THE MUSICAL at its 200 seat Main Stage facility. The theater is located at 444 East Pipeline Road in Hurst, TX. The show runs Friday, November 19, 2021 through Tuesday, December 21, 2021. performances will be Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30pm, and Saturdays at 3:00pm and 7:30pm.

FELA! Audio Adaptation is Coming to Clubhouse in May

An audio adaptation of the musical FELA!, written and directed by filmmaker Funa Maduka, will premiere on Clubhouse, the popular drop-in audio chat platform, on Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16.

VIDEO: Watch Oneika Phillips, Lillias White and More Come Together to Spread Joy with FELA!

It's been over a decade since Fela! first took Broadway by storm, and still, in 2020, its cast is united and making a difference. Oneika Phillips, who starred in the 2012 return engagement, put out a call to her cast mates to come together for the #DontRush Challenge. 'It evolved into an even more meaningful project with layers of celebration such as aligning with the ten-year anniversary of the show's 11 Tony nominations, including Sahr as Fela and Lillias White as Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. A decade ago, we were at the height of breaking ceilings and blowing minds on Broadway,' writes Phillips.

Arizona Theatre Company Presents MASTER HAROLD” … AND THE BOYS

Arizona Theatre Company (Sean Daniels, Artistic Director; Billy Russo, Managing Director) presents Athol Fugard's powerfully haunting masterpiece, 'Master Harold' ... and the Boys from Jan. 18- Feb. 8 at the Temple of Music and Art in Tucson and from Feb. 13 to March 1 at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix.

BWW Album Review: Ghostlight Records and The Civilians Kick Off THE MICHAEL FRIEDMAN COLLECTION with Three Gems

Prolific theatrical songwriter Micheal Friedman died at age 41 from AIDS related complications in 2017, leaving many bereft as the theater community recognized his vibrant creativity was snuffed out too soon. To preserve his legacy and work, Ghostlight Records is partnering with The Civilians to record nine albums of Friedman's previously unrecorded music for THE MICHAEL FRIEDMAN COLLECTION. This past October, the first trio of albums was released.

THE MICHAEL FRIEDMAN COLLECTION is Now Available Digitally

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and THE CIVILIANS have announced that the first three premiere albums of The Michael Friedman Collection, will be available for streaming and download today, Friday, October 18. The Great Immensity, The Abominables, and This Beautiful City are all written (or co-written) and directed by Steve Cosson and feature music and lyrics by Michael Friedman.

BWW Exclusive: Listen to Track from Michael Friedman's THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY Album

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and THE CIVILIANS will release the first three premiere albums of The Michael Friedman Collection- available for streaming and download on Friday, October 18. The Great Immensity, The Abominables, and This Beautiful City are all written (or co-written) and directed by Steve Cosson and feature music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. This extraordinary long-term project will eventually comprise the premiere recordings of nine musicals from the beloved late Obie Award-winning songwriter Michael Friedman. The albums will be available at www.ghostlightrecords.com/michaelfriedman.html.

VIDEO: Watch Oneika Phillips, Lillias White and More Come Together to Spread Joy with FELA!

It's been over a decade since Fela! first took Broadway by storm, and still, in 2020, its cast is united and making a difference. Oneika Phillips, who starred in the 2012 return engagement, put out a call to her cast mates to come together for the #DontRush Challenge. 'It evolved into an even more meaningful project with layers of celebration such as aligning with the ten-year anniversary of the show's 11 Tony nominations, including Sahr as Fela and Lillias White as Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. A decade ago, we were at the height of breaking ceilings and blowing minds on Broadway,' writes Phillips.

Former member of Destiny's Child Michelle Williams joined the national tour of the hit Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! when it opened at Sidney Harman Hall in Washington, DC on January 29. Fela! received three 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Choreography. Williams and the rest of the cast met the press just last week, and you can check out what they had to say below!

Currently playing at the Oriental Theatre, FELA! has entered its final week of performances with Broadway in Chicago. Two of the lead actors from the touring production of the Broadway musical stopped by at ABC 7's studios for a special performance. Watch the video of the performance below!

Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (better known as Mos Def) recently shared the stage with FELA! cast in San Francisco. Check out a video, via DDOTOMEN.com, by clicking below.

'Fela!,' the 2010 Best Musical Tony Award-nominated musical, opened on December 14th, at 8 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. The musical, filled with the exuberant music of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will continue through January 22, 2012. Go inside opening night in the video below!

Fela!, the new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) on November 23, 2009. BroadwayWorld and Broadway Beat were on hand and bring you these explosive clips and interviews with the cast and creative!

This week, on August 24, Fox's So You Think You Can Dance featured a special number of FELA!'s 'Zombie,' choreographed by Tony-winner Bill T. Jones. Click below to see the performance!

Fela!, the critically acclaimed new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, is directed and choreographed by Tony® Award-winner Bill T. Jones (Spring Awakening), with a book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones. Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo play the title character at alternate performances, while the world renowned Antibalas and other members of the NYC Afrobeat community, under the direction of Aaron Johnson, perform Kuti's rousing music live onstage.

Broadway dominated The View yesterday, March 3. Following an interview with The Miracle Worker's Abigail Breslin, the Fela! cast took the stage to perform 'Zombie' for viewers. Valerie Bertinelli filled in for Whoopi Goldberg, alongside View regulars Barbra Walters, Joy Behar, Sherri Sheperd and Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Audience members were sent home from the taping with a pair of tickets to see the Fela!. The View airs weekdays at 11:00am EST on ABC.

As a nod to Black History Month, during the course of the week NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams pays tribute to a series of history makers, including FELA!'s Bill T. Jones. In the video piece below, Anne Curry profiles Jones and speaks to the Tony Award-winning director and choreographer him about his career, achievements and the tremendous success of FELA!