Michael Rogers

New Musicals Festival at WP Playhouse Confirms Selections and Ticket Sales Dates

The Winter Park Playhouse announces the winning selections for the 5th Annual Florida Festival of New Musicals. This popular festival, which showcases new musical theatre works, is one of very few in the nation and the only one of its kind in the Southeastern region. 

TWO CAN PLAY Begins at New Federal Theatre February 27

From February 27 to April 5, Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre will celebrate both Black History Month and Women's History Month with an Off-Broadway production of 'Two Can Play' by Trevor Rhone, directed by Clinton Turner Davis, at Castillo Theater, 543 West 42nd Street. 

New Federal Theatre Revives Trevor Rhone's TWO CAN PLAY for Black History Month and Women's History Month

From February 27 to March 29, Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre will celebrate both Black History Month and Women's History Month with an Off-Broadway production of 'Two Can Play' by Trevor Rhone, directed by Clinton Turner Davis, at Castillo Theater, 543 West 42nd Street. In this two-act comedy, Gloria and Jim, a lower middle-class couple in Kingston, try their wildest schemes to escape gun crime and establish residence in the United States. They survive because they learn to communicate and rediscover each other. Playwright Trevor Rhone was the artistic giant of Jamaican theater. The play celebrates the pent-up need for self-discovery and personal development in Jamaican women, a theme which is also universal. Director is Clinton Turner Davis, who helmed the comedy's New York premiere in 1985.

Patriarchy Run Rampant: A WELCOME GUEST at Contemporary American Theater Festival

Then the government, represented by its functionary Lucius (Michael Rogers), brings in Shimeus (Wade McCollum), a derelict of another sort, whimpering and traumatized by an arson that killed everyone else in his family. Lucius orders the Browns to harbor Shimeus as a guest. Almost immediately, however, Shimeus stops whimpering, and, more importantly, stops behaving like a guest, and more like an invader - well maybe not a declared invader but a lot like a space alien whose intentions toward neighbors aren't entirely clear but don't seem encouraging, a la the plant in Little Shop of Horrors.

Compagnia De' Colombari Presents MORE OR LESS I AM In Celebration Of Walt Whitman's 200th Birthday

Compagnia de' Colombari, an international collective of performing artists founded and directed by Karin Coonrod, presents More Or Less I Am, a music-theater piece drawn entirely from Walt Whitman's revolutionary free verse long poem, 'Song of Myself,'one of the original twelve pieces that comprise his 1855 collection Leaves of Grass. The first performance in this series, spanning multiple venues throughout the five boroughs, will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2019, at 2:30pm at Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn. The event is free and open to the public.

Compagnia De' Colombari Presents MORE OR LESS I AM In Celebration Of Walt Whitman's 200th Birthday

Compagnia de' Colombari, an international collective of performing artists founded and directed by Karin Coonrod,celebrates the bicentennial of the birth of America's most influential poet, Walt Whitman, with a revival of their acclaimed production More Or Less I Am. Performances begin May 18, 2019 at multiple venues throughout the five boroughs, with most performances being free and open to the public. More information can be found at www.colombari.org.

Dana Ivy, Marsha Mason, John Rubinstein, And More Set For Readings Of TORCH-BEARERS

A star-studded cast led by Becky Ann Baker (HBO's "Girls."), 5-Time Tony nominee Dana Ivy (off-Broadway's original "Driving Miss Daisy"), 4-Time Oscar nominee Marsha Mason ("The Goodbye Girl") and Tony winner John Rubinstein ("Children of a Lesser God") will perform in a benefit reading of "The Torch-Bearers" for Bucks County Playhouse. Performances will be held in New York at the Westside Theatre on Monday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. and then two days later at Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:00 pm. The reading is the first of three benefit readings that will mark the Playhouse's 80th anniversary.

Dana Ivey, Marsha Mason, and More Lead Bucks County Reading of THE TORCH-BEARERS

A star-studded cast led by Becky Ann Baker (HBO's 'Girls.'), 5-Time Tony nominee Dana Ivey (off-Broadway's original 'Driving Miss Daisy'), 4-Time Oscar nominee Marsha Mason ('The Goodbye Girl') and Tony winner John Rubinstein ('Children of a Lesser God') will star in a benefit reading of 'The Torch-Bearers' for Bucks County Playhouse. Performances will be held in New York at the Westside Theatre on Monday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. and then two days later at Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:00 pm.  The reading is the first of three benefit readings that will mark the Playhouse's 80th anniversary.

New Federal Theatre Has Dedicated Its November Readings Series To Ntozake Shange

Woodie King's New Federal Theatre has dedicated its November Readings Series to the memory of the late playwright Ntozake Shange, who died October 27.  The series, now in progress, has been retitled 'Ntozake Shange November Reading Series 2018.'  It runs from November 8 to 18, with readings of eight plays at Castillo Theatre, 543 W 42nd Street. 

The world premiere production of MARLEY, the first original musical based on both the life and music of Bob Marley, began rehearsals March 24 at Center Stage, the State Theater of Maryland. MARLEY is now running through June 14. Check out scenes from the Penn and North concert below!