A. Brown News

Mesa Community College's Act I Musical Productions presents The Pirates of Penzance, opening tonight, February 28th in Mesa, AZ in the newly renovated MCC Theatre, featuring a student cast and a mentor/guest-artist cast featuring Music Department Chair, SueAnne Lucius in the role of 'Ruth,' Katherine Stewart, Artistic Director of Desert Rose Theatre as 'Mabel,' and other members of our music faculty and alumni. THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE features Book by W.S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan.

Broadway veteran and two-time Tony Award nominee Tom Wopat will join the company of the upcoming Broadway revival of Horton Foote's THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, starring the previously announced Cicely Tyson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Vanessa Williams, and Condola Rashad.

Due to popular demand, the one night only performance of Jason Robert Brown's SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD will add a second performance at 9:30PM on Monday, March 11 at XL Cabaret (512 West 42nd St). The evening, directed by two-time Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun, will star Nick Adams, Ashley Brown, Jessica Rush and Michael James Scott. Check out a behind the scenes video below!

NBC's LAW & ORDER: SVU will air a fictionalized version of the 2009 scandal between superstar couple Chris Brown and Rihanna. Below, check out a clip from the next episode of the drama series titled 'Funny Valentine,' airing February 27 on NBC.

After a 28 year hiatus, SueAnne Lucius returns to the stage in MCC's presentation of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance playing February 28 - March 9, 2013 in MCC's newly renovated Theatre Outback.

The play is as much a love letter from Burns to his comedy partner and wife and a tribute to his friendship with comedian Jack Benny as it is a memoir of his career, which spanned 90 years until he turned 100.

Ocean State Theatre Company (OSTC), the not-for-profit which brought new life to the historic Theatre By The Sea for the past five years, continues their Inaugural Season with Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking musical, RENT, which opens in previews tonight, February 20.

Broadway World Los Angeles Correspondents Michael Sterling and Jerry Evans of the JLE Media Group were once again on the red carpet Tuesday, February 12, 2013 for the much anticipated Los Angeles opening of the Four-time Tony Nominated Musical Sensation JEKYLL & HYDE. Watch BWW's opening night interviews below!

Ocean State Theatre Company (OSTC), the not-for-profit which brought new life to the historic Theatre By The Sea for the past five years, continues their Inaugural Season with Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking musical, RENT, which opens in previews on Wednesday, February 20.

After a triumphant fundraising performance of The Producers for the Actors' Fund in 2010, Talk Is Free Theatre (TIFT) followed up with a fundraising, concert performance of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The performance was held on Sunday, February 10 at 8PM at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Historic Distillery District in Toronto and raised over 30k! Scroll below for photos from the event!

Lea Salogna, Ramin Karimloo, Yu Shirota and Sierra Boggess will lead 4 Stars: One World of Broadway Musicals in Tokyo and Osaka this June. Daniel Kutner will direct and Jason Robert Brown will be the musical director and supervisor. The scenic design will be by Yukio Horio, lighting design by Toshiyuki Kasahara, costume design by Nobuko Miyamoto and sound design by Koichi Yamamoto.

The Nederlander Organization has announced that the four-time Tony nominated musical sensation JEKYLL & HYDE will play the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood for a limited 3 week engagement tonight, February 12 - March 3, 2013.

Broadway stars Nick Adams, Ashley Brown, Jessica Rush and Michael James Scott will appear in a special one night only benefit production of Jason Robert Brown's SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD on Monday, March 11 at 7PM at XL Cabaret (512 West 42nd St). Directed by two-time Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun, a portion of the proceeds from the evening will be donated to The Performing Arts Project. Check out a just-released trailer for the concert below!

WORKING WOMEN released some of the strongest artistic voices of the hardest working women choreographers in the dance community and in the nation. These endangered species can scream at the top of their lungs, bang loudly on the glass ceiling, and still struggle to be heard.

The American Museum of Natural History has announced its February 2013 public programs. Details below!

Broadway stars Nick Adams, Ashley Brown, Jessica Rush and Michael James Scott will appear in a special one night only benefit production of Jason Robert Brown's SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD on Monday, March 11 at 7PM at XL Cabaret (512 West 42nd St). Directed by two-time Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun, a portion of the proceeds from the evening will be donated to The Performing Arts Project.

And the World Goes Round by Kander & Ebb is a revue incorporating a compilation of their greatest hits and is often performed straight out with no frills or dramatic re-imaginings of any kind. Performers stand and sing center stage , and that's it. There have been two inventive productions within the last six months, one at the Actors co-op directed by Robert Marra and now this newest production at NoHo Arts directed by Gary Lee Reed, which is truly a labor of love from top to bottom.

Spiritual Visionary and award-winning author, Nina Brown, is releasing a new book, S.T.A.R. a NOW State of Being, which offers simple yet profound wisdom, inspiring readers to embrace, understand, integrate and benefit from using the concepts and practices of S.T.A.R. (surrender, trust, allow, receive) in their own lives. This new book, set to release in March 2013, further explores the teachings of S.T.A.R.,introduced in Brown's first book, Return of Love to Planet Earth: Memoir of a Reluctant Visionary, which Kirkus Reviews called 'a colorful . . . New Age spin on Pilgrim's Progress.'

Toronto Theatre Critic's take to the stage this Sunday in a special benefit performance of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, with proceeds going to The Actor's Fund. Featuring Kelly Nestruck, Robert Cushman, Glenn Sumi, Sheila McCarthy and Melody A. Johnston, the show also includes BWW's own Kelly Cameron as one of the Snoopy's. In this special feature, she talks about her hidden desire to be force to be reckoned with on-stage, setting the bar a smidge above terrible, and humbly requests that you throw bones in lieu of tomatoes.

Today in 1999, You're A Good an Charlie Brown opened at the Ambassador Theatre, where it ran for 149 performances. A 1967 musical comedy with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner, the show is based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip Peanuts. THe 1999 revival featured new dialogue by Michael Mayer, who also directed, and additional songs and orchestration written by Andrew Lippa; choreography was by Jerry Mitchell. The cast featured Anthony Rapp, Kristin Chenoweth, and Roger Bart.