Al Capp News

Roy a photographer of John Lennon has just launched a project to publish the book JOHN LENNON'S GIVE PEACE A CHANCE the book. The project is currently on kickstarter.com. The book will be released on June 1 st this year to commemorate the 45 th year since the event took place.

In 1956, Al Capp's cherished Li'l Abner comic strip about the rural inhabitants of Dogpatch, U.S.A. got the Broadway treatment, and was met with a lot of enthusiasm and success. It was quickly adapted to film by Paramount in 1959. To the joy of musical theater enthusiasts, the film is remarkably faithful to its source material and even retained a majority of the original Broadway cast. Even in 2014, people still speak fondly of the LI'L ABNER film, and now Masterworks Broadway is releasing the LI'L ABNER (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on CD for the first time.

Emily Keeler, San Francisco Arts Education's Artistic Director, announced today that the San Francisco Arts Education Project's 2014 musical is Li'l Abner, the 1956 Broadway musical featuring music by Gen De Paul and lyrics by the great Johnny Mercer. Li'l Abner runs for eight performances beginning Saturday, February 14 through Sunday, March 2, 2014 at the Eureka Theatre (215 Jackson Street, San Francisco).

CPCC Summer Theatre has announced its 41st Season of bringing professional summer stock to the Charlotte Metrolina region.

Masterworks Broadway rings in 2014 with the release of three long requested albums previously unavailable on CD - Li'l Abner (January 14), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (February 18), Brigadoon / Kiss Me, Kate (March 18).

Stage 773 will present the second annual Chicago Nerd Comedy Festival, back by highly popular demand, running from March 19 through March 22, 2014. Nerd Fest stems from the popularity of HEY, I'M A BIG FAN, a series of fun, free monthly fan fiction events produced by the Chicago Nerd Comedy Festival at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont. Every third Wednesday of the month, HEY, I'M A BIG FAN showcases original fan fiction as read by some of Chicago comedy's preeminent nerds.

A $5,000 grant from the Arts and Education Council's Maritz Arts and Education Fund for Teachers to McCluer High School to fund a student production of the musical Dreamgirls has led to $156,000 in performing arts scholarships for the Dreamgirls cast and crew. These same students will meet Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday and her cast mates backstage prior to The Muny's performance.

A $5,000 grant from the Arts and Education Council's Maritz Arts and Education Fund for Teachers to McCluer High School to fund a student production of the musical Dreamgirls has led to $156,000 in performing arts scholarships for the Dreamgirls cast and crew. These same students will meet Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday and her cast mates backstage prior to The Muny's performance.

Rachel doesn't seem likely to be headed to New York and NYADA - nope, not this time. Mucking up her major shot at Broadway glory - at least as far as high school auditions go - by messing up the words to "Don't Rain On My Parade" from FUNNY GIRL, her anthem, no less - the focus on GLEE's appropriately titled "Choke" episode brought to mind a lyric from Stephen Sondheim's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, a musical about the sacrifices we make to get what we thought we wanted - "still with dreams, / just reshaping them. / Growing up…." And that is Season Three of GLEE in a nutshell - the senior members of New Directions learning to let go of childhood and move ahead into the unknown world of maturity; whether the future may bring college, career or pool-cleaning. With more musical theatre references per minute than any episode of the twenty so far in GLEE S3, "Choke" was filled with the stylized storytelling and absurd, although always appreciable surprises along the way that makes GLEE consistently, near-constantly compelling. No, no, no - GLEE has not flagged in the least sixty-odd episodes into the series so far, although the rating may have slightly. Last night's GLEE was a good example of the shifting focus and repeated reinvention that keeps the series fresh - and the comedy is as fearless and biting as ever.

Today we continue our special series consisting of five entries total, each of which highlight a different facet of the rich and wonderful world of William Shakespeare and all with a particular emphasis on the controversial new feature film that explores the time, place, politics and goings-on of the Elizabethan era and focuses on the possibility that the true author of the esteemed plays we now know may very well have been someone else entirely - Edward de Vere - and how the question of the canon's true creation then comes into play - ANONYMOUS. "All the world's a stage," after all, so it should come as no surprise that acts of lust, bloodshed and betrayal would exist in the actual life - or even the supposed one - of the man who created the most bloody and thought-provoking tragedies in the history of literature - whoever he may have actually been. Perhaps some brief analysis of the finest leading players, most memorable lines and moments, as well as an exploration of other notable acts of grand betrayal in Shakespeare's plays will aid us on the journey to understanding the thesis of ANONYMOUS and bring us into a closer relationship with the individual who penned the greatest plays in the English language. Now that we have already analyzed the top ten male and female Shakespearean performers of the last few decades, as well as the most memorable lines and moments, today, in our final installment of the 5 Top 5 countdown, we are focusing on the most surprising and dramatic moments of deception in Shakespeare - including moments from HAMLET, JULIUS CAESER, THE WINTER'S TALE, AS YOU LIKE IT and more!

Cincinnati Landmark Productions will hold Auditions for Two, 2011 Showboat Majestic shows: LI'L ABNER And GOD'S FAVORITE

Cincinnati Landmark Productions will hold Auditions for Two, 2011 Showboat Majestic shows: LI'L ABNER And GOD'S FAVORITE

Cincinnati Landmark Productions will hold Auditions for Two, 2011 Showboat Majestic shows: LI'L ABNER And GOD'S FAVORITE

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art - MoCCA - is thrilled to announce our new exhibition: NEOINTEGRITY: COMICS EDITION on view now through May 30.

Wichita's Music Theatre for Young People produces four full Broadway musicals during each school year. Their current production of LIL' ABNER will end its run on April 25th.

Wichita's Music Theatre for Young People produces four full Broadway musicals during each school year. Their upcoming productions are THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE and ‘LIL ABNER.

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art - MoCCA - is thrilled to announce our new exhibition: NEOINTEGRITY: COMICS EDITION on view now through May 30.

Kentwood Players presents the musical 'Li'l Abner' with book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank based on characters created by Al Capp, lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Gene de Paul. The production is directed and choreographed by Victoria Miller with Susan Goldman Weisbarth producing for Kentwood Players.

Wichita's Music Theatre for Young People produces four full Broadway musicals during each school year. Their upcoming productions are THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE and ‘LIL ABNER.