Arlington News

Friday, May 21st, found a sold out crowd at the GRAMMY Museum Sound Stage at LA Live as Levitt Pavilions presented 'An Evening with GRAMMY Legends Jimmy Webb & Thelma Houston.'

Mark Kudisch, set to star in the Washington area premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's SYCAMORE TREES at the Signature Theatre, has said he has made a career of playing the jilted man who doesn't need to find love. As he put it, 'I have made a career of being the foil.'

The Off-Broadway premiere of LOOKING FOR BILLY HAINES, a new comedy with dance by Suzanne Brockmann and Will McCabe, with music by Barry Singer, will tonight Thursday March 25th at the Lion Theatre on Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street)h. The limited engagement is set to run through May 22nd.

The Irish Repertory Theatre continues its New Works Reading Series with a free reading of BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR, a new musical featuring music by Adam Gwon and book and lyrics by Julia Jordan on Friday, May 21 at 2:00pm at the Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street) in Manhattan. Joe Calarco to direct.

Arena Stage announced today that at 9:00 a.m. EST, Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, directed by Charles Randolph-Wright and starring and choreographed by Maurice Hines, officially became the best selling show in company history based upon gross sales.

Arena Stage has announced that its smash-hit production of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies will extend its run at the historic Lincoln Theatre with six additional performances through June 6, 2010. The production, choreographed by and starring the legendary Maurice Hines and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, has broken several long-standing sales records, and is on track to become the highest grossing show in Arena's history, replacing the 2002 production of South Pacific directed by Molly Smith.

The BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop announces its Spring Smoker, a semi-annual showcase for new songs from Workshop writers. The event will be held at the The Actors Temple Theatre, 339 West 47th Street, (between 8th and 9th Aves) at 5:30PM and is open to members of the entertainment industry as well as Workshop members.

Previews will begin today at Virginia's Signature Theatre for the world premiere musical Sycamore Trees written by Ricky Ian Gordon, the award-winning composer of the opera The Grapes of Wrath and the musicals Dream True and My Life with Albertine. A starry Broadway cast portrays Gordon's own family story - complete with a tough Bronx-born father and former 'Borscht Belt' singer/comedian mother - in a tale of two generations' struggles and triumphs in the decades from World War II through the 1990s.

The Irish Repertory Theatre continues its New Works Reading Series with a free reading of BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR, a new musical featuring music by Adam Gwon and book and lyrics by Julia Jordan on Friday, May 21 at 2:00pm at the Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street) in Manhattan. Joe Calarco to direct.

Signature Theatre, the current recipient of the Tony Award® for Regional Theatre, presents the world premiere musical Sycamore Trees by Ricky Ian Gordon, composer of the acclaimed opera The Grapes of Wrath and the OBIE Award-winning Orpheus and Euridice, as well as the musicals My Life with Albertine and Dream True.

Alternative-pop solo artist THE READY SET will be releasing his debut album on June 15, 2010. I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming is the first release from the newly minted joint venture between Pete Wentz's Decaydance Records and Sire Records. The album will be a physical exclusive to Hot Topic and will also be available through all digital retailers.

The American Century Theater (TACT) is proud to announce the World Premiere of Treadwell: Bright and Dark, a one-woman play about the famed 20th century journalist and playwright Sophie Treadwell. Helen Hayes -nominated playwright Allyson Currin and acclaimed Washington actress Melissa Flaim have taken on the challenge of telling the tale of this inspiring but troubled woman.

Sire/Action Theory Records artists The Maine have announced their first-ever nationwide headlining tour. 'An Evening with The Maine,' presented by Alternative Press magazine, kicks off July 7th in San Francisco, CA and runs through August 27th in Mesa, AZ.

The weather is so beautiful and the dogwoods, azaleas, tulips, and magnolias are in full bloom, and as May rolls around, DC area theatres are bursting with new productions.

Mill 6 Presents the World Premiere of The T Plays 2010 for One Week Only! Seven new plays by our favorite playwrights. All written on the MBTA! June 23-27, 2010, at the Factory Theatre in Boston

Powerhouse Theater, a unique collaboration between Vassar College and New York Stage and Film, will enter its second quarter-century this summer, continuing its mission to offer a haven for world-class artists to gather and explore new material in an atmosphere that is both protected and challenging.

John Belluso's Gretty Good Time, a co-production of Theater Alliance and VSA (the international organization on arts and disability), will open on June 3 at the H Street Playhouse (1365 H Street NE). Tickets are $20 and $30 and are available at http://theateralliance.tix.com or 202 399 7993 ext 2. The show runs through July 3.

Arena Stage today announced that its smash-hit production of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies will extend its run at the historic Lincoln Theatre with six additional performances through June 6, 2010.

The Strand Theater will mark its second anniversary with Open House: Celebrating Community on Saturday, May 29, 2010 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. During its short tenure, the Strand has seen great success, producing eight full-length season plays, all of which were Baltimore premieres. With a focus on community, the Strand has made its mark by providing affordable theater space to over 15 organizations, serving more than 5,000 patrons, and playing an integral role in the revitalization of the Station North Arts & Entertainment District.

The Live Theatre League of Tarrant County will present their annual awards on Monday, May 10 in the Fort Worth Community Arts Center on the William Edrington Scott Stage, the place where many of this area's individual producers started their local careers.