Barbara Hall News

On Saturday, June 10 at 4 p.m. CT, Chicago’s Collaboraction Theatre Company will go “on the air” with the premiere episode of Collaboraction Radio on WCPT 820 AM, Chicago’s Progressive Talk. 

The National Ballet of Canada has announced this season’s lineup of Cannon Dolls for The Nutcracker. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, star of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever and Disney’s Turning Red, will make her debut as a Cannon Doll on the opening night of The Nutcracker, December 10 at 7:00 pm.

Throughout the month of February, while celebrating Black History Month, PBS has made it easy for Charley Pride fans and new audiences alike to learn more about his history in country music and the impact he made throughout the world.

American Masters – Charley Pride: I’m Just Me is streaming free again for a limited time on pbs.org/americanmasters and on the PBS Video app which will run through December 26 before going back to members-only PBS Passport.

Karen Kain, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada today announced the 2019/20 season lineup of Cannon Dolls for The Nutcracker. 2019 NBA Champion Toronto Raptors' Guard Kyle Lowry makes his debut as a Cannon Doll in The Nutcracker on December 19 at 7:00 pm.

CBS announced today that it has renewed six more drama series and two news programs for the 2019-2020 broadcast season. SEAL TEAM, S.W.A.T., MADAM SECRETARY, BULL, HAWAII FIVE-0 and MACGYVER will return to the CBS lineup next season, along with longstanding primetime news shows 60 MINUTES and 48 HOURS. With these pickups, CBS has now renewed 18 series for next year.

The Writers Guild of America today filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to establish that talent agency packaging fees are illegal under both California and federal law.

The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF) announced the winners of the 44th annual Gracie Awards to take place May 21 at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. The event will recognize such esteemed honorees as Sandra Oh, Tisha Thompson, Rachel Maddow, Connie Britton, Elizabeth Perkins, Patricia Arquette, Leah Remini, Robin Roberts, Laura Lynch, Rachel Bloom, Angela Yee, Maura Tierney, Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, along with some of the most talented women in television, radio and digital media. Local and student award winners will be recognized at the Gracie Awards Luncheon on June 26 at Cipriani in New York City.

American Masters – Charley Pride: I'm Just Me will make its PBS network premiere Friday, Feb. 22 at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings), and begin streaming at pbs.org/americanmasters and PBS apps on Saturday, Feb. 23.

This February, for Black History Month, American Masters profiles two iconic performers who broke new ground in entertainment as the Civil Rights movement gathered momentum in America: Sammy Davis, Jr., and Charley Pride. American Masters – Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me, the first major film documentary to examine the performer's vast career and journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America, premieres nationwide Tuesday, February 19 at 9:00 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings) and is available on DVD the same day through PBS Distribution. The PBS broadcast also features 20 minutes of exclusive bonus performance footage spanning Davis' 50-year career after the documentary. American Masters – Charley Pride: I'm Just Me premieres nationwide Friday, February 22 at 9:00 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). Both films will be available to stream the day after their respective broadcast premieres viapbs.org/americanmasters and PBS apps.

Karen Kain, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada today announced the lineup of Cannon Dolls for The Nutcracker. This year's list of headliners include Toronto Maple Leafs players, members of ARKELLS and author Emma Donoghue. The holiday favourite has a long-standing tradition of inviting Canadian luminaries and personalities to appear onstage in the guest roles with nearly 1,100 notable personalities making cameo appearances onstage to date.

Tickets are now available for Hearing Hadrian: An Opera for Our Time, a conference on Sunday, October 14, 2018.  Just one day after Rufus Wainwright's Hadrian, with libretto by Daniel MacIvor, receives its world premiere, the Canadian Opera Company will host a day-long series of panels and guest speakers dedicated to exploring the themes found in the opera and its broader operatic context.

Calling all TV fans, the Tribeca TV Festival is back on the big screen bringing audiences together to discover new series and be the first to see favorite new season premieres. The 2nd Tribeca TV Festival will celebrate unforgettable storytellers who have shaped what 'peak TV' is today and introduce new voices in episodic storytelling. Over four days at Spring Studios in New York City, each event will feature a conversation with the stars and creators of favorite and soon-to-be-favorite shows. The 2018 Tribeca TV Festival will take place September 20-23. Tickets go on sale today, August 22, at 11am ET at tribecafilm.com/TVFestival.

CBS announced today that former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton and General Colin Powell will guest star in the fifth season premiere of MADAM SECRETARY to be broadcast Sunday, Oct. 7 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. They filmed their scenes on Wednesday, July 11, during the first week of production of the critically acclaimed series' upcoming season.

Karen Kain, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, announces the 2017/18 season lineup of Cannon Dolls featured in The Nutcracker. The holiday favourite has a great tradition of inviting prominent Canadians to appear onstage in the guest roles with over 1,000 notable personalities making cameo appearances onstage to date.

CBS announced today that Sara Ramirez has joined the cast of MADAM SECRETARY as a series regular. Ramirez will be introduced in the episode to air Sunday, Nov. 19 (10:30-11:30 PM, ET/10:00-11:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network.

CBS Corporation announced today a significant multi-platform syndication agreement for its political drama MADAM SECRETARY starring T a Leoni, windowing the off-network rights for the series with distribution partners across a subscription video on demand service, a basic cable network and broadcast television stations.

Trina Robbins, who famously became the first woman to draw the Wonder Woman character more than 30 years ago, and whose work in underground and mainstream comics goes back to the 1960s, was today named the second honoree in the Wizard World Hall of Legends, a new initiative to celebrate the artists, writers and insiders who have built the industry and those continue the traditions. Robbins will receive the award at a ceremony at Wizard World Comic Con Sacramento on Friday, June 16 at the Sacramento Convention Center.

A slew of stars attended CHURCH & STATE Off-Broadway on Saturday night, including Kevin Rahm (Madam Secretary), Emily Swallow (Supernatural), Lolita Foster (Orange is the New Black) and TV producer Barbara Hall (Madam Secretary). Scroll down for a photo of them with the cast!