Ben Johnson News

Drury Lane Theatre will present the regional premiere of the recent Broadway sensation NEXT TO NORMAL, previewing August 15, opening August 22, and running through October 6, 2013. NEXT TO NORMAL stars Jeff Award nominee Susie McMonagle as 'Diana' ('Fantine' in Les Miserables on Broadway and the first National Tours of Billy Elliot and Mamma Mia) and Jeff Award winner Rod Thomas as 'Dan' (Big at Drury Lane Theatre and Little Shop of Horrors at Theatre at the Center).The production is directed by Drury Lane Theatre Artistic Director William Osetek (Drury Lane Theatre's smash hit production of Spamalot and Jeff Award nominee for Best Director and Best Production for Thoroughly Modern Millie.)

It is always intriguing to see what Greed does to people. It is even more intriguing when it is hilariously made fun of. Sly Fox, presented by the BroadHollow Theatre Company, will have you rolling in the isles as a con-man (and his assistant) convince the community that he is near death and turns their greed against them for his own gain, with some twists along the way.

Bond Street Theatre has been awarded one of three Global Connections 'In the Lab' grants by the Theatre Communications Group (TCG) in its nationwide competition. The support allows the company to return to Myanmar on April 4, 2013 to continue its collaborative adaptation of Ben Johnson's Volpone with Thukhuma Khayeethe (Art Travelers), and set up a Southeast Asian tour.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and Suffolk University present the world premiere of Suffolk University's Distinguished Scholar in Residence Robert Brustein's The Last Will, the final installment of Brustein's trilogy about the life of William Shakespeare. Performance dates are tonight, February 13-24, 2013.

Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, presents Andrew Lloyd Webber's triumphant Broadway musical SUNSET BOULEVARD, which opened on February 1 and runs through March 24, 2013. The all-star cast is led by Christine Sherrill as 'Norma Desmond' (National Tour of Mamma Mia!, Legally Blonde at Marriott Theatre and Xanadu and Curtains at Drury Lane Theatre) and Will Ray as 'Joe Gillis' (National Tour of Little House on the Prairie, the new musical Allegiance at The Old Globe Theater, and Irish Repertory's Meet Me In St. Louis). BroadwayWorld has photos from the show's opening night celebrations below!

If you watch Samuel Beckett's "Waiting For Godot," you're going to want to think about it. Don't. In the words of the classic play's title, wait. The key to appreciating this much-debated work comes in the audience's willingness to take it as is. Vladimir and Estragon sit by a bare tree, looking for ways to pass the time while they wait for a man named Godot. Time has given us the advantage in that we already know Godot will never appear. You're going to be tempted to dwell on why he doesn't appears and what he represents, and when you actually experience the play for the first time, you're going to want to know who these ridiculously unrealistic characters really are.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and Suffolk University present the world premiere of Suffolk University's Distinguished Scholar in Residence Robert Brustein's The Last Will, the final installment of Brustein's trilogy about the life of William Shakespeare. Performance dates are February 13-24, 2013.

Marin Theatre Company begins 2013 and the second half of its critically acclaimed 46th Season with Samuel Beckett's modern classic, Waiting for Godot, which runs from January 24 to February 17. MTC's artistic director Jasson Minadakis directs, returning to "this greatest of 20th-century plays" (The New York Times) over a decade after he first directed an "excellent, electrifying" (The Cincinnati Enquirer) production at Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival. MTC's production features a talented cast: Oregon Shakespeare Festival company member Mark Bedard, popular Bay Area actors James Carpenter and Mark Anderson Philips and Cirque du Soliel and Ringling Bros. clown Ben Johnson, as well as two local southern Marin youths. Opening night is on Tuesday, January 29.

Beyond Merritt, a short film directed by Reuben Johnson starring Alysia Rogers (Boyz N The Hood, Class Act), sets out to reveal startling facts about single moms and the battles they face with poverty and drug addiction.

The second concert of Accordo's 2012-13 season is a celebration of the great composer Debussy on his 150th birthday and includes works by Janácek, Ravel, Debussy, and Fauré, selected by members of the ensemble. Special guest Benjamin Hochman, acclaimed pianist and winner of 2011's prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, will join the 'chamber music supergroup' (TC Daily Planet) for tonight's December 3 program.

Ben Johnson, Director of Northrop Concerts and Lectures at the University of Minnesota, announces his departure effective January 1, 2013 to accept a new position in Los Angeles as the Director of Programs for the United States Artists Foundation. In this position, Johnson will administer the prestigious USA Fellows program, which awards major $50,000 grants annually to 50 artists who work in film, theater, dance, music, design, visual arts, literature, and American craft. He will be directly engaged with USA Projects, which is an online micro-philanthropy platform for artists to raise funds for the creation of new projects.

The second concert of Accordo's 2012-13 season is a celebration of the great composer Debussy on his 150th birthday and includes works by Janácek, Ravel, Debussy, and Fauré, selected by members of the ensemble. Special guest Benjamin Hochman, acclaimed pianist and winner of 2011's prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, will join the 'chamber music supergroup' (TC Daily Planet) for the December 3 program.

SPN Films' Broke, which kicked off the 30 for 30 Vol. II series on October 2, ranks as the highest-rated 30 for 30 documentary yet, delivering a 1.9 HH cvg rtg and 2.7M viewers. Broke is the second highest-rated and most viewed documentary on ESPN, only preceded by ESPN Films' The Fab Five. Many athletes and celebrities took to Twitter while the film aired Tuesday night, with LeBron James, Michael Vick, Dwyane Wade, John Wall, Logan Morrison, Graham Rahal and Roddy White among those tweeting to discuss and weigh in on the topic.

ESPN Films, creators of the Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning 30 for 30 film series, has announced the schedule for the new slate of films in its 30 for 30 series, presented by Buick Verano. The series kicks off with Broke tonight, Oct. 2, at 8 p.m. on ESPN/ESPNHD and will air on consecutive Tuesday nights in October, concluding the 2012 run with one film airing in December after the Heisman Trophy Presentation. The 30 for 30 documentaries airing this fall are: Broke, 9.79*, There's No Place Like Home, Benji, Ghosts of Ole Miss, and You Don't Know Bo.

ESPN Films, creators of the Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning 30 for 30 film series, has announced the schedule for the new slate of films in its 30 for 30 series, presented by Buick Verano. The series kicks off with Broke on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 8 p.m. on ESPN/ESPNHD and will air on consecutive Tuesday nights in October, concluding the 2012 run with one film airing in December after the Heisman Trophy Presentation. The 30 for 30 documentaries airing this fall are: Broke, 9.79*, There's No Place Like Home, Benji, Ghosts of Ole Miss, and You Don't Know Bo.

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will remember the life and career of Academy Award(R)-winning actor Ernest Borgnine with a 24-hour marathon of his films today, July 26.

The Glendale Centre Theatre continues its 2012 season with the heartwarming and poignant Tony Award-nominated On Golden Pond starring stage and screen veterans Andrew Prine and Salome Jens, tonight, July 12 through August 11, 2012 at the Glendale Centre Theatre in Glendale, Calif.