Benjamin Franklin News

Elizabeth Caballero's captivating performance as the tragic romantic heroine Cio Cio San, the titular lead of Puccini's classic opera Madame Butterfly, is so breathtakingly, so exquisitely heartbreaking that she alone is enough to make the 2019-20 season opening production from Nashville Opera a triumph, but director John Hoomes surrounds her with a cast of equally impressive singers who bring the romantic tragedy to life with such vigor and style that any of them might serve as reason enough for audiences to take note.

Two years ago, I revisited French Woods Festival of the Arts (which I attended from 1999 to 2002 as a camper/teen actor and then as an assistant director/stage manager) and BroadwayWorld kindly published an article I wrote about the experience. In light of my responsibilities at work (attorney by day, theater critic by night) and at home (including a hyperactive toddler and commuting daily between NY and NJ), I was not planning on visiting again this past summer, but that instantly changed when I learned that the camp was planning on presenting 1776 for the first time in nearly two decades - and with an all-female cast.

Hui He stars as Cio-Cio-San, the devoted geisha who gives everything for the American naval officer Pinkerton, sung by Andrea Carè. Elizabeth DeShong is her devoted companion Suzuki, and Brazilian baritone Paulo Szot adds a new role to his Met repertory as Sharpless, a role that he has previously sung at Marseilles Opera.

The Elmira College Theatre Program begins its 2019-2020 season with Darcy Parker Bruce's, Poet Soldier. Performances are scheduled October 25 and 26 at 8:00 p.m., with a matinee October 27 at 2:00 p.m. in Gibson Theatre at Elmira College.

Today sensational rapper Blueface announces he will play the O2 Academy Brixton on Wednesday 20 November 2019. Tickets on sale at 10am on Friday 27 September at LiveNation.co.uk

The Philly POPS steps outside the concert hall for a celebration of the legendary musicians who walked the streets of West Philadelphia. A Musical Celebration of West Philadelphia features the music of John Legend and The Roots, Patti LaBelle, John Coltrane, Jill Scott, the Stylistics, Will Smith, and Boyz II Men, performed by The Philly POPS little BIG Band with guest vocalists Melanie Ashe and Jon Williams.

A musical adaptation of Aristophanes' Lysistrata...is based on the original Greek comedy in which Lysistrata convinces all the women to withhold sexual privileges and to occupy the main bank in order to force their men to make peace and end the war. This production explores the timelessness message, a?oemake love not war,a?? with a retro-late '60s/'70s style of production that offers up a fanciful, bawdy, and hilarious way to end wars of all kind. Lysistrata's fight is not an easy one, as she must deal with the misogynistic views of her male peers and even the uncontrollable libido of her fellow protesters.

Philly Improv Theater (PHIT) announces that they will have eight shows as part of the 2019 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. PHIT most recently participated in the 2018 Festival in their home at the Adrienne Theater. 'We are showcasing many of our longtime performers challenging themselves in new ways. We are also welcoming artists new to the theater to bridge the worlds of alternative and traditional comedy,' said Mike Marbach, artistic director of the theater.

Concrete Timbre announces two performances of A/K/A Benj (Franklin's Women) at Brooklyn's Old Stone House on August 24 and 25, 2019.

Empanada Loca will be performed evenings only at Panorama Philly, 5213 Grays Avenue, the warehouse where the collective intention is to support artistic and creative activity in the Gray's Ferry neighborhood.

 This summer, during the second annual Detroit Art Week, Reyes | Finn is opening solo exhibitions by Detroit-based artist James Benjamin Franklin and DetroitBaltimore-based artist, Marcellus Armstrong.

Mark Morris Dance Group & Music Ensemble returns to Jacob's Pillow's Ted Shawn Theatre, July 17-21, restaging both new and beloved repertory. 'A tour de force of artistic storytelling' (The Los Angeles Times), this audience favorite is renowned for deeply witty and poetic dance and has amassed one of the most extensive Pillow performance records of any artist. Mark Morris Dance Group & Music Ensemble performs Prelude and Prelude-a work that has not been performed anywhere since 1992-the new work Sport, excerpts from Words, and the company classic Grand Duo.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is historically known as being the city of brotherly love. With a current population of over one and half million residents, a lot has happened throughout the centuries during the city's rich past. It's a city that has won world series, held conventions on women's rights and a place that inspired 'rocket man' Elton John's hit 'Philadelphia Freedom' based on the Philadelphia Freedoms world tennis team, ultimately becoming an anthem for the city. And long before 'covfefe' tweets, proposed border walls, and transgender military bans, Congress met for the first time to formulate and write the Declaration of Independence, a document holding dear to the truths that all men are created equal and are forever granted the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Wichita Scottish Rite Signature Theatre recreates the 'room where it all happens' in their current and limited engagement production of 1776 now running until July 3rd at Wichita Center for the Performing Arts.

Happy 243rd birthday, America! On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies officially declared independence from Great Britain, forming a brand new nation, which today celebrates over two centuries of freedom and democracy. In that time, our country has been through war and peace, prosperity and poverty, progress and stagnation. On this most special of days to be an American, we're giving you a crash course on the story of our nation, the only way we know how... through musical theatre.

This weekend, Keith Hines piddled, twiddled and resolved as he took BroadwayWorld behind the scenes at The Muny's production of 1776! So in case you missed it (or just want to relive all of the fun and excitement), we compiled clips for you to enjoy. Check it all out!

Three-time Tony Award-winning 1776 with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and book by Peter Stone is based on the events in Philadelphia leading up to the creation of the United States of America's Declaration of Independence, by making real people of historical giants like John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. It is with drama and comedy that this dialogue-heavy musical invites us to enter the chamber of the Second Continental Congress and sit for a while with our country's forefathers as they struggle to figure out how to give birth to a new...

BroadwayWorld has a first look at The Muny's production of 1776! Check out  photos below!

BroadwayWorld has a first look at The Muny's production of 1776, the third show of its second century - not on stage through July 3. Check out the video!

It's time to head to Philadelphia because Keith Hines is taking over BroadwayWorld's Instagram Story tomorrow, June 29th, at the Muny's production of 1776! Be sure to tune in all throughout the day to get a look behind-the-scenes of the historical musical! You're definitely gonna want to vote yes for this takeover, so you're not gonna want to miss it!

Center Theatre Group will continue its free library play reading series with the readings of six plays on select dates from July to December. The plays will be presented at Benjamin Franklin Library on Tuesdays, Malabar Library on Wednesdays and Robert Louis Stevenson Library on Thursdays. All readings will begin at 6 p.m.