Benjamin Franklin News

 The Philly POPS will give three performances during the annual Wawa Welcome America Festival, including POPS on Independence with Disney Princess Susan Egan and POPS on the Parkway with Academy and GRAMMY award-winning superstar Jennifer Hudson.

Florida Studio Theatre is proud to announce that Atlanta's top improv group, Dad's Garage, will be extending their stay in Sarasota following the 11th Annual Sarasota Improv Festival.

Hear the music. Save the world. The non-profit humanitarian organization TEEEM.org presents Bergenfest, a benefit concert run by students that is full of music and fun for the family. TEEEM works with Bergen County high school students to provide medical care, economic empowerment, food and education to communities in in the developing world. Headlining the concert will be We McDonald of Paterson, NJ, who drew national attention on NBC's The Voice along with local bands playing throughout the day. Bergenfest will be held at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School, 335 North Van Dien Avenue in Ridgewood NJ on Saturday June 29th, from 12-7pm. There will be food trucks, games, arts and crafts and face painting. It is a day of fun for the whole family. Tickets can be purchased online at http:teeem.org. You can also text Bergen Tix to 41444 to pay via text. If you cannot attend the concert but would like to donate, you can visit the website or text Bergenfest to 41444 to donate. Tickets are $20 per person, $15 for children under 6 and seniors, and $50 for a family of up to six. One hundred percent of all the monies raised at this concert goes to TEEEM sites across the world.

The Muny announced today its complete cast, design and production team for 1776, the third show of its second century, June 27 - July 3. 

The Philly POPS announced today three performances during the annual Wawa Welcome America Festival, including POPS on Independence with Disney Princess Susan Egan and POPS on the Parkway with Academy and GRAMMY award-winning superstar Jennifer Hudson.

The all-female cast of "1776 The Musical" is performing their final shows this Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Tickets are available at www.sdcjc.org/jc/.

Is a realistic portrayal of Japanese people and culture even possible in BUTTERFLY, given that its source material was conceived entirely through a western lens? Can that lens be flipped somehow?

Colorado writer Margaret Mizushima continues to earn accolades and awards for her mystery novel, Burning Ridge.  Recently awarded the Silver Medal for the coveted Benjamin Franklin Award (Fiction: Mystery/Suspense Category), Mizushima is also among finalists for the Colorado Book Award (Mystery Category) for Burning Ridge.  In addition, Mizushima has been named among nominees for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Writer of the Year.

BroadwayWorld has learned that The Muny announced today 25 principal cast members for the first season of its second century. Complete company casting will be announced throughout April and May. The 101st season opens on a brand new, state-of-the-art stage with Muny favorite Guys and Dolls followed by the U.S. regional premiere of Kinky Boots. The season continues with 1776, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Footloose and a newly-reimagined Lerner and Loewe's Paint Your Wagon. Season 101 closes with the highly-anticipated Muny debut of Roald Dahl's Matilda.

When Lin-Manuel Miranda set out to tell the story of how one person turned the world upside down and changed it forever, did he consider that he, himself was about to accomplish the very same thing-that is-change the world by changing the way we think about education itself? If we could actually 'rewind' time, some in academia might have chuckled at the very core of the EduHam program, an education program that presupposes that American History students can comprehend and retain complex materials through rap music. Sounds a little insane doesn't it?

Snowlion Repertory Company, whose mission is to create, develop, and present new theater works of cultural, ethical, and spiritual value, announces the world premiere production of the new musical Mesmerized running May 3 through 12 at Portland Ballet Studio Theater in Portland.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has appointed Henry Timms. Timms brings with him a deep expertise in the arts and culture, digital, and non-profit sectors as the next President and Chief Executive Officer, Board Chair Katherine Farley announced today. Timms will join Lincoln Center in early May 2019.

Having seen the musical HAMILTON when it was in Los Angeles, like many others I learned more important details about the founding fathers while watching it than I felt I had ever learned in school. Lin-Manuel Miranda who created that uber-successful musical in 2015, has said that 1776 THE MUSICAL, written in 1969, during another time of political and social unrest in the United States, has 'one of the best books-if not the best-ever written for musical theatre.' And now I can say I certainly agree with him. In fact, The perfect way to prove the arts can teach valuable history lessons to its audiences is by encouraging everyone to see 1776 THE MUSICAL, presented by La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment with musical direction by Jeff Rizzo and impeccably directed & staged by Glenn Casale through Sunday, February 3, 2019 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts or at The Soraya at CSUN from Friday, February 8 through Sunday, February 10.

A brilliant cast and production highlights McCoy Rigby Entertainment's '1776,' with bravura performances from Andy Umberger (John Adams), Peter Van Norden (Benjamin Franklin) and John Barbour (Edward Rutledge).

The Philly POPS and the University of the Arts announced today a joint partnership to create The Philly POPS/UARTS High School All-Star Big Band. This band will be comprised of students selected for their demonstrated excellence in jazz performance. Applications are now being accepted and select students will be invited to audition. The HS All-Star Big Band will consider students in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia suburbs, New Jersey, and the Baltimore and Washington DC areas for membership.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment present the award-winning and revolutionary 1776 THE MUSICAL at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya), February 8 through 10. 1776 THE MUSICAL, the Tony Award winner for Best Musical (1969) and has music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and book by Peter Stone. It is directed by Glenn Casale with musical direction by Jeff Rizzo.

Colin Quinn: Red State Blue State, a new comedy written by and starring Colin Quinn, is playing The Minetta Lane Theatre.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT (celebrating its 25th Silver Anniversary at the theatre) present the award-winning and revolutionary 1776 THE MUSICAL, with musical direction by Jeff Rizzo and directed & staged by Glenn Casale. 1776 THE MUSICAL will preview on Friday, January 11, 2019 (with a press opening on Saturday, January 12 at 8pm) and runs through Sunday, February 3, 2019 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.

In January, The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol (806 San Marino Drive, The Villages, FL) will open the third production of its third season with the musical It Shoulda Been You; Music by Barbara Anselmi, and Book & Lyrics by Brian Hargrove.