The Ivoryton Playhouse will present the 2014 Tony Award-nominated 2013 Broadway Musical A Night With Janis Joplin, written and directed by Randy Johnson, from May 30 to June 24, 2018. Born in Port Arthur, TX in 1943, Janis Lyn Joplin challenged racial and sexual stereotypes and created a sound and a style that has become legendary. She exploded onto the music scene in 1967 and, almost overnight, became the queen of rock and roll. The unmistakable voice, filled with raw emotion and tinged with more than a touch of Southern Comfort made her a must-see headliner from Monterey to Woodstock Her unique sound, however, was originally created as a result of her love for some of the greatest African-American singers of all time. Now, theatergoers can share an evening with the Queen of Rock and Roll and her musical influences in A Night with Janis Joplin
Internationally-acclaimed jazz and blues singer, Kim Nalley, returns to Feinstein's at the Nikko for a limited two-week engagementAugust 2-12, 2018. Joined by her band-Tammy Hall (piano), Michael Zisman(bass) and Kent Bryston (drums)-plus special guest, legendary jazz tenor saxophonist Houston Person, Nalley will present a memorable evening of jazz and blues standards.
The Ivoryton Playhouse will present the 2014 Tony Award-nominated 2013 Broadway Musical A Night With Janis Joplin, written and directed by Randy Johnson, from May 30 to June 24, 2018.
The York Theatre Company in association with Documentary Arts presents the world premiere of the new musical Lonesome Blues, based on the true story of legendary bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson, created by Alan Govenar (Texas in Paris) and Akin Babatunde (Blind Lemon Blues), directed by Katherine Owens (How Is It That We Live or Shakey Jake + Alice), performed by Akin Babatunde with David Weiss on guitar.
What made the Hot List? BLUES IN THE NIGHT at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, ICE at 24th STreet Theatre, LOST IN THE LIGHT by CRE Outrach at The Blue Door in Culver City, SCHOOL OF ROCK at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE at The Road Theatre Company on Lankershim, and SOUTH PACIFIC at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Check out the latest buzz below and go see a show! Reviews by BWW Sr. Editor Ellen Dostal (LADCC).
Janis Joplin is alive and well and rocking the Fletcher Opera Theater at The Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Directed by Randy Johnson, the creator, writer, and director of the 2014 Tony Award nominated production, North Carolina Theatre's A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN pays homage to the rock icon and resurrects the souls of the singers who inspired her.
North Carolina Theatre is proud to announce the addition of a new show to the 2017-18 season on stage at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. This season will feature A NIGHT WITH Janis Joplin during an extended run in the A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater, May 4-20, 2018.
The Wallis production of BLUES IN THE NIGHT, conceived and directed by Sheldon Epps, starts performances next week in the intimate Lovelace Theater! Artistic Director Paul Crewes snuck into rehearsal to chat with cast members Yvette Cason, Bryce Charles, Chester Gregory, and Paulette Ivory about this exciting new production.
Somewhere in a cheap hotel in Chicago, circa late 1930s, three women are singing the blues. Two have been around the block and seen it all. One is woefully wise beyond her years. All have been burned by the flames of desire and lovers who have done them wrong. This is the set-up for BLUES IN THE NIGHT, the musical revue conceived and directed by Sheldon Epps, playing through May 20th in the Lovelace Studio Theater at The Wallis.
This week, North Carolina Theatre pays tribute to Janis Joplin and her influences by bringing Randy Johnson's 2014 Tony Award nominated A Night with Janis Joplin to the AJ Fletcher Opera House. Johnson not only wrote and directed the Broadway musical, but he is also directing the North Carolina Theatre production. Sharing the role of Joplin are Paige McNamara and Francesca Ferrari, both of whom say stepping into the rock icon's shoes, sharing her legacy, and working with Johnson is a dream come true.
When the radiant, intellectual soprano Julia Bullock stepped on stage Carnegie Hall's intimate venue, Weill Recital Hall (just 268 seats), to wild applause, I felt like I was the only one hearing her “live” for the first time. Everyone else there seemed to have a personal relationship with her and her artistry. I'd somehow missed her “live,” in previous recitals and in the title roles of CENDRILLON and CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN at Juilliard. My loss--and a significant one.
Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor's professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights, is thrilled to announce an extension of its smash hit "The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith" by Angelo Parra. The show was slated to run through April 22 but has been extended through April 29 due to full houses, glowing audience response, and critical acclaim.
Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor's professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights, is thrilled to announce an extension of its smash hit "The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith" by Angelo Parra. The show was slated to run through April 22 but has been extended through April 29 due to full houses, glowing audience response, and critical acclaim.
Highlighting the old time blues and soul style of Bessie Smith AKA The Empress of The Blues, MOAN THEM BLUES provides a different style of theatrical entertainment. Essentially a one woman show starring Toni Ringgold, with her piano man sidekick Jawbone (played by Ke'Aier Mufasa Denson), the reminiscent blues of Bessie Smith is performed, while revealing deeper emotional connection to the material sung for the eager audience. Missing only cigarette smoke in the lounge, Frank Benge directs this show simply with a piano, a flask and tumbler and of course the traditional crowd work vintage vaudeville performances were known for. With a career beginning with a traveling vaudevillian performance troupe, Bessie Smith began to rise as a star in the early 1920's. Gaining a following in the Southern United States along with the east coast, Bessie quickly climbed monetarily to be the highest paid performer of her time and genre. With the show set towards the end of Bessie's career in the early 1930's, the rise of 'talkies' and the the great depression completely devastated performers and the music industry alike. Remembering the 'good ole days' of rising fame, men and the love of gin, Toni Ringgold performs Bessie's more memorable songs. The storytelling (written by Robert King Jr) in between the songs reveals more and more about her tumultuous life that has led her to the dim stage in The Sahara Lounge.
Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor's professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights, presents "The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith" by Angelo Parra.
What made the Hot List? THE ART COUPLE from Sacred Fools Theatre Company at The Broadwater, SELL/BUY/DATE at Geffen Playhouse, and ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL at Independent Shakespeare Co.'s new studio theater. Check out the latest recommendations below and go see a show! Reviews by BWW Sr. Editor Ellen Dostal (LADCC).
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts announces the cast for its upcoming production of Blues in the Night. Conceived and directed by Sheldon Epps, the production will feature Yvette Cason (Shout Sister Shout, Broadway and film versions of Dreamgirls), Bryce Charles (The Book of Mormon, ABC's "Black-ish"), Paulette Ivory (Disney's Aida and the West End premieres of The Lion King and Blues in the Night) and Chester Gregory (Broadway's Motown: The Musical, Hairspray and Sister Act). Blues in the Night will begin performances April 27 through May 20 in the Lovelace Studio Theater.
The Signature Theatre (Paige Evans, Artistic Director; James Houghton, Founder) Annual Gala will take place on Monday, March 12, 2018 at The Pershing Square Signature Center (located at 480 West 42nd Street between 9th & 10th Avenues). The event will celebrate the late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee and honor the passionate and visionary leadership of former President of the Signature Board of Trustees, Michael Rauch. The Gala is taking place on what would have been Edward Albee's 90th Birthday.
