Bill T. Jones News

UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) today unveiled its 2018-19 season lineup honoring heritage artists and featuring pioneering champions for social justice and diverse world views in bold programs by leading innovators and acknowledged masters in contemporary dance, music, theater and spoken word.

The Old Globe's 2017-2018 Season continues with today's announcement of the complete cast and creative team for the Southern California debut of A Thousand Splendid Suns, Ursula Rani Sarma's sweeping and deeply moving theatrical production based on the best-selling book by Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner).

PBS today unveiled a list of America's 100 best-loved novels, chosen in support of THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, a new PBS series and multi-platform initiative that celebrates the joy of reading and the books we love. THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, hosted by television personality and journalist Meredith Vieira, launches with a two-hour episode on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at 8 p.m. on PBS stations and will introduce viewers to the full list of America's 100 favorite novels selected through a demographically representative national survey conducted by YouGov. The series will also feature interviews with celebrities, authors, superfans and everyday Americans discussing the way particular books have influenced them and their significance in American popular culture. Then, after a multi-platform initiative throughout the summer, which will include live public events, social media components and national reading clubs, the series will resume in the fall with several themed episodes, including an exciting finale, culminating in the first-ever national vote to choose 'America's Best-Loved Novel.' It will be the most expansive national celebration of books and reading aimed at engaging multi-generational readers across multiple platforms ever created.

The University Musical Society (UMS), under the leadership of President Matthew VanBesien, today announces its 140th season in 2018-19 with an initial slate of 40 performances and events. One of the country's most acclaimed performing arts presenters, UMS honors its past by showcasing respected ensembles and performers with whom it has enjoyed rich relationships, and fully embraces the future as initiator, incubator, and accelerator for innovative new works and projects. This potent combination infuses the anniversary season with dynamic and diverse voices and perspectives featuring artists at the top of their game - celebrating the canon, taking risks, moving genres in new directions, disrupting stereotypes, and surprising audiences.

Flushing Town Hall (FTH), the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company are pleased to collaborate with Queens College Dance Program to present an unprecedented lineup for CrossCurrent V, featuring an upcoming work Yin Mei, the coordinator of the program, and emergent choreographer dancer Huiwang Zhang, as well as the new works of Nai-Ni Chen on Sunday, April 15th at 2 PM. A panel discussion moderated by Ellen Kodedak, the Executive Director of Flushing Town Hall, will follow the one-hour performance.

Classic Stage Company announced today that Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose will play the title role in the company's new production of the musical CARMEN JONES beginning performances Friday, June 8.

Next month ODC Theater provides an early kickoff to the summer with the seventh anniversary of its signature dance festival. Highlights include a West Coast premiere from filmmaker and choreographer Yara Travieso, the Bay Area solo debut of Toronto native Belinda McGuire and a world premiere from Kiandanda Dance Theater.

Day three of New York Live Arts' Live Ideas 2018: Radical Vision festival, Saturday, April 21, looks at our electoral process through readings, a workshop, panel discussions, and a performance spectacle.  

National Sawdust+ will present "On the Frontlines" at National Sawdust, the Brooklyn based arts incubator, on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. The one-night only event, curated for the series by Elena Park, brings Mariana Sadovska - the "Ukrainian Bjork" - and Emmy-nominated genre-bending composer, violinist, and arts leader Daniel Bernard Roumain together for an evening that examines war and resistance through the lens of performing arts, especially music. Both of these critically acclaimed composer-musicians will perform and discuss their work during this presentation.

Friday, April 20, day two of Live Ideas 2018: Radical Vision looks into the role of the press, what it means to be a journalist in an endangered liberal democracy, and what obligations the press has today. Opening the day will be visual artist Huiying B. Chan, who will read words by legendary activist Grace Lee Boggs, followed by author and journalist Moustafa Bayoumi's reading of works by Edward Said and a presentation of speeches by Muhammad Ali read by journalist Greg Tate. The readings will start at 4 pm. Admission is free.

New York's beloved Dance Theatre of Harlem, under the artistic direction of Virginia Johnson, returns to NY City Center for its annual homecoming season tonight, April 4, the 50th Anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with the annual Vision Gala, honoring dance legend Carmen de Lavallade and civil rights icon Xernona Clayton.

Asolo Rep continues its 2017-18 season with the celebrated American musical RAGTIME. Directed by Peter Rothstein, founding artistic director of Theater Latte Da in Minneapolis, RAGTIME features a book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, who all garnered Tony Awards for the production. The original Broadway production was directed by Frank Galati, who received a Tony nomination for his work and is an Associate Artist at Asolo Rep. A collaboration with Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre, RAGTIME previews May 1 - 3, opens May 4 and runs through May 27 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts. 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced a compelling slate of productions for its 2018-19 subscription season. Berkeley Rep's Michael Leibert Artistic Director Tony Taccone revealed six of the seven shows that will comprise his final season at the Theatre.

The City of Oakland represents in San Francisco when AXIS Dance Company, the country's leading physically integrated dance company crosses the bridge and comes to Z Space in the Mission District as part of its 30th anniversary celebration, and its first season under new Artistic Director, Marc Brew. The program will feature Radical Impact, a new work produced in collaboration with composer JooWan Kim, Artistic Director of Oakland-based Hip Hop Orchestra, Ensemble Mik Nawooj. The original score for the piece will be performed live by string quartet. 

Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO) announces an exciting concert and reception featuring internationally acclaimed countertenor John Holiday on Sunday, April 8 at 7:00pm. Featuring an eclectic mix of opera, jazz and gospel selections, the concert will be held in the sanctuary at Plymouth Church in Des Moines. Scott Arens, DMMO's director of marketing and public relations, will be joining Mr. Holiday at the piano for the performance.

Emily Ludolph's Dedicate It explores the stories behind the people and experiences that motivate our favorite writers, musicians, and scientists. Each show isolates a single great dedication, holds intimate conversations with the people we admire most about the people they admire most, and hosts an open mic for everyone to make a dedication to someone who got them where they are today.

When Opera Philadelphia's inaugural Festival O launched the present season, the opera world responded with a standing ovation, welcoming it as 'one of the most enjoyable additions to the fall calendar in years'