Buster Keaton News

Overture Presents and community programs provide engagement, entertainment and educational opportunities for all ages in the month of April.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of LOST LAUGHS: THE SLAPSTICK TRAGEDY OF FATTY ARBUCKLE, bringing to life the story of one of the great comics of silent films. A century ago, he was Hollywood's first million-dollar man, but fell from grace when charged with murder. Despite his eventual acquittal, Arbuckle was never able to reclaim his place at the pinnacle of the entertainment world. LOST LAUGHS features memorable performances by co-writer Aaron Muñoz and Kristen Mengelkoch, under the direction of Nathan Keepers.

March brings the return of Avner Eisenberg to Acorn Productions, this time as the co-director of the monthly Naked Shakespeare show entitled "Vaudevillians," which will be performed at Mechanics Hall on First Friday, with a Thursday night preview, and the following Thursday at Oxbow Blending and Bottling.

Leonard Bernstein made one foray into Hollywood with an original film score: the 1954 romantic tragedy On the Waterfront, which is ranked by the American Film Institute as one of the ten best films of all time.  On Saturday, February 24 at 8pm, On the Waterfront will exuberantly come to life when the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) presents Richard Kaufman conducting Bernstein's electrifying score live, while the newly re-mastered film is shown in glorious high definition on the big screen with original dialogue intact.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) is proud to present the world premiere of Lost Laughs: The Slapstick Tragedy of Fatty Arbuckle, written by Andy Bayiates and Aaron Muñoz, directed by Nathan Keepers, with performances February 14 - March 11, 2018, at the Nancy L. Donahue Theatre located at 50 East Merrimack Street in historic downtown Lowell. In addition, MRT is hosting a panel discussion on the historical context of Lost Laughs titled "Women's Rights, Prohibition, and the Fall of Fatty," on Thursday, March 1, immediately after the 7:30 pm show (details below).

With growing Birmingham audiences looking for new and fun ways to laugh and be entertained, it looks like 'Nick & Jacob: A Two-Man Variety Show' is the right show at the right time.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica and The Speakeasy Society present the world premiere of WILD PARTY: A Jazz Age Immersive Experience on Saturday, February 3 at 6:00pm and 9:00pm. This special event is part of The Broad Stage's 10th Season Celebration programming and funds raised will help sustain The Broad Stage's programming, operations and student education and community initiatives.

The Play That Goes Wrong, the West End's Olivier Award winning box office hit, today announces the full cast for its 2018 UK Tour. The touring cast presents: Jake Curran (Chris), Catherine Dryden (Annie), Bobby Hirston (Max), Benjamin McMahon (Dennis), Gabriel Paul (Trevor), Steven Rostance (Jonathan), Kazeem Tosin Amore (Robert), Elena Valentine (Sandra) with David Kristopher-Brown (Understudy), Laura White (Understudy), Liam Horrigan (Understudy) and Louisa Sexton (Understudy).

The Play That Goes Wrong, the West End's Olivier Award winning box office hit, today announces the full cast for its 2018 UK Tour. The touring cast presents: Jake Curran (Chris), Catherine Dryden (Annie), Bobby Hirston (Max), Benjamin McMahon (Dennis), Gabriel Paul (Trevor), Steven Rostance (Jonathan), Kazeem Tosin Amore (Robert), Elena Valentine (Sandra) with David Kristopher-Brown (Understudy), Laura White (Understudy), Liam Horrigan (Understudy) and Louisa Sexton (Understudy).

The Play That Goes Wrong, the West End's Olivier Award winning box office hit, today announces the full cast for its 2018 UK Tour. The touring cast presents: Jake Curran (Chris), Catherine Dryden (Annie), Bobby Hirston (Max), Benjamin McMahon (Dennis), Gabriel Paul (Trevor), Steven Rostance (Jonathan), Kazeem Tosin Amore (Robert), Elena Valentine (Sandra) with David Kristopher-Brown (Understudy), Laura White (Understudy), Liam Horrigan (Understudy) and Louisa Sexton (Understudy).

The London International Mime Festival, directed by Helen Lannaghan and Joseph Seelig, is a unique event in the theatre calendar, a once a year chance to see very best and newest contemporary visual theatre.

Portland Oregon's Imago Theatre company brings their visionary family show La Belle, Lost in the World of the Automaton to the Plaza del Sol Performance Hall onNovember 19, 2017 at 3:00pm. The Oregonian said of the show, 'La Belle is a non-stop eye-popper. It's all wow factor.'

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, celebrating its roots in the film and television recording industry, presents LACO @ the Movies: Buster Keaton's The General, featuring Emmy Award-winning composer Jeff Beal (House of Cards) conducting the world premiere of his score for the 1926 silent classic spotlighting the absurdity of war on Saturday, November 11, 2017, 8 pm, at The Theatre at Ace Hotel, in downtown Los Angeles. Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, LACO was founded in 1968 as an artistic outlet for the recording industry's most gifted musicians. The Orchestra, regarded as one of the world's premier chamber orchestras as well as a pacesetter in presenting wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissions, performs live to The General for this entertaining evening. Considered among the greatest films ever made, the historical parody was adapted from The Great Locomotive Chase and is set during the Civil War. The Theatre at Ace Hotel was built in 1927, just a year after The General was made.

The Belgrade Theatre has announced more shows to be added to its Spring 2018 Season, including the multi-award winning West End comedy The Play That Goes Wrong from Mon 19 to Sat 24 March, back by phenomenal demand following a sold out run earlier this year.

The Flying Ace (1926) makes its Duck Soup Cinema debut on Sat., Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. with accompaniment by Jelani Eddington on the 1928 Grand Barton Organ, one of the last of its kind. This inspiring film, featuring an all African-American cast, is set in World War I and tells the story of a fighter ace breaking through racial barriers to serve the nation and his return to the U.S. after the war.

Great Music at St. Bart's, the concert series produced by the Mid-Manhattan Performing Arts Foundation (MMPAF), for the past seven years has presented music in St. Bartholomew's Church, a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of New York located in the heart of midtown Manhattan. The magnificent 1918 Romanesque-style church features a portal designed by Stanford White and a grand Byzantine-style interior and two of New York's unlikely but outstanding concert spaces: the 150-seat chapel, an intimate and acoustically brilliant space that is perfectly suited for contemporary chamber music, and the majestic 1,000-seat sanctuary outfitted with comfortable chairs enabling flexible seating whose Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ is the largest in New York City and one of the finest examples of the American Classic Organ in the U.S.

My Perfect Pet is the story of Cailin, a young girl who is determined to receive a puppy for her 10th birthday. Will she get her prized bundle of joy? She must first prove to her skeptical parents that she is worthy enough to receive such a very special gift. This bright and bouncy, light and giggly, tuneful show for the young and young at heart debuts at the Playroom Theater, 151 West 46 Street, New York, NY today, October 14.

The London International Mime Festival, directed by Helen Lannaghan and Joseph Seelig, is a unique event in the theatre calendar, a once a year chance to see very best and newest contemporary visual theatre that embraces cutting edge circus, dance, physical theatre, juggling, object manipulation, physical comedy and productions that interweave theatre and film.

My Perfect Pet is the story of Cailin, a young girl who is determined to receive a puppy for her 10th birthday. Will she get her prized bundle of joy? She must first prove to her skeptical parents that she is worthy enough to receive such a very special gift. This bright and bouncy, light and giggly, tuneful show for the young and young at heart debuts at the Playroom Theater, 151 West 46 Street, New York, NY on October 14.

The Old Globe presents the first show of its 2017-2018 Season, the world premiere musical Benny & Joon, with book by Kirsten Guenther, music by Nolan Gasser, and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. Based on the beloved 1993 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture written by Barry Berman and Leslie McNeil, Benny & Joon is directed by Jack Cummings III, Artistic Director of New York's Transport Group.