Charles Dickens News

The Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival will launch its 81st year with preview performances beginning on February 19, and the season officially kicking off Friday night, February 26 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre with Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (director, Christopher Liam Moore).

Provincetown Theater's new Executive Artistic Director, Tristan DiVincenzo has announced the theater's extensive 2016 season.  The year will explore a highly adventurous mix of theatre styles including: Shakespearean comedy; the side splitting farce of Oscar Wilde; the ground breaking dramatic work of Eugene O'Neill; the absurdism of Samuel Beckett and a completely re-imagined "A Christmas Carol".  

The Rep's biggest season yet runs September through April at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, kicking off with Stephen Sondheim's masterwork musical Follies.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, February 7, 2016 - Sunday, February 7, 2016.

Happy Birthday Charles Dickens! An English novelist, Dickens is generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic novels and characters. Many of his writings were originally published serially, in monthly instalments, a format of publication which Dickens himself helped popularise. Many of hisworks have been turned into Broadway shows, including: Oliver!, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, A Christmas Carol, a Tale of Two Cities, and more.

A concert reading of Out of the Apple Orchard by award-winning playwright Ellen W. Kaplan, based on the book by award-winning local author Yvonne David, will take place on March 6, 2016 from 3pm-6pm at The Lowndes Shakespeare Center. In Out of the Apple Orchard, Yvonne David tells a story of a struggling Jewish family in the Catskills of New York. Inspired by the novella, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Out of the Apple Orchard contains similar themes, such as hunger, forgiveness, and a new beginning.

The King's College is proud to present the New York premiere of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' virtually unknown first musical, A Pound in Your Pocket.  Strouse and Adams had just met as two young, aspiring artists when they collaborated on Pound in 1958. The show, adapted from a radio play written for Helen Hayes and based on the Charles Dickens novel The Old Curiosity Shop, had a short-lived albeit critically-acclaimed regional theater run, but soon became eclipsed by the international success of Bye, Bye Birdie. Now, almost six decades later, this history-making work can finally be seen by New York audiences.

New Musicals at 54 is a series produced by Feinstein's/ 54 Below Programming Director Jennifer Ashley Tepper. Some of the 10 new and diverse musicals by a selection of today's most talented writers have had out-of-town productions, some have had workshops... now's your chance to be first to see them in NYC! Join us at New Musicals at 54 for one-night-only concerts celebrating each new show with songs, behind-the-scenes stories, and all-star casts!

When discussing August Wilson's Pulitzer-Prize and Tony Award winning play, Fences, it is most applicable to say that the Arizona Theatre Company's cast hits this poignant performance out of the park.

Over the past season or two, we've seen our fair share of professional productions of OLIVER in the DC area. Adventure Theatre MTC took a stab at it over the summer and Arena Stage offered up a steampunk version of the classic musical a few months ago. While the Kennedy Center's current TYA production of OLIVERio: A BRAZILIAN TWIST shares the same Charles Dickens-penned source material, those looking for the familiar Lionel Bart musical will find that what's being offered up onstage at the Kennedy Center is quite different - and not just the setting. A Kennedy Center commission featuring a book and lyrics by Karen Zacarias and music by Deborah Wicks La Puma, OLIVERio: A BRAZILIAN TWIST explores what would happen if a theatre company intended to stage a standard production of OLIVER set in 19th century London, but suddenly realized the available scenic design (Luciana Stecconi) and costumes (Ivania Stack) wouldn't quite work for that purpose.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC), presenters of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival and recipients of the 2015 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in theater, announce the debut of a new works reading series, iambic lab, presented Friday, February 12 and Saturday, February 13 at 7:30pm and Sunday, February 14 at 2pm at Independent Studio in the Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex, 3191 Casitas Ave., #168 in Atwater Village.

Arizona Theatre Company celebrates the new year with a great American classic in August Wilson's stunning, Pulitzer-Prize winning play, Fences. A vivid, heartfelt exploration of the African-American experience set in the 1950's, the story remains strikingly relevant today.  Performances begin at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe, on Friday, Feb. 11 and continue through Sunday, Feb. 28. I. Michael and Beth Kasser are Arizona Theatre Company's 2015-16 Season Sponsors. The Stonewall Foundation is the Production Sponsor.

Last chance to see Academy Award-winner Jim Broadbent's triumphant return to the stage in A Christmas Carol at the Noel Coward Theatre. Must end its limited run on Saturday 30 January.

Don't miss Portland Center Stage's excellent production of Book-It Repertory Theatre's GREAT EXPECTATIONS.

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, launches its 41st Season tonight, January 22.

Synetic Theater's Spring Break Camp 'Secrets of Egypt' and Summer Camp 'A Tale of Two Ghostbusters' return to their Crystal City studio space in 2016. Both camps are open for students ages 6 to 14.

The multi award-winning NoHo Arts Center Ensemble (NoHo ACE) is thrilled to present a world premiere play, SissyBoy, written and performed by James Mellon and directed by Kevin Bailey. SissyBoy will begin previews on Friday, February 5 at 8pm; will open on Friday, February 12 at 8pm and run for eleven performances through Sunday, March 6, 2016 at the NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd. (at Lankershim Blvd.) in North Hollywood.

New Repertory Theatre announces the NEXT REP BLACK BOX FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT SYMPOSIUM SERIES, January 24-February 18, 2016 in the Black Box Theater at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA.

Celebrated for its commitment to encouraging parents (and grandparents) to read and learn with their kids, the Walnut Street Theatre for Kids 2016-2017 Season will feature four great musicals based on popular children's books, along with a family-favorite holiday classic. These hour-long musicals deliver real-life lessons in a welcoming, kid-friendly environment that's both creative and affordable. They're written especially for kids in grades K-6 and their grown-up friends. The Walnut takes pride in bringing families together through reading, learning and the arts.

 Every season must reflect the mission of the company and for the past 13 years, Sean Murray has crafted uniquely Cygnet seasons that reflect the commitment to 'startle the soul, embrace diversity and ignite debate.' This year is no exception. The seven productions in Season 14 range from the traditional to the avant-garde and include two musical theatre classics, a two-show repertory by a Pulitzer prize-winning playwright, the return of a holiday favorite and two contemporary works sure to shock and amaze.