Christopher Allen News

The Barber of Seville will have you smiling from the moment it begins. When grumpy Bartolo stands between his beautiful young ward Rosina and her lover Count Almaviva, there's only one person to call on: local barber and man-with-a-plan Figaro. But with Rosina kept under lock and key, can Figaro fix it for them? It could be a close shave.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler today announced the four conductors for the 2015-2016 season in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Gary Thor Wedow (pictured, left, Mozart's Don Giovanni), and David Charles Abell (Bizet's Carmen) will be returning to the Lyric Opera. Alexander Polianichko (Dvorak's Rusalka) and Christopher Allen (Donizetti's The Elixir of Love) will be making their Lyric Opera debut.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler today announced the four conductors for the 2015-2016 season in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Gary Thor Wedow (pictured, left, Mozart's Don Giovanni), and David Charles Abell (Bizet's Carmen) will be returning to the Lyric Opera. Alexander Polianichko (Dvorak's Rusalka) and Christopher Allen (Donizetti's The Elixir of Love) will be making their Lyric Opera debut.

This spring, LA Opera presents one of the most offbeat works the company has ever offered: the Los Angeles premiere of Patrick Morganelli's Hercules vs. Vampires. A mashup of contemporary music and midcentury pop culture, Hercules vs. Vampires combines a new operatic score performed live in synch with a screening of the great Italian filmmaker Mario Bava's 1961 sword-and-sandal epicErcole al centro della terra, best known to American audiences as Hercules in the Haunted World. To watch the trailer forHercules vs. Vampires, click here.

This spring, LA Opera presents one of the most offbeat works the company has ever offered: the Los Angeles premiere of Patrick Morganelli's Hercules vs. Vampires. A mashup of contemporary music and midcentury pop culture, Hercules vs. Vampires combines a new operatic score performed live in synch with a screening of the great Italian filmmaker Mario Bava's 1961 sword-and-sandal epicErcole al centro della terra, best known to American audiences as Hercules in the Haunted World. To watch the trailer forHercules vs. Vampires, click here.

On Wednesday 14 January 2015, at HUSH in Mayfair, the finalists of the International Opera Awards 2015 were announced. These were selected by the jury chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine and classical music critic with The Daily Telegraph.

Cincinnati Opera will present the world premiere of the opera Morning Star, with music by Ricky Ian Gordon and a libretto by William M. Hoffman, during the company's 2015 Summer Festival. The opera will be performed at the Corbett Theater at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, which was inaugurated as Cincinnati Opera's second-stage venue during the 2013 season. Morning Star marks the company's first world premiere in more than 50 years, and will be presented on June 30, July 2, 8, 10, 12, 17, and 19, 2015.

As part of ABC's annual 'Home for the Holidays' campaign, and in support of Disney's company-wide 'Heroes Work Here' initiative, a day of veteran inspired programming will launch on the Network TODAY, DECEMBER 13. In addition, the fifth digital short film debuting on abc.com that day is called 'A Homecoming,' written by First Lt. Donna Bachler, whose mentor was 'Nashville' executive producer Dee Johnson. The short was directed by Jon Huertas (who plays Javier Esposito on 'Castle'), an Air Force vet himself.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet, a 75-minute abridged production of Shakespeare's tragedy of true love found-and tragically lost, adapted and staged by Jeff Award-winning director and Chicagoan of the Year in Theater Rachel Rockwell. Providing a quality, family-friendly introduction to Shakespeare on Saturday mornings from February 23 to March 23, 2013, the cast of Rockwell's production includes Chicago actors Christopher Allen and Laura Rook, who make their CST debuts in the title roles. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announced today casting for Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet, a 75-minute abridged production of Shakespeare's tragedy of true love found-and tragically lost, adapted and staged by Jeff Award-winning director and Chicagoan of the Year in Theater Rachel Rockwell. Providing a quality, family-friendly introduction to Shakespeare on Saturday mornings from February 23 to March 23, 2013, the cast of Rockwell's production includes Chicago actors Christopher Allen and Laura Rook, who make their CST debuts in the title roles.

'Scrooge & Marley,' a modern-day variation on Charles Dickens' classic holiday story, 'A Christmas Carol,' is now available on DVD and soundtrack and Blu-ray. The film is also playing in theaters nationally and in Canada this holiday season.

Sam I Am Films, producers of "Scrooge & Marley," a modern-day variation on Charles Dickens' classic holiday story, "A Christmas Carol," will show in more than a dozen cities this holiday season.

SAM I Am Films, producers of 'Scrooge & Marley,' a modern-day variation on Charles Dickens' classic holiday story, 'A Christmas Carol,' has announced that acclaimed Tony Award-winning actress Judith Light will be the film's narrator.

SAM I Am Films, producers of 'Scrooge & Marley,' a modern-day variation on Charles Dickens' classic holiday story, 'A Christmas Carol,' has posted the first trailer of the film, which will be released in December. Acclaimed out actor David Pevsner portrays Ben Scrooge while former SNL star Tim Kazurinsky appears as the Ghost of Jacob Marley.

TimeLine Theatre Company, recently named one of the nation's top 10 emerging professional theatres by the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards®, presents the Chicago premiere of Enron by Lucy Prebble, directed by Rachel Rockwell, January 27 - April 15, 2012 (previews January 17 - 26) at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. Press Opening performances are Thursday, January 26 at 8 pm and Friday, January 27 at 7:30 p.m.

The Theatre School at DePaul University's Showcase Series of Contemporary Plays and Classics presents MEDEA by Euripides, translated by Frederic Raphael & Kenneth McLeish, and directed by Damon Kiely. MEDEA closes Sunday, April 24, 2011, at DePaul's historic Merle Reskin Theatre.

The Theatre School at DePaul University's Showcase Series of Contemporary Plays and Classics presents MEDEA by Euripides, translated by Frederic Raphael & Kenneth McLeish, and directed by Damon Kiely.

The Theatre School at DePaul University presents THE SECRET GARDEN, written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, adapted by Pamela Sterling, and directed by John Jenkins, as the opening production of the 2010-2011 Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences Series. This production opens Tuesday, October 30, and runs through Saturday, December 4, 2010, at DePaul's historic Merle Reskin Theatre. Performances are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 10 AM and Saturdays at 2 PM. There will be no performances on November 23, 25, 26, 27, or 30. There will be a special performance held on December 1, at 10AM.

The Theatre School at DePaul University presents THE SECRET GARDEN, written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, adapted by Pamela Sterling, and directed by John Jenkins, as the opening production of the 2010-2011 Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences Series. This production opens Tuesday, October 30, and runs through Saturday, December 4, 2010, at DePaul's historic Merle Reskin Theatre. Performances are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 10 AM and Saturdays at 2 PM. There will be no performances on November 23, 25, 26, 27, or 30. There will be a special performance held on December 1, at 10AM.