Christopher Johnson News

SONIC SEA highlights how noise from a range of man-made sources has affected whales in recent years, including the mass stranding of whales around the planet

The School of Night is pleased as punch to announce its participation in the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival with Punch and Judy.

SONIC SEA highlights how noise from a range of man-made sources has affected whales in recent years, including the mass stranding of whales around the planet

Stories of police brutality are all over the news these days, but they may still seem like something that happens “elsewhere”. In INVISIBLE UPSOUTH, Wilbury Theatre Company's latest in their New Works program, the headlines move right into Providence and we're forced to examine the reality of life as a person of color in the liberal Northeast.  Told half in explosive spoken word and half in traditional scenes, this play manages to convey a lot without coming off as didactic or cliche'.  In particular, it shines a light on experiences that probably most people of color have had, that would likely make many white people say “I had never thought about that”.

The FirstWorks Artistic Icons Series continues in 12 days with "Walking with 'Trane," a new live music/dance event created by the electrifying, Brooklyn-based Urban Bush Women dance troupe in tribute to the life of legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane and his seminal jazz suite, "A Love Supreme." "Walking with 'Trane" has its New England premiere on Saturday, February 27, 8 p.m. at The Vets in downtown Providence. Doors will open at 7 p.m. for JumpStart festivities in the venue lobby, featuring performances by The Leland Baker 4tet, Edgar Viloria's Thr3e Live Dance Company and Central Falls High School Africana Arts students. Tickets, which start at $38, are on sale now at 401-421-ARTS (2787) and at first-works.org.

The Wilbury Theatre Group New Works program proudly announces the world premiere of a new commissioned work by Providence performance artist Christopher Johnson and slam poet Vatic Kuumba, Invisible UpSouth, February 26-March 6. Commissioned by The Wilbury Group in response to the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the ongoing discussion of race in America, and inspired by Ralph Ellison's masterpiece novel Invisible Man, Invisible UpSouth aims to challenge the way traditional theater-going audiences think about race and humanity and how they move through the world; how one can be well-educated and still blind to the world around them. 

FirstWorks announces a month of programs with the critically acclaimed dance company Urban Bush Women for Urban Bush Women in Rhode Island: Art Activating Community in Providence beginning February 10th. The artist residency includes a series of exciting and illuminating events leading up to the FirstWorks Artistic Icon Series production of 'WALKING WITH 'TRANE', a live music and dance salute to jazz great John Coltrane at The Vets on February 27, 2016. For tickets and more information on Urban Bush Women in Providence, please visit www.first-works.org.

Today, Mayor Jorge O. Elorza and FirstWorks Executive Artistic Director Kathleen Pletcher announced the artist roster of the PROVIDENCE INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL set for June 13th, 2015, with extended events taking place June 11th-14th. In this first-ever signature event, arts and culture stage a friendly takeover of the city with 500 artists, 30 public art installations, 15 stages, 18 participating venues, 6 outdoor bars, 3 jaw dropping spectacles, and much more. The dramatic scale and scope of this marquee Festival in the 'Creative Capital' of Rhode Island is due to the public-private partnership forged between the City's Department of Art, Culture + Tourism and FirstWorks, a Providence-based non-profit organization dedicated to building community through the arts. Festival lead sponsors include the National Endowment for the Arts, Providence Tourism Council, the Rhode Island Foundation, along with key support from IGT (formerly GTECH), and The Avenue Concept. All main Festival events are free and open to the public.

There's a new tenant at Armadillo Acres-and she's wreaking havoc all over Florida's most exclusive trailer park. When Pippi, the stripper on the run, comes between the Dr. Phil-loving, agoraphobic Jeannie and her tollbooth collector husband-the storms begin to brew. This comic fable about women in a Florida trailer park and their no-account men is bawdy and outlandish, and will have you laughing in the aisles.

Nearly 100 handbell ringers from New York and Virginia will descend upon the historic Riverside Church to toll more than 400 handbells of varying sizes for a magnificent concert, filling its soaring halls with harmony and melody, during its 36th Annual English Handbell Festival at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 6 in the Church's Nave, at 490 Riverside Drive (bet. 120th & 122nd St.), Morningside Heights.

Kicking off the start of its acclaimed Christ Chapel Chamber Series for the 2013-2014 music calendar, The Riverside Church will showcase the talents of Sidney Outlaw (baritone) for a concert of music on Sunday, October 27, at 3:00 p.m. in the Church's Christ Chapel, 490 Riverside Drive (bet. 120 & 122nd Sts.), Morningside Heights.

Judson Arts presents The Bonus Army, a classic American protest musical with a rousing score and lyrics by four-time Obie-winning composer Al Carmines, book by award-winning playwright David Epstein. Performances will be staged from September 6-19, 2013 at The Gym at Judson, 243 Thompson Street @ Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012.

Oscar Levant once said, 'There's a fine line between genius and insanity.' And I have to admit, when I heard that Shots in the Dark was taking on the Columbus premiere of the acclaimed 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner for drama-'Next to Normal', I wasn't sure which side of that line they'd fall on.

Spotlighting one of the largest and most acclaimed organs in the world and continuing a decades old tradition of summer concerts featuring outstanding organists, The Riverside Church is presenting its Annual Summer Organ Series-featuring six concerts throughout the summer-every Tuesday, today, July 2 to August 6 from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. in the Church's majestic Nave, 490 Riverside Drive (bet. 120th & 122nd Sts.), Morningside Heights.

This week at Joe's Pub at the Public, June 24 through June 30, 2013, will feature: 2G: Sixteen Going on Seventeen, Nellie McKay, Philippe Quint, Michael Bacon: Downtown Express, The Gonzalo Gergara Quartet, The Impossible Girl, Global Noize: Sly Reimagined, JP Jofre Quintet, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, Slavic Soul Party, NY Theremin Society, Ryan Amador, No BS! Brass Band, Zoe Sarnak: A Lasting Impression, Davell Crawford, Brown Girls Burlesque, John Kelly: Rebel Songs, and Symphonic Sundays with Mother Falcon. Details below!

Swords clash with fiery sparks as Artistic Directors August Viverito and T L Kolman announce the Los Angeles premiere of a new, under two-hour incarnation of Shakespeare's HENRY VI, Part I directed by Chicago phenomenon Christopher William Johnson, with stunning fight choreography by Jennifer Albert. This majestic spectacle opens tonight, October 5th for a six week run at the company's The Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave., Hollywood, Calif.

Swords clash with fiery sparks as Artistic Directors August Viverito and T L Kolman announce the Los Angeles premiere of a new, under two-hour incarnation of Shakespeare's HENRY VI, Part I directed by Chicago phenomenon Christopher William Johnson, with stunning fight choreography by Jennifer Albert. This majestic spectacle opens October 5th for a six week run at the company's The Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave., Hollywood, Calif.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a class-action lawsuit, led by football players Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson, will be filed against the ABC reality dating shows THE BACHELOR and THE BACHELORETTE.

Sixth Avenue is set to present the Los Angeles Premiere of NERVE, written by Adam Szymkowicz, choreography by Laura Harrison and directed by Michael Matthews (Take Me Out, What's Wrong With Angry) and starring Anna Rubley and Adam Silver.

Sixth Avenue is set to present the Los Angeles Premiere of NERVE, written by Adam Szymkowicz, choreography by Laura Harrison and directed by Michael Matthews (Take Me Out, What's Wrong With Angry) and starring Anna Rubley and Adam Silver.