Christopher Smith News

The North American tour of the 10-time Tony Award-winning Best Musical THE BAND'S VISIT, featuring music and lyrics by Tony and Drama Desk Award®-winner David Yazbek, has hit the road!

The show’s been on Broadway and national tour; Lancaster has first ever regional production

Wicked is back on the road across the country, and the reviews are in! The cast includes Talia Suskauer (Elphaba), Allison Bailey (Glinda), Sharon Sachs (Madame Morrible) and Tony Award and Drama Desk Award winner Cleavant Derricks (The Wizard).

The inspirational Broadway musical Amazing Grace comes to Lancaster in a dynamic concert experience, presented by Servant Stage Company. This marks the first production of the show since its Broadway run at the Nederlander Theater in 2015 and subsequent national tour. The production runs October 1 through 17 with performances in the auditorium at Lancaster Bible College.

Little Girl Blue: The Nina Simone Musical, which made its world premiere at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey two and half years ago, is again taking audiences by storm in bucolic Connecticut at Goodspeed by the River.

Hailed by The Wall Street Journal and now streamed by thousands of streaming audience members across the nation, TheatreSquared's The Half-Life of Marie Curie will extend nationwide streaming through January 17, 2021 to meet demand.

Playhouse on the Square, in partnership with Sue and Frank Guarino, have announced the staged readings for this year's competition finalists.  Streamed live via Zoom, the six readings will take place on the Playhouse on the Square main stage, December 6-8 & December 13-15 at 7:00 pm. 

Frostburg State University's Department of Music will present a livestreamed non-degree recital by student sopranos Hannah Polk and Ryann Cooper on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. They will be accompanied by pianist Dr. Joseph Yungen, baritone Gregory Scott Stuart and student tenor Casey Swartz. The recital is free to view online. The link will be posted at www.frostburg.edu/concerts.  

Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF), New York City's longest running international-competitive film festival, stands together with all New Yorkers to flatten the curve and stop the spread of COVID-19, announcing that its 23rd edition, themed TURNING POINT, will go on in the form of a virtual festival with its full film lineup of more than 140 films viewable for free from May 29 through June 7 at  www.brooklynfilmfestival.org.

After Christopher Smith abruptly vanished from Southern California, email messages supposedly from him continued to land in the inboxes of his friends and family for months afterward, assuring them he was safe and traveling the world. Although initially believable, the e-mails gradually became stranger and stranger, alarming those close to him.

Author, public speaker, fundraising consultant and disability advocate, Linda Smith announces the audiobook launch of her book, 'Unwanted: How a Mother Learned to Turn Shame, Grief, and Fear into Purpose, Passion, and Empowerment.'

Author, public speaker, fundraising consultant and disability advocate, Linda Smith, has been honored as a Finalist in the 2019 Independent Author Network (IAN) Book of the Year Awards, for her debut memoir “Unwanted: How a Mother Learned to Turn Shame, Grief, and Fear into Purpose, Passion, and Empowerment.”

On Monday, November 4th at 7pm Broadway comes to Doylestown as the Central Bucks West High School Choir presents Broadway Night. The event is hosted by renowned CB West Alumna and Broadway star Jenny Lee Stern (A Christmas Story, Rocky), who is taking a night off from her current show, Forbidden Broadway, to host the event. Joining Ms. Stern this year is Central Bucks East Alumnus Justin Guarini, well known for his success on American Idol. Mr. Guarini went on to Broadway where he performed in Wicked and American Idiot and continues to be active in the entertainment industry. Stern and Guarini will be joined by Mr. Gregg Brandt (Les Mis, Tale of Two Cities) and Mr. J. Mark McVey (Les Mis). The program will be directed by CB West Choir Director, Dr. Joseph Ohrt (Amazing Grace), accompanied by Karen Burgman (Amazing Grace) on piano and Mr. Christopher Smith (Amazing Grace) will act as Master of Ceremonies.

The award-winning, autobiographical comedy MY LIFE ON A DIET, starring Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning writer and actress Renée Taylor (a?oeThe Nannya??), is currently on a national tour, and the next stop will be at the George Street Playhouse's Arthur Laurents Theater in The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ). MY LIFE ON A DIET will be performed Tuesday, November 19 through Sunday, December 15, 2019.  The press opening is Friday, November 22, 2019. Tickets for this engagement can be obtained online at https://georgestreetplayhouse.org/shows/show/my-life-diet/.

Author, public speaker, fundraising consultant and disability advocate, Linda Smith, announces the official launch of The Christopher Smith Foundation, an organization she and her family created to support the caregiving community.

It's an exciting time for San Diego classical-music lovers. There are more concert choices than ever before, and performance quality has been impressive for everything from solo recitals to symphony concerts and operas. The La Jolla Music Society's $82 million dollar multi-stage Conrad Prebys Arts Center held its first concert early this year, and the San Diego Symphony has begun its own multi-million dollar project to turn its waterfront summer venue into a state-of-the-art amphitheater that will host year-round concerts and events.

The Lyric Theatre Singers turn up the heat at Concordia University's DB Clarke Theatre with four performances of TOO DARN HOT! A Sizzling Broadway Revue, playing June 13, 14 and 15. Created by directors Bob Bachelor and Cathy Burns, this original musical theatre revue features forty-three performers and five musicians in an exciting mix of Broadway's hottest hits!

DEAR EVAN HANSEN is currently on tour across America! What are critics saying about the show in different cities across the country? Check out all the reviews for the hit musical below!

The San Diego Symphony is pleased to announce the appointment of five new musicians to the roster in advance of the 2019/2020 season. Music Director Rafael Payare has been in San Diego twice since being named music director last year and was able, along with the audition committee of the orchestra, to complete the rigorous selection process from an exceptional pool of international candidates. All of the new players will complete a probationary period of up to one year with the orchestra before they are granted tenure.