Over the past few years, the theatre community has been quietly buzzing about the stage work of Jackie Burns, the young actress whose credits include Elphaba in Broadway's WICKED, a soloist in the tribe of the 2009 HAIR revival, the original off-Broadway production of ROCK OF AGES, and most recently, as standby to IDINA MENZEL (WICKED, RENT) in the 2013 Broadway musical IF/THEN. This week, during her lunch break from rehearsals in New York City, Jackie sat down to chat with me about revisiting the show, and the pressure of stepping in for the FROZEN star.
The Firehouse Theatre is proud to announce casting for Thoroughly Modern Millie, which runs February 18th-March 6th. Joining previously announced Janelle Lutz as Millie Dilmount is Tyler Jeffrey Adams as Jimmy Smith; Sarah Comley Caldwell as Mrs. Meers; Rebecca Paige as Miss Dorothy Brown; Mark Quach as Ching Ho; Hunter Lewis as Bun Foo; Marilyn Setu as Miss Flannery; Kimberly M. Oliver as Muzzy Von Hossmere; and Derek Whitener as Trevor Graydon.
WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director and Loop Executive Producer Terry Martin today announced the line-up for the 2016 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival, February 25 - March 6, 2016, at the Addison Theatre Centre. Six world premieres highlight this year's diverse Festival as well as 2 one-woman cabarets, 4 dance works, 1 circus act, 3 solo shows, 1 musical reading, 2 play readings, 9 theatre productions, 1 interdisciplinary piece, 1 spoken word performance, a 24-hour play festival, and many returning favorites. The Festival is made possible, in part, through the generous support of The Town of Addison and the Texas Commission on the Arts as well as media sponsors, TheaterJones.com and the Dallas Observer. The Festival is produced by Terry Martin and Kelsey Leigh Ervi.
On Monday, I caught up with Daniel Patrick Smith, who plays Buddy in the national tour of ELF. Daniel had just arrived in Atlanta, Georgia for a one-week stop on the show's brief holiday tour. A proud 8-year New York City veteran performer (and graduate of New York University's prestigious Tisch School), Daniel spoke about stepping into Will Ferrell's iconic shoes, being away from home over the holidays, and his joy of improvising every night onstage.
Hook & Eye Theater presents the World Premiere of GOD IS A VERB, an absurdist comedy inspired by the mind and myth of architect and designer Buckminster Fuller. The production, directed by Chad Lindsey (The Summoners with Hook & Eye) will run tonight, November 4, through November 21 at The Actors Fund Arts Center @ The Schermerhorn (160 Schermerhorn Street between Hoyt and Smith Streets, Brooklyn).
Ashley Brown is no stranger to the stage, having originated the role of MARY POPPINS in New York City after making her Broadway debut in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST a few years earlier. Ashley is also no stranger to Dallas, as she is returning to town after recently being here for an engagement with the Dallas Symphony, not to mention a visit to Music Hall at Fair Park with the MARY POPPINS national tour several years ago.
In addition, Ashley is not quite a stranger to me, as we have a quirky New York connection! Almost a decade ago, I briefly held a management position at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre, where I'd leave Ashley a case of water in her dressing room weekly. I recently had the chance to catch up on Ashley's new adventure in THE SOUND OF MUSIC playing a role she wasn't sure she was ready for! Check out our conversation below.
On Your Way Productions is pleased to present a first look at the Off-Broadway premiere of Margaret Dulaney's THE HUMMINGBIRD'S TOUR, directed by John Augustine. The limited engagement is currently in previews and continues through Sunday, November 22th, 2015. Official opening night is Monday, October 26th at 7:00 pm. THE HUMMINGBIRD'S TOUR performs at the Theatre at St. Clement's (423 W. 46th Street, New York, NY 10036). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!
Hook & Eye Theater presents the World Premiere of GOD IS A VERB, an absurdist comedy inspired by the mind and myth of architect and designer Buckminster Fuller. The production, directed by Chad Lindsey (The Summoners with Hook & Eye) will run November 4-21 at The Actors Fund Arts Center @ The Schermerhorn (160 Schermerhorn Street between Hoyt and Smith Streets, Brooklyn). Performances will be Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7pm and Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm with matinee performances on November 7, 8, & 15, and an additional performance on Monday, November 16 at 7pm. Tickets ($25) are available atwww.artful.ly/godisaverb. The show will run approximately 100 minutes.
Earlier this week, I spoke with Jennifer Blood from Denver, where she's currently performing with the first national touring company of MATILDA. Jennifer recently appeared on Broadway with the cast of A GENTLEMEN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, and even served as Sutton Foster's standby as the title character in VIOLET. Not only does she have a local Texas connection, having performed at Casa Manana in their 2008 production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS, she also participated in early workshops of MOONSHINE, the new musical currently running at Dallas Theatre Center.
'Your Name on My Lips,' a musical written and composed by Eric Sirota and directed by Katharine Pettit, explores the way love can inspire and sustain us.
BEFORE YOU GET TOO FAR AFIELD will have a two-week performance run at the obie-award-winning theater JACK tonight, August 13, through August 23, Thursday - Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 5pm.
Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Artistic Director) presents the world premiere of the musical Your Name on My Lips, as part the Dream Up Festival, with 10 performances from August 30 to September 18. With book, music & lyrics by composer/writer/physicist Eric Sirota, it is directed by Katharine Pettit (Susan Stroman's SDC Observer on Bullets Over Broadway). The show explores the way love can inspire and sustain us. With a classically influenced driving contemporary score, "Your Name on My Lips" will transport the audience back to when love was earnest, feelings deep, and romance unabashedly unapologetic.
Last week, I had the opportunity of speaking with Jarvis B. Manning Jr., a Texas native from the national tour of MOTOWN The Musical. In addition to speaking about returning to his hometown as a professional performer, Jarvis spoke about the unique experience of touring the country during the Michael Brown trials, and the emotion the cast has felt while performing in different cities.
BEFORE YOU GET TOO FAR AFIELD will have a two-week performance run at the obie-award-winning theater JACK this August 13 - 23, Thursday - Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 5pm. Tickets are $15 in advance or cash only at the door and are available through brownpapertickets.org. Press and industry tickets are available.
Final casting has been set for the 2015 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity's Playwrights For A Cause, set to take place at 7:30pm on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street, on Sunday, June 14 at 7:30 pm. The evening, which will benefit the non-profit National Coalition Against Censorship, will showcase world premiere one-act plays by three acclaimed playwrights: Israel Horovitz's Breaking Phillip Glass and Erik Ehn's Her Speech, both directed by Planet Connections Theatre Festivity founder and PFAC Producing Artistic Curator Glory Kadigan, and Halley Feiffer's A Play About New Mexico, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch.
OBIE Award-winning theater company Metropolitan Playhouse will present Injunction Granted, one of the Federal Theater Project's 1930s-era experimental living newspapers. Performances begin Friday, May 29, 2015.
Major casting has have been announced for the 2015 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity's Playwrights For A Cause, set to take place at 7:30pm on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at the Sheen Center, located at 18 Bleecker Street. The evening, which will benefit the non-profit National Coalition Against Censorship, will showcase world premiere one-act plays by four acclaimed playwrights: Israel Horovitz's Breaking Phillip Glass and Erik Ehn's Her Speech, both directed by Planet Connections Theatre Festivity founder and PFAC Producing Artistic Curator Glory Kadigan; Halley Feiffer's A Play About New Mexico, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch; and Neil LaBute's Mohammed Gets a Boner, directed by Marco Calvani.
Cheryl Allison may not be a household name (yet), but her resume is extremely impressive, to say the least. With credits on Broadway, in Japan, several national tours, and endless regional theatres, Cheryl has made an impressive career out of theatre, which she first discovered as a child in Dallas. Not only is Cheryl starring in numerous roles this season at Casa Mañana in Fort Worth, but she just finished shooting her first feature film in July 2014, NO LETTING GO (co-starring Kathy Najimy and Alysia Reiner), set to be released in 2016.
