Daniel J. Watts News

Little Island, New York City's new public park in Hudson River Park by W. 13th Street, announced today the line-up for the 2021 Storytelling Festival, running July 21-25, 2021 and Dance Festival, running September 15-19, 2021.

Broadway Inspirational Voices gathered together to perform two nights of live versions of their renowned virtual videos, ‘Broadway Our Way,’ to celebrate BIV Founder and outgoing Artistic Director Michael McElroy as he prepares to pass the baton to Allen René Louis.

Immersive Van Gogh, the original experiential celebration of the work of beloved post-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh, is now open at Pier 36 (299 South St.) a 70,000-square-foot facility located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side with views of the East River, the Brooklyn skyline and the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges. 

It was announced today that Broadway Inspirational Voices, the Tony Award-winning not-for-profit choir, will gather together to perform two nights of special events of gospel and Broadway music at New York City’s newest public park, Little Island, on Saturday, June 19 and Sunday, June 20 at 8 PM ET. 

Artistic Director John McDaniel brings the O'Neill Cabaret and Performance Conference back to in-person classes with a growing roster of prestigious instructors; applications are being accepted through May 13th.

Signature Theatre has released Midnight at The Never Get, the third production in the Signature Features 2021 Season. With book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson grant winner Mark Sonnenblick, Midnight at The Never Get features the performance of a lifetime from a 1960s underground gay nightclub in Greenwich Village. 

Tony-nominated Broadway star Daniel J. Watts joins TODAY to talk about his series “The Jam,” in which he uses comedy, music and storytelling to paint a picture of what it was like growing up as an only child.

Sloan’s Ghostlight Productions announced that they are partnering with BroadwayHD to bring the inaugural Obsidian Festival to viewers for free via the streaming service’s YouTube channel.  The Obsidian Theatre Festival is a virtual theatre and performing arts event featuring emerging Black artists, actors, directors, and playwrights from Detroit.

Broadway veterans Bryan Terrell Clark and Antonio J. Watson will team up with Jack Chacon to bring you an Evening of music, love, and support to benefit the Hereditary Angioedema Association.

The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation has announced the recipients of their 2021 Idea Awards for Theatre; three grants awarded to adventurous new voices in playwriting and musical theatre, as well the visionary playwrights who have inspired and blazed trails before them.

Today’s subject Lileana Blain-Cruz is currently living her theatre life as the director of Signature Theatre’s latest Signature Features streaming offering entitled Daniel J.Watts’ The Jam: Only Child. The show recounts Watts’ life as the only child of a single mother. From the fierce growing pains of boyhood innocence to the awkwardness of teenage years to a proud Black man, Daniel digs through his memory’s attic in a powerful and playful story of metamorphosis. The production is available for streaming through May seventh on Marquee TV.

Signature Theatre has released the eleventh episode of The Signature Show, a free half-hour digital experience featuring performances by acclaimed artists, interviews, celebration of new musical voices and memories of Signature’s past and a glimpse into its future.

Signature Theatre has announced the full cast and dates for Midnight at The Never Get, the third production in the Signature Features 2021 Season. With book, music & lyrics by Jonathan Larson grant winner Mark Sonnenblick, Midnight at The Never Get features the performance of a lifetime from a 1960s underground gay nightclub in Greenwich Village. 

Signature Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for After Midnight, the fourth production in the Signature Features 2021 Season. Featuring a cast of 12, headlined by Christopher Jackson and Nova Y. Payton, After Midnight showcases 28 of the big band era’s most famous songs, all framed by the poetry of Langston Hughes. 

Ghostlight Productions and Nicely Theatre Group today announced the inaugural Obsidian Theatre Festival, a virtual theatre and performing arts event featuring emerging Black artists, actors, directors, and playwrights from Detroit that will take place March 25-27.

Signature Theatre’s second production in their Signature Features 2021 season, Daniel J Watts THE JAM: ONLY CHILD is written and performed by 2020 Tony Award Nominee Daniel J Watts and is the fifth installment of Watts’ The Jam series. The series namesake comes from his great grandmother’s method of creating jam, whereupon what she could not use for herself, she would share with other people. It is available to stream in HD on Marquee TV from March 16 through May 7.

Signature Theatre has announced the full cast and streaming dates for Daniel J. Watts’ The Jam: Only Child, the second production in the Signature Features 2021 Season. Written and performed by Daniel J. Watts and featuring DJ Duggz, The Jam: Only Child is the fifth in Watts’ The Jam series.

The men of Broadway’s TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL recently reunited (safely) for a photo shoot with photographer Andrew Werner, which was spearheaded by company member Sheldon Henry. This marked the first time that they've gathered since Broadway shuttered in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today's top stories: Bette Midler reveals her time on stage is over, Santino Fontana sings Frozen with Seth Rudetsky, the cast of Tina performs a poem by Daniel J. Watts, and more!

Days after Broadway theatres went dark and cities shuttered last March, TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL’s Tony-nominated Daniel J. Watts (Ike Turner) sat down to write a tribute to those who gather. A year later—amidst a renewed racial reckoning and a pandemic that continues to evolve our public and private selves—his words ring truer than ever.