David Brown News

The 86th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, are tonight, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network.

For DIRECTOR'S CHOICE, the fourth program of Pacific Northwest Ballet's 2013-2014 season, Artistic Director Peter Boal selects from his roster of acquisitions and increases them by one: The captivating mixed-bill program will feature a much-anticipated world premiere by Alejandro Cerrudo, resident choreographer of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. The program also reprises audience favorites TAKE FIVE…More or Less, Broadway-darling Susan Stroman's sunny slice of jazz-infused Dave Brubeck fun; and Susan Marshall's distinctive aerial duet, Kiss. Rounding out the lineup is Molissa Fenley's State of Darkness, a tour-de-force solo performance set to Stravinsky's riot-inducing The Rite of Spring. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE runs for seven performances only, March 14 through 23 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at just $28 and may be purchased by calling the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, online at PNB.org, or in person at the PNB Box Office, 301 Mercer Street.

Noel Coward's film Brief Encounter (1945) based on his 1936 play Still Life, is perhaps one of the finest movies ever made about illicit romance. Now the Kneehigh production from London, which played Broadway in 2010 to great acclaim, an event quite unlike any you will ever see, is being mounted at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts through March 23 with some of the original Broadway cast, including the remarkable Hannah Yelland as Laura. Wisely presented in one act without an interval, Brief Encounter never drags and retains a unique solidarity.

UK Theatre has announced that Bill Kenwright, one of the UK's most successful theatre producers, will deliver the keynote speech at its 7th annual Touring Symposium, sponsored by leading theatre consultancy, Charcoalblue. With over a month to go, demand for the event is high and over 200 people have already booked their place on this year's event.

The Broadway Cast - led by Hannah Yelland and Tristan Sturrock - will appear in the internationally celebrated Kneehigh production of Noel Coward's Brief Encounter, which will have a 43-performance limited engagement at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts today, February 15 to March 23, 2014 (press opening February 19).

The Wetumpka Depot Players seek support to put local community theatre in the regional spotlight. The group will travel their award winning production of The Fantasticks to Mobile, Al in March to represent the state of Alabama at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC). The nation's largest theatre convention, SETC plays hosts to festivals, workshops and auditions. "Participating at SETC is not only a great honor for the Depot Players, but it is also an investment in the continuation of our production of high quality community theatre," said Kristy Meanor, Depot executive director. "We return from festival with new ideas and a stronger company and all of that positive growth gets passed on to our patrons."

Following hip surgery that took place just one week after the August 14, 2013 premiere of her Restless Creature, Wendy Whelan, in consultation with her doctors, has concluded that her body needs more time to heal and that she must postpone her spring 2014 (March 16 – April 11) inaugural U.S. tour of the work. Rescheduled dates will be announced at a later time. See below for a list of postponed engagements. The UK premiere, presented by The Royal Opera House, will take place at the Linbury Studio Theatre in London as scheduled (July 22–26).

Rachel Frederickson, a 24-year-old voice-over artist from Los Angeles, CA, became 'The Biggest Loser' and won $250,000 in last night's live season 15 finale on NBC.

Season 15 of “The Biggest Loser: Second Chances” comes to an exciting close as the 15 contestants reunite to show off their amazing transformations, and the winner is revealed in the must-see live finale airing Tuesday, February 4

The Broadway Cast - led by Hannah Yelland and Tristan Sturrock - will appear in the internationally celebrated Kneehigh production of Noel Coward's Brief Encounter, which will have a 43-performance limited engagement at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts February 15 to March 23, 2014 (press opening February 19). Yelland and Sturrock are joined by fellow New York cast members Joe Alessi, Dorothy Atkinson, Damon Daunno, and Annette Laughlin. Musician David Brown appeared in the show in the UK and musician James Gow joins the company for The Wallis engagement.

Actor Chris Hemsworth and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced the 86th Academy Awards nominations this morning, Thursday, January 16. Boone Isaacs and Hemsworth unveiled the nominations at a 5:38 a.m. PT live news conference at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world gathered.

With recent airings on PBS via the BBC's 'Hollow Crown' series and a screening of the RSC production with David Tenant, the Puget Sound region has seen a mini-renaissance of Shakespeare's Richard II. Seattle Shakespeare Company starts the New Year with its own production of Richard II directed by Rosa Joshi. Artistic Director George Mount will play the title role in a cast that features 16 actors.

CMT has greenlit production on seven, new unscripted series for 2014, the most the network has ever had in production at one time, it was announced today by Jayson Dinsmore, EVP, Programming and Development, CMT.

With recent airings on PBS via the BBC's "Hollow Crown" series and a screening of the RSC production with David Tenant, the Puget Sound region has seen a mini-renaissance of Shakespeare's Richard II. Seattle Shakespeare Company starts the New Year with its own production of Richard II directed by Rosa Joshi. Artistic Director George Mount will play the title role in a cast that features 16 actors.

Season 14's popular kid ambassadors Biingo, Lindsay and Sunny return to the ranch to help White House nutrition expert Sam Kass judge a lively cooking challenge on the next episode of “The Biggest Loser” airing Tuesday, November 12 (8-9 p.m. ET) on NBC.

The Provincetown Theatre in Provincetown, Massachusetts will host a week long workshop and subsequent reading of the new musical "Sybil" starring Liz Callaway (Baby, Miss Saigon) and Melissa van der Schyff (Broadway's Bonnie & Clyde and Big River).

NBC has pushed back the season 15 premiere of THE BIGGEST LOSER and will now air a special two-hour The Voice episode, titled 'Best of the Blinds' on October 8. Biggest Loser will now debut on October 15th at 8/9c.

New York Live Arts will present, as part of the Replay Series, works by Molissa Fenley spanning more than thirty years of her choreographic experiments in two varied programs tonight, October 2 - 5 at 7:30pm, with a lecture demonstration October 5 at 3:00pm. Fenley will present the world premiere of Found Object, the reconstructed solos The Floor Dances and Witches' Float, and the quartet Energizer, bridging her choreographic past with the present.