Dolly Parton News

BARI LIEBERMAN has added the role of Account Executive, in tandem with her position as the Tour Press Director, at the Mitch Schneider Organization (MSO) effective immediately, announced the company's President, Mitch Schneider today (March 29).

The Belgrade Theatre has announced a selection of new shows to go on sale for 2017 which is turning out to be a show-stopping year, packed full of music, dance, laughter, drama and family fun.

Center Theatre Group welcomes NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt to its Board of Directors.

It's Broadway baby! Pacific Symphony Pops brings two award-winning Broadway superstars—Megan Hilty and Brian Stokes Mitchell—together on one stage to deliver an evening of unforgettable music from the Great White Way. With stunning voices and booming careers on Broadway, television and concert stages, Hilty and Mitchell join the 88-piece orchestra to bring fresh insight to a program of Broadway hits and memorable melodies that have become timeless standards, including music from Cole Porter, Duke Ellington and George Gershwin. Hilty dazzles with songs such as Gershwin's “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “They Just Keep Moving the Line” from the NBC-TV series “Smash” and “The Rainbow Connection” from her album “Live at the Cafe Carlyle.” Then, Mitchell takes the stage with masterpieces such as “Stars” from “Les Misérables,” “The Impossible Dream” from “Man of La Mancha,” “It Ain't Necessarily So” from “Porgy and Bess,” and the ultimate lounge tune, “Feeling Good.” 

Olivier Award-winning director, Robert Icke's (Mary Stuart, The Red Barn, Uncle Vanya, Oresteia, Mr Burns and 1984), ground-breaking and electrifying production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, starring BAFTA award-winner Andrew Scott (Moriarty in BBC's Sherlock, Denial, Spectre, Design For Living and Cock) in the title role, will transfer to the Harold Pinter Theatre, following a critically acclaimed and sell out run at the Almeida Theatre.

Just in case you are unaware, heed this advice: There is perhaps no better place on earth to catch some future Broadway stars (and, no doubt, some Tony Award winners-to-be) than in Nashville. If there is any other more fertile breeding ground for musical theater stars than what you may find among the assemblage of burgeoning talents at Belmont University - particularly among the students enrolled in the school's musical theatre program, now celebrating its 19th season - we implore you to supply directions for our edification.

Today, in our latest Friday 5 (+1), we introduce you to a group of Belmont University Musical Theatre leading ladies - Katie Bays, Emily Anne Ludwig, Lizzy Hinton, Cassie Donegan, Mary Kate Hughes and Katie Grogg - and their leading man, the Franklin Hart Jr. of this particular revival, Graham Trout! Remember their names, gentle readers, they are sure to impress you now over on Belmont Boulevard just as much as they are destined to dazzle critics and audiences (in theaters along other notable streets) alike in the years to come…

Women in theater news for March 2017

Watch your favorite actors and comedians make their rock & roll dreams come true in Comedy Central's new comedy and music series THE COMEDY JAM, premiering March 22 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Coming to The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre this spring is the area's regional theatre premiere production of the high-flying musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The family friendly production, based on the classic film, was announced as part of the theatre's 2017 Mainstage Season last year by producers. The musical will take flight at the area's only year-round producing theatre beginning April 7th.

The following acts are performing at City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, throughout the month of April.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre - the monthly gathering of the International Order of Sodomites, the centuries-old organization which sets the mythic Gay Agenda - will continue its final season on Sunday, March 19 with a celebration of the legendary rock band Velvet Underground at 9:30 PM at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater.

The nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center and AEG Presents announced today that tickets for Taj Mahal/Keb' Mo' will go on sale Friday, March 17 at 10 a.m. Grammy award-winning American blues musician, Taj Mahal and three-time Grammy winner and visionary roots-music storyteller, Keb' Mo' will perform for one night only at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at Strauss Square in the downtown Dallas Arts District. 

Nothing screams comedy like a workplace fantasy sequence. The Nazareth College Theatre and Dance Department will take on the stage version of 9 to 5: the Musical, based on the 1980 hit film of the same name, April 21-22 at 7:30pm and April 23 at 2 pm in the Callahan Theatre at the Nazareth College Arts Center.

For those wishing to take a trip back to a simpler era, Biddeford City Theater's production of Pump Boys & Dinettes serves up a wistful, warm slice of nostalgia together with a foot-tapping country musical score that is guaranteed to leave the audience smiling and singing along. The 1980s juke box musical written by members of the band of the same name (John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, Jim Wann) is set in a small North Carolina town on Highway 57 where four men who work at a gas station and two waitresses who run the adjacent Double Cupp Diner tell stories and jam on guitars, piano, bass, and kitchen utensils. The tunes are vintage country rock, filled with humor, heartache, a longing for the adventures of the road, and the flavors of small town southern life. Anchored by the show's remarkable music director, Kevin Smith, on piano, the seven-person cast sings, dances, and plays their heart out.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre - the monthly gathering of the International Order of Sodomites, the centuries-old organization which sets the mythic Gay Agenda - will continue its final season on Sunday, March 19 with a celebration of the legendary rock band Velvet Underground at 9:30 PM at JOE'S PUB at The Public Theater. The Meeting*, the acclaimed comedy/variety show known for its audacious humor, trailblazing political discourse and button-pushing cultural exploration, will come to an end at the conclusion of the season in May 2017. Special guests will be announced soon. Tracy Stark, who leads a four piece band, serves as the evening's music director.

Nominated for 15 Drama Desk Awards and 4 Tony Awards, this musical is based on the hit 1980 movie featuring Violet, Judy and Doralee. They live out their wildest fantasy - kidnapping their sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigoted boss! While Hart remains 'otherwise engaged,' the women give their workplace a dream makeover taking control of the company. 

The New York Pops brands itself as "a different kind of orchestra," and the proof is in the programming. The orchestra, the largest independent orchestra in the United States, will begin the second half of their season on Friday, March 10, 2017, with a LIFE IS A CABARET: KANDER & EBB, celebrating the music of the legendary duo, and continuing a season (and organization mission) dedicated to featuring a wide variety of performers, composers, and genres.

Daryl Hall & John Oates, in association with Live Nation Philadelphia, announced today the inaugural HoagieNation Festival: a celebration of everything Philly. This event, which will take place Memorial Day Weekend on Saturday, May 27th, will be headlined and curated by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Daryl Hall & John Oates and will also feature performances by international multi-platinum selling band Tears For Fears plus Philadelphia son G. Love & Special Sauce, Vivian Green, Marah, Son Little, Allen Stone, Kandace Springs and more to be announced.

The Bodyguard (The Musical) opens in Charlotte, NC with a BLAST! The set, costumes, music and of course, the sensational Deborah Cox leaves a lasting imprint on opening night, at the Belk Theater. Show runs from March 7-12