Don Smith News

It's hard to imagine why this gem of a show had such a short Broadway run, but it is finding new life in regional productions, not the least of which opened here at South Portland's Lyric Music Theater this past weekend. Directed by Mary Meserve with sparkling choreography by Raymond Marc Dumont and featuring a large cast with strong vocal-dramatic abilities, anchored by Eric Berry-Sandelin's charismatic performance as Frank Abagnale, Jr., this is a delight not to be missed!

Palo Alto Players concludes its 2016-17 season - From Stage to Screen and Back Again - with the stage adaptation of the quintessential hit film of the 60s, The Graduate.

Antic in a Drain presents its world premiere production of Bucko: Whaleman!

Texas Ballet Theater (TBT) will close its 2016-2017 season with a production of Alice in Wonderland. TBT will perform at Bass Performance Hall, May 19-21, with accompaniment by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and at Winspear Opera House, June 2-4, with accompaniment by the Dallas Opera Orchestra.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.)'s Associate Artistic Director Andy Donald announced the complete lineup for A.C.T.'s second annual New Strands Festival taking place at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater (1127 Market Street, San Francisco) May 17-21, 2017.

If you are looking for a lighthearted evening of theatre that manages to keep you laughing the entire night, then Theatre Baton Rouge's production of "THE DROWSY CHAPERONE" certainly fits the bill.

ODC, the most active center for contemporary dance on the West Coast, has announced the program for its 2017 Theater Season. Highlights include world premieres by David Gordon, FACT/SF, Monique Jenkinson, tinypistol, Laura Elaine Ellis and Smith/Wymore Disappearing Acts, and West Coast premieres by Kate Weare Company and The Foundry. Additional season highlights include remounts of seminal works by Joanna Haigood and RAWdance.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced the 2017 Writers Guild Awards winners for outstanding achievement in writing for film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation

FAITH COUNTY II is 90 minutes of lighthearted, family-friendly silliness as Mineola, Arkansas' Council for Cultural Recognition amateur production of Romeo and Juliet

Pioneer Theatre Company presents Oliver!, the award-winning musical by Lionel Bart inspired by the orphan's tale, Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens. Oliver! runs December 2 to December 17, 2016.

Pioneer Theatre Company presents Oliver!, the award-winning musical by Lionel Bart inspired by the orphan's tale, Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens. Oliver! runs December 2 to December 17, 2016.

Award-winning political journalist Soledad O'Brien and National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President and CEO Gordon Smith will be featured in a keynote session on the intersection of media and politics, Today, November 9 at NAB Show New York.

Pear Theatre continues its 2016/2017 season with George Bernard Shaw's classic MAJOR BARBARA, a thought-provoking look at human nature, religion, and social engineering. As the country prepares to elect a new President, the relationships between business, morality, and human welfare becomes more relevant than ever. MAJOR BARBARA, directed by Betsy Kruse Craig and assistant directed by Jeanie K. Smith, previews on October 27; with Press and Opening Night on Saturday, October 28, followed by a champagne gala. The show runs Todays through Sundays, through November 20. All performances are held at the Pear Theatre, 1110 La Avenida St., Mountain View. For tickets ($10-$35) and information the public may visit www.thepear.org or call (650) 254-1148.

Award-winning political journalist Soledad O'Brien and National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President and CEO Gordon Smith will be featured in a keynote session on the intersection of media and politics, Wednesday, November 9 at NAB Show New York.

College of DuPage (COD) College Theater presents Oscar Wilde's "A Woman of No Importance," directed by COD Professor of Theater, Amelia Barrett at the McAninch Arts Center's Studio Theatre, Oct. 6-23. "A Woman of No Importance" premiered in 1893 in London's Haymarket Theatre. As with many of Wilde's plays, it satirizes English upper class society and features many witty, memorable and highly quotable lines, such as "Men marry because they are tired; women because they are curious. Both are disappointed;" and "Nothing succeeds like excess." Please note: This play contains adult language and themes.

Pear Theatre continues its 2016/2017 season with George Bernard Shaw's classic MAJOR BARBARA, a thought-provoking look at human nature, religion, and social engineering. As the country prepares to elect a new President, the relationships between business, morality, and human welfare becomes more relevant than ever. MAJOR BARBARA, directed by Betsy Kruse Craig and assistant directed by Jeanie K. Smith, previews on October 27; with Press and Opening Night on Saturday, October 28, followed by a champagne gala. The show runs Thursdays through Sundays, through November 20. All performances are held at the Pear Theatre, 1110 La Avenida St., Mountain View. For tickets ($10-$35) and information the public may visit www.thepear.org or call (650) 254-1148.

College of DuPage (COD) College Theater presents Oscar Wilde's "A Woman of No Importance," directed by COD Professor of Theater, Amelia Barrett at the McAninch Arts Center's Studio Theatre, Oct. 6-23. "A Woman of No Importance" premiered in 1893 in London's Haymarket Theatre. As with many of Wilde's plays, it satirizes English upper class society and features many witty, memorable and highly quotable lines, such as "Men marry because they are tired; women because they are curious. Both are disappointed;" and "Nothing succeeds like excess." Please note: This play contains adult language and themes.

Voted 'the most significant English language play of the 20th century" in a survey of playwrights, Waiting for Godot is considered a masterpiece of surrealist existentialism. Two wandering vagabonds, Vladimir and Estragon, wait by a lonely tree, to meet up with Mr. Godot, an enigmatic figure in a world where time, place and memory are blurred and meaning is where you find it. The men hope that Godot will change their lives for the better. Instead, two eccentric travelers arrive, one man on the end of the other's rope. The results are both surprisingly funny and somehow touching, and the trip will bend your brain in this vigorous conception of Samuel Beckett's classic.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Denver, and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include OF MICE AND MEN at Milwaukee Rep, the pre-Broadway engagement of EMPIRE in Los Angeles, and VIOLET in Denver,  just to name a few.