Don Walker News

Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) announced an agreement with Theatre Now New York, an artist service organization dedicated to the development of new works, to represent and license 25 short musicals from its collection beginning in early 2021.

Red Line Productions, recently honoured with the Hayes Gordon Memorial Award for significant contribution to Australian Theatre, and featured in Timeout New York & The Chicago Tribune, today announce that Alexander Berlage (American Psycho, Cry Baby,) Catherine Van-Davies (Hungry Ghosts, No Pay, No Way) & Constantine Costi (Opera Australia's La Traviata on Sydney Harbour, Bittersweet Obsessions for the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra,) will join the company as part of the new artistic directorate of the Old Fitz Theatre.

Theatre Odyssey is forging ahead with its fifteenth annual ten-minute play festival. It is preparing to allow its audience to comfortably hear the festival from the safest place. Home.

The rescheduled dates for Ian Moss' the 2020 Matchbook 30th Anniversary Tour have been announced. The tour will now begin on 24 February, 2021.

Paramount Network today announced that Mark Feuerstein, Kelli Williams, Daniel Mora, Emy Mena, George Pullar, Amy Forsyth, Ross Phillips, Romina D'Ugo, Bobby Daniel Rodriguez, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Jose Pablo Cantillo and Drew Powell are joining the cast of new scripted drama series Coyote, led by Emmy(R) Award-winner Michael Chiklis. Production on the first season of Coyote is underway with the series scheduled to premiere on Paramount Network in Summer 2020.

Today's subject Ted Sperling is very well represented this holiday season here in DC. He is the Musical Director/New Orchestrator for Fiddler on the Roof which plays through December 15th at the National Theatre. Beginning December 17th his work as Musical Supervisor can be heard on My Fair Lady at Kennedy Center. That show runs through Jan 19th.

Cold Chisel's new studio album, Blood Moon, is released today on a myriad of different formats - including Deluxe CD (with bonus DVD), standard CD, Blood Moon-coloured vinyl, an extremely limited Cassette (yes, cassette!) and all digital formats.

The Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) is pleased to announce the five Providence public elementary schools that have been selected to participate in the 2019 - 2020 Disney Musicals in Schools program. The program is an initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Group to create sustainable theater programs in public elementary schools. The five schools include:  

Cold Chisel premiered their new single, Getting The Band Back Together, on all Triple M stations this morning, as the climax of the rock network's month-long “Oztober” celebrations. The single is now live across Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and other digital service providers. The video for the single has also gone live everywhere.

Director Joel Grey and stars from the critically-acclaimed, award-winning and groundbreaking production of a?oeFiddler on the Roof in Yiddisha?? will celebrate the success of their original cast recording at Barnes & Noble (150 East 86th Street) in New York City at 3:30pm on Tuesday, October 15, 2019. 

In 2017, Center Theatre Group was awarded a grant from Disney to bring the Disney Musicals in Schools program to the Los Angeles area. The program is an initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Productions to create sustainable theatre programs in under-resourced elementary schools. Center Theatre Group will select four area public elementary schools to participate in this year's program. Previous recipients have included Breed Street Elementary (LAUSD), Cantara Street School (LAUSD), Harrison Elementary (LAUSD), Hope Street Elementary (LAUSD), Humphreys Avenue Elementary (LAUSD), La Ballona Elementary (Culver City Unified School District), Ritter Elementary (LAUSD), Saturn Street Elementary (LAUSD), Tulsa Street Elementary (LAUSD) and Wild Rose School of Creative Arts (Monrovia Unified School District). 

For the first time ever in its 55-year history, the musically complete cast recording of a?oeFiddler on the Roofa?? will be released, including 11 songs in English that were cut from the original Broadway production in 1964.

Hot on the heels of announcing his metro Matchbook 30th Anniversary Tour dates, Ian Moss has, due to demand, announced further dates and will be taking the iconic album on the road across Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania from February 2020.

Final casting has been announced for the upcoming concert performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein's iconic musical CAROUSEL for one night only at Cadogan Hall on Sunday 19th May.

Dame Patricia Routledge has been announced for the upcoming concert performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein's iconic musical CAROUSEL for one night only at Cadogan Hall on Sunday 19th May. She will play the role of the Narrator.

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins JR. will be playing at Roswell Cultural Arts Center from Friday, May 10 through Saturday, May 11. The "practically perfect" 70-minute musical, designed for middle school-aged performers, is based on the classic P.L. Travers stories and the Walt Disney film. The Roswell Youth Theatre cast includes 30 students led by Leslie Kelley, Jane Hendrix, and Nancy Whitehead Brown.

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts hosted its second Student Share Celebration for the Disney Musicals in Schools program on Tuesday, April 2. More than 150 students from four local Title I elementary schools performed in the showcase for hundreds of family and friends. The showcase took place in the Center's Dreyfoos Hall.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's iconic musical CAROUSEL is to receive a concert performance for one night only at Cadogan Hall on Sunday 19th May. Joanna Riding and Janie Dee will reprise their performances as Julie Jordan and Carrie Pipperidge for the first time in twenty-seven years since appearing in the National Theatre's legendary production of CAROUSEL, which earned them both Olivier Awards. The two-time Olivier Award-winners are currently enjoying great acclaim and success in the National Theatre's revival of FOLLIES. Joining them will be Hadley Fraser as Billy Bigelow. The 1945 musical marks the second collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and is based on Ferenc Molnar's 1909 play LILIOM.

Now in its 2nd year, Goodman Theatre selects five Chicagoland elementary schools to participate in the "Disney Musicals in Schools" program--an outreach initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Productions to create sustainable musical theater programs in under-resourced elementary schools. The selected schools include John C. Haines Elementary School (China Town) performing Aladdin KIDS; Jonathan Y. Scammon Elementary School (Logan Square) performing The Lion King KIDS; Richard Yates Elementary School (Humboldt Park) performing Aladdin KIDS; Belmont-Cragin Elementary School (Belmont Cragin) performing The Lion King KIDS; and Gerald Delgado Kanoon Magnet Elementary School (Little Village) performing Aladdin KIDS. Coordinated by Goodman Theatre artists Adrian Azevedo and Anna Gelman, under the leadership of Walter Director of Education and Engagement Willa J. Taylor, the five area public elementary schools received performance rights to a Disney KIDS musical of their choice, at no cost.

Disney's Frozen JR. is playing at Woodruff School from Friday, April 12th, 2019 through Sunday, April 14th, 2019 at 7pm Friday and Saturday, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. The spectacular 60-minute musical, designed for middle school-aged performers, is based on the 2013 Disney film and the 2018 Broadway adaptation. The Woodruff School ACE Music cast includes 50 students led by Director Spencer Lau, Associate Director Tanya Nakai, Choreographer John Stephan, Vocal Coach Kayleigh Whitmore, Assistant Choreographer Lindsay Nakai and Casting Directors Jaclyn Pohlig and Sarah Moore.