Raven Theatre is pleased to present the world premiere of the heartwarming, family-friendly comedy COLD TOWN/HOTLINE: A Chicago Holiday Story, written and directed by Eli Newell, playing November 30 a?" December 22, 2019 on Raven's 85-seat East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at raventheatre.com or by calling (773) 338-2177. The press opening is Friday, December 6 at 7:30 pm.
What will two Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwrights have to say to each other in a room full of critics about creating drama based on real-life characters and events?
Kit Ingui, Long Wharf Theatre's current Acting Managing Director, will assume the role of Managing Director of Long Wharf Theatre effective immediately. Ingui, with 20 years of experience in Broadway and Off-Broadway production, has become a highly-regarded and key member of the leadership team since joining Long Wharf Theatre in 2017 and served as Acting Managing Director from July to September 2019.
Kids of all ages can explore the underwater kingdom of Atlantis during the WST for Kids' production of Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID, JR. Based on and adapted from the Academy Award-winning 1989 Disney movie and Broadway production, this hour-long musical will appear on the Walnut Mainstage beginning September 21 and now extended through October 6, 2019.
Broadway Method Academy (BMA), the resident conservatory of Westport Country Playhouse, announced initial casting for its upcoming musical, 'Disney's The Little Mermaid.' A host of Broadway actors will be featured in the cast alongside the Academy's 40 students.
About Face Theatre announces the addition of five new artists to the company's roster of Artistic Associates. Along with Artistic Director Megan Carney, the Artistic Associates represent the company's core artistic community whose creative focus helps shape About Face Theatre's theatrical productions and outreach.
On Friday evening, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, in a display of pure bravura, opened their 40th Anniversary Season with the regional premiere of the musical War Paint, a new tuner with a book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie that tells the story of the rise and fall of two of the cosmetics industry's most notable trailblazers, Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden. The musical opened on Broadway in 2017 to lackluster reviews and played only 269 performances before shuttering, even with two of Broadway's biggest divas, Christine Ebersole and Patti Lupone, at the helm. There's a reason for this. War Paint has what I like to call Sleepless-in-Seattle Syndrome when I'm talking to a group of juiced-up creative writing students. That's a story that, like the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan film, has this problem: the characters don't share enough time together in scenes to generate the type of tension needed to sustain interest over the course of the story. The musical places too many limitations on itself by remaining true to the real-life story which includes the fact that Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden didn't actually know each other in real life and ends up painting a stage where the two principal characters are separated by an imaginary wall that can't ever be scaled, not even emotionally, and not even by the most talented actors. But Atlanta Lyric, with their artistic director, Mary Nye Bennett, an absolute mega-talent in the role of Helena Rubenstein, and gorgeous scenic by Stephanie Polhemus, manage to offer up an excellent evening at the theater under the direction of a capable Susan G. Reid.
a??a??a??a??a??a??a??The Lark, a theater company devoted to the support of extraordinary playwrights and the development of new plays, is thrilled to announce that Sam Chanse, J. Julian Christopher, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, C.A. Johnson, and Abe Koogler have been selected as the 2019-20 Rita Goldberg Playwrights' Workshop Fellows. This year marks the 20th iteration of the Workshop, which was established by renowned playwright Arthur Kopit, and brings together emerging and established playwrights in a space where they are free to explore new material, without commercial pressures.
ABC has just announced that THE LITTLE MERMAID LIVE will air Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. as part of The Wonderful World of Disney. Auli'i Cravalho, of Moana fame, will star as Ariel.
Queen Latifah will star as Ursula and Shaggy will play Sebastian. No additional casting has been announced at this time.
According to the annual high school play survey conducted by the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), The Addams Family; Almost, Maine; and Check Please received top billing for the most produced musical, full-length play, and short play, respectively, during the 2018-19 school year.
According to the annual high school play survey conducted by EdTA, The Addams Family; Almost, Maine; and Check Please received top billing for the most produced musical, full-length play, and short play, respectively, during the 2018-19 school year.
In short, THE LITTLE MERMAID taps into the magic of Disney and brings it to Central Texas. It offers family-friendly summer fun that is accessible to all.
Sideshow Theatre Company opens its 2019-20 season with the U.S. premiere of Alistair McDowall's mind-bending sci-fi thriller X, directed by artistic director Jonathan L. Green*. X will play September 22 a?" October 27, 2019 at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago.
Currently docked at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach through July 28 is Musical Theater West's wonderfully vibrant new regional production of THE LITTLE MERMAID, Disney's Broadway stage adaptation of their hit 1989 animated classic, which itself was adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. The resulting show achieves a cheerful, pleasant, and often charming hybrid that honors the original Disney-esque qualities of the film, but also shows what one may call a 'director's cut'---wherein the new 'extras' expand the musical even further in size, elements, and thematic mood. MTW's production is a visual treat.
The Little Mermaid at Hershey Area Playhouse is an aesthetically beautiful and well-directed show. You'll definitely want to add this show to your summer 'must-see' list.
