Douglas Williams News

This weekend, as we all overload on sugar and attend the obligatory Passion performance, Mark Morris is getting ready to unveil his latest opus. His new production of Handel's ACIS AND GALATEA, one of the most beloved English language operas, has its world premiere next week at Cal Performances, Berkeley (April 25 - 27), before traveling to Celebrity Series of Boston (May 15-18) for its East Coast premiere.

Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director, today announced the 48th season of Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, New York's acclaimed annual summer celebration of classical music, which runs from July 25-August 23, 2014. This year's Festival will feature more than 35 events across several venues including concerts, opera, dance, pre-concert recitals and lectures, late-night performances, contemporary music, and premieres of two commissioned works. The Festival kicks off with two free events: the world premiere of a new work by John Luther Adams, performed July 25 and 26 for free on Hearst Plaza, in a joint presentation with Lincoln Center Out of Doors, and continuing an annual tradition, the free preview concert by the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall on July 26. Renee and Robert Belfer Music Director Louis Langree returns for his 12th season to conduct the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, which will perform a wide range of works anchored by the Festival's featured namesake. Mostly Mozart will also present world-renowned artists and returning Festival favorites, such as violinist Joshua Bell, Mark Morris Dance Group, Emerson String Quartet and Artists-in-Residence International Contemporary Ensemble, as well as 14 Festival debuts, including pianists Yuja Wang and Steven Osborne, and violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja.

The big question surrounding the fate of Harmony: Is Broadway ready for another musical about the turbulent 30s and Nazi occupation of Germany? With The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof (although set in Russia and at an earlier time, it's still about the plight of the Jews) and Cabaret firmly planted in our minds as three of the greatest musicals ever written about the Nazis, do we need one more? Barry Manilow has been trying desperately for over 10 years to get his Harmony, the true story about the Comedian Harmonists, onstage. Now at the Ahmanson through April 13, Harmony is beautifully produced and mounted, exceedingly well-performed and a thoroughly moving story about 6 singers/performers whose careers and lives were interrupted and controlled by Naziism. The answer to the big question is a shaky maybe.

Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's 'Harmony,' a new musical, opened last night, Wednesday, March 12, 2014, at 8 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and plays through April 13 (Previews began March 4). Directed by Tony Speciale, with music by Manilow and book and lyrics by Sussman, 'Harmony' tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six young men in pre-WWII Germany who rose from unemployed street musicians to become world-famous entertainers, selling millions of records, starring in over a dozen films, and selling out the most prestigious concert halls around the world. Yet while The Comedian Harmonists' sophisticated music, paired with hilarious comedy, made them the brightest of stars, the group's mixture of Jews and non-Jews put them on a collision course with history. 'Harmony' is a co-production with the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta. Below, check out a look back at the opening night festivities, including the red carpet, curtain call, and after party!

Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's 'Harmony,' a new musical, opens next Wednesday, March 12, 2014, at 8 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and plays through April 13 (Previews began March 4). Directed by Tony Speciale, with music by Manilow and book and lyrics by Sussman, 'Harmony' tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six young men in pre-WWII Germany who rose from unemployed street musicians to become world-famous entertainers, selling millions of records, starring in over a dozen films, and selling out the most prestigious concert halls around the world. Yet while The Comedian Harmonists' sophisticated music, paired with hilarious comedy, made them the brightest of stars, the group's mixture of Jews and non-Jews put them on a collision course with history. 'Harmony' is a co-production with the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta. Below, check out a first look at the cast in action!

In 2013, Leigh Ann Larkin and Shayne Kennon starred in the Atlanta production of Harmony. Today, March 4, they will get to reprise their roles at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in LA.

Rehearsals begin tomorrow, February 11, 2014, for Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's 'Harmony,' A New Musical, which opens March 12, 2014, at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and plays through April 13. (Previews begin March 4.)

Full casting is set for Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's "Harmony," a new musical, opening March 12, 2014, at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and playing through April 13. (Previews begin March 4).

'Harmony', a new musical with music by Barry Manilow Book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman, is being directed by Tony Speciale in a co-production with the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta. The show will begin previews at Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre on March 4, 2014, with an opening night slated for March 12. The show will run through April 13. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast in action below!

The Houston Symphony's December calendar features a special one-night-only performance as John Williams Joins Yo-Yo Ma tonight, December 5 at Jones Hall.

The Houston Symphony's December calendar features a special one-night-only performance as John Williams Joins Yo-Yo Ma on December 5 at Jones Hall. The Symphony will also celebrate the holidays with concerts for the entire family. On December 13, 14 and 15, the Symphony and Chorus will perform Very Merry Pops, which celebrates the season with holiday hits including a special piece, Glad Tidings, which features spiritual leaders from the Houston community as guest narrators.

Ehrenkranz Artistic Director Jane Moss today announced the roster for Lincoln Center's fourth multidisciplinary White Light Festival, today October 24 through November 23, 2013.

On November 21, 22, 23, 2013 at 7:30pm, at The David Koch Theater, British conductor and early music specialist Nicholas McGegan leads Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. Mark Morris' luminous L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, set to Handel's glorious oratorio, is one of the most beloved dance works of our time.

ALLIANCE THEATRE presents HARMONY - A NEW MUSICAL, with music by Barry Manilow and book & lyrics by Bruce Sussman, now playing through October 6, 2013. Click below to watch highlights from the show!

Tonight, as the curtain rises at the (770 seat) Alliance Theatre, in Atlanta, this will be the center of the Universe for Barry and Bruce. This musical is, and has been, their baby for a long time, while waiting for this moment.

Alliance Theatre presents HARMONY - A NEW MUSICAL, with music by Barry Manilow and book & lyrics by Bruce Sussman, now playing through October 6, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production shots below!

Rehearsals began this week in Atlanta, GA, for the Alliance Theatre's production of HARMONY – A NEW MUSICAL with music by Barry Manilow and book & lyrics by Bruce Sussman. HARMONY tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, a close harmony ensemble of six young men in 1930s Germany, who took the world by storm until their religious composition – a mixture of Jews and Gentiles – put them on a collision course with history. HARMONY is a co-production with Center Theatre Group. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at rehearsals below!

A number of program changes and additions have been made to the performances, screenings, and events presented by Great Performers and the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center this season. Below is a final schedule of events for both series through June 4, 2013.

InterAct Theatre Company and the New York based company, The One-Minute Play Festival (OMPF) today announce their joint presentation of the First Philadelphia One-Minute Play Festival, to be performed tonight, July 29th-31st 2013 at 8:00 PM EST. Following sold-out performances in a dozen other cities, this festival serves as the culmination of a yearlong collaboration between the two companies after engaging in community and consensus building workshop sessions with local artists since August of 2012.