Frances News

Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern announce casting for Vineyard Theatre's Developmental Lab production of Tori Sampson's THIS LAND WAS MADE, directed by Whitney White.

A few years back, Dear Readers, I stumbled on an article about a new little show called 'Disenchanted', about Fairy Tale Princesses in a musical revue telling about how life ain't so happily ever after and since I always love a good dose of snark I instantly became obsessed. I followed its journey, hoping it might come to a city near me or at least one I was visiting and even corresponded with the creators, book writer, composer and lyricist Dennis T Giancino and director Fiely A Matias who were kind enough to get me some sample recordings which only deepened my obsession (and put Siri in a tizzy as she has to censor herself when attempting to repeat back to me the original title). Well now, by the grace of the theater Gods and the good folks at Mamches Productions, that wonderful revue has come to Seattle and with the original creators in tow with Giancino directing this time and Matias assisting. And while the gloriousness of those scathing songs is there, the show itself needs a bit more settling time and some technical help to be truly great.

The hit stage adaptation Dirty Dancing returns to Glasgow next year as part of a UK tour.

Tickets on sale today for two plays new to Los Angeles at the Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theater of California.  Native Gardens, a new comedy by Karen Zacarias and directed by Jason Alexander performing September 5 to 30 (press opening September 9), and the West End production of its reigning hit, Susan Hill's The Woman in Black, performing October 17 to November 11 (press opening October 18).

Following in the footsteps of its influential Movies for Grownups Awards, AARP today announced the debut of its TV for Grownups Honors on July 24, 2018, at the Sunset Tower Hotel. The program will celebrate the career achievement of iconic television pioneer Norman Lear. Academy Award, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Rita Moreno will present the award to Lear. The event will be hosted by actress Wendie Malick, with notable guests including Dick Van Dyke, Frances Fisher, Marla Gibbs, Bob Saget, Adrienne Barbeau, Chuck Lorre and more.

Producer Karl Sydow has announced casting for the new 2018/19 UK tour of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage, as well as additional dates for 2019 in Ipswich, Manchester, Guildford, Grimsby, Glasgow and Bristol - on sale on Friday 20 July.

New Orleans & Company announces the line-up of restaurants for its 14th annual COOLinary New Orleans Restaurant Month, offering special two- and three-course lunch menus for $20 or less, three-course dinner menus for $39 or less and three-course brunch menus for $39 or less, available August 1-31, 2018.

Sheffield People's Theatre have devised this brand new musical, bringing to life stories inspired by the people of this proud city of steel. The community theatre company take to the stage with a heartfelt ode to our vibrant and vital city built on seven hills.

It all started with ANNIE and is still going strong, as Moorestown Theater Company welcomes back that 'perky redhead'.

Animus Theatre Company (Jonathan Judge-Russo, Founding Artistic Director) in association with the Circle in the Square Professional Workshop, has announced the schedule and casting for its annual 12-Hour Reading Festival, which returns to Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre this Thursday, July 19, beginning at 11:00am. This year's festival, which will showcase the repertoire of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart), will feature company artists will include Haley Bond, Sara Canter, Jonathan Judge-Russo (A Rainy Day in New York, "Law & Order: SVU"), Trevor Kluckman, Alan Langdon, Brad Lemons, Amy Northup, Courtney Shaw and Karen Sours Albisua ("The Chi," "The Bridge").

The Peculiar Patriot, Liza Jessie Peterson's powerful one-woman show and scathing indictment of the criminal justice system, opened Friday to fanfare at Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre (NBT) in Harlem. The show is directed by Talvin Wilks and produced by NBT and Hi-ARTS and runs through July 29. Check out photos from opening night below!

PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now is pleased to announce programming for the seventh annual festival of fresh opera-theatre & music-theatre running January 5-13, 2019, featuring eight presentations that "shift the whole paradigm of what opera is and can be" (New York Observer).

Tickets go onsale today, July 16, for The New Group's The True. Directed by Scott Elliott, The True begins performances September 4 in advance of an Official Opening Night on September 20. A limited Off-Broadway engagement is slated through October 21 at The Pershing Square Signature Center (The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre, 480 West 42nd Street).

Christmas welcomes the latest full-length play from Kieran Hurley - Mouthpiece (5-22 Dec), produced in association with HighTide - an unexpected, darkly comic and at times shocking story of two unlikely lives intertwined. After encountering each other on Salisbury Crags one evening, Libby and Declan form an uneasy friendship, complicated by class and culture - Libby spots an opportunity to put her writing career back on track, and tell a story that really matters. Mouthpiece takes a deeply personal look at the different Edinburghs which often exist in ignorance of one another, and examines whether it's possible to tell someone else's story without exploiting them. Orla O'Loughlin directs, marking her final production as Artistic Director before taking on the role of Vice-Principal and Director of Drama at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

36 years ago, on April 2, 1982, Argentine forces invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands in an attempt to establish the sovereignty it claimed over them. On April 5th, just three days later, Britain responded and the ensuing 74-day conflict claimed 904 lives, including 3 civilians, as well as wounded thousands more.

Using a diverse cast of singers, actors, poets, and performers, 'I, Too, Sing America' honors and weaves the perspectives and experiences of American artists of color with poetry, song, music and movement, featuring original compositions by Othello Jefferson. The performances of "I, Too, Sing America" are on Friday, July 27 at 8PM and Saturday, July 28 at 2PM and 8PM in the celebrated Buriel Clay Theater. With a company of thirty-one dancers and singers,  "I, Too, Sing America" highlights poetic works by artists including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Beyonce, Frances Chung, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alice Walker and more. The performances are under the musical direction Othello Jefferson with choreographic direction by Christine Chung; produced and directed by Jamie Yuen-Shore.

Giant Peach Release New Video, On Tour Now, New LP on Dead Broke Rekerds

Toni Caracci joins the cast of DOG WHISTLE, by Michael Kimmel - which will have a reading at The Loading Dock on July 12th.

Gallery 30 South, Pasadena's popular gallery for emerging and internationally renowned artists and pop culture enthusiasts, has announce an extraordinary limited engagement exhibition titled "Pop Sequentialism Ver. 2.0" to open Sunday, July 15, 2018 and run through mid-August.

Arts Over Borders will present a series of unique open air presentations of Homer's The Odyssey on nine beaches that stretch along the Atlantic coast between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, from 9-19 August 2018.