This year's Broadway Belts for PFF!, hosted by Broadway's Julie Halston, will be an even bigger celebration as Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman bring together members of the original Broadway cast of Hairspray to celebrate its 'Sweet 16.' The HairspraySweet 16 segment will honor Margo Lion, a lead producer on the original production, for her theatrical career and her support for Broadway Belts for PFF! and the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF). This once-in-a-lifetime event is exclusively available through sponsorship opportunities that can be purchased at www.BroadwayBeltsforPFF.org.
L.A.'s Australian Theatre Company is excited to host a six-day workshop with Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Academy Award-winning playwright John Patrick Shanleyat the Skylight Theatre beginning March 12.
Casting has been announced for The Trial, the next play in the Politics of the Absurd reading series presented by Christopher Maring/ CM Stage Productions. Joining the reading will be Krysta Rodriguez (What We're Up Against, "Trial & Error", Spring Awakening), Mamoudou Athie ("The Get Down", Patti Cake$,), Brian Wiles ("Public Morals", "Turn"), Brian D. Coats (Jitney, "Boardwalk Empire"), John Rothman (Ghostbusters, "One Mississippi") Sam Breslin Wright ("Madame Secretary", The Beaver), and Tony nominee Kristine Neilson (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, You Can't Take it With You). The Trial, adapted by Steven Berkoff from the novel by Franz Kafka, and directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (What We're Up Against, Dry Land), will take place at the Baruch Performing Arts Center on March 5, 6, and 7.
WP Theater (formerly known as Women's Project Theater), under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty and Managing Director Michael Sag, is thrilled to announce the lineup for the second biennial Pipeline Festival, showcasing the work of the celebrated WP Lab residency for playwrights, directors and producers from March 29 - April 28 at WP Theater (2162 Broadway & 76th Street.)
Netflix announced today the renewal of its hit show Grace and Frankie for a fifth season. The series, produced by Skydance Television and starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen, and Sam Waterston, will return in 2019. In addition, RuPaul joins the cast as a guest star in season five as 'Benjamin Le Day,' a formidable and quick-witted adversary who faces off with Grace and Frankie.
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, the most awarded new musical of 2015 and winner of four Tony Awards, will play RBTL'S Auditorium Theatre for a one-week engagement March 20-25, as part of the 2017-2018 M&T Bank Broadway Season presented by RBTL and Albert Nocciolino. Tickets are on sale now and available via ticketmaster.com, 800.745.3000 and the Box Office. Group orders of 10 or more may be placed by calling 585-277-3325.
On Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 2:30pm, composer Robert Sirota's Birds of Paradise – performed by flutist Linda Chesis, clarinetist David Valbuena, and pianist Alexandre Moutouzkine – will be presented on flutist Linda Chesis' Manhattan School of Music Faculty Recital, For the Birds, in the School's Greenfield Hall (120 Claremont Avenue). Birds of Paradise was commissioned and premiered by the Webster Trio in 2008 at the National Flute Association annual convention in Kansas City, MO. This performance will include commissioned videography by Jim Berman. Sirota explains, “In 2014, Linda Chesis programmed Birds of Paradise on the Cooperstown Music Festival. Having discovered the absolutely fantastic video footage of actual birds of paradise taken in New Guinea by the Cornell Birds of Paradise lab, she commissioned a video from Jim Berman to be performed with my piece.”
Goodspeed Musicals is delighted to announce the establishment of The Andrew A. Isen Prize at Goodspeed Musicals. The prize, to be given annually, will recognize a young person between the ages of 20-29 who has demonstrated excellence in their work during the previous Goodspeed Musicals season. Each March, Goodspeed will award $5,000 to an honoree - chosen by committee - to aid in their pursuit of a career in musical theatre. The inaugural prize will be awarded in 2019 for candidates from the 2018 season. Application information will be made available to eligible candidates during their time at Goodspeed.
SPARKLE & CIRCULATE with JUSTIN SAYRE - the official monthly podcast of the International Order of Sodomites - has posted its new episode, which features an interview with Julian Fleisher. The sophisticated vocalist, composer, bandleader, producer, actor and author discusses his albums "Rather Big" and "Finally," his book 'The Drag Queens of New York: An Illustrated Field Guide'... and why he needs a boyfriend. Plus, he spills secrets about his musical collaborations with Kiki & Herb and Ana Gasteyer. And Justin sends us his best for the new year, if slightly belatedly. SPARKLE & CIRCULATE was recently named among the "10 Comedy Podcasts You Should Listen To" by Backstage. All episodes are available on iTunes HERE.
The fourth annual Broadway Stage Management Symposium (BSMS) will feature an incredible line up of Broadway's top stage managers in panels that address some of today's most important issues in the theatre industry.
Going boldly where no Jewish museums have gone before, the Center for Jewish History and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research are pleased to announce the launch of their joint exhibition, “Jews in Space: Members of the Tribe in Orbit.” Featuring a stellar array of rare artifacts, from 18th-century Hebrew astronomy texts to a collection of Judaica that went into orbit on the space shuttle, the exhibit explores the age-old Jewish quest to understand the heavens.
Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, presents What Do the Women Say?: Dismantling Patriarchy, its annual celebration of International Women's Day. This year's program showcases the work of leading Middle Eastern women artists that are working to expose and eradicate toxic masculinity at home, at work, and on the national stage. The event features a presentation by Yemeni-American visual artist Yasmine Diaz about her collage series, One Way or Another; a dramatic reading by Golden Thread Resident Artist Atosa Melody Babaoff of the short story "White Torture" by Iranian author Farnoosh Moshiri; a performance by Lebanese-American singer Naima Shalhoub featuring music from her debut album Live in San Francisco County Jail; and an excerpt from the documentary film The Judge by Erika Cohn and Sara Maamouri about the Arab world's first woman Sharia judge. After the presentations, Founding Artistic Director Torange Yeghiazarian will facilitate a conversation with the participating artists and the audience. Reem's California will sell food in the lobby starting at 6pm. The full program is 100 minutes without intermission.
Universal Pictures has released the first teaser poster for GREG: A FOCKER FABLE, the long-awaited prequel in the MEET THE PARENTS franchise. Craig Healy (CUPLICATED) takes over for Ben Stiller in the iconic role of Gaylord 'Greg' Focker. The standalone Focker film takes place prior to Focker meeting father-in-law Jack Byrnes (Robert DeNiro, who will appear via face-replacement technology, much like Princess Leia in ROGUE ONE). Aspiring nurse Greg is determined to meet the love of his life, but before he can meet anyone, he must meet himself. Sasheer Zamata takes the reigns from Teri Polo as young Pam Byrnes.
The Blackfriars Theatre Board of Directors is thrilled to welcome Megan Colombo as the new Marketing & Outreach Manager for Blackfriars Theatre. Thanks to a Regional Economic Development grant award through New York State Council on the Arts' Workforce Development Program, Blackfriars has been able to achieve something they've never done before in their 68-year history: add a third full-time staff member.
'Bagels and Lox Day' is on Friday, February 9th but this favorite dish can be enjoyed each and every day at Junior's Restaurants with their 'Nova Bagel' menu item.
A father and son have plenty to sort out in the wake of Mom's death in Meridith Friedman's THE LUCKIEST PEOPLE, while the son's gay lover wonders which of the two is behaving more childishly.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Tony Award-winning musical The Bridges of Madison County, based on the 1992 bestselling novel by Robert James Waller about love both lost and found. Set amidst the cornfields of Iowa in 1965, this passionate musical follows the unexpected affair of a devoted Italian-born housewife and a roving National Geographic photographer set over four sensual, heart-stirring days. Brilliantly adapted by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Marsha Norman ('night Mother, The Secret Garden, The Color Purple) with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade), it captured the 2014 Tony Award for Best Musical Score. The Bridges of Madison County, directed by TheatreWorks Artistic Director and founder Robert Kelley will be presented April 4 - 29, 2018 (opening night: April 7) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.
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