Jeff Smith News

Nickelodeon, TIME and TIME for Kids today announced the top 20 finalists for the first-ever Kid of the Year honor, a multiplatform initiative recognizing extraordinary young leaders who are making a positive impact in their communities.

York's show (and tell!) virtual cast reunion series continues tonight, October 19th at 7pm with Taking a Chance on Love. The event will feature Erik Haagensen (deviser), Jeff Smith (music director/arranger), Joe McConnell (casting director), and cast members Terry Burrell, Jerry Dixon, Donna English, and Eddie Korbich

PRIMARY STAGES announced today additional programming for Primary Plus, a series of online programs aimed at helping artists connect with Primary Stages and with each other. For additional details about each program and the most up-to-date information please visit primarystages.org/explore/primary-plus.

Broadway Bound Theatre Festival is excited to announce this year's stellar line-up that will kick off its 2020 season at Theatre Row this August. That's right. This August.

Longtime New York commercial and short film director Jack Danini has finished his first feature film, an energetic, broadly appealing, Broadway-inspired musical called ODE TO PASSION. The film will have its world premiere at the Queens World Film Festival Saturday, March 21 at 4:45PM at the state-of-the-art Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) Redstone Theater, located at 36-01 35 Ave, Astoria, NY 11106 (718 777 6888) in Queens. ODE TO PASSION is one of only twenty curated feature narratives in the Festival program. Tickets are available here: http://bit.ly/2VidI5t.

Emmy, Grammy, and six-time-Tony-Award-winning Broadway star, Audra McDonald, will headline the Theatre Under The Stars Gala 2020 at The Omni Houston Hotel on Saturday, March 28 at 6:30pm.

PRIMARY STAGES (Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Shane D. Hudson, Executive Director; Casey Childs, Founder) announced today additional programming for the month-long festival of solo performances, readings, and special events, featuring members of the Primary Stages family.

Netflix continues to look to books when developing upcoming series. This time, the streaming service has chosen a popular comic book series, BONE by Jeff Smith, to turn into an an animated TV series. BONE began as an independent series and is now sold in bookstores worldwide.

Netflix announced today that it has secured the rights to Jeff Smith's award-winning and New York Times best-selling international comic book series, BONE, with plans to develop an animated kids series that follows the iconic Bone cousins on an adventure through a vast, uncharted desert and into a mysterious valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures.

Join the highly talented tribe of HAIR as Padgett Productions brought the opening night to Kansas City on Saturday, September 7. This is one of the top productions of the highly acclaimed musical that I have had the good fortune to review. Return to an age of hippies, free-love, and the tribe as you enter the small newly renovated Black Box Theatre in the West Bottoms Entertainment District. If you're not ready to party, you are probably in the wrong place.

In the waning days of yet another artificial intelligence startup in San Francisco, two tech bros think that they've figured out what women really want: a vibrator with a mind of its own. They've spent almost all of their funding trying to revolutionize the technology of self-pleasure. But they're running out of money and time, so when an experienced female investor walks into their lab, they realize this might be their last chance to save their startup. But will a radical pivot be enough to save them? And more important, will they ever figure out just what it is that women want?

As the biggest musical A.D. Players has produced in their 52 years, I believe that this production of WEST SIDE STORY has distinguished A.D. Players as an enormously capable participant in our city's musical theatre scene. In the show program, A.D. Players Executive Director Jake Speck and Artistic Director Kevin Dean discuss choosing their season for this past year, which WEST SIDE STORY was not originally a part of. Both individuals recount that though they were pleased with the season's selections, none of the titles scared them. In their mission to continue to set the bar higher, WEST SIDE STORY earned its place in the season. Pay attention, Houston. They're doing big things over at the George Theater, and you've got one more week to catch it!

The world premiere production of Last Gasp by Jeff Smith, directed by Dan Dinero, will be presented at The Players Theatre (115 MacDougal St., New York NY 10012), August 8-24. Performances will be Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 PM, and Sundays at 3 PM. Tickets ($50) are available at lastgasp.show. The performance will run approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. The show is recommended for ages 18 and up.

WABC-TV, the No. 1 broadcast station in the U.S., announced that one of the most popular weather forecasters in New York City history, Sam Champion, is joining its weekday morning and noon teams as weather anchor. Starting Monday, June 3, 2019, Champion joins early risers Ken Rosato, Shirleen Allicot and traffic reporter Heather O'Rourke on Eyewitness News This Morning from 4:30-7:00 a.m. He will also be on Eyewitness News at noon with David Novarro and Shirleen Allicot. Champion will round out the Eyewitness News AccuWeather team led by chief meteorologist Lee Goldberg, along with Amy Freeze and Jeff Smith. Champion will continue to contribute to ABC News.

Kirby the French bulldog is back and ready to take over the world in Atomic Frenchie, Vol. 2!

Welcome to Theatre Under The Stars 50th Anniversary Season Gala, an incredible and intimate celebration this past Saturday, March 23rd with Broadway star Idina Menzel and more than 600 TUTS family and friends. Many guests said it was the "best gala" they had ever attended. The gorgeous event designed by Taylor DeMartino of Blooming Gallery not only turned The Post Oak Hotel grand ballroom into a supper club "under the stars" that night, but guests experienced the magic of live musical theatre while supporting a great cause. A private meet and greet with Menzel was given to top sponsors along with gifts donated by David Peck. This historic event raised more funds than any other Gala in TUTS history - $1.37 million for "Houston's Home for Musical Theatre".

Were you a part of the Barn Players 2018 season? If so, mark your calendars, reserve your seat, and get to The Barn Players Barney Awards And Volunteer Appreciation Celebration, 7:00 pm, Saturday evening January 26th at The Arts Asylum: 1000 East 9th Street, (off Harrison Street), Kansas City, MO 64106. Did we mention that it is FREE to attend? Come celebrate with us! It's the Barn Players way of saying thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make this past year's shows at the Arts Asylum such a resounding success.

BBC AMERICA today announced the expansion of its highly successful broadcast and streaming of Professional Darts, adding the 2018/2019 World Darts Championship from London's sold-out Alexandra Palace from December 13 to January 1. The best matches of the week will air Sunday mornings from 9:00am-12:00pm ET. BBCA will stream a record 111 hours live on BBC America.com. The Final will air in primetime on BBC AMERICA on Tuesday, January 1 at 9:30pm ET following the Doctor Who New Year's Day special. 

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) announces the design team for Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men, the second production of FST's 45th Winter Mainstage Season. Written by Obie Award-winning playwright Young Jean Lee, Straight White Men makes its regional premiere straight from Broadway.

Barn Players turn up the volume and rolls out the '80's music with their current production of "Rock of Ages." The musical, directed by Eric Magnus, features songs from Journey, Styx,, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Steve Perry, Twisted Sister, Poison, etc... Rock Of Ages at Arts Asylum Kansas City by Barn Players November 8-18, 2018 Book by Chris D'Arienzo and music arranged by Ethan Pop featuring The Arsenal Band