Jeremy Benton News

'It's great to stay up late' when you are watching a classic musical like Singin' in the Rain, playing at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma June 25-30.

The Broadway at Birdland concert series was thrilled to present Christina Crawford's 'Mommie Dearest: The Musical' in concert on Monday, June 10.  The cast featured Tina Scariano as Christina and Dorothy Bishop as Joan, with an all-star cast.  Drew Wutke accompaned on piano, with Daniel Shevlin on cello.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

Meadow Brook Theatre is bringing a classic silent movie to musical life with The IT Girl to end their regular season! Currently running until June 23rd, The IT Girl tells the story of Betty (Sara Kmiec), a sassy department store clerk, that has something special. It's enough to win an advertising contest looking for the girl with 'IT,' but will it be enough to charm the heir to the retail empire that employs her? The show is a retelling of the 1937 Paramount Picture, 'IT,' which starred Clara Bow and MBT has paid homage to the era by setting the show in black and white. BroadwayWorld Detroit had a moment to chat with The IT Girl's leading lady, Sara Kmiec about her role of Betty Lou Spence, the charming show, and why the show has 'IT.'

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts:

In The IT Girl, Betty, a sassy department store clerk has something special. It's enough to win an advertising contest looking for the girl with "IT," but will it be enough to charm the heir to the retail empire that employs her?

From the streets of New York to the Atlantic Ocean, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma will send patrons on a transatlantic voyage this summer that promises to make news headlines and leave them dazzled by Hollywood movie magic.

My love of Singin' in the Rain is deeply rooted in my experience of the beloved 1952 film classic, and it's steeped in nostalgia. It's a love that sees me first in line at classic film festivals when Singin' in the Rain is on the marquee. It's a love that makes my heart flutter when I learn that a nearby theater is staging the 1983 musical. And it's a love that makes me willfully forget that the stage musical … well … isn't that good. It tries hard, but it just doesn't quite work.  The "doesn't quite work" is not particularly bound up in the fact that stage adaptations are noticeably absent the great dancing triumvirate - Kelly, O'Connor, and Reynolds - though that certainly doesn't help.  What's wrong is that it feels too cinematic and has an inexplicable absence of story energy and razzle-dazzle that made us fall in love with Hollywoodland on the screen. Atlanta Lyric Theatre's earnest new production can't overcome this problem.  No production can.  But with tremendously entertaining supporting actors J. Koby Parker in the role of Cosmo Brown and Beth Beyer in the role of Lina Lamont, a beautifully sung titular song complete with a gorgeous streetscape and very real rain, and dreamy period costumes by Amanda Edgerton West, Atlanta Lyric Theatre offers up another pleasant evening of theatre. 

Atlanta Lyric Theatre presents this stunning classic April 12-28, 2019.  The "Greatest Movie Musical of All Time" is faithfully and lovingly adapted by Broadway legends, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, from their original award-winning screenplay in SINGIN' in the RAIN. Each unforgettable scene, song and dance is accounted for, including the show-stopping title number, complete with an onstage rainstorm and three Broadway alums! SINGIN' in the RAIN performs at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre (548 South Marietta Pkwy., Marietta).

Performances from productions of director Brian Jones' Avenue Q, for Nashville's Circle Players - Middle Tennessee's oldest community theater organization - and Center for the Arts' Newsies, directed by 2019 Theaterati of the Year nominee Mark David Williams, are among highlights of next Sunday's Midwinter's First Night - Celebrating 30 Years in Nashville.

Certainly, if you're looking for a festive night on the town with your family this holiday week, WHITE CHRISTMAS at Dr. Phillips Center is your ticket. There's something quaint about heading downtown for some simple entertainment to ring in the holiday. And to this production's credit, the set design is (for the most part) vivid, detailed, and impressive. Ditto the costuming, a distinctly 2000s interpretation of the 1940s and '50s. The grand finale is stunning in both respects...

One of my earliest Christmas memories is watching the movie version of White Christmas with my family. To this day, it is still a valued family tradition to sit back and tune in to a film that defined part of my childhood, as I'm sure it did for many. With the stage version on the road, it is the perfect opportunity to dive headfirst into the holiday spirit.

In anticipation of the gala 30th anniversary celebration of The First Night Awards, Tennessee's best and brightest in live theater were revealed tonight as First Night's Top Ten of 2018 - reviewer and critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual recognition for theater in the Volunteer State - were announced during a Facebook Live presentation from Nashville.

Just in time for Christmas, the touring production is playing The Fox Theatre and bringing nostalgia and cheer to Atlanta audiences.

If there is a musical theater moment more joyous that what occurs at the top of Act Two in Irving Berlin's White Christmas, then we must respectfully demand it be performed in front of us as quickly as possible. Certainly, we recognize there is much joy to be found in musical theater, but sitting in the audience at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall - six years to the day we last found ourselves awash in the nostalgia and sentimentality so abundant in this particular holiday favorite - we simply couldn't recall anything more engaging or more entertaining than watching Jeremy Benton and Kelly Sheehan, backed by a cadre of 12 other fleet-footed dancers, tapping their hearts out to "I Love a Piano.'

Looking ahead, you'll find a number of new productions on tap, including a whole slew of holiday favorites, for your entertainment pleasure, thanks to the efforts of theater companies all over Middle Tennessee. Here's our calendar for November 12, 2018, to help you plot your course through next February...

This week finds Jeremy Benton - Broadway's favorite tap-dancing man - in Paducah, Kentucky, with the rest of the cast and crew of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, preparing for tonight's opening performance of the quintessential holiday season musical. He's spent so many holiday seasons performing in White Christmas, in fact (he joined the show back in 2005 and has been a part of the company off and on ever since) that it's become second nature to him now.

This week finds Jeremy Benton - Broadway's favorite tap-dancing man - in Paducah, Kentucky, with the rest of the cast and crew of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, preparing for tonight's opening performance of the quintessential holiday season musical. He's spent so many holiday seasons performing in White Christmas, in fact (he joined the show back in 2005 and has been a part of the company off and on ever since) that it's become second nature to him now.

Looking ahead, you'll find a number of new productions on tap for your entertainment pleasure, thanks to the efforts of theater companies all over Middle Tennessee. Here's our calendar for November 5, 2018, to help you plot your course through the end of the year...

The producers of IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS, the stage adaptation of the beloved classic film, have announced casting for the National Tour.