Jeremy Benton News

Today (May 11) in live streaming: Join the BroadwayWorld Book club, JRB and Georgia Stitt visit Stars in the House and so much more!

This weekend in live streaming: Broadway gathers for Mother's Day, Stars in the House performs Blithe Spirit and so much more!

It seems that the best things really do happen while you're dancing, or at least they do in the touring production of WHITE CHRISTMAS that's currently at DPAC. The musical is at its very best during its high-energy dance numbers. The show is based on the 1954 holiday classic film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. With music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, the show is a fun Christmas-themed romp with plenty of 1950s nostalgia, beautiful costumes, and great tap dancing. 

IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS, the stage adaptation of the beloved classic film, announces casting for the upcoming National Tour.

Cagney recently opened at Salt Lake City's Pioneer Theatre Company. Find out what critics had to say!

BroadwayWorld has a first look at the Broadway-bound production of Cagney, based on the life of Academy Award® winner James Cagney, launches Pioneer Theatre Company's (Artistic Director, Karen Azenberg & Managing Director, Chris Massimine) season this Fall. Opening Friday, September 20, the limited engagement runs  through October 5. Tickets are available as part of a season subscription package by calling (801) 581-6961 or by visiting pioneertheatre.org.

The Broadway-bound production of Cagney, based on the life of Academy Award winner James Cagney, launches Pioneer Theatre Company's season this Fall. 

I still remember where I was when I got the text. I bet you do, too. You know the one, that text from your child who is completely and utterly devastated not to have gotten a coveted part.

Whether you are a long time fan of Singing in the Rain or you have never had the joy of seeing the movie, Lyric Theatre's production will transport you back in time with a satisfying evening of entertainment, nostalgia, highlighting truly skilled, triple threat performers. And if that isn't enough to convince you, come for the rain!

'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...