Jocelyn News

EPIX Presents Road To the NHL Winter Classic will make its U.S. Television Premiere tonight, December 16 at 10pm ET/PT, 9CT.

Haddonfield Plays & Players' lovely production of Irving Berlin's WHITE CHRISTMAS gives audiences that warm, fuzzy feeling of sitting round a cozy fireplace during the holidays.

Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) presents an original panto this holiday season. With a twist on a fairy tale classic, the family-friendly musical, Snow White and the Seven Elves, debuts at THE BLACK BOX, 15 West Central Street, in downtown Franklin. Performances are today, December 12 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and tomorrow, December 13 at 2 p.m.

I stepped into the West of Lenin Studio, glancing around the room to try and find a place to sit. Unfortunately, all of the cardboard boxes were taken, but I did snag an antique chair not unlike the one my mom brought up from our old basement anytime we had more than ten dinner guests. I was one of fifteen audience members, some of whom were seated on the floor, sipping wine out of opaque cups; others glancing around, trying to, like me, figure out how this production would unfold in such a tiny room. The two loud men outside the doors who I thought were being rude, clunking about doing something laborious and inconsiderate, where in fact the two main characters of 'For Christmas,' trying to get a couch up the stairs and into, what I soon realized was Jesus Christ's studio apartment. The show simply began.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced acclaimed film and television star Claire Danes as the guest of honor at the annual Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts fundraising luncheon on Thursday, February 4, 2016 at 12 noon (location TBD). The luncheon features an in-depth conversation with Claire Danes about her incredible career and impact as a leading woman in the arts.

In an annual report released today, Canadian Stage announced the company's fourth consecutive budget surplus following an artistically and financially successful 2014.2015 season. Under the vibrant leadership of Artistic & General Director Matthew Jocelyn, Managing Director Su Hutchinson and Board Chair Adrian Lang, the company continues to set the stage as Toronto's premiere home for innovative contemporary performance from Canada and around the world, supported by a strong audience and donor base.

In December, In Tandem Theatre presents their brand new 'alternative' holiday entertainment:A Twisted Carol. True to the title, Mondy Carter's (book and lyrics) accompanied by Nathan Wesselowski's music offers more than merely a 'twisted' version of Charles Dickens' beloved A Christmas Carol. This evening of laughs and slightly deranged literary characters  brightens the festive season with In Tandem's unique take on the classic tale.

Meet Me in St. Louis - the beloved M.G.M. musical - promises to sparkle this holiday season onstage at the Heritage Center Theatre in Morrisville.

If you're allergic to shopping malls, excessive commercialism or egg nog, The Ringwald Theatre has the perfect solution to restore a smile to your overburdened holidays. Opening December 17th for an exclusive five-day engagement is the return of the comedic duo of The SantaLand Diaries & Season's Greetings from award-winning humorist David Sedaris and adapted for the stage by acclaimed director Joe Mantello and featuring Joe Bailey and Brandy Joe Plambeck.

Christmas is coming to town..... and so are the worst kids in town, the Herdmans! The Best Christmas Pageant Ever opens this Friday at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children's Theater in Hagerstown, MD.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces three projects that have been selected for the 2015/16 Kogod Cradle Series as part of the American Voices New Play Institute. Focused on the development of new plays and devised work by artists from the Greater Washington, D.C. area and around the country, this series of readings and workshops invites artists and audiences to actively explore the new work development process.

Meet Me in St. Louis - the beloved M.G.M. musical - promises to sparkle this holiday season onstage at the Heritage Center Theatre in Morrisville.

Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) presents 'Tis the Season!, an upbeat, jazzy extravaganza featuring members of the Kenny Hadley Big Band, with contemporary arrangements of favorite holiday classics in musical styles ranging from R&B, Motown and gospel to pop, jazz and Broadway. Performances are Saturday, December 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 20 at 2 p.m. at the Franklin High School auditorium, 218 Oak Street. First staged by FPAC in 1995, 'Tis the Season! returns with a large cast of area performers to entertain audiences with great merriment, fanfare and fun. Musical arrangements include Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and "Happy Holiday," Quincy Jones' sensational version of the "Hallelujah Chorus," songs from several popular television holiday specials, and many surprises.

Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) presents an original panto this holiday season. With a twist on a fairy tale classic, the family-friendly musical, Snow White and the Seven Elves, debuts at THE BLACK BOX, 15 West Central Street, in downtown Franklin. Performances are on Saturday, December 12 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, December 13 at 2 p.m.

The show is wonderful to begin with. Theatre Three's 32nd annual production of the beloved Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol has become a beautiful tradition on Long Island. Even with slight changes throughout the years, the timeless tale is as spectacular as ever.

Brand new rehearsal images have been released for Hackney Empire's 2015 Christmas pantomime Jack and the Beanstalkstarring the Empire's own Olivier nominated dame Clive Rowe as Dame Daisy Trott, Olivier Award-nominee Debbie Kurup asJack and Hackney Empire favourite Kat B as Snowman. Matthew Kelly joins the cast as the voice of Giant Blunderbore.  Check out a first look at rehearsals below!

Just last night, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust hosted the 2015 Steinberg Playwright Awards honoring Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Dominique Morisseau at Lincoln Center Theater's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023). The event featured readings byJocelyn Bioh, Marc Damon Johnson, Jason Dirden, Austin Durant, Dominique Fishback, Lynda Gravatt, Nikiya Mathis, Chris Myers, Carra Patterson, Will Rogers, Michele Shay and Brian Tyree Henry.

Canadian Stage and Soundstreams are proud to present the North American premiere of internationally-acclaimed and multiple award-winning composer Philippe Boesmans's chamber opera Julie, a contemporary English-lyric adaptation of August Strindberg's classic 19th century drama Miss Julie.

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust will host the 2015 Steinberg Playwright Awards (the 8th Annual 'Mimi' Awards) honoring Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Dominique Morisseau tonight, November 16, 2015 at Lincoln Center Theater's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023).

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) wrote plays more character-heavy than plot-heavy, with unhappy Russians bemoaning their past and current plights. As a result, productions must be cast with actors who understand internal character motivation and insights (or lack thereof). Antaeus' latest production of a Chekhov play is "Uncle Vanya," (from 1898), in a West Coast premiere of the 2012 translation by esteemed American playwright Annie Baker, double cast as always (this one is The Mermaids).