Joe Smith News

GOLDEN BOY BOXING on ESPN series debuts with a 10-round battle for the vacant NABF Middleweight title featuring Jason “El Animal” Quigley (12-0, 10 KOs) against Glen “Jersey Boy” Tapia (23-3, 15 KOs) – live on ESPN2

Rubicon Theatre Company celebrates Black History Month with THE DEVIL'S MUSIC: THE LIFE AND BLUES OF BESSIE SMITH, starring singer and actress Miche Braden of the original Off-Broadway production (named one of the 10 Best Off-Broadway productions of the year by the N.Y. Daily Times). Described by CBC as a, "bawdy, bluesy, boozy rollicking night out at the theatre," the show follows the life, loves and career of blues and jazz singer Bessie Smith, called the "Empress of the Blues." 

Rubicon Theatre Company celebrates Black History Month with THE DEVIL'S MUSIC: THE LIFE AND BLUES OF BESSIE SMITH, starring singer and actress Miche Braden of the original Off-Broadway production (named one of the 10 Best Off-Broadway productions of the year by the N.Y. Daily Times). Described by CBC as a, "bawdy, bluesy, boozy rollicking night out at the theatre," the show follows the life, loves and career of blues and jazz singer Bessie Smith, called the "Empress of the Blues."

NBC's Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) travels to Chicago, Ill., in primetime this Saturday, June 18, live at 8:30 p.m. ET, highlighted by a 10-round light heavyweight bout between Andrzej Fonfara (28-3, 16 KOs) of Poland and New Yorker Joe “The Irish Bomber” Smith Jr.(21-1, 17 KOs) from UIC Pavilion.  

If family-friendly musicals were Easter eggs, NightBlue Performing Arts Company's production of Disney's MARY POPPINS is Faberge.

English Touring Theatre and Stage One, a charity dedicated to supporting the next generation of theatre producers, today announce a new scheme that will see an aspiring producer join English Touring Theatre for an 18 month apprenticeship.  The successful candidate will work with the senior management and play an important role within English Touring Theatre's production and touring operation.  The application process begins on Monday 8 February with a deadline of Tuesday 1 March.  For more information and how to apply please visit Stage One's website.

NightBlue Performing Arts Company is pleased to announce casting for the Chicago Non-Equity premiere of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's MARY POPPINS, a musical based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney Film, with original music and lyrics by 

According to Variety, 29 honorees from the worlds of motion pictures, television, live theatre, radio and recording have been tapped to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this year. Among them are Broadway's KINKY BOOTS co-creators Harvey Fierstein & Cyndi Lauper, as well as ELEPHANT MAN star Bradley Cooper.

The Des Moines Community Playhouse play reading series presents Moises Kaufman's '33 Variations,' 7:00 PM, Monday, Oct. 6. The evening is free; beverages will be available for purchase.

Someday soon, as professional athletes suit up for their games, their uniform will include a sensor to monitor heart rate, body temperature, physical speed and other physiological measures that affect their performance. That's where early adopters of sports data, like Miami Heat player Shane Battier, believe the trend called analytics is going. In fact, many teams are already using so-called “wearable tech” in practice. In a story titled “Numbers Men,” Armen Keteyian reports on the increasing use of analytics in sports, particularly pro basketball, where a data camera system is now used in every game and every arena, on the next edition of 60 MINUTES SPORTS, airing Wednesday, May 7 at 9:00 PM ET only on SHOWTIME. Watch an excerpt.

Playful Theatre Productions presents the hit family comedy "Legally Blonde - the Musical" at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre. Dates and times are Fridays, April 19 and 26 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, April 20 and 27 at 8 p.m.; and Sundays, April 21 and 28 at 2 p.m. A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night performance on April 19. Kelsey Theatre is located on the college's West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.

In 1988, John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono gave a candid interview to record-label president Joe Smith about the Beatles' split: "For John, it was a divorce. I think he was feeling very good about it, as if a big weight was off him." Ono was among more than 200 celebrated performers, producers and industry leaders whose words Smith captured on audiotape more than 25 years ago in an effort to document the oral history of popular music.

The Des Moines Community Playhouse play reading series presents Horton Foote's 'Dividing the Estate,' 7:00 PM, today, Oct. 1. The evening is free; beverages will be available for purchase.

The Des Moines Community Playhouse play reading series presents Horton Foote's 'Dividing the Estate,' 7:00 PM, Monday, Oct. 1. The evening is free; beverages will be available for purchase.

More than 25 years ago, retired music executive Joe Smith accomplished a Herculean feat-he got more than 200 celebrated singers, musicians and industry icons to talk about their lives, music, experiences and contemporaries. The Library of Congress announced today that Smith has donated this treasure trove of unedited sound recordings to the nation's library. The list of noted artists and executives is a veritable who's who in the music industry. They include Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Barbra Streisand, Little Richard, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Elton John, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Sting, Tony Bennett, Joan Baez, James Taylor, Dick Clark, Tina Turner, Tom Jones, B. B. King, Quincy Jones, David Geffen, Mickey Hart, Harry Belafonte and many others. All types of popular music are represented-from rock 'n' roll, jazz, rhythm & blues and pop to big-band, heavy metal, folk and country-western.

Peter Nero and the Philly POPS® will commence its April concert series, ULTIMATE POPS! at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia on Wednesday, April 11th at 8:00 p.m. GRAMMY-Award winning pianist Peter Nero will perform and conduct dozens of the region's most talented professional musicians in The POPS orchestra in Verizon Hall.

The world premiere production of RELATIVELY SPEAKING - three one-act comedies by the prolific writing trio of Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen, and directed by John Turturro - opened tonight October 20 at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre.