John Astin News

BrightSide Theatre, Naperville's only professional theatre performing in the historic downtown district, continues its sixth season - Classic Broadway. Moon Over Buffalo will perform at the Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall at North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth Street in Naperville March 10-26, 2017.

BrightSide Theatre, Naperville's only professional theatre performing in the historic downtown district, continues its sixth season - Classic Broadway. Moon Over Buffalo will perform at the Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall at North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth Street in Naperville March 10-26, 2017.

Two distinctive pieces of theater - a drama about pioneering gay illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, and a musical comedy version of the Greek classic Electra - will be featured in this year's New York New Works Theatre Festival, August 29 through September 14.

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier this week, Patty Duke, who received a supporting actress Oscar for the role of Helen Keller in THE MIRACLE WORKER, died at age 69.

Like many others during 1964-1966, I made sure to be home when "The Addams Family" TV show was broadcast. Carolyn Jones and John Astin were like no parents I knew and their family certainly lived the sort of off-kilter life totally different than any other family I had ever known. But it was their unwavering support of each other and their entire family that drew me to the series, so when I heard the glitzy-gloomy musical based on the characters was being brought to the stage by 3-D Theatricals, I excitedly made plans to see it and can happily report it was a spectacular and highly creative extravaganza with an awesomely talented cast.

Out of 65 productions in the NY THEISPIS Theater Festival, Brush Strokes, a new musical, has been selected for one of the six Encore Production.  This special showing will be next Monday, September 28th at 8:30 pm at the Hudson Guild Theater, 411 West 26th street (between 9th & 10thAvenues), NYC. The cast for the new musical is Joy Franz, Chuck Muckle and Hannah Seusy. The musical is written by Stephen Chinlund & Jim Semmelman; with music by Bert Draesel; and lyrics by Jim Semmelman.  It is directed by  Kathleen O'Neill, with set design by April Bartlet, lighting designer by  Dan Henry, and the musical director is  Kenneth Gartman.  The hit musical closed this weekend with a Sold Out show and people turned away.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Cleveland, Birmingham, Denver and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include Ken Ludwig's A COMEDY OF TENORS at the Tony Award-Winning Cleveland Play House, BIG FISH in Birmingham, and the Regional Premiere of ROCK OF AGES in Denver, just to name a few.

Jonelle Meyer, Owen Robertson and Jordan Foote save the day with their performances in this trio of one act plays by half of the famed Coen Brothers.

Actress Charlotte Rae is best known for her role as Mrs. Garrett on the TV series "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life," but from "Car 54 Where Are You?" and Molly the Mail Carrier on "Sesame Street" to the current role opposite Meryl Streep in "Ricki and the Flash," her career has onstage and on screen has been the envy of industry members. However, life at home may not always have been as comedic as the characters she entertained the public with for several decades. Subjects discussed in Ms. Rae's new book entitled "The Facts Of My Life" (24.94/34.95, Nov, 2015) include:

Brush Strokes is a new musical that has been selected for the NY THEISPIS Theater Festival. Performances are at the Hudson Guild Theater, 411 West 26th street (between 9th & 10th Avenues), NYC. The cast for the new musical us Joy Franz, Chuck Muckle and Hanah Seusy. The musical is written by Stephen Chinlund & Jim Semmelman; with music by Bert Draesel; and lyrics by Jim Semmelman. It is directed by Kathleen O'Neill, with set design by April Bartlet, lighting designer by Dan Henry, and the musical director is Kenneth Gartman.

An old love can be an irresistible force, especially for people in their autumn years. Is marriage an immoveable object? 'Old Flame,' a new play by Richard Ploetz, weighs the force of an old romance against the strength of a 50-year marriage, examining our vulnerability to rediscovered passion, no matter what our age. Theater for the New City will present the piece April 24 to May 17, directed by James Glossman.

An old love can be an irresistible force, especially for people in their autumn years. Is marriage an immoveable object? 'Old Flame,' a new play by Richard Ploetz, weighs the force of an old romance against the strength of a 50-year marriage, examining our vulnerability to rediscovered passion, no matter what our age. Theater for the New City will present the piece April 24 to May 17, directed by James Glossman.

There's Nothing Dead About Theatre Memphis' Ghoulishly Delightful Production of THE ADDAMS FAMILY

New Perspectives Theatre Company (NPTC) has announced on the margin, the 7th Annual Women's Work Short Play Festival with six original scripts developed to that theme. The festival runs from Monday, August 4th to Saturday, August 9th with performances of two Programs alternating 4:00pm and 8:00pm curtain times.. on the margin performs at NPTC Studio, 458 West 37th Street (at 10th Avenue.)

"The Galapagos Affair: Satan came to Eden", "The Double", and "Killer Tomatoes Strike Back!" will be the final three films for the Ware Center June series.

"When Good Vegetables Go Bad" is the tag line for the third movie in a series of four films on killer tomatoes. The 1991 horror-comedy "B" movie "Killer Tomatoes Strike Back" is scheduled to be screened at the Ware Center, on Sunday, June 29that 7 PM. A special feature of the showing is the film's star Crystal Carson will be in attendance to do a Q&A and meet and greet audience members at a Virgin Bloody Mary Cocktail Reception after the film.

Warner Archive Collection announces new releases including Bad Boys & Sad Gals!

The John Astin Theatre & The JHU Theatre Arts & Studies Program will be presenting the last 3 performances this weekend of U.S.A. by Paul Shyre and John Dos Posses, directed by John Astin.

Boomerang will offer new spooky programming this October with the first-time premiere Cartoon Network's original animated series, The Grim Adventures of Bill & Mandy, playing for a full hour on Saturday and Sunday nights, startingSaturday, Oct. 12 at midnight (ET). The month-long celebration of spine-tingling content also includes Boomerang's presentations of the 1964 live-action series The Munsters and 1964's The Addams Family, both of which will be telecast back-to-back on weekdays at 2:30 and 3 p.m., and weeknights at midnight (ET), respectively. More ghostly animated fare in October will include the award-winning 1993 holiday special, The Halloween Tree, on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 9 a.m., and the weekday afternoon presentation of Hanna-Barbera's Goober and the Ghost Chasers, which will play at 12 p.m.

Veteran New York stage actor Chuck Muckle will star in the London premiere of the acclaimed one-man stateside production of At Wit's End. Muckle transforms himself into Oscar Levant, the acclaimedcomposer, satirist and hypochondriac who was dubbed 'America's favorite neurotic.'