John Dexter News

Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, which has not been seen on the Met stage in almost a decade, opens April 22 led by James Levine, who recently announced that he would assume the new title of Music Director Emeritus at the conclusion of the Met's current season.

RUTHLESS! The Musical's leading man, Peter Land, collapsed onstage at the top of the second act on Friday evening, July 17th. EMT's arrived on the scene and Mr. Land was transported to the hospital where he received emergency surgery for a tear in the aorta. His recovery is going extremely well and he was even discharged from the hospital earlier this week. Paul Pecorino has assumed the role of Sylvia St. Croix and Mr. Land hopes to return to the show in the near future. Author Joel Paley bravely filled in for several performances in the week following the accident (triumphantly, according to all eyewitnesses).

Clare Holman and Susannah Harker star in Doris Lessing's EACH HIS OWN WILDERNESS at the Orange Tree Theatre in Surrey, running today, April 15 to May 16, 2015. Orange Tree's Paul Miller will direct.

Clare Holman and Susannah Harker will star in Doris Lessing's EACH HIS OWN WILDERNESS at the Orange Tree Theatre in Surrey, running April 15 until May 16, 2015.

Today we are heralding the long-awaited Broadway return of international rock icon Sting with a salute to his theatrical work.

Verdi's Egyptian tragedy Aida, one of the most-performed operas in company history, will return to the Met stage October 30 for a 16-performance revival with rotating casts of acclaimed artists and rising stars. The initial performances will star Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska, who made a notable Met debut in the role in 2012, as Aida; Olga Borodina in one of her best-known portrayals as the jealous princess Amneris; Marcello Giordani as the war hero Radamès, a role he first sang at the Met in 2012; Željko Lu?i? in his first-ever Met performances as Amonasro, Aida's father; Ukrainian bass Dmitri Belosselskiy in his Met role debut as the high priest Ramfis; and American bass Soloman Howard in his Met debut as the King. Italian tenor Antonello Palombi will make his Met debut as Radamès on November 22.

Originally from the Philippines, Miguel Braganza II, Walter Terry scholar in the dance performance and choreography program at Harvard University in the '80s, and assistant to Tony Award-winning director John Dexter in the original Broadway production of 'M. Butterfly' from 1988-1990, joined the cast of the U.S. and international productions (Germany, Canada, UK, and Portugal) of Cameron Mackintosh's megamusical 'Miss Saigon' for 14 years: a feat that made him feel so blessed, and has prompted him to donate his time, talents, and resources by teaching young and up-and-coming artists, build libraries, and promote arts programs both in New York and in the Philippines to this day.

The Pasadena Playhouse announced Bruce Davison, Sharon Lawrence and RoxAnne Hart to star in A SONG AT TWILIGHT by Noel Coward, the fifth production of its 2013 - 2014 Season. A SONG AT TWILIGHT is performed tonight, March 18 to April 13; the press opening is Sunday, March 23.

Queens Theatre (QT), in conjunction with the acclaimed Aquila Theatre, presents William Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, an innovative and exciting new production directed by Aquila Theatre Artistic Director, Desiree Sanchez (BAM's Herakles). TWELFTH NIGHT will play 4 performances only at Queens Theatre (14 United Nations Avenue South, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY 11368). Performances are Friday, February 14, 2014 at 2pm, Saturday, February 15, 2014 at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday, February 16, 2014 at 3pm. Tickets are $42 for Friday?s performance and $49 for Saturday and Sunday performances; Rear seating $25 (for all performances). Tickets are available online at www.queenstheatre.org/shakespeares-twelfth-night or by calling the Box Office at 718-760-0064. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Queens Theatre Box Office, Monday 10am to 2pm, Wednesday through Sunday 10am to 6pm. (Senior discount available, $20 student rush tickets available day of).

The Pasadena Playhouse announced Bruce Davison, Sharon Lawrence and RoxAnne Hart to star in A SONG AT TWILIGHT by Noël Coward, the fifth production of its 2013 - 2014 Season. A SONG AT TWILIGHT is performed March 18 to April 13; the press opening is Sunday, March 23.

Kultur is proud to announce the DVD release of the acclaimed feature film, Othello starring Sir Laurence Olivier and co-starring Maggie Smith, Frank Finlay and Joyce Redman available now.

The word 'dysfunctional' is barely adequate to describe the Dockerty family, who live in the working class Sydney suburb of Redfern in the 1950s, the subject of This Old Man Comes Rolling Home.

What would the Metropolitan Opera (and its audiences) do without its production of Francis Poulenc's DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES, which opened for the season with Saturday's matinee, May 4? As created in 1977 for its Met premiere by director John Dexter, this CARMELITES is unlike anything else in the company's repertoire--simply designed and a showcase for a brilliant ensemble of female voices. It is a reminder that opera productions can be moving, effective and, yes, thrilling in the most understated ways.

Dialogues des Carmelites, Poulenc's opera about a group of nuns whose faith is tested under the Terror of the French Revolution, will return to the Met repertory on May 4 for the first time since 2002. In role debuts, Isabel Leonard will sing the naive aristocrat Blanche de la Force and Patricia Racette will sing Madame Lidoine, the imposing Prioress of a Carmelite convent. Felicity Palmer will reprise her portrayal of the ailing Madame de Croissy, a role she sang to acclaim in the most recent Met revival of the opera. Louis Langree conducts his first Met performances of the work, with a cast that also includes Elizabeth Bishop as Mother Marie, Erin Morley as Sister Constance, and Paul Appleby as Blanche's brother, the Chevalier de la Force. The opera will be presented in John Dexter's acclaimed 1977 Met premiere production.

On April 24, American Theater Group, New Jersey's newest professional theater company, will present, direct from its success at the 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival, Jonathan Brielle's new musical Himself and Nora at its new home, Hamilton Stage in Rahway, New Jersey.

With humor and vision, 'Kane and Habil in the Pizza Parlor' (http://kaneandhabil.com) explores the original family sins that are still impacting our civilization. The title characters are the children of Adam and Eve. The play is a comedy, written and directed by Serge Ernandez. The production features an adept cast headed by Obie-winner Sheila Dabney as Eve, who also directs the play's chorus. Ernandez is a veteran of The Living Theatre; Dabney is a senior member of La MaMa's Great Jones Rep. La Mama E.T.C. will present the play's premiere run tonight, January 18 to 27 in its second-floor Club.