John Dunn News

50 Shades! The Musical - The Original Parody at The Elektra Theatre (300 W. 43rd Street) has announced a new summer schedule, beginning the week of May 5th. Directed by Al Samuels and Rob Lindley, 50 Shades! the Musical - The Original Parody is produced by Royal Mile Entertainment, Andrew Asnes, Rob Kolson, Brett McDonald and 50 Shades Tour LLC.

Cape May Stage presents the New Jersey premiere of The Mountaintop, Katori Hall's fantastical take on the last night of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life. In this winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play, Hall daringly tackles the challenge of depicting a legend with a lasting legacy and showing him for what he truly was - a mere man. It is a powerfully vulnerable portrait of King; he is stripped down and exposed in all his flaws, more human than ever.

Royal Family Productions presents the US Premiere of Four Last Things by playwright Lisa Tierney-Keogh, directed by Chris Henry, in their new Times Square home at The American Globe Theatre located on West 46th Street. Four Last Things celebrated opening night on Sunday, April 27 and runs through May 14, 2014. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening festivities below!

50 Shades! The Musical - The Original Parody at The Elektra Theatre (300 W. 43rd Street) has announced a new summer schedule, beginning the week of May 5th. Directed by Al Samuels and Rob Lindley, 50 Shades! the Musical - The Original Parody is produced by Royal Mile Entertainment, Andrew Asnes, Rob Kolson, Brett McDonald and 50 Shades Tour LLC.

Royal Family Productions (Katie Avebe, Mary Bernardi, Chris Henry and Andy Theodorou, Founders) will present the US Premiere of Four Last Things by playwright Lisa Tierney-Keogh, directed by Chris Henry, in their new Times Square home at The American Globe Theatre located on West 46th Street. Four Last Things will begin performances on Tuesday, April 22 and will celebrate opening night on Sunday, April 27 and will initially run through May 14, 2014. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by visiting royalfamilyproductions.org

Dan LeFranc is the winner of the 2010 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award. The Regional Premiere of his SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE, produced by Theater LaB, easily illustrates why he won such a prestigious award. It initially seems like a microcosm presentation of the affects of an ugly divorce on a modern American family; however, it becomes clear that SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE is truly a macrocosm of modern American struggles.

Theater LaB Houston concludes its 21st Season of staging the BEST in contemporary theater with the Regional Premieres of Dan LeFranc's family drama - Sixty Miles to Silver Lake and the World Premiere of a new musical created and performed by Houston favorites Julia Kay Laskowski and Patti Rabazza. Also scheduled an Exclusive Engagement - the return of Steven Fales' performing Prodigal Dad the final chapter in his Mormon Boy Trilogy.

Theater LaB Houston, known as Houston's premiere Off-Broadway Theater, is continuing its residency at Obsidian Art Space with with an exciting 2014 season. From March 26 - 30, the company is presenting the Regional Premiere of Dan LeFranc's SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE. In anticipation of this new season, I recently spoke with director Linda Phenix about SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE.

50 Shades! The Musical - The Original Parody (www.50ShadesTheMusical.com) will open off-Broadway tonight, March 12th. Directed by Al Samuels and Rob Lindley, 50 Shades! the Musical - The Original Parody is produced by Royal Mile Entertainment, Andrew Asnes, Rob Kolson and 50 Shades Tour LLC.

Theater LaB Houston concludes its 21st Season of staging the BEST in contemporary theater with the Regional Premieres of Dan LeFranc's family drama - Sixty Miles to Silver Lake and the World Premiere of a new musical created and performed by Houston favorites Julia Kay Laskowski and Patti Rabazza. Also scheduled an Exclusive Engagement - the return of Steven Fales' performing Prodigal Dad the final chapter in his Mormon Boy Trilogy.

50 Shades! The Musical - The Original Parody at The Elektra Theatre (300 W. 43rd Street) will begin performances tonight, February 21st with opening night set for March 12th. Directed by Al Samuels and Rob Lindley, 50 Shades! the Musical - The Original Parody is produced by Royal Mile Entertainment, Andrew Asnes, Rob Kolson and 50 Shades Tour LLC.

50 Shades! The Musical - The Original Parody at The Elektra Theatre (300 W. 43rd Street), will begin performances on Friday, February 21st with opening night set for March 12th. Directed by Al Samuelsand Rob Lindley, 50 Shades! The Musical - The Original Parody is produced by Royal Mile Entertainment, Andrew Asnes, Rob Kolson and 50 Shades Tour LLC. The company recently met the press and BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was there to chat with the company. Check out what they had to say and watch a performance preview below!

50 Shades! The Musical - The Original Parody at The Elektra Theatre (300 W. 43rd Street), will begin performances on Friday, February 21st with opening night set for March 12th. Directed by Al Samuels and Rob Lindley, 50 Shades! the Musical - The Original Parody is produced by Royal Mile Entertainment, Andrew Asnes, Rob Kolson and 50 Shades Tour LLC. The company met the press earlier today and you can check out photo coverage below!

Full casting has been announced for 50 Shades! The Musical - The Original Parody at The Elektra Theatre (300 W. 43rd Street). The show will begin performances on Friday, February 21st with opening night set for March 12th. Directed by Al Samuels and Rob Lindley, 50 Shades! the Musical - The Original Parody is produced by Royal Mile Entertainment, Andrew Asnes, Rob Kolson and 50 Shades Tour LLC.

50 Shades! The Musical - The Original Parody (www.50ShadesTheMusical.com) has announced new dates and opening night at The Elektra Theatre (300 W. 43rd Street). The show will begin performances on Friday, February 21st with opening night set for March 12th. The change was due to a shift in management at the Elektra Theatre, which is now complete. Directed by Al Samuels and Rob Lindley, 50 Shades! the Musical - The Original Parody is produced by Royal Mile Entertainment, Andrew Asnes, Rob Kolson and 50 Shades Tour LLC.

Nominees for the 16th Costume Designers Guild Awards, which celebrate excellence in film, television and commercial costume design, were announced today.

The Costume Designers Guild announced the nominees for its 16th annual awards today, January 8 2014. Nominations were unveiled for film, TV and commercial categories.

50 Shades! The Musical, the original parody (50ShadesTheMusical.com) has postponed the start of performances because of technical issues with The Elektra Theatre. The financing of the show is in place and a new start date will be announced for early 2014 shortly.

Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company is currently producing Diana Amsterdam's new, darkly comic drama CARNIVAL ROUND THE CENTRAL FIGURE. As part of their mission, Mildred's Umbrella puts on 'bold, innovative and fresh theatrical works,' and CARNIVAL ROUND THE CENTRAL FIGURE perfectly upholds this banner. The work is a cacophony of noise and events told in a seemingly stream-of-consciousness chronology as it leaps through time and place with the bat of an eye. Some parts occur 10 years prior to the central plot, while others occur simultaneously. In effect, Diana Amsterdam's writing and Jennifer Decker's directing creates a living, breathing fever dream or bizarre, almost surreal events that deal with how we cope with mortality and death.

When attending a production at The Catastrophic Theatre, I always know I am in for a journey. My favorite aspect of this group is that each and every one of their productions is a risk-taking endeavor, guaranteeing Houston audiences access to fresh, cutting-edge presentations of theatrical craftsmanship. Their current production, the World Premiere of Mickle Maher's THE PINE was commissioned by The Catastrophic Theatre and funded in part by a grant awarded by The MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Unfortunately, THE PINE wasn't to my liking, but the opportunity to see something crafted with this company in mind is reason enough for anyone to attend a performance.