John F Kennedy News

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: read all the reviews for Network, and more!

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts continued its Broadway Center Stage series earlier this year with Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's Little Shop of Horrors, helmed by director Mark Brokaw. The production ran Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - Sunday, October 28, 2018. Check out a video of Megan Hilty and Josh Radnor performing below!

NYU Skirball will welcome in the New Year with two international premieres for adult audiences: from Quebec's Cirque Alfonse comes the New York premiere of BARBU ELECTRO TRAD on January 3 and 4, followed by the American premiere of Briefs: The Second Coming from Australia's Briefs Factory, on January 6 and 7.

NYU Skirball will present Elevator Repair Service's multi award-winning play, Gatz, the critically lauded performance of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," for eight performances, January 23 - February 3 at NYU Skirball. Gatz will be presented as a marathon eight-hour event, including two intermissions and a dinner break.

After a divisive election, and with a government shutdown looming next week, it's hard to think about what unites us. That is why Barber Shop Chronicles at the Kennedy Center could not be timelier.

The Martha Graham Dance Company's NEW@Graham series offers a look inside the creative process of new works commissioned by the Company. On December 18 and 19, the Company will present a work-in-progress showing of choreographers Maxine Doyle and Bobbi Jene Smith's collaborative work for the Company, followed by a conversation with the artists. NEW@Graham will take place on Tuesday, December 18, and Wednesday, December 19, at 7pm, at the Martha Graham Studio Theater.

The York Symphony Orchestra will present National Heroes on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Appell Center for the Performing Arts in York. This Classical Series Concert will include a dynamic performance from award-winning pianist Natasha Paremski. Single tickets starting at $9 for adults and $5 for students are available online at www.YorkSymphony.org and by calling 717-846-1111.

The New York Pops is partnering with UNTUCKit this holiday season to distribute more than 600 shirts to students at two participating PopsEd schools in Queens.

I had two main questions about the world premiere Kennedy Center commission of HOW TO CATCH A STAR: would it match the original children's book's ability to appeal to kids and adults alike, and would it be as visually charming as Oliver Jeffers's illustrations? I'm pleased to report that the answer to both is a resounding yes. Appropriate for ages three and up, HOW TO CATCH A STAR uses stunning projection design (Olivia Sebesky) and quirky choreography (Orange Grove Dance Company) to tell the story of how a boy's seemingly impossible dream of catching a star leads him to discover important lessons about life.

Overall, if you are willing to overlook a few of the gimmicks, you can have a good time at the show. Even if it may not appeal to the most jaded of theater nerds, it is a feel-good kind of audience show. I can't fault any production that entices the audience to sit back and listen to some great music without the hint of autotune.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Georgetown University celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a free, ticketed musical tribute titled Let Freedom Ring!

Jessica Lang Dance (JLD) and Selby Artists Management (SAM) announce today that after the incredible success of the last seven years, Jessica Lang Dance has decided to close on April 30, 2019, which is the end of its 19-city, 2018-19 season. Ms. Lang will continue her creative work as a choreographer, working with companies around the world.

Tickets are now on sale to the general public for the upcoming Broadway musical Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations. Get your tickets now by visiting www.Telecharge.com, by calling 800-447-7400, or by visiting the Imperial Theatre Box Office (249 West 45th Street). For groups of 10 or more, visit www.BroadwayInbound.com or call 866-302-0995. For more information, please visit www.AintTooProudMusical.com

Annenberg Center Live presents Jessica Lang Dance, Friday, November 30 (8 PM) and December 1 (2 PM and 8 PM). Tickets are available at AnnenbergCenter.org or 215.898.3900.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Georgetown University's Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics (The Lab) present Lab PerForum, a series of public discussions and workshops with artists from the Kennedy Center's WORLD STAGES series. The Lab PerForumcollaboration begins with discussions provoked by the Fuel, Royal National Theater, and West Yorkshire Playhouse co-production of Barber Shop Chronicles by Inua Ellams.

NYU Skirball will present the NYC premiere of Fantasque, an ebullient and magical pageant by Dance Heginbotham, created by choreographer John Heginbotham and puppeteer Amy Trompetter, for three performances, today, November 17 and Sunday, November 18, 2018.

Multi-hyphenate artist and national arts leader Marc Bamuthi Joseph will join the leadership team of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, effective January 1, 2019. The dynamic cultural curator will assume a newly created role of Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact, charged with weaving together and advancing the Center's many and varied local and national community engagement initiatives.

Hip-hop classical artists Black Violin will present their popular show at the Washington Pavilion on April 18, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, November 16 at 10 a.m.

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: The Prom officially opens on Broadway tonight, and more!

BWW Review: THE PARK AVENUE CHAMBER SYMPHONY PERFORMS ROSENHAUS, WEBER AND DVORAK