John F Kennedy News

Sirius XM Radio today announced that it will air A CONVERSATION WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, a special event at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library during which the award-winning television host, comedian, writer and producer will discuss the art of comedy, his fascination with presidential history and politics and his connection to President Kennedy on Thursday, May 24 at 6:00 pm ET on SiriusXM Book Radio

Caribaya Rum is holding the Golden Anniversary celebration in which they are searching for the perfect Marilyn Monroe look-alike. The winning Marilyn will be displayed in their ad campaign in the fall and will be put on thousands of New York City MTA buses. There will be a press conference tomorrow, May 19, 2012 at 12:00 p.m., surrounded by Marilyn Monroes at 421 Seventh Avenue, cor. 33rd Street, Suite 901 in Manhattan. After the announcement, they will be strutting their stuff across Seventh Avenue in front of Madison Square Garden.

According to the NYTimes.com Ellen DeGeneres has been chosen as the recipient of the 15th Annual Mark Twain Prize for Humor.

A Noise Within (ANW), the highly regarded classical repertory theatre company and a leading force in arts education, presents SUMMER WITH SHAKESPEARE, a three-week summer program for youth ages 10 to 18 which demystifies Shakespeare's verse and grooms young artists to be Shakespearean performers. On a deeper level, this camp, which runs from June 25 to July 14, 2012, at the company's new state-of-the-art theatre in Pasadena, illuminates a connection to the patterns of the human condition inherent in Shakespeare's works.

In a salute to Kirk Douglas, who first brought Spartacus to life in 1960, Liam McIntyre, of the STARZ Original Series 'Spartacus: Vengeance' and its creator and producer Steven S. DeKnight will join the iconic star at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Goldenson Theater on Thursday, May 31st to discuss the cultural impact of 'Spartacus' then and now.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts has invited kids and their families to take part in a free interactive performance of Polyglot Theatre's We Built This City on Mother's Day weekend, today and Sunday, May 12-13. Two 120-minute performances will take place outdoors in Scottsdale Civic Center Park on each day at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Admission is free and tickets are not required. Refreshments from Shine Coffee and picnic foods are available for purchase.

Celebrate Brooklyn! today announced its lineup for this year, which begins June 5 with a free concert by reggae icon Jimmy Cliff.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents First You Dream: The Music of Kander & Ebb in the Eisenhower Theater June 8 to July 1, 2012.

Long Wharf Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein and Managing Director Joshua Borenstein, announces the slate of plays for its 48th season.

Receiving its long overdue west coast premiere is The Fix, which premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 1997 and then made its way finally to the US playing in Virginia, but never landing on Broadway. It's pure political satire with music, in the style of a rock opera, but, unlike pure rock opera, with spoken dialogue as well as the music to move the plot along. Reminding one of a vaudeville at times with its broad playing mood, it is an intensely dark, hard-hitting, gritty drama that socks a big wallop. Its one major drawback is its lack of comedic flair; it is so serious and razor sharp, it forgets to lighten up at times to let its audience digest it properly. Now in a finely staged engagement through May 20 at ICT, Long Beach, The Fix boasts above all else... a splendiferous cast.

Ten schools across the nation have been selected for the second phase (Fall, 2012) of 'NBC's 'Smash': Make a Musical.' The philanthropic initiative, sponsored by NBC's hit musical drama series 'Smash' and administered by iTheatrics' Junior Theater Project, works with under-served schools across the country to stage their own productions and implement self-sustaining theater programs.

Imagination Stage, in a collaboration with The Washington Ballet, has announced casting for its world premiere summer production, THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE. In this fusion of theater, dance, and puppetry, based on the novel by C.S. Lewis, the roles of the four children are played jointly by an actor and a dancer, and the courageous lion Aslan is portrayed by a life-size puppet operated by three actor/puppeteers, similar to the puppets used in the Broadway production WAR HORSE.

Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the names of the 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts. These Scholars were nominated by YoungArts, a program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA).

Nominations in 26 competitive categories for THE 66th ANNUAL TONY AWARDS® were announced today by Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Jim Parsons and Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth at the Tony Award Nominations Announcement.

With Gore Vidal's The Best Man enjoying a new run on Broadway, THEATER TALK this weekend will repeat an interview with the renowned playwright, recorded in October 2000 when the first-ever revival of the 1960 play was also on Broadway.

"DANNY and SYLVIA: THE Danny Kaye MUSICAL", the long-running musical at St. Luke's Theatre, 308 West 46th Street, which opened May 13, 2008, will close tonight, April 27th after a special added performance at 1 PM. The musical would have celebrated its 3rd anniversary this May.

The new Washinton D.C.-based arts collective force/collision has two upcoming shows, THE NAUTICAL YARDS from tonight, April 26 through April 29 and SHAPE Septemeber 20 to October 6 in D.C. and then in New York at La Mama ETC November 10-18.

Catalina Bar & Grill will present "A Birthday Tribute To Billie Holiday" starring Billie Holiday's pianist Corky Hale and singer Freda Payne, with Special Guest, singer Tricia Tahara for One Night Only!!! The performance will be presented on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. at Catalina Bar & Grill; 6725 West Sunset Boulevard (just east of North Highland Avenue); Los Angeles, CA 90028. There is $20 Cover Charge. Valet Parking is available.

In April 2012, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will host the 13th Partners in Education Institute, a four-day intensive designed for arts organizations and school districts interested in partnering together to initiate or expand professional development programs for teachers.

The International City Theatre will host a staged reading of INNOCENCE, a new musical by British team Jonathan Dove and Alasdair Middleton. The reading will be held today, April 24, at 7 PM and will be free and open to the public.