John F Kennedy News

Washington National Opera today announced its 2021–2022 season featuring a triumphant return to the Opera House stage, four world premiere commissions celebrating the Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary, debuts from acclaimed and rising opera stars, the return to the pit for Principal Conductor Evan Rogister and the WNO Orchestra & Chorus, and more.

Award-winning playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger's new book, Playwriting with Purpose, will be published by Routledge in August 2021. 

The Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive has announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors. Newly elected members Felicia Curry and Rick Foucheux are both esteemed figures in the DMV Theatre Community, selected to serve alongside WAPAVA’s already impressive list of artistic, educational, and civic leaders.

Tennessee Playwrights Studio has announced the TPS 2022 Season of theatre with four world premieres of new works by Tennessee playwrights/creators, along with a new cohort of TPS Fellows to be selected for the playwright development lab in 2022.

The Kennedy Center has announced its 2021–2022 ballet and dance season - beginning in October 2021.

This spring, Bay Area kids aged 5 and up will learn tools for identifying and combatting racism with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's virtual school tour of A Kid's Play About Racism, based on the book by Jelani Memory.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced its lineup of spring and summer performances in the lead-up to its highly anticipated 50th Anniversary season. A mix of in-person, digital, and outdoor performances are designed to safely celebrate a return to live performances.

African American art song and stories will be spotlighted when The Marsh launches its new solo performance musical series The Art Songs of Black Composers on its digital platform MarshStream.

honor of Black leaders who shaped and defined American history, The Marsh is presenting Darryl Van Leer’s riveting The Escape of Frederick Douglass on its digital platform, MarshStream. Van Leer wrote and stars in the acclaimed production, which brings to vivid life the early years of African American rights activist Frederick Douglass, from his youth as an unruly boy caught in a slave training camp to his gripping and suspenseful train ride to freedom. Immediately following the performance, Van Leer will be joined by The Marsh Founder/Artistic Director Stephanie Weisman for a Q&A. The Escape of Frederick Douglass will be streamed on Saturday, April 24 at 7:30pm PDT. For more information, please visit www.themarsh.org/marshstream. BroadwayWorld up with Van Leer last week from his home base in Nashville, Tennessee. An actor with some notable film & TV credits, Van Leer is perhaps best known for his stage works about political and cultural leaders, including musical performers such as Ray Charles and Little Richard. We discussed The Escape of Frederick Douglass and how he went about bringing such an iconic historical figure to life, and his thoughts on finding hope in difficult times. Van Leer has made it his mission to take inspiration from these great historical figures and pass it on to his audiences.

The New Jersey Youth Symphony announced today that it will hold auditions by video submission for the 2021-22 season. Audition registration for New Jersey's largest youth orchestra program, encompassing 15 ensembles including strings, winds, percussion, jazz, chamber music, and three full orchestras, is available online April 1-April 30.

Singer Jill Corey, an overnight sensation in 1953, when she landed on the cover of Life Magazine, passed away from natural causes on April 3 at UPMC Sunnyside in Sunnyside, PA.  She was 85. 

Baltimore Center Stage has announced the honorees for the 36th Annual Young Playwrights Festival. The Young Playwrights Festival is Baltimore Center Stage’s longest running learning program that encourages expression and creativity in students across the state.

The Broad Stage has announced a new chapter in its artistic future – as a commissioner and producer of new work – centered around dynamic partnerships with a diverse mix of performers, directors, choreographers, composers, librettists, and arts venues – in the 2021-2022 through 2023-2024 seasons, with exact production dates to be announced.

Today's top stories: Glenn Close reveals that the Sunset Boulevard film is 'ready to go', The Phantom of the Opera will have full orchestrations upon returning, and more!

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced its 2021–2022 Theater season featuring hit Broadway musicals, acclaimed plays, Kennedy Center productions, special programming for the Center’s 50th Anniversary, and more, beginning in October 2021.

This weekend, NY PopsUp returned to Broadway with another performance, this time from Amber Iman.

The Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts announced today that it will present two free virtual webinars featuring jazz singer, composer, and producer David Linx on Friday, April 9 and Curtis Institute of Music CEO & President Roberto Diaz on Monday, May 3.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced plans for its 50th Anniversary season, slated to begin in September 2021 with a grand reopening of its stages and campus and culminate in September 2022 with a fresh interpretation of the seminal work that opened the Center in 1971, Leonard Bernstein’s MASS.

The Midnight Company will present four plays in 2021, including two St. Louis Premieres and one World Premiere.

From April 16-30, 2021, Carnegie Hall will present Voices of Hope, an online festival that examines the resilience of artists, exploring works that they felt compelled to create despite—and often because of—appalling circumstances and human tragedy.