John Jamison News

BroadwayWorld is going inside Theater Latte Da's world premiere musical FIVE POINTS. Check out the cast in action in the video below!

Theater Latte Da announces extended performances of the rousing, world premiere musical FIVE POINTS thru May 13. This latest and most ambitious musical world premiere to date brings together the talents of a dynamic creative team. The score is the work of Douglas Lyons and Ethan D. Pakchar, a New York-based songwriting team with significant Broadway credits. The book is written by the prolific Twin Cities-based playwright Harrison David Rivers, who has penned three world premieres this season including FIVE POINTS, as well as productions at the History Theatre and Penumbra Theatre. Theater Latte Da Artistic Director Peter Rothstein directs the production with Resident Music Director Denise Prosek. Performances run now thru May 13 at the Ritz Theater (345 13th Avenue NE in Minneapolis). Single tickets go are on sale now and can be purchased at Latteda.org or by calling 612-339-3003.

BroadwayWorld has an exclusive first look at Theater Latte Da's Broadway-aimed world premiere musical FIVE POINTS. Check out the cast in action in the photos below!

BroadwayWorld has an exclusive first look at Theater Latte Da's Broadway-aimed world premiere musical FIVE POINTS. Check out the cast in action in the photos below!

Children's Theatre Company, in collaboration with Penumbra Theatre, presents THE WIZ. At the time of its opening on Broadway in 1974, THE WIZ was a modern retelling of The Wizard of Oz, featuring Soul-inspired songs and an entirely African-American cast. It was later adapted into a popular 1978 film starring Diana Ross and a young Michael Jackson. The Children's Theatre Company's production of THE WIZ opened on January 23rd and will run through March 18th.

'Combining CTC's critical literacy work and Penumbra's racial justice work allows us to forge something together that neither could do alone.' These words in the playbill of THE WIZ, the first collaboration between these two acclaimed #TCTheater companies, brought tears to my eyes before the show even started. Especially after wading through a sea of children of all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds. In an increasingly divided world, Penumbra (one of the longest-running and most acclaimed African American theater companies in the nation) and Children's Theatre (ditto for children's theater) give me hope, as individual companies and especially in this collaboration in which an all-black cast tells a story of a young black woman who discovers her own power through the help of friends. They give me hope that maybe we can overcome our seemingly insurmountable differences and join together in song and awesome dance to solve our problems. It's possible, right? Can't you feel a brand new day? Indeed I can.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) in partnership with Penumbra Theatre will present The Wiz, adapted from L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) in partnership with Penumbra Theatre will present The Wiz, adapted from L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

This fresh new musical is a terrific addition to the American musical canon, a show a lot of us have been waiting for. It's a rare thing: the main character is a young African-American woman struggling to find her way in present day USA. Without oversimplifying her struggles with love, sexuality, and work, it takes us all along on her search for self. Tuneful, funny, and soulful, GIRL SHAKES LOOSE is decidedly contemporary and honors the great Sonia Sanchez, a shining light of the Black Arts Movement.

Hennepin Theatre Trust announced today that two students in the SpotLight Musical Theatre Program, Emily Nies from White Bear Lake High School and Daniel Piering from Wayzata High School, were selected to represent Minnesota at the National High School Musical Theatre "Jimmy" Awards to be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, June 25, 2012 at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City.