John Leslie News

Boston audiences are in for a treat when vocalist Cassie Swartz takes the stage for a special one-night-only concert at Club Café this month. Learn more here.

Get a first look at the acclaimed adaptation by Olivier Award-winner Conor McPherson of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya starring Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Paddington) in the title role. Uncle Vanya is a heartbreaking comedy about the eternal battle between futility and change.

Watch the trailer video for Berkeley Rep's production of Olivier Award-winner Conor McPherson’s stunning adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece, UNCLE VANYA. Joining Bonneville (Vanya) is Tony Award winner John Benjamin Hickey (Astrov).

The complete cast and creative team has been revealed for Conor McPherson’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece, Uncle Vanya at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. See who is staring and learn how to purchase tickets.

Open-Door Playhouse will present THE CHRISTMAS CRACKER, a new audio play. Directed by Bernadette Armstrong, it features a mysterious twist at a holiday party. Learn more!

THE LAST RIFLEMAN, a heartwarming WWII veteran drama starring Pierce Brosnan, will release in theaters and Digital / On Demand on November 8th. The film is directed by Terry Loane and written by Kevin Fitzpatrick, also stars Clémence Poésy, John Amos, Ian McElhinney and Desmond Eastwood. 

On October 19, Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills is presenting a reading of All These Women, written and directed by Melanie MacQueen. Centering on the newly elected president Woodrow Wilson, the story delves into how the Women’s Suffrage Parade pushed him to finally agree to Voting Rights for All. I decided to speak with Melanie about how the play came into being, her plans to present it as a reading, and how she plans to keep presenting it in the future.

Theatre 40 announced a staged reading of the new play ALL THESE WOMEN, written and directed by Melanie MacQueen, on October 19, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. in Beverly Hills. Admission is $10 at the door.

Major survey of modern art created in the American South opens January 26.

David Hunt Stafford (pictured) is the Artistic Director and Managing Director of Theatre 40, posts he has proudly held since 2000 at the professional theater company located on the campus of Beverly Hills High School. I decided to speak with David about the current plays running in rep during July and August: Doris and Ivy in the Home, in which he appears, and One Moment of Freedom which he produces; and the group’s ongoing Reading Series showcasing new and well-known plays read by company members.

What did our critic think of SWEENEY TODD at Signature Theatre? Set in the dark streets of London in 1785, we follow barber Sweeney Todd (Nathaniel Stampley) as he returns from wrongful imprisonment by the horrifying Judge Turpin (John Leslie Wolf).

Get a first look at photos of Sweeney Todd at Signature Theatre!

Get a first look at footage of Sweeney Todd at Signature Theatre!

Signature Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, with music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler.

Theatre Forty once again presents Theatre Appreciation Seminars on Monday nights at 7:00 p.m. The series of rehearsed play-readings will be presented on Zoom, with the exception of the final play in this series, A Christmas Truce, which will be presented on stage at Theatre Forty on November 7.

Olney Theatre Center has updated its summer schedule for Olney Outdoors with the full schedule and roster of performers featured in its Cabaret concert series which runs on most Friday nights begininng July 8 - August 19.

Little LTF, an event to showcase and celebrate new writing and performing talent from across the North West, opens in Liverpool next week. 

The first 2022 session of Theatre 40's popular series of Monday Night Seminars will be conducted on Zoom. Each date of the series will feature the reading of a play by Theatre 40's actors, followed by a Q&A period. The theme of this session is Strange Plays for Strange Days.. The series is moderated by Melanie MacQueen and John Leslie. Each reading will be directed by either Ms. MacQueen or Mr.Leslie.

Signature Theatre has announced that special arrangements have been made to stream Everybody Rise: Signature Remembers Stephen Sondheim for free for a limited 72-hour period.

For the final entry of 2021 in its popular series of Monday Night Seminars, Theatre 40 will present a rehearsed reading via Zoom of a classic holiday tale, Beasley's Christmas Party.