John Russell News

Food Network showcases the country's most creative cupcake makers this summer in the new five-episode series Cupcake Championship, premiering Monday, July 1st at 9pm ET/PT. Hosted by Kardea Brown, each episode features four world-class cupcake experts battling to achieve new levels of edible ingenuity in two rounds of competition for a $10,000 cash prize. Judge Maureen McCormick is joined by a revolving panel of guest judges, including Nacho Aguirre, Lerome Campbell, Amirah Kassem, Stella Parks, Gesine Prado and Joshua John Russell, to determine who is named each week's Cupcake Champion.

It's the 1920s and a Tennessee schoolteacher has been arrested and put on trial for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Forte Dramatic Productions presents the acclaimed play "Inherit the Wind" at Mercer County Community College's (MCCC's) Kelsey Theatre. Dates and show times for this powerful drama are Fridays, May 24 and 31 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, May 25 and June 1 at 8 p.m.; and Sundays, May 26 and June 2 at 2 p.m.

The Country Music Association hosted music industry partners and colleagues during the Music Business Association's annual conference – Music Biz 2019, held this week in Nashville. CMA sponsored the event's kickoff festivities today, which included a welcome breakfast and CMA Songwriters Series performance, at the JW Marriott in Nashville.

As millions look to make (and keep) resolutions and set new goals to better themselves in the New Year, Bluprint – NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment's state-of-the-art digital lifestyle learning platform and streaming service – is providing thousands of creative options to make 2019 the year to start creating or reconnecting with a favorite activity.

Long Beach Playhouse 'So closely woven with thrills and comedy that shocks and laughs are about 50/50' ~London Guardian Agatha Christie's Spider's Web At the Long Beach Playhouse January 12 - February 9, 2019  Long Beach, CA.

The National Gallery of Art, Washington, today announced that its Board of Trustees elected Kaywin Feldman to be the institution's next director—the fifth in the Gallery's 77-year history. She will succeed Earl A. Powell III, who has served as the director since 1992.

Chris Stapleton reveled in a celebratory night in Nashville as he took home three wins at "The 52nd Annual CMA Awards," while Keith Urban warmed hearts with his gracious acceptance of the coveted Entertainer of the Year trophy. Country Music's Biggest Night was hosted for the 11th consecutive year by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and aired live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Wednesday, Nov. 14 on the ABC Television Network.

An heroic struggle for dignity, the importance of family, and the attainment of the American Dream take center stage in Lorraine Hansberry's acclaimed drama "A Raisin in the Sun," to be presented by Theater To Go at Mercer County Community College's (MCCC's) Kelsey Theatre.

From October 7, 2018, to January 6, 2019, The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) presents John Waters: Indecent Exposure, the first major retrospective of the artist's visual art in his hometown of Baltimore. Through more than 160 photographs, sculptures, soundworks, and video made since the early 1990s, Waters' renegade humor subverts mainstream expectations of representation and reveals the ways that mass media and celebrity embody cultural attitudes, moral codes, and shared tragedy. Waters freely manipulates images of less-than sacred, low-brow references-Elizabeth Taylor's hairstyles, Justin Bieber's preening poses, his own self-portraits, and pictures of individuals brought into the limelight through his films-to entice viewers to connect to his astute and provocative observations about society.

The Long Beach Playhouse opens its 2018 - 2019 season with Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher. The play explores the question: 'What if Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective found himself in a plot inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson?'

THEATER TO GO presetns its October production of Lorraine Hansberry's classic American drama A RAISIN IN THE SUN. This drama about the African American experience explores the hopes and dreams of one extended family, the Youngers, a black working class family struggling to achieve the American Dream in the face of racial tensions and economic disenfranchisement in 1950's Chicago.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale will open its 2018/19 concert season in Walt Disney Concert Hall with two performances of The Mozart Requiem on Saturday, September 22 at 2 PM and Sunday, September 23 at 7 PM. The performances will feature the full 100-voice Master Chorale and Orchestra, and will be conducted by Grant Gershon, Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director. Guest soloists for the Requiem are Liv Redpath (soprano), J'Nai Bridges (mezzo-soprano), David Portillo (tenor), and Rod Gilfry (baritone). The concerts will open with Shawn Kirchner's Songs of Ascent-a setting of the Psalms sung by pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem-commissioned and premiered by the Master Chorale in 2015 when Kirchner was the Swan Family Composer-in-Residence. These performances will include three Psalms Kirchner has since added to the piece.

CMA Fest is officially a wrap! The fourth and final day saw “CMA Fest” co-host Kelsea Ballerini as the Artist of the Day at Xfinity Fan Fair X, where she answered questions from CMT's Leslie Fram followed by a performance that included her new single “I Hate Love Songs.” Ballerini also shared the song's brand new video with fans in attendance. Luke Bryan made a surprise appearance at the Chevy Riverfront Stage for 10 second trivia, where he awarded two winners with tickets to the Chevy suite at Nissan Stadium for Sunday's nightly concert. Once again, the Chevy Riverfront Stage reached capacity crowds Sunday during Scotty McCreery's afternoon set. Chris Young hosted a surprise meet and greet for hundreds of fans at his booth at Xfinity Fan Fair X, while Lindsay Ellpresented a check on behalf of Cracker Barrel for $15,000 to the CMA Foundation.

This summer the Los Angeles Master Chorale and choral music superstar Eric Whitacre will present the largest free group singing event in California history-Big Sing California.

Nine world-class bakers compete for bragging rights and a cash prize in season two of Food Network's primetime competition series Best Baker in America, premiering Monday, May 7th at 9pm ET/PT. Food Network's Scott Conant hosts the competition as bakers from across the country are put to the test in each episode to create elegant and delicious versions of classic baked goods, including a Skills Challenge that tests their mastery of the essential technical skills of baking, followed by a Master Challenge that tests the baker's prowess working with specific flavors and ingredients. Returning judges Jason Smith and Marcela Valladolid are joined by rotating guest judges, including baking digital influencers Yolanda Gampp, Joshua John Russell and Gemma Stafford, and prominent cake and pastry experts Florian Bellanger, Shinmin Li, Sherry Yard and Zac Young, to determine which bakers possess the artistry and creativity needed to advance through seven episodes, with one baker earning the grand prize of $25,000 and the title of Best Baker in America!

Nine world-class bakers compete for bragging rights and a cash prize in season two of Food Network's primetime competition series Best Baker in America, premiering Monday, May 7th at 9pm ET/PT. Food Network's Scott Conant hosts the competition as bakers from across the country are put to the test in each episode to create elegant and delicious versions of classic baked goods, including a Skills Challenge that tests their mastery of the essential technical skills of baking, followed by a Master Challenge that tests the baker's prowess working with specific flavors and ingredients. Returning judges Jason Smith and Marcela Valladolid are joined by rotating guest judges, including baking digital influencers Yolanda Gampp, Joshua John Russell and Gemma Stafford, and prominent cake and pastry experts Florian Bellanger, Shinmin Li, Sherry Yard and Zac Young, to determine which bakers possess the artistry and creativity needed to advance through seven episodes, with one baker earning the grand prize of $25,000 and the title of Best Baker in America!

The Country Music Association hosted a press conference in the famed Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum Rotunda earlier today to announce the 2018 class of Country Music Hall of Fame inductees. Ricky Skaggs and the families of Johnny Gimble and Dottie West were on hand to accept the honor. Watch the livestream at CMA's YouTube Channel.

Today the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) announced that it has named celebrated contemporary artist and Baltimore resident Amy Sherald as a new trustee on the Museum's board. Sherald will officially take her board seat on February 20, joining Board Chair Clair Zamoiski Segal and Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director Christopher Bedford, as well as 39 other active trustees guiding the institution. This diverse group is comprised of regional and national leaders in art, philanthropy, and business, including another recently named artist trustee, Adam Pendleton, who joined the board last August.

In 1930, Agatha Christie wrote Black Coffee as a play featuring her master sleuth Hercule Poirot. In this seldom seen and intricately crafted mystery, Christie weaves scientific discoveries, international espionage, and unimaginable murder together to give the audience a night of unraveling the knots of danger and suspense.

It's time to travel back to the 1930s for a rollicking good time on the rails as Theater To Go presents Ken Ludwig's Twentieth Century at Mercer County Community College's (MCCC's) Kelsey Theatre. A train trip from Chicago to New York City has lots riding on it including the future of a legendary producer and his Broadway show. Show times for this comedy classic are Fridays, Jan. 26 and Feb. 2 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, Jan. 27 and Feb. 3 at 8 p.m.; and Sundays, Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 at 2 p.m.