John Stone News

Altar Boyz is a foot-stomping, rafter-raising, musical comedy about a fictitious Christian boy band on the last night of their national 'Raise the Praise' tour. The Boyz are five all-singing, all-dancing heartthrobs from Ohio: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham. With their tight harmonies, tight pants, and spectacular choreography, these boyz won't rest until they lift the soul of every single member of the audience. Directed by Tyler Rosati and Ceit Zweil, and Choreographed by Ceit Zweil, performances run from March 23-April 9, 2017. Press Opening is Saturday, March 25, 2017 at 3:00pm.

Jonah and the Whale: A New Musical is an unforgettable story of faith, loss, and survival against unbeatable odds. Starring Taavon Gamble, last seen in The Scottsboro Boys at SpeakEasy Stage Company, as Jonah, this epic musical journey re-imagined from the Old Testament features a completely original pop/folk score. With a Book by Tyler Mills, Music and Lyrics by David Darrow and Blake Thomas, Orchestrations by Robert Frost, the exciting ensemble cast is Directed by Weylin Symes and Choreographed by Elliot Norton and IRNE Award-winner Ilyse Robbins. Performances run from February 23-March 12, 2017. Press Opening is Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 3:00pm.

Jonah and the Whale: A New Musical is an unforgettable story of faith, loss, and survival against unbeatable odds. Starring Taavon Gamble, last seen in The Scottsboro Boys at SpeakEasy Stage Company, as Jonah, this epic musical journey re-imagined from the Old Testament features a completely original pop/folk score. With a Book by Tyler Mills, Music and Lyrics by David Darrow and Blake Thomas, Orchestrations by Robert Frost, the exciting ensemble cast is Directed by Weylin Symes and Choreographed by Elliot Norton and IRNE Award-winner Ilyse Robbins. Performances run from February 23-March 12, 2017. Press Opening is Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 3:00pm.

Nominations for the 23rd Annual SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS were announced live today from the Pacific Design Center. Sophia Bush (Chicago P.D., One Tree Hill) and Common (Suicide Squad, Selma) joined SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris to reveal this year's announce the nominees.

Kathy St. George may be diminutive in stature, but she is a feisty force of nature as the title character in MAME at Stoneham Theatre. Mary Callanan returns from Broadway and national tours to play her sidekick Vera, and ten-year-old triple threat Cameron Levesque plays her precocious nephew Patrick. One of Jerry Herman's great works, MAME is a joyous celebration of living life with brio and without apologies.

Stoneham Theatre celebrates the holidays with the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Mame, Directed and Choreographed by Elliot Norton and IRNE Award-winner Ilyse Robbins. Featuring song favorites Bosom Buddies and If He Walked Into My Life, this unforgettable classic centers on the eccentric Mame Dennis, who lives a carefree life in 1920s New York until she unexpectedly becomes the guardian to her 10-year-old nephew, Patrick. Rather than change her ways, Mame introduces Patrick to all the wonder of her wild bohemian world while discovering the joy of having a family of her own. Performances run from November 25-December 23, 2016. Press Opening is Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 7:00pm.

Stoneham Theatre celebrates the holidays with the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Mame, Directed and Choreographed by Elliot Norton and IRNE Award-winner Ilyse Robbins. Featuring song favorites Bosom Buddies and If He Walked Into My Life, this unforgettable classic centers on the eccentric Mame Dennis, who lives a carefree life in 1920s New York until she unexpectedly becomes the guardian to her 10-year-old nephew, Patrick. Rather than change her ways, Mame introduces Patrick to all the wonder of her wild bohemian world while discovering the joy of having a family of her own. Performances run from November 25-December 23, 2016. Press Opening is Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 7:00pm.

Stoneham Theatre has a lively hit on its hands with the Lynn Ahrens/Stephen Flaherty 1980s musical murder mystery farce, LUCKY STIFF. The rom-com romp stars young company alum Andrew Barbato, with direction by Caitlin Lowans, choreography by Ilyse Robbins, and music direction by Bethany Aiken. It's a madcap journey to Monte Carlo with a rich, dead uncle, mistaken identity, slamming doors, romance, and great songs.

Stoneham Theatre opens its 17th Season with Lucky Stiff, a musical murder mystery farce about love, dogs, diamonds, and death. From the creators of Ragtime and Seussical, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Directed by Caitlin Lowans and Choreographed by Elliot Norton and IRNE Award-winner Ilyse Robbins, Lucky Stiff hilariously tells the story of an unassuming shoe salesman who stands to inherit six million dollars from a recently deceased uncle he never met. There's only one catch: he has to bring his embalmed uncle on a vacation to Monte Carlo. Should he succeed in passing his uncle off as alive, he'll get the inheritance. If not, the money goes to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn, or else his uncle's gun-toting ex! Performances run from September 8 - 25, 2016. Press Opening is Saturday, September 10, 2016 at 3:00pm.

Created by Steven Zaillian ('Schindler's List,' 'American Gangster') and Richard Price ('The Color of Money,' HBO's 'The Wire'), the eight-part HBO limited series production THE NIGHT OF debuts SUNDAY, JULY 10 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT)

Written and directed by Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes, with original music and lyrics by local actor/director/writer/composer Steven Barkhimer, LOBSTER GIRL is set in Cape Ann, Massachusetts. The homegrown production features about a dozen songs of eclectic genres that serve as the tug boat to the laden book. The water hasn't reached a boil yet for this crustacean.

Stoneham Theatre closes its 16th Season with Lobster Girl, a World Premiere musical written and directed by Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes with music and lyrics by Steven Barkhimer. Choreography is by IRNE and Elliot Norton Award-winner Ilyse Robbins. When Hank invites his girlfriend's 14-year-old daughter, Cora, out for the day on his lobster boat off of Cape Ann, things go swimmingly until his assistant lets it slip that wedding bells will soon chime. That's when the seas start to get a bit choppy. Performances run from June 9 - 26, 2016. Press Opening is Saturday, June 11, 2016 at 3:00pm.

Director/choreographer Ilyse Robbins pays homage to Bob Fosse, but puts her artistic stamp on the 1966 Tony Award-winning musical. You will love Vanessa Dunleavy as the hopeful dance-hall hostess looking for love in all the wrong places. Stoneham Theatre veterans and newcomers comprise a stellar ensemble that delivers the songs and dances with panache.

Stoneham Theatre continues Season 16 with the toe-tapping, Broadway musical hit SWEET CHARITY. Performances run now through April 24, 2016. Press Opening is today, April 2, 2016 at 3:00pm.

Stoneham Theatre continues Season 16 with the toe-tapping, Broadway musical hit SWEET CHARITY. Performances run from March 31 - April 24, 2016. Press Opening is Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 3:00pm.

Stoneham Theatre continues Season 16 with the toe-tapping, Broadway musical hit SWEET CHARITY. Performances run from March 31 - April 24, 2016. Press Opening is Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 3:00pm.

The Paper Bag Players, celebrating their 57th year of bringing original, contemporary musical theater to kids, return to the Jewish Museum on Sunday, March 13 with two performances of Pop-Pop-Popcorn, at 11:30 am and 2pm; and Become a Paper Bag Player, a special behind-the-scenes workshop at 10:30am.

In a departure from traditional seasonal fare, two local theater companies are bringing us back to the simpler days of yesteryear, staging live radio productions of Christmas shows set in the 1940s. Stoneham Theatre offers the frothy, musical bagatelle CHRISTMAS ON THE AIR while Merrimack Repertory Theatre presents an adaptation of the holiday film classic, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY. Replete with evocative sound effects and on-air commercial messages, both plays invite audience participation for applause and a range of emotional reactions, to replicate a live studio broadcast.

Stoneham Theatre opens its 16th season with A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, directed by Weylin Symes and Ilyse Robbins. Front and center for the nonsense is Neil A. Casey, surrounded by a stand-out cast, including Kathy St. George, Chip Phillips, Jordan Ahnquist, and Mark Linehan. Ribald jokes and vaudeville shtick are cause for eye-rolling, but your ears will feast on the gathering of voices covering the Stephen Sondheim score.

Director/choreographer Ilyse Robbins reigns as chair of the board over a company of established pros and starry-eyed up-and-comers in Stoneham Theatre's effervescent HOW TO $UCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. Tyler Bradley Indyck and Ephie Aardema make beautiful music together, Angelo McDonough almost steals the show, and the ensemble sing and dance with great energy and style. It's bound to do boffo business!