John Wilson News

DISNEY'S BROADWAY HITS, a concert celebrating two decades of Disney Theatrical's stage musicals on Broadway, the West End and around the world, premiered last night at London's Royal Albert Hall. Featuring an appearance by Tony and eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken - who received an immediate and sustained standing ovation - and the 74 piece BBC Concert Orchestra under the baton of Keith Lockhart, the evening ended with a surprise appearance by the West End cast of Aladdin in a performance of the show-stopping 'Friend Like Me.'

Celebrating over 20 years of successful Disney shows on Broadway, the West End and around the World, including smash hits such as Mary Poppins, The Lion King and Aladdin, as well as shorter-running productions, King David, Tarzan and Aida, an all-star cast brought the magic of the movies to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall last night, in the European premiere of Disney's Broadway Hits.

Thicker Than Water looks at the tragic case of Andrea Yates who admitted to drowning her 5 children in the bathtub. 

Atari! Pong! Space Invaders! The New Colony concludes its 2016 Season with the world premiere comedy MERGE, a fast-paced, heartfelt and uproarious journey inside the burgeoning 1970s video game industry. Written by Spenser Davis and directed by Co-Artistic Director Andrew Hobgood, MERGE plays now through November 13, 2016 at The New Colony's resident home, The Den Theatre's Upstairs Main Stage, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. The press opening is tonight, October 11 at 7:30 pm, and BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Disney's new musical, Aladdin, which opened to critical acclaim in June 2016, has announced a new education programme. This consists of curriculum-linked education resources for Key Stage 2 and 3 pupils, workshops for pupils aged 7+ and a series of behind the scenes videos which include interviews with the multi award-winning creative team.

Playwright Douglas Parker is known for his plays BESSIE:  The Life and Music of Bessie Smith, Life on the Mississippi, a play about young Samuel Clemens and Declarations, a one act play drawn from the letters of John and Abigail Adams.Thicker Than Water looks at the tragic case of Andrea Yates who admitted to drowning her 5 children in the bathtub. 

Atari! Pong! Space Invaders! The New Colony will conclude its 2016 Season with the world premiere comedy MERGE, a fast-paced, heartfelt and uproarious journey inside the burgeoning 1970s video game industry. Written by Spenser Davis and directed by Co-Artistic Director Andrew Hobgood, MERGE will play October 8 - November 13, 2016 at The New Colony's resident home, The Den Theatre's Upstairs Main Stage, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets go on sale Monday, August 22 at www.thenewcolony.org.  

New Line Cinema's and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures' romantic drama ME BEFORE YOU crossed a major milestone over the weekend, reaching the $200 million mark worldwide and wrapping up a hot summer season at the box office for the film's distributor, Warner Bros. Pictures.

The Kennedy Center hosts its 15th annual Page-to-Stage New Play Festival from Today, September 3 to Monday, September 5, 2016, featuring more than 50 theaters from the D.C. metropolitan area, all with a mission to produce and support new work.

Full casting is announced today for the UK premiere of the hit Off Broadway musical ADDING MACHINE: A MUSICAL, composed by Joshua Schmidt, with libretto by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt, and based on the classic play by Elmer Rice. Josh Seymour directs Joseph Alessi (Mr Zero), Kate Milner-Evans (Mrs Zero), Joanna Kirkland (Daisy Dorothea Devore) and Edd Campbell Bird (Shrdlu), with James Dinsmore (Mr One and as cast), Helen Walsh (Mrs One and as cast), George Rae (Mr Two and as cast), and Sue Appleby (Mrs Two and as cast). The production opens at the Finborough Theatre on Wednesday 28 September 2016 (Press Nights: Friday 30 September and Saturday 1 October 2016 at 7.30pm).

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announces Explorations, a new section featuring bold selections from the vanguard of contemporary cinema, and Main Slate shorts for the 54th New York Film Festival (September 30 - October 16).

The Kennedy Center hosts its 15th annual Page-to-Stage New Play Festival from Saturday, September 3 to Monday, September 5, 2016, featuring more than 50 theaters from the D.C. metropolitan area, all with a mission to produce and support new work.

The New Colony and Definition Theatre Company's runaway hit BYHALIA, MISSISSIPPI, winner of three 2016 Jeff Awards including Best New Work, returns this summer featuring the full original cast now through August 21, 2016 as part of Steppenwolf's Visiting Company Initiative at their new 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. BroadwayWorld has new shots from the production below!

The talented pair launch into a special rendition of the musical's second act vaudevillian turn, 'Somebody's Got Your Back.'

Evan Linder's new play BYHALIA, MISSISSIPPI begins with a scene familiar to those in the audience: a mother and her adult daughter squabbling. The daughter, Laurel, is several months pregnant. And while her mother just wants to be present for the birth of her grandchild, Laurel has had enough. But as the play progresses, we soon learn that Laurel and her husband Jim may not be quite ready for the demands of parenthood. And in a surprising twist following the birth of the child, Laurel and Jim-who are self-declared "white trash"-must also come face-to-face with some harsh realities and confront long-standing, deeply embedded racist beliefs. In this way, Linder's play provides striking food for thought on contemporary social issues, while also becoming a specific portrait of the life of this one couple. And while Chicago audiences may largely be unfamiliar with the small-town Southern lifestyle of BYHALIA'S characters, he makes us feel for these flawed personalities.

The National has begun a listening project to get a better sense of the values audiences want to see represented on stage.

Travel to Bali Ha'i with Billis and his crew in Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC, starring Broadway's Ben Davis, James Snyder and Erika Henningsen August 5-14 at the Benedum Center. Tickets are now available and can be purchasedonline, by visiting the Theater Square Box Office or calling 412-456-6666.

The New Colony is pleased to continue its 2016 Season with the world premiere of the fantastical family drama KIN FOLK, by William Glick, directed by Co-Artistic Director Evan Linder, playing now through August 14, 2016 at its resident home, The Den Theatre's Upstairs Main Stage, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. BroadwayWorld has new photos from the show below!

The New Colony and Definition Theatre Company's runaway hit BYHALIA, MISSISSIPPI, winner of three 2016 Jeff Awards including Best New Work, returns this summer featuring the full original cast now through August 21, 2016 as part of Steppenwolf's Visiting Company Initiative at their new 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. The press performance is tonight, July 25, and BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Over the past 20 years Rooftop Films has hosted over 600 events, screened over 2600 films, and entertained hundreds of thousands of audience members.