Kenny Ingram News

The Emojiland kingdom is now complete! Arborhouse Productions & Visceral Entertainment (Michael Chase Gosselin and Tim Sulka) today announced that Max Crumm (Grease, Disaster) will take on the role of the Man In Business Suit Levitating emoji, along with Jacob Dickey (Aladdin Broadway as Aladdin) as Smiling Face with Sunglasses, (aka a?oeSunnya??), Dwelvan David (Finding Neverland & The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess Tours) as Guardsman, Heather Makalani (Aladdin) as Kissy Face, Tanisha Moore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tour) as Woman Dancing and Jordan Fife Hunt (A Chorus Line First Revival Tour) as Man Dancing.

Tickets are now on sale for Emojiland The Musical and are available for purchase online at Dukeon42.org; by phone at 646-223-3010; or in person at The Duke on 42nd Street at 229 West 42nd Street (Tuesdays-Fridays 4-7 and Saturdays 12-6). The production will have a limited Off-Broadway run Thursday, January 9, 2020 through Sunday, March 8, 2020 at The Duke on 42nd Street in New 42nd Street Studios (229 West 42nd Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues). Emojiland The Musical garnered 12 nominations and 5 wins at the 2018 NYMF Awards and was a 2018 Richard Rodgers Award Finalist.

Additional casting has been announced for Emojiland, including George Abud (The Band's Visit) as Nerd Face, Emojiland Co-Writer Laura Schein as Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes (aka a?oeSmizea??), Emmy Winner & Grammy Nominee Felicia Boswell (NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar LIVE, Shuffle Along, Motown) & Natalie Weiss (Everyday Rapture, YouTube's a?oeBreaking Down the Riffsa??) as the loving couple, Police Officer and Construction Worker, and Ann Harada (Avenue Q, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella) as Pile of Poo. They are joined by previously announced stars Lesli Margherita (Matilda, Dames at Sea) who will play Princess and Josh Lamon (The Prom, Groundhog Day) who will play Prince. Additional casting will be announced soon. The production will have a limited Off-Broadway run Thursday, January 9, 2020 through Sunday, March 8, 2020 at The Duke on 42nd Street in New 42nd Street Studios (229 West 42nd Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues). Emojiland The Musical garnered 12 nominations and 5 wins at the 2018 NYMF Awards and was a 2018 Richard Rodgers Award Finalist.

After its critically-acclaimed sold out run in NYMF 2018, the new musical Emojiland will make a triumphant return to New York in a limited Off-Broadway engagement beginning Thursday, January 9, 2020 through Sunday, March 8, 2020 at The Duke on 42nd Street in New 42nd Street Studios (229 West 42nd Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues). Emojiland garnered 12 nominations and 5 wins at the 2018 NYMF Awards and was a 2018 Richard Rodgers Award Finalist.

The 5th Avenue Theatre, Abingdon Theatre Company and Ann Ramsay-Jenkins presented a 29 Hour industry reading of Corner of Bitter and Sweet featuring a book by Lainie Sakakura, music & lyrics by Paul Fujimoto on October 23 at Theatre 71 in New York. Lainie Sakakura directs. Scroll down for photos from the reading.

The 5th Avenue Theatre and the Abingdon Theatre Company, will present a 29 Hour reading of a beautiful new musical, Corner of Bitter & Sweet, book by Lainie Sakakura, music & lyrics by Paul Fujimoto on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at 2:30pm Theatre 71 | 152 West 71st Street, NYC.

The Marriott Theatre, Chicagoland's longest-running professional musical theater located at 10 Marriott Drive Lincolnshire, IL, is thrilled to announce its 2020 blockbuster season.

For the next month Portland Stage will be transformed into the Fats Waller Harlem Club where five performers and four musicians rock the stage each night recreating the sounds and sensations of the Harlem Renaissance era in music. The spectacular, soul-gripping show is AIN'T MISBEHAVIN', the musical dedicated to the work of the legendary Fats Waller, presented in a powerful co-production by Maine State Music Theatre and Portland Stage at the Portland venue. Directed by E. Faye Butler and choreographed by Kenny Ingram, this fourth collaboration between these two leading Maine theatres is an entertaining, moving, and enlightening theatrical experience.

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) announced today the winners of the 2019 NYMF Awards for Excellence, which were awarded on Sunday, August 4, 2019 at Sony Hall

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) and Flying Elephant Productions present TILL, the emotional and moving true story of Emmett and Mamie Till, with music and lyrics by Leo Schwartz and book by Leo Schwartz and DC Cathro.

Portland Stage's collaboration with Maine State Music Theatre continues with a production of Ain't Misbehavin':The Fats Waller Musical Show from August 6 to September 1.

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) and Flying Elephant Productions present TILL, the emotional and moving true story of Emmett and Mamie Till, with music and lyrics by Leo Schwartz and book by Leo Schwartz and DC Cathro. NJ Agwuna directs a cast of six, including Taylor A. Blackman (Regional: Fun Home, Mamma Mia, Hello Dolly, Ragtime), Tyla Collier (Off-Broadway: Sistas the Musical), Dwelvan David (1st national tours: Finding Neverland; The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess), Judith Franklin (Broadway: Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), Denielle Marie Gray (NationalIntl. Touring: background singer for Patti Labelle & others) and Devin L. Roberts (Broadway: The Lion King, Cabin In The Sky). Five performances will be staged at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York City from July 23-28, 2019.

"I did this show two decades ago with these amazing ladies, and when I asked them if they would be willing to reprise their performances. When they said 'yes,' I was thrilled to be able to bring this new production here to MSMT." Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark is speaking about Maine State Music Theatre's 2019 season opener, the dazzling Duke Ellington revue, SOPHISTICATED LADIES, and its co-stars E. Faye Butler and Felicia P. Fields, who are now playing at Brunswick's Pickard Theater. Butler, Fields, and Jessica A. Lawyer, one of the astounding dancers in the show, have joined Clark and BROADWAY WORLD'S Maine Editor, Carla Maria Verdino-Sullwold, on June 12 at Curtis Memorial Library to discuss the production at the opening panel discussion of the theatre's annual PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN series.

This summer, Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the 75-minute musical stage adaptation of the timeless 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz, directed by Brian Hill and choreographed by Kenny Ingram. Based on the landmark novel by L. Frank Baum and featuring music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, The Wizard of Oz promises to be the perfect outing for audiences of all ages at Chicago Shakespeare's home on Navy Pier all summer long, July 6-August 25, 2019 with performances on Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. and Thursdays-Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

"It's the kind of music that makes you feel regal," actress Felicia P. Fields says, describing the genius of Duke Ellington. "The word 'sophistication' isn't used as much today as it was back then. There was an elegance in the period." Fields, who is one of the stars of Maine State Music Theatre's new production of SOPHISTICATED LADIES, which runs at the Pickard Theater from June 5-22, 2019, believes that the production, directed by Marc Robin with three individual choreographers and an eleven piece orchestra perfectly captures the 1920s and 1930s and the big-band era.

So what does a theatre company do to keep its momentum and even up the ante after a 60th anniversary season that broke all records? Why not hire three choreographers, fourteen virtuoso singer-dancers, and an eleven-piece big band orchestra, to mount the largest dance show in its history that celebrates the music of one of America's immortal musical geniuses, Duke Ellington? That is precisely what Maine State Music Theatre has done in its 2019 season opener with its sensational all-singing, all-dancing, visually opulent extravaganza, SOPHISTICATED LADIES, that is currently blowing the roof off the Pickard with its high-octane visceral energy, heady joy, and pure lyrical magic.

"Felicia and I have a song in our concert, LETTIN' THE GOOD TIMES ROLL, that we wrote. It's called 'That Wasn't Me,' laughs actress E. Faye Butler. It talks about how people will walk up to me and say, 'Felicia, I'm so glad to see you.' And then they do the same thing to Felicia, calling her E. Faye. It makes us laugh!" Butler is speaking of her close friend and co-star at MSMT this summer, actress Felicia P. Fields, with whom she shares the stage in SOPHISTICATED LADIES and in their joint revue, LETTIN' THE GOOD TIMES ROLL. "We have known each other for thirty-one years on and off stage. We both began our journeys growing up on Chicago's South Side. I am godmother to her daughter; our husbands are good friends. We have gone on vacation and spent holidays together. She is like a sister to me. We can laugh, argue, say I'm sorry, and hug it out. We can finish each other's sentences. Working with Felicia is easy, so it is always a treat to do a show together."

The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre, in association with Maine State Music Theatre is proud to present the dance and music-filled Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, May 2 through May 25, with Previews April 30 and May 1. Three acclaimed choreographers, Broadway's Mark Stuart, Broadway's Kenny Ingram and Lancaster's own Marc Robin, have joined to make this one memorable celebration!