Lawrence Welk News

Windy City Playhouse (3014 W. Irving Park Road) announces the complete casting for Gina Gionfriddo's "Becky Shaw," the dark, "ferociously funny" (The New York Times) comedy. Jeff Award winner Scott Weinstein directs the final production in Windy City Playhouse's third season, starring Theo Allyn ("The Matchmaker" at Goodman Theatre) in the title role as Becky Shaw.

LITTLE BIG SHOTS: FOREVER YOUNG kicks off Today, June 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT with five phenomenal young-at-heart seniors and a special guest appearance by America's favorite senior, Betty White.

Adirondack Theatre Festival is presenting Knights of the Sales Office as part of its 23rd summer season of professional theater.

LITTLE BIG SHOTS: FOREVER YOUNG kicks off Wednesday, June 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT with five phenomenal young-at-heart seniors and a special guest appearance by America's favorite senior, Betty White.

Directors Scott Weinstein and Hannah Dawe and Music Director Jermaine Hill will lead a Valentine's Day themed event, LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE: A concert benefiting Planned Parenthood, the Trevor Project and the Southern Poverty Law Center. The concert is set to take place at 8PM on Monday, February 13, at Windy City Playhouse (3014 W Irving Park Rd) and will feature several of Chicago's most beloved theater artists including Donica Lynn, Alex Weisman and Jonathan Butler-Duplessis.

"Home for the Holidays" will fill the Catherine A. Daly Theatre on the Avenue with favorite holiday songs from the 1940s to the present day at the theater, 2656 Biddle in Wyandotte. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9, 10, 16 and 17, and 3 p.m. Dec. 11 and 18 at the playhouse. 

San Diego Musical Theatre announced today the cast and creative team for the San Diego Regional Premiere of The Producers.

Recording artist Kurtis Simmons made his LA solo debut at Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Feliz on Monday, August 29 at 8pm. With music direction by Sean Bart, Simmons performed songs from his critically acclaimed pop/rock CD Fraction of a Thread along with some tunes from his original musical Hipster Sweatshop (co-written with Kyle Puccia and Darryl Stephens).  BroadwayWorld brings you a first look below!

San Diego Musical Theatre announced today the cast and creative team for the San Diego Regional Premiere of The Producers.

Recording artist Kurtis Simmons will make his LA solo debut at Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Feliz on Monday, August 29 at 8pm. With music direction by Sean Bart, Simmons will perform songs from his critically acclaimed pop/rock CD Fraction of a Thread along with some tunes from his original musical Hipster Sweatshop (co-written with Kyle Puccia and Darryl Stephens).

Audiences attending the show entitled 'Sandra Piller Sings More Hit Parade Music of Ruth Roberts' will hear songs from the Hit Parade that were chart-toppers for such artists as Dean Martin, the McGuire Sisters, Buddy Holly, Patti Page, Jimmy Dean, Lawrence Welk, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and others.

Audiences attending the show entitled 'Sandra Piller Sings More Hit Parade Music of Ruth Roberts' will hear songs from the Hit Parade that were chart-toppers for such artists as Dean Martin, the McGuire Sisters, Buddy Holly, Patti Page, Jimmy Dean, Lawrence Welk, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and others.

Audiences attending the show entitled 'Sandra Piller Sings More Hit Parade Music of Ruth Roberts' will hear songs from the Hit Parade that were chart-toppers for such artists as Dean Martin, the McGuire Sisters, Buddy Holly, Patti Page, Jimmy Dean, Lawrence Welk, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and others.

Joe's Pub at The Public has announced its nightly performances, April 6-17, 2016. Scroll down for more details and visit www.joespub.com for a complete list of shows!

An intimate evening of song, dance and memories with living legend Arthur Duncan, and Musical Direction by Lenny LaCroix with the Lenny LaCroix Trio at El Portal's Monroe Forum Theatre, in the NOHO Arts District, North Hollywood, CA. This special 4 show only engagement will be presented April 1,2,3.

The sister act girl group from Muncie Indiana makes its first TV appearance,,, on the York Little Theatre stage. Prepare to hear the greatest hits of the Fifties from some of the great singers of the YLT stage.

Now that Peter has returned to Neverland and the good citizens of Tuna have returned their yard ornaments to their garages and attics, Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT has seen to it that all the kiddies need to be tucked away in bed: Playhouse's electrifying production of the punk rock musical odyssey, with Book and Lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong and Book by Michael Mayer, has traded in pirates for pushers; and the result must have Rodgers and Hammerstein scratching their heads in musical heaven and asking the question, 'What in the name of Bali Hai is going on here?' However, if like me, you're primed for some stimulating adult entertainment, you'll find more than your toes tapping in this 'in your face' assault on the idiocy that is America -- that is we the audience.

It's not often when a person is able to develop their own stage show about their idol, but for the past four years, actor/singer Scott Dreier has done that very thing, when, in 2011, he started paying tribute to former actress/singer Doris Day. Dreier has toured all over the U.S. with Doris and Me, playing on the West Coast, where he makes his home, to venues on the East Coast. For many years before Doris and Me, the Southern California native was a performer in voiceovers, in theater, and on television, focusing mainly on family shows on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Scott has also been a featured vocalist with the Pasadena Pops Orchestra, has accompanied Barbra Streisand in concert, and has numerous television appearances to his credit. Devoted to charitable causes, Dreier designated the proceeds from his first CD, Scott Dreier, to support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. On the album, he sang a duet on 'Suddenly, Seymour' from Little Shop of Horrors with actress Katy Sagal (Married With Children). Dreier has performed in twelve productions of that show. One of his latest efforts, whose proceeds benefit the Doris Day Animal Foundation, is a duet with jazz singer Jane Monheit on Doris Day's hit, 'Everybody Loves a Lover.' Dreier is appearing in Doris and Me at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center this weekend, and we got a chance to visit with him and talk about his idol, who at 91, is living in comfortable retirement in Carmel-By-the-Sea near Monterey, California.

There are undoubtedly other productions worthy of merit in 2015 which I did not cover. This list is based only on what I saw and reviewed. (alphabetical listings; Equity, Equity-waiver & Non-Equity productions are mixed) (artists performing outside LA may be included in performance categories) No set, costume, or technical awards. I leave that to the bigger awards and to the expertise of those who really know those fields inside out.

In her show entitled, FROM THE BRILL BUILDING TO THE METROPOLITAN ROOM: SANDRA PILLER SINGS RUTH ROBERTS, the audience will hear songs recorded by such artists as Petula Clark, Dean Martin, Buddy Holly, Jimmy Dean, Lawrence Welk, Freda Payne, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and many more.