Lee Smith News

Playwright Amy Freed has always been a Shakespeare fan. Her breakout hit, The Beard of Avon (SCR-commissioned and premiered, 2001), was a smart, funny look at the controversy surrounding the authorship of Shakespeare's plays. Now comes SHREW! (March 24-April 21, Segerstrom Stage), in which Freed has re-imagined The Bard's play, The Taming of the Shrew, as a wickedly funny love story of two people who find their way to true, deep and mutual love. Art Manke directs SHREW!, which is an anchor production of the 2018 Pacific Playwrights Festival. Tickets are available at www.scr.org.

From the underground dance clubs of 1950's Memphis, Tennessee, comes the Tony and Olivier Award-winning musical that bursts off the stage with explosive dancing, irresistible songs and a thrilling tale of fame and forbidden love. Inspired by actual events, Memphis is about a white radio DJ who wants to change the world and a black club singer who is ready for her big break. Come along on their incredible journey to the ends of the airwaves - filled with laughter, soaring emotion and roof-raising rock 'n' roll. Winner of four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical and two 2015 Olivier Awards, Memphis features a Tony-winning book by Joe DiPietro and a Tony-winning original score with music by Bon Jovi founding member David Bryan. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 6th.

It's Hollywood's biggest night! Who will go home with Oscar gold tonight? It's anyone's guess!

It's almost Oscars time! Before you fill out your ballot, catch up on how this year's nominees have been doing throughout the 2018 awards season!

The Cinema Audio Society Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing Motion Picture - Live Action was presented to the sound mixing team from “Dunkirk” of Mark Weingarten CAS, Gregg Landaker, Gary Rizzo CAS, Alan Meyerson CAS, Thomas J. O'Connell and Scott Curtis.

Witty, enchanting, and joyously self-referential, the original film version of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE fantasizes a story involving a young, virile William Shakespeare in his prime, who quells a bout of writer's block by secretly romancing an engaged lady named Viola---which apparently becomes the inspiration for the Bard's infamous star-crossed tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet.' The plot of the film remains fairly intact in Lee Hall's mostly delightful if slightly diluted stage adaptation, now continuing performances in a gorgeous-looking new regional production at Orange County's Tony Award-winning theater South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through February 10, 2018. This spunky love letter to the theater is chockfull of stagecraft-insider amusements and fun-to-find Shakespearean Easter Eggs that both aficionados and casual fans will appreciate. But, shockingly, despite the spectacular production values and the beguiling, gusto-bathed performances of its large ensemble cast, this stage adaptation somehow loses some of the inescapable romanticism that is so much more prevalent in the original film.

“Dunkirk” (edited by Lee Smith, ACE) and “I, Tonya” (edited by Tatiana S. Riegel, ACE) won Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) and Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy) respectively at the 68thAnnual ACE Eddie Awards tonight where trophies were handed out recognizing the best editing of 2017 in ten categories of film, television and documentaries. 

The nominations for the 90th Annual ACADEMY AWARDS were announced this morning on a global live stream. Find out which of your favorite theater stars received a nomination!

The nominations for the 90th Annual ACADEMY AWARDS were announced this morning.The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. PDT.

Romance, mistaken identities, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics served up with a generous dash of comedy are at the heart of Shakespeare in Love, adapted by Lee Hall from the Oscar-winning film written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, with music by Paddy Cunneen. South Coast Repertory Artistic Director Marc Masterson directs the production on the Segerstrom Stage, Jan. 13-Feb. 10. Tickets are now on sale: www.scr.org.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) announced the winners of the 23rd Annual CRITICS' CHOICE AWARDS. Hosted by actor, author, and activist Olivia Munn, the event was held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica and broadcast on The CW Network.

The Cinema Audio Society announces the nominees for the 54th Annual CAS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for 2017 in seven categories. Also announcing the Outstanding Product Nominations.

he British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the nominations for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2018. The Shape of Water is nominated in 12 categories. Darkest Hour and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri both receive nine nominations

American Cinema Editors (ACE) today announced nominations for THE 68TH ANNUAL ACE EDDIE AWARDS recognizing outstanding editing in ten categories of film, television and documentaries.

Romance, mistaken identities, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics served up with a generous dash of comedy are at the heart of Shakespeare in Love, adapted by Lee Hall from the Oscar-winning film written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, with music by Paddy Cunneen. South Coast Repertory Artistic Director Marc Masterson directs the production on the Segerstrom Stage, Jan. 13-Feb. 10. Tickets are now on sale: www.scr.org.

Nominations for THE CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS were announced today. Fox Searchlight's THE SHAPE OF WATER leads the pack with a whopping 14 nominations. Best Picture and Director contenders included DUNKIRK, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, LADY BIRD and THE POST, each with eight nominations.

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME won for Best Picture of the Year, it was announced today by Claudia Puig, President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).

Kitchen Theatre Company launches its 2017-2018 Season with Smart People, a sharp and provocative new comedy by Lydia R. Diamond. Summer L. Williams, Associate Artistic Director of Company One Theatre (Boston, MA), directs. Performances of Smart People began at the Kitchen Theatre Company in The Percy Browning Theatre on September 3. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

As a token of appreciation to our men and women in uniform, Warner Bros. Pictures is offering all military personnel—both active duty and retired—a free ticket to Christopher Nolan's acclaimed epic DUNKIRK with the purchase of one.