Lewis Strong News

Unbound Productions Executive Director Jonathan Josephson, Artistic Director Paul Millet, and Producing Artistic Director Jeff G. Rack have announced the line-up for WICKED LIT 2014, the 6th annual immersive theatre event that will take place at Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery in Altadena, California.

Seabright Productions presents Eric and Little Ern. Created and performed by Ian Ashpitel and Jonty Stephens, featuring classic material by Eddie Braben, Dick Hills and Sid Green, and directed by Owen Lewis. The show will run from Tuesday 16 December 2014 to Sunday 11 January 2015, with press night on Wednesday 17 December.

Today the Rose Theatre Kingston announces its Christmas production for 2014 - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The Rose's Director of Learning and Participation, Ciaran McConville, directs Theresa Heskins' adaptation of CS Lewis' masterpiece.

If you are even a semi-regular reader of this column of reviews, you know that about every three or four months, I post a compilation of observations of shows from the previous quarter of the year. This cabaret critiquing mash up happens for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I admittedly see too many cabaret shows for the amount of time I have to promptly review them (and then, of course, the usual writer's procrastination sets in). So I have to prioritize the timeliness of the reviews based on the prestige of the performer, the length of a show run, the strength (or lack thereof) of the performance, etc. The quality of the shows in these compilations—which can range from a half dozen to a dozen reviews in one shot—are usually a mixed bag of outright raves, qualified positives, and constructive pans (I'm not a fan of the word “negative” in the reviewer lexicon). With that in mind here are a collection of cabaret show reviews going back to the start of a very harsh winter.

You will laugh, you will cry, but ultimately you will be moved by these exceptional performances.

SHADOWLANDS by William Nicholson will run tonight, March 28 - April 27 in the Space Theatre. Press night is set for Thursday, April 3 at 6:30pm.

One in five Americans has a disability. Nearly 70 percent of people with disabilities and 95 percent with severe cognitive disabilities such as autism will never hold down a job. When Randy Lewis found out his son, Austin, had autism, Randy experienced those statistics in a personal way and wondered whether his son would ever be able to work. Fast-forward to today: Austin has a job, and because of his son, Lewis spearheaded a major shift in thinking at Walgreens (@Walgreens) that has resulted in thousands of jobs for workers with disabilities. Lewis gives a firsthand account of what it took to transform corporate attitudes toward people with disabilities in his new book, No Greatness without Goodness, releasing from Tyndale House Publishers (@TyndaleHouse) in April 2014.

SHADOWLANDS by William Nicholson will run March 28 - April 27 in the Space Theatre. Press night is set for Thursday, April 3 at 6:30pm.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts presents an extraordinary month of entertainment - it's MARCH MADNESS once again and during the month of March, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts is going to celebrate by bringing you the 40th Anniversary concert of one of the greatest rock bands of all-time, KANSAS; invite you to enjoy an afternoon or evening with the King of Comedy - the legendary comedian and humanitarian JERRY LEWIS; or swing to the big band sounds of 'IN THE MOOD,' and more! There is something for everyone this March in La Mirada - enjoy one or all of our March Madness events!

Blake and Juliet Stevenson also to appear at charity concert in aid of the Philippines Typhoon Appeal along with Joanna Riding, Michael Xavier and Danielle Hope.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts presents an extraordinary month of entertainment - it's MARCH MADNESS once again and during the month of March, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts is going to celebrate by bringing you the 40th Anniversary concert of one of the greatest rock bands of all-time, KANSAS; invite you to enjoy an afternoon or evening with the King of Comedy - the legendary comedian and humanitarian JERRY LEWIS; or swing to the big band sounds of 'IN THE MOOD,' and more! There is something for everyone this March in La Mirada - enjoy one or all of our March Madness events!

The star-studded list of Broadway stars and A-list cabaret performers keeps growing for the 2013 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards Show, to be staged at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan) on February 23 from 6:30-8:40 pm. Added to a stellar group that includes Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Terri White, Jane Monheit and Jason Robert Brown, are Tony Award Winner (now also a cabaret performer) Alice Ripley (photo left), who will perform representing Sondheim Unplugged at 54 Below, which won the BWW Cabaret Award for Best Variety Show or Recurring Series. Broadway favorite Jackie Hoffman (Hairspray, Xanadu, Adams Family) will appear to perform and accept her BWW Award for Best Musical Comedy Performance for her show at 54 Below.

More names are announced today for a special one-night-only concert You'll Never Walk Alone at the Queen's Theatre on Sunday 2 March 2014 at 7.30pm in aid of the Philippines Typhoon Appeal. Tickets are now on sale from £32.50, with all proceeds going directly to the Disasters Emergency Committee.

The Friars Club today announced that Peabody Award-winning radio, television and internet show host Larry King has been appointed as the new Dean of the Friars Club, taking over for Freddie Roman. As Dean, which is also known as the President of the club, King will work closely with the Friars Club's Abbot Jerry Lewis, overseeing the Board of Governors on all matters surrounding the “Monastery,” including participating in the famous Roasts and dinners, as well as other events happening in and around the Club, for the next two years. The appointment will be made official at a special ceremony at the Friars Club.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. News about the 'Phantom' and 'Cinderella' tours, suburban theaters mount 'Cabaret,' 'Young Frankenstein,' 'Ring Of Fire' and more, plus 'A New Brain,' Hollis Resnik's Milwaukee turn as Judy, and more this month from Circle Theatre!

BOSTON, MA (NOVEMBER 2013) - Avant-garde sax and voice duo, KOEK, featuring soprano Aliana de la Guardia and saxophonist Kent O'Doherty, present their inaugural concert entitled 'PILOT' with Equilibrium Concert Series tonight, December 8, 2013 at 7:30pm in the Davis Square Theater, 255 Elm Street, Somerville, MA.

New Hampshire Theatre Project's 25th anniversary season continues with an original adaptation of Antoine de Saint Exupery's beloved classic The Little Prince. Created by Genevieve Aichele, CJ Lewis and Shay Willard, Finding the Prince follows three soldiers and one journalist who have crashed in the desert during a nameless war. As they struggle to survive, they begin to read a tattered novel given to one of them by a dying soldier. Each character begins a journey towards coming to terms with their own 'little prince,' the deepest, sweetest part of us who knows that 'what is most important is unseen.'

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. The BCA nominations are out, Levi Kreis leads a reading, 'We Three Lizas' return, two holiday shows from Broadway In Chicago, three more versions of 'A Christmas Carol,' more reindeer, and Palatine's 'White Christmas.' And it's still early November!

BOSTON, MA (NOVEMBER 2013) – Avant-garde sax and voice duo, KOEK, featuring soprano Aliana de la Guardia and saxophonist Kent O'Doherty, present their inaugural concert entitled “PILOT” with Equilibrium Concert Series on Sunday, December 8, 2013 at 7:30pm in the Davis Square Theater, 255 Elm Street, Somerville, MA. The program features solo and duo works by: Luciano Berio, the world premiere of works by Sergio Luque, Boston composers Daniel T. Lewis and Justin Barish, and electronic interludes by Kent O'Doherty. Tickets are $10 general admission and can be purchased with cash or check at the door. For ticketing questions visit Equilibrium Concert Series online at http://equilibriumconcertseries.org.

On Sunday, November 3rd at Pier 36 in New York City, YouTube hosted the inaugural YouTube Music Awards, a celebration of music honoring the artists and songs that YouTube fans have turned into global hits over the past year.