Mae West News

JM Productions proudly announces a brand new "Broadway Concert Series" starring Alexa Green from "Wicked" and Sydney Morton from "Motown" on August 4th at 8:00 pm at United First Parish Church (also known as The Church of Presidents), Quincy, MA. These two well-known performers will be joined by 25 teenage singers from Quincy's "Rising Stars" program who will sing alongside these talented entertainers. The children are from multiple communities on the North and South Shore.

Upon learning that Elliot's new partner is a 20-year-old named Trey, Jodi and Benjamin immediately mistrust his motives. Trey swears that he loves Elliot regardless of their difference in age, but Jodi and Benjamin are convinced that Trey is only after Elliot for his money and lavish gifts. Trey's role in this play may seem familiar -- his storyline draws from the archetype of the Gold Digger, traditionally portrayed in literature, film, and music as a young woman who dates or marries rich men for their money alone. As a young man rather than a young woman, Trey is an inversion of the traditional type, but the implications of calling him a gold digger remain much the same. The term is used colloquially today in a generally derogatory manner against those who are seen as dating only for mercenary purposes, but the history of the phrase has more folds than one might think.

WRITE ACT REP announces PREZ The Lester Young Story, a solo show written by playwright Willard Manus, continues in Los Angeles, as part of a Spring and Summer Festival Series at Write Act Rep's Brickhouse Theatre called THREE BY WILL IN REP.  The Series includes two World Premiere's along with the extension of the acclaimed  PREZ, which chronicles the unique life of jazzman Lester Young, featuring Leslie A. Jones.  The intimate drama is produced by John Lant and Tamra Pica, and will be directed by Daniel E. Keough.  The show is moving to a new night and extending, beginning April 27th 2018, through June 29, 2018.  All performances for PREZ will now be on FRIDAYS at 8PM, through as part of the three production Series, 'THREE BY WILL IN REP'.

President/Founder of The Hollywood Museum, Donelle Dadigan, along with Council Member Mitch O'Farrell and Board President Esteban Montemayor of Christopher Street West, kicked off Pride weekend with the annual 'Real to Reel' exhibit that shines the spotlight on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBTQ) community in television and film through the decades. This year's event also feature a special recognition with The Future of Hollywood Award presented to actress Stephanie Beatriz and the Legacy Award to TONY Award winning actress, Julie Newmar.

The Dirty Blondes, the feminist theater company behind the critically acclaimed production of The American Play at Soho Playhouse, will celebrate their six years of creating theater with a special event called DRAG. Featuring some of the most exciting and emerging drag performers in New York City, DRAG will celebrate inclusivity by deconstructing stereotypes, defying expectations and honoring individuality - everything The Dirty Blondes stands for as a theater company. DRAG will be held on Thursday, May 31, 2018, at The Gallery at Le Poisson Rouge (located at 158 Bleecker Street, between Sullivan and Thompson Streets) with doors opening at 7:00pm and performances beginning at 7:30pm.

Mae West was definitely a woman who played by her own rules in all aspects of her life. She dismissed barriers, boundaries, fears, judgements and prejudices and always believed women needed to be in charge of their own lives. Her play SEX was both outrageous and pornographic in 1926, full of playfulness and lots of camp as well as topical storytelling about the battle of the sexes. As the show's director Sirena Irwin shares, "SEX is a story of survival, imprisonment, fear, revenge, transformation, freedom, and love. It is a feminist perspective from nearly 100 years ago that invites us to reflect on where we've progressed and where we've stagnated. Mae West, in her wisdom, tried to open minds with humor and heart."

Proudly listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 92-year-old Palace Theatre today begins a full facelift of its 2,837-seat auditorium as part of an ongoing $6.5 million renovation. Adjacent to downtown Columbus' LeVeque Tower, the six-month, main-hall makeover will include the repair of damaged plaster, new paint in a new color scheme, all-new seats on the first floor, and fully refurbished seats in the balcony. As such, the Palace is now closed to the public, and will reopen in November 2018.

1812 Productions announces its 2018-2019 theatre season. The 2018-2019 season features an American premiere from playwright Tom Wells and three 1812 original works, including the audience favorite This Is The Week That Is, a world premiere comedy, The God Project, and a curated comedy revue, Broads.

Great Small Works revisits the work of radical 20th-century New York City puppeteers Zuni Maud and Yosl Cutler. In a bilingual Yiddish-English play that uses Maud and Cutler's satirical puppet scripts and original graphics, together with Great Small Works' own puppets and projections, as well as The Dybbuk and Mae West, Muntergang is a meditation on historical models for changing power relationships.

WRITE ACT REP announces PREZ The Lester Young Story, a solo show written by playwright Willard Manus, continues in Los Angeles, as part of a Spring and Summer Festival Series at Write Act Rep's Brickhouse Theatre called THREE BY WILL IN REP.  The Series includes two World Premiere's along with the extension of the acclaimed  PREZ, which chronicles the unique life of jazzman Lester Young, featuring Leslie A. Jones.  The intimate drama is produced by John Lant and Tamra Pica, and will be directed by Daniel E. Keough.  The show is moving to a new night and extending, beginning April 27th 2018, through June 29, 2018.  All performances for PREZ will now be on FRIDAYS at 8PM, through as part of the three production Series, 'THREE BY WILL IN REP'.

Animus Theatre Company (Jonathan Judge-Russo, Founding Artistic Director), are thrilled to welcome Sarah Utterback of ABC's hit primetime TV drama Grey's Anatomy and Jessica Pimentel of Netflix's Orange Is the New Black to the New York premiere of Surfer Girl, part of Leslye Headland's Sin Cycle Plays. Presented at The Foley Gallery (59 Orchard Street, between Grand and Hester) on Tuesdays & Wednesdays at7:00pm (doors open 7:00pm, performance begins 7:30pm), the New York premiere of Surfer Girlruns through May 30, 2018.

Animus Theatre Company (Jonathan Judge-Russo, Founding Artistic Director), are thrilled to welcome Sarah Utterback of ABC's hit primetime TV drama 'Grey's Anatomy' and Jessica Pimentel of Netflix's 'Orange Is the New Black' to the New York premiere of Surfer Girl, part of Leslye Headland's 'Sin Cycle Plays.' Presented at The Foley Gallery (59 Orchard Street, between Grand and Hester) on Tuesdays & Wednesdays at 7:00pm (doors open 7:00pm, performance begins 7:30pm), the New York premiere of Surfer Girl runs through May 30, 2018.

Producers John Lant and Cornell Christianson with ICFB Productions are pleased to announce the Off-Broadway premiere of IT CAME FROM BEYOND, a 1950's sci-fi, musical comedy with book by writer / producer Cornell Christianson, music and lyrics by Stephen M. Schwartz and Norman E. Thalheimer, and directed by Jim Blanchette. 

Producers John Lant and Cornell Christianson with ICFB Productions are pleased to announce the Off-Broadway premiere of IT CAME FROM BEYOND, a 1950's sci-fi, musical comedy with book by writer / producer Cornell Christianson, music and lyrics by Stephen M. Schwartz and Norman E. Thalheimer, and directed by Jim Blanchette.

Producers John Lant and Cornell Christianson with ICFB Productions are pleased to announce the Off-Broadway premiere of IT CAME FROM BEYOND, a 1950's sci-fi, musical comedy with book by writer / producer Cornell Christianson, music and lyrics by Stephen M. Schwartz and Norman E. Thalheimer, and directed by Jim Blanchette. 

Write Act Repertory's Producing Artistic Director John Lant and Producer Tamra Pica are pleased to announce the extension of LILI MARLENE, a new musical about a family's escape from the rising tide of Nazism, with book, music and lyrics by Michael Antin and directed and choreographed by Mark Blowers.

The New York premiere of Surfer Girl by acclaimed screen & playwright Leslye Headland (Assistance, Bachelorette), presented by Animus Theatre Company (Jonathan Judge-Russo, Founding Artistic Director) in association with The Dirty Blondes, will begin performances tomorrow, Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at The Foley Gallery (59 Orchard Street, between Grand and Hester), located in Manhattan's esteemed Lower Eastside gallery district. In honor of the productions inaugural performance, the evening will include a special post-performance conversation with Ms. Headland, who is currently in NYC filming her previously announced Netflix series with Amy Poehler and Natasha Lyonne.

Actress and activist Kathy Najimy is teaming up with America's Most Produced Playwright Lauren Gunderson for a benefit reading at the Minetta Lane Theater on Monday, April 23, 2018 at 7pm. Presented by the WP Theater with Erica Rotstein and Christina Wallace, the reading of Gunderson's new play NATURAL SHOCKS is in support of the Ms. Foundation's programs and grants that address domestic violence and gun violence against women. Tickets range from $100-1000, with discounted tickets available for students ($25) and a limited number of $50 early bird tickets available through April 16. Tickets available at www.naturalshocks.com/nyc.

Write Act Repertory Producing Artistic Director John Lant is pleased to announce the Off-Broadway premiere of WICKED FROZEN, the untold parody musical of some magic ice witch princesses and other stuff like that, with book and lyrics by Zoe Farmingdale and music and lyrics by Toby Singer. The production is directed and choreographed by Zoe Farmingdale

Producers John Lant and Cornell Christianson with ICFB Productions are pleased to announce the Off-Broadway premiere of IT CAME FROM BEYOND, a 1950's sci-fi, musical comedy with book by writer / producer Cornell Christianson, music and lyrics by Stephen M. Schwartz and Norman E. Thalheimer, and directed by Jim Blanchette.