Maggie Smith News

Upside Downton, a parody of the hit television show Downton Abbey has made its way to Toronto after successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in London. Starring Luke Kempner, who provides all the voices for 36 characters, this innovative one man show clocks in at just over an hour and is absolutely hilarious… if you've watched at least a couple of season of Downton Abbey.

Multi-award winning Pacific Resident Theatre announces their fourth show of the 2014/2015 Season. Directed by PRT's Robert Bailey (The Turn of the Screw), performances for The Dock Brief will run through November 15, 2015 with an official press opening on Saturday, October 10th at 8:00p.m.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) has chosen Julie Taymor as the 2015 recipient of the William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre (Will Award), which recognizes artists who have made significant contributions to classical theatre in America. JM Zell Partners, Ltd. will receive the Sidney Harman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts. The awards will be presented at the Harman Center for the Arts Annual Gala on Sunday, November 1, 2015, hosted by STC at Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW) and the National Building Museum (440 G Street NW).

Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce the first production in a new musical revue series, New Faces Sing Broadway. The first edition with Director Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Associate Christopher Pazdernik, Music Director Kory Danielson and Emcee Meghan Murphy is NEW FACES SING BROADWAY 1991, Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. at Uptown Underground, 4707 N Broadway.

Pigs do Fly Productions will return to Ft. Lauderdale's Empire Stage with Flying High!, the second production of their second season, from October 9th through October 25th. There will be a preview performance on October 8th.

Gloucester Stage proudly presents the New England Premiere of Israel Horovitz's Gloucester Blue from September 17 through October 3 at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA.

Rover Dramawerks is pleased to conclude their 15th Anniversary Season with the classic comedy, Cactus Flower, by Abe Burrows. Performances will be at Rover's new theatre in Plano, located in Ruisseau Village at 221 W. Parker Rd, Suite 580, at the northwest corner of Parker and 75. Performances are September 10 - October 3, 2015, with shows on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., plus an additional matinee performance on Saturday, September 19 at 2:00 p.m.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: Misty dances into ON THE TOWN, Benedict Cumberbatch brings HAMLET to life and more!

Due to popular demand and great reviews when it played in San Francisco in March, BREAKING THE CODE - THE ALAN TURING STORY by Hugh Whitemore is coming back for a return engagement for 20 performances only -- tonight, Aug. 5, through Aug. 29, 2015 (Wed. - Sat. - 8:00 pm / Sat. Matinees - 3:00 pm) in this exclusive Theatre Rhinoceros production in San Francisco.

Jamie Wilson has announced a national tour of an all new production of the hit musical comedy SISTER ACT, directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood with musical supervision and arrangements by Tony award-winning Sarah Travis. SISTER ACT UK tour opens at Curve, Leicester on Saturday 30 July 2016, coming to the King's Theatre Glasgow from Tuesday 4 until Saturday 8 October 2016. Tour schedule attached with further dates and casting to be announced soon.

Jamie Wilson has announced a national tour of an all new production of the hit musical comedy SISTER ACT, directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood with musical supervision and arrangements by Tony award-winning Sarah Travis. SISTER ACT will open at Curve, Leicester on Saturday 30 July 2016. Tickets go on sale Monday 10 August 2015. Tour schedule attached with further dates and casting to be announced soon.

Jamie Wilson is delighted to announce a national tour of an all new production of the hit musical comedySISTER ACT, directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood with musical supervision and arrangements by Tony award-winning Sarah Travis. SISTER ACT will open at Curve, Leicester on Saturday 30 July 2016. Tickets go on sale Monday 10 August 2015. Tour schedule attached with further dates and casting to be announced soon.

Although I am not as familiar with the plays of Anton Chekhov as some, Christopher Durang's play, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, doesn't require a pop quiz of Chekhovian references in order for one to enjoy the show. This character study into the lives of three squabbling, middle-aged siblings has enough humor and poignancy in it so you don't have to have your SparkNotes handy to enjoy it. The play, produced by Leslie Nichols and directed by Fred Helsel, plays at the Santa Paula Theater Center through August 16.

Get the inside scoop!  Due to popular demand, The York Theatre Company, as part of its acclaimed Developmental Readings Series, will present the return one-night performance of Call My Publicist! - The Starry Education of a Broadway Press Agent, written and performed by Joshua Ellis and directed by Gretchen Cryer, on Thursday, August 20, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (Entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).  The reading is open to the public with a suggested donation of $5.00.

Due to popular demand and great reviews when it played in San Francisco in March, BREAKING THE CODE - THE ALAN TURING STORY by Hugh Whitemore is coming back for a return engagement for 20 performances only -- Aug. 5 - 29, 2015 (Wed. - Sat. - 8:00 pm / Sat. Matinees - 3:00 pm) in this exclusive Theatre Rhinoceros production in San Francisco.

The Daily Mail reported today that James McAvoy and Emily Blunt, who voiced the title charcters of GNOMEO AND JULIET are hoping to play the gnomes in the upcoming sequel to the movie, SHERLOCK GNOMES. Both have been offered the roles, but deals have yet to be finalized.

In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, the political controversy surrounding the release of The Interview, and continued suppression of plays, books, and art in American schools, libraries and museums, the battle for freedom of speech and expression is more essential than ever. Planet Connections Theatre Festivity will present an evening of world premiere plays by Erik Ehn, Halley Feiffer, Israel Horovitz and Neil LaBute addressing censorship in the arts in Playwrights for a Cause, to be held at 7:30pm on June 14, 2015 at the Sheen Center, located at 18 Bleecker Street.

Why let the boring old truth stand in the way of a compelling story? Lettice Douffet lives her life by a code her flamboyant actress mother taught her: 'Enlarge! Enliven! Enlighten!' She eschews "the mere" - the regular, tedious, mundane, or mediocre in life. Lettice and Lovage contrasts dreamer and free spirit Lettice Douffet with bureaucrat Lotte Schoen, a rigid realist. Despite their differences the two find commonality and camaraderie. Quotidian Theatre - theatre dedicated to the poetry of everyday life, no-frills storytelling, and realistic situations and dialogue - brings us Peter Shaffer's witty clash of opposites ultimately finding solidarity.

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Andrew Levine, Executive Director), as part of its acclaimed Developmental Readings Series, presents Call My Publicist! - The Starry Education of a Broadway Press Agent, written and performed by Joshua Ellis. This premiere reading, directed by Gretchen Cryer will be presented for one-performance only TONIGHT, April 8, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (Entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). The reading is open to the public with a suggested donation of $5.00.

Although a handful of playwrights have used elements from Anton Chekhov's canon of classics (such as Neil Simon's The Good Doctor), I can't think of any other writer who's displayed such ingenuity in incorporating bits and pieces from his work the way that Christopher Durang has in his play VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE. Referencing Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, The Seagull, and The Cherry Orchard, Durang has put together a show that's so absurdly funny it hurts! It's not a parody of Chekhov, but instead neatly walks a tightrope that utilizes these traces in enjoyable and amusing ways that act to provide an intelligent depth that engages while it entertains. The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis closes their season on a gloriously high note that will make you wish their productions continued year round. Don't miss this hilarious show!