Marc Blitzstein News

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), announced today that Director James Blaszko has been named the 2019 Kurt Weill Fellowship recipient. With generous support from The Kurt Weill Foundation, Blaszko will serve as Assistant Director to SDC Member, Tony Award-winner, and Classic Stage Company's (CSC) Artistic Director John Doyle on his upcoming production of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock at CSC, opening on April 3, 2019.

Classic Stage Company presents Marc Blitzstein's allegorical play in music The Cradle Will Rock, directed by John Doyle, March 21 - May 19, 2019. A Depression-era indictment of rampant capitalism told almost entirely in song, The Cradle Will Rock maintains a twinkle in its eye while bearing sharp fangs. The 1937 premiere of this story of American class tensions-directed by Orson Welles-was famously shut down on the eve of opening night by federal authorities over so-called 'budget cuts,' commonly considered a thin veil for fears of the play's pro-labor stance. The artists involved rebelliously circumvented its cancellation, making for one of the most memorable stories in 20th century theater history. While Blitzstein's libretto is very much a product of its own 1930s political context, The Cradle Will Rock pulses with immediacy in an era of expanding economic inequality and policy for purchase. CSC's 2018-2019 season began with The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Bertolt Brecht's allegory about the rise of fascism via a charismatic tyrant; this spring, it closes with an all-American Brecht-and-Weill-inspired work, which carries a message of defiance built into its very title.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents West End star Zachary Morris (Secret Garden, Spring Awakening, Rocky Horror) and international conductor Ben van Tienen (Funny Girl, West Side Story) making their Feinstein's/54 Below debut with Instructions for Dancing, a night of singing and storytelling. In a time filled with so much doubt and unrest, let yourself be transported into their world of acceptance and empowerment, reminding you through their heartfelt stories that we are all good enough as we are. Take a haunting journey through words, music, and consciousness as they cover the songs from Alan Menken and Jerry Herman to Fleetwood Mac and the Magnetic Fields. Mesmerizing and magical, Instructions for Dancing invites you to come and rediscover yourself at Feinstein's/54 Below. Instructions for dancing the album was created by Zach and Ben in 2016 during their time on the Rocky Horror Show and is available for download on all major music retailers. http://www.instructionsfordancing.com

BroadwayWorld.com continues our exclusive content series, in collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, which delves into the library's unparalleled archives, and resources. Below, check out a piece by Doug Reside, Lewis and Dorothy Cullman Curator for the Billy Rose Theatre Division at the The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts!

Executive Producers Pam Carter and The Cliplight Theater, in conjunction with Amanda Cooper/ALC Management, are pleased to announce the world premiere of Maverick, co-authored by Frank Beacham and George Demas. A dramatization of co-author Beacham's real-life experience collaborating with Orson Welles in the months leading up to his death, Maverick begins previews at The Connelly Theater (220 E. 4th St., between Ave. A & Ave. B) on February 6, with opening night set for February 13 for a limited run through March 2. Tickets, priced $30-$50, are available at www.mavericktheplay.com.

Antaeus Theatre Company opens its 2018-19 season with an epic drama about a Southern family in crisis directed by Cameron Watson (award-winning Antaeus productions of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Picnic, Top Girls). Kristin Couture, John DeMita, Judy Louise Johnson, Mike McShane, Rob Nagle, Calvin Picou, Deborah Puette, Jocelyn Towne, Timothy Adam Venable and William L. Warren star in The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, opening Oct. 25 at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale, where performances will continue through Dec. 10. Low-priced previews begin Oct. 18.

Antaeus Theatre Company opens its 2018-19 season with an epic drama about a Southern family in crisis directed by Cameron Watson (award-winning Antaeus productions of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Picnic, Top Girls). Kristin Couture, John DeMita, Judy Louise Johnson, Mike McShane, Rob Nagle, Calvin Picou, Deborah Puette, Jocelyn Towne, Timothy Adam Venable and William L. Warren star in The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, opening Oct. 25 at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale, where performances will continue through Dec. 10. Low-priced previews begin Oct. 18.

Antaeus Theatre Company opens its 2018-19 season with an epic drama about a Southern family in crisis directed by Cameron Watson (award-winning Antaeus productions of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Picnic, Top Girls). Kristin Couture, John DeMita, Judy Louise Johnson, Mike McShane, Rob Nagle, Calvin Picou, Deborah Puette, Jocelyn Towne, Timothy Adam Venable and William L. Warren star in The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, opening Oct. 25 at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale, where performances will continue through Dec. 10. Low-priced previews begin Oct. 18.

Sacred Music in a Sacred Space begins its 2018-2019 Season by welcoming patrons into the intimate Wallace Hall at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (980 Park Avenue) for a Caritas Concert.

Copland House's 2018-19 mainstage season will offer celebrations aplenty! Ranging widely across more than a century of American music, the popular series is Copland House's 10th at Westchester County's majestic Merestead estate in Mount Kisco, NY. Hailed by The New York Times for "all the richness of its offerings, first-rate fare, and reputation for quality," the series has become a destination for an enthusiastic and growing audience of musical adventurers seeking discoveries of the new, old, and unexpected.

The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project has announced the digital publication of the Leonard Bernstein Residence at the Osborne Apartments to its online map, a dynamic continually-evolving catalogue of geographic locations significant to LGBT history.

Copland House's 2018-19 mainstage season will offer celebrations aplenty! Ranging widely across more than a century of American music, the popular series is Copland House's 10th at Westchester County's majestic Merestead estate in Mount Kisco, NY. Hailed by The New York Times for "all the richness of its offerings, first-rate fare, and reputation for quality," the series has become a destination for an enthusiastic and growing audience of musical adventurers seeking discoveries of the new, old, and unexpected.

Bridge Records will issue the first complete recording of Marc Blitzstein's signature creation, the opera The Cradle Will Rock.

Bridge Records is issuing the first complete recording of Marc Blitzstein's signature creation, the opera The Cradle Will Rock.  The new recording features Blitzstein's original 1937 orchestrations and was recorded live at Opera Saratoga in July 2017. The performance features a stellar cast including Ginger Costa-Jackson as Moll; Keith Jameson as Harry Druggist; Christopher Burchett as Larry Foreman; Audrey Babcock as Mrs. Mister; and Matt Boehler as Mr. Mister.

Bridge Records is pleased to be issuing the first complete recording of Marc Blitzstein's signature creation, the opera The Cradle Will Rock. The new recording features Blitzstein's original 1937 orchestrations and was recorded live at Opera Saratoga in July 2017. The performance features a stellar cast including Ginger Costa-Jackson as Moll; Keith Jameson as Harry Druggist; Christopher Burchett as Larry Foreman; Audrey Babcock as Mrs. Mister; and Matt Boehler as Mr. Mister. The production is conducted by John Mauceri with direction by Lawrence Edelson. The two-disc set also includes a rare recording of Marc Blitzstein discussing the opera's opening night in 1937.

Bridge Records will be issuing the first complete recording of Marc Blitzstein's signature creation, the opera The Cradle Will Rock. The new recording features Blitzstein's original 1937 orchestrations and was recorded live at Opera Saratoga in July 2017. The performance features a stellar cast including Ginger Costa-Jackson as Moll; Keith Jameson as Harry Druggist; Christopher Burchett as Larry Foreman; Audrey Babcock as Mrs. Mister; and Matt Boehler as Mr. Mister. The production is conducted by John Mauceri with direction by Lawrence Edelson. The two-disc set also includes a rare recording of Marc Blitzstein discussing the opera's opening night in 1937.

Vocalist Danya Katok is joined by pianist Michael Sheetz in an evening of musical theatre, jazz, and contemporary folk gems that tell a story of perseverance towards her ultimate wish, motherhood. Songs by Marc Blitzstein, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Randy Newman, Stephen Sondheim, Georgia Stitt, and more capture the pain, heartbreak, fear, and finally, joy in this most personal story directed by Dewey Moss.

For certain xenophobic East Coast opera lovers, the words 'St.Louis' and 'Opera' could seem like an oxymoron. However, this would be an invalid assumption.

The Broad Stage continues their collaboration with Red Hen Press for Red Hen Press: At the Kitchen Table with Rinde and Ellen on Sunday, July 22 at 2:00pm in the East Wing at The Broad Stage.

Opera Theatre St. Louis has produced many wonderful productions, and a handful of simply perfect ones. Their production of 'Regina' is among the latter.