Marilyn News

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets has announced the 2022 MAC Award nominees. The nominees were determined by votes cast by the active MAC membership, except for the song and recording categories, which were determined by special committees.

The Washington National Opera has gathered a company of first rate singers for a portmanteau of four, one-act operas called Written in Stone. Unfortunately, their fine skills and exceptional voices cannot make silk purses out of scores, libretti, and orchestrations that evade aesthetics, emphasize negatives, and ignore the connection implicit in musical theatre between the notes and the text. This world première requires an orchestra to seem to be playing a piece of music that is not the same piece of music as the singers are singing. The last time this many groups of unfriendly instruments had a gig in a first run house was probably PDQ Bach's last show in Carnegie Hall. Gesamtkunstwerk this isn't, and it lasts for two and a half hours.

The Music Academy of the West looks boldly to the future in this milestone year. Programming has expanded year-round for community, fellows, and alumni. Classically trained musicians are provided opportunities to unleash their creativity and connect with audiences onstage and offstage.

Nadine Sierra’s childhood intuition – that she was born to sing opera – has proved correct in every way and is reflected in the title of her second solo album, Made for Opera, out today on Deutsche Grammophon. The dramatic presence, searing passion and technical brilliance for which the American lyric soprano regularly scores rave reviews are captured in this new album, which trains the spotlight on three of the most demanding roles in the repertoire.

You asked for it after seeing the Staged Reading in 2021… and now the Warner Theatre has announced the Stage @ the Warner production of SILENT SKY by Lauren Gunderson, which will be presented in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre from May 7-22, 2022. 

FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club, will present Elton John’s 75th Birthday Celebration Concert on March 23, 2022. Artists across New York come together to celebrate Sir Elton John’s 75th birthday at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Elton John’s music and flair have influenced generations of artists on the charts and onstage since the ‘70s. Featuring music from his prolific career as a pop/rock star and a Broadway composer of shows like Aida, Billy Elliot, and Disney’s The Lion King, performed by a cast of all-star artists who love him. Conceived by Sandy Sahar Gooen, a multidisciplinary artist and lifelong Elton John nerd.

Next month, FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Mark Cortale, Producing Artistic Director of Provincetown’s Art House Theatre, has announced his largest and most ambitious lineup of music and comedy superstars for this summer’s 2022 season.

Provincetown’s Art House Theatre has announced its largest and most ambitious lineup of music and comedy superstars for this summer’s 2022 season. He will also add to the mix a first-ever “Virtuoso” series spotlighting six of the solo classical reps brightest stars.

Palm Canyon Theatre's (PCT's) PALM SPRINGS GETAWAY is the world premiere of a handclapping, foot-stomping revue that describes the history of Palm Springs, California in a funny, mostly wholesome way. I enjoyed myself immensely at this high-quality getaway from events in the world. Judging from other audience members, so did they.

Casting has been announced for the world premiere of up-and-coming playwright Benjamin Benne's new work “Alma” coming to Los Angeles at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre March 6 through April 3, 2022. Directed by Juliette Carrillo, “Alma” opens March 13, 2022, and is produced in cooperation with American Blues Theater.

The complete Arthur Miller Collection from L.A. Theatre Works is now available for the first time for digital download.

At Birdland Jazz Club, catch The Cookers, Celebrating the Slide Hampton Octet, Maria Schneider Orchestra, Grace Fox Big Band, Maqueque, Sean Harkness Quartet, Monty Alexander, and Emmet’s Place Live.

“Hope In This World” is the newest creation from this modern rock power house known for their catchy hooks and high energy live performances. With 3 top 25 active rock singles, MESSER is poised to raise the bar even higher. Re-energized and focused, MESSER is ready to deliver an experience that goes beyond the music.

Artistic Director Tim Carroll has announced casting and creative teams for the Shaw Festival’s 60th anniversary season.

After a two year intermission due to the COVID-19 pandemic, A Little New Music is back at Hollywood's historic Catalina Jazz Club with a fresh look at new musical theatre material.  Audiences of A Little New Music's concert series will once again discover a distinguished variety of artists and a diverse assortment of songs intent on becoming future classics of the American musical theatre. 

Working Barn Productions presents the West Coast premiere of what The New York Times calls “a blackly comic inversion of the public Disney persona” — the ambitiously titled A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney by Lucas Hnath (Broadway's A Doll's House, Part 2; Hillary and Clinton; Dana H).

HBO’s Phoenix Rising, a two-part documentary produced and directed by Amy Berg (HBO’s “The Case against Adnan Syed”), follows actress and activist Evan Rachel Wood as she takes her experience as a survivor of domestic violence to pursue justice, heal generational wounds, and reclaim her story. Watch the new trailer for the documentary now!

HartBeat Ensemble announced today an educational and artistic expansion of the 21 year old theatre company. Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, HartBeat Ensemble welcomes Jeanika Browne-Springer to its staff in the newly-created educational role of Director of LifeLong Learning.

The original drum kit used in the Quarry Men, the pre-Beatles group formed by John Lennon and Madonna’s iconic “Material Girl” pink gown ensemble, will headline a lineup featuring over 1,000 spectacular collectibles and memorabilia owned and used by some of the world’s most influential and music artists of our time will be offered.