Marilyn News

Everything's coming up roses this week because the original production of the legendary musical GYPSY is celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of its opening night! To celebrate, we're looking back at the opening night of Broadway's most recent revival in 2008 starring Patti LuPone in the iconic role of Mama Rose. Check out the video to see our chat with LuPone, Laura Benanti, Boyd Gaines, and more!

BWW Review: MELISSA ERRICO - LEGRAND AFFAIR at The Venetian Room is a heartwarming homage to Errico's longtime friend, mentor and collaborator Michel Legrand.

"All aboard!" for the next production at Terrific New Theatre, the poignant, slice-of-life dramedy "Bus Stop," by William Inge. This 1950s American classic will be directed by legendary TNT co-founder Carl Stewart. The show runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from June 13-29, plus two Sunday matinees, and will close TNT's 33rd season.

The Florentine Opera Company is excited to announce its 2019 Summer Residency Program Artists - soprano Olivia Doig, soprano Grace Wipfli, tenor Nathaniel Catasca and baritone Ian Murrell. 

Theatre Arlington's 47th season has something for everyone! Executive Producer, Steven D. Morris, is thrilled to announce the line-up for the 2019-2020 season. There will be great musical comedies, a fun new holiday show, wonderful family-friendly children's programming and classic plays that need to be seen again. This season Theatre Arlington will continue to work hard to improve the patron's experience and the quality of every production. The Theatre is excited to announce that they will be hiring more professional Equity actors in each production as well as skilled designers and talented live musicians. That's not all Morris is happy to announce - this season will be the inaugural year for a new Cabaret Series which will bring the metroplex's best singers and musicians to Theatre Arlington to perform in an intimate environment.  If it has been awhile since you've visited downtown Arlington, now is the time to find your way and come home to Theatre Arlington!

There are many organizations that have been established to preserve our musical heritage and at the forefront of those that specialize in The Great American Songbook, Michael Feinstein's foundation is one of the most important and influential.  Last night at a private event Michael entertained for a Park Avenue apartment full of generous New Yorkers who had gathered to help support The Great American Songbook Foundation founded by Michael in 2007.

The Keegan Theatre presents David Lindsay-Abaire's heartwarming and hilarious comedy RIPCORD, making its regional premiere on June 15, 2019 at The Andrew Keegan Theatre in Washington, DC, with the press opening slated for June 18.

An exciting cast of experienced stage and screen performers - who will appear both in person and in integrated filmed footage - has been announced for the forthcoming northern premiere of The Exonerated at Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester.

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, concludes its 2018/19 season with the World Premiere of The Adventures of Augie March, a play by David Auburn, based on the novel by Saul Bellow, and directed by Charles Newell. The Adventures of Augie March runs May 9 - June 9, 2019 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. The press opening is Saturday, May 18, 2019 at 7:30pm.

In its 114 year life the Dutch Treat Club has had a membership that included, Jimmy Cagney, George S. Kaufman, Walter Cronkite, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein ll, and Presidents Hoover, Eisenhower, Truman, and Ford. The great Broadway producer George Abbot was a member for 52 years when he died at the age of 107. But enough about the past. This year this historic New York City institution which was founded by and for creative people decided to honor someone young, creative and contemporary, so they chose...Marilyn Maye…an artist for every generation.

Playwright Elise Forier Edie is often asked how much of The Pink Unicorn is true.  She answers 'all of it' and 'none of it.'  All of the events depicted happened to someone, including herself.  A high school refused to allow the formation of a Gay and Straight Alliance Club.  Transgender children and their families are shunned, harassed and threatened for allowing freedom of expression.

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), will host a symposium entitled 'Choreography in Collaboration' on Monday, June 10, 2019, from 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM at SDC, 321 West 44th Street, Suite 804.

The Eisemann Center and the City of Richardson announced the 2019-2020 Season of Eisemann Center Presents (ECP) at the Annual Season Preview Party on Thursday, May 9, 2019. The season includes our two full subscription series: Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard Conversations with a total of four concerts; and the Family Theatre Series with four productions and the accompanying immersive children's program Eisemann Extras. In addition we have 16 diverse productions ranging from superstar Mandy Patinkin to Asleep At The Wheel on their 50th Anniversary Tour and America's Got Talent favorite, deaf singer Mandy Harvey all returning to the Eisemann Center this season.

There are three doors on this colorful 1980s set designed by Ben Juhnke, and immediately I think 'FARCE!' The 1980s tunes are pumping from the sound system, making the patrons move and groove in their seats. The atmosphere is lively, and the audience is upbeat and happy, chatting away until the action on stage catches their attention. A pre-show pantomime begins; Simeon Rawls and Jen Bechter begin their day in the beauty salon 'Shear Madness'; patrons begin to enter the shop and hilarity ensues. This pantomime continues for at least 15 minutes before any of the actors speak, and it is hysterical. The action is clean, quick, and understandable. The hilarity continues on until the last few minutes of the play. I will not reveal the ending, but suffice it to say these last bits are intense and dramatic, and showcase some serious acting chops.

San Francisco Playhouse announced casting for Cabaret, the Tony Award-winning musical that will close the company's 2018/19 Season. Susi Damilano will direct, with music direction by Dave Dobrusky and choreography by Nicole Helfer.

Since it's inception in 1954 as a mother-daughter luncheon honoring Marlene Dietrich and her daughter Maria Riva the organization has raised more than $100 million and has established: a Wing for Prenatal Sutdies and Research in Birth Defects, a Clinical Research Institute for Child Development, and funded major research in immunodiagnosis and immunotherapy in cancer.

The Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) has announced the recipients of the 34th Ellis Island Medals of Honor. This annual medal is awarded to 100 Americans, both native-born and naturalized, whose accomplishments in their field and inspired service to our nation are worthy of commendation. The Ellis Island Medals of Honor recognizes individuals who have made it their mission to share with those less fortunate their wealth of knowledge, indomitable courage, boundless compassion, unique talents and selfless generosity. They do so while acknowledging their debt to their ethnic heritage as they uphold the ideals and spirit of America.

For many students, it is a requirement to read CRIME AND PUNISHMENT by Fyodor Dostoevsky. But, in my opinion, the much-too-long, repetitive text is difficult to follow as much of the action takes place within the mind of its protagonist, Raskolnikov, who admits he murdered two women and is trying to understand what lead him to do so. So, when I heard Working Barn Productions was presenting Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus's Jefferson Award-winning, three-person adaptation of the famous novel as a psychological inquiry into the troubled mind of a murderer, I thought perhaps this was the perfect way to re-visit the story.

My Thing of Love is an off-center black comedy about the down side of marriage and the pain of love. Written by award winning playwright Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros and produced by the Steppenwolf Theatre in the 1990s, the play is a lesser known work and rarely produced. The Sixty-six Theater Co, has audaciously seized the moment and mounted a sterling presentation that will appeal to your twisted sense of humor now through May 18.

The Hobby Center Foundation will present the Texas premiere of the North American tour of the hit musical comedy Spamilton: An American Parody at the Hobby Center's Zilkha Hall, from May 28 to June 9. Tickets are on sale now.