Mario News

Jay Michaels Arts & Entertainment in association with the West End Lounge has created Rev. Mary's Blues Jam.

The Garifuna people and culture were created by one of the most dramatic ethnic mixings in history: two ships with enslaved Africans were shipwrecked off the coast of what is now St. Vincent and the Grenadines toward the end of the 18th Century, and with the help of the indigenous Carib-Indian population, overpowered the Spanish crew and escaped. Later, due to their continued resistance and rebellions against the British, their mixed progeny would then be exiled to the islands off the coast of Honduras. Instead of being isolated and dying off, their culture and oral language prospered and expanded into the Central American countries of Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, where they still live.

 The wackiest beach party in town continues! Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theatre of California, announces a one-week extension of Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, as reimagined by the Chicago theatre hooligans The Hypocrites, now through February 25, due to high demand.  Tickets are now on sale at pasadenaplayhouse.org or by calling 626-356-7529.

Red Rover Theatre Company presents the world premiere of 'Visiting Cezanne', a play by Duane Kelly, at 18th & Union Arts Space in Seattle.

This month, ArtsWest and Intiman join forces to stage Taylor Mac's HIR, a fearless comedy about a household in revolt, from February 28 to March 25, 2018, with Intiman Artistic Director Jennifer Zeyl directing.  

National Chorale, New York's premier professional choral company under the Artistic Direction of Everett McCorvey, continues its 2017-2018 Season at Lincoln Center with the New York Premiere of Angela Rice's Thy Will Be Done on Friday, March 16, 2018 at 8pm at the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, NYC. Tickets are $30-100 and are available at www.nationalchorale.com or by calling (212) 333-5333.

This week the Talkhouse Podcast revisits its conversation between musical collaborators and friends Dolores O'Riordan of The Cranberries and The Smiths' Andy Rourke in memory of O'Riordan. Also at Talkhouse this week, JD Samson of Le Tigre writes about tUnE-yArDs while Girlpool's Harmony Tividad discusses Fall Out Boy.

The Atlanta Opera presents its most exciting season to date in 2018-19. The mainstage season will be bookended by two of the greatest blockbusters in the repertoire, as well as the most performed American opera of the 21st century, and Tchaikovsky's timeless masterpiece. The Discoveries series features two distinct styles in a jazz-infused 'Be-Bopera' and a tango opera presented at beloved local venue, the red velvet cabaret Le Maison Rouge.

Music Choice is celebrating Black History Month with music and exclusive content from R&B Superstar Ne-Yo. The program will highlight Ne-Yo as Music Choice's Artist of the Month throughout February and feature an exclusive interview with him, along with two hosted playlists where he picks his favorite R&B music videos from artists who have changed the game and a playlist featuring his hit songs. Ne-Yo's entire collection of music videos and audio tracks will be featured throughout the month of February across Music Choice Music Channels, On Demand and on the Music Choice app.

Regresa el proximo 6 de febrero al Teatro Capitol de Madrid para realizar una temporada de despedida.

Twenty of the finest young opera singers in the United States will be competing in the 30th Annual Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition presented, jointly, by The Dallas Opera and The Dallas Opera Guild.

Boston Court Performing Arts Center presents a reimagined modern take of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire (February 15 - March 25, 2018; press opening, February 24). The community panels and discussions have been announced for this radical re-envisioning of Streetcar which will feature a multicultural cast and modern setting, pushing on the play's present-day relevance. This selection of panel discussions and post-show Illuminations will allow for a deep discussion on A Streetcar Named Desire and its many prevalent themes, especially in regards to this production, which is presented within a contemporary and urban environment, highlighting the pertinence of the play for our divided America.

Washington National Opera (WNO), led by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, announces its 2018-2019 season, one that continues its focus on bold productions of classic operas, fascinating contemporary perspectives, and the best in American artistry. The season includes a new WNO production of Verdi's classic romantic drama La traviata, the company premiere of Kevin Puts's and Mark Campbell's Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night, Tchaikovsky's epic Eugene Onegin, Gounod's devilishly entertaining Faust, and Puccini's towering masterpiece Tosca. The season also features a weekend of four world premieres during the American Opera Initiative Festival; a revival of WNO's hit world-premiere holiday family opera The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me; a special Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist performance of La traviata; and other exciting vocal events, including the annual Mars, lnc.'s Opera in the Outfield.

E! greenlights a new one-hour, eight-episode docu-series 'Model Squad,' which follows some of today's most high-profile and in-demand supermodels within the high-stakes fashion industry, including Daniela Braga, Olivia Culpo, Hannah Ferguson, Ping Hue, Nadine Leopold, Caroline Lowe, Ashley Moore, Shanina Shaik and Devon Windsor.

What if, instead of drowning, Shakespeare's Ophelia had splashed through the brook water and found a parallel universe on the other side? In playwright Caridad Svich's lyrical deconstruction of Hamlet, Ophelia cuts a new path for herself through a neo-Elizabethan Appalachia. In this world, Hamlet is known as Rude Boy, Gertrude is a brothel madam, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are her androgynous helpers.

Regeneration Theatre presents AS IS by William M. Hoffman. The gay community has the opportunity to look at its historical journal through ground-breaking envelope-pushing works currently in revival in New York. Boys in the Band and Angels in America on Broadway and AS IS opening February 1 off-Broadway. 

Back in the late 60s, groups of people would meet up at an agreed-upon place to attend a "happening," defined as a partly improvised or spontaneous piece of theatrical or other artistic performance, typically involving audience participation. This description is exactly how I would describe what is taking place at the Pasadena Playhouse through February 25, 2018, with Gilbert and Sullivan's PIRATES OF PENZANCE as reimagined by the Chicago-based Hypocrites acting troupe who turns the classic on its head, surprising audiences with a raucous 80-minute beach party that blends the original operetta with modern day attire, a central stage area from which the tossing of beach balls is encouraged, kiddie wading pools are available for seats, and lots of audience participation is expected during every moment the 10 energetic actor-musicians are in the house.

For the first time in three years "nuevo flamenco" guitar virtuoso Jesse Cook will return to the State Theatre in Easton for a performance on Saturday, April 21st. This is part of his concert tour in conjunction with his tenth album - Beyond Borders - which was released in August.

Keegan Theatre's UNNECESSARY FARCE is the comedy we all need in these troubling times. Written by Paul Slade Smith and adroitly directed by Ray Ficca, this D.C. premiere will make you really, truly, laugh.

 The wackiest beach party in town continues! Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theatre of California, announces a one-week extension of Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, as reimagined by the Chicago theatre hooligans The Hypocrites, now through February 25, due to high demand.  Tickets are now on sale at pasadenaplayhouse.org or by calling 626-356-7529.