Mark Alan News

The Olivier Award-winner warns of the danger of losing your confidence because of negative feedback.

?The new musical, A SCYTHE OF TIME will be presented as part of the New York Musical Theatre festival at the June Havoc Theatre (312 W 36th Street). A Scythe of Time is written by Alan Harris with music and lyrics by Mark Alan Swanson. It will be directed by David Alpert (IF/THEN), with musical direction by Ryan Cantwell (National Tour: Pippin, Finding Neverland).  It will begin performances on July 21 and will run through July 26, 2016. Tickets are $27.50 and can be purchased by visiting NYMF.org.

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF), previously known as The New York Musical Theatre Festival, announced today the initial slate of artists participating in NYMF 2016, taking place from July 11 through August 7 in Midtown Manhattan.

The absurdity of political scandals, gender identity and self-expectations are fully explored in Keegan Theatre's superbly acted An American Daughter.

 The New York Musical Festival (NYMF), previously known as The New York Musical Theatre Festival, announced today the initial lineup for NYMF 2016. Among the shows announced in the lineup are the Next Link Project musical selections, as well as invited production selections, developmental reading selections, and concerts. Now in its thirteenth year, the 2016 Festival will take place in July at locations around midtown Manhattan in New York City. 

The Broadway at Birdland concert series was proud to present the return of actress/singer Anita Gillette to her musical home on Monday, September 28 with her show, "So, As I Was Saying…" 

Created by Johnson as a way to give home to the melodies that kept awaking him every day, Colorway released their sophomore record, 'The Black Sky Sequined' on May 5 on CD, digital and 180 gram vinyl.

Desert Stages Theatre's production of Eric Simonson's Lombardi, directed by Mark-Alan C. Clemente is a surefire touchdown, featuring inspired performances by Timothy Pittman as Lombardi and Dyana Carroll as the coach's stalwart wife Marie.

McComb, OH

Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC), led by highly regarded Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson and acclaimed for its agile bel canto sound that has made it one of the nation's most in-demand children's choirs, announces its 2014-15 season, entitled "Celebrating American Song...California and Beyond."

On a simple stage, set with rough-hewn foot lockers and makeshift bunk beds, Mark-Alan Clemente has assembled an able cast of actors who sing Biloxi Blues the way Neil Simon might have appreciated. It is in the angst and defiance of Arnold Epstein, compellingly portrayed by Todd Michael Isaac and Sgt. Toomey, whose disciplinarian zeal is masterfully captured by Rick Davis, that the powerhouse moments of the play occur.

Pier 701 Restaurant & Bar and Producer Neil Berg present Richard Skipper Celebrates on April 5.

Jacaranda will perform 'The Knee Plays' by David Byrne, the famed driving force of the 'art rock' band the Talking Heads. This program of 1980s film, theater and ceremonial music is part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's citywide 'Minimalist Jukebox' (March 16-May 4). Robert Wilson's ambitious, unfinished opera 'the CIVIL warS' was intended for the 1984 Olympics Arts Festival in Los Angeles. 'The Knee Plays' was conceived as a set of 14 short interludes between sections of the opera to span an entire day. Jacaranda's offering of the entire set, which Byrne toured widely and recorded, will complement the L.A. Phil's two performances of the opera's 'Rome Section' by Philip Glass. Together, they constitute the only two completed parts of 'the CIVIL warS' - united in Los Angeles for the first time ever. 'The Knee Plays' tour ended in 1988.

Jacaranda's next concert, tonight, March 8 at 8:00 p.m., will be held at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall, which is waiving admission to honor Jacaranda's 10th anniversary. Jacaranda's inaugural season featured an adventurous young string quartet known as Denali, which played with the series until 2010. Denali was succeeded by Lyris as quartet in residence. This free 'Continental Harmony' concert will be entirely devoted to the Lyris Quartet, playing 20th-century American string quartet repertoire spanning 80 years. For the occasion, Lyris will open with their debut performance of the String Quartet No. 2 by Charles Ives (1911-13), followed by a Jacaranda signature work from 1973, String Quartet No. 4, 'Amazing Grace,' by Ben Johnston. String Quartet No. 5 by Philip Glass (1991), a Lyris specialty, will be followed with String Quartet No. 3 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

Jacaranda's next concert, on March 8 at 8:00 p.m., will be held at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall, which is waiving admission to honor Jacaranda's 10th anniversary. Jacaranda's inaugural season featured an adventurous young string quartet known as Denali, which played with the series until 2010. Denali was succeeded by Lyris as quartet in residence. This free 'Continental Harmony' concert will be entirely devoted to the Lyris Quartet, playing 20th-century American string quartet repertoire spanning 80 years. For the occasion, Lyris will open with their debut performance of the String Quartet No. 2 by Charles Ives (1911-13), followed by a Jacaranda signature work from 1973, String Quartet No. 4, 'Amazing Grace,' by Ben Johnston. String Quartet No. 5 by Philip Glass (1991), a Lyris specialty, will be followed with String Quartet No. 3 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

Jacaranda's 10th anniversary season continues tonight, February 22, 2014 with a dinner break - a break that separates the performances of two 20-movement mid-twentieth-century masterworks by John Cage and Olivier Messiaen. Each cycle is played by an American pianist with whom the music has become synonymous: Adam Tendler and Christopher Taylor, respectively. The consecutive concerts (Tendler at 5:00 p.m. and Taylor at 7:30 p.m.) will take place at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 Second Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401.

Jacaranda's 10th anniversary season continues on Saturday, February 22, 2014 with a dinner break - a break that separates the performances of two 20-movement mid-twentieth-century masterworks by John Cage and Olivier Messiaen. Each cycle is played by an American pianist with whom the music has become synonymous: Adam Tendler and Christopher Taylor, respectively. The consecutive concerts (Tendler at 5:00 p.m. and Taylor at 7:30 p.m.) will take place at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 Second Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401.

Jacaranda, the series of intimate concert adventures into the realm of new and rarely heard classical music presents 'Hallucination,' featuring the music of avant-garde composers Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis tonight, January 25, 2014 at 8 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 2nd Street, Santa Monica, 90401.

Jacaranda, the series of intimate concert adventures into the realm of new and rarely heard classical music presents "Hallucination," featuring the music of avant-garde composers Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis on Saturday, January 25, 2014 at 8 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 2nd Street, Santa Monica, 90401.

Karlheinz Stockhausen's 70-minute masterpiece 'Stimmung' ('Tuning/mood/atmosphere'), for six amplified voices, will be performed at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica on Sat., Jan. 25, 2014 by VOXNOVA Italia, which is making its international debut with this concert. Founded 22 years ago in France as VOXNOVA, the widely acclaimed European vocal ensemble will be reincarnated in 2014 with five Italian contemporary vocal music specialists under the direction of founder, bass baritone Nicholas Isherwood.