Mark Johnson News

Netflix has announced El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, set for October 11, 2019.

To stage the beloved cultural icon that is THE WIZARD OF OZ offers any theatre company a herculean challenge: one which requires stretching the imagination to the limits to create a universe where reality is redefined and fantasy is fulfilled. In short, it demands stunning stagecraft and brilliant artistic vision. And it is just that kind of theatrical magic which Maine State Music Theatre's new production co- directed by Marc Robin and Curt Dale Clark boldly and beautifully realizes.

Deadline confirmed Jared Leto is in talks to join the cast of “Little Things,” currently consisting of Denzel Washington and Rami Malek.

Just as Dolly Gallagher Levi makes a stunning entrance to the unforgettable strains of her signature song, so MSMT's new production of the Jerry Herman classic HELLO, DOLLY! takes command of the Pickard stage with a joie de vivre and heartwarming tenderness and delivers an evening sparkling with laughter, love, and life. In a production directed by Donna Drake, choreographed by Rhonda Miller and performed by an ensemble of true stars, HELLO, DOLLY! offers the audience a magnificently memorable score, daring and dazzling dancing, and a cast of embraceable characters whose story unfailingly tugs at the heartstrings.

Maine State Music Theatre is going to Yonkers for its third show of the season, Hello, Dolly! from July 17 - August 3.

There is magic afoot at MSMT's Pickard Theater - and miracles! Not supernatural ones, but rather those that happen when a fresh new work of musical theatre dazzles the public with its excitement and beauty. And that is exactly what Marc Robin and Curt Dale Clark's TREASURE ISLAND A MUSICAL ADVENTURE does as its charts an epic and extraordinary course that gives MSMT audiences a production that is grand, genuinely thrilling, and emotionally satisfying in a timeless way. Robert Louis Stevenson's novel has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, but none has been as compelling, as simultaneously classic and contemporary as this new musical version, which had its world premiere at the Fulton Theatre in 2018. This East Coast premiere of TREASURE ISLAND offers audiences an opulent production, a brilliant team of creatives, cast, and crew, who pour all their energies into crafting an adventure for the ages. Known for bringing 'Broadway to Brunswick,' with TREASURE ISLAND MSMT has produced a show that is worthy to inhabit any Broadway stage and to find a lasting place in the American musical repertoire.

So what does a theatre company do to keep its momentum and even up the ante after a 60th anniversary season that broke all records? Why not hire three choreographers, fourteen virtuoso singer-dancers, and an eleven-piece big band orchestra, to mount the largest dance show in its history that celebrates the music of one of America's immortal musical geniuses, Duke Ellington? That is precisely what Maine State Music Theatre has done in its 2019 season opener with its sensational all-singing, all-dancing, visually opulent extravaganza, SOPHISTICATED LADIES, that is currently blowing the roof off the Pickard with its high-octane visceral energy, heady joy, and pure lyrical magic.

MAMMA MIA! what a fabulous show. You can dance. You can jive. Having the time of your life is what you're in for when attending Padgett Productions MAMMA MIA! now playing at Prohibition Hall in Kansas City. The jukebox musical which runs through May 19 benefits Children's Mercy Hospital with a portion of ticket sales going to the Cancer Center.

Dundalk Community Theatre ends its season with a Broadway blockbuster musical.  MAMMA MIA!, based on the music of ABBA, will be performed from May 10 - 19th.  Adult tickets are $25, Senior tickets are $22 and Children tickets are $17.

The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre, in association with Maine State Music Theatre is proud to present the dance and music-filled Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, May 2 through May 25, with Previews April 30 and May 1. Three acclaimed choreographers, Broadway's Mark Stuart, Broadway's Kenny Ingram and Lancaster's own Marc Robin, have joined to make this one memorable celebration! 

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE is Tony Kushner's (book and lyrics) semi-autobiographical, sung-through musical, with music by Jeanine Tesori (FUN HOME), that had its origins Off-Broadway in 2003, before transferring to Broadway in 2004 for 136 performances and receiving six Tony nominations. In the ensuing years, it had numerous productions in regional theaters and London, and it has long been on Moonbox Productions' short list, according to Producer and Artistic Director Sharman Altshuler. Under the direction of Allison Olivia Choat, the Moonbox staging is a solid effort with a cohesive ensemble, excellent musical direction and vocals, and vivid design elements. Yewande Odetoyinbo is a force in the title role.

Moonbox Productions, winner of numerous IRNE and Elliot Norton Awards, is thrilled to present the Tony- and Olivier-Award-winning musical, Caroline, or Change, by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori.

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, present one of Broadway's great musicals and the Lerner and Loewe classic, My Fair Lady. Sponsored by Bill & Laura Frick and Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers Group, My Fair Lady performs on the Stark Stage from March 12-31, 2019

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, present one of Broadway's great musicals, Evita. Sponsored by Bobbie Olsen and Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers Group, Evita performs on the Stark Stage from January 8-27, 2019.

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic DirectorCEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing DirectorCOO Jon R. Moses, present one of Broadway's great musicals, Evita. Sponsored by Bobbie Olsen and Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers Group, Evita performs on the Stark Stage from January 8-27, 2019.

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, present one of Broadway's great musicals, Evita. Sponsored by Bobbie Olsen and Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers Group, Evita performs on the Stark Stage from January 8-27, 2019.

The Producers Guild of America has announced the nominees for its 31st Annual Producers Guild Awards, to be presented at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 18, 2020.

Riverside Theatre's production of Evita adds two additional performances! Evita runs January 8-27, 2019 on the Stark Stage and is sponsored by Bobbie Olsen with additional support from Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers' Group.

Princess Cruises, Playing For Change, and the Estate of Otis Redding have teamed up to produce a new video to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Otis' iconic hit '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay' filmed in port cities around the world visited by Princess Cruises – San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ft. Lauderdale, Hawaii, Jamaica and Barcelona. The newest addition to Playing For Change's 'Songs Around The World' series, features an all-star track including Jack Johnson, Corinne Bailey Rae, Aloe Blacc, Dexter and Otis Redding III, James Gadson, Louis Mhlanga, the students from the Otis Redding Foundation Music Camp, Claire Finley, Irie Love, Mar Sanchez, and the Rass Brass Extension.

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, present one of Broadway's great musicals, Evita. Sponsored by Bobbie Olsen and Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers Group, Evita performs on the Stark Stage from January 8-27, 2019.