Mark Johnson News

In the final moments of the 2005 hit musical JERSEY BOYS, Frankie Valli muses, “We were all just chasing the music.” For those fans of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and the Bob Gaudio/Bob Crewe/Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice show about the group’s rise to fame and artistic and personal struggles, the “chase” need take them no farther than Westbrook Performing Arts Center where Maine State Music Theatre has mounted a spectacular production that is a must-see. In their only main stage show of the 2021 season, MSMT’s JERSEY BOYS, directed by Mark Martino and choreographed by Kenny Ingram, is a joyous, boisterous, dazzling, powerful, incisive, edgy and ultimately uplifting story that rivets from start to finish.

I saw an AMERICAN IDIOT in Kansas City, and I LIKED it. Produced by Padgett Productions, AMERICAN IDIOT explodes onto the stage at The Black Box in Kansas City, Missouri. With only a short run of four days, it begins to give hope to the theater-starved residents that maybe live theater is beginning to return to the metro area. The invigorating and at times moving punk rock musical opened on August 19 and runs through August 22.

The Grammy Award and two-time Tony Award-winning hit musical Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT, based on the multi-platinum album, boldly takes the American musical where it's never gone before. This high-octane show includes every song from Green Day's album, American Idiot, as well as several songs from its follow-up release, 21st Century Breakdown. 

Rolin Jones (“Perry Mason,” “Friday Night Lights”), who also has an overall development deal with AMC Studios, is creator, showrunner and executive producer of “Interview.”

West Valley Arts presents Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show, running from April 22 - May 15, 2021 at the West Valley Performing Arts Center (formerly Harman Theatre).

The kids from Shanley take us back to the 60's! Leader of The Pack is a jukebox musical originally released in 1984.

The 33rd Annual Virginia Film Festival announced today a program of more than 50 films, conversations, and special events that will include a series of virtual conversations and a series of Drive-In Movies presented in two safe and socially-distanced settings. 

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), dedicated to advancing entertainment and performing arts that inspire social change, announced today that award-winning producer Stephanie Allain has been named the 2020 recipient of the PGA/UCLA Vision Award.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures today announced the addition of six new members to its Board of Trustees: Patricia S. Bellinger, Arnaud Boetsch, Olivier de Givenchy, Ray Halbritter, Ryan Murphy, and Regina K. Scully.

AMC announced today special Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad-related programming in July, including a day-long marathon of Better Call Saul's fifth season, including bonus content with series stars Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn; a new digital short-form series with Giancarlo Esposito; and back-to-back airings of the films Wakefield and Godzilla

AMC announced today that it has greenlit National Anthem, an 8-episode anthology series created by writer/director Scott Z. Burns (The Report, Contagion) and executive produced by Oscar® and Emmy® Award-winner Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Rectify, Rain Man, The Natural, Bugsy).  The musical dramedy is the first series greenlit under Johnson's multi-year overall deal with AMC Studios, through which he will continue to develop new series for the company's Entertainment Group as well as projects for potential sale to other content companies. National Anthem is the tragically funny story of a middle class midwestern family tumbling down the ladder of American society; periodically bursting into song as they struggle to catch themselves.  Award-winning musician T Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart, The Hunger Games) is attached as the series' music producer with words and music by Craig Finn (The Hold Steady).

Padgett Productions presents the Kansas City Premiere of Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT for a limited engagement, April 3-26, 2020 at The Living Room Theatre, located at 1818 McGee St, in the vibrant Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, MO.

On Sunday, Feb. 23, ABC and ESPN will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the iconic “Miracle on Ice”—when the United States hockey team defeated the heavily favored then Soviet Union on Feb. 22, 1980, in their run to a gold medal. Special programming across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will air throughout the day, including a one-hour “SportsCenter Special: Miracle on Ice at 40,” Walt Disney Pictures' “Miracle” and more.

Casting has been announced for Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre's Oklahoma professional premiere production of the Tony-winning 'Best Musical' a??A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder (book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman; music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak; based on a novel by Roy Horniman). OKC Rep's production will play the Civic Center Music Hall's Freede Little Theatre June 5 - 14, 2020.

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, presents a Jerry Herman classic and one of Broadway's great musicals, La Cage aux Folles. Sponsored by Ted & Dawn Michael and The O'Haire Group a?" Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and presented by Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers Group, La Cage aux Folles performs on the Stark Stage from March 10-29, 2020. 

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) hosted the 31st Annual Producers Guild Awards on the evening of Saturday, January 18 at the Hollywood Palladium. A full list of winners is below.

At the Television Critics' Association (TCA) Press Tour, AMC Networks and AMC Studios announced a partial list of current projects in development. The broad slate, which includes potential AMC Studios series being developed for the company's Entertainment Group and also projects being developed for potential sale to other content companies, reflects fresh ideas and strong voices from creators and talent including Scott Z. Burns, Katie Couric, Owen and Stephen King, Megan Mostyn Brown, Armadu Garba, Eliza Clark, Mark Johnson, Zack Whedon, Scott Gold, Ilana Glazer, T Bone Burnett and many others.

AMC Networks announced today from the Television Critics' Association (TCA) Press Tour spring premiere dates for several new and returning original series, including the highly anticipated debuts of AMC's The Walking Dead: World Beyond and three-part series Quiz, a third season of BBC AMERICA's award-winning Killing Eve, the fourth and final season of IFC's acclaimed series Brockmire and the return of SundanceTV's psychological thriller Liar. As previously announced, AMC's Better Call Saul season five debuts with a special two-night premiere event on Sunday, February 23 at 10:00 p.m. ET/9c and Monday, February 24 at 9:00 p.m. ET/8c and the new anthology series Dispatches From Elsewhere premieres Sunday, March 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET/9c. In addition, the next series in BBC AMERICA's Emmy® Award-winning Planet franchise, Seven Worlds, One Planet will air as a multi-network event across BBC AMERICA, AMC, IFC and SundanceTV this Saturday, January 18 at 9:00 p.m. ET/8c.

AMC released today a new video teaser and the season five key art in anticipation of the upcoming new season of Better Call Saul. The explosive fifth season will premiere Sunday, February 23 at 10:00 p.m. ET/9c and continue the next night, Monday, February 24, with an encore presentation of the season premiere at 7:45 p.m. ET/6:45c followed by the season's second episode in its regular timeslot at 9:00 p.m. ET/8c.

AMC announced today a marathon of the Emmy® Award-winning drama Breaking Bad in January and February, leading into the world television premiere of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie on Sunday, February 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET/7c.  The marathon, featuring all episodes from all five critically acclaimed seasons of the series kicks off Sunday, January 19 at 4:00 p.m. ET/3c and airs over five consecutive Sundays. The Breaking Bad programming event will usher in the previously announced premiere of Better Call Saul's highly anticipated fifth season on Sunday, February 23 at 10:00 p.m. ET/9c. Breaking Bad, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and Better Call Saul are produced by Sony Pictures Television.