Mark Twain News

David Yazbek with Norbert Leo Butz perform tonight, November 18, 2015 at 8 p.m. at SubCulture, and BroadwayWorld has learned they will be showcasing some new material!

Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.

The set for Theatre Memphis' Next Stage production of John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning DOUBT impresses with its austerity: The walls and doors are of rich,dark wood; the red leather chair behind the principal's desk and the furniture in the room are carefully arranged; everything seems compartmentalized. Moreover, St. Nicholas School is in the apparently firm hands of 'Sister Aloysius' (yes, it rhymes with 'suspicious'), and wary she is. The time is the early 1960's, shortly after the unsettling assassination of President John F. Kennedy. St. Nicholas has accepted its first black student, 'Donald Muller,' a lonely and isolated thirteen-year old altar boy of 'the new priest on the block,' 'Father Flynn,' who, with his tweaking of tradition and progressive inclination have made him a threat to Aloysius' tightly run ship. As Bob Dylan famously sang, 'The times they are a-changin' -- but, as far as the straight-backed, bespectacled principal is concerned, 'not at THIS school.' For Aloysius, art and music classes are a perfect waste of time; at first glance, she is a stereotypical 'old school' nun. However, Pulitzer Prizes are not awarded to writers who resort to stereotype, and Mr. Shanley's script is tight, subtle, and full of surprises.

Thus, we are happy to present the return of one our most popular features: The Nashville Theater Calendar, a comprehensive - maybe even exhaustive (lord knows we're exhausted from putting it together, gathering all the info from all over the interwebs!) - listing of theatrical openings for the 2015/16 season. We'll update the calendar every Monday, clearing out the shows that have closed and adding additional information on the shows still to come. Something's missing? That's an easy fix: just send us a message here, on Facebook, or by email at jeffreyellis37215@att.com.

Even 21 years later, the horrific atrocities of the Rwandan genocide is hard to wrap one's head around. How could 800,000 to 1 million Tutsis be macheted to death in just over three months by the country's other ethnic group, the Hutus - including thousands cowering in a single church?

Twainiacs everywhere are praising This 'n That Films' '88 Days in the Mother Lode,' the new documentary that chronicles the disparate events that coincided to lead 29-year-old Sam Clemens to Angels Camp, California, where he first heard the story about the frog.

Probably the best (of the few) productions of TITUS ANDRONICUS was the 1999 film directed by Julie Taymor. Anthony Hopkins, donning his apron from SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, was a witty choice as 'Titus,' and Jessica Lange, years before jumping with abandon into the excesses of AMERICAN HORROR STORY, was a stunning 'Tamora, Queen of the Goths.' The visuals, typically 'Taymor,' were imaginative and impressive. Yet, by the film's conclusion, one thing was obvious about Shakespeare's TITUS (wildly popular in its day, but largely dismissed by modern audiences): The Bard jettisoned poetry for gore and special effects. That is also the direction that John Maness and his eager group of actors has taken New Moon Theatre Company's latest production at Theatre Works.

Comedy and talk show legend Jay Leno is headed to Aurora's Paramount Theatre for one-show-only, and he's bringing audiences along for one of the funniest nights of the fall comedy season.

The American Writers Museum (AWM) announced during a press conference on October 27 at the Chicago Cultural Center that it has leased a prime space at 180 North Michigan Avenue, one of Chicago's busiest blocks, for its early 2017 opening. The location's proximity to hotels, residential buildings, universities, cultural attractions, Millennium Park, and public transportation provides a vibrant home for the first and only museum to engage the public in celebrating American writers and their influence on our history, our identity, our culture, and our daily lives. Scroll down for photos from the announcement!

Barter Theatre unveils the 2016 production schedule with a behind-the-scenes preview of what the next season has in store. Producing Artistic Director Richard Rose announces an exciting season filled with comedy, drama and many world-famous shows patrons will recognize from their silver-screen adaptations.

The American Writers Museum (AWM) has leased a prime space at 180 North Michigan Avenue, one of Chicago's busiest blocks, for its early 2017 opening.

David Yazbek with Norbert Leo Butz will perform on November 18, 2015 at 8 p.m. at SubCulture, and BroadwayWorld has learned they will be showcasing some new material!

When his long-lost outlaw father returns, Tommy 'White Knife' Stockburn goes on an adventure-filled journey across the Old West with his five brothers. Adam Sandler stars in Ridiculous 6 premiering on Netflix December 11.

What is the American dream? This question and many others were asked and explored on a ground-breaking public television series from the early 1970s. Combining elements of variety shows and sketch comedy, documentary film, witty animated sequences, and a who's who of pop culture icons, THE GREAT AMERICAN DREAM MACHINE paved the way for future television programming. Years before SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and THE DAILY SHOW, a just before cult classics like THE GROOVE TUBE and KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE offered topical and satirical comedy on film, THE GREAT AMERICAN DREAM MACHINE was pioneering television.

Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.

Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.

(Boston) Celebrity Series of Boston will present poet Billy Collins and singer-songwriter Aimee Mann on Saturday, November 21, 2015, at 8:00pm at Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall, Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge. 

From hit songs to bumper stickers to eye-black, Jesus is trending high wherever you look. But at the end of the day, many 'try Jesus' and come away disappointed in the experience. That's because the Jesus of popular culture looks much more like us than the God-man who appeared in the flesh two thousand years ago. We've got Guru Jesus, Braveheart Jesus, Dr. Phil Jesus, Free-Range Jesus, and plenty more imposters that feed into our selfish desires. The problem is, they don't have the power to save us or transform us into new creations. Luckily, it doesn't have to be that way.

The 18th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was awarded last night to comedian Eddie Murphy. T

Irvine Barclay Theatre presents The King's Singers, David Sedaris, and Luis Bravo's Forever Tango in November.