Mark Twain News

Peter Davenport, Adam Ferrara ('Nurse Jackie'), Jeffrey C. Hawkins, and Peggy J. Scott ('House of Cards') join Ms. Butterfield in the new play set to begin performances October 3 at Abingdon Theatre Company.

Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) launches its 24th season with grand opening performances in THE BLACK BOX, FPAC's new home and performance venue in downtown Franklin. A special kick-off weekend will introduce the theater, music and event space to the community. Anchoring a series of signature events, FPAC's annual Gala on Saturday evening, September 20, features a special, one-night-only performance by Tony® Award winner Beth Leavel and Broadway star Alexander Gemignani. On Sunday, September 21, FPAC hosts an Open House at THE BLACK BOX, inviting the public to come celebrate, tour the facility, and learn about upcoming programming and arts opportunities for Franklin and the surrounding region. The weekend's events conclude with the FPAC Golf Tournament on Monday, September 22, featuring a day on the links at Franklin Country Club.

La actriz que protagonizo recientemente Sonrisas y Lagrimas invita a descubrir un show intimo y cercano con 'Apuesta por el amor' el proximo 5 de septiembre en el Cafe Galdos de Madrid.

Oakland, CA, August 28, 2014 – The West Coast Premiere of Chris Brubeck and Guillaume Saint-James' jazz-orchestral work Brothers in Arts will highlight the 2014-2015 season opening of the Oakland East Bay Symphony November 7 conducted by Music Director Michael Morgan, who celebrates his 25th year with the Symphony. Brothers in Arts and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony will be performed in one concert only, Friday November 7, at 8 pm at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. The concert is sponsored by Wells Fargo and the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation,For information and tickets, visit www.oebs.org .

Abingdon Theatre Company -- which has produced 83 new plays in its 21-year history -- launches its 2014-2015 Season with IT HAS TO BE YOU by Drama Desk nominee Catherine Butterfield (JOINED AT THE HEAD), set to begin previews October 3, at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex's Dorothy Strelsin Theatre (312 West 36th Street). Official press opening is set for Sunday, October 12, with performances through October 26. Drama Desk nominee Stuart Ross (ENTER LAUGHING, FOREVER PLAID) is set to direct.

The Lucy Desi Museum & Center for Comedy, Chautauqua Striders, and the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena are proud to announce that comedy legend Bob Newhart will be the featured performer of the 2014 Lucy Town Half Marathon & 5K weekend. Newhart will be showcased October 11th in a night of comedy at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Lucille Ball's hometown of Jamestown, NY. Tickets for Bob Newhart will be available for purchase on Wednesday, August 27th online at www.lucyrace.com or by calling the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts box office at (716)484-7070.

So how did a crazy Teen Idol rocker end up a respected entertainer on television and Broadway? Every song has a story. Like a rock and roll Mark Twain, Rex Smith takes you on a wild and fascinating, sometimes dramatic, yet very hilarious, musical story-telling journey at 54 Below (August 26).

Following a successful fifth season with productions at The Side Project Theatre and Collaboraction, The Ruckus Theater is proud to announce its sixth season in Chicago, as well as the appointment of a new Artistic Director and Executive Director. Outgoing Artistic Director Allison Shoemaker, who will now serve as the company's Director of Marketing and Publicity, and incoming Artistic Director Derek Van Barham release today a season of two plays, each investigating the impact of cataclysm on a community. In addition to announcing Barham's appointment, the company also proudly announces the appointment of Catherine Bullard as Executive Director.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

As schools are opening their doors and welcoming students back, class at the Mad Cow Theatre Company is also back in session with a production of Alan Bennett's 2005 Tony Winning Play, THE HISTORY BOYS. My review on the production, running through September 7th, will be up early next week. In the meantime, I was able to interview some of the cast members. Instead of your basic interview with straightforward questions, I kept with the spirit of Bennett's scholastic play by passing out the blue books with three open-ended questions about some of the themes from the play. Although these answers will not be graded, I am sure if Irwin took a glance at them he would not be regarding them as "abysmally dull".

54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, has announced Big River, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Mame as the next three musical scores to be celebrated in its acclaimed '54 Sings' series.

"Tragedy is easy... comedy is hard." The short stories and sketches of James Thurber, Dorothy Parker, and the legendary Mark Twain fill the bill of Centenary Stage Company's ninth GREAT AUTHORS ALOUD presentation for this free staged reading event on Sunday, September 7th at 3 pm in The Edith Kutz Theater.

Beloved comedic genius Bill Cosby brings his signature comedy back to the Treasure Island Theatre on Friday, September 26 at 8 p.m.

THE ADVENTURE OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain is a classic, even if it has had to deal with opposition since its original publishing, and BIG RIVER is a perfect musical adaptation of the book.

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center has added five new titles to the 2014-15 Season which include Julie Fowlis: Music of the Scottish Isles, The Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Rocks Extravaganza!, Buddy Guy, It Gets Better Project and Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight. See below for descriptions, dates and ticket prices.

Paige Faure and Adam Monley can now officially be considered Broadway Royalty. Paige currently dons the coveted glass slippers as the title role in Cinderella, and while she is playing Princess, Adam is at the Imperial Theatre, where he just concluded his limited run as Javert in Les Miserables. Together they have accrued over five Broadway credits including Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway and the international sensation Mamma Mia! Together they are taking Broadway's most popular shows by storm, and we don't see them slowing down anytime soon! Below check out photos of the couple with their adorable son Hank from an exclusive photo shoot with BroadwayWorld's own Walter McBride! Plus, CLICK HERE to read an interview with Paige and Adam!

Paige Faure and Adam Monley can now officially be considered Broadway Royalty. Paige currently dons the coveted glass slippers as the title role in Cinderella, and while she is playing Princess, Adam is at the Imperial Theatre, where he just concluded his limited run as Javert in Les Miserables. Together they have accrued over five Broadway credits including Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway and the international sensation Mamma Mia! Together they are taking Broadway's most popular shows by storm, and we don't see them slowing down anytime soon! The Broadway couple recently took the time to chat with BroadwayWorld about how they met, balancing theatre with family, their adorable son Hank, and so much more. Check out the full interview below and CLICK HERE for more from their exclusive photo shoot with BroadwayWorld's own Walter McBride!

Sideshow Theatre Company is pleased to launch its 2014/15 season with the Midwest premiere of STUPID f**kING BIRD, Aaron Posner's comic spin on Chekhov's The Seagull, directed by Artistic Director Jonathan L. Green, playing today, August 16 - September 21, 2014 at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago.

The brilliant songwriting team behind FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and SHE LOVES ME (4 Off West End Award Nominations for our 2012 Production) have created a witty, tuneful and utterly charming musical.

"Tragedy is easy... comedy is hard." The short stories and sketches of James Thurber, Dorothy Parker, and the legendary Mark Twain fill the bill of Centenary Stage Company's ninth GREAT AUTHORS ALOUD series for this free staged reading event on Sunday, September 7th at 3 pm in The Kutz Black Box Theatre. This exploration of the human foibles, comic frustrations and eccentricities of ordinary people will be read by Randall Duk Kim and Anne Occhiogrosso. At a time when the world seems to be falling down around our ears and human behavior has left the sanest of us baffled, a healthy dose of these three might be exactly what the doctor ordered to reassure ourselves that the world isn't going crazy; it's simply always been that way.