Martin Luther King, Jr. News

Pegasus Theatre Chicago, in association with ShPIeL Performing Identity, announce the Chicago premiere of The Green Book, inspired by Victor Green's historical, "The Negro Motorist Green Book," March 1 - April 1 at Pegasus's resident home Chicago Dramatists, 765 N. Aberdeen. The Green Book is written by Calvin A. Ramsey, and directed by Pegasus' Producing Artistic Director Ilesa Duncan. Previews are Thursday, March 1 and Friday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. Opening performance is Sunday, March 4 at 3 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. with added Sunday 6 p.m. performances. Tickets are $18 - $30 and are available at PegasusTheatreChicago.org. Discounts available for groups of ten or more at Group Theater Tix, 312-423-6612. 

Saturday and Sunday, March 10 and 11, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, participates in the Houston Jewish Film Festival in collaboration with the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center (ERJCC).

Thank you Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith for bringing to the Washington Area the sequel writer Robert Schenkkan's two part series on President Lyndon Baines Johnson. First there was the Tony Winning ALL THE WAY which dealt with Johnson ascending the presidency while THE GREAT SOCIETY picks up at Johnson's State of the Union message in 1965 after his massive election victory.

The Historic Ali Cultural Arts is proud to present one of the most acclaimed new jazz performers in the world, Matthew Whitaker. The blind teen prodigy has been hailed by critics for his virtuoso style on the piano and the Hammond B3 organ. Whitaker was recently profiled on the Today Show and has been seen on a variety of TV programs including Ellen, CBS Sunday Morning and Good Morning Japan. Last year, he debuted his critically acclaimed first CD, Outta the Box, featuring a mix of original compositions and his take on the classics.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for August Wilson's quintessential epic drama Two Trains Running. Confronted with a rapidly changing world in the wake of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the looming demolition of Memphis Lee's diner, Memphis and his regular customers struggle to maintain their solidarity and sense of pride.

2017 Regional Theatre Tony Award Recipient Dallas Theater Center (DTC) presents The Great Society at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre. A co-production with the Alley Theatre and directed by DTC Enloe/Rose Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty, The Great Society begins on March 9 and runs through April 1. A Pay-What-You-Can performance will be Sunday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m., and Press Night will be Tuesday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to The Great Society are on sale now at www.DallasTheaterCenter.org and by phone at (214) 880-0202.

Park City Institute presents singer Mavis Staples, Saturday March 3, at 7:30 PM. Staples will perform on the Main Stage, part of PCI's 20th Anniversary Season at the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Center.

Actor Danny Glover paid a visit to Arena Stage yesterday for a performance of The Great Society, check out the photos with the cast below!

The 'Movies That Matter with Hal Conklin' film series continues with Hidden Figures, on Monday, February 19th, at 7:00 pm at The Granada Theatre. The Jurkowitz Center for Community Engagement is pleased to partner with the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara for the screening of this next film in the beloved "Movies that Matter" series. Series moderator Hal Conklin will be joined by E. Onja Brown-Lawson, President of the Board of Directors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara, for a pre-screening discussion with special guest First Lieutenant Victoria Foster of Vandenberg Air Force Base. Tickets for the film screening are $10 or $20 and are available online at GranadaSB.org. The Granada Theatre is offering a special discounted family ticket package of four tickets for $25 to this screening. 

PEN America presents the 2018 PEN World Voices Festival: Resist and Reimagine, this year's incarnation of the renowned international literary festival, which will bring together the world's foremost authors and other luminaries at a time when many are turning to literature and the arts not for escapism, but as a guide to navigate contemporary crises. Salman Rushdie founded the festival in the isolationist aftermath of September 11, 2001, to fortify links with the rest of the world; now again the need to connect and draw inspiration from beyond America's borders is pressing.

The Ensemble Theatre commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in its 'Celebrating the Creative Journey' series with a show entitled: King: The Legacy Lives On, Sunday, February 18, 2018, 5:30 p.m. in The Ensemble Performance Centre 3535 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002.

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is once again offering audience members a dazzling, star-packed lineup of amazing shows, memorable concerts, insightful lectures and very special events during the months of March and April.

The work and life of legendary artist and activist Harry Belafonte will be celebrated during a concert at Aaron Davis Hall on Thursday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. "Turn the World Around: The Music and Legacy of Harry Belafonte" will present audiences with a special evening of songs and stories in honor of and on the icon's 91st birthday.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts will present a selection of 50 photographs from the archives of The Tennessean and The Nashville Banner that document an important period in Nashville's struggle for racial equality. The black-and-white photographs will be on display from March 30 through October 14, 2018 in the always free Conte Community Arts Gallery.

Pegasus Theatre Chicago, in association with ShPIeL Performing Identity, announce the Chicago premiere of The Green Book, inspired by Victor Green's historical, "The Negro Motorist Green Book," March 1 - April 1 at Pegasus's resident home Chicago Dramatists, 765 N. Aberdeen. 

On Tuesday, February 6, 2018, world-renowned dancer and choreographer, Ronald K. Brown and his groundbreaking company EVIDENCE kicked off their season at The Joyce Theater for a limited engagement through February 11th. The Brooklyn-based company, returns for the first time since its successful season back in July 2016. This occasion marks the world premiere of new works, performances of old, yet relevant pieces, and the celebration of Associate Artistic Director, Arecell Cabuag's 20th anniversary with the company.

THE GREAT SOCIETY does not match the power of its predecessor. But ALL THE WAY is hard to match. And THE GREAT SOCIETY is a fine play in its own right.

Robert Schenkkan's The Great Society, the second half of the epic drama about President Lyndon Baines Johnson, makes its Washington, D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, following the theater's critically acclaimed 2016 run of All the Way.

The Historic Ali Cultural Arts is proud to present one of the most acclaimed new jazz performers in the world, Matthew Whitaker. The blind teen prodigy has been hailed by critics for his virtuoso style on the piano and the Hammond B3 organ. Whitaker was recently profiled on the Today Show and has been seen on a variety of TV programs including Ellen, CBS Sunday Morning and Good Morning Japan. Last year, he debuted his critically acclaimed first CD, Outta the Box, featuring a mix of original compositions and his take on the classics.