Mary Ellen News

THE FARM (We Grow Theatre!) announces the cast and the dates for the new original drama and new musical-comedy for Industry presentations on Monday, August 12 and Tuesday, August 13. Each show will be performed both days.

With the Conjuring cinematic universe rapidly expanding since its initial film in 2013, it has seen both commercial successes and mixed reviews. The highly anticipated “Annabelle Comes Home” proves to be a great addition to the franchise in terms of expansion and future possibilities, but is not the strongest film compared to its predecessors.

Co-producers Jessica Winward and Robert Paterno will present a staged reading of Will Brumley's The Clinic on Monday, July 15, to raise funds for American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Southern California - https:aclusocal.org - and the Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP) - https:wrap.org.

Vampires run amok at the 2019 KC Fringe Festival! KANSAS CITY, MO Right Between the Ears, the award-winning radio comedy troupe, presents its latest epic misadventure at the KC Fringe Festival in July.

Opera America has awarded the fifth cycle of Commissioning Grants from its Opera Grants for Female Composers program to six professional opera companies across the United States.

River City Community Players presents 'Mama Won't Fly' by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten (the playwrights of 'Dixie Swim Club' and 'Doublewide, Texas'). Performances will be June 14 - 23 (Friday and Saturday nights at 8 pm and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 pm) at the Lynn Theatre at John Tyler Community College (Midlothian Campus), 800 Charter Colony Pkwy in Midlothian. Tickets at 804-554-0595 or www.rivercitycommunityplayers.com.

Tony Award-winning Broadway star Kelli O'Hara and Sirius/XM radio personality Seth Rudetsky will headline Westport Country Playhouse's 2019 Gala "Black & White Ball: A De-Lovely Evening," on Saturday evening, September 14.

FotoFocus announces the theme for the fifth iteration of theFotoFocus Biennial, America's largest photography and lens-based art biennial. The 2020 theme, light &, explores light and its contrasts in relation to photography and the world at large.

Women In Film, Los Angeles (WIF LA) announced today the honorees for the 2019 Women In Film Annual Gala that will be held on Wednesday, June 12 at The Beverly Hilton. Formerly named the Crystal + Lucy Awards®, the annual benefit supports WIF LA's educational and philanthropic programs and its advocacy for gender parity for women throughout the industry.

WORKING THEATER announces the cast for its upcoming world premiere of the comedy, DROPPING GUMBALLS ON LUKE WILSON, by ROB ACKERMAN and directed by THERESA REBECK making her New York directorial debut.

The Theater, Dance & Media Concentration at Harvard University launches its spring production with Maria Irene Fornes' THE DANUBE, directed by Morgan Green.

Talk Is Free Theatre (TIFT) offers an evening of two world premiere productions, written by and starring two fiercely talented female talents. One short piece is a modern re-imagining of a classic text and the other a personal account of trauma and the tools to survive - but both are triumphant feats of talent, passion, and genuine honesty.  

PREFORMANCES with Allison Charney closes its 10th season on Monday, May 6th at 1:00pm at Merkin Hall with MAY FLOWERS, featuring operatic treasures, exuberant chamber music and two new works by living composers.

Last night, Mark William returned, with another encore performance of his critically acclaimed, sold-out solo nightclub debut 'Come Croon With Me' at The Green Room 42.

For the fifth installment of its popular A Cinderella Story film franchise, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Blue Ribbon Content are breaking out the mistletoe and holly as principal photography commences on A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish, now filming in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The Children's Theatre of Charleston will be presenting Dreamwork's hilarious play, Madagascar: A Musical Adventure Jr. this weekend in Charleston, WV at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center's Little Theater!

Two of Galveston's most revered citizens - Ray and Vivian Pinard - will be honored as recipients of the prestigious 28th Annual Leonora Kempner Thompson Community Enrichment Award on Saturday, March 23 at The Grand 1894 Opera House.  Sponsored by, and benefiting The Grand, this event begins at 7pm and will include a cocktail reception, dinner on stage, and an award presentation. Honorary Co-chairs for this year's event are Gail and Armin Cantini and Donna and David Lang.

After its initial reading in Portsmouth on March 7, New Hampshire Theatre Project's Elephant-in-the-Room Series will be touring their program on the Opioid Crisis Effect on Families, featuring A Wider Circle by Mary-Ellen Hedrick, to four other communities. Programs will be held on April 2 at the Rochester Performing Arts Center in Rochester, April 9 at NHTI/Concord's Community College in Concord, April 10 at Medallion Opera House in Gorham, and May 9 at Austin17House in Brentwood. All programs will be held at 7 pm. Admission is free and any donations will be presented to a nonprofit agency working directly with families affected by substance use disorder.

I was invited to the opening night performance of Orpheus Theatre's new production of Sister Act at the Meridian Theatre @ Centrepointe. Sister Act is based on the 1992 movie of the same name, starring Whoopi Goldberg as the singing nun. Another story about a singing nun, you ask? Well this isn't your average nun… The plotline is somewhat reminiscent of the award-winning 1959 film, Some Like it Hot, starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe. In Sister Act, Deloris Van Cartier (Jerusha Lewis) is an aspiring singer auditioning at her boyfriend's cocktail bar in Philadelphia. After she witnesses a mob type hit, she goes on the lam and finds reluctant sanctuary at the struggling Queen of Angels convent with the residing Mother Superior (Mary Ellen Vice). Mother Superior insists that if she is to stay in the convent, she must cast aside her "sinful" ways and abide by the same rules as the other nuns. The only thing that saves Deloris from total despair is her opportunity to help guide the convent's atrocious choir, to whom she is introduced as Sister Mary Clarence.

PREFORMANCES with Allison Charney continues its 10th season on Monday, March 11th at 1:00pm at Merkin Hall with a program spanning the globe and the ages of chamber music composition.