Max Vernon News

Uptown Players, a professional theater group located in the Uptown area of Dallas, has announced its 2018-2019 season at the Kalita Humphreys Theater and Moody Performance Hall.

Uptown Players, a professional theater group located in the Uptown area of Dallas, has announced its 2018-2019 season at the Kalita Humphreys Theater and Moody Performance Hall. The season will feature the regional premieres of the 2017 Drama Desk nominated musical, The View Upstairs, a new comedy from the writer of NBC's Emmy-nominated hit "This is Us", The Cake, plus the world premiere of a special holiday tribute, A Very Judy Christmas. Also in the season lineup are the hilarious 2016 Broadway musical, Disaster!, and the Tony Award-winning Musical Spring Awakening, which will be presented at Moody Performance Hall. Rounding out its 2018-2019 season is its annual fundraising production, Broadway Our Way, also at Moody Performance Hall and the previously announced production of Angels In America Part Two: Perestroika.

THE VIEW UPSTAIRS, a musical by Max Vernon, whose musical KPOP won Best Musical honors in off-Broadway's Lortel Awards and was also nominated for seven Drama Desk awards, is inspired by real life events of the 1973 arson attack at the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant gay bar in New Orleans. Now accepted as a targeted anti-gay attack, the arson resulted in the deaths of 32 people and was, until the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting, the deadliest assault on a gay club in U.S. history. The show is inspired by and pays tributes to many of the patrons that frequented the venue.

After the success of it's inaugural issue last summer, the second volume of Musical Theater Today is set for release on July 16, 2018.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and Joe's Pub at The Public join forces once again for the Kimmel Center Theater Residency. Under the tutelage of Jay Wahl, Producing Artistic Director of the Kimmel Center, and Shanta Thake, Director of Joe's Pub, the program serves as an incubator for artists and their collaborators to create and develop music and theater projects. The program will be held in the Kimmel Center's SEI Innovation Studio (300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA) from June 18-30 with Public Readings, free and open to the public, on June 29 and 30. Readings will be followed by Q&A sessions with the artists.

THE VIEW UPSTAIRS, a musical by Max Vernon, is inspired by real life events of the 1973 arson attack at the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant gay bar in New Orleans, and pays tribute to many of the patrons that frequented the venue. Now accepted as a targeted anti-gay attack, the arson resulted in the deaths of 32 people and was, until the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting, the deadliest assault on a gay club in U.S. history. 

Winners for the 63rd Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced just last night at The Town Hall. In keeping with Drama Desk's mission, nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway during the 2017-2018 New York theater season in the same competitive categories.

The time has come for the 63rd Annual Drama Desk Awards, hosted by Michael Urie, June 3 (8:00 PM) at The Town Hall in Manhattan.

Ars Nova, 'one of the most adventurous Off-Broadway companies' (New York Times), under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Jason Eagan and Managing Director Renee Blinkwolt, is pleased to announce programming for its 2018-2019 season, which marks a rich expansion of the non-profit's unique role as both an exciting hub for new talent and a hands-on producer of genre-bending Off-Broadway productions.

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) today announced the 2018 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by Tony® Award winners Harriet Harris, Julie White and Tony® Award nominee Christopher Sieber at the official announcement event at Sardi's Restaurant, which was streamed live online right here at BroadwayWorld.com.

Founding Executive Director Kathy Evans announced the 19 writers of 9 new musicals in this summer's Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. This year's writers include 2018 Jonathan Larson winners Andrew Farmer and Andrew Butler, 2018 Kleban winner Amanda Yasnowitz, Tony-winner Ken Davenport, 2018 Lucille Lortel winner for Outstanding Musical (KPOP) Max Vernon, Emmy winner Doug Katsaros, Obie winner Erin Courtney, and the writers of the podcast musical 36 questions who are developing their next musical, Chris Littler and Ellen Winter.

Complete cast and crew were announced today for Circle's Chicago premiere production of THE VIEW UPSTAIRS, a musical by Max Vernon, whose musical KPOP last week won Best Musical honors in off-Broadway's Lortel Awards and is also nominated for seven Drama Desk awards. THE VIEW UPSTAIRS, which opened off-Broadway in February 2017, is inspired by real life events of the 1973 arson attack at the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant gay bar in New Orleans. Now accepted as a targeted anti-gay attack, the arson resulted in the deaths of 32 people and was, until the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting, the deadliest assault on a gay club in U.S. history. The show is inspired by and pays tributes to many of the patrons that frequented the venue.

Awards season continues! Just yesterday Drama Desk nominees gathered at the Hotel Edison's Friedman's (W. 47th Street) to meet for the first time. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the special occasion and we're bringing you portraits of nominees below!

Ars Nova is pleased to announce the line-up for its 11th Annual ANT Fest (June 4-28), four non-stop, throw-down weeks of live entertainment mayhem, featuring fresh material from the next wave of dynamic, indie-theater makers. Tickets go on sale today for this festival of new indie theater/music/comedy featuring all new talent, all the time.

Just last night, the 2018 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were handed out to recipients in 19 categories, with three honorary awards also bestowed. The Lortel Awards were distributed in a ceremony at NYU Skirball Center hosted by Meteor Shower co-stars Laura Benanti and Jeremy Shamos. This year's event was once again a benefit for The Actors Fund.

The Off-Broadway League are presenting awards in 19 categories for the 33rd Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway and we're bringing you the winners live.

In the past few weeks, we've watched the nominations roll in. Today the final crop of nominees have been revealed, all leading to next week's ultimate announcement- the 2018 Tony nominations.

The final presentation of the recently expanded Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge, took place just last night. This year's Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge finalists included Eliza Corrington & Braxton Gerald Carr, Tucker Donelan, Jillian Guetersloh, Fritz Hager, Aaron Richert, and David Volpini. Check out photos from inside the special night below!

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) today announced the 2018 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by Tony® Award winners Harriet Harris, Julie White and Tony® Award nominee Christopher Sieber at the official announcement event at Sardi's Restaurant, which was streamed live online right here at BroadwayWorld.com.