McDonald News

Today, Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas released a first look at the upcoming production with a photo  showcasing a few of the characters audiences will see onstage, including both humans and puppets from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Bass-baritone Davóne Tines, who in October was announced as Musical America’s 2022 Vocalist of the Year, will be honored for this achievement at the 61st annual Musical America Awards, to be held virtually via Facebook Live on Sunday, December 5 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

A theater fixture in the Sacramento area for over 27 years, veteran director & actor, Rodger McDonald will grace the stage at the Lincoln Civic Auditorium on December 11 as the uniquely eccentric characters Sir Walter Elliot & Admiral Croft in Placer Repertory Theater’s performance of Persuasion featured at holiday event the Jane Austen Soiree.

Ring in the new year with Well-Strung, the uber-talented, centerfold ready string quartet that brilliantly fuses pop and classical music from Madonna to Beethoven with a special concert at Bucks County Playhouse, Friday, December 31 at 7:00 pm.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), announced today that nominations for the 2022 Barbara Whitman Award are now being accepted through December 21, 2021.

 On Site Opera, New York’s pioneering opera company rooted in site-specific storytelling and the immersive experience, revisits the perils, hilarity, and teachable lessons of 2020 with Lesson Plan, a live and interactive digital production based on Georg Phillip Telemann’s Der Schulmeister with additional music and new English libretto by Rachel J. Peters, Friday, January 21- Saturday, January 29, 2022.

Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Audra McDonald will headline RHAPSODY – Turtle Creek Chorale’s Benefit Gala – at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas on Saturday, March 5, 2022. The evening will feature opening receptions, seated dinner, open bar, live auction, a private performance by Ms. McDonald, and an after-party experience with the IDT Band and dessert. 

Tonight, NBC will air its sixth live musical production. Following in the footsteps of The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz, Hairspray, and Jesus Christ Superstar, the peacock network will be presenting Annie. Based on Harold Gray's comic strip titled Little Orphan Annie, this musical tells the story of a little orphan with equal measures of pluck and positivity who charms everyone's hearts, despite a next-to-nothing start in New York City in the year 1933.

Audra McDonald will narrate and executive produce a new documentary about Whitney Houston, Whitney Houston In Focus.

Save the Date! The Theatre World Awards Board of Directors, Dale Badway, President, has announced, today, the return to a live in-person presentation of the 76th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony that will take place on Monday evening, June 6, 2022 beginning at 7:00PM. Theater venue will be announced in spring 2022.

For Edmund Bagnell, who has spent most of the past decade performing around the world as the first violinist and vocalist of the popular singing string quartet Well-Strung, there has been little time for slowing down, despite the global pandemic.

After our first run, filled with laughs and screams, I finally saw my vision fit with my co-director's vision. When our hand-painted set was constructed on the first day of tech week and cue-to-cue began, I got chills and knew my work as a director was practically done. I could finally enjoy the show and see everything come together. Before our final run, I sat in the theatre and channelled my thoughts and feelings into my first director's note. All audience members had the opportunity to read this director's note from our digital program. Imagine you are in the Class of '49 Auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania. Hill House looms in front of you, and you begin reading the digital program where you stumble upon my director's note.

Today we are flashing back to one of our favorite Sondheim tributes- his 80th Birthday concert, performed with the New York Philharmonic in 2010. Watch performances from David Hyde Piece, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Bernadette Peters, and Elaine Stritch.

The most important figure in musical theatre history is gone; let's celebrate his life by listening to his incredible works. Reviewer Peter Nason gets you started by listing his choices for the 91 greatest Sondheim songs.

In the wake of Stephen Sondheim's passing, there has been an outpouring of grief from the Broadway community and beyond. Read them all here.

No matter the competition, Gaslight remains a thriving enterprise -- an ironclad formula that keeps the house full, taste buds sated, music playing, jokes cracking, and business humming.

Ukulele master and jolly ambassador of aloha, JAKE SHIMABUKURO, will bring joy to the world this upcoming 2021 Holiday Season by delivering a special gift for all with the debut of his highly anticipated holiday show, JAKE SHIMABUKURO – CHRISTMAS IN HAWAII.

’Cinderella’ will get a red carpet premiere at Everyman King’s Cross on Saturday 4 December. It will then roll out to Showcase cinemas across the UK, then a week later VUE, Light Cinemas, Omniplex and 12 independents.

Today, Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas announced their full cast and creative team. The cast will include Colin Trudell as Emmet Otter, Jordan Brownlee (Puppeteer) as Tiny Squirrel/Doc Bullfrog, Kevin Covert as Mayor Fox, LaVon Fisher-Wilson as Mrs. Mink/Hetty Muskrat, and more.

Kathleen Turner brings her much-lauded and well-reviewed autobiographical solo show to Town Hall for the holidays