McDonald News

ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY (ETC) presents the second show of its 2019-20 Season, the can't-miss, holiday event of the season, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY, adapted by Joe Landry, from the screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra & Jo Swerling and directed by ETC's Director of Education and Outreach, Brian McDonald. It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play begins previews on Thursday, December 5, opens on Saturday, December 7 at 8:00pm, and runs through Sunday, December 22, 2019 at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara.

On Site Opera, an organization dedicated to presenting site-specific opera productions in non-traditional venues throughout New York City, will present the return of Gian Carlo Menotti's perennial one act opera Amahl and the Night Visitors at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen December 4-8, following its critically acclaimed run in 2018. 

We're getting an exclusive look behind the scenes at at the new musical Between the Lines, which is set to begin performances at Off-Broadway's Tony Kiser Theater at Second Stage this April! Check out the video to see the show's songwriting team, Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson, giving us a look at what the show is all about and what audiences can expect!

If you have ever taken a piano lesson or tried to learn any kind of instrument, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's '2 Pianos, 4 Hands' will bring back all the nostalgia of those hours spent begrudgingly practicing and praying that you'll magically know how to play those certain cords if you stare at the instrument long enough. Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt's autobiographical play follows their journey with classical piano from their very first piano lessons to their duet concert performance, and everything in between.

Charly Evon Simpson was the recipient of the 2019-20 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award. She was presented with the award at The Vineyard's annual Emerging Artists Luncheon on Monday, November 25 at the National Arts Club.

Voting is NOW OPEN and the first votes are in for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Berkshires Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The nominees are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatres and performers are recognized!

Voting is NOW OPEN and the first votes are in for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Boston Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The nominees are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatres and performers are recognized!

Voting is NOW OPEN and the first votes are in for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Dallas Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The nominees are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatres and performers are recognized!

Voting is NOW OPEN and the first votes are in for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Denver Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The nominees are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatres and performers are recognized!

Voting is NOW OPEN and the first votes are in for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Norway Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The nominees are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatres and performers are recognized!

Voting is NOW OPEN and the first votes are in for the 2019 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The nominees are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatres and performers are recognized!

The Doobie Brothers have announced 23 additional dates for THE DOOBIE BROTHERS 50thANNIVERSARY TOUR. The dates were added in response to overwhelming fan excitement following the band's surprise announcement at Ryman Auditorium on November 18th that MICHAEL MCDONALD will be joining the group on a North American tour.  Four-time GRAMMY Award winners and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees TOM JOHNSTON, MICHAEL MCDONALD, PAT SIMMONS and JOHN MCFEE will be touring together for the first time in nearly 25 years. 

Booking is now open for TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's award-winning Oskar tour, travelling to Bay Area schools in Spring 2020. Developed in an effort to help today's K-5 students develop the resiliency and coping strategies needed to deal with bullying at school, and to increase sensitivity and discussing gender stereotypes, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's Education program will present the West Coast Premiere of Oskar and the Big Bully Battle, Part 2 as well as Oskar and the Countless Costume Changes, written by award-winning playwrights Prince Gomolvilas and Matt Ackels. The Oskar tour runs March 2 - April 10, 2020, and will travel to schools in the South Bay, Peninsula, East Bay, Marin, and San Francisco. To contact TheatreWorks Education about scheduling an assembly, schools may email education@theatreworks.org or call 650-463-7146.  

SF Sketchfest announces the initial line up for the 19th annual San Francisco Comedy Festival taking place January 9-26, 2020, featuring top comedic talent performing in venues across the city. SF Sketchfest offers fans the rare opportunity to see their favorite performers in intimate live performances, discussions and immersive comedy experiences.

Hit songwriter and country singer Lance Carpenter, co-writer of Kelsea Ballerini's hit “Love Me Like You Mean It,” is joining forces with Lonestar's Richie McDonald on the emotionally charged ballad “Last Night In Memphis.” The single, available now, celebrates the story of a child who is spending their last night in Memphis because they have won their battle with cancer.  The tune written by the guys is the encouragement so many struggling people need this holiday season. 

The Broadway musical is finally coming to Oslo and on September 16, 2020, it is ready for Norwegian premiere at Chateau Neuf! The true story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. It will star Atle Pettersen, Nicolay Ramm, Mathias Luppichini and Sindre Postholm. The production will be directed by Tore Sergei Myklebust and choreographed by Kirsty McDonald (Flashdance - The Musical). Hans Einar Apelland will serve as Musical Director and stage design and costumes by Takis.

The Watermill Theatre has announced the casting for the London transfer to Wilton's Music Hall of its highly acclaimed productions of Shakespeare's Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Watermill Ensemble's productions will run from late January to mid-February 2020 and come hot on the heels of their successful Autumn tour of the UK. The run follows the company's production of Twelfth Night which was staged at Wilton's in 2018. It also marks the third London transfer by the Newbury theatre in two months, with Amélie The Musical opening at The Other Palace on November 29th and One Million Tiny Plays About Britain opening at Jermyn Street Theatre on December 4th.

Broadway's Grace Field (Most Recently: Original Cast of Hercules at the Public Theatre), is launching her first US solo concert tour this weekend starting the weekend of November 22nd.

Producer Mark Cortale's Broadway concert series, hosted and music directed by Sirius XM radio star Seth Rudetsky, will return to San Francisco for the 2020 season at the Herbst Theatre in the iconic San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center. Kicking off the series this season will be Jeremy Jordan, Tony Award nominee for Newsies and heart throb star of The CW's Supergirl and Netflix' American Son, on Sunday, January 19, 2020 at 5 PM.

BroadwayCon has unveiled a first look at its programming schedule for BroadwayCon 2020. The BroadwayCon 2020 schedule features three days packed with events curated with Broadway's biggest fans, performers, and creators in mind. BroadwayCon celebrates its fifth year in 2020, returning to the New York Hilton Midtown on Friday, January 24 through Sunday, January 26. Tickets are on sale now at BroadwayCon.com/register.