McDonald News

It's the last week to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Las Vegas Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

The Groundlings, directly segueing from their sold-out GROUNDLINGS HOLIDAY SHOW, will be working hard this New Year's Eve providing a special night of complete improvisations with GROUNDLINGS NEW YEAR'S EVE SPECTACULAR! SPECTACULAR!'s director David Jahn, a Groundlings alumnus, took a few moments out of his busy holiday schedule to answer my inquisitive questions.

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre is kicking off the New Year with a rare four-week run of the sunny and funny musical that took Broadway by storm: Mamma Mia!

Rubicon Theatre Company has announced what is expected to be the biggest and most extraordinary Kids for Kids Benefit Concert in the company's history for Saturday, December 29 at 7:00 p.m. at the theatre, located at 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District. More than 70 young people will be performing onstage or via video in an entertaining musical variety show that raises funds for scholarships for next summer's education and outreach participants. 

Sundance Institute adds five feature films and a Special Event to the 2019 Sundance Film Festival's robust slate of independent work today, alongside announcing the winner of the 2019 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, seven Day One films and the Closing Night Film. The Festival will take place in Park City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort January 24-February 4, 2019. 

Che bello! Theater RED proudly announces a new addition to the company! Eric Welch joins Theater RED as Artistic Associate following his collaboration with the company in June of 2018 for the Wisconsin premiere of I'LL EAT YOU LAST: A CHAT WITH SUE MENGERS. Eric Welch directed this one-woman comedic romp as a co-production with his theater company, Untitled Productions.

Producer Mark Cortale has announced that his internationally acclaimed Broadway @ concert series, hosted and music directed by Sirius XM Radio star Seth Rudetsky, will return to the Broward Center's Parker Playhouse with four of Broadway's hottest stars in early 2019.

Forrest Lucas, founder and owner of Lucas Oil Products, Inc., MAVTV, Lucas Oil Speedway, and the naming rights to the Indianapolis Colts' Stadium, “Lucas Oil Stadium”, and Ali Afshar, the record-setting professional racecar driver, turned actor, turned movie producer (and now all three at once), have set their sights on the theatrical film distribution business and will begin releasing movies in 2019 under the Forrest Films banner.

California duo Hippie Sabotage has unveiled their official remix of G-Eazy's “Leviathan” featuring vocalist Sam Martin. The release is part of a remix package marking the one-year anniversary of the Oakland rapper's acclaimed album The Beautiful & Damned. 

GRAMMY® winners Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood; and past GRAMMY nominees Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry will join the performance lineup at the 2019 MusiCares® Person of the Year tribute concert honoring Dolly Parton on Feb. 8. Previously announced performers include Leon Bridges, Lauren Daigle, Vince Gill, Don Henley, Norah Jones, Shawn Mendes, Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson, Linda Perry, P!nk, Mark Ronson, Mavis Staples, and Chris Stapleton. GRAMMY winner Dolly Parton will close the evening's performances. Greg Phillinganes will be the musical director. More guest performers will be announced shortly.

After a sold out run last fall, the recent revival of The Diary of Anne Frank, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman ('97 Broadway version) will return for a limited engagement previewing January 11, 2019.

Bon soir! Bon soir! You have arrived at La Cage Aux Folles!

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Las Vegas Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Louisville Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld New Jersey Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

The spectacle is a hunger-inducing delight for the eyes.

Two of the three remaining Certified Guitar Players (an honor bestowed by Chet Atkins)--TOMMY EMMANUEL and JOHN KNOWLES--teamed withParade.com yesterday (12/13) to premiere their rendition of The Bee Gees hit'How Deep Is Your Love' from their upcoming collaborative instrumental album, HEART SONGS. Due Friday, January 11 via CGP Sounds/Thirty Tigers, the new full-length album spotlights the players' proficient ability to capture and radiate emotion through their instruments with special arrangements of 'Cold, Cold Heart,' the album's lead-off single written byHank Williams; 'Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)' written by Billy Joel; and'I Can Let Go Now' written by Michael McDonald, among other songs.

The critically acclaimed conversation series Speakeasy will return for a fourth season in select cities beginning January 7th and on the WORLD channel at 7:00 pm on Sunday, January 13th, check local listings for additional times. The six episodes will feature an all new group of iconic artists, Grammy Award winners, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, and beloved musicians engaging in intimate conversations between friends.  Each episode gives fans an inside look into some never before told stories from some of the world's most prolific performers including Sting, Shaggy, Joe Elliott, Lenny Kravitz, members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Michael McDonald, and Billy Gibbons.  Full episodes will also be available at www.speakeasytalks.com.

Isabel Leonard and Jessica Vosk sing "A Boy Like That/I Have A Love" from "West Side Story" also performed by Tony Yazbeck and other Broadway artists on Great Performances: The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood. Watch the performance below!