McDonald News

The Rehearsal has wrapped principal photography. A new pilot written and directed by Jaclyn Bethany the ensemble cast features Caitlin Carver (I Tonya, Dear White People), Adam David Thompson (Godless, Mozart in the Jungle), Tina Benko (Broadway's The Crucible, Mapplethorpe, The Greatest Showman), Rileigh McDonald (title role in Matilda on Broadway, The Sinner), Alex Hurt (Placebo, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof), Jaclyn Bethany, Shay Lee Abeson (The Tale) and James Udom (Crown Heights, The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll'd).

Directed by renowned stage director Viktoria I.V. King, the NY Premiere of Thea Musgrave's 'The Story of Harriet Tubman' Opera for Utopia Opera debuts in only 5 days at Hunter College's Ida K. Lang's Theatre.

SF Sketchfest presented by Audible announces the initial line up for the 18th annual San Francisco Comedy Festival January 10-27, 2019, featuring top comedic talent performing in venues across the city. Audiences can expect another outstanding year of programming and fun as SF Sketchfest will host major comedy stars and the best up-and-coming acts from around the world for non-stop entertainment including sketch, stand-up, alternative comedy, music, improv, films, tributes, live podcasts, storytelling, family shows, workshops, panels and more.

The Acting Company (Ian Belknap, Artistic Director; Elisa Spencer-Kaplan, Executive Director) honored director and artistic leader Bill Rauch and the married civic leaders Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and Ambassador Carl Spielvogel- individuals whose exemplary work aligns with the artistic and educational ideals of the storied repertory company that produces nationally recognized theater productions and arts education programs-at the Company's 2018 Fall Gala, on November 12. Held at the historic Metropolitan Club (One East 60th Street), the event raised nearly $400,000 and brought together awards, live entertainment, silent and live auctions, dinner, and cocktails in celebration of theater and its contribution to American society. Tony Award-winner and The Acting Company alumna Harriet Harris hosted, with performances by Joanna A. Jones (Hamilton) and Tatiana Wechsler, featuring Russ Kaplan's Broadway Jazz. 

The American Theatre Wing announced today that, due to popular demand, their centennial book, American Theatre Wing, an Oral History: 100 Years, 100 Voices, 100 Million Miracles (Graphic Arts Books; edited by Patrick Pacheco), will receive a second printing. Copies of the book are now available at all major retailers.

The Nutcracker is a holiday season tradition for countless young dancers whose annual turn in the Christmas fantasy marks a celebrated rite of passage. The chance to take part in the enchanting production, full of pageantry and splendor, engages the starry-eyed child dancer, while more advanced ballerinas relish opportunities to be cast in progressively more challenging roles.

To celebrate 10 years of musical theatre at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University (A.R.T.) BroadwayWorld is counting down to their production of ExtraOrdinary, a show highlighting productions of the past decade - including those which made it all the way to Broadway, with never-before-seen photos, videos, and more!

Short on financial resources but long on ambition, Utopia Opera started its eighth season last weekend with a New York premiere: Thea Musgrave's THE STORY OF HARRIET TUBMAN. It's a 90-minute chamber version, orchestrated by composer Julian Grant, of Musgrave's full-length, two-act HARRIET, THE WOMAN CALLED MOSES, which debuted in 1985 at the Virginia Opera, with some fervent portrayals by its cast of about two dozen, including the stellar soprano MaKayla McDonald as Harriet and mezzo Karmesha Peake as her mother, Rit.

Pittsburgh CLO is proud to announce casting for the 27th annual production of A MUSICAL CHRISTMAS CAROL, December 7-23 at the Byham Theater. This year's production will feature lavish costumes and thrilling effects made possible by the support received from the Next Generation Capital Campaign. TV veteran and Broadway star Richard Thomas makes his Pittsburgh CLO debut leading the cast as Ebenezer Scrooge. Tickets are now available by calling 412-456-6666, online at pittsburghCLO.org or at the Theater Square Box Office.

As the famous song from the musical Rent assures us, there are 525,600 minutes in a year and Darlington Hippodrome has filled each and every one of those minutes in the last year amassing several large numbers of its own since the venue re-opened after an 18 month restoration project.

This December, Tony Award-winning actress Sutton Foster and renowned actor Hugh Bonneville, of 'Downton Abbey' on MASTERPIECE, will star as guest musical artist and narrator, respectively, in the beloved annual holiday television special 'Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir' on PBS and BYUtv. A 60-minute version of the program returns for the 15th consecutive year when it premieres at 9 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 17 (check local listings) on PBS stations. The special has been the top-viewed holiday program on PBS nearly every year for the past 14 years[1]. BYUtv, a nationwide family entertainment network that produces the broadcast and co-presents it to millions of viewers worldwide alongside WGBH, will air the full 90-minute version at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 20.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica presents Amy Keys, on Friday, December 7 at 8:00pm. Amy Keys is the fourth evening of blackbox @ the edye, which transforms The Edye into a club featuring up-and-coming jazz and blues artists.  The series is curated and hosted by The Reverend Shawn Amos; he and his house band perform at select shows during the season as well.   

Legendary jazz harpist-pianist-singer Corky Hale, who has performed with some of the greatest stars in music history, as well as been a pioneering social activist, is publishing a new biography this month, 'Corky Hale Uncorked,' written by Jerry Leichtling and Arlene Sarner. 

Producer Mark Cortale has announced that his  acclaimed Broadway @ NOCCA concert series will present Christine Ebersole, two-time Tony Award-winner for Grey Gardens and 42nd Street and star of Oscar-winning films such as Amadeus and Tootsie, on Saturday, December 15 at 8:00 PM

The Hollywood Bowl, one of the leading outdoor music venues in the world, managed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, was honored as Top Amphitheater at the Billboard Live Music Awards, on Tuesday night at the Montage Beverly Hills. The Billboard Live Music Awards honor the top tours, festivals, venues, executives, and touring artists in music. This distinction marks the second consecutive Billboard Live Music Award for the iconic venue.

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: City Center holds its gala performance of A Chorus Line, and more!

As part of the string quartet's 20th anniversary season, ETHEL returns to BAM with Circus: Wandering City, a multimedia musical journey into the history of the iconic Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that explores and honors the complex relationship between circus troupes, their performers, and the audiences they inspired. 

Darren Lee Cole, producing director of the not-for-profit, SoHo Playhouse (15 Van Dam Street) is proud to announce this year's selections for this year's Fringe Encore Series, featuring the "Best of the Fests" from around the globe. This year's selections come from Fringe Festivals at Brighton, Edinburgh, Hollywood, Limerick, Orlando, Toronto and New York (to be announced soon) and will take place between November 6 - December 16, 2018. Tickets are $39/$25 and can be purchased by visiting www.fringeencores.org.

Arkansas Repertory Theatre, the state's largest nonprofit professional theatre, is proud to announce its 2019 'Rebuild the Rep' Season. Beginning in February, the new season marks the return of The Rep after productions were suspended in April because of funding shortages.

GRAMMY-winning band THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS are announcing a new live album, Live From Telluride, out this Friday, November 16 on all digital retailers and platforms. The 20-track release features a wide-ranging set spanning the band's 12-year career with tracks from their eight previous studio albums, including 2017's Laws Of Gravity, which won a GRAMMY for 'Best Bluegrass Album,' and a few covers which THE STRINGDUSTERS have been known to incorporate into their live set. Jambase exclusively premiered the band's version of The Grateful Dead's 'Tennessee Jed'; check it out HERE.