McDonald News

This year, a living legend of musical theatre turns 90: Lyricist-bookwriter Tom Jones (who also, under a stage name) appeared in the original company of his most famous and wildly successful record-breaking musical, The Fantasticks. His collaborator, composer Harvey Schmidt, just recently passed away. The production's record-breaking run closed, on January 13, 2002, after 17,162 performances. Their shows also include 110 in the Shade, I Do! I Do!, Philemon, Celebration and many more. And celebration is what it's about when Broadway veterans Carole Demas, who originated the role of Sandy in Grease, and Sarah Rice, who originated the role of Johanna in Sweeney Todd, return to celebrate Jones & Schmidt. Demas and Rice have based the show on their 50 years of work and personal relationships with Tom and Harvey. With very special guest Broadway's Hal Robinson who is also a Fantasticks alumni.

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, passed away today, August 16, in her Detroit home after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, according to the Associated Press. She was 76 years old.

Stop the presses! The Titusville Playhouse, Inc. presents Disney NEWSIES, the Disney film turned Tony-winning Broadway hit that's inspiring everyone to fight for what's right and to seize the day.

Art, above all, is subjective. It can be anything and everything if artistic intent is the drive behind the creation. With that in mind, art can come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and quality. Such was the case for the touring production of Waist Watchers, The Musical at Lakewood Cultural Center. 

Today Courtney Barnett, one of the most acclaimed and exceptional artists of her generation, shares the latest fruits of her labor – a live version of “Tell Me How You Really Feel” favorite “Charity”, and a poignant and sublime cover of Elyse Weinberg's “Houses”.

Producer David Binder just announced today that Golden Globe Award Winner and Emmy Award Nominee Keri Russell will join three-time Emmy Award nominee Adam Driver in the first revival of Pulitzer Prize Winner Lanford Wilson's BURN THIS. Directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer, BURN THIS will begin performances in March 2019 at a Broadway theater to be announced.

Orion Classics has acquired all North American and Latin American rights to the upcoming drama JINN.  Written and directed by Nijla Mu'min (Dream), the film stars Zoe Renee (BET's The Quad), Simone Missick (Netflix's The Defenders), Kelvin Harrison, Jr. (Monsters and Men, Luce), Dorian Missick (Lucky Number Slevin), Hisham Tawfiq (NBC's The Blacklist) and Kelly Jenrette (Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale). JINN made its world premiere at this year's SXSW Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Award for writing. The film also won awards at the American Black Film Festival for Best Screenplay and Best Actor (Zoe Renee), the Blackstar Film Festival for Best Feature Narrative and Audience Award and at the Roxbury Film Festival for Best Narrative Feature. Orion Classics will release the drama in theaters on November 15th and on VOD and Digital HD on November 16th. 

The 2nd Annual 2018 Global Spirit Awards was hostedJuly 10-13 at Palace Station in Las Vegas.The competition featured a judges panel (https://www.globalspiritawards.com/judging/) of industry experts with extensive diverse spirits, and mixology backgrounds to determine each of the spirits' quality.

Mark your concert calendars for an extraordinary weekend at Music Mountain, America's longest running summer chamber music festival! The incomparable pianist, Peter Serkin performs Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven with four guest artists on Sunday, September 2 (3pm) as part of Music Mountain's Labor Day Benefit Concert & Reception. The weekend gets off to a celebratory start on Saturday, September 1 (6:30pm) with Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet playing the rhythm-saturated sounds of Latin jazz! Concerts are scheduled through September 23.

Hang onto your hats! Actress Judy Rosenblatt channels Peggy Guggenheim in "Woman Before a Glass", a play by Lanie Robertson, coming to Catskill's Bridge Street Theatre for three performances only August 10-12, 2018.

A year ago, Becki McDonald and Proper Hijinx Artistic Director Stefany Cambra officially met at the One Minute Play Festival, where they were both directing. Cambra had just returned to her high school alma mater as the new Oral Interp coach for the Plano Speech and Debate Team. Immediately, this formed a connection between the two directors. McDonald was also a Plano alum and they were both coached by the same set of educators that helped them build the foundation of skills they now use as professional artists in the DFW Theatre community.

Tickets to individual performances on the University Musical Society's 140th season will go on sale to the public on Monday, August 13, 2018. With appearances by internationally renowned orchestras, chamber musicians, dance groups, jazz and global music artists, and international theater ensembles, the UMS season spans the complete spectrum of the performing arts. Events will take place in Ann Arbor venues, including Hill Auditorium, the Power Center, the Michigan Theater, and Rackham Auditorium. In addition, UMS will present five high-definition theater broadcasts from the National Theatre of London and the Bolshoi Theater of Moscow, all in partnership with the Michigan Theater.

Rachel Brosnahan, Audra McDonald, Keala Settle, Capathia Jenkins, Jason Ralph, Darius de Hass, Caissie Levy, Jeff Calhoun, Molly Quinn, Sam Pinkleton, Angela Grovey, Michael McElroy, Rita Harvey, Rachel Sussman, Diana DiMenna, Michael Zegen, and over 90 more from stage and screen to sleep on the streets of New York City in solidarity with youth overcoming homelessness at Covenant House

The Battle of the Bulge - the struggle to be that perfect weight - a topic women around the world know only too well - comes to toe-tapping, hysterical life in this 90-minute musical tale, set in Cook's Women's Gym.

The Battle of the Bulge - the struggle to be that perfect weight - a topic women around the world know only too well - comes to toe-tapping, hysterical life in this 90-minute musical tale, set in Cook's Women's Gym. 

Maine State Music Theatre closes its 60th Anniversary season with the smash hit, Singin' in the Rain. This classic hit runs from August 8-25.

"Tommy and Me" was hailed as "unabashedly sentimental and sincere" by theatre critic Mark Cofta during its premiere at Theatre Exile. The play is an autobiographical account of a seminal time in Didinger's life as he assists his life-long hero, Tommy McDonald, reach the goal of being accepted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Battle of the Bulge - the struggle to be that perfect weight - a topic women around the world know only too well - comes to toe-tapping, hysterical life in this 90-minute musical tale, set in Cook's Women's Gym.

London, 1660. King Charles II has exploded onto the scene with a love of all things loud, extravagant and sexy. And at Drury Lane, a young Nell Gwynn is causing stirrings amongst the theatregoers.

Tonight at his SubCulture performance with Tony Award-winner Cynthia Erivo, composer Jason Robert Brown gave us all something to clutch our pearls about.