McDonald News

Maine State Music Theatre steps back in time for its second show of the season, Disney's Beauty and the Beast. This revered fairytale runs from June 27 - July 14. Due to popular demand, the theatre has added performances on July 7 and July 14 at 2 PM.

If you didn't find a performance to attend in the first part of this series--or you simply can't get enough operas, symphonic concerts and musical theatre pieces thrown in for good measure--here's more to choose from. It covers the gamut from the Mozart REQUIEM to Bernstein, Bernstein and more Bernstein.

“I Want To Know What Love Is.” “Cold As Ice.” “Hot Blooded.” “Juke Box Hero.” FOREIGNER, the band behind these classic and iconic songs, recently kicked off their 29-city “Juke Box Heroes“ tour as they rock  across the US with one of the hottest Live Nation tours of the summer. Last night in Syracuse, New York, history was made after FOREIGNER  – Mick Jones (lead guitar), Kelly Hansen (lead vocals), Tom Gimbel (rhythm guitar, sax, vocals), Jeff Pilson (bass, vocals), Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar) and Chris Frazier (drums) – played the latest stop on their “Juke Box Heroes” tour.

Bridget Adams-King is currently taking the stage as Lucy Parsons in Underscore Theatre Company's and The Den Theatre's HAYMARKET. She took some time to reflect on her Chicago theater experiences with 10 On Tuesday.

How We React and How We Recover, the new album from three-time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown, will be released by Ghostlight Records this month. His first solo recording in over a decade is a politically-charged, far-reaching rumination on love, family and music. The album will be available in digital and streaming formats on Friday, June 29, with a physical CD planned for later this year. The release will coincide with New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center production of Brown's landmark New York debut show Songs for a New World, which runs from June 27-30.

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: Girls and Boys, starring Carey Mulligan, opens tonight off-Broadway, and more!

Mark Cortale, Producing Artistic Director of Provincetown's internationally known Art House theater, has announced that he has begun to search for a new summer location for 2019. Cortale learned last week that the twin 120-seat theaters at The Art House will be gutted by the property owner after the current summer season due to restaurant expansion plans. The news comes on the heels of seven consecutive seasons of remarkable success; thriving outposts of its famed 'Broadway @' music series in major venues across the country and abroad; and the recent announcement of its largest lineup of Broadway, comedy and music stars yet for its P-Town home.

Before a sellout crowd of over 1,000 at the Rose Hall Jazz at Lincoln Center, Covenant House honored Broadway stars Audra McDonald and Capathia Jenkins for their commitment to the young people at Covenant House at A Night of Broadway Stars that raised over $2 million to help end youth homelessness.

It's an energetic good time featuring some of our area's finest young talent.

MSMT's all-singing, all-dancing tribute to Irving Berlin, I Love a Piano, blew the Pickard Theater audience away at two Monday performances with its steady stream of classic hit tunes, its high energy choreography, and the dazzling virtuosity of its youthful cast. This was an afternoon and evening to sit back and revel in the rich history of American popular music and to celebrate a composer whose work provided the soundtrack for the American experience for almost seventy years. It is exciting to watch MSMT's cast of young professionals perform this material with so much connection and commitment. Though this is the music of past generations, the eleven-person ensemble of remarkable triple threat actors brings it vibrantly to life for a contemporary audience, affirming the truism that longevity is what makes great music.

 Craig Ferguson has announced the HOBO FABULOUS TOUR which will take the Grammy® nominated, Emmy® and Peabody® award winning comedian to 45+ shows across the USA and Canada. 

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: Pass Over officially opens tonight, the cast of Bandstand reunited ahead of the show's film release, and more!

Tom Wright's stage adaptation of Peter Carey's Miles Franklin Award winning novel BLISS struggles to find a place in the 21st century.

Broadway's Rob Bartlett, star of 'How to Succeed', 'The Odd Couple', Little Shop of Horrors,' and 'Chicago: The Musical' Is Now On the Internet in The Rob Bartlett Radio Comedy Hour.

Head Over Heels, the fifth studio LP from Montreal funk legends Chromeo, is out today onBig Beat/Atlantic Records. Get the album, including “Must've Been” featuring DRAM, “Don't Sleep” feat. French Montana & Stefflon Don, “Bedroom Calling” feat. The-Dream, “Juice” and more here.

'Shirley Valentine' is a captivating tale of a 'woman of a certain age' who finds herself reclaiming the wonderlust of her former self. Dolores Haddock flawlessly goes in and out of multiple characters in extended monologues with an effortless, natural presence. Hydock skills as a master storyteller add a striking level of relatability and honesty in the performance.

Unlike the other the major characters in Travesties, the real Henry Carr holds little claim to fame. Stoppard learned about Carr and became intrigued by a real-life incident mentioned in a biography of James Joyce. In Zurich during World War I, Joyce worked with an English theatre to produce Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Joyce cast a mix of professionals and amateurs, including Henry Carr, an Englishman living in exile, as the lead role of Algernon. Apparently, Carr gave an enthusiastic performance, but afterwards, a small financial dispute with Joyce escalated into dueling lawsuits. Carr sued Joyce for reimbursement on clothes he bought as his costume; Joyce counter-sued Carr for money owed on five tickets. Carr lost his case and was further punished by Joyce when he named an unlikeable character in Ulysses after Carr. Stoppard knew little more about the real Henry Carr while writing Travesties; however, after its 1974 London premiere, a surprise letter from Carr's widow provided more details of the real man's life.

NEUROSIS, a new musical with a book by Allan Rice, music by Ben Green, and lyrics by Greg Edwards, has announced casting for its New York City premiere.