McDonald News

MasterVoices - dedicated to the art of musical storytelling and the celebration of the human voice - presents a free performance of a new version of the dramatic oratorio Naamah's Ark by composer Marisa Michelson and librettist Royce Vavrek, on Sunday, June 17 at 7:00 p.m. at Rockefeller Park. The event is produced in collaboration with the River To River Festival, presented by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), and Battery Park City Authority.

Emmy and Peabody Award-winning host Stephen Colbert of CBS's THE LATE SHOW will join CBS MORNING SHOW co-host John Dickersonand an all-star cast of Broadway royalty on the stage of the Rose Theatre at Jazz at Lincoln Center on June 18, 2018, as the international youth charity Covenant House presents its Beacon of Hope Award to Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winner Audra McDonald, and honors long-time supporters, Broadway veteran Capathia Jenkins and Take-Two Interactive, at the 2018 A Night of Broadway Stars gala concert.

This summer, two new musicals will arrive at the DR2 Theatre (103 E 15th St, New York, NY), playing performances on an ongoing rotating schedule.

The 2018 Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF) is proud to announce that it is hosting a selection of short documentaries from The New York Times' Times Documentaries co-presented with a mix of BFF's animated and experimental films for the opening night program of the festival's 21st edition: THRESHOLD. The event will take place on Friday, June 1st at Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the BFF and the Times Documentaries filmmakers, and will be moderated by Brooklyn Film Festival Executive Director Marco Ursino. For tickets and festival information, visit:

Bucks County Playhouse audiences will have the opportunity to revisit one of America's most storied musicals when it presents a world-premiere concert adaptation of Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern's legendary musical, "Show Boat," Saturday, June 23 at 7 p.m.

It was announced today by The Theatre World Awards Board of Directors (Dale Badway, President), and The Dorothy Loudon Foundation (Lionel Larner, Executive Director), Ben Edelman (Admissions) will be honored with the 10th Annual Dorothy Loudon Award at the 74TH Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony on the set of the TONY Nominated Broadway Revival of Once on This Island on Monday afternoon, June 4, 2018 beginning at 2:00 p.m at Circle in the Square

Singing a song from the Broadway musical Hamilton that helped make him a star, Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom Jr. told graduates to live a life of intention as he spoke at Kean University's Nathan Weiss Graduate College Commencement on Tuesday, May 15, at New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. 

Playing On Air announced today the names of the three celebrity guests joining sponsor Josie Merck on the jury for their inaugural James Stevenson Prize, which will award three monetary prizes for new short comedic plays that honor and perpetuate the spirit and wit of Mr. Stevenson.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) will present the world premiere of GOOD FAITH: Four Chats about Race and the New Haven Fire Department, a new play by Karen Hartman, directed by Kenny Leon, February 1-23, 2019.

Award-winning songwriters will convene on Capitol Hill tomorrow, May 17, to meet with elected officials as part of the annual American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers' (ASCAP) 'Stand with Songwriters' Advocacy Day. They will ask senators to cosponsor the Music Modernization Act, the bipartisan music reform bill that passed unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 25 and was recently reintroduced in the Senate.

Center Stage Jackson is finishing its 2017-18 Season with The Drowsy Chaperone, Music & Lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. This Main Stage musical will run June 8, 9, 16, and 17 at 7:30pm, with Sunday matinees June 10 and 18 at 3:00pm. All performances are on the stage of the Baughman Theatre at Jackson College's Potter Center, 2111 Emmons Rd. Jackson, MI 49201.

New Dramatists, Tony® Honor recipient and the nation's premier playwright development laboratory, just honored Tony®and Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington at its 69th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute. Washington, currently starring on Broadway in The Iceman Cometh, directed by George C. Wolfe, received New Dramatists' 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award. Tributes to Mr. Washington and performances were presented by three-time Grammy Award-winner Branford Marsalis with bassist Noah Jackson, Tony®Award-winners George C. Wolfe and Stephen McKinley Henderson, Constanza Romero (August Wilson Estate), and Pulitzer Prize finalist and New Dramatists resident playwright Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity).

Lo scorso Primo Maggio Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton) e Katharine McPhee (Waitress) hanno annunciato le nominations dei Tony Awards 2018 che, anche quest'anno, si terranno al Radio City Music Hall di New York il 10 Giugno. I premi saranno presentati da Josh Groban (The Great Comet) e Sara Bareilles (Waitress, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert) entrambi nominati nelle scorse edizioni e che per la prima volta saliranno sul palco come presentatori.

On Wednesday, May 16, The ASCAP Foundation and The Library of Congress will jointly present the 10th annual “We Write the Songs” event at the historic Coolidge Auditorium in The Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The evening celebrates the gift by The ASCAP Foundation to the Library of Congress of the original manuscripts, lead sheets, lyrics sheets, photos and letters of some of America's greatest creators of words and music.

Music Theatre International (Europe), one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, is proud to announce the second annual Junior Theatre Celebration (JTC), to be held at Leicester Curve on Sunday, 3 June. The event provides an opportunity for young students to celebrate their love of musicals and experience the transformative power of theatre.

Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly announces the three top-placing high school jazz bands in the nation that took the highest honors tonight at the prestigious 23rd Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The Broadway Education Alliance just announced that The Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance will be held on Saturday, May 19 at Pearl Studios in Manhattan. This program is open to high schools located in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, Orange and Rockland Counties, and Westchester. To be eligible, high schools must present an officially licensed production of a Broadway musical during the 2017- 2018 academic year. The Roger Rees Awards has accepted 29 schools, whose students will compete for the title of Best Actor and Best Actress. Winners of the Roger Rees Award will represent the Greater New York region at The Broadway League Foundation's Jimmy® Awards (also known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards) in June.

The Howard Hughes Corporation (NYSE: HHC), in partnership with exclusive booking partner Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: LYV) announced today the full artist lineup for the inaugural Pier 17 Rooftop Concert Series in the Seaport District. In conjunction with previously announced headliners, Amy Schumer and Kings of Leon, the full lineup features a diverse roster of A-list talent from various genres, including musical icons Diana Ross and Gladys Knight; TIME 100 Honoree, comedian and host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah; EDM artist deadmau5; pop star Bebe Rexha; emerging country artist, Hunter Hayes; legendary singer-songwriter Paul Anka and many more. The Rooftop Concert Series will introduce residents and tourists alike to the first-of-its-kind Pier 17 venue, which has New York City as its backdrop surrounded by the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and One World Trade.

New Dramatists, Tony® Honor recipient and the nation's premier playwright development laboratory, will honor Tony®and Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington at its 69th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute. Washington, currently starring on Broadway in The Iceman Cometh, directed by George C. Wolfe,will receive New Dramatists' 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award on Tuesday, May 15 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Tributes to Mr. Washington and performances will be presented by three-time Grammy Award-winner Branford Marsalis with bassist Noah Jackson, Tony®Award-winners George C. Wolfe and Stephen McKinley Henderson, Constanza Romero (August Wilson Estate), and Pulitzer Prize finalist and New Dramatists resident playwright Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity).

New Adventures is delighted to announce six international tour dates for Matthew Bourne's "CINDERELLA" spanning China, Japan and America. The tour opens at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre on Tuesday 7 August 2018 before travelling to Shanghai; Tokyo; Charlotte and Washington, finishing with a five-week season in Los Angeles in March 2019. Full tour schedule below.