Michael Davis News

'[Thank you] to an incredible cast of British and American actors who make the Atlantic look like a little creek you can just kind of pop across,' said Dame Helen Mirren upon receiving her 2015 Tony Award. The stage and screen star reprised her critically-acclaimed performance in THE AUDIENCE after a West End run in 2013, and she was just one of many to 'pop across' an ocean for a stab at Broadway.  An unprecedented amount of British talent took over Broadway last year, bringing us such productions as THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, WOLF HALL: PARTS 1 & 2, and SKYLIGHT.   It doesn't seem like the trend is ending anytime soon. This fall, Broadway will welcome a slew of British actors- some of whom will be making their US stage debuts in incoming productions. And it's not just performers. We're getting some complete British imports in shows like A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE and KING CHARLES III. Below, we're taking a moment to shine a spotlight on this season's British imports.

On the next episode of The CW's THE ORIGINALS titled 'I'll See You in Hell or New Orleans' - With tension running as high as ever, Klaus and Elijah are forced to come together in order to uncover Lucien's true motives in New Orleans.

According to a recent Deadline exclusive, three new cast members have joined the indie drama THE SCENT OF RAIN AND LIGHTNING -- Maika Monroe, Maggie Grace and Brad Carter.

Good luck keeping your popsicles and ice cream from melting with the amount of heat that Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) is bringing to Comic-Con International: San Diego.

Below, check out photos from SU Drama's production of AVENUE Q.

Below, BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at Syracuse Stage's production of OTHER DESERT CITIES.

Hypocrites, beware! Such is the matter of this profound and intriguing late comedy by Shakespeare. When Duke Vincentio of Vienna inexplicably hands over power to Lord Angelo, a man of self-professed puritanism, he lays a trap that ensnares the falsely virtuous and rewards the just and true. Like most Shakespearean comedies, the course to the truth is neither smooth nor easy, but it is filled with engaging characters and extraordinary events, and even concludes with multiple marriages-however unlikely that may sometimes seem.

Heartbeat Opera is a new company intent upon re-imagining opera in intimate spaces for a new generation. Employing a minimalism that allows the emotional integrity of the music to shine through, the company's work focuses on the body of the singer and the visceral power of the music. Co-Artistic Directors Louisa Proske and Ethan Heard, who trained together in the Directing program at the Yale School of Drama, are committed to nurturing the actor in every singer they work with. The company creates productions of classics and new pieces that are daring and visceral—productions that manifest the emotional grandeur and theatrical power of opera with minimal means. Heartbeat's one-act festival presentation of György Kurtág's Kafka-Fragments, directed by Heard, and the New York premiere of Jacques Offenbach's Daphnis & Chloé, in a new English translation directed by Proske, marks this young company's debut. Heartbeat Opera's resident music ensemble Cantata Profana, described by The New York Times as “a stylish early music ensemble,” will provide musical accompaniment.

Oh! Gunquit is a London-based 'rumble-bop trash blitz freak-a-billy' five-piece that formed in 2011 after neighbours Tina Swasey and Simon Wild met each other while frequenting a North London vinyl-only sweaty cellar club DJ night.

Heartbeat Opera is a new company intent upon re-imagining opera in intimate spaces for a new generation. Employing a minimalism that allows the emotional integrity of the music to shine through, the company's work focuses on the body of the singer and the visceral power of the music. Co-Artistic Directors Louisa Proske and Ethan Heard, who trained together in the Directing program at the Yale School of Drama, are committed to nurturing the actor in every singer they work with. The company creates productions of classics and new pieces that are daring and visceral—productions that manifest the emotional grandeur and theatrical power of opera with minimal means. Heartbeat's one-act festival presentation of György Kurtág's Kafka-Fragments, directed by Heard, and the New York premiere of Jacques Offenbach's Daphnis & Chloé, in a new English translation directed by Proske, marks this young company's debut. Heartbeat Opera's resident music ensemble Cantata Profana, described by The New York Times as “a stylish early music ensemble,” will provide musical accompaniment.

In "Episode Two" of the new ABC drama AMERICAN CRIME, thirty-six hours have passed and reality is starting to sink in for all sides.

Pete McGuinness, established NYC-based jazz trombonist, GRAMMY-nominated composer/arranger, award-winning jazz vocalist, and longtime jazz educator is slated to perform at Millersville University twice. Catch Pete McGuinness performing with the students of the MU Jazz Ensemble tonight, February 20 at 7:30 pm at the Winter Center on Millersville University's campus as part of 'Jazz at the Ville'. The Winter Center is located at 60 West Cottage Ave, Millersville.

Playwright Terrence McNally excels at making wild and witty comedy out of very serious and thoughtful matters. In this 1991 off-Broadway triumph, two couples grapple with the mundane (burgers and kites) and the momentous (illness and infidelity) as they try (very hard) to celebrate the Fourth of July at a beach house. Lips Together, Teeth Apart includes a touch of Chekhov with the sly wickedness of McNally. Presented by the Department of Drama in Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts (SU Drama), Lips Together, Teeth Apart performs February 20 through March 1 in the Storch Theater at the Syracuse Stage/Drama Complex, 820 East Genesee Street. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Heartbeat Opera is a new company intent upon re-imagining opera in intimate spaces for a new generation. Employing a minimalism that allows the emotional integrity of the music to shine through, the company's work focuses on the body of the singer and the visceral power of the music.

Heartbeat Opera is a new company intent upon re-imagining opera in intimate spaces for a new generation. Employing a minimalism that allows the emotional integrity of the music to shine through, the company's work focuses on the body of the singer and the visceral power of the music. Co-Artistic Directors Louisa Proske andEthan Heard, who trained together in the Directing program at the Yale School of Drama, are committed to nurturing the actor in every singer they work with. The company creates productions of classics and new pieces that are daring and visceral—productions that manifest the emotional grandeur and theatrical power of opera with minimal means. Heartbeat's one-act festival presentation of György Kurtág's Kafka-Fragments, directed by Heard, and the New York premiere of Jacques Offenbach's Daphnis & Chloé, in a new English translation directed by Proske, marks this young company's debut. Heartbeat Opera's resident music ensemble Cantata Profana, described by The New York Times as “a stylish early music ensemble,” will provide musical accompaniment.

Tonight, February 12, 2015 at 8pm, Concerts on the Slope will present Composer-in-Residence Robert Sirota's Triptych at St. John's Episcopal Church in Park Slope (139 St. John's Place).

Pete McGuinness, established NYC-based jazz trombonist, GRAMMY-nominated composer/arranger, award-winning jazz vocalist, and longtime jazz educator is slated to perform at Millersville University twice. Catch Pete McGuinness performing with the students of the MU Jazz Ensemble on Friday, February 20 at 7:30 pm at the Winter Center on Millersville University's campus as part of 'Jazz at the Ville'. Then, the following evening, Saturday, February 21 at 7:30 pm, Pete McGuinness returns, this time at the Ware Center and accompanied by the Steve Rudolph Trio, for an unforgettable Jazz in the Sky performance with in the Owen Salon, renamed this season in honor of Harvey Owen who retired as the Director of the Ware Center this past July.

In the Next Room, or the vibrator play is a fresh and funny new play about love, intimacy, and marriage. It's the 1880s and electricity is all the rage. In a quiet home office, a doctor experiments with a new instrument for treating 'hysteria.' The device? A vibrator. In this genuinely touching, original, and wickedly funny play, playwright Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House) explores relationships and sexual fulfillment while managing to stay discreetly beneath the crisp white sheets of Victorian propriety.

The Seattle Rep continues their long standing relationship with the works of one of America's greatest playwrights with their current production of August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson". As usual the show comes alive with a rich and stirring history only made more poignant through the stunning direction and performances.

Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre's 2015 Season has an odd start as it opens with Neil Simon's classic comedy The Odd Couple. On stage starting tonight, Dec. 27, this four-time Tony Award winning show is ready to liven up winter with plenty of laughs.