Michael Sullivan News

WaterTower Theatre today announced the cast for the new musical Dogfight, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, book by Peter Duchan, running July 25 - August 17, 2014 at the Addison Theatre Centre. The ensemble cast stars Zak Reynolds at Eddie Birdlace; Juliette Talley as Rose Fenny; Kyle Igneczi as Boland; Matt Ransdell, Jr. as Bernstein; Beth Albright as Marcy/Ensemble; Branden Loera as Fector/Ensemble; Matthew Silar as Gibbs/Ensemble; Joseph Burnam as Stevens/Ensemble; Stephanie Riggs as Mama/Ensemble; Aubrey Ferguson as Ruth Two Bears/Ensemble and Steve Barcus as the Lounge Singer/Ensemble.

It's been a couple of years since playwright Deanna Jent's FALLING debuted here in St. Louis, and since then it's been published, and gone on to receive rave reviews on both coasts. FALLING's impact has been a wonderful thing to witness from afar, and so it's especially nice that we get the opportunity to revisit the play in Mustard Seed Theatre's current production. This was challenging and rewarding must-see theatre when I reviewed it in 2011, and I can assure you that my opinion is even stronger. This is a powerful piece that raises a number of important questions.

Writer Arthur Miller's THE PRICE is a powerful and engaging work that uses a simple set up to discuss the "price" everyone pays for the decisions they make in life. Each choice we make makes an impact on those around us, often deeper than we're aware of. Though emotionally charged and dramatic, this is also a play that is quite funny at times. The current production by The New Jewish Theatre crackles with the kind of bristling energy we've come to associate with Miller's work, and with exceptional theatre. The Price is definitely worth checking out.

Playwright Matthew Lopez's THE WHIPPING MAN is a genuinely intriguing look at religion and the aftereffects of emancipation that is set in the days following the end of the Civil War. It examines a subject unfamiliar to most, and that's the fact that there were slaves on plantations that were raised in the Jewish faith. Informative and powerful, it's been given a wonderful staging by the New Jewish Theatre.

WebAssign, the leading provider of online instructional tools for faculty and students, announced today the addition of two new mathematics titles to its extensive content collection. Calculus, First Edition by Michael Sullivan and Kathleen Miranda and The Basic Practice of Statistics, Sixth Edition by David Moore, William Notz, and Michael Fligner, both published by W.H. Freeman, are now enhanced with WebAssign's online homework and assessment capabilities.

The Ashmolean Museum has acquired one of the greatest private collections of modern and contemporary Chinese art in the world and the single greatest private collection of this type in the west. The Sullivan Collection has been bequeathed to the Museum by Professor Michael Sullivan (1916–2013) who died in September. It comprises more than four-hundred works of art amassed by Professor Sullivan and his wife, Khoan, from the 1940s, and represents works by the principal artists of late-twentieth century and contemporary China. A large part of the collection has never been exhibited in public.

WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director Terry Martin today announced the cast and creative team for the Company's newest education initiative, The Tom Sawyer Project. This program involves local high school students in their own production of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer which WaterTower Theatre is producing January 24 - February 16, 2014. The cast will be comprised of students from W.T. White High School, Booker T. Washington Performing Arts High School and homeschooled students.

ALL IS CALM: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914 is a smartly conceived acapella musical by Peter Rothstein that chronicles the stunning events that occurred on Christmas Day 1914. It mixes short narrative bursts with 23 songs from the period, and it's never dull or contrived. For me, the hearty vocals produced by the cast are a sheer delight to listen to. Mustard Seed Theatre has put together a wonderful production that's a real treat for the upcoming holidays.

WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director Terry Martin today announced the cast for regional premiere of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer running January 24 - February 16, 2014 on the Main Stage at the Addison Theatre Centre. The cast features Andrews Cope (Tom Sawyer), Tabitha Ray (Becky Thatcher), Garret Storms (Huckleberry Finn/Ensemble), Jake Buchanan (Joe Harper/Ensemble), Jeff Wittekiend (Sid Sawyer/Ensemble), Van Quattro (Injun Joe/Ensemble), Nancy Sherrard (Aunt Polly/Widow Douglas) and Tom Lenaghen (Muff Potter/Ensemble).

Elizabeth Van Meter's The Purpose Project: Thao's Library is a true story that genuinely touches the heart. Utilizing a multimedia presentation, Van Meter details the events that occurred that convinced her to attempt and reach out to a person who was born with disabilities due to the spraying of the toxic defoliant agent orange during the Vietnam war. A poignant picture of a young woman in a wheel chair, named Thao, made an impression on Van Meter and, when she found out this person was attempting to amass a library for her village, she decided to help her with her dream. This is a powerful story that changed both of their lives for the better, and it's receiving a wonderful production by Mustard Seed Theatre.

Steps off Broadway Productions, Inc., will be performing the stage production of Fiddler on the Roof on August 17th, 23rd, 24th at 7:30 PM and August 18th and 25th at 2:00 PM.

convergence-continuum continues its 2013 Season, Ruled by Passion, with a quirky romantic comedy: the Ohio premiere of Based on a Totally True Story by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. (Mr. Aguirre-Sacasa is also the author of Say You Love Satan, which received a popular convergence-continuum production in 2010.)

Steps off Broadway Productions, Inc., will be performing the stage production of Beauty and the Beast today, August 3rd, 9th, 10th at 7:30 PM and August 4th and 11th at 2:00 PM.

Steps off Broadway Productions, Inc., will be performing the stage production of Beauty and the Beast on August 3rd, 9th, 10th at 7:30 PM and August 4th and 11th at 2:00 PM

With his work, MAPLE AND VINE, playwright Jordan Harrison presents an interesting choice for the modern family struggling to cope with the modern world. They are given a chance to let go of all their connections to the information highway and head back in time to 1955. For some, this is the opportunity to start life anew, albeit, in a time that's fraught with issues of its own. HotCity Theatre is presenting an excellent production of this Serling-esque piece, and it's the kind of must-see experience that I always recommend; one that makes you laugh and think.

Playwright Julie Beckman does wonderful work in adapting Charlotte Bronte's novel, JANE EYRE, for the stage. It's so literate that the characters even voice their thoughts, giving way at times to some much needed humor for this sad, but hopeful Gothic tale of loss and romance. Mustard Seed Theatre's production of this play is superb, with excellent performances buoyed by incisive direction and lush interior design.

The Company of Pittsburgh begins its 2013 season with the Tony Award-winning, classic musical MAN OF LA MANCHA. The production opens on May 30th at 7:30 pm and runs through June 8th, at Off The Wall Theater in Carnegie, PA. It is directed by Ted Watts, Jr.

Southern Rep Theatre and the Forum For Equality announce the cast for its reading of '8' by Dustin Lance Black. The cast is as follows: Michael Arata, Natalie Boyd, Glenn Boyer, Kerry Cahill, Benjamin Carbo, Leon Contavesprie, Kyle Daigrepont, Dave Davis, Bob Edes, Andrew Farrier, Jim Fitzmorris, Jeffrey Gunshol, Jack Long, Taylor McLellan, Jennifer Pagan, Brian Peterson, Dorian Rush, Michael Aaron Santos, and Michael Sullivan.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.)'s critically acclaimed production of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, directed by Tony Award-winning director John Tiffany, will offer ASL interpreted and audio described performances on February 26 and 27. The cast got together to conduct ASL interviews about the show. Click below to watch Zachary Quinto, Brian J. Smith, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Cherry Jones discuss their roles in the show!