Michelle Lewis News

Catch the second year of The ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Fest at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts from May 14 - 21.

The recent Cape Amateur Theatre Awards (CATA) recognized excellence across two theatre groups and twelve productions for the years 2022 and 2023, the Masque Theatre Players in Muizenberg and Milnerton Players in Milnerton. 

RAPUNZEL - UNTANGLING THE TRUTH is the Masque Theatre’s latest offering for holiday entertainment. Directed by Matthew Kingwill, this festive season fairy tale is colourful and wacky, with lots of heart. It reimagines the classic Rapunzel fairy tale and incorporates its modern iterations, such as the most recent Disney Rapunzel film, TANGLED. However, it also toys with these previous versions and the audience’s expectations, delivering a zany version of the classic tale.

ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews received the SONA Warrior Award in recognition of her contributions to the music industry.

Paul Williams and legendary songwriters and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis lauded Matthews’s achievements and hit songwriter MoZella performed “Wrecking Ball” (all are ASCAP members). Video tributes to Matthews featured music industry giants Stephen Schwartz, NE-YO, Marcus Miller, Desmond Child, John Platt and Ashley Gorley among many others.

Pharmacy Theatre will present the regional premiere of 4.48 Psychosis from October 14 through 16, 2022.

Art House Productions, Jersey City’s home for the performing and visual arts for the past 20 years, has announced the appointment of six new members to its Board of Trustees, Margo Chaly, Bree Falato, Sunil K. Garg, Ibn Sharif Shakoor, and Lewis Spears. The new board members will provide additional leadership as Art House Productions moves into its permanent home at The Hendrix (180 Morgan St) in Jersey City, NJ in Fall 2022. The development is in partnership with SILVERMAN, The Albanese Group, and Liberty Harbor.

Cocktails Under the Stars will feature cocktails, wine & beer, hors d'oeuvres, a 50/50 raffle, and special performances from the NJCU Junior Board.

Art House Productions, Jersey City's home for the performing and visual arts for the past 20 years, has announced a transition of the leadership of its board of trustees. The board has unanimously appointed Robinson Holloway to succeed Gibson as President.

The virtual event will feature tributes and performances dedicated to Williams. It will also offer a look into SONA’s rise over the past six years from a passionate group of friends to its current international membership and supporters.

Nickelodeon, the number-one network for kids, announced today that it has greenlit a 26-episode sixth season of its hit-animated series The Loud House.

Give A Note Foundation (GAN) is pleased to announce five winners of the Fall 2018 Music Education Innovator Award - honoring the most creative and effective school music programs. Give A Note provides support to nurture, grow and strengthen music education opportunities to students, schools and communities throughout the country. 

'Sydney to the Max,' a sitcom introducing 13-year-old actress/musical artist Ruth Righi (Broadway's 'School of Rock The Musical') in her first leading role, is set to premiere FRIDAY, JAN. 25 (8:30-9:00 p.m. EST/PST), on Disney Channel and DisneyNOW.  Created by Mark Reisman ('Frasier,' 'Wings,' 'The Exes'), the series is geared for kids ages 6-14 and families. It also stars Ian Reed Kesler ('Suits'), Caroline Rhea ('Sabrina the Teenage Witch,' 'Phineas and Ferb'), Jackson Dollinger (“Puppy Dog Pals”), Ava Kolker ('Girl Meets World') and Christian J. Simon (“The Amazing World of Gumball”).

The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), the Songwriters of North America (SONA), and SESAC today announced they have agreed to work together to support the Music Modernization Act (MMA). The broad coalition demonstrates an unprecedented commitment by the industry to support songwriters and music publishers, who will benefit from the bill's ultimate passage, resulting in the most comprehensive reform to the music copyright business in generations. 

For its 30th anniversary season, Repercussion Theatre presents Romeo & Juliet: Love is Love from July 5th to August 8th, 2018. The largest Shakespeare-in-the-Park (SITP) tour that Repercussion Theatre has had in a decade-with 30 shows to mark the anniversary-makes the usual rounds of local parks as well as visits to the West Island, the Eastern Townships, the Laurentians, Eastern Ontario and Quebec's Monteregie with two additional locations: the Olympic Park and Hawkesbury. The Montreal opening is July 6th at Mount Royal Cemetery; the West Island opening is July 5th at Baie d'Urfe's Fritz Farm, and the Ontario opening is in Cornwall on July 7th at the appropriately named Lamoureux Park. All shows begin at 7pm.

For its 30th anniversary season, Repercussion Theatre presents Romeo & Juliet: Love is Love from July 5th to August 8th, 2018. The largest Shakespeare-in-the-Park (SITP) tour that Repercussion Theatre has had in a decade-with 30 shows to mark the anniversary-makes the usual rounds of local parks as well as visits to the West Island, the Eastern Townships, the Laurentians, Eastern Ontario and Quebec's Monteregie with two additional locations: the Olympic Park and Hawkesbury. The Montreal opening is July 6th at Mount Royal Cemetery; the West Island opening is July 5th at Baie d'Urfe's Fritz Farm, and the Ontario opening is in Cornwall on July 7th at the appropriately named Lamoureux Park. All shows begin at 7pm.

ASCAP has added multi-platinum songwriter and artist Ne-Yo and Grammy-winning artist-producer Jermaine Dupri to the 2018 ASCAP 'I Create Music' EXPO lineup, joining an illustrious roster of Hall of Famers and chart-topping music creators set to appear. The country's largest conference for music creators, May 7-9 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, has also released its full schedule of programming at https://2018ascapexpo.sched.com/. The 13th annual event will feature three days of panels, workshops, master classes, keynotes and one-on-one sessions with the industry's top hitmakers.

The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre is proud to present the Broadway classic Guys and Dolls, March 6 through March 31. Explore a simpler time when the stakes of the "game" were your biggest concern in Damon Runyon's streets of New York City.

Tony Award-winner Renee Elise Goldsberry (Broadway's 'Hamilton') will perform the theme song for Disney Junior's highly-anticipated animated series 'Muppet Babies,' premiering this March on Disney Channel. The iconic theme song has been reimagined for a whole new generation of young viewers by the acclaimed songwriting team of Kay Hanley, Michelle Lewis and Dan Petty ('Doc McStuffins'). It will be released by Walt Disney Records on Friday, February 23.

The winners of the 49th NAACP Image Awards in the non-televised categories were announced during a gala dinner celebration that took Sunday, January 14, 2018, at the Pasadena Conference Center the event was hosted by The Real's Adrienne Houghton, Loni Love, Jeannie Mai and Tamera Mowry-Housley.