Michiko News

Music has been a part of theatre since the dawn of the genre; from the origins of the Greek chorus to opera to Vaudeville to and to musical theatre. However, in recent years the line between the music and the theatre on Broadway has become more blurred as in unique and creative ways, we have seen performers serving as both actors and musicians.

The beloved opera 'Madama Butterfly' by Giacomo Puccini will be presented in Israel in a new production originally created for the La Scala Opera House in Milan. The opera will be conducted by the musical director of the Israeli Opera Daniel Oren. The great Japanese director Keita Asari will present in this production a special take on the opera, influenced by the Japanese culture as opposed to this opera's many productions that offer a western look on the Japanese culture.

The 2017 Morristown Festival of Books kicks off with its Summer Spotlight series on Tuesday June 6th, featuring best-selling author Emma Straub (The Vacationers, Modern Lovers) in conversation with fellow novelist Elisabeth Egan. The presentation, Q&A, and book signing will be held at the Morris Museum's Bickford Theatre in Morristown, New Jersey.

Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announced that Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I. The multiple Tony Award-winning Broadway hit will run at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County for a limited time starting May 9 through May 14, 2017.

Eighth Blackbird is pleased to announce that 30 early-career musicians have been chosen to receive Fellowships to the inaugural Blackbird Creative Lab, a two-week summer training program taking place June 11 - 24 at the Besant Hill School in Ojai, California. The Fellows comprise eighteen performers, six composers, and two ensembles. In addition to Eighth Blackbird, the Blackbird Creative Lab Faculty includes composers Jennifer Higdon and Ted Hearne, and director/filmmaker Mark DeChiazza. During the session, a stellar array of Guest Artists will rotate through The Lab: composer Steve Reich, composer/performer Pamela Z, flutist/composer Ned McGowan, and from the Ojai Music Festival, curator Tom Morris and producer Elaine Martone, who also serves as Director of the Blackbird Creative Lab.

Broadway In Chicago has announced that individual tickets for the Chicago premiere of The Lincoln Center Theater Production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I will go on sale Friday, March 31, 2017.

The latest iteration of the production on tour is crafted with care and performed with verve. It's an 'old-fashioned' Broadway staple, and it never wears out its welcome. It unabashedly tugs at the heartstrings, tickles the funny bone and jerks the tears, just as it did when it opened 66 years ago this month. Few musicals achieve this kind of longevity, and more than a few of those are from the pens of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The Friends of Mounts Botanical Garden hosted the inaugural Hearts-n-Bloom Garden Tea Party last Saturday, attracting more than 150 beautifully clad ladies and gents. Attendees enjoyed high tea provided by the Serenity Tea House and Cafe with musical accompaniment by The Elegant Harp. Scroll down for beautiful photos!

A staged reading of the new musical 'Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal', with book, music, and lyrics by Brandon Sturiale, will be held at Michiko Studios, 149 Wa 46th St., on Monday, Feb. 20th at 7pm. 

WaterTower Theatre Artistic Director Joanie Schultz and Managing Director Greg Patterson today announced casting and creative team details for Parade in Concert, Directed by Kelsey Leigh Ervi, with Musical Direction by Scott A. Eckert.

Producers of the Tony Award-winning, record-breaking hit musical Chicago announced today that Japanese superstar Ryoko Yonekura will return to the Broadway production by popular demand in the role of 'Roxie Hart' for 11 performances only, July 3 to July 13, 2017.

Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announce that Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I that will play Seattle's Paramount Theatre from January 24 through February 3, 2017.

Susan R. Williamson, Director of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, and Blaise Allen, Ph.D., the Festival's Director of Community Outreach, today announced the winners of the annual Palm Beach County High School Poetry Contest.

Rena Blades, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, today announced that the second Conversation of this season's CULTURE & COCKTAILS series attracted more than 140 people last Monday to The Colony Hotel Pavilion, located at 155 Hammon Avenue in Palm Beach. 

Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announce that Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I that will play Seattle's Paramount Theatre from January 24 through February 3, 2017.

The National Tour of The King and I, which won a Tony Award for Best Revival in 2015, is opened at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles last night, and will play through January 21st, 2017. Stars of the stage and screen, including original cast members of one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most beloved classics, came out in droves to celebrate the opening, and we've got all of the lovely red carpet photos below!

Broadway In Boston, Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announced today that the national tour of The Lincoln Center Theater Production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE KING AND I, will play a limited two week engagement at the Boston Opera House April 11-23, 2017 as part of the 2016-2017 Lexus Broadway In Boston Season. THE KING AND I, directed by Tony Award® Winner Bartlett Sher won four 2015 Tony Awards® including Best Revival of a Musical.

Rena Blades, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, today announced that the first Conversation of the new season of the popular series CULTURE & COCKTAILS attracted more than 80 people last Monday to The Colony Hotel Pavilion, located at 155 Hammon Avenue in Palm Beach. Scroll down for photos!

Hulu announces the its latest streaming offerings for the week of 11/9- 11/15. See a full schedule below:

On Today, September 29, 2016, WHITE WAVE Dance celebrates the 16th Anniversary season of the DUMBO Dance Festival (DDF) with a Gala Opening that heralds the most anticipated four-day festival of contemporary dance in the greater New York City region.