Mickey Rooney News

This month, the reader question was: Which Broadway theaters have been demolished/repurposed and when/why?

The Fine Arts Theatre Beverly Hills with celebrate the 86th Anniversary of the historic theatre with retro 1937 ticket prices of twenty-five cents per movie ticket and fifty cents for Double Features during a month-long celebration screening of 11 classic films from April 2 – 30, 2023.

The breakout hit of Sierra Madre Playhouse's winter season, Mr. Yunioshi, returns for a limited engagement of four performances.

Geffen Playhouse has announced the full cast for the U.S. premiere of Ava: The Secret Conversations, written by and featuring Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-nominated Elizabeth McGovern (Once Upon a Time in America, Downton Abbey) as Ava Gardner, and directed by Tony Award-nominated Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Present Laughter).

Alessandra Assaf, who enacts the Hollywood icon in 12 O’CLOCK TALES WITH AVA GARDNER, the play she has written with Michael Lorre, brings out all of the actress’s fire, charisma and messiness.

This month, the reader question was: 'What are the longest running musicals that haven't been revived?'

Movie star. Femme fatale. Homewrecker. Civil Rights activist. The Whitefire Theatre plays host to a new solo play that reveals the contradictions and complexities of the passionate and deeply flawed woman behind silver screen icon Ava Gardner.

The musical adaptation of Night at the Museum has had its first workshop! As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the stage adaptation of the film series is in the works, with music from Alan Menken.

​​​​​​​The title Mr. Yunioshi refers to the name of the character portrayed by Mickey Rooney in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's, directed by Blake Edwards (Rooney's former roommate). Rooney portrays Audrey Hepburn's neighbor. It is a cringe-inducing characterization, in which Rooney dons yellowface and wears appliances to 'play Asian.'

What did our critic think of THE WIZARD OF OZ at CM Performing Arts Center? As soon as CM Performing Arts Center's live orchestra struck up the first few chords of 'The Wizard of Oz's' iconic overture, a wave of nostalgia hummed throughout the Noel S Ruiz Theatre. Multiple generations filled the house at the opening weekend matinee. Children, parents, grandparents, and children at heart visibly delighted in the stellar stagecraft, vibrant costumery, and charming performances featured in CM's Season 49 finale.

Rubicon Producing Artistic Director and Co-Founder Karyl Lynn Burns retired from the company on Sunday, November 13, following the acclaimed sold-out run of In the Heights.

November 2nd, 2022 marked the twentieth anniversary of critically-acclaimed and Award-winning Judy Garland tribute artist, Peter Mac. On Saturday November 19th at 8PM Mac will host a gala celebration at the legendary and famed Woman's Club of Hollywood in Los Angeles, California to commemorate the occasion.

Two dazzling specials featuring some of the biggest names in music will bring melodies in December: “A Very Backstreet Christmas” celebrates the holidays with The Backstreet Boys, and “Finding Harmony” is an uplifting story featuring EGOT winner John Legend and David Brown, founder of the Columbus-based Harmony Project in Ohio.

Next up at Laguna Playhouse, Love Among the Ruins world premieres October 30, 2022 (with previews starting October 26th). Michael Arabian directs the stellar cast of JoBeth Williams and Peter Strauss in this adaptation of the 1975 ABC Theatre Presentation that starred Katherine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier. Peter graciously found some time between rehearsals and his orange farm to answer a few of my queries.

Forget your troubles, come on get happy! Find your place over the rainbow and back into the theatre with GBSC Artistic Consultant, director/choreographer, and educator, Ilyse Robbins, as she brings her lecture series, Icons of the American Musical to the stage!

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Cristina Fontanelli in BE ITALIAN TU on September 20, 2022 at 7:00pm.

In a clever twist, Cho, an Asian actor, plays the white Hollywood star who, in 'Breakfast at TifFany's,' played every Asian stereotype as Mr. Yunioshi.

In Mr. Yunioshi, J. Elijah Cho cleverly explores Mickey Rooney's infamous performance as Mr. Yunioshi in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's,' often pointed to as the most egregious example of yellowface in the movies. Rooney's 'over the top' characterization is cringeworthy to watch to this day, but it also raises several questions: Should actors have the opportunity to play ANY role? Could there ever have been a 'right' way to play it? And what compels an actor to play a character that they really shouldn't be playing? Asian-American writer/performer J. Elijah Cho attempts to explore these topics and more in this poignant and funny satire.

Urbanite Theatre, Sarasota, Florida's premiere destination for bold, contemporary black-box theater, announced its 2022-23 season, which includes four main productions and two special engagements.

Ava: The Secret Conversations will join the Geffen Playhouse 2022/2023 season lineup to complete the full season.