Mike Ross News

Mercury Theater Chicago, 3745 N. Southport Avenue, has announced the extension of its home- grown version of the hilarious Broadway musical Avenue Q through July 27, 2014 due to popular demand. Avenue Q has broken all box office records for Mercury Theater Chicago. Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune described the show as 'delightfully sweet and vulnerable...could not be more fun or charming to watch!' and the Chicago Sun Times Highly Recommends the show saying its 'better than the Broadway original!' Winner of the Tony 'Triple Crown' for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book in 2004, Avenue Q is part flesh, part felt, and packed with heart. The production is led by Jeff Award winners L. Walter Stearns (Director), Eugene Dizon (Musical Direction), and Kevin Bellie (Choreography) and features custom made puppets by Russ Walko.

The Toronto Theatre Critics' Award just announced their 2014 winners. The awards are in their fourth year, and are voted upon by Toronto critics who represent five of the city's newspapers and weeklies: The Globe and Mail (J. Kelly Nestruck); The Grid (Martin Morrow); NOW (Glenn Sumi); The National Post (Robert Cushman); and the Toronto Star (Richard Ouzounian). Shows which opened between June 2013 and May of 2014 were open for consideration.

The Toronto Theatre Critics' Award just announced their 2014 winners. The awards are in their fourth year, and are voted upon by Toronto critics who represent five of the city's newspapers and weeklies: The Globe and Mail (J. Kelly Nestruck); The Grid (Martin Morrow); NOW (Glenn Sumi); The National Post (Robert Cushman); and the Toronto Star (Richard Ouzounian). Shows which opened between June 2013 and May of 2014 were open for consideration.

On the heels of an extremely successful “PSYCH All-Night,” USA is hosting an inaugural fan-driven SUITS interactive marathon event dubbed “Suits After Hours” on Friday, June 6 from 12AM-6AM. The marathon celebrates the network's most socially charged series and its die-hard fans. Starting on April 24 through May 4, fans can determine the night's six winning episodes by voting at SUITS.USANetwork.com (http://www.usanetwork.com/suits). During the event, sponsored by Lexus, each hour-long block will be dedicated to a beloved SUITS character starting with the Harvey (Gabriel Macht) hour at 12AM followed by Donna (Sarah Rafferty), Mike (SAG Award nominee Patrick J. Adams), Jessica (Gina Torres), Rachel (Meghan Markle) and Louis (Rick Hoffman). Throughout the night, viewers will be treated to exclusive on-air content as SUITS stars personally share their favorite memories from the fan-selected episodes as well as insight into their characters. The overnight activation is in anticipation of the fourth season of SUITS, which premieres on Wednesday, June 11 at 9/8c.

William Somerset Maugham's monumental novel 'Of Human Bondage' has never had a stage translation —until now. Adapted by award-winning playwright Vern Thiessen, and produced by Soulpepper Theatre Company, 'Of Human Bondage' is currently on at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts through May 17th.

USA Network, the #1 network in all of cable for eight years running, will serve up its hottest summer ever with four returning series and two new dramas.

Over 30 Canadian performers all have their reasons for Hollering 4 Health Care on March 31st, the day that the Conservative government will allow the Health Accord to expire. They are hollering because:

On the next episode of USA's SUITS titled "Heartburn", while Harvey and Mike have unpleasant work to do for one of their biggest clients, Louis faces a huge challenge and Rachel tries to collect on an old debt.

Toronto repertory theater company Soulpepper kicked off its inaugural Salon Series lastnight with an exploration of the music from pre and post-war Germany and its influence on the Great White Way.

Mixing love and politics is always a dicey business, even - or especially - on the stage. There's a challenge in portraying both with the kind of depth and authenticity they both deserve. World War One veteran and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Robert Sherwood managed the mix beautifully in his award-winning work 'Idiot's Delight.'

Today, Toronto Pearson announced the openings of two new restaurants by leading Toronto chefs. Acer by Guy Rubino will open in Terminal 3 next week joining Hemant Bhagwani's Marathi which recently opened in Terminal 1. With an eclectic range of menu options, these concepts bring some of Toronto's diverse city culture to life. The new openings are the final two restaurants resulting from the airport's relationship with restaurateur OTG Management. Since the partnership was announced in April 2012, 11 new dining concepts have opened at Toronto Pearson.

Rossi's Bar & Grill, the iconic landmark Italian restaurant and 'Home of the Rossiburger' kicks off its 80th anniversary with a week of festivities beginning today, Monday, November 18. Located in the Chambersburg section of Trenton, Rossi's story began in 1933 at 501 Morris Avenue when current owners Michael and Sharon Rossi's grandparents first opened their doors to the neighborhood residents.

Rossi's Bar & Grill, the iconic landmark Italian restaurant and 'Home of the Rossiburger' will kick off its 80th anniversary with a week of festivities beginning on Monday, November 18. Located in the Chambersburg section of Trenton, Rossi's story began in 1933 at 501 Morris Avenue when current owners Michael and Sharon Rossi's grandparents first opened their doors to the neighborhood residents.

USA Network announced today a 16-episode fourth season renewal of the critically-acclaimed original drama SUITS.

Albert Schultz, Founding Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company, today announced details of the sixth annual Global Cabaret Festival. From today, October 24 to Sunday, October 27, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts once again becomes home to over 150 of Canada's leading performance artists staging over 15 original one-hour songbooks and cabarets.

Sharron Matthew's is one of the foremost stars of Canada's cabaret scene, having recently traveled the world on her GOLD tour she returned to Toronto to become the first artist in residence at Buddies in Bad Times theatre where she continues to develop and hone her cabaret skills. This year she joins the stellar line-up at the Global Cabaret Festival, which includes such diverse programming as a David Bowie and Bob Dylan songbook, a look at historical Paris with the music of Debussy and Ravel, Dennis Lee's Lost Songs of Toronto and more. For her contribution, Sharron Matthews has promised to do something 'completely different', which of course had us very intrigued. BWW sat down to talk with Sharron about what exactly 'completely different' entrails, her love of all things cabaret and why she feels The Global Cabaret Festival is such an important event for Toronto:

Mercury Theater Chicago, 3745 N Southport Ave., announces that the hit musical THE COLOR PURPLE, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, is extended through Sunday, November 10 due to popular demand.

Albert Schultz, Founding Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company, today announced details of the sixth annual Global Cabaret Festival. From Thursday, October 24 to Sunday, October 27, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts once again becomes home to over 150 of Canada's leading performance artists staging over 15 original one-hour songbooks and cabarets.

On Wednesdays and Thursdays through October 25, Mercury Theater Chicago, 3745 N Southport Ave., is featuring complimentary dinner for two at Cullen's Irish Pub, adjacent to the theater, with the purchase of two tickets to the Broadway musical THE COLOR PURPLE. The offer is available before the performances on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays at 2 p.m., and Thursdays at7:30 p.m. To make a reservation, call 773.325.1700 and ask for the 'Dinner's on Us' promotion. Gratuity is not included, this offer cannot be combined with other discounts, and it is not valid for use with previously purchased tickets. Hailed as "A genuinely eye-popping achievement!" by The Chicago Tribune and called "Lustrous…Superbly directed…Marvelous!" by the Chicago Sun-Times, THE COLOR PURPLE is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and runs through October 27, 2013.

Soulpepper's production of Angels in America is a massive undertaking, their biggest show to date and incredibly ambitious. That said, it is a risk that appears to be paying off for the Toronto based company. The show is triumphant - a heartfelt examination of humanity, sickness, politics, AIDS and more. It forces us to consider our own place in our community, and the lengths to which we will go to help our fellow citizens? Are there still angels in America? Maybe not, but the production on stage at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts is certainly heavenly.