Monique News

RSPCA NSW has been chosen as the charity partner of the lavish and fun multi-million dollar musical comedy SHREK THE MUSICAL, which premieres at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, The Star from 1 January. Donkey, the Three Little Pigs, Ugly Duckling, Mama Bear and all the animals in SHREK THE MUSICAL were very excited when they heard the news.

The Young Man from Atlanta is the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by two-time Academy Award winner and former Signature Residency One Playwright Horton Foote, directed by Michael Wilson. Tickets, priced at $35 thanks to the Signature Ticket Initiative, are on sale now for the production, which officially opens on Sunday, November 24th in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).

NEW TICKETS ON SALE FOR BRISBANE SEASON OF SHREK THE MUSICAL Tickets for new performances in the Brisbane season of the lavish and fun multi-million dollar musical comedy SHREK THE MUSICAL will go on sale this Friday 15 November. The Broadway smash hit will play at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC from 9 May, selling to 7 June 2020.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote Mo'Nique is suing Netflix 'for racial and gender discrimination over the $500,000 offer she received to do a stand-up special.'

The cleverest part of adaptor/director Erica Schmidt's new musical based on Edmond Rostand's classic CYRANO DE BERGERAC is that the two times a character makes mention of the title fellow's very large nose, there is a pause before the word, making it clear that the speaker was about to say something else, but thought better of it.

Tickets for new performances in the Brisbane season of the lavish and fun multi-million dollar musical comedy SHREK THE MUSICAL will go on sale this Friday 15 November. The Broadway smash hit will play at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC from 9 May, selling to 7 June 2020.

ODC Theater, part of the most active center for contemporary dance on the West Coast, has announced the program for its 2020 Season, including the kick-off to ODC's 50th anniversary celebrations. Among the season's highlights are premieres by Larry Arrington, Deborah Slater Dance Theater, Funsch Dance, Garrett + Moulton Productions, Geoff and Dan Hoyle, inkBoat with Ann Carlson, Kinetech Arts, The Living Earth Show, Robert Moses' Kin, RAWdance, Amy Seiwert's Imagery, SFDanceworks and Bobbi Jene Smith.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which is entering its 85th year, today announced the casts for the 2020 season, featuring some of the most beloved performers from OSF's history alongside newcomers from around the country. OSF is one of the most prominent theatre companies across the nation that have joined the Jubilee, a yearlong nationwide commitment by theatres to feature work generated by those who have traditionally been excluded from or marginalized by the theatre industry. Five Shakespeare plays staged as four productions, alongside two new plays inspired by him, take the Festival's stages in 2020. Two more commissions from OSF's multi-decade commissioning program American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle will also premiere.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) has announced the cast for the production of Bob Marley's Three Little Birds, running January 19 through March 1, 2020, based on a story by Cedella Marley, music and lyrics by Bob Marley, adapted for the stage by Michael J Bobbitt, directed by Shá Cage, and music direction by Sanford Moore. The cast includes Ellis Dossavi (Ziggy), KateMarie Andrews (Nansi), Kory LaQuess Pullam (Duppy), Lynnea Monique Doublette (Cedella), Nathan Barlow (Dr. Bird), and Timotha Lanae (Tacoomah). 

The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild (MUAHS, IATSE Local 706) has announced nominations for the 7th Annual MUAHS Guild Awards honoring outstanding achievements in make-up and hair styling in motion pictures, television, commercials and live theater. Winners will be honored at the black-tie gala on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at The Novo by Microsoft at L.A. Live. Today's announcement was made by MUAHS President Julie Socash.

Literary cabaret House of Speakeasy is back at Joe's Pub with Nina Burleigh, James Geary, Maggie Paxson & Monique Truong, while This Alien Nation, a celebration of immigrant stories, returns with Julio Torres, Mohammad Ewaz, Seuketu Mehta and Fariha Róisín.

Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show is a new 6-episode sketch series from Kenya Barris' Khalabo Ink Society, launching on Netflix on December 6, 2019.

Let's talk about...Lifetime's highly anticipated 3- hour biopic on pioneering female rap group Salt-N-Pepa has found its leading cast with GG Townson (In the Cut, Everybody Hates Chris) as Cheryl 'Salt' James and Laila Odom (The Bobby DeBarge Story, Undercover Brother 2) set to portray Sandra 'Pepa' Denton. Currently in production in Toronto, the authorized biopic uncovers the women behind the music and reveals how their very different personalities - one salt of the earth, the other hot and spicy - fueled their creativity and tested the bonds of their enduring friendship. The project will also star Cleveland Berto as music producer 'Hurby Azor,' Jermel Howard as rapper 'Treach' and Monique Paul stars as 'DJ Spinderella.' by Sony Pictures Television, Mario Van Peebles (New Jack City) is directing.

For the first time in its history, the French Institute Alliançe Francaise (FIAF) honored two women at its annual Trophée des Arts Gala on Monday, November 4th at The Plaza Hotel in NYC. This year's event honored actress and musician Charlotte Gainsbourg, who was recognized as someone who exemplifies FIAF's mission of French-American friendship and cross-cultural exchange. FIAF also fêted Ardian president Dominique Senequier, who received the Pilier d'Or for her contributions as a leading businesswoman to the French-American community.   

A new multi-space, multi-dimensional 42,000 sq. ft. art, entertainment and events destination, Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S. Ashland Ave., formerly the iconic Church of the Epiphany, will open this winter. One of the largest cultural venues in the city and a designated Chicago landmark, this architecturally significant property has been acquired in a multi-million-dollar transaction by Chicago Developer David Chase; he along with his wife, Kimberly Rachal have lovingly preserved the historic church and its adjacent buildings. The revitalization and renovation project, which houses artifacts from the church originally built in 1885, will feature three unique event spaces, a café, courtyard and other ancillary spaces to support the visual, performing and culinary arts. Epiphany Center for the Arts will once again become a place for the community to congregate, All for the Good of Art, Entertainment and Events.

Today, The 24 Hour Plays announced a new crop of participants who will honor Academy Award-winning actor Kathy Bates at the 19th Annual The 24 Hour Plays Broadway Gala.

Shiri Appleby has been cast as 'Holly,” the good-humored and down-to-earth assistant basketball coach, and Yvette Nicole Brown has been cast as 'Sherilyn,' the no nonsense dean of Westbrook School for Girls, in the Disney+ original series “Big Shot” written and executive produced by David E. Kelley and Dean Lorey and produced by ABC Studios, a label of Disney Television Studios.

BRIC TV and Sparkle Motion are excited to announce the reveal of their new tentpole series, All Hail Beth, a comedy detailing the life of a young New York woman, Beth (Layla Khosh, Nadia Jaan) who becomes a goddess overnight. The series premieres on November 11, 2019, on BRIC TV's YouTube channel at 12:00pm EST with the whole series available for streaming on the BRIC website on November 12th.

It has been announced that the London production of Mary Poppins will release a cast recording!

 Broadway star Chilina Kennedy returns to Stratford for a one night only in-concert performance of Leslie Arden's acclaimed Canadian musical THE HOUSE OF MARTIN GUERRE. Stratford audiences may remember Ms. Kennedy from her much lauded lead performances in WEST SIDE STORY, EVITA, and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR to name just a few. Since then, she transferred to Broadway with the rest of the company of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, and then played over a thousand performances on Broadway as the title character in BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL. Currently, she is starring as Dina in the national tour of THE BAND'S VISIT. BWW had the chance to speak with Ms. Kennedy a few days after she concluded the Toronto run of THE BAND'S VISIT. She shared her excitement to finally return to the Stratford Festival, and her passion for THE HOUSE OF MARTIN GUERRE.