Nathaniel Jones News

Summer: The Donna Summer Musical is now on tour across America! SUMMER features a book by Tony Award® nominee Colman Domingo, Robert Cary and Tony Award® winner Des McAnuff, with songs by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Paul Jabara and others and is directed by Des McAnuff and choreographed by Tony Award® winner Sergio Trujillo, with music supervised by Ron Melrose and scenic design by Tony Award® nominee Robert Brill, costumes by Tony Award® winner Paul Tazewell, lighting by Tony Award® winner Howell Binkley, sound by Tony Award® nominee Gareth Owen and projections by Sean Nieuwenhuis. This tour is produced by the Dodgers and Tommy Mottola.

It takes a lot more than the actors' performance to make a great show. Along with the acting, a spectacular set and visuals, Lighting and sound, and staying true to the material are cogs that set one well-oiled machine of a show apart from the others. Zao theatres production of The Great Gatsby is almost a textbook-like example of how to fit your cogs together to create one solid show.

When you think of a group of young performers doing a musical, most people enter with the assumption of low quality and newbie type talent. This largely stems from the mindset of not believing young folks can put in the same hard work as any other seasoned professional. However, when you take a group of hard-working individuals, like the ones I was given the opportunity to see, and pair them with extremely talented leadership, you find yourself with a recipe for greatness. Desert Stages production of The Wedding Singer is a prime example of why we should hold our young actors to higher expectations and treat them like the professionals they strive to be.

Talk about a Must See! Don't miss In The Heights at Mesa Encore Theatre.

When it comes to historical pieces that focus on a particular person, a typical fear some may have is too far of a satirical take or caricature of a person. Although this type of comedic show has its niche, I find it great for a show to tread as close to the line of reality as possible without becoming too biographical. It's a line that when approached well, can make for an excellent piece, allowing patrons to leave entertained and maybe even a little more knowledgeable or at least interested in the subject. iTheatre Collaborative's production of FROST/NIXON is an example of when a skillfully written masterpiece collides with a cast and crew brimming with talent.

There are shows that are visually captivating enough to keep you enthralled. However, no matter how beautiful a set or innovative a concept may be, it is the story being conveyed on stage that holds the most importance. Although Ajax, put on by ASU's School of Film, Dance, and Theatre, is visually enticing, the lackluster performance and overall busyness made the show as a whole hard to digest.

To the sound of Motown: Detroit '67 shows that what was real then speaks to today.

Arizona Reginal Theatre is bringing awareness to mental health with the emotionally hard-hitting production, Next to Normal

From the Motor City to the Valley of the Sun: My conversation with Director Ralph Remington and Executive Director David Hemphill and their conjoined forces bringing Dominique Morisseau's Detroit '67 to Phoenix.

Fountain Hills Theater shows us 'where we went right' with The Producers.

Childsplay's Ella Enchanted is enchanting theatergoers young and young at heart.

Don't miss your 'One Last Kiss' at Desert Foothills Theater's production of BYE BYE BIRDIE.

Pachyderms demolish the 4th wall and help us contemplate the inevitability of change in Now & Then Creative Company's production of RHINOCEROS.

Vice President Joe Biden today announced a highly-acclaimed group of moderators for the final nine dates of his 39-city American Promise Tour. Former Charlotte Mayor and Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx will join the Vice President for the Charlotte stop of the tour taking place at Belk Theater on June 13th.  American journalist Cokie Roberts, New York Times bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld, and Bestselling Author Celeste Ng will also join the tour as moderators throughout remaining dates of the tour.

The nominees for the NAACP Image Awards were announced today. The awards recognize the year's best in film, TV, music and books.

New Noir New Orleans Noir: The Classics edited by Julie Smith Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each volume comprises stories set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city.

ONEHOPE Wine - the popular wine brand that integrates causes and impact into every bottle - announced today the next influencer participant in its Signature Series program - Chris Paul, eight-time All Star. This exclusive wine program was created to give celebrities and public personas a platform to pursue a positive purpose. For each Signature Series, ONEHOPE Wine carefully selects participants who fit the brand's passion and mission to serve a greater good. An avid philanthropist, Chris Paul embodies the spirit of ONEHOPE's Signature Series program through his support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, LA's BEST, The Reachability Foundation and other worthy initiatives.

Paradise Theatre presents THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST April 23-May 9, 2010.

Paradise Theatre presents THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. They don't come any wilder than Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners, morals and morality! Directed by Mike Wilkinson

Paradise Theatre presents THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST April 23-May 9, 2010.