Nina Simon News

Equal parts historical and hysterical, all heaving harmonies and tipsy candour, explore the history of gin through story and song. Stumble and soar through tales of love and women, gin and secrets, as we wind our way through 18th Century London, a few New York speakeasies, the Australian bush and the jungles of Peru, via sailors and barmaids, bootleggers and master distillers.

Ovalhouse's exciting Spring/Summer season 2016 shines a light on their passion for discovering and supporting imaginative voices.

The Old Rep re-launched in 2015 with a bold new vision as a young people-driven venue in the heart of the city, which has continued to evolve and develop throughout 2016 with a fresh new season of innovative and exciting performances.

Broadway's critically-acclaimed musical A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN, a music-filled live show celebrating Janis Joplin and her biggest musical influences, brings its national tour to Nashville, performing at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's James K. Polk Theater today, April 15 and tomorrow, April 16, 2016.

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's MARY POPPINS, with Original Music & Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, Book by Julian Fellowes, New Songs and Additional Music & Lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, co-created by Cameron Mackintosh, will make its Northeast Florida premiere with Amelia Community Theatre, April 14-30, 2016.

?In one of D.C.'s social events of the year, the Kennedy Center pays tribute to America's immortal Motown hit-maker, the late singer Marvin Gaye, at the 2016 Kennedy Center Spring Gala on Sunday, June 5, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The evening's program celebrates Gaye's enigmatic and innovative contributions to the Motown sound during the peak of his career in the 1970s and 1980s, and his musical influence that spans generations. Hosted by actress, comedian, and television host Whoopi Goldberg, the gala performance is headlined by multi-Grammy Award-winning artist Michael Buble, and features a talented, all-star cast including Andra Day, Ledisi, and Jussie Smollett, star of the FOX hit show, Empire.

Goodspeed Musicals continues its commitment to innovative, thought-provoking works with a bold reimagining of the witty and ridiculous The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd. The tremendously talented cast of four will be Tony Sheldon playing the role of Sir, Caesar Samayoa  appearing as Cocky, Michelle Aravena  as The Kid, and Gregory Treco as The Stranger.

As adept as he is on the drums - and make no mistake about it, Danny Young is headbangingly assertive and confident on the aforementioned drum kit - it might surprise you to know that at the ripe old age of eight, he actually started out as a singer in his family's quartet. And, to top it all off, he got his start in the business of show as a boy soprano.

While the title of the show is A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN, other divas take the stage in the latest production at the Ordway, too, Imagine getting to see Aretha Franklin on stage. Or Nina Simone. These queens of music may not be in this show, but Q. Smith will portray them and other characters who were part of the life of Janis Joplin.

Theatrical Outfit continues its vision of creating compassion - one story at a time - by starting the conversations that matter. From Tony-winning musical, to enlightening one-man show, to a family-friendly alternative to the usual holiday fare, to a zany trip into the self-help cosmos, to a musical tribute to an icon, to a world premiere magical puppet extravaganza with music by our industry's hottest songwriter, to four unexpected play readings, our 2016-2017 Season of Hope truly offers something for everyone!

"I'm a black woman in America; breathing is political," stated Natalie Douglas, wryly, early in her March 21 concert at Birdland to celebrate the release of her excellent new recording Human Heart. I felt myself inwardly fist pump-yes! Douglas dared to acknowledge the contemporary political circus-which I, for one, am completely obsessed with-on the cabaret stage! Okay, I can relax-I will make it through this show without listening to a political podcast or reading a David Brooks New York Times opinion column after all. Phew! I have not entered a purely escapist fantasyland, but surrendered to the capable musical ensemble on stage. Douglas wore a long white gown (chosen out of the pile when her husband made an approvingly bawdy comment as she tried it on for him) and her band-all six of whom appear on the record-wore all black. The appearance was a study in contrast, but the group, was most assuredly a cohesive instrument.

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts will present the Midwest premiere of A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN to the St. Paul stage March 29-April 3 as part of a 34-city North American tour.

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's MARY POPPINS, with Original Music & Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, Book by Julian Fellowes, New Songs and Additional Music & Lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, co-created by Cameron Mackintosh, will make its Northeast Florida premiere with Amelia Community Theatre, April 14-30, 2016.

The 5th Avenue Theatre presents the critically-acclaimed Broadway musical, A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN, beginning tonight, March 25, in Seattle.

Welsh song stylist Iris Williams will make a rare West Coast appearance on Wed., April 13 at 8:30 PM at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood, performing her acclaimed show entitled 'I Wish You Love,' featuring classic American standards by such composers as Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington, Burton Lane, and others. Music Director Keith Droste will be on piano, with Jeff Stover on bass and Andy Fraga on drums. She will also appear at the Purple Room in Palm Springs on Friday, April 8 at 7:00 PM.

Since 2006, the Workhaus Collective provided Minneapolis-based, nationally-emerging playwrights the opportunity to lead the productions of their most innovative, commercially-challenging ideas. In 10 years, the Collective produced 25 new, critically acclaimed plays, many of which continued on to other theaters around the world. After its final production of 2016, the Workhaus Collective is voluntarily ceasing operation without debt.

I was pretty excited to see this show, I do not usually look anything up about a show if I do not know a whole lot about it; I like to go in completely blind. But a minute into this show I started to panic, I knew nothing about Janis Joplin. I guess I should have known from the title what I was in for, but I expected it to be a play where I would learn about her (a la Jersey Boys style), but this was a rock concert, so I started to feel like I would not be able to do a good job reviewing this show. I mean I'm a 90's baby. The first album I ever bought was a two-disc compilation of Britney Spears and 'N SYNC songs, followed by Spiceworld. So what would I know about a 60's rock and roll singer with a love for the blues?

I know next to nothing about jazz singer and Civil Rights activist Nina Simone. But I do know Regina Marie Williams, Aimee K. Bryant, Thomasina Petrus, and Traci Allen Shannon, the four women starring in the new play based on Nina's song 'Four Women.' So I knew I was in for a treat and an education with Park Square Theatre's world premiere of NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN. I was not wrong on either count. Proving once again that everything I know I learned from theater, I now have a greater understanding of the remarkable and talented woman that was Nina Simone, as well as the importance of her music and her voice in the Civil Rights movement. And watching these particular four women, some of the best voices and actors we have here in the Twin Cities, bring full and complicated life to the Peaches, Auntie, Saffronia, and Sweet Thing of Nina's song, is a treat of the highest order.

Starting rehearsals at The 5th Avenue Theatre this week is the critically-acclaimed Broadway musical, A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN.

10 On Tuesday with Doug Peck