David Heron's Against His Will, a legal drama about a young Jamaican man who accuses his female boss of sexual assault and decides to file charges against her, has broken the record for playreading attendance at the renowned Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn.
Jacob Jonas The Company, currently celebrating its fifth season, returns to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts as 2018/2019 Company-In-Residence with an intimate studio show comprised entirely of world premiere works from Wednesday, October 24 through Saturday, October 27, 2018, 8 pm, in the Lovelace Studio Theater. For the first time in The Company's history, it has commissioned works by guest choreographers, with the show featuring the world premieres of 'Unknown Territories' by Donald Byrd, Bessie award-winner and Tony-nominated choreographer who is company founder Jacob Jonas' mentor; 'Cupido' by Latino choreographer Omar Roman de Jesus; 'Transfer' and 'Make A Toast' by Jonas; and 'Crash,' also by Jonas with original composition and live music by Okaidja Afroso, a noted Afro-pop singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Ghana, West Africa. Jacob Jonas The Company, acclaimed for mixing contemporary ballet, breakdance and acrobatic movement, was named one of '12 standout companies of 2018' by the Los Angeles Times and '25 to Watch' by Dance Magazine in 2018.
Moving to the beat of a techno soundtrack, Japan's SIRO-A has broken the world's language barrier with their "non-verbal" performance art - fusing groundbreaking visual effects and physical theatre to communicate with and dazzle audiences across generations. They won the renowned "Spirit of the Fringe" award at Edinburgh and wowed everyone on America's Got Talent, winning a "Golden Buzzer" from Piers Morgan and standing ovation from the audience and judges. The physical performers display their skill and brilliantly executed choreography in sync with two DJs, visual projections and mind-blowing optical illusions. Reaching deep into their technical bag of tricks, they combined electro beats with visual effects, motion, light, dance choreographies and elements of comedy.
Showtime Australia's acclaimed music production The Greatest Love of All: The Whitney Houston Show starring Belinda Davids is closing out its first US national tour with a stop at the State Theatre on Friday, October 19.
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, a dynamic hub for the lively arts and vital community resource, presents the Los Angeles Master Chorale in two performances of Orlando di Lasso's dramatic a cappella masterpiece Lagrime di San Pietro (Tears of St. Peter) directed by Peter Sellars on Saturday, October 20, and Sunday, October 21, 2018, at 7:30 pm, in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis. Conducted by the Master Chorale's Associate Conductor Jenny Wong and featuring 21 singers, the production is the first a cappella staging and most personal and emotionally-charged work to date from the acclaimed director's creative mind. Twenty-one singers transform the 75-minute Renaissance masterpiece - committed to memory and dramatically staged - into both a biblical parable of St. Peter's disavowal of Jesus Christ and a contemporary allegory for our fractious times. This marks The Wallis debut of the Master Chorale, whose appearance is part of a 13-city international tour that also includes performances at the Ravinia Festival in Illinois, the Melbourne International Arts Festival in Australia, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, The Barbican Centre in London and the Cite de la Musique in Paris.
ShowKids Invitational Theatre had a pair of award winners at the 2018 NJACT Perry Awards Sunday night at the Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) in Rahway. Cast members Natalie Mehl and Jonah Lione both earned best acting honors for their magical performances as Mary and Bert in SKIT's production of Mary Poppins.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere production of Familiar written by Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead, Black Panther, Broadway's Eclipsed) and directed by Danya Taymor, who helmed Steppenwolf's powerful 2017 production of Pass Over. As previously announced, this fiercely funny production features ensemble members Celeste M. Cooper (Nyasha) and Ora Jones (Marvelous Chinyaramwira), who appeared together in Steppenwolf's The Doppelganger (an international farce) last season. Rounding out the cast are Cheryl Lynn Bruce (Anne), Erik Hellman (Chris), Lanise Antoine Shelley, (Tendikayi), Luigi Sottile (Brad), Jacqueline Williams (Margaret Munyewa) and Cedric Young (Donald Chinyaramwira).
IAMA Theatre Company opens its 2018-19 season with a darkly comic celebration of the power of teamwork and unity to overcome adversity. James Eckhousedirects the Los Angeles premiere ofAmerican Hero, opening Sept. 21 in aPasadena Playhouse guest production at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre. Performances will continue through Oct. 21, with low-priced previews beginning Sept. 15.
In celebration of the bicentennial of the publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Little Fish Theatre presents Bloody Poetry by Howard Brenton. Opening September 27 at Little Fish Theatre and directed by Ovation Award winner and Little Fish Theatre Artistic Associate Stephanie Coltrin, Bloody Poetry plunges into the bohemian lives of Lord Byron, his mistress, and the Shelleys, and enables the audience to enter their summer Villa - a place where the poets take refuge from the upheaval of their country and turn creative writing into a collective practice of subversive intent and revolutionary ambition.
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, a dynamic hub for the lively arts and vital community resource, presents a dozen classical, jazz and contemporary music programs featuring some of the era's most compelling musical artists during the 2018/2019 season. World premieres, programs with thought-provoking social commentary and timeless iconic works are among the offerings.
Theater takes center stage in 2018/2019 as the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents some of the finest work from local, national and international artists featuring the return of For the Record'sLove Actually Live as a full-length, expanded production, the development of the new documentary musical Witness Uganda, National Theatre of Great Britain's landmark production of An Inspector Calls, the return of Hershey Felder in Hershey Felder as Claude Debussy:A Paris Love Story, the powerful solo performance The Bitter Game, and several family-friendly options including PigPen Theatre Company'sThe Old Man and The Old Moon,Trusty Sidekick Theatre Company's Shadow Play and the return of Story Pirates.
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis), building on its reputation as a prime West Coast home for dance, presents a wide range of innovative dance programs during its 2018/19 season, featuring the return of Jacob Jonas The Company as the 2018/19 Company-in-Residence and the addition to its illustrious roster of The Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Cuba's Malpaso Dance Company, Los Angeles' Ate9 Dance Company and Hubbard Street Chicago & Third Coast Percussion. Lauded since its 2013 opening for presenting the world's preeminent dance companies and choreographers as well championing exceptional rising artists, The Wallis has previously showcased Martha Graham Dance Company, Matthew Bourne's Early Adventures, Twyla Tharp's 50thAnniversary Tour, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Limon Dance Company, South Africa's Dada Masilo, BODYTRAFFIC and L.A. Dance Project, among other esteemed artists.
Casting has been announced for Bathsheba Doran's Parents' Evening, which receives its European premiere in a new production directed by Stella Powell Jones at Jermyn Street Theatre this October. Peter Hamilton Dyer (Mrs Orwell - Proud Haddock Southwark Playhouse, Twelfth Night - Shakespeare's Globe/Broadway, Midsummer Night's Dream - RSC) and Amy Marston (Broken Glass - Offie Nominated Best Actress - Watford Palace Theatre, A Small Family Business - National Theatre, Don John - Kneehigh) join forces in this searing and highly acclaimed two- hander.
The Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company has announced a limited engagement of Henry James' classic horror tale The Turn of the Screw in an adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher. Under the direction of Don K. Williams, the production will feature Sean Spann and Emily Sulzberger playing a total of 10 roles between them. Opening is set for Saturday, September 29, at 8pm.
Sofitel New York, the stylish Midtown hotel with a decidedly French accent, is strutting the best of its end-of-summer-stuff with a Shaken Stiletto cocktail in honor of the wildly successful 'Kinky Boots' on Broadway.
Despite some opening night technical problems, inconsistent sound issues and a lack of confidence performing Elizabeth Krebs' choreography, Mary Poppins - the musical theater version of the Disney film that was inspired by P.L. Travers' stories which, in turn, were loosely inspired by her own childhood adventures - opened to a rousing ovation from the audience at Smyrna's Springhouse Theatre Company Friday night.
San Diego Repertory Theatre announced today that DeLeon Dallas (REP's Honky) and Emily Shain will star in its upcoming production of Actually by the award-winning playwright, Anna Ziegler.
A born entertainer with an heartening voice.
American Blues Theater announces encore performance run of BUDDY - The Buddy Holly Story, written by Alan Janes, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, with musical direction by Ensemble Member Michael Mahler. BUDDY - The Buddy Holly Story will close as planned on May 26, 2018 and reopen June 29 - September 15, 2018 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Tickets will be on sale for the encore run on May 15, 2018.
Videos
