Ovation News

Today, Alex Newell speaks with BWW about making his Broadway debut and explains why even in the bleakest of times, there's always hope for what the future can bring!

The Road Theatre Company and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, present the second show of its 2017-2018 season, the west coast premiere of A DELICATE SHIP, written by acclaimed playwright Anna Ziegler (Actually) and directed by Andre Barron (Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby). A DELICATE SHIP will begin previews on Saturday, January 13 at 8pm; will open on Friday, January 19 at 8pm and run through Sunday, March 11 at the Road Theatre on Magnolia, located in The NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10747 Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood.

When the band kicks in and those eight young performers really let loose, you'll find it nearly impossible to stay in your seat.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts & McCoy Rigby Entertainment present the third show of its 2017-2018 season (and the 40th anniversary of the iconic theatre) with CABARET, book by Joe Masteroff (based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood), music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb with musical direction by David O, choreography by Dana Solimando and directed by Larry Carpenter.

Actors Co-0p Theatre Company (Ovation Award-Winner 2014 Best Intimate Theatre Musical for 110 in the Shade) presents the Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award nominated drama A Walk in the Woods written by award-winning playwright Lee Blessing, directed by Ken Sawyer, produced by Lauren Thompson. A Walk in the Woods will preview, Thursday, February 8 at 8:00 pm, and will open Friday, February 9 at 8:00 pm, and run through Sunday, March 18 at the Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre, 1760 N. Gower Street, 90028 (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood) in Hollywood.

The seventh annual Maryland International Film Festival, Hagerstown (MDIFF-H) is still accepting submissions for this year's festival. To date the festival has received more than 200 films from over twenty-two countries.

Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare opened his San Diego Symphony Orchestra guest appearance with Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture. Payare conducted with vigorous dramatic motions, and the orchestra responded by bringing the work's romantic themes and stirring gestures to life. Principle English horn player brought exceptional warmth and beauty to the score's first solo. She wasn't unique in her excellence. Every soloist and section managed even demanding tempos and dynamic changes with pleasing tone and precision.

The Road Theatre Company and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director, together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, present the second show of its 2017-2018 season, the west coast premiere of A DELICATE SHIP, written by acclaimed playwright Anna Ziegler (Actually) and directed by Andre Barron (Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby).

Between vivid portrayals of characters from 1960's Manhattan to present day San Francisco, Marga Gomez ponders the ballads (or Latin Standards) penned by her late father Willy Chevalier: a comedian/producer/entrepreneur and composer of dance tunes steeped in jealousy and obsession.

Two-time Tony and GRAMMY Award winner Patti LuPone returns to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis), as part of the acclaimed Broadway @ The Wallis series, for a one-night-only Valentine's Day event featuring two intimate concerts at 7:30pm and 9:30pm on Wednesday, February 14, 2018. The Broadway legend will be joined on stage by Broadway @ The Wallis series host and music director Seth Rudetsky who wrote and starred in the Broadway musical Disaster! in a not-to-be-missed night of singing and conversation produced by Mark Cortale. The Broadway @ The Wallis concert is made possible by generous support from Ken and Wendy Ruby.

When Judy Garland stepped out onto the stage at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961, the raucous standing ovation that greeted her was just the start of what has been called the greatest night in show business history. Award-winning actress/singer Jody Briskey will channel Garland and recreate that night's iconic performance in Garland in Word and Song at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park. The production, produced by Black Box Booking (The Jazz Singer, Danny Kaye & Sylvia), will run from January 26th through February 11th.

Hailed as the best ensemble of its kind in the world, (Manchester Evening News), the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet make its debut at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Art (The Wallis) with one of the most distinctive artists of his generation, pianist and MacArthur Genius Stephen Hough, in a one-night-only performance in the Bram Goldsmith Theater on Saturday, February 10 at 7:30pm. The evening concert includes works by W.A. Mozart, Samuel Barber, Jacques Ibert, Francis Poulenc, and an original work by multitalented Hough.

MIRIAM HOFFMAN, author, scholar, playwright & survivor will be reading selections from her new book A Breed Apart: Reflections of a Young Refugee, on Tuesday, January 23, 2018, at 8pm at the Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave Coral Gables, Florida. She will be joined by her son, Avi Hoffman, the award-winning actor & performer, with special musical guest, Randi Fishenfeld. The evening will include a multi-media presentation, discussion, Q&A & book signing. The event, which is co-sponsored by the University of Miami/Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies, will be FREE & open to the public.

Celebrating its 26th Anniversary this year, The Blank Theatre's Annual Young Playwrights Festival is now seeking submissions nationwide from playwrights 19 years of age and younger. The submission deadline is March 15, 2018. Winning plays will be presented by professional actors and directors in June of this year at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, CA.

Jeanne Sakata's one-man drama Hold These Truths tells the true story of Gordon Hirabayashi, the American son of Japanese immigrants who defied an unjust court order when America placed its own citizens in internment camps during World War II. Midway through Arena Stage's 2017/18 season, Hold These Truths brings an untold story to the stage that represents the diversity of our country and examines what it means to be an American. Under the direction of Jessica Kubzansky, Hold These Truths runs February 23-April 8, 2018 in the Kogod Cradle.

LA's own Impro Theatre delves into the world of fairytales featuring wondrous magic, dangerous journeys and true love, with a lesson or two along the way at The Broad Stage on Saturday, February 3 at 11am. Inspired by the suggestions and imaginations of our youngest audience members, Fairytales UnScripted brings to life stories that no one has ever seen and no one will ever see again.

On Saturday, January 13, 2018, the National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) announced the appointment of Sarah Arison as Chair of the Board of Trustees during the organization's largest annual fundraiser, the Backyard Ball performance and gala. Ms. Arison will assume the position immediately. The celebratory evening honored Academy Award-winning playwright and YoungArts master teacher Tarell Alvin McCraney (1999 YoungArts Winner in Theater) with the 2018 Arison Alumni Award for his contributions and commitment to the arts.

Great books haunt Laurie Anderson's bold experimental performances. From Moby Dick to The Tibetan Book of the Dead works of literature are embedded in many of her films, stories and songs. In celebration of her new book, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis) and The Library Foundation of Los Angeles' ALOUD series present the West Coast Premiere of Laurie Anderson in All the Things I Lost in the Flood on Friday, April 20 at 7:30pm. Through intimate storytelling and bold digital language, this original one-woman piece gives a tour of the creative process noting both successes and failures behind Anderson's many operas, projects and installations, and invites audiences to witness how a book comes to life as a performance.

Rubicon Theatre Company presents the outrageously funny, critically-acclaimed comedy Buyer & Cellar by Jonathan Tolins. The production is directed by Ovation Award-winner Stephanie A. Coltrin and stars award-winning actor and Rubicon's Associate Artistic Director Brian McDonald. Inspired by Barbra Streisand's book My Passion for Design, Tolins' one-man, tour-de-force is described by the N.Y. Times as a seriously funny slice of absurdist whimsy about the price of fame, the cost of things, and the oddest of odd jobs. Winner of the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Best Play, this Off-Broadway sensation follows a struggling actor named Alex who winds up working for an unnamed show-business legend in her Malibu basement mall. An unlikely friendship develops between the two from which Alex learns profound lessons about himself.

The Wine Show take viewers on a fresh, accessible and thoroughly entertaining new journey into wine. The announcement was made by Sky Vision SVP, US Sales and Acquisitions Gillian Rose and Scott Woodward, EVP of Programming, Ovation.