Paul Sills News

Ann-Margret's iconic performance inspires a spoof honoring Bernie Sanders' pledge of support to Hillary Clinton.

If laughter is the best medicine, then The Second City is its biggest dispensary. The comedy empire that produced Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and Keegan-Michael Key believes everyone can benefit from funny business, and shows how during The Second City Comedy Workshops at New Jersey Performing Arts Center, August 1-12.

Tony Award-winning actor Paul Sand took time out of his Sunday afternoon off to talk with BWW. He is currently putting on his third-ish re-incarnation of KURT WEILL AT THE CUTTLEFISH HOTEL at the Miles Memorial Playhouse. Inspiration for CUTTLEFISH initially hit Paul as he was walking on the Santa Monica Pier. 'Wouldn't Kurt Weill's nasty songs about murder and revenge and broken hearts be terrific down here?'

Raue Center For The Arts will welcome award-winning playwright Jeff Sweet to the Williams Street TheatreFest. Don't miss this special one-time performance of "You Only Shoot the Ones You Love" at 8 p.m. on July 10, 2016!

CHICAGO – Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton, and Erica Daniels, President of Second City Theatricals, are delighted to announce the return by popular demand of Hubbard Street + The Second City's acclaimed collaboration The Art of Falling, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, located at 205 East Randolph Street in Chicago. Single tickets are now on sale for this special encore engagement, opening June 9 and now extended through June 19, 2016.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton, and Erica Daniels, President of Second City Theatricals, are delighted to announce the return by popular demand of Hubbard Street + The Second City's acclaimed collaboration THE ART OF FALLING, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, located at 205 East Randolph Street in Chicago.

STORY THEATER by Paul Sills is one odd little theatrical experience. It features music by the estimable duo of Atwater and Donnelly and a half-dozen or so actors performing the fables of Aesop and the Brothers Grimm. This piece originally opened on Broadway in 1970 and closed after 243 performances with three Tony nominations, including one for best play. Paul Sills has an outstanding pedigree in improvisation: in the fifties he opened the Compass Players, which was an early platform for the esteemed Mike Nichols and Elaine May; in the sixties, he was a co-founder of Second City improvisational comedy troupe (Gilda Radner, Dan Ackroyd, John Belushi and Stephen Colbert are among the alums). After leaving Second City, Sills ran several schools teaching improvisational techniques around the country.

Eclipse Theatre Company will present its Seventh Annual Corona Award to Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. Artistic Director Richard Cotovsky on December 15, 2015. The Corona Award honors an individual who has played an important role in supporting and nurturing the growth of the Chicago theatre community as well as small- to medium-sized Chicago theatre such as Eclipse.

With only a few performances remaining of Northern Sky Theater's (NST) 2015 season, their fall selection Lumberjacks in Love draws to a close. Douglas Mancheski retires the Dirty Bob shanty lumberjack he has played on and off since meeting Fred Alley in 1997. An event when Alley first discovered the actor and asked Mancheski to collaborate on the 'Little Dress' song that was immediately added to the popular NST musical. The solo song and dance continually brings smiles to audiences when Mancheski twirls in a ruffled white skirt on stage. Although Mancheski's burly lumberjack days are numbered this year, until NST's next production, he will still be a shanty boy through the holidays in Milwaukee.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: PERFECT ARRANGEMENT opens off-Broadway, David Arquette takes SHERLOCK on tour, NAMT kicks off and more!

With the continued growth of its celebrated Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center series, and the success of its highly popular participatory dance experiences, The Music Center has become an important hub for dance in Los Angeles. Its 2015-2016 dance season is a prime example of the commitment of The Music Center to present distinctive dance experiences to Southern California audiences, especially by internationally renowned artists in classical ballet and contemporary expression.

Fall is around the corner, meaning there's plenty of reason to look forward to these cool new and classic productions arriving in the upcoming months. What better way to prepare for autumn than checking out this list of shows from San Francisco's talented high school and college theater departments. Be ready to get your ticket because these fall productions are sure to please any theater-goer.

Rise of the Usher has elements of All About Eve as well as parallels to Shakespeare's Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. The ambitious protagonist rises to the top of the usher anthill to achieve chief usher status. When she later transitions from her focus from career to romantic life, she learns about boldness from the heart versus ambition and realizes that different rules apply.

Rise of the Usher has elements of All About Eve as well as parallels to Shakespeare's Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. The ambitious protagonist rises to the top of the usher anthill to achieve chief usher status. When she later transitions from her focus from career to romantic life, she learns about boldness from the heart versus ambition and realizes that different rules apply.

Coming this summer, The Bijou Theatre in Bijou Square, Bridgeport, is offering three different programs for student performers between June and August: two day programs for ages 8-14 years - the Bijou Youth Summer Stage; and an evening program for young adults ages 15-22, the Bijou Young Adult Summer Stock.

With the continued growth of its celebrated Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center series, and the success of its highly popular participatory dance experiences, The Music Center has become an important hub for dance in Los Angeles. Its 2015-2016 dance season is a prime example of the commitment of The Music Center to present distinctive dance experiences to Southern California audiences, especially by internationally renowned artists in classical ballet and contemporary expression.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton are excited to announce the main company's 2015-16 season performances in Chicago. Tickets to four engagements at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, 205 East Randolph Street, are available immediately as a Season 38 subscription; single tickets will go on sale in August 2015.

New Jersey Theatre Alliance, a service organization for the state's Equity producing theatres, is proud to announce that Jersey City Children's Theater (JCCT) has been accepted for membership in the Alliance. JCCT is now recognized, together with the 34 other professional theatre companies that are members of the Alliance, as a major force in bringing the joy and power of professional theatre to all residents and visitors of New Jersey.

Jill Eikenberry will star in 'The M Spot' with her husband, the show's playwright Michael Tucker. The show will be on stage at New Jersey Repertory Company from February 28th through March 29th.