Plenty News

How much does the world love Dolly Parton? Let us count the ways. She gave $1m to help fund the Moderna vaccine which has saved around two million lives, she started up in 2007 the Imagination Library which every month now donates more than 40,000 books across the UK and she wrote “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” on the same day.

Tickets are now on sale for the 5th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, the largest of its kind in North America, returning January 18-29, 2023, at venues large and small throughout the city.

A thrilling production of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is being presented at McCarter Theatre Center through December 24. 

What did our critic think of BALD SISTERS at Steppenwolf Theatre Company? Steppenwolf presents a new twist on the well-trod territory of the dysfunctional family drama with Vichet Chum’s BALD SISTERS. As far as dysfunctional families go, too, the family in BALD SISTERS doesn’t have the most baggage. That said, Chum’s characters still have plenty to contend with as sisters Him and Sophea mourn the loss of their mother. The play is a meditation on the circle of life, but I appreciate that BALD SISTERS is an exercise in subtlety as far as family dramas go. As a result, some of Chum’s scenes meander and don’t seem to have a purpose within the context of the play, but I like that BALD SISTERS has themes that wash over audiences rather than hit them over the head.

Lewisville Grand Theater continues its commitment of bringing more live music to Lewisville with the announcement of eight concerts slated for 2023.

It was produced by Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Public Image Ltd.) at Los Angeles’ famed Sound City studios. Like her “nature punk” contemporary Hurray for the Riff Raff, Clyde’s malleable singing voice—spanning an appealing twang to a lovely, plaintive croon. Watch the new music video now!

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will begin its NY celebration of the Lunar New Year: Year of the Water Rabbit on Sunday February 5, 2023 at 3pm at the Kupferberg Center of Queens College in NYC, followed by two days of performances for K-12 schools in Queens on the following Monday and Tuesday, February 6 and 7, 2023 (sold out).

It's always a hard task to 'put a spin' on a story as traditional and well known as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's adaptation gives us a female Scrooge, Charlie Dickens as a magical narrator and a school of cold and hungry children, run by Scrooge's nephew and his wife, who help create a story to teach the miserly Scrooge a lesson.

Redline VR, located at 4702 N. Ravenswood, is Chicago's immersive entertainment center and virtual reality arcade bar. This Holiday season, Redline VR is welcoming Santa and other actors to transform the bar into a Winter Wonderland.

Every Christmas Day, Philadelphia's Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) hosts a day of family-friendly fun when little else is open for business.

After a three year hiatus, Bread & Butter Theatre will return to Potrero Stage with David Hare's Tony and Olivier award-winning play Skylight. Skylight runs January 12 - 21, 2023. Opening Night is January 14, 2023 at 7:30 pm.

As I settled into my seat at Proctors to watch the new touring production of HAIRSPRAY, I wasn’t expecting anything particularly revolutionary. Instead, I was met with a production that embodies the show’s themes of love and solidarity so effectively that I’m convinced this show is more timely now than it was when it was conceived two decades ago.

What did our critic think of PALM SPRINGS GETAWAY at Palm Canyon Theatre? Palm Canyon Theatre has revived a new, streamlined version of Palm Springs Getaway, their original 'musical romp' which they premiered last season. I'll start right out by confessing that I was in the original production so I know it well, though I never actually 'saw' it. I'm delighted to report that playwright Cara Van Dijk, aided by Eric Stein-Steele and Se Layne, has kept the best of the first production and replaced a few of the previously weak moments with some very strong scenes. The result is a tuneful, educational, nostalgic and totally enjoyable couple of hours.

El Portal Theatre presents three special shows to celebrate the holidays onstage at the historic El Portal Theatre Debbie Reynolds Mainstage, 5269 Lankershim Blvd. in the NOHO Arts District, North Hollywood, CA.

Another triumphant vindication of a uniquely thoroughgoing philosophy at Chickenshed

Comedian Nate Bargatze announced 26 dates for his 2023 THE BE FUNNY TOUR that will include a stop at the UIS Performing Arts Center in Springfield, IL on June 1, 2023.

Seasonal silliness is in full swing December 9 through 11 at Kelsey Theatre on the campus of Mercer County Community College! 

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will begins its NY/NJ celebration of the Lunar New Year: Year of the Black Water Rabbit beginning on the week of Jan 16, 2023 starting at NJPAC in Newark, NJ and ending on February 5, 2023 3PM at the Kupferberg Center of Queens College in NYC.

The Watermill will kick off its 2023 season with the brand-new stage adaption of Bill Bryson’s award-winning memoir NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND, affectionately celebrating the quirks and eccentricities of British life, adapted by BAFTA and Olivier Award winning playwright Tim Whitnall.

It’s the holiday season and all reviewers are going to their required holiday shows... You know... Elf, A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol. It's the same stuff, different year. Not this show. This is a brand new show by a unique writers' room collaboration called A (Happy) Holiday. Feeling down or out by the holidays while everyone one else around you has holiday cheer? This is the show for you. It's got everything -- singing, dancing, a unique story, and a drag queen. Who could honestly want more?