Rachel Sullivan News

Urban Stages will continue its celebrated family programing with three Sundays filled with puppets, poetry and endless fun for the whole family. All shows begin at 1:30pm at Urban Stages (259 W 30 Street).

It may not be like getting a gift on every one of the 12 Days of Christmas, but for cabaret and musical theater lovers, the 5th Annual Urban Stages Winter Rhythms series--presented over a dozen nights at the not-for-profit Off-Broadway theatre on 259 West 30th Street--could be the closest thing to opening a daily present by the tree. From December 3-15, dozens of singers and musicians will perform in an eclectic mix of a dozen shows plus late night and matinee 'extras,' with all the proceeds from ticket sales dedicated to the Urban Stages 'On Tour Outreach Program that brings more than 200 free multicultural theater and music programs to elementary and middle school age children and their families in libraries and schools throughout NYC five boroughs. Three years ago, Urban Stages Artistic Director Frances Hill brought in MAC and Bistro award-winning director, lyricist and producer Peter Napolitano to produce the Winter Rhythms program and broaden its scope.BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Columnist Stephen Hanks recently caught up with the Sol Hurok of Urban Stages to learn how Napolitano has helped Winter Rhythms evolve and to get some insights into this year's program.

The Bushwick Starr and Alphabet Arts Present: 3rd Annual Puppets & Poets Festival on December 6-8, 2013, Friday-Sunday. Evening cabaret for mature audiences, Fri-Sat at 8pm, Sun at 7pm. Free matinee for all ages, Sat-Sun at 3pm. Family-friendly performance and interactive fun!

Puppets & Poets is a festival that explores and celebrates poetry and puppetry, two of the world's oldest and most diversely practiced art forms. The third annual festival features poets, puppeteers, musicians, actors, dancers, and other artists from NYC, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Austin in an evening cabaret program for mature audiences and a family-friendly matinee program. Matinees are free, interactive, appropriate for all ages, and followed by poetry-writing and puppet-making workshops. Highlights of this year's festival include The Folk Art Opera by San Francisco poet/musician Annie Bacon and her band with puppetry by Alphabet Arts; a David Bowie-inspired rock adventure called Spacetansmananagasm by Austin actor/puppeteer Zeb West; and Blown Away by Poetry, an interactive puppet musical by NYC's Urban stages. Both the evening and matinee programs include exciting and eclectic performances blending puppetry, poetry, and other arts.

In cabaret, there are variety shows and there are VARIETY shows. Going on close to three years as a reviewer and attending a myriad of these affairs that can range in feel from Ed Sullivan to the Gong Show, I no longer have much patience for the lower case version. But every once in a while there's a multi-performer extravaganza that screams capital letters. It turns out that MAC-Award winning singer Lauren Fox has acquired the knack for staging 'Big V' variety shows because they are all about the themes, the stories, and the music, and not about the performers. And wouldn't you know it? With the egos being upstaged by everyone's joy and passion for the project, everybody wins . . . especially the audience. That was the case last night at 54 Below with the Fox produced 'One Night of Peace & Music: A Tribute to Woodstock.'

Maggie Keenan-Bolger and Rachel Sullivan will present The Birds and the Bees…Unabridged, an original devised theater piece about female sexuality accompanied by a pre/post show art exhibit. Bringing together a diverse ensemble of 25 people, and over 10 visual artists, The Birds and the Bees…Unabridged received over 2,000 survey responses and raised $9,962 through a Kickstarter campaign to make this show possible. For details, visit www.thebirdsandthebeesunabridged.com.

It may not be like getting a gift on every one of the 12 Days of Christmas, but for cabaret and musical theater lovers, the 4th Annual Urban Stages 'Winter Rhythms' series-presented over a dozen straight nights at the not-for-profit's Off-Broadway theatre on 259 West 39th Street-could be the closest thing to opening a daily present by the tree. From December 4-15, more than 80 singers and actors will perform in an eclectic mix of 22 shows (including three on Saturday and Sunday, 12/8 and 12/9), with all the proceeds from ticket sales dedicated to the Urban Stages 'On Tour Outreach Program.' Two years ago, Urban Stages Artistic Director Frances Hill brought in MAC and Bistro award-winning director, lyricist and producer Peter Napolitano to produce the Winter Rhythms program and broaden the scope of it's musical offerings. BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Columnist Stephen Hanks recently caught up with the new Sol Hurok of Urban Stages to learn how he had helped Winter Rhythms evolve and get some insights into this year's program.

Urban Stages brings its award-winning ON TOUR Series Off-Broadway. For more than 20 Years, Urban Stages has brought free original productions that are family-friendly, educational and extremely entertaining to libraries and schools throughout NYC's five boroughs. Urban Stages 20th Anniversary celebration, OCTOBERFEST, will take place from today, October 7- November 4, 2012 at Urban Stages Theatre (259 W 30 Street). All these performances are FREE to the public (with a suggested donation).

Urban Stages brings its award-winning ON TOUR Series Off-Broadway. For more than 20 Years, Urban Stages has brought free original productions that are family-friendly, educational and extremely entertaining to libraries and schools throughout NYC's five boroughs. Urban Stages 20th Anniversary celebration, OCTOBERFEST, will take place from October 7- November 4, 2012 at Urban Stages Theatre (259 W 30 Street). All these performances are FREE to the public (with a suggested donation).

New York: Urban Stages Outreach Department (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director) continues their family programing by celebrating the month of the Irish with Pot of Gold and the power of words for National Poetry Month, with Blown Away by Poetry. Urban Stages Family series will take place on Sundays at 1:30pm. Each show runs about an hour and will be performed at Urban Stages located at 259 West 30 Street. Tickets are $10 adults / $5 kids.

New York: Urban Stages Outreach Department (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director) continues their family programing by celebrating the month of the Irish with Pot of Gold and the power of words for National Poetry Month, with Blown Away by Poetry. Urban Stages Family series will take place on Sundays at 1:30pm. Each show runs about an hour and will be performed at Urban Stages located at 259 West 30 Street. Tickets are $10 adults / $5 kids.

Urban Stages Outreach Department (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director) is pleased to celebrate the holiday (winter season) with the children's show Tales of Snow, written and performed by Liz Parker and Rachel Sullivan.

Urban Stages Outreach Department (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director) is pleased to celebrate the holiday (winter season) with the children's show Tales of Snow, written and performed by Liz Parker and Rachel Sullivan.

Urban Stages Outreach Department (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director) is pleased to celebrate the holiday (winter season) with the children's show Tales of Snow, written and performed by Liz Parker and Rachel Sullivan.

Urban Stages Outreach Department (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director) is set to offer a free* family event to celebrate Halloween.

Urban Stages Outreach Department (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director) is set to offer a free* family event to celebrate Halloween.

Urban Stages' reach extends beyond the stage, throughout the boroughs, and into the city's Public Libraries, with Urban Stages On Tour series, which brings quality free theatre reflecting the city's multiculturalism to diverse audiences across the Five Boroughs.

Gloucester Stage honors the memory of playwright Wendy Wasserstein