Richard Allen News

Auditions for A.E. Gill's Oedipus, an original adaptation of Sophocles' classic tragedy set in modern day Appalachia, will begin in April at the Alban Arts Center in Saint Albans, WV. Oedipus examines the clash between politics, Christianity and the will of man while exploring fate, pride and the demise of those in power.

The Rustic Mechanicals, West Virginia's only Shakespeare troupe, will be heading out on their first tour of 2018 with their production of Richard III. The tour, aptly named The Naked Villainy Tour, will begin in the troupe's hometown of Clarksburg, WV before heading to Morgantown, WV; Wheeling Park High School; Brooke High School; Weirton, WV; Wheeling, WV; Romney, WV; and Keyser, WV.

Auditions for The Invisible Man, a play based on the classic novella by H.G. Wells, will take place at the end of March and beginning of April. A portion of the proceeds from this production will go towards helping veterans.

Avalon is producing a one-off UKTV Original special from the uniquely talented ensemble The Horne Section. Commissioned by Richard Watsham and Hilary Rosen for entertainment channel Dave, the two-hour special will feature The Horne Section's spontaneous and free-wheeling combination of live music and comedy.

TRUE STORY - 'FAKE NEWS' to premiere in Salford, an Eighties-set Neon Nightmare Psychodrama.

The incredible true story behind the beloved song, Amazing Grace The Musical is heading to the Keith Albee Performing Arts Center in Huntington, WV thanks to the Marshall Artist Series on Tuesday, February 20th, 2018. This production features music and lyrics by Christopher Smith and a book by Smith and Arthur Giron.

Theatre ETC! will be bringing their touring production of the dystopian classic 1984 to a middle school or high school near you soon! This live adaptation of George Orwell's classic novel deals with omnipresent government surveillance, loss of rights, and authoritarian regimes in a thought provoking and often frightening way. 1984's story is as alarming now as it was upon first release and serves as a staunch reminder of what could happen if government control is allowed to run rampant and unopposed.

On Saturday, April 28th, 2018 from 5:00 through 8:00 P.M. Cabell Huntington Hospital will be hosting their annual Uncorked! Wine Festival Fundraiser: A food and wine festival that benefits the Marshall Artist Series. Uncorked!  Is your chance to sample different varieties of wine, sample tasty food, and bid on unique and extravagant items at its live and silent auctions. All for a great cause!

Marshall Artist Series will be presenting Broadway's Record-Breaking, Six Time Tony Award Winning Musical Smash Hit Chicago on Monday, February 12th, 2018 at 7:30 P.M. at the historic Keith Albee Performing Arts Center!

The Charleston Light Opera Guild has announced audition dates for their highly anticipated rendition of My Fair Lady. Auditions will take place on February 12th, 13th and 15th of 2018. This marks the first time the guild has produced this classic musical in over 25 years.

The Marshall University Theatre company, known as Theatre ETC! (Education Touring Company) has been given an anonymous grant in the amount of $20,000. This incredibly generous grant will help ensure that Theatre ETC! will be able to continue to bring its unique brand of educational and thought-provoking show adaptations to schools around the state while also continuing to supply educators with informative study materials.

Triple threat performer Jeffrey Scott Parsons made his LA Solo Cabaret debut Monday January 22 at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal with a sold out house. The show was entitled Comfy and took us back through the years beginning with a six-year old Parsons in Utah - yes, he was a farmboy and ... a Mormon, still is - who hated uncomfortable shirts and pants, calling them 'frickly', but had an early passion for sequins. We were treated to a home movie of his performance of 'Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer' with his older sister and brother, two younger sisters scrambling around and his mother at the piano, referring to them all as the Mormon Von Trapp family. Indeed, this lad has a sense of humor and made an otherwise seriously reflective evening exceedingly enjoyable to watch, as he broke into tap at regular intervals.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW , Broadway's Supper Club, presents FREEDOM RIDERS: The Civil Rights Musical in Concert on January 4th, 2018. In 1961, civil rights activists rode interstate buses into the stubbornly segregated South. They did this to challenge the non-enforcement of the Supreme Court's decision that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. Somebody had to do it, and on May 4, 1961, 13 brave souls (seven black, six white) ventured forth from D.C. to Dixie via Greyhound and Trailways. They were followed by 423 others in at least 60 other Freedom Ride forays into the inhospitable South.

The Pub Landlord is on a one-man-mission after Santa warns confidence in Christmas has dropped faster than the Pound The big day is almost upon us and in a last-ditch bid to claw back Christmas from the brink of disaster the nation's favourite publican, philosopher, common sense commando, scholar, sage and bald bloke is hosting the ultimate public house party

The Los Angeles City College (LACC) Theatre Academy and Kritzerland Entertainment present the world premiere of LEVI!, a classic fit new musical based on the life of Levi Strauss. The production opens tonight, November 17, at LACC'S Camino Theatre. The production will continue through December 2, 2017.

The Los Angeles City College (LACC) Theatre Academy and Kritzerland Entertainment present the world premiere of LEVI!, a classic fit new musical based on the life of Levi Strauss with a book by legendary cult Film Writer/Director Larry Cohen and Janelle Webb Cohen; and music and lyrics written by Disney's most celebrated Oscar-winning Composers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.

Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents FREEDOM RIDERS: The Civil Rights Musical in Concert on January 1st, 2018.

The Los Angeles City College (LACC) Theatre Academy and Kritzerland Entertainment present the world premiere of LEVI!, a classic fit new musical based on the life of Levi Strauss, with a book by legendary cult film writer/director Larry Cohen and Janelle Webb Cohen, and music and lyrics written by Disney's most celebrated Oscar-winning composers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang, Charlotte's Web, The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks and more).

Produced, hosted and narrated by record producer, author, composer, director, actor Bruce Kimmel, this brand new show features musical direction by Richard Allen and the performing talents of (in alphabetical order): Daniel Thomas Bellusci, David Burnham, Sharon McNight, Lauren Rubin, Hayley Shukiar, Sami Staitman and Robert Yacko. Quips Kimmel,

Just weeks after their completely sold out run of FREEDOM RIDERS: The Civil Rights Musical at the New York Musical Festival, Richard Allen and Taran Gray, the musical's creators, have announced there will be two more shows making FREEDOM RIDERS: The Civil Rights Musical one of three in a series they are calling the Freedom Trilogy.