Robert Burns News

BWW catches up with producer Graham Main to talk about the 2019 Big Burns Supper festival.

2019 is the 260th birthday of Scotland's National Bard, Robert Burns and to mark the occasion Big Burns Supper festival is throwing out a warm invitation to audiences old and new from near and far to join them alongside a host of top Scottish and international artists for the biggest contemporary celebration of Scotland's national poet in the town he called home, Dumfries.

Join in once again to celebrate Burns Night in style with a host of leading West End performers as they present 'Scots In the City - Burns Night Special 2019'(It's not all bagpipes and Brigadoon…!)

On Friday, January 25, 2019, NapaShakes celebrates the birthday of Scotland's Bard: Robert Burns, and the music, food and culture of Scotland, with its first ever Burns Night Supper. Guests will savor the words of Scotland's greatest poet (and a bit of Shakespeare's Macbeth) accompanied by bagpipes and a lively Ceilidh band, plus engaging performances by two acclaimed actors from Britain and Broadway: Jane Carr and Victor Talmadge. The evening includes a delicious Napa Valley-style feast with traditional haggis (meat or vegetarian), neeps and tatties, and other delights in the candle-lit Gallery of St. Helena's Brasswood Napa Valley. The event is for age 21 and older, and attendees are welcome (but not required) to wear kilts and other traditional attire.

New Philharmonic's immensely popular New Year's Eve program returns to ring in 2019 with three concerts at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) Monday, Dec. 31, 2018 at 2, 5:30 and 9 p.m.

Today the Edinburgh International Festival announced that the National Theatre of Scotland returns to the International Festival in 2019 with the world premiere of Red Dust Road, an adaptation of poet Jackie Kay's memoir.

State Theatre New Jersey presents Tony Award-winning actor Alan Cumming in his new show Legal Immigrant on Saturday, September 29, 2018, 8pm. In addition to the show, all ticket buyers for Legal Immigrant are welcomed to come early for a pre-show Pride Night reception from 7pm-8pm in the second floor lobby of the State Theatre. Tickets for Legal Immigrant range from $39-$69.

Newnan Theatre Company is proud to announce the opening of its 41st season with a production of the John Steinbeck classic work, Of Mice and Men. The show opens on August 16th and will run through August 26th. The story is based on Steinbeck's own experiences of working with the migrant workers in California when he was a teenager. Steinbeck took the title from the famous poem "To A Mouse," by Robert Burns, which reads, "… the best-laid plans o' mice an' men/ Gang aft agley," or "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

Armour: A Herstory of the Scottish Bard is a new musical written by Shonagh Murray and directed by Melanie Bell that addresses who Nancy and the other women featured in his poetry were and what might have happened if they had met after his death.

For Laura, in Noel Coward's beautiful pre-World War II black & white film, Brief Encounter, it is an unexpected meeting at a train station that leads to a secret romance with a friendly stranger named Alec. In ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE, the stage play inspired by Coward's film, written and directed by Stephen Sachs, it is a moment in a modern day New York subway station that thrusts Emily (Deanne Bray) into a similar romantic conundrum with another stranger, Sam (Troy Kotsur).

An unforgettable love story inspired by one of the most romantic movies of all time. Stephen Sachs directs Deaf actors Deanne Bray (Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, Heroes) and Troy Kotsur (title role in Cyrano at the Fountain, Big River on Broadway) in Sachs' newest play, inspired by the screenplay for Noel Coward's Brief Encounter. The world premiere of Arrival & Departure will open on July 14 and continue through September 30 at the Fountain Theatre. The cast also features hearing actors Jessica Jade Andres, Adam Burch, Brian Robert Burns, Shon Fuller, Kyra Kotsur, Aurelia Myersand Stasha Surdyke.

An unforgettable love story inspired by one of the most romantic movies of all time. Stephen Sachs directs Deaf actors Deanne Bray (Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, Heroes) and Troy Kotsur (title role in Cyrano at the Fountain, Big River on Broadway) in Sachs' newest play, inspired by the screenplay for Noel Coward's Brief Encounter. The world premiere of Arrival & Departure will open on July 14 and continue through September 30 at the Fountain Theatre. The cast also features hearing actors Jessica Jade Andres, Adam Burch,Brian Robert Burns, Shon Fuller, Kyra Kotsur, Aurelia Myersand Stasha Surdyke.

BWW reviewer Natalie O'Donoghue selects her top pick of musicals from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme.

Tony Award-winning performer Alan Cumming will bring his new concert show, Legal Immigrant, to San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (3301 Lyon St., San Francisco) on Wednesday, July 11 at 7 p.m. Presented by Feinstein's Presents-Feinstein's at the Nikko's series showcasing world-class performers at larger venues throughout the Bay Area-this one-night-only event will feature a set list as eclectic and idiosyncratic as Alan himself! Tickets for Legal Immigrant range in price from $75-$115. A limited number of meet-and-greet experiences are available for an additional $150 per ticket through OMG VIP-the leader in VIP fan experiences. VIP experiences include premium front seating, a post-show meet and greet event with Alan, one photo with Alan, an exclusive VIP laminate, and an exclusive autographed poster created by Grant Shaffer. Tickets are available now by calling 866-663-1063 or visiting www.ticketfly.com.

Disappear down the rabbit hole and discover a wonderland of shows in theSpaceUK's 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe season. Exciting new productions from emerging talent, hidden gems to unearth, new-writing delights to discover and Fringe favourites that are sure to please, theSpaceUK really is a venue like no other.

Casting has been announced for the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ("Olive Kitteridge") of her acclaimed 2004 play The Baby Dance. A drama delicately laced with comic overtones, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child. In the story, Regina and Richard, an affluent mixed-race couple in Los Angeles, have everything except a baby. Wanda and Al, an African-American couple living in an overcrowded trailer in modern-day Louisiana, are too poor to keep their soon-to-be-born child. Through an adoption attorney, the two couples broker a deal. However, circumstances arise that affect their decision and the situation spins out of control. The Wall Street Journal described The Baby Dance as "filled with emotional power and nimble humor." The L.A. Times called it "a stunner…funny as well as perceptive."

Casting has been announced for the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ('Olive Kitteridge') of her acclaimed 2004 play The Baby Dance. A drama delicately laced with comic overtones, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child.

The Medicine Show Theatre is proud to announce the lineup of speakers headlining the talkback series accompanying its production of The Bedbug, by Vladimir Mayakovsky. Written in 1929, this rarely produced play's socio-political commentary was ahead of its time. Through larger-than-life characters and circumstances, Mayakovsky warns of how the foibles of totalitarian regime policies can be manifested in the very people they are designed to empower.

Medicine Show Theatre hosts a Gala Salon on Friday, April 13th, to kick off its spring show, Vladimir Mayakovsky's 1929 play, The Bedbug, a biting romp through the Soviet bourgeoisie complete with philistines, party fat cats and profiteers. Doors will open at 6pm. Wine and cheese will be served to a soundtrack of Russian popular music, and theatregoers will have an opportunity to mingle with the performers, as well as see the show, for $40.

Medicine Show Theatre presents Vladimir Mayakovsky's 1929 play, The Bedbug, a biting romp through the Soviet bourgeoisie complete with philistines, party fat cats and profiteers. Visiting artist Ashley Wren Collins directs this production as part of Medicine Show Theatre's (MST) acclaimed Season of Russia. Collins received her MFA from the American Repertory Theater / Moscow Art Theatre School IATT at Harvard.