Robert Johnston News

Based in Campbell River, BC, Vogue Villains are a hard rocking alternative band with a musical foundation planted firmly in catchy melodies and multi-part harmonies. Their live show is big, dirty and full of raw energy while also having a humorous stage presence that goes hand in hand with their tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

While Harrison Ford, Martin Scorsese, Todd Haynes, Natalie Portman, Wes Anderson and more made for the glitziest Cannes Film Festival in recent memory, Conley Entertainment Group (CEG), which recently announced a $100 million equity fund with plans to produce two feature films per year beginning in 2024, was the talk of the town.

Field trip performances of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, sold out within minutes of going on sale. In order to reach more students in the community, Orange County Public Schools is providing Orlando Shakes with the opportunity to use Boone High School's new, 852-seat auditorium. Boone students will see Orlando Shakes' production first at a special Halloween-day performance. Three other performance dates are available to other OCPS schools at a cost per student with bus transportation provided by OCPS.

Mad Cow Theatre is thrilled to announce the cast and creative team of Arthur Miller's stunning drama A View from the Bridge, which will take the Harriett stage March 23, 2018 as the sixth production of Mad Cow Theatre's Season 21. 

freeFall's 2017/18 season begins with an all-new adaptation of White Fang, written and directed by Jethro Compton. Based in the UK, Compton and his production company are well known for creating bold, narrative driven theatrical experiences that often present highly cinematic re-imaginings of classic stories for the stage.  freeFall Theatre Company and Jethro Compton Productions are co-producing this new vision of a literary classic right here in St. Petersburg. Local audiences will be the first to experience this world premiere before it heads to London for a run at The Park Theatre in December 2017.

MNM Productions' Company is the latest venture by theatrical producers and arts consultants Marcie Gorman-Althof and Michael Lifshitz. Company is their sixth major musical following A Chorus Line, Side By Side By Sondheim, Hair, The World Goes 'Round and, most recently, Monty Python's Spamalot. MNM Productions' Company will be appearing at the Marshall E. Rinker Playhouse of the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts through August 6, 2017.

Marcie Gorman-Althof and Michael Lifshitz, the producing partners behind MNM Productions, one of South Florida's hottest new theatre companies, today announced that they are partnering with Legends Radio 100.3FM to promote their next production, Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY, which will run July 21 through August 6 at the Kravis Center's Rinker Playhouse.

Marcie Gorman-Althof and Michael Lifshitz, the producing partners behind MNM Productions, one of South Florida's hottest new theatre companies, today announced the cast of its next production, Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY, which will run July 21 through August 6 at the Kravis Center's Rinker Playhouse.

Picasso and Einstein meet at a bar, hate each other and then eventually become friends. Sounds crazy, right? Well, a little bit of crazy and a little bit of genius come together in Mad Cow Theatre's production of PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE in the best way possible. 

Mad Cow Theatre is delighted to announce the cast and creative team for Steve Martin's uproariously offbeat comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile, which will take the Harriett stage Jan. 20, 2017 as the fourth production of Mad Cow Theatre's Season 20.

Mad Cow Theatre is delighted to announce the cast and creative team for Steve Martin's uproariously offbeat comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile, which will take the Harriett stage Jan. 20, 2017 as the fourth production of Mad Cow Theatre's Season 20.

Mad Cow Theatre is delighted to announce the cast and creative team for Steve Martin's uproariously offbeat comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile, which will take the Harriett stage Jan. 20, 2017 as the fourth production of Mad Cow Theatre's Season 20.

The really nice thing is that this is the first world premiere I've seen in a long time that doesn't need editing. A tight one act. It'll go.

Avi Hoffman, whose recent performance as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman for the New Yiddish Rep at Off Broadway's Castillo Theatre won consistently rave reviews, will direct Unlikely Heroes, a new play by first time playwright Dr. Charles Gluck.  Hoffman, who will also act in the production, will be joined on stage by a veritable 'Who's Who' of South Florida Theatre - the cast of Unlikely Heroes includes Patti Gardner, Robert Johnston, Margot Moreland, Kim Ostrenko, and Michael H. Small.  The production will run from January 28th - February 21st at the Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center in Boca Raton.

The South Florida Silver Palm Theatre Awards committee, founded eight years ago to honor theatrical excellence in South Florida, has announced that this year it will present the coveted award to 27 individuals and organizations.

In the American theatrical cannon, there is perhaps no play more beloved than George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's Pulitzer Prize-winning YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU. The cherished comedy has been one of the most enduring works on American stages since its debut in 1937, and Church Street's Mad Cow Theatre Company has brought a charming production to Orlando through October 25th. Directed by David Russell, the original madcap family comedy still carries as many life lessons as it did nearly 80 years ago, all the while providing a laugh a minute. While there is a layer of subtext seemingly missing from this production, it is nonetheless thrilling to see such an incredibly talented cast dive head first into these delightfully bonkers characters.

Mad Cow Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for its upcoming run of the classic comedy You Can't Take It With You, by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. You Can't Take It With You is set to open Oct. 2, 2015 in the Harriett Theatre as the first production of Season 19.

Anyone who goes to see BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON expecting a bio-musical about our seventh president is in for a rude awakening.

I have to admit, I have a significant gap in my pop culture knowledge. I have never seen the movie version of Philip Barry's play THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, which starred Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart, and garnered six Academy Award nominations in 1940. While I have seen a stage production Cole Porter's musical adaptation, HIGH SOCIETY (which was also a 1956 film), it wasn't until I saw Mad Cow Theatre's production (running through April 19th) that I truly appreciated the charming wit and sophistication of this classic high comedy. Under the direction of Aradhana Tiwari, Mad Cow's cast is an exceptionally talented group that will bring a smile to your heart, and just might bring a sentimental tear to your eye. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY is the most enjoyable Mad Cow mainstage production that I have seen.

Mad Cow Theatre's The Philadelphia Story, by Philip Barry, opens today, March 20, 2015 in The Harriett Theatre as part of Season 18.