Ron Simons News

2019 Tony winner Andre De Shields has been attending The National Black Theatre Festival® (NBTF) in Winston-Salem, N. C. since 1995. Dubbed the 'Black Theatre Holy Ground,' NBTF is the international outreach program of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company, founded by the late Larry Leon Hamlin in 1979. The Festival, also founded by Hamlin, has been held biennially since 1989. The NCBRC celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, while the NBTF celebrated its 30th.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces partial casting of August Wilson's Jitney. Tony Award-winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson directs his 2017 Broadway production a?' recipient of the Tony Award for Best Play Revival. Set in the early 1970s, Jitney follows a group of men trying to make a living by driving unlicensed cabs, or jitneys.

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) today announced the 2019 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by the current stars of Waitress, Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan, at the official announcement event at Sardi's Restaurant, which was streamed live online here at BroadwayWorld.

Blue by Charles Randolph-Wright with music by Nona Hendryx, will receive its Broadway premiere spring of 2020 at a theater to be announced, under the direction of Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad who starred in both the play's 2000 world premiere at Arena Stage and 2001 New York premiere at Roundabout Theatre Company.

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) today announced the 2019 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by the current stars of Waitress, Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan, at the official announcement event at Sardi's Restaurant, which was streamed live online here at BroadwayWorld.

Baltimore Center Stage is pleased to announce an exhilarating season of Mainstage plays to mark the debut programming under Artistic Director Stephanie Ybarra. This season of storytelling continues the Center Stage tradition of curating works from a wide array of voices, while also turning corners and pushing open doors to present these works in new and exciting ways.

Today, influencer and talent manager ChiChi Anyanwu of the NYC Black Theater Network, Marcia Pendelton, President of Walk Tall Girl Productions/Black Theater Online, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (Kevin Young, Director, Schomburg Center) announced BLACK PLAYWRIGHTS: THEY SPEAK. WHO LISTENS? A Black Theater Winter Preview: Broadway and Off-Broadway Edition. The event is scheduled at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (515 Malcolm X Blvd) on Monday, January 28, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. Four-time Tony Award-winning producer Ron Simons of SimonSays Entertainment (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Porgy & Bess, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Jitney) will host the program whose purpose is to bring attention to the unprecedented number of plays by black playwrights being produced on Broadway and Off-Broadway this season.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents the Producer Boot CampRaising Money for Theater 2019: Who, How and When to Ask at the Playroom Theater on Sunday, January 27, 2019 from 10am-6pm at Studio 353, 353 W. 48th Street, 2nd floor. $175 for non-members, $150 for TRU members ($25 off if you register by 1/11). To register, visit https://truonline.org/events/raising-money-2019/.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents the Producer Boot CampRaising Money for Theater 2019: Who, How and When to Ask at the Playroom Theater on Sunday, January 27, 2019 from 10am-6pm at Studio 353, 353 W. 48th Street, 2nd floor. $175 for non-members, $150 for TRU members ($25 off if you register by 1/11). To register, visithttps://truonline.org/events/raising-money-2019/.

Harlem Stage, the legendary uptown venue that for over 35 years has promoted the creative legacy of Harlem and artists of color from around the corner and across the globe, is proud to present its Spring 2019 season of performances. The season marks the 20thanniversary of Harlem Stage's signature dance program E-Moves, which for two decades has nurtured and presented choreographers of color across the spectrum of contemporary dance idioms to create new work.The season also features collaborations with exciting new partners including the Prototype Festival and the French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF), and continued relationships with venerable arts institutions such as Repertorio Español, Carnegie Hall, Manhattan School of Music, and Chamber Music America.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents the December Panel: What It Means to Be a Producer (and Why I Do It) on Thursday, December 13, 2018 at 7:30pm (networking at 7pm) at Thursday, December 13, 2018 at Polaris North, 245 W. 29th St. 4th floor, NYC, 10001. This panel is free for TRU members; $12.50 for non-members in advance ($15 at door).

Tickets are now on sale to the general public for the upcoming Broadway musical Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations. Get your tickets now by visiting www.Telecharge.com, by calling 800-447-7400, or by visiting the Imperial Theatre Box Office (249 West 45th Street). For groups of 10 or more, visit www.BroadwayInbound.com or call 866-302-0995. For more information, please visit www.AintTooProudMusical.com

Official casting has been announced for the Broadway premiere of Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations. Also announced today are the ticket on-sale dates for the Broadway production.

Today, influencer and talent manager ChiChi Anyanwu of the NYC Black Theater Network, Marcia Pendelton, President of Walk Tall Girl Productions/Black Theater Online, and the award-winning Vineyard Theatre (Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern, Artistic Directors; Suzanne Appel, Managing Director) announced BLACK PLAYWRIGHTS: THEY SPEAK. WHO LISTENS? A Black Theater Fall Preview: Off Broadway Edition. The event is scheduled at Vineyard Theatre (108 E. 15th Street) on Monday, October 15, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. Four-time Tony Award-winning producer Ron Simons of SimonSays Entertainment (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Porgy & Bess, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Jitney) will host the program whose purpose is to bring attention to the unprecedented number of plays by black playwrights being produced Off-Broadway this season.

Today ChiChi Anyanwu of the NYC Black Theater Network, Marcia Pendelton, President of Walk Tall Girl Productions/Black Theater Online, and the award-winning Vineyard Theatre announced BLACK PLAYWRIGHTS: THEY SPEAK. WHO LISTENS? A Black Theater Fall Preview: Off Broadway Edition.

Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations will begin performances on Broadway on Thursday, February 28, 2019, with an official Opening Night set for Thursday, March 21, 2019. As previously announced, Ain't Too Proud will play the legendary Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street). Additional information will be announced shortly.

Ain't Too Proud has found its home on Broadway! Producers Ira Pittelman and Tom Hulce have announced today that the new musical Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations will bring the incredible true story of the greatest R&B group of all time to Broadway in Spring 2019 at the legendary Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street). Additional information will be announced shortly.

The Organizers of TEDxBroadway announced today that two new speakers will join the lineup for this year's event at New World Stages, Tuesday, February 27, 2018.

Organizers announce today the complete lineup for TEDxBroadway, the one-day event exclusively dedicated to asking, 'What's the Best Broadway Can Be?' Included in the panel are stars of the upcoming Broadway run of Children of a Lesser God Joshua Jackson and Lauren Ridloff.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announces the cast for the upcoming reading of Ugly Christmas Sweater, The Musical, part of the TRU Voices New Musicals Reading Series, on January 29, 2018 at 7pm at The Actors Temple Theater, 339 W. 47th Street, NYC. A 'Dollars and Sense' talkback on the future development of the presented works will be held after each performance. Admission is free. Please RSVP at least a day in advance (or much sooner) by calling 212/714-7628, or e-mailingTRUVoicesSeries@gmail.com.