Sam Jackson News

Aurora Theatre Company continues its 30th season with the World Premiere of Cleavon Smith's THE INCREMENTALIST, an Aurora Originate + Generate commission.

Following a hugely successful UK tour in 2021, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow have announced more dates so that this thrilling adaptation can be performed on more stages across the UK.  Washington Irving’s classic tale has been given new life by acclaimed playwright Philip Meeks (Murder, Margaret and Me; Harpy) who wields the horror genre to reflect on the lingering appeal of fables, storytelling and monsters. 

Aurora Theatre Company continues its 30th season with the World Premiere of Kait Kerrigan's FATHER/DAUGHTER, a recipient of the 2021 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Bay Area theatre artist M. Graham Smith directs William Thomas Hodgson and Sam Jackson (The Bluest Eye, Exit Strategy, Splendour) in this beautifully innovative play about love, family, and relationships.

Stars of the stage and screen, Wendi Peters (Big! The Musical; Coronation Street) and Bill Ward (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie; Emmerdale), will lead a thrilling new production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Washington Irving’s classic tale has been adapted by acclaimed playwright Philip Meeks (Murder, Margaret and Me; Harpy), unleashing one of the most terrifying monsters from the horror canon on stage – the Headless Horseman. The ghoulish and edge-of-the-seat experience will tour theatres across the UK later this year. 

Taking on the role of Ichabod Crane is Sam Jackson (Skins, E4; Beautiful Thing, National Tour) alongside Rose Quentin (York Witches Society, MSR Media), Lewis Cope (Vera, ITV; Witness for the Prosecution, London County Hall) and Tommy Sim'aan (As You Like It, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse; Doctors, BBC).

The four Oscar® statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 12th Governors Awards on Saturday, January 15, 2022, in Los Angeles.

Aurora Theatre Company will continue its 29th season with Toni Morrison’s THE BLUEST EYE, adapted by Lydia R. Diamond. Associate Artistic Director Dawn Monique Williams (Bull In A China Shop) directs this poignant drama about Black girlhood, the poisonous effects of racism, and the heartbreak of shame.

The Billie Holiday Theatre announced today a $300,000 grant from the Seller-Lehrer Family Foundation to establish the Seller-Lehrer Family Foundation Scholarship Fund for programs under the Theatre’s newly expanded Education & Humanities Division, including the Black Arts Institute and Youth Arts Academy.

Crackle Plus, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company and one of the largest operators of streaming advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) networks, today announced the upcoming content releases planned for September.

The annual Association of British Orchestras (ABO) Conference, the UK's leading classical music forum takes place in venues across Manchester and Salford this week (29-31 January).

Four-time Obie Award-winner Caryl Churchill is the pre-eminent writer of feminist themes involving sexual politics, abuses of power and gender equality. There's no better metaphor of these themes than the witch hunts of 17th century England which provide the backstory of Vinegar Tom, an allegory that rings so true today. The play, which includes a modern score by Diana Lawrence sung by a Greek chorus dressed as street walkers, bridges time to illustrate the continuity of women's struggle against shaming, disempowerment and inequality. In director Ariel Craft's skillful hands, Churchill's sad satire blazes anew with a remarkable cast and technical crew that conjure both history and the present in vivid detail.

If witches have so much power, then why are they always poverty-stricken? Vinegar Tom is a wild mash-up of desperate women living in 17th century society with modern musical numbers connecting the tale to our own troubled times. This is Churchill at her best: raw, satirical, political, and mad as hell! Vinegar Tom begins previews on Friday, December 6, 2019; opens on Friday, December 13, 2019; and runs through Sunday, January 5, 2020, at the Ashby Stage.

Variety reports that actor Samuel L. Jackson will provide a new voice option for Amazon Alexa. He will be the first celebrity to do so, with more guest voices being added starting in 2020.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its dynamic 28th season with the Bay Area Premiere of Ike Holter's  EXIT STRATEGY. Aurora's new Artistic Director Josh Costello will direct this powerful examination of the Chicago public school system. 

New member of congress, Sydney Millsap, sees how money corrupts politics, and she's on a mission to do something about it. Just imagine how a career senator and two ambitious lobbyists react to her efforts! Kings is a whip-smart political satire that will inspire you to change the system. And vote. Kings begins previews on Thursday, May 16; opens on Thursday, May 23; and runs through Sunday, June 16, 2019, at the Ashby Stage.

Celebrate Halloween with the Village Playwrights today, October 31, 7 pm to 9 pm, with Queer Scare V, staged readings of 7 ten-minute plays at the LGBT Community Center, Room 310, 208 W. 13th St., NYC. Suggested donation $10. Reservations recommended. Email villageplaywrights@gmail.com or call 614-285-2515.

Celebrate Halloween with the Village Playwrights on today, October 31, 7 pm to 9 pm, with Queer Scare V, staged readings of 7 ten-minute plays at the LGBT Community Center, Room 310, 208 W. 13th St., NYC. Suggested donation $10. Reservations recommended. Email villageplaywrights@gmail.com or call 614-285-2515.

The world's most iconic dance brand Ministry of Sound have announced The Annual Classical, an orchestral tour which celebrates and reimagines their legendary dance music compilation The Annual.

Join the Village Playwrights Wednesday, October 31, from 7 pm to 9 pm, for a celebration of with Queer Scare V, staged readings of 7 ten-minute plays at the LGBT Community Center, Room 310, 208 W. 13th St., NYC. Suggested donation $10.   Reservations are recommended.  Email villageplaywrights@gmail.com or call 614-285-2515.

San Francisco Playhouse will celebrate the opening of the 10th Season of its Sandbox Series with the original production of graveyard shift, written by Korde Arrington Tuttle. Melissa Crespo will direct.