Imagination Stage in Bethesda, MD has embarked on a new adventure with its current production of C.S. Lewis' beloved tale, The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe. In collaboration with The Washington Ballet, it has succeeded in putting forth a theatrical revelation- a production that's not a ballet, a musical, or a straight play, but something in between. Although Imagination Stage is generally very much geared towards children, theatre and dance-loving adults are likely to be enamored with this piece, including those who come to the theatre without children! Put succinctly, this is an astounding work of art.
Imagination Stage, in a collaboration with The Washington Ballet, presents its world premiere summer production, THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE. In this fusion of theater, dance, and puppetry, based on the novel by C.S. Lewis, the roles of the four children are played jointly by an actor and a dancer, and the courageous lion Aslan is portrayed by a life-size puppet operated by three actor/puppeteers, similar to the puppets used in the Broadway production War Horse. Check out the latest photos from the production below!
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents the 2011 Tony Award-winning production of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart. George C. Wolfe, who directed the show's sold-out Broadway engagement last season, is mounting the professional D.C.-area premiere of this production, which features returning Broadway cast members Patrick Breen and Luke MacFarlane, among others. Presented by special arrangement with Daryl Roth, The Normal Heart is now playing though July 29 in the Kreeger Theater.
Signature Theatre closes out its 2011/12 season sporting funky legwarmers and wielding neon glow sticks with the Washington premiere of the musical comedy hit Xanadu. Nominated for four Tony Awards® (including "Best Musical"), the musical features a Book by Douglas Carter Beane, with Music and Lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar. Xanadu will play at Signature through July 1, 2012. Check out production shots below!
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater's production of MerEdith Wilson's The Music Man, helmed by Artistic Director Molly Smith, stars Kate Baldwin (Tony Award nominee for Broadway's Finian's Rainbow) as Marian the librarian, joined by Burke Moses (original Gaston in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast) as Harold Hill. The Music Man runs May 11-July 22, 2012 in the Fichandler Stage. Get a first look below!
Imagination Stage is extending its popular production of Rapunzel by a week. Rapunzel now runs in Imagination Stage's Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre through May 26.
Hodges and Hodges recommend that you go see CAMELOT in San Francisco. Oh, wait. No, that's not quite right. Sorry about that. Blimey! It's actually Monty Python's SPAMALOT at San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre, playing now through April 22nd.
Who would think to deem Eugene O'Neill as one of the original forefathers of reality television? But perhaps we should - to add it to his long list of artistic achievements as one of the great playwrights of our time. Especially in the context of Long Day's Journey Into Night, one of O'Neill's brilliant constructions now playing at Arena Stage through May 6th, 2012.
A wild and wacky acting troupe will be making their way to the City by the Bay and they'll be holding court at the Orpheum Theatre April 10-22nd. San Francisco audience members will be playing host to Monty Python's SPAMALOT!
South Florida theater fans are in for an array of Broadway hits as the awesomely cool, ROCK OF AGES, opens the all musical Broadway in Miami 2012 - 2013 season at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami Dade County. Scheduled to launch the season with a bang, from October 9-14, ROCK OF AGES will be followed by the high-stepping Broadway Musical for the entire family, MARY POPPINS, set to bring in the New Year, January 1-6; the return of the world's greatest musical, LES MISÉRABLES, in a brand new 25th anniversary production, February 26 - March 3; the outlandishly colorful PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT will keep audiences on their feet with its parade of dance-floor favorites, April 2-7; and Best Musical Tony Winner of 2010 MEMPHIS will make its triumphant Miami debut with its explosive dancing and powerhouse songs, May 7-12.
Following a highly successfully L.A. premiere this past February 2011, ROCK OF AGES, the five-time Tony Award nominated smash-hit musical, returns to Los Angeles for a strictly limited, face-melting one week engagement now through March 25, 2012 at the Pantages Theatre. L.A. audiences were so amped during the show's premiere engagement that it was clear those die-hard fans who continued singing 'Don't Stop Believin' down Hollywood Boulevard as they left the Pantages Theatre hadn't been rocked hard enough!
Now back in Los Angeles where it all began, the five-time Tony Award nominated 80's musical ROCK OF AGES is once again rockin' the stage of the Pantages Theatre for a strictly limited one-week engagement through March 25. Right before the show's L.A. return, BroadwayWorld subjected ROCK OF AGES' lead rocker Scott to a few silly, rapid-fire questions.
Now back in Los Angeles where it all began, the five-time Tony Award nominated 80's musical ROCK OF AGES is once again rockin' the stage of the Pantages Theatre for a strictly limited one-week engagement through March 25. Right before the show's L.A. return, BroadwayWorld subjected ROCK OF AGES' leading lady Shannon Mullen to a series of silly, rapid-fire questions.
How lucky we are in the DC area. Rich with culture, the region has an especially vibrant theater scene. Arena Stage is a prominent part of that scene and this year they are treating us to something special - The Eugene O'Neill Festival. Arena is working with other area venues to present the festival for two months. They have kicked off the festival with O'Neill's comedy, Ah, Wilderness!
As the final of three mainstage productions during the two-month Eugene O'Neill Festival spearheaded by Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, Long Day's Journey into Night rounds out this celebration of O'Neill's life and work. The English-born and Canadian-based director and former Stratford Festival Artistic Director Robin Phillips makes his Arena Stage debut to direct his fourth production of this Pulitzer Prize-winning play in a theatrical career spanning more than 50 years.
South Florida theater fans are in for an array of Broadway hits as the awesomely cool, ROCK OF AGES, opens the all musical Broadway in Miami 2012 - 2013 season at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami Dade County. Scheduled to launch the season with a bang, from October 9-14, ROCK OF AGES will be followed by the high-stepping Broadway Musical for the entire family, MARY POPPINS, set to bring in the New Year, January 1-6; the return of the world's greatest musical, LES MISÉRABLES, in a brand new 25th anniversary production, February 26 - March 3; the outlandishly colorful PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT will keep audiences on their feet with its parade of dance-floor favorites, April 2-7; and Best Musical Tony Winner of 2010 MEMPHIS will make its triumphant Miami debut with its explosive dancing and powerhouse songs, May 7-12.
Singing knights, flying cows and a killer rabbit are just a few things you can expect from Spamalot, the Tony Award winning musical that has landed in DC at the Warner Theatre. Silliness abounds in this show, which is based on the 1975 movie, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
The story of the controversial 'Mad Monk,' Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is now the subject of the new rock musical Brother Russia, which makes its world premiere at the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre. The new musical features Music by Dana Rowe and Book and Lyrics by John Dempsey - the award-winning creators behind The Fix (1998) and The Witches of Eastwick (2007). Directed by Signature's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer, the production will star John Lescault (Signature's Art and The Lieutenant of Inishmore) as the infamous and enigmatic Rasputin, Natascia Diaz (Kiss of the Spider Woman at Signature, and Savage in Limbo at MetroStage), Doug Kreeger (Signature's The Visit), Amy McWilliams (Signature's The Witches of Eastwick and Urinetown), and Tracy Lynn Olivera (Les Misérables and Merrily We Roll Along at Signature). Erin Driscoll, Stephen Gregory Smith, Rachel Zampelli, Russell Sunday, Kevin McAllister, and Christopher Mueller round out the cast for this world premiere event. Brother Russia will play at Signature's MAX Theatre from March 6, 2012 through April 15, 2012. Tickets are now on sale.
Check out production shots below!
