Second Stage News

Broadway's Falsettos and RENT's Tracie Thoms will appear on iHeartRadio/United Broadcasting Network's On the Rocks with Alexander radio show, Tuesday January 8th at 7pmPST/10pmEST for an in-depth chat about her career in stage, TV and film. 

Raven Theatre continues its 2018-19 season with Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle. This artful, surprising and often-funny memory play that explores how we are shaped by the people who hurt us will play February 7 - March 24, 2019 on Raven's 99-seat East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago.

As previously announced, Mixed Blood Theatre Company will produce ROE before it begins the journey to Broadway. The Broadway run is expected to be produced by Daryl Roth. No dates or details have been announced.

Luna Stage will launch 2019 with the World Premiere of Christina Gorman's cyber-security romance Roan @ The Gates by, directed by Michelle Tattenbaum. An exploration of internet privacy and the risks of whistleblowing, this suspenseful new play examines the cost of doing the right thing.

The acclaimed production of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song ends its run today, January 6, 2019 at the Hayes Theater (240 West 44th Street). The play will embark on a national tour launching fall 2019 at Los Angeles' Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre. The national tour will star Michael Urie, reprising his lauded Broadway performance as Arnold Beckoff.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts presents the West Coast premiere of The Wallis' production of WITNESS UGANDA,  a groundbreaking documentary musical by Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews starring twelve-time Grammy nominee Ledisi, Jamar Williams (Wild Goose Dreams), Amber Iman (Hamilton) andEmma Hunton (Wicked), directed by Matthews with music direction by Gould, from Tuesday, February 5 - Sunday, February 24, 2019, in The Wallis's Lovelace Studio Theater. After a successful Off-Broadway run, this new and revised production documents the story of a man battling to find his place in a world full of injustice and inhumanity.   

RUNNING IN THE RED opens at Artisan Center Theater on Thursday, January 10, 2019 and runs through Saturday, January 26, 2019. The 150 seat Second Stage theater is located at 444 East Pipeline Road in Hurst. Performances are at 7:00pm on Thursdays and Fridays and 3:30pm on Saturdays. Reserved seating tickets are $28.00 for adults, $26.00 for students and seniors, and $16.00 for children 12 and under. Thursday night tickets are $26.00 for adults and $14.00 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased online at ArtisanCT.com, or by calling the box office at 817-284-1200.

The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team for Familiar by Tony Award nominee Danai Gurira (Broadway's Eclipsed, Black Panther, "The Walking Dead"). This funny, warmhearted look at tradition, marriage, and what it means to be an American family will be directed by Edward Torres (the Globe's Water by the Spoonful and Native Gardens, Cancion at Repertorio Español) and will run January 26 - March 3, 2019 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Old Globe Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run January 26-30. Opening night is Thursday, January 31. Tickets start at $30.00 and can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts presents the West Coast premiere of The Wallis' production of WITNESS UGANDA

With lead vocals by a dozen Broadway stars, Yellow Sound Label has announced the release of the debut album of eleven original songs by award-winning songwriter and Berklee College of Music Professor Michael Wartofsky, in digital, streaming and physical formats, today, Friday, January 4.

The Marsh San Francisco announces a one-night-only Marsh benefit performance of Not a Genuine Black Man, the longest running solo show in San Francisco theater history by award-winning actor, playwright, and talk show host Brian Copeland. This funny, honest, and harrowing piece recounts the struggles Copeland faced growing up in what was declared one of the most racist suburbs in America. "In the current political climate, empathy seems to be a lost commodity. By showing people the world through the eyes of a bullied and lonely little African-American boy, I hope they will develop compassion for the demonized 'other,'" says Copeland. The San Francisco Chronicle described the show as "relentlessly introspective and disarmingly honest, Copeland takes apart the false notion that black masculinity is some monolithic concept, in a way that has continued, unfortunately, to be relevant long after the show's 2004 premiere." Not a Genuine Black Man will play as a Marsh benefit performance for one-night-only at 8:00pm, Thursday, January 10, 2019 at The Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia St., San Francisco. For tickets ($30-$35 sliding scale, $55-$100 reserved) or more information, the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call The Marsh Box office at 415-282-3055 (open Monday through Friday, 1pm-4pm).

Acclaimed film, television, and stage star Taye Diggs will host the 24th annual Critics' Choice Awards, the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) announced today.  Diggs is currently starring in The CW drama “All American” and was recently seen in the romantic comedy “Set It Up.”

KeyBank Broadway at the Paramount is thrilled to announce the winner of six 2017 Tony Awards Dear Evan Hansen will play The Paramount Theatre for a limited two-week engagement from January 23 February 2.

The gifts have been opened, the feasts have been eaten and the merriment has been had. As the holiday season comes to a close and we countdown the final hours of the year, we're getting ready to ring in 2019 by looking back. 

Today, we're giving you a look back on the marquees of 2018, with this retrospective album from our archives.

Executive producer and playwright Jordan Jaffe, along with co-producer Rebecca Crigler (Mike Birbiglia's The New One, Chris Gethard: Career Suicide), announce the world premiere of Jaffe's new eco-comedy Whirlwind

The Marsh Berkeley has announced that due to popular demand it has scheduled an extended run of Lisa Rothman's hit show, Dragon in the Drop-Off Lane. This hilarious and cautionary tale describes what happens when Rothman's Oakland-raised kids venture into the fairytale world of Marin, where all the children seem to know how to sew, speak in a "Crystal Cave whisper," and decorate their (vegan) gingerbread men with stevia icing, carob chips, and unsweetened coconut flakes. Of course, no fairytale would be complete without a fairy godmother to help Rothman reckon with her parenting choices.

BroadwayWorld has teamed up with Broadway alum Ilana Levine, who makes her entrance onto the podcast stage with her new show Little Known Facts. Ilana's unique brand of celebrity interview, 'Podcast Verite,' is unfiltered, raw, honest and uniquely funny.

California Shakespeare Theater (Cal Shakes) today announced directors for the 2019 Season at the Bruns Amphitheater, including the Cal Shakes debuts of directors Megan Sandberg-Zakian (House of Joy) and Victor Malana Maog (Macbeth).

DISNEY'S NEWSIES opens at Artisan Center Theater on Friday, January 4, 2019 and runs through Saturday, February 9, 2019. The 196 seat theater-in-the-round is located at 444 East Pipeline Road in Hurst. Performances are at 7:30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with 3:00pm matinees on Saturdays beginning January 12. Reserved seating tickets are $28.00 for adults, $26.00 for students and seniors, and $16.00 for children 12 and under.  Monday through Thursday tickets are $26.00 for adults and $14.00 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased online at ArtisanCT.com, or by calling the box office at 817-284-1200.