Simmons News

The reviews are in for THE FULL MONTY at San Diego Musical Theatre, which opened on January 26th and is set to run through February 25th. The musical comedy features Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek and Book by Terrence McNally, and is based off of the 1997 comedy film of the same name.

Carnegie Hall today announced that Rhiannon Giddens, Toshi Reagon, and Young Paris will join Broadway's Carrie Compere (The Color Purple) as guest artists for A Time Like This: Music for Change, a special concert on Sunday, March 11 at 3:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage hosted by Def Jam Poetry veteran Lemon Andersen and featuring a nineteen-piece band led by Kenny Seymour (Amazing Grace, Memphis). The performance also features singers Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Emily Eagen, and Emeline Michel.

'I want to offer a home for the student who wants to grow toward a professional career in theatre, as well as for students who enjoy it as a way to explore their own creativity and imagination!' says Elizabeth Simmons, the newest staff member and Director of Education at Playhouse on Park.

The winners of the 2017 Gypsy Rose Lee Awards are announced by the Seattle critics circle, Seattle Theater Writers!

Tomorrow!!! Wednesday on January 31, 2018 LOZADA LOWDOWN LIVE! is back by popular Demand at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City. 

Pioneer Theatre Company continues its 2017-2018 Play-by-Play new play reading series with Alex Lewin's The Envelope. The staged readings will take place at the Dumke Auditorium of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018. 

Each year, The Wick Theatre and Costume Museum stages a production selected by their fans, this season, the iconic Singin' in the Rain takes that honor. 'We were so excited when Singin' in the Rain won our fan poll,' said Marilynn A. Wick, Managing Executive Producer. Containing hits such as 'You Are My Lucky Star', 'Good Mornin', 'You Stepped Out of a Dream', 'Make 'em Laugh', 'You Were Meant For Me' and of course the title song 'This is one of the most beloved films of all times, and watching it come to life with this amazingly talented cast will be an experience that audience members will treasure. We are thrilled to honor the memory of the delightful Debbie Reynolds with this production.'

ArtsEmerson and American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) announce casting for the world premiere production of The White Card. Written by acclaimed author, poet, and MacArthur Fellow Claudia Rankine and directed by A.R.T.'s Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus, The White Card performs February 24 through April 1, 2018 at the Emerson Paramount Center's Robert J. Orchard Stage, located at 559 Washington Street in downtown Boston. ArtsEmerson presents the American Repertory Theater production.

The 28th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement throughout Los Angeles, were presented on Monday, January 29, at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown LA.

THE FULL MONTY opened on January 26th and is set to run through February 25th at San Diego Musical Theatre. The musical comedy features Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek and Book by Terrence McNally, and is based off of the 1997 comedy film of the same name. THE FULL MONTY follows six men recently laid off from their jobs working at a Steel Mill. Desperate to earn some cash to help support their families, they note how much the women in their lives enjoy a Chippendales act, and how willing they are to give their money to them. Inspired, the guys decide to take it a step further: they'll do a strip-tease act, but they'll go THE FULL MONTY.

Casting has been announced for the Orlando return engagement of Disney's The Lion King. The show's first appearance in the Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and it's third time to Orlando, the four-week engagement runs from February 14 through March 11.

Andre the Giant was literally the biggest celebrity in the world. HBO Sports, WWE, and the Bill Simmons Media Group present Andre The Giant, a documentary examining the life and career of one of the most beloved figures in wrestling history. Andre the Giant premieres April 10 on HBO. Check out the trailer below!

Final bows. Standing O from a boomer ++ crowd on a Sunday matinee opening weekend. I thought to myself how privileged I am to be able to attend and write about DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (DRS) and the hundreds of shows prior over 30 + years.

The Soaking WET series is pleased to add guest ELIZABETH KEEN to the cast of Program B.   The veteran artist will perform her  'the Song and the Short of It,' a words-and-movement solo that takes a bemused look/attack on what's going around.  The new dance joins earlier talking solos 'Recipe' and 'Red Sweater Dance.'

San Diego Musical Theatre announced today the cast and creative team for its upcoming production of The Full Monty. With a mix of raucous humor and an audacious pop-rock score, this Americanized stage version of the hit 1997 hit film features a book by Terrence McNally (Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Ragtime, Catch Me If You Can) with music and lyrics by David Yazbek (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown). The Full Monty will be directed by Neil Dale (SDMT's Billy Elliot), with Music Direction by Don LeMaster, and choreography by Paul David Bryant (SDMT's Ragtime). The Full Monty runs January 26 - February 25, 2018, at the historic Horton Grand Theatre, with press opening on Saturday, January 27 at 8:00 p.m.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature HAMLET, CABARET, CHICAGO, and More!

On January 25, 2018, WGBH will debut Classical.org, its new digital classical music entertainment experience. A media partner and official digital partner of the Leonard Bernstein Centennial, WGBH will devote the first year of Classical.org to The Bernstein Experience -- celebrating the life, music and legacy of legendary American composer and conductor, Leonard Bernstein.

'I want to offer a home for the student who wants to grow toward a professional career in theatre, as well as for students who enjoy it as a way to explore their own creativity and imagination!' says Elizabeth Simmons, the newest staff member and Director of Education at Playhouse on Park.

Carol Harrison is probably best known for playing Louise Raymond in EastEnders. Her other screen work includes Brushstrokes, Get Back and London's Burning. Carol also works regularly in the theatre and has written, directed, produced the musical All or Nothing, which she also stars in. After three hugely successful tours, the show lands in the West End for the first time, this February.

For only four performances last weekend, the two-person musical DADDY LONG LEGS crawled in and out of the Majestic Theatre as Lyric Stage's third production of the 2017-2018 season. And although the production wasn't much larger than a postage stamp, it was a theatrical love letter full of charm.