Simmons News

A couple of closings round out the summer season for Columbia theatre!

KRAVIS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Announces 26th Annual Season of Spectacular Concerts, Blockbuster Performances and Smash Hits from Broadway

NBC Sports Group and FACEIT's Universal Open Rocket Leagueesports tournament continues this weekend with coverage across the NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and Twitch, with presentations of the Midwest and West Regionals. The Midwest Regional will take place this Saturday, August 12, at CSN Chicago studios, followed by the West Regional at NBC Sports Bay Area studios on Sunday, August 13.

ArtsWest has announced three young, celebrated Seattle directors who will bring their talent and vision to the 2017-2018 I AM Season - Samip Raval will direct Ayad Akhtar's THE WHO & THE WHAT, Sara Porkalob will direct Jiehae Park's PEERLESS, and Brandon J. Simmons will direct Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' AN OCTOROON.

StageArt is thrilled to announce the cast for the Australasian premiere of the Tony award-winning Memphis the Musical, which will play at Prahran's Chapel off Chapel from 6 October 2017.

From September 8 to October 7, 2017, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the Boston-area premiere of MEN ON BOATS, a comic adventure tale about an actual 1869 expedition to chart the Colorado River, brought thrillingly to life by a diverse non-male cast.

Recognized as one of the most vital voices in performance, arts education, and artistic curation, Marc BAMUTHI Joseph is hailed for producing and/or performing riveting works of political, economic, and social significance. Bamuthi is synonymous with influential community engager, urban talent, and a world-renowned career; and his 2017 TEDGlobal Fellowship continues to elevate his stature. Upcoming 2017 highlights include: the New York premiere of his latest work /peh-LO-tah/ at the BAM Next Wave Festival, the world premiere of We Shall Not Be Moved opera (his first libretto), Oakland's 10th Annual Life is Living Festival (which he founded), speaking engagements at the TEDGlobal 2017 Conference in Tanzania, Create Justice: A National Discussion on Arts and Justice, Chicago Humanities Festival, YBCA's Transform Festival and 100 Summit, and more. (Please scroll below for Bamuthi's complete schedule.)

With one week left until The 17th Annual Festival of New Musicals, Village Theatre is excited to announce the casting for Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat, an electronic pop musical about one of the world's greatest inventors; Hart Island, a look at social justice and the people society has forgotten; Afterwords, a tale of art and love; Howl's Moving Castle, based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones; and ZM, a hilarious romp through a zombie-filled future by the Tony Award-winning authors of Urinetown. Taking place in Issaquah on August 11-13, 2017, The Festival of New Musicals provides an essential platform for writers to incorporate a key component of live theatre - the audience. Each new musical will be rehearsed during the week, then present to the audience in staged reading format, performed in full using scripts.

RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE) brings you THE EVIL IN US, written and directed by Jason William Lee in his feature film debut. The film stars Ian Collins (CW's “Supernatural”) and Kylee Bush (Nightwing: Prodigal). THE EVIL IN US will be available on DVD on August 29, 2017 for an SRP of $27.97, same day as VOD and Digital.

Trustus kicks off their Playwright's Festival, Columbia Children's Theatre does Cole Porter, and shows at Town and Chapin take their final bows in a busy weekend for Columbia theatre!

Alice Lee (Gap Year; Heathers: The Musical) and Zach Villa (Honeyglue; NCIS: LA; rock band Rebel and a Basketcase, For The Record, Dear John Hughes & Baz) are set to star in hyper-styled new musical, HIPSTER SWEATSHOP. Lee and Villa play twenty-somethings from opposite sides of the track who meet and fall in love in 'Downtown LA's hottest jewelry boutique.'

Universal MusicGroup (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced that Paul Rosenberg, one of the industry's most prominent managers and record label executives who is renowned for developing and supporting the careers of artists

Marietta Theatre Company will launch the new theater's inaugural season with Forever Plaid, a story of four friends with a passion for music, from August 18 - September 2 at Lyric Studio on the Square. The Last Five Years, First Date, The Marvelous Wonderettes and [title of show] will round out the debut 2017/2018 season.

This weekend, NBC Sports Group and FACEIT begin their coverage of Universal Open Rocket League, NBC Sports Group and FACEIT's inaugural esports tournament open to gamers of all skill levels. The comprehensive coverage of the Regional round of the competition will appear across the NBC Sports Regional Networks, totaling more than 30 hours of linear coverage.

Embrace the summer season and host an elevated backyard pool party for friends and loved ones. Celebrity caterer Andrea Correale of Elegant Affairs has come up with delicious food and drink specialties that are sure to impress all attendees while they get their splash on.

Following packed houses at a series of performances in New York's SoHo and Lower East Side, 3D Artist/Theatre Maker Blair Simmons brings her balloon-filled theatrical linguistic exploration Staging Wittgenstein to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - the single biggest cultural celebration on Earth.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's iconic musical Cats just celebrated its first anniversary back on Broadway, and BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities below!

Acclaimed Melbourne composer and musician Adam Simmons returns to fortyfivedownstairs for four nights in August, with a rare opportunity to experience his The Usefulness of Art suite performed by a world-class 20-piece ensemble.

Kick up your boots and get ready to sing your heart out as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and WWE® Studios bring you a touching, tune-filled All-American tale of family in Pure Country: Pure Heart today, August 1. Featuring country music icon Willie Nelson, Tony Award nominee Laura Bell Bundy, WWE Legend Shawn Michaels in a feature-length film filled with both new and popular songs, Pure Country: Pure Heart is priced to own on DVD ($18.94 SRP), Blu-ray Combo Pack ($24.98 SRP) and Digital ($19.99 SRP). The DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack are available exclusively at Walmart.

Cleveland Public Theatre's (CPT) Executive Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan is proud to present the return of CPT's celebrated Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP), Cleveland's longest-running arts and job training program for urban teens. STEP celebrates its 23rd year with the latest original play, And Yet, We Shine, on tour to Cleveland city parks from August 1-11.