Solomon News

The Sheffield Theatres/Eclipse Theatres production shows that Lorraine Hansberry's classic play is as fresh today as when it was first written.

Back by popular demand - Apollo's Fire reprises its latest creative crossover program by Artistic Director Jeannette Sorrell, in collaboration with guest co-director Nell Snaidas.

The Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF) announces the launch of the 2016 Spring Festival,Style, with more than 20 programs taking place in and around Chicago April 28-May 1. Exploring how style shapes who we are as individuals and what we value across cultures, CHF is making the bold statement, 'style matters.' 

Let's get this out of the way first, the 'hardbody' in the title is a truck, a Nissan pickup truck to be exact; and while the name of the musical, HANDS ON A HARDBODY, might sound a teensy bit risque, it is filled with encouraging messages and life-affirming themes set to a high energy modern score. Presented by TheatreWorks Florida, the musical runs through February 21st at the Garden Theatre, and features an extremely game and talented cast, who unfortunately is not used in a way that comes close to maximizing their immense collective talent. The musical by Doug Wright (book), Amanda Green (music and lyrics), and Trey Anastasio of the band Phish (music) is based on a 1997 documentary of the same name about a Texas contest in which the person who keeps his or her hand on a truck the longest, wins it. While the show's ensemble construction gives nearly every cast-member multiple moments to vocally shine, it seems like a substantial amount of them have been shoehorned into roles that don't exactly match up with their particular vocal ranges, resulting in fairly regular pitch issues. That not-so minor issue aside, the show is a joyous, toe-tapping celebration of all the things, good and bad, that make people special.

Nice workshop presentation of the world premiere of Diana Amsterdam's THE DODGERS. Maybe, joints should have been passed out along with the programs, so that the audience could be on the same plane as the characters in the opening scenes - as Dave Solomon directed - in a most relaxed, lethargic state of being high.  

Ashley Kate Adams of AKA Studio Productions and Jim Kierstead present the World Premiere of a new American play, THE DODGERS, written by Diana Amsterdam and directed by Dave Solomon. THE DODGERS will feature Corbin Bleu ('High School Musical'), Eric Nelsen (2015 Emmy Winner for 'The Bay Series'; Broadway: 13), Emma Hunton (Elphaba on North American Wicked Tour), Jared Gertner (The Book Of Mormon - Olivier Nomination), Asher Grodman, and Talisa Friedman. Peruse BroadwayWorld's photos from the show below!

Robert M. Levy, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago announced today, January 28, 2016, that after an extensive international search the Board has appointed James Rondeau the new President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the museum. Rondeau will succeed Douglas Druick, who announced in October 2015 his plans to retire after more than 30 years of service to the institution. Rondeau, an internationally respected curator and scholar, has led two of the Art Institute's 11 curatorial departments in his 18 year tenure with the museum.

Calendar Boys Productions, in association with Jeremy Terry Productions, is pleased to announce their loud and rowdy, one night only cabaret, 'Let's Hear It for the Boys,' directed by Christopher Michaels with music direction by Matthew Bennis.

New York, NY...Beginning January 27, 2016, Dominique Lévy will present Drawing Then: Innovation and Influence in American Drawings of the Sixties. The exhibition will investigate revolutionary developments in the practice of drawing that emerged in the United States during a decade of radical social and political upheaval. 

Indonesian philanthropist and leading collector Haryanto Adikoesoemo announced today the construction of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN, pronounced Mah-Chahn), the country's first museum dedicated to international modern and contemporary art. The museum is currently being built in Jakarta, Indonesia - the largest city in Southeast Asia with a metropolitan population of over 25 million- and will provide the public with a valuable cultural and educational resource. Adikoesoemo has named Dr. Thomas J. Berghuis, formerly the curator of Chinese art at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, as the museum's director.

CVRep has undertaken something new -- a medium-sized musical comedy with a four-piece orchestra. The result of its production of A CLASS ACT, the story of A CHORUS LINE's lyricist, is an enjoyable evening of theatre, with fabulous dancing.

BWW Interview: Ray Mercer puts All The Right Moves into PURE MOTION

Asolo Rep continues its 2015-16 season with quintessential American playwright Eugene O'Neill's sentimental comedy AH, WILDERNESS!, directed by Greg Leaming, associate artistic director of Asolo Rep and the director of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. The Tony Award, Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner's sole comedy opens tonight, January 22 at 8pm and runs in rotating repertory through Sunday, April 10 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts. 

Asolo Rep continues its 2015-16 season with quintessential American playwright Eugene O'Neill's sentimental comedy AH, WILDERNESS!, directed by Greg Leaming, associate artistic director of Asolo Rep and the director of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. The Tony Award, Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner's sole comedy previews tonight, January 20 and Thursday, January 21 at 8pm, opens Friday, January 22 at 8pm and runs in rotating repertory through Sunday, April 10 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts. 

Apollo's Fire, Cleveland's 'other' orchestra is credited with having built the largest audience in the nation for 'early-music' (Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical). Headed by Jeannette Sorrell, the orchestra is forging 'a vibrant approach to the re-making of authenticity.'

As BroadwayWorld reported this morning, Bette Midler will indeed return to Broadway in one of the most cherished shows in musical theater history when she takes on the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi in Michael Stewart's (book) and Jerry Herman's (music and lyrics) masterpiece, Hello, Dolly!. Directed by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks, Hello, Dolly! will begin performances on Broadway on March 13, 2017, with an official opening night of April 20, 2017. Rehearsals begin one year from today. This new production of Hello, Dolly!, the first new production of this classic musical to appear on Broadway since it opened more than fifty years ago, will have at its helm Jerry Zaks as its director, and will feature choreography by Tony Award-winner Warren Carlyle. The new Dolly! will pay tribute to the original work of legendary director/choreographer Gower Champion, which has been hailed both then and now as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history. Below, reacquaint yourself with the creative team, old and new!

After months of anticipation, multi-talented founding member of the groundbreaking vocal band “The Edge Effect” Solomon Jaye is excited to announce the official debut of his inaugural solo album Ordinary Man now available on iTunes, Google Play, CDBaby and more.

BWW REVIEW: A.D. PLAYERS KICKS UP ITS HEELS WITH A FUN-FILLED BAREFOOT IN THE PARK

BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT's Lucy Kay will play the Narrator in the upcoming 2016 touring production of JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, starring X FACTOR winner Joe McElderry, at the King's Theatre Glasgow from Tuesday 10 until Saturday 14 May 2016. Full cast to be announced.  Full info and tour dates on www.josephthemusical.com 

The Garden Theatre is proud to present TheatreWorks Florida's production of Hands on a Hardbody showing January 29 - February 21, 2016. Hands on a Hardbody is sponsored by Joe Worsham and Becky Worsham Farrant at Pacific Global Investment Management Company, Insight Credit Union and Toole's Ace Hardware.