Stage West News

Peppered with infectious Abba songs, it's like bubblegum for the soul.

Bear Grillz takes rock and roll through an epic dubstep journey accompanied by the rousing vocals of Micah Martin on “Stay.' Stabbing beats and exploding bass rider over intense kicks on this unique spin on the producer's bass heavy style. “Stay” is the third single off Bear Grillz' forthcoming Demons album and arrives alongside the commencement of the Demons Tour, which kicked off last week in San Francisco. Buy & Stream here!

In anticipation of opening night of Theatre Calgary's production of Billy Elliot, I sat down with Dance Captain Amber Bissonnette to talk about her career and life as a dancer. 'I got started in dance when I was five. My second cousin's mom owned a dance studio and my mom and my sister had just moved to Edmonton - where I'm from - and she was looking for a way to keep us busy. I started singing and acting when I was about thirteen and it was all downhill from there.'

New Conservatory Theatre Center Founder & Artistic Director Ed Decker announced the line-up for NCTC's 2019-20 subscription season last night at NCTC's annual Season Announcement Party for subscribers, donors and artists.

Childsplay brings the classic Saturday morning cartoons to life with SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE! Originally aired on the ABC television network from 1973-1985, then revived in the 90s and 00s, Schoolhouse Rock was a collection of clever, animated shorts which taught academic topics including grammar, mathematics, civics and science to kids during the commercial breaks of Saturday morning TV.

David Archuleta has debuted his brand new video “Postcards In the Sky,” the title track to his most recent album release.

Stage West presents the regional premiere of The Father, a Tragic Farce, written by Florian Zeller and translated by Christopher Hampton

In 2013, Calgary's own Stage West Theatre presented the Pechet Family Musical Award to a brand new show called Come From Away. Six years, two dozen awards, and over 675 Broadway performances later, this Canadian musical has made a pitstop in Calgary on its way around the world. Broadway Across Canada, hosting The First National Tour, is instilling a sense of Canadian pride at the Southern Jubilee Auditorium.

Alberta Theatre Projects announced yesterday that The New Canadian Curling Club has officially become the highest-grossing play in single ticket sales for a non-holiday production in the company's 48-year history, eclipsing a mark previously set by the 2010 production of Ronnie Burkett's Billy Twinkle: Requiem for a Golden Boy.

BroadwayWorld has learned that Lonny Price will direct a production of the musical THE LOUDER WE GET at Theatre Calgary as part of their 2019/2020 season. The musical features a book by Kent Staines, Lyrics by Akiva Romer-Segal and music by Colleen Dauncey.

Award Winning RAIN AND ZOE SAVE THE WORLD by Crystal Skillman has been selected for a reading in the Living Room Series at the Blank Theatre in Los Angeles. The reading will take place on Monday, March 18th at 8 PM at The Blank's 2nd Stage Theatre at 6500 Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood.

59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) is thrilled to add the NYC premiere of AFTER, written by Michael McKeever and directed by Joe Brancato, to the Winter 2018 Season. Produced by Penguin Rep Theatre and InProximity Theatre Company, AFTER begins performances on Tuesday, March 12 for a limited engagement through Sunday, April 14. Press Opening is Sunday, March 17 at 2 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Friday at 7 PM; Saturday at 2 PM & 7 PM; and Sunday at 2 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison). Single tickets are $25 - $70 ($49 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call the 59E59 Box Office at 646-892-7999 or visit www.59e59.org. The running time is 85 minutes, no intermission.

A sequel to the Tom Smith farce previously produced by Stage West in 2017, we return to the Convent of the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing not long after the events of the first show and find that things have settled down. A hypnotism, a few magic tricks, and a visit from the Holy Mother herself lead to 90-minutes of hilarious hijinks and misunderstandings. Packed with physical gags and entertaining puns, Drinking Habits 2 is just plain fun.

On February 27, 2019, Stage West will celebrate 40 years in Fort Worth with a gala at the Fort Worth Club's Horizon Room.  The event will begin at 6pm, and will be hosted by Honorary Chairs Drs. Janice Knebl and Thomas Fairchild and Event Chairs Mr. Jim and Councilwoman Ann Zadeh.

On March 21, 1953, Langston Hughes, celebrated as the Poet Laureate of Harlem, received a summons to appear before the Senate Permanent Sub Committee on Investigations on Un-American Activities, and went to Washington to be questioned by Joseph McCarthy and the rest of his committee. Playwright Carlyle Brown has used this historical incident to create a lyrical and thought-provoking piece centered around the hours before his appearance, and of the appearance itself, in Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been..., which will begin a 4-week regional premiere run at Stage West today, February 14.

Alternative rock trio Never Loved is thrilled to announce their debut self-titled EP, set to be released on March 15th, 2019 via Equal Vision Records. Additionally, the band has teamed up with Alternative Press to premiere their second single ever, 'Goddamn.' Fans can check it out, here: http://bit.ly/2SMoCzB. Pre-orders for Never Loved are available now at www.neverloved.merchnow.com.

Sordid Lives creator Del Shores returns to Dallas for the world premiere of his new standup show Del Shores The Sh*t Stirrer. Shores will take the stage at The Rose Room March 8, 2019 at 8pm, where he has performed numerous times and filmed three of his standup tours. Shores also filmed part of his last film A Very Sordid Wedding at the legendary room, which featured Dallas queens Cassie Nova, Krystal Summers and Edna Jean Robinson.

Drayton Entertainment announces casting for Rocky: The Musical. This adrenaline-fueled musical based on Sylvester Stallone's Academy© Award-winning film will launch the 2019 Season at the Hamilton Family Theatre Cambridge. The production will run for four weeks from March 6 to March 31.

Alternative rock trio Never Loved is gearing up for a busy spring. Following the announcement of their upcoming tour with Boys of Fall, the band has shared additional dates. Fans can catch them with In Her Own Words starting on March 15th in Los Angeles. For a full list of Never Loved's upcoming shows, please see below or visit: www.neverlovedmusic.com.

HartBeat Ensemble kicks off the new year with A Train, a new play written and performed by California-based artist Anne Torsiglieri. An intimate and oftentimes hilarious tale of one mother's ride through autism, 'A' Train is a unexpected journey replete with tigers, train obsessions, and a healthy dose of sass. The award-winning solo show runs at HartBeat Ensemble's Carriage House Theatre for four performances, February 28 through March 3.