Studs Terkel News

Bristol Riverside Theatre opens its 30th Anniversary Season with A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline by Dean Regan on September 27-October 16.

Bristol Riverside Theatre announces the appointment of ANNE S. KOHN as managing director following a national search conducted by Management Consultants for the Arts, Inc.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts & McCoy Rigby Entertainment will present the first show of its 2016-2017 season, the Los Angeles premiere production of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Peter Parnell, musical direction by Dennis Castellano, choreography by Dana Solimando and directed by Glenn Casale.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) and the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT) presents Working: A Musical from the book by Studs Terkel, adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, running September 15-17 in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for The Performing Arts.

Joanie Pallatto & Bradley Parker-Sparrow "A Musical Journey" Songs of Jazz and Musical Theater with Special Guest: Bill Nolte  and pianist Deanna Witkowski  Cafe Noctambulo at Pangea Friday, September 9, 2016 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm 178 2nd Ave (btw 11th & 12th Sts) NY, NY 10003 - 212 995 0900

The New York Post writes that convicted forger and producer Garth Drabinsky is planning his next stage project. Rumor is Drabinsky, producing via entertainment company StageVentures, has booked Toronto's Elgin Theatre for a new musical based on the 1988 film MADAME SOUSATZKA, which he produced, starring Shirley MacLaine.

After the sold-out and award-winning success of The Day Shall Declare It in 2015, Wilderness returns to the Los Angeles Arts District to remount its immersive, site-specific theatre experience, opening Tuesday, May 10, 2016 and running through Sunday, June 19, 2016. [UPDATE: The show has been extended thru July 31st by popular demand!] The internationally acclaimed physical theatre piece weaves together dynamic movement with a collage of American labor literature from Tennessee Williams and Studs Terkel, exploring the concept of work in America: what it does for us - and what it does to us. 

Bristol Riverside Theatre announces two changes to its 30th Anniversary Mainstage season.  The season will kick off with A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline by Dean Regan on September 27-October 16.  Patsy Cline defined the term "crossover hit" by dominating country, blues, pop and gospel charts in the 1950s and early '60s. Featuring over 20 of Patsy's unforgettable hit songs, this toe tappin', foot stompin' tribute traces her career from the early days of singing in honky tonks, through her rise to fame at the Grand Ole Opry, to her triumph at Carnegie Hall. The production will feature BRT veteran Jessica Wagner whose portrayal of Patsy in Always, Patsy Cline was one of BRT's highest grossing productions.

WORKING is based on Studs Terkel's well-known book of interviews with U.S workers, which retells the accounts of men and women and presents the meaning that these jobs bring to their lives. This classic musical was first adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso and premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. The show later ran on Broadway briefly before entering the national regional theatre circuit. The show was updated in 2012 with two new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, and features the classic numbers from artists such as Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, and James Taylor. WORKING runs at Main Street Theatre from May 21 - June 19, 2016. The show, directed by the talented Andrew Ruthven, reflects not only the struggles that we go through as a nation, but hits home on multiple levels with the diverse and hard working citizens of Houston.

It's something most of us have to do at least 5 days a week, go to work. So you'd think a musical about folks and their working lives would resonate more. But the musical "Working", despite being loved by musical theater nerds, never really caught on. In fact it only ran for 24 performances on Broadway back in 1978. But thankfully the folks at Showtunes have done what they do and dusted this one off for a weekend so more people can discover how wonderful it is.

Showtunes Theatre Company is thrilled to announce the final concert musical of their 16th season, WORKING.

Bristol Riverside Theatre celebrates its 30th Anniversary with a classic, a murder mystery, two musicals, and a heartfelt comedic family tale.

Windy City Playhouse, Chicago's most sophisticated new theater, presents the off-Broadway hit This, a tart 'melanchomedy' centering on four educated, artistically inclined thirtysomething New Yorkers whose longtime friendship is tested by an act of infidelity. Writer, director and playwright Carl Menninger (a former Deerfield native) returns home from Washington, D.C. to direct this piercing, beautifully crafted new play for lovers of language by Melissa James Gibson. Previews for This begin Wednesday, June 15 at Windy City Playhouse, 3014 W. Irving Park.

In conjunction with a production of playwright Lorraine Hansberry's final work, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Goodman Theatre presents a Lorraine Hansberry Celebration (today, April 30, through June 5), curated by Goodman Resident Director Chuck Smith.

Lookingglass Theatre Company announces the addition of Eddie Jemison to the Midwest Premiere of Life Sucks by Aaron Posner, directed by Ensemble Member Andrew White and featuring Ensemble Member Philip R. Smith as Dr. Aster. Jemison replaces previously-announced Ensemble Member Joey Slotnick in the role of Vanya, due to a scheduling conflict.

The Second City has announced the opening of The Second City e.t.c.'s 40th Revue, A Red Line Runs Through It. Reviewing press are invited to attend the show on Friday, April 29, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. at The Second City e.t.c. Theatre (2nd Floor of Piper's Alley, 230 W North Ave). A Grand Opening is scheduled for Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.

Showtunes Theatre Company is thrilled to announce the final concert musical of their 16th season, WORKING.

In conjunction with a production of playwright Lorraine Hansberry's final work, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Goodman Theatre presents a Lorraine Hansberry Celebration (April 30 - June 5), curated by Goodman Resident Director Chuck Smith.

PlayMakers Repertory Company will present "The Real Americans" written and performed by Dan Hoyle, April 27-May 1.  

After the sold-out and award-winning success of The Day Shall Declare It in 2015, Wilderness returns to the Los Angeles Arts District to remount its immersive, site-specific theatre experience, opening Tuesday, May 10, 2016 and running through Sunday, June 19, 2016. The internationally acclaimed physical theatre piece weaves together dynamic movement with a collage of American labor literature from Tennessee Williams and Studs Terkel, exploring the concept of work in America: what it does for us - and what it does to us. Developed and co-directed by Annie Saunders and Sophie Bortolussi (Punchdrunk's Sleep No More), The Day Shall Declare It will run for a limited time, to audiences of only thirty people per show. The intimate performances will run six nights a week, Tuesday through Sunday, with doors opening at 8:00pm and performances beginning at 8:30pm. The 2016 version sees the addition of  "The Paradise," an exclusive pop-up bar with live music curated by Vagrant Bartenders. Wilderness, an experimental performance company that brings temporary theatrical experiences to vacant buildings awaiting redevelopment, presents this work in partnership with Ad Age Standout 2015 production company HeLo, and in association with Los Angeles Performance Practice and Imperial Art Studios. For more information, please visit http://thisisthewilderness.com.