T. Jones News

The American Dance Festival (ADF) kicks off its 85th anniversary season on Thursday, June 14 at 7:00pm at Reynolds Industries Theater with the return of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) performing classic repertoire and a new ADF-commissioned piece by Abby Zbikowski.

In a special collaboration for New York Live Arts, artists Nick Cave and Bob Faust create a kaleidoscopic mural from one of Cave's iconic Soundsuits constructed entirely of woven bags collected from around the world. These bags we carry are filled with promise is a through-the-looking-glass interpretation that the baggage we all walk through life with is anything but weighty. In this manifestation, the bags seem to defy gravity, and rather than weighing us down, actually carry the hopes, dreams, and aspirations that fuel us for our choices ahead. From the single source image of Cave's work, Faust selects and manipulates key details that seem to morph seamlessly into multiple patterns, shape-shifting across the 31 linear feet of lobby wall. The mural acts as a conditioning agent for audiences, preparing them for the performative experience on Live Arts' mainstage that awaits on the other side.

The Guthrie Theater (Joseph Haj, artistic director) proudly announced the cast and creative team for the theater's summer musical, West Side Story. Directed by Haj, this major revival of a timeless classic will play June 16 - August 26, 2018, on the Wurtele Thrust Stage. Single tickets for West Side Story start at $15 for preview performances (June 16-21) and are on sale now through the Box Office at 612.377.2224, 877.44.STAGE (toll-free), 612.225.6244 (group sales) and online at guthrietheater.org.

The Dirty Blondes, the feminist theater company behind the critically acclaimed production of The American Play at Soho Playhouse, will celebrate their six years of creating theater with a special event called DRAG. Featuring some of the most exciting and emerging drag performers in New York City, DRAG will celebrate inclusivity by deconstructing stereotypes, defying expectations and honoring individuality - everything The Dirty Blondes stands for as a theater company. DRAG will be held on Thursday, May 31, 2018, at The Gallery at Le Poisson Rouge (located at 158 Bleecker Street, between Sullivan and Thompson Streets) with doors opening at 7:00pm and performances beginning at 7:30pm.

The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), widely recognized as the most prestigious and respected songwriting competition in the world, is pleased to announce its 2017 winners. Created in 2002, ISC received more than 16,000 entries from almost 140 countries.

 Live Arts Pride 2018 - THE HOUSE PARTY is New York Live Arts' premier Pride celebration; a building wide and sidewalk performance party in the historic "gayborhood" of Chelsea, just blocks from the Pride March. The epic 6-hour event honors the historical importance and unwavering power of collectives in LGBTQAI culture. Young families from NYC's queer nightlife and art scene come together under one roof to serve up the city's most colorful and fierce performance, music, and more for a multi-space, nonstop party for the ages.

PBS recently unveiled a list of America's 100 best-loved novels, chosen in support of THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, a new PBS series and multi-platform initiative that celebrates the joy of reading and the books we love. THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, hosted by television personality and journalist Meredith Vieira, launches with a two-hour episode on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at 8 p.m. on PBS stations and will introduce viewers to the full list of America's 100 favorite novels selected through a demographically representative national survey conducted by YouGov.

PBS today unveiled a list of America's 100 best-loved novels, chosen in support of THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, a new PBS series and multi-platform initiative that celebrates the joy of reading and the books we love. THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, hosted by television personality and journalist Meredith Vieira, launches with a two-hour episode today, May 22, 2018, at 8 p.m. on PBS stations and will introduce viewers to the full list of America's 100 favorite novels selected through a demographically representative national survey conducted by YouGov. The series will also feature interviews with celebrities, authors, superfans and everyday Americans discussing the way particular books have influenced them and their significance in American popular culture. Then, after a multi-platform initiative throughout the summer, which will include live public events, social media components and national reading clubs, the series will resume in the fall with several themed episodes, including an exciting finale, culminating in the first-ever national vote to choose 'America's Best-Loved Novel.' It will be the most expansive national celebration of books and reading aimed at engaging multi-generational readers across multiple platforms ever created.

Glitter in the Gutter is an intimate evening of bawdy dance-theater created and performed by Catherine Cabeen and Kristina Berger. Performances are Friday and Saturday, June 22 and 23, at 7pm, at Pangea, 178 Second Avenue (between 11th and 12th Streets), in Manhattan.

I cannot think of a more fitting way to say thank you to Baltimore Center Stage Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah than attending SOUL THE STAX MUSICAL which runs to June 10, 2018.

Casting has been announced for Pride Films and Plays' American premiere of PINK ORCHIDS - the first play of the "PAC Pride Fest" - a summer season of five plays. PINK ORCHIDS, by Patrick Cash, is a British play in which five eloquently interwoven and often funny monologues explore the experience of living with HIV - a virus that attacks the emotions as well as the body. It premiered in London in 2016 under the title THE HIV MONOLOGUES. This production will be directed by Brennan T. Jones and will open to the press on Friday, June 8 at 7:30 pm, in the Pride Arts Center's Buena space. Jones directed JUMPERS FOR GOALPOSTS for Pride Films and Plays in summer 2017 and was Assistant Director for TimeLine Theatre's THE AUDIENCE last fall.

Starting over isn't easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of being an LAPD officer. As the force's oldest rookie, he's met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis. If he can't keep up with the young cops and the criminals, he'll be risking lives including his own. But if he can use his life experience, determination and sense of humor to give him an edge, he may just become a success in this new chapter of his life.

Coming on the heels of a tremendously successful 2017-18 season that boasts the No. 1 show on television ("Roseanne"), the No. 1 new drama ("The Good Doctor") and the No. 1 reality show launch ("American Idol"), ABC is set to announce a stellar slate of programming for the 2018-19 season. Channing Dungey, president, ABC Entertainment, will unveil the network's new lineup to the advertising and media communities this afternoon at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall in New York City.

Coming on the heels of a tremendously successful 2017-18 season that boasts the No. 1 show on television ("Roseanne"), the No. 1 new drama ("The Good Doctor") and the No. 1 reality show launch ("American Idol"), ABC is set to announce a stellar slate of programming for the 2018-19 season. Channing Dungey, president, ABC Entertainment, will unveil the network's new lineup to the advertising and media communities this afternoon at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall in New York City.

Next month ODC Theater provides an early kickoff to the summer with the seventh anniversary of its signature dance festival. Highlights include a West Coast premiere from filmmaker and choreographer Yara Travieso, the Bay Area solo debut of Toronto native Belinda McGuire and a world premiere from Kiandanda Dance Theater.

Bethany Arts Community (BAC),  a new space and environment located at 40 Somerstown Road, Ossining, NY, where the many forms of art can be learned, produced and flourish, is pleased to announce a four week residency, this May, with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, a world-class dance-theater company.

Zullo/RawMovement presents the Queerly Contemporary Festival on Saturday, June 9, 2018 at 7:30pm at City Center Studio 4, 130 West 56th Street, NYC. Doors open at 7pm for a gallery exhibit with works by Ricardo Francis. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at https://www.zullorawmovement.com/.

Classic Stage Company announced today that Clifton Duncan, most recently seen on Broadway in The Play That Goes Wrong, will play the role of Joe in the company's new production of the musical CARMEN JONES, now beginning performances Saturday, June 9 (8pm) at CSC (136 East 13th Street).

Zullo/RawMovement presents the Queerly Contemporary Festival on Saturday, June 9, 2018 at 7:30pm at City Center Studio 4, 130 West 56th Street, NYC. Doors open at 7pm for a gallery exhibit with works by Ricardo Francis.

Noor Theatre is thrilled to announce initial casting for its 4th annual 48 Hour Forum. The diverse roster of actors will each be randomly assigned to a playwright and director during the event. Joining Tala Ashe ("Legends of Tomorrow," "Smash") are Nikki Massoud ("Succession," "Mozart in the Jungle"), Marjan Neshat ("Quantico"), Dan Domingues ("The Blacklist"), May Calamawy ("The Long Road Home," "Madam Secretary"), Amel Khalil (There is a Field), Thomas Muccioli (The Trojan Women), Kesav Wable (Lily in the Grinder), Sharina Martin (Manhood), Leta Renee-Alan (The Place We Built), Cleo Gray (#serials@theflea), J.D. Goldblatt (Les Miserables), Isra Elsalihie (The Good Man), Veracity Butcher (Benghazi Bergen-Belsen), Wesley T. Jones ("Seven Seconds"), and Grace Canahuati ("Celebrity Ghost Stories").