The Kleban Foundation has announced the recipients of the 29th Annual Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre. The judges declared a tie in the most promising musical theatre lyricist category between Sarah Hammond and Shaina Taub. The Kleban Prize for the most promising musical theatre librettist has been awarded to Charlie Sohne. The 2019 prizes will be presented on Monday, February 4, 2018, in a private ceremony (by invitation only) hosted by ASCAP and BMI at ASCAP.
Award-winning actor, author and piano virtuoso Hershey Felder will present the world premiere of his newest work, Hershey Felder, A Paris Love Story, featuring the music of the great Impressionist composer Claude Debussy, in April 2019. The production is the final work in Felder's critically acclaimed "Great Composer Series" of one-man shows, which have included George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Irving Berlin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Multi-award winning Foothill Music Theatre presents Bullets Over Broadway The Musical, the Tony Award-nominated musical based on Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath's screenplay for the hit film Bullets over Broadway. A love letter to the golden age of Broadway, Bullets Over Broadway The Musical brings the classic musical comedy back with a bang. Loaded with the songs that made the 1920s roar, this splashy musical features Jazz Age standards including 'Let's Misbehave,' ''Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do,' "Tiger Rag," and 'Up a Lazy River.' In this madcap comedy, a young playwright finally gets his play produced on Broadway, but discovers there's a catch: the mobster putting up the funds wants a vehicle for his ditzy, talent-free girlfriend. Throw in an aging diva, dancing gangsters, and a bevy of beautiful chorus girls, and comedic capers ensue. Under the direction of Milissa Carey and music direction of Louis Lagalante, Bullets Over Broadway The Musical will play February 28- March 17, 2019 (press opening: March 1) with performances 7:30pm Thursdays, 8:00pm Fridays & Saturdays, and 2pm Sundays at the Lohman Theatre, 12345 El Monte Rd (I-280 & El Monte Road), Los Altos Hills. Tickets ($12 - $36) and information can be found at www.foothill.edu/theatre or by phone at (650) 949-7360.
The Revolutionists is a comedic play about four women who lived boldly in France during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe De Gouge, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, loose their heads and try to beat back the extremist insanity in 1793's Paris. What began as a hopeful revolution for the people of France and her colonies to address social and economic inequality is now sinking into hyper-violent extremist insanity. Part of the Main Stage Series.
The Kitchen Theatre Company will enchant audiences with its upcoming dark comedy The Roommate by award winning playwright Jen Silverman. Performances of The Roommate begin at the Kitchen Theatre Company in the Percy Browning Performance Space on January 27th and run through February 14th. Opening night is Thursday, January 31st.
When in comes to portraying one of pop culture's biggest superstars of all time, it takes not one... not two... but three Broadway powerhouses to bring her to life onstage. Cher is on Broadway this season, played at three stages of her life by the incomparable Stephanie J. Block, Teal Wicks and Micaela Diamond. Below, watch as Richard Ridge checks in with all three leading ladies as they chat about becoming the Star, Lady and Babe, wearing her iconic clothes, and what they've already learned from the living legend!
Geva Theatre Center's 2018-2019 Fielding Studio Series continues with the world premiere of The Magician's Daughter, written by Lila Rose Kaplan and directed by Shelley Butler. This production marks the second world premiere of the season, following hot on the heels of the world premiere of Brent Askari's Hard Cell - also premiering in January. The Magician's Daughter begins performances on January 24 and runs in the Fielding Stage through February 10.
After an unfortunate "failure to launch" mishap, Loading Dock Theatre announces that Leegrid Steven's Spaceman has once again been cleared for take-off and will launch into the Off-Broadway stratosphere beginning February 2019. This news comes after the originally scheduled debut was forced to close after only one preview when leading lady Erin Treadway suffered a substantial fall that left her with serious fractures to both arms and left wrist.
Aurora Theatre Company continues its dynamic 27th season with August Strindberg's CREDITORS, a new version by David Greig, directed by Barbara Damashek (A Number, Splendour). The cast features Rebecca Dines (Mud Blue Sky, The Homecoming, Widower's Houses), Joseph Patrick O'Malley (A Number), Jonathan Rhys Williams (Therese Raquin, The Homecoming).
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will kick off the new year with the Tony and Olivier Award nominated drama Frost/Nixon. Written by Golden Globe winner Peter Morgan (creator of Netflix's The Crown), Frost/Nixon is a riveting political prizefight where the cameras roll, the truth spins, and it becomes clear that he who controls the medium controls the message. With America caught in the riptides of Watergate and Vietnam, the former leader of the free world and a lightweight British talk-show host clash in a legendary series of TV interviews that will determine the President's legacy forever. Directed by Leslie Martinson, Frost/Nixon will be presented January 16 February 10, 2019 (press opening: January 19, 2019) at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.
1. FUN HOME, Salt Lake Acting Company (saltlakeactingcompany.org)
The stirring performances under the expert direction of Jason Bowcutt, who guided the cast from melancholy to zany in a heartbeat, made this premiere production hauntingly moving. Hailee Olenberger was utterly astonishing in the pivotal role of Medium Alison, perfectly capturing the awkward joy of first love and discovery of her sexuality. The live band, assuredly led by David Evanoff, was an additional reason for this reviewer to see FUN HOME three times.
It's the last week to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Tallahassee Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.
It's the last week to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld San Francisco Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.
It's the last week to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Louisville Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.
Alisha Bates, from La Quinta, is planning to sing and dance from California to Europe, as part of the January 2019 UP WITH PEOPLE six-month tour. She is currently trying to raise the final $3000 to participate.
'Bring it On' meets 'Dreamgirls' in the girl-group musical, 'Betty and the Belrays' by William Electric Black aka Ian Ellis James, which will be presented by Theater for the New City January 31 to February 17. The piece tells the story of three white female singers from Detroit who struggle to change a racially divided society by singing for a black record label. Book and lyrics are by William Electric Black. Music is by Black, Valerie Ghent (arranger/keyboards for Ashford & Simpson) and Gary Schreiner. Choreography is by Jeremy Lardieri. Director is Mr. Black.
In a production where the whole is certainly equal to the sum of its parts, Tuck Everlasting could emerge as a pleasing and long-lasting alternative to splashier or too familiar seasonal holiday fare.
Aurora Theatre Company continues its dynamic 27th season with August Strindberg's CREDITORS, a new version by David Greig, directed by Barbara Damashek (A Number, Splendour). The cast features Rebecca Dines (Mud Blue Sky, The Homecoming, Widower's Houses), Joseph Patrick O'Malley (A Number), Jonathan Rhys Williams (Therese Raquin, The Homecoming).