TheatreWorks News

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein are proud to announce the 2016 lineup for the Apprentice/Intern Company evening of new ten-minute plays. The Tens runs January 12-16 in the Victor Jory Theatre at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

New Musicals at 54 is a series presented by Feinstein's/ 54 Below Programming Director Jennifer Ashley Tepper. Some of the 10 new and diverse musicals by a selection of today's most talented writers have had out-of-town productions, some have had workshops... now's your chance to be first to see them in NYC! Join us at New Musicals at 54 for one-night-only concerts celebrating each new show with songs, behind-the-scenes stories, and all-star casts!

Paul Gordon and John Caird's chamber musical was performed in Japan, London and across America before arriving Off-Broadway.

Desert Theatreworks's new version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL is touching and funny. Director Lance Phillips-Martinez adapted the Charles Dickens novella by using Dickens' words for narration and dialog. He also selected period Christmas carols, sung primarily by the chorus,The clever staging, the use of a combination musical chorus and Greek chorus (the latter narrates early parts of the story), the costumes, the make-up, the imaginative sound and lighting, the elements of humor, and, of course, the acting all contribute to the success of this top-notch production.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley kicks off the New Year with the regional premiere of Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, a brand new work by acclaimed performer/playwright/director Hershey Felder. The inspiring story of "America's Composer" Irving Berlin takes center stage in this tour-de-force performance by virtuoso Hershey Felder, internationally acclaimed for bringing to life such composers as Gershwin, Beethoven, Chopin, and Bernstein. Fleeing the anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia, capturing the rhythms of the Lower East Side, and eventually enchanting the entire world, Berlin epitomized the American dream. Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin will be directed by Trevor Hay with performances January 13 - February 14, 2016 (press opening: January 16) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($35 -$100) and information the public may visit www.TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

Though it never made it to Broadway, LOVE FROM JUDY was a 1952 West End hit.

Continuing to bring original musical stories and new productions to beloved Chicago audiences, 'Hershey Felder Presents' (George Gershwin Alone, Maestro Bernstein, The Pianist of Willesden Lane, Louis and Keely 'Live' at the Sahara) now brings BARITONES UNBOUND, a new play with music and baritone superstars to the Royal George Theatre as part of a continuing season of new productions. Performances begin at the Royal George, 1641 N. Halsted Street, today, December 11th, 2015 and continue through Sunday, January 3rd, 2016 with a press opening on Sunday, December 13th at 3:00 p.m. A special New Year's Eve performance includes a champagne and dessert reception with the artists.

A theatre critic's review points out similarities to an earlier production's staging and design.

DADDY LONG LEGS will become the first ever Broadway or Off-Broadway performance to be broadcast online to the world for free tonight, December 10, 2015.

WINTER RHYTHMS, the annual festival and fundraising event produced by Urban Stages Theater in New York City, will present a concert version of A CHARLES DICKENS CHRISTMAS, a family musical about Charles Dickens's personal struggles with writing A Christmas Carol. Through an unexpected 'muse,' Dickens comes to understand his own troubled youth, ultimately learning the true meaning of Christmas and finding the inspiration for this immortal holiday classic. The concert will take place tonight and Saturday, December 10 and 12, 2015.

Songwriters Sam Carner and Derek Gregor will present SOMEBODY PUT ACID IN THE EGG NOG, a concert of original holiday songs by some of musical theatre's most notable new writers, on December 19th.

TheatreWorks recently announced its 2016 line-up of theatrical productions to a sold-out house of donors, patrons, and friends of the Theatre, located at 5 Brookside Avenue, in New Milford.

The WICKED tour recently announced that it will welcome Emily Koch as Elphaba, Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda, Megan Masako Haley as Nessarose and Sam Seferian as Boq beginning tonight, December 9, at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.

Back by popular demand: David Sedaris' perfect antidote to holiday madness. For those who like a little jeer with their Christmas cheer, The Santaland Diaries offers Crumpet, a 33-year-old starving artist turned Macy's elf. It's the most wonderful time of the year, but who would know it from the bad Santas, naughty elves, cranky kids, and pushy parents who test Crumpet's last elfin nerve. With sardonic wit, Sedaris takes us all playfully to task for plunging into the Christmas spirit while missing the point. This is for mature elves only.

Jim and Laurel Parker are about to become new parents. When Laurel finally gives birth to their overdue child, she and Jim are faced with the biggest challenge of their lives when their baby boy is black, the result of Laurel's affair the previous year. The lives of their families and friends are thrown into turmoil in Byhalia, Mississippi, a town with a racially-charged past that still very much affects it's present. Byhalia, Misissippi is a winner of the 2014 NewWorks@TheWorks playwriting competition. This will mark the second time that TheatreWorks has played host to the work of Byhalia, Mississippi playwright Evan Linder. Playhouse on the Square audiences might remember his work from the 2013 production of the comedy Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche. 

Theatreworks USA will kick off its 2016 weekend family performance series on Saturday January 9th with Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide To School, the New York premiere of the new children's musical based on the best-selling series of books by Barbara Park, penned by Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich (Ever After, Dear Edwina, Theatreworks USA's acclaimed hit Junie B. Jones).

Clever, sharp and witty, "Emma" the musical is as charismatic as it title character. Creator Paul Gordon took the Jane Austen classic and gave audiences a crisp, well-paced and engaging script with a score that wonderfully serves its characters' acerbic humor and innermost thoughts. Gordon's soliloquy style and multiple short themes highlight each role, which, when well-cast, sell the show with radiant storytelling. In the case of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, a four-member orchestra also adds charm.

Updated this week! Check out upcoming Equity Auditions from Sunday, December 6, 2015 for both productions in your area and around the country including what/when/where and how to audition!

The WICKED Tour has announced that it will welcome Emily Koch as Elphaba, Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda, Megan Masako Haley as Nessarose and Sam Seferian as Boq beginning Wednesday, December 9 at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.

Born Yesterday, first performed in 1946, is a story that focuses on political corruption, corporate interests twisting the democratic process for their own ends, agenda-driven journalists, and a call to shed one's apathy and take control of a government that, ideally, exists to serve us all. The more things change.