Thomas Jefferson News

It's not often that a Broadway musical creates so much press and hype that almost every US citizen has heard of the phenomenon that is HAMILTON. The show that got it's start off Broadway at NY's Public Theatre has taken the country by storm. Still the hottest ticket on Broadway 3 years after it has opened, the touring production has been anticipated in almost every US National tour market for a full two years prior to it actually surfacing. This has created record breaking subscription ticket sales just so everyone could be guaranteed a seat for HAMILTON.

As previously reported by BroadwayWorld, the cast of HAMILTON's three-week long engagement in Puerto Rico will launch a third national tour of the musical phenomenon. The show's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda will play the title character in Puerto Rico, with Julius Thomas III (The Scottsboro Boys, Motown the Musical) taking over at the tour's next stop in San Francisco. Donald Webber Jr. (Motown the Musical, Holler if Ya Hear Me) will play Hamilton's nemesis, the formidable Aaron Burr.

Tony, Pulitzer, and Olivier-winning Broadway Playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda has cast a local Naples Players' KidzAct actor, Christopher Campbell, in the Hamilton National Tour.

Porchlight Music Theatre begins its sixth season of Chicago's "lost" musicals in staged concert series with Porchlight Revisits 1776, music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and book by Peter Stone with direction by Artistic Director Michael Weber, musical direction by Jeremy Ramey and musical staging by Michelle Lauto. Porchlight Revisits 1776 is presented for only three performances Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 15 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Tickets for 1776 are available now for $37, subscriptions to the three performance series including 1776, Can-Can, March 6 and 7, 2019 and Minnie's Boys, May 22 and 23, 2019 are $90/per person and available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884.

Julius Thomas III and Donald Webber Jr. will lead the third national tour of HAMILTON as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, respectively.

A unique collaboration: the All-Star Orchestra's Gerard Schwarz conducts the U.S. Marine Band - America's oldest continually performing musical ensemble - founded by an act of Congress in 1798, and dubbed 'The President's Own' by no less than Thomas Jefferson. Three programs feature the most famous concert band masterpieces, including works by Gustav Holst, Percy Grainger, William Schuman, and of course John Philip Sousa.

Based on Ron Chernow's 2004 biographical novel titled Alexander Hamilton, the musical, Hamilton, tells the true story of one of America's Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton. An immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation's first Treasury Secretary.

Lantern Theater Company continues its 25th anniversary season with the Philadelphia premiere of The Heir Apparent by David Ives, adapted from Jean-Francois Regnard's 1708 comedy Le Legataire universel. Lantern resident director M. Craig Getting will direct a cast that includes Lantern veterans Chris Anthony, Leonard C. Haas, Adam Hammet, Dave Johnson, Mary Martello, Lee Minora, and Ruby Wolf. Theater critics and members of the press are invited to request tickets for opening night on Wednesday, November 14 at 7 p.m. by contacting Anne Shuff at ashuff@lanterntheater.org. The expanded six-week performance schedule runs Thursday, November 8 through Sunday, December 16, 2018; a full schedule of performances and special events is included in the fact sheet below.

New Repertory Theatre presents 1776, the Tony Award-winning musical by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone. Co-directed by Broadway veteran Austin Pendleton and Kelli Edwards, the production runs November 30 through December 23, 2018 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Tickets are $25-$72 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available. Subscription packages that include 1776 are also available.

1776 has declared its position at The Alhambra Theatre and Dining. The Tony nominated show tells the story of the drafting of the Declaration of Independence between May and July of 1776. Anyone who has taken a history class will recognize the iconic characters, such as John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and many more. It is a joy to watch the story so many know appear in front of their eyes by the incredible cast.

After an extended run at the 2017 New York Theatre Festival's Summerfest, Great Frontier: A Poorly Researched Musical About Lewis And Clark is returning to the stage this October for 8 performances at The PIT Loft. The show was co-written by comedians, Kevin Froleiks and Patrick J. Reilly, and features 18 original songs with zero historical accuracy.

This year, The Washington Ballet celebrates 15 years of DC's perennial favorite, Septime Webre's The Nutcracker, November 24 - 25 at THEARC Theater and November 29 - December 28 at the historic Warner Theatre. Set to Tchaikovsky's magical score, this celebrated production set in 1882 early Georgetown has become the signature Nutcracker in our nation's capital.

After an extended run at the 2017 New York Theatre Festival's Summerfest, Great Frontier: A Poorly Researched Musical About Lewis And Clark is returning to the stage this October for 8 performances at The PIT Loft. The show was co-written by comedians, Kevin Froleiks and Patrick J. Reilly, and features 18 original songs with zero historical accuracy.

Enjoy 2 tickets to Hamilton on Broadway on October 28, 2018 at 3:00 PM.

On Wednesday, October 31 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, all available tickets for the 8:00pm performance of HAMILTON will be sold for $10.

With a company that mostly outclassed the replacement cast I saw on Broadway, the HAMILTON tour not only set off a ticketbuying frenzy across Charlotte, it fulfilled theatergoers' wildest expectations.

The Jewish Museum and The New York Public Library (NYPL) have jointly acquired the complete series of 57 gouaches on paper created by designer, author, illustrator, and artist Maira Kalman for the 2005 edition of The Elements of Style.

Here is the scenario. Imagine going to a community theatre in Arlington, VA to see a show that requires a good size choir and a fourteen-piece orchestra. I imagine some of you might think that the company was crazy. I'm here to tell you that, in the case of The Arlington Players' 68th season opener The Hunchback of Notre Dame, you would be totally wrong. Never assume anything until you witness it. The production indeed features a twenty-member choir and it utilizes Michael Starobin's full orchestration but besides that, the production overall is as good as I've seen from some professional theatre companies. Yes, you read that right folks.

A message from the king! West End Hamilton's King George III, Michael Jibson, made a video in character, announcing details for the 2019 Olivier Awards.