The Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition continues to spotlight the best emerging playwrights with a full production for the competition winner and staged readings for four competition finalists. The 15th competition winner, GOODNIGHT, TYLER is the story of Tyler Evans, a young Black man who wants to be remembered for who he was rather than how he died. GOODNIGHT, TYLER is written by B.J. Tindal who completed his MFA in writing for screen and stage at Northwestern University in 2018. Directed by Kent Gash, GOODNIGHT, TYLER will have its world premiere on the Hertz Stage Feb. 16 - March 10, 2019. Opening night is Thursday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m.
This week's decluttering is only freeing up a tiny bit of space in my collection, but it represents an enormous place in my heart. The only version of The Wiz I have on CD is the AMAZING/IF YOU DON'T KNOW IT, YOU'RE NOT A REAL BROADWAY FAN original cast album starring Stephanie Mills. I do have the movie soundtrack in my iTunes and the soundtrack of 'The Wiz Live!' is on Apple Music, so let's dive in.
The Public Theater announced the sixth season of PUBLIC STUDIO today, which will present two new works this spring. Continuing The Public's commitment to nurturing new playwrights, the two productions will run in succession in The Public's Shiva Theater and be presented as pared-down productions with the low ticket price of $15. This vital program continues The Public's mission of making new work by emerging artists accessible to all audiences.
Rising pop artist Baby Ariel is celebrating Valentine's Day early with today's release of her dreamy new song – “I Heart You” (Baby A Records) is available now via all digital music retailers and streaming services. Ariel has also unveiled the self-created and VHS-inspired lyric video in which Ariel co-stars alongside a very special love interest. Watch the lyric video, which acts as the first part of the song's official companion video, on Baby Ariel's official YouTube channel below!
The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival, the annual festival that honors legendary novelist Philip K. Dick through the dynamic power of science fiction film, is returning for its seventh outing with a full schedule of events. For the first time since its inception, the festival will hold a bi-coastal gathering presenting a lineup of films, premieres and panels for audiences in New York City, Los Angeles and Santa Ana, CA. The ambitious endeavor will provide a platform for independent filmmakers who tackle a variety of themes that empower the narratives of Philip K. Dick, whose work continues to serve as a profound mark on the literary and entertainment worlds.
Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Act(s) of God, by Ensemble Member Kareem Bandealy, directed by Ensemble Member Heidi Stillman. Act(s) of God runs February 13 April 7, 2019 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The press performances are February 22 and February 23 at 7:30 p.m.
With shows such as Robert Askins' Hand to God, Caryl Churchill's Cloud 9, Albee's The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?, Ibsen's Peer Gynt, and now Sarah Ruhl's How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, Black Box Performing Arts Center is quickly making a name for itself as the area's premiere destination for immersive and cutting-edge plays. How to Transcend a Happy Marriage is the second main stage show of 2019, following the NJ premiere of Significant Other by Joshua Harmon.
Acoustic singer/songwriter Cory Wells is preparing to crisscross the country as part of 'The Virtue Tour' with William Ryan Key (formerly of Yellowcard) and Selfish Things. The tour kicks off on February 22nd in Atlanta, with additional stops in Brooklyn, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and more. For a full list of shows, please see below or visit: www.corywellsofficial.com.
Rising pop-rock group, The Faim, will be joining Black Veil Brides' frontman, Andy Black, on a massive North American tour this spring in support of their debut EP, Summer Is a Curse (2018 via BMG). The band will provide direct support on the 28-date trek runs that throughout April and May, kicking off in Sacramento, CA on Sunday, April 7 and wrapping in Virginia Beach, VA on Friday, May 17. The run also hits major cities including Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and Toronto. The full list of shows is included below. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 15 and can be purchased HERE.
Tara Arts and Polka Theatre have today announced that their co-production of Three Sat Under The Banyan Tree is set to head on a UK tour from 20th January - 2nd March 2019. The production originally played at The Polka Theatre in September 2018.
Feinstein's/54 Below presents the return of Robbie Rozelle in Songs From Inside My Locker on Saturday, February 23 and Friday, March 1 at 9:30 pm. After creating shows for Jessica Vosk, Melissa Errico, Kate Baldwin and Nikka Graff Lanzarone, writer/director Robbie Rozelle turns the tables on himself with two performances of his debut solo show to be preserved as part of Broadway Records' Live at Feinstein's/54 Below series. Songs From Inside My Locker is written by Robbie Rozelle and features musical direction and arrangements by Josh D. Smith, with a six-piece band known collectively as 'The Two Drink Minimum.' Special guests include Bonnie Milligan (Head Over Heels) and Maya Days (Aida).
Damien Jurado is announcing his new album, In the Shape of a Storm, on Mama Bird Recording Co. April 12th today alongside a new, stunningly sparse track 'South'. Jurado's career has seen many iterations and his newest album is no less profound than any previous work, but the stark acoustic arrangements allow Jurado's every emotional vocal shift to be magnified. The stories here are deeply felt and vividly rendered. They're not leading you through but letting you come to your own conclusions, as Jurado says, ''South', like most songs that I write, is a collage of sorts, or collection of snapshots, that center around two characters. One could even presume me, or me as an alternate self. Dark, isolated, and slightly menacing in tone for a waltz number.'
Blockchain Theater Project (BTP), founded by Sofia Alvarez and Nicola Korzenko, is a new theater company that empowers artists to produce the work they create, funded in part by cryptocurrency donations. Like Bitcoin and other blockchains, BTP eliminates the institutional gatekeeper, creating a peer-to-peer model of support where the next play to be produced will be nominated by the playwright of the current production. Alvarez's NYLON will start this chain.
Watsky continues his world tour this week in support of brand new studio LP COMPLAINT which dropped on January 11th, 2019. Last month, Watsky announced that the tour would feature support from Grieves, Feed the Biirds, and Young Beau Prince. The tour - his biggest tour ever - kicked off in Nashville, TN last week before stopping by Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks 2019 at Red Rocks for a one-off show supporting Atmosphere, De La Soul, and Living Legends. On Saturday, he'll continue the headline run at Anchorage, AK's Willawaw. Madison, WI and London, UK have SOLD OUT, but tickets for remaining dates are on-sale now. For full dates, see below and for more information, check outgeorgewatsky.com/.
Tickets are now available for The Un-Common Theatre Company's Young Performers Production of Peter Pan JR., being presented at Qualters Middle School, in Mansfield, March 8-10. Tickets may be purchased by calling (800) 838-3006 or online at https://uncommontheatre.org/tickets.
Avant Bard theatre is proud to announce that veteran screen actor Khalil Kain will star with award-winning stage actor Louis E. Davis in Suzan-Lori Parks's acclaimed Topdog/Underdog, led by award-winning director and Broadway performer DeMone Seraphin. The play--a tensely funny and dead serious tragicomedy about two African American brothers-in-struggle--won Parks the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for drama, and the New York Times named it the best American play of the last 25 years. The production runs from March 14 to April 14, 2019, at Gunston Arts Center Theatre Two in Arlington.
Avant Bard theatre announces that veteran screen actor Khalil Kain will star with award-winning stage actor Louis E. Davis in Suzan-Lori Parks's acclaimed TOPDOG/UNDERDOG, led by award-winning director and Broadway performer DeMone Seraphin. The play-a tensely funny and dead serious tragicomedy about two African American brothers-in-struggle-won Parks the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for drama, and the New York Times named it the best American play of the last 25 years. The production runs from March 14 to April 14, 2019, at Gunston Arts Center Theatre Two in Arlington.
