Timothy Allen McDonald News

Producer Daryl Roth has announced that Between the Lines will now open in Spring 2021 Off-Broadway. The new musical based on the novel by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer was originally scheduled to open today. 

MTI is releasing the worldwide licensing rights to The Big One-Oh! Online Edition, an online adaptation of The Big One-Oh! specifically made so that the show fits onto a computer screen performed by actors working remotely.

Michael Musto, joined the Off Broadway Alliance's Nominating Committee this morning and announced this season's Off Broadway Alliance Award nominees.

iTheatrics, in collaboration with Academy Award-winner Dean Pitchford and Tony Award-winner Doug Besterman, will present The Big One-Oh! JR. Zoomsical Edition, a twenty-minute online adaptation of The Big One-Oh!, on Friday, April 17, at 4 pm EST on the iTheatrics Facebook Page and You Tube Channel.

The new Off-Broadway musical Between the Lines has just released the music video for a?oeDo It For You,a?? written by Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson and performed by Morgan Siobhan Green. Watch the full video below!

The Omaha Community Playhouse (OCP) has announced the titles to be produced during their 96th season, which will run from August 2020 through June 2021. Subscriptions for OCP's 2020/21 season are now available for purchase through the OCP Box Office at 6915 Cass Street, Omaha, NE 68132, by phone at (402) 553-0800 or online at OmahaPlayhouse.com.

Firestone Theatre presents the school edition of the seminal musical A Chorus Line. Evening performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. on April 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11, 2020. A single matinee performance will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 5, 2020. General admission tickets are $10.00 in advance, and $12.00 at the door. A reserved seat is available online for $14.00 and a premium VIP seat is $17.00. Tickets are available online now at FirestoneTheatre.com. Hard tickets will be available at the school between 11 and 1:00 p.m. starting Monday, March 23, 2020. Tickets for A Chorus Line will also be available at the door on the evening of performance.

The Book Thief is being adapted for the stage as part of the Octagon Theatre's autumn season!

Over the second weekend of February, thousands of students and educators from around the globe gathered at the 4th annual Junior Theatre Festival (JTF) West here in Sacramento. For many, the highlight was hearing the incredible voices that come to the Festival each year to share their experiences and hard-earned wisdom. One such voice was best-selling author Jodi Picoult, who believes in the mission of the Junior Theatre Festival so much that she strives to be at both the Atlanta and Sacramento events each year. This year, however, was even more special. The musical, Between the Lines, which is based on a book written by Picoult and her daughter, Samantha van Leer, opens Off-Broadway on April 21. Much of the talent responsible for bringing the novel to the stage was at JTF West talking about their journey and showcasing songs for the first time for the lucky young thespians. Included were composing team Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, Tony-nominated director Jeff Calhoun, and book writer (and JTF founder) Timothy Allen McDonald. Broadway World Sacramento was able to sit down with Picoult and speak to her about the challenges of getting a show to Off-Broadway, women in theatre, and all things Between the Lines.

Forget that other show. I was in the REAL room where it happened last weekend at the 4th Annual Junior Theater Festival West (JTF), which celebrates youth theatre and encourages students and teachers to keep theatre alive in their community. Each year it follows the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, which just finished its 15th season. Over 2,200 people participated in the three-day festival, some coming from as far away as Australia, England, and South Korea. Students and educators benefited from the knowledge of top Broadway professionals in the form of adjudications, workshops, and a discussion panel entitled Pathways to Success, in which the featured guests shared how they forged their own paths to Broadway and beyond.

Flat Stanley has travelled all over the world, and now this delightful character is coming to Main Street Theater! From the book by Jeff Brown, this fun musical adaptation will play Sundays, March 1 and 8 at 12:30pm and 3:30pm; Spring Break performances March 16 - 18 at 10:30am and 1:30pm; Saturdays, March 21, 28 and April 4 at 10:30am & 1:30pm at MST's Midtown location, 3400 Main St. in Matchbox4. All tickets are on sale via phone at 713.524.6706 or online at MainStreetTheater.com. Tickets are $16 - $26. Group rates are available. No children under 3 are admitted in the theater (including sleeping babies). (Performances are also available for school matinees. Call 713.524.9196 ext 101 or 102 or visit the website.)

The new Off-Broadway musical BETWEEN THE LINES has released its first music video for a?oeSomething to Hold Onto,a?? performed by Jason Gotay.

President & Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions Thomas Schumacher; Caissie Levy (Frozen on Broadway); Nicholas Christopher (Hamilton on Broadway); Jennifer Locke (Hamilton national tour); creator/Executive Producer Tim Federle, Olivia Rodrigo, and Joshua Bassett (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney +); Luca Padovan and Isabella Russo (School of Rock); Jeff Calhoun (Newsies, Between The Lines); Rob Rokicki (The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical); and Lotte Wakeham (Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical) are some of the stars and creatives confirmed for the 2020 iTheatrics Junior Theater Festival Atlanta (#JTF).

Based on the classic children's book of the same name, Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach tells the story of a young boy and his human-sized insect friends as they travel across the ocean in an oversized peach.

Producer Daryl Roth announced today full casting for the new Off-Broadway musical Between the Lines . The production will star Arielle Jacobs (Aladdin, Wicked), Jason Gotay (Evita, Bring It On: The Musical), Morgan Siobhan Green (Be More Chill), Vicki Lewis (Damn Yankees, Anastasia), Will Burton (Kiss Me, Kate; Hello, Dolly!), Jerusha Cavazos (The Prom), Pierre Marais (Aladdin), John Rapson (Les Misérables), Carrie St. Louis (Kinky Boots, Wicked), and Julia Murney (Wicked).

Based on the classic children's book of the same name, Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach tells the story of a young boy and his human-sized insect friends as they travel across the ocean in an oversized peach.

Based on the classic children's book of the same name, Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach tells the story of a young boy and his human-sized insect friends as they travel across the ocean in an oversized peach.

We're getting an exclusive look behind the scenes at at the new musical Between the Lines, which is set to begin performances at Off-Broadway's Tony Kiser Theater at Second Stage this April! Check out the video to see the show's songwriting team, Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson, giving us a look at what the show is all about and what audiences can expect!

Starting November 15th Elm Street Cultural Arts Village enters a world of pure imagination with opening night of Willy Wonka Jr., a sweet treat of a musical that is perfect for the entire family. Mysterious candy manufacturer Willy Wonka stages a contest by hiding golden tickets in five of his scrumptious candy bars. Whomever comes up with these tickets will win a free tour of the Wonka factory, as well as a lifetime supply of candy. Four of the five winning children are insufferable brats, but the fifth is a likeable young lad named Charlie Bucket. The children must learn to follow Wonka's rules in the factory — or suffer the consequences. 

Roald Dahl wrote books for the children of his time and it is a wonder that many of his creations have remained as popular and well-loved as they have decades after his death. Although James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, and The Twits can all trace thematic influence back to Dahl's involvement in World War II, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory seems to be the most heavily-informed by an unquestioning devotion to western industrialization and hope for the germinating seeds of our present-day capitalism. The 1971 movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is indicative of its time not only in its psychedelic colors and film effects but in its Vietnam-Conflict-era praise of Americanized consumerism. While Tim Burton's 2005 film adaptation reclaimed the title of the 1964 book and attempted to be a more faithful translation, its darkness and sterile settings have not garnered the cultural embrace of its predecessor, mainly because (I believe) of the public's common, shifting relationship with and disdain for industrialization and capitalism.