Timothy Allen McDonald News

Nasty will be nice and Lake Oswego will be ogre-the-moon when Lakewood Theatre Company musical theatre students present a production of Shrek, The Musical JR. May 14-15, 2022, directed by Julie Lane.

Shrek The Musical JR. opens at Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church on April 30, 2022. This upside down-fairy tale adventure follows an ogre named Shrek who has learned the hard way that “people hate the things they cannot understand.” One day, his peaceful swamp is disturbed by new tenants: fairytale misfits who have been banished there by the villainous Lord Farquaad. In order to gain back his land, Shrek makes a deal with Farquaad to rescue the feisty princess Fiona from a tower guarded by a fierce dragon. Setting off with his faithful companion, Donkey, Shrek begins the journey of a lifetime filled with adventure, romance, and hilarity.

Ogunquit Playhouse is growing its educational initiatives by launching the Arts Academy. Already an integral component of the Playhouse's mission, the educational initiatives currently in place will be greatly expanded to build upon the legacy left by founder Walter Hartwig, a strong proponent of community theater with a passion for teaching theater craft to aspiring professionals.

Ogunquit Playhouse is launching the Arts Academy program with the belief that theater is a profound tool for students to not only exercise their imagination but to discover their innate skill set.

Producer Daryl Roth has announced a special series of “Meet The Author Nights” at BETWEEN THE LINES, which will feature talkbacks with NY Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult, who wrote the novel the musical is based on alongside her daughter Samantha Van Leer.

The new Off-Broadway musical BETWEEN THE LINES will star Arielle Jacobs (Aladdin, Wicked), Jake David Smith (Frozen), Vicki Lewis (Anastasia, Damn Yankees), Will Burton (Kiss Me, Kate; Hello, Dolly!), Jerusha Cavazos (The Prom), Pierre Marais (Aladdin), John Rapson (Les Misérables) and Julia Murney (Wicked, The Wild Party).

Due to multiple positive COVID-19 cases in the company and staff, New 42 announced that all remaining performances of Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas have been canceled. Performances were scheduled to play through January 2, 2022. 

Production photos have been released for Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, which opens on Friday, December 17th at the New Victory Theater.

Today, Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas released a first look at the upcoming production with a photo  showcasing a few of the characters audiences will see onstage, including both humans and puppets from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Today, Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas announced their full cast and creative team. The cast will include Colin Trudell as Emmet Otter, Jordan Brownlee (Puppeteer) as Tiny Squirrel/Doc Bullfrog, Kevin Covert as Mayor Fox, LaVon Fisher-Wilson as Mrs. Mink/Hetty Muskrat, and more.

iTheatrics has restructured its company and expanded its focus to support the creation of original musicals that amplify voices currently underrepresented in theatre in complement to its work adapting Broadway and West End musicals for licensing by Music Theatre International and Concord Theatricals.

Theatre Arlington's 49th season will offer great musicals, family-friendly children's programming, prize-winning dramas, hysterical comedies and the return of a favorite holiday show – all on the brand-new, state-of-the-art Arlington Tomorrow Foundation Theatre stage. Debuting in the newly renovated lobby, Theatre Arlington's Club Series will feature the return of Club Cabaret along with the new Comedy Club and Play Reading Club.

San Francisco's Landmark Musical Theatre (Jon Rosen, Artistic Director) is pleased to announce its production and full cast of Music Theatre International's ALL TOGETHER NOW! A GLOBAL EVENT CELEBRATING LOCAL THEATRE, which will be presented for eight performances as their inaugural show at Landmark's new permanent home, Theater 33.

In this intimate conversation STOPTIME:Live in the Moment host Lisa Hopkins speaks with NY Times best selling author Jodi Picoult about her creative process, the importance of stewardship and her new passion for collaboration and writing for the musical stage.

Producer Daryl Roth has announced the new Off-Broadway musical BETWEEN THE LINES will begin performances on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at the Tony Kiser Theater at Second Stage for a strictly limited engagement.

Written and directed by Sara Zatz and Kirya Traber, Generation Rise is an interview-based production featuring Black, Latinx and Asian American teens from New York City

Concord Theatricals has announced that a one-hour version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s international musical phenomenon CATS has been released to schools and children’s theaters in North America.

Today, New Victory announced their upcoming 2021-22 season, which will include holiday performances of Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, directed by Christopher Gattelli (NEWSIES). This season will see a return to in-person performances at the New Victory Theater, as well as the opportunity for guests to stream the season in their homes.

Theatre streaming platform OVERTURE+ has announced the opportunity for 10 regional affiliate theatres to stream BREATHE, the new musical conceived by #1 New York Times bestselling novelist Jodi Picoult (in her theatrical debut) and playwright Timothy Allen McDonald, to local audiences now through Friday, July 2.

Jazz Hands (and Masks) Up! Young people representing 50 groups from 19 states have agreed to follow strict safety protocols so that they may come together to perform musical theater in person at the inaugural 2021 Junior Theater Festival Texas (JTF Texas), taking place in Sugar Land, TX, on June 25, 26, and 27.