Tom Sawyer News

Imagine two hyper-talented young songwriters in New York trying to write a new musical about two hyper-talented young songwriters in New York trying to write a new musical?!

Rubicon Theatre Company continues the 2009-2010 Season, 'Defying Expectations,' with DOUBT: A PARABLE by John Patrick Shanley.

Good naturedly, Waller takes the ribbing from Wilkinson and Fudge in stride, which is quite a good thing considering they are masters of the game. Longtime friends and professional collaborators, the worldly wise and experienced pair have welcomed Waller into their charmed inner circle with open arms - and the easy camaraderie among the three is by turns compelling, rollicking and, quite frankly, amazing. In conversation (particularly in an interview about their current project) , where one starts, another takes off and the third continues, with punch-lines abounding, self-deprecation the rule of the day and laughter at every turn. It's an easy give-and-take that promises a particularly entertaining production of the Andrew Lippa-Tom Greenwald chamber musical, john and jen.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts closes the 2009 exhibition year and welcomes the new with Georgia O'Keeffe and Her Times: American Modernism from the Lane Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston on view in the Ingram Gallery from Oct. 2, 2009 through January 31, 2010.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts closes the 2009 exhibition year and welcomes the new with Georgia O'Keeffe and Her Times: American Modernism from the Lane Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston on view in the Ingram Gallery from Oct. 2, 2009 through January 31, 2010.

Carrie Dunn, BWW:UK's editor-in-chief, talks to the Monkee about his musical theatre work and why he wants to play King Arthur...

Rubicon Theatre Company continues the 2009-2010 Season, 'Defying Expectations,' with DOUBT: A PARABLE by John Patrick Shanley.

'The Assorted Short Adventures of Tom, Huck and Becky,' will be performed for area students by That Uppity Theatre Company's award-winning DisAbility Project, an ensemble of actors with and without disabilities, as part of St. Louis' 'Big Read' project. This is possibly the first production of this classic book to be created through a disability perspective and performed primarily by actors with disabilities.

In 2004, two out-of-work actors in New York decided to write a musical. The problem was, they didn't know what to write about.

Academy Award nominee Hal Holbrook, whose Mark Twain Tonight! has defined the image and style of the great American author for thousands of theatergoers for over five decades, will perform his much-loved portrait of the great author on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Hartford's Lincoln Theater.

The scarlett theatre/film project, Robert E. Schneider and Jack Thomas/Bulldog Theatrical will present STUCK by Jessica Goldberg at The Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row from February 11 - 21.

Alley Theatre presents the world premiere of the new musical Wonderland about Alice, a children's book writer in Manhattan who is suffering through a creative block, estranged from her husband and alienated from her daughter. It takes a trip to a strange-yet-familiar Wonderland for her to regain her life's balance and again find the love and everyday magic that reside in us all - if we know how to look. With a book by Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy (The Civil War), lyrics by Jack Murphy, music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlett Pimpernel, The Civil War), and directed by Gregory Boyd, Wonderland begins previews Friday, January 15, opens officially Wednesday, January 20 and runs through Sunday, February 14.

Benjamin Schrader is a New York based actor, singer and puppeteer currently seen in the highly acclaimed Broadway revival of RAGTIME at the Neil Simon Theatre. His previous credits include Broadway's AVENUE Q, Tom Sawyer in the Broadway revival tour of BIG RIVER, Gabe in NEXT TO NORMAL at NYMF and Off Broadway's DOG SEES GOD. www.benjaminschrader.com

'Gene's Time' is a web series coming from the minds of Benjamin Schrader, Aaron Galligan-Stierle, and Mark Aldrich, cast members of the Broadway Revival of RAGTIME. Originally intended to entertain the cast and crew, 'Gene's Time' follows the misadventures of RAGTIME's newest swing Gene as he begins his daunting task of covering EVERY role in the show. The news has yet to be broken to Gene about RAGTIME's future, but with his go get em' attitude and Quixotic perseverance, Gene will prevail.

Alley Theatre presents the world premiere of the new musical Wonderland about Alice, a children's book writer in Manhattan who is suffering through a creative block, estranged from her husband and alienated from her daughter. It takes a trip to a strange-yet-familiar Wonderland for her to regain her life's balance and again find the love and everyday magic that reside in us all - if we know how to look. With a book by Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy (The Civil War), lyrics by Jack Murphy, music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlett Pimpernel, The Civil War), and directed by Gregory Boyd, Wonderland begins previews Friday, January 15, opens officially Wednesday, January 20 and runs through Sunday, February 14.

'Gene's Time' is a web series coming from the minds of Benjamin Schrader, Aaron Galligan-Stierle, and Mark Aldrich, cast members of the Broadway Revival of RAGTIME. Originally intended to entertain the cast and crew, 'Gene's Time' follows the misadventures of RAGTIME's newest swing Gene as he begins his daunting task of covering EVERY role in the show. The news has yet to be broken to Gene about RAGTIME's future, but with his go get em' attitude and Quixotic perseverance, Gene will prevail.

While the women in Nashville theatre might garner more critical attention, showier roles and sparklier costumes, the men, clearly, are no slouches themselves. Capable and committed, the men who assay roles on Nashville stages are a pretty impressive collection of actors who can take on the most traditional of roles one week, while tackling parts that require them to be more experimental and brave the next. In 2009, Nashville's best actors showed their range while strutting themselves in some of the best productions we've seen in years.

If, indeed, 'it takes a village,' and if, as the poets say, 'no man is an island,' then perhaps no art form is more collaborative than live theatre. With a village of artists backstage and offstage assuring that each production is mounted, then coming to life during each performance, the collaborative effort is renewed. And what audiences see onstage is the collaboration of artists, the people who comprise the acting ensemble, the folks who bring the stagebound script to life, sending it soaring into our imaginations.

'Gene's Time' is a web series coming from the minds of Benjamin Schrader, Aaron Galligan-Stierle, and Mark Aldrich, cast members of the Broadway Revival of RAGTIME. Originally intended to entertain the cast and crew, 'Gene's Time' follows the misadventures of RAGTIME's newest swing Gene as he begins his daunting task of covering EVERY role in the show. The news has yet to be broken to Gene about RAGTIME's future, but with his go get em' attitude and Quixotic perseverance, Gene will prevail.

'Gene's Time' is a web series coming from the minds of Benjamin Schrader, Aaron Galligan-Stierle, and Mark Aldrich, cast members of the Broadway Revival of RAGTIME. Originally intended to entertain the cast and crew, 'Gene's Time' follows the misadventures of RAGTIME's newest swing Gene as he begins his daunting task of covering EVERY role in the show. The news has yet to be broken to Gene about RAGTIME's future, but with his go get em' attitude and Quixotic perseverance, Gene will prevail.