Vanessa A. Jones News

An extraordinary setting for an extraordinary show! The American Theater Group (ATG) is currently presenting the New Jersey premiere of a new musical, Till staged at the historic St. Andrew's Church in South Orange. Directed by Cezar Williams, written by Leo Schwartz and DC Cathro, Till will be performed through March 8.

The Alliance Theatre is pleased to announce the world premiere of ANGRY, RAUCOUS AND SHAMELESSLY GORGEOUS by acclaimed Atlanta author and playwright, Pearl Cleage.  In this funny and hopeful new play, artists from different generations and worldviews must find a way to reconcile their different beliefs and make peace with lingering ghosts from the past.  The play looks closely at women as they age, their place in society as they age, and how women's voices are heard and when throughout their lives.  Directed by the Alliance Theatre's Artistic Director Susan V. Booth, ANGRY, RAUCOUS AND SHAMELESSLY GORGEOUS will premiere on the Alliance's newly renovated Coca-Cola Stage from March 20 - April 14, 2019.  Opening Night is Wednesday, March 27, 7:30 p.m.   

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre [NBT] announces today the cast of the first workshop production for this years cohort of I Am Soul Playwriting Residency by playwright Lee Edward Colston II. Colston's workshop production (February 13 - 17, 2019) will be The First Deep Breath which will be directed by Malika Oyetimein. This production with feature Vanessa A. Jones & C. Kelly Wright. As part of NBT's Soul Series L.A.B. [Liberating Artistic Bravery], The First Deep Breath will conclude an 18-month residency for Lee Edward Colston II as the institution celebrating NBT's 50th season which is themed "Liberation: A Journey Beyond Walls."

Amas Musical Theatre in celebration of its 50th season, will present Stealing Freedom: The True, Heroic Life of The Extraordinary Captain Smalls, (formerly "Charleston Harbor") with book, music & lyrics by Scott Sublett, the third of four new musicals in development included in this year's "Dare to Be Different" series. Performances are Thursday, November 29 at 3pm & 7pm and Friday, November 30 at 3pmat A.R.T./New York Theatres (502 West 53rd Street - 10th Avenue & 53rd Street.

The acclaimed Cast of Aint Misbehavin' at Barter Theatre in Abingdon Virginia has raised over $12,000.00 for BC/EFA.

Amas Musical Theatre will present Charleston Harbor, the first offering of Dare To Be Different, the previously announced series of new musicals and one-night only special events being held at A.R.T./New York Theatres (502 West 53rd Street - 10th Avenue & 53rd Street).

Amas Musical Theatre will present Charleston Harbor, the first offering of Dare To Be Different, the previously announced series of new musicals and one-night only special events being held at A.R.T./New York Theatres (502 West 53rd Street - 10th Avenue & 53rd Street).

La Jolla Playhouse presents the world-premiere production of Miss You Like Hell, book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegria Hudes (In the Heights, Water by the Spoonful), music and lyrics by acclaimed singer/songwriter Erin McKeown, directed by Lear deBessonet (Public Theatre's The Odyssey) and choreographed by Danny Mefford(Broadway's Fun Home).

La Jolla Playhouse presents the world-premiere production of Miss You Like Hell, book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegria Hudes (In the Heights, Water by the Spoonful), music and lyrics by acclaimed singer/songwriter Erin McKeown, directed by Lear deBessonet (Public Theatre's The Odyssey) and choreographed by Danny Mefford (Broadway's Fun Home). The musical features two-time Tony Award nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega (RENT, Anna in the Tropics) as 'Beatriz' - click below to watch her perform a song from the show in the studio!

La Jolla Playhouse announces the cast and creative team for its world-premiere production of Miss You Like Hell, book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegria Hudes (In the Heights, Water by the Spoonful), music and lyrics by acclaimed singer/songwriter Erin McKeown, directed by Lear deBessonet (Public Theatre's The Odyssey) and choreographed by Danny Mefford (Broadway's Fun Home). Commissioned by the Playhouse and developed during the 2016 DNA New Work Series, the production has been extended by one week, now running October 25 - December 4 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre. Tickets go on sale August 27 at LaJollaPlayhouse.org or by calling (858) 550-1010.

SATCHEL PAIGE AND THE KANSAS CITY SWING, an exciting and inspirational new drama by playwrights Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan, heads to the mound to close the Playhouse's 2015-16 Marx Theatre lineup April 23 through May 21 … just in time for baseball season in Cincinnati. Their collaboration about the Tuskegee Airmen, Fly, was a smash Playhouse hit in 2013.

With spring training winding down, and the approach of another baseball season approaching, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis closes their 49th season with a terrific selection; SATCHEL PAIGE AND THE KANSAS CITY SWING. Set after the end of World War II, at a time when race relations were beginning to show small, incremental signs of progress, this story offers us an entertaining and thoughtful look at a time in our history when a beloved pastime could become one of the catalysts for the civil rights movement that would follow years later. It's a snapshot of an era which also reminds us that we still have issues that remain unresolved or fully addressed. And, it's told through the eyes of legendary pitcher Satchel Paige, who played in the Negro Leagues before making his debut in the majors as its oldest 'rookie'. Full of tension, disappointment, and Paige's own rascally sense of humor, the Rep's lovingly crafted production is a true must-see, and deserves a game ball!

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing by Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan and directed by Ricardo Khan. This freewheeling take on one of baseball's greatest personalities runs March 16-April 10 on the Browning Mainstage of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts. Curtain times are Tuesdays at 7 pm; Wednesdays-Fridays at 8 pm; selected Wednesday matinees at 1:30 pm; Saturday matinees at 4 pm; selected Saturday nights at 8 pm; Sunday matinees at 2 pm; and selected Sunday evenings at 7 pm.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2014/15 Quadracci Powerhouse Season kicks off in grand style with an uplifting production of The Color Purple. This hit musical, based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, will be directed by Artistic Director Mark Clements, who reunites with the same creative team behind last season's wildly successful hit production of Ragtime. This will be the fifth musical that Clements has directed at The Rep.

n a revival of Alice Walker's bold novel The Color Purple, the award winning musical opens The Milwaukee Rep's 2014-2015 theater season reprising the WOW in entertainment that began with Ragtime in their 60th season. Walker's Pulitzer Prize winning 1982 story arrives in a re-adaptation of the 1985 film and 2005 Broadway musical redesigned for the Quadracci Powerhouse stage featuring a superb cast, which after almost three hours, "fills the room like a sweet perfume… restoring a belief in trust and tenderness."

Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2014/15 Quadracci Powerhouse Season kicks off in grand style with an uplifting production of The Color Purple. This hit musical, based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, will be directed by Artistic Director Mark Clements, who reunites with the same creative team behind last season's wildly successful hit production of Ragtime. This will be the fifth musical that Clements has directed at The Rep.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2014/15 Quadracci Powerhouse Season kicks off in grand style with an uplifting production of The Color Purple. This hit musical, based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, will be directed by Artistic Director Mark Clements, who reunites with the same creative team behind last season's wildly successful hit production of Ragtime. This will be the fifth musical that Clements has directed at The Rep.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced casting today for The Color Purple, the glorious musical saga which opens Friday, September 26, 2014 and runs from September 23 - November 2, 2014.

Over 350 guests including current and past New York City high school students, and the performing arts professional mentors who have participated in TDF's Open Doors, the theatre arts mentoring program that TDF founded in 1998 with playwright Wendy Wasserstein, will attend this year's graduation at 5:30pm tonight, June 11 at The Pershing Square Signature Center - Irene Diamond Stage (480 West 42nd Street, NYC). This year has been Open Doors' biggest year ever with a total of 23 mentors and 7 guest mentors working with 22 groups of students from New York City high schools.

Over 350 guests including current and past New York City high school students, and the performing arts professional mentors who have participated in TDF's Open Doors, the theatre arts mentoring program that TDF founded in 1998 with playwright Wendy Wasserstein, will attend this year's graduation at 5:30pm on Monday, June 11 at The Pershing Square Signature Center - Irene Diamond Stage (480 West 42nd Street, NYC). This year has been Open Doors' biggest year ever with a total of 23 mentors and 7 guest mentors working with 22 groups of students from New York City high schools.