Waldorf News

From “The Golden Girls” and “Cheers” to “Friends” and “The Office” … from “SNL” and “Hill Street Blues” to “The Voice” and “This Is Us,” from Jack to Johnny to Jay to Jimmy, the rich and prolific history of NBC will be celebrated Sunday, Feb. 19 from 9-11 p.m. on THE PALEY CENTER SALUTES NBC'S 90TH ANNIVERSARY.

The overall assumption regarding an interest in the arts seems to be one of partisan politics. Its value is an often debated topic in a divided nation whose idealistic chasm grows wider by the day. For many, the fate of the arts remains a concern of those confined to what conservatives label a 'coastal bubble.' A fringe frivolity to be cast aside in favor of funding more 'practical' ventures.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) presents its annual 2017 Spring Gala 'Act II: Setting the Stage for Roundabout's Future' on Monday, February 27, 2017 in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria (301 Park Avenue, NYC). The evening will honor legendary four-time Tony-winning stage and film actor Frank Langella with The Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre and Leonard Tow, Founder & Chairman of The Tow Foundation, with the Ovation Award for Excellence in Philanthropy. Acclaimed actor Bryan Cranston will present the award to friend and colleague, Frank Langella. Roundabout Underground alum Jenny Rachel Weiner will present the award to Leonard Tow.

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Stephen J. Albert, announces casting for the Chicago premiere of The Hard Problem by Tom Stoppard, directed by Charles Newell. The Hard Problemruns March 9 - April 9, 2017 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue in Chicago. 

Long Wharf Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein and Managing Director Joshua Borenstein, present the world premiere of Napoli, Brooklyn by Meghan Kennedy, directed by Edelstein.

The Women's Committee of The Washington Ballet (TWB) presents Amuse Bouche: A Taste of France, Dance, Romance and Chance, a fundraiser for The Washington Ballet's education and community engagement programs.

The assassinations of Rome's great ruler of the Republic and revolutionary leader Malcolm X take to the stage when Tony Award-winning The Acting Company couples Shakespeare's Julius Caesar with X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation, a compelling new play by lauded playwright Marcus Gardley (The House that Will Not Stand, The Gospel of Lovingkindness, Every Tongue Confess, On The Levee). These two gripping dramas make their Off-Broadway debut at The New Victory Theater from March 17 - 26, 2017.

Porchlight Music Theatre announces the Chicago premiere of the Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys, February 3 - March 12, featuring music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, book by David Thompson, direction by Samuel G. Roberson, Jr, music direction by Doug Peck and choreography by Florence Walker-Harris with Breon Arzell as associate choreographer, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is an added matinee performance Thursday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m. NOTE: *There are no Thursday 7:30 p.m. performances February 9 and March 2. Tickets for previews are $38 and for the regular run $45 - $51. Single tickets may be purchased at 773.327.5252 or at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.

The Vagabond Players continues its 101th season with Motherhood Out Loud, opening February 24, and continuing through March 19. Conceived by Susan R. Rose and Joan Stein, and directed by Rikki Howie Lacewell, the script is written by some of the best writers in theatre today: Leslie Ayvazian, Brooke Berman, David Cale, Jessica Goldberg, Beth Henley, Lameece Issaq, Claire LaZebnik, Lisa Loomer, Michele Lowe, Marco Pennette, Theresa Rebeck, Luanne Rice, Annie Weisman, and Cheryl L. West.

Porchlight Music Theatre announces the Chicago premiere of the Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys, February 3 - March 12, featuring music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, book by David Thompson, direction by Samuel G. Roberson, Jr, music direction by Doug Peck and choreography by Florence Walker-Harris with Breon Arzell as associate choreographer, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.

Palm Beach Dramaworks Producing Artistic Director William Hayes announced today that the 2017-2018 season will include two world premieres and three classic plays. The season gets underway at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre on Friday evening, October 20, with Lillian Hellman's masterpiece, The Little Foxes (1939), in which a greedy, merciless Southern family will stop at nothing to get what they want. Up next on December 8 is the premiere of Billy and Me by Terry Teachout (author of Satchmo at the Waldorf), a play that speculates on the tempestuous friendship between playwrights Tennessee Williams and William Inge.

The Women's Committee of The Washington Ballet (TWB) presents Amuse Bouche: A Taste of France, Dance, Romance and Chance, a fundraiser for The Washington Ballet's education and community engagement programs.

As BroadwayWorld sadly reported last week, Tony Award winner Mary Tyler Moore - best known as a television icon for The Mary Tyler Moore Show- passed away at 80 years old. According to her publicist, she was with her husband and friends at the time of her passing.

Relive the music of a generation when the Chicago Philharmonic Chamber Players (cp2) present 'Sounds of Change,' a celebration of music from the 60s and 70s, at City Winery Chicago. From Hendrix to Shostakovich, the transforming world spread its message though the music of the times. As some artists protested against war and tyranny, others broke the molds of established forms. The Chamber Players perform an uplifting, entertaining ode to this rebellious era.

Michael Griffiths On His New Cole Porter Show COLE at the Royal Albert Hall

Billy and Me, a new play by Terry Teachout, whose Satchmo at the Waldorf has been produced to great acclaim Off-Broadway and throughout the country, will receive its world premiere next season at Palm Beach Dramaworks. 'A work of fiction freely based on fact,' the play speculates on the tempestuous friendship between playwrights Tennessee Williams and William Inge. PBD Producing Artistic Director William Hayes, who suggested the idea to Teachout, will direct the premiere, which runs from December 8, 2017 through January 7, 2018.   

From “The Golden Girls” and “Cheers” to “Friends” and “The Office” … from “SNL” and “Hill Street Blues” to “The Voice” and “This Is Us,” from Jack to Johnny to Jay to Jimmy, the rich and prolific history of NBC will be celebrated Sunday, Feb. 19 from 9-11 p.m. on THE PALEY CENTER SALUTES NBC'S 90TH ANNIVERSARY.

The long-awaited Broadway debut of August Wilson's Jitney, directed by Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Gem of the Ocean), opened just last night at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). This production completes August Wilson's ten-play The American Century Cycle on Broadway.

A friendly reminder! The long-awaited Broadway debut of August Wilson's Jitney, directed by Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Gem of the Ocean), opens tomorrow, today January 19, at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).

Long Wharf Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein and Managing Director Joshua Borenstein, present the world premiere of Napoli, Brooklyn by Meghan Kennedy, directed by Edelstein.