William David News

?Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) announces the casting for their production of the Broadway classic West Side Story with book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and based on a concept of Jerome Robbins.  West Side Story will be directed and choreographed by Cassie Abate (CRT's Peter Pan, A Chorus Line, The Music Man) is the final show of the 2016 Nutmeg Sumer Series. Single tickets are currently sale at crt.uconn.edu or 860-486-2113.

Group tickets are now available for Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schonberg's legendary musical MISS SAIGON coming to Broadway in the spring of 2017 at a Shubert theater to be announced.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) has announced that Vincent J. Cardinal, Connecticut Repertory Theatre Artistic Director and Head of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut will step down from his position at the end of July. Cardinal, who is departing at the conclusion of the popular 2016 Nutmeg Summer Series, will become the Arthur and Martha Hearron Endowed Professor of Musical Theatre, Chair of the Department of Musical Theatre and Professor of Music, School of Music Theatre and Dance at the University of Michigan.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) announces the casting for their production of Peter and the Starcatcher, the play by Rick Elice, based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, with music by Wayne Barker.

NEW YORK, May 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ Most people today live under the misconception that sleep limits their ability to be productive and reduces their chance of achieving success in their daily life, whether it's in business, school, or athletic and creative pursuits. Two nationally recognized experts are here to debunk that myth and show that sufficient sleep and success go hand in hand.

Continuing their 42nd Season, STAGE DOOR PLAYERS brings you the madcap comedy The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow and John Buchan, directed by George Contini, featuring Jacob York (full cast below). The show opens on Friday, May 20 and runs through Sunday, June 12. Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8pm, and Sundays at 2:30pm. Single tickets are on sale now at the box office (770-396-1726), or online at www.stagedoorplayers.net. Tickets are $30; senior, student, and youth discounts are available.

Imagine a world of dust. A future where water drips brown from the taps. Where dust storms reduce houses to rubble. Where a young boy, George (Rory Potter) and his younger brother, Beeper (played alternatively by Jack Andrew & Noah Sturzaker), fight to survive while waiting for their father to return home.  And where a young rebellious girl, Emily (Sofia Nolan), won't take no for an answer. Imagine the future. Imagine The Big Dry.

Audiences can enjoy new works, rising young talent and more in two intimate artistic showcases as part the latest installments of Mayo Performing Arts Center's Emerging Artists and New Works series. Events will be held on May 16 and June 19, respectively. General admission tickets are $25. Student ticket prices are available for $20.

Five years after the runaway success of SONGS FOR NOBODIES, Joanna Murray-Smith, Bernadette Robinson and Simon Phillips team up once again with PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE a brilliant one woman musical theatre piece returning to Melbourne on Thursday January 21, 2016 for a limited season at the Playhouse, Arts Centre.

Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans will conclude its Inaugural Season with Tennessee Williams: Weird Tales, a collection of three unique Tennessee Williams one-act plays. The night will feature the rarely produced Steps Must Be Gentle as well as two World Premiere Williams plays: Ivan's Widow and The Strange Play. Opening weekend will coincide with the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival.

Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans will conclude its Inaugural Season with Tennessee Williams: Weird Tales, a collection of three unique Tennessee Williams one-act plays. The night will feature the rarely produced Steps Must Be Gentle as well as two World Premiere Williams plays: Ivan's Widow and The Strange Play. Opening weekend will coincide with the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival.

Dunwoody's own professional theatre, STAGE DOOR PLAYERS leaps into spring with Hail Mary!, by Tom Dudzick, directed by Dina Shadwell, featuring Stage Door favorite, Theo Harness (full cast below). The show opens on Friday, March 25 and runs through Sunday, April 17. Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8pm, and Sundays at 2:30pm. Single tickets are on sale now at the box office (770-396-1726), or online at www.stagedoorplayers.net. Tickets are $30; senior, student, and youth discounts are available.

Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an alternative telling of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz; its plot begins before and continues after Dorothy's arrival in Oz from Kansas and includes several references to the 1939 film and Baum's novel. Wicked tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda, who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace.

Campbelltown Arts Centre has commissioned a significant new contemporary Indigenous theatre work, One Billion Beats examining the historical representation of Aboriginal people in Australian cinema, presented over four nights on 26 and 27 February and 4 and 5 March 2016.

Principal Baltimore Symphony Pops Conductor Jack Everly presents top notch entertainment.

MISS SAIGON producer Cameron Mackintosh has just released the details of the open call auditions for the upcoming global productions of the show whose reimagined 25th-anniversary production took London by storm and is set to open on Broadway next year, starring Eva Noblezada as Kim and Jon Jon Briones as The Engineer.

According to Philippine news organization Inquirerer.net, Cameron Mackintosh and company will soon be returning to Manila in search of future cast members for upcoming global productions of MISS SAIGON.

WICKED, the West End musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, is delighted to announce the opening of its 21st new booking period, on Monday 1 February 2016 at 10am, with over 500,000 new tickets going on sale for performances until Saturday 29 April 2017.

Phillip Wm. Fisher, Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) Board Chairman since December 2012, closed the 2015 Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) Annual Meeting of the Governing Members today as his last official order of business as Chairman. Mark Davidoff, Michigan Managing Partner at Deloitte LLP, was elected DSO Chairman by the Board of Directors during their meeting following the Governing Members' proceedings.

Zizi Strallen and the cast of the UK tour of Mary Poppins starred at this year's Royal Variety Performance!