“Legit repertory troupe comes to a small village in Ireland and, after a week or so of Ibsen, Chekhov and Strindberg the town is off its nut.”
That, in a nutshell, is the story of IS LIFE WORTH LIVING? — a gloriously goofy comedy that imagines the impact a steady diet of serious drama might have on the amiable residents of the seaside town of Inish.
The fun begins when the town elders decide to improve the tone of the place. Enter Hector De La Mare and his wife Constance Constantia of the De La Mare Repertory company — committed exclusively to “psychological and introspective drama: the great plays of Russia, an Ibsen or two, a little Strindberg.”
A lineup of leading performers, including yasiin bey, Neal Brennan, Common, Bradley Cooper, Morgan Freeman, Tiffany Haddish, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Lorne Michaels, Trevor Noah, Q-Tip, Sarah Silverman, Jon Stewart, Frédéric Yonnet, and others will salute Dave Chappelle at the 22nd annual Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 8 p.m.
Earlier this year, on April 22, The Phantom of the Opera, reached a milestone that no other Broadway show has even come near. Phantom, the longest-running show in Broadway history, became the first Broadway show EVER to reach #13,000 performances. This is just one of many incredible achievements made by the show since it opened on Broadway over three decades ago.
Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Andre Bishop) has announced that it will produce Intimate Apparel, a new opera with music by Ricky Ian Gordon and a libretto by Lynn Nottage, based on her critically acclaimed play. The production, which will be directed by Bartlett Sher, will begin previews Thursday, February 27 and open on Monday, March 23 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street).
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will present the 22nd annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to Dave Chappelle on Sunday, October 27, 2019 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The Prize, which is named to honor one of the world's greatest humorists, will be given at a gala performance featuring some of the biggest names in comedy. The program will be broadcast on PBS stations on January 6, 2020. On-sale and ticketing information for this event will be available at a later date, and sponsorship packages for the Mark Twain Prize gala performance are on sale now.
Spring has sprung here in DC. The cherry blossoms are in bloom, Lawmakers are doing whatever they do and my favorite area art education institution The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts is gearing up for their spring musical production. This year as part of the Creating a Musical Role class The Theatre Lab will be presenting the Bill Russell/Henry Krieger cult musical Side Show with performances starting on May 2nd and running through May 11th.
Parity Productions, the New York based theatre company dedicated to producing new work and filling at least 50% of the creative positions (playwrights, directors, and designers) with women and/or trans and gender nonconforming (TCNG) artists, opened Charlie's Waiting by Inaugural Parity Commission Winner Melisa Annis on March 31 at Theaterlab (357 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018) hosted by TLab Shares. Charlie's Waiting is playing an extended run of 21 performances now through April 20. The cast is led by Tony nominee Xanthe Elbrick (Broadway: Coram Boy, Candida), and features Stephanie Heitman (A Snowfall in Berlin), and Amy Scanlon (Balladeers Play to the Moon) and is directed by Parity Productions Artistic Director, Ludovica Villar Hauser.
As his production of Richard Hawley and Chris Bush's Standing at the Sky's Edge opens in the Crucible, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, Robert Hastie, announces programming for 2019.
The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, today unveiled its feature film lineup. Continuing its tradition of elevating exceptional storytelling rooted in today's global film communities, the 18th annual Festival will showcase debut works from emerging talent and new works from notable filmmakers. The program includes discoveries, comedies, music-centered, political and social films. The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 24 - May 5.
The Athena Film Festival (AFF) at Barnard College announced today its film slate, including opening night, closing night, and centerpiece films, as well as additional programming for the 2019 festival. The ninth annual festival, co-founded by the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College and Women and Hollywood, will take place February 28 to March 3, 2019, at Barnard College in New York City. AFF showcases films, television and content that tell the extraordinary stories of fierce and fearless female leaders from all walks of life. Stories of ambition, courage, and resilience amplify the voices of strong, bold women, curating a public discourse on gender equality, and changing the cultural conventions surrounding leadership.
Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Divine Fits) and his band Operators are bringing back the music of the prolific musician's former duo Handsome Furs. They will be playing music from Handsome Furs' catalogue for the first time in six years at NYC's Baby's All Right on December 13th and December 15th at Toronto's Lee's Palace. Hansome Furs released three critically acclaimed LP's, Plague Park (2007), Face Control (2009) andSound Kapital (2011), on Sub Pop Records. Tickets on sale now.
Following this summer's release of her powerful debut EP on Asylum Records, Seen It All, executive-produced by acclaimed songwriter/producer, Justin Tranter (Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Gwen Stefani, etc.), SHEA DIAMOND drops the acoustic version to her recent single 'American Pie,' Preview HERE. The song's message of hope for a slice of the American Dream continues to resonate and inspire, so much so, it was announced today Shea will perform at the 22nd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner on Saturday, September 15, 2018, in Washington D.C. HRC is the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization. The event raises crucial funds in the fight for LGBTQ equality and will feature special guests and speakers including the 47th Vice President of the United States Joe Biden, former Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder, Academy Award-winning actress Anne Hathaway, and many more. More information is available atwww.hrcnationaldinner.org.
Computers weren't always machines. In the late 1800's, computers were women astronomers who 'computed' data to map the sky. They were only allowed to work from photographic plates, since only men were allowed to look through the telescope at the Harvard College Observatory. Henrietta Leavitt (1868-1912) was one of these 'computers,' and the award-winning Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company is celebrating her 150th birthday by presenting the New Jersey premiere of 'Silent Sky.'
The Oshman Family Jewish Community Center of Palo Alto presents a sensational line-up for its 2018-2019 Arts & Dialogues series, featuring appearances by internationally acclaimed actors and musicians, in addition to world-class theatre and literature events. Beginning in September and continuing through next spring, the OFJCC will host captivating live performances by household names such as Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Mandy Patinkin and renowned entertainer Alan Cumming.
PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now is pleased to announce programming for the seventh annual festival of fresh opera-theatre & music-theatre running January 5-13, 2019, featuring eight presentations that "shift the whole paradigm of what opera is and can be" (New York Observer).
Rainbow Theatre Project will close out the 2017 / 18 season with a production of Kevin Michael West's Top and Bottom. A gay comedy that was a hit at the NY Fringe Festival, Top and Bottom will run from April 5 - 29, 2018 at the District of Columbia Arts Center.
Florida Studio Theatre announces its 36th annual Richard and Betty Burdick New Play Reading Series, which will present three new staged readings by modern American playwrights. Part of FST's Sarasota Festival of New Plays, this three-day series will take place in Bowne's Lab Theatre on April 29, May 6, and May 13 at 3 PM each day. This series is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Reservations can be made online at www.floridastudiotheatre.org, by phone at (941) 366-9000, or by visiting the FST Box Office.
The past 20 years have been a wonderful journey for the students, the staff and the many volunteers. And, of course, for me. For this special year, we are performing Orpheus - The Mythical, a musical about the Orpheus story which I wrote for the students in 2009 and have now rewritten.
The 17th annual Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, revealed its feature film lineup championing the discovery of emerging voices and celebrating new work from established filmmaking talent. To close the Festival, Tribeca will World Premiere The Fourth Estate, from Oscar®-nominated director Liz Garbus, which follows The New York Times' coverage of the Trump administration's first year. The Centerpiece Gala will be the World Premiere of Drake Doremus' sci-fi romance Zoe starring Ewan McGregor, Lea Seydoux, Rashida Jones, and Theo James. The 2018 Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 18-29.
The 17th annual Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, revealed its feature film lineup championing the discovery of emerging voices and celebrating new work from established filmmaking talent. To close the Festival, Tribeca will World Premiere The Fourth Estate, from Oscar®-nominated director Liz Garbus, which follows The New York Times' coverage of the Trump administration's first year. The Centerpiece Gala will be the World Premiere of Drake Doremus' sci-fi romance Zoe starring Ewan McGregor, Lea Seydoux, Rashida Jones, and Theo James. The 2018 Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 18-29.
Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA; Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director) announces the full cast and creative team for William Shakespeare's tragicomedy The Winter's Tale, directed by OBIE Award-winner Arin Arbus. The production plays March 13-April 15, 2018, at Polonsky Shakespeare Center (262 Ashland Place), TFANA's home in the Brooklyn Cultural District.
The New Amsterdam Singers will celebrate 50 years of leadership under its Music Director Clara Longstreth in the 2017 18 season, with three sets of concerts and three world-premiere commissioned works.
As part of its 25th anniversary season, HERE will present the world premiere of Tree Pop by multidisciplinary artist Lake Simons and composer and musician John Dyer.
Seven time Emmy Award-winner Ed Asner and three time Emmy Award and Tony Award-nominee Kate Burton will star in a two-week East Coast tour of concert readings of Jeff Cohen's play The Soap Myth. The readings, which will be directed by Pam Berlin and will also feature Ned Eisenberg & Blair Baker, will serve as a tribute to International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The tour will begin on Monday, January 22, 2018 in Miami Beach Florida, and will conclude on Thursday, February 1 at Hofstra University on Long Island.
As part of its 25th anniversary season, HERE will present the world premiere of Tree Pop by multidisciplinary artist Lake Simons and composer and musician John Dyer.
Director Adam Adolfo is proud to announce that ELEMENTAL: Nature's Rhapsody has cast Kimberly M. Oliver as Mother in the production receiving its premiere this spring as part of the AT&T Performing Arts Center Elevator Project Season. Ms. Oliver was recently seen onstage as Ursula in Disney's When You Wish at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. She was also featured as Vivienne Kensington in Theatre Arlington's Legally Blonde The Musical, also directed by Adolfo. Kimberly is also the host of Broadway On Tuesdays at Alexandre's Bar. ELEMENTAL: Nature's Rhapsody is still casting its principle 19 performers via video submissions. For more information on auditioning via video submission please visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/1459361837478857/
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