Unexpected Joy 2018 - Articles Page 8.2

December is the time of year for decorating, baking, shopping and spending time with friends and family. It's also one of the best times of the year for music. Celebrate the holidays with timeless music and much more with your Grand Rapids Pops making the season bright with the sublime sounds of Christmas.

Musical theater returns to McCarter Theatre Center with the 2021 arrival of Bhangin' It, a large-scale uplifting new musical that will premiere in June 2021, following a production at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego.

December 7th is going to be far from a typical Bikini Bottom day because The Spongebob Musical: Live On Stage! is coming to Nickelodeon! To celebrate and prepare you for the best day ever, we're looking back at some of the show's standout moments during its journey, from its out-of-town tryout in Chicago, to Broadway and beyond! Check it all out with the videos!

Renowned British-Canadian musician, composer, conductor and pianist Clement Ishmael Presents an Intimate Concert of Classic Poems Set to Music, performed with internationally acclaimed soloist, Melanie Marshall.

Combining a sad Irish mythological tale of four sisters doomed to live together silently as swans on a lake with a modern tale of a modern man suffering in silence from debilitating depression while living alone in a house soon to be lost after the death of his beloved mother on the shore of that same lake, is the essence of the Keegan-Dolan's tale, reminding us to do what it takes to reach the light and joy when the bell rings in our mind and allows us to express the release of negative emotions and let childlike joy enter our lives.

ABC is the home for unforgettable holiday programming as the network celebrates the joy of the season. In November, the network serves up a bounty of Thanksgiving-themed episodes and the classic animated special “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” In December, ABC decks the halls with special Christmas and Hanukkah-themed episodes—the return of fan-favorite series “The Great Christmas Light Fight” and “The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition”; and an all-new holiday movie, “Same Time, Next Christmas,” starring Lea Michele. Timeless cartoons and beloved holiday films will also return. The fun continues after Christmas with New Year's-themed programming ringing in 2020. 

Goodspeed Musicals has announced this year's cast of A Connecticut Christmas Carol - the musical treat infused with Connecticut flavor by LJ Fecho and Michael O'Flaherty. Perfect for the holidays, A Connecticut Christmas Carol, the family-friendly take on the Dickens classic, will return to The Terris Theatre December 4 - 28, 2019. This production is supported in part by the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Masonicare at Chester Village and GKN Aerospace Services Structures Corporation.

Mike Birbiglia's one-man comedy a?oeThe New Onea?? opened October 25 at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. Following its Drama Desk Award-winning Broadway debut, a?oeThe New Onea?? will play the Ahmanson through November 24.

Beginning on a basically empty stage with a large center rug and one wooden stool, Birbiglia begins by talking about the first thing he bought as an adult for his first apartment a?' a new couch - and how much he loved sleeping on it. As he gushes about how he loved being wrapped in its warmth, that little stool literally becomes his beloved, overstuffed companion where he reads, writes, eats and sleeps. That is until THE NEW ONE arrives and changes everything!

Check out what Joe's Pub has on tap for the next few weeks.

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and rediscovery of musical gems from the past, as part of its acclaimed Developmental Reading Series, in association with Executive Producer Jonathan Demar (Hadestown), will present a staged reading of the new musical _Come Find Me: A Christmas Musical_, with book and lyrics by Holly Reed and music by Holly Reed and Kelvin Reed. TWO PERFORMANCES ONLY: Monday, October 28, 2019 at 11:00AM and 2:30PM at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (619 Lexington Avenue, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).

Last night, Take Two Theatricals and Club 11 London presented the UK premiere of Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA in concert at Cadogan Hall on Sunday 20 October 2019. The cast included Christine Allado (The Prince of Egypt, Hamilton and In The Heights) as Ella with Jodie Jacobs (Unexpected Joy, Bananaman and Lizzie) as Charlotte, Dean John-Wilson (Cruel Intentions, The King & I and Aladdin) as Jean-Michel, Mazz Murray (Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You) as Madame, Sam Oladeinde (The Prince of Egypt, The Book of Mormon) as Lord Pinkleton, Dianne Pilkington (Only Fools and Horses, Young Frankenstein and Wicked) as Marie, Jérôme Pradon (Aspects of Love, Miss Saigon, Lord of the Rings) Zoë Rainey (Kiss Me Kate, An American in Paris and MAMMA MIA!) as Gabrielle and Jac Yarrow (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Winner of the 2019 Stage Debut Award) as Prince Topher.

Justin Sayre's camp-horror-soap-opera, twelve-episode serial RAVENSWOOD MANOR will take the Celebration Theatre stage beginning October 17, 2019 for a six-week run. Novelist/playwright/TV scripter/performer/host Justin took some time to answer a few of my questioning queries on his various functions as novelist/playwright/TV scripter/performer/host.

Take Two Theatricals and Club 11 London have announced Mazz Murray as Madame and Jérôme Pradon as Sebastian in the UK premiere of Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA in concert at Cadogan Hall on Sunday 20 October 2020.

Almost twenty years after she charmed hearts on the big screen, Amélie is taking to the stage in a bid to change lives and spread joy in the smallest of ways, with the biggest of hearts.

After winning a Stage Debut Award in 2017 for The Country Girls and starring alongside Jennifer Saunders in Lady Windermere's Fan, Grace Molony can now be seen in the London transfer of Laura Wade's The Watsons, which opens tonight at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Directed by Samuel West, The Watsons tackls Jane Austen's unfinished final novel. BroadwayWorld spoke with Grace about Austen's legacy, returning to the show, and the play's unexpected relevance today.

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Houses on the Moon Theater Company/HOTM (Emily Joy Weiner, Co-Founder & Artistic Director; Kevin Connor, Managing Director), the acclaimed New York based not-for-profit theatre company with a mission to a?oedispel ignorance and isolation through the theatrical amplification of unheard voices,a?? will hold their 7th Annual Gala Fundraiser, a?oeAmplify 2019,a?? on Monday evening, October 7, 2019 at The Cutting Room (44 East 32nd Street a?" between Park and Madison Avenues).

National Alliance for Musical Theatre (Betsy King Militello, Executive Director) is thrilled to announce this year's directors and musical directors for their 31st Annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS, which takes place on Thursday, October 24 and Friday, October 25, 2019 at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). The Festival events will kick off on Wednesday, October 23, with the return of The 46th Minute Concert at The Green Room 42.

New York's leading LGBTQ film festival, NewFest, has announced the full lineup of their 31st annual celebration of the year's best LGBTQ films from around the world. As announced earlier this week, the festival will kick off the festival's 31st edition with the New York premiere of Mike Doyle's Manhattan-set ensemble rom-com SELL BY, featuring an eclectic cast including Scott Evans (Netflix's “Grace and Frankie”), Kate Walsh (ABC's “Grey's Anatomy”), Academy Award-nominee and Emmy Award-winner Patricia Clarkson, Michelle Buteau (Netflix's “Tales of the City”) and Augustus Prew (HIGH-RISE), and will close the festival with the New York premiere of Rodrigo Bellott's award-winning film TU ME MANQUES, which was recently announced as Bolivia's submission for Best International Feature Film selection for the 2019 Academy Awards. 

Initial casting has been announced for the UK premiere of Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella. The star-studded line up of West End favorites is led by Christine Allado (Prince of Egypt, Hamilton andIn The Heights) who will star as the titular Ella, alongside Jodie Jacobs (Unexpected Joy, Bananaman and Lizzie) as Charlotte, Dean John-Wilson (Cruel Intentions, The King & I and Aladdin) as Jean-Michel, Cedric Neal (Back To The Future, The View UpStairs and Motown The Musical) as Lord Pinkleton, Dianne Pilkington (Only Fools and Horses, Young Frankenstein and Wicked) as Marie, Zoe Rainey (Kiss Me Kate, An American in Paris andRomeo & Juliet) as Gabrielle and Jac Yarrow (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Winner of the 2019 Stage Debut Award) as Prince Topher.

The much in-demand playwright Bekah Brunstetter will west coast premiere her latest MISS LILLY GETS BONED in a Rogue Machine production opening September 21, 2019 at the Electric Lodge. Robin Larsen directs Brunstetter's story involving a captive elephant and its unexpected effects on a virginal Sunday school teacher. Bekah managed to find a few moments of what little spare time she has (between making last minute notes for MISS LILLY's opening, and penning the much anticipated musical adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook) to answer a few of my queries.

Calgary's thriving theatre season officially got under way this September with the opening of Stage West's a?oeThere Goes The Bridea??. Broadway World has compiled a list of some of the exciting upcoming shows that Calgarians and visitors can look forward to in this 2019/2020 season.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is proud to announce the premiere production of Snow White, running September 29 through December 8, 2019. Commissioned and developed by CTC, this new, two-actor take on the classic Grimm's fairy tale is adapted and directed by Greg Banks who has over 19 years of experience working at CTC and is his 14th production with the theatre. Bringing all 13 characters to life is Joy Dolo (CTC: The Hobbit, Pinocchio, The Last Firefly, and The Snowy Day and other stories by Ezra Jack Keats) and Dean Holt (CTC: now in his 25th year as a member of CTC's Acting Company; has appeared in over 100 productions). Both actors frequently appear in Banks' productions, most recently in last season's critically-acclaimed production of The Hobbit.

You may not have realised it at the time, but at some point or other in your life there's a strong chance you will have heard some of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in D minor. Whether it was thanks to Alex's love of a bit of a?oeLudwig vana?? in A Clockwork Orange or through the affiliation of a?oeOde to Joya?? to the European Union, it has cropped up a lot in the almost three hundred years it has existed. It was no surprise, then, that the Royal Albert Hall was packed to the rafters for its performance at this year's Proms; it has been part of the programme nearly every year, this time at the hands of the BBC Symphony Orchestra a?' and the voices of the BBC Symphony Chorus.