The Wiz Revival 2018 - Articles Page 20

 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) announces the return of Transform, its signature two-week festival occurring each fall and spring. Running May 9-20, 2018, in the YBCA Forum and Theater, the festival convenes leading contemporary artists for a provocative showcase of dance, music, and theater that can only happen at YBCA. Following its highly acclaimed debut in fall 2017, which explored the timely question, "Why citizenship?" the spring 2018 edition is built around the question: "Where is our public imagination?"

Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents Father Comes Home From the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 by Suzan-Lori Parks, directed by Liz Diamond, March 16-April 7, at the University Theatre (222 York Street). Opening Night is Thursday, March 22. Father Comes Home From the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 is a co-production with San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater, where it will play April 25-May 20.

Porchlight Music Theatre announced that Lorenzo Rush Jr has replaced James Earl Jones II in Porchlight Revisits They're Playing Our Song, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and book by Neil Simon, with direction and choreography by Christopher Carter and musical direction by Andra Velis Simon. Porchlight Revisits They're Playing our Song is presented for three-nights-only Tuesday, March 6 through Thursday, March 8 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight's Merrily We Roll Along (previews begin January 26) at Porchlight's new home, The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Tickets for They're Playing Our Song are $35. All tickets include access to the popular pre-performance event, Behind the Show Backstory, a multimedia presentation, created and hosted by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber that discusses the evening's production including the show's creative history, juicy backstage gossip and the state of the art on Broadway that season. Single tickets to They're Playing Our Song and subscriptions for the entire series are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884.

Full casting has been announced for SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway and rehearsals begin today, February 12. As previously announced, the three actresses who will play the role of musical icon Donna Summer will be Tony Award winner LaChanze (The Color Purple, Once on This Island) as 'Diva Donna,' Ariana DeBose (A Bronx Tale, Hamilton) as 'Disco Donna' and Storm Lever (Freaky Friday) as 'Duckling Donna.'

Ford's Theatre Society announced full casting and design team for The Wiz directed by Kent Gash, choreographed by Dell Howlett and withMusic Direction and Orchestration by Darius Smith. The production features Ines Nassara as Dorothy, Hasani Allen as Scarecrow, Kevin McAllister as Tinman,Christopher Michael Richardson as Lion and Jobari Parker-Namdar as The Wiz. The musical plays March 9 to May 12, 2018, at historic Ford's Theatre. The production is recommended for ages eight and older.

NBC Olympics and Comcast announced today that they will work with Descriptive Video Works to provide video description services (VDS) for viewers with visual disabilities watching coverage of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. The announcement was made by NBC Olympics President, Gary Zenkel, and Comcast Vice President of Accessibility, Tom Wlodkowski.

Pittsburgh CLO presents the world premiere of UP AND AWAY, January 25 - April 15, 2018 at the CLO Cabaret. As part of its Next Generation Capital Campaign efforts, Pittsburgh CLO debuted a staged reading of this new musical comedy this past spring during New Musicals Weekend at the Benedum Center. Tickets are now available online at CLOCabaret.com, by phone at 412-456-6666 or in person at the Theater Square Box Office. UP AND AWAY is also available as part of a CLO Cabaret Series subscription package.

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison & Lisa Rothe, Co-Presidents) will present the 2018 Theatre Women Awards at The TimesCenter (242 West 41st Streetbetween 7th and 8th Avenues) on Friday, March 16 beginning at 6:30PM. Tickets ($65-$250) are available for advance purchase at www.theatrewomen.org.

Following its critically acclaimed, successful 2017 spring season, New York's beloved Dance Theatre of Harlem, under the artistic direction of Virginia Johnson, will return to NY City Center for its annual homecoming season from April 4-7, 2018.

One man's voice… became everyone's music… The incomparable Luther Vandross, the man, THE VOICE, the legend! Luther's voice shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all believe in "The Power of Love." Now, experience it LIVE with your loved one as Broadway in the H.O.O.D brings Remembering Luther: The Night I Fell In Love; starring Abraham McDonald, winner of Oprah Winfrey's Oprah Show Karaoke Challenge, to Las Vegas! Debuting Valentine's Day weekend, February 16 - 18, 2018, in Myron's Cabaret Jazz Theatre at The Smith Center for The Performing Arts!

Children's Theatre Company, in collaboration with Penumbra Theatre, presents THE WIZ. At the time of its opening on Broadway in 1974, THE WIZ was a modern retelling of The Wizard of Oz, featuring Soul-inspired songs and an entirely African-American cast. It was later adapted into a popular 1978 film starring Diana Ross and a young Michael Jackson. The Children's Theatre Company's production of THE WIZ opened on January 23rd and will run through March 18th.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announces the reading of Carolina Rising, part of the TRU Voices New Musicals Reading Series, on February 5, 2018 at 7pm at The Actors Temple Theater, 339 W. 47th Street, NYC. A 'Dollars and Sense' talkback on the future development of the presented work will be held after the performance. Admission is free.  Please RSVP at least a day in advance (or much sooner) by calling 212-714-7628, or e-mailingTRUVoicesSeries@gmail.com.

Bishop Edwards of Snowden International School at Copley took first place on Monday, January 29, 2018 with his performance as Troy from Fences at the Boston Regional Finals of the August Wilson Monologue Competition, held for the eighth year by the Education Department of the Huntington Theatre Company, the playwright's longtime artistic home. Beyonce Martinez of Margarita Muniz Academy was named first runner-up and portrayed Vera from Seven Guitars; Antoinette Webster (Tonya, King Hedley II) of Codman Academy Charter Public School was named second runner-up. The three will receive a total of $850 in prize money, and the top two winners will be awarded an all-expense-paid trip to New York City where they will perform their monologues at Broadway's August Wilson Theatre in the National Competition on May 7, 2018. Airfare, hotel accommodations, workshops, and tickets to attend a Broadway production will be provided in collaboration with Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company and Jujamcyn Theatres. The national competition is free and open to the public.

'Combining CTC's critical literacy work and Penumbra's racial justice work allows us to forge something together that neither could do alone.' These words in the playbill of THE WIZ, the first collaboration between these two acclaimed #TCTheater companies, brought tears to my eyes before the show even started. Especially after wading through a sea of children of all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds. In an increasingly divided world, Penumbra (one of the longest-running and most acclaimed African American theater companies in the nation) and Children's Theatre (ditto for children's theater) give me hope, as individual companies and especially in this collaboration in which an all-black cast tells a story of a young black woman who discovers her own power through the help of friends. They give me hope that maybe we can overcome our seemingly insurmountable differences and join together in song and awesome dance to solve our problems. It's possible, right? Can't you feel a brand new day? Indeed I can.

Opera Birmingham delivered a trimmed version of "The Tragedy of Carmen" that did not loose a bit of its luster. The cabaret theater at the Red Mountain Theatre Company provided a perfect venue for this cast of powerful singers.

Rob McClure will star as 'The Setter' in Jerome Robbins' Broadway, the opening production of The Muny's historic 100th season. 'The Setter' serves as the evening's narrator and performs throughout the show, including the roles of 'Pa' in High Button Shoes and 'Tevye' in Fiddler on the Roof. Jerome Robbins' Broadway is directed by Cynthia Onrubia and Chris Bailey serves as production supervisor. Music direction is by Michael Horsley.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced complete casting today for the New York premiere of MISS YOU LIKE HELL. With book and lyrics by Quiara Alegr a Hudes and music and lyrics by Erin McKeown, the new musical is directed by Public Theater Resident Director and Founder of Public Works Lear deBessonet, with choreography by Danny Mefford. The musical will begin previews in The Public's Newman Theater on Tuesday, March 20 and run through Sunday, May 6, with an official press opening on Tuesday, April 10.

Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Todd Schmidt-Managing Director), recipient of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award, presents the East Coast premiere of the new play The Outsider by Paul Slade Smith, directed by David Esbjornson (Driving Miss Daisy). Performances begin TOMORROW, Wednesday, January 24, 2018, at 7:30 p.m., for a limited run through Sunday, February 18, 2018, at Paper Mill Playhouse (22 Brookside Drive) in Millburn, NJ. Opening Night is Sunday evening, January 28, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) in partnership with Penumbra Theatre will present The Wiz, adapted from L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced the line-up today for the 2018 Free Shakespeare in the Park season, continuing a 56-year tradition of free theater in Central Park.

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: the short musical film SING ALONG, starring Alice Ripley, Heidi Blickenstaff, and more, makes its TV debut today, and more!

Huntington Theatre Company's Department of Education presents the 8th annual Boston regional finals of the August Wilson Monologue Competition, celebrating the writing of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright. Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company (Atlanta, GA) inaugurated the competition in 2009, and this year marks the 8th year that the Huntington's education department has hosted the competition in Boston.

Game on! The Chicago premiere of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves, a 'smart, hilarious, delightful meditation on society, sex and soccer' (The Village Voice), directed by Vanessa Stalling, launches Goodman Theatre's 2018 Owen Theatre season. A 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Wolves follows a suburban girls soccer team as they navigate life's big questions and wage their own tiny battles-with all the 'bark and bite' (Vulture.com) of a pack of adolescent warriors. Hailed as 'one of the year's best plays' (The New York Times), The Wolves is DeLappe's break-out play that recently concluded an off-Broadway run at Lincoln Center Theater. Stalling directs the Chicago premiere with an all-Chicago company.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) has spent the past 50 years serving the Houston community from our first performance at Miller Outdoor Theatre to the more than 300 productions TUTS has staged at Miller, The Music Hall, and now at the Hobby Center. With our 50th Season, we will build upon the legacy, of our founder, Frank M. Young, and confidently step forward into the next 50 years!

Broadway in the H.O.O.D continues with the third installment of its Resilience Personified season at The Smith Center with the Las Vegas premiere of Lorraine Hansberry's classic Tony Award-winning masterpiece, A Raisin in the Sun, January 12-14, 2018 in the Troesh Theatre.