BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best film musicals since the sound era began; see if your favorites made the list!
It's a sad scenario that has been playing out in theaters all over the world for the past several weeks. How to reach the heart-breaking decision to cancel a show, knowing that you're about to put a team of people out of work and deprive your audience of some much-needed solace at this critical time? BroadwayWorld spoke with Robert Kelley, Artistic Director of the Tony-winning TheatreWorks Silicon Valley on March 13th, the morning after the company had decided to postpone their much-anticipated production of RAGTIME until Spring 2021 and prematurely end the run of THEY PROMISED HER THE MOON. The good news, at least for now, is that TheatreWorks is still moving ahead with its final play of the season, Lauren Gunderson's THE BOOK OF WILL, set to open in early June. Kelley describes it as a love letter to the theater.
If you imagine a new production of the classic musical Hair will be a cozy, nostalgic revel in hippie culture you are partly right. But Hair was created as a bold and provocative statement of the counter culture to the establishment, and director Frank Goodloe's take on the material is faithful to both the stylistic and intellectual aesthetic that lies at the heart of the show.
New Repertory Theatre dusts off an old chestnut for a family-friendly, non-holiday, crowd-pleasing offering as their gift for the season. Lionel Bart's OLIVER!, based on Charles Dickens' novel OLIVER TWIST, is known to be a little dark, with its themes of orphans, child exploitation, and vast income inequality (sound familiar?), but in the hands of New Rep's new Artistic Director, Michael J. Bobbitt, the darkness is lightened up with jaunty performances, a smattering of silly antics, and a set design (Luciana Stecconi) that skews to the cartoonish. With almost a dozen capable adults anchoring the cast, the seven children of all ages are given free rein to behave like children, albeit amazingly talented and spirited ones.
Two-time Tony Award nominee and one-time Duke of Hazzard Tom Wopat brings a five week concert series to the charming Upper East Side eatery and saloon The Beach Café, and his opening night was a memorable night of Manhattan magic.
BWW Review: ARCHDUKE at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is Rajiv Joseph's biting satire on modern terrorism filtered through the lens of 'the shot heard round the world'.
Theatre for a New Audience presents About Alice, the world premiere of a new play by Calvin Trillin, inspired by his 2007 memoir of the same name. The production, directed by Leonard Foglia, plays January 8-February 3, 2019 at Polonsky Shakespeare Center (262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn).
Retro pop, rock, and soul vibes will permeate a pair of the most highly anticipated annual events at LIGHT OF DAY WINTERFEST 2019, the 10-day festival (Jan. 11-21, 2019), presented by the Asbury Park Press, entering its 19th year of raising money and awareness through the awesome power of music in order to defeat Parkinson's Disease and the Parkinsonisms, ALS and PSP, in our lifetime.
Theatre for a New Audience presents About Alice, the world premiere of a new play by Calvin Trillin, inspired by his 2007 memoir of the same name. The production, directed by Leonard Foglia, plays January 8-February 3, 2019 at Polonsky Shakespeare Center (262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn).
Timeless Ailey is a nostalgic master class for diehard fans of Alvin Ailey's African-and-modern-dance-infused choreography and a good introduction for those who are not as in step with his classic works. The special program repeats on Dec. 22 and Dec. 30.
Roy Clark, the legendary 'superpicker', GRAMMY, CMA and ACMaward winner, Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member and co-host of the famed 'Hee Haw' television series, died today at the age of 85 due to complications from pneumonia at home in Tulsa, Okla.
Playwright/actress Ann Noble, a well-known staple of the Los Angeles theatre scene, will next be exhibiting her acting talents in the joint world premiere of Jami Brandli's BLISS (OR EMILY POST IS DEAD!) opening at the Atwater Village Theatre November 3, 2018. We had the chance to catch Ann between her many multi-tasking efforts of acting, writing and teaching incarcerated youths.
Bees are critical to one-third of the world's crops, including ingredients that are used in more than one-third of HAGEN-DAZS ice cream flavors such as Vanilla Swiss Almond, Strawberry and Rocky Road. However, bees are being threatened at a staggering rate as an estimated one-third of honey bee colonies were lost between April 2016 and March 2017. Today, HAGEN-DAZS celebrates 10 years of passionate support for these extraordinary pollinators to ensure they can continue to thrive and enrich the planet.
Carnegie Hall's The '60s: The Years that Changed America, a citywide festival from January 14-March 24, 2018, concludes this month with a vast array of events presented at Carnegie Hall and at more than 35 leading partner cultural institutions throughout New York City. This special exploration of the '60s invites audiences to explore this turbulent decade through the lens of arts and culture, including music's role as a meaningful vehicle to inspire social change.
The Michael Bonanomi Foundation is excited to announce that Dustbowl Revival will headline the third annual 'Brighter Sun' benefit concert at El Rey on Saturday, March 10 at 7:30pm. Proceeds will support the Foundation's efforts to encourage children and adults to pursue their musical talent, through donations, scholarships and financial assistance to those programs or individuals who demonstrate both a financial need and a commitment to music.
Pilgrim Festival Chorus (PFC), the region's principal community chorus, presents its spring season concert, Ferns and Forrest, on Saturday, April 7 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, April 8 at 7:30 pm, at St. Bonaventure Parish, 803 State Road, Plymouth. The chorus, co-directed by William B. Richter and Elizabeth Chapman Reilly, will be accompanied by a professional 18-piece orchestra.
Craft Recordings, the Catalog Division of Concord Music, is pleased to announce the release of Stax Singles, Vol. 4: Rarities & The Best Of The Rest, a 6-CD box set that delves deep into the Stax Records archives, and explores the label's efforts to diversify their output.
Craft Recordings, the Catalog Division of Concord Music, is pleased to announce the release of Stax Singles, Vol. 4: Rarities & The Best Of The Rest, a 6-CD box set that delves deep into the Stax Records archives, and explores the label's efforts to diversify their output.
Metropolis Performing Arts Centre has announced its 2017-2018 season.
Metropolis Performing Arts Centre has announced its 2017-2018 season.
The Broadway community mourns the loss of Tony Award recipient Elliot Martin, who passed away on May 21st at age 93. The marquees of Broadway theaters in New York will be dimmed in his memory on Friday, June 2, 2017, at exactly 7:45pm for one minute.
Pioneer Theatre Company presents The Will Rogers Follies: A Life in Revue, running May 5 - 20, 2017. The musical was the toast of Broadway when it premiered in 1991, winning the 1991 Tony Award for best musical.
The first day of April kicked off with a surprise that was no joke at the most famous chapel in Las Vegas: a serenade not by an impersonator, but by country music star Jerrod Niemann, in town for the 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards.
Illustrious custom car designer Ryan Friedlinghaus and his skilled team at West Coast Customs return to Velocity with never-before-seen episodes of INSIDE WEST COAST CUSTOMS, featuring some of the most incredible builds created exclusively in his new expansive Burbank custom automotive shop.
It's a coming of age story set against a backdrop of racism and small town secrets. Theater to Go presents "To Kill a Mockingbird" at Mercer County Community College's (MCCC's) Kelsey Theatre Fridays, March 17 and 24 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, March 18 and 25 at 8 p.m.; and Sundays, March 19 and 26 at 2 p.m. Kelsey Theatre is located on MCCC's West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night performance on March 17.
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