Because I Say So - 2019 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 8

ALLYSON BRIGGS and special guest JULIE BENKO will perform at BIRDLAND THEATER to celebrate a new BURT BACHARACH album, with a livestream available for those unable to attend in person. Learn how to purchase tickets.

He was known as 'the man who owned Broadway': Born the first week in July, he wrote/produced/starred in dozens of Broadway shows and a statue of him stands in a key spot in the theatre district. His legacy still shines every 4th of July. We salute this writer, dancer, singer, actor, and producer, George M. Cohan.

At the height of its fame, the musical Les Misérables was the Dorsia of Broadway, a hot-ticket event that reached Hamilton levels of excessive prices, elite A-list attendees, and legions of fans who’d revisit the show through repeat viewings, memorization of the cast recording, and fierce debates of West End vs. Broadway performers.

Google Earth has detailed their debut album and shared “something complicated,” the album's meditative and restless lead single. Google Earth is the union of pioneering songwriter and producer John Vanderslice and his longtime collaborator James Riotto. Listen to the single now!

San Diego-based alternative rockers Los Saints have shared a music video for their latest single'Doctor,' from their highly anticipated debut album 'Certified', set for release on July 26. Watch the video!

Read the reviews for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” at PAC NYC. As previously announced the limited run has extended now through Sunday, July 28, 2024. Performances began on June 13, 2024. 

Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Betty Buckley will headline the opening night of this year’s John McDaniel’s Broadway Series, at Provincetown Town Hall on June 23, and McDaniel, the Emmy- and Grammy Award-winning music director, composer, arranger, and producer wouldn’t have it any other way.

Redd Kross has shared “I’ll Take Your Word For It,” the third single made available from the highly anticipated 18-track eponymous double-album, due for release June 28, 2024. A perfect blast of ‘60s-shaded harmony and guitar tangle, “I’ll Take Your Word For It” is accompanied by a glorious outdoor video filmed in Los Angeles in view of the iconic Hollywood sign. Watch the video now!

Head Over Heels is a jukebox musical with music and lyrics from the catalog of 1980s girl band The Go-Go’s. With a book by Jeff Whitty, adapted by James Magruder, the plot is derived from the 16th century play The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney. Head Over Heels opened on Broadway in 2018 and ran for six months. It is currently running through June 16 at Albuquerque Little Theatre in Albuquerque, NM.

In May 2014, I heard about the new solo show Coming Out Kinky written and performed by Jean Franzblau in which she related her personal journey to sexual self-acceptance. In it, she portrayed 20 characters in her sexual memoir adventure story for curious and open-minded adults to enjoy. So when I heard Jean was bringing her updated play My Mother Doesn’t Know I’m Kinky to the Hollywood Fringe Festival this month, I decided to speak with her about how it’s has been updated, how much her mother really does know, and her plans for taking it around the world as a way to spread the word about how important it is to “know thyself.”

Every so often, a new play or musical being done in Los Angeles catches my eye with a big dose of curiosity. Such is the case with the musical The Translucent Frogs of Quuup with Book by Chris Larner and Music by Mark Stevens, produced by Alchemy Theatre Company and directed by Brian Pirnat with music direction by Brigitte Bellavoine at the Westchester Playhouse from June 14-22. Since I had never heard of it, I decided to speak with the director about the musical and his interest in directing it.

Katerina McCrimmon talks to BroadwayWorld about the rigorous demands of playing Fanny, what it’s like to work with the iconic Melissa Manchester, and how her high school boyfriend’s mom predicted she would land the role someday. 

As we all know, the 23/24 Broadway theatre season has been one of the busiest in a very long time with many new plays and musicals opening within a short period. One of those shows was The Notebook. It features a score by pop writer Ingrid Michaelson and a book by Bekah Brunsetter. The show had a pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago where it was met with unanimous rave reviews.

Redd Kross has shared the rousing new single “Born Innocent,” the second song made available from the highly anticipated 18-track eponymous double-album, due for release June 28, 2024. “Born Innocent” appears in the closing credits of the brilliant documentary Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story, directed by Andrew Reich, who has also directed the video that accompanies the single’s release, which features footage from the must-see documentary. Listen to the single!

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the original Reefer Madness, a new revised version Reefer Madness the Musical will open May 30, 2024 at The Whitney. I talked to director/choreographer Spencer Liff during the early days of rehearsals, so casting hadn’t been finalized. Members of the original creative team reuniting to produce are: actors Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell and Alan Cumming, creators Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, Andy Fickman, who directed 2005's Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, and America Olivo Campbell.

The New Jersey Symphony has revealed the composers for the 10th Edward T. Cone Composition Institute. Learn more about them!

Algos Music has announced that vintage vocalist extraordinaire ALLYSON BRIGGS will release her new album Promises, Prayers, and Raindrops: Allyson Briggs Sings Burt Bacharach on Friday, July 12. It will be available on CD and in digital and streaming platforms.

In the past few years in film, television, and onstage, it’s been proven that nostalgia sells…and it sells well. So it only seems natural (or should I say supernatural) that a spooky season favorite film Beetlejuice would make its way to the stage in a big flashy Broadway musical.

Last week, The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors announced the 34 winners elected to represent the most compelling and empowering stories released in broadcasting and streaming media during 2023. See the full list here!

LUCK OF THE DRAW is our only fundraising event of the year, so it's really exciting and very important to us. It's the first in-person fundraising event of this kind that we've done since 2019.

Morning, Noon, and Night, being given its world premiere by C1 in a co-production with Boston University’s College of Fine Arts at the Plaza Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts, through May 25 – follows a mother and daughter, Mia and Dailyn, as they struggle to feel seen and supported by each other.

Grammy® Award winner TOMMY EMMANUEL—acoustic guitarist extraordinaire, composer, and global touring artist—has released a newly shot live performance video for “Bella Soave,” a track from his upcoming album ENDLESS ROAD: 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION out May 17. Watch the video now!

Fair Play aims to increase the participation of working class people in Theatre. Stef O'Driscoll explains why it's needed and what it's going to do.

GRAMMY-nominated artist Kossisko (they/them/theirs) released “Finally Free” from their SLAYERZ BALL album due June 7 alongside a performance video filmed at the iconic East West Studios in Studio One where Frank Sinatra recorded many of his songs. Listen to the new single!

Artistic Director of Tobacco Factory Theatres, Heidi Vaughan, has announced three new shows to be performed in the round in the theatre’s main Factory Theatre; including co-productions with Opera Project and New International Encounter (NIE) and one, in-house Shakespeare production.