Revelation: The Musical - 2019 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 8

Though theatre seasons around the country were cut short, we wanted to celebrate the theatre that our critics did get to see before things shut down. We asked them for their favorite show they saw this season. Check out their replies below!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best film musicals since the sound era began; see if your favorites made the list!

For Stephen Sondheim's 90th Birthday Stephen Mosher makes a list of 90 cabaret-themed videos of his songs. It's Epic and it will be a great way to distract yourself during your time at home.

The Chicago area's 47th annual Bach Week Festival has announced details of its 2020 season of concerts in Chicago and Evanston, Illinois, May 1 to May 30, 2020, including the Baroque music festival's first mainstage period-instrument program and its first concert in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood, among other events.

The Wilbury Theatre Group continues its 2019/20 Main Series season with the Rhode Island premiere of Quiara Alegría Hudes' newest musical, Miss You Like Hell, March 5-29, 2020. Hudes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Lin-Manuel Miranda's collaborator on the book and film of In The Heights, wrote the book and shares credit for the lyrics with folk-rock star Erin McKeown who also wrote the music.

With raw Afro-fusion energy, Zimbabwean band Mokoomba plays a unique blend of traditional rhythms fused with funk, ska, and soukous. The band will share the evening of April 29 with Port-au-Prince-born 2019 Juno Award-winning world music artist Wesli, who built his first guitar out of an old oil can and nylon shoe lace when he was eight years old. He has been playing catchy, high-energy tunes ever since.

The Look + Listen Festival-dedicated to sparking dialogue between music and visual art through its annual free programming of contemporary music by today's musical trailblazers in galleries and cultural centers through New York City-has announced its 2020 season of three performances. Reservations for all events, which are highly recommended, open on March 23. Please visit lookandlisten.org to RSVP.

Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center announces the sensational 2020-2021 Season today. Featuring six premiers and Tony Award® winners including the Broadway mega-sensation TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and winner of eight 2019 Tony® Awards including Best Musical HADESTOWN. Also, Tina Fey's hilarious new musical comedy MEAN GIRLS, the music phenomenon JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR 50th Anniversary national tour, the hilarious Broadway smash TOOTSIE, the acclaimed Lincoln Center Theater production of Lemer & Loewe's MY FAIR LADY and the quirky comedy and joyful experience of THE BLUE MAN GROUP. Also: included are these season options, the inspiring true story BEAUTIFUL a?" THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL and last but not least Houston's most a?oepopulara?? musical WICKED.

THE GREEN ROOM 42 - the new intimate concert venue dubbed Broadway's 'off-night hotspot' by The New York Times - has announced that Broadway's Eden Espinosa (Wicked, Rent, Falsettos) will extend her acclaimed solo residency 'Unplugged & Unplanned' for three more shows due to popular demand. Originally scheduled to run through Friday, February 28, performances have been added on Friday, March 6 at 9:30 PM; Sunday, March 15 at 7:00 PM; and Sunday, March 22 at 9:30 PM. Inspired by the energy of the new decade, Espinosa is shaking things up to try something she's never done before: a laid-back evening of intimate dialogue, taking requests, special guests, spontaneous moments and off-the-cuff stories. Featuring selections from both of her albums, Broadway hits, pop covers, songs she's never sung before and more, 'Unplugged & Unplanned' delivers a different experience at every performance.

It is totally appropriate in this era of increased activity by White Supremist groups and rising anti-Semitism, that Kent State University's Musical Theatre program stage 'PARADE,' with book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown.

Johnson Financial Group Broadway at the Marcus Center and Broadway Across America-Milwaukee have announced the 2020-2021 season.

Adam Strauss' 2017 hit, The Mushroom Cure, will return to The Marsh San Francisco for a limited run before transferring to The Marsh Berkeley. Inspired by a scientific study that hallucinogenic mushrooms may cure obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Strauss embarked on a program of vigilante psychopharmacology. The true tale of Strauss' hilarious, harrowing, and heartrending attempts to treat his debilitating OCD with psychedelics was an Off-Broadway hit, where it was named Critics' Pick by Time Out New York and hailed by The New York Times as 'mining a great deal of laughter from disabling pain' before moving to San Francisco for an extended run. It then moved to Chicago, where the Chicago Tribune praised it as 'arrestingly honest and howlingly funny,' awarding it a 3.5 (out of 4) stars. The Mushroom Cure will be presented March 21 - April 11 with performances at 8:30pm Saturdays at The Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia St., San Francisco. For the second half of the show's Bay Area run, The Mushroom Cure will be presented April 18 - May 16 with performances at 8:30pm Saturdays at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. For information or to order tickets ($20-$35 sliding scale, $55-$100 reserved), the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call The Marsh box office at 415-282-3055 (open Monday through Friday, 1pm-4pm).

The Wilbury Theatre Group continues its 2019/20 Main Series season with the Rhode Island premiere of Quiara Alegría Hudes' newest musical, Miss You Like Hell, March 5-29, 2020. Hudes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Lin-Manuel Miranda's collaborator on the book and film of In The Heights, wrote the book and shares credit for the lyrics with folk-rock star Erin McKeown who also wrote the music.

Carnegie Hall today announced that pianist Alexandre Kantorow, recent gold medal and Grand Prix winner at the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition, will step in for pianist Murray Perahia, appearing in recital on Wednesday, March 25 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. Mr. Perahia regretfully had to withdraw from his upcoming recital due to medical reasons. Mr. Kantorow will perform works by Brahms, Liszt, Fauré, and Stravinsky. The complete updated program information is below.

Houston Symphony Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada and CEO/Executive Director John Mangum, holder of the Margaret Alkek Williams Chair, announced the details of the 2020a?"21 season, Orozco-Estrada's seventh as music director. Orozco-Estrada and the Houston Symphony enter the next decade of music-making with works by Beethoven, in honor of his  250th birthday celebration; new music from contemporary composers; Symphony Specials with pianists Lang Lang and Leif Ove Andsnes; solo performances from Concertmaster Yoonshin Song and other Houston Symphony musicians; and a new, three-year Artistic Partnership with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman. 

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is offering Broadway's biggest hit, plus amazing concerts and memorable special events for every entertainment preference, from classical music to razzle dazzle dancers, from international performing artists to musical favorites from the Great American Songbook, along with several fascinating talks and lectures throughout the month of February.

'It's a true privilege to share in the Broadway experience with our loyal patrons year after year at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, our home in Calgary. In our upcoming season we tried to program a nice balance of highly anticipated new musical productions like HAMILTON and ANASTASIA with returning classics like JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and COME FROM AWAY.'

As January winds to an end, the party still rages on at Joe's Pub!

Broadway Across Canada has unveiled their upcoming 2020-2021 Season. Four theatrical productions will take centre stage at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium beginning next fall including the Calgary premiere engagement of the Broadway Musical, HAMILTON.

The Turbine Theatre's Artistic Director, Paul Taylor-Mills, announces the exciting and diverse new musicals selected for this year's MTFestUK 2020. The lineup includes: Southern Comfort; Jet Set Go!; Soapdish; The Assassination of Katie Hopkins; Coldfront; Eurobeat: Pride of Eurovision; Tyrell; and Works of Art.

Following a record number of nominations and votes, winners have been announced for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Brazil Awards, brought to you by TodayTix!! The nominees were set, audiences voted, and now we get to recognize local theatres and performers for their outstanding achievement!

Check out Joe's Pub lineup for the Under the Radar festival featuring new and experimental work from Rizo (fka Lady Rizo), Lucy McComick, Daniel J. Watts, and Ryan J. Haddad. Rounding out the week is Kittel & Co, Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra, Jean-Michel Blais, Rev Billy, a very fun showcase from DANCE NOW, Nellie McKay, Aditya Prakash, Damien Sneed, William Prince, Xenia França, Luis Enrique and, as always, a ton more.

Broadway's Eden Espinosa (Wicked, Rent, Falsettos) will present her new solo show 'Unplugged & Unplanned' for a month-long residency at NYC venue The Green Room 42 with four performances between Sunday, February 9 and Friday, February 28.

Olney Theatre Center kicks off the decade with a production of Quiara Alegría Hudes' newest musical, Miss You Like Hell on the Mainstage (January 29 - March 1, 2020). Hudes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Lin-Manuel Miranda's collaborator on the book and film of In The Heights, wrote the book and shares credit for the lyrics with folk-rock star Erin McKeown who also wrote the music. Lisa Portes and Breon Arzell make their Olney Theatre debuts as director and choreographer, respectively. Press is invited to attend the performance on Saturday, February 1 at 8:00 pm.

Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) and Trinity Church Wall Street (Trinity), together with PROTOTYPE: Opera|Theatre|Now, are pleased to announce a multiyear partnership in which BMP and Trinity will commission and produce five cutting-edge new opera-theater works for premiere at the PROTOTYPE Festival over three seasons (2021a?"2023). These comprise a new work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer-director team Du Yun and Michael McQuilken; two new works by librettist Royce Vavrek, paired with Mary Kouyoumdjian and Julian Wachner, respectively; a work by composer Ted Hearne with text by Halim Flowers and rap from Momolu Stewart; and a work by Paola Prestini with poet Brenda Shaughnessy.