The Act - 1977 - Broadway Articles Page 15

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that country music legend Kenny Rogers has passed away at age 81.

How do we make a list of the 101 greatest show tunes from the past 100 years? Well, we did the near-impossible task.  Check out our full list here! 

Visit our list of the best musicals & shows you can watch from home! We've got you covered with all the must-sees on streaming sites including Tony-award winners, favorite stars and top performances.

Today's top stories: Six officially opens, Flying Over Sunset begins previews, and more!

The latest play by Tony Award winning playwright Athol Fugard and Paula Fourie will have its world premiere in Stellenbosch in April.

In celebration of Black History Month 2020, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas honored seven creative visionaries for their contributions in arts and entertainment. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors presented scrolls to Actress, Choreographer, and Television Director Debbie Allen; Actor Wren Brown; Actor and Artistic Director Ben Guillory; LA Poet Laureate Robin Coste Lewis; Actress, Author, and Activist Sheryl Lee Ralph; Actress Wendy Raquel Robinson; and Lula Washington Dance Theatre Founder and Director Lula Washington.

Flat Rock Playhouse continues their 2020 season and Music on the Rock® series with Donny Edwards as Elvis. A Flat Rock Playhouse favorite, Donny returns to the Leiman Mainstage to perform his highly acclaimed tribute to the King of Rock 'n' Roll. See Donny perform all your favorites like 'Hound Dog,' 'Burning Love,' 'Jailhouse Rock,' and more! Donny Edwards as Elvis runs for only four performances March 4th - 6th.

The fun flavor of the 1970s is a?oeStayin' Alivea?? at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre with its premiere production of Saturday Night Fever, now on stage.

Heavy Metal icon, the mighty THOR, is preparing to unleash yet another storm of metallic fury with an all new studio album, Rising! Featuring Thor's classic '80s metal sound combined with modern influences, the new album creates a potent blend of old and new that has kept this metal viking thriving for over 4 decades. One song in particular from Rising, “The Party Never Ends,” pays tribute to Thor's tireless love for his fans and his music that has driven him to continue to record and perform well into the years when most mere mortals have begun to make preparations for their journey into the hereafter. But not the immortal THOR! As he declares in the chorus of the new album's first single, he is simply “too old to act my age” and instead commands his minions to “dim the lights and hit the stage, turn the Marshall up to 10, pack this auditorium!” It's a fittingly triumphant track from the metal master who has kept the party going since 1977!

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced 10 Finalists for its prestigious playwriting award, the oldest and largest prize awarded to women playwrights.

Who knew that demise could border on delightful? Although any one of the mortality-mindful tales portrayed in The Shadow Box would serve as a viable brink from which one could face death, three stories converge to create a powerful and entertaining metanarrative nexus where life meets loss, love challenges longing, and truth holds fast in the shadows. In both dramatic form and visceral feeling, The Shadow Box from Regeneration Theatre takes hold early and never lets go.

From February 27 to March 29, Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre will celebrate both Black History Month and Women's History Month with an Off-Broadway production of 'Two Can Play' by Trevor Rhone, directed by Clinton Turner Davis, at Castillo Theater, 543 West 42nd Street. In this two-act comedy, Gloria and Jim, a lower middle-class couple in Kingston, try their wildest schemes to escape gun crime and establish residence in the United States. They survive because they learn to communicate and rediscover each other. Playwright Trevor Rhone was the artistic giant of Jamaican theater. The play celebrates the pent-up need for self-discovery and personal development in Jamaican women, a theme which is also universal. Director is Clinton Turner Davis, who helmed the comedy's New York premiere in 1985.

The fun flavor of the 1970s is a?oeStayin' Alivea?? at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre with its premiere production of Saturday Night Fever, starting Feb. 6.

What happens when 1880 Western bandits are brought back to life in Azusa, CA by a space alien? Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand joins Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's 50th Anniversary “Circa '69” Season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the company's inception, coupled with Shepard's gritty and audacious Killer's Head. Longtime Shepard collaborator Darrell Larson directs both plays for a Jan. 25 opening at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A., where performances will continue through March 8.

Everyone loves a good Romantic Comedy, and when people find a good one, they latch onto it. Such a RomCom was the 1937 play a?oeParfumeriea?? by Miklos Laszlo. Now, if you're not familiar with that one maybe you're more familiar with some of the films that were based on it. There was the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film a?oeThe Shop Around the Cornera??, or how about the 1949 Judy Garland-Van Johnson musical version a?oeIn the Good Old Summertimea??. No? Well I'm sure you remember the 1998 Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan feature a?oeYou've Got Maila??. And beyond those, the play also spawned one of the most underrated and underappreciated shows in American Musical Theatre, a?oeShe Loves Mea?? by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick with a book by Joe Masteroff, currently playing at Village Theatre. a?oeShe Loves Mea?? has been revived on Broadway since it's 1963 beginnings twice, plus a concert version in 1977, but still there are too many people who don't know the glory of this show. Well, Dear Readers, let's try and change that.

Looking back at the (often unexpected) strides and achievements made in 2010s, Indonesian Broadway-style musical theater is poised for a renaissance in this decade. However, challenges are still abound for Nusantara thespians to keep the momentum going towards sustainable success.

The hit UK rock group Squeeze ('Cool for Cats,' 'Up the Junction,' 'Tempted') will bring their The Squeeze Songbook Tour 2020 to The VETS in Providence, Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 7:30pm. Tickets are on sale Friday and can be purchased online at TheVetsRI.com, by calling (401) 421.ARTS (2787), or in person at The VETS/PPAC box office located at 220 Weybosset St, Providence. Box office hours are Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; Sat 10am-2pm. The VETS on-site box office, located at One Avenue of the Arts, Providence, is only open on show days. For a complete schedule of The VETS events visit TheVetsRI.com.

Audiences will be queuing up online at www.thursford.com/christmas-spectacular from 09.30 next Monday 16th December 2019 to purchase their tickets for next year's Thursford Christmas Spectacular with more performances than ever before going on sale for the 2020 run of the nation's most lavish Christmas show.

What happens when 1880 Western bandits are brought back to life in Azusa, CA by a space alien? Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand joins Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's 50th Anniversary a?oeCirca '69a?? Season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the company's inception, coupled with Shepard's gritty and audacious Killer's Head. Longtime Shepard collaborator Darrell Larson directs both plays for a Jan. 18 opening at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A., where performances will continue through March 8.

See full details for January 2020 performances at National Sawdust

The Fred Ebb Foundation (Mitchell S. Bernard, Trustee) in association with the Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) presented the fifteenth annual Fred Ebb Award for aspiring musical theatre songwriters to Angela Sclafani & Benjamin Velez. The award, named in honor of the late award-winning lyricist Fred Ebb, was presented by Kate Baldwin on Monday, December 2nd from 6-8pm at a by-invitation-only ceremony in the Penthouse Lounge of The American Airlines Theater.

National Sawdust, the music incubator and venue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, announces the return of the annual FERUS Festival (January 10-17), featuring presentations from National Sawdust Artists-In-Residence and more. This annual showcase of untamed voices will present the latest in cutting-edge new music and multimedia, with an emphasis on performances that push the envelope. Each year the festival is a showcase for all that National Sawdust stands for as a music venue and nonprofit.

Sting's acclaimed musical, THE LAST SHIP, starring and featuring original music and lyrics by the 17-time Grammy Award®-winner, will go on sale Friday, November 29 for the premiere Detroit engagement at the Detroit Opera House. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased online at broadwayindetroit.com or ticketmaster.com, and by phone at 800-982-2787. Tickets may also be purchased at the Detroit Opera House and Fisher Theatre box offices.

The festive season has already begun in the Norfolk village of Thursford as  Thursford Christmas Spectacular, one of the nation's most lavish and highly anticipated annual Christmas events, begins performances. Now in its 43rd year, Thursford Christmas Spectacular is currently running until 23rd December 2019, with tickets for 2020 available to buy from Saturday 16 December 2019 via www.thursford.com