The Theatre of Chance - 1960 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 5

Featuring new performers with every show, the weekly, award-winning Piano Bar Live! (PBL!) streams this Tuesday, June 1 at 7:15 pm ET, with host Scott Barbarino and guests Christina Bianco, Doris Dear, Alex Nguyen, Seth Sykes and Collin Yates plus Mystery Guests and MORE!

In the world of musical theatre, there are some shows that feel fresh and new, no matter how many times you see them. These are the musicals you drop everything to experience even if it may be your fortieth time. For musicals like that, the thrill of seeing what a different theatre, director, designer, or actor may do with a favorite piece can often be just as thrilling as sitting in an audience for opening night of a world premiere musical. For me, this is the case with Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS – a cautionary tale of what lengths some may take for love, fame and success all wrapped up in a colorful, fun, and nearly perfect book with catchy songs and memorable characters. A frequent choice when asked what my favorite musical may be (and I have seen/heard/performed in many), LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is the perfect mix of comedy, horror, camp and love story all rolled into one. So, imagine my thrill sitting outside (without a mask based on the new CDC rules!) at the Walt Disney Amphitheatre in Lake Eola Park on opening night of Orlando Shakes latest production as the chords of the opening number began. Excitement, anticipation, and curiosity - and I am here to tell you 100 minutes later (without intermission) my expectations were not only met, but exceeded.

Shane Peterman, Producing Artistic Director has announced details of the Company's 2021-2022 Season.  This season marks the 26th for WaterTower Theatre, and the third season programmed by Producing Artistic Director Shane Peterman & Associate Producer Elizabeth Kensek. 

This week's list includes The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, the original cast recording of Fangirls, and a book of interviews with Broadway's leading men, including Joel Grey, Ben Vereen, Norm Lewis, Gavin Creel, Cheyenne Jackson, and Jonathan Groff.

Today's Theater Stories features the Ethel Barrymore Theatre! Learn about Ethel Barrymore herself, shows to have graced the theatre's stage, including An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, Chaplin, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Band's Visit, The Inheritance, and many more!

Today, Broadway San Jose announced the updated season lineup that will make up the company’s upcoming season. The season opens with HAMILTON (October 12–31, 2021), followed by the all-new touring production of Broadway’s Tony Award-winning musical, HAIRSPRAY (November 23–28, 2021) (replacing the previously-announced Anastasia).

Contemporary Voices, Palm Beach Dramaworks’ free, online series featuring live readings and discussions of plays by a cross-section of some of the finest American playwrights working in theatre today, will resume on April 12 with the spotlight on Pulitzer Prize-winner Nilo Cruz.

'Clue' meets Chinatown in a live-streamed, interactive murder mystery experience inspired by historical events. Set in 1960 in East L.A.'s Hollenbeck Park — newly divided by the Los Angeles Freeway Interchange that famously displaced over 15,000 residents in Boyle Heights — Underneath the Freeways of Los Angeles.

 The Breath Project's New Play Commission Initiative will provide five of those works with $17,000 commissions each to develop full-length plays based on or inspired by their original festival submission.

Simpatico Theatre and Jouska PlayWorks, an assembly of Black playwrights whose goal is to create theatre that enriches, entertains, empowers, and awakens the moral conscience, is proud to announce the first ever Jouska PlayWorks Virtual New Play Showcase, featuring excerpts from seven new plays created by Jouska artists.

The Breath Project announced the recipients of the New Play Commission Initiative. Building on the success of last fall’s inaugural The Breath Project Virtual Festival, the New Play Commission Initiative will provide five of those works with $17,000 commissions each to develop full-length plays.

Running three weeks from January 11 to 31, the 2021 Origin 1st Irish will present a total of 20 virtual events, including recorded Theatrical Productions made both before and during Covid from Belfast, Dublin, Wexford, London and New York.

JOCUNDA FESTIVAL presents the award-winning playwright Robert Bowie Jr.'s Black Lives Matter play, THE GRACE OF GOD & THE MAN MACHINE, formerly known as 'ONAJE', will appear on Sunday, October 25th at 8:00 p.m. EST on Zoom. Donations are $15.00.

Hurrah for the green shoots in our beleaguered industry. Lots of venues are mounting new shows and bringing back our favourites over the next few weeks and months - albeit with social distancing and safety measures in place. Here are some of the live theatrical goodies on offer.

Skylight Music Theatre today announced two special events to launch Skylight's first online/virtual, full-length musical, Being Earnest by Paul Gordon and Jay Gruska, which will be available for streaming Oct. 16 - Nov. 12, 2020.

Hennepin Theatre Trust, in partnership with social service agency Avivo, has launched Fantastically Dazzling: The Brilliant Colors of Gary R. Melquist, a virtual art gallery featuring more than 20 pieces of original ink marker drawings by the Minnesota artist, a participant in Avivo's ArtWorks program.

In celebration of Womena??s Equality Day and the Centennial of the 19th Amendment, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and The Womana??s Club of Palo Alto will present a virtual performance of excerpts and songs from the dynamic musical Perfect 36, with lyrics and book by Laura Harrington, music by Mel Marvin, and direction by Mac Pirkle. Set in 1920, Perfect 36 honors the indomitable spirit of the suffragettes as they battle to secure a 36-state majority to ratify the 19th Amendment. The online event will take place at 5:30pm PDT on Wednesday, August 26th. Giovanna Sardelli, TheatreWorksa?? Artistic Associate and Director of New Works, will host the event and engage in a conversation with Laura Harrington, the showa??s book writer and lyricist. A link to stream the show will be available at TheatreWorks.org for no charge, although donations are encouraged to support TheatreWorks and The Womana??s Club of Palo Alto. BroadwayWorld recently spoke with Giovanna Sardelli from her hometown of Las Vegas where shea??s been sheltering in place with family until she can safely return to her actual home base in New York City. In addition to her role at TheatreWorks, Sardelli is enjoying quite a remarkable career as a director at theaters across the U.S., and has built a track record of developing close working relationships with notable playwrights such as Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph and Olivier Award winner Matthew Lopez. Talking to Sardelli, ita??s clear why she is so constantly in demand. She is naturally engaging, inherently upbeat without being saccharine, and passionate about expanding the possibilities of theater. Her excitement about the chance to work closely with TheatreWorksa?? new Artistic Director Tim Bond to tackle new challenges is palpable.

In celebration of Women's Equality Day and the Centennial of the 19th Amendment, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and The Woman's Club of Palo Alto present a virtual performance of excerpts and songs from Perfect 36, with lyrics and book by Laura Harrington, music by Mel Marvin, and direction by Mac Pirkle.

The State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton, PA, has announced part of the 94th Season with new shows running January - June, 2021. Tickets for the new season will go on sale to State Theatre Members on Tuesday August 4, to the public on Wednesday, August 12th.

Today (May 28) in live streaming: Josh Groban is back for movie night, Steven Pasquale has a Classic Conversation, and so much more!

Today (May 27) in live streaming: Chad Kimball visits Backstage Live, Debra Messing and Victoria Clark visit Stars in the House, and so much more!

Today (May 26) in live streaming: Star Trek Voyager reunites, a new episode of It's the Day of the Show Y'all, and so much more!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest scenes in cinema from 1901 to 2020. See if your favorite movie moments made the list!

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! 

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley announces that all upcoming performances of They Promised Her the Moon and Ragtime will be cancelled due to rising concerns about the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and in accordance to the Department of Public Health's updated policy suspending gatherings of 250 people or more.