White Magic

Patricia Ward Kelly, wife and biographer of the late Hollywood legend Gene Kelly brought her acclaimed show, Gene Kelly - A Life in Music to Auckland, New Zealand this week for a special show with the Auckland Philharmonia orchestra. Audiences were treated to an additional surprise when international star Michael Crawford made a surprise appearance. Long before he created the lead role of The Phantom of the Opera, Crawford was directed as Cornelius Hackl, by Gene Kelly in the film adaptation of the musical Hello, Dolly!, opposite Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau. 

The Festival has unveiled 30 productions in its 2024 programme, featuring new voices as well as familiar faces, a wealth of Irish and International work, exploring stories about family, identity, migration, climate, colonial legacies, conflict and its resolution.

New Village Arts (NVA), North County's cultural hub, has announced three musicals and two plays that will encompass our 2024-2025 season. This, their 23rd Season and second full season in the renovated and renamed Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center, focuses on diverse voices examining what it means to BELIEVE in something.

I'll admit, I had a huge smile on my face all the way through The Music Man that had little to nothing to do with the production itself. You see, I'm a nerd and a theatre kid in my thirties, and to that demographic, there was a cultural phenomenon just as big as Monty Python and Star Trek were to Gen X. I refer, of course, to the legendary ABC comedy variety show, Whose Line Is It Anyway. Seeing Charles Esten (who you may recall by his improv-era stage name Chip Esten) appear onstage and flash that memorable toothy grin for the first time, I felt like I was transported back to fifth grade again. This was just the first pleasure in an altogether lovely evening of theatre: the artistic equivalent of a good old-fashioned picnic.

Irish Arts Center has revealed the cast of the North American premiere of Lyric Theatre, Belfast’s Agreement.

Of all the films on IMDB's list of the 1000 highest-grossing movies of all time, 31 have been adapted into Broadway musicals. Check out a guide to each those musicals below, along with musicals that are in development or ones that have not yet made their way to Broadway.

Second Stage Theater will present a one-night-only reading of the new musical EIGHTY-SIXED, which will kick off the NEXT STAGE FESTIVAL on January 16, 2024 at Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theater.

Second Stage Theater is continuing its commitment to nurturing American playwrights with THE 2023 JUDITH CHAMPION READING SERIES and the inaugural NANCY DENOVAN MUSICAL READING. 

Second Stage Theater will host a Winter’s Ball geared towards young professionals and arts patrons, featuring Michael R. Jackson and Common. The fundraising event will take place on Monday, February 27 at The Pierre Hotel. See

The Dramatists Guild of America is presenting season four of The Dramatists Guild Presents: TALKBACK. The Guild celebrates writers from a diverse array of backgrounds and how they’ve built meaningful careers within a constantly evolving industry. The first episode of the season debuts today with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Listen here!

Michael R. Jackson's WHITE GIRL IN DANGER will begin previews on March 15, 2023 and will officially open on April 10, 2023 at Second Stage’s Off-Broadway home, the Tony Kiser Theater. The limited 8-week run will play through Sunday, May 21, 2023.

Second Stage Theater has announced casting for the Broadway debut production of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play, BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY, directed by Austin Pendleton. The production will star Victor Almanzar, Elizabeth Canavan, Rosal Colon and more.

Christmas Village in Philadelphia presented by Bank of America will once again return to LOVE Park and City Hall for its 14th consecutive season.

Excited for FUNNY GIRL's return to Broadway? We've got casting news today about Ramin Karimloo, Jane Lynch and Jared Grimes joining the cast for the first Broadway revival of FUNNY GIRL.

From the backstreets of Melbourne's northern suburbsto the depths of Antarctica, a Scottish Shakespearean spectacle to Oscar Wilde's most famous comedy of lies, Malthouse Theatre brings history, culture, politics, subversion, great odysseys and truth-telling together under one roof. In 2020 Malthouse Theatre is going ALL IN.

There are some musicals that simply epitomize the genre. You know the ones - the shows where you have lost count how many times you have seen them, either on Broadway, on tour, or at your local theatre. They are like a part of the family - the favorite uncle or aunt that you are happy to see whenever you are together. One of these shows for me is Meredith Willson's THE MUSIC MAN, the classic that serves as a near-perfect representation of American Musical Theatre. So, it is with excitement, and a bit of trepidation (how will this production fare with all the others in my memory?) that I went to see Goodspeed Musicals latest production. I am thrilled to say that the play feels as fresh as the day it premiered, is as lovely as the "bells on the hill" that feature in one of its most iconic songs, and serves as a brilliant opening to the new season at the Goodspeed Opera House.

TimeLine Theatre Company, acclaimed for presenting plays that explore today's social and political issues through the lens of the past, announces its 23rd season.

The Gish Prize Trust today announced that the inspired Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, has been selected to receive the 25th annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in recognition of his ongoing achievements as a conductor and an advocate for music education. Established in 1994 through the will of legendary stage and screen actress Lillian Gish, known as the First Lady of Cinema, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize is one of the most prestigious honors given to artists in the United States and bears one of the largest cash awards, currently valued at approximately $250,000.

The Thomas Mann House presents 'Together We Advance,' a program about Mann's American religion today, August 10 at 7:30 pm at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, 2936 West 8th Street (near Vermont Avenue).  Mann said, 'The First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles is particularly close to my heart and mind.'  This is the first event of the newly inaugurated Thomas Mann House.

The Thomas Mann House presents 'Together We Advance,' a program about Mann's American religion on Friday, August 10 at 7:30 pm at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, 2936 West 8th Street (near Vermont Avenue).  Mann said, 'The First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles is particularly close to my heart and mind.'  This is the first event of the newly inaugurated Thomas Mann House.

The Oshman Family Jewish Community Center of Palo Alto presents a sensational line-up for its 2018-2019 Arts & Dialogues series, featuring appearances by internationally acclaimed actors and musicians, in addition to world-class theatre and literature events. Beginning in September and continuing through next spring, the OFJCC will host captivating live performances by household names such as Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Mandy Patinkin and renowned entertainer Alan Cumming.

In June 18, Thomas Mann House, a residence for scholars, will be inaugurated in Los Angeles.  The house will foster intellectual and cultural exchange between Germany and the United States, offer the opportunity to leading thinkers who are living or have lived in Germany to explore issues of contemporary importance, to generate fresh thought, and to deepen American -- German relations.

Visitors to the 175 acre-grounds of Montalvo Arts Center will be able to enhance their experience of exploring the Center's lush forest trails with Four Bridges, a newly commissioned soundwork by acclaimed composer Howard Hersh. Using wireless and geolocation technology Hersh, a Lucas Artists Composer Fellow, has created a sonic journey celebrating the beauty, mystery, and magic of the forest, leading hikers through redwood canyons into oak-lined meadows.

Mayo Performing Arts Center has announced listings for its upcoming January/February programming. See the full lineup below!

Thousands of souls have their final resting place in Altadena's Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery but, once a year in the fall, the living invade the domain of the dead. That's when Unbound Productions' WICKED LIT takes over the grounds and creates a site-specific theatrical experience based on classic and original horror stories. It is unlike any other kind of theatre or Halloween event you've ever seen and it is seriously the coolest thing you can do in Southern California. Ask anyone who's done it.