The Offering Photos - Off-Broadway

What did our critic think of WHO COULD ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE at Blossom Music Center? About ten minutes before the Blossom music complex was to be filled by glorious music, an announcement asked all attendees who were sitting on the lawn to come into the pavilion as bad weather was moving into the area.

There's nothing more endearing than a little girl and her dog, especially when it comes to a red-headed orphan who reminds kids of all ages that positivity is the only road to resilience!  Slidell Little Theatre is opening its' 55th season with the timeless classic, Annie, based on the popular comic strip by Harold Gray. Adapted for the Broadway stage in 1977, Annie was the winner of seven Tony Awards, and continues to be a worldwide phenomenon today. The sun has definitely come out on this entire cast, especially two remarkable actresses, Elizabeth Burris and Piper Hall, who share the title role of Broadway's favorite belting ragamuffin.  Despite their marked star quality, there is another salient stray who is commanding equal respect-Annie's beloved dog Sandy!  The four legged character, portrayed by rescued K-9 Jen-Ai, once declared unredeemable, is stealing hearts on and off the stage. The golden's trainer, Margaret Cromwell say the script is not much different than their own life story, and is excited about the affect her beloved may have on audiences.  Regardless of number of legs the actors have, the talent in this production is awe inspiring, and the relationship between the two may require a few tissues. Their genuine affection definitely pulls you into the theme of what it means to value someone or something, all the while highlighting the meaning of family love, however that is defined for each of us.

La MaMa, in association with The Assembly, presents the world premiere of SEAGULLMACHINE, created by The Assembly, conceived by Nick Benacerraf, co-directed by Jess Chayes (Lucille Lortel Award winner) and Nick Benacerraf, and text by Anton Chekhov, Heiner Muller and The Assembly. SEAGULLMACHINE runs from April 14 - May 5, 2018 in a limited engagement at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre, located at 66 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and the Bowery in New York City. Previews begin April 14 for an April 16 opening.

La MaMa, in association with The Assembly, presents the world premiere of SEAGULLMACHINE, created by The Assembly, conceived by Nick Benacerraf, co-directed by Jess Chayes (Lucille Lortel Award winner) and Nick Benacerraf, and text by Anton Chekhov, Heiner Muller and The Assembly. SEAGULLMACHINE runs from April 14 - 29, 2018 in a limited engagement at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre, located at 66 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and the Bowery in New York City. Previews begin April 14 for an April 16 opening.

In undertaking Bernard Pomerance's 1977 play, The Elephant Man, the Studio Theatre of Bath delivers a remarkably thoughtful performance of the poignant period drama. The play, well known from its London and New York runs and subsequent film and television versions, fares surprisingly well when returned to its roots in a small venue -(the New York premiere was at the York Theatre in St. Peter's Church) - and to a gritty, old-fashioned ambiance. Using the black box Curtis Room of Bath's Chocolate Church Arts Center, the company creates the dingy, often repressive world of late Victorian London, a world caught in the throes of ideological struggle between science and faith, Darwinism and Christian morality. Pomerance raises serious questions about the existence of a Creator, who would permit such overwhelming suffering, and without offering the consolation of an answer, he is still able to have his tragic hero, John Merrick, affirm that 'the mind is the standard of the man.'

The most wonderful time of the year is underway as Goodman Theatre's A Christmas Carol begins its 36th annual production. Directing the holiday favorite for the first time, Henry Wishcamper's production features all-new on stage magic-set elements, special effects and more. The cast of 27 (below, includes 14 new and 13 returning cast members) stars Larry Yando, who most recently appeared in Mary Zimmerman's production of The Jungle Book as Shere Khan, in his sixth turn as Ebenezer Scrooge and 8-year-old Matthew Abraham as Tiny Tim for the second year. A Christmas Carol runs now through December 28 in the Goodman's Albert Theatre. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

If you see only one Comedy Improv show during The Hollywood Fringe Festival, go to the source, The Spolin Players, touted by the LA Times as presenting 'Improv as pure and unpredictable as you will find it.'

Broadway star Tom Wopat is enjoying the Florida sunshine this week as he takes to the stage at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach. Returning to the Royal Room for the first time since 2007, Tom Wopat first came to public attention in the late-1970s as the freewheeling Luke Duke on the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard. In 1977, he made his Broadway debut in Cy Coleman's I Love My Wife. Wopat went on to perform in the Tony Award-winning City of Angels and Guys and Dolls. He received a Tony nomination for creating the role of Frank Butler in the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun, opposite Bernadette Peters. In 2008, Wopat returned to Broadway as Tom Hurley in A Catered Affair with Faith Prince and Harvey Fierstein. 2011 saw him again on Broadway starring as Frank Abagnale Sr. in the new adaptation of Catch Me If You Can.

The artists of New Line Theatre, 'The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' are very proud to announce the opening of the company's Twentieth Anniversary Season of provocative, adult, alternative musical theatre, with the hilarious Sexual Revolution jazz musical, I LOVE MY WIFE, running Sept. 30-October 23, 2010, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend.