Chat w/ L. Steven Taylor, MUFASA of THE LION KING MUSICAL

After 22 landmark years on Broadway, The Lion King continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its premiere on November 13, 1997, 25 global productions have been seen by more than 100 million people. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion King has made theatrical history with three productions worldwide running 15 or more years and three others running 20 or more years.

L. Steven Taylor plays MUFASA on the broadway in The Lion King. Taylor made his Broadway debut in The Lion King in 2006. His film and TV credits include The Electric Company, Last of the Ninth, Made For Each Other and Game Over. After performing in the ensemble of The Lion King and being the understudy, he took on the principal role of Mufasa in Broadway’s The Lion King on July 10, 2015.

Art Shrian Tiwari had a wonderful chat with Steven, you can listen to it below.

You can listen to the full podcast with review of The Lion King musical and interview with both Bradley Gibson (Simba) and L. Steven Taylor (Mufasa) below:

Learn more about THE LION KING and buy your tickets at the link below

http://www.lionking.com/tickets







Chat w/ Bradley Gibson, SIMBA of THE LION KING MUSICAL

After 22 landmark years on Broadway, The Lion King continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its premiere on November 13, 1997, 25 global productions have been seen by more than 100 million people. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion King has made theatrical history with three productions worldwide running 15 or more years and three others running 20 or more years.

Bradley Gibson plays adult SIMBA in the broadway production of The Lion King Musical. Before starring as Simba in The Lion King, Bradley Gibson was seen in the Broadway production of A Bronx Tale and Rocky. His off-Broadway credits include Love’s Labour’s Lost (The Public Theater) and The School For Scandal (Red Bull Theater). He has also been seen on the national tour of Chicago and in The Last Goodbye at the Old Globe. On screen, he's been seen in Mozart of the Jungle. A self professed Disney kid, he grew up watching Disney shows and movies, The Lion King being one of his favorites. Now he has spent over an year on the Broadway stage, bringing this character to life.

Art Shrian Tiwari had a wonderful chat with Bradley, you can listen to it below.

You can listen to the full podcast with review of The Lion King musical and interview with both Bradley Gibson (Simba) and L. Steven Taylor (Mufasa) below:

Learn more about THE LION KING and buy your tickets at the link below

http://www.lionking.com/tickets







THE LION KING CELEBRATES 22ND ANNIVERSARY ON BROADWAY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13

Broadway’s award-winning best musical THE LION KING celebrates its 22nd anniversary on Wednesday, November 13 at the Minskoff Theatre.

In the past year alone, The Lion King hit several historic milestones. In May the entertainment blockbuster reached over 100 million guests worldwide, in June the Broadway production hit 9,000 performances, and this past October the London production celebrated its 20th anniversary in the West End. This summer several of the show’s creators including Elton John, Lebo M, and Hans Zimmer — collaborated on the 2019 version of the film, executive produced by Julie Taymor and Thomas Schumacher, which has gone onto extraordinary worldwide success.

ABOUT THE LION KING

After 22 landmark years on Broadway, The Lion King continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world.  Since its premiere on November 13, 1997, 25 global productions have been seen by more than 100 million people.  Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion King has made theatrical history with three productions worldwide running 15 or more years and three others running 20 or more years.  Performed over its lifetime in nine different languages (English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese), productions of The Lion King can currently be seen on Broadway; London’s West End; Hamburg; Tokyo; Madrid; on tour across North America, Japan, and the U.K. & Ireland, with a separate production touring internationally, for a total of nine productions running concurrently across the globe.  Having played over 100 cities in 20 countries on every continent except Antarctica, The Lion King’s worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment titles in box office history.          

The Lion King won six 1998 Tony Awards®:  Best Musical, Best Scenic Design (Richard Hudson), Best Costume Design (Julie Taymor), Best Lighting Design (Donald Holder), Best Choreography (Garth Fagan) and Best Direction of a Musical.  The Lion King has also earned more than 70 major arts awards including the 1998 NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the 1999 Grammy® for Best Musical Show Album, the 1999 Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Event of the Year and the 1999 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design. 

The show’s director, costume designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor continues to play an integral part in the show’s ongoing success.  The first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction of a Musical, Taymor continues to supervise new productions of the show around the world.

The Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs from the Lion King animated film along with three new songs by John and Rice; additional musical material by South African Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer; and music from "Rhythm of the Pride Lands," an album inspired by the original music in the film, written by Lebo M, Mark Mancina and Hans Zimmer.  The resulting sound of The Lion King is a fusion of Western popular music and the distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa, ranging from the Academy Award®-winning song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” to Lebo M’s rich choral numbers.

The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed the animated The Lion King feature, and Irene Mecchi, who co-wrote the film’s screenplay.  Other members of the creative team include:  Michael Curry, who designed the masks and puppets with Taymor, Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound design), Michael Ward (hair and makeup design), John Stefaniuk (associate director), Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor) and Doc Zorthian (production supervisor). Anne Quart serves as a co-producer.

In the Broadway company of THE LION KING:

“Scar” is played by STEPHEN CARLILE, L. STEPHEN TAYLOR is “Mufasa,” TSHIDI MANYE is the baboon shaman “Rafiki,” CAMERON POW portrays the hornbill bird “Zazu,” BEN JEFFREY is the warthog “Pumbaa” and FRED BERMAN is the meerkat “Timon.”  Mufasa’s son, “Simba,” the lion prince born to be king, is played by BRADLEY GIBSON and ADRIENNE WALKER is the lioness “Nala.” 

The show also features JAMES BROWN-ORLEANS (“Banzai”), BONITA J. HAMILTON (“Shenzi”) and ENRIQUE SEGURA (“Ed”).  The role of “Young Simba” is alternated between HAVEN ALEXANDER and JESUS DEL ORDEN and the role of “Young Nala” is alternated between SURI MARRERO and ALIYA “JO” RAMEY.

For more information, visit LionKing.com

CHAT W/ MAJOR ATTAWAY, THE Genius "Genie" OF BROADWAY’S ALADDIN

Get tickets to ALADDIN: http://www.broadway.com/shows/aladdin-broadway/ In this episode of Character Study, ALADDIN's Major Attaway takes us inside the lamp to witness how he goes from a gentleman to a Genie. FEATURING Major Attaway DIRECTED BY Alexander Goyco

The Broadway company of the Disney musical Aladdin welcomed and celebrated the return of Major Attaway in the role of the Genie beginning September 23 at the New Amsterdam Theatre.

Attaway followed Michael James Scott, who played his final performance on September 22. Attaway previously played the Genie on Broadway from February 2016 through February 2019.

The cast currently features Clinton Greenspan in the title role, Arielle Jacobs as Jasmine, Tony nominee Jonathan Freeman as Jafar, Brian Gonzales, Mike Longo, and Brad Weinstock as Aladdin’s sidekicks Babkak, Kassim, and Omar, respectively, JC Montgomery as Sultan, and Don Darryl Rivera as Iago.

Art Shrian had a interesting chat with Major Attaway about his character, Genie-us, his exciting, well-celebrated comeback at Broadway’s Aladdin and a lot more wonderful stuff! Listen to this mynewyorkeye exclusive interview below:

Based on the Oscar-winning animated film—which was recently adapted into a live-action feature—Aladdin is now in its sixth year on Broadway.

The Disney Theatrical Productions title features music by Tony and Oscar winner Alan Menken, lyrics by two-time Oscar winner Howard Ashman, Tony and Oscar winner Tim Rice, and Tony nominee Chad Beguelin, with a book by Beguelin. The production is directed and choreographed by Tony winner Casey Nicholaw.

ABOUT MAJOR ATTAWAY 

(Genie). Joyous Broadway Debut!  National tour: Aladdin (Genie). Regional: Hot Mikado (Mikado), Stagger Lee (T-Bone), Hands on a Hardbody (Ronald), Little Shop of Horrors (A2), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Ken), Frosty the Snowman (Frosty). 

Television: “Orange Is the New Black” (DeShaun McAdams).  Video Games: “Borderlands 3 (Clay),” “Battleborn” (Ghalt).

Follow on: @majorattaway #BigTexGenie

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of Aladdin on Broadway, 5 current and former Genies - Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart, current star Michael James Scott, tour Genie Major Attaway, and current Broadway standbys Juwan Crawley and Deonte L. Warren - stopped the show following today's matinee with a medley of Aladdin hits.

Chat w/ Clinton Greenspan, the Title Star of Broadway’s Aladdin

Get Tickets to ALADDIN: https://www.broadway.com/shows/aladdin-broadway/ Go beyond the palace walls as as Clinton Greenspan turns into the title star of Disney's ALADDIN before a show.

The Broadway company of the Disney musical Aladdin welcomed Clinton Greenspan, who starred in the North American tour of Aladdin, in making his Broadway debut. He succeeded Jacob Dickey. Major Attaway has returned to the role of the Genie on Broadway which began on September 23. Attaway previously played the Genie on Broadway from February 2016 through February 2019.

Based on the Oscar-winning animated film—which was recently adapted into a live-action feature—Aladdin is now in its sixth year on Broadway.

Art Shrian had a wonderful chat with Clinton Greenspan about his role as Aladdin, his experience at Broadway performing our much-loved disney character and a lot more! Listen to the whole interview below:

About Clinton Greenspan:

Clinton Greenspan (Aladdin) is making his Broadway debut in Aladdin! National Tour: Aladdin. Other credits include Romeo & Juliet; Dreamgirls (Dallas Theater Center) and Fiddler on the Roof (Casa Manana). NYMF (2014). Studied at KD Conservatory. Insta: @clinton_patrick

Aladdin cast:

The cast currently features Arielle Jacobs as Jasmine, Tony nominee Jonathan Freeman as Jafar, Brian Gonzales, Mike Longo, and Brad Weinstock as Aladdin’s sidekicks Babkak, Kassim, and Omar, respectively, JC Montgomery as Sultan, and Don Darryl Rivera as Iago.

The Disney Theatrical Productions:

The Disney Theatrical Productions title features music by Tony and Oscar winner Alan Menken, lyrics by two-time Oscar winner Howard Ashman, Tony and Oscar winner Tim Rice, and Tony nominee Chad Beguelin, with a book by Beguelin. The production is directed and choreographed by Tony winner Casey Nicholaw.

A Glimpse of "Broadway Back to School Gala" Event

The Broadway stars and student Thespians shared the stage at Edison Ballroom for the 5th Broadway Back to School Gala supporting the Educational Theatre Foundation. The event honoring Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s dedication to educational theatre featured some of the biggest names in Broadway, including legends Chita Rivera and Patti LuPone, host Laura Benanti, John Cariani, Gavin Creel, Evan Ruggiero, Carla Stickler, Alex Stone, and J. Harrison Ghee who appeared as Crystal Demure.

Also Read: http://www.mynewyorkeye.com/theater-news/fifth-annual-broadway-back-to-school-gala

Photos From "Women's Day on Broadway!"

Read previous Article on “Women’s day on broadway 2019 inspiring changemakers”:

http://www.mynewyorkeye.com/theater-news/womens-day-on-broadway-2019-inspiring-changemakers

KIDS AND TEENS CAN SEE BROADWAY SHOWS FOR FREE!

Kids’ Night on Broadway® To Take Place TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

KidsNightonBroadway.com

The Broadway League announced today that the 2019 Kids’ Night on Broadway® will take place on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. Tickets will be available for purchase in December. Fans can sign up for The Broadway Fan Club at KidsNightonBroadway.com to be the first to know when tickets go on sale!

Kids’ Night on Broadway is an annual event where kids 18 and under can attend participating Broadway shows for free when accompanied by a full-paying adult (all guests must have a ticket to attend shows; offer is applied as 50% off each ticket; no additional ‘free’ tickets are added to orders).

A Kids’ Night on Broadway ticket also includes restaurant discounts, parking discounts, and more. Select shows will offer in-theatre activities for kids including talkbacks, Kids’ Night on Broadway activity books, and other events still to be announced.

Kids’ Night on Broadway will also take place in multiple cities around the country, with different shows and venues putting their own spin on the event on several dates throughout the year. Check KidsNightonBroadway.com for specific dates and locations.


Kids’ Night on Broadway®, a program of The Broadway League, is generously presented by The New York Times with additional support from Westchester Family.

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THE BROADWAY LEAGUE (Charlotte St. Martin, President), founded in 1930, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League’s 700-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers who present in over 200 markets in North America. Each year, League members bring Broadway to over 30 million people in New York and on tour across the U.S. and Canada. The Broadway League has recently added a new category for International membership to collaborate with professionals from around the world who produce and present Broadway quality theatre. The Broadway League annually co-presents the Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards®, one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry.

Key League programs and resources include: Kids’ Night on Broadway®, The Jimmy® Awards, Stars in the Alley®, Internet Broadway Database® (ibdb.com), Broadway.org, SpotlightonBroadway.com, Commercial Theater Institute (with TDF), as well as numerous conferences and forums for our members. Broadway Bridges®, with the support of the New York City Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers, is aimed at giving every New York City public high school student the opportunity to see a Broadway show before graduation. TheatreAccessNYC (co-produced with TDF) is the one-stop website of accessible Broadway performances for theatregoers with disabilities. Families.Broadway is the League’s site for family friendly offers and pricing. Broadway.org is the League’s official on-line headquarters for Broadway in NYC, on tour, and internationally.

For more information visit BroadwayLeague.com or follow @BroadwayLeague on Twitter and visit us at Facebook.com/BroadwayLeague.

Broadway theatres are filled with an exciting array of new and classic musicals and plays, providing the perfect experience for every audience. Great seats are available at every price point and are easy to buy online, by phone, or in person at theatre box offices. It’s always the perfect time to see a show. Broadway performs every day of the week at multiple curtain times to accommodate every schedule.


ALADDIN on Broadway to Welcome Three New Principal Cast Members Ahead of 5th Anniversary

AS IT APPROACHES 5TH ANNIVERSARY, ALADDIN ON BROADWAY WELCOMES NEW PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS - AINSLEY MELHAM, MICHAEL JAMES SCOTT AND MIKE LONGO

As it approaches its 5th anniversary, Aladdin, the hit Broadway musical, is pleased to welcome three new principal cast members to the company. Original Australian star Ainsley Melham will take over the title role, marking his Broadway and North American theatrical debut. Broadway veteran Michael James Scott (Something Rotten!; The Book of Mormon; Tarzan), an original Broadway company member who originated the role of Genie in Australia and comes directly from playing it on the North American tour, assumes the role of Genie. And as part of the show’s trio of Aladdin’s sidekicks, Mike Longo (Beautiful, Aladdin North American tour) steps into the role of Kassim.

Scott’s first performance will be Friday, February 15, and he will continue on Broadway through Sunday, September 15. During that period, Major Attaway, Broadway’s current Genie, will join the North American tour before returning to Broadway upon Scott’s departure. Melham and Longo’s first performance will be Tuesday, February 19; Telly Leung and Steel Burkhardt, the current Aladdin and Kassim, will play their final performance on Sunday, February 17.

Aladdin opened to critical acclaim on March 20th, 2014 and quickly established itself as one of the biggest new blockbusters in recent years, breaking 14 New Amsterdam Theatre house records and welcoming nearly ten million people worldwide.

As it approaches its 5th anniversary, Aladdin has proven itself an enormous and enduring hit, joining a small, exclusive group of blockbusters. Of the shows opening this decade, only the juggernauts Hamilton and The Book of Mormon have grossed more on Broadway. And in the nearly five years since Aladdin’s first performance, only Wicked has been seen by more people on Broadway.

The scale and reach of the show’s popularity continues on a parallel track internationally, as the show’s global footprint has expanded to include productions in Tokyo, Hamburg, London and Australia and a tour across North America.

Melham, Scott and Longo join the Broadway company that also stars Arielle Jacobs (In the Heights, Wicked) as Jasmine, reuniting with Melham and Scott, her original costars from the Australian production, and Tony Award® nominee Jonathan Freeman (Mary Poppins, The Producers, She Loves Me) as Jafar, bringing to the stage the role he indelibly created in the animated film. The show also features Brian Gonzales and Brad Weinstock as Aladdin’s sidekicks Babkak and Omar, JC Montgomery as Sultan and Don Darryl Rivera as Iago. Juwan Crawley, Dennis Stowe and Deonté L. Warren stand by for several principals.

AINSLEY MELHAM (Aladdin). Ainsley has starred in the title role in Disney’s Aladdin all across Australia. Aladdin has played at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre, Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne, Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane and the Crown Theatre in Perth. Prior to Aladdin, Ainsley appeared as Sonny Malone in Xanadu for Matthew Management and Hayes Theatre Co. Ainsley was a cast member of Hi-5, having appeared in its Australasian tours, the televised “Hi-5 House” series (Seasons 1-3) and the documentary filmSome Kind Of Wonderful. The iconic children’s pop group has been released on Netflix with Ainsley as one of the starring hosts. Born and raised in Bathurst, Ainsley trained in musical theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), graduating in 2012. He also studied at the Australasian Tap Dance Academy/La Belle School of Dance. Ainsley was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical at the 2017 Helpmann Awards for his role in Aladdin.

MICHAEL JAMES SCOTT (Genie). Michael James Scott has played the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin internationally including Broadway, London, the North American tour and originating the role in the Australian production, for which he won the prestigious Helpmann Award for best Featured Actor in a Musical. He originated the role of the Minstrel on Broadway in Something Rotten and he’s best known for originating Dr. Gotswana (aka The Maggots Guy) in the Tony-winning phenomenon The Book of Mormon. Other Broadway credits include Mamma Mia!; Tarzan; All Shook Up; The Pirate Queen; Elf and Hair. He was the standby for the legendary Ben Vereen in the international tour of Fosse, taking over the role in Paris at the Théâtre du Châtelet. On the West End he was the associate choreographer and performed in the Broadway revival transfer of Hair. Off-Broadway, he co-starred in Here’s to the Public opposite Donna McKechnie and was part of the concert cast of Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall. Outside NYC, original Las Vegas Co. of Jersey Boys and in Shrek the Musical as the Donkey at the famous St. Louis Muny. Regional credits include Aida, Ragtime, South Pacific, Cinderella and Little Shop of Horrors to name a few. Numerous television and film appearances including “The Carrie Diaries” (WB), Independent Woman (Feature Film), “The View” (ABC), “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” (NBC), “The Late Show with Conan O’Brien” (NBC), “Good Morning America” (ABC), “The Today Show” (NBC), “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” (CBS), “The Tony Awards” (CBS) and the new Showtime series “Black Monday.” He was a member of the critically-acclaimed singing group The Broadway Boys and Grammy nominated Broadway Inspirational Voices. He can be heard on many original Broadway cast albums, multiple studio recordings and The Broadway Boys’ debut Album Lullaby of Broadway. MichaelJamesScott.com. Instagram/Twitter @iamMJScott.

MIKE LONGO (Kassim). Broadway: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. National tours: Aladdin, Kinky Boots (Harry), Hair. Off-Broadway: Onan in the world premiere of Tamar of the River (Prospect Theater). Regional: Grease (Paper Mill Playhouse), Marius in Les Miserables(White Plains PAC). Insta: @mikelongofoto. www.mikelongo.info.

Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions under the direction of Thomas Schumacher, the show features music by Tony Award® and eight-time Oscar® winner Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, Sister Act), lyrics by two-time Oscar winner Howard Ashman(Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid), three-time Tony Award and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice (Evita, Aida) and four-time Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin (The Prom, The Wedding Singer), with a book by Beguelin, and is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Mean Girls, The Prom).

In a cast of 36, Aladdin also features Kathryn Allison, Netanel Bellaishe, Mike Cannon, Damian Chambers, Lauryn Ciardullo, Jacob Dickey, Mark DiConzo, Josh Drake, Tiffany Evariste, Gabby Gamache, Jacob Gutierrez, April Holloway, Heather Makalani, Stanley Martin, Amber Owens, Jamie Kasey Patterson, Bobby Pestka, Ariel Reid, Tyler Roberts, Trent Saunders, Jaz Sealey, Angelo Soriano,Travis Ward-Osborne and Paige Williams.

Aladdin, adapted from the Disney film and centuries-old folktales including “One Thousand and One Nights,” is brought to fresh theatrical life in this bold new musical. Aladdin’s journey sweeps audiences into an exotic world of daring adventure, classic comedy and timeless romance. This new production features a full score, including the five cherished songs from the Academy Award-winning soundtrack and more written especially for the stage.

The film won the Oscar for Best Original Score and introduced the hit song “A Whole New World,” which won the second of the film’s two Academy Awards as Best Original Song. The Peabo Bryson/Regina Belle recording of the tune soared to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Aladdin is designed by seven-time Tony-winning scenic designer Bob Crowley, six-time Tony-winning lighting designer Natasha Katz, two-time Tony-winning costume designer Gregg Barnes and sound designer Ken Travis.

The production team also includes illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer, hair designer Josh Marquette and makeup designer Milagros Medina-Cerdeira. The music team is headed by music supervisor and music director Michael Kosarin, who also created the vocal and incidental music arrangements, joined by orchestrator Danny Troob and dance music arranger Glen Kelly.

For more information, visit AladdinTheMusical.com.

Tickets for FROZEN on Broadway Now On Sale Through June 30, 2019

Tickets for Disney Theatrical’s newest hit musical, Frozen, are now on sale through Sunday, June 30, 2019. Visit www.FrozenTheMusical.com.

Frozen opened on Thursday, March 22, 2018 and has already set box office records, prompting Variety to declare, “Frozen sizzles!” In the top 10 best-selling shows every week, Frozen has established itself as the biggest musical hit of its season. A North American tour will open at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles in Fall 2019.

“Disney’s struck gold! Sumptuous sets, gorgeous costumes and plenty of special effects to wow the audience!” raves the New York PostThe New Yorker calls Frozen “thrilling” and “genuinely moving” and applauds its “inspired stagecraft.” “With the magic, the dancing and all those iconic tunes, Frozen was born to be a stage musical!” exclaims the Evening Standard, and The Telegraph declares, “Frozen will burn up Broadway for years to come!”

Frozen, a full-length stage work told in two acts, is the first and only incarnation of the tale that expands upon and deepens its indelible plot and themes through new songs and story material from the film’s creators; in fact, this new stage production features more than twice as much music as the film.  Like the Disney Theatrical Broadway musicals that have come before it, it is a full evening of theatre running over two hours.

Based on the 2013 film written by a trio of Oscar® winners, Frozen features music and lyrics by the creators of the film score Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Up Here, Winnie the Pooh, In Transit) and EGOT-winner Robert Lopez(Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, Up Here) and a book by Jennifer Lee (ZootopiaWreck-It Ralph), the film’s screenwriter and director (with Chris Buck).  Frozen won 2014 Oscars for Best Song (“Let It Go”) and Best Animated Feature. 

Frozen’s director is Michael Grandage, a Tony Award® winner (Red) and director of three Olivier Award-winning Outstanding Musicals (Merrily We Roll Along, Grand Hotel and Guys and Dolls), and Rob Ashford, Tony Award winner (Thoroughly Modern Millie) and multiple Tony and Olivier Award nominee, is choreographer.

Frozen stars Broadway veterans Caissie Levy as Elsa and Patti Murin as AnnaThe two women are joined by principal cast members Jelani Alladin (Kristoff), Greg Hildreth (Olaf), John Riddle (Hans),  Robert Creighton(Weselton), Kevin Del Aguila (Oaken), Timothy Hughes (Pabbie), Andrew Pirozzi (Sven), Mattea Conforti(Young Anna), Zoe Glick (Young Anna), Mimi Ryder (Young Elsa), Ayla Schwartz (Young Elsa), Alyssa Fox(Elsa Standby), Aisha Jackson (Anna Standby) and Adam Jepsen (Sven Alternate).

In a cast of over 40, Frozen also features Alicia AlbrightJoe BeauregardTracee BeazerWendi Bergamini,Ashley BlanchetBen BogenClaire CampLauren Nicole ChapmanSpencer ClarkJeremy DavisKali GrinderAshley Elizabeth HaleZach HessDonald Jones, Jr.Nina LafargaRoss LekitesAustin Lesch,Synthia LinkRobin MasellaTravis PattonAdam PerryJeff PewOlivia PhillipNoah J. RickettsJulius Anthony RubioAnn SandersJacob Smith and Nicholas Ward.

The design team for Frozen includes scenic and costume design by two-time Tony and Olivier Award winnerChristopher Oram (Wolf Hall Parts 1 & 2The Cripple of InishmaanEvita), lighting design by six-time Tony Award winner Natasha Katz (Aladdin; Hello Dolly!; An American in Paris), sound design by four-time Tony nominee Peter Hylenski (The Scottsboro Boys, Motown, After Midnight), video design by Tony winner Finn Ross(The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), puppet design by Michael Curry (The Lion KingSpamalot), hair design by David Brian Brown (War PaintShe Loves Me), makeup design by Anne Ford-Coates (On Your Feet!On the Twentieth Century) and special effects design by Jeremy Chernick (AladdinHarry Potter and the Cursed Child).

Two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Oremus (Avenue Q, Wicked, The Book of Mormon) is music supervisor and creates vocal, incidental and dance arrangements. He is joined on the music team by Tony nominee Dave Metzger (orchestrations), Chris Montan (executive music producer), David Chase (additional dance arrangements) and Brian Usifer (music director).

Frozen is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions under the direction of Thomas Schumacher.

DANIEL J. WATTS' THE JAM: ONLY CHILD Returns to Joe's Pub Monday, December 3rd

November 1, 2018 (New York) – Daniel J. Watts (Hamilton, TBS’ “The Last O.G.,” Signature Theatre’s The Death of The Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World) and WattsWords Productions present Daniel J. Watts' The Jam: Only Child, an evening of music, dance, spoken word, and storytelling on Monday, December 3rd at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street).  Doors open at 6pm, the show begins at 7pm. 

Only Child marks the reunion between Watts and director Lileana Blain-Cruz (The House That Will Not Stand, Pipeline) who received an Obie Award for her direction of The Death of The Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World, in which Watts played the title character. Only Child also features Jam mainstay DJ Duggz, aka Preston Dugger III (Motown the MusicalMemphis), spinning through the evening.  

All advance general admission tickets are $30. Tickets are $40 day of and can be purchased by visiting JoesPub.com

“This Jam is the product of 2 years of therapy”, said artist and activist Watts.  “I have an analogy about therapy suggesting that it’s like inviting a stranger to the attic of your mind and having them help you clean it out. I realized that being an only child and a latch key kid in a single parent home contributed to excess storage in my attic and therapy helped me sift through a lot of it and, ultimately, let some things go.  By sharing my story I hope to inspire others to go through their attics in an effort to both examine the cost of holding on and experience the healing power of letting go.”

A play-on-words, The Jam pays homage to Watts’ great-grandmother who, after making jam from scratch, would share with others what she was unable to consume herself.  The Jam is Watts’ continuation of that legacy blending elements of stand-up comedy and compelling storytelling with his original spoken word, often set to music and/or dance.  This is Watts’ fourth instillation of The Jam: Only Child after sold out performances at Joe’s Pub in the famed Public Theater, NoHo’s new staple SubCulture, the and as one of the final acts to play the historic Webster Hall. 

In 2016, galvanizing cast members from HamiltonOn Your Feet, and Shuffle Along, Watts played to a packed house in Webster Hall’s Marlin Room with The Jam: Love Terrorists - A Benefit for Orlando. The event raised $7500 for the LGBT community in Orlando after the horrific attack at Pulse Night Club.

WattsWords Productions is dedicated to developing original programming including live performances, web content, and demonstrations written by Daniel J. Watts in an effort to urge communities to actively engage in focusing on their social similarities opposed to their differences.

Daniel J. Watts in The Jam: Only Child, Photo Credit - Simply Greg

BIOS

DANIEL J. WATTS has appeared in eight Broadway shows including HamiltonIn The Heights and Memphis. Off Broadway he has starred in Suzan-Lori Parks' The Death of the Last Black Man in the Entire World AKA The Negro Book of the Dead (Signature Theatre) and the world premiere of Whorl Inside A Loop (2nd Stage). He currently appears as Felony in Tracy Morgan's new comedy series “The Last OG” on TBS.  Other TV credits include recurring roles on NBC's “Blindspot” and “Smash”; HBO's “Vinyl,” “The Deuce,” “The Night Of,” and “Boardwalk Empire”; “The Good Wife,” “Blue Bloods” and “Person of Interest” on CBS; “Odd Mom Out” on Bravo; and “Broad City” on Comedy Central. Film: Breakup at a WeddingAmong Brothers and Freedom.

An accomplished spoken word artist, in 2012 Watts launched WattsWords Productions.  Daniel J. Watts' The Jam, an homage to his great grandmother who made homemade jam from scratch and gave away what she couldn't eat herself, is a spoken word/storytelling experience fusing a live band, song, dance and multimedia where Watts encourages audiences to focus on social similarities opposed to differences. Most recently, his work is featured in the young adult anthology How I Resist edited by New York Times Best Seller Maureen Johnson for Wednesday Books/Macmillan. 

An educator, Watts has also served as an adjunct professor of NYU's Tisch New Studio. He teaches his own course on how to truly engage in one's self in order to contribute meaningful and personal artistic work. 

Watts is a BFA Graduate of Elon University’s Music Theatre Program and a 2011 Young Alumnus Award Recipient. For original work visit www.wattswords.com @dwattswords

 LILEANA BLAIN-CRUZ is a director from New York City and Miami, and a recent recipient of an Obie Award for directing The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World AKA The Negro Book of the Dead at Signature Theater.  Recent projects include Lucas Hnath's Red Speedo at NYTW; Alice Birch's Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again at Soho Rep; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' War at LCT3 and Yale Rep; Henry IV Part 1 and Much Ado About Nothing at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; The Bluest Eye at The Guthrie;  Christina Anderson’s Hollow Roots which premiered in the Under the Radar Festival at the Public Theater; Project Realms an electric pop opera performed at La Sala; a new translation of The Bakkhai at the Fisher Center of Performing Arts at Bard College; and A Guide to Kinship and Maybe Magic, a collaboration with choreographer Isabel Lewis and playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins at Dance New Amsterdam.  

She received her MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama, where she directed the opera Doctor Faustus Lights the LightsThe Taming of the ShrewTall Skinny Cruel Cruel BoysBuffalo Maine, Cavity and lastly Fox Play as part of the Carlotta Festival of New Plays. She was one of the co-artistic directors of the 2011-2012 Yale Cabaret, where she directed Funnyhouse of a Negro, Vaska Vaska Glöm, and SALOME. She received both the Julian Milton Kaufman Memorial Prize and the Pierre-Andre Salim Prize for her leadership and directing.  She was an Artistic Associate of The Exchange and The Orchard Project, a member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, and an Allen Lee Hughes Directing Fellow at Arena Stage.  She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she is currently working on a new play GURLS as part of the opening of the new Lewis Center for the Arts. Upcoming projects include Actually at MTC, Water by the Spoonful at CTG, and The House That Will Not Stand at NYTW. 

PRESTON DUGGER, aka DJ DUGGZ, is a Washington, DC native that began performing in theatre and television at an early age and has appeared in Broadway shows such as Memphis and Motown, as well as on television in “Smash” and “Flesh and Bone.” Preston has had a passionate desire to make sure crowds enjoy themselves when on a stage, on screen or behind turntables.  “It is my mission to go above and beyond and make sure my clients receive the best experience visually and sonically.”

 Preston has DJ’ed such high-profile events as The Democratic National Committee for Hillary Clinton, and at Radio City Music Hall, Webster Hall, The Watergate Hotel, and Cipriani Wall Street. @DJDUGGZ

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail Present Freestyle Love Supreme (Limited Engagement)

THOMAS KAIL, LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, JON STEINGART & JILL FURMAN PRESENT

JANUARY 30-MARCH 2 ONLY AT GREENWICH HOUSE THEATER 

SURPRISE (AND SPONTANEOUS) GUESTS PLANNED AT SELECT PERFORMANCES DURING STRICTLY LIMITED RUN


Back by popular demand, Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jon Steingart and Jill Furman announced a strictly limited return engagement of FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME, the high-energy show that is a blend of hip-hop, improvisational theater, music, and vocal stylings, all backed by live music from keyboards and beats.  Conceived of by Kail, Miranda and Anthony Veneziale, FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME begins previews on January 30 with an official opening on February 12 at the Greenwich House Theater, 27 Barrow Street. Tickets on sale now at www.freestylelovesupreme.com.

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME features six talented performers providing non-stop action throughout this fast-paced evening, spinning cues from the audience into humorous bits, instantaneous songs and riffs, and fully realized musical numbers.  The electrifying vocals of the performers – from singing to rapping to beat-boxing with harmonies and freestyle flow – are backed by tight tunes from keyboards and human percussion.

When Lin and I were developing In the Heights, our friend Anthony kept grabbing Lin during breaks from rehearsal and freestyling. When I heard them, I knew they were on to something special,” said Producer/Director Thomas Kail. “We spent years crafting the show after that, and many of our favorite, and most hilarious memories, are from Freestyle Love Supreme shows.  We've been waiting for just the right moment to bring the show back to New York.  It's time!”  

Freestyle Love Supreme is the most exciting thing I’ve ever been a part of in my life. There is nothing like a live hip-hop show that is improvised from the first moment til the final curtain, and the skill set required to pull it off has introduced me to this deep bench of multi-hyphenate genius musician emcees,” said Producer Lin-Manuel Miranda. “No two shows are the same, each show its own experience. I’m so thrilled to get the band back together; and even though I’m a co-producer this time around, I selfishly hope they let me jump onstage a couple of times over the course of the run. FLS for life.”

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME features Andrew Bancroft AKA “Jelly Donut,” Arthur Lewis AKA “Arthur The Geniuses,” Bill ShermanAKA “King Sherman,” Chris Sullivan AKA “Shockwave,” Anthony Veneziale AKA “Two-Touch,” and Utkarsh Ambudkar AKA “UTK.”  

Special surprise guests are planned for select performances during the run which could include, in addition to Miranda, FLS members Chris Jackson, James Monroe Iglehart and Daveed Diggs. All audience cell phones will be checked at the door for a truly memorable and personal experience.

 

In name and beyond, FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME pays homage to John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme", with a nod to musical roots in jazz, soul, blues and hip-hop.  FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME was originally developed and produced in 2004 by Ars Nova in association with Jill Furman.

The 80 minute show is directed by Thomas Kail and features set design by Beowulf Boritt; costume design by Lisa Zinni; lighting design by Jeff Croiter; and sound design by Nevin Steinberg. General Management provided by Baseline Theatrical

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME runs January 30 to March 2, 2019 for a strictly limited run at the Greenwich House Theater, 27 Barrow Street.  Schedule varies so please check the website. Tickets are on sale now.  For tickets, check out www.freestylelovesupreme.com.

PUBLIC THEATER NEWS! 15th Annual Under the Radar Set For Jan 3-13

THE PUBLIC THEATER ANNOUNCES FULL LINE-UP FOR 15TH ANNUAL  UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL, JANUARY 3-13, 2019

11-Day Festival Includes Penny Arcade, Lola Arias,  The Chekhov Project, Tania El Khoury, Ifeoma Fafunwa,  The Illustrious Blacks, James & Jerome, The Kilbanes,  Manual Cinema, Meow Meow, Peter Mills Weiss & Julia Mounsey, Flaco Navaja, New Saloon, Plexus Polaire, Rude Mechs

Under the Radar + Joe’s Pub: In Concert, UTR Professional Symposium and INCOMING! Series  Return for UTR 2019

Single Tickets Start at $25 and UTR Packs Available Now

October 30, 2018 – The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced the full line-up today for the 15th annual UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL, running January 3-13, 2019. This popular and highly-anticipated festival of The Public’s winter season will include artists from across the U.S. and around the world, including Argentina, Australia, France, Lebanon, Nigeria, Norway, Palestine, and the UK. Curated by UTR Festival Director Mark Russell, this year’s UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL continues to expand to venues throughout New York City in addition to The Public Theater’s home at Astor Place. Tickets start at $25 and are on sale now.

 

Exciting new work by innovative artists Penny Arcade; The Chekhov Project; Tania El Khoury; Ifeoma Fafunwa; The Illustrious Blacks; Manual Cinema; Meow Meow; Peter Mills Weiss & Julia Mounsey; Flaco Navaja; New Saloon; Plexus Polaire; and Rude Mechs will be featured at UTR 2019. The festival will also include works by Lola Arias; James & Jerome; and The Kilbanes at partner venues throughout New York City.

 

The line-up for the Devised Theater Working Group’s INCOMING! Series includes Sean Donovan, Aya Ogawa, Lorelei Ramirez, Sam Schanwald with Caitlin Ryan O’Connell, Eva von Schweinitz, and Whitney White. The 11-day festival will also include the return of Under the Radar + Joe’s Pub: In Concert performances and the Under the Radar Professional Symposium.

 

“The most exciting two weeks in New York theater will be coming again this January. Under the Radar dazzles, shocks, provokes, excites, and always, always surprises!” said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis.

 

“Under the Radar is celebrating 15 years of bringing the most adventurous independent theater from around the world to New York City,” said UTR Festival Director Mark Russell. “The Festival features artists that question the rules of theater and break them, giving us a new perspective on the world. Intense and immersive, the Under the Radar Festival is a muscle-building exercise in finding common values and imagining a future.”

 

Under the Radar + Joe’s Pub: In Concert returns this year with performances by Penny Arcade, The Chekhov Project, Meow Meow, and The Illustrious Blacks. This exciting series highlights the multidisciplinary music/theater hybrids emerging from this renowned venue’s programming. The Library at The Public will also be open nightly for food and drink, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

 

Public Theater Member and Partner tickets for the 2019 UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL start at $20 and are available now. Single tickets to UTR shows start at $25 and tickets can be accessed online at www.publictheater.org; The Taub Box Office at The Public at 425 Lafayette Street; or by phone at 212-967-7555, beginning Thursday, November 8. Tickets for partner venue events at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and NYU Skirball can be purchased directly from the venues. All tickets are subject to facility and service fees. The “UTR Pack” is back by popular demand. Purchase five or more UTR shows and save $5 dollars off each ticket. Good for all UTR shows at The Public and BRIC House. 

 

Over the last 15 years, The Public’s UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL has presented over 255 companies from 45 countries. It has grown into a landmark of the New York City theater season and is a vital part of The Public's mission, providing a high-visibility platform to support artists from diverse backgrounds who are redefining the act of making theater. Widely recognized as a premier launching pad for new and cutting-edge performance from the U.S. and abroad, UTR has presented works by such respected artists as Elevator Repair Service, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Gob Squad, Belarus Free Theatre, Guillermo Calderón, and Young Jean Lee. These artists provide a snapshot of contemporary theater: richly distinct in terms of perspectives, aesthetics, social practice, and pointing to the future of the art form. 

 

UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL AT THE PUBLIC (JANUARY 3-13, 2019):

 

Hear Word! Naija Women Talk True
January 3, 5-7 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Presented by The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival and iOpenEye in association with the American Repertory Theater

Directed by Ifeoma Fafunwa (Nigeria)
Tickets: $30

 

HEAR WORD! NAIJA WOMAN TALK TRUE is inspired by multi-generational stories of inequality and transformation. Staged by director and writer Ifeoma Fafunwa, the show grapples with the issues affecting the lives of women across Nigeria, and the factors that limit their potential for independence, leadership, and meaningful contribution in society. Combining song and dance with intimate portraits of resilience and resistance, the show celebrates the women who have broken the culture of silence, challenged the status quo, and moved beyond barriers to achieve solutions.

 

Frankenstein
January 3, 5-7, 10-12 (Running Time: 60 minutes)
By Manual Cinema (USA)


 

Adapted from the novel by Mary Shelley

Concept by Drew Dir

Devised by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, and Julia Miller

Original music by Kyle Vegter and Ben Kauffman
Tickets: $30

 

Love, loss, and creation merge in unexpected ways in this thrilling classic gothic tale conceived by Manual Cinema. Stories of Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein, and his Monster expose how the forces of family, community, and education shape personhood—or destroy it by their absence. Internationally-renowned multimedia company Manual Cinema stitches together the classic story ofFRANKENSTEIN with Mary Shelley’s own biography to create an unexpected story about the beauty and horror of creation. Manual Cinema combines handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to create immersive visual stories for stage and screen.

 

Chambre Noire
January 10-13 (Running Time: 65 minutes)
Created by Plexus Polaire (France/Norway)
Tickets: $30

 

CHAMBRE NOIRE is a wild hallucination around the death-bed of Valerie Jean Solanas (1936-1988): the most beautiful girl in America, the talented psychology student who spent her life going in and out of mental institutions, the first intellectual whore, writer, radical feminist, creator of the SCUM Manifesto, the woman who shot Andy Warhol… A character that is complex, multi-sided, outrageous, and absolutely human.

 

Evolution of a Sonero
January 9, 12-13 (Running Time: 75 minutes)
Written and Performed by Flaco Navaja (USA)
Directed by Jorge Merced
Tickets: $30

 

The first full-length show by acclaimed poet, singer, and actor Flaco Navaja, original member of the UNIVERSES and Def Poetry Jam cast: With unabashed love for The Bronx, a gift for crafting memorable characters, and genuine good humor, Navaja and five top-notch musicians—aka The Razor Blades— bring on the charm, the rhythm, and the soul essential to a Bronx Sonero. Paying homage to many great musical icons —from Janis Joplin to Menudo, from The Doors to Héctor Lavoe, from Jimi Hendrix to Rubén Blades— the play is as much about Navaja’s creative evolution as it is about the wild mix that gives life to a rhyme, a people, and a culture.

 

[50/50] old school animation
January 4-7, 11, 13 (Running Time: 60 minutes)
Created by Peter Mills Weiss & Julia Mounsey (USA)
Tickets: $30

 

A classical ghost story for our contemporary moment, this deceptively simple confessional transforms into an unnerving reflection on womanhood, memes, and our capacity for cruelty. Created by Peter Mills Weiss and Julia Mounsey, [50/50] OLD SCHOOL ANIMATION flirts with the horrific and dips into the surreal. 

 

Minor Character
January 4-6, 9, 11-13 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Created by New Saloon (USA)
Directed by Morgan Green
Tickets: $30

 

New Saloon’s irreverent mashup of English-language translations of Uncle Vanya — from the dusty 1916 edition to Google Translate’s profoundly whack results—is a kaleidoscopic amplification of Chekhov's depressing comedy. Each character is interpreted by multiple actors and through multiple translations, in an athletic attempt to say one true thing. “I’ve been made a complete fool,” Vanya says, “foolishly betrayed,” Vanya agrees, “stupidly cheated,” Vanya clarifies.

 

The Cold Record
January 4-7, 9-13 (Running Time: 60 minutes)

By Rude Mechs (USA)
Written and Performed by Kirk Lynn

Directed by Alexandra Bassiakou Shaw

Tickets: $30

 

A secret performance. A one-man show. The story of a 12-year-old boy who tries to set the record for leaving school the most days with a fever and in the process falls in love with the school nurse and breaks his heart on the punk rock. You must promise never to speak about what you witnessed or else you'll get kicked out. Kirk Lynn is a novelist and playwright living in Austin, TX. Lynn is one of five artistic directors of the Rude Mechs theatre collective. With the Rudes, Kirk has written and adapted many plays, including Lipstick TracesMethod Gun, and Not Every Mountain, which premiered in 2018 at the Guthrie in Minneapolis. 

 

As Far As My Fingertips Take Me
January 4-7, 9-13 (Running Time: 15 minutes)
By Tania El Khoury (UK/Lebanon/Palestine)

Performed by Basel Zaraa

Tickets: $30

 

Our fingertips facilitate touch and sensations, but are also used by authorities to track many of us. In today’s Europe, a refugee’s journey can be set as far as their fingertips take them. The Dublin Regulation mandated a fingerprinting database across Europe for all refugees and migrants. This regulation often means that a refugee is sent back to where their fingertips were first recorded, without any regard to their needs, desires, or plans. Tania El Khoury commissioned musician and street artist Basel Zaraa who was born a Palestinian refugee in Syria to record a rap song inspired by the journey his sisters made from Damascus to Sweden. Through touch and sound, this intimate encounter explores empathy and whether we need to literally “feel” a refugee in order to understand the effect of border discrimination on peoples’ lives. 

 

UNDER THE RADAR + JOE’S PUB: IN CONCERT

Re-engineering the intersection of music and theater

This exciting series highlights the multidisciplinary music/theater hybrids emerging from this renowned venue’s programming. These artists are exploring the intersection of music and theater to bring their unique stories to the stage. These performances are not open for review.

 

Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore! - The Penny Arcade Sex and Censorship Show

January 3, 6, 10, 12-13 (Running Time: 90 minutes)

By Penny Arcade (USA)
Tickets: $35

 

Penny Arcade is New York’s undisputed queen of the underground, and her world-famous sex and censorship show is among the most exuberant performances to ever emerge from New York’s East Village. Penny Arcade's BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! blends her trademark warmth, comedy, humanism, and razor-sharp satire, with New York’s best erotic dancers in an uplifting audience dance break. Originally created as a brilliant retort to the Senator Helms NEA Censorship Crisis of 1990, BITCH! DYKE! FAG! WHORE! is now a timeless and passionate rock n’ roll anthem celebrating free speech. It is a political provocation for our times. Come early for the erotic go-go pre-show with drinks.

 

Meow Meow

January 2, 5 (Running Time: 90 minutes)

By Meow Meow (Australia)
Tickets: $30

 

A performer who gleefully tramples the barriers of genre, Meow Meow defies easy description. International siren and comedienne extraordinaire Meow Meow brings her glorious brand of subversive and sublime performance to Joe’s Pub. The spectacular crowd-surfing queen of song creates an unforgettable evening of exquisite music and much mayhem. Prepare for Piazzolla tangos, Weill, Brecht, Brel, even Radiohead alongside original chansons. If your idea of cabaret is a smoky-voiced chanteuse crooning into a microphone, prepare to have your preconceptions exploded.

 

Hyperbolic!

January 4, 12-13 (Running Time: 90 minutes)

By The Illustrious Blacks (USA)
Tickets: $25

 

The Illustrious Blacks have arrived to save the world one beat at a time! Once upon a time in a galaxy not far away, there lived two kings. Each was the ruler of his own deliciously glorious planet. The first king, Manchildblack, was well known throughout the cosmos for his ethereal vocals, celestial sonics and earthy musical messages. The other king, Monstah Black, was a star in the solar system for his gravity-defying performances, gender bending fashions, and spacey disposition. One magical night, an inexplicable ultra-magnetic pull forced the two planets to collide. A technicolored explosion occurred, turning night into day, with a feast of aural and visual delights. It was then that the universe was changed forever. Manchildblack and Monstah Black united and became The Illustrious Blacks! The acclaimed duo fuse music, dance, theater, and fashion as the main ingredients to expand minds, shake bootys, and encourage all to be bold, be brave, and be you!  #LiveTheHypeLife 

 

Astrov’s Lounge: Music From The Chekhov Project
January 5 (Running Time: 90 minutes)

Conceived by Melissa Kievman and Brian Mertes (USA)

Music by The Chekhov Project
Tickets: $25

 

ASTROV’S LOUNGE: MUSIC FROM THE CHEKOV PROJECT re-assembles the musicians of The Chekhov Project. Each summer, for one week, theater directors Brian Mertes and Melissa Kievman open their Rockland County New York home to a grand experiment: A group of sixty, all professional theater-makers and musicians, gather in the house, yard and neighborhood to explore and explode a Chekhov play. The cramped garage, known as “Astrov’s Lounge,” becomes home to the eclectic group of musicians who respond to the work generating original songs and soundscapes for each performance. ‘Astrov’s Lounge: Music from The Chekhov Project’ re-collects these musicians for a multifarious musical set inspired by the rhythms of Chekhov’s words and folks.

 

I Am a Seagull

January 5 (Running Time: 95 minutes)

Conceived by Brian Mertes and Melissa Kievman

Created by The Chekhov Project (USA)

Rita & Burton Goldberg Theatre

721 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY

Tickets: $10

 

I AM A SEAGULL follows a community of actors in their frenzied and loving attempt to stage a Chekhov play in their house, yard and neighborhood. This hybrid film documents The Chekhov Project: an annual, immersive, open-frame performance event created by Brian Mertes and Melissa Kievman. Like the project itself, the film dissolves boundaries between audience and performer, representation and reality. Life and rehearsal blend together in this portrait of The Project’s production of The Seagull. Chekhov’s text is embodied by a handful of actors from New York City as they converge in an upstate lakeside retreat. Through juxtaposing phases of rehearsal, live performance, and pure cinema this experience captures the idealism, contradictions and raw instinct that fuels theater-making itself.


UNDER THE RADAR AT PARTNER VENUES:

 

Minefield
January 11-13 (Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes)
By Lola Arias (Argentina)
Co-Presented by The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival and NYU Skirball
NYU Skirball 
566 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY 
Tickets: $30 | www.nyuskirball.org

In MINEFIELD, Argentine and British veterans from the Falklands/Malvinas war are transported into the past to reconstruct their experience of the war, its aftermath, and their memories. The only thing they have in common is that they are all veterans. But what is a veteran; a survivor, a hero, a madman? Digging deep into the personal impact of war, MINEFIELD confronts different visions of history, bringing together old enemies to tell one single story. This collaboratively created new work merges theatre and film to explore the minefield of memory, where truth and fiction collide. Buenos Aires-based visual and performance artist Lola Arias returns to Under the Radar after her memorable performance in 2014 “El Año en Que Nací.”


Weightless
January 11-13 (Running Time: 75 minutes)
By The Kilbanes

Directed by Becca Wolff (USA)
Co-Presented by The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival, BRIC, Z Space, and piece by piece productions

BRIC House
647 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: $30 | www.bricartsmedia.org

Part Concert, Part Play, Part Dream, WEIGHTLESS by The Kilbanes weaves together myth with evocative indie rock to tell a story of sisterhood, love, betrayal and rebirth. WEIGHTLESS is inspired by the story of Procne and Philomela from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Through intimate storytelling and The Kilbanes’ celebrated indie rock sound, WEIGHTLESS explores the bonds of sisterhood and the power of the female voice. It’s equal parts blistering rock show and bleeding edge experimental theater. Rock 'n' roll meets myth as only The Kilbanes can deliver.

 

Ink
January 5-6 (Running Time: 75 minutes)
Created and performed by James & Jerome in collaboration with Shawn Duan

Directed by Rachel Chavkin and Annie Tippe (USA)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 
Tickets: $25 | www.metmuseum.org/tickets
Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education

INK is an art lecture, live personal essay, and electronic music concert all in one. With stunning visuals by media designer Shawn Duan, musician-storyteller duo James Harrison Monaco and Jerome Ellis perform a lush live score as they lovingly analyze works from around the world, exploding the traditional art lecture into a unique theatrical experience—one that’s at once playful, intellectual, and spiritual. Together, they guide us through a meditation on calligraphy and illuminated manuscripts, on music and silence, and on Jerome’s intimate relationship to the spoken and written word, in this first ever collaboration between Under the Radar and MetLiveArts, the performance series at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

INCOMING! SERIES:

A Festival within a Festival. Rapid Response. Controlled Chaos. New Work.

 

This year, The PubIic Theater’s Devised Theater Initiative (DTI) hosts the fifth cohort of the Devised Theater Working Group. These artists will be presented as part of the 2019 Under the Radar Festival’s INCOMING! Series, a platform that features in-process works of formal investigation and artistic ambition. Works-in-process are not open for review.


Twin Size Beds

January 6, 11 (Running Time: 70 minutes)

Sam Schanwald with Caitlin Ryan O’Connell (USA)

Tickets: $25

 

In an abandoned tree house, a limp-wristed boy hides during the neighborhood game of hide-and-seek. While he waits for a gang of metal-mouthed peers to find him, Sam’s newfound solitude spurs songs about nihilistic desire, and fuzzy hallucinations of his sexual future. TWIN SIZE BEDS is a concert-play that fuses deadpan stand-up with a hormone-fueled musical blitz. Grab a juice box. You might be stuck in that splintered hiding place forever.

 

Cabin

January 6, 12 (Running Time: 45 minutes)

Sean Donovan (USA)

Tickets: $25

 

CABIN is the reconstruction of a memory—the story of three queer men in a poly-amorous relationship who move from Brooklyn to a cabin in upstate New York, and of the violence that befalls them. Through monologue, film, dance, and live music by Heather Christian,CABIN surveys the lines between myth and memoir, the complexity of intimacy, and the magnitude of loss.

 

Macbeth in Stride

January 5, 7 (Running Time: 75 minutes)

Whitney White (USA)

Tickets: $25

 

MACBETH IN STRIDE is a live concert and theatrical event that excavates the underbelly of female ambition. With throbbing orchestrations of vintage rock, White traces the fatalistic arc of Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth while exorcizing demons of her own. One in a five part series on Shakespeare's women, this concert-play is a battle cry for black female power and desire.

 

The Nosebleed

January 5, 9 (Running Time: 85 minutes)

Aya Ogawa (USA)

Tickets: $25

 

THE NOSEBLEED is an intimate autobiography that explores playwright/director Aya Ogawa’s fractured relationship with her long-deceased and enigmatic father. Through a series of turbulent, absurd, and poignantly comic vignettes, Ogawa reveals the seemingly insurmountable cultural and generational gap between herself and her father, and the questions she faces in her own motherhood today.  A theatrical memorial and healing ritual for the audience, this darkly humorous, tender, and inventive play considers how we inherit and bequeath failure, and what it takes to forgive.

 

The Space Between the Letters

January 5, 10 (Running Time: 70 minutes)

Eva von Schweinitz (USA)

Tickets: $25

 

A dot of light turns into a line, into a shape, into words. Writing becomes a physical, virtuosic feat. Easels swirl in an intersectional flipchart ballet that unpacks the legal, social, and political dimensions of adult literacy in the United States. In this ensemble lecture, performers weave personal stories, handmade infographics, and histories of discrimination and disenfranchisement.

 

Lorelei Ramirez: ALIVE! (For Now)

January 6, 13 (Running Time: 60 minutes)

Lorelei Ramirez (USA)

Tickets: $25

 

Take note: this may be the last time we will all be assembled in this room—some of us might die someday. Ramirez's playful morbidity seeps through in this multi-media comedy special, which invites us all to be unsettled together in this unsettling moment. Crafting at the intersection of art and comedy, Lorelei perverts the familiar and profanes the sacred—all in pursuit of one last laugh.

 

UNDER THE RADAR PROFESSIONAL SYMPOSIUM: JANUARY 3-5

 

The Under the Radar Professional Symposium is a three-day event on January 3-5, featuring a chance to see full productions of festival shows as well as keynote speakers and featured artist speakers. Attendance at the Symposium is strictly limited to presenting and producing professionals in the field. For more information on the UTR Symposium, please email utrsymposium@publictheater.org.

 

The Under the Radar Professional Symposium is a pre-conference event of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (formerly the Association of Performing Arts Presenters) and is held in conjunction with the APAP|NYC 2019 conference. APAP is the national service, advocacy and membership organization for presenters of the performing arts and the convener of APAP|NYC, the world’s leading gathering of performing arts professionals, held every January in New York City. For more information on this year’s APAP conference, visit www.apapnyc.org

 

JanArtsNYC

Every January in New York City, more than 45,000 performing arts leaders, artists, and enthusiasts from across the globe converge forJanArtsNYC. A partnership among eleven independent multidisciplinary festivals, indispensable industry convenings, and international marketplaces, JanArtsNYC is one of the largest and most influential gatherings of its kind.  For more info visit, www.janartsnyc.org.Promotional support provided by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.

 

ABOUT JOE'S PUB AT THE PUBLIC:


JOE'S PUB, 
named for The Public Theater’s founder Joe Papp, opened in 1998 and plays a vital role in The Public's mission of supporting young artists while providing established artists with an intimate space to perform and develop new work. Under the new leadership of Director Alex Knowlton, this fall begins Joe’s Pub’s 20th Anniversary Season of presenting the best in live music and performance nightly, committed to diversity, production values, community and artistic freedom. The venue also offers opportunities like New York Voices, an artist commissioning program that provides musicians resources and tools to develop original theater works; Joe’s Pub Working Group, an artist development initiative; The Vanguard Award & Residency, a yearlong series that celebrates the career of a prolific and influential artist, who leads their own artistic community; and nationwide programming partnerships. Commissioned artists include Mx Justin Vivian Bond, Bridget Everett, Daniel Alexander Jones, Ethan Lipton, Toshi Reagon, Allen Toussaint and more. The venue’s food and beverage partner is NoHo Hospitality Group, helmed by acclaimed chef Andrew Carmellini. With its intimate atmosphere and superior acoustics, Joe's Pub presents talent from all over the world as part of The Public's programming downtown at its Astor Place home, hosting approximately 800 shows and serving over 100,000 audience members annually.

 

ABOUT THE PUBLIC THEATER:

 

THE PUBLIC is theater of, by, and for all people. Artist-driven, radically inclusive, and fundamentally democratic, The Public continues the work of its visionary founder Joe Papp as a civic institution engaging, both on-stage and off, with some of the most important ideas and social issues of today. Conceived over 60 years ago as one of the nation’s first nonprofit theaters, The Public has long operated on the principles that theater is an essential cultural force and that art and culture belong to everyone. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public’s wide breadth of programming includes an annual season of new work at its landmark home at Astor Place, Free Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, The Mobile Unit touring throughout New York City’s five boroughs, Public Forum, Under the Radar, Public Studio, Public Works, Public Shakespeare Initiative, and Joe’s Pub.  Since premiering HAIR in 1967, The Public continues to create the canon of American Theater and is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  Their programs and productions can also be seen regionally across the country and around the world. The Public has received 59 Tony Awards, 170 Obie Awards, 53 Drama Desk Awards, 54 Lortel Awards, 32 Outer Critic Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards, and 6 Pulitzer Prizes. publictheater.org

 

 

2019 UNDER THE RADAR TICKET INFORMATION

 

Public Theater Member and Partner tickets for the 2019 UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL start at $20 and are available now. Single tickets to UTR shows start at $25. Tickets can be accessed online at www.publictheater.org; The Taub Box Office at The Public at 425 Lafayette Street; or by phone at 212-967-7555, beginning Thursday, November 8. Tickets for partner venue events at TheMetropolitan Museum of Art and NYU Skirball can be purchased directly from the venues. All tickets are subject to facility and service fees.

 

The “UTR Pack” is back by popular demand. Purchase five or more UTR shows and save 5 dollars off each ticket. Good for all UTR shows at The Public and BRIC House. Visit www.publictheater.orgl.com to purchase your “UTR Pack” online. Each “UTR Pack” purchased over the phone and online is subject to a $1 per ticket package fee per performance. All sales are final, no refunds or cancellations. Exchanges must be made at least 24 hours before a performance. Good for all Under the Radar shows at The Public Theater, Joe’s Pub, and BRIC House.

 

Food and beverage service will be available during Under the Radar + Joe’s Pub: In Concert performances, but there is no minimum purchase required. The Library at The Public will also be open nightly for food and drink, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

 

For more information, please visit www.publictheater.org or;www.publictheater.org

Mariah MacCarthy's "Honors Students" at the Wild Project Oct 26 - Nov 11

Honors Students

by Mariah MacCarthy

directed by Leta Tremblay

Performances Oct 26 – Nov 11 at Wild Project

New York, NY —

Kora and Minnie are best friends. And honors students. (Duh.) They are as smart as they are mischievous. And yes they are plotting a scheme involving a lot of money and a little blood. But when their volatile relationship is threatened by Minnie’s friendship with awkward YouTube sensation Megan, all bets are off. In the tradition of Heathers and The Virgin Suicides, Mariah MacCarthy’s new play Honors Students asks one question: Who will survive?

“We were drawn to Mariah’s play Honors Students because it puts the ambiguities of female friendships and the extremes of being a teenage woman front and center,” says Olivia Levine, who plays Minnie.

Mariah MacCarthy, whose plays Mrs. Mayfield’s Fifth-Grade Class of ’93 20-Year Reunion and The Foreplay Play played in New York City apartments and whose show Baby Mama: One Woman’s Quest to Give Her Child to Gay People has been viewed over 42,000 times on YouTube, has a growing reputation as one of downtown’s most dauntless writers. MacCarthy’s stories feature women who are raw, flawed, honest, ambitious, complex, and searching for themselves in the midst of chaotic circumstances.

Running time is 90 minutes

Honors Students features Arielle Goldman, Chris Harcum, Olivia Levine and Thanh Ta. Honors Students is written by Mariah MacCarthy, directed by Leta Tremblay with lighting design by Cha See; sound design by Jeanne Travis; costume design by Iliana Paris; blood effects by Stephanie Cox-Williams; fight direction by Jesse Geguzis, stage management by Michelle Navis assistant direction by Dylan Hoffman and produced by Hope Chavez.

Praise for Mariah MacCarthy:

“Sweet and boisterous…The show can’t boast the square footage or the design budget or the top-shelf liquor of an extravaganza like Sleep No More, but Mrs. Mayfield’s still feels like an adventure and an event.”

—The New York Times

“MacCarthy doesn’t pull any punches…funny, moving and unapologetically candid.”

—Time Out New York

“f*cking brilliant!”

—Kate Bornstein

“I really can’t recommend this play enough—as it will likely be a highlight of your theatrical year.”

—Theatre Is Easy

“You'll laugh out loud at this fun and fascinating show... this is the one to see.”

—BroadwayWold

Performance Schedule:

Friday Oct 26 at 8PM

Sat Oct 27 at 8PM

Sun Oct 28 at 2PM *matinee

Sun Oct 28 at 8PM

Mon Oct 29 at 8PM

Thurs Nov 1 at 8PM

Fri Nov 2 at 8PM

Sat Nov 3 at 8PM

Sun Nov 4 at 2PM *matinee

Sun Nov 4 at 8PM

Mon Nov 5 at 8PM

Thurs Nov 8 at 8PM

Fri Nov 9 at 8PM

Sat Nov 10 at 2PM *matinee

Sat Nov 10 at 8PM

Sun Nov 11 at 2PM *matinee

Location:

Wild Project is located at 195 E 3rd Street (b/w Avenues A and B). F train to 2nd Ave stop.

More info at: www.thewildproject.com

Tickets: $20

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Mariah MacCarthy (playwright) is a creatrix-of-all-trades. Work developed/presented at: Ensemble Studio Theatre, Rattlestick, Primary Stages, Culture Project, New Dramatists, Theatre Row, La MaMa, HERE, Dixon Place, The Brick, Atlantic Stage 2, Fringe NYC. Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award, Lotos Foundation Prize in the Arts and Sciences, Indie Theater Hall of Fame, PoNY nominee. Plays: Mrs. Mayfield’s Fifth-Grade Class of ’93 20-Year Reunion ("a lot of fun " -The New York Times), Baby Mama: One Woman’s Quest to Give Her Child to Gay People (Ensemble Studio Theatre, viewed over 41,000 times on YouTube), The Foreplay Play (two NYIT Award nominations), Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story (twenty Looking Glass Forum Awards, FringeNYC “Outstanding Performance”), The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret(“f*cking brilliant” -Kate Bornstein). Executive Artistic Director of Caps Lock Theatre, Associate Artistic Director-at-Large of The Brick, writer-in-residence of The Propulsion Lab, member of Youngblood and Lather/Rinse/Repeat. http://www.mariahmaccarthy.com/

Leta Tremblay (director) is a Theatrical Director based in New York City who strives to create space for Intersectional Feminism, Queer Voices, and Revolution in her artistic pursuits. The New York Times called her work; “Sweet and boisterous… an adventure and an event.” She assisted acclaimed SITI Company Artistic Director Anne Bogart on Kurt Weill’s musical opera LOST IN THE STARS at CAP UCLA. Leta is a graduate of Smith College and the Eugene O’Neill National Theatre Institute, where she now returns as a teacher and mentor. She is the Producing Artistic Director of Caps Lock Theatre and an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. www.letatremblay.com

Hope Chavez (producer) is a creative producer, arts administrator, and activist in New York City. She is a co-founder of Lyra Theater, dedicated to serving early-career artists across New York City. Hope currently serves as the Programs Coordinator at A.R.T./New York creating programming for and serving more than 400 non-profit theaters in New York. As the Managing Producer of The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, Hope leads this developmental program occurring every summer in NYC for theatre artists 25 and younger from across the US. Select producing credits: KEEN TEENS 2016, 2017, 2018 (Keen Company), SALTY (Lyra Theater), THE 24 HOUR PLAYS OFF-BROADWAY (Roundabout), MY HEART IS IN THE EAST (La MaMa), THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI (Lyra Theater), THE UNUSUAL TALE OF MARY & JOSEPH’S BABY (FringeNYC), THE 24 HOUR PLAYS: BROADWAY 2015, 2016, 2017 (The 24 Hour Plays), LUCKY CHICK (Fringe Encore Series). Upcoming: PUSSY GRABBER PLAYS (Joe’s Pub).

THE PUBLIC THEATER’S MOBILE UNIT TO TOUR THIS FALL WITH A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM DIRECTED BY JENNY KOONS

THE PUBLIC THEATER’S MOBILE UNIT TO TOUR THIS FALL WITH A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM DIRECTED BY JENNY KOONS

Free Three-Week Tour Visits Correctional Facilities, Homeless Shelters, Social Service Organizations, Community Centers October 4 – October 26

Free Performances at The Public Continue Tradition of Access to Shakespeare for All October 28 – November 17

Continuing its commitment to bringing free Shakespeare to the community and strengthening audience engagement with the arts, The Public Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, will mount its MOBILE UNIT again this fall with a free three-week tour to the five boroughs of Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, directed by Jenny Koons. Now in its ninth year, the Mobile Unit’s free tour (October 4-26) brings Shakespeare and other works to audiences who have limited or no access to the arts by visiting correctional facilities, homeless shelters, social service organizations, and other community venues. There will also be a three-week engagement of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM at The Public Theater running Sunday, October 28 through Saturday, November 17 with an official press opening on Friday, November 2.

The company of The Public’s Mobile Unit production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, directed by Jenny Koons and running at The Public Theater, following a free tour to the five boroughs. Photo Credit: Richard Termine.

The complete cast of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM features Marinda Anderson (Hippolyta/Titania), Leland Fowler (Demetrius/Flute), Christopher Ryan Grant (Bottom), Merritt Janson (Theseus/Oberon), Carolyn Kettig (Hermia/Starveling), Jasai Chase Owens (Lysander/Snug), David Ryan Smith (Egeus/Quince/Fairy), Natalie Woolams-Torres (Puck), and Rosanny Zayas (Helena/Snout).

“Jenny Koons is an amazing, luminous director, and her Midsummer promises to be a groundbreaking theatrical event,” said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis.

This fall, a classic New York City block party becomes the enchanted setting where fairies work their mischief in Shakespeare’s beloved play A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Acclaimed director Jenny Koons takes you to the royal wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, where a celebratory play is being rehearsed. But the real drama is unfolding in the concrete jungle of fairy King Oberon. There, four young New Yorkers discover the course of true love runs anything but smooth, as supernatural sprites and the lovable Puck conspire to reveal what fools we mortals be, and draw us all into the collective dream of romance and merriment.

“Welcoming Jenny Koons into the Mobile Unit family feels natural and inevitable — the Mobile has long been a home for artists working at the intersection of art and social justice and Jenny is no exception,” said Director

of Special Artistic Projects Stephanie Ybarra. “She has assembled a magnificent team and they’ve already demonstrated a deep commitment to creating a joy-filled communal experience tailor-made for New Yorkers.”

All tour performances are free, and performances at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center; Pelham Fritz Recreation Center; North Brooklyn YMCA; Brownsville Recreation Center; Queens Public Library, Central Branch; Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center; Island Voice/Canvas Institute; Faber Park Recreation Center; and St. Paul’s Chapel are also open to the general public via RSVP at publictheater.org. To further the mission and reach of THE MOBILE UNIT, tickets for each performance of the limited run at The Public Theater will be given to community organizations that are unable to host a visit from the tour.

Marinda Anderson and David Ryan Smith in The Public’s Mobile Unit production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, directed by Jenny Koons and running at The Public Theater, following a free tour to the five boroughs. Photo Credit: Richard Termine.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM features scenic design by Kimie Nishikawa, costume design by Hahnji Jang and fight direction by Lisa Kopitsky.

In 2018, THE MOBILE UNIT celebrated the 61st anniversary of its inaugural mobile tour in 1957 which began with a production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Joseph Papp with Bryarly Lee and Stephen Joyce in the titular roles. The 1957 Mobile Unit tour received early support from New York City authorities. Stanley Lowell, then deputy mayor, was an early champion for free theater and mobilized city resources and departments to support Papp's production. The first Mobile Unit rolled up to performance venues across the city in borrowed Department of Sanitation vehicles with a wooden folding stage mounted to a truck bed and portable seating risers to accommodate 700 people per venue. The city's Parks Department permitted performances in local parks across all five boroughs. Subsequent productions included Two Gentlemen of Verona, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew, Ti-Jean and His Brothers, Take One Step, Unfinished Women Cry in No Man’s Land While a Bird Dies in a Gilded Cage, and Volpone, among many others. This modern reimagining of The Public Theater’s original Mobile Theater is inspired by Ten Thousand Things Theater in Minneapolis, MN. In August 2018, THE MOBILE UNIT announced the national expansion of it’s programming with a Midwest Mobile Unit National Tour of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning play Sweat. The tour extends beyond performances with community engagement activities on the issues and conversations most alive in their communities.

Recent MOBILE UNIT productions include Henry V; The Winter’s Tale; Twelfth Night; Hamlet; Romeo & Juliet; The Comedy of Errors; Measure for Measure; Richard III; Much Ado About Nothing; Pericles, Prince of Tyre; and Macbeth. This program reinforces The Public’s commitment to the ongoing exploration of Shakespeare’s canon, along with the Public Shakespeare Initiative; the recent Public Works production of Twelfth Night and As You Like It staged at the Delacorte Theater for free; Free Shakespeare in the Park; and The Public’s other affordable productions at its downtown home at Astor Place.

VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY ON THE PUBLIC’S MOBILE UNIT

"I do not know if I have ever been so moved by a theatrical work in my life." – Highbridge Recreation Center Audience Member

“I will bring my family to see future plays. I have been coming to these plays for the three years that I was in MDC. My release is Thursday and I would like to continue to watch The Mobile Unit Plays.” – Metropolitan Detention Center Audience Member

“You took an everyday space and made it something more, something special.” – Queens Public Library Audience Member

“I love that you came to my neighborhood! The same room where I vote!” – Pelham Fritz Recreation Center Audience Member

The Mobile Unit is made possible with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, The Tow Foundation, The McLaughlin Children's Trust, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Additional support provided by JetBlue Airways, Open Society Foundations, Susan & David Edelstein, The MAE Private Foundation, and The Estée Lauder Companies

Inc. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust provides leadership support for The Public Theater’s year-round activities.

TOUR DATES WILL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING VENUES (October 4-26):

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, Manhattan, is a one-of-a-kind organization that empowers community members to lead healthy, successful lives (October 4).

Pelham Fritz Recreation Center, Manhattan, is a NYC Parks and Recreation center located in Harlem (October 5).

North Brooklyn YMCA, Brooklyn, is a community center that in Brooklyn that empowers youth, improves health, and strengthens community. (October 6).

Lenox Hill Neighborhood House/Women’s Mental Health Shelter, Manhattan, provides short-term, safe, and supportive environments to address immediate needs for mentally ill homeless women (October 8).

HELP Bronx Morris Avenue, Bronx, is affordable supportive housing designed to provide housing and appropriate support services to persons who are homeless or who are close to homelessness (October 9).

Brownsville Recreation Center, Brooklyn, a Public Works community partner, is a NYC Parks and Recreation center located in the Brownsville Playground with extensive resources for youth and seniors. The center offers a vibrant space to tap into pursuits artistic and athletic alike (October 10).

Queens Public Library, Central Branch, is located in Jamaica, Queens and also serves as a Public Theater borough distribution center for Free Shakespeare in the Park (October 11).

Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center, Bronx, is a NYC Parks and Recreation center located in the Bronx (October 12).

Island Voice/Canvas Institute, Staten Island, is a grassroots community and youth development organization whose focus is on giving voice to the African immigrant, African-American, Caribbean-American, and immigrant communities (October 13).

Lost Battalion Hall Rec Center, Queens, is NYC Parks and Recreation center located in Queens (October 15).

Queensboro Correctional Facility, Queens, is a minimum security correctional facility in Long Island City (October 16).

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Manhattan, houses one of the world's most extensive collections in its field, available free of charge (October 17).

DreamYard Arts Project, Bronx, a Public Works community partner, uses project-based arts learning to ignite the transformative spirit (October 18).

Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, is a U.S. federal administrative detention facility, which holds male and female prisoners of all security levels (October 19).

Faber Park Recreation Center, Staten Island, is a NYC Parks and Recreation center located in Staten Island (October 20).

Edgecombe Correctional Facility, Manhattan, is a minimum security male parole diversion facility (October 22).

Taconic Correctional Facility, Westchester, is a medium security facility for women in New York (October 23).

Help 1, Brooklyn, provides 191 family units of transitional housing for homeless families. (October 24).

St. Paul’s Chapel, Manhattan, part of Trinity Wall Street, is an Episcopal parish that has been a part of New York City since 1697 (October 25).

Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, is a U.S. federal administrative detention facility, which holds female prisoners of all security levels (October 26).

JENNY KOONS (Director). Her directing projects include Burn All Night at American Repertory Theater; Airness at Humana and the Actors Theatre of Louisville; Theatre for One: In This Moment at Pershing Square Signature Center; a SPKRBOX Festival commission, Instant SPKRBOX, in Norway; Bars and Measures at B Street Theatre; a Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games commission, Gimme Shelter; Theatre for One: I'm Not the Stranger You Think I Am at Arts Brookfield; A Sucker Emcee at the National Black Theatre and LAByrinth Theater Company; Queen of the Night at the Diamond Horseshoe Nightclub; and The Odyssey Project 2012. Koons has developed new work at Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Joe’s Pub, Lark Play Development Center, and the Roundabout Theatre Company. She is also a 2017 Lilly Award recipient.

ABOUT THE PUBLIC THEATER:

THE PUBLIC is theater of, by, and for all people. Artist-driven, radically inclusive, and fundamentally democratic, The Public continues the work of its visionary founder Joe Papp as a civic institution engaging, both on-stage and off, with some of the most important ideas and social issues of today. Conceived over 60 years ago as one of the nation’s first nonprofit theaters, The Public has long operated on the principles that theater is an essential cultural force and that art and culture belong to everyone. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public’s wide breadth of programming includes an annual season of new work at its landmark home at Astor Place, Free Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, The Mobile Unit touring throughout New York City’s five boroughs, Public Forum, Under the Radar, Public Studio, Public Works, Public Shakespeare Initiative, and Joe’s Pub. Since premiering HAIR in 1967, The Public continues to create the canon of American Theater and is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Their programs and productions can also be seen regionally across the country and around the world. The Public has received 59 Tony Awards, 170 Obie Awards, 53 Drama Desk Awards, 54 Lortel Awards, 32 Outer Critic Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards, and 6 Pulitzer Prizes. publictheater.org

TICKET INFORMATION

All tour performances are free and performances at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center; Pelham Fritz Recreation Center; North Brooklyn YMCA; Brownsville Recreation Center; Queens Public Library, Central Branch; Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center, Bronx; Island Voice/Canvas Institute; Faber Park Recreation Center; and St. Paul’s Chapel are also open to the general public via RSVP at publictheater.org. Please check The Public’s website for the most up-to-date performance times.

Following the MOBILE UNIT tour of the five boroughs, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM will run at The Public Theater from Sunday, October 28 through Saturday, November 17 in the Shiva Theater, with an official press opening on Friday, November 2.

Furthering the mission of making great theater accessible to all, tickets to the MOBILE UNIT’s run at The Public are FREE and are available via TodayTix mobile Lottery and in-person distribution downtown at The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place. On each public performance date, free tickets will be distributed in-person beginning 90 minutes prior to curtain, and via mobile lottery on the TodayTix app. Download the TodayTix app to enter or visit publictheater.org for more information.

The performance schedule at The Public will be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Wednesday and Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (There are no 1:00 p.m. performances on Wednesday, October 31 and there are no performances at 1:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 3.)

The Library at The Public is open nightly for food and drink, beginning at 5:30 p.m., and Joe’s Pub at The Public continues to offer some of the best music in the city. For more information, visit www.publictheater.org.

# # #

Reba at Broadway's Aladdin

Last night the Queen of Country Music, Reba McEntire, took in a performance of Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway.  After the show, Reba join the cast backstage for a quick photo. 

Major Attaway, Arielle Jacobs, Reba McEntire and Telly Leung Backstage at Broadway's Aladdin - Photo by Shay Frey Courtesy Disney Theatrical Productions (2 photos)

Reba McEntire and Telly Leung Backstage at Broadway's Aladdin - Photo by Shay Frey Courtesy Disney Theatrical Productions

Emmy winning comedian PAUL MECURIO announces new Off-Broadway show PERMISSION TO SPEAK - Previews begin July 16

EMMY-WINNING COMEDIAN PAUL MECURIO ANNOUNCES NEW OFF-BROADWAY SHOW “PERMISSION TO SPEAK WITH PAUL MECURIO” OPENING JULY 23 AT THE JERRY ORBACH THEATER IN NYC - Previews Begin July 16; Tickets On Sale Now

Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedian, Paul Mecurio, announces his new Off-Broadway show: PERMISSION TO SPEAK WITH PAUL MECURIO. With over a decade of television appearances including his own comedy special, his longtime association with Stephen Colbert through multiple stand-up appearances on and as being the opening act for The Late Show, and headlining comedy shows throughout the U.S. and Europe, Mecurio is prepared for this next great challenge. PERMISSION TO SPEAK WITH PAUL MECURIO will play at the Jerry Orbach Theater at NY’s Theater Center (1627 Broadway, New York), with previews beginning Monday, July 16, 2018 and opening night scheduled for Monday, July 23, 2018.

In this exciting one man comedy show with a twist, starring the audience and Mecurio, Mecurio improvises with audience members by randomly bringing them on stage and talking with them about who they are, their lives, interests, personal experiences and what they honestly think without feeling boxed in by the confines of contrived political correctness or fear of offending. A breath of fresh air, PERMISSION TO SPEAK is first and foremost, funny and entertaining, but also a truly freeing experience. 

“People have very revealing, fun and refreshingly honest things to say that no one has ever bothered to ask,” says Paul Mecurio, “so I created a show where audiences can have a lot of laughs and are free to be open and honest ... by the way, when needed, we’re calling BS on the BS! I love the unscripted format, it’s fun, keeps me and the audience on our toes and we end up on this unexpected journey together into funny truths. Everyone has a story, every night people reveal something fun and eye-opening and in the process, people come to understand and appreciate one another a little more.”

Prior to entering the world of entertainment, Mecurio worked as a lawyer on Wall Street at a top tier international law firm (Willkie Farr & Gallagher) and as an investment banker at a major Investment Bank (Credit Suisse), executing multi-million-dollar M&A transactions for Fortune 500 companies.

While on Wall Street, Mecurio had a chance encounter with late night comedy icon, Jay Leno, who subsequently hired him to write jokes for NBC’s The Tonight Show. After living a secret double life as a Wall Street lawyer/banker by day and comedian by night, Mecurio, at the encouragement of Leno, left his day job to go into entertainment full time. This quickly led to his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and the beginning of his longtime association with Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert on “The Colbert Report” and now, the number one show in late night, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Partnering with longtime friends and creative collaborators from The Late Show, The Daily Show and The Colbert ReportPERMISSION TO SPEAK will feature set consultation by Emmy Award-winning set designer Jim Fenhagen, digital mapping by Tim Donovan and Ryan Kelly of industry leading experiential marketing studio Bravo Media and Optoma Projection, and lighting design by Michael Scricca.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

PERMISSION TO SPEAK WITH PAUL MECURIO will play Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:00pm at the Jerry Orbach Theater at NY’s Theater Center (1627 Broadway, New York) beginning Monday, July 16, 2018 through Wednesday, August 15, 2018.

Ticket pricing: $52 - $72.

To purchase tickets, please go to: Ticketmaster or call the box office at 212.921.7862. 

MORE ABOUT PAUL MECURIO:

Paul Mecurio is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedian/writer (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), TV personality, actor, and podcaster who currently headlines comedy clubs across the U.S. and Canada and makes regular appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In addition to his presence on The Late Show, Paul has hosted shows and pilots for Comedy Central, HBO, CBS, VH-1 and has starred in his own Comedy Central special.

Over the years, Mecurio has made numerous late-night television appearances on: The Late Show with Stephen ColbertThe Late, Late ShowThe Tonight Show (writer)Comedy Central; The Daily Show; Fridays (NBC); and The Joke Show, to name a few.

He also appears regularly as a pop culture and general news commentator and political satirist on a wide variety of major national television shows including: CBS Sunday Morning; CNN (New Day, CNN Newsroom, Showbiz Tonight); MSNBC; Fox News Channel (Hannity, Fox & Friends, Red Eye, Real Story, Outnumbered, Kennedy, Viewpoint); ESPN (SportsNation); Katie Couric; The Meredith Vieira Show; Bethenny; Dr. Drew (HLN & VH-1); and many more.  Mecurio is also a published essayist: The New York Times Sunday Magazine.

Mecurio has performed at many prestigious comedy festivals around the world including “Just for Laughs" and the Glasgow/Edinburgh Comedy Festival, to name a few.

Mecurio’s critically-acclaimed podcast, The Paul Mecurio Show, showcases his talent as a skilled interviewer that covers a wide range of topics and conversations with A-list guests at the pinnacle of the worlds of entertainmentpop culture, music, politics, science, sports and more.  Guests include: Paul McCartney; Stephen Colbert; Katie Couric; Bryan Cranston; Judd Apatow; Kristen Chenoweth; Neil deGrasse Tyson; Jay Leno; Bill Burr; Adam McKay; Jeff Fager, Executive Producer of 60 Minutes; Stone Cold Steve Austin; Bob Costas; Lewis Black; Hardball’s Chris Matthews; Thomas Freidman of The New York Times; Rob Reiner; Artie Lange; Rob Corddry and many more.

Prior to entering into the world of entertainment, Mecurio graduated Georgetown Law School with high honors and worked as a lawyer on Wall Street at a top tier international law firm (Willkie Farr & Gallagher) and as an investment banker at a major Investment Bank (Credit Suisse), executing multi-billion-dollar M&A transactions for Fortune 100 companies.

While on Wall Street, Mecurio was hired by Jay Leno to write jokes for NBC’s The Tonight Show. After living a secret double life as a Wall Street lawyer/banker by day and comedian by night, Mecurio, at the encouragement of Leno, left his day job to go into entertainment full time... if he hadn’t he would have had a nervous breakdown trying to keep the two worlds separate.

Mecurio soon went on to serve as a writer and occasional correspondent on The Daily Show and appeared in the regular segment which he created, “Second Opinion,” in which he skewered the medical profession playing an HMO representative with a less than sympathetic mindset.

For additional information, please visit: www.paulmecurio.com

Podcast - "The Paul Mecurio Show": http://apple.co/2cMp0sV

Twitter.com/paulmecurio

Facebook.com/paulmecurio

Instagram.com/paulmecurio

"FOLLOW YOUR HEART", ADVICE FROM TONY AWARD WINNER — Daveed Diggs

On Sunday, June 19, FathersDay, hearts will be especially heavy as the world reflects on the 49 victims who lost their lives in Orlando, Florida, as victims of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

It was just a week ago Sunday when the theatrical community, poised to celebrate the 2016 Tony Awards in NYC, felt the impact of the tragedy. In quick response, nominees and presenters wore silver ribbons — designed by veteran Broadway costume designer and six-time Tony winner William Ivey Long — to honor the victims.

As difficult for the heart to absorb so many deaths, its further exacerbated because many of those who died there, were Hispanic and African-American young people, many at the beginning of their lives. A particularly poignant fact to ponder in Broadway history, is that 2016 will be seen, as a historic and important year for the African and African-American artistic community given that all four awards for Performances in Musicals went to African-American actors. 

“Hamilton,” the hip-hop musical about Americas first Treasury secretary, won 11 Tony Awards including picking up Broadways highest honor — the Tony for Best Musical.  Proving that the art form of hip-hop is successful not only artistically, but commercially — it was earning about $6000,00 in profit weekly on Broadway — and is poised to expand its reach with productions opening in Chicago in September, followed by two North American tours and a London staging as well.  

The lingering weight of the tragedy made many reflect on the value of time and the importance of family. Among those pondering such matters was Daveed Diggs, who plays both Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in “Hamilton.” He was one of those cast members who took a Tony home — in his case, for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

In Act I, of “Hamilton,” Diggs brings the thunder, commanding the stage first as Lafayette.  According to the website FiveThirtyEight, which uses statistical analysis — hard numbers — to tell compelling stories about elections, politics, sports, science, economics, etc., he drops the fastest rap in Broadway history, with the song “Guns and Ships” clocking in at a dizzying 19 words in three seconds.  

Then in Act 2, he shakes out his mane of hair, undoing his man-bun and turns into the complex Jefferson, who he paints with big strokes of braggadocio as well as ladening on a dash of entitled-dandy charm. A cool, confident ghost of history and a master adversary to Mirandas Hamilton.  The result is a hyped cabinet rap battle that brings audiences to their feet.

 

For Diggs, becoming a part of “Hamilton” — which marked his Broadway debut — was a stroke of pure “luck.”

 Born and raised in Oakland, California, the son of a white, Jewish mother and an African-American father, Diggs honed his musical skills with the experimental Cali-based hip hop group CLIPPING.

A family focused artist, Diggs shared words of wisdom on the importance of following your dreams. “Its important, and always has been, to my parents that I do something that I love. [I} watched his father report to a job he hated, as bus driver in San Franscico,, [and it] helped frame his heartsambition.” 

Diggs added that the success of “Hamilton” and his Tony win is dedicated to his parents.

Here is what the Tony winner had to say about his father on Tony night. 

[On getting Tony win in contrast to the Orlando tragedy]

In the middle of all this thing, for me, it makes perfect sense in the mist of this performance [that] I get represent my actual self while telling this story, and I think thats why Hamilton is so inclusive. We get to see our actual selves in this story about the founding of the country we all live and participate in. 

[On sharing the news of his win with his family]

I tell me my dad and my grandfather too, I call him [grandfather] on the phone, too, he says some real slick stuff. They are supportive.

Ive always aspired to be my father. I always have, and I am not… We are sort of fundamentally different, in a lot of ways, but I try him on from time to time.  

I made this outfit [that I am wearing]. I feel great in this, because this is some stuff my dad would have worn when he was younger, and he looks so much better than me tonight — its ridiculous.  

And its not just his style, but thats the way that I get to play it. But its really the kind of man he is, and the kind of person he is who exudes the love that he does; and so getting to play a role where I get to take these things that I learned, from just trying to walk around, like my dad walks around — its great!  

[Playing this historical role] of Thomas Jefferson — come on, there is no way that this should be ‘real’ — reading lines written for Thomas Jefferson — [and] I am like, “Yes, thats my father,” except, maybe, thats way too real.

Its been so great. Its been so much fun.  Its one of the great things about this process is how much of ourselves we were asked to bring to it and how much sense it kept making to do that. 

My family is through all of this work and thats great because I am so far away from them, right now. So iIts nice to carry them with me, all of them, its nice to feel that.

BROADWAY & THEATER MINI-REVIEW ~ TONY2016 NOMINEE MUSINGS!

Lapacazo, What Do You Know? I know about the theater Here is a mini review to help you make good theater decisions.

African-Americans and all people of color and diversity, also attend theater and purchase tickets on Broadway for a myriad of shows. We are, God Bless Our Collective Souls, a curious people and capable of indescribable depths of empathy. The lives of quirky, challenged characters, that are the fabric of the very best theater is something — dare I say — we understand instinctively. Toss in good music and we become the backbone of a loyal following that can make or break a project.

Here is a mini review of recent Broadway shows and I am going to use my “Harlem Rating:” four $ signs = great.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (3 Tony nominations) $$$$

This well reviewed revived musical comedy (1964) is powerful and honors the ebullience of the human spirit, as embodied by the lead character, Tevye, living in a Russian shtetl in the early 20th, and played by Danny Burstein, a Broadway veteran and five-time Tony nominee. He’s so good in the role that it made my knees buckle. Choreographer, Hofesh Shechter, nominated for a Tony this year, demonstrated that dance is an essential part of storytelling.

ECLIPSED (6 Tony nominations) $$$$

Danai Gurira wrote this soul searching and unflinching peek into the lives of women, caught in the brutal violence of Liberian civil war. It’s perfect. Under the careful hands of Tony nominated director, Liesl Tommy, a native of South Africa and the first African/African-American woman to be nominated for a Tony Award, demonstrates that as a storyteller, Tommy is born to her profession.

THE COLOR PURPLE (4 Tony nominations) $$$$

Hallelujah, seems the right word to encompass this stripped down version of the musical, based on the novel written by Alice Walker. In a tweet [quote] Lin-Manuel Miranda said that he “went to church” after watching a matinee performance. The heart-pounding gospel-atomic powered musical is making Tony nominated Cynthia Erivo, a new star and giving theater credibility to Danielle Brooks, nominated for a Tony award, under “featured in a musical category.”

ON YOUR FEET! THE STORY OF EMILO and GLORIA ESTEFAN (1 Tony nomination) $$$

The music of the Estefefan empire and the performances of Ana Villafañe (as Ms. Estefan) and Josh Segarra (Emilo) make this a must see. Under Tony nominated choreographer, Sergio Trujillo, the sizzling dance numbers bring audiences to their feet. The strong ensemble of dancers include Luis Salgado who also acts as dance captain for this vibrant production.

At the meet the Tony nominees event this “birdy heard”: :

Renee Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton) : “Hamilton reflects a huge part of our culture, our story, our people and it connects to the truth and they understand.” Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) is nominated for best performance by an actor in a musical for playing two roles—Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson: “Lafayette, has no problem breaking the 4th wall. I come out blowing kisses and waving to the audience. While playing Jefferson that does not happen. He is aware of everything and is just waiting for a moment to connect.“

Brandon Victor Dixon (Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed) highlighted that the original musical, Shuffle Along, which debuted in 1921, was ground breaking: “It was the first musical with a jazz score among other firsts. That includes launching the careers of Josephine Baker, Paul Robeson, and Florence Mills who became the biggest entertainment star — white or black — at the time. There are many milestones that Shuffle Along created that no one really knows anything about, yet.”

Eclipsed producers Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey, the only lead African-American producers on Broadway, the six time nominated play is making history again with the nomination for South African born director, Liesl Tommy: “Liesl Tommy is the first woman of color to be nominated in the category of best direction for a play. There has only been three female Broadway directors—ever—and our company has debuted two of them: Debbie Allen with “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” and now, Tony nominee, Liesl Tommy.”

www.tonyawards.com - June 12th on CBS

The School of American Ballet announces the Workshop Performance Benefit 2015

At the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center on Tuesday, June 2, 2015

The School of American Ballet announces the Workshop Performance Benefit 2015 on Tuesday, June 2, 2015. The evening begins with cocktails at 5:30pm in Juilliard's Morse Hall, followed by the performance at 7pm in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center. A seated dinner at 9pm at the Mandarin Oriental will conclude the evening. 

The Workshop Performance Benefit 2015 is The School of American Ballet's most anticipated event of the year. The annual Workshop Performances are SAB's only public performances and a rare opportunity to get a sneak preview of the ballet world's up and coming young stars. A Benefit Dinner follows the Tuesday evening performance at Lincoln Center, and attracts more than 550 arts patrons, corporate VIPs and New York's social elite. 

The School of American Ballet’s 2014 Workshop Performance Benefit Photos by Erin Baiano

This year's event is headed by Chairmen Michele Barakett, Linda Daines, Hillary Lane Hochberg, Nell Kleinschmidt, and Max R. Shulman; and Young Patron Chairman Stephanie Linka.

This year's benefit will celebrate the legendary Rudolf Nureyev and commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Scholarship. At the peak of his career, Mr. Nureyev spent many hours in the classroom, polishing his technique alongside SAB's students in Stanley Williams's acclaimed advanced men's class. In 1995, the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation generously presented the School with funding for an annual scholarship to support promising students in honor of Mr. Nureyev's affinity for SAB and Mr. Williams's teaching.

In 1964, Alexandra Danilova, George Balanchine's former classmate at the Imperial Ballet and a leading ballerina of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo joined SAB's faculty. In 1965, Madame Danilova established SAB's annual year-end Workshop Performances, giving the School's advanced students an opportunity to participate in professionally staged, publicly performed productions of classic ballet works. Since its inception, the Workshop Performances have seen hundreds of SAB's advanced students make their public debut as they prepare to leave SAB and go on to dance on the world's top stages. The New York Times coined Workshop a "spot-them-before-they-are-stars showcase". Scores of notable SAB alumni have performed at Workshop, including Merrill Ashley, Peter Boal, Maria Kowroski, Lourdes Lopez, Sara Mearns, Benjamin Millepied, Ethan Stiefel, and Wendy Whelan.

Young Patron Chairmen Brynn Putnam and Erica Sheftman

The post-performance dinner has evolved through the years, from an intimate gathering hosted by SAB co-founder Lincoln Kirstein at his Gramercy Park townhouse into a festive fundraiser held in the SAB studios. The continued success of the Workshop Performance Benefit has led to the use of another wonderful New York venue.The post-performance dinner will take place in the magnificentballroom at the Mandarin Oriental with the City's iconic skyline as a backdrop.

The 2015 Workshop Performances program will include 19th & 20th Century Masters (Petipa, Bournonville, Balanchine & Robbins); Harlequinade ("Ballabile des Enfants"), Choreography by George Balanchine, Music by Riccardo Drigo; William Tell (pas de deux), Choreography by August Bournonville, Music by Gioachino Rossini; The Sleeping Beauty (pas de deux), Choreography by Peter Martins (after Marius Petipa), Music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky; Valse-Fantaisie, Choreography by George Balanchine, Music by Mikhail Glinka; Stars and Stripes (3rd Regiment "Thunder and Gladiator"), Choreography by George Balanchine, Music by John Philip Sousa, arranged by Hershy Kay; and Fanfare, Choreography by Jerome Robbins, Music by Benjamin Britten.

The Peter Jay Sharp Theater is located at 155 W. 65th Street (between Amsterdam and Broadway). The Mandarin Oriental is located at 80 Columbus Circle at 60th Street, NYC.

For more information,