DKC/O&M 2022 FALL SEASON CALENDAR OF EVENTS
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2022 FALL PREVIEW
NEW BROADWAY:
DEATH OF A SALESMAN
Directed by Miranda Cromwell
First Preview: Saturday, September 17, 2022
Opening Night: Sunday, October 9, 2022
at the Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
www.salesmanonbroadway.com
Following its critically acclaimed run at London’s Young Vic Theatre and on the West End, this vibrant and timely production will feature Olivier Award nominee Wendell Pierce and Olivier Award winner and 2022 Tony Award® nominee Sharon D Clarke, reprising their roles as Willy and Linda Loman. This reimagining is told – for the first time on Broadway – from the perspective of an African American family, living and working in a White, Capitalist world.
Produced by Cindy Tolan, Elliott & Harper Productions and Kwame Kwei-Armah, Death of a Salesman is directed by Miranda Cromwell, who co-directed the London production alongside Marianne Elliott. Together, they won the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Direction. Death of a Salesman stars Wendell Pierce, Sharon D Clarke, André De Shields, Khris Davis and McKinley Belcher III.
Few works of drama loom as large in the national psyche as Miller’s seminal Death of a Salesman. It caused a critical sensation when it premiered on Broadway in 1949 with a production directed by Elia Kazan. It went on to win six Tony Awards® including Best Play and was also honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. The play has enjoyed four previous Broadway revivals, three of which won the Tony Award® for Best Revival.
– – –
THE PIANO LESSON
Written by August Wilson
Directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson
Previews Begin: Monday, September 19, 2022
at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre
243 West 47th Street
https://pianolessonplay.com/
Producers Brian Anthony Moreland, Sonia Friedman, Tom Kirdahy, Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker announced that August Wilson’s seminal, Pulitzer Prize®-winning drama The Piano Lesson will return to Broadway this season, marking the first Broadway revival in more than 30 years since the play’s Main Stem premiere in 1990. Directed by Tony Award® nominee LaTanya Richardson Jackson, who is making her Broadway directorial debut and will be the first woman to ever direct an August Wilson play on Broadway. This production will star Samuel L. Jackson as Doaker Charles, John David Washington as Boy Willie, and Danielle Brooks as Berniece. The Piano Lesson will begin performances on Monday, September 19, 2022 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Barrymore’s history with Wilson’s legacy stretches back to 1988, when the original production of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (the second play in his American Century Cycle) premiered there to glowing reviews, earning the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play.
August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Piano Lesson is the fourth play in the American Century Cycle, which premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1987, starring a then-39-year-old Samuel L. Jackson as Boy Willie. Three years later, a new production, starring Carl Gordon, Charles S. Dutton and S. Epatha Merkerson, opened at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, and soon transferred to Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre. In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize for drama, The Piano Lesson won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, the Peabody Award and was nominated for the 1990 Tony Award for Best Play.
The Piano Lesson is set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District in 1936. A brother and sister are locked in a war over the fate of a family heirloom: a piano carved with the faces of their ancestors. Only by revisiting history can the siblings endeavor to move forward. The Piano Lesson, wrote Frank Rich in The New York Times, “has its own spacious poetry, its own sharp angle on a nation’s history, its own metaphorical idea of drama and its own palpable ghosts that roar right through the upstairs window of the household where the action unfolds. Like other Wilson plays, The Piano Lesson seems to sing even when it is talking.”
The design team for The Piano Lesson includes Tony Award winner Beowolf Boritt (Set Design), Tny Award nominee Toni-Leslie James (Costume Design), Tony Award nominee Japhy Weideman (Lighting Design), Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer (Sound Design), Drama Desk Award nominee Cookie Jordan (Wig Design), Tony Award nominee Jeff Sugg (Projection Design), and Tony Award winner Jason Michael Webb (Music & Music Direction). Casting is by Calleri, Jensen, Davis. General Management is by Foresight Theatrical.
– – –
ALMOST FAMOUS
Book and lyrics by Academy Award® and Grammy Award® winner Cameron Crowe
Music and lyrics by Tony, Grammy, Emmy and Pulitzer Prize Award® winner Tom Kitt
Directed by Tony and Olivier Award® nominee Jeremy Herrin
Choreography by Sarah O’Gleby
First Preview: Monday, October 3, 2022
Opening Night: Thursday, November 3, 2022
at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 W 45th St.
Photos HERE
www.almostfamousthemusical.com/
The production will star Chris Wood, Tony Award® nominee Anika Larsen, Solea Pfeiffer, Drew Gehling, Rob Colletti, and introducing Casey Likes. The company will also include Matt Bittner, Chad Burris, Gerard Canonico, Julia Cassandra, Brandon Contreras, Jakeim Hart, Van Hughes, Jana Djenne Jackson, Katie Ladner, Danny Lindgren, Erica Mansfield, Alisa Melendez, Emily Schultheis, Daniel Sovich, Libby Winters, and Matthew C. Yee.
The design team for Almost Famous will include two-time Tony Award® and Emmy Award® winner Derek McLane (scenic design), two-time Tony Award® winner David Zinn (costume design), seven-time Tony Award® winner Natasha Katz (lighting design), Tony Award® winner Peter Hylenski (sound design), Tom Kitt (orchestrations & arrangements), Bryan Perri (music direction), AnnMarie Milazzo (vocal design), Luc Verschueren (hair, wig, and makeup designer), Lorenzo Pisoni (physical movement coordinator), Jim Carnahan (casting director), Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Jillian Robbins, Devin Keudell (executive producers), and Bespoke Theatricals (general management).
Sony Masterworks Broadway will release the Original Broadway Cast Album of Almost Famous this fall. Listen to the first track “Everybody’s Coming Together” HERE and stay tuned for further song releases in the coming months. An accompanying video created by Cameron Crowe can be found HERE
The year is 1973 and it’s all happening. Led Zeppelin is king, Richard Nixon is President, and idealistic 15-year-old William Miller is an aspiring music journalist. When Rolling Stone magazine hires him to go on the road with an up-and-coming band, William is thrust into the rock-and-roll circus, where his love of music, his longing for friendship, and his integrity as a writer collide. Almost Famous is about a young man finding his place in the world and the indelible characters he meets along the way. It’s a celebration of community, family, fandom and the power of music.
When Almost Famous had its world premiere in Crowe’s hometown of San Diego at The Old Globe where it set the record for the highest-grossing show in the theater’s 90-year history, Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times called the production, “A shimmering and mesmerizing musical that is destined to conquer Broadway. Cameron Crowe’s coming-of-age rock tale burns bright as Jeremy Herrin balances the thrill of performing in a rock band with the backstage rivalries and romances. Tom Kitt’s score, gorgeously sung by the top-notch cast, weaves an entrancing tapestry of sound that floats on a cloud of groovy rock.”
– – –
KPOP
Book by Jason Kim
Music Production by Helen Park
Music and Lyrics by Max Vernon
Direction by Teddy Bergman
Choreography by Jennifer Weber
Music Direction by Sujin Kim-Ramsey
First Preview: Thursday, October 13, 2022
Opening Night: Sunday, November 20, 2022
at the Circle in the Square Theatre
235 West 50th Street
www.kpopbroadway.com/
The worldwide phenomenon of K-pop now comes to Broadway in an original musical starring South Korea’s K-pop and theatre star Luna making her Broadway debut.
KPOP was conceived by Woodshed Collective and Jason Kim and features a book by Mr. Kim; music, lyrics, and music production by Helen Park; and music and lyrics by Max Vernon. Direction is by Teddy Bergman with choreography by Jennifer Weber and Music Direction by Sujin Kim-Ramsey. Scenic Design is by Gabriel Hainer Evansohn, Costume Design is by Clint Ramos & Sophia Choi, Lighting Design is by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Sound Design is by Peter Hylenski, Projection Design is by Peter Nigrini, Hair & Wig Design is by Mia M. Neal, and Makeup Design is by Joe Dulude II.
KPOP is the story of global superstars putting everything on the line for a special one-night only concert, when one singer’s inner struggle threatens to dismantle one of the biggest labels in the industry. Pulsing with infectious beats, electrifying choreography, and breathtaking joy, KPOP is an all-consuming multimedia experience that explores the relentless discipline, raw talent, and commercial ambition behind the heart-thumping international phenomenon.
– – –
AIN’T NO MO’
Produced by Academy Award® nominee Lee Daniels and Brian Anthony Moreland
Book by Jordan E. Cooper
Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb
First Preview: Thursday, November 3, 2022
Opening Night: Thursday, December 1, 2022
at the Belasco Theatre
111 W. 44th St.
Photos HERE
www.AintNoMoBway.com
Having premiered to critical acclaim at The Public Theater, Ain’t No Mo’ dares to ask the incendiary question, “What if the U.S. government offered Black Americans one-way plane tickets to Africa?” The answer is the high-octane comedy about being Black in today’s America from the mischievous mind of playwright Jordan E. Cooper (“The Ms. Pat Show”). Seamlessly blending sketch comedy, satire and avant garde theater, Ain’t No Mo’ will leave you crying with laughter—and thinking through the tears.
The New York Times heralded Cooper as one of “a generation of Black playwrights whose fiercely political and formally inventive works are challenging audiences, critics, and the culture at large to think about race, and racism, in new ways.”
The creative team includes director Stevie Walker-Webb making his Broadway debut, and the design team is three-time Tony Award® winner Scott Pask (scenic design), two-time Tony-nominated Emilio Sosa (costume design) and Adam Honoré (lighting design). Wagner Johnson Productions serve as General Management.
– – –
A BEAUTIFUL NOISE, THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL
Book by Anthony McCarten
Directed by Michael Mayer
Music and Lyrics by Neil Diamond
Choreography by Steven Hoggett
First Preview: Wednesday, November 2, 2022
Opening Night: Sunday, December 4, 2022
at the Broadhurst Theatre
235 W. 44th Street
https://abeautifulnoisethemusical.com/
With his first break into songwriting in the 1960s and his meteoric rise in the 1970s, and plenty of crushing disappointments and heart-stopping triumphs along the way, Neil Diamond has maintained an almost unthinkable level of superstardom for five straight decades. How did a poor Jewish kid from Brooklyn become one of the most universally adored showmen of all time? There’s only one way to tell it: a musical set to his era-defining smash hits that entranced the world.
NEW OFF BROADWAY:
SESAME STREET THE MUSICAL
First Preview: Thursday, September 8, 2022
Opening Night: Monday, September 19, 2022
at Theatre Row Theatre
410 West 42nd St
www.sesamestreetmusical.com
Sesame Street is moving to 42nd Street and for the very first time Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover, Abby, Rosita, Ernie, Bert, The Count, Gabrielle, and a whole host of honkers, Martians and other Sesame Street favorites will venture onto the boards to appear in their very own musical. Special guest stars from Broadway and beyond will join the gang and the show will feature Sesame Street’s classic songs plus new numbers created especially for this production by Broadway’s top composers Tom Kitt, Helen Park along with Nate Edmondson. Your friends, the puppets are all created by the Jim Henson Workshop and the show is written, directed, and produced by Jonathan Rockefeller.
ONGOING BROADWAY:
DEAR EVAN HANSEN
Book by Steven Levenson
Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Directed by Michael Greif
Choreographed by: Danny Mefford
Closing Date: Sunday, September 18, 2022
at the Music Box Theatre
239 West 45th Street
www.DearEvanHansen.com
The winner of six 2017 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, Dear Evan Hansen features a book by Tony Award winner Steven Levenson, a score by Academy Award® and Tony & Grammy Award®-winning composers Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, and direction by 4-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif. The Grammy Award- winning Original Broadway Cast Recording was produced by Atlantic Records, was released in February 2017, making an extraordinary debut on the Billboard 200 and entering the chart at #8 – the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961 — and went on to win the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Dear Evan Hansen began performances on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street) on November 14, 2016 and opened to rave reviews on Sunday, December 4, 2016.
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in. Both deeply personal and profoundly contemporary, Dear Evan Hansen is a new American musical about life and the way we live it.
Dear Evan Hansen features scenic design by Emmy® winner & Tony nominee David Korins, projection design by Peter Nigrini, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Tony nominee Japhy Weideman, and sound design by Nevin Steinberg. Danny Mefford is the choreographer.
In addition to winning six Tony awards, Dear Evan Hansen has won numerous other major awards, including the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Musical, 2017 Drama League Award for Outstanding Musical Production and for the off-Broadway production, two Obie Awards®, a Drama Desk Award, and two Outer Critics Circle Awards and two Helen Hayes Awards. Dear Evan Hansen is also the winner of the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards three years running, and was proclaimed the Best Long- Running Show and the Best Touring Production in the 2019 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards.
– – –
HADESTOWN
Book, Music and Lyrics by Anaïs Mitchell
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
at the Walter Kerr Theatre
219 West 48th Street
www.hadestown.com
Hadestown, the acclaimed new musical is the winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Written by celebrated singer-songwriter and Tony Award® winner Anaïs Mitchell and developed with innovative director and Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin, the show is already the highest-grossing musical in the history of the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street).
The show originated as Mitchell’s indie theater project that toured Vermont which she then turned into an acclaimed album. With Chavkin, her artistic collaborator, Hadestown has been transformed into a genre-defying new musical that blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine a sweeping ancient tale.
Following two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — Hadestown invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers, and singers, Hadestown delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience.
The creative team for Broadway features Tony Award winner Rachel Hauck (set design); four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Krass (costume design); two-time Tony Award winner Bradley King (lighting design); Tony Award winners Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (sound design); Chita Rivera Award® winner and Obie Award® winner David Neumann (choreography); Liam Robinson (music direction and vocal arrangements); Tony Award winners Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose (arrangements and orchestrations); Ken Cerniglia (dramaturgy); and Stewart/Whitley (casting).
Hadestown marks the first time in over a decade that a woman has been the solo author of a musical: writing the music, lyrics, and book, and is the fourth time in Broadway history a woman has accomplished this creative feat. It also marks the first time in Broadway history that a show’s female composer and female director both won Tony Awards for their work.
Hadestown electrified audiences with its 2016 world premiere at New York Theatre Workshop, which is the longest-running show in that celebrated theater’s 40-year history. The production then received its Canadian premiere at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre in 2017 and then a 2018 sold-out engagement at the London’s National Theatre prior to Broadway. Hadestown was developed with funding from the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center and was further developed by The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Hadestown was co-conceived by Ben t. Matchstick.
Hadestown is produced by Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold, and Tom Kirdahy.
– – –
INTO THE WOODS
Written by James Lapine
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Directed by Lear deBessonet
at the St. James Theatre
246 West 44th Street
IntoTheWoodsBway.com
The hugely acclaimed and much beloved New York City Center Encores! production of James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s revival of Into the Woods at the St. James Theatre, has been extended for an additional eight weeks through October 16th. The entire original Broadway cast will extend through September 4th.
Into the Woods, the first Broadway show of the 2022/2023 season, is directed by Lear deBessonet (in her Broadway debut), music direction by Rob Berman with The Encores! Orchestra, and choreography by Lorin Latarro. Into the Woods is dedicated to the memory of Stephen Sondheim.
Additional casting announcements will be made soon.
The Into the Woods creative team includes Tony Award winner David Rockwell (Scenic Design), Andrea Hood (Costume Design), Tyler Micoleau (Lighting Design), Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer & Alex Neumann (Co-Sound Designers), James Ortiz (Puppet Design), and Cookie Jordan (Hair, Wigs & Makeup Design). Casting is by Telsey & Co. with Production Supervision by Cody Renard Richard.
Into the Woods first premiered on Broadway in 1987, winning three Tony Awards including Best Score and Best Book. It has since been produced throughout the world and was adapted into a major motion picture in 2014. This production marks its first time on Broadway in 20 years.
Into the Woods is produced by Jujamcyn Theaters; Jordan Roth; New York City Center; Daryl Roth; Hunter Arnold; Concord Theatricals; Nicole Eisenberg; Jessica R. Jenen; Michael Cassel Group; Kevin Ryan; ShowTown Productions; Armstrong, Gold & Ross; Nicole Kastrinos, Executive Producer.
– – –
THE MUSIC MAN
Written by Meredith Willson
Directed by Jerry Zaks
at the Winter Garden Theatre
1634 Broadway
www.MusicManonBroadway.com
The smash-hit revival of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man stars Tony Award, Grammy Award, and Emmy Award-winning star Hugh Jackman as Professor Harold Hill and two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster as Marion Paroo. The production, directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks, with choreography by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle, also stars Tony Award winner Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shinn, Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn, Tony Award winner Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo, and Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley as Marcellus Washburn.
One of the most universally cherished treasures of the American musical theater, The Music Man was an instant smash hit when it premiered on Broadway on December 19, 1957. It went on to win five Tony Awards, including the prize for Best Musical, and ran for 1,375 performances. The original cast album held the number one position on the Billboard charts and stayed on the album charts for 245 weeks. The recording won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Album. The Smithsonian Institution ranks The Music Man as one of the “great glories of American popular culture.”
The Music Man creative team includes four-time Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto (Scenic & Costume Design), five-time Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt (Lighting Design), Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer (Sound Design), Luc Verschueren for Campbell Young and Associates (Hair, Wigs, & Makeup Design), Tony Award winner Jonathan Tunick (Orchestrations), David Chase (Vocal and Dance Arrangements), and Patrick Vaccariello (Musical Director).
– – –
MJ
Direction and Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon
Book by Lynn Nottage
at the Neil Simon Theatre
250 West 52nd Street
MJTheMusical.com
MJ, the most Tony-winning new musical of the year, starring Tony Award winner Myles Frost as Michael Jackson, is the electrifying Broadway musical that takes audiences inside the creative process of one of the greatest entertainers in history. Featuring more than 25 of Michael Jackson’s biggest hits, MJ allows us to rediscover the man in the mirror – with an explosion of music and theatricality as unforgettable as the artist himself.
The astounding cast including Quentin Earl Darrington (Joseph Jackson / Rob), Whitney Bashor (Rachel), Gabriel Ruîz (Alejandro), Christian Wilson/Corey J (Little Michael), Tavon Olds-Sample (Michael), Walter Russell III (Little Marlon), Antione L. Smith (Berry Gordy / Nick), Joey Sorge (Dave), Raymond Baynard (Randy Jackson), John Edwards (Jackie Jackson), Ayana George (Katherine Jackson), Apollo Levine (Quincy Jones / Tito Jackson), Lamont Walker II (Jermaine Jackson), Zelig Williams (Marlon Jackson), and Kali May Grinder, Wonza Johnson, Oyoyo Joi, Carole Denise Jones, Carina-Kay Louchiey, Renni Anthony Magee, Michelle Mercedes, Ramone Nelson, Aramie Payton, Kyle Robinson, Sarah Sigman, Kamille Upshaw, Ryan VanDenBoom, and Darius Wright rounding out the ensemble.
MJ features a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize® winner Lynn Nottage and a score made up of some of the best-loved, top-selling songs in recording history. Two-time Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon directs and choreographs. The production features scenic design by Tony Award winner Derek McLane, lighting design by Tony Award winner Natasha Katz, costume design by Tony Award winner Paul Tazewell, sound design by Olivier Award winner Gareth Owen, projection design by Peter Nigrini, hair & wig design by Charles Lapointe, musical supervision / orchestration / arrangements by David Holcenberg, and musical direction / orchestrations / arrangements by Jason Michael Webb.
ONGOING OFF-BROADWAY:
Immersive Theater
SLEEP NO MORE
at The McKittrick Hotel
530 West 27th Street
www.McKittrickHotel.com/Sleep-No-More
Presented by Emursive, Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More is an award-winning theatrical experience that tells Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Macbeth through a darkly cinematic lens. Audiences move freely through the epic world of the story at their own pace, choosing where to go and what to see, ensuring that everyone’s journey is different and unique.
The story unfolds through an awe-inspiring blend of acrobatic choreography, film noir soundtrack, and 100 rooms of densely detailed atmosphere sprawling over 100,000 square feet of space. The elements intertwine for a subversive and intoxicating 360-degree sensory immersion. During their stay, guests may also enjoy live music with cocktails, wine & spirits in the revelrous Manderley Bar.
Sleep No More’s creative team features Felix Barrett (Direction and Design), Maxine Doyle (Direction and Choreography), Stephen Dobbie (Sound Design), Beatrice Minns (Design Associate), and Livi Vaughan (Design Associate).
Sleep No More is produced by Emursive (Jonathan Hochwald, Arthur Karpati, and Randy Weiner, principals) in association with rebeccagoldproductions. Emursive produces immersive theater in extraordinary places.
DANCE:
DANA TAI SOON BURGESS DANCE COMPANY
https://dtsbdc.org/
Currently celebrating its 30th season, Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dane Company (DTSBDC), based in Washington, DC, creates and performs modern dance works that explore the idea of cultural and artistic confluence-the flowing together of diverse perspectives, histories and traditions that result in shared audience understanding.
DTSBDC is a leader in the national movement to collaborate with and perform at visual arts museums. DTSBDC is a culturally diverse company that performs dances that uplift, inspire, and bring new insights to seasoned dance lovers and new audiences alike in the Nation’s Capital and around the U.S., and the world. In 2015, the Company was named the Smithsonian Institution’s first-ever resident dance company. Based at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, DTSBDC creates new works inspired by social issues and cutting-edge exhibitions, open rehearsals, and performances. The Company also performs at the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, the Asia Society and at the White House at the invitation of President Barack Obama. Headed by Dana Tai Soon Burgess, a leading Korean American choreographer, dancer, and cultural figure who is known worldwide as the “Diplomat of Dance” Mr. Burgess, also a leader in the LGBTQ Community authored “Chino and the Dance of the Butterfly: A Memoir” which will be released by University of New Mexico Press in September. Burgess has been described by Washington Post dance critic Sarah Kaufman as “not only a Washington prize, but a national dance treasure.”
SPECIAL EVENTS:
SUGAR HILL The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker
Directed by Joshua Bergasse
Choreography by Jade Hale-Christofi, including Graciela Daniele, Carmen de Lavallade, Caleb Teicher, and Jon Boogz
Orchestrations and Arrangements are by John Clayton and Larry Blank.
Music direction is by Rob Cookman
Will debut at Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center for the Performing Arts from October 19-30, 2022
Followed by New York City Center (131 W 55th St.) from November 15-27, 2022
Photos HERE
The World Premiere of SUGAR HILL The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker, the jazz-steeped reimagining of The Nutcracker based on the genre-defying collaboration of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, The production will follow with a run at SUGAR HILL is set to the timeless music of Ellington and Strayhorn and features a libretto and concept by Jessica Swan.
A jazz-steeped retelling of the classic holiday story, Sugar Hill: The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker celebrates the music and magic of the jazz heartbeat of Harlem in Sugar Hill. A tribute to the joy of collaboration, the beauty of diversity, and the power of individuality.
In a shared statement, A. Alyce Claerbaut, Sugar Hill Executive Producer and niece of Billy Strayhorn, along with Mercedes Ellington, director, choreographer, producer, and familial historian, as well as granddaughter of Duke Ellington, said, “Consummate master of self-expression Duke Ellington and classically-trained, jazz genius Billy Strayhorn, took something wholly European, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, and transformed it into a story that symbolizes the American ideal — the freedom of individualism — by marrying it to jazz. There is no finer visual representation of this than through dance.”
The SUGAR HILL creative team includes Julian Crouch (Scenic Designer), Linda Cho (Costume Design), David Finn (Lighting Design), Austin Switser and Switser + Knight (Projection Design) and John Shivers (Sound Design).
Produced by Hello Entertainment, Willette Klausner, Dale Mott, Rob Quadrino, Brass Bull productions, Billy Strayhorn Songs, Inc. and Schirmer Theatrical. Executive Producers Randall A. Buck, A. Alyce Claerbaut, and Robert Thompson. Brierpatch Productions serve as General Management.
– – –
ONLY AN OCTAVE APART
Written by Justin Vivian Bond and Anthony Roth Costanzo
Directed and co-created by Zack Winokur
Previews Begin: Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Opening Date: Friday, September 30, 2022
at Wilton’s Music Hall
1 Graces Alley
Shadwell
London
E1 8JB
https://wiltons.org.uk/whatson/753-Only-an-Octave-Apart
Justin Vivian Bond and Anthony Roth Costanzo’s critically-acclaimed Only An Octave Apart, a theatrically musical evening coalescing wildly divergent genres and voices, is crossing the pond this Fall for a month-long premiere London engagement at Wilton’s Music Hall. Co-created and directed by Zack Winokur, Only An Octave Apart will have music supervision by Thomas Bartlett, arrangements by Nico Muhly, and costume design by Jonathan Anderson for Loewe.
Hot on the heels of a sensational premiere engagement in New York City last year, ‘the greatest cabaret artist of their generation’ (The New Yorker) and ‘the vocally brilliant and dramatically fearless countertenor’ (The New York Times) are bringing their wildly acclaimed show to London. Only An Octave Apart is Justin Vivian Bond and Anthony Roth Costanzo’s joyous and surprising musical fantasia, reveling in everything strange and beautiful in the coexistence of contrasts – from Purcell’s 17th century aria “Dido’s Lament” to Dido’s early 2000s hit “White Flag”, from “Autumn Leaves” to “The Waters of March”. Co-created and directed by Winokur, Only an Octave Apart celebrates the historical and the hysterical, from countertenor to counterculture.
These concerts are created with a dream team of collaborators including musical director Daniel Schlosberg, set designer Carlos Soto (Solange, Robert Wilson, Lucinda Childs) and lighting designer John Torres (Taylor Mac, Robert Wilson, Hamlet directed by Yaël Farber).
This engagement of Only An Octave Apart is presented by Kindred Partners and Creative Partners Productions, in association with Justin Vivian Bond, Anthony Roth Constanzo and Zack Winokur.
– – –
THE QUEEN’S SIX
Photos HERE
Direct from Windsor Castle, The Queen’s Six, the internationally acclaimed vocal sextet, will travel to America for their first-ever major New York City concert debut at the iconic Town Hall for an exclusive two-night-only engagement rescheduled to Tuesday, February 14 and Wednesday, February 15, 2023.
Tickets to The Queen’s Six Town Hall Concert on February 14 available HERE.
Tickets to The Queen’s Six Town Hall Concert on February 15 available HERE.
Based at Windsor Castle, members of The Queen’s Six make up part of the Lay Clerks of St. George’s Chapel, whose homes lie within the Castle walls. The Chapel Choir, which consists of boy trebles and twelve professional adult singers, performs some eight services a week, as well as at private and state occasions, often before the Royal Family. In 2018, their duties with the Chapel Choir included singing for the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. And in 2021, three members of the group’s voices were raised at the funeral for His Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh.
Their repertoire extends far beyond the reach of the choir stalls: from austere early chant, florid Renaissance polyphony, lewd madrigals, and haunting folk songs, to upbeat jazz and pop arrangements.
The Queen’s Six has performed at numerous prestigious festivals and venues, including the Bermuda Festival, Bayreuth’s Margravial Opera House and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. Upcoming tours include return visits to Germany, the Baltic States and Poland where they performed sold out concerts, and first visits to Denmark and Bulgaria.
For their New York concerts, The Queen’s Six will perform selections from their first contemporary album of love songs, From Windsor with Love, which was released on February 11, 2022, in addition to their acclaimed classical repertoire.
– – –
CATAPULT OPERA
https://www.catapultopera.org/
Founded by Neal Goren, Catapult Opera is a new company working to launch the future of opera. One of their main initiatives is providing grants to singer-songwriters outside the classical realm to create short works at the intersection of their genre and opera. The goal of the program is to actively promote a robust, sustainable future for opera by initiating projects that redefine the art form and broaden the audience.
Catapult Opera’s vision and mission is to actively promote a robust, sustainable future for opera by creating and producing both new and underappreciated operas in order to build new audiences while engaging and retaining existing audiences. Catapult Opera innovates to accomplish this goal by providing grants to singer-songwriters outside the classical realm to create short works at the intersection of their genre and opera. One goal of this program is to build a repository of innovative recorded material to which each grantee contributes by allowing access on the Catapult website.
Catapult began by testing the waters with an established opera composer and librettist: composer Nico Muhly and librettist Greg Pierce who created an opera entitled The Glitch, premiered online in February, 2022. The opera was widely celebrated as an example of what is possible when a work is designed for internet viewing, rather than merely captured for it. A more recent Catapult grant has produced a work by singer-songwriter Celisse which will premiere online this summer. Celisse’s extraordinary operatic composition is an outpouring of three women’s emotional responses to the COVID pandemic and its effects on their lives. Other productions in the pipeline are from the legendary performance artist Laurie Anderson and from celebrated punk rock and hard core singer-songwriter Tamar-Kali, who is also an inaugural IDEA Opera Resident Artist with Opera America.
Catapult Opera also promotes the development and acceptance of recorded operatic performance by holding competitions for short, filmed pieces that deliver a visual component as rich, immediate, and compelling as their musical language. To this end, in autumn 2020, we held a team-based competition to produce video performances of specific opera scenes chosen by Catapult. The resulting content was judged by a panel of international opera visionaries and posted on the Internet for open adjudication. The competition offered recognition for innovation as well as monetary prizes. Our intention is to continue this competition in future years to prod the development of visually satisfying opera videos.
BOOK:
CARL MOELLENBERG
Carl Moellenberg’s Story: Broadway and Spirituality as a Path to Survival
Release Date: October 1, 2022
Available now for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others
Photo HERE
www.carlmoellenberg.com/memoir
Carl Moellenberg is a 13-time Tony Award-winning Producer for some of Broadway’s most successful shows: Spring Awakening, War Horse, Hair, Death of a Salesman, Pippin, All the Way, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Dear Evan Hansen, Angels in America, The Band’s Visit, Oklahoma, Hadestown and Company.
Throughout his career, he has produced or invested in over 110 theater productions. He is also the Chairman of Dominion Pictures.
Carl Moellenberg’s story is one of overcoming enormous obstacles and changing course to find his passion and his true self to live joyously as a long-term survivor. It is a journey of many transformations: from Midwestern boy most interested in music to a fast-paced Wall Street career; to a 13-time Tony Award-winner on Broadway; from overcoming several death-defying crises by finding healing, inspiration from a higher-being and deeper spirituality. Carl hopes his story will inspire others who face seemingly overwhelming obstacles to find their passion, reason to live, and to find love.
Moellenberg grew up in Ohio and then transitioned to the world of NYC financial institutions for 19 years. A combination of passion for music and serious health issues caused him to jettison that life for producing theater on Broadway. Since that most joyful life-changing decision, he now has produced over 70 shows and won 13 Tony awards. His incredible path was accomplished despite multiple threats to his survival which were warded off by his newfound healing practices, spirituality, and love.
ON TOUR:
AIN’T TOO PROUD – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS
Book by Dominique Morisseau
Music and Lyrics from The Legendary Motown Catalogue
Based on the book entitled “The Temptations” by Otis Williams with Patricia Romanowski
Directed by Des McAnuff
Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo
www.ainttooproudmusical.com/#tickets
Greenville, SC: August 2 – August 7, 2022
Detroit, MI: August 9 – August 28, 2022
Dallas, TX: September 6 – September 18, 2022
St Louis, MO: September 20 – October 2, 2022
Chattanooga, TN: October 4 – October 9, 2022
San Antonio, TX: October 11 – October 16, 2022
Omaha, NE: October 18 – October 23, 2022
Denver, CO: October 25 – November 6, 2022
San Francisco, CA: November 9 – December 4, 2022
Los Angeles, CA: December 12, 2022 – January 1, 2023
San Diego, CA: January 3 – January 8, 2023
Salt Lake City, UT: January 10 – January 15, 2023
Spokane, WA: January 17 – January 22, 2023
Seattle, WA: January 24 – February 5, 2023
Portland, OR: February 7 – February 12, 2023
Reno, NV: February 14 – February 19, 2023
Memphis, TN: March 7 – March 12, 2023
Greensboro, NC: March 14 – March 19, 2023
Nashville, TN: March 21 – March 26, 2023
Austin, TX: March 28 – April 2, 2023
Tulsa, OK: April 4 – April 9, 2023
Louisville, KY: April 11 – April 16, 2023
Columbus, OH: April 18 – April 23, 2023
West Palm Beach, FL: April 25 – April 30, 2023
Tampa, FL: May 2 – May 7, 2023
Miami, FL: May 9 – May 14, 2023
Schenectady, NY: May 23 – May 28, 2023
Hartford, CT: May 30 – June 4, 2023
Indianapolis, IN: June 6 – June 11, 2023
Dayton, OH: June 13 – June 18, 2023
Appleton, WI: June 20 – June 25, 2023
Des Moines, IA: June 27 – July 2, 2023
Richmond, VA: July 11 – July 16, 2023
Knoxville, TN: July 18 – July 23, 2023
Charlotte, NC: July 25 – July 30, 2023
Huntsville, AL: August 1 – August 6, 2023
Houston, TX: August 8 – August 13, 2023
Ottawa, ON: August 22 – August 27, 2023
– – –
DEAR EVAN HANSEN
Book by Steven Levenson
Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Directed by Michael Greif
Choreographed by Danny Mefford
www.DearEvanHansen.com/tour
Ottawa, ON: August 9 – August 14, 2022
Philadelphia, PA: August 16 – August 28, 2022
Washington, DC: August 30 – September 25, 2022
Detroit, MI: September 27 – October 9, 2022
Greenville, SC: October 11 – October 16, 2022
Richmond, VA: October 18 – October 23, 2022
Charlotte, NC: October 25 – October 30, 2022
Norfolk, VA: November 8 – November 13, 2022
Knoxville, TN: November 15 – November 20, 2022
North Charleston, SC: November 22 – November 27, 2022
Memphis, TN: November 29 – December 4, 2022
Chicago, IL: December 6 – December 31, 2022
Reno, NV: January 17 – January 22, 2023
San Francisco, CA: January 24 – February 19, 2023
Tucson, AZ: February 21 – February 26, 2023
Salt Lake City, UT: February 28 – March 5, 2023
Seattle, WA: March 7 – March 12, 2023
Spokane, WA: March 14 – March 19, 2023
Albuquerque, NM: March 22 – March 26, 2023
Lubbock, TX: April 4 – April 9, 2023
Wichita, KS: April 11 – April 16, 2023
Sioux Falls, SD: April 18 – April 23, 2023
South Bend, IN: April 25 – April 30, 2023
Pittsburgh, PA: May 2 – May 7, 2023
Syracuse, NY: May 9 – May 14, 2023
Cleveland, OH: May 16 – May 21, 2023
Chattanooga, TN: May 23 – May 28, 2023
Peoria, IL: May 30 – June 4, 2023
Des Moines, IA: June 6 – June 11, 2023
Toledo, OH: June 13 – June 18, 2023
Buffalo, NY: June 20 – June 25, 2023
Columbia, SC: June 28 – July 2, 2023
– – –
HADESTOWN
Book, Music and Lyrics by Anaïs Mitchell
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
www.hadestown.com
Salt Lake City, UT: August 2 – August 7, 2022
Costa Mesa, CA: August 9 – August 21, 2022
Las Vegas, NV: August 23 – August 28, 2022
Denver, CO: August 30 – September 11, 2022
San Antonio, TX: September 13 – September 18, 2022
Austin, TX: September 20 – September 25, 2022
Tulsa, OK: September 27 – October 2, 2022
Houston, TX: October 4 – October 9, 2022
St Louis, MO: October 11 – October 23, 2022
Oklahoma City, OK: October 25 – October 30, 2022
Nashville, TN: November 1 – November 6, 2022
Charlotte, NC: November 8 – November 13, 2022
Pittsburgh, PA: November 15 – November 20, 2022
Tampa, FL: November 29, 2022 – December 4, 2022
Miami, FL: December 6 – December 11, 2022
Orlando, FL: December 13 – December 18, 2022
Naples, FL: December 27, 2022 – January 1, 2023
West Palm Beach, FL: January 3 – January 8, 2023
Atlanta, GA: January 10 – January 15, 2023
Kansas City, MO: January 17 – January 22, 2023
Madison, WI: January 24 – January 29, 2023
Cleveland, OH: January 31 – February 19, 2023
Buffalo, NY: February 21 – February 26, 2023
Schenectady, NY: February 28 – March 5, 2023
Hartford, CT: March 7 – March 12, 2023
Rochester, NY: March 14 – March 19, 2023
Providence, RI: March 21 – March 26, 2023
Worcester, MA: March 28 – April 2, 2023
Hershey, PA: April 4 – April 9, 2023
Baltimore, MD: April 11 – April 16, 2023
Cincinnati, OH: April 18 – April 30, 2023
Milwaukee, WI: May 2 – May 7, 2023
Grand Rapids, MI: May 9 – May 14, 2023
Louisville, KY: May 16 – May 21, 2023
Fayetteville, AR: May 23 – May 28, 2023
Richmond, VA: May 31 – June 4, 2023
Washington, DC: June 6 – June 11, 2023
Fort Worth, TX: June 27 – July 2, 2023
Toronto, ON: July – August 2023
– – –
MJ
Chicago, IL: August 1 – September 2, 2023
Charlotte, NC: September 2023
– – –
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Philadelphia, PA: July 12 – July 24, 2022
Charlotte, NC: July 26 – July 31, 2022
Durham, NC: August 2 – August 7, 2022
Nashville, TN: August 9 – August 14, 2022
Memphis, TN: August 16 – August 21, 2022
Des Moines, IA: August 23 – August 28, 2022
Salt Lake City, UT: September 6 – September 11, 2022
San Francisco, CA: September 13 – October 9, 2022
Seattle, WA: October 11 – October 16, 2022
Portland, OR: October 18 – October 23, 2022
Los Angeles, CA: October 25 – November 27, 2022
San Diego, CA: November 29 – December 4, 2022
Tempe, AZ: December 6 – December 11, 2022
Albuquerque, NM: December 13 – December 18, 2022
Costa Mesa, CA: December 27, 2022 – January 8, 2023
Las Vegas, NV: January 10 – January 15, 2023
Tucson, AZ: January 17 – January 22, 2023
Denver, CO: January 24 – February 5, 2023
Omaha, NE: February 7 – February 12, 2023
Minneapolis, MN: February 14 – February 19, 2023
Appleton, WI: February 21 – February 26, 2023
St Louis, MO: February 28 – March 12, 2023
Baltimore, MD: March 14 – March 19, 2023
Orlando, FL: March 21 – March 26, 2023
Fort Lauderdale, FL: March 28 – April 9, 2023
Tampa, FL: April 11 – April 16, 2023
Greenville, SC: April 18 – April 23, 2023
Houston, TX: April 25 – April 30, 2023
San Antonio, TX: May 2 – May 7, 2023
Austin, TX: May 9 – May 14, 2023
Dallas, TX: May 16 – May 28, 2023
New Orleans, LA: May 30 – June 4, 2023
Columbus, OH: June 6 – June 11, 2023
Rochester, NY: June 13 – June 18, 2023
Louisville, KY: June 20 – June 25, 2023
Hartford, CT: June 27 – July 2, 2023
NIGHTLIFE:
THE MCKITTRICK HOTEL
530 West 27th Street
https://mckittrickhotel.com/
The McKittrick Hotel (@TheMcKittrick) is home of immersive theater spectacle Sleep No More (@sleepnomorenyc), dazzling Speakeasy Magick, and intimate live events in Manderley Bar and The Club Car. Guests are also welcome to the hotel’s rooftop garden bar and restaurant, Gallow Green (@gallowgreen).
The McKittrick Hotel provides a unique location for celebrations and private gatherings of all sizes. The legendary venue is also renowned for presenting one-of-a-kind live concerts, intimate music festivals, and spectacular soirées for Halloween and New Year’s Eve.
Located in close proximity to Hudson Yards, Little Island, The High Line, West Chelsea art galleries, and The Meatpacking District, The McKittrick is a not-to-be-missed destination for locals and visitors alike.
For additional information, visit www.mckittrickhotel.com.- – –
SPEAKEASY MAGICK
Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 pm
at The McKittrick Hotel
530 West 27th Street
https://mckittrickhotel.com/the-club-car/magick/
Speakeasy Magick summons guests to the underground world of close-up magic as a star-studded lineup conjures amazing feats before their eyes. Audiences are transported to the top floor of The McKittrick in a vintage elevator car, where The Club Car and its residents await. Private tables and a live jazz pianist set the scene for an evening of dazzling surprises.
Produced by Emursive, Speakeasy Magick is hosted by veteran Todd Robbins (Monday Night Magic, Play Dead) and features a combination of up-close-and-personal prestidigitation and parlor magic by the city’s top magical talents. New York City-based Robbins brings decades of experience performing on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and around the world to The McKittrick each week.
RESTAURANTS:
GALLOW GREEN
Now Open
at The McKittrick Hotel
542 West 27th Street
www.McKittrickHotel.com/Gallow-Green
The McKittrick Hotel offers a gorgeous rooftop oasis, Gallow Green, which— depending on the season—is either an open-air, overflowing-with-greenery cocktail lounge and restaurant that features an extensive cocktail and punch menu, vivid scenery, and delicious seasonal cuisine.
The McKittrick’s rooftop secret garden escape is back in bloom – overflowing with flowers, herbs, and hanging vines that create a whimsical, dream-like setting. The outdoor space has plenty of intimate nooks for a romantic tête-à-tête as well as protection from the elements to accommodate guests rain or shine. Perfect before or after one of the hotel’s award-winning theatrical experiences.
In the winter months, Gallow Green transforms into The Lodge, a cozy and evocative log cabin that sits on the roof of The McKittrick and also offers specialty cocktails and bites.
INSTITUTIONS:
AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP
www.ATG.co.uk
The Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) is an extraordinary success story. Founded in 1992, ATG is now the world’s number one live-theater company with close to 50 venues in Britain, North America and Germany. With over 11,000 performances a year, recipients of over 70 Tony and Olivier Awards and consistently diverse programming, ATG’s success story continues to grow.
Currently under the leadership of Stephen Lewin (CEO North America) and Kristin Caskey (EVP, Content & Creative), ATG North America has a portfolio of eight venues and more than 80 full time employees, with a head office in New York City. Since 2007, ATG has firmly established itself as a leading producer and venue operator in North America. ATG has successfully produced numerous London to Broadway transfers, as well as many home grown Broadway productions. ATG’s most recent Broadway producing credits include Sunday in the Park with George and the Lincoln Center’s The King and I, and the revival of Plaza Suite starring Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker. Other notable productions: The Mountaintop starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett, Exit The King starring Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon, Sea Wall/A Life starring Tom Sturridge and Jake Gyllenhaal, Betrayal starring Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox.
HUDSON THEATRE
139-141 West 44th Street
New York, NY
www.TheHudsonBroadway.com
ATG re-opened Broadway’s landmark Hudson Theatre in February 2017, following a multi-million dollar restoration, reviving the storied venue to its former glory as a legitimate Broadway playhouse.
Situated just off Times Square in New York on 44th Street, between Millennium Broadway Hotel and The Premier Hotel, Hudson Theatre opened on October 19, 1903 with a production of Cousin Kate starring Ethel Barrymore. Built by Henry B. Harris, a famous Broadway producer of that period, Hudson Theatre is one of New York City’s oldest Broadway showplaces. The 100-foot long lobby was the largest ever seen on Broadway at that time. Among the stars that have graced Hudson’s stage are Douglas Fairbanks, William Holden, Helen Hayes, Edward G. Robinson and Dorothy Gish. Barbara Stanwyck and Judith Anderson both made their debuts on its stage. On September 27, 1956 the first nationwide broadcast of “The Tonight Show” starring Steve Allen originated from Hudson Theatre. It was granted landmark status for both its internal and external features in 1987.
Hudson Theatre re-opened to the public for the first time in almost 50 years on Saturday, February 11, 2017, with the highly acclaimed Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George, starring Academy Award® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and Tony Award® winner Annaleigh Ashford. This limited engagement was followed up with the striking production of 1984 starring Olivia Wilde, Tom Sturridge, and Reed Birney; the Beau Willimon drama The Parisian Woman starring Uma Thurman; the Go-Go’s musical Head Over Heels; the revival of Lanford Wilson’s Burn This starring Adam Driver and Keri Russell; Sea Wall/A Life starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge; David Byrne’s theatrical concert American Utopia; the revival of Plaza Suite starring Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker; and the upcoming revival of Death of a Salesman starring Wendell Pierce and Sharon D Clarke.
– – –
ARTS WORKERS UNITED
https://beanartshero.com/
Home of the Be An #ArtsHero campaign, Arts Workers United is a unique and visionary 501©(4) social welfare organization that exists to reposition the Arts & Culture sector and Arts Workers as legislative priorities at the city, state, and federal level.
Co-founded in June of 2020 by Brooke Ishibashi, Jenny Grace Makholm, Carson Elrod, and Matthew-Lee Erlbach, Arts Workers United and the Be An #ArtsHero campaign has become one of the most nationally recognized Arts Advocacy organizations in the United States.
After relentless advocacy work, in January 2022, Arts Workers United lobbied effectively for the first House Hearing on the whole of the Creative Economy in United States History, speaking before Congress on “The Power, Peril, and Promise of the Creative Economy.”
Be An #ArtsHero/Arts Workers United partnered with Ovation TV, America’s premiere arts network, to debut The Green Room with Nadia Brown, a five-part original comedic journalism series celebrating and exploring the creative economy. Hosted by Broadway actor Nadia Brown (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), the series is currently available and free to all via the Ovation NOW app.
Tackling serious topics with humor, songs, animations, and tongue-in-cheek graphics, The Green Room with Nadia Brown is a new series about the issues surrounding the creative economy and the impact of Arts & Culture on every aspect of society. The Arts & Culture sector contributes $919 Billion to the U.S. economy, and is comprised of over 5.2 million workers. With exclusive interviews featuring powerful players (New Mexico Representative Leger Fernández, Hadestown director Rachel Chavkin, NIVA President Reverend Moose, and more) in the political, economic, and creative sectors, The Green Room with Nadia Brown explores complex issues surrounding the Creative Economy and reveals the creative and innovative solutions to the problems facing our nation today.
AWU has partnered with organizations such as Dance/USA, the Dramatists Guild, and the American Circus alliance on dozens of successful social media campaigns that have achieved virality, spreading Arts Advocacy to a new generation, and bringing the term “Arts Worker ” into the common vernacular. Arts Workers United’s powerful Arts advocacy message have been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, The Guardian, Forbes, New York Magazine, and dozens of other publications. The campaign has been represented on television by Billy Porter, B.D. Wong, Jane Krakowski, Phillipa Soo, and Jeremy O. Harris and amplified on social media by the likes of Alfre Woodward, Cher, Bette Midler, and Hillary Clinton.
– – –
BLACK THEATRE COALITION
www.BlackTheatreCoalition.org
Co-founders T. Oliver Reid, Warren Adams, and Reginald “Reggie” Van Lee, along with Executive Director Afton Battle and Board Member Aaliytha Stevens, have formed the Black Theatre Coalition (BTC), a new organization aiming to build a sustainable, ethical roadmap to increase employment opportunities for Black theatre professionals and eradicate the long-standing racial inequities in the American theatre. Its stated goal is to increase work opportunities for Black theatre professionals by at least 500% by 2030.
Black Theatre Coalition’s inaugural program has three key steps to mobilize, implement and transform the American Theatre.
1) Mobilize. BTC has secured partnerships with top companies and professionals across every major sector of the Broadway ecosystem, including producers, designers, directors, general managers, casting directors, press agents, advertising & marketing executives, booking agents, attorneys, and theater companies. These partnerships are critical to creating, building and implementing BTC’s sustainable program model. These non-Black accomplices have agreed to work with BTC to (1) identify Black candidates for employment in their offices, (2) implement paid intern and mentorship programs for Black Creatives, (3) create paid fellowships and/or create leadership positions in their offices and hire paid Black assistants on future Broadway projects. As an example, there are no Black General Managers working on Broadway. However, when Broadway raises its curtains again, there will be four Black general managers employed in three management companies, a 400% increase of Black professionals, due to the partnerships that BTC has implemented. BTC is also establishing connection initiatives with colleges and universities to create a sustainable pipeline of Black graduates entering the workforce, as well as currently working black professionals who may have access to intern and apprenticeship opportunities for these graduates. We are working with sister organizations, Black Theatre United, Broadway Advocacy Coalition, Broadway Serves and others to share resources as needed.
2) Implement. To support recruitment efforts and to provide a comprehensive repository, BTC is building a National database that intends to include every Black, behind-the-scenes theater professional in the United States. This database will serve as Broadway’s resource for locating, contacting and employing Black creatives and executives. As an initial partnership, BTC and the producers of the Broadway revival of Sondheim’s COMPANY have joined forces to implement ten paid positions as apprentices, from producorial to each creative design area, as the show goes back into rehearsals and through opening night. We hope to adopt this model with every Broadway show.
3) Transform. Each year, BTC will present an annual Performance Series with three shows including one original musical, one revival of a musical and one new play. This platform will feature works produced, created, designed and managed by Black artists and executives. This will ensure mentorship for Black theatre professionals at each stage of their careers while delivering powerful and engaging work. New York City will be our stage. As part of this transformation, BTC is honored to be partnered with acclaimed Jazz Impresario Wynton Marsalis from Jazz at Lincoln Center.
– – –
BRYANT PARK 30TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON:
BRYANT PARK MOVIE NIGHTS
https://bryantpark.org/activities/movie-nights
Bryant Park‘s iconic Bryant Park Movie Nights presented by Paramount+ series, has returned this summer as part of Bryant Park’s 30th anniversary celebrations.
The screenings take place Monday evenings to August 15th on the Bryant Park lawn. All films begin at 8:00pm, with the lawn open at 5pm for picnicking.
In addition to Paramount+, this season’s partners will include Vulture.
The remaining August lineup for Bryant Park Movie Nights presented by Paramount+, curated with Vulture, includes:
Monday, August 8: Grease 2
Monday, August 15: The Godfather Part II
In addition, moviegoers can enjoy a variety of local food and drink curated by Hester Street Fair. The pop-up market will feature a rotating line-up of artisanal vendors from the five boroughs on the Park’s Fountain Terrace each Monday.
BRYANT PARK READING ROOM
bryantpark.org/activities/reading-room
This year marks several milestones in Bryant Park’s history. The park is celebrating the 30-year anniversary of its restoration and the 20-year reopening of the outdoor Reading Room in Bryant Park.
The Reading Room in Bryant Park was originally established in 1935 by the New York Public Library as a refuge for the thousands of unemployed New Yorkers during the Great Depression. The “first” Reading Room closed in 1944, only to be reopened by the Bryant Park Corporation in 2003. It is now one of the most popular amenities in Bryant Park.
The Bryant Park Reading Room has received numerous prestigious awards for demonstrating excellence, partnership, and creativity in enhancing New York City’s quality of life including The New York City Neighborhood Development Achievement Award presented by the New York City Small Business Services at Gracie Mansion; and two awards from the International Downtown Association Achievement Award in the public space category.
The Bryant Park outdoor Reading Room is located at the 42nd Street allée – between 5th & 6th Avenues – under the London Plane trees. Because of the outdoor locale, there is ample seating for all to enjoy.
– – –
CIVILIAN
Designed by David Rockwell
305 W. 48th Street
Photos HERE.
https://www.civilianhotel.com
CIVILIAN is a 27-story, 203 room hotel designed to celebrate its Broadway location by paying homage to the creative contributions of New York’s theatrical artists. The jewel of the hotel is the Olio Collection, a theater-focused curated art exhibition with permanent and rotating artifacts, original works, and archival photography. Over 350 pieces of art – including sketches, models, photographs, props, costumes, murals, and custom furnishings – are located throughout the public spaces and guest rooms – representing 100 years of Broadway history. The work displayed has been lent by collectors and archivists, and—in many cases—the artists who created it.
CIVILIAN is donating a portion of its fees to American Theatre Wing (ATW) to help in its mission of supporting the theatrical art-form, including providing crucial resources for so many of the creatives affected by COVID.
Through a powerful suite of programs that address all aspects of the national theatre ecology, The American Theatre Wing encourages the discovery of theatre by people of all ages, nurtures talent on stage and off, creates pathways for success for students and young professionals, and encourages the development of the art form itself by recognizing and supporting innovative and excellent work with awards and grants. For more information, visit AmericanTheatreWing.org.
Guests enter CIVILIAN’s lobby through a discreet side stage-inspired door into a runway-like vestibule with black and white photography by Little Fang, a husband-and-wife photography team known for their Broadway and opening night portraits. The photographs feature architectural details from theater facades, grounding the hotel in a sense of place. Marquee lights envelope the vestibule. Velvet-draped walls and vintage theater chairs evoke the ritual of leaving the bustling street behind for a night on Broadway.
In the restaurant, 41 custom sconces feature sketches, each depicting a different Broadway theater, by an expansive list of prominent set designers including historic sketches by Tony Walton and contemporary drawings by designers, such as Es Devlin, Mimi Lien, Clint Ramos, and Anna Louizos. Inspired by the theater drawings found in a Playbill, Rockwell Group reached out to each designer personally, and while the sketches highlight each artist’s individual style, together they create a cohesive family. An Art Deco-inspired font created by Rockwell Group’s Graphics team reveals the name of each theater and artist below the sconces.
On the second floor, the hotel bar features an inaugural exhibition paying homage to, Company, George Furth and Stephen Sondheim’s quintessential musical comedy about life in New York City, which is returning to Broadway this fall. Over 15 artists and designers, professionals and students alike, were asked to submit a work inspired by lyrics from the show. A custom brass and glass vitrine displays scenic models of current productions on Broadway. Pieces include set models of Hadestown designed by Rachel Hauck, Slave Play by Clint Ramos, and Moulin Rouge by Derek McLane. The vitrine’s arched display window is a motif repeated throughout the hotel, inspired by traditional theater architecture. Photographs of Broadway hits, selected by Sara Krulwich from her vast portfolio for The New York Times, frame the bar, while alcoves feature historic photographs of the Stage Door Canteen and Stage Women’s War Relief posters.
Vitrines in the Blue Room, a more private, intimate lounge located at the back of the bar, house a rotating exhibit of one-of-a-kind theater ephemera co-curated by David Rockwell and Paul Tazewell, Tony-award-winning costume designer of Hamilton. Iconic show props and costume pieces on display celebrate original Broadway productions and revivals, including Hamilton, Cabaret, Wicked, and Kinky Boots.
In the elevators, guests are immersed in the world of costume design. Custom Maya Romanoff wallcoverings, produced exclusively for the hotel, feature original sketches by costume designers Paul Tazewell (Hamilton), Isabel and Ruben Toledo (After Midnight), and William Ivey Long (Chicago). As guests find their way to their rooms, custom Maya Romanoff wallcoverings lead the way in rich jewel tones. Here, we abstracted details from costume designs by Isabel and Ruben Toledo (After Midnight) and William Ivey Long (Beetlejuice and Hairspray). The four wallcoverings alternate throughout the guestroom floors.
Framed black and white photographs sourced from the New York Public Library archives as well as contemporary theatrical photographers line each corridor. Showcasing the life of Broadway shows from rehearsals to backstage to opening night, photographs range from Helen Hayes playing ping pong backstage during the 1934 production of Mary of Scotland to rehearsals of The Wiz in 1974.
The guestrooms celebrate artistic process with framed sketches and process materials by Broadway creatives, including Derek McLane (Moulin Rouge), Christine Jones (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), and Wilson Chin (The Secret Garden). Platform four-poster beds feature Jim Thompson pillows with abstracted patterns by costume designers Jeff Mahshie and David Zinn.
– – –
ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND
www.entertainmentcommunity.org/
The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a national human services organization that addresses the unique needs of people who work in performing arts and entertainment with services focused on health and wellness, career and life, and housing. Since 1882, the Fund has sought to ensure stability, encourage resiliency and be a safety net for those who shape our country’s cultural vibrancy. Learn more at entertainmentcommunity.org.
In 2020, The Entertainment Community Fund served more than 40,000 individuals, a 71% increase from 2019; distributed more than $19 million in direct cash to some 15,000 individuals; and helped people from 126 different occupations in performing arts and entertainment with their services around career, financial wellness, mental health, health insurance, housing and more.
– – –
ROCKEFELLER PRODUCTIONS
https://rockefellerproductions.com/
Rockefeller Productions headed by Jonathan Rockefeller is currently on the boards in New York and around the world with such acclaimed productions as Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical, Paddington Gets in a Jam, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Pixar Putt, Awesome The Interactive Exhibition of Lego® Models! and 10 Little Rubber Ducks.
– – –
YALE DRAMA PRIZE
http://www.dchornfoundation.org/
Now celebrating its fifteenth year of awarding an emerging playwright, the Yale Drama Series Prize is the preeminent playwriting award in cooperation with Yale University Press and is solely sponsored by the David Charles Horn Foundation. The Yale Drama Series Prize is awarded annually for a play by an emerging playwright, selected by a judging panel of one—a distinguished playwright of our time. The winner receives the David Charles Horn Prize of $10,000, as well as publication of the winning play by Yale University Press and a staged reading. The Yale Drama Series is an annual international open submission competition for emerging playwrights who are invited to submit original, unpublished, full-length, English language plays for consideration. All entries are read blindly.
Previous winners of the Yale Drama Series Prize include John Austin Connolly’s The Boys From Siam (selected by Edward Albee in 2007), Neil Wechsler’s Grenadine (selected by Edward Albee in 2008), Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s Lidless (selected by David Hare in 2009), Virginia Grise’s blu (selected by David Hare in 2010), Shannon Murdoch’s New Light Shine (selected by John Guare in 2011), Clarence Coo’s Beautiful Province (selected by John Guare in 2012), Jen Silverman’s Still (selected by Marsha Norman in 2013), Janine Nabers’s Serial Black Face (selected by Marsha Norman in 2014), Barbara Seyda’s Celia, a Slave: 26 Characters Testify (selected by Nicholas Wright in 2015), Emily Schwend’s Utility (selected by Nicholas Wright in 2016), Jacqueline Goldfinger’s Bottle Fly (selected by Nicholas Wright in 2017), Leah Nanako Winkler’s God Said This (selected by Ayad Akhtar in 2018), Liliana Padilla’s How to Defend Yourself (selected by Ayad Akhtar in 2019), Rachel Lynett’s Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You Too August Wilson) (selected by Paula Vogel in 2021), and Seayoung Yim’s Jar of Fat (selected by a panel of six judges in 2022).
# # # #