THE ADDAMS FAMILY Dutch premiere

The Addams Goes Dutch

One of the most acclaimed international productions closes on March 31st. Produced by TEC Entertainment and directed by Paul Eenens, the Dutch premiere of THE ADDAMS FAMILY has been taking the Netherlands by storm for the past five months. The production started picking up leads of five star reviews from severally leading publications including De Volkskrant, heralded as the paper of record in the Netherlands. The show was described as love letter to all things Addams Family and the Dutch theatrical community offered gifts of their love, including 11 Dutch Musical nominations (the country’s equivalent of the Tonys® or Oliviers®). Six of the nominations were for the performances alone with 5 additional nominations for design, translation, direction, and Best Musical.

Three Teenage Bohemians with the one in the center with a guitar

WE WILL ROCK YOU Gives Students and School Rock Star Chance

It’s been a long road for Hammond Academy of the Performing Arts in Hammond, Indiana. The Academy was established in 2010 as part of Morton High School. In the 1980s, Greg Easton, the current principal of Morton, teamed with various neighboring teachers and administrators to start a performing arts school in Hammond. Among the schools in the town, Morton was chosen because it had the best facility to house such an arts program but that didn’t mean the plan would be without pitfalls. Morton High School is a Title-1 school, meaning many of the students receive free or reduced lunch and services and face socio-economic challenges.
While teacher salaries are paid for by the district, the program itself must be self-sufficient. “Everything we spend, we make,” explains Easton.

THE COLOR PURPLE Revival Reviews

The reviews are in and the word is out! See what the critics had to say about the 2015 revival of THE COLOR PURPLE.

“For the first time in its long history of dramatization, ‘The Color Purple’ has been afforded an incarnation fully in sync with one crucial aspect of Walker’s original authorial intent — that the audience must participate in the imaginative act in order to comprehend its richness of theme and story. And, in this production, first seen at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, so they do. Willingly. Delightedly. When they are not rising to their feet to stop the show.” – Chicago Tribune

“The current version is a slim, fleet-footed beauty, simply attired and beguilingly modest. Don’t be deceived, though, by its air of humility. There’s a deep wealth of power within its restraint.” – The New York Times

RING OF FIRE Brings Cash and His Music Back to Life

TRW’s RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH has had a remarkable journey from Broadway to theaters across the world. The show is getting a hot new re-conception by original RING OF FIRE creator Richard Maltby, Jr., at the Milwaukee Rep, now playing at the Stackner Cabaret, in the Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex, through May 5th, 2013.

TRW’s Music & Materials team was in Milwaukee for the opening of the re-boot of the RING OF FIRE franchise. “Richard Maltby Jr. and the entire cast and crew of RING OF FIRE have truly created something special at Milwaukee Rep,” said one team member. “We know it is no easy task to create an intimate, five-piece version of a major musical (originally consisting of sixteen cast members and musicians) while still maintaining the integrity and heart of the show…

Des Moines Community Playhouse Opens RING OF FIRE Tonight!

The Des Moines Community Playhouse is widely recognized as one of the top community theatres in the nation. Leaders in the true spirit of creating a theatre for the community, their latest show, RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH celebrates the Man in Black, his times and his amazing music. Born a poor Arkansas boy, he picked cotton on the family farm before embarking on a 50 year career in music that includes more than 1,000 songs, 17 Grammys, and more than 90 million in album sales. Johnny Cash is still one of the most popular entertainers of all-time. The Broadway bio-musical tells Cash’s story of faith, family, passion, redemption, and salvation. A gifted cast of singers and musicians presents 30 of the gifted artist’s hits including “Daddy Sang Bass,” “Jackson,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “I Walk the Line,” and, of course, “Ring of Fire.”

It’s CURTAINS for PCPA TheatreFest!

The California Central Coast’s pre-eminent professional theatre, PCPA TheatreFest is presenting the smash-hit musical whodunit CURTAINS in a split run, April 15-May 9 in Santa Maria’s Marian Theatre and June 17-July 3rd at the Festival Theatre in Solvang. The company has been presenting for over 45 years and has become a staple of the Central Coast’s vibrant Arts scene. I recently spoke with Craig Shafer, the Media Relations / Communications Manager for PCPA and Erik Stein who has the plum role of Christopher Belling in CURTAINS, about the production. Shafer brought me up to speed on the gargantuan task of creating a production of this beautifully designed musical that can be moved from one theater space to another.

So far, CURTAINS is shaping up to deliver a huge hit for PCPA…

Hillcrest High School CURTAINS

Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah presented the Utah high school premiere of CURTAINS, November 18-21, 2009, with a superb production. TRW’s Broadway blockbuster features a book by Rupert Holmes, based on a concept by Peter Stone, with a classic score from the legendary Kander and Ebb.

CURTAINS played over 500 performances on Broadway, and received eight 2007 Tony® Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Actor (A Winner for David Hyde Pierce), Best Actress, Best Featured Actress, Best Direction and Best Choreography. Kander and Ebb’s amazing score is perfectly woven into the fabric of the unfailingly clever book.

CURTAINS is set in the brassy, bright, and promising year of 1959. Boston’s Colonial Theatre is host to the opening night performance of a new musical.

Hillcrest HS’ CURTAINS a First Class Production!

Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah presented the Utah high school premiere of CURTAINS, November 18-21. TRW’s Broadway blockbuster features a book by Rupert Holmes, based on a concept by Peter Stone, with a classic score from the legendary Kander and Ebb. Theaters throughout the world are now getting their chance to produce this phenomenal show!

CURTAINS played over 500 performances on Broadway, and received eight 2007 Tony® Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Actor (A Winner for David Hyde Pierce), Best Actress, Best Featured Actress, Best Direction and Best Choreography. Kander and Ebb’s amazing score is perfectly woven into the fabric of the unfailingly clever book.

CURTAINS is set in the brassy, bright, and promising year of 1959…

Striking 12 Director’s Chat

Why did you choose STRIKING 12?
STRIKING 12 is one of those little known gems of a musical, created by a band called GrooveLily, and later transformed into the “book musical” that we are presenting. The show is a wonderful blend of musical styles – rock, pop, folk, musical theatre – that combine to put a modern twist on a story as old as, well, Dickens and A Christmas Carol.

What’s the story?
The central character, The Man Who’s Had Enough, is at the end of the year and the end of his rope. Nothing seems to make him feel better about himself and everything around him until he meets, quite by accident, a girl selling “full spectrum holiday light bulbs” as a way to overcome the holiday season blues.