John Brown News

From 22 August 2018, term will begin for the year three cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Olivier award-winning production of School of Rock - The Musical at the newly named Gillian Lynne Theatre. Today sees the release of a further 350,000 tickets for this hit West End production, now booking to 20 October 2019. Based on the iconic film of the same title, School of Rock - The Musical sees the kids from Dewey's band compete in the legendary Battle of the Bands and embrace the power of rock!

San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon (Daren A.C. Carollo and Daniel Thomas, Co-Executive Directors) has announced the cast and creative team for the upcoming special engagement of Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning musical FOLLIES in Concert.

From 22 August 2018, term will begin for the year three cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Olivier award-winning production of School of Rock - The Musical at the newly named Gillian Lynne Theatre. Today sees the release of a further 350,000 tickets for this hit West End production, now booking to 20 October 2019. Based on the iconic film of the same title, School of Rock - The Musical sees the kids from Dewey's band compete in the legendary Battle of the Bands and embrace the power of rock!

According to Variety, Ben Robson has joined “Emperor,” the Civil War-abolitionist film directed former Lionsgate exec Mark Amin under his Sobini Films banner.

Sobini Films announced today that Oscar®-nominee James Cromwell, two-time Oscar®-nominee Bruce Dern and award-winning actress Naturi Naughton have joined Dayo Okeniyi in the cast in the Civil War-era EMPEROR, directed by Mark Amin, the veteran producer and former Vice Chairman of Lionsgate. Harry Lennix, Kat Graham, Ben Robson and Keean Johnson have also joined to round out the cast. Cromwell and Dern will play John Brown and Levi Coffin, respectively, two of the great heroes of the American abolitionist movement. Naughton plays the role of "Sarah Green," the wife of abolitionist and runaway slave Shields Green. The film is produced by Reginald Hudlin for Hudlin Entertainment and by Cami Winikoff and Amin for Sobini, with a script co-written by Amin and Pat Charles. Sobini's Tyler Boehm is executive producing. UTA is handling domestic sales. EMPEROR is currently in production in Savannah, Georgia. 

Five thousand dollars are at stake in the largest audience-judged theater competition in the country, PianoFight's ShortLived VII. Forty-eight plays from Bay Area writers, theater companies, sketch groups, and indy artists vie for the audience's affection over the nine week competition to crown the Bay Area's best and win $5,000. The regular season of ShortLived VII runs June 14 through August 4, with performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm on PianoFight's Main Stage.

For over five plus decades Linda Lavin has enraptured audiences on stage, screen and television. She won the triple crown- Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her heart -breaking performance in Neil Simon's 'Broadway Bound'. She is known to million of fans as 'Alice' on her 9 -year ground breaking TV Series for which she won two Golden Globes. Celebrated playwrights Nicky Silver, Donald Margulies, Richard Greenberg and Charles Busch have written memorable and award winning roles for her. This renaissance woman does everything.

Sobini Films announced today that Dayo Okeniyi has been cast as the lead in the Civil War-era historical drama EMPEROR, to be directed by Mark Amin, the veteran producer and former Vice Chairman of Lionsgate. The film will be produced by Reginald Hudlin for Hudlin Entertainment and by Cami Winikoff and Amin for Sobini, with a script co-written by Amin and Pat Charles. Sobini's Tyler Boehm is executive producing. UTA is handling domestic sales. EMPEROR is scheduled to go into production in June in Savannah, Georgia.

Established to perform intimate and unique opera performances, Opera180 is launching its 2018 season with the highly interactive production of Bon Operatit. Performing at the Squeezebox Theatre on April 27-29, this exciting event will consist of three parts including composer Lee Hoiby's Bon Appetit based on Julia Child, a cooking demonstration by a local KC chef, and Jennifer Jolley's Krispy Kremes and Butter Queens inspired by the colorful Paula Deen.

San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon (Daren A.C. Carollo and Daniel Thomas, Co-Executive Directors), currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary in continuous operation, has announced the full cast and creative team for the penultimate production of the 2017-2018 season: The Bay Area premiere of Stephen Sondheim's Saturday Night.

San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon (Daren A.C. Carollo and Daniel Thomas, Co-Executive Directors), currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary in continuous operation, has announced the full cast and creative team for the penultimate production of the 2017-2018 season: The Bay Area premiere of Stephen Sondheim's Saturday Night. Based on the play Front Porch in Flatbush by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, Saturday Night features a book by the Epstein brothers with music and lyrics by Sondheim. Saturday Night runs from March 28 - April 15, 2018 and will perform at the Gateway Theatre (formerly the Eureka Theatre). The press opening will take place on Saturday, March 31, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. Tickets range from $25 - $76 and can be purchased through the Box Office at (415) 255-8207 or online at www.42ndstmoon.org.   42nd Street Moon's production of Saturday Night will be directed by Ryan Weible and choreographed by Allison Paraiso-Silicani, with Music Direction by Daniel Thomas.  

Z. Alexander Brown wines have announced the national launch of their Z. Alexander Brown 2017 Uncaged Sauvignon Blanc from GRAMMY award-winning musician Zac Brown and Napa Valley Winemaker John Killebrew. The new varietal is the second white wine to join the portfolio of robust wines, following the release of the 2016 Santa Lucia Highlands Uncaged Chardonnay in January. Uncaged was inspired by Zac and John's approach to crafting Z. Alexander Brown wines, and the title of Zac Brown Band's GRAMMY award-winning album.

San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon (Daren A.C. Carollo and Daniel Thomas, Co-Executive Directors), currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary in continuous operation, has announced the full cast and creative team for the penultimate production of the 2017-2018 season: The Bay Area premiere of Stephen Sondheim's Saturday Night. Based on the play Front Porch in Flatbush by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, Saturday Night features a book by the Epstein brothers with music and lyrics by Sondheim. Saturday Night runs from March 28 - April 15, 2018 and will perform at the Gateway Theatre (formerly the Eureka Theatre).

There is something to be said about being present in historical plays. But when the characters in the Theater Alliance's powerful production 'The Raid,' begins with the characters sitting alongside the audience in the seats that ring the performance space and announce their impending demise, we realize we are in for a more visceral experience than history books often provide.

Following the grand opening of its new permanent home this past December, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) presents an exciting roster of Spring 2018 exhibitions, featuring major solo exhibitions that provide new insight on the work of Terry Adkins and Donald Judd.

Theater Alliance kicks off 2018 with Idris Goodwin's The Raid, an imagined debate between two American icons. On the eve of the raid on the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, John Brown and Frederick Douglass argue the merits of violence and pacifism, order and chaos, and the possibility of a nation free of the scourge of slavery.

Z. Alexander Brown wines have announced the national launch of their Z. Alexander Brown 2016 Uncaged Chardonnay, the first white wine addition to the portfolio of robust wines from GRAMMY award-winning musician Zac Brown and Napa Valley Winemaker John Killebrew. Uncaged was inspired by Zac and John's approach to crafting Z. Alexander Brown wines, and the title of Zac Brown Band's GRAMMY award-winning album.

Euf rquestra (pronounced yoo-FOHR-keh-struh, think euphoria+orchestra) is energy and rhythm personified. An ever-evolving sound that has been influenced by music from all over the world with an emphasis on funk, pocket and groove. For over a decade the band has been igniting dance floors across the country, blending the roots of funk, soul, afrobeat, reggae and dub to create a sound that explodes, dances and melts in your ear with sheer bliss (Chris M. Slawecki; AllAboutJazz.com).