John Dunn News

50 Shades! The Musical, the original parody (50ShadesTheMusical.com) will play The Elektra Theatre (669 Eighth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Street) beginning November 18th with opening night set for Thursday, January 9th. Directed by Al Samuels, 50 Shades! The Musical is produced by Royal Mile Entertainment, Marshall Cordell, and Andrew Asnes.

The Catastrophic Theatre is pleased to announce the world premiere of The Pine, a new play by the author of past Catastrophic favorites There is a Happiness That Morning Is, Spirits to Enforce, and The Strangerer, Mickle Maher. The Pine opens Friday, September 27 and runs Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 pm through October 19 at The Catastrophic Theatre, 1119 East Fwy, 77002.

Tamarie Cooper's OLD AS HELL is meh. NOT! In fact, this year's offering in the cherished tradition of Houston theatre's summer line-up sparkles with clever wit and ebullient hilarity. This may only be my second summer to see a Tamarie Cooper musical, but in so many ways I found this one better than last year's raucously irreverent DOOMSDAY REVUE. Maybe with one Tamarie Cooper show under my belt, I had a better idea of what to expect. Maybe like a good wine Tamarie Cooper is only getting better with age. Or maybe it's both. Regardless, I sincerely wish I had been there to see them all.

The regional premiere of the Broadway hit comedy 'CHINGLISH,' by Tony Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) opens May 9th at the Asia Society Texas Center's Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater. The famous comedy about the challenges of Americans doing business in China will be presented by Black Lab Theatre in collaboration with Asia Society Texas Center and feature a member of the original Broadway and international cast. CHINGLISH will open May 9, 2013 and run through May 26, 2013.

Black Lab Theatre is closing their exciting 2012-2013 season with a provocative and hilarious Regional Premiere production of David Henry Hwang's 2011 play CHINGLISH. The fresh and poignant comedy is a timely exploration of the business and economic relationship between China and the United States. As this plot is so richly layered and absorbing, I'm reluctant to say much about it for fear of ruining the miraculous experience of watching the story unfold. At the opening of the show, Daniel Cavanaugh, owner of Ohio Signage, is making a presentation for the Commerce League of Ohio about doing business in China. The plot quickly flashes back three years and recounts his first trip to China as he hopes to score a contract to make the translated signs for a new Cultural Arts Center in Guiyang, China. Within a few scenes, the audience is mesmerized by the level of duplicitous intrigue and captured in the surreptitious game of trying to determine what team all the characters are playing for.

The regional premiere of the Broadway hit comedy 'CHINGLISH,' by Tony Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) opens tonight, May 9th at the Asia Society Texas Center's Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater. The famous comedy about the challenges of Americans doing business in China will be presented by Black Lab Theatre in collaboration with Asia Society Texas Center and feature a member of the original Broadway and international cast. CHINGLISH will open tonight, May 9, 2013 and run through May 26, 2013.

Black Lab Theatre is hard at work preparing the Regional Premiere of David Henry Hwang's CHINGLISH for Houston audiences. Recently, I visited a rehearsal at Asia Society Texas to talk to director Troy Scheid and her cast, featuring Mike Yager, Vivian Chiu, John Dunn, Xin Jian, Janice Pai Martindale, William Wu, and Andrea Huang about the show.

The regional premiere of the Broadway hit comedy 'CHINGLISH,' by Tony Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) opens May 9th at the Asia Society Texas Center's Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater. The famous comedy about the challenges of Americans doing business in China will be presented by Black Lab Theatre in collaboration with Asia Society Texas Center and feature a member of the original Broadway and international cast. CHINGLISH will open May 9, 2013 and run through May 26, 2013.

Many in the industry consider George Furth and Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY to be one of the best American musicals ever created. The piece is complicated and challenging for the cast, crew, and orchestra, but when done well is one of the most rewarding nights at the theatre for the audience. For audiences in the Houston area, The Texas Repertory Theatre Company's production of COMPANY is a sparkling gem of theatrical brilliance from top to bottom.

Nominees for the 15th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards, which celebrate excellence in film, television and commercial costume design, were announced this morning.

As many gear up for Halloween, Music Box Musicals' inaugural production is striking a different nerve-a political nerve. With a wonderful production of John Weidman and Stephen Sondheim's thought-provoking musical ASSASSINS, Music Box Musicals invites audiences to listen. Not only to the tales they present on stage, but in our lives outside of the theatre as well.

When Masquerade Theatre closed earlier this year, many Houstonians felt pangs of anguish and hoped for an angel of theatre to bestow upon the organization a grant that would allow them to remain open. Masquerade, as far as we know, is not reopening; however, many of their former cast members have been assembled for Music Box Musicals' inaugural performance of their inaugural season-Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Tony Award Winning ASSASSINS.

Tamarie Cooper's magnificent production of her fifteenth annual original piece, DOOMSDAY REVUE (the greatest musical ever!), proves that Houston has a wealth of artistic talent. Moreover, The Catastrophic Theatre in coordination with Tamarie Cooper is stacked with innumerable bankrolls of local talent.

The cast of TROUBLE THE MUSICAL, a new rock musical being presented in the 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival, will feature DANIEL QUADRINO (Broadway's Bye Bye Birdie), SARA KAPNER (Broadway's Hollywood Arms), JUSTIN STEIN (Camelot at Lincoln Center), MATTHEW J. RIORDAN (Smile: A New Rock Musical), DAVI SANTOS (ABC's Don't Trust The B- In Apartment 23), WESLEY TUNISON (Freckleface Strawberry), KATIE MACK (Theatre 202's Comedy of Errors) and ABBE TANENBAUM (Theatreworks/USA's If You Give A Mouse A Cookie...). See the full cast in the photos below!

The cast of TROUBLE THE MUSICAL, a new rock musical being presented in the 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival, will feature DANIEL QUADRINO (Broadway's Bye Bye Birdie), SARA KAPNER (Broadway's Hollywood Arms), JUSTIN STEIN (Camelot at Lincoln Center), MATTHEW J. RIORDAN (Smile: A New Rock Musical), DAVI SANTOS (ABC's Don't Trust The B- In Apartment 23), WESLEY TUNISON (Freckleface Strawberry), KATIE MACK (Theatre 202's Comedy of Errors) and ABBE TANENBAUM (Theatreworks/USA's If You Give A Mouse A Cookie...). See the full cast in the photos below!

The cast of TROUBLE THE MUSICAL, a new rock musical being presented in the 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival, will feature DANIEL QUADRINO (Broadway's Bye Bye Birdie), SARA KAPNER (Broadway's Hollywood Arms), JUSTIN STEIN (Camelot at Lincoln Center), MATTHEW J. RIORDAN (Smile: A New Rock Musical), DAVI SANTOS (ABC's Don't Trust The B- In Apartment 23), WESLEY TUNISON (Freckleface Strawberry), KATIE MACK (Theatre 202's Comedy of Errors) and ABBE TANENBAUM (Theatreworks/USA's If You Give A Mouse A Cookie…).

The National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene (now in its historic 97th consecutive season), celebrates the enduring influence of Yiddish on American popular culture at its annual Cabaret Dinner on Tuesday November 22, at the Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street.

The National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene (now in its historic 97th consecutive season), celebrates the enduring influence of Yiddish on American popular culture at its annual Cabaret Dinner on Tuesday November 22, at the Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street.

Since their inception in 1996 the Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee- Producing Artistic Director, Todd Schmidt-Managing Director) Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre have ignited the careers of many notable performers, all of whom attended high school in New Jersey. Among the early nominees and winners are Academy Award® nominee Anne Hathaway, Tony® award winner Laura Benanti, and 2011 Tony® nominee, Nikki M. James. Paper Mill Playhouse hosted the 16th Annual Rising Star Awards- Presented by the Investors Savings Bank Foundation on Tuesday, June 7th at the Millburn Theater. Schools nominated for Outstanding Overall Musical and Leading Actor/Actress nominees performed at the event and award recipients were presented with a crystal award from Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards partner, Tiffany & Co. Westfield High School came out on top, winning nine Rising Star Awards (including Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical) and two scholarships.

The Dumbo Arts Center (DAC), will be hosting a party to mark the closing of Field Transitions | Memory Screens, a solo exhibition of new video work by Sean Capone, on Thursday, August 5, from 6:30-11PM. The Center is located on 30 Washing Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.