Sarah Hayes News

Knight Theater should have been abuzz last Friday night. Yet somehow, a year after Charlotte Ballet's 50th-anniversary celebration - celebrated a year after the company's actual 50th anniversary - my own excitement wasn't reflected by the community at large. A night after Opera Carolina opened its 2022-23 season at Belk Theater to an empty upper balcony and a disappointing crowd, the curtain went up on Ballet's new era with a similarly sparse turnout.

We're down to our top 5 in the Next on Stage competition! Learn more about Franco's charity, a story from his time playing Tevye, and which gender-swapped role he is ready to star in!

The latest edition of Innovative Works, BEYOND THE MINT, sends three choreographers across the street to soak in Spirit Drift's 'Immersed in Light' installation at the Mint Museum Uptown. Chelsea Dumas and Duane Cyrus are particularly successful in their quests for inspiration.

Valiant Theatre is a mission-driven company committed to telling stories of real people and historic events marked by courage, valor, and determination. Telling the stories of the valiant. Inspiring others to live life more valiantly.

Founded in January 2019 on Chicago's north side, Valiant Theatre is a mission-driven company committed to telling stories of real people and historic events marked by courage, valor, and determination. Telling the stories of the valiant. Inspiring others to live life more valiantly.

Not the most vicious satire you will ever see, Christian Spuck's LEONCE AND LENA is certainly among the zaniest, teeming with delightful eccentrics, anti-balletic antics, and shtick.

The 1993 AIDS-themed musical ALL THAT HE WAS that opened on August 12, earning rave reviews and a Jeff recommendation, will extend its run by one week and will now close on Sunday, September 15.

Pride Films and Plays has announced that $5 of each ticket sold for each Friday 8pm performance of ALL THAT HE WAS, the Jeff-recommended musical that opened on Monday August 12, will go toward one of four Chicago-area charities that provides services and advocacy for those impacted by HIV/AIDS.

A brand-new version of the award-winning 1993 musical ALL THAT HE WAS to open on August 12, 2019 at Pride Arts Center.

Charlotte Ballet's SPRING WORKS, with a surprise cameo from the Merce Cunningham centennial, is another varied and provocative display by the Queen City's preeminent performing arts troupe

This past Saturday an impromptu performance at the Huntington Mall began with a shout known to all musical lovers: 'Pulitzer and Hearst, they think we're nothing' Are we nothing'?' To which an excited mob of newsies replied tenaciously, 'No!' Audiences were then treated to an impressive flash mob rendition of 'The World Will Know' during a lull in the Macy's Prom Fashion Event. After this commanding performance, there's no doubt in anybody's mind just how great First Stage Theatre Company's production of Newsies will be.

No amazing synthesis or revelation emerges in Charlotte Ballet's audacious SHAKESPEARE REINVENTED collaboration with UNC Charlotte, but the evening bristles with excitement and electricity, probably because the two imaginative choreographers didn't allow their academic partners to get inside their heads - or their art.

Underscore Theatre Company is pleased to present its 5th annual CHICAGO MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL, created to showcase and support the growing field of musical theatre creators from Chicago and beyond. This year's Festival features full productions of nine new musicals plus two free readings. The Festival will be performed simultaneously on two stages at The Edge Theater: the Broadway (5451 N. Broadway) and the new Off Broadway (1133 W. Catalpa Ave.) in Chicago Edgewater neighborhood. Each full production will receive at least five performances during the Festival. Single tickets and festival passes are currently available at www.cmtf.org. The press 'Sneak Preview,' featuring a sampling of songs from the 2019 Festival, is Monday, February 4 at 8 pm.

With three sailors on shore leave, a carnival of fantastics seeking to console a disconsolate janitor, and the oddest choreography for Bellini's 'Casta Diva' you'll ever see, FALL WORKS launched Charlotte Ballet's 2018-19 season with wit and style.

The second production of Pride Films and Plays's 2018-19 season will be IT'S ONLY A PLAY, by Terrence McNally. McNally is arguably Broadway's most prolific gay male playwright, with 20 Broadway credits to his name, plus many other plays produced off-Broadway.

Charlotte Symphony continues to shine in modern repertoire, but RITE OF SPRING: REINVNENTED was extra special as Charlotte Ballet also put its best foot forward.

Griffin Theatre Company launches its 30th anniversary season with a revival of the Tony-nominated musical VIOLET, with book and lyrics by Brian Crawley (A Little Princess), music by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Caroline, or Change), direction by Scott Weinstein (Ragtime, Bat Boy: The Musical) and music direction by John Cockerill (Bonnie & Clyde). VIOLET runs now through January 13, 2018 at The Den Theatre's Upstairs Mainstage, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Griffin Theatre Company is pleased to announce casting for its revival of the Tony-nominated musical VIOLET, with book and lyrics by Brian Crawley (A Little Princess), music by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Caroline, or Change), direction by Scott Weinstein (Ragtime, Bat Boy: The Musical) and music direction by John Cockerill (Bonnie & Clyde).

Kokandy Productions is pleased to continue its 5th anniversary season with the Chicago premiere of BONNIE & CLYDE, the musical story of two small-town nobodies searching for meaning at the height of the Great Depression from the creative team of Frank Wildhorn, Ivan Menchell and Don Black. Directed by Spencer Neiman, with music direction by John Cockerill and choreography by Aubrey Adams, BONNIE & CLYDE will play August 27 - October 15, 2017 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.kokandyproductions.com, by calling (773) 975-8150 or in person at the Theater Wit Box Office. 

Kokandy Productions has announced casting for its Chicago premiere of BONNIE & CLYDE, the musical story of two small-town nobodies searching for meaning at the height of the Great Depression from the creative team of Frank Wildhorn, Ivan Menchell and Don Black.