Michael Learned News

Emmy Award winner Sally Struthers and Broadway & TV favorite Joyce Reehling headline Love, Loss, and What I Wore at Judson Theatre Company (Morgan Sills, Executive Producer and Daniel Haley, Artistic Director). Struthers is best known for her roles on All in the Family and  Gilmore Girls. Reehling is a beloved veteran of stage and television (Fifth of July, Law & Order). Love, Loss, and What I Wore opens Today, October 18 at 7:00 pm and runs through Sunday, October 21 at the Hannah Center Theatre (on the campus of The O'Neal School, 3300 Airport Road, Southern Pines, NC 28387).  Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

In August of 2009, the then-named Alhambra Dinner Theatre was all but shuttered and on the edge of extinction. In came Jacksonville native Craig Smith and his business partners to purchase the nation's longest-running dinner theater and return the community's cultural gem to glory.

'LAs Next Great Stage Star is more than a competition - it is an experience, deeply felt and expressed by these super-talented young people who are the new faces of our business. If this is any indication, the future of theatre is in good hands!!' - Multi-Million selling recording artist and author, Sam Harris

On Monday, August 27 LA's Next Great Stage Star 2018 Presented by Princess Cruises came to a thrilling conclusion on the Debbie Reynolds Mainstage of the El Portal Theatre in NoHo. After a very entertaining 90-minute program in which the 10 contestants gave 150% to their monologues and songs from Broadway shows, eight contestants were eliminated and the top two finalists were selected. It was then decided,  from the consensus of the judges, to add a third runnerup. Then each of the three proceeded to perform a second number after which the distinguished panel of judges made the final decision. Musical director par excellence Jennifer Lin accompanied at the piano throughout the three hour show.

On August 27th, the Debbie Reynolds Main stage at the historic El Portal Theater will host the 12th annual LA's Next Great Stage Star(R), following a six week competition.  Creator, Michael Sterling, along with his Co-Executive Producer and Co-Sponsor, Barbara Van Orden, are proud to offer this annual opportunity to talented individuals seeking to spotlight their abilities. Presented by Princess Cruises LA's Next Great Stage Star(R) is the only competition of its kind in the Western United States.

And you thought she was out spoken on the hit NBC series Little House on the Prairie, as the girl America loved to hate -Nellie Oleson.  Declared "TV history's #1 one bitch" by Vanity Fair, Ms Arngrim's best-selling memoirs, 'Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated,' (Harper Collins) had an unprecedented run on the New York Times Best Seller's List. (Audio available on Amazon, both as a CD and MP3 format, by Tantor Media). Ms Arngrim has taken the show, 'CONFESSIONS ...' on the road to critical acclaim around the world with her open and honest look at life as a child star, being part of a famous family, surrounded by notorious friends, dealing with preditors and the draw backs to being one of the most hated characters in TV history.

Emmy Award winner Sally Struthers and Broadway & TV favorite Joyce Reehling headline Love, Loss, and What I Wore at Judson Theatre Company (Morgan Sills, Executive Producer and Daniel Haley, Artistic Director). Struthers is best known for her roles on All in the Family and  Gilmore Girls. Reehling is a beloved veteran of stage and television (Fifth of July, Law & Order). Love, Loss, and What I Wore opens Thursday, October 18 at 7:00 pm and runs through Sunday, October 21 at the Hannah Center Theatre (on the campus of The O'Neal School, 3300 Airport Road, Southern Pines, NC 28387).  Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

On Thursday, July 12th, Hollywood maven and powerhouse, Donelle Dadigan, (Co-Founder of the Jose Iturbi Foundation/President & Founder of The Hollywood Museum, Chairman of The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce) invited a select group of VIPs for an evening of dinner and a concert at The Hollywood Bowl as the Los Angeles Philharmonic presented an evening of Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.2 under the stars with Behzod Abduraimov on piano and conductor, Gustavo Dudamel.

Casting has been announced for the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ("Olive Kitteridge") of her acclaimed 2004 play The Baby Dance. A drama delicately laced with comic overtones, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child. In the story, Regina and Richard, an affluent mixed-race couple in Los Angeles, have everything except a baby. Wanda and Al, an African-American couple living in an overcrowded trailer in modern-day Louisiana, are too poor to keep their soon-to-be-born child. Through an adoption attorney, the two couples broker a deal. However, circumstances arise that affect their decision and the situation spins out of control. The Wall Street Journal described The Baby Dance as "filled with emotional power and nimble humor." The L.A. Times called it "a stunner…funny as well as perceptive."

Casting has been announced for the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ('Olive Kitteridge') of her acclaimed 2004 play The Baby Dance. A drama delicately laced with comic overtones, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child.

This past week, The Sunday Moving Picture Show andf Nandar Entertainment hosted a private cast and crew private screening of the film 'INCLUSION CRITERIA' in the historic Charlie Chaplin Theater on the Raleigh Studios back lot, prior to the films LA Premiere on April 13 - 19 at Arena Cinelounge (6464 Sunset Blvd, Los angeles)

The Group Rep presents Ira Levin's comic thriller Deathtrap directed by Jules Aaron, produced by Larry Eisenberg. One of the great popular successes of Broadway history and Tony nominated for Best Play in 1978, Deathtrap deals with the devious machinations of a writer of thrillers who is prepared to go to any lengths to improve his fortunes. Deathtrap runs April 6 through May 20 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood.

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is thrilled to announce its 2018-2019 season of shows. Executive Director Ellen Richard comments, "This is a sensational 98th season. We are happy to give our audiences a diverse array of musicals and plays that they will find moving, compelling and entertaining."

"Life is short, and it's up to you to make it sweet." - Sadie Delany (1889 -1999). Goodman Theatre revives Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, Emily Mann's "warming theatrical event" (Variety)that celebrates the lives of "two strong, vibrant women dispensing joy and wisdom" (Chicago Tribune). Goodman Theatre Resident Director Chuck Smith's production features Ella Joyce and Marie Thomas as the Delany centenarians, Bessie (1891 - 1995) and Sadie (1889 -1999), respectively, as they trace their lives in a heartfelt reflection of their family history and triumphs over prejudices in times of social unrest.

Golden Globe nominee John James headlines the cast of William Gibson's The Miracle Worker at Judson Theatre Company (Morgan Sills, Executive Producer and Daniel Haley, Artistic Director). James is best known for playing "Jeff Colby" in the primetime soap Dynasty and its spinoff series The Colbys.  

Range of Light presents the world premiere of David Sessions' dark comedy Two Fisted Love, directed by Los Angeles stage veteran Jules Aaron, in a visiting production at the Odyssey Theatre. Opens February 10.

Range of Light presents the world premiere of David Sessions' dark comedy Two Fisted Love, directed by Los Angeles stage veteran Jules Aaron, in a visiting production at the Odyssey Theatre. Opens February 10.

Show time is Saturday, February 3 at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $42 & $35 and can be purchased by visiting the State Theatre Box Office, 453 Northampton Street, Easton, by calling 1-800-999-STATE, 610-252-3132 or online at www.statetheatre.org. Sponsored by WDIY 88.1 FM

Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly were iconic and game-changing in their era, and still have influence with today's music-makers. The Alhambra Theatre & Dining will kick off its 2018 Alhambra After Dark music series schedule by celebrating Elvis and Buddy Holly. Kevin Mills will return to the Alhambra from February 7 11, 2018 with his award-winning tribute to Elvis in a new show, Elvis is Back! The Rave-Ons, led by one of Alhambra's most popular performers, Todd Meredith, will bring their rendition of Buddy Holly & The Crickets to the Alhambra from March 28 April 1, 2018 in a show entitled, That'll Be the Day. Both shows are concert-style events, and pricing for each show is $65 and includes dinner, performance and parking.

Rubicon Theatre Company presents the outrageously funny, critically-acclaimed comedy Buyer & Cellar by Jonathan Tolins. The production is directed by Ovation Award-winner Stephanie A. Coltrin and stars award-winning actor and Rubicon's Associate Artistic Director Brian McDonald. Inspired by Barbra Streisand's book My Passion for Design, Tolins' one-man, tour-de-force is described by the N.Y. Times as a seriously funny slice of absurdist whimsy about the price of fame, the cost of things, and the oddest of odd jobs. Winner of the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Best Play, this Off-Broadway sensation follows a struggling actor named Alex who winds up working for an unnamed show-business legend in her Malibu basement mall. An unlikely friendship develops between the two from which Alex learns profound lessons about himself.