The Circle Photos - Broadway

It's October 4, 1965, and Pope Paul VI is spending 14 hours in New York City, marking the first visit by a reigning pope to the United States. Millions line the streets to greet him and zookeeper Artie Shaughnessy, a wannabe Hollywood songwriter with big dreams and no discernible talent, joins the throngs in the hope that a papal blessing will help propel him out of Queens, away from his mentally ill wife, Bananas, and into a new life in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Bunny Flingus. 

Los Altos Hills will be alive with The Sound of Music this summer, when multi-award winning Foothill Music Theatre presents the Tony, Grammy, and Academy Award-winning musical. This beloved musical, set in Austria in 1938, follows novice Maria Rainer who becomes the governess for the von Trapp family, capturing the hearts of the seven children and their father, a widowed naval captain. As the Nazis occupy Austria, the family is forced make decisions which forever change their lives, fleeing their home in pursuit of freedom. Director Milissa Carey, music director William Liberatore, and choreographers Brett and C.J. Blankenship breathe new life into this classic tale of hope, love, and family. The Sound of Music will play July 19- August 5, 2018(press opening: July 20) at the Smithwick Theatre, I-280 & El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. Tickets ($12 - $32) and information can be found at www.foothill.edu/theatre or by phone at (650) 949-7360.    

ENGAGING SHAW begins in England in 1897 in a comfortable cottage in Stratford, England, where Shaw hopes to complete his new play. As he engages in conversation with his friends, the happily married cottage owners, Beatrice and Sidney Webb, we learn Shaw is a notorious flirt and heartbreaker who enjoys romancing women, attracting them to him "like a moth to the flame." But it is soon apparent he is not particularly interested in sex, a fact reflected in his real life where he remained a virgin until his 29th birthday. It's the thrill of the hunt that is the main attraction for Shaw, thoroughly enjoying the effect he has on women as he pursues them, not in the keeping of them. In present-day parlance, he'd be considered a sexist cad. Beatrice sees an opportunity to deflect Shaw's interest in her (and hers in him) by inviting their wealthy benefactor Charlotte to visit, knowing when she meets Shaw, the financially challenged but famous Irish playwright and political activist, that sparks will fly.

Actors Co-op (Ovation Award-Winner 2014 Best Intimate Theatre Musical for 110 in the Shade) presents the first show in its celebratory 25th Silver Anniversary season with OUR TOWN, by Thornton Wilder and directed by Richard Israel.  OUR TOWN will preview on Wednesday, September 14 and Thursday, September 15 at 8pm and will open on Friday, September 16 at 8pm and run through Sunday, October 23 at the Actors Co-op David Schall Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St. (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood) in Hollywood.

Even though the movement may have been slowed down by the recent Ohio election, the march toward legalization of marijuana seems on its way in this country.

Westport Country Playhouse stages the madcap American comedy, 'Room Service,' about a producer and his ragtag bunch of cohorts who try to raise money for a Broadway show as they scramble to evade their hotel bill, written by John Murray and Allen Boretz, directed by Mark Lamos, now through October 27. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Musicals have come from various sources. There has been the tale of an illiterate flower girl who was transformed into a proper woman (MY FAIR LADY), a Biblical Jewish youth who became a leader in Egypt (JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT), a prince who kept searching for his corner of the sky until he realized that it was right where he was (PIPPIN), and a big nosed sassy New York girl who transformed herself into a famous vaudeville star (FUNNY GIRL).

Kitty Warren has worked hard to provide a good life for her daughter. But when Vivie finds out the truth about her mother's profession, sparks fly. The Antaeus Company, L.A.'s multiple award-winning classical theater company, presents Mrs. Warren's Profession, the superbly intelligent-and still shocking- powerhouse of a play by George Bernard Shaw that was banned for eight years on the English stage. Robin Larsen directs the double-cast production now through April 21, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a first look at both casts onstage below!

Rubicon Theatre of Ventura presents the centerpiece of the company's 15th Anniversary 'Our Town/Your Theatre' Season, with Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic Our Town. This year marks not only Rubicon's 15th anniversary, but also the 75th Anniversary of Our Town's first production, which is being celebrated nationally. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below!

This is the time of year that theatres are looking for productions to attract large audiences in order to bring some extra money into the coffers. BECK, for a number of years did BEAUTY AND THE BEAST for their holiday show. This year they opened the classic ANNIE.

Too Many Husbands by W. Somerset Maugham plays June 24 - July 16, 2011 at The Vortex, 2307 Manor Rd. map Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

Producers Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian and Tom Wirtshafter present the acclaimed David Cromer production of' Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Performances begin Tuesday, February 17th with an official opening night set for Thursday, February 26th, 7:30 p.m., at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street), whose space was completely redesigned for this production.

The Roundabout Theatre Company's starry upcoming production of the classic George Bernard Shaw comedy Heartbreak House will begin previews on September 15th and open at the American Airlines Theatre on October 11th