Jay Poppe

No matter how much you know about the Titanic disaster, the musical grounds the story, humanizes it, and you leave the theatre an emotional wreck.

Newsies is Disney's fictional account of the actual Newsboys Strike of 1899 where paper New York hawkers, as they were called, banned together and formed their own so-called 'union' to strike in protest of their distribution centers whose publishers raised the cost of the newspapers they bought and sold in Manhattan in order to earn a living. The 1992 Disney film starring Christian Bale was not a commercial success although the film carried a large home base audience, making it a cult classic. The 2012 Broadway musical version, book by Harvey Fierstein and starring Jeremy Jordan met with more acclaim. Any ensemble attempting to produce this high energy, fast-paced, testosterone-packed production better have their act together in more ways than one. Manatee Performing Arts Center came prepared and delivered.

A Little Night Music opens Today, October 26th, at Manatee Performing Arts Center, and BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

A Little Night Music opens Thursday, October 26th, at Manatee Performing Arts Center, and BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Manatee Performing Arts Center opens their 2017 - 2018 Season with The Producers this Today, August 10! Bialystock and Bloom! Those names should strike terror and hysteria in anyone familiar with Mel Brooks' classic cult comedy film. Now as a big Broadway musical, The Producers once again sets the standard for modern, outrageous, in-your-face humor. It is a truly 'boffo' hit, winning a record twelve Tony Awards and wowing capacity crowds night after night. BroadwayWorld has an exclusive first look at the cast in action below!

Yank! tells the story of Stu, a Midwestern kid who gets drafted for World War II in 1943, and becomes a reporter for Yank Magazine, the journal 'for the servicemen, by the servicemen.' Yank! has a score that pays homage to the 1940s and explores what it means to be a man, and what it is to fall in love and struggle. Intelligent and impassioned, suffused with songs in swing, big band and boogie-woogie styles, the show explores the stories that don't get told in wartime, and how WWII became a great catalyst in bringing gay men and women together. Broadway World has an exclusive look into Manatee Performing Arts Center's opening night reception here.

YANK! tells the story of Stu, a Midwestern kid who gets drafted for World War II in 1943, and becomes a reporter for Yank Magazine, the journal 'for the servicemen, by the servicemen.' YANK! runs at Manatee Performing Arts Center tonight, February 18, through March 6, 2016. BroadwayWorld has a look at the cast in action below!

YANK! tells the story of Stu, a Midwestern kid who gets drafted for World War II in 1943, and becomes a reporter for Yank Magazine, the journal 'for the servicemen, by the servicemen.' YANK! runs at Manatee Performing Arts Center February 18 - March 6, 2016. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Yank! tells the story of Stu, a Midwestern kid who gets drafted for World War II in 1943, and becomes a reporter for Yank Magazine, the journal 'for the servicemen, by the servicemen.' Yank! has a score that pays homage to the 1940s and explores what it means to be a man, and what it is to fall in love and struggle. Intelligent and impassioned, suffused with songs in swing, big band and boogie-woogie styles, the show explores the stories that don't get told in wartime, and how WWII became a great catalyst in bringing gay men and women together.

Yank! tells the story of Stu, a Midwestern kid who gets drafted for World War II in 1943, and becomes a reporter for Yank Magazine, the journal 'for the servicemen, by the servicemen.' Yank! has a score that pays homage to the 1940s and explores what it means to be a man, and what it is to fall in love and struggle. Intelligent and impassioned, suffused with songs in swing, big band and boogie-woogie styles, the show explores the stories that don't get told in wartime, and how WWII became a great catalyst in bringing gay men and women together.

Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize winning play OUR TOWN comes to the Bradenton Kiwanis Studio Theater Thursday October 31 and plays through November 17. This is only the second time that the Manatee Players have presented OUR TOWN, the first being in 1951.

Performances are August 23 & 24 at 8 p.m. Tickets are only $15 and may be purchased by calling 941-748-5875 Monday - Friday from 9-5 and one hour before curtain on performance days or on the Manatee Players' website: www.manateeplayers.com. Seating is festival style on a first come, first serve basis. All performances are at the Manatee Performing Arts Center at 502 3rd Avenue West in downtown Bradenton.

The age-old tale of Boy-Meets-Girl and the complications which ensue intrigue every audience, and no musical puts it on stage better than ANYTHING GOES. This show is an amusing story wrapped around one of Cole Porter's magical scores. Terrific Cole Porter songs include It's De-Lovely, Friendship, I Get A Kick Out Of You, All Through The Night, Anything Goes, You're The Top, Blow, Gabriel, Blow, Buddie Beware and Easy To Love. It's a wonder that all the romances are sorted out and disaster is averted aboard the magical ship where ANYTHING GOES!

THE SOUND OF MUSIC by Rodgers and Hammerstein closes at the Manatee Players on October 9.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC by Rodgers and Hammerstein opens at the Manatee Players on September 22 and plays through October 9.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC by Rodgers and Hammerstein opens at the Manatee Players on September 22 and plays through October 9.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC by Rodgers and Hammerstein opens at the Manatee Players on September 22 and plays through October 9.