Dan Rodriguez News

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, announces two-time Grammy Award-winning country artist Rodney Crowell, funk-soul group Robert Randolph & the Family Band and more. The following shows go on sale to the public on Friday, December 13 at noon. Tickets will be available at citywinery.com/chicago.

New Repertory Theatre will present Hair this winter. With MacDermot's groundbreaking music and the show's progressive themes, Hair revolutionized musical theatre as Broadway's first rock musical in 1968. The production runs January 25 through February 23, 2020 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available, as well as free tickets for WIC/EBT cardholders.

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, announces world-renowned violinist Damien Escobar, American Idol runner-up David Archuleta, three-time Grammy winner Taj Mahal, and more. The following shows go on sale to the public on Friday, December 6 at noon. Tickets will be available at citywinery.com/chicago.

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, announces 25-year-old rock group Pat McGee Band and chart-topping singer-songwriter Josh Kelley. The following shows go on sale to the public on Friday, November 29 at noon. Tickets will be available at citywinery.com/chicago.

The following acts are performing at City Winery Chicago (1200 W. Randolph St) throughout the month. All City Winery Chicago events are open to all ages and start at 8:00 p.m., unless noted.  Tickets can be purchased by calling 312-733-WINE (9463) or by visiting www.citywinery.com/chicago.

Rachel Bertone has set the bar high for the 45th anniversary season of the Lyric Stage Company with her pitch perfect production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Assuming the mantle of both director and choreographer, with the dependable Dan Rodriguez as music director by her side, Bertone and her design team capture the grit and the innocence of the story set in the early 1960s, while finding ways to punctuate it with flashes of contemporary pizzazz. Puppet designer Cameron McEachern has crafted an Audrey II without gender bias on its menu, and despite being voiced by a woman (Yewande Odetoyinbo), the plant is no shrinking violet.

In the summer of 1983, Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein put on a show that was light years ahead of the zeitgeist, vis-a-vis the awareness and acceptance of LGBTQ people in America, and about twenty years before the legalization of same-sex marriage. Yet, after a successful tryout at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, they boldly went where no Broadway musical had gone before when they opened LA CAGE AUX FOLLES at the Palace Theatre on August 21, 1983. Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston concludes its 51st Summer Season with LA CAGE, and I am pleased to report that the show continues to stand the test of time. The three most important components for a successful staging of this musical are the two actors who play the leading men, Georges (J.T. Turner) and Albin (James Darrah), and the dance troupe who comprise Les Cagelles, the drag performers at the Saint-Tropez title nightclub owned by the latter couple, and they collectively win the trifecta.

Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston's 51st Summer Season concludes with La Cage Aux Folles from August 8-18, 2019.

Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston's 51st Summer Season continues with The Sound of Music from July 11-21, 2019. This beloved family musical features Elliot Norton and IRNE Award winner Aimee Doherty as 'Maria' - a free spirit who is struggling in her commitment to become a nun; when she is sent to look after the seven children of a widowed Navy captain by the Mother Abbess, she brings joy and music into the family's home and changes all she comes in contact with. IRNE nominee Mark Linehan is featured as Captain Von Trapp. Directed and Choreographed by Daniel Forest Sullivan, Music Director Dan Rodriguez, Produced by Robert J. Eagle.

Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston opens its 51st summer season with Mame from June 13-23, 2019 starring IRNE and Norton Award winner Leigh Barrett as "Auntie Mame, " an irrepressible 1920's socialite whose New York life is changed forever when her orphaned nephew comes to live with her. Additional featured cast members include Maureen Keiller as 'Vera Charles,' Katie O'Reilly as 'Agnes Gooch', and Mark Linehan as 'Beauregard Burnside'. Directed and Choreographed by Eileen Grace, Music Director Dan Rodriguez, Produced by Robert J. Eagle. 

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE is Tony Kushner's (book and lyrics) semi-autobiographical, sung-through musical, with music by Jeanine Tesori (FUN HOME), that had its origins Off-Broadway in 2003, before transferring to Broadway in 2004 for 136 performances and receiving six Tony nominations. In the ensuing years, it had numerous productions in regional theaters and London, and it has long been on Moonbox Productions' short list, according to Producer and Artistic Director Sharman Altshuler. Under the direction of Allison Olivia Choat, the Moonbox staging is a solid effort with a cohesive ensemble, excellent musical direction and vocals, and vivid design elements. Yewande Odetoyinbo is a force in the title role.

Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston's 51st consecutive summer season will take audiences on a fabulous journey around the world and across the 20th Century with three classic musicals

Two dozen nominations of outstanding actors, directors, designers and ensembles were announced today by The Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA), with winners to be revealed at the 37th Annual Elliot Norton Awards on Monday, May 20, 2019 at 7 PM, at the Huntington Avenue Theatre.

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tony Lucca continues touring in support of his brand new album, Ain't No Storm (out March 29, 2019), with a number of tour dates that include stops at Bonnaroo, the Opelika Songwriters Festival, Pat McGee's Down the Hatch, and others (see tour schedule below for all confirmed dates).  

Global Creatures' Broadway-bound Moulin Rouge and the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Man in the Ring were the big winners at the 23rd Annual IRNE Awards, as the two productions garnered a dozen awards between them. Moulin Rouge took home seven awards, including Best Musical, New Musical and Director in the Large Stage category, and Man in the Ring was honored with five, including the Best Play, Director, and Actor awards. Moonbox Productions' Cabaret earned a half-dozen awards, including Best Musical, and Best Director and Choreography awards for its director, Rachel Bertone.  Lauren Patten of JAGGED LITTLE PILL took home the award for Best Supporting Actress for a Large Company.

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tony Lucca is flexing his Americana muscles on his forthcoming new album,Ain't No Storm, which he will be releasing on March 29, 2019.  Ain't No Storm reads like a who's who of East Nashville notables: Ken Coomer produced the record at his studio, Cartoon Moon, great Nashville players like Michael Webb, Ted Pecchio, and Joe Garcia lent their talents — and even Patrick Sweany stopped in for a cameo on “Room With A View.” Replete with songs borne of his admiration for Nashville's rich history – the town's creative community ultimately fueled Lucca's return to the studio and inspired the new album – Ain't No Storm finds Lucca embracing with reverence the process and craft of songwriting and taking his time (more than two years) to get it right.  

Moonbox Productions, winner of numerous IRNE and Elliot Norton Awards, is thrilled to present the Tony- and Olivier-Award-winning musical, Caroline, or Change, by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori.

The Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) today announced the nominees for the 23rd Annual IRNE Awards, which honor the best of the previous year's actors, directors, choreographers, designers and companies across the full spectrum of large, mid-size and fringe theater companies. Moulin Rouge!, a new musical produced by Global Creatures, and An American in Paris, produced by the Ogunquit Playhouse, led with 12 and 11 nominations, respectively, in the Large Stage Musical Category. The Huntington Theatre led all companies with 31 nominations across seven productions, including 11 for Man in the Ring, the story of six-time world champion prizefighter Emile Griffith.

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tony Lucca is flexing his Americana muscles on his forthcoming new album, Ain't No Storm, which he will be releasing on March 29, 2019.  Ain't No Storm reads like a who's who of East Nashville notables: Ken Coomer produced the record at his studio, Cartoon Moon, great Nashville players like Michael Webb, Ted Pecchio, and Joe Garcia lent their talents — and even Patrick Sweany stopped in for a cameo on “Room With A View.” Replete with songs borne of his admiration for Nashville's rich history – the town's creative community ultimately fueled Lucca's return to the studio and inspired the new album – Ain't No Storm finds Lucca embracing with reverence the process and craft of songwriting and taking his time (more than two years) to get it right.  

Moonbox Productions, winner of numerous IRNE and Elliot Norton Awards, is thrilled to present William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Donald Margulies' Shipwrecked! An Entertainment performed in repertory.  Produced by Sharman Altshuler and directed by IRNE and Norton winning Director, Allison Olivia Choat, the productions are performed on alternating nights and open on November 25th and run through December 29th at the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theater, 539 Tremont Street, Boston.  Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays/Saturdays at 8 pm, Sat/Sun matinees 3 pm. Tickets are $50/$45 ($25 for under 25 and $20 student rush ½ hour prior to performance).  For a production schedule and to purchase tickets, go to bostontheatrescene.com or call 617-933-8600. (*Press performance for Shipwrecked! An Entertainment is Saturday December 1st at 3:00pm.  Press performance for Twelfth Night is Saturday, December 1st at 8pm.)