David Benjamin News

POP UP THEATER, INC. is thrilled to present the award-winning play, PTERODACTYLS, written by Nicky Silver (The Lyons), produced by Grafton Doyle and directed by Melanie Weisner (Becky Shaw).  PTERODACTYLS will open on Friday, September 1 at 8pm and runs through Sunday, September 24 at The Commissary at The Culver Studios, 9336 Washington Blvd. in Culver City.

After an impressive string of releases so far this year including remixes of Martin Garrix's 'Scared To Be Lonely' and Martin Solveig's 'Places', as well as a number of releases last year each racking up streams in the millions, Canada's future bass hot shot Conro returns to the Monstercat imprint with the genre spanning 'Lay Low' feat singer/songwriter David Benjamin.

The Vancouver Chamber Choir and Artistic Director Jon Washburn have drawn their 46th concert season to a close with the performance of YOUTH AND MUSIC 2017 and winner announcements of the 13th Biennial Young Composers' Competition.    The Vancouver Chamber Choir gives outstanding support to the growth and development of talented young composers.

Magic Theatre's 50th anniversary gala fundraiser was held on Friday, April 7, at the Minnesota Street Project and celebrated 50 years of artistic trailblazing by honoring the theatre's previous Artistic Directors (including founder John Lion and successors Harvey Seifter, Larry Eilenberg, Mame Hunt, Chris Smith and current Artistic Director Loretta Greco). Scroll down for photos!

After a 5-year hiatus, the WE'RE FUNNY THAT WAY Festival returns by popular demand! The legendary LGBTQ+ comedy festival and fundraiser will make its triumphant return on May 3 - 6, 2017 with a variety of comedy, music, and burlesque performances to benefit the We're Funny That Way Foundation.

Coming into the holiday season, when many reflect on what they are most grateful for, EVERY BRILLIANT THING strikes a delicate balance between sobering loss and cathartic laughter.

The National Theatre of the Deaf has launched their Fall Touring Season with a varied and comprehensive bill featuring: Two by Twain -Experience of the McWilliamses directed by Guest Artist Joey Caverly and Mrs. McWilliams and the Lightning directed by Guest Artist William C. Martin. These two comic gems are ushered onstage by a curtain warmer of American Poets all presented in the unique theatrical style created by NTD. The talented company is comprised of:

Taking on a story of such biblical proportions (pun intended) as SALOME is a courageous act and The Gale Theatre Company, is a courageous ensemble. 'Everyone is safe but no one is comfortable,' is a commitment the company shares in the program for their interpretation of SALOME. Salome, the 'dancing woman' from the New Testament, has been depicted in all manner of artful medium - theatre, opera, poetry, film, ballet, even a video game. She is an icon, arguably more interesting even than the first woman Eve. And so it is that the Gale Theatre Company, under the direction of Katherine Wilkinson and choreography of Earl Kim, tackle this biblical figure made icon by playwright Oscar Wilde, portrayed in film by the likes of Theda Bara and Rita Hayworth. In this depiction though, we start at Salome's end, rather than her beginning. 'What does a woman do when she is left alone to grieve?'

The only thing more outrageous than Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs was his life. He was obsessed with magic and in particular, with what he saw as the magic of photography and the magic of sex. He pursued both with insatiable dedication.  “Look at the pictures.” With these words, Jesse Helms denounced the work of Robert Mapplethorpe. Twenty-five years later, the first and most complete documentary about the artist since his death, by acclaimed directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, does just that,with unprecedented unlimited access to his archives and work.  Check out the trailer below!

More than 25 years later, the HBO Documentary Films presentation MAPPLETHORPE: LOOK AT THE PICTURES does just that, taking an unflinching, unprecedented look at his most provocative work.

More than 25 years later, the HBO DOCUMENTARY FILMS presentation MAPPLETHORPE: LOOK AT THE PICTURES does just that, taking an unflinching, unprecedented look at his most provocative work.

Swiftly Tilting Theatre Project, Inc. cures the winter blues with its production of William Shakespeare's comedy with original music, Twelfth Night from December 24, 2015 to January 3, 2015 at The Secret Theatre at 4402 23rd Street, Long Island City.  

Triumph, a new play inspired by true events, written by Benjamin David Hoffman and directed by Andy Sandberg (Application Pending; The Last Smoker in America), will receive an invitation-only reading in New York on May 28, 2015.

Triumph, a new play inspired by true events, written by Benjamin David Hoffman and directed by Andy Sandberg (Application Pending; The Last Smoker in America), will receive an invitation-only reading in New York on May 28, 2015.

The January 2015 edition of CUNY TV's ARTS IN THE CITY, hosted by Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson in the newly reopened Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan, begins today, Jan. 9 (2015) at 10am, 3pm and 8:30pm on CUNY TV*.

The January 2015 edition of CUNY TV's ARTS IN THE CITY, hosted by Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson in the newly reopened Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan, begins Friday, Jan. 9 (2015) at 10am, 3pm and 8:30pm on CUNY TV*.

The debut of Broadway Mondays this past Monday night at Hardware Bar NYC was a true sensation! Breaking Monday night attendance records at the bar, it is clear that Broadway Mondays are back in New York City to stay. Scroll down for photos featuring Broadway's Ben Fankhauser and more!

MoMA PS1 presents Warm Up 2014, beginning June 28 and taking place every Today this summer through September 6.

Hy-Fi, the winning project of The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1's 2014 Young Architects Program, opens today, June 27 in the MoMA PS1 courtyard. A circular tower of organic and reflective bricks that uses biological technologies combined with cutting-edge computation and engineering, the structure is made of biodegradable material and was created through a new method of bio-design conceived by its designer, David Benjamin of the New York-based architects The Living. It will remain on view through September 7.