David Michael News

The Audio Publishers Association has announced finalists for the 2023 Audie Awards®, the premier awards program recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment. Winners across 26 competitive categories will be revealed at the Audie Awards Gala on March 28. The ceremony will be streamed to the public from Chelsea Piers’ Pier Sixty in NYC. 

The riveting machinations of Frederick Knott's WAIT UNTIL DARK are well-captured in Hale Centre Theatre's production, directed by Jim Roehr and featuring a convincing performance by Juli Buehrle as Susy. The show runs through November 22nd.

What did our critic think of TOOTSIE at Rochester Broadway Theatre League? The Rochester Broadway Theatre League begins its 2022-2023 M&T Bank Broadway season with something fun and splashy, a perfect date night musical based on one of the 1980s' most beloved pop culture gems. 'Tootsie', the Robert Horn and David Yazbek musical adaption of the 1982 Dustin Hoffman film of the same name, is a light and springy show about showbiz, which also attempts to grapple with the difficulties of being a woman in a man's world. Rochester is the first stop on Tootsie's national tour.

The Apollo kicks off Apollo Comedy Club and Apollo Music Café shows, starting Thursday, October 6. Performances will take place on Apollo’s Soundstage on October 6, 7, and 8. Doors open at 9PM EST. Shows begin at 10PM EST. Tickets start at $26.50.

Following a triumphant Australian premiere, Global Creatures(producer of Moulin Rouge! The Musical) will present the New York lab of Muriel's Wedding The Musical, which kicked offSeptember 15 and continues September 16.

On Monday, September 19, Theater For The New City, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street), will present a memorial for its co-founder George Bartenieff (January 23, 1933-July 30, 2022) to celebrate his creative years at the theater, 1971-1992.  Reception begins at 7:30 PM and a narrated pictorial, remembrances and performances will start at 8:00 PM.

Baltimore Center Stage has announced the complete cast and creative team for Our Town. Written by Thornton Wilder and directed by Stevie Walker-Webb (The Folks at Home), Our Town begins performances on Thursday September 15 for a limited run through Sunday October 9.

The Apollo Theater has announced details of its fall/winter 2022 season titled The Next Movement. The Apollo has long been a place of dynamic energy and forward motion; this season, the theater honors that longstanding tradition through a series of performances and programs that look to the future.

BLURRING BOUNDARIES 2022 delves into the idiosyncrasies and intersectionality that make up the multifaceted community.

Theater for the New City's award-winning Street Theater Company will open its 2022 annual tour Saturday, August 6 with 'Teacher! Teacher! or PS I Love You,' a rip-roaring original musical which tells the story of a struggling teacher in an underserved neighborhood who puts her life on the line for her kids.

What did our critic think? Split Stage continues to provide a haven for adult-oriented semi-pro theatre. The plot, overly convoluted by design, parodies eighties movie comedies with a 'let's save the rock venue' stream of cliches that get mercilessly savaged. Wannabe rocker Drew (Gabe DeRose) can't seem to make a love connection with nubile waitress Sherrie (Raegan Hochman), while German real estate developer Hertz (Hank Fodor) and his effeminate son Franz (Caleb Feigles) attempt to turn the Sunset Strip into a strip mall. All this mixes with a stream of colorful characters like a hair metal rock god (Michael David Stoddard), a social reformer hippie (Clair Ivy Stoller) and pair of chaotic-bisexual club owners (Josh Reardon and Bill Elder).

What did our critic think of Tootsie in Costa Mesa? Despite a still problematic central premise, the non-equity national tour of the stage adaptation of TOOTSIE---now playing at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 12, 2022---is, for the most part, a funny but flawed musical sprinkled with lots of funny lines, rapid-fire humor, and amusing shenanigans.

​​​​​​​The long awaited 62nd Annual Garden Grove Strawberry Festival, “Celebrating Essential Workers,” made its triumphal return May 27 – 30, 2022, after a two-year hiatus due to the worldwide health pandemic. 

Find out this year's nominees and winners for Drama League Awards. The 2022 Awards will recognize eligible Broadway and Off-Broadway (non-virtual only) productions that began preview performances between March 16, 2021, and April 23, 2022.

The Drama League today announced the 2022 Drama League Awards Nominees and we've got all the nominations for for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Direction of a Play, Outstanding Direction of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award.

The latest in The Phantom of the Opera Broadway casting news. Jordan Donica, who made his Broadway debut in PHANTOM playing 'Raoul,' will return to the role beginning Sunday, May 29 for a limited engagement.  Maree Johnson will return to the Broadway cast as 'Madame Giry' on Monday, May 16 and more.

Macbeth begins performances tonight, March 29, 2022, at the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street) and opens on Thursday, April 28, 2022. Learn more about the cast bringing this show back to the stage!

After making history as the first black woman to play Christine Daaé in the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Emilie Kouatchou sat down with Sheinelle Jones on The TODAY Show to discuss her groundbreaking debut. Jones also sat down with casting associate Joseph Hayes to discuss the importance of diversity and representation on Broadway.

Aiming to play a role in revitalizing the hard-hit cultural scene in New York City, The Barrow Group’s new 13,155 sq. ft. home currently plans a dynamic 60-seat theater, 5 sound-attenuated studios, offices, and a large community gathering space. Phased renovations are expected to begin in February 2022 and are estimated to cost $4 million in total.

Just last night, The Phantom of the Opera celebrated its 34th anniversary! Emilie Kouatchou took over the role of Christine Daae beginning at last night's performance. She is the first Black actor to play the role on Broadway. Following the performance, the current Phantom, Ben Crawford, gave a speech honoring the show.