Jimmy Ray News

Time is running out to vote for for the 2021 BroadwayWorld Houston Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

Get your Christmas lists together and join 9-year-old Ralphie this holiday season! Returning from Mill Mountain Theatre's 2017 season is, A Christmas Story! Celebrate the holiday season with Mill Mountain Theatre! Based on the popular movie of the same name, A Christmas Story is the perfect way to kick off your holiday spirit!

After an almost two-year delay, Riverside Center for the Performing Arts' will at long last present the Tony Award nominated Bright Star live onstage from September 15 through October 31!

OMIGOD you have been admitted to Harvard Law! Join Elle Woods on the Trinkle MainStage at Mill Mountain Theatre this Fall to experience a whole lot of pink! Learn all about the show here.

After a highly successful performance run in 2019, Bright Star returns to The Firehouse Theatre this September as a concert production! Bright Star features over 20 beautiful songs and tells a beguiling tale that unfolds in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina between 1923 and 1945. Billy Cane, a young soldier just home from World War II, meets Alice Murphy, the brilliant editor of a southern literary journal.

For the first time since the Sound of Music in December 2019, MainStage Musicals are back at Mill Mountain Theatre. Roanoke's professional regional theatre is kicking off its 2021 Trinkle MainStage series with the 'rockin'' story of America's rock'n'roll icons.

Recent high school graduates, 19-year-old Ronald Spoto from Harrison School for the Arts in Lakeland and 18-year-old Jillian Cossetta from Gulf Coast High School in Naples, will represent the Straz Center at the 2021 Jimmy Awards online due to the pandemic.

Learn more about the production and purchase tickets here!

When this feature was first announced, I had a really tough time narrowing down these choices, I could have gone on for ages! I picked these six as they are dear to my heart for a multitude of reasons, and so to my beloved six: thankyou for the music!

In its first-ever virtual announcement, Starlight revealed the nominations for the 18th annual Blue Star Awards in a live premiere on Facebook Thursday, May 21. Fifty-three of 54 schools were able to stage their 2019-20 Blue Star Awards musicals throughout the past school year, leading to 179 nominations in 23 categories. On Thursday, hundreds of Blue Star Awards students celebrated the much-anticipated nominations at a safe social distance.

In its first-ever virtual announcement, Starlight revealed the nominations for the 18th annual Blue Star Awards in a live premiere on Facebook Thursday, May 21. Fifty-three of 54 schools were able to stage their 2019-20 Blue Star Awards musicals throughout the past school year, leading to 179 nominations in 23 categories.

ATLANTA'S MISSING AND MURDERED: THE LOST CHILDREN, debuting SUNDAY, APRIL 5 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT), is a five-part documentary series offering an unprecedented look at the abduction and murder of at least 30 African American children and young adults in Atlanta between 1979 and 1981.

Inspired by a real event and featuring the bluegrass-tinged Grammy and Tony-nominated Steven Martin and Edie Brickell score, making its DC Regional Premiere, Bright Star will open at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts March 25th and run through May 17th! Tony-nominated for Best Musical, Bright Star is a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and '40s. When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from World War II, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past - and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives.

The complete cast is set for Mill Mountain Theatre's upcoming Spring Musical: Dreamgirls, running March 25 - April 11 on the Trinkle MainStage. A dazzling journey through 20th-century American popular music, Dreamgirls follows the rising stardom of The Dreamettes, an all-girl Motown group from Chicago. Known for its 2006 feature film adaptation starring Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls is filled with show-stopping musical numbers from the genres of gospel, R&B, smooth pop, disco, and more.

BRIGHT STAR tells the story of the unforgettable Alice Murphy, a strong-willed girl growing up and experiencing tragedy in the 1920s, and later in her life in 1940s North Carolina. This beautiful production is the Oklahoma High School premiere of the 2016 Tony-nominated musical that features bluegrass music by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell.

The Oklahoma High School Premiere of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's BRIGHT STAR runs at Choctaw High School February 21st - March 1st. This Southern Story of Hope follows the dynamic female character Alice Murphy, a headstrong Southerner who faces tragedy and heartbreak along her journey toward becoming a successful career woman in 1940s North Carolina.

The Baldwinsville Theatre Guild has brought a truly breathtaking production of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's Bright Star to their stage under the superb direction of Colin Keating. Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's beautifully crafted bluegrass musical is breathtakingly brought to life by the stellar cast. This local community theatre production could give some professional theaters a run for their money thanks to Director Keating's spot-on casting, his detailed direction, and the unbelievable talents of local community theater performers that are often seen throughout Central New York.

BRIGHT STAR on Hale Centre Theatre's Jewel Box Stage creates homespun warmth that cuts through the darkness in an emotional journey. If you have never had the opportunity to see BRIGHT STAR, or if you really want to see it again, this uplifting production will be your best bet.

Hale Centre Theatre (HCT) will present the regional company premiere of Bright Star Jan. 20 through May 2 at the Mountain American Performing Arts Centre's Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage. 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre (CCCT) celebrates its 60th birthday on Saturday, February 8 at 8 pm with Broadway Inside Out, a thrilling evening of gender-swapped songs from Broadway musicals directed by Executive Artistic Director Marilyn Langbehn, with music direction by Sheela Ramesh, and choreography by Allison Paraiso-Silicani. Tickets for Broadway Inside Out are $50 each; all proceeds benefit CCCT's Main Stage and summer drama camp programming. To purchase or for more information visit www.ccct.org or call 510-524-9012.