Matthew Smith News

The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, part of the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University, and the Department of English, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, present the 2019 Louis Heck-Rabi Dramatic Playwriting One-Act Festival from February 1-3.

What do you want me to say? HAMILTON is in Pittsburgh. If that doesn't sell you already, you already knew you weren't interested.

The most anticipated arrival in Pittsburgh since Le'Veon's vanishing...Hamilton, the Broadway musical, has taken up shop at the Benedum Center through January 27. The musical, nominated for a record number of Tony Awards and winning 11, recounts the life of Alexander Hamilton and the birth of our nation through hip-hop and song. With lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamiltonastonishes. To quote the author, 'There are moments that words don't reach' - and Hamilton is embodies them.

Every so often the musical theatre landscape experiences a swell of enthusiasm and excitement for a fresh, new and engaging play. Theatre fans (and casual viewers) alike can recall the hype when THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA or LES MISERABLES first opened (and went on tour). More recently the WICKED phenomenon brought young and old alike out to experience the magic and electricity that only a live performance can elicit. Today, the show that everyone is talking about (and obsessing over) is Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony winning musical HAMILTON. Like its popular predecessors, it has recently begun touring around the country - riding the wave of enthusiasm and further cementing its place as a true pop-culture phenomenon. But unlike its flashy, big budget predecessors, HAMILTON, in many ways, lives in its own category. It is a show that is modern, fresh, and that pushes boundaries and delivers in two and a half hours an experience unlike anything this reviewer has experienced before. I am thrilled to say, in the production that has now arrived at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, CT - HAMILTON shines brilliantly, delivering in every way (and beyond) on the hype that precedes it.

It's not often that a Broadway musical creates so much press and hype that almost every US citizen has heard of the phenomenon that is HAMILTON. The show that got it's start off Broadway at NY's Public Theatre has taken the country by storm. Still the hottest ticket on Broadway 3 years after it has opened, the touring production has been anticipated in almost every US National tour market for a full two years prior to it actually surfacing. This has created record breaking subscription ticket sales just so everyone could be guaranteed a seat for HAMILTON.

Not often does it happen that a young actor walks away with a show lock, stock and barrel - especially if he's in the company of some of the most experienced veteran actors to be found on local stages. But that is exactly what happens in Arts Center of Cannon County's current 2108 mainstage season finale of Hello, Dolly!, the Jerry Herman classic now onstage in Woodbury through November 18.

Taylor Martin brings you music with a beating heart; his raspy, emotion filled voice is instantly recognizable and his lyrics have an unflinching sincerity. Martin releases his third album, Song Dogs November 16th Little King Records. On it, he spins tales of the highway, homes, lost love, love regained, redemption, and the overuse of cell phones. The Honeycutters' Amanda Anne Platt took the lead as Music Producer (along with adding harmony vocals on a handful of songs) with the help of Co-Producer and Engineer, Robert George, and Martin's visions for the album. The album was recorded at Sound Temple Studios in Asheville, North Carolina.

This weekend, Santa Barbara Shakespeare presents 'As You Like It,' a Shakespearian gender-bent forest frolic, in Montecito's Manning Park. Bring a picnic and a bottle of wine, and join SB Shakes in the Forest of Arden to experience the revelry of one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies.

The Hilberry Theatre is kicking off their 56th anniversary with the hilarious musical, Avenue Q, opening this Friday, September 21st in Detroit. The musical with book and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx is a three-time Tony Award winning show, including Best Musical, has been shocking and amusing audiences since it debuted in 2003. What makes Avenue Q different than any other show? It's a hilarious adult-only spoof done with puppets that will keep the audience laughing from the very first musical number until the last note is finishes. BroadwayWorld Detroit had a chance to speak with Matthew Smith, a member of the Hilberry Company, who plays Nicky in Avenue Q about the show, the puppetry, and why everyone should come out for fulfilling night of laughter.

Phoenix Rising Productions presents its inaugural play, The Fires of Nero: The Rise of a Dictator, which playwright/producer Aaron Harris Woodstein says became a cautionary tale, the longer he studied the sadistic and violent Roman emperor Nero.

If the rousing and prolonged applause and immediate standing ovation is any indication, this show is going to wow local audiences all throughout the summer.

The centennial of renowned American composer Leonard Bernstein is celebrated throughout the National Philharmonic's 2018-2019 concert series at The Music Center at Strathmore. Performing compositions that influenced Bernstein, as well as some of his very own famous works, the National Philharmonic will be the only symphony orchestra dedicating most of its 2018-2019 season to the works surrounding the legendary composer. 

The National Tour of HAMILTON is now at ASU Gammage in Tempe through February 25th. What more can be said about a production that, since its opening three years ago, has already received the ultimate in honors and plaudits and for which the best adjectives have already been used? Yes, awesome, glorious, uplifting! All of that and more! Outstanding performances all around. In its unique form as a history lesson, HAMILTON is a hymn to the revolutionary spirit and the insatiable desire to fulfill possibility.

Following a critically acclaimed UK tour of their award-winning family show Bedtime Stories, Upswing creates a tale of a family creating, building, inventing and reinventing to achieve their goal of living happily and safely together.

Dare to Defy announces its next production: BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL. Story and book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming; music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe; directed and choreographed by Michael Mizerany; music direction by Sean Laperreque; produced by Bill Connard & Jennie Gray Connard.

Theatergoers found Post-It Notes attached to their program and were asked to describe CATCO's performance of the musical FUN HOME. It turns out the one inch square probably wasn't large enough.

Hodera plays honest alt-Americana with difficult subjects such as depression, suicide, loss and love. The Jersey DIY quartet will release First Things First on October 20 via Take This To Heart Records and today share first single, "North Dakota".

Vassar & New York Stage and Film's 33rd Powerhouse Season celebrates the opening of its highly anticipated musical workshop production of The Secret Life of Bees tonight, July 27, at 8 p.m. at the Vogelstein Center for Drama & Film, with performances continuing on Friday, July 28, Saturday, July 29, and Sunday, July 30. This is the final weekend of the season.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK star Uzo Aduba will lead the cast of a musical workshop production of THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES