Molly Garner News

Bright Star is a bluegrass musical with a big heart. Written by banjo-playing renaissance man Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, the show is set in the hills of North Carolina in the 1940s with flashbacks in the 1920s. It is at times playful and at others steeped in nostalgia. There's a large ensemble cast with a full bluegrass band onstage providing live music. The set is simple, with movable pieces on wheels and straightforward staging. The result is an absolutely delightful show.

There's a new theatre company in town and its inaugural production is not to be missed. Summit Performance Indianapolis, co-founded by Lauren Briggeman and Georgeanna Smith Wade, opened Silent Sky at the Phoenix Theatre this past weekend. The play by Lauren Gunderson tells the true story of the astronomer Henrietta Leavitt who worked at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s. It is an astonishing piece of theatre. 

The Phoenix Theatre mission has always been about giving voice to the voiceless, inviting our community in for lively conversation, and supporting those who need support the most. A part of their case statement to raise money for their remarkable new facility involved not only community building but affording new ideas and new organizations a space to grow artistically. Phoenix is thrilled to see the first of those partnerships thrive with the inaugural production from Summit Performance Indianapolis, a new women - focused theatre group and a member of the Phoenix Collective.

Ravenscroft, an English drawing room murder mystery and a comedy, opened at the Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum on Friday, January 27, to enthusiastic audiences and approving critics.

Ravenscroft, an English drawing room murder mystery and a comedy, opens at the Morris Museum's Bickford Theatre today, January 27, and runs through Sunday, February 12 with a Preview Performance on Thursday, January 26.

Ravenscroft, an English drawing room murder mystery and a comedy, opens at the Morris Museum's Bickford Theatre today, January 26, and runs through Sunday, February 12. Directed by Bickford Theatre Producing Artistic Director Eric Hafen, Ravenscroft is a production of the Morris Museum and Drew University. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast below!

Ravenscroft, an English drawing room murder mystery and a comedy, opens at the Morris Museum's Bickford Theatre on Friday, January 27, and runs through Sunday, February 12 with a Preview Performance today, January 26.

The Morris Museum and Drew University are proud to announce the cast of their upcoming production of Ravenscroft.

Ravenscroft, an English drawing room murder mystery and a comedy, opens at the Morris Museum's Bickford Theatre on Thursday, January 26, and runs through Sunday, February 12. Directed by Bickford Theatre Producing Artistic Director Eric Hafen, Ravenscroft is a production of the Morris Museum and Drew University. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast below!

Ravenscroft, an English drawing room murder mystery and a comedy, opens at the Morris Museum's Bickford Theatre on Friday, January 27, and runs through Sunday, February 12 with a Preview Performance on Thursday, January 26.

The Morris Museum and Drew University are proud to announce the cast of their upcoming production of Ravenscroft.

Below, check out photos from North Shore Music Theatre's production of MARY POPPINS playing thru July 31.

Broadway's loss is definitely Long Beach's gain now that the big, bright, and buoyant new musical BIG FISH is making a splash as the season opener for Musical Theatre West's 62nd season. Filled to the brim with heart, emotional heft, and colorful storytelling, this slightly flawed but charmingly imaginative new musical wraps up its final remaining West Coast premiere performances at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach through November 16. My immediate recommendation? Definitely experience this while you can.

Big Fish officially opens this Saturday, November 1st. I'm surprised to find myself both happy and sad. I'm thrilled that we're opening, of course. The show is terrific, and I can't wait for audiences to see it. Very few people know Big Fish, so we get to perform for people who have no preconceptions of the show. They have a wonderful surprise awaiting them.

Based on Daniel Wallace's 1998 novel and Tim Burton's 2003 film of the same name, Big Fish, with a few minor changes in plot, becomes quite an imaginative musical...with Andrew Lippa composer of some of the best songs written for a Broadway show in a long time. So, it is hard to imagine why its Broadway run ended after a mere three months. Now in its West Coast premiere, Big Fish comes to MTW with a glorious cast directed by Larry Carpenter and choreographed by Peggy Hickey with vibrant sets and costumes from the original New York production. It's a real charmer and another big win for MTW.

Musical Theatre West (MTW) opens its 2014-2015 season, reeling in the West Coast premiere of the critically acclaimed Broadway musical Big Fish, a new musical, tonight, October 31 through November 16.

This week we move into the gorgeous Carpenter Center at Cal State Long Beach and begin the arduous process of tech. We made so much magic in the old studio-- as well as a lot of mistakes! Here are some shots of the final days of rehearsal. Photo credit to our dance captain Ricky Bulda.

I felt the tears building long before I released them. I stood stock still as my throat tightened and my breathing became shallow.

My mother has been reading my blog and her sole piece of advice is to stop talking about my baby. "Remember, NO ONE cares about your kids," she told me, with capital letters and all. "They all have their own and they think theirs are just as special."

As I walked into rehearsal on Monday the sights of three elephant butts sticking out of a wall greeted me. 'Welcome to Big Fish,' they seemed to say. 'It gets even crazier from here.'