Terrance McNally News

The ghost of Juicy's dad haunts him and asks for revenge - on Juicy's uncle, who has now married his widowed mom. Sound familiar? The Wilma Theater has announced the world premiere digital production of James Ijames' FAT HAM, a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's HAMLET, set in the American South.

Opera San José has announced the extension of its stream of Three Decembers, by popular demand. World-renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Graham leads the cast of Opera San José’s first fully-staged digital production, Jake Heggie’s THREE DECEMBERS, based on Tony Award winning playwright Terrence McNally’s unpublished play “Some Christmas Letters”.

This Week's New Classified Listings on BroadwayWorld for 2/4/2021 include new jobs for those looking to work in the theatre industry.

In keeping with Opera San José's mission to expand accessibility to its work, the company has announced that through the support of generous donors it is able to extend access to its hit virtual production of Jake Heggie's chamber opera, Three Decembers, now making it available on a pay-what-you-can basis for streaming on demand.

SoHo Playhouse has announced the launching of $10,000 in grants to fund four dynamic Las Vegas theatre artists. They will distribute the Martin Bergman and Rita Rudner Grant, the Kaufman Family Grant, the Karen Camp Grant, and the Victoria Bradshaw Family Foundation Grant as we review applications in the coming months.

This Week's New Classified Listings on BroadwayWorld for 1/28/2021 include new jobs for those looking to work in the theatre industry.

This Week's New Classified Listings on BroadwayWorld for 1/21/2021 include new jobs for those looking to work in the theatre industry.

Today we celebrate Ragtime the Musical, which opened on Broadway on this day in 1998. 

Opera San José hits it out of the park with its immensely moving new virtual production of Three Decembers, the chamber opera by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, based on an unpublished play by Terrance McNally. Due to popular demand, streaming access has now been extended through January 31, 2021. It’s about a family of three – diva Maddie, played by world-renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, and her two adult children Bea and Charlie, played by Opera San José Resident Artists Maya Kherani and Efraín Solís. In a swift 90 minutes, the three journey from a place of disconnect to a place of understanding and ultimately healing. BroadwayWorld spoke with Ms. Kherani shortly after she had completed filming 'Three Decembers.'

Due to the overwhelming demand this holiday season, Opera San José is extending the run of the hit virtual production of Jake Heggie's chamber opera, Three Decembers through January 31, 2021.

Talking to Khori Dastoor, General Director of Opera San José brings to mind that old quote from Elizabeth Taylor when she was faced with unimaginable adversity, “Now is the time for guts and guile.” Just one year into her tenure as GD, Dastoor is faced with an almost impossible situation due to the Covid pandemic. Out of all the arts, opera, the artform which she has made her life’s work, arguably has the biggest challenges. After all, the act of singing operatically produces enormous amounts of aerosols, the core audience is older and thus especially at risk for Covid, and the population at large may not consider opera to be essential to their lives. Since creating new works is practically impossible, many GD’s are offering a sort of greatest hits of former glories, video snippets from past years that were already in the can. Or maybe something like a “reading” of an old holiday chestnut like Der Rosenkavalier, presented Brady-Bunch style on Zoom. So what does Dastoor do instead? She goes bravely programs a brand-new, beautifully-produced production of Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers, starring no less than world-renowned opera star Susan Graham, alongside two of Opera San José’s super-talented Resident Artists, soprano Maya Kherani and baritone Efraín Solis. This immensely moving chamber work is based on an unpublished play by Terrance  McNally, adapted by librettist Gene Scheer, and tells the story of a family struggling to connect during the early years of the AIDS pandemic. The work premiered in 2008, yet somehow feels more relevant than ever, given the parallels with what we’re all going through today, as evidenced by McNally’s death from Covid earlier this year. The opera is currently available for streaming through the end of December. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit operasj.org. BroadwayWorld spoke with Dastoor shortly after the filming of Three Decembers had been completed. Dastoor was remarkably open and forthcoming about the challenges of the opera world right now, even as her passion for growing the artform burns stronger than ever. We talked about how she managed to produce Three Decembers during Covid, her successful earlier career as a lyric soprano, and the imperative to keep the arts alive during these difficult times. Her responses to my questions were invariably thoughtful, often surprising and not without humor. And, as a rare woman of color leading an opera company, her understanding of the need to open up her artform runs deep. Above all, though, she is just plain fun to talk to - effortlessly engaging, whip-smart, emotionally transparent, and without an ounce of pretension.

While performing arts organizations around the world are dusting off existing productions of the usual chestnuts during the month of December, Opera San José is taking a more audacious approach with its holiday programming. They are presenting a new, fully-staged production of Jake Heggie’s immensely moving chamber opera, Three Decembers, featuring world-renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in the central role, alongside celebrated Opera San José Resident Artists soprano Maya Kherani and baritone Efraín Solís. Based on the unpublished play Some Christmas Letters by Tony-winning playwright Terrance McNally, Three Decembers follows the story of a famous actress, Madeline Mitchell, and her two adult children, Beatrice and Charlie over three decades (1986, 1996, and 2006). With a witty and touching libretto by Gene Scheer and a soaring musical score by Jake Heggie, Three Decembers is a 90-minute fullhearted American opera about family – the ones we are born into and those we create. The world-class digital production is offered via on-demand streaming through December 31, 2020. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit operasj.org or call (408) 437-4450. BroadwayWorld speaks with charismatic baritone Efraín Solís, who plays son Charlie.

Opera San José is offering its virtual production of Jake Heggie's chamber opera, Three Decembers,

Opera San José has announced it will present a new fully staged production of Jake Heggie's chamber opera, Three Decembers, featuring world-renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in the central role, alongside celebrated Opera San José Resident Artists soprano Maya Kherani and baritone Efraín Solís, in a world-class digital production offered via on-demand streaming beginning December 3, 2020.

Today's episode features Broadway veteran Stephen Bogardus, who chats about how he's coping with life in the pandemic, how theatre has changed since March, and how he expects changes to continue in the future.

Studio Theatre, in collaboration with Studio Artist-in-Residence Psalmayene 24, is launching a three-part series of digital dance parties with conversation—Psalm's Salons at Studio—beginning June 25 at 5 p.m. The virtual salons are an online gathering space to highlight the work of Black creatives, signal boost local and Black-owned businesses, kick back to live music, and promote a sense of community. Salons will be hosted by Psalmayene 24 with original music from DJ Nick tha 1da, sampling from the Library of Congress's Citizen DJ tool, and a rotating panel of guests. Events in the series are free to view and will be streamed live on Studio Theatre's Facebook and YouTube pages.

ALL ARTS celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride Month with a special lineup of programming highlighting prominent queer and trans artists and activists, streaming for free on the ALL ARTS app and allarts.org/pride.

Shakespeare's epic Fire and Reign series continues with a dynamic production of Henry IV, Part 1, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF. This production will run in repertory February 19 - March 21, 2020 along with Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers, as adapted by Catherine Bush. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

The Circuit Playhouse, Inc., parent company to The Circuit Playhouse, TheatreWorks at the Square, and Playhouse on the Square have announced their 2020-2021 Season.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) will begin performances for the world premiere of the new play COAL COUNTRY, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen with original music by Steve Earle, on Tuesday, February 18 with a Joseph Papp Free Preview performance in the Anspacher Theater. Directed by Jessica Blank, this riveting new work will run through Sunday, March 29, with an official press opening on Tuesday, March 3.