Brian McDonald News

WaterTower Theatre Artistic Director, Joanie Schultz, today announced casting and creative team details for the remainder of the 2017-2018 Main Stage Season, which includes the Regional Premiere of Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue by Quiara Alegr a Hudes, Bread, a World Premiere by Regina Taylor, The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown, and the Regional Premiere of Hand to God by Robert Askins. The directors for the remainder of the Season include David Lozano, Leah C. Gardiner, Kelsey Leigh Ervi, and Joanie Schultz.

Rubicon Theatre Company kicks off its 20th Anniversary Season with the return of the critically-acclaimed holiday hit CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Broadway, TV and film veterans Peter Van Norden (RTC's Taking Sides, Copenhagen) and Emmy Award-winner Joe Spano ( NCIS, RTC's Bucky) reprise their roles as Scrooge and Marley, respectively, in this innovative telling of Dickens' timeless tale of transformation and redemption. Adapted by Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns and directed by Brian McDonald, the 27-member cast features many of the same actors from the original production that earned a Critic's Pick in the Los Angeles Times and rave reviews from Ventura County Star, CASA Magazine, VIDA Magazine and the Ventura Breeze. This imaginative version of Dickens' novella offers a revealing portrait of the yearning, lost child inside the cold-hearted miserly man. Actors perform in the storytelling style of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Nicholas Nickleby, playing characters, animals even dressing gowns and doors! CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL opens in Ventura on Saturday, December 9at 7:00 p.m. followed by an after-party at Rhumb Line Restaurant. Low-priced previews are December 6-8. The show runs Todays through Sundays through December 23.

Rubicon Theatre Company kicks off its 20th Anniversary Season with the return of the critically-acclaimed holiday hit CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Broadway, TV and film veterans Peter Van Norden (RTC's Taking Sides, Copenhagen) and Emmy Award-winner Joe Spano ( NCIS, RTC's Bucky) reprise their roles as Scrooge and Marley, respectively, in this innovative telling of Dickens' timeless tale of transformation and redemption. Adapted by Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns and directed by Brian McDonald, the 27-member cast features many of the same actors from the original production that earned a Critic's Pick in the Los Angeles Times and rave reviews from Ventura County Star, CASA Magazine, VIDA Magazine and the Ventura Breeze. This imaginative version of Dickens' novella offers a revealing portrait of the yearning, lost child inside the cold-hearted miserly man. Actors perform in the storytelling style of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Nicholas Nickleby, playing characters, animals even dressing gowns and doors! CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL opens in Ventura on Saturday, December 9at 7:00 p.m. followed by an after-party at Rhumb Line Restaurant. Low-priced previews are December 6-8. The show runs Wednesdays through Sundays through December 23.

Hamilton's Mandy Gonzalez and James M. Iglehart know how to make the most out of an intermission. Watch as the pair takes on Ragtime's 'Wheels of a Dream' with impressive finesse!

What do you believe? How certain are you of those beliefs and how far are you willing to go to fight for them when they are challenged? These questions and many more are at the heart of Dallas Theater Center's new play THE CHRISTIANS, directed by Joel Ferrell and running at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Watch the full livestream of the event promoting unity and solidarity through artistic expression and conversation.

Celebrities dressed in Western attire walked the red carpet last Saturday as Rubicon Theatre Company of Ventura presented the American Premiere of the stage play THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE by Jethro Compton. Attendees included musician Jim Messina of Loggins & Messina, Poco and Buffalo Springfield and his beautiful wife Michaela; Golden Globe nominated actor Ted Neeley with his wife Leeyan and daughter Tessa; and Emmy Award-winning actor Joe Spano with his daughters Liana and Meili. Scroll down for photos from the opening night festivities!

President and Mrs. Obama hosted an all-star music tribute 'A Celebration of American Creativity: In Performance at the White House,' celebrating the cultural resonance of art and literature in unique American musical forms, featuring performances by Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and hosted by Carol Burnett.

'A Celebration of American Creativity: In Performance at the White House' premieres tonight, Friday, January 8, 2016 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings)., as part of PBS Arts.

The PGA has announced its nominations for the 27th Annual Producers Guild Awards Winners will be announced January 23 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

SUNDAY MORNING on CBS took viewers behind the scenes of the new Broadway production SHUFFLE ALONG, a reimagining of the classic 1921 musical - one of the earliest hit shows starring, written and directed by African-Americans. Now, we're taking you into the video which has just popped online!

Rubicon Theatre Company makes the holidays merry and musical with upcoming concerts for audiences of all ages. The Tiny Tots Holiday Concert and Santa Party takes place on December 19 at 11:00 a.m.; and the Harmonix Holiday Concert is presented on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Performances take place on the mainstage at Rubicon, which is located at the theatre's home located at 1006 E. Main (the corner of Main and Laurel) in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District.

Rubicon Theatre celebrates the holidays with the company's first presentation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a World Premiere adaptation written by Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns and directed by Brian McDonald. Rubicon's A Christmas Carol features a 24-member cast (the largest ensemble since the company's production of Fiddler on the Roof and the largest ever for a play).

Rubicon Theatre celebrates the holidays with the company's first presentation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a World Premiere adaptation written by Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns and directed by Brian McDonald. Rubicon's A Christmas Carol features a 24-member cast (the largest ensemble since the company's production of Fiddler on the Roof and the largest ever for a play).

Rubicon Theatre celebrates the holidays with the company's first presentation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a World Premiere adaptation written by Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns and directed by Brian McDonald. Rubicon's A Christmas Carol features a 24-member cast (the largest ensemble since the company's production of Fiddler on the Roof and the largest ever for a play).

'A Celebration of American Creativity: In Performance at the White House' is a PBS music special taped in the East Room of the White House. President and Mrs. Obama will host the all-star music tribute celebrating the cultural resonance of art and literature in unique American musical forms.

Next spring, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Joshua Henry will star in Shuffle Along Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, a striking new production that presents both the 1921 musical itself, and additionally details the events that catalyzed the songwriting team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, and librettists F.E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles to create this ground-breaking work. Check out the just-released artwork for the show below and visit the official website here!

Next spring, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Joshua Henry will star in SHUFFLE ALONG Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, a striking new production that presents both the 1921 musical itself, and additionally details the events that catalyzed the songwriting team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, and librettists F.E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles to create this ground-breaking work.

Rubicon Theatre, a not-for-profit professional regional theatre company in Ventura, California, announces its production of WEST SIDE STORY (Book by ARTHUR LAURENTS, Music by LEONARD BERNSTEIN, Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM), to be performed by the students of the Education Department's MUSICAL THEATRE INTENSIVE, featuring at twenty-one piece orchestra conducted by DANIEL NEWMAN-LESSLER. This production is directed by BRIAN McDONALD, Musical Direction by MIRIAM ARICHEA and choreography is by CAROLANNE MARANO. Set and lights are designed by David King. Production Manager is Jessie Vacchiano, Stage Manager is Jon Stover.