Brooklyn Academy Of Music News

!!FreEpLaY!! is Strike AnywhereÂ’s monthly improvised performance series at the Brecht Forum. The June show is the final show in SAÂ’s 2011-2012 season. The evening features SA's interdisciplinary ensemble of world-class musicians, dancers, and actors spontaneously spinning performance pieces. Part performance, part creativity lab, the ensemble steps into the unknown, creating art in the moment, allowing intuition, the sounds of the room and audience suggestion to guide what they play. The ensemble is known for their use of Soundpainting, the sign language for conducted improvisation which allows a conductor/composer to sculpt an improvisation while it is in motion. The June show will feature the full ensemble in a series of improvisations, including a few Soundpaintings and there will be games and giveaways. (more...)

Joseph V. Melillo, executive producer of the Brooklyn Academy Of Music, today announced programming for the 2012 Next Wave Festival, in its 30th year. The festival runs from September 5 to January 19 and comprises dance, theater, music, music-theater, nouveau cirque, film, and multimedia events. (more...)

Jewish Books Cooking, a new musical based on Jewish-themed childrenÂ’s books and created and directed by award-winning composer and author Elizabeth Swados, premieres at The JCC in Manhattan today, May 20th and plays throughout New York City through the end of the month and into June. (more...)

On the heels of last month's exciting and successful inaugural event, BAM and IFC announce the lineup for the second installment of Get It Out There: Comedy by BAM & IFC, a new comedy showcase that encourages comics to experiment recklessly with humor by testing out fresh material and probing the depths of their twisted souls for new forms of funny. (more...)

For the first time in nearly 10 seasons on the air, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" will travel to the east coast. From October 29 - November 2, "JKL" will broadcast from the host's birthplace, Brooklyn, NY. (more...)

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the world premiere of EASTLAND: A NEW MUSICAL, written by Artistic Director Andrew White with music by Ben Sussman and Artistic Associate Andre Pluess and directed by Amanda Dehnert. The production runs June 6 – July 29, 2012 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The Press Opening is Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. (more...)

Pick Up Performance Co(s), in collaboration with The Joyce Theater, presents the world premiere of The Beginning of the End of the…, a new movement/theater/music work in two-parts written, directed and choreographed by David Gordon, for an unprecedented four-week engagement at Joyce SoHo from June 1 – 30 (155 Mercer Street, between Houston and Prince Streets). The official opening will take place on Wednesday, June 6. (more...)

Previously seen at BAM with Inside Out (2009 Next Wave), Swedish troupe Cirkus Cirkör returns with the US premiere of Wear it like a crown. Four performances will be presented at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Ave) Jun 1 - 3. (more...)

Acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) Artistic Director Michael Boyd will receive the Samuel H. Scripps Award at Theatre for a New AudienceÂ’s Spring Gala Celebrating ShakespeareÂ’s 448th Birthday. The celebration, Monday, May 7, is at the Powerhouse at the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street. (more...)

The Old Globe’s 2012-13 Season will feature the World Premieres of two new musicals: Allegiance – A New American Musical by Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak. The season also includes George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion in celebration of the classic play’s 100th anniversary and the World Premiere of a new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey and Kirsten Brandt. Two recent Broadway hits will make their San Diego debuts at the Globe: David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People and Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities. Rounding out the season are the West Coast Premiere of Bekah Brunstetter’s Be a Good Little Widow and the Southern California Premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brothers Size. (more...)

United Solo, the world’s largest solo theatre festival, annually recognizes theatre artists for popularizing the form of the one-person show. The New York-based festival has unveiled the following nominees for its special 2012 uAward: Kathy Griffin in “Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony” (The Belasco Theater), John Hurt in “Krapp’s Last Tape” (Brooklyn Academy Of Music), Hugh Jackman in “Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway” (The Broadhurst Theatre), and John Leguizamo in “Ghetto Klown” (The Lyceum Theatre). (more...)

Rufus Wainwright will take his new album Out of the Game out on the road with an 8-piece band this Spring & Summer for a highly anticipated North American tour. This is the first time he has toured with a band since 2008’s ‘Release The Stars’ tour. (more...)

The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, under the direction of founder Dianne Berkun, concludes its 20th anniversary season with two major solo performances at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music and Roulette. The BYC perform in the new Crossing Brooklyn Ferry festival, a showcase of music and film curated by Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner of the indie band The National, on Saturday, May 5 at 6:00PM at the Bam Café. Two weeks later they present their annual Soundscapes program at Roulette onSaturday, May 19 at 8:00PM. (more...)

ACME, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, announces three New York concerts in May and an album release in June 2012. At 8 pm on both Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 the group will take the stage at The Kitchen (512 W. 19th St., NYC) for two performances of the music of William Brittelle and Mick Barr. At 8pm on Monday, May 14, ACME performs Timothy AndresÂ’ I Found it by the Sea as part of the 2012 Look & Listen Festival, held at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery (144 W. 14th St., 2nd Floor, NYC). (more...)

BAM (www.BAM.org) and IFC (www.IFC.com) join forces to present Get It Out There: Comedy by BAM & IFC, a new comedy showcase that encourages comics to experiment recklessly with humor by testing out fresh material and probing the depths of their twisted souls for new forms of funny. (more...)

Jonathan Pryce, a Tony Award-winning veteran of stage and screen, will lead Harold PinterÂ’s acclaimed play, The Caretaker, produced by Theatre Royal Bath Productions/Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse. (more...)

On March 22, 2012, John Malkovich delivered his international message at UNESCO in Paris at a gala event that included readings of play excerpts with Malkovich and other theatre artists. Check out what he had to say in the video below! (more...)

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the Alley TheatreÂ’s production of the Conor McPhersonÂ’s THE SEAFARER. The Seafarer, by Conor McPherson and directed by Gregory Boyd, begins previews Friday April 6, opens Wednesday April 11 and runs through Sunday, April 29, 2012 on the Hubbard Stage. Tickets start at $25 and are available for purchase at www.alleytheatre.org, at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue, or by calling 713.220.5700. Groups of 10 or more can receive special concierge services and select discounts by calling 713.220.5700 and asking for the group sales department. (more...)

The Flea Theater will bring back its highly-anticipated free dance festival, Dance Conversations, this spring. Dance Conversations 2012 will run through March 25 showcasing a series of films and works-in-progress by 36 emerging and established choreographers, dance companies, and filmmakers. Following each showing or performance will be forums between the artists and audience exploring raw, evolving, and fully developed works. A full schedule is available online at www.theflea.org. (more...)

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the Alley TheatreÂ’s production of the 2010 Best Play Tony Award Winner, Red. (more...)