Deaf West Theatre News

Press notes announced 'Look out America, Gilligan's Island The Musical is docking at a desert island near you and the hilarity found in America's most cherished sitcom is in full effect in this larger than life stage musical. Bringing back all those well known and beloved characters from one of the most popular television shows of all time, this lovable musical comedy is sure to please the generations of audiences that the television show first inspired'. The first stop for the tour is the Lycian Centre for the Performing Arts in Sugar Loaf, NY on February 21st and 22nd.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is delighted to announce that full casting is complete for LES MISERABLES, the recent addition to the TUTS 41st season! Les Miserables, which takes place of the previously scheduled Meet Me In St. Louis, will play for two weeks, March 24 - April 5, 2009 at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston.

BroadwayWorld gave the cast of Center Theatre Group and Deaf West Theatre's production of 'Pippin' a FLIP video camera and then set them free backstage during rehearsals as they prepared for opening night on January 25th and beyond!

Theatre Under The Stars announced today that LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL begins performances at The Hobby Center for Performing Arts in downtown Houston, February 10 - 22, 2009!

The Los Angeles cast of Pippin includes Michael Arden, Jonah Blechman, Dan Callaway, Bryan Terrell Clark, Nicolas Conway, Rodrick Covington, James Royce Edwards, TL Forsberg, Sara Gettelfinger, Tyrone Giordano, Harriet Harris, Rebecca Ann Johnson, Troy Kotsur, Jose F. Lopez, Jr., John McGinty, Anthony Natale, Aleks Pevec, Victoria Platt, Ty Taylor, Nikki Tomlinson, Melissa Van Der Schyff and Alexandria Wailes. Tony Award winning, the musical is composed by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) and is directed by Jeff Calhoun. Deaf West Theatre is best known to Los Angeles audiences for their CTG productions of Big River, at the Taper and Sleeping Beauty Wakes at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

Ben Vereen earned a Tony Award for his singing and dancing in Pippin, and while his vast and celebrated career has taken him far beyond those early days of that Fosse hit, his heart will always belong to the stage. Vereen was there for the opening night of the CTG and Deaf West Theatre production of Pippin at the Mark Taper Forum. He spoke to the Los Angeles Time about performing in the original Broadway mounting, and how much the show still matters to the audience...and him. Vereen explained to the LA Times that 'Pippin' holds an undeniably central spot in his heart. 'Well, first of all, it got me a Tony,' he said with a loud laugh that echoed outside the theater minutes before the opening night curtain. 'It was also an honor to work with Bob Fosse. There was nothing more rewarding.'

The Center Theatre Group and Deaf West Theatre opened Pippin at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles January 25. Composer Stephen Schwartz and original cast members Ben Vereen and John Rubenstein joined in on the celebration.

BroadwayWorld gave the cast of Center Theatre Group and Deaf West Theatre's production of 'Pippin' a FLIP video camera and then set them free backstage during rehearsals as they prepared for opening night on January 25th. This production interweaves music, voice, American Sign Language and dance, and combines powerful storytelling techniques from both hearing and deaf cultures. BWW TV is proud to bring you this very special video feature, stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon! 'Pippin' opens the Mark Taper Forum's 2009. Both deaf and hearing actors sign and sing the magical musical comedy with book by Roger O. Hirson and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun, 'Pippin' continues performances through March 15. 'Pippin' is the captivating coming of age story about a young man's search for meaning in his life, as told by a lively band of troubadours in the Roman Empire. The episodic quest of Pippin, the son of the powerful Charlemagne, takes him through battlefields, orgies, revolution, and finally, love and domesticity, as he tries to find a place for his 'spirit to run free,' for his 'corner of the sky.' This production interweaves music, voice, American Sign Language and dance, and combines powerful storytelling techniques from both hearing and deaf cultures.

The Houston Chapter of the American Marketing Association has recognized Theatre Under The Stars as Houston's 2008 Marketer of the Year in the Performing Arts category. The Marketer of the Year award recognizes Houston companies, organizations, and institutions for their outstanding marketing efforts. Best of category winners will be recognized and presented their awards at a reception to be held at 5:30 p.m. on March 2, 2009 in the Alley Theatre's Hubbard Stage. At this event, the company selected by an out of state panel of judges to be Houston's overall 2008 Marketer of the Year will be announced. All best of category winners are in competition for this honor. A group of local business leaders and area marketing professionals helped determine the one hundred and seventy six Houston-area firms that were nominated this year. Voting by AMA-Houston's membership resulted in 33 Best of Category winners being selected. The event will also feature keynote speaker Kevin Bertram - Founder and CEO of Distributive Networks discussing: 'How Mobile Marketing Will Change Everything.' Bertram will explain the role that mobile marketing played in the successful Obama for President campaign and its impact for marketers. One of the nation's most successful mobile technology companies, the company's proprietary mobile content management and delivery system enables innovative, customized mobile messaging solutions for such clients as Obama for America, AOL, AT&T, Avis Budget Group, CBS, D.C. United, and Disney.

Theatre Under The Stars announced today that LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL begins performances at The Hobby Center for Performing Arts in downtown Houston, February 10 - 22, 2009!

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is proud to produce the classic holiday story and brand NEW holiday musical, WHITE CHRISTMAS, December 4-21, 2008 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston. The all-time number one pop song and most-recorded tune in history inspired first a beloved classic film, and now a brand-new, splashy family musical as rare as Texas snow.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) will host the National Tour of RENT at the Hobby Center for Performing Arts, April 29-May 3, 2009, for just five days. Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Allan S. Gordon, the producers of the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning musical RENT, have announced that original Broadway cast members Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp will reprise the roles they made famous on stage and in the film adaptation.

The mystery of Christopher Marlowe's stabbing some 400 years ago is explored in Peter Whelan's political thriller opening November 9, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum. Directed by Bill Alexander, the American premiere continues through December 17. (Previews began October 30.)

'Big River' recounts Mark Twain's powerful portrait of classic American characters - Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer and their slave friend, Jim - setting it against a musical backdrop of homespun country infused with soulful gospel. At once comical and poignant, this celebrated show takes audiences on an adventure down the Mississippi River to tell the enduring tale of a boy's struggle to escape convention, and a man's struggle to find freedom.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is thrilled to announce that the seventh annual Tommy Tune Awards will include 45 high schools from the Greater Houston area.

Get a true taste of NoHo at the second annual All-Day, All-Arts, All-NoHo 'NoHo Scene' on Sunday, October 5 from 11 am until 8 pm. Admission to all NoHo Scene events and activities is free.

South Coast Repertory kicks off the 2008-09 Season with the World Premiere of its first commissioned musical: An Italian Straw Hat: A Vaudeville.

Michael Ritchie, Artistic Director of Center Theatre Group, has set the 2009 season at the Mark Taper Forum of the Los Angeles Music Center. The new season, which features six productions, will run from January 15, 2009, through January 24, 2010.

South Coast Repertory kicks off the 2008-09 Season with the World Premiere of its first commissioned musical: An Italian Straw Hat: A Vaudeville.

Playwright Stephen Sachs has adapted his original play, Sweet Nothing In My Ear, for a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie set to air on CBS in April.