Eugene Williams News

Bristol Riverside Theatre announces that Founding Director Susan D. Atkinson and Artistic Director Keith Baker will be stepping down from their day-to-day roles at the end of the 2019-2020 season. Atkinson is credited with helping to rejuvenate Bristol Borough during her 33 years of service. She led the way in turning an old adult movie theatre into a professional theatre company that has produced five world class productions a year for the past 33 years. Baker steps down after 28 years of service to the theatre. He wore many different hats at BRT, directing, singing and acting in over 120 plays and musicals, and steering its artistic vision. The duo will step down from their roles at the conclusion of the current season. The BRT Board of Directors has launched an extensive search for a new artistic director. Later in the season, look for news of a special event that will honor Atkinson and Baker's service to the organization and the community. 

Deadline reports that actress Rosanna Arquette will star in upcoming indie drama 'Chicago 1919.' Julie Dash ('The Rosa Parks Story') will direct.

When you open a program to find a page recommending ways that people can take action after seeing a musical (like registering to vote and supporting groups like the ACLU), you know that you're going to see something special. Theatre Raleigh's last show of their 2019 Summer Season, THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, is a daring musical about the Scottsboro Boys trials in the 1930s in Alabama. It has a company of all African-American performers, except one, and takes inspiration from minstrel shows. The show is directed and brilliantly choreographed by Gerry McIntyre who manages to make it very impactful, without feeling overdone.

Live theatre creates a connection with the audience in a way unlike any other medium. Sometimes this connection builds excitement, sometimes it sparks compassion, and on other occasions, it forces you to confront something uncomfortable or difficult to create greater awareness and understanding. The creative team of John Kander and Fred Ebb did this with many of their musicals over their career together. In CABARET they illustrated the rise of Nazi Germany, and in CHICAGO brought attention to the role the media plays in sensationalizing criminals. But in one of their last collaborations together, THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, Kander and Ebb not only approached a difficult subject matter (9 young African-American men in Alabama falsely accused of rape in the 1930's), but they did so using one of the most distasteful artforms in American history, the minstrel show. So, it is a bold move for West Hartford's Playhouse on Park to offer this difficult production as the final performance in its tenth season.

New Perspectives Theatre Company (NPTC) is pleased to announce their 2019 Playwriting and Directing Fellows, for the 11th Annual Women's Work Short Play LAB.

Playhouse on Park has the honor of being able to share a piece of history with the Greater Hartford community (and beyond!) as we present our summer musical THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, running June 26-August 4. Our Main Stage seasons always end with shows that are a tour de force, and this is no exception.

Signature Theatre presents the DC premiere of The Scottsboro Boys directed by Signature Theatre's Director of New Works Joe Calarco and choreographed by Jared Grimes. Get a first look at the production below!

Signature Theatre presents another Kander and Ebb musical for the ages.

Signature Theatre presents the DC premiere of The Scottsboro Boys directed by Signature Theatre's Director of New Works Joe Calarco and choreographed by Jared Grimes. 

Signature Theatre presents the DC premiere of The Scottsboro Boys directed by Signature Theatre's Director of New Works Joe Calarco and choreographed by Jared Grimes. Get a first look at the production below!

Last week, I introduced you to ten performers in Signature Theatre's current production of Kander and Ebb's final, complete collaboration, The Scottsboro Boys, which runs through July 1st. This included eight of the nine gentlemen who play the African American men who were falsely accused of raping two Caucasian women, as well as two others who play the minstrel characters known as Mr. Bones and Mr. Tambo.

Get a first look at Signature Theatre's D.C. premiere of The Scottsboro Boys, directed by Signature Theatre's Director of New Works Joe Calarco (Signature's Jesus Christ Superstar, Gypsy) and choreographed by Jared Grimes (Signature's Jelly's Last Jam). John Kander and Fred Ebb's final musical collaboration premiered on Broadway in 2010 and was heralded as 'an absolute marvel' by The Associated Press.

I always say the best kind of theater educates as well as entertains. If you walk out of the theater a little uncomfortable about what you just saw then a piece like The Scottsboro Boys has done its job in full. The final complete collaboration of Broadway's legendary writing team of John Kander and Fred Ebb tells the story of nine young African American men falsely accused of raping two young Caucasian women in the 1930s. Signature Theatre is currently presenting this groundbreaking musical now through July 1st.

Signature Theatre announces the full cast and creative team for the DC premiere of The Scottsboro Boys directed by Signature Theatre's Director of New Works Joe Calarco (Signature's Jesus Christ Superstar, Gypsy) and choreographed by Jared Grimes (Signature's Jelly's Last Jam). John Kander and Fred Ebb's final musical collaboration premiered on Broadway in 2010 and was heralded as 'an absolute marvel' by The Associated Press. The Scottsboro Boys is centered around nine young African-American teenagers who were ripped off a train in 1931, falsely accused of a crime, hastily tried and sentenced to death in an outrageous disregard of due process. The Scottsboro Boys will run from May 22 - July 1 in Signature Theatre's intimate MAX Theatre.

Signature Theatre announces the full cast and creative team for the DC premiere of The Scottsboro Boys directed by Signature Theatre's Director of New Works Joe Calarco (Signature's Jesus Christ Superstar, Gypsy) and choreographed by Jared Grimes (Signature's Jelly's Last Jam). John Kander and Fred Ebb's final musical collaboration premiered on Broadway in 2010 and was heralded as 'an absolute marvel' by The Associated Press. The Scottsboro Boys is centered around nine young African-American teenagers who were ripped off a train in 1931, falsely accused of a crime, hastily tried and sentenced to death in an outrageous disregard of due process. The Scottsboro Boys will run from May 22 - July 1 in Signature Theatre's intimate MAX Theatre.

Phoenix Theatre's production of Kander & Ebb's SCOTTSBORO BOYS, directed by Jeff Whiting, is a tour de force, featuring performances that leave you unsettled, breathless, and inspired.

Bristol Riverside Theatre hosts its 30th Anniversary Gala on Saturday, June 3 at 5:00 PM.  The evening honors Keith Baker's 25-year tenure as Artistic Director at BRT and concludes the 30th anniversary season of BRT. 

Porchlight Music Theatre announces the Chicago premiere of the Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys, February 3 - March 12, featuring music and lyrics by John Kanderand Fred Ebb, book by David Thompson, direction by Samuel G. Roberson, Jr, music direction by Doug Peck and choreography by Florence Walker-Harris with Breon Arzellas associate choreographer, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.

Porchlight Music Theatre announces the Chicago premiere of the Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys, February 3 - March 12, featuring music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, book by David Thompson, direction by Samuel G. Roberson, Jr, music direction by Doug Peck and choreography by Florence Walker-Harris with Breon Arzell as associate choreographer, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is an added matinee performance Thursday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m. NOTE: *There are no Thursday 7:30 p.m. performances February 9 and March 2. Tickets for previews are $38 and for the regular run $45 - $51. Single tickets may be purchased at 773.327.5252 or at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.

Porchlight Music Theatre announces the Chicago premiere of the Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys, February 3 - March 12, featuring music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, book by David Thompson, direction by Samuel G. Roberson, Jr, music direction by Doug Peck and choreography by Florence Walker-Harris with Breon Arzell as associate choreographer, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.