Jessica Walker News

The Brits Off Broadway season continues at 59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) with the US premiere of ALL I WANT IS ONE NIGHT, written by Jessica Walker, with music direction by Joseph Atkins.

The Brits Off Broadway season continues at 59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) with the US premiere of ALL I WANT IS ONE NIGHT, written by Jessica Walker, with music director Joseph Atkins. Produced by Jess Walker Music Theatre, in association with Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester, ALL I WANT IS ONE NIGHT begins performances on Tuesday, June 5 for a limited engagement through Sunday, July 1.

Recognizing outstanding New York City Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises, the 5 Chamber Alliance, which consists of each borough Chamber of Commerce, held an awards ceremony at the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza on Thursday, March 8. The ceremony followed the first in a series of Centennial Talks the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will host, this year, in honor of its 100th anniversary.

The critically acclaimed Brits Off Broadway, host to the UK's most innovative and provocative theater in New York City, presented by 59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) returns from Wednesday, April 11 - Sunday, July 1. The single ticket prices range from $25 - $70 ($20 - $49 for 59E59 Members). Tickets to Brits Off Broadway go on sale on Tuesday, March 6 at Noon, with a special pre-sale for 59E59 Members beginning Tuesday, February 27 at Noon. Tickets are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org.

Pittsburgh Public Theater continues Ted Pappas' grand finale season with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. This riotous musical comedy features music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart, and direction & choreography by Ted Pappas. Forum runs January 25 February 25, 2018 at the O'Reilly Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater's home in the heart of Downtown's Cultural District. For tickets call 412.316.1600 or visit ppt.org. The production is Presented by PNC.

Boeing Boeing, written by Marc Camoletti and translated into English by Beverley Cross, is a classic French farce that boasts the Guinness World Records most performed French play.

LET'S DANCE INTERNATIONAL FRONTIERS heads into its final week as Leicester's premiere annual dance festival.

Paris: 1935. Suzy Solidor, sizzling celebrity sensation, steps onto the tiny stage of her cramped cabaret theatre, ready to wow the hippest crowd in town with her lesbian erotic songs.

MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE: A ONE-ACT MUSICAL is making its debut on April 28th at the Spinning Jenny in Greer SC. The musical is written, composed, and directed by Colton Beach and features the talents of 12 local musicians and actors.

LET'S DANCE INTERNATIONAL FRONTIERS is the dynamic annual dance festival in Leicester which has been performing to increasing audiences since its inception in 2010.  This year's event – April 29th-May 13th -  features an extensive, exciting programme designed to give audiences the opportunity of seeing work by nationally and internationally renowned dance companies, brand new work crisply delivered by fast rising names from the UK as well as work from locally based dancers and choreographers.  LDIF17 will present performances, documentaries, workshops and discussion exploring this year's theme of 'Identity and Choreographic Practice'. 

The St. James Studio is delighted to announce that its first ever drag week will take place from 1 - 5 November. Three shows from some of the country's most acclaimed drag performers will take to the studio stage: super-group Denim, androgynous signer Jessica Walker and West End star Ian Stroughair as alter ego Velma Celli.

In a tight-nit community like that which I am from, the members of the town are all very close. Adults and children alike collaborate during sporting events, stream clean-ups, and fun-runs. This dynamic within the community also means that the members of the town play an important role in our school's drama department. Schools with less money in the theatre budget are often prone to do-it-yourself projects and community outreach, telling a story with minimal financial input. Coming from a small, rural community, myself and my fellow actors are accustomed to assisting in most if not all aspects of the high school drama program. However, we would not be able to create our productions without the help of friends and family. Through experience, I have learned that making a production is often so deeply rooted in the community you have supporting you. 

Divas are a classic theatre troupe that have appeared in productions for decades. So often divas come off as brazen, brash, and dramatic, having a shallow personality and the constant need to acquire attention. Earlier in April my peers and I began work on "Hay Fever" by Noel Coward, a play that puts a dramatic family under the microscope and examines the interactions between relatives that don't fit the standard definition of "normal." I was thrilled to have been cast as Judith Bliss, the matriarch of the Bliss family and an ex-starlet herself. Through the process of this show, and using Judith as a lens, I have found the "diva" to be so much more than the dramatic figure he or she is often portrayed to be, but rather a complex and insecure character that can be challenging to decipher. 

With Hamilton making a splash on the Great White Way, and shows like Waitress bringing a new sound to the theatre community, there is no denying that pop musicals are making their mark on Broadway. New productions combine daring storylines with catchy songs that are definitely not considered "traditional musical theatre." These productions feature a genre of music that reflects the changing world around us and a generation coming in to their own. Besides a fresh sound, these musicals offer one more element reflecting the progression of our modern world: empowering roles for women both on and off the stage, bringing progression out of storybooks and in to reality for a new generation of female thespians.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Washington, DC, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include the World Premiere of Broadway hopeful DIARY OF A WIMPY KID in Minneapolis, I AM ANNE HUTCHINSON/I AM HARVEY MILK starring Kristin Chenoweth and Andrew Lippa in DC, and a revival of THE FANTASTICKS in LA, just to name a few.

Carnegie Hall's WEST SIDE STORY will be presented in three performances this weekend, March 4, 5, and 6, 2016, at the Knockdown Center, a restored factory in Queens.

Today, three of the folks most closely associated with the production - director Moore is joined by cast members Sarah Shepherd and Maggie Pitt - fall under our Friday 5 spotlight, allowing us to get to know more about what makes them tick and why each of them believe audiences should flock to Darkhorse Theatre to see their racy rendition of Aristophanes' Lysistrata.

Carnegie Hall today announced the full cast for its upcoming production of West Side Story, to be presented in three performances on March 4, 5, and 6, 2016 at the Knockdown Center, a restored factory in Queens.

The Skriker is commissioned and produced by Manchester International Festival and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. Maxine Peake will play the eponymous role and Juma Sharkah and Laura Elsworthy will play Lily and Josie respectively in The Skriker at Manchester International Festival. The production began performances 4 July at Royal Exchange Theatre. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

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