Fly with Me

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater have announced programming for January 19 through February 1. Highlights include Ms. Lisa Fischer featuring the Orrin Evans Trio, The Mingus Big Band, Emma Smith Quartet, and return engagements by Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks and Jim Caruso’s Cast Party.

BESSIE COLEMAN, FEARLESS AND FREE was educational, inspiring, and uplifting. The storyline was impeccable, the cast was superb, and the use of technology enhanced the overall production. A great production for all ages.

This time, the reader question was: There are only three states in America without known Broadway musicals set within their borders. Can you guess which three? WE're breaking it down state by state.

Next week, 54 BELOW will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond, including Noel MacNeal, Lillias White, and more. See the full lineup and learn more!

Next month, 54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club & Private Event Destination, will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond, including Jenn Colella, Norbert Leo Butz, and more. See the full March programming here!

54 BELOW will present Columbia University's Varsity Show Through the Ages on March 28, 2025 at 9:30pm. Celebrating 131 years of Columbia's longest performing arts tradition through the music of current and past productions.

It's not an unfamiliar tale, following Holocaust victim Eddie Jaku from comfortable circumstances through horror and gradually out again. Because there has been a sizeable body of Holocaust literature, drama and cinema, little of this is exactly new to us. But Jaku’s personality, his wry way of describing these grim situations, makes us eager to hear them recounted. And Kenneth Tigar's portrayal of Jaku is key; Tigar seems to disappear into his character. We are not conscious of acting, just of Eddie. You should meet him.

We continue with the creatives from the six-time Tony-nominated Suffs- Scenic Designer Riccardo Hernández, Lighting Designer Lap Chi Chu, Sound Designer Jason Crystal, and Costume Designer Paul Tazewell.

Experience the world premiere of Leslie Cuyjet's 'With Marion' at The Kitchen at Westbeth. This innovative performance explores the life and legacy of Marion Cuyjet, a trailblazing dance educator. Don't miss this limited engagement from November 29th to December 2nd.

Are you bound for the Philadelphia area this fall.  There’s so much to see and do that our readers will like to know about. 

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE has announced six special productions this summer.

Laguna Playhouse announced, in association with Gare St. Lazare, Ireland and the Rubicon Theatre Company, Faline England, Sorcha Fox, Conor Lovett and Joe Spano starring in the rolling Southern California premiere of THE REALISTIC JONESES, written by Will Eno and directed by Judy Hegarty-Lovett.

On Sunday evenings this November, Cincinnati Opera will partner with 90.9 WGUC, Cincinnati's classical public radio station, to broadcast select productions from its 2022 Summer Festival. Each broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. ET. You can listen on air at 90.9 FM and online at wguc.org.

After a fully cancelled 2020 season and an out-door-under-a-tent 2021 season, the main stages at the Stratford Festival have finally seen some action this year. Over at the Festival Theatre, the Donna Feore choreographed and directed production of CHICAGO is a huge hit! Two major reasons for this are the phenomenal performances by the two leads. BWW had the opportunity to chat with Roxie and Velma themselves - Chelsea Preston and Jennifer Rider-Shaw, to find out what it has been like to finally do the show they had been waiting two years to mount.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced the 2022/23 Season today. With six Steppenwolf Membership Series productions and two SYA productions, the 47th season is the storied company’s first full season in its expanded home—welcoming audiences back to experience the next chapter of Steppenwolf’s bold, visceral and muscular work.

Tammany Hall is an immersive theatrical time machine that transports the audience to New York Election Night in 1929. The setting is Club Huron, the actual Tammany Hall clubhouse that is now SoHo Playhouse, where performers portraying real historical characters guide attendees through 15 rooms as scandal, corruption, and intrigue are revealed.

On the Los Angeles Opera website, Igor Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex is available to stream now thru July 18th. Stravinsky based his opera Oedipus Rex on the ancient Greek tragedy by Sophocles. Oedipus Rex, is staged with minimal movement, which works well with COVID restrictions. A narrator describes the action in English.

Broadway Palm has announced its 29th Season which includes eight main stage productions, four productions in the Off Broadway Palm, three Children’s Theatre productions, and five concerts. Individual tickets are on sale now.

It is always encouraging to hear the stories of Baldwin Wallace University alumni who make it big in the arts field. Oh, and I forgot to list a critical Baldwin Wallace University campus hot tip.

Today (December 14) in live streaming: James Monroe Iglehart sings with Seth Rudetsky, Kelli O'Hara joins the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and so much more!

Happy Gay Pride! BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest LGBTQ songs and anthems from 1920-2020. See if your favorite songs or artists made the grade!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best film musicals since the sound era began; see if your favorites made the list!

There's a reason that Frank Loesser's a?oeGuys & Dollsa?? has endured all these years and keeps coming back, it's a near perfect musical. It's fun and frothy with that rare breed of songs that all move the story along and tell a story of their own. But with these songs, and because of them, you need a love story that reads true, connections with everyone on stage, and storytelling in the staging and choreography as well as in the dialog and lyrics. And while the current production at Village Theatre has some numbers that worked and some wonderful performers, it lacked those three elements making the show a nice collection of performances with no spark or cohesion.

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with John Pizzarelli: A Tribute to Benny Goodman, Dee Dee Bridgewater, David Matthews Trio, The Count Basie Orchestra, Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration, Chris Byars Original Sextet, Nicki Parrott, Gunhild Carling, Ken Peplowski and Diego Figueiredo, Birdography: Celebrating Charlie Parker, Lorin Cohen, Sam Behr, Laila Biali, Carole J. Bufford, The Lineup with Susie Mosher, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more!

Notable for being the final selection of Woolly's incomparable Founding Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz, Rajiv Joseph's 'Describe the Night' is a must-see for any serious DC area theatergoer