Matthew Henerson

Cast Set For A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Denver Center Theatre Company

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) Theatre Company has announced the full casting and creative team for the 30th anniversary of A Christmas Carol. 

PlayGround-LA Season 12 Monday Night PlayGround Blasts Off With ORIGIN STORY Next Month

Join PlayGround for a new round of Monday Night PlayGround, featuring original short plays all inspired by the prompt 'Origin Story', Monday, October 09, 7pm PT, live at Broadwater Second Stage and simulcast online. Get all the event information here!

SWEAT Comes to Northern Stage Next Week

Lynn Nottage’s 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner Sweat continues Northern Stage’s 25th Anniversary Season March 8-26 in the Byrne Theater at the Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction, Vermont.

New Fortune Theatre Returns With AS YOU LIKE IT Outdoors This Summer

To illuminate Shakespeare's most musical play, New Fortune has assembled a cast of talented actors, many of whom are also accomplished musicians and singers.

Bay Street Theater's LITERATURE LIVE! Returns With A Virtual Staged Adaptation Of MACBETH

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to announce the return of Literature Live! with the staged virtual premiere of Shakespeare's Macbeth on Tuesday, November 9, at 8 p.m., followed by a talkback between the show's creators and actors. The Literature Live! presentation of Macbeth will be available via on-demand streaming starting Monday, November 8, through Sunday, December 5.

BWW Review: YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN at South Coast Rep

Good grief! You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown Is Live But Sadly Not Alive. A combination of miscasting, poor direction, and a play that runs out of steam, this early production in the reemergence of live theater is a disappointment.

Photos/Video: First Look at YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN at South Coast Repertory

The whole “Peanuts” gang is here—Lucy, Linus, Snoopy, and of course, that wishy-washy blockhead, Charlie Brown. He’s never pitched a winning baseball game and he can’t muster the courage to talk to the Little-Red Haired Girl. But all his best qualities—and those of his clever friends—get celebrated in this delightful musical filled with such gleeful tunes as 'My Blanket and Me,' 'Suppertime' and 'Happiness.'

Imagine Theatre Presents THE TALE OF TURANDOT Next Month

What are the three riddles of Turandot, and can anybody answer them? Imagine Theatre (formerly Imagine Project) announces a professionally recorded version of their 2019 production, The Tale of Turandot, to be presented online for only four dates this November, free of charge to the public on November 14, 15, 21, & 22.

BWW Review: Old School Musical Comedy SHE LOVES ME Mostly Charms at OC's South Coast Repertory

Though SCR's admirable new production of the 1963 Broadway musical SHE LOVES ME, for the most part, still has many charming, beautifully-staged, and well-sung moments, it also somehow feels like it is slightly reigned in, as if there was a purposeful attempt to downscale some of its built-in whimsy and spirited vivaciousness---particularly in the first act where emotional expressions all seem to sit in the same middle areaa?? never tipping over to too angry or too sad or too happy or too, well, anything. Now on stage in Costa Mesa through February 22, 2020, the production---directed by the theater's own artistic director David Ivers---is genuinely entertaining, but still needs a huge shot of joy, romance, and pep to make it feel complete.

Imagine Project Announces Its Cast For The World Premiere Of THE TALE OF TURANDOT

Imagine Project has announced the cast for its inaugural production, The Tale of Turandot, a World Premiere running for two weekends at The Colony Theatre in Burbank, California, from Thursday, November 7, through Sunday, November 17, 2019, with Opening Night taking place on Friday, November 8. The cast will include Joe DeSoto as Arlekino, Matthew Henerson as Pedrolino, Mueen Jahan as Pantaloon, Makha Mthembu as Smeraldina, Arianne Villareal as Isabella and Aviva Pressman who will play Colombina. Inspired by the centuries-old story, Armina LaManna wrote and will direct this family friendly production, which is geared toward children between the ages of four and twelve years old. It incorporates puppetry and video projections, with many other creative elements. For more information on The Tale of Turandot, please visit http://imagineprojectca.com.

Celebration Extends CABARET

Celebration Theatre is thrilled to announce that their smash-hit third and final show of its 2017-2018 season, CABARET, is extending through Sunday, August 5 at Celebration Theatre @ the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave. in Los Angeles (now known as the Kit Kat Klub!).

BWW Review: A Masterful CABARET Revs Up the Celebration

This show is a classic in every sense of the word. Its sustained dark & forboding atmosphere of pre-Nazi Berlin and its celebrated Kander & Ebb score are but two glowing attributes. One, of course, cannot deny Bob Fosse's brilliant 1970 film, but, it was totally different from the Broadway show, as it became more of a showcase for Liza Minnelli's unique talent. And, the stage version has taken on a brand new look since the Roundabout Theatre revamped it in the 90s. This is not the original 60s Cabaret that had Joey Gray as MC onstage only for his musical numbers. Now the MC takes center stage and when he is not speaking or singing, lurks around, ecchanging glances with the other members of the ensemble.

Photo Flash: CABARET Comes to Celebration Theatre!

Celebration Theatre presents under the artistic direction of Michael Matthews & Michael A. Shepperd, present the third and final show in its 2017-2018 season, CABARET, book by Joe Masteroff  (based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood), music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, choreography by Janet Roston, musical direction by Anthony Zediker and directed by Michael Matthews.  CABARET will begin previews on Friday, May 25 at 8pm; will open on Friday, June 1 at 8pm, with tickets on sale through Sunday, July 15 at Celebration Theatre @ the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave. in Los Angeles.

BWW Interview: Director Michael Matthews Vel-comes You To His CABARET & Much More

The Celebration Theatre will be presenting their third and final show of their successful 2017-18 season - Kander & Ebb's CABARET, beginning previews on May 25 and opening on June 1. I managed to get Celebration Theatre's co-artistic director and CABARET's director Michael Matthews to take a short break from his uber-busy schedule to answer a few of our inquisitive queries.

Photo Flash: Celebration Theatre Presents CABARET

Celebration Theatre presents under the artistic direction of Michael Matthews & Michael A. Shepperd, present the third and final show in its 2017-2018 season, CABARET, book by Joe Masteroff (based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood), music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, choreography by Janet Roston, musical direction by Anthony Zediker and directed by Michael Matthews. CABARET will begin previews on Friday, May 25 at 8pm; will open on Friday, June 1 at 8pm, with tickets on sale through Sunday, July 15 at Celebration Theatre @ the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave. in Los Angeles.

Celebration Theatre Closes Season with CABARET

Celebration Theatre presents under the artistic direction of Michael Matthews & Michael A. Shepperd, present the third and final show in its 2017 2018 season, CABARET, book by Joe Masteroff (based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood), music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, choreography by Janet Roston, musical direction by Anthony Zediker and directed by Michael Matthews. CABARET will begin previews on Friday, May 25 at 8pm; will open on Friday, June 1 at 8pm, with tickets on sale through Sunday, July 15 at Celebration Theatre @ the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave. in Los Angeles.

BWW Review: MTW Presents a Definitive GUYS AND DOLLS

Guys and Dolls/music & lyrics by Frank Loesser/book by Joe Swerling and Abe Burrows/based on stories by Damon Runyon/directed by Mark Martino/musical director: Benet Braun/choreographer: Daniel Smith/Musical Theatre West (MTW),Long Beach/through March 4 My first association with musical composer Frank Loesser was as an actor in the 70s in a revue of his music. I played Sky Masterson of Guys and Dolls and sang a duet of 'I've Never Been In Love Before'. I came to realize quite rapidly how lovely his music is and how well he manages to capture the moment of genuine emotion within a song. Upon seeing Guys and Dolls several times since, I have been awestruck as well by Abe Burrows' and Joe Swerling's ability to take Damon Runyon's New York Broadway characters from the 20s and 30s and blow them up into something overwhelmingly moving and appealing. The two worlds of sin and redemption have never been connect

Musical Theatre West Presents GUYS AND DOLLS

Gangsters and gamblers, missionary dolls, and showgirls turn the gamble of love into a high-energy musical when Musical Theatre West presents five-time Tony Award-winning musical Guys and Dolls, February 16 - March 4 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Based on the stories and characters by Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, the show tops Entertainment Weekly's list of "The Greatest Musical of all Time." Tickets are now on sale at www.musical.org, by calling (562) 856- 1999 ext. 4 or at the Musical Theatre West ticket office. Tickets start at $20.

BWW Review: SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE Stage Adaptation Romances at South Coast Repertory

Witty, enchanting, and joyously self-referential, the original film version of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE fantasizes a story involving a young, virile William Shakespeare in his prime, who quells a bout of writer's block by secretly romancing an engaged lady named Viola---which apparently becomes the inspiration for the Bard's infamous star-crossed tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet.' The plot of the film remains fairly intact in Lee Hall's mostly delightful if slightly diluted stage adaptation, now continuing performances in a gorgeous-looking new regional production at Orange County's Tony Award-winning theater South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through February 10, 2018. This spunky love letter to the theater is chockfull of stagecraft-insider amusements and fun-to-find Shakespearean Easter Eggs that both aficionados and casual fans will appreciate. But, shockingly, despite the spectacular production values and the beguiling, gusto-bathed performances of its large ensemble cast, this stage adaptation somehow loses some of the inescapable romanticism that is so much more prevalent in the original film.

GUYS AND DOLLS Comes to The Carpenter Performing Arts Center

Gangsters and gamblers, missionary dolls, and showgirls turn the gamble of love into a high-energy musical when Musical Theatre West presents five-time Tony Award-winning musical Guys and Dolls, February 16 - March 4 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Based on the stories and characters by Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, the show tops Entertainment Weekly's list of "The Greatest Musical of all Time." Tickets are now on sale at www.musical.org, by calling (562) 856- 1999 ext. 4 or at the Musical Theatre West ticket office. Tickets start at $20.