Nipsey Russell

REALLY BIG SHOW Opens at MUSE/IQUE This Month
by Stephi Wild - Apr 2, 2024

MUSE/IQUE’s next show in their 2024 season, themed Make Some Noise: Music and Stories of American Defiance and Hope, is Really Big Show: How Ed Sullivan Changed America Every Sunday Night.

Broadway Stage and Screen- A Spring 2024 Watch Guide
by Sidney Paterra - Mar 30, 2024

A new Broadway season has arrived at last, full of exciting new shows and revivals of beloved classics. While many of them are original concepts or based on plays, 10 are already films that you can watch from home. If you are seeing any of the below productions in 2024, check out how you can study up beforehand or unpack afterwards!

Review: PHILLIP JOHNSON RICHARDSON RETURNS 'HOME' TO CHARLOTTE, NC IN THE PRE-BROADWAY REVIVAL OF 'THE WIZ'
by Vickie Evans - Nov 9, 2023

Excellent Show! First time as a theater reviewer that I had no criticism at all. Every aspect of the production (cast, music, costumes, set, choreography, etc.) was EXCEPTIONAL.

Paris Bennett, DeQuina Moore, And Jaden Dominique To Lead Fulton Theatre's THE WIZ
by A.A. Cristi - Feb 14, 2023

Fulton Theatre announces casting for their upcoming production of The Wiz. Leading the company is Jaden Dominique as Dorothy, Paris Bennett (American Idol Season 5) as Addaperle/Evillene, and DeQuina Moore (original Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors, Chiffon; Legally Blonde, Pilar) as Aunt Em/Glinda. Nationally renowned actor and director E Faye Butler will direct the production alongside award-winning choreographer, Kenny Ingram (EmojiLand).

Film at Lincoln Center Announces Jordan Peele Curation
by Michael Major - Dec 22, 2022

Widely hailed as one of this century’s great directorial debuts, Jordan Peele’s era-defining Get Out injected new life into horror with its witty subversion of racial politics and elitist social mores. Two years later, his wildly entertaining Us plumbed everything from isolationist fears and late-capitalist power structures to the rich lineage.

Governors Island Arts And Film At Lincoln Center Announce Free Outdoor Film Series
by Stephi Wild - May 20, 2022

Governors Island Arts and Film at Lincoln Center announced today the return of free outdoor film screenings on the Island for summer 2022 featuring John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Friday, June 3 and Sidney Lumet's The Wiz on Friday, August 5.

Registration Is Now Open For Fall Semester Of Amas Musical Theatre's Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Sep 10, 2021

Amas Musical Theatre is accepting applications for the fall semester of The Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy, its award-winning pre-professional performance program for musical theatre lovers ages 12-18.

Freda Payne Stars In Tribute To Ella Fitzgerald At Bucks County Playhouse
by A.A. Cristi - Aug 10, 2021

Singer Freda Payne, the celebrated singer of the disco-era top-charter “Band of Gold,” will bring her acclaimed “Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald” to Bucks County Playhouse for ten concerts, August 26 through September 5.

Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy Now Accepting Applicants for Summer Musical Theatre Intensive
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jun 25, 2021

Amas Musical Theatre is accepting a limited number of applicants for its Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy “Summer Teen Academy 2021 Musical Theatre Intensive” for students ages 12-18 to be held this summer from July 27-August 12.

L. Frank Baum Documentary AMERICAN OZ Premieres Monday, April 19 on PBS
by Sarah Jae Leiber - Mar 24, 2021

The story of Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Lion has continued to enthrall children and adults and been reinvented every generation. It found its most enduring place in American culture at the end of the Great Depression when The Wizard of Oz, the MGM feature film starring Judy Garland, opened on August 25, 1939.

UN DÍA COMO HOY: THE WIZ se estrenaba en Broadway
by Cristina Martinez - Jan 5, 2021

Un 5 de enero de 1975, THE WIZ se estrenaba en Broadway en el Majestic Theatre. Este musical supone una revisión del cuento clásico de EL MAGO DE OZ adaptándolo a la actualidad del momento y conectándolo de manera directa con la cultura urbana negra.

KISSY COUSINS MONSTER BABIES Receives Over 200 Film Festival Laurels
by Sarah Jae Leiber - Nov 2, 2019

Can 200 film festivals possibly be wrong in giving a 90s retro comedy lovingly referred to as KCMB, which commenced shooting 26 years ago and finally wrapped in January 2019, as many film festivals nods including 'official selections' and other assorted awards? What is it about this strangely zany, off-the-wall piece that has captured the imaginations and attention of such a multitude of festivals and festival directors around the world?

KISSY COUSINS MONSTER BABIES To Close Manhattan Repertory Theatre's Stories Inaugural Film Festival
by A.A. Cristi - May 14, 2019

A kitschy yet cerebral, retro mash-up film titled The History of Everything Circa 1993 to the Present: Formerly Known as Kissy Cousins, Monster Babies and Morphing Elvis, directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Wayne J. Keeley and co-produced by his wife, Emmy-nominated Stephanie C. Lyons-Keeley, (along with Emmy Award-winning business partner and friend Craig Dobson) will screen at Manhattan Repertory Theatre's STORIES Film Festival which takes place May 15 - 19, 2019, just a block from Times Square.

Throwing Out My CDs by Ben Rimalower: THE WIZ
by Ben Rimalower - Feb 15, 2019

This week's decluttering is only freeing up a tiny bit of space in my collection, but it represents an enormous place in my heart. The only version of The Wiz I have on CD is the AMAZING/IF YOU DON'T KNOW IT, YOU'RE NOT A REAL BROADWAY FAN original cast album starring Stephanie Mills. I do have the movie soundtrack in my iTunes and the soundtrack of 'The Wiz Live!' is on Apple Music, so let's dive in.

KISSY COUSINS MONSTER BABIES Receives 100th Film Festival Prize
by Marianka Swain - Nov 22, 2018

Can 100 film festivals possibly be wrong in giving a 90s retro comedy lovingly referred to as KCMB, which commenced shooting 26 years ago and finally wrapped in April 2018, as many film festivals nods including "official selections" and other assorted awards? What is it about this strangely zany, off-the-wall piece that has captured the imaginations and attention of such a multitude of festivals and festival directors around the world?

BWW Review: All Hail THE WIZ at TUTS
by Bryan-Keyth Wilson - Oct 27, 2018

Though it's 2018 in Houston, Texas, at the height of the 2018 primary election, but thankfully, there's an escape from the tumultuous political climate where blue and red are the subject. The color of today is green.

Kitcschy Film Spans Quarter Century And Becomes Festival Fave With 80 Laurels To Date
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 8, 2018

A film created in partnership with Someday Productions and Siberian Films, which was originally titled Kissy Cousins, Monster Babies and Morphing Elvis, first began production back in the nineties, but it's just now making its way into theatres. From a decade which saw the massive proliferation of Blockbuster video stores, all things Jurassic Park, and men sporting those awful baggy suits, the flick has been renamed The History of Everything Circa 1993 to the Present: Formerly Known as Kissy Cousins, Monster Babies and Morphing Elvis complete with new footage and a slick update - and it's now as big as the dinosaur and ready to take over the silver screen.

Black Theatre Troupe Presents THE WIZ
by A.A. Cristi - Sep 18, 2018

Black Theatre Troupe presents The Super Soul Musical version of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" September 28 - October 14 At Tempe Arts Center. This joyous, modern retelling of L. Frank Baum's classic children's story reflects contemporary African-American culture. After Dorothy gets swept up in a tornado, she finds herself in the fantastical world of Oz.

'How Swee-eet It Is!' THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW IN COLOR Arrives on DVD Today
by TV News Desk - Feb 6, 2018

Time Life proudly release the inaugural DVD release of THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW IN COLOR, one of the '60s most beloved programs - and unseen for nearly 50 years!

'How Swee-eet It Is!' THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW IN COLOR Arrives on DVD 2/6
by Caryn Robbins - Jan 11, 2018

Time Life proudly release the inaugural DVD release of THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW IN COLOR, one of the '60s most beloved programs - and unseen for nearly 50 years!