It’s been 25 years since the world of cinema and animation was changed with the premiere of “The Nightmare before Christmas”, conceived and produced by Tim Burton, with songs by Danny Elfman and originally directed in stop motion by Henry Selkirk.

It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a resident as well as The King of "HalloweenTown" who stumbles through a portal to "Christmas Town" and decides to celebrate the holiday, with some dastardly and comical consequences.  I sit down with Fairlith Harvey, director and founder of Geekenders ( a nerdlesque musical troupe based out of Vancouver, Canada)  to chat about the show.

For six nights this week, little-known and never-heard songs of Jonathan Larson were performed at Feinstein’s 54/Below, in a concert carefully curated by creative and programming director and theatre historian Jennifer Ashley Tepper.

This year, The Laramie Project is sure to be one of the most produced plays across the country. In fact, usually is regardless of what year it is. But for one director in CT, the play is all the more personal. Because while much of the world knows Matthew through this play and his story, Shannon-Courtney Denihan got to know him while they were friends in college.

Unlike other industries, getting a master’s degree isn’t necessarily a requirement for theatre professional to succeed. However, for those looking to teach or further their training, there are many strong MFA programs all over the country.

In the past we’ve done a list of who we felt were the best MFA programs out there. This year, we thought we would changing things up by highlighting programs we felt offer excellent educational opportunities that don’t get enough attention.

I would like you to meet Renée Marino. Ms. Marino can currently be seen in Pretty Woman on Broadway where she is a member of the Ensemble, the Dance Captain, and Assistant to the Choreographer. Other Broadway credits for Renée include West Side Story (Rosalia), Jersey Boys (Mary Delgado), Chaplin, and Wonderland. She has also appeared as Mary Delgado in Clint Eastwood’s Jersey Boys film.

The Guilford Performing Arts Festival (GPAF) has awarded its inaugural Guilford Foundation/Guilford Performing Arts Festival Artists’ Awards to playwright/screenwriter Susan Cinoman of Woodbridge and jazz pianist/composer Noah Baerman of Middletown. The two were chosen by festival programmers and independent judges from a field of applicants from throughout Connecticut. Each will receive a $2,500 grant toward the creation of new work.

While one could certainly argue that the 2018-19 Broadway season is off to a mixed start, there are certainly shows on the horizon that have our interest piqued.

Some of these shows sound more promising than others and some seem to be Tony contenders before they even open. Here are my picks for the 10 Most Anticipated Shows of 2018-19.

Officers from the Midtown South precinct arrested 47-year-old Ilya Vett on Friday afternoon. The Lion King prop maker was taken into custody by police after he is accused of printing a 3-D gun.

Per the NY Post, police made their way into the Minskoff Theatre where the musical was being rehearsed on West 45th Street around 12:30 p.m. in pursuit of Vett.

The Brooklyn resident was said to be in the middle of printing the gun when officers arrived.

Meet Elliott Mattox! 

Elliott is currently starring in the out of town tryout of Beetlejuice at The National Theatre in Washington DC. He made his Broadway debut in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and is co-host of Equity One: Broadway's Happy Hour! “As you know, sometimes in this business we have to make our own creative opportunities. My best friend, Caleb Dicke, and I have always wanted to work together on something creative. Caleb came to visit me on a contract, and we were Face timing my boyfriend. Our antics had him laughing nonstop, and he put the idea of starting a podcast into our heads. Last summer, we finally decided to just buy a microphone and start! We have a blast doing something together and talking about the industry with people we really respect! Give us a listen on iTunes!” says Mattox.

Unlike other industries, getting a master’s degree isn’t necessarily a requirement for theatre professional to succeed. However, for those looking to teach or further their training, there are many strong MFA programs all over the country.

In the past we’ve done a list of who we felt were the best MFA programs out there. This year, we thought we would changing things up by highlighting programs we felt offer excellent educational opportunities that don’t get enough attention.

For many artists, there comes a time where they are forced to make a painful choice in their lives: continuing to pursue their art or move toward starting a family. Some, however, refuse to ultimately choose, and attempt their best to balance their creative life with their parental life. Such appears to be the case with the woman known simply as “Meshelle,” who returns to the NYC indie theatre scene with her latest performance at Theatre Row as part of the United Solo Theatre Festival, after past successful runs at festivals such as the Midtown International Theatre Festival and the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival.

When it comes to the phrase “write what you know” playwright, Monica Bauer had a lot to work with. A former political science professor as well as a veteran of the National Guard, she sought to write a play that reflected her unique life experiences. Bauer says “The real truth about politics is found, I believe, in the contradictions in human beings. The problem of politics is flawed human beings trying to make sense of movements in history beyond their control. So I wanted to work with the twin national tragedies of the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, both wars of choice, both wars where a lot of young people died or came back wounded.”

After last night’s 70th Emmy Awards, nominees, guests, and presenters strolled along a massive red carpet to the L.A. Live Event Deck for the largest celebratory dinner party in Los Angeles. First guests received a bubbling flute of Ferrari Trento as they walked under 29,000 LED lights hanging from the ceiling illuminating the party and Hollywood's night sky.

A performing arts high school community in Las Vegas is buzzing tonight over the news that one of their teachers has been arrested for sexual contact involving a former student.

When one thinks of Breckenridge, CO the first thing that usually comes to mind is their popular ski resort. Then perhaps their famous Oktoberfest. But probably no one thought it would be home to a brewing controversy involving its local community theatre. A controversy that has led to threats of boycotts and the resignation of two theatre officials.

All due to a satirical sketch poking fun at Donald Trump. 

We originally were going to combine BFA and BM degrees together on one list, like we did last year. However, it was rightly pointed out by one of our team members that while in some ways similar, these are two completely different degrees. 

Twenty years ago, I was starting at a new Middle School. Naturally, I gravitated toward some familiar extra-curricular activities to ease the transition, one of which was chorus. We sang a medley of songs from "The Phantom of the Opera," a musical. What was a musical? I was about to find out. I was an alto, but loved the tenor lines (the Phantom's lines) so much that the day of the Fall concert I asked if I could sing them and was allowed. Then I worked behind the scenes on the Spring musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." It took me forever to memorize that whole title, but not long at all to decide that this was what I wanted out of life: musical theatre. And who was responsible for these two pieces of art that had brought about this epiphany?

This production of Disney’s ‘newsies’ is letting all “fansies” have an opportunity to seize the day. The Next Generation theater company of St. Louis Missouri is offering a “sensory friendly“ performance. Theater fans with light or sound sensitivity or those on the spectrum of autism should feel more comfortable and welcomed at the show. There will also be sign language interpreters for ASL users. 

The sensory friendly performance will be Sunday September 2nd. The run begins at the James J Eagan civic center in Florissant Missouri on August 31st. Tickets and show information can be found at www.nextgenerationtheatre.company