Back in 2004, the B Street Theatre in Sacramento, CA was one of first theatres to produce Around the World in 80 Days. The B Street was having financial troubles and my show was just getting its legs. The production was a smash hit. It extended three times and ran for an ironical total of 80 days. "An antic and hilarious stage tour de force that delighted the nearly full house at the B Street Theatre." - Sacramento Bee More importantly, [...]
Okay my Florida friends. You keep asking when one of my shows is going to make it to Florida, well here you go. The American Stage Theatre Company is St. Petersburg will be doing Around the World in 80 Days. The Dates are March 19 - April 13. American Stage has been around since 1977 and has consistently been named "Best Theatre Company" by Tampa Bay Magazine. So here's what you do: Make a day of it. In the morning go [...]
The Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre just announced that Around the World in 80 Days will be part of their 54th Anniversary Season. Located in the heart of Missouri, and smack dab in the middle of the Missouri River, - seriously, the town of Arrow Rock should be a barge - the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre has been going strong since 1961. And in 1960, just one year before Arrow Rock kicked off its first ever season with The Importance of [...]
The Hangar Theatre announced today that Around the World in 80 Days will be part of it's 40th Anniversary Mainstage Season. Thanks so much to Jen Waldman, Hangar's new Artistic Director, for choosing my show to be part of the season. I just hope that when June rolls around the temperature in Ithaca won't be 1°F. Temp at 7:20pm EST. Weather.com says it feels like -15°F. Brr.
Bitter Lemons' Top Rated Los Angeles Shows for 2013 recently came out and the International City Theatre production of my play Around the World in 80 Days made the list. Not only did it make the Top Ten productions list but it received a 100% Sweet score. Sweet. Bitter Lemons is a site that gathers reviews from a variety of local review sites around the internet and then forms an aggregate score that in turn becomes a show’s Lemon Meter Rating. [...]
If he was still alive, Mao Zedong would have been 120-years old today. If the 45-million people who died during Mao's failed Great Leap Forward were still alive today, they'd be -- well -- they'd be alive. To commemorate Mao's birthday, here's a demo recording from my musical China - The Whole Enchilada, written with my friend Paul Mirkovich. In the show, the song is sung by Joseph Stalin. To read more about the muted celebrations China, [...]
Steven Dennis, director of the DeSales University production of The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, recently sent me a few pictures of the production. I have to say the production looks like it was awesome. Thanks to one and all who worked on this production. Jacob Marley all mad about something. The Spirit of Christmas Yet To Come complaining about the thickness of his shroud and The Translator.
Due to a snow storm, DeSales University had to cancel its final performance of The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge today. It's the second tie this week a performance was cancelled. It's such a bummer for the kids who worked so hard. Hopefully they'll be able to add some performances. For those of you who wanted to see the show but couldn't, I found a slideshow of the show on Youtube. It needs music, but I quibble. [...]
I love seeing pictures of productions of my shows. Nancy Brooks, director of Southeast Alabama Community Theatre's production of The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, sent these pictures to me. Congratulations to all and thanks for doing my show. I particularly like this one. It looks like he's Cling or Clang from a live stage version of H.R. Puf n Stuf. I kid, I kid. All Photos Courtesy of Matt Ray Photography
The Nutley Little Theatre in Nutley, NJ will perform a reading of my script The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. This is from the Nutley Little Theatre website: Mark Brown's imagined sequel to Dickens’ famous “Christmas Carol” takes place a year after the title character’s miraculous transformation. But Scrooge is back to his old ways, suing Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future for breaking and entering, kidnapping, slander, pain and [...]
