Pearl Cleage has written six plays, nine novels and several nonfiction books. Blues for an Alabama Sky was published in 1999 and premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Blues weaves in references to issues that are still troubling today, such as homophobia, racism and abortion. The Harlem Renaissance is alluded to casually with references to a “party at Langston’s” and the ideas of Marcus Garvey.

The story playwright Jordon Harrison presents in Marjorie Prime is a tale set in the not-to-distant future in which artificial intelligence is used to treat dementia and depression in the forms of “primes”- ‘humanoid’ lifelike robots that speak with patients in the form of lost loved ones and provide companionship for the lonely. Marjorie’s prime is modeled to look and talk like her dead husband Walter, at age thirty.

The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) has announced the names of the seven finalists for the 2016 Francesca Primus Prize. Jointly sponsored by ATCA and the Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation, the Primus Prize, which includes a cash award of $10,000, is given annually to an emerging woman playwright.

London's newly opened Design Museum is the world's leading museum devoted to contemporary design in every form from architecture and fashion to graphics, product and industrial design. The Design Museum is now open in its spectacular new location on High Street Kensington. It is now a major venue to visit in London.

New York was shrouded in thick fog, but Marilyn Horne shone a light on the art of song and of all the arts as she began to make her case to the current administration in Washington. No statement is more clear and heart-touching than beautiful voices raised in song before a rapt audience.

“Les Liaisons Dangereuses” at San Diego Rep Theatre’s Lyceum Space stage, is the third production from the young New Fortune Theatre Company co-founded by Richard Baird and Amanda Schaar. The play centers around two ex-lovers: The Le Vicomte de Valmont (Richard Baird) and La Marquise de Merteuil (Jessica John Gercke) who scheme to ruin the reputation of an innocent young aristocrat Cecile de Volanges (Gentry Roth).

Men on Boats continues at American Theater Company Men on Boats, a regional premiere now on stage at American Theater Company, is the story of the 1869 exploration of the Green and Colorado rivers for the U.S. government. John Wesley Powell, a Civil War veteran who lost an arm in the war, leads a government-sanctioned expedition with nine other men and four boats.

Nora and Torvald Helmer are living their dream, Now happily married with children and financial security, but previously Nora risked her reputation to save her husband’s life. The consequences test the limits of their love. A new translation by Bryony Lavery of Ibsen’s powerful and groundbreaking classic about marriage, money, and equality shows that in the theatre if it aint broke, don't fix it. Trying to be contemporary and relevant takes skill not just daring.

Promethean Theatre Ensemble’s new production of Eurydice, directed by Nicole Hand, is staged in modern dress with a chorus made up of three Stones.

Writer/director Scott Marshall Smith’s potent Indie movie “Camera Store”, is a cautionary tale about American business and its practices toward its employees. Two of America’s finest character actors star as embittered employees and clerks: Ray LaPine, played by John Larroquette) and Pinky Stueben, played by (John Rhys-Davies).

“Breakable You”, co-written with Fred Parnes and smartly directed by Andrew Wagner, is a sophisticated and wryly funny film, at times, and is best described as a poignant ‘dramaedy’ that centers around the dynamic Weller family on New York’s Upper West Side.

In 1989, then celebrity Mayor Sonny Bono, decided that what his desert paradise city needed was a little more glitz, klieg-lights, and glamor. So he and a group of his show business pals put together a business plan, recruited a sponsor like Nortel to help pay the bills and the first Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) was born.

Marilyn Horne's father saw Shirley Temple on the big screen and thought his daughter belonged there too. At the age of two she first performed in public. Here was a stage father whose personal aspirations matched his daughter's talents. For decades Marilyn Horne has given great pleasure as a performer and extended the audience for the art song. Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute presents Horne's master classes as part of "The Song Continues."

The 10X10 Upstreet Arts Festival returns to downtown Pittsfield for the sixth year and features music, theatre, dance, film, visual art, spoken word, comedy and more, including BSC’s 10X10 New Play Festival.

Mirror Visions Ensemble commemorated its 25th anniversary with a concert at The Sheen Center. Their driving vision is that each composer will interpret a poem, passage or letters in his or her own way. The composer is to find the true musical equivalent for the poem. The variety of the setting is no less than the variety of the poem. The group often contrast two composers take on the same poem, mirror images.

The legendary rock and blues club The Boston Tea Party first opened its doors on Friday night, January 20, 1967. The Music Museum Of New England will commemorate the event on Friday, January 20, 2017, 5-8pm, at The Verb Hotel and Hojoko Japanese Tavern, 1271 Boylston Street (opposite Fenway Park)

A selection of fourteen rock portraits by Roman Iwasiwka will be on view at The Falcon – 1348 Rte 9W, Marlboro, NY through March 31. A reception for the artist will be held on January 28, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM.

Writer/director Michael Leeds presents an honest, funny, vivid and unapologetically shameless and bold play “The First Step: Diary of a Sex Addict.”

Opera is alive and well. New works are a-borning across our country and opera houses are mounting them. There is an audience for new work. Singers like performing it. Orchestras are delighted to give it a try. This is an exciting time for an old art form. Opera America, the national service organization for opera, is leading the way.

In the best of all possible worlds, the New York City Opera is alive and well at the Rose Theater, Lincoln Center. With Harold Prince at the helm in a production he has mounted for NYCO before, an exuberant romp through Voltaire's classic shows just how live NYCO is in its new incarnation.

First a New Year visit to Lonshan Temple for prayer and offerings to the manmy Gods. From there it was on to Snake Alley to choose one's favorite kind of reptile for fine dining. For the adventurous there are side dishes of turtle testicles and deer penis wine.

Jean Racine was one of the three great 17th century French playwrights, along with Molière and Corneille. He is known mostly for his adaptations of Greek tragedies and wrote Phèdre (inspired by Euripides’ play) in 1677. It’s considered his masterpiece.

During the holiday playwright Mark St. Germain visited his daughter Kate in Taipei. This is the second of three letters he sent to friends.They encounbtered a cab driver who "When he laughed revealed a black hole where his tongue and teeth would have been. All day he chews betel nuts."

Whether “The Most Happy Fella” falls more closely into the realm of musical theater or opera, the show has the necessary ingredients for success. Stage Door Theatre’s breathtaking production offers some of the strongest singing you’ll hear on a stage.

Currently Mark St. Germain is finishing a screenplay of his widely produced "Freud's Last Sessions." Recenty, he spent the holidays with his daughter Kate. This is the first of three letters from Taipei that he sent to friends. For those who know Mark and have enjoyed his plays at Barrington Stage and other theatres you will enjoy and recognize his familiar wit and insight.