Val Vigoda News

I didn't think I'd ever see a singing Antarctic explorer in a musical, but that's exactly what ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME delivers. This quirky but conventionally structured two-hander introduces audiences to Kat, a struggling experimental musician with a newborn baby and a deadbeat, absent boyfriend who's on tour with a Journey cover band, and the eponymous Ernest Shackleton.

Porchlight Music Theatre is presenting the Chicago premiere of the critically acclaimed musical comedy Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, music by Brendan Milburn, lyrics by Val Vigoda, orchestrations and additional music by Ryan O’Connell and book by Joe DiPietro, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, now playing in a limited run through June 1 only. Check out photos from opening night here!

See photos of the Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago premiere of the critically acclaimed musical comedy Ernest Shackleton Loves Me.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS has announced a very special event: the world premiere staged reading of a new musical MISS FOXHOLE 1975 -- book by the Tony Award-winning writer of Memphis, Joe DiPietro, music and lyrics by Ryan O'Connell & Val Vigoda, and directed by Kari Hayter. 

Porchlight Music Theatre, in association with Skylight Music Theatre, presents the Chicago premiere of the critically acclaimed musical comedy Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, music by Brendan Milburn, lyrics by Val Vigoda, orchestrations and additional music by Ryan O'Connell and book by Joe DiPietro, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., May 6 - June 1.

After a two year intermission due to the COVID-19 pandemic, A Little New Music is back at Hollywood's historic Catalina Jazz Club with a fresh look at new musical theatre material. Audiences of A Little New Music's concert series will once again discover a distinguished variety of artists and a diverse assortment of songs intent on becoming future classics of the American musical theatre.

Ernest Shackleton Loves Me is a highly inventive off-Broadway musical that crisscrosses continents and time in an improbable and enchanting love story and won the Best New Musical of the 2017 Off-Broadway Alliance Awards. 

Skylight Music Theatre announced a one-week postponement of the regional premiere of Ernest Shackleton Loves Me due to positive COVID-19 cases among the fully vaccinated Company. The musical will now run Friday, Jan. 21 through Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022. The show was previously scheduled for performances Jan. 14-30.

Skylight Music Theatre today announced the cast and creative team for the regional premiere of Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, a highly inventive off-Broadway musical that crisscrosses continents and time in an improbable and enchanting love story.

Artistic Director Michael Unger today unveiled Skylight Music Theatre’s 2021-2022 season, which marks the theatre’s return to in-person performances after more than one year. It will be Unger’s first official season since joining Skylight in 2019, due to cancelled shows during the pandemic. 

BroadwayHD's CEO Bonnie Comley has announced a new initiative to put the spotlight on underrepresented voices in the theater community, with a special Trailblazers Category.

Bonnie Comley, Founder of BroadwayHD, was the guest speaker at MAESTRA's May seminar at SongSpace. Composer/lyricist and music director Georgia Stitt founded the MAESTRA organization in 2017 to give support, visibility, and community to the women who make the music in the musical theater industry. The MAESTRA membership is made up of female-identifying, non-binary, and gender non-conforming composers, music directors, orchestrators, arrangers, copyists, rehearsal pianists and other musicians who are underrepresented minorities in musical theater. Songwriter and composer, Kathy Sommer, moderated the seminar.

The inventive musical adventure ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME tells the story of a single mom who is struggling to balance her familial obligations and her work as a video game composer. One sleepless night, she posts a dating video and gets a response from famed 20th century polar explorer Ernest Shackleton. What follows is an odyssey of virtuosic electro-violin performance from Val Vigoda and Wade McCollum's charismatic and lush vocals.

Broadway Records announced today that ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME will be released on February 9, 2018. The original cast recording is now available for pre-order at BroadwayRecords.com and Amazon.com

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Today's big news: Annette Bening leads a reading of IF ALL THE SKY WERE PAPER this evening in L.A., and COST OF LIVING opens tonight at Manhattan Theatre Club!

After critically acclaimed and award winning productions in Seattle, New Jersey and Boston the new musical, Ernest Shackleton Loves me, officially opened last night, May 7, 2017 at Off-Broadway's Tony Kiser Theatre (305 West 43rdStreet). This strictly limited engagement will play through Sunday, June 11th only.

After critically acclaimed and award winning productions in Seattle, New Jersey and Boston the new musical, Ernest Shackleton Loves me, will officially open on Sunday, May 7, 2017 at Off-Broadway's Tony Kiser Theatre (305 West 43rdStreet). This strictly limited engagement will play through Sunday, June 11th only.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! This weekend's big news: The curtain rises on CLUE: ON STAGE, bowing Saturday at Bucks County Playhouse, and Taran Killam hosts the 2017 Lucille Lortel Awards on Sunday!

After critically acclaimed and award winning productions in Seattle, New Jersey and Boston the new musical, Ernest Shackleton Loves me, produced by Q Theatricals, which began performances on Friday, April 14, 2017 and officially open on Sunday, May 7, 2017 at Off-Broadway's Tony Kiser Theatre (305 West 43rd Street). This strictly limited engagement will play through Sunday, June 11th only. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the stars onstage below!

Prospect Theater Company, under the leadership of Cara Reichel, Producing Artistic Director, and Melissa Huber, Managing Director, continues its 2016 IGNITE Series a special one-night-only event at The Times Center (242 West 41st Street, NYC).