Michael Cooper News

This week's list includes a new limited edition orange vinyl of the 2017 revival cast recording of Once on This Island, as well as a purple vinyl edition of the 1964 cast recording of My Fair Lady. Plus, the latest volume of The Untold Stories of Broadway by Jennifer Ashley Tepper is now available!

This week's list includes The Wellsongs Project, featuring Kate Baldwin, Ethan Slater, and more. Plus, check out Don't Lose Your Head: Life Lessons from the Six Ex-Wives of Henry VIII, which has been described as 'An Unofficial Survival Guide for Fans of the Musical Six.'

Broadway Records announced today the release of MARGUERITE, a new musical starring Tony, Drama Desk & Outer Critics' Circle Award winner Cady Huffman.  Pre-orders for the CD of MARGUERITE are available today.

David Sisco and Laura Josepher, owners of ContemporaryMusicalTheatre.com, are launching a new radio show on MusicalTheatreRadio.com on Saturday, January 16 at 10 AM (EST).

Like so many other awards presentations, the Young Entertainer Awards (YEA) in Hollywood are going virtual this year.

Today, Wondery and Universal Music Group (UMG) announced that Oscar® Nominee and Golden Globe® Award-winner Taraji P. Henson will host and also serve as a producer on “Jacked: The Rise of New Jack Swing” with Barry Michael Cooper serving as consulting producer.

Theater composer and lyricist Michael Cooper releases a new album of electronic music, written, produced, and recorded during the COVID-19 quarantine.  Centre Road begins streaming for free, exclusively on SoundCloud, Monday, August 10th, 2020.

The Winter Park Playhouse announced the six winning selections for the 4th annual Florida Festival of New Musicals now scheduled for June 24 - 27, 2021.

The Greenville News has reported that MAC Endowment for the Arts has awarded $275,000 in relief funds. 

In today's Quarantine Qs, we check in with Lorin Latarro- choreographer of Mrs. Doubtfire.

Following its critically acclaimed 2019 season which included Mary Page Marlowe, The Waverly Gallery and Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory, The Alchemy Theatre once again brings their unique and powerful storytelling to the musical MACK & MABEL, directed by Michael Cooper, musically directed by Adam Roberts, choreographed by Josh Sallerson and produced by Marnie Near and Christopher Shea.

The Canadian Opera Company's HANSEL AND GRETEL, directed by Joel Ivany, is a spectacularly detailed production; unfortunately, the sheer amount of things happening at every moment overwhelms the gorgeous music and talented cast.

The Canadian Opera Company's remount of THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, last performed in 2015, is a visually striking and pitch-perfect adaptation of one of opera's most well-known works. With staging by Spanish theatre troupe Els Comediants, director Joan Font beautifully blends 19th century sensibilities, modern architecture, and clownish costumes for an opera experience that defies any one genre.

Based on the beloved 1956 classic by the same title, The Alchemy Theatre's production of A Christmas Memory (at the Mastrogeorge Theatre) is a lovely adaptation of what is in my opinion, Truman Capote's finest masterpiece. Although Capote published far fewer books than his contemporaries, his body of work is extraordinary with accolades for works the caliber of Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood, Capote always insisted that this short story was his personal favorite. A tribute to his distant cousin, Nanny Rumbley Faulk, nicknamed 'Sook', A Christmas Memory tells us the story of 'Buddy' (Capote's nickname) and his last Christmas with cousin Sook and their beloved dog, Queenie. Capote's shattered childhood had a profound effect on him; He suffered from multiple neuroses (including separation anxiety), fueled by alcohol and drug addiction. Capote was so terrified of abandonment that he reportedly refused to travel without his most treasured possession, a baby blanket handmade by Sook. When he died at the Bel Air home of Joanne Carson one month shy of his sixtieth birthdate, (per Carson), he held the blanket and uttered his final words, 'It's me, it's Buddy... I'm cold'.

Today, BET Networks announced new original scripted miniseries 'Uptown.' The three-part television event will tell the comprehensive story of Andre Harrell's iconic New York City record label, Uptown Records. Launched in 1986, following a joint venture deal with MCA, Andre Harrell's Uptown Records played a vital role in the careers of some of the most influential voices in hip hop, soul and R&B, including Heavy D & The Boyz, Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen, Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Father MC, Al B. Sure, Christopher Williams, Teddy Riley, Notorious B.I.G., Sean 'Diddy' Combs and many more. Each gripping episode will take viewers from the label's inception to current day, featuring the music and powerhouse hit-makers that helped mold what would come to be known as the Uptown 'sound' and define a musical era that would impact generations to come. 'Uptown' is scheduled to premiere on BET in 2020.

Theatre Gargantua's THE WAGER is a flat-Earth musical with talking birds. 

Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) has launched their 2019-20 season with Tony award-winner actress Cady Huffman in the New York premiere of Marguerite, a new solo musical with book and lyrics by Anton Dudley, music by Michael Cooper and direction by APAC Artistic Director Dev Bondarin. The musical continues through November 23, 2019 at The Church of the Redeemer, 30-14 Crescent Street in Astoria, NY. Tickets on sale now at: www.apacny.org

After a celebratory 18th season full of awards, nominations and tons of critical-acclaim for the main-stage productions of Queen and Caroline, or Change, Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) kicks off their 2019-20 season with Tony award-winner actress Cady Huffman in the New York premiere of Marguerite, a new solo musical with book and lyrics by Anton Dudley, music by Michael Cooper and direction by APAC Artistic Director Dev Bondarin.

'This Is Why We Live' by Open Heart Surgery Theatre, a Lecoq-bred performance troupe from Toronto, brings the poetry of Polish Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska to the stage using movement, poetry-theatre and live music. La MaMa will present the US premiere of this work, running September 19 to 29 in its Downstairs Theatre, 66 East 4th Street.  

'It only takes a moment' for America to fall in love with 'Hello, Dolly!' as the national tour is entertaining audiences across the U.S. with this classic tale. Check out what the critics are saying in the reviews from various tour stops below!