John Simon News

Ancram Opera House will present a virtual edition of CRYSTAL RADIO SESSIONS UPSTATE, the Hudson Valley outpost of the popular downtown NYC reading series, on Saturday, December 5 at 3pm. This event is free, but reservations are required.

The pioneering International Contemporary Ensemble announces bassoonist Rebekah Heller's transition from Co-Artistic Director to Board Member, and welcomes a new cohort of Board Members with close ties to the Ensemble: Marcos Balter, David Byrd-Marrow, and Du Yun. Eddy Kwon joins the Ensemble's staff as Director of Individual Giving.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has shuttered many performing arts organizations around the world, Long Beach Opera (LBO) has been industriously devising live innovative performance opportunities for both its artists and audiences. 

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Jerome Robbins Dance Division announced today that it has acquired the Trisha Brown Archives. Brown was the first woman choreographer to receive the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1991).

Yoshiko Chuma returns to La MaMa with Love Story, The School of Hard Knocks, the latest chapter in her ongoing multidisciplinary performance series. The 24-hour livestreamed performance will feature an international cast of more than 50 artists from four decades of collaboration.

Brenda Cay releases her music video for her single, “I Fish,” debuting on Apple Hot Tracks 8.14.2020 which premiered on The Women of Country. 

Jacob's Pillow has announced Ronald K. Brown as the recipient of the 2020 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award. A master choreographer and visionary storyteller, Brown's distinct blend of West African, Caribbean, and contemporary genres is embedded with an unmatched sense of musicality, spiritual traditions, and humanity.

Flyaway Productions has announced the world premiere of MEET US QUICKLY WITH YOUR MERCY, the second in a trilogy of outdoor aerial public art performances addressing the devastating effects of mass incarceration. Meet Us Quickly is presented in partnership with the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) and through CounterPulse's curated co-production program.

Kickstarter has announced its community that artist Steve Locke was awarded a 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship by the Board of Trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. His application, which included his Kickstarter-funded project Auction Block Memorial, was chosen among a diverse group of 175 scholars, artists, and writers out of a group of almost 3,000 applicants in the award's 96th year.

Three University of Michigan scholars have received the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowships for their distinguished achievement and exceptional promise for future accomplishment.

Reyes | Finn will present how to be a human being, a group exhibition of ceramic works by Anjuli, Nicole Cherubini, Joanne Greenbaum, and Patrice Renee Washington, curated by Sara Nishikawa. The exhibition will be on view March 28 - April 25, 2020, with an opening reception held on Saturday, March 28th from 6-8pm.

Songwriter and country music artist Brenda Cay released the upbeat and foot stomping, toe tapping honky tonk single 1-2-3-Floor on February 21, 2020 to all digital and streaming outlets. The single is currently featured on Apple Music Hot Tracks. 

For the first time in its 20 years Dragon is mounting two plays at the same time on an alternating schedule. Why? Because while being very different plays, they share much of the same DNA.

Trisha Brown Dance Company will celebrate its 50th anniversary at The Joyce Theater (April 21-26) with an historical season commemorating Brown's extraordinary partnership with visual artist Robert Rauschenberg. Over the course of five decades, Brown and Rauschenberg maintained a remarkable creative dialogue, drawing inspiration from each other while investigating the visual and the kinetic. The Joyce program features two pivotal works: Foray Forêt, with original costumes by Rauschenberg, and Astral Converted, featuring Rauschenberg's costumes and mobile set of lighting towers. 

Pasadena Playhouse, The State Theater of California, presents The Father, written by Florian Zeller, translated by Christopher Hampton and directed by Jessica Kubzansky, now through March 1, 2020. The production stars Alfred Molina (Frieda, An Education, Enchanted April) in a tour-de-force role in perhaps one of the most awarded plays of recent times on two continents – winning the 2014 Molière Award, and nominations for the Evening Standard Theatre Award, Olivier Award for Best New Play, and Tony Award for Best Play.

On Tuesday Evening, February 11th, Jennifer Pace* and The Jennifer Pace Quartet began residency at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on Theatre Row in NYC. She will be playing the 2nd Tuesday Night of every month through May. (Next up: March 11th at 7PM) . Featuring Gary Pace, John Simon, Tom Kirchmer, Gil Chimes, and Warren Vache. 

Jennifer Pace is an actress and singer who has performed in numerous theatres and clubs throughout the USA and abroad.

2019 has come and gone, and we are reflecting on those we have lost in the Broadway and theatre communities throughout the year.

Steven John Simon, rising country artist released his debut EP 'Story To Tell' on December 13, 2019. Steven John Simon's debut EP rounds out his first full year as a new country artist. This has been a year of 'firsts' for Steven John Simon.  The Marine Veteran went from working off-shore full time, single father of two to a whirlwind of studio time, song writing, taking care of his fast growing fan base to performing at festivals and venues in the south east. 

The American Dance Festival (ADF) will present the 2020 Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement to acclaimed choreographer Shen Wei. Established in 1981 by Samuel H. Scripps, the annual award honors choreographers who have dedicated their lives and talent to the creation of modern dance. Shen Wei will be in residence at ADF during the 2020 season working on his latest ADF commission set on ADF students. ADF Director Emeritus Charles L. Reinhart will present the $50,000 award in a brief ceremony on Thursday, July 23rd at 8:00pm, prior to the Footprints performance in Reynolds Industries Theater.