All stories by Kenneth Jones on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Peninsula Players Reads Plays by John Reeger, Christopher G. Smith and Jeff Talbott by Kenneth Jones

Peninsula Players is famous in the Midwest for its summer productions in Door County, Wisconsin, but it’s not dormant all winter long. Plays are tested off-season, too. Titles in the compa…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 08:21PM
Monday, December 26, 2022

“Alabama Story” Gets West Virginia Premiere at Greenbrier Valley Theatre by Kenneth Jones

Alabama Story, the true story of an embattled librarian persecuted for protecting children’s books in the Deep South of 1959, will make its West Virginia debut at Greenbrier Valley Theatre…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 05:15PM
Monday, December 12, 2022

“Hollywood, Nebraska,” a New Comedy, Premieres in Alabama in February 2023 by Kenneth Jones

Hollywood, Nebraska, the six-actor comedy by Kenneth Jones that reunites two high school friends in their hometown in the Great Plains, will get its third production in a rolling world premi…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 10:33AM
Monday, November 28, 2022

Dramatists Play Service Publishes Acting Edition of “Alabama Story” by Kenneth Jones

Alabama Story, Kenneth Jones’ fact-inspired play about an embattled librarian in the Civil Rights era, is now published in an Acting Edition from Dramatists Play Service, which also licens…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 03:44PM
Friday, November 11, 2022

Brenda Withers’ “Off Peak,” a Bittersweet Romantic Ride, Commutes to Off-Broadway by Kenneth Jones

In spring 2022, I read a rueful, charming, tough-minded new play called Off Peak, about former lovers meeting on a train, and I knew immediately that I wanted to throw some questions at pla…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 04:13PM
Sunday, October 23, 2022

“Ballycroy,” Marek Norman’s Ghostly Musical Play, Materializes in Stratford Concert by Kenneth Jones

A fire that consumed three immigrant hatmakers in a notorious Ontario town more than a century ago has ignited the imagination of Canadian composer-lyricist Marek Norman, who turned their st…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 01:14PM
Wednesday, October 12, 2022

That Time Angela Lansbury E-Mailed Me About the 11-O’Clock Number From “Mame” by Kenneth Jones

Years ago I did some work on an article I wanted to write about Jerry Herman’s five greatest show tunes. Y’know, one of those clickbait pieces where readers will either celebrate you or …

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 12:05AM
Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Jeffrey Lo’s “Waiting for Next” Premiere Explores Highs and Lows of Friendship by Kenneth Jones

Nearly 30 years of milestones in the lives of two pals who meet in middle school are centerstage in Jeffrey Lo’s heartfelt, charming comedy-drama Waiting for Next, finally getting its worl…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 01:59AM
Thursday, June 2, 2022

“Alabama Story” Gets Peach State Premiere by Georgia Ensemble in Fall 2022 by Kenneth Jones

After a winter 2022 postponement due to COVID-era issues, Georgia Ensemble Theatre in Roswell, GA, will give Alabama Story — the six-actor, one-set drama about an embattled librarian in th…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 11:59AM
Sunday, May 1, 2022

“Hollywood, Nebraska,” a Comedy About Coming Home, Gets Trio of World Premiere Productions in 2022-23 by Kenneth Jones

Kenneth Jones’ six-actor comedy Hollywood, Nebraska — the story of two actresses returning to their dying hometown — will get at least three “rolling world premiere” productions by…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 01:34PM
Friday, April 22, 2022

Strangers On a Train? Brenda Withers’ “Off Peak” Gets World Premiere in Westchester by Kenneth Jones

I just read a rueful, charming, tough new play called Off Peak, about former lovers meeting on a train, and I knew immediately that I wanted to throw some questions at playwright Brenda With…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 05:27PM
Thursday, April 21, 2022

Indy Cast of “Two Henrys” Has Sean Blake, Judy Fitzgerald, Jan Lucas as Uneasy Family by Kenneth Jones

Sean Blake, Judy Fitzgerald and Jan Lucas will be the trio of Midwestern snowbirds unpacking family secrets in a May 14 developmental staged reading of Kenneth Jones’ comedy-drama Two Henr…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 01:50PM
Sunday, March 20, 2022

Meet “Tracy Jones”: Stephen Kaplan’s New Comedy Plays Four Markets in Rolling Premiere by Kenneth Jones

“Ah, look at all the lonely people,” a line from Lennon and McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby,” was on my mind when I read Stephen Kaplan’s quirky, sadness-tinged, four-actor comedy Tra…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 05:45PM
Monday, February 14, 2022

“Writing Kevin Taylor,” Romantic Pop Musical About Creativity, Finds New Life by Kenneth Jones

When I saw a New York City reading of a three-character pop musical called Writing Kevin Taylor a few years ago, I was certain this would be the next big little hit in regional theaters — …

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 12:17PM
Sunday, January 30, 2022

“Hollywood, Nebraska,” a Comedy About Coming Home, Gets CT Reading by Kenneth Jones

Kenneth Jones’ six-actor comedy Hollywood, Nebraska is the latest title in Music Theatre of Connecticut’s New Voices series, a non-musical pilot program that gives a spotlight to five …

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 11:08PM
Thursday, January 6, 2022

“Two Henrys” Reading at Actors Theatre of Indiana Will Put Midwestern Snowbirds in Spotlight by Kenneth Jones

Two Henrys, a three-character comedy-drama set at the dawn of marriage equality and the dusk of the worst days of the AIDS epidemic, will be explored in a spring staged reading as part of Ac…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 11:19PM
Saturday, December 18, 2021

Ora Jones Is Embattled “Enemy” Doctor in Premiere of Jeff Talbott’s “The Messenger” by Kenneth Jones

Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Ora Jones will create the role of Therese, the town doctor who sounds the alarm over a public health crisis, in the 2022 world premiere of Jeff Talbott’…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 03:34PM
Wednesday, December 1, 2021

A Dickens of a Time: Greta Lambert Stars in Her Own Solo “Carol” at Alabama Shakespeare Festival by Kenneth Jones

Actress Greta Lambert, one of the great things to happen to American regional theater, is finally getting a chance to perform her one-person adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas C…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 03:23PM
Friday, November 26, 2021

Lisa Howard Releases “Most Wonderful” Christmas Album Prior to 54 Below Show by Kenneth Jones

Broadway musical star Lisa Howard, whose powerful voice effortlessly glides from brassy to warm to everything in between, is in a holiday mood at the end of 2021. The actress beloved for rol…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 01:36PM
Thursday, November 11, 2021

Lee Blessing’s COVID-Era Play “The Family Line” Gets Tested in Actors Theatre of Indiana Reading by Kenneth Jones

Actors Theatre of Indiana welcomes Pulitzer Prize finalist Lee Blessing for a Nov. 13 reading of his new pandemic-era play, The Family Line, the second title in ATI’s 2021-22 Lab Series. B…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 11:50PM
Thursday, November 4, 2021

Jason Ma’s Musical “Gold Mountain”: A Fresh Lens on Chinese Achievement in America by Kenneth Jones

The largely anonymous Chinese immigrants who built the American transcontinental railroad in the 19th century finally get a collective voice — and it sings! — in the world premiere of Ja…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 02:52PM
Saturday, October 16, 2021

In “Ass,” Playwright Ellen Simon Takes a Page From Dad Neil Simon’s Play Book by Kenneth Jones

Ellen Simon, daughter of the late great playwright Neil Simon, will finally see the world premiere of her play, Ass, starting Oct. 22 in a production by Pioneer Theatre Company. The drama ab…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 01:55PM
Thursday, October 14, 2021

Jean Tafler and John Ahlin Conjure “Oz” Actress Margaret Hamilton in New Play “My Witch” by Kenneth Jones

The famously hawk-nosed actress Margaret Hamilton — best known as The Wicked Witch in the film “The Wizard of Oz,” but employed for decades as a treasured character actress — gets a …

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 08:01PM
Thursday, October 7, 2021

New Voices Series in CT Reads Plays By Jeff Talbott, Kenneth Jones, Kevin Renn, Laura Darrell, Joe Landry by Kenneth Jones

Music Theatre of Connecticut launches New Voices — a non-musical pilot program that gives a spotlight to five contemporary plays by living authors in staged readings — Oct. 11 with Jeff …

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 03:07PM
Wednesday, October 6, 2021

World Premiere of Joshua Allen’s “The October Storm” Brews at Hudson Stage Company by Kenneth Jones

A troubled war veteran shakes the lives of residents of a South Side Chicago apartment building in Joshua Allen’s The October Storm, getting its world premiere Oct. 8-23 by Hudson Stage Co…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 11:47AM
Thursday, September 30, 2021

“Alabama Story” Will Get Peach State Premiere by Georgia Ensemble in 2022 by Kenneth Jones

Georgia Ensemble Theatre in Roswell, GA, will give Alabama Story — the six-actor, one-set drama about an embattled librarian in the Deep South — its state premiere as part of the residen…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 04:23PM
Monday, September 20, 2021

A History Museum’s Foundation Is Shaken in Ethan Mathias’ New Drama “Provenance” by Kenneth Jones

Provenance, a new play set in and around a Hoosier history museum, gets a staged reading Sept. 25 as the first title in Actors Theatre of Indiana’s 2021-22 Lab Series devoted to developing…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 11:55PM
Thursday, August 26, 2021

Actor-Writer Adam Tran Sees Genghis Khan Through Asian-American Lens in “Mongrel” Premiere by Kenneth Jones

Midwest actor and playwright Adam Tran conjures the conquering mood of the Mongol Empire’s Genghis Khan in a new one-man show, Mongrel, getting an open-air world-premiere staging by Know T…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 05:05PM
Sunday, June 13, 2021

In Missouri, First Lanford Wilson Festival Develops Five New Plays Aimed for College Life by Kenneth Jones

The First Annual Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival welcomes playwrights, other theater practitioners, students and theatergoers from around country to shine a spotlight on new works …

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 09:53PM
Monday, May 31, 2021

Great Barrington Public Theater Has New Plays by Mark St. Germain and Anne Undeland, With Mark H. Dold, Larry Bryggman, More by Kenneth Jones

New plays by Mark St. Germain and Anne Undeland will enliven Great Barrington Public Theater’s summer 2021 season in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. Six weeks of performances — includin…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 02:56PM
Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Playwright Dave Osmundsen Flips a “Light Switch,” Illuminating a Queer Autistic Experience by Kenneth Jones

A few years ago when a play of mine was being produced by Florida Studio Theatre, a twentysomething intern named Dave Osmundsen picked me up at the airport and we got to chatting about plays…

SOURCE: bykennethjones.com at 11:27PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime