Read on for more theatre news you may have missed in today's headlines.
Chita Rivera, Jodi Benson, More Set for Disney World Candlelight Processional
Disney World has announced its lineup of celebrity narrators for the annual Candlelight Processional at the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays. Each night, a celebrity narrator will tell the biblical story of Christmas in a program featuring an orchestra and choir. This year's lineup includes Auli'i Cravalho, November 26–28; Tony winner Chita Rivera, November 29–December 1, Jodi Benson, December 2–Decmeber 4; Alton Fitzgerald White, December 5–7; Bart Millard, December 8–10; Lisa Ling, December 11–13; Andy Garcia, December 14–16; Ana Gasteyer, December 17–19; Courtney B. Vance, December 20–22; Steven Curtis Chapman, December 23–25; Blair Underwood, December 26–28; and Pat Sajak, December 29–30.
Hollywood Bowl 2022 Summer Season Includes Steve Martin and Martin Short
The stage and screen funnymen—and recent co-stars of Hulu's theatre-stacked Only Murders in the Building—will headline the annual July 4th Fireworks Spectacular at the Hollywood Bowl this summer. The three-performance show will also feature with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by Thomas Wilkins, as well as guest artists The Steep Canyon Rangers (Steve Martin's bluegrass band) and keyboardist Jeff Babko. The July 4th Fireworks Spectacular runs July 2–4. Other Hollywood Bowl events announced for the 2022 season include The Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival (formerly Playboy Jazz Festival) on June 25 and 26, Smooth Summer Jazz on August 28, Movie Night on September 4, and the traditional Sing-A-Long screening of The Sound of Music, hosted by Melissa Peterman, September 17.
DreamWorks Theatricals/MTI's Emerging Writers Program
DreamWorks Theatricals and Music Theatre International, in partnership with NBCUniversal's Global Talent Development & Inclusion team, is now accepting applications for its inaugural emerging writers program, seeking diverse teams of bookwriters, composers, and lyricists with unique voices and points of view to develop musical adaptations of popular DreamWorks Animation titles intended for the MTI catalog. Guided by executives from DreamWorks Theatricals, selected applicants will develop a DreamWorks Animation title for the stage—from treatment to completed show. The program also provides access to industry professionals and agents for career development. Applications are now open for the one-year, paid program. To learn more, click here.
Applications Open for SPACE on Ryder Farm
After a two year pandemic hiatus, SPACE on Ryder Farm has opened applications for its artists residency programs in 2022, including Working Farm, Family Residency, and Institutional Residency, as well as the new program BLKSPACE. Playwright Vichet Chum will curate the Working Farm residency for playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists, and the new BLKSPACE for Black creatives will be curated by Interfest (Kristen Adele Calhoun and Nikki Vera). Curators for The Family Residency for artists and their children, and the nomination-only Greenhouse Residency for aspiring playwrights will be announced later. SPACE will operate at reduced capacity this season and will not be running the Creative Residency, Film Lab, or Season Extension this season, but expects to return to all residency programs in 2023. For more information or to apply, visit SpaceOnRyderFarm.org.
