Ian Watson News

Handel's Messiah, one of the most beloved holiday traditions, begins with the phrase “Comfort ye my people.”  In a year when people need comfort more than ever, GBH and the Handel and Haydn Society today announced a collaboration to create a transformative take on the holiday tradition for television and video streaming. “Handel's Messiah for Our Time” will premiere on GBH 2 on December 20, 2020 at 7 p.m. and stream on YouTube, Facebook, wgbh.org, classicalWCRB.org, and handelandhaydn.org.  

The Handel and Haydn Society will feature the Glories of the Baroque with a special streaming concert on Tuesday, November 24, 2020. Led by concertmaster Aisslinn Nosky, H+H acclaimed musicians will perform works by Corelli, Muffat, and Handel.

The Handel and Haydn Society today announced major changes for the 2020-21 Season. Following the closure of Symphony Hall, and the ongoing health directives from the Governor's and Mayor's offices, H+H is moving the rest of its season online.

Continuing to deliver the historically informed performances audiences have come to expect from H+H even during this pandemic, the Handel and Haydn Society will celebrate the magic of Antonio Vivaldi with a streaming concert featuring three works from the Italian Baroque composer.

The Handel and Haydn Society announced it will offer five new streaming concerts throughout the fall featuring select H+H musicians performing works by Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, and more.

Utah Film Center announced today a drive-in movie experience, 4 late addition feature films, and 4 short film programs for the 17th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival, set to run virtually July 10-19, 2020 at DamnTheseHeels.org.

Utah Film Center announced today the 19 feature films selected for the 17th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival, set to run virtually July 10-19, 2020 at DamnTheseHeels.org.

The Melbourne Queer Film Festival was cancelled due to the current health crisis. However, the 2020 awards were still announced.

The Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra will celebrate the intersection of music and art in the presentation of Studio Concerts, performing jewels of the Baroque era in the intimate setting of acclaimed artist Jonathan Sherman's Marblehead studio on November 9, 2019.

Judson Theatre Company has announced that Tony Award nominee Alan Campbell will headline their November production of Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution. Performances begin Thursday, November 21 and run through Sunday, November 24, 2019 at Owens Auditorium at the newly renovated Bradshaw Performing Arts Center (3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374).

Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino brings Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor close to home with a joyous production set in a small town not unlike Stratford, Ontario, in 1953, the year the Festival began.

San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon (Daren A.C. Carollo and Daniel Thomas, Co-Executive Directors) has announced the full cast and creative team for Moon's next production, the 8-Time Tony Award-nominated musical 110 IN THE SHADE. Based N. Richard Nash's acclaimed 1954 play THE RAINMAKER (the basis for the 1956 film starring Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn), 110 IN THE SHADE features music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones (THE FANTASTICKS), and a book by Nash adapted from his own play. 42nd Street Moon's production of 110 IN THE SHADE runs from April 24 - May 12, 2019 and will perform at San Francisco's Gateway Theatre (215 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA 94111). The press opening will take place on Saturday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. Tickets range from $30 - $75 and can be purchased through the Box Office at (415) 255-8207 or online at www.42ndstmoon.org.

It was with great sadness that the Stratford Festival learned of the death of Ian Watson yesterday, of cancer. An expert in Shakespearean text, Mr. Watson was a key member of the Festival's coaching staff.

Music Theatre Festival 2019: THE BRITISH INVASION kicks off for Marymount Manhattan College with a brand new musical revue of material from the Perfect Pitch New British Musicals songbook-directed and choreographed by Larry Fuller (Evita, Sweeney Todd)-with an assist from Daniel Kermidas (West Side Story, Newsies)-and music direction by Steven Cuevas (Kinky Boots, Once On This Island.)

Music Theatre Festival 2019: THE BRITISH INVASION kicks off for Marymount Manhattan College with a brand new musical revue of material from the Perfect Pitch New British Musicals songbook-directed and choreographed by Larry Fuller (Evita, Sweeney Todd)-with an assist from Daniel Kermidas (West Side Story, Newsies)-and music direction by Steven Cuevas (Kinky Boots, Once On This Island.)

In Spring 2019, the internationally renowned, Boston-based, early music champion, the Handel and Haydn Society, returns to New York City for two stunning concerts. These performances, housed in two of New York City's most unique and celebrated concert venues, reflect the Handel and Haydn Society's impeccable consideration for historically-informed concert traditions, immaculate expression of the Renaissance and Baroque philosophies, and characteristic taste and precision of artistry. Under its esteemed artistic director of a decade, Harry Christophers, the 204-year-old ensemble brings the fiercely emotive early opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell to the spectacular Temple of Dendur setting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Sackler Wing, as well as an all-Vivaldi recital including works for soprano, violin, and viola d'amore at the Morgan Library.

Music Theatre Festival 2019: THE BRITISH INVASION kicks off for Marymount Manhattan College with a brand new musical revue of material from the Perfect Pitch New British Musicals songbook-directed and choreographed by Larry Fuller (Evita, Sweeney Todd)-with an assist from Daniel Kermidas (West Side Story, Newsies)-and music direction by Steven Cuevas (Kinky Boots, Once On This Island.)

San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon (Daren A.C. Carollo and Daniel Thomas, Co-Executive Directors) has announced the full cast and creative team for the opening production of its 2018-2019 season, THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS (nominated for seven Tony Awards). THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS features a book by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson, and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. 42nd Street Moon's production runs from October 3 - 21, 2018 and will perform at San Francisco's Gateway Theatre (formerly the Eureka Theatre). The press opening will take place on Saturday, October 6 at 6:00 p.m. Tickets range from $30 - $75 and can be purchased through the Box Office at (415) 255-8207 or online at www.42ndstmoon.org.

New Hampshire can proudly claim bragging rights to one of its own with a Creativity Foundation Legacy Prize winner in 2017, master cellist Andrew Koutroubas. The Monadnock Region will be able to experience Andrew's artistry with an upcoming concert. He will perform at The Park Theatre's River Street Theatre (RST) on Sunday, June 17 at 7:30 pm. The event will be part of The RST Summer Concert Series.

With 16 Handel and Haydn Society premieres, the first performance of Schubert's Symphony No. 9 by H+H since 1865, and a host of notable guest performers, the Handel and Haydn Society announces its 2018-19 season, the 204th season in its history.