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“When I was studying English literature at the University of Tokyo, even though I had no theater experience at all, I got the chance to direct ‘Macbeth,’ ” 33-year-old Ryunosuke Kimura explained when we met recently at a rehearsal studio in downtown Tokyo. “To start my research, I rented a video of ‘Ninagawa Macbeth’ — but I was amazed because it seemed entirely different from William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth,’ ” he recalled. Indeed it was amazingly different, because the late Yukio Ninagawa set his 1980 masterpiece in samurai-era Japan, not medieval Scotland, and he also filled most of the stage with...

The National Endowment for the Arts is helping fund the production of a play about going back in time to kill Christopher Columbus. The agency recently awarded $10,000 to the Borderlands Theater, which views people living near or on the U.S. border as “citizens of the world,” for the production entitled “Shooting Columbus.” “A collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Arizona artists will combine elements from interviews with tribal elders and community members with movement, media, and traditional theater for a site-based, immersive, interactive performance,” according to a grant for the project. “The guest artists are members of the Shooting...

Michelle Obama's bold exclamation that her husband was going to "change our traditions, our history," is perhaps what helped the Broadway musical Hamilton ring such happy notes into the ears of audiences and critics alike. I mean, does it really matter that in real life Aaron Burr wasn't dark-skinned, or that Alexander Hamilton wasn't Puerto Rican, or that other "old white guys" weren't really white? And now, with the musical's tremendous success, what if the trend to play against type and to turn history and truth on its ear were to continue? Three ideas are being offered here (and perhaps...

Vice president-elect Mike Pence was loudly booed by audience members as he walked into the Richard Rodgers Theatre in midtown Friday to watch "Hamilton." Video posted to social media shows the audience at the Broadway show both loudly clapping and booing as Pence walked into the theater with Secret Service in tow. "Here's Pence getting booed as he gets to his seats at Hamilton, tweeted an audience member who captured the loud reaction on video. "Everything was calm and then we heard almost a hysterical booing, went on for a long time," Ron Rawlings, who was visiting from Dallas, Texas,...

Natalie Babbitt, author of the beloved children's novel Tuck Everlasting, has died after battling cancer. She was 84. Babbitt, who also was an illustrator, had been diagnosed with lung cancer recently and died at her home in Hamden, Conn., on Monday, said her husband, Samuel Fisher Babbitt.

Tammy Grimes, the throaty actress and singer who conquered Broadway at the age of 26, winning a Tony Award for her performance in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," and went on to a distinguished stage career, died on Sunday in Englewood, N.J. She was 82... Ms. Grimes made films, including "Play It as It Lays," "The Last Unicorn" and "Slaves of New York," and appeared in dozens of television movies and series (including her own short-lived sitcom, "The Tammy Grimes Show," in 1966). But the starring role in the film version of "Molly Brown" (1964) went to Debbie Reynolds, who had...

Anne Jackson, a distinguished star of the stage who was half of one of America’s best-known acting couples, sharing much of a long and distinguished career with her husband, Eli Wallach, died on Tuesday at her home in Manhattan. She was 90. Her death was confirmed by her daughter Katherine Wallach. If not quite on the same level of stardom as Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne or Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, Ms. Jackson and Mr. Wallach came close. From the early 1950s to 2000, when they starred Off Broadway in Anne Meara’s comedy “Down the Garden Paths,” they captivated...

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz says if rival Donald Trump won't face the entire GOP field in Thursday's Fox News debate, then he wants to go one-on-one. "If Donald is afraid of Megyn Kelly, I would like to invite him on your show to participate in a one-on-one debate between me and Donald, mano y mano," Cruz said during an interview on "The Mark Levin Show," adding that Trump could choose the moderator. "And the fact that Donald is now afraid to appear on the debate stage, that he doesn't want his record questioned, I think that reflects a lack...

Donald J. Trump continued to fan the flames of doubt over Senator Ted Cruz's citizenship on Wednesday, suggesting that his Canadian roots might be a problem if he won the Republican presidential nomination. The decision to confront Mr. Cruz more directly comes as Mr. Trump, who has dominated most national and state polls for months, faces the prospect of losing to the Texas senator in next month's Iowa caucuses. Popular among evangelical Christians and conservatives, Mr. Cruz has become a favorite to win the first contest of the nominating process.

The arrival of Labor Day weekend means that another summer is in the history books. And it’s not just regular folks who are taking three days off; based on the paucity of new movies and TV shows available from now through Monday, Hollywood has effectively shut down as well. And what little fresh media exists out there — like The Transporter Refueled and Hand of God — sounds mostly bad. Given that, your finest entertainment option this weekend is one that elevates badness into an art form. We’re talking, of course, about Mystery Science Theater 3000, the legendary comedy series...

from the more-hassle,-same-safety dept Thanks to a string of theater-related tragedies, going to the theater is about to become as enjoyable as going to the airport. Following two recent deadly incidents at movie theatres in the US, the Regal Entertainment Group – the nation’s largest movie theater chain – this week added a bag and purse check policy as a security measure in some of the 569 theaters it operates. “Security issues have become a daily part of our lives in America. Regal Entertainment Group wants our customers and staff to feel comfortable and safe when visiting or working in...

CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- It took almost three years for the case to reach trial. That trial played out over the course of three months. The jury needed just 6.5 hours to render a verdict. James Holmes has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Posted: Aug 05, 2015 1:36 PM CST Updated: Aug 05, 2015 1:46 PM CST Posted by Chuck Morris Connect NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Police are responding to a call of an active shooter at the Carmike 8 Cinemas on Bell Road in Antioch. The incident occurred just after 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Dispatch confirmed three EMS units have been sent to the scene. Witnesses at a nearby business reported one person covered with blood. Check back to WSMV.com and Channel 4 News for updates.

The gunman who opened fire inside a packed movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, Thursday night, was 59-year-old John Russell Houser, police said at a news conference today. ((snip)) Houser also supported Barack Obama. He wrote this in his Manifesto (why do mass murderers always seem to have a rambling manifesto?) I accepted this it came to me that the president is doing exactly what Tim McVeigh did,only the president is much more effective.The way I see it,the faster he wrecks this nation, which in no way resembles what it’s founders envisioned,the faster working people with morals may re-assume command.ie I...

Two people were killed and at least six others were injured in a shooting Thursday night at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, authorities told NBC News.

Theater shooting here in Lafayette, LA tonight. Three confirmed dead so far.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4)– Gunman James Holmes was found guilty in the Aurora theater shooting that left 12 people dead and dozens more injured, putting the death penalty option at the center of the courtroom. The jury began delivering their verdict at 4:15 p.m. Thursday. Holmes was found guilty in the following 24 counts for first-degree murder and first-degree murder extreme indifference in the deaths of Jonathan Blunk, Alexander J. Boik, Jesse Childress, Gordon Cowden, John Larimer, Jessica Ghawi, Matthew McQuinn, Micayla Medek, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, Alex Sullivan, Alexander Teves, Rebecca Wingo.

STROUDSBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania woman said she was attacked, after urging a group of teens to be quiet during a movie. Cindy Santamaria-Williams, of Stroudsburg, said the three girls were loud and cursing, so she “shushed” them. After the movie, the girls were waiting for her outside with five other teens. Santamaria-Williams suffered a broken eye socket and bruises during the attack. "They immediately jumped on me and knocked me to the ground, punched me in the face," she said. She said she hopes someone will come forward to help police catch the young suspects. “They were in my...

Gene Saks, an actor who switched to stage and film directing in midcareer, winning three Tony Awards and becoming the leading interpreter of the plays of Neil Simon, died on Saturday at his home in East Hampton, N.Y. He was 93.

Year 1940 In the United States there are 17,500 movie theaters in operation, one for every 8,000 people. Out of a total U.S. population of 130 million, it is estimated that 55–60 million Americans go to the movies every week.