Charles Fuller's "A Soldier’s Play" Opens on Broadway January 21

Jared Grimes
2001 Donna Reed Scholarship in Dance

Cast includes Donna Reed Scholarship Recipient

Roundabout Theatre Company celebrates the official opening of A Soldier's Play, Charles Fuller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, on Broadway January 21. A Soldier's Play follows an officer's race against his white leadership to unravel the crime of a black sergeant's murder. A hair-raising mystery set in 1944, the play is seen on Broadway for the first time.

Included in the cast is Jared Grimes who is cast as “Private Tony Smalls.” Grimes was a 2001 Donna Reed national scholarship recipient in dance. He made his choreography debut in Cirque Du Soleil's, Banana Shpeel off-broadway, He has choreographed the musical Holler If You Hear Me with Kenny Leon, 42nd Street at Drury Lane Chicago with Michael Heitzman, and The Scottsboro Boys with Joe Calarco at the Signature Theater in DC.

“The Rookie” Adds Once Upon a Time’s Mekia Cox

Mekia Cox
1999 Donna Reed Scholarship finalist

1999 Donna Reed Scholarship finalist - Musical Theatre

Once Upon a Time princess Mekia Cox is returning to ABC. Cox, whose additional TV credits include Chicago Med, Secrets and Lies, Impastor and 90210, will play Nyla Harper, an LAPD detective who after four years of undercover work practically misplaced herself. Now, Nyla is hoping to seek out normalcy once more as she takes on the function of John Nolan’s new coaching officer.

Jared Grimes to Perform During World Premiere of Ted Nash’s Transformation

Jared Grimes

The piece will be presented at Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2020

Jared Grimes, a 2001 Donna Reed national scholarship recipient in dance, will debut a new dance piece during the world premiere of Ted Nash’s Transformation at Jazz at Lincoln Center January 30–February 1, 2020.

Tony-winning star of stage and screen Glenn Close will read aloud several works.

Grimes made his choreography debut in Cirque Du Soleil's, Banana Shpeel off-broadway. He has choreographed the musical Holler If You Hear Me with Kenny Leon, 42nd Street at Drury Lane Chicago with Michael Heitzman, and The Scottsboro Boys with Joe Calarco at the Signature Theater in DC.

‘Spirit Riding Free’ Christmas Special Teased in Delightful New Trailer

Kari Wahlgren

Kari Walgren voices part of Aunt Cora

DreamWorks Animation unveiled the heartwarming trailer for the holiday special of its Emmy Award-winning series Spirit Riding Free titled, DreamWorks Spirit of Christmas. In this episode, Kari Walgren (DreamWorks Archibald’s Next Big Thing) voices the parts of Aunt Cora.

Spirit Riding Free is a computer-animated series, produced by DreamWorks Animation Television and distributed by Netflix, based on the 2002 Oscar-nominated traditionally-animated film, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The series was first released on Netflix on May 5, 2017.

Walgren, a University of Kansas graduate from Hoisington, KS, was a 1995 Donna Reed Scholarship recipient in Acting and Vocal.
Read the article and watch the trailer

Scholarship alumna appears in Pasadena Playhouse production

Sarah Utterback

2000 Donna Reed Foundation National Scholar in Musical Theatre

Sarah Utterback, a native of New Hampton, Ia, recently appeared in a Pasadena Playhouse production of A Kid Named Jake. The play addresses a couple’s struggle with their four-year-old son's gender identity when they realize he might be transgender. Alex and Greg struggle to figure out what's best for their son as they apply for him to go to a private kindergarten in New York City.

Utterback is most notable for her role as Nurse Olivia Harper on ABC's medical drama series Grey's Anatomy. She is also a film and theater producer.

Casting Announced for BLISS at The 5th Avenue Theatre

Jose Luaces

Includes Donna Reed Scholarship alumnus

Jose Luaces, a 2003 Donna Reed Finalist in Musical Theater and a native of Miami, FL, has been cast as a member of the ensemble for the upcoming production of BLISS at The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.

Bliss is an electrifying new musical that tears up the rules on happy endings. In this fractured fairytale with an addictive pop-rock score, created at The 5th, four wildly distinctive royal sisters sneak out of their castle and discover an intoxicating world of fancy balls and dreamy princes-and a burning desire to be at the center of it all. In a world that demands they fit in, it will take a sister's love to remind them to stand out. Together they discover that chasing their bliss means leaving expectations behind.

Seneca Falls Celebrates "It's a Wonderful Life" Festival

December 13-15, 2019

December 13-15, 2019

Seneca Falls, NY has been taken over by the classic Christmas movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”! The annual festival has a long list of themed events all weekend. But what most people look forward to is meeting the actors from the movie themselves!

Four actors from the film — Karolyn Grimes (Zuzu), Jimmy Hawkins (Tommy), Jeanine Ann Roose (Violet), and Carol Coombs (Janie) — have come to town to sign autographs and meet fans. Six actors from the 1946 film are still living; five were child actors at the time.
Visit the festival site