Accepting nominations

The Kentucky Motion Picture and Television Hall of Fame, located in Lancaster at the Grand Theatre, is accepting nominations for individuals for inclusion in the Hall of Fame’s inaugural 2020 class.

Already selected are actors Jim Varney and Lee Majors, and independent film maker Chase Dudley.

Between now and Jan. 1, 2020, members of the general public may make additional nominations by visiting the Hall of Fame’s website kyhalloffame.org.

New play to premiere

Lexington playwright Kevin Lane Dearinger’s new play “about identity” will premiere in Lexington at Smiley Pete Publishing for four nights beginning Oct. 10. Performances are at 8 p.m.

For more information and tickets, visit upstairsatmidinght.eventbrite.com A portion of each ticket benefits AVOL-KY.

New plays to be read

Before a new play is first produced it must, most often, be given a public reading. This allows the playwright to get feedback on the quality of the script, to hear what s/he feels if good/bad about the script and gain ideas to improve it.

From 2 to 5 p.m. Oct. 13, new works by Kentucky playwrights will be given readings at Frenchburg Presbyterian Church, 170 Main St. (Route 460), Frenchburg.

The event is being sponsored by the Menifee County Community Theater Group and Kentucky Playwrights Workshop.

Admission is free.

Three Lexington choirs unite

Mark your calendars, the Lexington Chamber Chorale has announced that the first concert of its 2019–20 season, “Sing Community, Sing Peace,” will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at Second Presbyterian Church.

Paul Laurence Dunbar Chamber Choir and Second Presbyterian Church Covenant Choir will join the Lexington Chamber Chorale to present a wide array of choral works from a “Mendelssohn anthem to a Moses Hogan spiritual.”

This partnership is core to the Chorale’s mission of “enhancing the arts in Lexington” by spearheading collaborations to give professional performance experience to young singers and church singers alike.

“Sing Community” is a natural theme for the Chorale in our 29th season,” founding conductor and musical director, Dr. Gary L. Anderson, said. “The choir, as a musical organization, is a community, so it only makes sense to welcome other talented voices into our community of singers. We are proud to share this big sound with Lexington!”

Tickets, ranging in price from $10 to $22 each, are available online by visiting www.lexingtonchamberchorale.org, by calling 859-317-3353, or at the door prior to the concert.

George C. Wolfe to be honored

On Sunday, Oct. 20, George C. Wolfe will be honored by the Capital City Museum in Frankfort.

The events of the day will begin with “George C. Wolfe: At Home on Broadway,” a conversation with the honoree on the stage of Frankfort’s Grand Theatre. That will be followed by a banquet at the Kentucky History Center.

Proceeds from both events will benefit the Capital City Museum, which plans to use the money to help pay for renovations and a new exhibit highlighting African-American history in Franklin County.

Kentucky has produced its fair share of outstanding playwrights — Marsha Norman, Suzan-Lori Parks, John Patrick, Maurine Dallas Watkins and the still-ascending Leah Nanako Winkler among them — but its greatest thespian is, without a doubt, George C. Wolfe, 65, who has had success as a playwright, director and producer of plays, and as a film and television screenwriter, director and actor. Kentuckians Marsha Norman, Suzan-Lori Parks and John Patrick have all won Pulitzer Prizes for their writing, an honor that has so far escaped Wolfe though he has has had tremendous theatrical successes on both on and off-Broadway where he has won both Obie and Tony awards.

Wolfe’s own Broadway plays include “Jelly’s Last Jam” (1992); “Bring in ’da Noise/Bring in ’da Funk” (1996), “The Wild Party” (2000)  and “Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed” (2016). Off-Broadway plays include “The Colored Museum” (1987), and “Spunk: Three Tales by Zora Neale Hurston” (1990).

As a director or producer Wolfe’s plays included “Angels in America” (1991, 1992); Suzan-Lori Park’s “Topdog/Underdog” (2002);  “Elaine Stritch at Liberty”(2002), “Take Me Out” (2003), “Caroline, or Change” (2004) and “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus” (2019).

His films have included “The Colored Museum” (1991); “Lackawanna Blues” (2006); and the  HBO film “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” (2018).

For more information and tickets, contact the Capital City Museum at (502) 696-0607.

Bill McCann is a playwright, poet, flash fiction writer, and teacher who writes about arts events and personalities. Reach him at wmccann273@gmail.com.