Entertainment

An immersive Friends 25 Pop-Up Experience arrives in New York City next week to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the iconic television series. While tickets for "The One With The Pop-Up in Manhattan" may have sold out in two hours, there are still many other ways super Friends' fans can experience the celebration first-hand. Kicking [...]

Cultural diversity abounds with the 41st annual Museum Mile Festival in New York City on June 11th. That's when eight museums along Fifth Avenue open their doors for free to the public from 6pm to 9pm come rain or shine. The annual cultural event takes place along Fifth Avenue from 82nd Street to 110th Street. [...]

There were plenty of memorable moments from the 2019 Tony Awards that sparked Broadway's biggest night. Moments ranged from long overdue first time award recipients as Elaine May to history-making winners as Ali Stroker. Here are the top sparks from some of the Tony winners speeches. Top Award Winners' Sparks - Can We Quote You? [...]

Vinyl lovers rejoice with over 550 new releases to choose from in honor of Record Store Day 2019. The annual event brings together independent record stores from around the world featuring a range of celebratory activities that offer special promotions, artist appearances, performances, give-a-ways and more. Now in its 12th year, Record Store Day (RSD) [...]

JanArtsNYC returns to kick-off the new year with a month-long annual celebration of the performing arts around the globe. Performing arts enthusiasts, advocates, artists and fans can expect a flurry of eventful activity in the City throughout the month. A kaleidoscope of industry conferences, forums, music concerts, public festivals, salutes, retrospectives and award ceremonies will [...]

Hopes, dreams and The Band's Visit were the biggest winners of the 72nd Annual Tony Awards. The brightest moments of Broadway's biggest night came from the presenters, performers, and winning speeches -- all touching on hope, dreams and some of society’s most pressing issues as Equality, Diversity, LGBTQ, Immigration and Bullying. Tony co-hosts Josh Groban [...]

The third time’s a charm for France Rocks NYC, a summer music festival that brings the best of French produced music to NYC. The third annual France Rocks Summerfest kicks-off this weekend in New York City and runs through July 5. France Rocks founder Michele Amar tells us what to expect and how the music [...]

The 2018 Obie Awards let the sparks fly Off-Broadway last night with the 63rd annual Awards ceremony at New York City’s Terminal 5. Co-presented by The Village Voice and The American Theatre Wing, awards were given out to four writers, three directors and 10 artist performers plus special citations, grants and the Lifetime Achievement Award. [...]

Tonight marks theatre's coveted Obie Awards® and the third time you can watch via livestream. The 63rd Annual Awards Ceremony will recognize Off-Broadway and Off-Off broadway’s most adventurous and groundbreaking artists and productions. A Co-presentation by The American Theatre Wing and The Village Voice, the awards categories are informal and there are no advance nominees. [...]

Roger Thomas sets it straight – when you break down his Vocal Play Group -– Naturally 7 -- it’s simply voicing what comes naturally. The Musical Director and MC recently took five from his American Tour to share his thoughts on all things Roger Thomas, family, Naturally 7, music and social change. Roger Thomas, musical [...]

International Jazz Day closes April Sparks with celebrations in over 190 countries from around the world. This year's global host city is St. Petersberg, Russia, which will lead the festivities with a series of educational and outreach programs that culminate in an all-star global concert at the historic Mariinsky Theatre. The concert will be streamed [...]

Jazz Songstress Spider Saloff heats up New York City and environs this weekend with two sizzling hot cabaret shows. The Socially Sparked spotlight artist and award-winning sultry jazz and cabaret talent brings her trademark Spider's spin on the music of Irving Berlin and Peggy Lee to Long Island's Tilles Center on Saturday and New York [...]

Theatre Award season kicks into high gear this week. A slate of nominations announcements for the best of Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions and talent continue with the Outer Circle Awards on April 24th and the coveted Drama Desk Awards on April 26th. The awards lineup includes the Obies, Outer Circle Critics Awards, and [...]

When the Tribeca Film Festival opens April 18th for its 17th year, the spotlight will illuminate a more equal playing field that supports gender equality and diversity. Forty-six percent of this year’s films are directed by women – the highest percentage in the festival’s history. Image courtesy of the Tribeca Film Festival The 2018 feature [...]

Ninety Six (96) birthday wishes Doris Day -- Hollywood's girl next door. The legendary American actress, singer and animal welfare activist is celebrating her big day with friends and singing to her pets. Here's how to celebrate with Doris Day. Doris Day has one birthday wish this year. The founder of the Doris Day Animal [...]

Scott Sharrard & Friends live from NYC's Irving Plaza brought down the house last night. Dubbed the 'secret show' orchestrated by Grammy-nominee Sharrard, (former musical director/guitarist/vocalist of The Gregg Allman Band) the concert was part tribute to the late Gregg Allman and his final Grammy-nominated album Southern Blood and part celebration of the 47th anniversary [...]

Resilience & Heroes is the Socially Sparked Quote of the Week by actor Christopher Reeve (1952–2004). The late actor and advocate is best known for his major motion picture role as Clark Kent in the Superman Movie Trilogy of the late 70s. His words convey his spirit and most current -- that of the next [...]

The Academy's Oscar® Week begins celebrating 90 years of the Academy Awards in grand fashion. From Tuesday, February 27th through Sunday, March 4th, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a series of public programs celebrating this year’s nominees in several categories. The series of Academy-presented public programs celebrating this year’s Oscar [...]

Vocal group Naturally 7 raise their voices for social change simultaneously creating beautiful harmonies and messages. The New York City-based group offers artistically innovative and feel-good sounds to convey emotion and stir action in what they coin ‘vocal play’. “In vocal play, you have to truly believe that that instrument is right in front of [...]

Commercials with social justice messages flood the Big Game’s Ads in 2018. TV Ads were laced with social messages reflective of the times – sans political slants – and Socially Sparked® our lives. Brand after brand chose to highlight their social responsibility platforms au lieu de their usual promotional messaging. Diversity, equality, environment, family, pediatric [...]