January 6, 2012

Scholastic Media and Mills Entertainment announced today the kick off of a new 50- city live tour of ‘Clifford The Big Red Dog LIVE! A BIG Family Musical.’  This new musical adventure teaches audiences that ‘it only takes a little to BE BIG’. Clifford and Emily Elizabeth take a journey to Birdwell Island with their friends Cleo, T-Bone, Charley, Jetta and Mac.

“Bringing Clifford to the stage is a great way for children and families to experience the BIG red dog in an up close and personal way,” said Leslye Schaefer, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Consumer Products for Scholastic Media. “Clifford makes for a BIG star and we’re delighted to team up with Mills Entertainment to deliver an exciting and engaging theatrical experience for kids.”

The production, directed by Mark Fleischer, features a book written by Jeremy Dobrish with music and lyrics by Dennis Scott.

November was a sweet month for Buddy Valastro, the Cake Boss, as he hit the road and played to packed houses in 20 cities over 21 days.  The tour, a collaboration between Mills Entertainment, TLC, and Simon & Schuster, was timed to coincide with the release of Buddy’s second book, Baking with the Cake Boss.

Click here to check out behind-the-scenes footage at TLC.com.

Victoria Stillwell is best known as the host of Animal Planet’s hit tv series It’s Me or the Dog, through which she is able to share her insight and passion for positive, reward-based dog training. Reaching audiences in over 30 countries with her show, Stilwell also has two best-selling books It’s Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect Pet and Fat Dog Slim: How to Have a Healthy, Happy Pet. Dog lovers near and far can look forward to a fun and entertaining show that includes the demonstration of her techniques with dogs from a local animal shelter of your choice. Put together some powerful partnerships in the animal community and watch tickets fly out the door!

 For booking information and general availability, contact:

 John Trembler, Booking Manager

john@millsentertainment.com or 518.884.2960 x8005

Experiencing food and sharing culture is the name of the game for Andrew Zimmern, the host and creator of Travel Channel’s hit series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World. He has travelled the world exploring food and now he brings his experiences and behind-the-scene stories to a live audience. Lucky audience members might even get the chance to try a few edible items for their own “bizarre foods” experience! Foodies and travel enthusiasts will unite for one of the most versatile and knowledgeable personalities in the food world.

For booking information and general availability, contact John Trembler, Booking Manager at
john@millsentertainment.com or 518.884.2960 x8005

After Charlie Sheen’s professional life fell apart in front of the whole world, he took his show on the road — the road straight to his people.

The actor’s now infamous Twitter posts and his poorly produced online TV episodes were only the start of his self-obsessed highway. The ridiculed “Violent Torpedo of Truth” tour, which plays the Wells Fargo Theatre on Thursday, has driven Sheen — and the rest of us — even further in a show of just how weirdly accessible celebrities have gotten in the last few years.

It’s not just Facebook pages, but actual, in-person tours that TV and movie stars are increasingly using to further their careers, push their agendas and develop new business.

“There’s no better way to connect with your fans than being in the same room as them,” said Justin Levy, a Denver-based promoter with Mills Entertainment, a company that produces several celebrity tours. “It’s a pretty amazing opportunity for a lot of these artists.”

If Sheen’s breakdown had happened a decade ago, we would have seen the edited clips on “Good Morning America” and that’s it — until the recovery. But these days, there’s a whole system set up for taking the show live.

Think about the triumphant, live-in-person underdog reinvention of Conan O’Brien and the TV-to-concert reincarnations of “Glee” and “American Idol.” Even the ship captains from the series “The Deadliest Catch” and chef Buddy Valastro from “Cake Boss” have gone on tour.

The routine: They will tell stories or answer questions, sing, dance, flirt, joke, show films, often with live music as part of the mix.

Sheen certainly gleaned a lesson from them all — most obviously O’Brien, who toured extensively when his “Tonight Show” was dumped by NBC.

Sheen’s tour, of course, is different. The failures of his anecdote- heavy act have been documented plentifully. But there is a way to do these kinds of shows right. And this relatively new live-entertainment spectacle has added even more depth and dimension to our modern, if expansive, definition of a concert.

“Sometimes it’s obvious,” said Mike Mills, the president of New York-based Mills Entertainment, “like the ‘Last Comic Standing’ tour we do for NBC. It’s a reality show, but it’s the finalists of a stand-up comedy competition.

Read more: Charlie Sheen on a road clogged with celebrity shows – The Denver Post

Meanwhile, oddball moviemaker Kevin Smith appeared Monday night at McCaw Hall.

And Captain Sig Hansen and his fellow “Deadliest Catch” captains are concluding a tour of American theaters with a show of slides, video clips and tall fishy tales. (The show has no upcoming dates on sale here, though some of the series stars will be Seattle this week for “CatchCon.”)

They all fall into an amorphous yet burgeoning category of live event: the show that’s not quite a show — the show that fits no obvious category of traditional live entertainment.

This is a thriving industry trend: The nontraditional live performance that (1) fits no mold and (2) is often centered on someone not known for live performance. This tends to result in some combination of the following: a conversational lecture, a demonstration of something, a handful of video clips and, finally, a question-and-answer session. Or as Michael Mills, owner of New York-based Mills Entertainment, which produces many of the shows in this niche, calls them: “branded and alternative tours.”

To read the entire article CLICK HERE

The All-New Lineup of Stars also includes Colin Mochrie, Brad Sherwood, Ryan Stiles, Kathy Kinney, Jeff Davis, Chip Esten, Jonathan Magnum, Sean Masterson and Greg Proops.

This is a brand new original, primetime daily strip show for GSN.  In true Carey form, they will create unpredictable, hilarious and all improvised sketch comedy for this half-hour show enriched with audience participation. 

GSN is excited to announce that “a series of live improv performances and audience members will also have a chance to appear in this original, primetime GSN television series. The shows will be taped live in front of audiences at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas January 14-16, January 20-22 and February 3-5 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Additional performances will be taped at 9 p.m. on Thursday, January 13th and Sunday, February 6th.. Tickets for the live performances are available for purchase online at www.mgmgrand.com and www.ticketmaster.com.”

Frankel’s wit, wisdom, and humor first came to national attention due to the success of her appearances on multiple television shows, including Bethenny Getting Married? which premiered in June 2010 with the highest ratings in Bravo TV history.
Her knowledge and passion for healthy living has led her to regular columns in Health Magazine and OK! Magazine, along with authoring best-selling books such as Naturally Thin and The Skinnygirl Dish. She’s a sought after guest on national news and entertainment television, where she brings her expertise and irresistibly candid and funny take on life.

Fans will love watching Bethenny dish on her time as a ‘Real Housewife’, talk about her experience as a new mom and wife, share stories from ‘Skating with the Stars’, give her best advice on healthy living, cooking and eating and of course, answer any of their burning questions!

It’s a night of secrets, stories and laughs only a live audience will be privy to!  Bethenny will also teach everyone how to mix the perfect SkinnyGirl Margarita.

In this live interactive event, the baker and star of TLC’s Cake Boss will share the stories behind his hit TV series and his colorful Italian family, answer audience questions and give a live demonstration of the techniques that have made him one of the most successful and renowned cake artists in the nation. Buddy will even invite audience members to join the fun on stage. The whole family is invited for a night of “Bakin’ with The Boss” one will not soon forget.

On November 2nd, Free Press (Simon & Schuster) will publish Buddy’s first book, Cake Boss: The Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia.

One of the centerpiece shows of the TLC network, the third season of Cake Boss returns October 11th on TLC. Viewers continue to celebrate the mouthwatering desserts and not-to-be-missed Valastro family moments occurring in bustling Hoboken, NJ, home of Carlo’s Bakery, which celebrated it’s 100th anniversary in June.

The seventh season of NBC’s Emmy-nominated competition series Last Comic Standing, hosted by Craig Robinson (NBC’s “The Office”), premiered June 7th and was a top-rated alternative program for the network among younger audiences. The “Last Comic Standing Live Tour” features the five finalists from the show: Roy Wood Jr. from Van Nuys, CA, Tommy Johnagin from St Louis, MO, Mike Destefano from Bronx, NY, Myq Kaplan from Allendale, NY, and the winner Felipe Esparza from Los Angeles, CA.

For an entire list of tour dates and to buy tickets, visit http://www.nbc.com/last-comic-standing/tour-schedule/