Coming Up This Week in Theatre - 9/30/2008 2008/09/30

Below is BroadwayWorld.com's Upcoming Events calendar updated on 9/30/2008. For the complete calendar of upcoming events, concerts, openings, closings and more, visit BroadwayWorld.com's Event Calendar.

Stage Door Johnny and the Qualuude-Samba-Folky-Jazz Groove - 9/30/2008

by Glen Roven

John Miller is hardly a household name. Unless, of course, a member of that household happens to be a musician, and that household happens to be anywhere near New York City. Then, trust me, John Miller is very much a household name.

For John Miller is one of the premier Music Coordinators on Broadway, the man (there are no women that I know of) in charge of hiring musicians who play in the pit orchestras of Broadway musicals. Right now, John looks after Hairspray, Jersey Boys, Xanadu and Young Frankenstein. His list of past shows hovers around one hundered.

But this article is not about Johnny Miller, the Music Coordinator. This is about his new CD,Stage Door Johnny, which will be released September 30th, on PS Classics. With this CD, John steps out of the pit and into the spotlight, Center Stage. This is about John Miller: producer, arranger, musician and most importantly, artist.

Johnny’s performing skills come as no surprise to us old folk who witnessed his amazing performance in the musical, I Love My Wife. In addition to the four star actors, the smaller parts and, of course, the music, were performed by the band. (Take that John Doyle; Joe Layton was doing it in the sixties.)

Johnny’s performance of the Act Two opening is indelibly imprinted in my mind. The curtain went up and there he was with his bass, about to launch into the jaunty Cy Coleman bass line for Hey There, Good Times. But as it was snowing (on stage), before he started, he looked up, gently flicked a snowflake off the bass, dried off his instrument, and then hurled headlong into the song. Jack Benny could have learned a few things from John’s impeccable timing. The audience roared and Act Two started with a bang. I remember watching a performance with Mark Bramble, Mike Stewart’s pal who wrote the book and lyrics. Mark exclaimed, “Now that’s how you open a second act.

GR: Would I be off the mark to say this is the Broadway album James Taylor could have made?

JM: Anytime anyone compares me to James, I’m unbelievably flattered! It’s like saying, I saw you on the basketball court and you have moves like Michael Jordon.”

GR: Which is highly unlikely. Neither of us crack 5’7.

JM: I’m talking metaphorically, of course. But I never try to sound like James. Or anyone, actually. That just seems to happen whenever I start to sing.

GR: Which is?

JM: I call it my Quaalude-samba-folky-jazz groove.

GR: I wonder if there’s a category for that at Barnes and Nobles?

JM: Do we have a shot?

GR: Tell me about the genesis of Stage Door Johnny, the album.

JM: I skillfully avoided doing this for a good 25 years. I used to sit around on the couch playing all these songs on the guitar, late at night. Not really knowing what I was doing on the guitar…

GR: Cause you’re a bass player.

JM: Correct. I didn’t even know the names of some of the chords I was making up. It reminded me of the time I played with Joni Mitchell. I looked over to Joni and asked her, “What’s that chord you’re playing?” And she said, “No idea.” I’d play my arrangements for guitar players and they’d say, “What the hell is that? What an interesting chord.” I guess ignorance is bliss.

I’d say fifteen years ago, I thought, hey, let me get a little home studio, work out the kinks, play around with the background vocals, the bass lines. I went with Bob Rose (another major NY musician) to Manny’s Music store and bought this Yamaha Eight track home studio. Bob came to my home, he set it up, put the speakers there, the wires, etc., and left. I looked at the manual and I realize I’m very, very good with the first sentence, which said, “Congratulations you just bought a Yamaha such and such home studio.” I realized very soon I wasn’t so good with the next 50 pages. I didn’t understand a thing. My spine started sweating. I became totally technophobic. So much so, that I couldn’t even go in the room! So I retreated to my couch and started strumming the guitar. I went back to playing the guitar on the couch for another ten of years.

Then, two or three years ago, I had a light bulb Zen moment of enlightenment. After so many years of playing these songs, I pretty much knew what I wanted to do. I said, let me by-pass the whole manual part. I realized I don’t have to learn all that stuff. At the same time, Connie, my wife said, “Enough already. It’s too depressing hearing you sing these songs for 12 years. Either do it or don’t. I don’t want to hear about it anymore.”

So, it was just time. And after such a long gestation period, I knew exactly who I wanted to co-produce it with me, I knew who I wanted to play on it with me, who would engineer it. And the next day, I put the team together, booked the studio and forged on.

GR: How the music came together?

JM: It was as organic as anything can be. The first song I did fifteen years ago was “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” I didn’t plan on doing it. I was just fooling around late at night, D9 Bm7 . Be gong, be, ba da, bi gong ging.

GR: (thinking) How the heck am I going to convey how cool it sounds having John Miller sing you a bass line?

JM: So I didn’t have a specific song in mind. I was just watching some Rambo movie late at night. Just grooving. And somewhere deep in my mind’s ear, without thinking of it, I came up with, ‘All I want is a room somewhere.’

GR: How did you pick the rest of the songs?

JM: In every single song the groove came first. I never looked at a list of songs. I never asked, “What song would I love to do?” There were all based on some guitar riff that I came up with. And the rest just flowed extremely naturally.

GR: I think this is the only Broadway compilation that I’d want to have sex to. You don’t want to have sex to Dear World.

JM: No comment. But, I think I’m somewhat limited by my guitar playing. Cause there’s only one thing I sort of do.

GR: Tell me about your co-producer, David Spinozza.

JM: My choosing Spinozza to be a partner in crime was not casual. I thought for a long, long time. I’ve worked with him as a guitarist for years, knowing his sensibilities, and his sense of what I call right-eousness, what is pure, when there is a need for nothing, a need for air.

One of the most flattering moments for me was when Warren Odze (the drummer) turned to Spinozza and said, “David, that sounds great.” Spinozza pointed to me and said, “It was Miller.”

GR: You’ve been around Broadway for 45 years! An amazing career. And you’ve heard a lot of music. Tell me. What makes a great Broadway song?

JM: I don’t know if I’m smart enough to answer that like a smart person would answer; but clearly, any time you go to a show and walk out humming a song you’ve never heard before, that has a profoundly deep effect.

GR: You and I are primarily behind the scenes guys. Occasionally we step out, but only when necessary. What’s it like for you being in the spotlight?

JM: My friends and I have made long careers out of being sidemen. One of my best sidemen stories is, I was working with this singer and she had written a waltz. She said, during a recording session, “I’d like this to be a reggae.” Now, she was smart enough not to ask any of us, “Do you think this is a good idea?”

GR: That might fly in LA because the musicians are so sweet out there. That would NOT fly in NYC!

JM: We are trained to say, “You got it.” We give them the best we can do and then leave. It’s their baby. They wrote it, their project. It should be exactly how they want it.

I’ve received many CDs from friends of mine who are sidemen and I’ve always been moved by what a courageous thing it is for them to do. They are, in effect saying, here is the music I feel in my soul, here is how I feel music.

So, this album is how I feel about music. And I’m very comfortable saying that. But it was an extraordinary experience to finally be the person who could tell these great musicians, I want my waltz to be a reggae.

GR: Has it been a pleasant experience?

JM: You bet. It’s a great luxury for a musician to be able to do their own project without any upfront deal. There are no restrictions other than your own imagination.

GR: And the goal?

JM: I had one goal only: for me to love every note of it. If other people dig it, that’s great. If some people don’t, none of that would take away from the joy we I had doing it. I have loved every minute. There isn’t any part of doing the music that hasn’t been a peak experience.

Glen Roven is an Emmy award winning composer who recently made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting his Violin Concert. The CD was released on SONY/BMG with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He is hoping Stage Door Johnny will one day hire him.

Tony Nominated Orfeh Releases New Solo Album - 9/30/2008

Tony nominated actor and dance chart sensation Orfeh announced yesterday on Fox Business Channel's "Happy Hour" that she will be releasing a new solo pop album entitled WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME on Sh-K-Boom Records on September 30, 2008. Orfeh, a multi-octave talent, is currently starring in Legally Blonde on Broadway and was formerly the front woman of the pop/dance super group Or-N-More.

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME is a collection of fresh and funky pop songs with one big thing in common--Orfeh's versatile, big-voiced sound. From the sultry "Sing You To Sleep," to the get-up-and-dance "Don't Wanna Do Wrong," to the playful "Up Tempo Pop Song," the tunes on Orfeh's new solo album are full to the max with dynamic lyrics and catchy melodies. The album was produced by Andrew Logan and Pam Reswick, with super-producer Toby Gad guest-producing one track. Orfeh and Andrew Login served as executive producers.

Orfeh landed a record deal with EMI Records headlining the dance group Or-N-More immediately after she graduated high school. The group's self-titled, Top 40 album quickly went gold and the single, "Everyotherday," made it to #1 on the club music charts. Although the group eventually disbanded, Orfeh's talents as a songwriter earned her a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell for which she has written and produced songs for many other artists. Orfeh made her Broadway debut in the original company of Footloose. She went on to perform as part of the ten-member company of The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm alongside such talents as Adriane Lenox, Sara Ramirez and Patrick Wilson. After that came her stand-out, critically acclaimed turn in Saturday Night Fever. Her television work includes guest stints on Sex and the City, Chappelle's Show and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Last year she was seen on the big screen in Julie Taymor's movie musical Across the Universe. She is currently starring on Broadway in Legally Blonde as Paulette, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award

Sondheim 'Story So Far' Available; Includes Previously Unreleased Trac - 9/30/2008

Sony BMG Masterworks is proud to announce the release of Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far, a comprehensive four CD box set with a playing time of over four and a half hours devoted to the entire career of the legendary Broadway songwriter. The box, the first of its kind, will be released on Tuesday, September 30.

The greatest Broadway composer-lyricist of his generation, Sondheim first came to public attention in 1957 with his lyrics for West Side Story (with music by Leonard Bernstein) and in 1959 with his lyrics for Gypsy (with music by Jule Styne).

Subsequently, he wrote both music and lyrics for some of the most important and influential musicals ever produced on Broadway, including Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park With George, Into the Woods and Passion.

Sondheim also wrote for films and television, most notably contributing scores to Alain Resnais' Stavisky and the Warren Beatty films, Reds and Dick Tracy as well as for the ABC Stage 67 TV special, "Evening Primrose".

Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far, featuring 81 tracks over four CDs, includes selections from Sondheim's 15 Broadway shows, film scores, TV specials and incidental music; it also includes a large number of demo recordings from his private collection of songs cut from his shows or written for aborted staged and film projects.

Sondheim served as Executive Producer for Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far with Steve Berkowitz, head of A&R at Legacy Records. The set was prepared for release by veteran producers Didier C. Deutsch and Darcy M. Proper.

"For show buffs, this will be a treasure trove. I say that with no immodesty," Stephen Sondheim commented. "True buffs love nothing more than demos, out-of-print and private recordings, particularly of cut songs and especially when sung by the composer. This compendium has all of the above and more, due to the enthusiasm and diligence of Didier Deutsch and archivist Peter E. Jones. Although I am listed as co-producer of this set, all the work and choices were theirs. On behalf of all us musical theater fanatics, I thank them both, not to mention Sony BMG, who have packaged these buried and not-so-buried nuggets with such care and lavish elegance."

Of particular interest to collectors and fans, the box includes 28 previously unreleased tracks and many rarities, including "Evening Primrose," the 1966 television musical starring Anthony Perkins and Charmain Carr and demo recordings from Saturday Night, the 1955 Broadway musical that would have marked Sondheim's debut as a composer-lyricist.

Other previously unreleased tracks include demo selections from Do I Hear a Waltz?; discarded songs from Company, Follies, A Little Night Music and Pacific Overtures; songs for an intended TV production for Into the Woods in 1992; incidental music composed for the plays Invitation to a March and The Enclave; "I Never Do Anything Twice," written for the film The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and the original film versions of the songs performed in Dick Tracy by Madonna and Mandy Patinkin.

Sondheim has received a total of eight Tony Awards, including a 2008 Tony for Lifetime Achievement, the Pulitzer Prize, an Academy Award for Best Song, and the Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime Achievement. He is, in the words of Frank Rich in The New York Times, "the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theater."

Actors and musicians associated with his works share similar views. Paul Gemignani, music director for many Sondheim shows, says, "Sondheim is our Gershwin. With every song he writes he teaches you the art of great song writing. He also, with every notion, touches your heart and soul." Jason Alexander (original cast of Merrily We Roll Along), opines "Stephen sees and hears and feels the world in ways that no one else ever will. Just as there are playwrights and there is Shakespeare � similarly, there are composers for the theater � and there is Stephen Sondheim."

Nathan Lane (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Frogs), states, "Sure, he's a genius, that's easy to say. What never changes is the surprising modesty, hard work and astonishing craftsmanship of a real man of the theatre. He's all about getting it right, with economy, wit and surprise." Mandy Patinkin (Sunday in the Park with George), states, "For me, Stephen's work is about turning the darkness into light. The battle, the fight, the games we play, to win that ever elusive freedom, to take the moment, to whistle, to be free!" And victor garber (original casts of Sweeney Todd, Assassins) sums it up when he adds, "Stephen Sondheim is the reason I came to New York to pursue a career in the theatre."

In addition to the above, artists represented in the set include Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Len Cariou, Barbara Cook, Dean Jones, Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury, Madonna, Ethel Merman, Liza Minnelli, Zero Mostel, Donna Murphy, Anthony Perkins, and Bernadette Peters, among others.
Presented in a lavish long box set, Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far features an introduction by Harold Prince, in-depth liner notes from Mark Horowitz, Senior Music Specialist from the Library of Congress, as well as personal notes from the songwriter himself on some of the selections from his personal sound archives. It is profusely illustrated with pictures from the shows, the recording sessions and rare photographs from Sondheim's private collection.

Conjointly with the release of the box, Sony BMG will make available a free podcast series dedicated to Sondheim's career. The podcasts, part of Sony's Masterworks Broadway series, will include interviews and intimate stories with Sondheim, Bernadette Peters, Angela Lansbury, Hal Prince, Mandy Patinkin, Frank Rich, Laura Benanti and many other musical theater personalities, all discussing their experiences with Sondheim and his works. The podcasts will be found on iTunes by searching Masterworks Broadway and on Sony BMG's website at www.masterworksbroadway.com.

For more information on Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far, visit: www.masterworksbroadway.com/sondheim.

RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, deutsche harmonia mundi, Masterworks Broadway and Masterworks Jazz are labels of Sony BMG Masterworks. For email updates and information regarding RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, deutsche harmonia mundi, Masterworks Broadway and Masterworks Jazz artists, promotions, tours and repertoire, please visit www.sonybmgmasterworks.com

TRACK LIST FOR Stephen Sondheim: THE STORY SO FAR
(* - previously unreleased)

Disc One

West Side Story
"America" (Marilyn Cooper, Chita Rivera, Shark Girls)
"Tonight" (Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence)
"Gee, Officer Krupke" (Eddie Roll, Grover Dale, Hank Brunjes, Tony Mordante, David Winters, The Jets)

Gypsy
"Everything's Coming Up Roses" (Ethel Merman)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
"Comedy Tonight" (Zero Mostel, Company)
"Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" (Stephen Collins, Christopher Durang, Michael Rupert)
"There's Something About a War"* (Stephen Sondheim)

Hot Spot
"Don't Laugh"* (Stephen Sondheim)

Anyone Can Whistle
"Anyone Can Whistle" (Lee Remick)
"A Parade in Town" (Angela Lansbury, Ensemble)
"A Hero is Coming" (Stephen Sondheim)

Do I Hear a Waltz?
"This Week, Americans" (Carol Bruce)
"Perhaps"* (Stan Stanley)
"Everybody Loves Leona"* (Rose Mary Jun)

The Mad Show
"The Boy From�" (Linda Lavin)

Evening Primrose
"(If You Can Find Me) I'm Here" (Anthony Perkins)
"Arts and Crafts" (Anthony Perkins)
"I Remember Sky" (Charmian Carr)
"When?" (Anthony Perkins, Charmian Carr)
"Take Me to the World" (Anthony Perkins, Charmian Carr)

Disc Two

Company
"Another Hundred People" (Pamela Myers)
"The Ladies Who Lunch" (elaine stritch)
"Being Alive" (Dean Jones, Company)
"Happily Ever After"* (Stephen Sondheim)

Follies
"Waiting for the Girls Upstairs" (Jim Walton, Howard McGillin, Mandy Patinkin, George Hearn, Lee Remick, Barbara Cook, Liz Callaway, Daisy Prince)
"Broadway Baby" (elaine stritch)
"Losing My Mind" (Barbara Cook)
"I'm Still Here" (Carol Burnett)
"Can That Boy Fox Trot!"* (Stephen Sondheim)

A Little Night Music
"The Miller's Son" (D. Jamin-Bartlett)
"Liaisons" (Hermione Gingold)
"Send in the Clowns" (Glynis Johns)
"Night Waltz (Love Takes Time)" (Company)
"Silly People"* (Stephen Sondheim)
"Not Quite Night"* (Stephen Sondheim)

Pacific Overtures
"Welcome to Kanagawa" (Ernest Harada, Timm Fujii, Patrick Kinser-Lau, Gedde Watanabe, Leslie Watanabe, Mako)
"Pretty Lady" (Patrick Kinser-Lau, Timm Fujii, Mark Hsu Syers)
"Prayers"* (Stephen Sondheim)
"There is No Other Way"* (Stephen Sondheim)

Disc Three

Sweeney Todd
"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" (Len Cariou, Company)
"Green Finch and Linnet Bird" (Sarah Rice)
"A Little Priest" (Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou)
"The Worst Pies in London" (Patti LuPone, Michael Cerveris)

Merrily We Roll Along
"Not a Day Goes By" (Jim Walton, Ann Morrison)
"Old Friends" (Ann Morrison, Jim Walton, Lonny Price)

Sunday in the Park with George
"Finishing the Hat" (Mandy Patinkin)

Into the Woods
"Agony" (Robert Westenberg, Chuck Wagner)
"Children Will Listen" (Bernadette Peters, Company)
"Have to Give Her Someone"* (Maureen Moore, Kim Crosby, George Lee Andrews)
"Interesting Questions"* (George Lee Andrews, Maureen Moore, Kim Crosby)
"Second Midnight"* (George Lee Andrews, Maureen Moore, Kim Crosby, John Cameron Mitchell)

Assassins
"Everybody's Got the Right" (William Parry, Terrence Mann, Greg Germann, Jonathan Hadary, Eddie Korbich, Lee Wilkof, Annie Golden, debra monk, victor garber)
"The Ballad of Booth" (victor garber, Patrick Cassidy, Marcus Olson)

Passion
"Happiness" (Marin Mazzie, Jere Shea)
"I Wish I Could Forget You" (Jere Shea, Donna Murphy)

Bounce
"Bounce" (Howard McGillin, Richard Kind)
"Isn't He Something!" (Jane Powell)

The Frogs
"Invocation and Instructions to the Audience" (Nathan Lane, Roger Bart, Greek Chorus)

Disc Four

"I Must Be Dreaming"*
Piano Playhouse (1948)
Cy Walter, Stan Freeman

"Kukla, Fran and Ollie": "The Two of You"* (Stephen Sondheim)

Saturday Night
"Class"* (Jack Cassidy, Ensemble)
"Love's a Bond"* (Arte Johnson)
"In the Movies"* (Cast)
"I'm All for You"* (Cast)

I Believe in You
Teleplay: Elaine Carrington
unproduced television musical
"They Ask Me Why I Believe in You"* (Stephen Sondheim)

Invitation to a March
"Incidental Music"

Passionella
"Truly Content" (Stephen Sondheim)

The Thing of It Is
Screenplay: William Goldman
Unproduced film musical

"No, Mary Ann" (Stephen Sondheim)

The Enclave
"Incidental Music"

Stavisky
Screenplay: Jorge Semprun
"Theme"
"Auto Show"
"Arlette by Night"
"Operetta"
"Theme (European version)"

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Screenplay: Nicholas Meyer
"I Never Do Anything Twice (The Madam's Song)" (R�gine)

Reds
Screenplay: Warren Beatty, Trevor Griffiths
"Theme" (Jean-Pierre Rampal, Claude Bolling)

Dick Tracy
Screenplay: Jim Cash, Jack Epps, Jr.
"Sooner or Later" (Madonna)
"Live Alone and Like It"* (Mel Torm�)
"What Can You Lose?" (Mandy Patinkin, Madonna)
"Back in Business" (Janis Siegel, Cheryl Bentyne, Lorraine Feather)
"More (End Credits)" (Madonna, Girls)

Singing Out Loud
Screenplay: William Goldman "Water Under the Bridge" (Liza Minnelli, Billy Stritch)

Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

Stage Door Johnny and the Quallude-Samba-Folky-Jazz Groove - 9/30/2008

Stage Door Johnny and the Quaalude-Samba-Folky-Jazz Groove - 9/30/2008

The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward II� - 10/1/2008

Chicago director Sean Graney brings the audience into the action in a 'promenade staging' of Christopher Marlowe's The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward II, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer T. Audience members are invited to take part in the production by moving with actors freely about the performance space, or to witness the interactive performance in seating above the action. Promenade tickets will be offered for $20. This exploration of power and persuasion by William Shakespeare's greatest contemporary rival playwright marks a double theatrical debut at CST�for both Marlowe and Graney.

October 1 � November 9, 2008, Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare

All Shook Up - 10/1/2008

'Duck for President' Lifeline's KidSeries 10/12 - 10/1/2008

World Premiere Children's Election Musical
Duck for President Adaptation of Doreen Cronin's Book
- Author and Illustrator at Opening Book Signing -

�
WHAT: Lifeline Theatre KidSeries presents the world premiere musical adaptation "Duck for President," showing both the heady and headachey sides of politics just in time for the election, based on the popular bestseller by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin, adapted by ensemble member James E. Grote, music and lyrics by George Howe, and directed by ensemble member Shole Milos (the same team that brought the recent kids' hit Click, Clack, Moo). Just who put Farmer Brown in charge, anyway? Isn't it time an intelligent and handsome young duck ran for office? And once he's running the farm, it's just a few short steps until he's running the country! This production is appropriate for children ages five to ten, and runs about one hour with no intermission. Books on sale in the lobby.
�
Author Cronin and illustrator Lewis will be at the October 12th opening for meet-and-greet and book signings, from 12 noon-1 p.m. (free) � the book and cast recording CDs will be on sale in the lobby.
�
WHERE: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago, IL 60626
Parking available (street and lot � see below); CTA accessible (Red Line Morse stop/buses)
Free designated parking lot west of the theatre at the NE corner of Morse and
Ravenswood, about six blocks/ten minute walk
Handicapped accessible
�
WHEN: Press opening Sunday, October 12, 2008, at 1 p.m.
Closes November 30, 2008
Runs Saturdays at 1 p.m., and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Previews on October 11 at 1 p.m., and October 12 at 11 a.m.
��
TICKETS: 773-761-4477
�$12 for both children and adults for all shows
Pay-what-you-can tickets (half-hour before the show � subject to availability)
Group rates and other discounts also available on request
Party room available for full-service birthday and special event parties
�
STAFF: Lifeline ensemble members Shole Milos (Director), James E. Grote (Adaptor), with guest artists George Howe (Composer/Lyricist), Katie Schweiger (Scenic and Properties Design), Kim Kozak (Lighting Design), Tim Hill (Sound Design) and Ellen Willett (Stage Manager).
�
NEXT: The Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival will run August 23-24, 2008.� The 7th Annual Festival takes place on Glenwood Avenue, 6900 � 7000 North (between Farwell and Lunt) and the 1400 block of Morse Avenue, steps from the Morse Ave stop on the CTA Red Line, free parking nearby.� Featuring arts and crafts, theater, music, food and drink for the whole family on the cobblestone streets of historic Rogers Park.� Info at 773-262-3790 and www.rogerspark.com

MainStage
Mariette in Ecstasy, February 13�April 5, 2009 (opens 2/23/09)
Busman's Honeymoon, May 1-June 21, 2009 (opens 5/11/09)

KidSeries
Duck for President, October 11�November 30, 2008 (opens 10/12/08)
Snowflake Tim's Big Holiday Adventure, December 13, 2008�January 4, 2009
�(opens 12/14/08)
Flight of the Dodo, December 20, 2008� February 22, 2009 (opens 12/27/08)
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, March 14�May 3, 2009 (opens 3/15/09)
�
INFO: General theatre info, 773-761-4477, www.lifelinetheatre.com� �
Marketing info, Frances Limoncelli, 773-761-4477 x704, frances@lifelinetheatre.com Alphawood Foundation; The Arts Work Fund; The Chicago Community Trust; CityArts 3 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The Grover Hermann Foundation; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture and the Prince Charitable Trusts; Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation; Polk Bros. Foundation; S&C Foundation; and the annual support of businesses and individuals.
�
MISSION: Now in its 26th season, Lifeline Theatre is known for specializing in original literary adaptations. Its ensemble of artists uses imaginative, unconventional staging to portray sprawling stories in an intimate space. Lifeline is committed to promoting the arts in its Rogers Park neighborhood and is an anchor of the Glenwood Avenue Arts District. We aspire to create art that is relevant to our culturally diverse, increasingly youthful neighborhood.� Lifeline Theatre � Big Stories, Up Close.

Moon Over Buffalo Opens Oct 17 - 10/1/2008

SAINT SEBASTIAN PLAYERS OPEN SEASON WITH THEATRICAL FARCE

Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo Runs Oct. 17–Nov. 9

The Saint Sebastian Players (SSP) open their 2008–09 season with Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig, author of Lend Me A Tenor. The production runs October 17–November 9 at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey Pkwy. in Chicago.

In Moon Over Buffalo, George and Charlotte Hay, fading stars of the 1950s, are playing Private Lives and Cyrano de Bergerac in rep in Buffalo, New York with five actors. On the brink of a disastrous split-up caused by George's dalliance with a young ingénue, they receive word that they might just have one last shot at stardom: famed film director Frank Capra is coming to town to see their matinee, and if he likes what he sees, he might cast them in his movie remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Unfortunately for George and Charlotte, everything that could go wrong does go wrong, abetted by a visit from their daughter's clueless fiancé and hilarious uncertainty about which play they're actually performing, caused by Charlotte's deaf, old stage-manager mother who hates every bone in George's body.

Making his SSP directing debut for Moon Over Buffalo is Tony Soto, who directed The Rocky Horror Show, Hiding Behind Comets and The Actor's Nightmare at Columbia College Chicago. The cast features SSP company member Lee Adam as George, along with Michael Borgmann, Patricia Casey, Luke Daigle, Jenny Franz, Samantha McDonald, Britni Tozzi and Matt Trudeau. SSP member Jonathan "Rocky" Hagloch is technical director/set designer, Susan Nordine is costume designer, Matt Davis is fight choreographer, Darcy McGill is assistant director, Emily Cooke is stage manager and SSP member Jim Masini is producer.

SSP's 2008–09 season continues with the annual Monologue Matchup Competition fundraiser October 27 and mainstage productions of Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile, directed by SSP member Steven Walanka, February 13–March 8, 2009 and Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, directed by SSP member John Oster, April 24–May 17, 2009.

Moon Over Buffalo runs October 17–November 9, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey Pkwy., at Marshfield just west of Ashland, in Chicago. Free parking is available in two lots. Full-priced single tickets are $15, $10 for students with valid IDs and $7 for seniors and children younger than 12. Full-priced subscriptions are $30; subscriptions for seniors and children younger than 12 are $15. Group rates also are available.

All programming is subject to change. For information, call 773-404-7922 or visit saintsebastianplayers.org. Tickets are also on sale at ticketweb.com.

SAINT SEBASTIAN PLAYERS HOST 16TH MONOLOGUE MATCHUP COMPETITION

CHICAGO—The Saint Sebastian Players (SSP) are inviting Chicago-area actors to compete in—and Chicago theatergoers to observe—the 16th Annual Monologue Matchup Competition. A fund-raiser for SSP, the event takes place Monday, October 27 at 7 p.m. at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey (at Marshfield) in Chicago.

         Each actor participating in the Monologue Matchup will perform a two-minute monologue for a group of distinguished judges, including* representatives from Child's Play Touring Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Next Theatre, Promethean Theatre Ensemble, Raven Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and SSP; freelance director Phillip Edward Van Lear; casting director David Murphy; and more. After viewing all the participants, the judges will select a group of finalists, who each will perform a second two-minute monologue. Judges will select several winners from the finalists, each receiving one of several prize packages.

         For those who attend only to watch, the competition provides an unusual behind-the-scenes look at the audition process. Audience members also will select a "People's Choice" winner.

         To participate in the Monologue Matchup, actors must call SSP at 773-404-7922 ext. 3 to make reservations for the limited number of spaces; registration is by phone only. The fee to participate, which includes the opportunity to observe the other competitors, is $15. The fee for audience members is $12; no reservations are necessary.

         The Monologue Matchup Competition takes place Monday, October 27, at 7 p.m. at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey (enter on Marshfield), Chicago. For information, call 773-404-7922 or visit saintsebastianplayers.org.

'Eureka' Opens at Living Theatre 10/1 - 10/1/2008

The Living Theatre will begin its 2008-2009 season with the limited run of Judith Malina and Hanon Reznikov's 'Eureka!', based on an Edgar Allen Poe essay about the origin of the Universe. Previews begin on Saturday, September 27, 2008 and will officially open on Wednesday, October 1. The production is directed by Judith Malina and features an original score by Patrick Grant.

Published in 1847, the "Prose Poem," as Poe called it, lays out with astonishing forethought what has since come to be called the "Big Bang" theory. The Living Theatre has adapted Poe's text to a theatrical form, which will provide the audience with an awareness of participating actively in the creation of the universe and realize the parallel between the development of the elements of the cosmos and our own human development.

'Eureka!' was conceived and written by Hanon Reznikov when he read Poe's text - but he did not live to finish the task. Judith Malina, his collaborator and the director of the play completed the script.

The purpose of the play is to provide the audience with a sense of empowerment. By participating in the creation of the known universe we communicate the possibility of creating a more harmonious social structure. 'Eureka!' joins nearly one hundred Living Theatre productions created since 1951, all of which seek to expand our knowledge of the universe.

Hanon Reznikov who died on May 4, 2008, first met The Living Theatre at their performances at Yale in 1968. He soon joined the company and became director after the death of Judith Malina's husband, Julian Beck in 1985. Judith Malina and Mr. Reznikov were married in 1988. He has written many of the company's plays including 'The Money Tower', 'The Yellow Methuselah', 'The Body of God', 'Anarchia', 'Utopia', 'Capital Changes' and 'Resistenza'. Living/Reznikov: Four Plays of The Living Theatre is in print.

Judith Malina was born in 1926 in Kiel, Germany. In 1947, after studying acting and directing at the Dramatic Workshop at the New School with Erwin Piscator, she and Julian Beck founded The Living Theatre as an artistic challenge to the commercial theater, producing nearly 100 productions including 'The Connection', 'The Brig', 'Frankenstein', 'Antigone', 'Paradise Now', 'Seven Meditations on Political Sado-Masochism', and 'I and Resistenza'. Her literary output incudes the plays 'Paradise Now', Mysteries and smaller pieces and 'The Legacy of Cain', collections of her diaries including 'The Diaries of Judith Malina 1947-1957', and 'The Enormous Despair' as well as two collections of poetry, 'Poems of a Wandering Jewess' and 'Love and Politics'. She has also appeared often in films and television, including 'Dog Day Afternoon', 'China Girl', 'The Addams Family', 'Household Saints', 'Enemies: A Love Story', 'The Deli', 'Nothing Ever Happens' and guest appearances on 'ER', 'Miami Vice', 'The Street' and 'The Sopranos'.

The cast of 'Eureka!' features Anthony Sisco, Silas Inches, Gene Ardor, Yasemin Ozumerzifon, Eric Olson, Maia Larraz, Erin Downhour, Natalia De Campo, Kennedy Yanko, Enoch Wu, Katherine Nook, Isaac Scranton and Eitan Brigantonelli.

The Assistant Director is Brad Burgess. Set & Lighting Designer is Gary Brackett, Technical Direction is by Evan True. Choreography is by Gene Ardor and music is by Patrick Grant.

Performances are on Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 4 p.m.Tickets will be $20 with a discounted ticket of $15 for students, seniors andmilitary. The production involves audience interaction, so there are no seats and each performance can only accommodate 50 people. For further information, visit www.livingtheatre.org.

Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group still existing in the U.S. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actor Judith Malina and painter /poet Julian Beck; after Beck's death in 1985. Judith Malina is Artistic Director. Future plans include producing new works by Tony Kushner and Anne Waldman.

In the 1950s, Living Theatre was among the first in the U.S. to produce the work of influential European playwrights such as Bertolt Brecht and Jean Cocteau, as well as modernist poets such as T.S. Eliot and Gertrude Stein. Based in a variety of small New York locations that were frequently closed due to financial problems or conflicts with city authorities, they helped to originate Off-Broadway as a significant force in U.S. theatre. Their work during this period shared some aspects of style and content with beat generation writers. Also during the 1950s, the American composer Alan Hovhaness and John Cage worked closely with the Living Theatre, composing music for its productions. In 1959, their play The Connection attracted national attention for its harsh portrayal of drug addiction and its equally harsh language.

The Critically Acclaimed 'Disturbed' is Back for Halloween - 10/1/2008

Oracle Continues the Horrific Tradition
The Critically Acclaimed Disturbed series is Back for Halloween

This October, Oracle Productions submits their third installment of horrifying Halloween entertainment. Opening
October 10th, the warped minds of Oracle’s artistic collective are at it again with Disturbed III, a 15-minute theatre-of-horror series that is becoming a Halloween staple among Chicago thrill-seekers. Further expanding on the model of an inverted haunted house, Oracle’s intimate space requires the audience to stay stationary, while the action pops out of every unexpected corner in a twisted, confined environment. This year, Oracle unabashedly closes the gap between imagination and realism in the gallery of a brainsick artist who has turned human anatomy into a medium of gruesome, surgical sculpture.

Professional acting, complex multimedia sequences, dramatic narrative, and explicit themes set Disturbed III apart from traditional Halloween entertainment. Performances run every 30 minutes, 8PM to 11:30PM October
10-11, 16-19, 23-26, 28-11/01 at Oracle Theatre, 3809 N. Broadway. Tickets are $9. Visit www.oracletheatre.org for schedules and online ticket sales; phone and voicemail reservations are not accepted for this event.

Time Out Chicago called the original Disturbed, “crap-your-pants scary,” claiming, “…the storefront mind-fuck…makes for a wicked (Halloween) alternative.” Last year, Metromix Chicago described Disturbed II as “More Bone Chilling than any haunted spectacle.” Once again combining live action, multimedia, prosthetic make-up and special effects, Disturbed III will twist and gnarl the psyche of participants.

Series creator Brad Jayhan-Little explained, "There is a difference between startle and scare. Haunted houses just startle people. Disturbed will really scare them." In the same vein, Disturbed II, created and directed by Colby Hanik, presented a live-action styling of a gory ‘Slasher Film’ to audiences standing only five feet from the action. Inspired by the horror of Poe and the fantastical fiction of H. G. Wells, Disturbed III brings an all-new twisted plot and spectacles worthy of the Grand-Guignol that promise to leave this year’s audiences nothing less
than...DISTURBED.

WARNING: Due to explicit imagery and violent action, Disturbed III is for adults 18 and older ONLY. More specifically, it is for participants who enjoy the once-a-year thrills of a horrifying haunted house. Performances
run every 30 minutes, 8PM to 11:30PM October 10-11, 16-19, 22-26, 28-11/01 at Oracle Theatre, 3809 N. Broadway. Tickets are $9. Visit www.oracletheatre.org for schedules and online ticket sales; phone and
voicemail reservations are not accepted for this event. Press are invited to all performances.

Happy Halloween...

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' New World Reperatory! - 10/1/2008

New World Repertory Theater Begins Sixth Season With

William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

WHAT: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare. This rollicking roll through the forest includes wild fairies and mixed-up lovers, all with the modern twist that made last season’s “Hamlet Remix’d” so popular. Directed by Jean Gottlieb, the show runs about two hours with one intermission.

WHEN: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” opens Saturday, October 11, 2008, 7:30 p.m.

(reception preceding)

Preview on Friday, October 10, 2008, 7:30 p.m.

Closes on Saturday, November 8, 2008

Runs Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m.

Added 10 a.m. school matinee on Friday, October 17

WHERE: New World Repertory Theater, 923 Curtiss St. in Downers Grove, IL

Handicapped accessible with chair lift, with street and lot parking availability. The Metra line from downtown Chicago is the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Suburban Chicago to Aurora - Main St. Downers Grove stop.

TICKETS: 630-663-1489, www.newworldrep.org

$20 for adults

$15 for seniors and students, and for each ticket in groups of ten or more

$12 matinees on Sundays

$10 for preview, and for school matinee on October 17, 10 a.m. (10/17 free for

chaperones)

CAST: Emily Carlson (Helena), Patrick Doolan (Demetrius), Rob Grabowski (Peter Quince), Will Hare (Bottom), Jeff Harris (Egeus/Snug), Stephanie Limesand (Hermia), Maggie Clennon Reberg (Hippolyta/Titania), Rocco Renda (Starveling/Mustardseed), Jeff Taylor (Snout), Patrick Tierney (Flute/Cobweb), Matt Tucker (Theseus/Oberon), Tom Wells (Puck), Conor Woods (Lysander); and featuring the young performers Blythe Gilio (Peaseblossom), Sam Gottlieb (Nightshade) and Natasha Prosek (Moth).

CREW: Jean Gottlieb (Director), Alison Henderson (Producer), Jennifer Aparicio (Stage Manager), CAl Turner (Lighting Design), Rocco Renda (Costume Design), and Jenny Inglis (Assistant Director).

World Premiere Musical: The Medium At Large - 10/1/2008

Village Players Performing Arts Center

Tony-Nominated Chicago Actor Returns Home for World Premiere Musical: The Medium At Large

Ghosts. Romance.Mischief. New York City, 1938. What if those who have passed on have never really left us at all? It's possible! Join Bruce, a medium-at-large, as he plays matchmaker for a pair of sisters in this world and the next, and set skepticism aside for an evening of romantic high jinks. As one sister says to the other, "You've dropped your friends, you're secretive, you're defensive, you're mysterious, you're hostile... it's got to be love."

Starring as Bruce is renowned Chicago actor and Tony Nominee John Herrera. Before moving to New York, John was seen in productions at the Goodman Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre, and Royal George, among others, earning numerous Jeff nominations along the way. His return to Village Players, where he first appeared 30 years ago, is a delightful homecoming for the theatre.

Joining Herrera in Chicago to develop this new musical are authors Julia Cameron, best-selling author of The Artist's Way, and Emma Lively. According to Lively, "This show began one enchanted evening at a dinner party in Los Angeles, when a friend who had just lost his partner encouraged us to write [a] musical about ghosts. I think the idea of ghosts is incredibly rich–leaving so much room for mystery, inspiration, and humor. Our goal with this unusual love story is to remind the audience that we're never alone, and those who have passed on are still a part of us."

Working with the authors on the project is Carl Occhipinti, Artistic Director of Village Players, who shares a fascination with the 'other side.' "I was drawn to this piece because I find it fascinating to explore intersections between physical and spiritual worlds, to see that they are just different forms of the same reality - like water, ice, and steam. I'm drawn to the idea that we can break through the veil that separates the two, and connect with someone we've lost." In fact, Occhipinti was selected over many New York directors to helm this World Premiere production.

Cameron adds that choosing a time period played a large part in the creation as well, "In writing this play, it was important to me that it be both light-hearted and serious. We chose our time period to capture an era when cynicism was not yet in Vogue and the exploration of Spiritualism was a part of popular culture."

The Medium at Large previews October 17 and runs from October 19 – November 16, 2008. Show times are 8 PM on Fridays & Saturdays, and 3 PM on Sundays.Tickets for regular performances are $25 for adults and $20 for Students & Seniors. Preview tickets are $15.

Presented in the Mainstage Theater of the newly renovated Village Players Performing Arts Center located at 1010 Madison St., Oak Park. Plenty of parking is available on the street. The theater is handicap accessible; please call ahead to arrange for special seating. More information is available at www.village-players.org or 866-764-1010.

Village Players Performing Arts Center offers an eclectic mix of entertainment that empowers and inspires while exploring the human condition.

John Herrera played Neville and was nominated for a Tony award in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Other Broadway credits include Che in Evita opposite Patti LuPone, the revival of 1776 playing Roger Sherman, Camelot with Richard Burton, Man of La Mancha, The Threepenny Opera, Shogun, and Grease. National tours include Anatoly in Chess (Carbonell Award), Les Miserables, Martin Guerre, Falsettos, Angels in America and singing the title song in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Music of the Night. Regional credits: Santiago in Anna in the Tropics at Seattle Repertory and Jupiter Maltz Theater (Carbonell Award), Fredrik in A Little Night Music at the Goodspeed Opera House and Signature Theater/Arlington, VA, Working (Long Wharf Theater/New Haven, CT.) A former Chicagoan, he is best remembered for his performances as Che in Evita (Shubert Theater), George in Sunday in the Park with George (Goodman Theatre / Jefferson Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical), Romance, Romance (Apple Tree Theater / Jefferson Award nomination), Tito in Lend me a Tenor (Royal George Theater), Marvin in March of the Falsettos (Theater Building) and Harry Chapin: Lies & Legends (Apollo Theater) singing Harry's most famous song: Taxi. John appeared as John Dickenson in the Village Player's production of 1776 over 30 years ago.

JULIA CAMERON & EMMA LIVELY have collaborated since 1998. Currently, they are thrilled to be writing music and lyrics for Rue McClanahan's one-woman show, My First Five Husbands. Cameron and Lively have collaborated on four original musicals and two children's albums. Most recently, their work has been performed in NYC at The Vineyard Theatre, directed by Tony award-winner Jack Hofsiss.

JULIA CAMERON is the author of more than thirty books, fiction and nonfiction. Best know as the author of The Artist's Way, her best selling works on the creative process have been translated into more than thirty languages and have sold over three million copies worldwide. An award-winning playwright and poet, she has distinguished credits in theater, film and television.

EMMA LIVELY is a classically trained violist who turned her focus to composition a decade ago. Her postgraduate studies include conducting, orchestration, and composition (Conrad Cummings, the Juilliard School). As a violist, she was a founding member of the Khali string quartet, and holds a Masters in Music from SUNY/Stony Brook.

CARL OCCHIPINTI began his entertainment career as a drummer for cabaret performers, which soon led him into managing singers and before long into heading his own production company, Occhipinti Productions. His organization produced shows at Park West, Ambassador East & West, the Drake, the Playboy mansion, Navy Pier, Orphans and many other venues throughout the Chicago-land region. From there he moved on to manage a nightclub called Boombala's, and then branched into theater by co-founding the Absolute Theater Company. He has remained involved in theatre for the past thirty years as a producer and director, and more recently as an actor. Village Players has given Carl an outlet to use all of his talents and experience.

'Martian Invasion! Decoding the War of the Worlds' Oct 26-27 - 10/1/2008

Victory Gardens Theater Fresh Squeezed
and
WNYC's Radio Lab

Present

"Martian Invasion!
Decoding the War of the Worlds"

On the eve of the War of the Worlds 70th Anniversary

Sunday, October 26th and Monday, October 27th at 7:30pm
Victory Gardens Biograph Theater
2433 N. Lincoln Avenue Chicago
Tickets: $30
773-871-3000 or victorygardens.org

"Radio Lab is the most innovative show on radio."
-Ira Glass, This American Life

The response to Orson Welles' 1938 national radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, which convinced over one million listeners that Martians were invading a small town in New Jersey, is now legendary: frantic calls to the police, women fainting, and in Seattle (where a purely coincidental blackout took place during the broadcast)
people fleeing town, firearms in hand.

How is it, then, that with the international publicity the broadcast triggered (Hitler had a thing or two to say about it), and its ongoing mystique, subsequent stagings were still able to inspire panic, terror, and mass hysteria over and over again throughout the world?

On the eve of the War of the Worlds 70th Anniversary, RADIO LAB - public radio's award-winning show about wonder, discovery and big ideas - is coming to Chicago to crack the case.

"MARTIAN INVASION! DECODING THE WAR OF THE WORLDS," a special live edition of the cult sensation Radio Lab, will take place at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, on Sunday, October 26 and Monday, October 27 at 7:30 pm. This special event, ideal for getting into the Halloween spirit, is presented as part of Victory Gardens' new Fresh Squeezed series of late night shows, out-of-the-box performances and edgy
social events showcasing fresh talent from Chicago and around the country, targeting younger, culturally adventurous audiences.

RADIO LAB hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich will deconstruct the original broadcast of War of the Worlds and describe what was happening-sociologically and psychologically-at each step. They will also stage a "field report" on the panic induced by the 1949 broadcast of War of the Worlds in Quito, Ecuador - which incited a riot at the radio station in which 15 people were killed. Along the way, Abumrad and Krulwich will hear from eyewitnesses, scientists, and master storytellers to investigate the nature of belief and skepticism, uncovering the neurological differences between those who believed and those who did not.

This innovative blending of old-time radio with Radio Lab's signature cutting-edge audio will be accompanied by the adventurous cellist Zoe Keating.

WHAT: Radio Lab Live! Martian Invasion: Decoding the War of the
Worlds

WHO: Radio Lab hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich

WHERE: Victory Gardens Biograph Theater
2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago

TICKETS: $30, with a discount for Fresh Squeezed Members.
Or purchase online at http://www.victorygardens.org/radiolab

GETTING
THERE: Discounted parking is available one block south of the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater at Children's Memorial Hospital, and Lincoln Park Hospital two blocks south on Webster, at all times (no overnights). By CTA
train, take the Red, Purple and Brown lines to the Fullerton stop. Walk east on Fullerton to Lincoln, then north 1/2 block to the theater. The #8 Halsted, #11 Lincoln, #37 Sedgwick/Ogden, and #74 Fullerton CTA buses all stop at the corner of Fullerton and Halsted, 1/2 block south of the theater. See transitchicago.com for times and routes.

ABOUT RADIO LAB

Winner of the 2007 National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine's Communication Award, Radio Lab explores big ideas and big questions - such as Morality, Deception and Mortality -- through a potent elixir of science, first-person storytelling and innovative radio theatre. Radio Lab is produced by WNYC Radio in New York and is heard on over 150 stations, including WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. Podcasts, a blog, and further
information can be found at www.radiolab.org.

Robert Krulwich

Robert Krulwich has been called "the most inventive network reporter in television" by TV Guide, "the man who makes the dismal science swing" by the Washington Journalism Review, and "the man who simplifies without being simple" by New York Magazine.

In addition to co-hosting WNYC's scientific documentary series Radio Lab, Krulwich is a correspondent for NPR's Science Desk, reporting on the intersections of science and technology with culture, politics and religion. He is also a regular correspondent on the PBS investigative series Frontline where he won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for his coverage of campaign finance in the 1992 presidential campaign, a national Emmy Award for his investigation of privacy on the Internet, "High Stakes in Cyberspace"; and a George Polk Award for an hour on the savings and loan scandal. His ABC special on Barbie, a cultural history of the world-famous doll, also won a national Emmy.

Krulwich anchored a cultural affairs series on PBS (and a simultaneous series on the BBC) called The Edge and has worked for CBS, Pacifica (where he covered the Watergate hearings), ABC's Nightline and World News Tonight, Rolling Stone (as Washington bureau chief), PBS's NOVA scienceNOW and NOW with Bill Moyers. He has also hosted Live at Lincoln Center and appeared on Jay Leno's premiere Tonight Show broadcast. Once a year Krulwich hosts a semi-fictional year-in-review called "Backfire," with friends Jane Curtin, Buck Henry and Tony Hendra.

Jad Abumrad

The son of a scientist and a doctor, Jad Abumrad did most of his growing up in Tennessee, before studying creative writing and music composition at Oberlin College in Ohio. Following graduation, Abumrad wrote music for
films, and reported and produced documentaries for a variety of local and national public radio programs, including On the Media, PRI's Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and WNYC's "24 Hours at the Edge of Ground Zero." The Ring & I, an insightful, funny, and lyrical look at the enduring power of Wagner's Ring Cycle which he produced and hosted, aired nationally and internationally and earned ten awards, including the prestigious 2005 National Headliner Grand Award in Radio.

Zoe Keating

Zoe Keating is a classically trained cellist who has explored a wide range of non-classical musical forms, working with modern dance, experimental theater, performance artists and both popular and improvised music. A former
member of the cello-rock trio Rasputina, Zoë has worked with Imogen Heap, Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, John Vanderslice and DJ Shadow. She appeared on Jay Leno with Scottish singer Paolo Nutini earlier this month.

Audition Notce- Marriott Theatre - 10/1/2008

The Marriott Theatre will hold general auditions for non-union actors on Friday, October 10th, from 10am to 6pm at the Equity Office (125 S. Clark Street, Suite 1500, Chicago). Productions under consideration include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Light in the Piazza, and Disney’s High School Musical (TYA). Please bring two contrasting 16 bar selections, music in your key, and an updated headshot and resume. An accompanist will be provided. Please do not call for an appointment if you have auditioned in the last six months. To schedule an appointment please call Peter Sullivan beginning at 10am on Friday, October 3rd, at 847-634-5926, ext 4.

Saint Sebastian Players: 'Moon Over Buffalo' Opens Oct 17 - 10/1/2008

SAINT SEBASTIAN PLAYERS OPEN SEASON WITH THEATRICAL FARCE

Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo Runs Oct. 17–Nov. 9

The Saint Sebastian Players (SSP) open their 2008–09 season with Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig, author of Lend Me A Tenor. The production runs October 17–November 9 at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey Pkwy. in Chicago.

In Moon Over Buffalo, George and Charlotte Hay, fading stars of the 1950s, are playing Private Lives and Cyrano de Bergerac in rep in Buffalo, New York with five actors. On the brink of a disastrous split-up caused by George's dalliance with a young ingénue, they receive word that they might just have one last shot at stardom: famed film director Frank Capra is coming to town to see their matinee, and if he likes what he sees, he might cast them in his movie remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Unfortunately for George and Charlotte, everything that could go wrong does go wrong, abetted by a visit from their daughter's clueless fiancé and hilarious uncertainty about which play they're actually performing, caused by Charlotte's deaf, old stage-manager mother who hates every bone in George's body.

Making his SSP directing debut for Moon Over Buffalo is Tony Soto, who directed The Rocky Horror Show, Hiding Behind Comets and The Actor's Nightmare at Columbia College Chicago. The cast features SSP company member Lee Adam as George, along with Michael Borgmann, Patricia Casey, Luke Daigle, Jenny Franz, Samantha McDonald, Britni Tozzi and Matt Trudeau. SSP member Jonathan "Rocky" Hagloch is technical director/set designer, Susan Nordine is costume designer, Matt Davis is fight choreographer, Darcy McGill is assistant director, Emily Cooke is stage manager and SSP member Jim Masini is producer.

SSP's 2008–09 season continues with the annual Monologue Matchup Competition fundraiser October 27 and mainstage productions of Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile, directed by SSP member Steven Walanka, February 13–March 8, 2009 and Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, directed by SSP member John Oster, April 24–May 17, 2009.

Moon Over Buffalo runs October 17–November 9, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey Pkwy., at Marshfield just west of Ashland, in Chicago. Free parking is available in two lots. Full-priced single tickets are $15, $10 for students with valid IDs and $7 for seniors and children younger than 12. Full-priced subscriptions are $30; subscriptions for seniors and children younger than 12 are $15. Group rates also are available.

All programming is subject to change. For information, call 773-404-7922 or visit saintsebastianplayers.org. Tickets are also on sale at ticketweb.com.

SAINT SEBASTIAN PLAYERS HOST 16TH MONOLOGUE MATCHUP COMPETITION

The Saint Sebastian Players (SSP) are inviting Chicago-area actors to compete in—and Chicago theatergoers to observe—the 16th Annual Monologue Matchup Competition. A fund-raiser for SSP, the event takes place Monday, October 27 at 7 p.m. at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey (at Marshfield) in Chicago.

Each actor participating in the Monologue Matchup will perform a two-minute monologue for a group of distinguished judges, including* representatives from Child's Play Touring Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Next Theatre, Promethean Theatre Ensemble, Raven Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and SSP; freelance director Phillip Edward Van Lear; casting director David Murphy; and more. After viewing all the participants, the judges will select a group of finalists, who each will perform a second two-minute monologue. Judges will select several winners from the finalists, each receiving one of several prize packages.

For those who attend only to watch, the competition provides an unusual behind-the-scenes look at the audition process. Audience members also will select a "People's Choice" winner.

To participate in the Monologue Matchup, actors must call SSP at 773-404-7922 ext. 3 to make reservations for the limited number of spaces; registration is by phone only. The fee to participate, which includes the opportunity to observe the other competitors, is $15. The fee for audience members is $12; no reservations are necessary.

The Monologue Matchup Competition takes place Monday, October 27, at 7 p.m. at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey (enter on Marshfield), Chicago. For information, call 773-404-7922 or visit saintsebastianplayers.org.

Robbins, Taylor and Hip-Hop Artists Present "Voice of a People's History" 10/1 - 10/1/2008

Hip-Hop Theater Festival and The Center For Multicultural Education and Programs at New York University will present Voices of a People's History of the United States: The Remix featuring Oscar winner and acclaimed film director Tim Robbins, Golden Globe winner Lili Taylor, Black Thought of The Roots, Hip-Hop pioneer Bobbito Garcia, award winning HBO's Def Poetry Jam on Broadway spoken word artist Staceyann Chin, political activist and HBO's Def Poetry Jam on Broadway poet Suheir Hammad, NYU student leader Joshua Xavier, and many more, in collaboration with Hip-Hop Theater Festival and NYU's Center for Multicultural Education and Programs, give a modern voice to the unsung stories surrounding our American history.

In its 5th year, with over 50 performances under its belt, Voices of a People's History of the United States: The Remix intends to celebrate America's unsung heroes with the style, energy and aesthetics of a Rap concert, creating a vibrant and colorful evening where history comes to life to invigorate our present.

The event will take place at New York University Skirball Center for Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place (between W 3rd & W 4th) on Wednesday, October 1st at 8:00 pm

"Voices intends to bring to light little known voices from U.S. history, including those of women, African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants and laborers. By giving public expression to rebels, dissenters, and visionaries from our past and present, Voices work to educate and inspire a new generation of people working for social justice, " describes press notes.

About Hip-Hop Theater Festival:
Beginning in the summer of 2000, the annual Hip-Hop Theater Festival brings together the Hip-Hop generation and those interested in learning more about it in a celebration of the Hip-Hop culture. The non-profit festival has presented over 100 world-renown artists in festivals reaching major metropolitan audiences in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Since its inception, The Hip-Hop Theater Festival has grown into one of the most influential outlets showcasing Hip-Hop performing arts in the country and has become an important contributor to the cultural life of participating Festival cities. This influence has been extended through live, professionally executed theater performances written by and about the Hip-Hop generation. Often using the elements of Hip-Hop culture (including MCing, DJing, Hip-Hop dance, graffiti and Spoken Word), Hip-Hop Theater tells urgent stories seldom represented on stage, and through language that embraces Hip-Hop's multi-literate and poly-lingual vitality. Always imbued with an undercurrent of activism, Hip-Hop Theater ignites dialogue and social change through exciting, provocative and celebratory performance. To purchase tickets or for more information, go to www.hiphoptheaterfest.com

About New York University's Center for Multicultural Education & Programs:
The Center's mission is to provide educational programs and student services that support the goals, address the challenges, and recognize the contributions of students from culturally diverse backgrounds and to educate the greater campus community on the benefits of cultural diversity. The Center is committed to fostering a social, cultural, and intellectual campus environment that will empower all students to achieve their educational and individual goals. In collaboration with the University community, our vision for all students is that they will view and embrace diversity as an essential element of their personal growth, intellectual advancement, and community life at NYU.

Robbins, Taylor and Hip-Hop Artists Present 'Voice of a People's History' 10/1 - 10/1/2008

'Idaho!' Adds Extra Performance at NYMF 10/1 - 10/1/2008

NYMF has added a performance of Idaho! a new American comedy musical with book, music and lyrics by Buddy Sheffield and music by Keith Thompson on Wednesday, October 1st at 37 Arts Theatre (450 W. 37th Street).

Idaho!
Wednesday, October 1 at 1pm
Book and Lyrics by Buddy Sheffield
Music by Buddy Sheffield and Keith Thompson

IDAHO! is a tale of love and sex on the prairie baked to bawdy perfection and set during the "Golden era" of Broadway. From a land where men were men, women were for sale to the highest bidder and the laws of musical comedy were meant to be broken, IDAHO! is an original “high-steppin’” song and dance musical ripped from the earth like a fresh dug spud.

The cast features: Rob Sutton (Mamma Mia! in Las Vegas, Beauty and the Beast), Elena Shaddow (Light In The Piazza tour, Woman In White), Beth Curry (Legally Blonde), Stacy Todd Holt (Cry Baby), Bill Nolte (The Producers), Jennifer Perry (Mamma Mia! In Las Vegas), Jay Rogers (The New Century, When Pig’s Fly), Ramona Keller (Caroline, or Change), James Tabeek (Taboo), Blake Hammond (Hairspray), Robbie Roby (Hairspray), Wendy Fox (RENT), Joe Grandy (Sound of Music, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma), Jessica Hershberg (Beauty and the Beast at MUNY), Holly Holcomb (Of Thee I Sing), Daniel Frank Kelly (Parade tour) and Jessica Sheridan (Les Miserables).

IDAHO! is directed by Matt Lenz (Supervising Associate Director for Hairspray on Broadway) and choreographed by Michele Lynch (Little House on the Prairie, 13, Happy Days) with musical direction by Christopher Littlefield (Angels, Shout!).

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) celebrates its fifth year with 24 full productions, a dance series, a developmental series, concerts and special events. Since its inception in 2004, this three-week annual festival has premiered more than 130 new musicals – many of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters and on tour in 38 states, and nine countries worldwide. NYMF 2004 hit Altar Boyz has played well over 1,000 performances Off-Broadway and spawned two National Tours; fellow NYMF alum [title of show] recently opened to rave reviews at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway; Nerds is coming to Broadway this Spring; and Off-Broadway audiences will soon see My Vaudeville Man. This year’s Festival continues through October 5th.

Hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF exists to revitalize one of America’s greatest art forms by discovering, supporting and promoting new musical theater artists, producers, and projects, and by introducing a diverse audience to the vibrancy of contemporary musical theater. Widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery, NYMF is the flagship program of The National Music Theater Network, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, and is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by amNewYork, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos, HX Magazine, Jossip.com, King Displays, Queerty.com, Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, Metromix.com, The New York Blade, Next Magazine, Panasonic Astrovision, Tekserve, TheMENEvent, VOGA Italia, and The Zipper Factory. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Tickets for all NYMF productions are on sale now and can be purchased at www.nymf.org or by calling 212-352-3101.

Sarah Kane's 'Blasted' to have US Premiere - 10/2/2008

Soho Rep's Artistic Director Sarah Benson has announced that Sarah Kane's bleak and controversial drama BLASTED, which according to The New York Times drew outrage from audiences and critics when it had its premiere in 1995 at the Royal Court Theater Upstairs in London, will make its American debut as the first show in that theater's 2008-9 season.�

Also planned for next season are "Sixty Miles to Silver Lake," a two-hander about the relationship between a boy and his father, by Dan LeFranc and directed by Anne Kauffman ("The Thugs"), and "Rambo Solo," the latest work from Nature Theater of Oklahoma, which presented "No Dice" at Soho Rep last year. In "Rambo Solo" the actor Zachary Oberzan examines his obsession with the story of "Rambo: First Blood" as the company tries to recount the action-adventure plot in all its cinematic glory. Ms. Kane, who also wrote "4:48 Psychosis," committed suicide in 1999 at the age of 28 but made a lasting impression. BLASTED will star Marin Ireland, Reed Birney and Louis Cancelmi. Performances are scheduled to begin Oct. 2.

'Chekhov Lizardbrain' to Begin October 2nd - 10/2/2008

Philadelphia's Obie Award winning Pig Iron Theatre Company returns to the Ohio Theater� with the New York Premiere of CHEKHOV LIZARDBRAIN, a surreal comedy loosely inspired by Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters and the "Three Brain" theory of Paul D. MacLean. Directed by Dan Rothenberg with text by Robert Quillen Camp and the ensemble, previews begin October 2nd with opening night scheduled for October 9th.

CHEKHOV LIZARDBRAIN dives into the center of an autistic mind. In twists and turns that take us from neuroscience to a domestic squabble to the circus ring, CHEKHOV LIZARDBRAIN captures a mind as it zigzags back and forth over troubling memories, attempting to mold them into neat Russian dramas. Dmitri, our protagonist, replays his memories until they are ornamented and decorated into a comforting fiction; what we witness is a kind of mental circus.

The ensemble features Dito van Reigersberg, Quinn Bauriedel, Geoff Sobelle (all wear bowlers), and James Sugg with set by Anna Kiraly, costumes by Olivera Gajic, sound design by Nick Kourtides� and lighting by James Clotfelter .

The performance draws from Paul Maclean's Triune Brain Theory. MacLean noticed that when the human brain is dissected, one discovers a "paleomammalian" layer that looks almost identical to a pig or dog brain; this layer controls breathing, sleeping, hunger, and the startle response. Cutting deeper into the brain, one finds a "lizard brain" in the form of the human brain stem. This area is responsible for emotions, connections between individuals, and territorial behavior. A thrid layer is the "neomammalian brain," our large neocortex, which contains the wiring for symbolic thinking, self-awareness, ambivalence and language.� In her� bestseller Animals in Translation, autistic author Temple Grandin proposes that her own empathy with animals comes from an compromised� "human brain" and a compensating "dog brain" and "lizard brain." Templeton notes, "here's the really interesting part: each one of those brains has its own kind of intelligence, its own sense of time and space, its own memory, and its own subjectivity."

Pig Iron Theatre Company, founded in 1995, has rapidly become known as a unique, innovative voice in American theatre. The ensemble's physical precision, lyrical writing, and exuberant productions have earned them 36 Barrymore Award nominations in the past 8 years, a Total Theatre Award at Edinburgh Fringe, and a 2005 Obie Award for Hell Meets Henry Halfway, an adaptation of Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz's novel Possessed. Pig Iron's work has toured to theaters and festivals in London, Edinburgh, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Ireland, Poland, Ukraine, Brazil, Romania, Germany and Italy.�� Works have been inspired by history and biography (Poet In New York and Anodyne), rock music (Mission to Mercury and James Joyce is Dead and so is Paris: The Lucia Joyce Cabaret), American kitsch culture (Cafeteria), and fallen heroes (The Odyssey and The Tragedy of Joan of Arc). In 2001, Pig Iron collaborated with legendary theatre director Joseph Chaikin to create an exploration of sleep, dreams and consciousness (Shut Eye). In 2006, Pig Iron was named Theatre Company of the Year by Philadelphia Weekly.

CHEKHOV LIZARDBRAIN runs October 2-19, Thursday - Sunday at� 8pm. The Ohio Theater is located at 66 Wooster Street (between Spring & Broome Streets -- accessible from the C, E trains to Spring Street.) Tickets are $20 - $35, available at 212-868-4444 or SmartTix.com.

Osnes, von Essen, Graff and More Cast in Kennedy Center's 'Three Generations' - 10/2/2008

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces new casting for Broadway: Three Generations, a three act evening featuring condensed versions of Girl Crazy, Bye Bye Birdie, and Side Show. Lonny Price will direct staged concert performances featuring an award-winning cast, including Brooks Ashmanskas, Lisa Brescia, Jenn Colella, Randy Graff, Michael McElroy, Michael Mulheren, Laura Osnes, and Max von Essen. The production will officially re-open the renovated Eisenhower Theater and will track the development of the Broadway musical over three overlapping generations of composers.

The early generation, marked by the musicals of Kern, Rodgers, and Porter, is represented by George & Ira Gershwin’s musical comedy Girl Crazy. Featuring such popular songs such as “Embraceable You” and “I Got Rhythm,” the classic 1930s musical tells of the son of a wealthy Manhattanite who is shipped to an all-male southwestern university to forestall his playboy ways. There, he falls for a pretty but uninterested local girl and saves the university from financial ruin by making it co-ed. Max von Essen will play the role of Danny Churchill and Tony Award® winner Randy Graff will play Kate Fothergill, the role that launched Ethel Merman’s career. Brooks Ashmanskas will perform the role of Slick Fothergill and Jenn Colella will play Molly Gray, a role originally played by Ginger Rogers.

The second generation, marked by the work of Styne, Sondheim, Herman, and Kander, will be represented by Bye Bye Birdie. With music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams and book by Michael Stewart, the musical opened on Broadway April 14, 1960 and won four Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Best Choreography and Best Direction. The musical follows rock and roll superstar Conrad Birdie and the complications that arise when his agent stages a publicity stunt on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in which he will kiss one lucky girl from Sweet Apple, Ohio before being drafted into the Army. Casting for the Kennedy Center performances will include Brooks Ashmanskas as Albert Peterson, Lisa Brescia as Mrs. MacAfee, and Randy Graff as Mae Peterson.

Broadway’s current generation of songwriters – Guettel, Flaherty, LaChiusa, and Yazbeck – is represented by Henry Krieger & Bill Russell’s Side Show. Telling the story of conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton, the musical earned five Tony Award® nominations after its opening on October 16, 1997. Jenn Colella will play Daisy Hilton and Lisa Brescia will play Violet Hilton. Michael McElroy will play the role of Jake, Michael Mulheren will play Boss, and Max von Essen will play Terry Connor.

Brooks Ashmanskas will play the roles of Slick Fothergill in Girl Crazy and Albert Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie. His Broadway credits include The Ritz, On the Twentieth Century, Gypsy, The Producers, Little Me, Dream, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, which earned him a Tony® nomination for Best Featured Actor.

Lisa Brescia will play the roles of Mrs. MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie and Violet Hilton in Side Show. Her Broadway credits include The Times They are A-Changin, The Woman in White, Wicked, Jesus Christ Superstar and Aida. She is currently performing the role of Elphaba in the Chicago production of Wicked.

Jenn Colella will play the roles of Molly Gray in Girl Crazy and Daisy Hilton in Side Show. She recently started in the title role of the Off-Broadway play Beebo Brinker Chronicles. Her Broadway credits include High Fidelity (Laura) and Urban Cowboy, where she earned an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for the role of Sissy. She is performing the title role in Annie Get Your Gun this summer at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.

Randy Graff will play the roles of Kate Fothergill in Girl Crazy and Mae Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie. Her Broadway credits include Fiddler on the Roof, A Class Act (Tony® nomination), High Society, Moon Over Buffalo, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Falsettos and Les Misérables. Ms. Graff won the 1990 Tony Award® for Best Featured Actress for City of Angels and last appeared at the Kennedy Center in the 2002 Sondheim Celebration production of A Little Night Music.

Michael McElroy will perform the role of Jake in Side Show and will be featured in the quartet from Girl Crazy. McElroy’s Broadway credits include Big River (Tony® nomination), The Wild Party, Rent, The Who’s Tommy, High Rollers, Miss Saigon and Candide. In 2006, he won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical for his portrayal of Jim in Big River at Ford’s Theatre.

Michael Mulheren will play the role of Boss in Side Show and will appear in the quartet in Girl Crazy. Mulheren’s Broadway credits include The Farnsworth Invention, Deuce, La Cage aux Folles, The Boy From Oz, Kiss Me, Kate (Tony® nomination), Titanic, and On the Waterfront.

Laura Osnes recently completed a year-long run on Broadway as Sandy in the revival of Grease, having won NBC's reality competition "Grease: You're The One That I Want." Hailing from Minneapolis, MN, Laura's favorite regional roles include Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Chava in Fiddler on the Roof, Jasmine in Disney's Aladdin, and flying as the title role in Peter Pan.

Max von Essen will play the roles of Danny Churchill in Girl Crazy and Terry Connor in Side Show. His Broadway credits include roles in Les Misérables, Dance of the Vampires and Jesus Christ Superstar. Mr. von Essen made his Kennedy Center debut in the role of Patrick during the 2006 production of Mame.

The new Kennedy Center production of Broadway: Three Generations will feature an award-winning design team, including sets by James Noone, costumes by Anne Kennedy, lighting by Ken Billington, and sound design by Peter Hylenski. James Moore is the Music Director and Tom Briggs serves as adaptor.

BROADWAY: THE THIRD GENERATION

The concert performances of Broadway: Three Generations are part of the Kennedy Center’s season-long initiative Broadway: The Third Generation, celebrating the current generation of Broadway musical composers. The season will include a new Kennedy Center production of Ragtime; a free concert in the Opera House to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Millennium Stage hosted by Stephen Schwartz and featuring Scott Frankel, Michael Korie, Jeanine Tesori, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens followed by a full week of performances by up-and-coming Broadway composers; a newly commissioned Theater for Young Audiences production of The Trumpet of the Swan, based on the children’s book by E.B. White which is adapted for the stage by Marsha Norman with music by Jason Robert Brown; a co-production of Michael John LaChiusa’s Giant to appear at Alexandria’s Signature Theatre as part of the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays; and the nationally touring production of Spring Awakening.

TICKET INFORMATION

Performances for Broadway: Three Generations will run October 2-5, 2008 with performances Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 PM and Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 PM. Tickets from $25 to $90 will go on sale August 11, 2008 and will be available for purchase at the Kennedy Center box office or by calling Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600. Patrons living outside the Washington metropolitan area may dial toll-free at (800) 444-1324 or visit us online at www.kennedy-center.org.

Wilson's 'Radio Premiere' To Have British Premiere at Tricycle - 10/2/2008

Paulette Randall will direct the British premiere of August Wilson’s Radio Golf running at the Tricycle from 2 October – 1 November, with press night on 6 October at 7pm. Radio Golf is designed by Libby Watson with lighting by Matthew Eagland and sound design by Al Ashford.

Set in the United States, Radio Golf is the last in Wilson's cycle of ten plays that examines the African-American experience in the 20th Century. Each play tackles a decade and Radio Golf, the final play in the cycle, focuses on the 1990’s.

The cast is Roger Griffiths (Roosevelt Hicks), Joseph Marcell (Elder Joseph Barlow), Danny Sapani (Harmond Wilks), Julie Saunders (Mame Wilks) and Ray Shell (Sterling Johnson).

Radio Golf completed August Wilson’s cycle of ten plays documenting the 20th Century African-American Experience and received its World premiere at the Yale Repertory Theatre directed by Timothy Douglas in 2005 just before Wilson’s untimely death. Radio Golf received its Broadway premiere in 2007 at the Cort Theater and was named Best American Play by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle and is the recipient of four 2007 Tony Award nominations. Radio Golf will be the sixth play in the cycle that the Tricycle will have premiered immediately after their Broadway runs with previous plays being Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, King Hedley II and Gem of the Ocean.

Roger Griffiths’ theatre credits include England is De Place For Me at the Albany Theatre, Oh Babylon and Job Rocking for Riverside Studios, Macbeth for the National Theatre and Black Poppies for the National Theatre Studio. His screen credits include films Batman Begins, Buffalo Soldiers, Tube Tales and Greenwich Mean Time and television credits include Doctor Who, My Family, EastEnders and Holby City.

Joseph Marcell will this week complete a run at the Tricycle Theatre playing the lead in the revival of Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Let There be Love. He was previously part of the Tricycle’s 2006 African-American Season appearing in Walk Hard Talk Loud and Gem of the Ocean. Other recent stage credits include Breakfast with Mugabe at Bath Ustinov Theatre, Coriolanus and Under the Black Flag at the Globe and numerous productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company including Crates and Barrels, Our Friends from the North and The Brothers Menechimi. He also works regularly with the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C. His screen credits include Rough Crossing, EastEnders, Jericho and The Professionals. He is best known on television for playing Geoffrey in long running series The Fresh Prince of Bel Air alongside Will Smith.

Danny Sapani’s stage credits include Big White Fog for the Almeida Theatre, The Overwhelming, His Dark Materials, Antony and Cleopatra, The Machine Wreckers and Richard II for the National Theatre, To the Green Fields Beyond for the Donmar Warehouse and Neverland for the Royal Court. His screen credits include The Bill, Holby Blue and The Oxford Murders. Following his run in Radio Golf, Sapani can be seen at the Royal Court in Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Wig Out! directed by Dominic Cooke.

Julie Saunder’s theatre credits include Goldhawk Road and Raising Fires for the Bush Theatre and Troilus and Cressida, The Last Days of Don Juan and A Woman of No Importance for the Royal Shakespeare Company plus numerous productions for the Citizen’s Theatre. Her screen credits include a regular role in Emmerdale as D.I. Kara Warren and guest leads in The Bill, Between the Lines and The Chief.

Ray Shell’s stage credits include Gone with the Wind at the New London Theatre, Dancing in the Streets at the Cambridge Theatre, 125th Street at the Shaftesbury Theatre and The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. His previous Tricycle credits are Blues for Mr Charlie, Wine in the Wilderness, The Amen Corner, Two Trains Running, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Iced, which he also wrote. His screen credits include Hotel, Too Much Sun and The Velvet Goldmine.

Radio Golf will be the fourth August Wilson play that Paulette Randall has directed for the Tricycle Theatre after The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running and King Hedley II (in a co-production with Birmingham Rep). Her other theatre credits include What’s In The Cat for Contact Theatre, Manchester and the Royal Court Upstairs, Funny Black Women On The Edge and Shoot To Win for the Theatre Royal Stratford East and The Amen Corner for Bristol Old Vic. Randall was Artistic Director of Talawa Theatre Company from 2003 -2005, for whom she directed productions of Urban Afro Saxons (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Blest Be The Tie (Royal Court), Abena’s Stupidest Mistake (Drill Hall), Blues for Mr Charlie (New Wolsey Ipswich and the Tricycle Theatre) and High Heel Parrotfish (Stratford East).

For more information please visit www.tricycle.co.uk

Wilson's 'Radio Golf' To Have British Premiere at Tricycle - 10/2/2008

Paulette Randall will direct the British premiere of August Wilson's Radio Golf running at the Tricycle from 2 October - 1 November, with press night on 6 October at 7pm. Radio Golf is designed by Libby Watson with lighting by Matthew Eagland and sound design by Al Ashford.

Set in the United States, Radio Golf is the last in Wilson's cycle of ten plays that examines the African-American experience in the 20th Century. Each play tackles a decade and Radio Golf, the final play in the cycle, focuses on the 1990's.

The cast is Roger Griffiths (Roosevelt Hicks), Joseph Marcell (Elder Joseph Barlow), Danny Sapani (Harmond Wilks), Julie Saunders (Mame Wilks) and Ray Shell (Sterling Johnson).

Radio Golf completed August Wilson's cycle of ten plays documenting the 20th Century African-American Experience and received its World premiere at the Yale Repertory Theatre directed by Timothy Douglas in 2005 just before Wilson's untimely death. Radio Golf received its Broadway premiere in 2007 at the Cort Theater and was named Best American Play by the New York Drama Critics' Circle and is the recipient of four 2007 Tony Award nominations. Radio Golf will be the sixth play in the cycle that the Tricycle will have premiered immediately after their Broadway runs with previous plays being Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, King Hedley II and Gem of the Ocean.

Roger Griffiths' theatre credits include England is De Place For Me at the Albany Theatre, Oh Babylon and Job Rocking for Riverside Studios, Macbeth for the National Theatre and Black Poppies for the National Theatre Studio. His screen credits include films Batman Begins, Buffalo Soldiers, Tube Tales and Greenwich Mean Time and television credits include Doctor Who, My Family, EastEnders and Holby City.

Joseph Marcell will this week complete a run at the Tricycle Theatre playing the lead in the revival of Kwame Kwei-Armah's Let There be Love. He was previously part of the Tricycle's 2006 African-American Season appearing in Walk Hard Talk Loud and Gem of the Ocean. Other recent stage credits include Breakfast with Mugabe at Bath Ustinov Theatre, Coriolanus and Under the Black Flag at the Globe and numerous productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company including Crates and Barrels, Our Friends from the North and The Brothers Menechimi. He also works regularly with the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C. His screen credits include Rough Crossing, EastEnders, Jericho and The Professionals. He is best known on television for playing Geoffrey in long running series The Fresh Prince of Bel Air alongside Will Smith.

Danny Sapani's stage credits include Big White Fog for The Almeida Theatre, The Overwhelming, His Dark Materials, Antony and Cleopatra, The Machine Wreckers and Richard II for the National Theatre, To the Green Fields Beyond for the Donmar Warehouse and Neverland for the Royal Court. His screen credits include The Bill, Holby Blue and The Oxford Murders. Following his run in Radio Golf, Sapani can be seen at the Royal Court in Tarell Alvin McCraney's Wig Out! directed by Dominic Cooke.

Julie Saunder's theatre credits include Goldhawk Road and Raising Fires for the Bush Theatre and Troilus and Cressida, The Last Days of Don Juan and A Woman of No Importance for the Royal Shakespeare Company plus numerous productions for the Citizen's Theatre. Her screen credits include a regular role in Emmerdale as D.I. Kara Warren and guest leads in The Bill, Between the Lines and The Chief.

Ray Shell's stage credits include Gone with the Wind at the New London Theatre, Dancing in the Streets at the Cambridge Theatre, 125th Street at the Shaftesbury Theatre and The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. His previous Tricycle credits are Blues for Mr Charlie, Wine in the Wilderness, The Amen Corner, Two Trains Running, Ain't Misbehavin' and Iced, which he also wrote. His screen credits include Hotel, Too Much Sun and The Velvet Goldmine.

Radio Golf will be the fourth August Wilson play that Paulette Randall has directed for the Tricycle Theatre after The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running and King Hedley II (in a co-production with Birmingham Rep). Her other theatre credits include What's In The Cat for Contact Theatre, Manchester and the Royal Court Upstairs, Funny Black Women On The Edge and Shoot To Win for the Theatre Royal Stratford East and The Amen Corner for Bristol Old Vic. Randall was Artistic Director of Talawa Theatre Company from 2003 -2005, for whom she directed productions of Urban Afro Saxons (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Blest Be The Tie (Royal Court), Abena's Stupidest Mistake (Drill Hall), Blues for Mr Charlie (New Wolsey Ipswich and the Tricycle Theatre) and High Heel Parrotfish (Stratford East).

For more information please visit www.tricycle.co.uk

Soho Rep Kicks Off Season With Kane's 'Blasted' Starting 10/2 - 10/2/2008

Soho Rep - the nine-time OBIE Award-winning, Off-Broadway theatre company - kicks off its 2008-2009 season with the New York premiere of English playwright Sarah Kane's long awaited landmark play BLASTED. Previews begin October 2nd prior to an official press opening of October 9th at Soho Rep (46 Walker Street). Soho Rep Artistic Director Sarah Benson directs.

A middle-aged journalist, Ian, and young woman, Cate, enter a hotel room. As private and public violation collide, their world fragments around them. Acknowledged as the most provocative and influential British playwright of her generation, in her landmark play BLASTED, Sarah Kane, with startling imagery and bleak humor, forges a potent theatrical vision of destruction, collapse, and ultimately, redemption and love.

"I am delighted that New York audiences will finally get to see this play," noted Ms. Benson.

Directed by new Soho Rep Artistic Director Sarah Benson, Ms. Benson's debut as director for a Soho Rep production, the cast of BLASTED features OBIE Award-winner Marin Ireland as Cate, OBIE Award-winner Reed Birney as Ian and Louis Cancelmi as Soldier. Ms. Benson has directed such projects as QUIVER & TWITCH at New York Stage & Film and THE LOTTERY at Here Arts Center. Ms. Ireland was last seen Off-Broadway in last season's BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES. Mr. Birney was recently seen in The Public Theatre's STUFF HAPPENS, and has a recurring role on TV's smash hit "Gossip Girl." Mr. Cancelmi was seen at Soho Rep in the title role of PHILOKTETES, last season.

Design team for BLASTED is Louisa Thompson (set design); Tyler Micoleau (lighting design); Theresa Squire (costume design); and Matt Tierney (sound design). Ms. Thompson won an OBIE Award for her set design of Soho Rep's [sic]. Mr. Micoleau is the recipient of both an OBIE and a Lucille Lortel Award for his work on Tracy Letts' BUG. Ms. Squire was costume designer for both THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE and HIGH FIDELITY on Broadway. Mr. Tierney is an OBIE Award-winner for his work on Mac Wellman's JENNIE RICHEE.

The first play in the short life and career of the late Ms. Kane, BLASTED - which upon its London debut in 1995 sparked an extraordinary public controversy - was embraced by Ms. Kane's British contemporaries Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill and Martin Crimp, and has subsequently been widely produced worldwide. Ms. Kane's other plays include PHAEDRA'S LOVE, CLEANSED, CRAVE and 4.48 PSYCHOSIS.

Now in its 33rd year, Soho Rep's 2008-09 season is the second under the leadership of Artistic Director, Sarah Benson, and the first for new Executive Director, Tania Camargo. This is the second season the company will operate as an Off-Broadway company after decades of presenting work in the off-off-Broadway arena. One of the company's most popular and innovative programming features from last year -- 99-cent tickets for all Sunday performances of main stage productions throughout the year -- returns this season, as well.

Under the leadership of new Artistic Director Sarah Benson and the company's recently appointed Executive Director, Tania Camargo, Soho Rep is dedicated to cultivating and producing visionary, uncompromising, and exuberant new plays. They perform to one of the youngest adult audiences in New York City, with over three-quarters of its audience aged 18-40.

Over the last nine seasons, Soho Rep productions have garnered nine OBIE Awards -- most recently NO DICE by Nature Theater of Oklahoma, and playwright Adam Bock and director Anne Kauffman for THE THUGS -- four Drama Desk nominations for their critically acclaimed production of FRANKENSTEIN, the Oppenheimer Award for EVERYTHING WILL BE DIFFERENT, and two Kesselring Awards for Melissa James Gibson and Mark Schultz. In recent years, Soho Rep has presented plays by established and emerging theatre artists such as Richard Maxwell, Mac Wellman, Young Jean Lee and The Flying Machine.

Scheduled October 2 through October 26, performances of BLASTED run Wednesdays - Sundays at 7:30pm (with an added performance on Tuesday, October 7 at 7:30pm). There will be an Artist Talk-Back following the performance on Wednesday, October 15. Tickets are 99 cents through $30 and can be reserved by calling TheaterMania at 212-352-3101 or online at www.sohorep.org.

For additional information about BLASTED or Soho Rep, call 212-941-8632 or visit www.sohorep.org

'The Screwtape Letters' Opening at the Mercury Theater 10/2 - 10/2/2008

Fellowship for the Performing Arts presents the Chicago premiere of the acclaimed hit drama THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS by C.S. Lewis at The Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Avenue. The production, which recently had sold-out runs in New York and Washington, D.C., begins performances on October 2 for a limited engagement. THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS offers a funny and provocative look into C.S. Lewis' brilliant novel that explores the theme of spiritual warfare from a demon's point of view.

Adapted for the stage by Jeffrey Fiske and Max McLean, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is set in an office in hell. The play follows a senior devil, Screwtape, and his secretary, Toadpipe, as they train an apprentice demon, Wormwood, on how to "undermine faith and prevent the formation of virtues" in a young man who has just converted to Christianity.

Critics have raved that the show is "A first rate production...Terribly entertaining... Screwtape boils over with wit" (Jayne Blanchard, The Washington Times), a "Hell of a good time...imaginative theatricality...wonderful performances" (Frank Scheck, New York Post), "Sly, funny, handsomely produced" (Celia Wren, Washington Post) and "A thought-provoking, engaging, entertaining, intelligent, bitingly satirical and funny exploration of profound issues of right and wrong," (Daniel Kelley, NYTheatre.com.)

When first published in 1942. THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS brought immediate fame to C.S. Lewis, a little known Oxford don whose field of study was Medieval English and literature. Over the past sixty-five years its wit and wisdom have made it one of his most widely read and influential works. One of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day, C.S. Lewis was a Fellow and Tutor of English literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. His major contributions in literary criticism, children's literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract millions of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include: The Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, and Mere Christianity.

The initial production of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS opened at Theatre 315 in New York City in January 2006 for a limited three-week run. Due to popular demand it ran for eleven sold-out weeks. After building on its success it reopened in the fall of 2007 at the Theatre at St. Clement's for another twelve sold-out weeks to rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. In April 2008 it transferred to The Shakespeare Theatre Company's Lansburgh Theatre in Washington, D.C. for a five week run. Again it played to sold out and standing room-only audiences.

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is directed by Jeffrey Fiske and stars Max McLean as Screwtape and Karen Yvonne Gougelet as Toadpipe. Scenic design is by Cameron Anderson, costumes are by Michael Bevins, lighting by Tyler Micoleau, and sound is by Bart Fasbender. For more biographical or production information, visit www.ScrewtapeOnStage.com.

The performance schedule for THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is Wednesdays at 8pm, Thursdays at 8pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm; and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets range in price from $29.00 to $48.50. Tickets are available by calling The Mercury Theater Box Office at 773.325.1700 or TicketMaster at 312.902.1500. Discounted tickets for students and groups of 10 or more are also available.

Speed-The-Plow Announces Performance Schedule Beginning 10 - 10/3/2008

The 20th Anniversary revival of David Mamet's Speed-The-Plow is set to begin performances on Friday, October 3, 2008 with an official opening set for Sunday, October 26, 2008 at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street). The cast includes: Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Jeremy Piven ("Entourage", Fat Pig) as film production exec Bobby Gould, three-time Tony-nominee RA�L ESPARZA (The Homecoming, Company, Taboo) as ambitious producer Charlie Fox and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) in the pivotal role of Karen, the temporary secretary to executive producer Bobby Gould, a role which was originally played on Broadway by Madonna.� Neil Pepe (David Mamet's Romance, Ethan Coen's Almost an Evening) will direct.�� Performances will be Tuesdays at 7 pm, Wednesday�Saturday at 8 pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets will be sold through Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200.

Speed-The-Plow is Mamet's scathing portrait of the film industry and the people who are willing to sell their souls for sex, fame and fortune. �

The revival is being produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel and Steve Traxler, currently represented on Broadway by Tracy Letts' August: Osage County and Spring Awakening.� �

�Elisabeth Moss currently stars as Peggy Olson in the Golden Globe Award-winning drama series Mad Men, which will return for its second season this month.� Moss was nominated in 2008 for a SAG Award along with her Mad Men castmates for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Mad Men was also just nominated for 16 Emmys including "Outstanding Drama Series," and the show was additionally honored with a Peabody Award, An AFI Award, a TCA Award and a Writers Guild of America Award.� Moss' theatre credits include: Franny in Franny's Way presented by Playwrights Horizons at the Atlantic Theater Company. She also played the same role at the Geffen Playhouse, L.A.� She has performed in The Nutcracker with The Joffrey Ballet and in Sleeping Beauty with The New York City Ballet.� Film credits include: Buddy Gilbert Comes Alive, The Attic, Day Zero, The Missing, Girl, Interrupted, Mumford, The Joyriders, Mumford, A Thousand Acres, Imaginary Crimes and Virgin, for which she was nominated for a 2004 Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.� She previously played Zoey Bartlet for seven seasons on The West Wing. �

RA�L ESPARZA most recently starred in the Tony-nominated revival of The Homecoming for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. Prior to that he starred in the Tony-Award winning Company, for which he received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards and a Tony nomination. His previous New York stage appearances include Taboo, for which he also received a Tony nomination, The Normal Heart, Comedians, and tick, tick�Boom!, all of which earned him Drama League nominations. He received a 2001 Theatre World Award for his Broadway debut in the revival of The Rocky Horror Show.

Jeremy Piven.� Piven's critically acclaimed, award winning portrayal of the slick, fast talking super agent, "Ari Gold" in the smash-hit HBO original series Entourage has propelled him to the forefront of the entertainment industry. The role has earned him a Golden Globe and two Emmy Awards.� Piven, will next be seen starring in the feature film comedy The Goods for Paramount Vantage as well as the Guy Ritchie directed Rocknrolla. Piven was most recently seen on the big screen in director Peter Berg's political drama The Kingdom opposite Jamie Foxx and in Joe Carnahan's Smokin Aces, in which he starred opposite Andy Garcia and Ray Liotta.� Prior to Entourage, Piven had already established his presence in over 40 feature films with a number of impressive credits which include, The Player, Runaway Jury, Old School, Serendipity, Black Hawk Down, Very Bad Things, Singles,� Rush Hour 2 and The Family Man.� On the small screen Piven was a series regular on Cupid and Ellen and appeared on The Larry Sanders Show and in the telepic Don King: Only in America.� In 2005, Piven returned to his theater acting roots when he starred alongside Keri Russell and Andrew McCarthy in the off-Broadway hit, Fat Pig by Neil LaBute. For his role, Piven received a Distinguished Performance Honor from the Drama League.�� Piven was born and raised in Chicago where his parents founded the Piven Theatre Workshop. His father, Byrne, taught the likes of John and Joan Cusack, Roseanna Arquette and Aidan Quinn. Jeremy is still very active with this Theatre and returns to Chicago frequently to help keep his father's dream alive.

David Mamet was most recently represented on Broadway by November and won the Pulitzer Prize for his play Glengarry Glen Ross. His other stage credits include Speed-The-Plow (Tony nom.), The Cryptogram (Pulitzer nom.), Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Oleanna, Romance, Boston Marriage, The Old Neighborhood, A Life in the Theatre and the adaptation of The Voysey Inheritance. Mamet is also a two-time Academy Award-nominee for The Verdict and Wag the Dog whose other film credits include State and Main, The Winslow Boy, The Spanish Prisoner, Homicide and The Untouchables. He a writer and co-producer for the current CBS hit "The Unit" and the author of numerous novels including The Wicked Son and Bambi vs. Godzilla.

Neil Pepe has helmed such heralded productions as David Mamet's Romance, Harold Pinter's Celebration/The Room, Sea of Tranquility, Shaker Heights (Outer Critics Circle nom.) and the Drama League nominated production of Mojo. As the Artistic Director of Atlantic Theatre Company, he has produced the Tony Award-winning productions of The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and 2007's Best Musical Spring Awakening.

Speed-The-Plow Announces Performance Schedule Beginning 10/3 - 10/3/2008

'Angry Young Women' Comes to Hudson Mainstage Starting 10/3 - 10/3/2008

After multiple sold-out limited engagements in New York and Sydney, Australia, ANGRY YOUNG WOMEN IN LOW-RISE JEANS WITH HIGH-CLASS ISSUES, the raucous comedy written and directed by filmmaker turned playwright Matt Morillo, will open a six-week run at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd (on Theatre Row) on October 3, 2008 and run for six weeks through Sunday, November 9.

This irreverent comedy--equal parts sophisticated, sexy, and saucy--explores the modern day trials and tribulations of being young, female, and living in the big city. Told in five short one-acts, each vignette shamelessly plows headfirst into challenging contemporary definitions of sexism, feminism, homophobia, and gender roles giving audiences a refreshing and intelligent look at what's right, wrong, fantastic, and inexplicable about modern metropolitan women.

In the last two years, "Angry Young Women" has had three sold out runs in NYC (two Off Off Broadway and one Off Broadway) and two separate four-week runs in Sydney, Australia. It is making its title an idiom in New York and Australia and has amassed an enthusiastic fan base on two continents. The play, Morillo's first, was published this spring by Samuel French, along with Morillo's second play, "All Aboard the Marriage Hearse."

ANGRY YOUNG WOMEN IN LOW-RISE JEANS WITH HIGH-CLASS ISSUES premiered at the Duo Theater in New York's East Village January 19 to February 25, 2006 and was revived by Theater for the New City, NYC January 4 to February 24, 2007. In Sydney, Australia, Stella Green Productions produced 31 performances with an Australian cast and director from August 14 to September 2, 2007 and revived it with 27 performances from January 9 to February 9, 2008. An Off Broadway production opened at the Players Theater on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village on July 12 and closed October 20, 2007.

MATT MORILLO (Writer/Director/Executive Producer) Matt has gone from making a splash to making waves in the world of independent theater and film. His first two plays, "Angry Young Women in Low-Rise Jeans with High-Class Issues" and "All Aboard the Marriage Hearse" received back-to-back publishing deals with Samuel French, an extremely rare and noteworthy achievement. Besides his foray into theater, Matt has been a fixture on the New York independent film scene for the past ten years. After graduating film school, Matt made his auspicious debut at the young age of 23 with his first feature "The Pretenders (2000)," an award-winning romantic comedy. His subsequent short films, most notably "Maid of Honor (2003)," garnered him numerous awards and regional notoriety. Matt also writes stand-up for some of Los Angeles and New York's emerging comedians, and he has recently brought his sagacious, uncensored wit to the web by launching "The Cynical Optimist (www.thecynicaloptimist.net)" a website of editorials and musings about love, relationships, sex, current events and anything else that pops into his ginourmous head.

Matt and his exploits have been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The New York Post, W Magazine, The Village Voice, The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), Sydney Theatre, Australian Stage, Aussie Theater Backstage Magazine, Theater Mania, and multiple times on WOR Radio with Joey Reynolds.

JESSICA MORENO (Executive Producer) Jessica began producing plays as an undergraduate Theater and Sanskrit student at Columbia University (including "Pizza Man" and "Stupid Kids"). She co-produced Angry Young Women alongside Matt Morillo for its run at Theater for the New City in 2007, and again for its off-Broadway run at The Players Theater later that year. Jessica is now stepping up as Executive Producer of Angry Young Women for its West Coast Premier. Although she appears primarily on-stage and in front of the camera, Jessica has always taken an interest in working behind the scenes on creative projects. While dancing professionally as a teenager, Jessica co-choreographed several modern dance pieces for BLUdance Theatre, with whom she was a principal dancer (she has also appeared as a guest artist with Pilobolus).

RACQUEL LEHRMAN, THEATRE PLANNERS (Producer) is the founder and managing director of Theatre Planners, her own theatre production/PR firm. She graduated from NYU-Tisch School of the Arts and lived in NY for over ten years producing theatre. Theatre Planners has since developed in to a very busy and successful outlet for actors, producers and theatre companies. Doing everything from publicity, consulting, printing and graphics, Racquel loves to make productions a reality and help to keep the theatre scene in LA alive and strong. Racquel has recently acquired the Actor’s Gang old space on El Centro and is the new owner of the LOUNGE THEATRE in Hollywood on Theatre Row.

KADM Players (The Ensemble) – The KADM Players have been creatively collaborating for the past decade. Formed in 1998 as part of KADM Productions' film projects, they have been earning accolades on the independent film and theater scenes in New York, and are thrilled to be making their first trip to Los Angeles as a company.

The West Coast Premier e of “Angry Young Women” will see original KADM Players Jessica Moreno and Tom Pilutik (who both performed in KADM's first feature, “The Pretenders”) join long-time members Keenan Henson and Jason Drumwright, and newer members Brooke Hasalton and Gina Regalbuto on the stage as they take the company national. Over the years, members of the KADM Players have performed in three of Matt Morillo's award-winning films. They have contributed to every aspect of the creative development of the hit plays “Angry Young Women” and “All Aboard the Marriage Hearse.” Furthermore, Jessica Moreno, Tom Pilutik, and Jason Drumwright were all original cast members of “Angry Young Women” when it premiered in New York in 2006. The KADM Players have received critical acclaim as a company from the likes of The New York Times, Backstage Magazine and The New York Post, to name a few.

The Lighting and Sound design is by Matt Richter.

ANGRY YOUNG WOMEN will open on Friday, October 3 and run through Sunday, November 9, 2008. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm; Sundays at 7:00pm at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood. Ticket prices are $25 and are available by calling (323) 960-5774 or by going to www.angryyoungwomen.net.

The Flaming Dames in Hell's Belles - 10/3/2008

The Flaming Dames in Hell's Belles

New Millennium Theatre Company (NMTC) presents The Flaming Dames, Chicago's premiere concept burlesque troupe, in their latest revue: 'Hell's Belles'.

Who: �� New Millennium Theatre Company

What: �� The Flaming Dames in 'Hell's Belles'

When: � Fridays October 3rd through November 7th 10:30 pm

Where: The Spot
4437 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60614
�� (Between Montrose & Wilson)

Tickets: $15 General Admission
�� 312-458-9083 or Website (www.nmtchicago.org)

Starting October 3, celebrate your Halloween Season with The Flaming Dames, Chicago's premiere concept burlesque troupe, as they return from the depths of hell in their most erotic and dark revue to date, 'Hell's Belles'. The most desirable things in life are often forbidden and these devilish darlings will force audiences to crawl through the nine circles of hell for more. Dancing to the songs of the season, their wickedly sexy moves will seduce you to the dark side. And with the surly Succubus and Incubus MCs as your guides, (almost) all will be revealed to those who dare enter their lair. There's no need to be afraid, because when The Flaming Dames host the party, 'Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be'.

The Flaming Dames in Hell's Belles runs Friday nights at 10:30 pm, October 3rd through November 7th at The Spot, 4437 N. Broadway in Chicago. Advance tickets are $15 and can be purchased at www.nmtchicago.org or reserved by calling 312-458-9083. Limited tickets are available at the door.

UNLV Performing Arts Center Opens New York Stage and Beyond Series - 10/3/2008

The UNLV Performing Arts Center opens its New York Stage & Beyond Series with Rita Moreno one of only nine performers ever to win all four of the most prestigious show business awards: the Oscar, the Emmy, the Tony, and the Grammy at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 3.

Born Rosita Dolores Alvero in Humacao, Puerto Rico on December 11, 1931, Moreno moved to New York City in 1937 along with her mother, where she began a professional career before she was a teenager. The 11-year-old Rosita got her first movie experience dubbing Spanish-language versions of American films. Less than a month before her 14th birthday on November 11, 1945, she made her Broadway debut in the play "Skydrift" at the Belasco Theatre, co-starring with Arthur Keegan and the young Eli Wallach. Although she would not appear again on Broadway for almost 20 years, Rita Moreno, as she was billed in the play, had arrived professionally. It would take her nearly as long to break through the forces of institutional racism and become the first Hispanic to win an Academy Award for her role as Anita, the Puerto Rican girlfriend of Jets' leader Bernardo in West Side Story.

Tickets to Rita Moreno are $35, $50, and $80 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center Box Office at 895-ARTS (2787) or by visiting pac.unlv.edu. Student rush tickets are $13 each and available one hour prior to each event, based on availability and with valid student I.D. UNLV faculty and staff discounts also are available. A $1 facilities fee, in addition to the ticket price, is charged on all Performing Arts Center tickets. The box office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Information about all of the season's performances can be found on the Performing Arts Center website, located at pac.unlv.edu.

Founded in 1976, the Performing Arts Center at UNLV continues to be Southern Nevada's premier performing arts venue. Located on the north end of the UNLV campus, the PAC hosts a variety of performances each year in three distinct series the Charles Vanda Master Series, New York Stage & Beyond Series, and the Classical Guitar Series. UNLV and Vegas PBS are graciously sponsoring the season.

UNLV Performing Arts Center Opens New York Stage and Beyond Series With Moreno - 10/3/2008

Tickets for Pittsburgh CLO's 'A Musical Christmas Carol' Go on Sale 10/3 - 10/3/2008

Pittsburgh CLO’s 17th annual holiday production of A Musical Christmas Carol will entertain audiences of all ages December 5-21 at the Byham Theater. Tickets go on sale Friday, October 3.

The Story

Featuring classic characters and a wealth of yuletide melodies, this traditional holiday tale is a must see! Audiences are sure to enjoy Ebenezer Scrooge’s ghostly adventure through the past, present and future as he finds redemption from a life of loneliness and greed – and just in time to celebrate the season. Young and old alike will rejoice in this heartwarming musical production.

Tickets

Tickets to A Musical Christmas Carol are affordably priced for family entertainment from $26.50 to $44.50 with half-priced tickets for children 3 – 14. Tickets are available online at www.pittsburghCLO.org, by calling (412) 456-6666 or at the Box Office at Theater Square.

Student Matinees

In addition to its public performances, Pittsburgh CLO is proud to present eight specially priced 10:00 am Student Matinees. With an informative study guide, behind-the-scenes video and captivating musical performances, A Musical Christmas Carol is both an educational theater experience and wonderful holiday celebration! Teachers who want to make A Musical Christmas Carol part of their lesson plans should call the Group Sales Hotline at (412) 325-1582 or email Groups@pittsburghCLO.org.

Special Group Ticket Programs

Pittsburgh CLO has carefully designed special group discounts and corporate ticket programs to accommodate any size group. Interested parties should call the Group Sales Hotline at (412) 325-1582 or email Groups@pittsburghCLO.org to learn more about these fantastic opportunities.

NoHo Arts Center Ensemble to Present 'Bush is Bad: Alaskan Beauty Queen Edition' Starting 10/3 - 10/3/2008

The multi-award-winning NoHo Arts Center Ensemble (NoHoAce) presents an new and updated production of the hilarious and scathing musical, BUSH IS BAD; ALASKAN BEAUTY QUEEN EDITION, concept, music and lyrics by Joshua Rosenblum, and directed by Jay Willick & James J. Mellon. BUSH IS BAD will preview on Thursday, October 2 at 8pm and will open on Friday, October 3 at 8pm and will run for six weeks through Sunday, November 16 at the NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd. (at Lankershim) in North Hollywood.

BUSH IS BAD: The Alaskan Beauty Queen Edition – is a new and updated version of the LA WEEKLY AWARD-WINNING production for Best Musical! All gloves are off in this satiric, musical skewering of the present White House administration. The updated version includes musical parodies of the newly minted Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin. It's for adults who like their politics raw and unedited.

Composer/Lyricist Joshua Rosenblum has been described variously as “the new Tom Lehrer, except he can’t sing,” “much funnier than I used to think he was,” and “about to find himself in serious trouble with the federal government.” His musical Fermat’s Last Tango received a critically acclaimed production at the York Theatre in 2000, and the DVD of the production has been screened at dozens of colleges and universities all over the world. When he is not attempting to bring down the federal government with musical satire, Rosenblum moonlights as a Broadway conductor, having led the orchestras for twelve Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. His specialty is flying vehicles (Miss Saigon and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). This fall, he takes a detour to Whoville, leading The Grinch at the Hilton Theatre. On the classical end, Rosenblum has served as guest conductor for the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and the American Repertory Ballet. As pianist, he has appeared with The New York Pops and The New York Chamber Symphony. He is also a music journalist, and has contributed over 300 CD and concert reviews to Opera News.

Jay Willick (Director) is an Associate Artistic Director and Board Member of Open At The Top. He has been on the boards in many of our premiere productions such as Bush is Bad, Elizabeth Rex (William Shakespeare), Jerusalem, and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. On the other side of the footlights, Jay has been a constant, piloting a play in every one of our popular 24 Hours of Madness productions.

James J. Mellon (Director/Choreographer) is the Artistic Director of The NoHo Arts Center Ensemble (NoHoAce), the resident theatre company of the Center. His extensive background in the entertainment industry covers theatre, television, film, recording and dance. As a Director/Choreographer, Mr. Mellon recently staged the Broadway bound productions of Pest Control; The Musical and the workshop production of The Thief, for Canum Entertainment. He directed the World Premiere of his musicals, Yo Ho Ho, A Pirates Christmas and Lizard, based on the novel by Dennis Covington, Dorian, a contemporary adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” at the prestigious Buell Theatre, the crown jewel of The Denver Theatre Center and the West Coast Premiere at The NoHo Arts Center. He adapted and directed the World Premiere of the award-winning musical, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and last season he directed the critically-acclaimed world premiere production of Feed, a play workshopped and developed by Open at the Top at The NoHo Arts Center for which he received an LA Weekly nomination for direction. He created for the Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. the highly acclaimed ‘expanded’ version of The Fantastiks, starring “Greater Tuna” stars Joe Sears and Jaston Williams. Mr. Mellon staged the New York workshop of his original musical, An Unfinished Song, as well as the subsequent Boston production at the Charles Playhouse and the West Coast Premiere at the Tiffany Theatre, which received a nomination for Musical of the Year. Mr. Mellon has been nominated for numerous Ovation Awards, an LA Weekly Award, a Garland Award and is the recipient of 4 ADA Awards for writing, directing and choreography.

ABOUT THE CAST AND DESIGN TEAM

The cast of BUSH IS BAD features (in alphabetical order): Roger Ainslie, Stefanie Black, Curtis C, Sabrina Miller, Kathryn Percival and Jonathan Zenz.

The production has assembled an award-winning design team the Set Design is by Lacey Anzelc. The Lighting Design is by Ovation Award-winner Luke Moyer (Feed, Elizabeth Rex). The Costume Design is by Curtis C and David Matwijkow (Feed, Jerusalem). The Sound Design is by Jonathan Zenz (Barnum, Elizabeth Rex). Musical tracks are by Scott DeTurk.

BUSH IS BAD will preview on Thursday, October 2 at 8pm and will open on Friday, October 3 at 8pm and will run for six weeks through Sunday, November 16. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm at the NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd. (at Lankershim) in the heart of North Hollywood. Ticket prices are $35.00 for all performances; $25 for previews. Student & Senior Tickets are $30. For tickets, please call 818-508-7101 or visit www.thenohoartscenter.com.

THE NOHO ARTS CENTER ENSEMBLE (NoHoACE – formerly OPEN AT THE TOP) was formed in 2004 by theatre veterans James J. Mellon and Kevin Bailey. NOHO ACE is the Center’s resident company and now numbers over 60 actors, directors and writers who passionately fulfill their vision statement, “Theatre for its own sake.” In its first season, OPEN AT THE TOP produced 2 World Premiere Musicals, THE GHOST & MRS. MUIR as well as the West Coast Premiere of the musical DORIAN, both parts of ANGELS IN AMERICA, the Los Angeles Premiere of Seth Greenland’s JERUSALEM, and 7 evenings of 24 HOURS OF MADNESS, whereby it produces six fifteen minute plays in 24 hours. Their second season brought the hit musical production of BARNUM, the critically acclaimed ELIZABETH REX and the World Premiere musical LIZARD. This past season OATT presented the World Premiere of FEED, a play written by OATT Founding Member Jim Lunsford and directed by Artistic Director James J. Mellon as well as presenting the West Coast Premiere of the New York hit musical revue, BUSH IS BAD, THE MUSICAL. In their first three years, OPEN AT THE TOP has received 17 Ovation Award nominations; 3 LADCC Award nominations; 2 Garland Awards and 10 Garland nominations; 2 LA WEEKLY Award nominations; 6 ADA Awards and 12 ADA Award nominations.

Theater Under The Stars Presents Gala With Down Syndrome Association - 10/4/2008

The Down Syndrome Association of Houston is proud to announce that the 2nd Annual DSAH, "Evening With The Stars" Gala, will be held on Saturday October 4, 2008 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Downtown Houston, benefitting the Down Syndrome Clinic of Houston at Texas Children's Hospital. The Clinic has been aiding local families since 2006 and at this year's gala a special performance will be given in recognition of all the organization has done to help children with Down Syndrome reach their full potential. In partnership with Theatre Under The Stars Humphrey's School of Musical Theatre, 10 children will perform a special Broadway Musical Review.

The Clinic is committed to the advancements in research and education directly related to the quality of life of children with Down Syndrome and has provided complete evaluations of hundreds of children over the past two years. In partnership with The Baylor College of Medicine, The Down Syndrome Association of Houston opened The Clinic in 2006, brining much needed support and innovative resources to Houston area families. Currently operating and full capacity and in great need of expansion, The Clinic relies on the annual DSAH Gala for continued funding and support. The "Evening With The Stars" Gala will feature a silent auction in addition to the children's performance. All funds raised will be dedicated solely to the advancement of The Clinic's mission. For more information about the DSAH visit http://www.dsah.net/ . Information about The Down Syndrome Clinic of Houston can be found at: http://www.texaschildrens.org/carecenters/DownSyndrome/Default.aspx.

'Earth Sucks' to Premiere at Art/Works Theatre Starting 10/4 - 10/4/2008

When a renegade Earth girl falls for a fugitive alien lead singer, their love - and their music - are all that stand between an evil pop diva and the destruction of the universe. Get ready for the Intergalactic Premiere of the hilarious, touching rock musical 'Earth Sucks,' with book, music and lyrics by Jonas Oppenheim. The "stellar" cast features Emily Stern, Nakia Syvonne, Lucas Revolution, Christopher Fairbanks, Alicyn Packard, Jennifer Fenten and Scott Palmason. The spaced-out aliens are luminaries from the L.A. music scene: Rawn Erickson II, John Hanson, Duncan Mackay and PJ Wyderka. Cosmically off-beat, Earth Sucks opens Saturday, October 4 and continues through November 2 at Art/Works Theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard's Theater Row.

Everything sucks for Earth teen Echo Bell: school, the mall, her rocker boyfriend, her missing mom, her distant dad. Echo dreams of touring the galaxy with an alien rock and roll band. It so happens that one such band is heading for Earth in their psychedelic space bus. They are fleeing Grace Jones-esque pop queen Ulinia Swords. Ulinia has enslaved their home planet with a song so catchy that once you hear it, you can never get it out of your head.

'Earth Sucks' is the brain-spawn of Santa Monica native Jonas Oppenheim, an award-winning playwright and artistic director of an anonymous guerrilla theater company that produces site-specific political comedies and workshops.

"I love astronomy and I love rock and roll," laughed Oppenheim, who wrote the play's irreverent score while playing in his former New York-based band, 'The What.' "It was time to try something different."

"I went to a reading of 'Earth Sucks' last November and fell in love with it as soon as I heard the first song," said Rick Ross, co-owner of L.A.-based record label Delicious Vinyl, who immediately signed on to produce alongside activist-attorney Joel Farkas (Combatants for Peace). "Jonas is a unique storyteller with a sweet sensibility and great musical taste. His work reminds me of the funniest scenes in a Mel Brooks film."

Agrees Farkas, "I enjoy that 'Earth Sucks' has important ideas that are conveyed in humor and song. This play takes you so many places, and they're all places you want to go."

Oppenheim has written and directed over 20 productions that have played in New York, Los Angeles and around the country. He was the recipient of the John Golden Playwriting Award for his play 'The Foul Stench of Death' and was the winner of the Peterson Emerging Playwright Competition for 'The Clown Family Murders.' His work received special recognition from the LA Weekly and has been discussed in Theatre Journal and in the annual Theater Special of Time Out New York. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts Department of Dramatic Writing, he is also a guest artist and teacher with the Virginia Avenue Project, which uses the arts to help at-risk youth realize their potential.

The creative team for 'Earth Sucks' includes Vocal Direction by Normandie Wilson; Choreography by Reed Farley and Gustine Fudickar; Set Design by Mel Horan; Lighting Design and Technical Direction by Cris Capp; Sound Design by Tim Boyce; and Costume Design by Arianna Pistilli. The Production Stage Manager is Rachel Wohlander, assisted by Jessica Wohlander. Joel Farkas and Rick Ross produce for Citizens of Earth Productions.

Performances of Earth Sucks take place Fridays & Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 7 pm, October 4 though November 2. Tickets are $25 general admission and $15 for students and seniors. Four previews are scheduled September 26 through October 3. Tickets to previews are $15.

Art/Works Theatre is located at 6569 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood (at Seward Ave., between Highland and Cahuenga). Art/Works is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. For reservations and information, call (323) 960-7744 or www.earthsucksmusical.com.

'Female of the Species' to Close 10/4 - 10/4/2008

Joanna Murray-Smith’s The Female of the Species will conclude its limited season at the Vaudeville Theatre on 4 October, prior to a planned US premiere. Directed by Roger Michell, The Female of the Species is designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting by James Whiteside and sound by Matt McKenzie. The Female of the Species is produced in the West End by David Richenthal and Mary Beth O’Connor, Nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer for Nimax Theatres.

Margot Mason is a literary giant on a deadline. When an uninvited fan arrives unexpectedly at her home, followed by her family and friends, Margot's feminist world begins to spiral out of control.

The cast is Eileen Atkins (Margot Mason), Paul Chahidi (Bryan Thornton), Anna Maxwell Martin (Molly Rivers), Con O’Neill (Frank), SopHie Thompson (Tess Thornton) and Sam Kelly (Theo Reynolds).

Roger Michell’s production marked the West End premiere for Joanna Murray-Smith’s The Female of the Species, which received its world premiere at the Melbourne Theatre Company in 2006.

To view The Female of the Species trailer and ‘Germaine Greer interview’ please follow this link: www.thefemaleofthespecies.co.uk

Comedy We Need: Progressive Political Humor with Scott Blakeman - 10/4/2008

New York's top political comedIan Scott Blakeman headlines an evening of progressive political humor with Barry Weintraub(Scampaign '08) and Katie Halper(Laughing Liberally). 8 pm. NY Society for Ethical Culture. 2 West 64th St.New York. nysec.org.

Meet Terrence McNally at La Mama's 'Coffeehouse Chronicles' 10/4 - 10/4/2008

Coffeehouse Chronicles, a series at La Mama, will present Plays by Terrence McNally on October 4, 2008 at 3:00pm

Born in 1939, Terrence McNally would have his first play produced in 1964 at the age of 25. Although several early comedies such as Next (1969) and The Ritz (1975) won McNally quite a bit of praise, it was not until later in his career that he would become truly successful with works such as Frankie and Johnny at the Claire de Lune (1987) for which he wrote the screen adaptation which starred Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer.

In 1990, McNally won an Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Miniseries or Special for Andre's Mother. A year later, he returned to the stage with Lips Together, Teeth Apart (1991), a study of the irrational fears that many people harbor towards homosexuals and victims of AIDS. In the play, two married couples spend the Fourth of July weekend at a summer house on Fire Island. The house has been willed to Sally Truman by her brother who has just died of AIDS, and it soon becomes evident that both couples are afraid to get in the pool, afraid that they will somehow contract AIDS by swimming in the same pool that Sally's brother used to swim in.

With Kiss of the Spider Woman (1992), McNally turned his attentions to the musical stage, collaborating with John Kander (composer) and Fred Ebb (lyricist) on a script which explores the complex relationship between two men caged together in a Latin American prison. Kiss of the Spider Woman won the 1993 Tony Award for "Best Book of a Musical." McNally also collaborated with Kander and Ebb on The Rink. He collaborated with Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens on Ragtime (1997), a musical adaptation of the novel by E.L. Doctorow, which tells the story of Coalhouse Walker Jr., a fiery black piano man who demands retribution when his Model T is destroyed by a mob of white troublemakers. The play also features such historical figures as Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington, J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford.

McNally's other plays include Love! Valour! Compassion! (1994) which examines the relationships of eight gay men and Master Class (1995), a character study of legendary opera soprano Maria Callas which won the 1996 Tony Award for "Best Play." McNally also dealt with Callas in The Lisbon Traviata (1989).

In addition to four Tony Awards, McNally has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Dramatists Guild Council since 1970 and has served as vice-president since 1981. He is considered one of the leading American dramatists still writing today.

For more informatoin please visit www.lamama.org

Love's Theme: Tribute To Barry White - 10/4/2008

A musical/Dance Tribute produced by Wabi Sabi Productions for barry White featuring "Lanar Singing Barry White. Introducing the Unlimited Love Singers, The Unlimited Love Band and The Unlimited Love Dancers. Two shows ONLY at 3 and 7:30PM at the Times Square Arts Center 300 W 43rd Street 5th floor Off Broadway Theater. Tickets call Box 24/7 212 352-3101 or groups call 917 716-6635. Tickets $35-$47.50 online go to www.theatermania.com visit producer at www.wabisabiproductions.com email for info at et34888@aol.com

DONT POST 13, A New Musical Set For 10/5 Opening On Broadw - 10/5/2008

13, A New Musical, with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years), will begin previews on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 and officially open at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W. 45th� Street) on Sunday, October 5, 2008.� Tickets go on sale today, Monday, July 28, 2008.� With a book by award winning children's author & songwriter Dan Elish ("Born Too Short, Confessions of an 8th Grade Basket Case") and Robert Horn (Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance), 13, A New Musical is directed by Tony Award nominee Jeremy Sams (The Sound of Music in the West End) and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Christopher Gattelli (South Pacific).�� The title track and a music video are now available at www.13themusical.com.� Full casting to be announced shortly.

Evan Goldman has it all � he's popular, has the perfect family and lives in the greatest city in the world � New York. That is until his parents get divorced and he's forced to move with his Mom� to Indiana.� Uprooted from his old life, he has to make new friends and somehow manoeuvre his way through the minefield of High School to become part of the "in-crowd".� The cast is comprised entirely of teenagers, but the stories that come to life are ageless, the emotions they explore timeless, the laughter and the memories they provide priceless.� Featuring an explosive score by Tony Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown, 13, A New Musical is about fitting in and standing out.

The production features scenic & costume design by Tony Nominee David Farley (2008's Sunday in the Park with George), lighting design by Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt (The Coast of Utopia Part I) and sound design by Jon Weston (The Color Purple).

13, A New Musical earned the LA Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Production and Best Musical Score for its production at The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles (December 22, 2006 � February 18, 2007) and enjoyed a successful run at Goodspeed's Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, CT (May 8, 2008 � June 9, 2008.� The musical is produced on Broadway by Bob Boyett, Roger Berlind, Tim Levy, Stacey Mindich, Ken Davenport, Broadway Across America, Jane Berg�re, Carl Moellenberg, Ted Hartley, Sharon Karmazin, in association with The Araca Group.

Tickets for 13, A New Musical go on sale today, Monday, July 28, 2008 and the only other number you need to know is Telecharge.com: (212) 239-6200.� For more information and a free download of the title track, visit: www.13themusical.com.��

Jason Robert Brown (Music and Lyrics) has been hailed as "one of Broadway's smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim" (Philadelphia Inquirer), and his "extraordinary, jubilant theater music " (Chicago Tribune) has been heard all over the world, whether in one of the hundreds of productions of his musicals every year or in his own incendiary live performances. The New York Times refers to Jason as "a leading member of a new generation of composers who embody high hopes for the American musical." Jason is the composer and lyricist of the musical, The Last Five Years, which was cited as one of Time Magazine's 10 Best of 2001 and won Drama Desk Awards for Best Music and Best Lyrics. Jason won a 1999 Tony Award for his score to Parade, a musical written with Alfred Uhry and directed by Harold Prince, which premiered at Lincoln Center Theatre in December 1998, and subsequently won both the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best New Musical. Parade was also presented on a national tour in 2000, which Jason conducted. Jason's first musical, Songs for a New World, a theatrical song cycle directed by Daisy Prince, played Off-Broadway at the WPA Theatre in the fall of 1995, and has since been seen in more than two hundred productions around the world. 13 premiered in January 2007 at Los Angeles's Mark Taper Forum and received the LA Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Production and Best Musical Score.�� His next project is Honeymoon in Vegas, a musical adaptation of the 1992 film, written with Andrew Bergman. The Trumpet of the Swan, a piece for narrator and orchestra adapted by Marsha Norman, will premiere this winter at the Kennedy Center.� Jason is the winner of the 2002 Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyrics and the 1996 Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Foundation Award for Musical Theatre. Jason's songs, including the cabaret standard "Stars and the Moon," have been performed and recorded by Audra McDonald, Betty Buckley, Karen Akers, Ren�e Fleming, Philip Quast, Jon Hendricks and many others.�� Jason's first solo album, "Wearing Someone Else's Clothes," featuring his band The Caucasian Rhythm Kings, was named one of Amazon.com's best of 2005, and is available from Sh-K-Boom Records. His collaboration with singer lauren kennedy, "Songs of Jason Robert Brown," is available on PS Classics. Jason's piano sonata, "Mr. Broadway" was commissioned and premiered by Anthony De Mare at Carnegie Hall. Jason was a Tony Award nominee for his contributions to the score of Urban Cowboy.� He has also contributed music to the hit Nickelodeon TV series "The Wonder Pets".� His scores are published by Hal Leonard. Jason currently teaches musical theater performance and composition at the University of Southern California.

Dan Elish (Book) is the author of seven novels including "Born Too Short, Confessions of an 8th Grade Basket Case" (Named New York Public Library "Book for the Teenage 2003" and a "Young Adult Choice for the International Reading Association, 2004), most recently of "The Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks" (for children) and "The Misadventures of Justin Hearnfeld" (for grown-up types).� Dan is also the writer of many non-fiction books for young readers, scripts for children's TV (notably PBS's "Cyberchase"), and music and lyrics for several musicals.� He has received fellowships and scholarships to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and is a member of the Dramatist Guild.

Robert Horn (Book) wrote the book for Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance.� He is a veteran of television and film, having written and produced such classic television shows and pilots as "Designing Women," "Living Single," and "High Society."� Currently in development with the Sony pilot "Friends in Low Places" under a two year production deal.� Film credits include "Good Advice" for Artisan Picture and "Wild Life" for Disney Animated Features.��

Jeremy Sams (Director) Broadway- As director: Noises Off. As lyricist: Amour (also at Goodspeed), Ghetto. As bookwriter: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. As composer: Arcadia and Some Americans Abroad at Lincoln Center. As translator: Indiscretions. Other work as director includes: Donkeys' Years; Little Britain Live; The Sound of Music (still running at the London Palladium); Stephen Sondheim's Passion; Two Pianos, Four Hands; Spend Spend Spend; Benefactors; Maria Friedman by Special Arrangement (all London West End); Marat/Sade; Wild Oats; Noises Off (Royal National Theatre). Jeremy has also worked extensively as a composer, having written over fifty scores for theatre, TV, and film, ranging from "Persuasion" (BBC, BAFTA Award), "The Mother" (BBC), and "Enduring Love" (Pathe, Ivor Novello Award for Best Film Score 2004) to Wind in the Willows at the Royal National Theatre, Old Vic, and worldwide. Jeremy also translates plays and operas from a variety of languages; operas include The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Cosi Fan Tutte, The Merry Widow, La Boheme, The Force of Destiny (all variously at ENO, Covent Garden, and elsewhere), L'Etoile (NYCO) and The Threepenny Opera (Donmar Warehouse). Play translations include The Miser, Mary Stuart, Les Parents Terrible (RNT), Becket (West End), The Park (RSC). Future plans include The King and I (London Albert Hall) and a "new" Barque opera for the Metropolitan Opera.

Christopher Gattelli (Choreographer): South Pacific (Tony and Outer Critics Circle Award noms.). Broadway: Sunday in the Park With George, The Ritz, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, High Fidelity. West End: Sunday in the Park with George. Off-Broadway: Altar Boyz (Lortel, Callaway Awards; Drama Desk nom.); Bat Boy: The Musical! (Lortel Award); tick, tick�BOOM!; 10 Million Miles; Adrift in Macao; I Love You Because; How to Save the World�. Favorites: Silence! The Musical, Chess concert with Josh Groban, Hair concert with Jennifer Hudson, "Rosie O'Donnell Show" (resident choreographer for three seasons). Upcoming: Godspell and directing the first Muppet musical, Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas.

David Farley (Scenic and Costume Designer) won the Olivier Award and the Evening Standard Award, with Timothy Bird, for the West End production, and he also designed the Chocolate Factory's Little Shop of Horrors (also West End) and their recent sellout production of La Cage aux Folles (set) as well as tick, tick�BOOM! (also Los Angeles). Other productions include Sweeney Todd, The Seagull, Macbeth, Sexual Perversity in Chicago and Dealer's Choice in leading UK theatres.

Brian MacDevitt (Lighting Designer). NYC: A Catered Affair, The Seagull, The Receptionist, Cymbeline, The Coast of Utopia Part I, Inherit the Wind, The Pod Project w/Nancy Bannon, The Vertical Hour, The Pillowman, The Color Purple, Into the Woods, Urinetown, Fiddler�, Nine, The Invention of Love, Side Show, Master Class, et al. Dance: ABT, Tere O'Connor Dance, Lar Lubovitch, et al. Recipient of Tonys, Obie, Bessie, Outer Critics, Hewes Award, Drama Desk, et al. Film: Cradle Will Rock. Faculty: Purchase College.

Jon Weston (Sound Designer). Broadway: Les Miserables; The Color Purple; The Glass Menagerie; Caroline, or Change (AUDELCO Award); Nine; Imaginary Friends; Thoroughly Modern Millie; It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues; On the Town; Company in concert at Lincoln Center; Man of La Mancha. Other theatre: A Little Night Music (L.A. Drama Critics Award), Blue Man Group.

13, A New Musical, Set For 10/5 Opening On Broadway - 10/5/2008

13, A New Musical, with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years), will begin previews on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 and officially open at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W. 45th� Street) on Sunday, October 5, 2008.� Tickets go on sale today, Monday, July 28, 2008.� With a book by award winning children's author & songwriter Dan Elish ("Born Too Short, Confessions of an 8th Grade Basket Case") and Robert Horn (Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance), 13, A New Musical is directed by Tony Award nominee Jeremy Sams (The Sound of Music in the West End) and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Christopher Gattelli (South Pacific).�� The title track and a music video are now available at www.13themusical.com. Full casting to be announced shortly.

Evan Goldman has it all � he's popular, has the perfect family and lives in the greatest city in the world � New York. That is until his parents get divorced and he's forced to move with his Mom� to Indiana.� Uprooted from his old life, he has to make new friends and somehow manoeuvre his way through the minefield of High School to become part of the "in-crowd".� The cast is comprised entirely of teenagers, but the stories that come to life are ageless, the emotions they explore timeless, the laughter and the memories they provide priceless.� Featuring an explosive score by Tony Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown, 13, A New Musical is about fitting in and standing out.

The production features scenic & costume design by Tony Nominee David Farley (2008's Sunday in the Park with George), lighting design by Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt (The Coast of Utopia Part I) and sound design by Jon Weston (The Color Purple).

13, A New Musical earned the LA Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Production and Best Musical Score for its production at The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles (December 22, 2006 � February 18, 2007) and enjoyed a successful run at Goodspeed's Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, CT (May 8, 2008 � June 9, 2008.� The musical is produced on Broadway by Bob Boyett,Roger Berlind, Tim Levy, Stacey Mindich, Ken Davenport, Broadway Across America,Jane Berg�re, Carl Moellenberg, Sharon Karmazin, in association with The Araca Group.

Tickets for 13, A New Musical go on sale today, Monday, July 28, 2008 and the only other number you need to know is Telecharge.com: (212) 239-6200.� For more information and a free download of the title track, visit: www.13themusical.com.��

Jason Robert Brown (Music and Lyrics) has been hailed as "one of Broadway's smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim" (Philadelphia Inquirer), and his "extraordinary, jubilant theater music " (Chicago Tribune) has been heard all over the world, whether in one of the hundreds of productions of his musicals every year or in his own incendiary live performances. The New York Times refers to Jason as "a leading member of a new generation of composers who embody high hopes for the American musical." Jason is the composer and lyricist of the musical, The Last Five Years, which was cited as one of Time Magazine's 10 Best of 2001 and won Drama Desk Awards for Best Music and Best Lyrics. Jason won a 1999 Tony Award for his score to Parade, a musical written with Alfred Uhry and directed by Harold Prince, which premiered at Lincoln Center Theatre in December 1998, and subsequently won both the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best New Musical. Parade was also presented on a national tour in 2000, which Jason conducted. Jason's first musical, Songs for a New World, a theatrical song cycle directed by Daisy Prince, played Off-Broadway at the WPA Theatre in the fall of 1995, and has since been seen in more than two hundred productions around the world. 13 premiered in January 2007 at Los Angeles's Mark Taper Forum and received the LA Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Production and Best Musical Score.�� His next project is Honeymoon in Vegas, a musical adaptation of the 1992 film, written with Andrew Bergman. The Trumpet of the Swan, a piece for narrator and orchestra adapted by Marsha Norman, will premiere this winter at the Kennedy Center.� Jason is the winner of the 2002 Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyrics and the 1996 Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Foundation Award for Musical Theatre. Jason's songs, including the cabaret standard "Stars and the Moon," have been performed and recorded by Audra McDonald, Betty Buckley, Karen Akers, Ren�e Fleming, Philip Quast, Jon Hendricks and many others.�� Jason's first solo album, "Wearing Someone Else's Clothes," featuring his band The Caucasian Rhythm Kings, was named one of Amazon.com's best of 2005, and is available from Sh-K-Boom Records. His collaboration with singer lauren kennedy, "Songs of Jason Robert Brown," is available on PS Classics. Jason's piano sonata, "Mr. Broadway" was commissioned and premiered by Anthony De Mare at Carnegie Hall. Jason was a Tony Award nominee for his contributions to the score of Urban Cowboy.� He has also contributed music to the hit Nickelodeon TV series "The Wonder Pets".� His scores are published by Hal Leonard. Jason currently teaches musical theater performance and composition at the University of Southern California.

Dan Elish (Book) is the author of seven novels including "Born Too Short, Confessions of an 8th Grade Basket Case" (Named New York Public Library "Book for the Teenage 2003" and a "Young Adult Choice for the International Reading Association, 2004), most recently of "The Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks" (for children) and "The Misadventures of Justin Hearnfeld" (for grown-up types).� Dan is also the writer of many non-fiction books for young readers, scripts for children's TV (notably PBS's "Cyberchase"), and music and lyrics for several musicals.� He has received fellowships and scholarships to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and is a member of the Dramatist Guild.

Robert Horn (Book) wrote the book for Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance.� He is a veteran of television and film, having written and produced such classic television shows and pilots as "Designing Women," "Living Single," and "High Society."� Currently in development with the Sony pilot "Friends in Low Places" under a two year production deal.� Film credits include "Good Advice" for Artisan Picture and "Wild Life" for Disney Animated Features.��

Jeremy Sams (Director) Broadway- As director: Noises Off. As lyricist: Amour (also at Goodspeed), Ghetto. As bookwriter: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. As composer: Arcadia and Some Americans Abroad at Lincoln Center. As translator: Indiscretions. Other work as director includes: Donkeys' Years; Little Britain Live; The Sound of Music (still running at the London Palladium); Stephen Sondheim's Passion; Two Pianos, Four Hands; Spend Spend Spend; Benefactors; Maria Friedman by Special Arrangement (all London West End); Marat/Sade; Wild Oats; Noises Off (Royal National Theatre). Jeremy has also worked extensively as a composer, having written over fifty scores for theatre, TV, and film, ranging from "Persuasion" (BBC, BAFTA Award), "The Mother" (BBC), and "Enduring Love" (Pathe, Ivor Novello Award for Best Film Score 2004) to Wind in the Willows at the Royal National Theatre, Old Vic, and worldwide. Jeremy also translates plays and operas from a variety of languages; operas include The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Cosi Fan Tutte, The Merry Widow, La Boheme, The Force of Destiny (all variously at ENO, Covent Garden, and elsewhere), L'Etoile (NYCO) and The Threepenny Opera (Donmar Warehouse). Play translations include The Miser, Mary Stuart, Les Parents Terrible (RNT), Becket (West End), The Park (RSC). Future plans include The King and I (London Albert Hall) and a "new" Barque opera for the Metropolitan Opera.

Christopher Gattelli (Choreographer): South Pacific (Tony and Outer Critics Circle Award noms.). Broadway: Sunday in the Park With George, The Ritz, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, High Fidelity. West End: Sunday in the Park with George. Off-Broadway: Altar Boyz (Lortel, Callaway Awards; Drama Desk nom.); Bat Boy: The Musical! (Lortel Award); tick, tick�BOOM!; 10 Million Miles; Adrift in Macao; I Love You Because; How to Save the World�. Favorites: Silence! The Musical, Chess concert with Josh Groban, Hair concert with Jennifer Hudson, "Rosie O'Donnell Show" (resident choreographer for three seasons). Upcoming: Godspell and directing the first Muppet musical, Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas.

David Farley (Scenic and Costume Designer) won the Olivier Award and the Evening Standard Award, with Timothy Bird, for the West End production, and he also designed the Chocolate Factory's Little Shop of Horrors (also West End) and their recent sellout production of La Cage aux Folles (set) as well as tick, tick�BOOM! (also Los Angeles). Other productions include Sweeney Todd, The Seagull, Macbeth, Sexual Perversity in Chicago and Dealer's Choice in leading UK theatres.

Brian MacDevitt (Lighting Designer). NYC: A Catered Affair, The Seagull, The Receptionist, Cymbeline, The Coast of Utopia Part I, Inherit the Wind, The Pod Project w/Nancy Bannon, The Vertical Hour, The Pillowman, The Color Purple, Into the Woods, Urinetown, Fiddler�, Nine, The Invention of Love, Side Show, Master Class, et al. Dance: ABT, Tere O'Connor Dance, Lar Lubovitch, et al. Recipient of Tonys, Obie, Bessie, Outer Critics, Hewes Award, Drama Desk, et al. Film: Cradle Will Rock. Faculty: Purchase College.

Jon Weston (Sound Designer). Broadway: Les Miserables; The Color Purple; The Glass Menagerie; Caroline, or Change (AUDELCO Award); Nine; Imaginary Friends; Thoroughly Modern Millie; It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues; On the Town; Company in concert at Lincoln Center; Man of La Mancha. Other theatre: A Little Night Music (L.A. Drama Critics Award), Blue Man Group.�

Photo of Mr. Brown Courtesy of Jason Robert Brown�

Production photos courtest of www.13themusical.com

Signature Extends 'First Breeze of Summer' by Popular Demand - 10/5/2008

Signature Theatre Company’s (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) announced today that their production of THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER has been extended by popular demand one week from Sunday, September 28th to Sunday, October 5th. THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER, by Leslie Lee and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, is the first production of the 2008-2009 season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC). The show began performances on August 5th and opened August 21st at the Peter Norton Space located at 555 West 42nd Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues).

The cast includes Harvy Blanks (Tabletop), Yaya DaCosta (Honeydripper), Sandra Daley (Defying Gravity), Crystal Anne Dickinson (Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne”), Brandon Dirden (Prelude to a Kiss), Jason Dirden (Two Trains Running), Quincy Dunn-Baker (Romeo and Juliet), Marva Hicks (Caroline, or Change), John Earl Jelks (Radio Golf), Tuck Milligan (Book of Days), Gilbert Owuor (The Brothers Size), Brenda Pressley (Dreamgirls), and Keith Randolph Smith (Come Back, Little Sheba) and Tony® and Emmy® Award winner Leslie Uggams.

Tickets for the extension week (September 30th – October 5th) will be $65. Through the Signature Ticket Initiative, all regularly-priced tickets ($65) are available for $20 for the initial 8-week run of each production through Signature’s 20th Anniversary Season (2010-2011). The schedule for the extension week will be Tue at 7pm, Wed-Sat at 8pm, and Wed, Sat and Sun at 2pm.

Tickets are available via signaturetheatre.org or via phone (212) 244-PLAY (7529) and in person at the Signature Theatre Box Office (555 West 42nd Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues).

The production features original music and music direction by Bill Sims, Jr., set design by Michael Carnahan; costume design by Karen Perry; lighting design by Marcus Doshi ; sound design by David Margolin Lawson; fight direction by Thomas Schall; and casting by Telsey + Company. Winnie Y. Lok is production stage manager.

The original production of THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER, directed by NEC founder Douglas Turner Ward, received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play during its 1975 run at Broadway’s Palace Theatre. The show takes place over the course of one sweltering weekend in June, as the struggles of three generations of the Edwards family collide. Gremmar (Leslie Uggams), the family matriarch, looks back on her past and considers its legacy for her children and grandchildren as they confront the choices that will define their futures. Leslie Lee’s Obie Award-winning play is a timeless portrait of family bonds and coming of age.

Signature Theatre is proud to be presenting the works of the historic NEC. The company has an extensive theatre training program and in its 40 year history has produced more than two hundred new plays. The NEC’s distinguished alumni include writers such as Stephen Carter, Lonne Elder, Charles Fuller, Leslie Lee and Samm-Art Williams, and actors Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Esther Rolle and Denzel Washington.

Signature’s 2008-2009 season will be an examination of a body of work from the historic Negro Ensemble Company’s collective of writers, whose contributions have helped shape America’s theatrical heritage. Ruben Santiago-Hudson will serve as Associate Artist for the season, which will also include Samm-Art Williams’ HOME, Charles Fuller’s ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, and a staged reading of Douglas Turner Ward’s DAY OF ABSENCE.

Through The Signature Ticket Initiative, which seeks to make great theatre accessible to the broadest possible audience, all regularly-priced single tickets ($65) are underwritten and are available for $20 every performance for the entire season, during a show’s initial run. The Signature Ticket Initiative continues through Signature’s 20th Anniversary Season (2010-2011).

The Signature Ticket Initiative is made possible by the lead sponsorship of Time Warner Inc. Generous support for The Signature Ticket Initiative is provided by Margot Adams, in memory of Mason Adams.

Support for the Negro Ensemble Company Season is provided by American Express.

2008-2009 Signature subscriptions are currently on sale. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit signaturetheatre.org or call (212) 244-PLAY (7529).

Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell to Receive Human Rights Awards - 10/5/2008

Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, named for the legendary gay activist Jim Owles, will present awards to nightlife activists and Broadway stars at their 'Salute To Nightlife' on Sunday, October 5th at 9pm at Chelsea's Elmo's Restaurant, 156 7th Ave. Michelle Clunie ('Queer as Folk') and Nick Kenkel ('Legally Blonde') will host, with a performance by singer/songwriter Scottie Gage.

Club President Allen Roskoff said in a statement, "The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club is proud to honor both Ryan J. Davis, for his advocacy and organizing efforts to protect and expand nightlife, and Chris Ryan, who provided a countless number of LGBT people venues to meet each other and keep us together as a community. Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell are receiving Human Rights Awards for their work on behalf of the LGBT community. Bowen and Bell are also being honored for their smash hit Broadway musical, [title of show] which is one of the most important gay written and produced musicals in many years."

Davis conceived & directed New York Musical Theater Festival 06's 'White Noise,' which has been announced for Broadway in 2009. His new musical 'Street Lights' recently premiered in a benefit for Barack Obama at Off-Broadway's The Zipper Theater.

The event is a celebration of the club's new nightlife committee, which was established to protect and expand New York City nightlife. For further comments or questions, please contact Allen Roskoff, President of Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, at aroskoff@aol.com or 212.741.3677 .

Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club presents 'Salute To Nightlife' on Sunday, October 5th at 9 pm will take place at Elmo's Restaurant, 156 7th Avenue (Between 19th and 20th). Tickets are $30 at the door and reservations can be made by calling 212.741.3677 or e-mailing jimowlesldc@aol.com.

Photo Credit Peter James Zielinski

'What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling' Extends at Atlantic Through 10/5 - 10/5/2008

The world premiere of David Pittu's WHATS THAT SMELL: THE MUSIC OF JACOB STERLING will now have longer lasting scent. Following opening to critical acclaim last week, the nearly sold out comedy with music will extend through Sunday, October 5 Off-Broadway at Atlantic Stage 2.

The new comedy, conceived by Pittu and co-directed with Atlantic Artistic Director Neil Pepe, will begin previews Tuesday, September 2nd, open Wednesday, September 10th, and play a limited engagement through Sunday, September 28th, 2008 Off-Broadway at Atlantic Stage 2 (330 West 16th Street). The three person ensemble includes Brandon Goodman, Helene Yorke and Matt Schock

WHAT'S THAT SMELL: THE MUSIC OF JACOB STERLING is a satire with music that charts the career of eternally up-and-coming (and fictitious) musical theater composer Jacob Sterling (Pittu). A rare, up close and personal visit with an artist of questionable gifts who performs from his songbook and shares his human struggle to keep musical theater alive and well in the 21st century. Bartlett will play the host of a musical theater talk show who interviews Pittu's character.

The "comedy with vocal selections" marks the first production of Atlantic Stage 2's 2008-2009 season at its second stage theater, where two new works are staged each year. Last season, the hit world premiere of Academy Award® winning film maker Ethan Coen's Almost an Evening, directed by Neil Pepe, played a sold out engagement at Stage 2 prior to a commercial Off-Broadway transfer. Playwright Annie Baker also made her acclaimed Off-Broadway debut with the world premiere of Body Awareness, directed by Karen Kohlhaas.

WHAT'S THAT SMELL: THE MUSIC OF JACOB STERLING will play Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00pm, Saturday matinees at 2:00pm and Sundays at 3:00pm. All tickets are $35.00 and available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 (www.ticketcentral.com).

ATLANTIC STAGE 2 is located at 330 West 16th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues). For membership information, wheelchair seating, and/or group sales call Ticketcentral at 212-279-4200 or visit www.ticketcentral.com.

www.atlantictheater.org

New Reperatory Theatre Kicks off Season With 'Guttenberg! The Musical' - 10/5/2008

New Repertory Theatre is pleased to be kicking off its third season of Downstage @ New Rep, Up Close, On The Edge, in the Black Box Theater with Scott Brown and Anthony King’s zany production of Gutenberg! The Musical. Downstage @ New Rep will continue to present programming that is new, edgy, and controversial to audiences eager for a thought-provoking theatrical experience. Gutenberg! The Musical opens for the press on Sunday, October 5, 2008 at 3:00pm and plays through October 26, 2008 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in the Black Box Theater.

“Downstage @ New Rep is a wonderful way for us to reach a younger audience” says Rick Lombardo, Producing Artistic Director. “This hilarious musical will help us continue to attract and retain a more diverse audience to the New Rep family.”

Gutenberg! The Musical will be directed and choreographed by Stephen Nachamie, who directed last season’s Downstage @ New Rep hit tick, tick… BOOM! Todd C. Gordon is another New Rep returning favorite and will be the musical director.

Bud and Doug have written the next great American musical, or at least they think they have. When the opportunity to audition for financial backers comes up, the two men, excited by the possibility of a Broadway run, earnestly and hilariously perform all the songs and play all the parts in their ridiculous, historical epic, based on the inventors of the printing press. One bright idea, two men with gumption, and lots of hats make for one of the silliest musicals you’ll see this year.

New Repertory Theatre presents provocative and intelligent works of both established and emerging playwrights in an intimate setting that involves and engages the audience. New Rep has earned a reputation for dynamic productions that honor the writers and feature talented professional actors from the New England theatre community as well as guest artists from around the U.S. New Rep has received Elliot Norton Awards and IRNE Awards for outstanding acting, scenic design, direction, and production. Programming for New Repertory Theatre is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The Artists

Stephen Nachamie (director and choreographer) returns to New Rep after last season's tick, tick…BOOM! New York: Into the Woods (Cap21/NYU); Torch Song Trilogy (starring Sirius Radios' Seth Rudetsky); Faraway Bayou (in development); and Like You Like It! (NAMT, Choreographer- NYMF). Assistant Director: Broadway Concerts of Funny Girl (with Peter Gallagher and Whoopi Goldberg) and Chess (starring Josh Groban). Regional: 1776 (Olney Theatre Center); Dreamgirls (WV Public Theatre); The King and I (Gretna Theatre); Italian American Reconcilliation and Hank Williams: Lost Highway (Depot Theatre); The Fantasticks (Emelin Theatre); Miss Saigon and The Full Monty (Maine State); Driving Miss Daisy, The Sunshine Boys, and Urinetown (Barnstormers Theatre); Grease (Granbury Opera House and Courtyard Playhouse, TX); Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Hedwig (Capital Playhouse); Joseph… and Jesus Christ Superstar (WV Public Theatre); Cabaret (TriArts); Chicago (Seacoast Rep); A Chorus Line (Two National Tours and Several Regional Productions); West Side Story (Italian Tour, NC Theatre, Gateway Playhouse); …Charlie Brown (Emelin and Cherry County Playhouse); Beehive, and The World Goes ‘Round (Seven Angels Theatre); Tommy and Evita (Pittsburgh Musical Theatre, Gateway Playhouse); as well as many industrials and new works in development.

Austin Ku (Bud) makes his New Rep debut. Mr. Ku was last seen in Adrift in Macao at The Lyric Stage as “Tempura” opposite Brendan McNab’s “Rick Shaw.” New England area credits include: soloing this summer with both the Boston Pops Orchestra (Bernstein Tribute) and the Great Waters Pops Orchestra (Best of Broadway, Jazz and Hollywood); performances with the NorthEast Shakespeare Ensemble (Much Ado About Nothing); and the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center (Miss Saigon). Mr. Ku has extensive performing experience from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Brendan McNab (Doug) lives outside of Boston, where he recently performed as Rick Shaw in Adrift in Macao at The Lyric Stage Company and before that as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady at Fiddlehead Theater. Other credits include: Side by Side by Sondheim (New Rep); Leo Frank in Parade and Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman (SpeakEasy); See What I Wanna See and 1776 (Lyric Stage); Pal Joey (Stoneham Theatre); A Grand Night for Singing (Gloucester Stage); and The Underpants (Foothills). He has also been a featured soloist with the Boston Pops and is the recipient of the IRNE Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Todd C. Gordon (music direction) Having served as Music Director for New Rep's Dessa Rose, Side by Side by Sondheim, The Wild Party (IRNE nominee, Best Music Direction), Ragtime (IRNE Award, Best Music Direction), Into the Woods (IRNE Award, Best Music Direction), The Threepenny Opera (IRNE Nominee, Best Music Direction), and music supervisor for According to Tip, Todd is thrilled to be working with the score of Gutenberg! The Musical. He was seen as the onstage pianist for New Rep's Bill W. and Dr. Bob and has worked in the New England area on productions for Lyric Stage, Publick Theatre, Charles Playhouse, Gloucester Stage, Stuart Street Playhouse/Second Stage, Stoneham Theatre, and Emerson Stage.

New Repertory Theatre Kicks off Season With 'Guttenberg! The Musical' - 10/5/2008

Christopher Wheeldon to Host Free Dress Rehersal of Newest Work Sunday 10/5 - 10/5/2008

Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon will hold a free dress rehearsal at City Center on Sunday, October 5 at noon. Working with dancers from the Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, which will have opened its second New York season on October 1, Mr. Wheeldon will discuss and demonstrate the process by which new works are created.

Pre-performance talks are a regular feature of Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company performances, which strives to demystify ballet and at the same time help cultivate a new generation of dance audiences.

Tickets will be given out at 11:00am. Coffee and pastries will be available for purchase. The rehearsal is open to the public; it is not necessary to have a ticket to the afternoon matinee to attend the rehearsal. The theater doors will open at 11:30pm; seating is limited (each person on line is entitled to 4 tickets each) and admission is on a first come, first served basis.

Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company was formed by Christopher Wheeldon in 2007 to broaden the scope of contemporary classical ballet by marrying dance, music, visual art and design. The company is Guest Resident Company at both New York City Center and at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London. Christopher Wheeldon is Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Visit www.nycitycenter.org for more information.

Christopher Wheeldon to Host Free Dress Rehearsal of Newest Work Sunday 10/5 - 10/5/2008

River View Players Weekly Artist Presentation Series (Free Event) - 10/5/2008

A weekly artist development series called "Sunday Services" hosted Every Sunday from 4-6pm at the upscale Cafe Largo Reasaurant Lounge located at 3387 Broadway at 137th street . Take the #1 Train to 137th street. We do play readings, short fil screenings, Literary readings, Poetry and other performing arts presentations. FREE To the general public. for info call 917 716-6635 or email at info@riverviewplayers.com

The Rapper and The Poet: Nightmares on Dream Street - 10/5/2008

A Musical/Poetry event featuring a Poetry Performance piece between Rapper/Activist SHAKKA and Social Poet KARAST. There will be 4 guest musical poets exploring life through spoken word and music presented by DuEwa, SMR, Kucha Born and Priest a quartet of powerful spoken word artist who's approach goews from the spiritual to the Intellectual realm. Highly entertaining and different from the usual poetry slams and open mics. Very refreshing. Tickets only $13-$15. ONE Show only produced by wabi sabi productions at the Times Square Arts Center 300 W 43rd Street 5th floor Off Broadway Theater. 4PM show. their will be one brief intermission. Tickets call Box 24/7 212 352-3101 or groups call 917 716-6635. online go to www.theatermania.com visit producer at www.wabisabiproductions.com email for info at et34888@aol.com

Porter, Espinosa and More to Perform at 'Broadway in South Africa' Benefit Concert - 10/6/2008

Broadway In South Africa: The Concert is a star-studded evening that will feature world-premiere songs created by award-winning Broadway composers, including Grammy Award winner Henry Krieger, performed by Broadway stars such as Eden Espinosa and Billy Porter. This benefit concert will raise money for the January 2009 South African initiative of a new, not-for-profit organization called Broadway In South Africa (BSA), and will take place on Monday, October 6, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Peter Norton Symphony Space, located at 2537 Broadway at 95th Street.

BSA commissioned composers Jeff Blumenkrantz, Bobby Cronin, Jonathan Reid Gealt, Adam Gwon, Michael John LaChiusa, Henry Krieger, Steve Marzullo, Bill Russell, Jeremy Schonfeld and Georgia Stitt to create music based on poems, stories and drawings created by African students.

The new works will be performed by Sebastian Arcelus (Jersey Boys), Stanley Bahorek (Spelling Bee), Sean Bradford (The Lion King), Tituss Burgess (The Little Mermaid), Eden Espinosa (Rent), Renee Elise Goldsberry (“One Life To Live”), Mandy Gonzalez (In the Heights), Frankie James Grande (Mamma Mia), Adam Kantor (Rent), Kendra Kassebaum (Wicked), Norm Lewis (The Little Mermaid), Julia Murney (Wicked),

Billy Porter (Ghetto Superstar), Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde) and Lisa Nicole Wilkerson (The Lion King).

The concert’s opening act features South African performers Bongi Duma, Ron Kunene, Tsidi Manye, S’bu Ngema and Mpume Sikakane, all from The Lion King on Broadway.

The concert will also showcase Broadway dancers Gabriel Croom (The Lion King), Timmothy Erlich (Rent national tour), Kenway Kua (Wicked), Ray Mercer (The Lion King), Brandon O'Neal (The Lion King), Luis Salgado (In the Heights), Rickey Tripp (In the Heights) and Phillip Turner (The Lion King) performing a powerful modern dance piece with traditional African movement, choreographed by Charles O. Anderson, artistic director and founder of Dance Theater X.

The evening’s director is Jen Bender (The Lion King) and music director is Brad Haak (Mary Poppins).

Following the performance, VIP ticket holders will have an opportunity to mingle with the performers at a post-show reception.

Individual tickets can be purchased for $20 (for those under 25 years of age), $60 and $100, and are available by calling Symphony Space at 212.864.5400 or visiting www.symphonyspace.org. VIP sponsor packages range in price from $500 to $5,000, and are available by contacting Sean Bradford, BSA founding member, at artforanewworld@gmail.com or 917.370.6915, or by visiting www.broadwayinsouthafrica.com.

All proceeds from this concert will go to Broadway in South Africa. Make non-concert donations at www.fracturedatlas.org/donate/1818. For more information on the program, visit www.broadwayinsouthafrica.com.

About the program: Broadway in South Africa (BSA) is a cooperative nonprofit venture created by professional working actors, dancers, singers, directors, musicians and producers from New York City – all brought together by their desire to affect change in the world through art and, themselves, learn from the potential of bridging two different cultures artistically. As BSA’s deep philosophy is that all children deserve the opportunity to explore their own creative potential, and should never be denied exposure to art because of their life situations, the organization’s aim is to create cross-cultural exchange between professional artists and youth in need via workshop and performance initiatives in South Africa.

For the 2009 inaugural year of the annual South African initiative, 16 professional New York artists will spend 10 days in South Africa. They will conduct a four-day arts intensive for underprivileged youth that include acting, dance, music and playwriting workshops. Approximately 50 students, ages eight to 13, will participate. Performance will be held at Baxter Theatre or Artscape in Cape Town, Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg and the Agape Orphanage and other TBA venues in Durban. There will also be performances for local orphanages and communities in all three cities.

At a time when acceptance of cultural differences throughout the world seems, at best, difficult to achieve, even during the Olympic Games, the world’s largest sporting event, Broadway in South Africa is doing its part to bridge gaps and helps build unifying relationships between cultures.

Espinosa, Porter, Murney and More to Perform in 'Broadway in South Africa' - 10/6/2008

Broadway In South Africa: The Concert is a star-studded evening that will feature world-premiere songs created by award-winning Broadway composers, like Grammy Award winner Henry Krieger, performed by Broadway stars like Eden Espinosa and Billy Porter. This benefit concert will raise money for the January 2009 South African initiative of a new, not-for-profit organization called Broadway In South Africa (BSA), and will take place on Monday, October 6, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Peter Norton Symphony Space, located at 2537 Broadway at 95th Street.

BSA commissioned composers Jeff Blumenkrantz, Bobby Cronin, Jonathan Reid Gealt, Adam Gwon, Michael John LaChiusa, Henry Krieger, Steve Marzullo, Bill Russell, Jeremy Schonfeld and Georgia Stitt to create music based on poems, stories and drawings created by African students.

The new works will be performed by Sebastian Arcelus (Jersey Boys), Stanley Bahorek (Spelling Bee), Sean Bradford (The Lion King), Tituss Burgess (The Little Mermaid), Eden Espinosa (Rent), Renee Elise Goldsberry (“One Life To Live”), Mandy Gonzalez (In the Heights), Frankie James Grande (Mamma Mia), Adam Kantor (Rent), Kendra Kassebaum (Wicked), Norm Lewis (The Little Mermaid), Julia Murney (Wicked), Billy Porter (Ghetto Superstar), Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde) and Lisa Nicole Wilkerson (The Lion King).

The concert’s opening act features South African performers Bongi Duma, Ron Kunene, Tsidi Manye, S’bu Ngema and Mpume Sikakane, all from The Lion King on Broadway.

The concert will also showcase Broadway dancers Gabriel Croom (The Lion King), Timmothy Erlich (Rent national tour), Kenway Kua (Wicked), Ray Mercer (The Lion King), Brandon O'Neal (The Lion King), Luis Salgado (In the Heights), Rickey Tripp (In the Heights) and Phillip Turner (The Lion King) performing a powerful modern dance piece with traditional African movement, choreographed by Charles O. Anderson, artistic director and founder of Dance Theater X.

The evening’s director is Jen Bender (The Lion King) and music director is Brad Haak (Mary Poppins).

Following the performance, VIP ticket holders will have an opportunity to mingle with the performers at a post-show reception.

Individual tickets can be purchased for $20 (for those under 25 years of age), $60 and $100, and are available by calling Symphony Space at 212.864.5400 or visiting www.symphonyspace.org. VIP sponsor packages range in price from $500 to $5,000, and are available by contacting Sean Bradford, BSA founding member, at artforanewworld@gmail.com or 917.370.6915, or by visiting www.broadwayinsouthafrica.com.

All proceeds from this concert will go to Broadway in South Africa. Make non-concert donations at www.fracturedatlas.org/donate/1818. For more information on the program, visit www.broadwayinsouthafrica.com.

About the program:   Broadway in South Africa (BSA) is a cooperative nonprofit venture created by professional working actors, dancers, singers, directors, musicians and producers from New York City – all brought together by their desire to affect change in the world through art and, themselves, learn from the potential of bridging two different cultures artistically. As BSA’s deep philosophy is that all children deserve the opportunity to explore their own creative potential, and should never be denied exposure to art because of their life situations, the organization’s aim is to create cross-cultural exchange between professional artists and youth in need via workshop and performance initiatives in South Africa.

For the 2009 inaugural year of the annual South African initiative, 16 professional New York artists will spend 10 days in South Africa. They will conduct a four-day arts intensive for underprivileged youth that include acting, dance, music and playwriting workshops. Approximately 50 students, ages eight to 13, will participate. Performance will be held at Baxter Theatre or Artscape in Cape Town, Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg and the Agape Orphanage and other TBA venues in Durban. There will also be performances for local orphanages and communities in all three cities.

At a time when acceptance of cultural differences throughout the world seems, at best, difficult to achieve, even during the Olympic Games, the world’s largest sporting event, Broadway in South Africa is doing its part to bridge gaps and helps build unifying relationships between cultures.

Matt Sax to Perform Hip-Hop Musical 'Clay' at The Duke - 10/6/2008

This fall Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Andre Bishop, Artistic Director, and Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer) will begin a new programming initiative – LCT3 –devoted to producing the work of emerging playwrights, directors and designers. LCT3 will begin with two productions at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street® Project, (229 W. 42 Street).

The first is CLAY, a hip-hop musical written and performed by Matt Sax and developed in collaboration with and directed by Eric Rosen. CLAY will begin a five-week engagement beginning Monday, October 6th at The Duke. (A second production will follow in early 2009).

CLAY tells the coming-of-age story of Clifford, a suburban boy who escapes his fractured family and finds a mentor in Sir John, a master of the spoken word. Clifford becomes hip-hop star Clay, but he discovers that he can't escape his past.

CLAY will have sets by Meghan Raham, costumes by Emily Rebholz, lighting by Jason Lyons and sound and orchestrations by Josh Horvath.

Citing the need to develop strong relationships with a new generation of artists, and recognizing the frustrations that young playwrights have with the current system of readings and workshops, LCT3 will offer its artists fully staged, modestly budgeted productions. All tickets to LCT3 productions will be priced at an affordable $20.00. Paige Evans is the Director of LCT3.

The U.S. Premiere of CLAY was produced in 2006 by About Face Theatre and Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago, Illinois.

CLAY will be performed Monday Friday evenings at 8pm, and Friday evenings at 7pm and 10:30 pm with matinees Wednesdays at 2pm.. Tickets, all priced at $20, will be available beginning Monday, September 8, at The Duke Box Office, by visiting Dukeon42.org or by calling 646.223.3010.

For additional information and details on LCT3 and its first production Clay, visit www.lct.org.

Lincoln Center Theater is currently presenting the critically acclaimed, award-winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific,winner of 7 2008 Tony Awards including Best Musical, directed by Bartlett Sher at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. This fall LCT also will present Horton Foote’s Dividing The Estate, directed by Michael Wilson, on Broadway at the Booth Theatre and Noah Haidle’s Saturn Returns, directed by Nicholas Martin, at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.

About the organization: The New 42nd Street®

Founded in 1990, The New 42nd Street is an independent, nonprofit organization charged with long-term responsibility for seven historic theaters on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. In addition to running The New Victory®, The New 42nd Street built and operates the New 42nd Street Studios - a ten-story building of rehearsal studios, offices and a 199-seat theater named The Duke on 42nd StreetSM - for national and international performing arts companies. Since its opening on June 21, 2000, the New 42nd Street Studios has been fully occupied by both nonprofit and commercial theater, dance and opera companies. With these institutions and the other properties under its guardianship, The New 42nd Street plays a pivotal role in fostering the continued revival of this famous street at the Crossroads of the World.

About New 42nd Street Studios

Designed by Charles Platt and Ray Dovell of Platt Byard Dovell Architects, the New 42nd Street Studios opened on June 21, 2000. This 84,000 square foot building consists of five floors of rehearsal studios, three floors of office space for nonprofit performing arts companies; and a 199-seat theater appreciatively named The Duke on 42nd StreetSM in recognition of a generous grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The largely glass building was conceived as a “structure of light” in collaboration with lighting designer Anne Militello. An innovative system of multicolored lights play across the façade of the building, with a translucent “light screen” encasing the space for The Duke on 42nd Street and a 175-foot wand of light soaring skyward at the west end of the building. By day, the building stands as a work of post-modern architecture; by night, it is a fantasy of light and motion, hinting at the creative processes transpiring within.

Houston Young People For the Arts Presents 'Culture Collision III' 10/8 - 10/6/2008

Houston Young People For the Arts is proud to announce that Culture Collision III will be held on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at Discovery Green Park from 5 to 7:30 in the evening. This unique event brings together the young professional groups of Houston's exciting cultural organizations including Theatre Under The Stars, AIA-Houston, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Menil Collection, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Health Museum, Holocaust Museum Houston, Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, DiverseWorks, Houston Downtown Alliance's Houston Young People for the Arts and Emerging Leaders, Alley Theatre, Society for the Performing Arts and others, for a one of a kind happy hour designed to encourage participation and involvement in Houston's burgeoning art scene.

Attendees have the opportunity to scope the offerings of each organization while meeting like-minded young professionals. There will be performances from Fresh Arts Coalition members including University of Houston Dance Ensemble, Dance of Asian America, and a Houston Grand Opera Studio artist, on the stage at Discovery Green, providing a taste of their talent. Lite bites and appetizers will be provided by Antone's and Chez Roux, the signature restaurant at La Torretta Del Lago Resort & Spa, while guests enjoy the cash bar. For those with a crafty side, a craft table will be provided by Caroline Collective, bring your own shirt for DiverseWorks screenprinting station, for those seeking poetic verse, Inprint Houston will set up their poetry station and Spacetaker will give further insight into Houston's art scene. Giveaways courtesy of participating organizations will conclude the evening.

Special thanks to KUHF 88.7 FM for their sponsorship of this event.

Houston Young People for the Arts (HYPA) is a committee of the Houston Downtown Alliance that aims to promote education of the visual and performance arts; to advance awareness of current events in the Houston art scene, particularly among young people; and to collaborate with governmental and not-for-profit organizations to achieve these goals.

For more information visit http://www.downtownhouston.org or HYPA's blog at http://www.houstonarts.org.

Signature Theatre Presents One Night Concert of 'Anyone Can Whistle' 10/6 - 10/6/2008

Signature Theatre, nationally renowned for its interpretation of Sondheim musicals, takes on the Sondheim cult favorite Anyone Can Whistle in a special one night only concert, Monday, October 6, 2008 at 8:00 pm at the Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Alexandria. Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer will direct the performance, a rare opportunity to experience Sondheim’s wacky, intelligent, and highly unconventional 1964 work. The company’s Second Annual Great American Musicals Concert, Anyone Can Whistle stars two-time Helen Hayes Award winner Will Gartshore, Signature favorite Tracy Lynn Olivera, and Karlah Hamilton, who received a Helen Hayes Award for her comic turn as the town battle-ax in Signature’s The Witches of Eastwick. The 19 singers in the cast and the Signature Theatre Orchestra will be conducted by Signature’s Resident Musical Director Jon Kalbfleisch. Tickets range from $40 to $150 and are on sale by calling Ticketmaster at (703) 573-7328 or visiting www.signature-theatre.org.

An absurdist fantasy-cum-political satire, Anyone Can Whistle is the story of a corrupt mayoress (Karlah Hamilton) who fakes a miracle to revitalize her bankrupt town, a rational nurse (Tracy Lynn Olivera) who’s determined to expose the fraud, and a patient mistaken for a psychiatrist (Will Gartshore) who intends to sit back and enjoy the chaos. With a book by Arthur Laurents, Anyone Can Whistle contains a strong message about the role of the individual in conformist society, with still-relevant barbs aimed at government, religion, and science.

This early work “immediately marked Sondheim as the most distinctive theatre composer of his time,” and includes “fascinating extended musical scenes, with extended choral work” (Steven Suskin). Angela Lansbury made her stage musical debut as the mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper in the original production.

Director Eric Schaeffer stated, “Continuing the Signature tradition, this Sondheim musical is the nineteenth produced by our company. We have a terrific Washington cast and orchestra and we’re looking forward to giving many Sondheim fans their first opportunity to experience Anyone Can Whistle live,” stated Eric Schaeffer.

The cast of Anyone Can Whistle also includes Christopher Bloch, Steven Cupo, Sherri L. Edelen, Kathryn Fuller, James Gardiner, Katie Keyser, Bob McDonald, Patrick McMahan, Jobari Parker-Namdar, Kimberly Sherbach, Chris Sizemore, Stephen Gregory Smith, Laura Wehrmeyer, Hannah Willman, Weslie Woodley, and Rachel Zampelli. Matthew Gardiner serves as Associate Director and Michael Baron is Associate Producer.

The venue for Anyone Can Whistle, the Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center, is located on the Alexandria Campus of Northern Virginia Community College, 3001 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22311.

Signature Theatre’s 2008-2009 season is partially supported by a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT SIGNATURE

Under the leadership of Co-founder and Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer and Managing Director Maggie Boland, Signature is a non-profit professional theater company dedicated to producing contemporary musicals and plays, reinventing classic musicals, and developing new work. To date, Signature has presented over 25 world premiere productions and is renowned for combining Broadway-quality productions with intimate playing spaces. In addition to the finest talent from the DC metropolitan area and New York, Signature has been a home to such theater luminaries as John Kander and Fred Ebb, Cameron Mackintosh, Terrence McNally, and the company’s signature, Stephen Sondheim. Signature has been nominated for 234 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in the professional theater and has been honored with 59 Helen Hayes Awards, including Outstanding Musical in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2005, and 2006, and Outstanding Play in 1999.

Disney's Casting Project to Present Showcae at Acorn Theatre 10/6 - 10/6/2008

As part of its continuing effort to find and develop culturally and ethnically diverse talent and actors with disabilities, the Disney ABC Television Group’s Casting Project will hold its latest showcase featuring 13 promising actors. The showcase, the seventh one to be held in New York, will take place at the Acorn Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues, on MONDAY, OCTOBER 6 at 7:30 p.m., ET.

Spearheaded by Executive Vice President of Casting Keli Lee, Vice President of Casting Ayo Davis, Vice President of Primetime Casting Rosalie Josephs, Executive Director of Casting Randi Chugerman, Showcase Coordinators John Ort and Peachy Pascual and the New York and Los Angeles casting departments, the showcase is produced in partnership with AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Guild), SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and Actors’ Equity.

“We are proud to present an incredibly talented and diverse group of actors in our seventh New York show,” Ms. Lee said. “Providing opportunities to diverse actors is a priority to ABC.”

Thirteen actors were selected from among more than 600 candidates who auditioned in New York. Many of the actors selected were submitted through AFTRA, SAG, Actors’ Equity and Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts, as well as many other theatre companies and organizations which represent New York’s diverse theatrical community.

The showcase is not open to the public. Casting directors, talent agents, managers and other industry professionals will view a series of one-act vignettes performed by the actors and directed by Sue Hamilton and Joe Ward.

The talented actors to be featured are Michelle Banks of Washington, DC, Noshir Dalal of Rochester, NY, Sebastian La Cause of Akron, OH, Chyna Layne of Brooklyn, NY, ChrisTina Marie Moses of Los Angeles, CA, Rudy Mungaray of Miami, FL, Gina Rodriguez of Chicago, IL, Nicholas Rodriguez of Austin, TX, Victor Cruz, Chanel Farrell, Ron Moreno, and Shirley Roeca all of New York, NY and Ian Verdun of Orange County, CA.

The Disney ABC Television Group’s commitment to discovering and nurturing diverse talent is exemplified through many different programs, including the Casting Project, the Disney ABC Writing Fellowship, Disney ABC Creative Development Program, the Disney ABC/DGA Directing Fellowship, ABC Studios Production Associates Program and The Emma Bowen Minority Internship Program.

Disney To Release Blu-ray Hi-Def 'Sleeping Beauty' on 10/7 - 10/7/2008

"Sleeping Beauty," one of the most spectacular, stylish, and unique films in the history of Disney animation, has undergone a total digital restoration of its picture and soundtrack in advance of the October 7th release of its 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition on Blu-ray Hi-Def and DVD, and will have an exclusive digital wide-screen engagement at Hollywood's legendary El Capitan Theatre from August 29th through September 18th.

Guests will experience a brand new state-of-the-art restoration that was created using high resolution digital scans of the original 50-year old Technirama 70 negative (over 7.5 miles long), and hear a new special 7.1 stereo mix made from the original multi-channel stereo music masters recorded in 1958. This special engagement of "Sleeping Beauty" will play from August 29th through September 18th.

Daily showtimes are 10 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9:15 p.m. For added fun, a special character breakfast will take place daily before the 10 a.m. show with an advance ticket purchase required. Tickets are available at the El Capitan Theatre (6838 Hollywood Blvd.), on line at www.elcapitantickets.com, or by calling 1-800-DISNEY6. Special group rates for parties of 20 or more are available by calling 1-818-845-3110.

To help celebrate the film's new restoration and the 50th Anniversary Blu-ray DVD release, a special opening night gala event will take place on Thursday, August 28th at 7:00 p.m.

Hosted by award-winning veteran Disney producer Don Hahn ("Beauty and the Beast," "The Lion King"), the film will be preceded by a filmmakers' panel that includes Mary Costa (the enchanting voice of Princess Aurora), animator/Disney Legend Blaine Gibson, background artist Frank Armitage, acclaimed Hollywood journalist/author Bob Thomas (Walt Disney The Art of Animation), and renowned Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter.

Throughout the film's engagement, Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store (adjacent to the theatre) will be offering a delicious royal treat, "The Sleeping Beauty Sundae." Enjoy two scoops of vanilla ice cream awakened with pink and blue sprinkles, accompanied by a long stem chocolate rose. A sundae fit for any prince or princess!

Commenting on the announcement, Lylle Breier, senior vice president of worldwide special events for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, said, "'Sleeping Beauty' stands apart from all the rest of the Disney classics because of its incredible illustrated look and wide-screen format, and this new digitally restored presentation at the El Capitan Theatre makes you appreciate the artistry and animation all the more. We are thrilled to be bringing this unique experience to our guests, and know that they will appreciate seeing and hearing the film in a new and improved way. 'Sleeping Beauty' has something for everyone including a beautiful princess, a wicked villain, a fantastic dragon fight, and some of the most wonderful music ever featured in an animated film. This is truly a rare opportunity to experience Walt Disney's animated classic in all its wide-screen epic grandeur."

Home viewers will also have a chance to experience this meticulously restored version of Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty," with the October 7th release of the 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition on Blu-ray Hi-Def and DVD. This represents the first Disney animated classic to be released in the Blu-ray format and launch of the Disney BD-Live network, and the special 2-disc release will include a bonus DVD of the movie in the same package along with other exclusive features. The DVD bonus material includes a fully immersive 3-D tour of the original Disneyland "Sleeping Beauty" walk-thru attraction (with commentary by Tony Baxter and other Imagineers), an all-new documentary ("Picture Perfect: The Making of 'Sleeping Beauty'), four deleted songs presented with original storyboard art, plus other programming (the Academy Award®-winning short "Grand Canyon;" plus the Disney TV show episodes of "The Peter Tchaikovsky Story" and "Four Artists Paint One Tree").

The Blu-ray bonus materials include an all-new Cine-Explore experience with full motion Picture-in Picture and commentary by John Lasseter, Leonard Maltin, and Andreas Deja; the audio experience "Dragon Encounter;" "Maleficent's Challenge" (where the viewer goes head to head with one of Disney's most infamous villains), plus other featurettes along with access to the Disney BD-Live Network - which for the first time in history allows consumers to chat, stream video, play communal games, & more.

Originally released in 1959, "Sleeping Beauty" was the first animated feature to be conceived for and exhibited in the 70mm wide-screen format. This required special layout, planning, and additional animation to fill the screen, and to utilize the format to best effect. Based upon the Charles Perrault version of the classic fairy tale, Walt Disney enlisted artist Eyvind Earle to style and color the film and give it the look of a "moving illustration." Disney's expert team of animators, operating at the top of their game, created some of the most memorable characters and performances to tell their story.

The film recounts the tale of Princess Aurora, who is cursed at birth by the evil fairy Maleficent to die before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday by pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. Despite the loving attempts of three good-but-bumbling fairies - Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather - the curse if fulfilled. With the entire kingdom placed into a protective deep slumber, Prince Phillip springs into action to battle Maleficent (who has taken on the form of an enormous fire-breathing dragon), and attempt to awaken the sleeping princess with true love's kiss. An Academy Award®-nominated orchestral score of the Tchaikovsky music adds to the excitement, along with such memorable songs as "I Wonder" and "Once Upon a Dream." Mary Costa, who went on to worldwide fame as an opera singer and entertainer, tops a vocal ensemble that includes Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy, Barbara Jo Allen, and Candy Candido.

Marin Alsop To Lead Philharmonic in Four Concerts - 10/7/2008

Marin Alsop will lead the New York Philharmonic in four concerts, each featuring Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World, October 7, 10, and 11, 2008. The programs on October 7 at 7:30 p.m. and October 11 at 8:00 p.m. will comprise Bartók’s The Wooden Prince Suite; Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with Rafał Blechacz making his New York Philharmonic debut; and the Dvořák symphony. The Saturday Matinee on October 11 at 2:00 p.m. will begin with Brahms’s Piano Quintet, featuring Philharmonic musicians and guest pianist Shai Wosner, followed by Dvořák’s New World Symphony. On Inside the Music, Friday, October 10, at 8:00 p.m., the story of the Dvořák symphony will be told in a multimedia presentation, followed by a complete performance, conducted by Ms. Alsop. Bass Kevin Deas will participate in this program, which was written and produced by Joseph Horowitz. Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World, received its world premiere by the New York Philharmonic on December 16, 1893.

The schedule will be as follows:

• Insights Series
“Dvořák in Search of America” traces the composer’s influence in a program exploring his music, his African-American student Harry Burleigh, and jazz stylist Art Tatum. Joseph Horowitz, curator and host; Steven Mayer, piano. Saturday, October 4, 2008, 2:00 p.m., Gilder Lehrman Hall, The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Avenue, at 36th Street.

• Pre-Concert Talk
Joseph Horowitz will introduce the evening programs on October 7 and 11 and the Saturday Matinee on October 11 one hour before each performance. Tickets are $5 in addition to the concert ticket. Attendance is limited to 90 people. Information: nyphil.org or (212) 875-5656.

• New York Philharmonic Podcast
Elliott Forrest, Peabody Award-winning broadcaster, producer, and afternoon host of 96.3 FM WQXR, will host this podcast. These previews of upcoming programs — through musical selections as well as interviews with guest artists, conductors, and Orchestra musicians — are available at nyphil.org/podcast or from iTunes.

• National Radio Broadcast
The evening programs of October 7 and 11 will be broadcast the week of October 20, 2008,* on The New York Philharmonic This Week, a radio concert series syndicated nationally to more than 250 stations by the WFMT Radio Network. The 52-week series, hosted by WFMT’s Kerry Frumkin, is generously underwritten by The Kaplen Foundation, the Audrey Love Charitable Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Philharmonic’s corporate partner, MetLife Foundation. The broadcast will be available on the Philharmonic’s Website, nyphil.org. The program is broadcast locally in the New York metropolitan area on 96.3 FM WQXR on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m.

Marin Alsop was appointed the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, beginning with the 2007–08 season. She is the first woman to head a major American orchestra, mirroring her ongoing success in the United Kingdom as principal conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra since 2002. The first artist to win both Gramophone’s “Artist of the Year” award and the Royal Philharmonic Society’s conductor’s award in the same season, Ms. Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow and won the Classical Brit Award for Best Female Artist that year — the first conductor to receive this prestigious American honor. She has also received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s BBC Radio 3 Listeners Award and European Women of Achievement Award.
Ms. Alsop is a regular guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic. She is also one of the few conductors to appear every season with both the London Symphony and the London Philharmonic orchestras, and has appeared as a guest conductor with many other distinguished orchestras worldwide, including Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Zurich Tonhalle, Orchestre de Paris, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Tokyo Philharmonic.

Highlights of Marin Alsop’s recording collaboration with Naxos include a Brahms symphony cycle with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and an ongoing series of Bournemouth Symphony CDs of music by Bartók, Bernstein, Orff, and several living American composers. One of her first projects as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will be a Dvořák symphonic cycle. Ms. Alsop can also be heard regularly as a commentator on NPR’s Weekend Edition segment “Marin on Music,” and on BBC’s Radio 3.

In 2006, Marin Alsop was the only classical musician invited to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, alongside presidents, prime ministers, and CEOs of the world’s most powerful companies. She is a native of New York City, attended Yale University, and received her master’s degree from The Juilliard School. She last appeared with the New York Philharmonic in July 2006 at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.

Pianist Rafał Blechacz was born on June 30, 1985, in Nakło nad Notecią, Poland. He began studying the piano at the age of five and completed his formal education in 2007 at the Feliks Nowowiejski Music Academy in Bydgoszcz, studying with Professor Katarzyna Popowa-Zydron. He won second prize at the Arthur Rubinstein Young Pianist Competition in Bydgoszcz in 2002 and at the Fifth International Young Pianist Competition in Hamamatsu, Japan, in 2003. In 2004 he garnered first prize at the Fourth International Piano Competition in Morocco. In 2005 Mr. Blechacz won first prize at the 15th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw; in special recognition of his achievement, the jury decided, for the first time in the competition’s history, not to award a second prize. He also won four special prizes, including the Polish Radio Award for best performance of the mazurkas, the Polish Chopin Society Award for best performance of the Polonaise, the Warsaw Philharmonic Award for best performance of a concerto, and the award founded by Krystian Zimerman for best sonata performance.
In 2006 Mr. Blechacz was invited to perform at Warsaw Philharmonic Hall; the Moscow Conservatory with the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev; the Tonhalle in Zurich, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He has given a series of recitals in Japan, and appeared at the Ruhr, Verbier, and La Roque d’Antheron summer music festivals. In 2007 he appeared in Herkules Saal in Munich, Wigmore Hall in London, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, and Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels. In May 2006 he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon for three recordings. The first — the complete Chopin Preludes coupled with Two Nocturnes Op. 62 — was released in September 2007. It achieved gold status after one day, and subsequently went platinum.

Kevin Deas has gained international acclaim as one of America’s leading basses. He is perhaps most acclaimed for his signature portrayal of the title role in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, having sung it with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the orchestras of San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego, Utah, Houston, Baltimore, and Montreal, and at the Ravinia and Saratoga Festivals. During the 2008–09 season, Mr. Deas returns to the Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Atlanta symphony orchestras, Pacific Symphony, National Philharmonic, Boston Baroque, and Winter Park Bach Festival. Over the past two seasons, Mr. Deas performed with the Pittsburgh, Houston, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, Rochester Philharmonic, National Philharmonic, and Boston Baroque; he made his debut with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. He also sang Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of Daniel Barenboim with the FilarMonica Della Scala in Accra, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Ghana in April 2007.

Kevin Deas recorded Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Decca/London) with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the late Sir Georg Solti, and Varèse’s Ecuatorial with Holland’s Asko Ensemble under the baton of Ricardo Chailly. Other releases include Bach’s Mass in B minor and Handel’s Acis and Galatea (both on Vox Classics), and Dave Brubeck’s To Hope! with the Cathedral Choral Society (Telarc). Mr. Deas last appeared with the New York Philharmonic in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges, conducted by Lorin Maazel, in October 2006.
Joseph Horowitz is the author of eight books. Both his Classical Music in America: A History and Artists in Exile: How Refugees from Twentieth Century War and Revolution Transformed the American Performing Arts deal extensively with Dvořák in America. As the director of a national education project for the National Endowment for the Humanities, he also created a work of historical fiction for middle and high school readers, Dvorák in America, and commissioned an interactive DVD, From the New World: A Celebrated Composer’s American Odyssey. As an artistic consultant, Mr. Horowitz has created six Dvorák festivals — the first of which was presented by the Brooklyn Philharmonic during his tenure as executive director. Mr. Horowitz is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and a certificate of appreciation from the Czech Parliament for his “exceptional explorations of Dvořák’s historic sojourn in the United States.” He is also co-founder and artistic director of Post-Classical Ensemble of Washington, D.C., and of Post-Classical Productions, which this season and next begins producing thematic, inter-disciplinary concerts in New York City and Chicago.
Repertoire

Béla Bartók’s ballet The Wooden Prince, one of his earliest major successes, was first produced in Budapest in 1917. Its scenario, by Béla Balázs, depicts a fairy tale in which a prince and princess are at first kept apart, and then united, by the enchantments of a fairy. This simple storyline, which suggests numerous possible symbolic meanings, is enriched through a musical score in Bartók’s forceful and individual voice, incorporating influences as diverse as Wagner, Debussy, and Hungarian folk music. The ballet was received with great enthusiasm and produced repeatedly in the composer’s lifetime; he was moved to make at least two concert suites from the score, including the present arrangement. The New York Philharmonic’s only previous performances of the complete Wooden Prince Suite were in February 1975, led by Pierre Boulez.

Frédéric Chopin began his Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1829 at a relatively early stage in his career. The composer’s intensely coloristic and free-spinning miniature piano works, impregnated with melodic traits of Polish popular music, are his most often-performed works, but the concertos nevertheless display the fundamental traits of his style on much larger canvases. Like all his compositions, they constituted an important source for future developments in harmony through their genius for chromaticism, modulation, and lyrical pianistic writing. The first Philharmonic performance of the Piano Concerto No. 2 was in November 1846, led by George Loder, with pianist Henry Christian Timm. The most recent Philharmonic performance was in November 2004, led by David Robertson, with Emanuel Ax as soloist.

Symphony No. 9, From the New World, by Antonín Dvorák was given its world premiere by Anton Seidl and the New York Philharmonic on December 16, 1893. At the time, the Czech composer had been in the United States just a little over a year, having been lured by promises of a large teaching salary at New York’s National Conservatory of Music. His sponsor, Mrs. Jeanette Thurber, had implored him to compose an American opera, but Dvořák instead composed a symphony, which he completed in May 1893. During both a public rehearsal and the subsequent premiere, audience reaction to the new symphony was overwhelmingly positive. The Philharmonic most recently performed the symphony as part of its historic, internationally televised concert in Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, on February 26, 2008, led by Music Director Lorin Maazel.
Credit Suisse is the Global Sponsor of the New York Philharmonic.

Marin Alsop’s appearance is made possible through the Claudette Sorel Performance Endowment Fund.

Generous support for Inside the Music is provided by The Fan Fox and Leslie Samuels Foundation.

Programs of the New York Philharmonic are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Single tickets for the evening performances on October 7 and 11 are $30 to $109; for the Saturday Matinee on October 11, $28 to $82; for Inside the Music on October 10, $26 to $72. Tickets for the Insights Series program on October 4 are $20. Pre-Concert Talks are $5. Tickets for Open Rehearsals are $16. All tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily. Tickets may also be purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, Lincoln Center, Broadway at 65th Street. The Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Box Office closes one-half hour after performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m. A limited number of $12 tickets for select concerts may be available through the Internet for students within 10 days of the performance, or in person the day of. Valid identification is required. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic’s Customer Relations Department at (212) 875-5656.

For more information please visit www.nyphil.org

BAM To Present Multimedia Theater Work 'Sunken Road' - 10/7/2008

Flemish director Guy Cassiers makes his American debut with Sunken Red—a multimedia theater work created in collaboration with and performed by one of Europe’s leading stage actors, Dirk Roofthooft. This U.S. premiere also marks the U.S. debuts of two of the most vital European contemporary theater companies—Toneelhuis (Belgium) and ro theater (Netherlands). Sunken Red has been performed in The Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada (Festival d’Amériques) and France (Festival d’Avignon), and was selected for the 2005 Theaterfestival Vlaanderen (Flanders Theatre Festival). De Volkskrant (NL) raved, “Sometimes drama is hallucinatory. Like a trip, a dream that lifts you out of your theatre seat. It happens only rarely, but Guy Cassiers and Dirk Roofthooft have succeeded with Sunken Red.”

BAM will present four performances of Sunken Red at the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St.) October 7, 9–11 at 7:30pm. Tickets, priced at $20, 35, and 45, may be purchased by calling BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or online at BAM.org.

About Sunken Red

This solo performance is based on Jeroen Brouwers’ 1981 autobiographical novel, Bezonken rood, an account of his family’s internment in a Japanese prison camp during World War II. In 1943, the three-year-old Brouwers—along with his sister, mother, and grandmother—was imprisoned in the women’s camp, Tjideng, in present-day Jakarta. The New York Times said of the novel: “Told with an aching beauty in a spiraling form that gradually reveals more and more, 'Sunken Red' is a cathartic achievement in which we watch Mr. Brouwers emerge from the walking dead.” The author describes how his years in the camp destroyed his relationship with his mother, comparing the loss of maternal affection with the disintegration of each subsequent love affair in adulthood. On a set designed to evoke a formal Japanese garden and framed by multiple live-feed video projections, Cassiers stages Brouwers’ devastating story and creates an emotionally intense piece that is a magnificent expression of love from a wounded man.

About the artists

In 2006, theater director Guy Cassiers became the artistic director of Toneelhuis, which is based in Antwerp, Belgium. Upon his arrival, Cassiers threw out the classical model of the civic theater: a fixed troupe of actors with one or more permanent directors. He reinvented this model by inviting six fellow artists from different disciplines to take up residence with him. Along the way Cassiers has developed a personal theatrical language in which technology serves to deepen and intensify human emotions. Cassiers also combines a fascination for technology with a passion for literature; he has garnered acclaim for stage adaptations of well-known novels.

Renowned Flemish actor Dirk Roofthooft has achieved success on the European stage as well as in his film roles. Roofthooft has won two Joseph Plateau Awards, Belgium’s most prestigious honor for film and television work. He has collaborated with jazz musician Henry Threadgill in a work inspired by the poetry of Nobel Laureate Derek Wolcott. De Volkskrant raved of his performance in Sunken Red: “Roofthooft is a phenomenal actor … every breath, every movement of his voice is audible. This creates scope for an unprecedented subtlety. Even in a huge theatre, you get the impression that the story is told to you personally.”

Artist Talk with Guy Cassiers

BAM presents an Artist Talk with Guy Cassiers on Thursday, October 9 at 6pm in BAM Rose Cinemas (30 Lafayette Avenue). For tickets, priced at $8 ($4 for Friends of BAM and free for students with valid I.D., subject to availability), call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or visit BAM.org.

About the Next Wave Festival

BAM’s Next Wave Festival, which enters its 26th season in 2008, has permanently changed the landscape of culture through breakout performances, landmark productions, daring experiments, and once-in-a-lifetime moments. The Festival originated as a fall series entitled “The Next Wave/New Masters.” In November 1981, Philip Glass’ new opera, Satyagraha, was presented as one of four productions under the Next Wave moniker. A more ambitious series followed in 1982, including a two-evening performance work by Laurie Anderson—United States:

From the seeds of these two rich years grew an idea for something bolder and riskier. The Next Wave Festival, dedicated to exciting new works and cross-disciplinary collaborations by promising young artists, was launched in October 1983. Pieces that previously had been presented in downtown lofts and small “black box” theaters were staged in the exquisite 2,100-seat BAM Opera House (later renamed the Howard Gilman Opera House), a renovated 1,000-seat playhouse (the Helen Carey Playhouse, now home to BAM Rose Cinemas), and a flexible 300-seat performance venue (the Lepercq Space). In 1987, with Peter Brook’s Mahabharata, BAM opened another large stage—the 874-seat Majestic Theater—since renamed the Harvey Theater in honor of Harvey Lichtenstein (former president and executive producer). Since 1999, BAM has been led by President Karen Brooks Hopkins and by Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo, who curates the Next Wave Festival and served as the producer of the inaugural festival.

Credits

BAM 2008 Next Wave Festival is sponsored by Altria Group, Inc. Leadership support for the Next Wave Festival is provided by The Ford Foundation.

Programming in the BAM Harvey Theater is endowed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Leadership support for BAM Theater is provided by The Shubert Foundation, Inc. and The SHS Foundation.

BAM thanks its many donors and sponsors, including: The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; New York City Council; Estate of Richard B. Fisher; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; The Starr Foundation; Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Time Warner Inc.; The Howard Gilman Foundation; The Skirball Foundation; The SHS Foundation; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; New York State Assembly Brooklyn Delegation; Friends of BAM and BAM Cinema Club. Sovereign Bank is the BAM Marquee sponsor. Yamaha is the official piano for BAM. R/GA is the BAM.org sponsor. New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is the official hotel for BAM.
General Information

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafé, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, is open for dining prior to Howard Gilman Opera House performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live nights on Friday and Saturday with a special BAMcafé Live menu available starting at 8pm.

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.

Live Television Production of 'Mister Roberts' to be Releasesd on DVD 10/7 - 10/7/2008

The star-studded, live television production of Mister Roberts debuts on DVD on October 7, 2008 from Acorn Media. Capturing all the intimacy and electricity of live theatre, this stirring comedic drama rekindles the rousing warmth of the original production that won five Tony Awards on Broadway.

The time is 1945. The setting, a navy cargo ship far from battles raging in the Pacific. Longing to see real action, Lt. Doug Roberts (Robert Hays, Airplane!) wages a war of wills against Capt. Morton (two-time Oscar®-nominee Charles Durning), a petty tyrant whom the rambunctious crew considers "approximately God." Allied with Ensign Pulver (Kevin Bacon, Mystic River, Apollo 13, Footloose) and Doc (Howard Hesseman, WKRP in Cincinnati), Roberts finds himself torn between his ambition to serve his country and his duty to serve his men. The production also co-stars Marilu Henner (Taxi) as Nurse Girard.

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, the script was supervised by Joshua Logan (Picnic, South Pacific), the Oscar-nominated and Tony®-winning original Broadway director and co-writer. Broadcast on NBC in 1984 and filmed before a studio audience, it gracefully combines the magic of a theatre performance and the daring of a live broadcast.

The original production of "Mister Roberts" won five Tony Awards in 1948 including Best Dramatic Actor for Henry Fonda and Best Play.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media distributes distinctive home video releases to the North American market with a special focus on the best of British television. Acorn's DVD sets are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn Media at (888) 870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.