Grab a martini, bring a date and enjoy a swingin' evening with Jeff Hedberg & C11 as they honor the music of Mel Torme at Davenports. The evening features the groundbreaking "Dektette" arrangements, originally recorded in the 1950's and 1960's. This magical night includes the hits like "Lulu's Back in Town" and "A Foggy Day".

Jeff also performs at Andy's Jazz Club on September 19th and 20th, starting at 9:30pm until 1:30am. At Andy's, Hedberg and the ensemble are not only highlighting the vocal hits of Torme but the fantastic instrumental repertoire that saxophonist Art Pepper recorded with Marty Paich's dektette on the album Art Pepper + 11. Andy's historic jazz establishment is located at 11 E. Hubbard in Chicago.

Jeff Hedberg & C11 is a 12-piece, Chicago-based jazz ensemble, founded and lead by jazz vocalist/trumpeter and Blujazz Recording Artist, Jeff Hedberg. The group, formed in April 2008, is dedicated to preserving and performing the West Coast "Cool" Jazz sound of the 1950's and 1960's. The group features many of the top soloists, section players and freelance artists that reside in the Chicagoland area.

Mel Torme, nicknamed "The Velvet Frog", was known as one of the great American male jazz singers. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books. He was born in Chicago and passed away in June of 1999.

'A View from the Bridge' To Receive First Guthrie Staging - 9/13/2008

The Guthrie today announced complete casting for A View from the Bridge, the timeless tragedy by quintessential American dramatist Arthur Miller. Director Ethan McSweeny (A Body of Water, Romeo and Juliet, Six Degrees of Separation) returns for this first-ever Guthrie staging of Miller's acclaimed play, which begins previews September 13. A View from the Bridge opens September 19 and continues through November 8 on the Wurtele Thrust Stage. Single tickets are priced from $24 to $60, with opening night prices ranging from $54 to $70. Tickets are on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

A play as timeless as the Greek tragedies on which it is modeled, A View from the Bridge is the story of a Brooklyn longshoreman whose love for his niece turns destructive. Eddie Carbone (John Carroll Lynch, "Fargo" and "The Drew Carey Show") lives in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn with his wife Beatrice (Amy Van Nostrand, Six Degrees of Separation) and her orphaned niece Catherine (Robyn Rikoon, 2008 graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts), whom they have brought up as their own daughter. Into the household come Rodolpho (Bryce Pinkham, 2008 graduate of the Yale School of Drama) and Marco (Ron Menzel, Jane Eyre), two of Beatrice's cousins from Italy, who enter the country illegally in order to find work on the waterfront. Eddie's love for his niece turns to obsession when she strikes up a friendship with Rodolpho that blooms into romance. Eddie's conflicted feelings, which seethe with repressed sexual tension, lead him to betray his family's trust and take action that ends in violence.

A notable feature of Miller's play, originally produced on Broadway in 1955 as part of a double-bill of one-act plays, is the transference of the form of Greek tragedy to workaday Brooklyn. While he's no king like Oedipus or Creon, Eddie Carbone enjoys a comfortable home and family life that he has worked hard to earn and maintain. Just as Sophocles and his peers had choruses in their plays to supply perspective and commentary, Miller introduces the character of Alfieri (Richard S. Iglewski, A Midsummer Night's Dream), a lawyer who provides a voice of reason and occasionally acts as narrator to the story.

Director Ethan McSweeny is co-artistic director of Chautauqua Theater Company, where he recently direcTed Miller's Death of a Salesman, featuring Amy Von Nostrand as Linda Loman. Other recent credits include the New York premieres of 100 Saints You Should Know and Jason Grote's 1001, which, in a rare double-header, were chosen to be among the top ten productions of 2007 by Time Out and Entertainment Weekly magazines. Recent national highlights include a revival of Shaw's Major Barbara at the Shakespeare Theatre, the world premieres of In This Corner at the Old Globe and 1001 at the Denver Center Theatre (Ovation Award).

The cast of A View from the Bridge also includes Michael Booth (First Immigration Officer), Mark Bradley (Mr. Lipari), J.C. Cutler (Tony), Hugh Kennedy (First Italian Immigrant), Joel Liestman (Second Immigration Officer), Tim McGee (Mike), Lee Mark Nelson (Louis), John Skelley (Second Italian Immigrant), Suzanne Warmanen (Mrs. Lipari).

The artistic team includes John Arnone (Set Designer), Robert Perdziola (Costume Designer), Donald Holder (Lighting Designer), David Maddox (Sound Designer), J. David Brimmer (Fight Choreographer), Carla Steen (Dramaturgy), Lucinda Holshue (Voice and Dialect Coach), Marcela Lorca (Movement), Martha Kulig (Stage Manager), Tiffany K. Orr (Assistant Stage Manager) and Leah E. Cooper (Assistant Director).

The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. The Guthrie is dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature, developing the work of contemporary playwrights and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. Led by Director Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie opened their new three-theater home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in June 2006.

The Guthrie is located at 818 South 2nd Street (at Chicago Avenue), in downtown Minneapolis. To purchase tickets or season subscriptions call the Guthrie Box Office between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily at 612.377.2224 or toll-free 877.44.STAGE. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.guthrietheater.org.

'The Harder They Come' - 9/13/2008

The Harder They Come will close September 13th at the West End's Playhouse Theatre. It was originally set to close November 1st.

The musical is the story of a boy Ivan (Rolan Bell), who heads to Kingston, Jamaica to become a reggae star. Songs include "You Can Get It If You Really Want," "Many Rivers to Cross," "Higher and Higher," "Rivers of Babylon" and "The Harder They Come."

The cast includes Jacqui Dubois, Derek Elroy, Victor Romero Evans, Joanna Francis, Matthew J Henry, Marlon King, Susan Lawson-Reynolds, Joy Mack, Marcus Powell, Joe Speare and Chris Tummings.

Tickets, for the final weeks, are available by calling the box office at 08700 606 642 or by visiting www.theambassadors.com/playhouse.

Point Foundation to Honor Kristin Chenoweth - 9/13/2008

The point foundation will present the Point Courage Award to Tony Award-winning and Emmy nominated actress Kristin Chenoweth on September 13th at Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles. Kristin made her mark in television, theatre and film with celebrated stage performances in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, Wicked and The Apple Tree, unforgettable television characters on Pushing Daisies, The West Wing and Annie, and hilarious film roles in Deck the Halls, RV, Bewitched, The Pink Panther and Running with Scissors.

"Given Kristin's work and achievements in the entertainment industry and her advocacy for the LGBT community, she is a strong and visible role model for today's youth and we are honored to pay tribute to her this year," stated the foundation.

The Point Inspiration Award recognizes a corporation that champions respect and inclusion of the LGBT community and operates with the vision that investing in today's potential will produce a brighter tomorrow.

This year's Point Inspiration Award is being presented to Wells Fargo. This award-winning financial services company has proven to be a leader in diversity and awareness. Committed to supporting the LGBT community for nearly a quarter of a century, Wells Fargo has been a pioneer in equal policies, opportunities, practices and benefits in the workplace as well as supporting thousands of national and community programs, educational, and nonprofit organizations. We salute Wells Fargo for its national contribution to education and the LGBT community. For more information please visit www.pointfoundation.org

Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

Open Auditions for 'Beach Blanket Babylon' - 9/13/2008

Producer Jo Schuman Silver and Director Kenny Mazlow have announced that they will hold open auditions for cast replacements for San Francisco Comany's presentation of Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon on Saturday September 13th at noon. The auditions will be held at Club Fugazi in San Francisco (678 Blanket Babylon Boulevard- Green St btwn Columbus and Powell).

Auditioners should be prepared to sing one ballad and one up-tempo number (preferably rock or pop). Please bring music in your own key, along with a current résumé and photo of yourself. Dance shoes are optional. Minorities are encouraged to try out.

If you have any questions, please email auditions@beachblanketbabylon.com or fax 415-421-0518 (include your call back number).

Beach Blanket Babylon performs Wednesdays & Thursdays at 8 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 6:30 & 9:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2 & 5 p.m. at Club Fugazi in San Francisco.

Neil Patrick Harris to Co-Host Creative Emmy Awards - 9/13/2008

How I Met Your Mother's Neil Patrick Harris and Scrubs' Sarah Chalke and will host the 2008 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, September 13 from the NOKIA Theatre it was announced today by Lee Miller and Steve Venezia, Executive Producers of the Creative Arts show.   The show will air as a 2-hour special on E! Entertainment Television on Saturday, September 20 at 8:00 p.m.

Spike Jones Jr. will return to produce the show for the fourteenth year. "Everyone knows how great Neil and Sarah are as actors. Now they'll get the opportunity to see how fearless they are as live hosts," said Jones, Jr.

Neil Patrick Harris received his second Primetime Emmy nomination this year for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as Barney Stinson on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother."   A television favorite since his Golden Globe Award-nominated role in "Doogie Howser, M.D.," Harris has since firmly established himself in all mediums.

On the stage, he most recently starred in Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.  Other recent theater credits include star-turns in the London musical production of Jonathan Larson's "Tick, Tick…Boom," the Tony Award-winning musical "Assassins," "Cabaret" and "Proof."

Harris' additional television credits include the series "Stark Raving Mad," "Will & Grace," "NUMB3RS," the mini-series "Joan of Arc," and the CBS television movie "The Christmas Blessing."  Harris’ film work began with “Clara’s Heart,” and includes the recent release “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.”

The Belly Of A Woman-From The Motherland To Uncle Sam - 9/13/2008

A multimedia production depicting the African American Diaspora through the eyes of a Black Woman using vignettes, spoken word, music and dance. Fundraiser to benefit The Spiral Dance Womyn Bookstore and Wellness Center...Featuring the Tom Reyes Trio, featuring Kent Gregory, Ed Kernan and the vocals sounds of Ms. Rae Bernard. This production is wrtitten, directed and produced by Margaret Locklear

MTC Postpones 'To Be or Not To Be' Previews to 9/13 - 9/13/2008

Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) has postponed the first preview of Nick Whitby’s TO BE OR NOT TO BE. The production, which was originally scheduled to begin previews on Thursday, September 11, will now hold its first preview on Saturday evening, September 13.

The show, based on the 1942 motion picture To Be or Not To Be, will open as scheduled on Thursday, October 2 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).

The production, directed by Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Monty Python’s Spamalot) features Peter Benson, Robert Dorfman, Steve Kazee, Peter Maloney, Jan Maxwell, Michael McCarty, Kristine Nielsen, Brandon Perler, David Rasche, Rocco Sisto, Jimmy Smagula, and Marina Squerciati.

All other information on the show ticket prices, and other listings information remains the same.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

    * SATURDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 13 – SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14: Saturday at 8 PM. Sunday at 2 PM & 7 PM.
    * MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 – SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28: Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 7 PM. Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM.
    * MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23: Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 7 PM. Matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2 PM.

www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com

Photo Credit Peter James Zielinski

Vital Theatre Company To Present 'The Bully' - 9/13/2008

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY is pleased to announce its upcoming production of THE BULLY, a revival of the original musical for children with music and lyrics by JOHN GREGOR and book by DAVID L. WILLIAMS, directed and choreographed by TRoy Miller. Performances run Saturdays and Sundays at 11 am and 1 pm, September 13th - 28th, with Special Holiday Performances on Tuesday, September 30th and Wednesday, October 1st at 1 pm. All tickets are $20.00. Tickets for a POST SHOW WORKSHOP on September 20th at 2 pm are also available for an additional $20. The show is appropriate for children ages 2 - 10. For reservations, visit www.vitaltheatre.org or call (212) 579-0528. THE BULLY performs at The McGinn/Cazale Theatre, 2162 Broadway, 4th floor, at 76th Street.

THE BULLY tells the story of Lenny, the smartest kid in school. Unfortunately, he is not the strongest kid and he is constantly picked on by Steve, the school bully. A bus mix-up leaves the two boys stranded at the wrong school where they both get picked on for being the "new kids." Taunted by the terrifying "Mega," the boys learn what life is really like for the other and they are forced to work together in order to get back to their own school. In the end they realize that they might not be so different after all.

Featured in the cast are MONIQUE BEASLEY, WILLIAM DeMERITT, SCOTT LILLY, JOHN MAGALHAES, KYLE MINSHEW, STEPHEN STOCKING and DIANE ZELENKA.

JOHN GREGOR (Lyricist, Composer and Orchestrator) received a 2004 Frederick Loewe Award for his musical WITH GLEE, for which he wrote the book, music and lyrics. Recently, WITH GLEE was presented in a workshop by the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, NYU, and premiered at the New York Musical Theater Festival. His musical adaptation of Gogol's tragicomic short story THE OVERCOAT has been presented in London at the Bridewell Theatre, and at the Barrington Stage Company and The New York International Fringe Festival. He has also co-written several children's musicals for Vital Theatre Company, including THE CHANGELING, THE BULLY, and PINKALICIOUS, THE MUSICAL, which is currently playing at New World Stages.

DAVID L. WILLIAMS (Book) most recently wrote the book and lyrics for (and directed) the musical THE JOHNNY, which was a part of the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival. Career highlights include directing and writing the book for the musical TESS' LAST NIGHT (2003 Fringe NYC), and writing the plays THE INFORMATION SHE CARRIED (2005 Fringe NYC), THE ARMAGEDDON DANCE PARTY (2006 Fringe NYC), and THE TAILERS (2007 Crown Point Festival). A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Cornell University, David L. Williams is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America, Inc., and the author of more than 25 plays, including the Riverside Stage Company Founder's award-winning AMPERSAND, and four winners of the Heerman's McCalmon Playwriting Contest, THE MURDER OF GONZAGO, BEHIND THE NINE BALL, NEAR TRAGEDY, and INGULF.

TRoy Miller (Director and Choreographer): Broadway: THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (assistant to Craig Lucas), Opera: IL TABARRO (Vertical Rep Players), LA TRAVIATA (City Opera SSDC Observer), Off Broadway: Craig Lucas' BATHROOM HUMOR (Playwrights Horizons, 'Stories on Five Stories'). Other Regional and NY directing credits include: HORATIO (NY Fringe Festival '07), CRASH starring Marylouise Burke, OUR LADY OF THE SEA, POSTCARDS FROM A DEAD DOG (Emerging Artists Theater); NOISES OFF! (Festival 56); DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER (Cortland Rep.); THE DYING GAUL and ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (Trinity Rep.). Mr. Miller holds a Master's of Fine Arts in Directing from Trinity Rep in Providence, RI and is a proud member of SSDC and Emerging Artists Theatre. Visit www.troymiller.org.

Mary Hamrick is the production's Set Designer and CHRISTINA WATANABE the Lighting Designer. KARA TEOLIS serves as the Production Stage Manager and SHANI COLLEEN MURFIN is the Stage Manager. The original production of THE BULLY was directed by SUZU McCONNELL-WOOD.

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY, winner of two Awards for Excellence by the Off Off Broadway Review, has received high acclaim from audiences and critics alike for being "a wonderful place for parents to introduce their kids to the glories of live theatre, done well and at modest prices." Now in its tenth year, the company is dedicated to producing entertaining and educational theatre for young audiences.

ACT Launches Special Dance Project, 'Project Orpheus' Beginning 9/13 - 9/13/2008

ACT’s Central Heating Lab continues its innovative collaborative initiative by supporting Seattle Dance Project in Project Orpheus running September 13 through October 4, 2008. Designed as a companion piece to ACT’s mainstage production of Eurydice, Project Orpheus marries the three distinct artistic styles of renowned local choreographers Wade Madsen, Eva Stone and Olivier Wevers into one seamless narrative. Together, with lighting/technical director Peter Bracillano and music director Dave Abramson, Seattle Dance Project creates a modern, moody interpretation of the tragic Greek myth that uses dance to explore the physicality of love, jealousy, compassion and grief.

“Asking three accomplished choreographers to collaborate on a single work, rather than three short pieces, hasn’t really been done before,” said Julie Tobiason, a former principal dancer with the Pacific Northwest Ballet and one of Seattle Dance Project’s two artistic directors. “Everyone had an open mind going into the project and was very excited about doing something groundbreaking. They all really respect each other.” Timothy Lynch, also a former Pacific Northwest Ballet dancer and the other Seattle Dance Project co-artistic director continued, “As a dancer, learning to approach this work while honoring the different styles and contributions of each choreographer is a wonderful challenge. And being all local choreographers, dancers and designers, it’s also a celebration of the wealth of talent we have in Seattle. It’s going to be a huge treat for our audiences.”

Project Orpheus will feature six of Seattle Dance Project’s dancers including: Joseph Anderson, Betsy Cooper, Alexandra Dickson, Timothy Lynch, Kory Perigo and Julie Tobiason.

Project Orpheus runs every Friday and Saturday from September 13 through October 4 at 8:00 p.m.  On September 10, Seattle Dance Project will hold a Pay-What-You-Will dress rehearsal. Space is limited and an RSVP to info@seattledanceproject.org is required to attend. The company also will host post-performance dialogues with the audience immediately following each performance. Tickets for Project Orpheus are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors; $20.00 ticket with the purchase of tickets to ACT’s production of Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. Groups of ten or more receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available at the ACT Ticket Office, 700 Union Street, Downtown Seattle, (206) 292-7676 or online at www.acttheatre.org. For more information on Project Orpheus, The Central Heating Lab or ACT Theatre’s mainstage production of Eurydice, visit www.acttheatre.org.

About Seattle Dance Project

Founded in 2007 by Julie Tobiason and Timothy Lynch, the Seattle Dance Project is a modern dance company comprised of world-class artists with the highest level of professional performing experience. Seattle Dance Project creates a movement methodology where muscular strength and classical lines of ballet converge with the emancipating movement of modern dance.  They perform in intimate settings such as ACT Theatre, Seattle, WA, and the Meydenbauer Theatre, Bellevue, WA. Company performers also include: Joseph Anderson, Alexandra Dickson, Melanie Skinner, Oleg Gorboulev, Dana Hanson, Kory Perigo, and Michele Curtis. Reflecting Seattle Dance Project’s commitment to high quality performing arts, many company members are active teachers in the Seattle dance community. 

Project Orpheus is generously sponsored in part by 4Culture and the Glenn H. Kawasaki Foundation.

About ACT

For the past 43 seasons, ACT’s mission has been to present a broad spectrum of the very best of contemporary theatre that speaks to audiences of all backgrounds. A significant part of ACT’s mandate is to commission new works and to foster the development of those works in a supportive and inspiring workplace. Through The Central Heating Lab, ACT seeks to heat things up and create a conversation with its season that reaches for a deeper impact.

Paper Mill Oklahoma Hoe-Down - 9/14/2008

Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Artistic Director, Mark W. Jones-Executive Director) is proud to announce a community event to celebrate the opening of the 2008-2009 season. The Paper Mill Playhouse Oklahoma Hoe-Down will be held in Taylor Park and Main Street in Downtown Millburn on Sunday, September 14th from 1:00pm until 5:00pm. This is truly an event for the entire family featuring a live blue-grass band, a live country-rock band, professional and amateur square-dancing, free pony rides, free petting zoo, free hayrides, a chili cook-off, a pie baking contest, a western themed costume contest, specialty food, a live and silent auction and much more.

Bring your favorite lawn chair out to Taylor Park for four hours of continuous country music. The Lewis Brothers are the tri-state area's best known bluegrass band. The current incarnation is a five piece band featuring banjo, dobro, mandolin, guitar and stand up bass. The group heavily influenced by Flatt and Scruggs and Bill Monroe, features along with Wanamaker Lewis on banjo, Peter Lorch on guitar and vocals, Jim Heffernan on dobro-the area's best-Larry Hunsberger on mandolin and vocals and Lewis Brothers stalwart Ron Greenstein on bass. Outstanding instrumentals and great vocals with tight three-part harmony highlight this top-notch band's profile. The Lewis Brothers will alternate sets with The Classix. With their big blues, country, southern rock and classic rock sound, The Classix have been launching crowds throughout the United States onto the dance floor since 1999. The Classix play all the popular favorites plus a sophisticated selection of original tunes that will leave the crowd begging for more. Band photos available upon request.

For the kids, Paper Mill Playhouse is offering, free pony rides, a large petting zoo, and (surrey) hayrides. Happy Tales is New Jersey's original traveling petting zoo & farm with friendly farm animals, pony rides and horse-drawn hay rides. There will be a children's area set up on the Main Street side of Taylor Park. Kids should also prepare their best western out-fits for the costume contest with fun prizes for kids of every age.

For the adults, there are two delicious contests featuring great prizes. First, put on your baking gloves and get ready for Millburn's Premier Pie-Baking Contest with multiple prizes for best looking pie and best tasting pie. Then, get out your biggest pot as Millburn residents compete for the title of Millburn's Best Chili for the Oklahoma Chili Cook-Off. To register your participation for both the Pie Baking Contest and/or the Oklahoma Chili Cook-Off please call Amanda Householder at Paper Mill Playhouse, 973-379-3636, ext. 2645.

In conjunction with The Paper Mill Playhouse Oklahoma Hoe-Down a live and silent auction featuring picnic baskets with merchandise, gift cards, and even ready made meals from your favorite Millburn/Short Hills businesses will take place on Main Street through out the day. All proceeds will go to help defray the costs of the event.

Food vendors will be selling refreshments on Main Street throughout the day or make it a picnic and bring your own meal.

To open the 70th Season, Paper Mill takes a fresh look at Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma, a true musical theatre classic. Arguably the most brilliant musical ever created, Oklahoma! changed the face of American musical theatre forever. The high-spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the colorful background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl, play out their love story. With these headstrong romantics holding the reins, love's journey is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road! That they will succeed in making a new life together we have no doubt, and that this new life will begin in a brand-new state provides the ultimate climax to the triumphant Oklahoma!

Single tickets for Oklahoma! are now on sale! The performance schedule for the 2008-2009 season at Paper Mill Playhouse is: Wednesdays at 7:30PM, Thursdays at 2:00PM & 7:30PM, Fridays at 8:00PM, Saturdays at 2:00PM & 8:00PM and Sundays at 2:00PM & 7:30PM. For ultimate flexibility, Paper Mill subscribers can now choose the new FLEX PASS option to tailor dates that best suit their schedules. Choose your dates now, or closer to the performance when you know your schedule. When you call for your seats, you'll get the best available seats in the section you've reserved. Student rush tickets are $20 and are available the day of performance in person with current student ID. Tickets may be purchased by calling 973-376-4343, or at the Paper Mill Box Office on Brookside Drive in Millburn, or online at www.papermill.org. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted. Groups of ten or more can receive up to a 25% discount on tickets and should call 973-379-3636 ext. 2438. Paper Mill's 70th Season is sponsored in part by Investors Savings Bank.

Paper Mill Playhouse, a not-for-profit arts organization, is one of the country's leading regional theatres. Paper Mill's programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, A Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional major support is provided by funding through a grant from the New Jersey Department of State, the National Endowment for the Arts, and generous contributions from many corporations, foundations, and individuals. Paper Mill Playhouse is a member of Theatre Communications Group, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Council of Stock Theatres, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance

17th Annual Broadway on Broadway To Take Place 9/14 - 9/14/2008

The Broadway League and The Times Square Alliance announced today that the 17th Annual Broadway on Broadway® presented by Continental Airlines, will be held on Sunday, September 14th at 11:30 a.m. in Times Square (entrance on 43rd Street and Broadway). The annual free outdoor concert brings together stars and performances from current and upcoming Broadway productions to celebrate the beginning of the Broadway season.
 
The annual show will feature appearances by stars from upcoming productions, and dazzling performances from some of Broadway's most beloved shows. A complete list of shows performing will be announced later this summer.
 
For the event, Times Square will be "shut down" to make room for the 50,000-plus attendees and this kickoff to the 2008-2009 Broadway season stretches from 43rd to 47th Streets. Fans should arrive early for a good spot.
 
In addition to individual performances, the event features a grand finale replete with a rain of confetti.
 
The Broadway League, Inc., founded in 1930 as the League of New York Theatres, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League's 600-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in 240 North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and across the U.S. and Canada. Visit our website at http://www.broadwayleague.com.
 
About The Times Square Alliance
 
The Times Square Alliance, founded in 1992, works to improve and promote Times Square.  In addition to providing safety and sanitation services, the Alliance coordinates many major events in Times Square including New Year's Eve, manages the City's busiest Tourism Center and advocates on behalf of its constituents with respect to a host of public policy, planning and quality-of-life issues.  Visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org for more information.
 
 

Andrew Lloyd Webber's B-Day Concert in London's Hyde Park - 9/14/2008

On Sunday 14th September, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Birthday In The Park will see stars from the world of pop, musical theatre and television, take to the stage in London's Hyde Park to celebrate the 60th birthday of one of the leading lights of British musical theatre. Host John Barrowman will introduce music from Andrew Lloyd Webber's best-loved shows including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom Of The Opera, Aspects Of Love and Sunset Boulevard.

The 70-piece BBC Concert Orchestra is leading the festivities with performances from Steve Balsamo, Duncan James, Lee Mead, Idina Menzel (Wicked), Elaine Paige, Rhydian (X-Factor), Joss Stone, Julian Lloyd Webber, Hayley Westenra, stars of BBC One's I'd Do Anything, and the 100-voice Crouch End Festival Chorus.

The evening's repertoire includes Jesus Christ Superstar, I Don't Know How To Love Him, Another Suitcase, Don't Cry For Me Argentina, Memory, Pie Jesu, Music of the Night, All I Ask Of You, Love Changes Everything, No Matter What, As If We Never Said Goodbye and Any Dream Will Do.

The concert will begin at 6pm and close with a firework finale. Tickets cost £25.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Birthday In The Park will also be broadcast in Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night on the 10th October.

For more information visit bbc.co.uk/radio2

Photo Credit Retna Ltd.

Judith Shakespeare Co Returns to NYC with 'Rape of the Lock' - 9/14/2008

The award-winning Judith Shakespeare Company NYC returns to the New York stage with its first full production in nearly 4 years -- the world-premiere production of Paul Hagen's new play THE RAPE OF THE LOCK -- with previews beginning September 11 prior to its official press opening on September 14 at The Duo Theatre (62 East 4th Street) in Manhattan. Jane Titus is set to direct.

Written in unique rhymed couplets, Paul Hagen's THE RAPE OF THE LOCK pays homage to Alexander Pope's famous satire even as it puts a 21st-century spin on the story, arousing questions on the nature of men and women, art and violence.

In this adaptation of his classic 18th century mock-epic poem, Alexander Pope is portrayed as the crankiest playwright ever, as five actors alternately suffer under and subvert his tyrannical direction. The "lock" in question is a precious, perfect, curly lock of hair on the lovely and vain Belinda's head, and the "rape" of that lock by the lustful and determined Baron involves not only a pair of scissors, but an inevitable trail of gossip, jealousy, rivalry, seduction, conquest, and revenge.

Directed by JSC Artistic Associate Jane Titus, THE RAPE OF THE LOCK marks the first full production of Resurgence, JSC's unique play development program, which seeks to find, develop, and produce new plays written in heightened language and verse, and which feature significant roles for women. In 2005 and 2006, JSC received over 300 submissions, selecting and giving public readings to six of those plays. This is the first of those six plays to be given a full production by the company.

Performed in JSC's signature gender-reverse casting, THE RAPE OF THE LOCK features Leanne Littlestone as Alexander Pope; Ivanna Cullinan as Thalestris; Vanessa Morosco as The Baron; Suzanne Hayes as Sir Plume; Tyrone Davis as Clarissa; and John Forkner as Belinda.

The eclectic design of the show is influenced by fashions spanning the 18th through the 20th centuries. Composer Benjamin Ickies' original musical score is an integral part of the production along with costumes and props designed by Rosalynd Darling; set and lighting designed by Michelangelo Alaso; and stylized movement directed by Rob O'Neill.

Playwright Paul Hagen's recent plays include FITZ & WALLOUGHS GET IT IN THE END at the Ace of Clubs; PARDON ME, JUSTINS RIGHTEOUSNESS at the Atlantic Theater Company, and THE ONLY THING STRAIGHT IS MY JACKET as part of the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival and The Prospect Theater Company's Dark Nights series. Mr. Hagen is also the Editor-in-Chief of Metrosource, a national magazine for the LGBT community dedicated to art, entertainment and style. He lives and works in New York City and is a graduate of Fordham University at Lincoln Center.

Founded in 1995, Judith Shakespeare Company NYC is committed to bringing Shakespeare's language to life with clarity and vitality, while expanding the presence of women in classic literature. During the 2003-04 Season, Judith Shakespeare Company NYC presented its last fully staged production, RICHARD 3, which crowned the company's three-season presentation o f Shakespeare's History Cycle. Previously the company has presented THE TEMPEST, with Jane Titus in the role of Prospero, followed by THE TEMPEST PROJECT: AN EXPERIMENT IN NON-TRADITIONAL CASTING. In 2000, The company celebrated its fifth season with full productions of COMEDY OF ERRORS and JULIUS CAESAR, which was featured on LifeTime Live.

The company won an OOBR Award for its production of MACBETH. Other notable work includes a full production of ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL and the world premiere of TABULA RASA by Texas playwright Molly Louise Shepard. Additionally, JSC continues its unique "Shakespeare Unplugged" Concert Reading Series, which has included TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, KING JOHN, PERICLES, HENRY VIII, TITUS ANDRONICUS, RICHARD 2, HENRY 4 PART 1, HENRY 4 PART 2, HENRY 5, HENRY 6 PARTs 1-2-3 (in rotating repertory) and LOVE'S LABOURS LOST.

THE RAPE OF THE LOCK is made possible by the generous support of Mr. Charles E. Bockwith and JSC's individual donors.

Joanne Zipay is Artistic Director of Judith Shakespeare Company NYC.

Performances of Paul Hagen's THE RAPE OF THE LOCK run September 11- 28 at Duo Theatre (62 East 4th Street, between Bowery and 2nd Avenue); Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $19 ($10 Student Rush tickets available, with valid ID). For reservations, call 212-592-1885. For more information, visit www.judithshakespeare.com.

Anna Bergman Returns to Feinstein's 9/14 - 9/14/2008

Following her sold-out engagement last spring, Anna Bergman returns to the stage of ‘the nightclub of New York,’ Feinstein's at Loews Regency (540 Park Avenue @ 61st  Street) for the opening of its 10th Anniversary season.  On September 14th, 15th and 21st (8:30PM) Anna will present her new show, My Heart Stood Still: The Love Songs of Richard Rodgers with special guest, Broadway veteran, Brent Barrett.

In My Heart Stood Still: The Love Songs of Richard Rodgers, Anna turns her attention to the glorious melodies of the incomparable theatrical legend, Richard Rodgers. In the romantic songs that Rodgers wrote with such masterful lyricists as Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Martin Charnin and Stephen Sondheim, Anna searches for the heart that beats inside all of us….as we long for, revel in and sometimes lose, at love. It’s a match made in musical heaven and one that cabaret lovers will not want to miss.

Directed by Eric Michael Gillett, the evening will feature special guest, Broadway leading man Brent Barrett (“Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular”, “Chicago: The Musical”, “Kiss Me Kate”- Olivier Award nomination), who was also her guest artist in her 2007 public television special “You & the Night & the Music: A Salon with Anna Bergman”.  Paul Greenwood will serve as musical director and arranger.

 Anna Bergman has been hailed by The Washington Post as "a songstress who has triumphed in everything from Broadway-flavored tunes to opera arias and the sultry innuendoes of the cabaret chanteuse".  Career highlights: Lincoln Center's American Songbook (with Barbara Cook); concert version of The Light in the Piazza (as Margaret) with Adam Guettel, Seattle's Intiman Theatre; the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration in A Little Night Music; as soloist in Carnegie Hall's centennial tribute to Ira Gershwin, at the White House and with the Pasadena Pops Orchestra. Other concert appearances: London's Cafe Royal; London's Lost Musicals with Kitty Carlisle Hart; Waltz Of My Heart: The Music Of Ivor Novello (BBC-TV), International Festival, Cardiff Wales; Mr. Gershwin Goes To Washington (as Diana Devereaux), Music Festival of the Hamptons; Chicago Humanities Festival; Manaus Opera House, Brazil; New York Festival of Song; Lyrics & Lyricists. Theatre: Kiss Me Kate (Kate), Three Sisters (Masha), Falsettoland (Cordelia), Camelot (Guenevere), The Cryptogram (Donny), Three Postcards (Big Jane), The Beggar's Opera (Jenny), The Merry Widow (Valencienne), Blood On The Dining Room Floor (Rose, opera, NY world premiere). Concert-Cabarets: Kennedy Center, Algonquin's Oak Room, Stanhope Hotel, Prince Music Theatre, Caramoor and Strathmore Centers for the Arts, Colony Hotel, Crest Theatre, Guild Hall, Le Chat Noir.  Her CDs, Souvenir on the LML Music label and Kurt Weill In America are available in stores and on her website, www.annabergman.com.

 Anna Bergman will play the following performances: Sunday, September 14th, Monday, September 15th and Sunday, September 21st at 8:30PM at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency (540 Park Avenue @ 61st Street).  Dining room opens at 6:30pm. There is a $40 cover charge and a $25 food and beverage minimum.  Premium seating is available for $60.  For reservations, please call (212) 339-4095.

'Hair' Closes - 9/14/2008

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Mara Manus) announced a final one-week extension today for HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical which has been playing to sold out houses at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park since July 22. Directed by Diane Paulus with book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot, this critically acclaimed revival of the classic 1967 musical has had two previous extensions but now must close on Sunday, September 14.

"HAIR has touched a nerve and captured the spirit of the times," said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "Nothing is more exciting than being in the Delacorte right now and seeing this 40-year-old musical reach audiences as if it was written yesterday. We are thrilled to announce our third and final extension."

HAIR was the show that, in 1967, officially opened The Public Theater's long-time home on Lafayette Street. HAIR has the distinction of being the first off-Broadway musical to transfer to Broadway. It moved to Broadway on April 29, 1968 and ran for 1,873 performances.

The cast for HAIR features Ato Blankson-Wood (Tribe), Steel Burkhardt (Tribe), Jackie Burns (Black Boys Trio/Tribe), Allison Case (Crissy), Lauren Elder (Tribe), Allison Guinn (Tribe), Christopher J. Hanke (Claude), Anthony Hollock (Tribe), Kaitlin Kiyan (Tribe), Andrew Kober (Father/Margaret Mead), Megan Lawrence (Mother), Nicole Lewis (White Boys Trio / Tribe), Caren Lyn Manuel (Sheila), Patina Renea Miller (Dionne), John Moauro (Tribe), Darius Nichols (Hud), Brandon Pearson (Tribe), Megan Reinking (Black Boys Trio / Tribe), Paris Remillard (Tribe), Bryce Ryness (Woof), Saycon Sengbloh (White Boys Trio / Tribe), Maya Sharpe (Tribe), Kacie Sheik (Jeanie), Theo Stockman (Tribe), Will Swenson (Berger), and Tommar Wilson (Tribe).

HAIR features scenic design by Scott Pask, costume design by Michael McDonald, lighting design by Michael Chybowski, sound design by Acme Sound Partners, and choreography by Karole Armitage.

Free tickets to Shakespeare in the Park are only distributed at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park or via a new virtual line opportunity at www.publictheater.org. The Public Theater is not distributing tickets downtown at 425 Lafayette Street due to ongoing construction on the exterior of the building.

To increase accessibility to Park shows, The Public Theater has launched a virtual line initiative this summer. While the majority of the tickets are still given out at the line in Central Park, a limited number of tickets are available each show day online. The virtual line allows people who are registered at The Public Theater website to log-on the day of a show (starting at midnight) to submit a request for up to two tickets. At 1 PM, they log-on to the theater website again to see if they have received tickets for that evening's performance. The tickets are held at the box office and a valid photo ID is required. The selection process is completely random and is not determined by what time of day a person submits a request for tickets.

Summer Supporter tickets for HAIR are available for a tax-deductible donation of $165. These reserved seats are only available for a limited time to ensure that the highest number of free seats will be available to distribute to the general public on the day of the show. Summer Supporter tickets help to underwrite production expenses. Supporter tickets are available at the Public Theater Box Office at 425 Lafayette Street; online at publictheater.org; or by calling (212) 967-7555.

Diane Paulus (Director) is the creator and director of The Donkey Show, which ran for six years off-Broadway and toured internationally. Her theater credits include Turandot: Rumble for the Ring (Bay Street Theatre); The Golden Mickeys (Disney Creative Entertainment); Best of Both Worlds (Music-Theatre Group and The Women's Project); The Karaoke Show (Jordan Roth Productions); the Obie Award-winning Pulitzer Prize finalist Running Man; Swimming With Watermelons (Project 400); Brutal Imagination; the Obie-winning Eli's Comin. Opera credits include Le Nozze Di Figaro, Turn of the Screw, Cosi Fan Tutte, Il Ritorno D'ulisse In Patria, L'Incoronazione di Poppea, and Orfeo (all Chicago Opera Theater; Orfeo was also presented at BAM). Recipient: Peter Ivers Visiting Artist Fellowship (Harvard); Directing Fellowship (the Drama League).

Performances of HAIR are Tuesday through Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are FREE and available on the day of the performance (two per person) at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park beginning at 1:00 p.m. or via a new virtual line opportunity at www.publictheater.org beginning at 12 AM the day of the show you want to attend. The closest entrances to the Delacorte are at 81st Street and Central Park West or 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.

For additional information about Shakespeare in the Park, call (212) 539-8750 or visit

The Public Theater website at www.publictheater.org

THE PUBLIC THEATER (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 as the Shakespeare Workshop and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, productions of Shakespeare, and other classics at its headquarters on Lafayette Street and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day on stage and through its extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 40 Tony Awards, 145 Obies, 39 Drama Desk Awards, 24 Lucille Lortel Awards and 4 Pulitzer Prizes.

BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY

Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, Bank of America is in its fourth year of achieving an unprecedented 10-year goal to donate $1.5 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation will give more than $225 million in 2008, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world and the second largest donor of all U.S. corporations in cash contributions. Bank of America approaches giving through a national strategy called "neighborhood excellence" under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Through Team Bank of America, bank associate volunteers contributed more than 650,000 hours in 2007 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.

Photo by Michal Daniel

Westminster Arts Center To Present Bromka in 'Bird, Pat, Betty' - 9/14/2008

The Westminster Arts Center at Bloomfield College is pleased to present Elaine Bromka in "Lady Bird, Pat & Betty: Tea for Three" on Saturday, September 13th at 8:00 pm and Sunday, September 14th at 2:00 pm. The show uncovers the lives of three of our First Ladies three remarkable women. A deeply touching and often funny new play, Ms. Bromka offers a gallery of portraits that one critic hailed as a "subtle feat of brilliant acting."

"Lady Bird, Pat & Betty: Tea for Three" reveals a gallery of intimate portraits of three radically different First Ladies. We discover each at a threshold moment in her life, and learn the personal cost of what Pat Nixon called the hardest unpaid job in the world. Particularly apt in this time as the country is choosing a new President of the United States, this one-woman show is a funny yet thought-provoking exploration of these fascinating women and what they faced in this most unusual job.

Emmy Awardwinning actress Elaine Bromka, with 30 years in film, television, Broadway and Off-Broadway, starred opposite Rich Little in the P.B.S. show The Presidents and impersonated the last eight First Ladies. Intrigued by their stories, she went on to collaborate with playwright Eric H. Weinberger, focusing on Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford. And the result? Eighty-five minutes of heartwarming delight!

I am so happy to have Ms. Bromka at the arts center to present this piece, says Managing Director Gregory Allen. Although I've seen her on TV for years, I had the pleasure of meeting her over a year ago and have been working ever since to get her here. We felt the timing was right - as we all get ready to put a new First Lady into the White House - to look backwards and watch history come alive!

The Record Review of Bedford, NY says Through the subtle feat of brilliant acting, there is an exfoliation of public courtesies we come to know their most private thoughts, emotions, strengths, perseverance and courage.

Tickets are $20 for general/$13 for seniors and can be reserved by calling 973-748-9008 ext 279, or purchased online at www.bloomfield.edu/westminster or at the door. Westminster Arts Center is at the corner of Franklin & Fremont Streets in Bloomfield, NJ.

Drew Lachey to Host 'Broadway on Broadway' 9/14 - 9/14/2008

Spamalot’s Drew Lachey will host Broadway on Broadway 2008 (www.broadwayonbroadway.com) on Sunday, September 14th at 11:30 a.m., it was announced today by The Broadway League and The Times Square Alliance. Presented by Continental Airlines, the annual free outdoor concert brings together stars and performances from current and upcoming Broadway productions to celebrate the beginning of the new Broadway season. For the event, Times Square will be “shut down” to make room for the 50,000+ attendees. This kickoff to the 2008-2009 Broadway season stretches from 43rd to 47th Streets and fans should arrive early for a good spot.
 
Mr. Lachey, perhaps best known as the winner of “Dancing With the Stars” and a member of the phenomenally successful pop group 98 Degrees will host a show featuring appearances and performances by stars from upcoming productions such as A Tale of Two Cities, Billy Elliott and 13, as well as some of Broadway’s most beloved shows, including Avenue Q, Chicago, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Grease, Gypsy, Hairspray, In The Heights, Jersey Boys, The Lion King, Legally Blonde, Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins, The Phantom of the Opera, Spring Awakening, [title of show], Wicked, Young Frankenstein, Mr. Lachey’s show, Monty Python’s Spamalot, and more. All appearances are subject to change.
 
In addition to great singing and dancing, Broadway on Broadway will conclude with a grand finale: a “shower” of confetti. 
 
This year’s Broadway on Broadway will also launch the new Broadway Concierge & Ticket Center, located in the Times Square Visitors Center. Details will follow soon.
 
"It is an honor to be hosting this year’s Broadway on Broadway,” commented Drew Lachey. "I am delighted to be a part of the Broadway community and I love this great city. I look forward to showing the Broadway fans from New York and around the world just what we have to offer."
 
“'You gotta have a gimmick,' someone once wrote, or sang.  Closing down Times Square for a free concert of today’s and tomorrow’s Broadway shows to kick-off the new theatre season is a great beginning," said Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League. "At this year's event, we are excited to announce the launch of The Broadway Concierge and Ticket Center. Details will be announced next week.”
 
“The Crossroads of the World once again welcomes theater fans from all over the globe,” said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance. “What better host to lead the singing and dancing than Spamalot star and “Dancing with the Stars” winner Drew Lachey.”
 
*   *   *
Event Sponsors

Broadway on Broadway kicks off the 2008 – 2009 Broadway season and is produced by The Broadway League and The Times Square Alliance.  Broadway on Broadway is proudly presented by Continental Airlines with official sponsor, The New York Times. IMG Media, the world’s largest packager and producer of sports and live event television, is producing Broadway on Broadway for the second time.

About The Broadway League
The Broadway League, Inc., founded in 1930 as the League of New York Theatres, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League’s 600-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in 240 North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and across the U.S. and Canada. Visit our website at http://www.broadwayleague.com.


About The Times Square Alliance
The Times Square Alliance, founded in 1992, works to improve and promote Times Square.  In addition to providing safety and sanitation services, the Alliance coordinates many major events in Times Square including New Year’s Eve, manages the City’s busiest Tourism Center and advocates on behalf of its constituents with respect to a host of public policy, planning and quality-of-life issues.  Visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org for more information.
 
 
About Drew Lachey
A native of Cincinnati, Drew Lachey is an accomplished singer, dancer and actor. Drew was last seen on Broadway as ‘Mark Cohen’ in the hit musical Rent. On television, Drew was most recently seen as the host of ABC’s hit show “Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann.” No stranger to dancing, Drew and his partner Cheryl Burke took home the first place trophy in ABC’s second season of “Dancing with the Stars.” Drew has also appeared on “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica,” “As the World Turns” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” Drew first rose to prominence as a member of 98 Degrees, which he joined with his brother Nick in 1995. The group recorded four successful albums, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Drew currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Lea and daughter Isabella.

Highline To Host John Gallagher, Jr's. Band 'Old Springs Pike' 9/14 - 9/14/2008

Johnny Gallagher, formerly of Broadway's Spring Awakening and roots band Old Springs Pike, plays folk rock songs full of celebratory admittance, passion, honesty and energy. Gallagher will play at the Highline Ballroom (431 16th Street) on Sunday September 14th. Doors are at 7PM and the show begins at 8PM. Tickets are $12.50 in advance and $15 at the door. To purchase tickets please call 866-468-7619 or visit www.ticketweb.com.

Unless otherwise noted, all shows are suitable for all ages and offer general admission seating. Seating for all shows is first come, first seated; Highline does not take advance table reservation, except where noted as a condition of a VIP ticket. They cannot seat incomplete parties.  Standing room for all shows is available at our bar.

A $10 food and/or beverage minimum is standard for table seating during all shows.

Highline To Host John Gallagher, Jr's Band 'Old Springs Pike' 9/14 - 9/14/2008

Johnny Gallagher, formerly of Broadway's Spring Awakening and roots band Old Springs Pike, plays folk rock songs full of celebratory admittance, passion, honesty and energy. Gallagher will play at the Highline Ballroom (431 16th Street) on Sunday September 14th. Doors are at 7PM and the show begins at 8PM. Tickets are $12.50 in advance and $15 at the door. To purchase tickets please call 866-468-7619 or visit www.ticketweb.com.

Unless otherwise noted, all shows are suitable for all ages and offer general admission seating. Seating for all shows is first come, first seated; Highline does not take advance table reservation, except where noted as a condition of a VIP ticket. They cannot seat incomplete parties.  Standing room for all shows is available at our bar.

A $10 food and/or beverage minimum is standard for table seating during all shows.

Highline To Host John Gallagher, Jr. On 9/14 - 9/14/2008

John Gallagher, Jr. formerly of Broadway's Spring Awakening and roots band Old Springs Pike, plays folk rock songs full of celebratory admittance, passion, honesty and energy. Gallagher will play at the Highline Ballroom (431 16th Street) on Sunday September 14th. Doors are at 7PM and the show begins at 8PM. Tickets are $12.50 in advance and $15 at the door. To purchase tickets please call 866-468-7619 or visit www.ticketweb.com.

Unless otherwise noted, all shows are suitable for all ages and offer general admission seating. Seating for all shows is first come, first seated; Highline does not take advance table reservation, except where noted as a condition of a VIP ticket. They cannot seat incomplete parties.  Standing room for all shows is available at our bar.

A $10 food and/or beverage minimum is standard for table seating during all shows.

Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

Boggess, Butler, Hanks,' Ellis and MORE Including to 'Broadway on Broadway' Performance Lineup - 9/14/2008

Spamalot's Drew Lachey will host Broadway on Broadway 2008 (www.broadwayonbroadway.com) on Sunday, September 14th at 11:30 a.m., it was announced today by The Broadway League and The Times Square Alliance. Presented by Continental Airlines, the annual free outdoor concert brings together stars and performances from current and upcoming Broadway productions to celebrate the beginning of the new Broadway season. For the event, Times Square will be "shut down" to make room for the 50,000+ attendees. This kickoff to the 2008-2009 Broadway season stretches from 43rd to 47th Streets and fans should arrive early for a good spot.
 
Mr. Lachey, perhaps best known as the winner of "Dancing With the Stars" and a member of the phenomenally successful pop group 98 Degrees will host a show featuring appearances and performances  from Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid), Kerry Butler (Xanadu), Tevin Campbell (Hairspray) Carolee Carmello (Mamma Mia!), Kerry Ellis (Wicked), Bailey Hanks (Legally Blonde), Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu), Beth Leavel (Young Frankenstein), Hunter Parrish (Spring Awakening), Tony Roberts (Xanadu) Tom Wopat (Chicago), Ace Young (Grease),  plus over 200 cast members from 13, Avenue Q, Billy Elliot, Chicago, Grease, Gypsy,  Hairspray, In the Heights, Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Tale of Two Cities, [title of show], The Phantom of the Opera, The Little Mermaid, Wicked and Xanadu.
 
In addition to great singing and dancing, Broadway on Broadway will conclude with a grand finale: a "shower" of confetti. 
 
This year's Broadway on Broadway will also launch the new Broadway Concierge & Ticket Center, located in the Times Square Visitors Center. Details will follow soon.
 
"It is an honor to be hosting this year's Broadway on Broadway," commented Drew Lachey. "I am delighted to be a part of the Broadway community and I love this great city. I look forward to showing the Broadway fans from New York and around the world just what we have to offer."
 
"'You gotta have a gimmick,' someone once wrote, or sang.  Closing down Times Square for a free concert of today's and tomorrow's Broadway shows to kick-off the new theatre season is a great beginning," said Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League. "At this year's event, we are excited to announce the launch of The Broadway Concierge and Ticket Center. Details will be announced next week."
 
"The Crossroads of the World once again welcomes theater fans from all over the globe," said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance. "What better host to lead the singing and dancing than Spamalot star and "Dancing with the Stars" winner Drew Lachey."
 
*   *   *
Event Sponsors

Broadway on Broadway kicks off the 2008 - 2009 Broadway season and is produced by The Broadway League and The Times Square Alliance.  Broadway on Broadway is proudly presented by Continental Airlines with official sponsor, The New York Times. IMG Media, the world's largest packager and producer of sports and live event television, is producing Broadway on Broadway for the second time.

About The Broadway League
The Broadway League, Inc., founded in 1930 as the League of New York Theatres, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League's 600-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in 240 North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and across the U.S. and Canada. Visit our website at http://www.broadwayleague.com.

About The Times Square Alliance
The Times Square Alliance, founded in 1992, works to improve and promote Times Square.  In addition to providing safety and sanitation services, the Alliance coordinates many major events in Times Square including New Year's Eve, manages the City's busiest Tourism Center and advocates on behalf of its constituents with respect to a host of public policy, planning and quality-of-life issues.  Visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org for more information.
 
About Drew Lachey
A native of Cincinnati, Drew Lachey is an accomplished singer, dancer and actor. Drew was last seen on Broadway as 'Mark Cohen' in the hit musical Rent. On television, Drew was most recently seen as the host of ABC's hit show "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann." No stranger to dancing, Drew and his partner Cheryl Burke took home the first place trophy in ABC's second season of "Dancing with the Stars." Drew has also appeared on "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica," "As the World Turns" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Drew first rose to prominence as a member of 98 Degrees, which he joined with his brother Nick in 1995. The group recorded four successful albums, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Drew currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Lea and daughter Isabella.

Boggess, Butler, Hanks, Ellis and MORE Including to 'Broadway on Broadway' Performance Lineup - 9/14/2008

Spamalot's Drew Lachey will host Broadway on Broadway 2008 (www.broadwayonbroadway.com) on Sunday, September 14th at 11:30 a.m., it was announced today by The Broadway League and The Times Square Alliance. Presented by Continental Airlines, the annual free outdoor concert brings together stars and performances from current and upcoming Broadway productions to celebrate the beginning of the new Broadway season. For the event, Times Square will be "shut down" to make room for the 50,000+ attendees. This kickoff to the 2008-2009 Broadway season stretches from 43rd to 47th Streets and fans should arrive early for a good spot.
 
Mr. Lachey, perhaps best known as the winner of "Dancing With the Stars" and a member of the phenomenally successful pop group 98 Degrees will host a show featuring appearances and performances  from Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid), Kerry Butler (Xanadu), Tevin Campbell (Hairspray) Carolee Carmello (Mamma Mia!), Kerry Ellis (Wicked), Bailey Hanks (Legally Blonde), Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu), Beth Leavel (Young Frankenstein), Hunter Parrish (Spring Awakening), Tony Roberts (Xanadu) Tom Wopat (Chicago), Ace Young (Grease),  plus over 200 cast members from 13, Avenue Q, Billy Elliot, Chicago, Grease, Gypsy,  Hairspray, In the Heights, Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Tale of Two Cities, [title of show], The Phantom of the Opera, The Little Mermaid, Wicked and Xanadu.
 
In addition to great singing and dancing, Broadway on Broadway will conclude with a grand finale: a "shower" of confetti. 
 
This year's Broadway on Broadway will also launch the new Broadway Concierge & Ticket Center, located in the Times Square Visitors Center. Details will follow soon.
 
"It is an honor to be hosting this year's Broadway on Broadway," commented Drew Lachey. "I am delighted to be a part of the Broadway community and I love this great city. I look forward to showing the Broadway fans from New York and around the world just what we have to offer."
 
"'You gotta have a gimmick,' someone once wrote, or sang.  Closing down Times Square for a free concert of today's and tomorrow's Broadway shows to kick-off the new theatre season is a great beginning," said Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League. "At this year's event, we are excited to announce the launch of The Broadway Concierge and Ticket Center. Details will be announced next week."
 
"The Crossroads of the World once again welcomes theater fans from all over the globe," said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance. "What better host to lead the singing and dancing than Spamalot star and "Dancing with the Stars" winner Drew Lachey."
 
*   *   *
Event Sponsors

Broadway on Broadway kicks off the 2008 - 2009 Broadway season and is produced by The Broadway League and The Times Square Alliance.  Broadway on Broadway is proudly presented by Continental Airlines with official sponsor, The New York Times. IMG Media, the world's largest packager and producer of sports and live event television, is producing Broadway on Broadway for the second time.

About The Broadway League
The Broadway League, Inc., founded in 1930 as the League of New York Theatres, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League's 600-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in 240 North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and across the U.S. and Canada. Visit our website at http://www.broadwayleague.com.

About The Times Square Alliance
The Times Square Alliance, founded in 1992, works to improve and promote Times Square.  In addition to providing safety and sanitation services, the Alliance coordinates many major events in Times Square including New Year's Eve, manages the City's busiest Tourism Center and advocates on behalf of its constituents with respect to a host of public policy, planning and quality-of-life issues.  Visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org for more information.
 
About Drew Lachey
A native of Cincinnati, Drew Lachey is an accomplished singer, dancer and actor. Drew was last seen on Broadway as 'Mark Cohen' in the hit musical Rent. On television, Drew was most recently seen as the host of ABC's hit show "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann." No stranger to dancing, Drew and his partner Cheryl Burke took home the first place trophy in ABC's second season of "Dancing with the Stars." Drew has also appeared on "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica," "As the World Turns" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Drew first rose to prominence as a member of 98 Degrees, which he joined with his brother Nick in 1995. The group recorded four successful albums, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Drew currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Lea and daughter Isabella.

Boggess, Butler, Hanks, Ellis and MORE Added to 'Broadway on Broadway' Performance Lineup - 9/14/2008

Spamalot's Drew Lachey will host Broadway on Broadway 2008 (www.broadwayonbroadway.com) on Sunday, September 14th at 11:30 a.m., it was announced today by The Broadway League and The Times Square Alliance. Presented by Continental Airlines, the annual free outdoor concert brings together stars and performances from current and upcoming Broadway productions to celebrate the beginning of the new Broadway season. For the event, Times Square will be "shut down" to make room for the 50,000+ attendees. This kickoff to the 2008-2009 Broadway season stretches from 43rd to 47th Streets and fans should arrive early for a good spot.
 
Mr. Lachey, perhaps best known as the winner of "Dancing With the Stars" and a member of the phenomenally successful pop group 98 Degrees will host a show featuring appearances and performances  from Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid), Kerry Butler (Xanadu), Tevin Campbell (Hairspray) Carolee Carmello (Mamma Mia!), Kerry Ellis (Wicked), Bailey Hanks (Legally Blonde), Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu), Beth Leavel (Young Frankenstein), Hunter Parrish (Spring Awakening), Tony Roberts (Xanadu) Tom Wopat (Chicago), Ace Young (Grease),  plus over 200 cast members from 13, Avenue Q, Billy Elliot, Chicago, Grease, Gypsy,  Hairspray, In the Heights, Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Tale of Two Cities, [title of show], The Phantom of the Opera, The Little Mermaid, Wicked and Xanadu.
 
In addition to great singing and dancing, Broadway on Broadway will conclude with a grand finale: a "shower" of confetti. 
 
This year's Broadway on Broadway will also launch the new Broadway Concierge & Ticket Center, located in the Times Square Visitors Center. Details will follow soon.
 
"It is an honor to be hosting this year's Broadway on Broadway," commented Drew Lachey. "I am delighted to be a part of the Broadway community and I love this great city. I look forward to showing the Broadway fans from New York and around the world just what we have to offer."
 
"'You gotta have a gimmick,' someone once wrote, or sang.  Closing down Times Square for a free concert of today's and tomorrow's Broadway shows to kick-off the new theatre season is a great beginning," said Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League. "At this year's event, we are excited to announce the launch of The Broadway Concierge and Ticket Center. Details will be announced next week."
 
"The Crossroads of the World once again welcomes theater fans from all over the globe," said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance. "What better host to lead the singing and dancing than Spamalot star and "Dancing with the Stars" winner Drew Lachey."
 
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Event Sponsors

Broadway on Broadway kicks off the 2008 - 2009 Broadway season and is produced by The Broadway League and The Times Square Alliance.  Broadway on Broadway is proudly presented by Continental Airlines with official sponsor, The New York Times. IMG Media, the world's largest packager and producer of sports and live event television, is producing Broadway on Broadway for the second time.

About The Broadway League
The Broadway League, Inc., founded in 1930 as the League of New York Theatres, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League's 600-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in 240 North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and across the U.S. and Canada. Visit our website at http://www.broadwayleague.com.

About The Times Square Alliance
The Times Square Alliance, founded in 1992, works to improve and promote Times Square.  In addition to providing safety and sanitation services, the Alliance coordinates many major events in Times Square including New Year's Eve, manages the City's busiest Tourism Center and advocates on behalf of its constituents with respect to a host of public policy, planning and quality-of-life issues.  Visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org for more information.
 
About Drew Lachey
A native of Cincinnati, Drew Lachey is an accomplished singer, dancer and actor. Drew was last seen on Broadway as 'Mark Cohen' in the hit musical Rent. On television, Drew was most recently seen as the host of ABC's hit show "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann." No stranger to dancing, Drew and his partner Cheryl Burke took home the first place trophy in ABC's second season of "Dancing with the Stars." Drew has also appeared on "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica," "As the World Turns" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Drew first rose to prominence as a member of 98 Degrees, which he joined with his brother Nick in 1995. The group recorded four successful albums, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Drew currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Lea and daughter Isabella.

Lewis Cleale is New El Gallo in 'Fantasticks' Revival - 9/14/2008

Lewis Cleale, who recently appeared as Sir Galahad in the Broadway company of Spamalot, will assume the role of El Gallo in the Off Broadway revival of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's The Fantasticks beginning Monday, September 15, 2008.  He will replace Dennis Parlato, who will play his final performances in the longest-running musical in the world on Sunday, September 14, 2008.

Cleale's other Broadway credits include Amour, Sir Harry in Once Upon a Mattress (with Sarah Jessica Parker) and Swinging on a Star, for which he earned a Drama Desk Nomination.  He appeared Off Broadway in Time and Again (Manhattan Theater Club), A New Brain (Lincoln Center), Call Me Madam (opposite Tyne Daly at Encores!) and Big City Rhythm.  National Tours include Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard (opposite Petula Clark) and Lt. Cable in South Pacific (with Robert Goulet).  His regional credits include over thirty leading roles including Giorgio in Passion (Helen Hayes Award) and John Adams in 1776 for Ford's Theatre (Helen Hayes Nomination).  His recordings include William Finn's Infinite Joy, Myths and Hymns, Sara Zahn: Witchcraft, and the original cast recordings of Once Upon a Mattress, Swinging on a Star, Call Me Madam and Amour.

The Fantasticks is a captivating and simple romantic comedy about a boy and girl who fall in the love at the hands of their meddling fathers.  They're then separated and forced to confront the harsh realities and hidden dangers of the real world.  Having played a record-breaking 17,162 performances in its original run at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, The Fantasticks is now playing in the heart of Times Square at The Snapple Theater Center.  The production also stars Nick Spangler, Margaret Anne Florence, Tom Flagg, Gene Jones, Jordan Nichols, Michael Nostrand, Evy Ortiz, Steve Routman, John Thomas Waite and Scott Willis.

The performance schedule is as follows: Mondays at 8PM, Wednesdays at 2PM, Thursdays and Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2PM & 8PM, and Sundays at 3PM & 7:15PM.  Tickets, priced $50 - $75, are available by calling the box office at (212) 921-7862 or Ticketmaster.com at (212) 307-4100.  Specially-priced $31 student rush tickets are also available the day of the performance.

The Snapple Theater Center is located at 210 West 50th Street (at Broadway).

Bonney Directs Weller's 'Beast' At NYTW; Marshall-Green Stars - 9/15/2008

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo have announced that Beast, written by Michael Weller and directed by Jo Bonney, will begin performances Friday, August 29 at 8pm, at NYTW, 79 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. Opening night is scheduled for Monday, September 15 at 7pm. The production will run through Sunday, October 12.

In Beast, a blood-red comic road adventure, two Iraqi War veterans (Logan Marshall-Green and Corey Stoll)—badly mutilated but as fiercely patriotic as ever—make their way home from a military hospital in Germany. Their marauding adventure across America takes them to Crawford, Texas, where they meet up with their Commander-in-Chief (Larry Pine) and offer a surefire solution to all his problems.

The cast of Beast is Raul Aranas, Jeremy Bobb, Lisa Joyce, Logan Marshall-Green, Larry Pine, Eileen Rivera, and Corey Stoll.

Michael Weller's best known plays are Moonchildren, Fishing, Loose Ends, Spoils of War and What the Night is For. His films include Hair, Ragtime and Lost Angels. He was a writer/producer on the television series "Once and Again," recently developed his own series called "Just Like Home," and is developing a pilot called "Nassau County." He helped establish (and now serves as supervising mentor of) The Mentor Project of the Cherry Lane Theatre. Weller has won multiple awards, including a Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award, an N.A.A.C.P. Outstanding Contribution Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, as well as an Academy Award nomination. He is currently revising the book for Zhivago, a musical based on the novel Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. This fall, MCC will produce his play Fifty Words. He is also working on the book for the musical Rumours, featuring the music of Fleetwood Mac. Weller received his BA in music composition from Brandeis University, and a graduate degree in playwriting from the University of Manchester, England.

Jo Bonney's previous work at NYTW includes Alan Ball's All That I Will Ever Be (NYTW), Will Power's The Seven (Lortel Award for Best Musical; also at La Jolla), and Universes' Slanguage (also at Mark Taper Forum). Other credits include Naomi Wallace's Fever Chart (Public Theater Lab); Eric Bogosian's subUrbia, Charles Fuller's A Soldier's Play, and Lisa Loomer's Living Out (Second Stage); Neil LaButes's Fat Pig (MCC & Geffen Playhouse) and Some Girl(s) (MCC); Caryl Churchill's Top Girls (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Christopher Shinn's On the Mountain (Playwrights Horizons); Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics (Arena Stage); Lanford Wilson's Fifth of July (Signature Theatre, Lortel Award for Best Revival); Jose Rivera's Adoration of the Old Woman (La Jolla) and References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (Public Theater); Diana Son's Stop Kiss and Anna Deavere Smith's House Arrest (Public Theater); Jessica Goldberg's Good Thing (The New Group); John Osborne's Look Back in Anger (CSC); Danny Hoch's Some People and Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop (USA/Britain); numerous solos and plays by Eric Bogosian (USA/Britain). Ms. Bonney is the recipient of a 1998 OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Direction and editor of Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Text from the Twentieth Century (TCG).

The scenic design for Beast is by Eugene Lee; costume design is by Colleen Werthmann; lighting design is by David lander; sound design is by David Van Tieghem; video design is by Tal Yarden; and make-up and effects design is by Nathan Johnson.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), now celebrating its 26th season, is a leading voice in the world of Off-Broadway and within the theatre community in New York and around the world. NYTW has emerged as a premiere incubator of important new theatre, honoring its mission to explore perspectives on our collective history and respond to the events and institutions that shape our lives. In addition, NYTW is known for its innovative adaptations of classic repertory. Each season, from its home in New York's East Village neighborhood, NYTW presents three to five new productions, over 80 readings, and numerous workshop productions, for over 45,000 audience members. Over the past 26 years, NYTW has developed and produced over 100 new, fully staged works, including Jonathan Larson's Rent, Tony Kushner's Slavs! and Homebody/Kabul, Doug Wright's Quills, Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life and Dirty Blonde, Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Valhalla, and Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest, Far Away, and A Number. The 2002 remounting of Martha Clarke's seminal work Vienna: Lusthaus and subsequent American tour was one of the longest-running productions in NYTW's history. NYTW supports artists in all stages of their careers by maintaining a series of workshop programs including work-in-progress readings, summer residencies, and minority artist fellowships. In 1991, NYTW received an OBIE Award for Sustained Achievement and in 2000 was designated to be part of the Leading National Theatres Program by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Lead support for the 2008-2009 Season is provided in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and from New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Additional support for the production of new plays is from the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the Jerome Foundation.

Memberships and SmartPasses are currently on sale for New York Theatre Workshop's 2008-09 season, which also features C.I.C.T./Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord's The Grand Inquisitor, adapted by Marie-Hélène Estienne from Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, featuring Bruce Myers, directed by Peter Brook; and Things of Dry Hours by Naomi Wallace, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. For more information on membership packages and NYTW's upcoming season, please visit www.nytw.org.

Beast plays Friday, August 29 through Sunday, October 12, at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. The regular performance schedule is Tuesday at 7:00pm, Wednesday through Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday at 3:00pm and 8:00pm, and Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Tickets, which go on sale July 29, are $65 and may be purchased online at www.telecharge.com, 24 hours a day, seven days a week or by phoning Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200. For exact dates and times of performance, call Telecharge.com. For more information about Beast, visit www.nytw.org.

Maintaining its commitment to making theatre accessible to all theatergoers, NYTW continues its CheapTix Sundays program in which all tickets for all Sunday evening performances will cost $20. Tickets may be purchased in advance, payable in cash only, and are available in person only at the NYTW Box Office. And for all performances, student tickets cost $20, based on availability, and can be purchased in advance from the NYTW Box Office with valid student identification. The NYTW Box Office is open 1:00pm to 6:00pm, Tuesday through Saturday.

Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

NYMF Presents 2008 Dance Series As Part of Festival - 9/15/2008

 New York Musical Theater Festival (Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Executive Director & Producer) in association with Manhattan Movement & Arts Center (MMAC) to present NYMF's 2008 Dance Series as part of this year's festival of new musicals, which runs September 15 – October 5.

NYMF's 2008 Dance Series includes four original dance musicals The Hourglass and The Poisoned Pen, Sophia's Fall, Ward 9, and the 2008 "Born at NYMF" dance commission Wild About Harry. In addition, Freshly Tossed, a special evening created and curated by Wendy Seyb and Mark Lonergan, will transcend the limitations of genres by bringing together some of New York's most exciting artists in search of the next evolution of musical theater comedy.

The dance musicals which span creation, super villains, Vincent Van Gogh, Vivian Leigh, Beethoven and a twelve million dollar bitch will be choreographed by Mark Yonally, Jason Summers, Matt Williams, Kelly Devine, Linda Goodrich, Josh Rhodes, Shea Sullivan and Jeff Shade.

NYMF's 2008 Dance Series is presented in partnership with the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center (MMAC), a brand-new state-of-the-art facility nestled in the center of Columbus Circle West. MMAC is the new home of Manhattan Youth Ballet, founded as Studio Maestro in 1995.  In addition to the ballet school, MMAC will also offer an ambitious program of open classes including dance and fitness classes for professional dancers, exercise enthusiasts, and health-conscious adults; and a Children's Program featuring classes in dance, music, art, and martial arts for parents and children 6 months to 16 years of age.  MMAC also houses an impressive new theatre space that is fully equipped with sound and lighting, and is ideal for dance performances, corporate events and theatre productions.  Rose Caiola, the Founder and Executive Artistic Director of both MMAC and Manhattan Youth Ballet, is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

The "Born At NYMF" commissioning program creates adventurous new work by fostering collaborations between musical theatre artists and artists outside the genre, helping to widen the scope of musical theatre in the years to come. This year's commissioned piece is "Wild About Harry," a dance musical based on the life of Leona Helmsley (and the dog, Trouble, who was her closest confidant after the death of her husband, Harry). Utilizing five choreographers in a multilayered narrative, the piece builds on the success of last year's commission "Platforms," which Backstage called "an hour or so of the most intense and exciting dance you're likely to see on any New York stage this season and a smartly executed piece of theatre as well." The exploration of this new genre of musical theatre brings the dance and theatre community together in a fresh and exciting new way and marks the continued growth of NYMF's dance programming.

 
Hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," The New York Musical Theatre Festival (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. Since its inception in 2004, the 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 is now in its fourth year at New World Stages; fellow NYMF alum [title of show] recently began performances at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway.

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 and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by amNewYork, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, King Displays, Panasonic Astrovision, and TheMENEvent.  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.



The Hourglass and The Poisoned Pen
Saturday, September 27, 8pm
Sunday, September 28, 1pm & 4pm
Manhattan Movement & Arts Center 248 West 60th Street

Co-written by Andrew Pepoy; Choreographed by Mark Yonally

Young Elizabeth is granted the power to control time. Together, she and Daphne, her best friend (and total comic book geek) fight The Conductor and The Poisoned Pen, two nefarious and dangerous super-villains. In this original production by Chicago Tap Theatre, the action and comedy are only overshadowed by the tap dancing!


Sophia's Fall
Thursday, September 18, 8pm
Friday, September 19, 1pm & 4:30pm
Saturday, September 20, 9pm
37 Arts Theater C 450 W. 37th Street

Music by Benjamin Birney; Book by Rob Seitelman; Choreographed by Jason Summers

Sophia's Fall is an intense dance/rock retelling of the creation story… with a twist. Sophia, the feminine divine, drives the action and drama of the story toward an edge-of-your-seat conclusion. A four-piece rock band and fluid modern dance choreography round out the show's dark, tuneful score.


Ward 9
Thursday, September 18, 8pm
Saturday, September 20, 5pm
Sunday, September 21, 1pm & 7pm
Manhattan Movement & Arts Center 248 West 60th Street

Book by Gregory Victor and Matt Williams; Directed and choreographed by Matt Williams

A tragicomical story told entirely through dance, Ward 9 is set in a mythic asylum hosting famed patients Vincent Van Gogh, Howard Hughes, Vivien Leigh, Bobby Fischer, Sylvia Plath, Ludwig Van Beethoven and Vaslav Nijinsky. When they clash with the Head Nurse as she attempts to "cure" them of their creative madness, strait jackets, padded rooms, and electric shock treatment are the orders of the day. Strap yourself in and get committed, because it's medication time on Ward 9!
 

Wild About Harry
(The 2008 "Born At NYMF" Dance Commission)
Friday, September 19, 8pm
Saturday, September 20, 2pm & 8pm
Sunday, September 21, 4pm
Sunday, September 28, 7:30pm
Manhattan Movement & Arts Center 248 West 60th Street   

Book by Susan DiLallo; Directed by Elizabeth Lucas; Choreographed by Kelly Devine, Linda Goodrich, Josh Rhodes, Shea Sullivan and Jeff Shade

This unique, danced-through musical, created especially for NYMF '08 and choreographed by five of today's most talented young choreographers, begins where the tabloids left off. A completely fresh look at Leona Helmsley, one of NYC's most colorful characters, along with the man who loved her, the many others who did not, and her dog… who inherited 12 million bucks.


Freshly Tossed
Monday, September 22, 7pm & 9:30pm
(Dance Series Special Event)
American Theater of Actors - Chernuchin Theater 314 West 54th Street

Created and Curated by Wendy Seyb and Mark Lonergan

What happens when you take physical comedy...dance... musical theatre...and mix them all together? Find out as curators Wendy Seyb (Walmartopia, School Daze, But I'm a Cheerleader) and Mark Lonergan bring together some of New York's most exciting artists in search of the next evolution of musical theatre comedy.

Laurel Masse to Play Birdland September 15th - 9/15/2008

Jim Caruso's Cast Party and TheaterMania.com, the leading source for exclusive theater information and live-events tickets nationwide, are proud to announce LAUREL MASSÉ Monday, September 15, 2008 at 7:00p.m., as part of the long-running, Nightlife Award-winning concert series Broadway at Birdland.

LAUREL MASSÉ, founding member of Grammy award-winning vocal group Manhattan Transfer, toured internationally for seven years with the group and recorded five albums. In 1979, a serious automobile accident forced her departure, and after two years of convalescence, she began recording, as well as touring again as a solo artist, both in the States and in Europe.
 
The first two of her solo albums, Alone Together and Easy Living, both hit the Billboard Jazz charts, and the third, Again, was a People magazine pick. Feather & Bone, her 2000 release, was chosen by audiophile magazine The Absolute Sound as "a recording of extraordinary musical and sonic value".
 
Throughout the course of her career, LAUREL has performed at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the London Palladium, Salle Pleyel de Paris, the Hollywood Bowl, The Smithsonian Institution, as well as numerous American and Canadian jazz festivals and clubs such as the Blue Note, The Roxy and Harrah's, Caesar's Palace, MGM Grand, and the Hilton in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.
 
The Chicago Tribune has called her "one of the best vocalists in jazz...Indeed, there is something almost otherworldly about Massé's emotional magic...as though like Fred Astaire she seemed merely to be down here on a visit," and The New York Times has praised Laurel for a "marvelous sense of style, a purity of tone that is evident in everything she does and uses it to a brilliant effect, a technical tour de force, a dazzling performance."

Tickets: $25 + $10.00 Food/Drink Minimum (Per Person)

Tickets can be purchased Online: www.BIRDLANDJAZZ.com; or by Telephone: 212.581.3080.

Shakespeare Society to Present 'Lyrics' With Pinsky on 9/15 - 9/15/2008

The Shakespeare Society (Michael Sexton, Artistic Director) will present Lyrics by W. Shakespeare, an evening of songs set to lyrics by Shakespeare, presided over by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, on Monday, September 15 at 6:30pm at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, East 68 Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues.  A limited number of tickets, priced at $25-$45, are available from the Kaye box office at (212) 772-4448.  For Shakespeare Society membership information, call 212-967-6802 or go to www.shakespearesociety.org.

From Thomas Arne and Vaughan Williams to Duke Ellington and Stephen Sondheim, composers have long been drawn to Shakespeare's songs and poems for inspiration.  One of the greatest living American poets as well as a passionate advocate for poetry, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky will guide the audience through some of Shakespeare's finest lyrics, set to music by some of the world's greatest composers.  Tony Award Winner michael cerveris, Darius DeHaas, and Carol Woods will perform.

Robert Pinsky's first two terms as United States Poet Laureate were marked by such visible dynamism, and such national enthusiasm in response, that the Library of Congress appointed him to an unprecedented third term.  Throughout his career, Pinsky has been dedicated to identifying and invigorating poetry's place in the world.  As Poet Laureate from 1997 – 2000, Robert Pinsky became a public ambassador for poetry, founding the Favorite Poem Project, in which thousands of Americans — of varying backgrounds, all ages, and from every state — shared their favorite poems. Pinsky believed that, contrary to stereotype, poetry had a vigorous presence in the American cultural landscape. The project sought to document that presence, giving voice to the American audience for poetry. The anthology Americans' Favorite Poems, which include letters from project participants, is in its eighteenth printing.  The new anthology, An Invitation to Poetry, comes with a DVD featuring twenty-seven of the FPP video segments, as seen on PBS.

Elegant and tough, vividly imaginative, Pinsky's poems have earned praise for their wild musical energy and ambitious range. His book Gulf Music (FSG, fall 2007) is his seventh volume of poetry. His The Figured Wheel: New and Collected Poems 1966-1996 was a Pulitzer Prize nominee and received the Lenore Marshall Award and the Ambassador Book Award of the English Speaking Union.  His most recent chapbook is entitled First Things to Hand (Sarabande, May 2006).  Pinsky's books about poetry include Poetry and the World, nominated for the National Book Critics' Circle Award, The Sounds of Poetry, and more recently, Democracy, Culture and the Voice of Poetry. Pinsky contends that, though intimate, poetry addresses cultural needs by communicating a shared set of social meanings, a paradox that becomes part of his effort to demonstrate the complexity of American poetry.

Robert Pinsky's landmark, best-selling translation of The Inferno of Dante received the Los Angeles Times Book Award in poetry and the Howard Morton Landon Prize for translation. He is also co-translator of The Separate Notebooks, poems by Nobel Prize winner Czeslaw Milosz. Pinsky's prose book, The Life of David, is a lively retelling and examination of the David stories, narrating a wealth of legend as well as scripture.

The poetry editor for the online magazine Slate, for seven years Pinsky appeared regularly on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He writes the weekly "Poet's Choice" column for the Washington Post. He was elected in 1999 to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Pinsky's poems appear in magazines such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly,The Threepenny Review, American Poetry Review, and frequently in The Best American Poetry anthologies. He teaches in the graduate writing program at Boston University.  Robert Pinsky is also the winner of the PEN/Voelcker Award, the William Carlos Williams Prize, the Lenore Marshall, and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture's 2006 Jewish Cultural Achievement Award in Literary Arts. He is one of the few members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters to have appeared on "The Simpsons."

The Shakespeare Society is a not-for-profit membership organization presenting entertaining and challenging programs that combine stage performances by outstanding actors with illuminating commentary by noted Shakespearean writers, scholars, and directors.  A fundamental belief of the founders of The Shakespeare Society is that enjoying and understanding Shakespeare begin in the classroom; therefore, a portion of the Society's membership dollars is used to support educational activities in New York City schools.  Past participants in Shakespeare Society performances and events include Harold Bloom, F. Murray Abraham, Stephen Greenblatt, Liev Schreiber, Lynn Redgrave, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Kathleen Chalfant, Michael Cumpsty, Jefferson Mays, Marcia Gay Harden, Patrick Stewart, Sir Peter Hall, Derek Jacobi, Philip Bosco, Marjorie Garber, Ralph Fiennes, Ron Rosenbaum, Richard Easton, John Guare, and Claire Bloom.

The Shakespeare Society presents Lyrics by W. Shakespeare on Monday, September 15, at 6:30PM at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (East 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues).  A very limited number of tickets, priced at $25-$45, will be available for purchase by non-members two weeks prior to the event.  To purchase tickets or for ticket information, phone the Kaye Playhouse box office at 212 772-4448.  For more information about the Shakespeare Society or Lyrics by W. Shakespeare, or to join The Shakespeare Society, phone 212 967-6802 or visit www.shakespeareociety.org.

Shakespeare Society to Present 'Lyrics' With Pinsky and Cerveris on 9/15 - 9/15/2008

The Shakespeare Society (Michael Sexton, Artistic Director) will present Lyrics by W. Shakespeare, an evening of songs set to lyrics by Shakespeare, presided over by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, on Monday, September 15 at 6:30pm at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, East 68 Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues.  A limited number of tickets, priced at $25-$45, are available from the Kaye box office at (212) 772-4448.  For Shakespeare Society membership information, call 212-967-6802 or go to www.shakespearesociety.org.

From Thomas Arne and Vaughan Williams to Duke Ellington and Stephen Sondheim, composers have long been drawn to Shakespeare's songs and poems for inspiration.  One of the greatest living American poets as well as a passionate advocate for poetry, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky will guide the audience through some of Shakespeare's finest lyrics, set to music by some of the world's greatest composers.  Tony Award Winner michael cerveris, Darius DeHaas, and Carol Woods will perform.

Robert Pinsky's first two terms as United States Poet Laureate were marked by such visible dynamism, and such national enthusiasm in response, that the Library of Congress appointed him to an unprecedented third term.  Throughout his career, Pinsky has been dedicated to identifying and invigorating poetry's place in the world.  As Poet Laureate from 1997 - 2000, Robert Pinsky became a public ambassador for poetry, founding the Favorite Poem Project, in which thousands of Americans - of varying backgrounds, all ages, and from every state - shared their favorite poems. Pinsky believed that, contrary to stereotype, poetry had a vigorous presence in the American cultural landscape. The project sought to document that presence, giving voice to the American audience for poetry. The anthology Americans' Favorite Poems, which include letters from project participants, is in its eighteenth printing.  The new anthology, An Invitation to Poetry, comes with a DVD featuring twenty-seven of the FPP video segments, as seen on PBS.

Elegant and tough, vividly imaginative, Pinsky's poems have earned praise for their wild musical energy and ambitious range. His book Gulf Music (FSG, fall 2007) is his seventh volume of poetry. His The Figured Wheel: New and Collected Poems 1966-1996 was a Pulitzer Prize nominee and received the Lenore Marshall Award and the Ambassador Book Award of the English Speaking Union.  His most recent chapbook is entitled First Things to Hand (Sarabande, May 2006).  Pinsky's books about poetry include Poetry and the World, nominated for the National Book Critics' Circle Award, The Sounds of Poetry, and more recently, Democracy, Culture and the Voice of Poetry. Pinsky contends that, though intimate, poetry addresses cultural needs by communicating a shared set of social meanings, a paradox that becomes part of his effort to demonstrate the complexity of American poetry.

Robert Pinsky's landmark, best-selling translation of The Inferno of Dante received the Los Angeles Times Book Award in poetry and the Howard Morton Landon Prize for translation. He is also co-translator of The Separate Notebooks, poems by Nobel Prize winner Czeslaw Milosz. Pinsky's prose book, The Life of David, is a lively retelling and examination of the David stories, narrating a wealth of legend as well as scripture.

The poetry editor for the online magazine Slate, for seven years Pinsky appeared regularly on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He writes the weekly "Poet's Choice" column for the Washington Post. He was elected in 1999 to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Pinsky's poems appear in magazines such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly,The Threepenny Review, American Poetry Review, and frequently in The Best American Poetry anthologies. He teaches in the graduate writing program at Boston University.  Robert Pinsky is also the winner of the PEN/Voelcker Award, the William Carlos Williams Prize, the Lenore Marshall, and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture's 2006 Jewish Cultural Achievement Award in Literary Arts. He is one of the few members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters to have appeared on "The Simpsons."

The Shakespeare Society is a not-for-profit membership organization presenting entertaining and challenging programs that combine stage performances by outstanding actors with illuminating commentary by noted Shakespearean writers, scholars, and directors.  A fundamental belief of the founders of The Shakespeare Society is that enjoying and understanding Shakespeare begin in the classroom; therefore, a portion of the Society's membership dollars is used to support educational activities in New York City schools.  Past participants in Shakespeare Society performances and events include Harold Bloom, F. Murray Abraham, Stephen Greenblatt, Liev Schreiber, Lynn Redgrave, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Kathleen Chalfant, Michael Cumpsty, Jefferson Mays, Marcia Gay Harden, Patrick Stewart, Sir Peter Hall, Derek Jacobi, Philip Bosco, Marjorie Garber, Ralph Fiennes, Ron Rosenbaum, Richard Easton, John Guare, and Claire Bloom.

The Shakespeare Society presents Lyrics by W. Shakespeare on Monday, September 15, at 6:30PM at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (East 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues).  A very limited number of tickets, priced at $25-$45, will be available for purchase by non-members two weeks prior to the event.  To purchase tickets or for ticket information, phone the Kaye Playhouse box office at 212 772-4448.  For more information about the Shakespeare Society or Lyrics by W. Shakespeare, or to join The Shakespeare Society, phone 212 967-6802 or visit www.shakespeareociety.org.

David Yazbek To Makes Spiegelworld Debut - 9/15/2008

Rock/pop artist David Yazbek has confirmed his Spiegelworld Debut for September 15th in NYC on September 15 at 9:30 pm. Spiegelworld is located at Pier 17, South Street Seaport, South Street & Beekman Street, NYC. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at http://www.ticketcentral.com/showdetails2.asp?showid=1845 or http://www.spiegelworld.com/music/music.html

The upcoming show will feature songs from Yazbek's acclaimed CD, 'Evil Monkey Man,' which has been universally praised for its "remarkably well-crafted images" and "dark, often troubling" songs. When Yazbek presented the material at Lincoln Center earlier this year, The New York Times called the show "A Woozy Thrill Ride on a Volcano's Edge," and raved: "The songwriter David Yazbek is a daredevil juggler catching spiked pins in the traveling carnival of his imagination."

Composer David Yazbek seems to lead the life of a superhero: By day, he has written the songs for such Broadway musicals as The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, clever entertainments that were unfairly overshadowed by more overt crowd-pleasers like The Producers and Spamalot. By night, he's fulfilling his rock-and-roll fantasies, writing and performing an eclectic spectrum of pop music that's as brainy, as challenging, and as rewarding as his neo–show tunes. On his fifth non-Broadway album (out now), Yazbek takes on as many other genres as he can think of, from jazzy swing to country rock, creating catchy melodies counterbalanced by some of the zaniest lyrics ever committed to paper. (If you know of another artist whose repertoire includes a song called "Monkey Baby Hanging on Chicken Wire," please let us know.) It's music that's smart but not arch, brainy but not flashy, and best of all, you don't have to pay $200 a ticket to hear it.

Lauren Pritchard to Perform at Joe's as Part of Ghostlight Series - 9/15/2008

Lauren Pritchard will be performing at Joe's Pub as part of the Ghostlight Series on Monday September 15th at 11:30PM.

Originally from the small town of Jackson, Tennessee, Lauren took NYC by storm as  "Isle" in the musical "Spring Awakening"  Signed to RCA and just finished  with a 2-year run performing in the 8-Time Tony Winning Broadway Musical, Lauren is now focused on writing and recording new material for my debut album which will be out at the end of the year, $20

Joe's Pub is located at 425 Lafayette Street (between East 4th and Astor Place) NYC; adjacent to The Public Theater. You can order tickets by phone at 212-967-7555 and at www.joespub.com or in person at The Public Theater Box Office from 1pm to 6pm and at Joe’s Pub from 6pm to 10pm (both located at 425 Lafayette St.)

Purchase of tickets does NOT guarantee a table reservation; you must call to reserve seats.  Seating, as well as standing-room, is available only on a first-come, first-served basis for all shows without a dinner reservation.  Two drink or $12 food minimum per person is standard.

Tanya Saracho's 'Kita Y Fernanda' Begins Sept. 25th - 9/15/2008

Tanya Saracho’s

KITA Y FERNANDA begins September 25

16^th Street Theater is proud to announce its production of Tanya Saracho’s Kita y Fernanda directed by Artistic Director Ann Filmer. Kita y Fernanda will run September 25 – October 25, 2008 at the Berwyn Cultural Center.

Kita y Fernanda is a look at class, immigration and women’s friendships as it follows the lives of two girls growing up in the same household; one the privileged daughter of a rich Mexican family living in Texas, the other the child of an undocumented maid.

"I do what I do because I don't see images of myself onstage.

 I want to complicate the image of what a Latina woman is without standing on a soapbox. I'm dedicated to telling Her stories - to letting us look at life through her eyes. Politically and socially we have gone voiceless for so long and that is obviously reflected in the American Theatre.

 We have so much to say; I'm making it my job to make us listen."

TANYA SARACHO was born in Sinaloa, Mexico and moved to Texas in the late 80's. As the proud Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Teatro Luna: Chicago's All-Latina Theater Ensemble, Tanya's writing has been featured in most of Teatro Luna's ensemble-built works including Generic Latina, Dejame Contarte, The Maria Chronicles, SOLO Latinas, S-E-X-Oh! and Lunatic(a)s. She is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists.

Tanya's play Kita y Fernanda received a full production at Luna in early 2003, along with a reading at Repertorio Español while a finalist for the 2003 Nuestras Voces playwrighting competition. Other Awards include: The Ofner Prize given by the Goodman Theatre, Finalist for the Christopher B. Wolk Award at Abingdon Theatre in NYC, nominee for the Wasserstein Prize and winner of the Khan Award. Her solo play Quita Mitos received a world premier with Teatro Luna, in November of 2006 and has toured colleges and festivals, including the International Hispanic Theatre Festival and the Goodman's Latino Theatre Festival.

Tanya is working on a fellowship in a collaboration between The Goodman Theatre and the Institute for Women and Gender Studies at Columbia College on an interview-based piece titled 27 where she will interview one woman from each of the 27 countries that make up the Latin Diaspora.

Tanya has directed many works including Lunatic(a)s, the remount of Generic Latina, Piece of Ass for Estrogen Fest, The Maria Chronicles for both the Goodman's Latino Theater Festival and the critically acclaimed full-length run at Teatro Luna, and S-e-x-Oh!, Que Bonita Bandera and Three Days for SÓLO Latinas. Also an accomplished actor, Tanya's performing credits include Migdalia Cruz' Another Part of the House with Teatro Vista, Living Out with American Theatre Co./Teatro Vista, Electricidad at Goodman Theatre, and Angels in America and La Casa De Bernarda Alba with Aguijon Theater. She was most recently seen in Neil LaBute's Fat Pig at Renaissance TheatreWorks in Milwaukee, WI and her voice can be heard around the country in radio and television commercials.

Belinda Cervantes, recently seen in Teatro Luna’s MACHOS at 16^th Street and as Ix Chel in Teatro Luna’s Lunatic(a)s, is Kita. Suzette Mayobre, recently seen in Lunatic(a)s, Solo Tu and S-E-X-Oh! is Fernanda. Charin Alvarez who plays Fernanda’s mother Dona Silvia just closed Esparanza Rising at Chicago Children’s Theatre, Dreamlandia with Teatro Vista and Nilo Cruz’ A Park in Our House. Stephanie Diaz, who plays Kita’s mother Concha, recently closed La Posada Magica at Teatro Vista and Tartuffe with Remy Bumppo.  Before moving to Chicago she was in Living Out with Seattle Rep and Missouri Rep. The design team includes Ian Zywica (scenic design), Mac Vaughey (lighting), Barry Bennett (sound), Whitney McBride (costumes) and Noel Henke (prop design).  Stage manager is Michelle Rossi.  The play is directed by Ann Filmer.  Full bios and photos soon available at www.16thstreettheater.org

FACT SHEET

KITA Y FERNANDA

by Tanya Saracho

-  Please visit www.16thstreettheater.org  -

16^th STREET THEATER is Berwyn’s professional equity theater under the artistic direction of Ann Filmer.  2008 marks its first season.  

The BERWYN CULTURAL CENTER, a North Berwyn Park District managed facility, is dedicated to providing the highest quality and range of cultural arts programs, classes, workshops, events, and exhibitions providing opportunities for Berwyn residents and area artists.  The center will provide year-round programs engaging participants of all ages in visual, performing, literary, martial and media arts and 16th Street Theater’s professional productions. The BCC also will serve as an incubator for emerging artists, artisans, writers, performers and musicians to develop and present new works.  The center is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life and sustainability of our local communities by advancing appreciation for the beauty of cultural diversity.

'Chicago' Welcomes Back Bianca Marroquin as Roxie Hart - 9/15/2008

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the CHICAGO company is pleased to welcome back Mexican stage sensation Bianca Marroquin to the role of merry murderess Roxie Hart beginning Sunday, September 15.
 
Marroquin first portrayed Roxie Hart in the Mexico City production of CHICAGO in 2002. For that performance, she received five awards from the Mexican Critics Association, including New Revelation and Best Actress.
 
Following the critical and popular success of that production, she was then invited to crossover from Mexico City to New York City, and made her English-language debut as Roxie Hart on Broadway later that year.
 
For that acheivement, Marroquin holds the distinction of being the first -- and only -- Latina actress to crossover from Mexico to Broadway in a leading role.
 
Marroquin later took Roxie on the road, kicking off the third National Tour of CHICAGO and earning a 2004 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress.
 
Earlier this year, she was recognized by the General Consulate of Mexico for her unparalleled success as a Mexican actress on Broadway. This citation was presented to Marroquin at a special ceremony hosted by Mexican Consul General Ruben Beltran on April 8, 2008.
 
Marroquin returns to CHICAGO this month in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Hispanic Heritage Month, a nationwide observance to recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States and to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture. The observation was enacted in August 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. The annual celebration begins on September 15 and continues through October 15.
 
CHICAGO also stars Tony nominee Brenda Braxton as Velma Kelly, Tony nominee Tom Wopat as Billy Flynn, Tony nominee Kevin Chamberlin as Amos Hart and Carol Woods as Matron "Mama" Morton.
 
Visit www.chicagothemusical.com for additional information.

Carnegie Hall Holds Special Concert to Benefit 'Best Buddies' on 9/15 - 9/15/2008

On Sept 15 from 7:30-11PM a special concert will be held at Carnegie Hall to benefit the organization Best Buddies. The concert will feature a number of performances and will be Emceed by Charles Grodin

To purchase tickets Carnegie Hall Box Office at (212) 247-7800.

Best Buddies  is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships and integrated employment.

Founded in 1989 by Anthony Kennedy Shriver, Best Buddies is a vibrant, international organization that has grown from one original chapter to more than 1,300 middle school, high school, and college campuses across the country and internationally. Best Buddies programs engage participants in each of the 50 United States. We have accredited international programs on six continents with additional country programs under active development. Our six formal programs – Best Buddies Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges, Citizens, e -Buddies® and Jobs – will positively impact more than 350,000 individuals this year. Best Buddies also is systematically implementing our 2010 initiative that will witness the organization's continued significant growth, both domestically and overseas. Best Buddies volunteers annually contribute services to the community that equate to more than $70 million USD.

Even though Best Buddies has advanced tremendously in our short existence, many areas of the country and many regions of the world still lack programs to help people with intellectual disabilities become part of mainstream society. Our goal is to continue expanding nationwide and at the local community level, while more broadly engaging the global community through our programs.

For more information please visit www.bestbuddies.org

The Screwtape Letters Premieres at Mercury Theatre - 9/15/2008

C.S. Lewis’ THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS
MAKES ITS CHICAGO PREMIERE
AT THE MERCURY THEATER
PERFORMANCES BEGIN OCTOBER 2

          
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.
 
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 Theatreat 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 Eleanor Wight 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.

Miranda, Finley, Denman and More Lend Hand with 'Broadway United for Barack' - 9/15/2008

Broadway United for Barack will take place on Monday, September 15th at 9:45pm at The Metropolitan Room. All proceeds benefit Obama For America. Shonn Wiley, Meredith Patterson, and Ryan J. Davis produce. 

The evening will feature performances by: Lin Manuel Miranda (In the Heights), Daniel Reichard (Jersey Boys), Felicia Finley (Wedding Singer, AIDA), Jeremy Schonfeld (Composer, DRIFT), Christopher Jackson (Lion King, In the Heights), Mara Davi (A Chorus Line, NANETTE), Kerry O'Malley ( White Christmas, Showtime's Brotherhood), Jeffry Denman (The Producers, White Christmas), Lewis Cleale (SPAMALOT, Swinging on a Star), Jeff McCarthy (Urinetown, Pirate Queen), Rachel Hardin (Law & Order CI), Kacie Sheik (HAIR), J.D. Webster (Wonderful Town, RAGTIME), KendRick Jones (ENCORES! Stairway to Paradise), Maddy Wyatt, and The Street Lights Singers. Ryan J. Davis (White Noise, Mr. Broadway) will host the evening. 
 
Jen O'Byrne will serve as stage manager and Ross Patterson, Paul Masse, and Joe Zellnik will music direct. 

Producers Meredith and Shonn, married since 2004, have been inspired by Barack Obama’s message of hope and change. They believe in his vision that we, the people, can be part of the change that is needed in our government.

Event Details: Broadway United for Barack, Monday, September 15th at 9:45pm at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St between 5th & 6th Ave. Tickets start at $30 and are extremely limited. Reservations can be made by e-mailing BwayforBarack@aol.com.

Picnic - 9/16/2008

This American classic is staged by Chicago's own David Cromer whose previous work for Writers' Theatre includes The Price and Booth and whose highly acclaimed production of The Adding Machine is enjoying a successful run in New York. When a charismatic young drifter arrives in a small Kansas town on the eve of a Labor Day picnic, the simmering repressions of its residents come rapidly to a boil. Frequently hilarious and profoundly moving, Inge's masterpiece chronicles the hopes and despairs that lie between the realization of adulthood and the eternal optimism of youth.

Runs September 16- November 16, 2008.

Writers' Theatre performs in two performance spaces in Glencoe–its 50-seat venue at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon Ave, and its 108-seat theatre at 325 Tudor Court in the Woman's Library Club. Subscriptions and Memberships are available at the Box Office, 376 Park Avenue, Glencoe, 847-242-6000 and www.writerstheatre.org.

Dylan McDermott in 'Three Changes' - 9/16/2008

Playwrights Horizons, under the leadership of Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, has announced additional casting and dates for its 2008/2009 Season.

Golden Globe winner and Emmy Award nominee Dylan McDermott ("The Practice," Drama League Award nomination for The Culture Project's production of Eve Ensler's The Treatment, Broadway debut in Biloxi Blues) has joined the cast of the season's first production, the World Premiere of THREE CHANGES, a new play by Nicky Silver (Fit to Be Tied at Playwrights Horizons, The Food Chain, Pterodactyls, Raised in Captivity). Directed by Tony Award nominee Wilson Milam (The Lieutenant of Inishmore), the production will begin previews on Friday, August 22, 2008 with an Opening Night set for Tuesday, September 16. The limited engagement will run through Sunday, September 28 at Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

Mr. McDermott joins a cast that includes Emmy Award nominee Maura Tierney (Dr. Abby Lockhart on "ER," Some Girl(s) at MCC), Aya Cash (The Pain and the Itch at Playwrights Horizons, From Up Here at MTC) and Brian J. Smith (Good Boys and True at Second Stage, MTC's Come Back, Little Sheba). One final cast member will be announced in the coming weeks.

Dylan McDermott is a Golden Globe winner and Emmy Award nominee for his portrayal of Bobby Donnell on David E. Kelley's Emmy Award-winning series "The Practice." McDermott returned to television in the Fall of 2007 with the Mark Gordon-produced "Big Shots" and was last seen on screen in The Pang Brothers' The Messengers, which opened at #1 in February. In September 2006, McDermott returned to the stage in Eve Ensler's new play The Treatment, which opened the Impact Festival 2006, a New York City-wide arts festival as part of the Culture Project. McDermott was nominated for a Drama League Award for his performance.

Additional film credits include Edison opposite Kevin Spacey and Justin Timberlake, the Lions Gate crime-drama Wonderland opposite Val Kilmer and Josh Lucas, Texas Rangers, Three To Tango, the Jodie Foster-directed Home for the Holidays opposite Holly Hunter and Robert Downey, Jr., Steel Magnolias, Hamburger Hill, Miracle on 34th Street opposite Sir Richard Attenborough and In The Line of Fire opposite Clint Eastwood. Additional television credits include TNT's dramatic limited series "The Grid" opposite Julianna Margulies.

McDermott's other Theater credits include Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues on Broadway and Golden Boy directed by JoAnne Woodward at the Williamstown Theater Festival.

In addition to THREE CHANGES, the five other offerings in the 2008/2009 Season will be:

KINDNESS (September/October 2008) – the World Premiere of a new play written and directed by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award winner Adam Rapp (Essential Self-Defense at Playwrights Horizons, Red Light Winter). Featured in the cast will be Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Annette O'Toole (Best Original Song for A Mighty Wind, plus The Seagull at CSC, Martha Kent on TV's "Smallville"), Obie Award winner Ray Anthony Thomas (Forced Continuum) and Katherine Waterston (Los Angeles at The Flea, the film The Babysitters).

PRAYER FOR MY ENEMY (November/December 2008) – the New York Premiere of a new play by two-time Tony Award nominee, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time Obie Award winner Craig Lucas (Small Tragedy at Playwrights Horizons, The Light in the Piazza, Prelude to a Kiss, Reckless, The Dying Gaul), directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher (The Butterfly Collection at Playwrights Horizons, the current Tony-winning Broadway revival of South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza). Featured in the cast will be Tony Award nominee Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening, the upcoming Hair for Shakespeare in the Park), 2008 Theatre World Award winner Cassie Beck (The Drunken City) and Skipp Sudduth (Lincoln Center's current South Pacific).

THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION (February/March 2009) – the New York premiere of a new play by Evan Smith (Psych and The Uneasy Chair at Playwrights Horizons, Servicemen at The New Group), directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie (Chicago, New Jerusalem). Featured in the cast will be five-time Tony Award nominee and three-time Obie Award winner Dana Ivey (Driving Miss Daisy, Sunday in the Park with George and Mr. Smith's The Uneasy Chair at Playwrights Horizons, The Rivals, Butley).

INKED BABY (March/April 2009) – the World Premiere of a new play by 2007 Susan Smith Blackburn nominee Christina Anderson in her Off-Broadway playwriting debut, directed by Kate Whoriskey (Fabulation at Playwrights Horizons, The Piano Teacher). Ms. Anderson was selected by American Theatre Magazine as one of fifteen up-and-coming artists "whose work will transform America's stages."

OUR HOUSE (May/June 2009) – the New York premiere of a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Theresa Rebeck (The Butterfly Collection and Bad Dates at Playwrights Horizons, Mauritius, co-author of Omnium Gatherum), directed by Tony Award winner director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, plus The Credeaux Canvas and Baby Anger at Playwrights Horizons).

Additional casting for these productions will also be announced in the coming weeks.

Subscriptions to Playwrights Horizons' 2008/2009 season are now available, in 6-show (four Mainstage productions and two productions in The Peter Jay Sharp Theater) or 4-show (four Mainstage productions) packages. Packages include "Anytime" (6-show $260, 4-show $195), "Matinees" (6-show $240, 4-show $175), "Previews and Sunday Nights" (6-show $225, 4-show $160), and "Platinum Patron" (6-show with exclusive benefits, $1250). In addition to discounts on all Mainstage season attractions, subscribers receive priority seating, ticket exchange privileges, parking and dining discounts, and exclusive mailings of Playwrights Horizons Bulletins.

Playwrights Horizons, under the leadership of Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, is a writer's theater dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. In its 38 years, Playwrights Horizons has presented the work of more than 375 writers and has received numerous awards and honors, most recently being honored with a special 2008 Drama Desk Award for "ongoing support to generations of theater artists and undiminished commitment to producing new work." Notable productions include four Pulitzer Prize winners: Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife (2004 Tony Award, Best Play), Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles (1989 Tony Award, Best Play), Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George, as well as Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone, Doug Wright, Scott Frankel and Michael Korie's Grey Gardens (2006 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical), Bruce Norris's The Pain and the Itch, Lynn Nottage's Fabulation (2005 Obie Award for Playwriting), Craig Lucas's Small Tragedy (2004 Obie Award, Best American Play), Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero, Kirsten Childs's The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey's James Joyce's The Dead, William Finn's March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, Christopher Durang's Betty's Summer Vacation and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, Richard Nelson's Goodnight Children Everywhere and Franny's Way, Jon Robin Baitz's The Substance of Fire, Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room, A.R. Gurney's Later Life, Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's Floyd Collins and Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley's Violet.

Playwrights Horizons' 2008/2009 Season is generously supported by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

Playwrights Horizons is supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. In addition, Playwrights Horizons receives major support from Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Charina Endowment Fund, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Shubert Foundation and Time Warner Inc.

Photos by Sara De Boer/Retna Ltd.

Bonnie & Clyde: A Folktale Premieres at NYMF - 9/16/2008

New York Musical Theater Festival will present the World Premiere of BONNIE & CLYDE: A FOLKTALE. With book and lyrics by Tony and Lucille Lortel Award nominee Hunter Foster (Urinetown, Little Shop of Horrors) and music by Drama Desk Award nominee Rick Crom, the production is directed by Mark Waldrop. Performances begin September 16 at The American Theatre of Actors.

America's most romantic gangsters outwit and outrun a relentless (yet always ladylike) J. Edgar Hoover to the delight of the poor and downtrodden, as their relationship changes from "strictly business" to reluctant love. Funny, tuneful, and historically dubious, BONNIE & CLYDE: A FOLKTALE is a good ol' musical about the bad ol' days.

The production stars Diane Davis (Old Acquaintance, Festen) as Bonnie Parker and Jason Wooten (The Times They Are A-Changin', Dance of the Vampires, Rocky Horror Show) as Clyde Barrow. The cast also includes Melissa Rain Anderson, Kevin Cahoon (The Wedding Singer, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Kevin Carolan (The Ritz, Chicago), Rachel Coloff (Lestat, Fiddler on the Roof, Urinetown), Dennis Holland (The Music Man), Julie Johnson (Candide, Das Barbecu), Dana Steer (Zanna, Don't), Julius Thomas III, Stephanie Umoh, Darryl Winslow (Avenue Q, Evil Dead).

Hunter Foster's Broadway acting credits include Urinetown (Outer Critic and Lucille Lortel Award Nominations), Little Shop of Horrors (Tony Award Nomination), The Producers, Grease, Footloose, Les Miserables and Alan Menken's King David. He toured nationally as Rum Tum Tugger in Cats and understudied and performed the title role in Cameron Macintosh's Martin Guerre. He also appeared in the New York premiere of Children of Eden (Abel) by Stephen Schwartz at Paper Mill Playhouse. As a writer, he has penned books to the off-Broadway Summer of '42 and the upcoming Fearless.

Rick Crom is the composer/ lyricist for several off-Broadway and cabaret revues: Oh Fine, RSVP, The Subject Was Neurosis, Absolutely Rude, Our Life and Times, What in the World and NEWSical (Drama Desk nominations for Best Lyrics and Best Revue). His topical material is featured at the Crystal Palace Theater in Aspen, Colorado. Recently the Crystal Palace honored him by releasing a recording of his material; Who Writes This Stuff? The Songs of Rick Crom. As an actor he's appeared on Broadway in Urinetown, The Goodbye Girl and Footloose.

Mark Waldrop most recently directed Little Shop of Horrors at Paper Mill Playhouse, where he also directed Romeo and Bernadette and Gypsy starring Betty Buckley and Deborah Gibson. He served as production supervisor and contributed special material for Bette Midler: The Divine Miss Millennium Tour. Other credits include direction and special material for Bea Arthur, Just Between Friends (Tony Award nomination) and direction, book, and lyrics for When Pigs Fly (Drama Desk, Outer Critic's Circle and Obie Awards).

BONNIE & CLYDE: A FOLKTALE will feature choreography by Josh Rhodes, lighting and sound by Matt Berman, costumes by Matthew Hemesath, set by Adam Koch, casting by Cindi Rush Casting, stage management by Joshua Pilote, and music direction, orchestrations and additional arrangements by Ed Goldschneider. It is produced by Derrick Chua and Ian Samuels.

Hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," The New York Musical Theatre Festival (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. Since its inception in 2004, the 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 internationally. Widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery, NYMF is the flagship program of The National Music Theater Network. 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.

BONNIE & CLYDE: A FOLKTALE runs Tues. Sept. 16 at 8pm; Fri. Sept. 19 at 7pm; Sun. Sept. 21 at 5pm & 9pm; Sat. Sept. 27 at 4:30pm; and Sun. Sept. 28 at 5pm. American Theatre of Actors is located at 314 W. 54th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues). Tickets are $18, available at 212-352-3101 or www.nymf.org beginning September 1.

Reed's 'East 14th' - 9/16/2008

A hilarious and moving play – East 14th chronicles Don Reed's escape from an ultrastrict upbringing with his overbearing stepfather -- to the other side of town to live with his charismatic, funny, very supportive real father - who he had no idea - was a pimp. The show was recently nominated for Best Actor & Best Playwright by the NAACP

The New York Times cheers "Mr. Reed brings it to life, inhabiting multiple personalities…it's hard not to love 1970s funk and soul and Don Reed" and The Amsterdam News applauds "East 14th is non-stop laughs! I have never laughed so hard at the theater." The New Yorker said "Don Reed acts out the story of his dicey childhood with both ease and inexhaustible energy."

East 14th has a production design by Matthew Allar (Shakespeare's R and J, All My Sons, Dancing at Lughnasa).

Tickets for East 14th range from $45-$55 with premium seating available. East 14th plays Thursdays at 8:00pm, Fridays at 9:00pm, and Saturdays at 9:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by visiting Telecharge at www.telecharge.com or calling (212)239-6200. For more information, please visit: www.East14th.com.

Don Reed (writer/performer/director) – A multi-talented artist, Don Reed has worked in theater, film and television to great acclaim. Don's performance on a Robert Townsend HBO special of up-and-coming comedians years ago caught the attention of Bill Cosby and led to the creation of a guest-starring role for him on "The Cosby Show." Don went on to play the recurring role of Chip St. Charles in "The Cosby Show" spin-off "A Different World" and was recently in "Bee Movie Shorts" starring Jerry Seinfeld. Don also wrote and directed several short films for HBO/Russell Simmons/Stan Lathan. Don has performed for the National Association of Campus Activities tour, appearing at over 300 colleges, and opening for Tony Award Winner Tommy Tune.. Don has lent his voice to: "Spiderman", "The Flintstones", "Johnny Quest" "ER", "Frasier", "Friends", "Scrubs", "Will & Grace", "Law & Order", "SNL", and The Golden Globes; He has appeared in the films "Hollywood Shuffle" and "Fear of a Black Hat." He appeared on stage in The Key at Princeton's McCarter Theatre in a three person cast including Hector Elizondo and Jo Beth Williams.

NYMF Presents 'Heaven in Your Pocket' - 9/16/2008

THE NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL (NYMF) and EMERGING ARTISTS THEATRE are pleased to announce the New York premiere production of HEAVEN IN YOUR POCKET, directed by Alan Souza. HEAVEN IN YOUR POCKET will play a limited engagement as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival at the 45th Street Theatre (354 west 45th Street). Performances begin Tuesday, September 16 and continue to Sunday, September 28.

En route to musical stardom in Nashville, The Heavenly Belles - a female family singing trio from Heaven, Oklahoma - take an unexpected detour to Kansas City where an unusual inheritance wreaks havoc with their plans. A handsome cowboy, a kindly Miss-Fixit and a "can-do" decorator all chime in with the Belles as they face the music (and each other) in this lighthearted, tuneful romp!

The production stars Lisa Asher (New York Nightlife Award, a MAC Award) as Celeste, Chuck Saculla (B'way: Aida and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) as Sam, Claire Slemmer (The Shawshank Redemption and The Insider) as Grace, Rebecca Spencer (Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular and B'way: Jekyll & Hyde) as Arlene, Mark Shock (Apollo Theatre: If This Hat Could Talk) as Billy and Pheonix Vaughn (LA: The People vs. Friar Laurence and Fools) as Kay Lee.

The production features scenic design by Tim McMath, costume design by David Withrow, and lighting design by G. Benjamin Swope. Aaron Blank is the sound designer, Jenny Lee Mitchell is the Producer's representative and Alison Carroll is the stage manager.

HEAVEN IN YOUR POCKET plays the following schedule through:

Tuesday, September 16, at 8 PM - opening
Wednesday, September 17 at 8 PM
Saturday, September 20 at 8 PM
Sunday September 21 at 1 PM
Tuesday, September 23 at 4:30 PM
Sunday, September 28 at 1 PM

Festival memberships are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.nymf.org or by calling (212) 352-3101; single tickets go on sale on September 1. For more information, visit www.nymf.org

Paul Adams (Co-Producer) Artistic Director and Founder of Emerging Artists Theatre, Paul Adams (Co-Producer) has been at its helm for 15 years, producing over 30 full-length original plays and over 200 new one-act plays. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of League of Independent Theatre and a committee member of The New York Innovative Theatre Awards. Paul has directed Layout by Richard Ploetz, Real Danger by Jeff Hollman, My Sister the Cow by Greg Fletcher, Reunion by William Borden, Counter Girls by Jonathan Reuning and most recently Sisters' Dance by Sarah Hollister. Paul is extremely proud and happy to be producing Heaven in Your Pocket, Emerging Artists' first venture into musicals.

HUBERT "TEX" ARNOLD (Musical Director) A native of Texas, TEX ARNOLD has pursued a career as a pianist, arranger, music director and composer. For over 25 years he was musical director for the legendary Margaret Whiting, arranging and conducting for her performances on radio, television, and records, and with major symphony orchestras. He has written orchestrations for the Lincoln Center American Songbook series and for Carnegie Hall tributes to the song-writing teams of Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. As a pianist, he has accompanied Broadway stars Melissa Errico at the Cafe Carlyle in NYC, and Barbara Cook in concerts throughout the country, including performances at the LA Music Center and Carnegie Hall. An instructor for the annual Cabaret Symposium at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center for many years, he has continued in that capacity for its successor program, the Cabaret Conference at Yale University. Mr. Arnold is a member of ASCAP and Local 802, American Federation of Musicians.

FRANCIS J. CULLINAN (Book) Co-Librettist FRANCIS J. CULLINAN has directed over 125 productions for professional theatres and opera companies throughout the USA and Canada. His work has been seen at Eisenhower Theatre in D.C., Boston's Huntington Theatre, Missouri Repertory Theatre and The Perry Street Theatre in New York City. He is a regular guest director at the Creede (Colorado) Repertory Theatre and The Opera Institute of Boston University's School of Fine Arts and his work will soon be seen at Opera Omaha, where he will direct Pirates of Penzance. He has served as Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of Missouri at Kansas City where he was the principal coordinator for the MFA professional directing program and supervisor of the studio theatre series. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Arts Council of Henderson County (NC).

Mark Houston (deceased) (Music & Lyrics/Book) The late Composer & Lyricist Mark Houston is best remembered for his long running satirical review, Six Women with Brain Death or Expiring Minds Want to Know, a breakout hit at the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and featured in the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival. Other works include Commedia Paradia, Tommyknockers, Reggie and the Riddle, Harbledown, incidental music for A Christmas Carol at Missouri Repertory Theatre, and a world-premiere opera, Hazel Kirke, commissioned by the Lake George Opera Festival. The delightful Changin' Lanes, produced regionally, is now finding new life as Heaven in Your Pocket.

Alan Souza (Director) is a busy, freelance director who just directed the world premiere of the musical The Little Hours by David Bucknam, based on the short stories of Dorothy Parker, for the New Jersey Repertory Theatre. Other recent projects include The Full Monty for the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, I Do! I Do! for the New Theatre in Kansas City, and two very different productions of Side by Side by Sondheim - one for the Walnut Street Theatre and one for Virginia Musical Theatre. Coming up: regional productions of Ears on a Beatle and Little Women. He and Becky Spencer were separated at birth. Find out more at www.alansouzaonline.com

DIANNE SPOSITO (Book) Dramatist DIANNE SPOSITO partnered with late composer Mark Houston on three musicals: Commedia Paradia with Pamela Berlin, the poignant Harbledown and Heaven in Your Pocket with Francis J. Cullinan. Solo work includes Almost Full Circle at the Guggenheim and When There's a Will, They're Away! both produced at Emerging Artists Theatre. Current projects are: Officials of the Stardust Mission, Time Squared, What'll the Neighbors Think? and the screenplays Boris, Me, Boris and Suddenly, Lasagna! Ms. Sposito teaches in the Speech, Communications & Theatre Arts Department at BMCC (CUNY) and is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America.

EMERGING ARTISTS THEATRE'S mission is to provide a dynamic home for emerging writers and artists, providing the unique opportunity for playwrights to collaborate with directors, actors, and designers throughout the development process--from idea through fully realized production. EAT's supportive environment nurtures a close-knit group of artists working toward the common goal of creating dynamic theatre, and its commitment to the development of new works is integral to the cultural enrichment of New York City.

The 2006-2007 season garnered EAT their first Drama Desk Award nomination for Capathia Jenkins in (mis)UNDERSTANDING MAMMY: The Hattie McDaniel Story. In its 15th season, EAT showcased over 20 premiere works, 3 Off-Broadway full-length plays, and worked with more than 400 emerging NYC-based theatre artists.

THE NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL, hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," The New York Musical Theatre Festival (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. Since its inception in 2004, the 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 is now in its fourth year at New World Stages; fellow NYMF alum [title of show] recently began performances at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway.

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 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, Queerty.com, 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.

Festival memberships are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.nymf.org or by calling (212) 352-3101; single tickets go on sale on September 1. For more information, visit www.nymf.org.

PS Classics to Release 'Stage Door Johnny' by John Miller 9/16 - 9/16/2008

PS CLASSICS is proud to announce the release of "Stage Door Johnny," a very special new recording from music and theater industry veteran John Miller, on September 16. After amassing a multi-decade career as bassist and music coordinator, this new CD is his breakout debut as vocalist, guitarist and producer.

"Stage Door Johnny: John Miller Takes on Broadway" slyly reinvents a dozen Broadway standards in a variety of genres, from the laidback James Taylor charm of "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?," to the smooth Latin "Real Live Girl," on which he channels Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto. "Secret Love" from "Calamity Jane," the sole track from a film score, sizzles with a jazz and funk-inspired arrangement. "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning" - accompanied by a lush string orchestra - is further enhanced by crystalline country harmony. For "Fugue for Tinhorns," Miller is joined on vocals by legendary jazz singer/songwriter Bob Dorough and The Manhattan Transfer's Janis Siegel.

As Music Coordinator for nearly one hundred Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals - ranging from long-running smashes like "Les Miserables" and "The Producers"; to rock musicals like "The Who's Tommy," "Titanic" and "City of Angels"; to new shows like "Jersey Boys" and "Hairspray" - Miller has helped shape the sound of the Great White Way for the last thirty years.

"I love each of these songs," said Miller. "but I feel as though I didn't actually pick them - they somehow picked themselves. Each one surfaced from deep down in my earliest memories and affections and kept me company with late night, relentlessly seductive guitar grooves."

This collection reminds us just how versatile the genre is, and how well the songs stand up to new arrangements. Miller's skill as a musician - along with his collaborations with so many giants of the industry - make him uniquely qualified to create an album of unconventional song interpretations for those who love, or who don't love, Broadway musicals. "My goal was to love every note," John sums it up. "The surprise is that it seems to put a
smile on everyone's face."

Founded in 2000 by Tommy Krasker and Philip Chaffin, and a four-time Grammy nominee (for its cast albums of Assassins, Nine: The Musical, Grey Gardens and Company), PS CLASSICS has been profiled in publications such as The New York Times and Variety for its diverse line of solo albums and cast recordings, and its commitment to the past, present and future of the Great American Songbook. Its solo albums range from jazz (Jessica Molaskey: Sitting in Limbo) to folk (Rebecca Luker: Leaving Home), from pop (Jane Olivor: Safe Return) to show music (Christine Andreas: Here's to the Ladies).  Its acclaimed cast albums include the current Broadway production of Xanadu, as well as the recent productions of Sunday in the Park With George and A Catered Affair.  PS Classics is distributed exclusively by Image Entertainment.  For more information, visit www.psclassics.com.

Michael Siberry Joins 'Spamalot' as New King Arthur 9/16 - 9/16/2008

Monty Python's SPAMALOT will welcome a new king when Michael Siberry arrives at the Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street) on Tuesday September 16.  Siberry comes to the Broadway company after originating the role of King Arthur in the national tour and performing it for two years.

SPAMALOT's Tony Award winning director Mike Nichols said, "Michael Siberry has burned up the road as a brilliant King Arthur for a long time. So good was he in major cities all over the country that it became our hope that he could bring his funny, charming and, in the end, powerful Arthur to Broadway. That will now happen and we, the creators of the show, are very happy."

Australian native Michael Siberry is an alumnus of England's Royal Shakespeare Company and made his Broadway debut in the RSC's revival of Nicholas Nickleby.  He returned to Broadway as Gratiano in the Dustin Hoffman and Sir Peter Hall production of The Merchant of Venice.

Siberry will join a cast that features Tom Deckman, Rick Holmes, Bradley Dean, Robert Petkoff, Wally Dunn, Merle Dandridge, and Clay Aiken, who will return to the show on September 19th .

SPAMALOT won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical, the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical, and the 2005 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Musical. The musical was honored this year with three 2008 Broadway.com Audience Awards including Favorite Long Running Musical.

SPAMALOT features a book and lyrics by Eric Idle, music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, direction by Mike Nichols, choreography by Casey Nicholaw and is based on the screenplay of Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Monty Python creators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, with an entirely new score with two songs from the 1975 film and the Python classic "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" from 1979's The Life of Brian.

In addition, to the Tony Award for Best Musical, SPAMALOT received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Mike Nichols) and Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Sara Ramirez).

Michael Siberry (King Arthur)   After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art  in Sydney, Australia  Michael began his career in Adelaide, South Australia at the State Theatre Company. After working there for two years Michael moved to England where he joined The Royal Shakespeare Company. Over the years he has performed in many productions with the company including such roles as Petruchio in the Taming of the Shrew, Parolles in Alls Well That Ends Well and Jaques in As You Like It and most notably Nicholas in the revival of the RSC's celebrated production of Nicholas Nickleby. This production also toured to Los Angeles and  New York. It was his first experience of working in America and his first role on Broadway. His next role in New York was Gratiano in the Dustin Hoffman and Sir Peter Hall production of The Merchant of Venice.

His  roles in London have include Charles Surface in the School for Scandal, the Actor in The Woman in Black, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Oberon in A Midsummer Nights Dream; Giles in House and Garden (National Theatre of Great Britain) and most recently  Osbourne in Journeys End  and Elyot in Private Lives at the Theatre Royal Bath.

Other performances in the US have included Baron Von Trapp  in the Broadway revival of The Sound of Music; Francesco in The White Devil (Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney and NY); Morrell in Candida and Astrov in Uncle Vanya (McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N J) Shakespeare in The Frogs (Lincoln Centre); Touchstone in As You Like It  (London and US Tour). Television includes Rosemary and Thyme; Victoria and Albert; The Grand ; Silent Witness; Highlander; Under the Hammer; Sherlock Holmes;  Jeeves and Wooster. He is a member of Actors Equity and has been since he first arrived in New York to perform in Nicholas Nickleby in 1985.

 www.MontyPythonsSpamalot.com

'Dog Enchanted' To Have World Premiere at Boston Center 9/16 - 9/16/2008

“The Dog Enchanted by the Divine View,” Tennessee Williams’ first version of “The Rose Tattoo,” will have its World Premiere on Tuesday, September 16 at 8:00 p.m. at the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre!  Directed by David Kaplan, the play about a hot Sicilian widow on a date with a truck driver will feature noted Boston area actor Larry Coen and the original Tina from “Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding,” Nancy Cassaro. Scenery is by Sue Rees, costumes by Rita Ryack, and lighting by Megan Tracy.

The World Premiere performance of “The Dog Enchanted by the Divine View” in Boston is a benefit for the third annual Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival, a celebration of the work, life and legacy of America’s great playwright, Tennessee Williams.  Featuring a dozen events, including live performances, tours and conversations with the actors, the Festival will take place Thursday, September 25 through Sunday, September 28, 2008 at various venues in Provincetown, Massachusetts.  “The Dog Enchanted by the Divine View” will also be performed as part of the Festival programming. 

 Larry Coen received the 2007 Elliot Norton Award as "Outstanding Actor, Small/Midsize Theater" for his performances in 5 productions: “The Plexiglass Menagerie,” “Silent Night of the Lambs” (The Gold Dust Orphans), “Miss Witherspoon” (Lyric Stage Company), “The Taming of the Shrew” (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), and “Samurai 7.0” (Beau Jest Moving Theatre).  He is Artistic Director of City Stage Co. of Boston, which provides free arts education programs and performances for low-income urban children and families.  Nancy Cassaro is best known for conceiving the Off-Broadway hit “Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding,” where she also originated the role of the bride, Tina.  Film and TV credits include Nip/Tuck, The Sopranos, Without a Trace, Dirt, Running with Scissors, Grounded for Life and Good Fellas.

David Kaplan is the curator and co-founder of the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival and the author of the book "Tennessee Williams in Provincetown."  Plays written by Williams and staged by Kaplan include the 2008 world premiere of "The Day on Which a Man Dies" in Chicago; last year's "The Traveling Company and The Chalky White Substance" at the Tennessee Williams Festivals in New Orleans, Provincetown and Columbus, Mississippi. 
 
 Tickets for “The Dog Enchanted by the Divine View” at the BCA Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St. in Boston, are priced at $45 - $25 and can be purchased by visiting www.twptown.org or calling TheaterMania at 866-811-4111.  Patrons who purchase the top priced tickets will be invited to a cocktail reception following the performance.  For more information, visit www.twptown.org