Christina Mancuso - Page 5

"Everyone want[ed] to be black" on Tuesday Night at the Ohio Theatre as MEMPHIS came to town and literally tore down the house. From its onset, MEMPHIS was clearly a liberating celebration in every sense of the word. Its jumping and jiving, soulful, high energy rock-n-roll, powerful singing, and endearing story take you on a nonstop whirlwind from start to finish.

The 2012 season opens tonight, May 30th, with a Cole Porter classic, Kiss Me, Kate. Ed Sayles, Producing Artistic Director for Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival talks about this first show of the season for both Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival and Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. Watch the video below!

Roulette presents the School for Improvised Music (SIM) big band, June 5, 8pm. The SIM big band is comprised of many of SIM's esteemed faculty who will also compose music especially for this project. SIM (part of the Center for Improvised Music)i s a core group of professional musician/teachers committed to creating a school in New York City for emerging performers who want to pursue a serious study of improvised music. Since 2001, SIM has presented over 20 intensive workshop sessions for students from all over the globe. This big band project is one of several endeavors the Center for Improvised Music (CIM) is undertaking to celebrate the milestone of its 10 year anniversary. Another of these projects is an interview series in which SIM faculty will interview veteran jazz musicians in front of a live audience. CIM will also be hosting listening sessions in which musicians present music for the public as a way of educating the jazz audience at large.

AFA and Steampuffin present 'Steampunkinetics,' an exhibition of over forty kinetic sculptures by eighteen artists inspired by and entrenched in the Steampunk aesthetic. Some functional, some frivolous, and all fantastical, the works in this exhibition include lighting, furniture, time machines, submarines, airships, musical instruments, gizmos and gadgets. At the centerpiece of the show is the 'Steampunk Wedding Time Capsule,' by Bruce Rosenbaum and Gary Sullivan, an extraordinary, functional work of art designed to enrich its owner's day-to-day life. Mementos can be added to the antique clock at the time of purchase and annually. The capsule can then be opened at a time and date (25-year wedding anniversary? 100 years in the future?) set by the family revealing a lifetime, or several generations, of history, happiness, heartache and home. In this way the 'Steampunk Wedding Time Capsule' captures and celebrates the beauty, romance, nostalgia, novelty and inventiveness at the core of Steampunk.

Barbra Streisand may have just reached her 70th birthday, but her younger sister, Roslyn Kind, staged a celebration of her own, returning to the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts for a concert she called "Coming Home." Looking stylishly elegant in a black sequins top and matching pants, Kind commanded the stage with a veteran performer's poise and confidence. Unfortunately, microphone reverberation and sound echos caused frustration for Kind (as well as the audience) and got the show off to a rough start. It was only into about the sixth number that the sound problems were resolved and Roz was able to finally find her groove. In spite of the technical problems, however, she charmed her fans with her humor and personal stories, and wowed them with her pure, gorgeous voice.

"I'm just a stupid mom....who would want to hear me sing?" griped one band member before shedding her soccer mom image and launching into international rockstar success. In MoM: A ROCK CONCERT MUSICAL, five suburban 40-something moms form a rock group and learn how "rock and roll saved [their] sorry ass souls." This is a story of five everyday, normal housewives who forfeit their homemaking duties, throw aside their "granny underwear," leave the kids with Dad, and decide to follow their own dreams. "Why can't HE take care of the kids for a change?" they ask. As one mom aptly puts it, "Sometimes it's been a nightmare, and other times a dream come true."

In the Flea Theater and the Civilians' YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: TALES FROM MY PARENTS' DIVORCE, four actors sit side by side in varying styles of chairs and play their parents, answering questions from actual interviews in one large confessional theater space. We go on a relationship journey of how each couple met and fell in love, got married, began having problems, broke up, and finally cope with life after divorce. Although the material is deep and thought-provoking, it also offers a simplicity that is relatable to anyone who has or is going through a divorce. We learn that "you pay a consequence when you want to get out."

The Brown Paper Box Co. presents Reefer Madness! The Musical, the One-Night-Only 4/20 Staged Reading, April 20, 2012 at Stage 773. Based on their four-time BroadwayWorld.com Award-nominated run, The Brown Paper Box Co. presents Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney's award-winning spoof, REEFER MADNESS! THE MUSICAL, as a staged reading. This one-night-only performance is Friday, April 20, 2012 at Stage 773 (1225 West Belmont Ave.) at 11:30pm. Tickets and information can be found at www.brownpaperbox.org.

The cast of Broadway's hit musical, MARY POPPINS, performed yesterday, April 5 at the Macy's Annual Flower Show in Herald Square, and we were on hand to catch the company in acton! Check them out below!

Maja Lieberman cannot tell a lie, and unfortunately, neither can I. Mario Fratti's OBAMA 44, now playing at the La MaMa Theatre, inherently lacks the necessary appeal to enable the audience to sympathize with any of its bizarre and one-dimensional characters, thus rendering an uninspiring and overall lackluster performance.

Last night marked another first for Ailey, the launch of Ailey's Young Patrons Circle - a dynamic group of influencers ages 21 to 39 who are excited about being closely involved year-round with this world-class Company, while supporting Ailey's programs and new Artistic Director Robert Battle's vision.

The Museum of Modern Art has commissioned artist and choreographer Ralph Lemon to create a three-week program of dance performances by contemporary choreographers, entitled SOME SWEET DAY, to be presented in the Museum's Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium from October 15 to November 4, 2012.

Platinum-selling multi-Grammy winning singer songwriter Colbie Caillat will take time out from promoting her latest album, All of You, to perform at The Humane Society of the United States' 26th Genesis Awards on Saturday, March 24, 2012, at The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills. Known for her dedication to the animal protection cause, Colbie will sing one of her signature songs at this annual event considered by many to be "The Oscars"® for the strongest animal portrayals in news and entertainment media. The 26th Genesis Awards will air on Animal Planet on May 5, with an encore presentation on May 6.

I was one of the lucky ones who had the chance to see Billy Elliot: The Musical on Broadway before it closed on January 8, 2012. Although this scaled-down NETworks version may lose some of its grandiose sets and sparkle, Billy Elliot still transmits enough electricity to power all of Columbus' Palace Theatre.

Park Avenue Armory announced today that Citi Private Bank will act as premier corporate sponsor in support of the Armory's 2012 and 2013 seasons. Now in its second full season of cultural programming, comprising productions of visual art, dance, and music, the Armory is dedicated to presenting works that cannot be realized in traditional museums and performance halls.

Every once in a great while, a person comes across a play, musical, cabaret, or other production that is so inspiring, so magnetic, so unique, with a passionate performance, stellar direction, beautiful music, and ingenious sets that truly leaves the audience both captivated and inspired. My Life with Men... And Other Animals playing at the 45th Street Theatre does just that.

Jerry O'Connell, star of the Broadway play, SEMINAR, announces a special charity event through Givenik.com, donating 5% of proceeds from all ticket sales for the March 21st performance to Lark Play Development Center. Watch his YouTube video promotion here!

Actress, owner and artistic managing director of Stage Left Studio, Cheryl King, performs the one-woman play, Grapefruit, about the life of late opera singer and playwright, Sally Lambert, who was to appear in the show herself until unfortunately succumbing to cancer shortly prior to its opening. While King executes a stellar acting performance under the fine direction of Theresa Gambacorta, some of the material is wrought with political and governmental rhetoric, and turns Grapefruit somewhat sour.

Platinum-selling multi-Grammy winning singer songwriter Colbie Caillat will take time out from promoting her latest album, All of You, to perform at The Humane Society of the United States' 26th Genesis Awards on Saturday, March 24, 2012, at The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills. Known for her dedication to the animal protection cause, Colbie will sing one of her signature songs at this annual event considered by many to be "The Oscars"® for the strongest animal portrayals in news and entertainment media. The 26th Genesis Awards will air on Animal Planet on May 5, with an encore presentation on May 6.

Natalie Nylon, a new, young recording artist who co-wrote songs: 'Let's Go (Dance)', 'XXX', and 'Queen Bee', all topped the European DJ promotional charts at #1. These tracks twist and turn through Euro-style beats with a distinctly American pop sensibility. Its like if Katy Perry and DJ Tiesto got it on and made a beautiful electro-pop baby.