John Adams News

On the banks of the Delaware River we find historical Bristol Pa.where we also find some fine dining and professional live theater at the Bristol Riverside Theater and The King George II Inn.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic and Classical KUSC continue their annual radio broadcast partnership, which now reaches close to one million listeners. The 14 concerts, recorded during the LA Phil's 2011/12 season, feature the orchestra with an impressive roster of guest artists and conductors. The first broadcast presents Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 3, "Scottish" featuring LA Phil Music Director Gustavo Dudamel and violinist Janine Jansen, and airs locally on KUSC-FM 91.5 Los Angeles, Sunday, April 1, 2012, at 4 PM.

Bang on a Can takes over Alice Tully Hall presented by Lincoln Center's Great Performers series in a triple-bill birthday bash on Saturday, April 28 at 7pm featuring the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Asphalt Orchestra, and MIT's Gamelan Galak Tika. Bang on a Can is celebrating 25 years during 2012, having grown from a one-day New York-based Marathon concert (on Mother's Day in 1987 in a SoHo art gallery) to a multi-faceted performing arts organization with a broad range of year-round international activities.

The cast of the American premiere of the Royal Court Theatre's Olivier Award-winning new production, COCK will star Jason Butler Harner as M, Amanda Quaid as W, Cory Michael Smith as John and Cotter Smith as F. Written by Mike Bartlett and directed by James Macdonald, COCK will open Off-Broadway at The Duke on 42nd Street, a NEW 42nd STREET project, 229 West 42nd Street, on Thursday, May 17 and previews will begin Thursday, May 1.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) Music Director Jeffrey Kahane will premiere Old Keys, a new concerto by young composer and piano virtuoso Timothy Andres, winner of the prestigious 2011 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer award, on Saturday, March 24, 8 pm, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, and Sunday, March 25, 2012, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall. Old Keys, an abstract piano concerto about form and gesture, was composed as part of LACO's innovative "Sound Investment" commissioning program, now in its second decade.

Now the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, under the direction of founder Dianne Berkun, concludes its anniversary celebration with five events in five months.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the Alley Theatre's production of the 2010 Best Play Tony Award Winner, Red.

Nigel Redden, Director of Lincoln Center Festival, today announced the Festival's line-up, which runs from July 5 through August 5, 2012. Single tickets go on sale on April 2. Theater offerings include Mikhail Baryshnikov in Dmitry Krymov's staging of a new play, In Paris, as well as Sydney Theatre Company's acclaimed production of Uncle Vanya directed by Tamas Ascher and adapted by Andrew Upton. The stellar cast includes John Bell, Cate Blanchett, Hayley McElhinney, Richard Roxburgh, and Hugo Weaving.

Opera San José will celebrate classical stars in classical voice at the Sixth-Annual Irene Dalis Vocal Competition on May 19 at 3 pm at the California Theatre in downtown San José.

American Composers Orchestra (ACO) presents Orchestra Underground: American Accounts on Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 7:30pm at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall. The concert, led by ACO Music Director & Conductor George Manahan, explores uniquely American stories - both in musical content and in the background of the composers - and features works by Aaron Copland, Milton Babbitt, Gabriel Kahane, and Michael Daugherty. (The premiere of Ian Williams' new piece, previously announced as being part of this concert, has been postponed.)

Ford's Theatre has themselves another hit with '1776'.

Conductor Jeffrey Milarsky replaces John Adams, who was scheduled to lead the LA Phil New Music Group in a Green Umbrella concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Tuesday, April 10, at 8 pm. Adams has withdrawn from the performance due to scheduling demands. Additionally, Five Star Signs from Stockhausen's Tierkreis will be performed in place of the complete Tierkreis set.

The San Francisco Symphony and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas will be making their presence known in New York City this month with four concerts March 27-30 at Carnegie Hall as part of the American Mavericks celebration, a co-presentation by the Symphony and Carnegie Hall. While they are in New York, WNET's THIRTEEN will screen two PBS Great Performances programs on March 29 & 30 of concert events led by Michael Tilson Thomas: The Thomashefskys: Music & Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater, and San Francisco Symphony at 100, including the Symphony's Centennial Season gala concert featuring Itzhak Perlman and Lang Lang.

The Lyric Opera of Kansas City continues its 54th season with the Company premiere of John Adams' Nixon in China, presented at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, through March 18.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Bernadette visits SMASH, The Acting Copany honors Patti, MEMPHIS hits 1000 shows, and so much more!

Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) announces its 2012-2013 Season, which will include Academy Award-nominated actor Paul Giamatti in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, three world premieres, and more new and favorite shows.

California Symphony, Contra Costa County's only professional orchestra, announces "Lara St. John and Beethoven's Ninth," its final concert set of the 25th anniversary season with performances at 7:30pm Saturday, May 5 and 4pm Sunday, May 6 at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.

Today in 1969, 1776 opened at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rogers Theatre), where it ran for 1217 performances. 1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It focuses on, and partly fictionalizes, the efforts of John Adams to persuade his colleagues to vote for American independence and to sign the document. The production was nominated for five Tony Awards and won three, including the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical was made into a film of the same name in 1972 and was revived on Broadway in 1997.

'I Made America' uses many media platforms--from weekly webisodes and social media to street performances and local bar sightings--to tell one story. Six Founding Fathers of the United States of America were kidnapped from the 18th Century and brought to 2012 to be used as props in the upcoming election. Upon discovering that these statesmen hold drastically different political views than any modern day candidate, their kidnappers cut off all ties, leaving them stranded in present day Chicago.