John Adams News

How exactly does Curly know the height of an elephant's eye? I don't mean to doubt the intelligence or inquisitiveness of the guy, but if I asked a pre-statehood Oklahoma cowboy how high the corn has grown, the first response I'd expect wouldn't be a comparison to the height of a proboscidea native to Africa and Asia. Perhaps he found a picture book in some public library, or maybe that famous Thomas Edison film of the electrocution of Topsy, the Coney Island elephant, had made its way to a local picture house.

Tonight, September 30th the first performance of the national Frost/Nixon tour will begin in Des Moines, IA The 2007 Tony Award® -nominated new play by Peter Morgan, the award-winning author of The Last King of Scotland and The Queen, will run at the Des Moines Civic Center through October 5th.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will present a four week 'American Originals' festival, celebrating music written by American and European composers while living in America. The festival opens with a program of works by Bernstein, Barber and Rachmaninov on Thursday, October 30, 2008, and concludes with the Atlanta debut of a concert-staged production of John Adams' Dr. Atomic on Sunday, November 23, 2008.

Last night, September 21st 2008 the 60th Annual Emmy Awards were presented at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. Theater stars Jeremy Piven, Dianne Wiest, Cynthia Nixon, Dame Eileen Atkins, Laura Linney, Alec Baldwin, Glenn Close and Zeljko Ivanek were among the winners.

Continuing its innovative use of electronic media to reach a global audience, the Metropolitan Opera introduces Met Player, a new subscription service that will make its extensive video and audio catalog of full-length performances available to the public for the first time online, and in exceptional, state-of-the-art quality. Beginning on October 22, 120 historic audio recordings and 50 full-length opera videos will be available during the first month of the new service, including over a dozen of the company's acclaimed The Met: Live in HD transmissions, known for their extraordinary sound and picture quality. New content, including HD productions and archival broadcasts, will be added monthly.

Last night, September 21st 2008 the 60th Annual Emmy Awards were presented at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. Theater stars Jeremy Piven, Dianne Wiest, Cynthia Nixon, Dame Eileen Atkins, Laura Linney, Alec Baldwin, Glenn Close and Zeljko Ivanek were among the winners.

The Metropolitan Opera opens its 2008-09 season on September 22 with a gala performance that kicks off its 125th anniversary, starring Renée Fleming in three fully-staged scenes, including some of her most acclaimed portrayals. Costumes for Fleming have been specially created for each of the scenes in the Opening Night Gala by three of the world's legendary fashion designers: John Galliano, Christian Lacroix, and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel.

So far at this evening's Emmy Awards, theater stars Jeremy Piven, Dianne Wiest, Laura Linney, Dame Eileen Atkins and Zeljko Ivanek are among the winners.

The original New York cast of Side Man will celebrate its 10th Anniversary with a one- night reading of Warren Leight's Tony Award winning play to benefit Opening Act, an innovative nonprofit that provides free after-school theater programming to New York City's most under-served public high schools.

Lincoln Center announced today an exciting series of artistic and educational events and initiatives to celebrate its forthcoming 50th anniversary, officially beginning with a ceremony to commemorate the institution's original groundbreaking in 1959 and ending with a campus-wide open house. The anniversary celebration coincides with the physical transformation of Lincoln Center, designed to make the campus a more open, accessible and vibrant urban destination. Ribbon cuttings will be held throughout the year as redevelopment projects are completed.

From October 23rd through November 16th, just in time for election season, America's beloved cowboy humorist is brought to vivid life in WILL ROGERS' AMERICA, a 90-minute one-man-show of homespun wit, the working man's voice and small-town common sense-complete with vintage film clips and live rope tricks! Adapted and performed by veteran actor Rich Hoag, this production will be directed by Hoag's long-time friend and Rubicon Artistic Director James O'Neil.

The complete list of winners in the creative arts categories of the 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences are...

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 today Monday, September 15, 2008.

Pittsburgh CLO is proud to announce the cast and creative team for the Pittsburgh premiere of the acclaimed Off-Broadway musical I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, which runs Oct. 9, 2008, through Feb. 1, 2009, at the CLO Cabaret. This group comprised of almost entirely Pittsburghers is ready to provide its hip, funny and sexy interpretation of the second longest-running musical in Off-Broadway history.

Two of opera's leading sopranos - both acclaimed for their dramatic and vocal skills - sing the demanding title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor for the first time at the Met this season. In the opening performance, October 3, 2008, Diana Damrau - who last season became the first soprano to achieve the feat of singing both leading soprano roles in Mozart's Die Zauberflote, Pamina and the Queen of the Night, in the same Met season - sings the role of Lucia for the first time in her career. Polish tenor Piotr Beczala is her beloved Edgardo in his Met role debut.

MC COY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT presents the first production of their 2008-2009 season of shows, SOUVENIR, written by Stephen Temperley, directed by Jason Edwards and starring Linda Edwards.

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.

When Erwin Schrott took on the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni last year at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, The New York Times wrote: 'The surprise was the riveting Giovanni: the seductively handsome young Uruguayan bass Erwin Schrott, who boasts a strong, dusky voice and chiseled physique. Exuding charisma, he galvanized the audience with his unabashedly narcissistic portrayal.' Now Schrott, who sang the role when the Met toured Japan in 2006, is bringing his portrayal to the Met stage for the first time beginning Saturday, September 27.

Metropolitan Opera on SIRIUS Satellite Radio channel 78 launches its regular live broadcasts of the company's 2008-09 season with the Opening Night Gala starring Renée Fleming, which airs on Monday, September 22, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. The third season of Met Opera Radio on SIRIUS features four live broadcasts weekly as the Met celebrates its 125th anniversary with six new productions, including the company premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic, 18 revivals, and the season grand finale of Wagner's epic Ring cycle, conducted by Music Director James Levine.

The Metropolitan Opera opens its 2008-09 season on September 22 with a gala performance that kicks off its 125th anniversary, starring Renée Fleming in three fully-staged scenes, including some of her most acclaimed portrayals. Costumes for Fleming have been specially created for each of the scenes in the Opening Night Gala by three of the world's legendary fashion designers: John Galliano, Christian Lacroix, and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel.