Taylor Hackford News

Twyla Tharp and Three Dances, the previously announced program conceived and directed by Twyla Tharp and featuring two classics and one premiere, will be presented by The Joyce Theater Foundation for two weeks next month, July 10-23, in its intimate Chelsea home, located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.

Twyla Tharp and Three Dances, the previously announced program conceived and directed by Twyla Tharp and featuring two classics and one premiere, will be presented by The Joyce Theater Foundation for two weeks next month, July 10-23, in its intimate Chelsea home, located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. Part of the Pathways to Dance Upstate/Downstate initiative, Twyla Tharp and Three Dances will feature a company of long-time Tharp dancers along with new members.  John Selya, Matthew Dibble, Daniel Baker, Ramona Kelley, Amy Ruggiero, Eva Trapp, Nicholas Coppula, Kaitlyn Gilliland and Reed Tankersley make up the company. On the program are two Tharp classics, Brahms Paganini and Country Dances, and a new work, Beethoven Opus 130, set to Beethoven's Opus of the same title having its world premiere at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on June 30. This presentation, one of the must-see cultural events of the summer, marks the first time Tharp's company will perform on The Joyce's stage in almost 12 years. Tickets range in price from $10-$75 and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

With reviewers unanimously agreeing that multitalented entertainer BOBBY RYDELL has told one hell of a story in his compelling new autobiography, TEEN IDOL ON THE ROCKS, the Justin Bieber of the 'Camelot' era will be bringing his brutally candid and compelling 'Tale of Second Chances' directly to his fans with an extensive nationwide Special Events & Book Tour.

 SHOWTIME has given a pilot order to WHITE FAMOUS, a half-hour comedy executive produced by Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx and Tom Kapinos. 

Starz and FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) began production this week on the 10-episode first season of AMERICAN GODS, the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's acclaimed contemporary fantasy novel. Shooting has commenced in Toronto, Canada and will continue in additional locations across America.

According to The New York Times, Tony Award winning choreographer Twyla Tharp will present her latest work this summer at the Joyce Theater. The work is currently untitled and is 'a dramatic piece set to a late Beethoven quartet.' Ms. Tharp is currently the artist in residence at the theatre. 

The story and music of America's Composer come to life on stage when The Town Hall presents HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN, a new play with music written and performed by award-winning actor and musician Hershey Felder (Broadway's George Gershwin Alone, Maestro Bernstein). Directed by Trevor Hay, HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN plays one night only, Monday, June 6 at 8PM at The Town Hall (123 West 43rd Street).

Acclaimed Broadway, film and television star, Tovah Feldshuh - nominated six times for the Tony and Emmy Awards-returns to Feinstein's at the Nikko on Friday, April 29 (8 p.m.) and Saturday, April 30 (7 p.m.) with her one-woman show, Tovah: Aging is Optional.

The Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham and Hershey Felder Presents are thrilled to announce the fourth show in the Laguna Playhouse 2015-2016 season, Tony Award-winner Anthony Crivello and Vanessa Claire Stewart starring in LOUIS & KEELY: 'LIVE' AT THE SAHARA, written by Vanessa Stewart, Taylor Hackford & Jake Broder, choreography by Vernel Bagneris and directed by Taylor Hackford. Check out photos below!

The Cinema Audio Society Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing Motion Picture - Live Action was presented to the sound mixing team of Chris Duesterdiek, Jon Taylor, CAS, Frank Montaño. Randy Thom, CAS, Conrad Hensel, Michael Miller, CAS and Geordy Sincavage for "The Revenant".

San Diego audience favorite Hershey Felder ("George Gershwin Alone," "Monsieur Chopin," "Beethoven," "Liszt," "An American Story," "Irving Berlin") returns to San Diego Repertory Theatre in a pre-New York engagement of "Hershey Felder as Leonard Bernstein in MAESTRO." Fresh from a sold out run of "Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin" at the La Jolla Playhouse, Felder will now perform this signature work about America's finest conductor and composer, Leonard Bernstein, which had its premiere in 2011 at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre. Directed by Joel Zwick, "MAESTRO" plays a limited engagement from Wednesday, July 6 to Sunday, July 17, 2016. Details for the New York presentation will be announced in April.

The Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham and Hershey Felder Presents are thrilled to announce the fourth show in the Laguna Playhouse 2015-2016 season, Tony Award-winner Anthony Crivello and Vanessa Claire Stewart starring in LOUIS & KEELY: 'LIVE' AT THE SAHARA, written by Vanessa Stewart, Taylor Hackford & Jake Broder, choreography by Vernel Bagneris and directed by Taylor Hackford.  "Our subscribers and audiences are about the have the time of their lives as we transport them to 1950's Las Vegas and beyond and the incomparable song-stylings of Louis Prima and Keely Smith," says Wareham. LOUIS & KEELY: 'LIVE' AT THE SAHARA will begin previews on Wednesday, February 24; will open on Saturday, February 27 and will run through Sunday, March 27, 2016 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Louis Prima and Keely Smith shared a larger-than-life marriage and a groundbreaking Las Vegas act featuring unforgettable songs like "That Ol' Black Magic," "Pennies from Heaven," and "Embraceable You." These songs and many others are featured in the production which has grown from a local Los Angeles-created hit at Sacred Fools Theater Company to a national musical phenomenon. After earlier award-winning and extended productions in Los Angeles and more recent acclaim in Chicago, these outsized personalities and talents have returned to the city in which the show was born. The current production is directed by Taylor Hackford, who also wrote the show with Vanessa Clair Stewart and Jake Broder, and is presented by Hershey Felder (a musical talent in his own right).

Four time Emmy® winner Jay Roach will receive the Cinema Audio Society Filmmaker Award at the 52nd Annual CAS Awards on February 20th, at the historic Millennium-Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles.

Today, the finalists for USC Libraries' 28th annual Scripter Award were announced. The prize recognizes the year's best adapted screenplays and the author or authors of the written work upon which the screenplay is based.

A new batch of tickets are now on sale for the Off-Broadway premiere of Jerry Mayer's new comedy, 2 ACROSS, which began a open-ended engagement on November 14th at St. Luke's Theatre (308 West 46th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). Emmy Award nominee Evelyn Rudie ("Eloise") directs a cast that stars Andrea McArdle and Kip Gilman. Tickets are now on sale through March 20th. Wednesday Matinees at 2pm have also been added to accommodate the demand.

LOUIS & KEELY 'LIVE' AT THE SAHARA returns to the Geffen Playhouse this month in a revamped production produced by the award-winning Hershey Felder. Written by Vanessa Claire Stewart, Taylor Hackford and Jake Broder and directed by Taylor Hackford, it is the story of Louis Prima and Keely Smith whose larger-than-life marriage and groundbreaking Las Vegas act featured an amazing cavalcade of hits that would forever secure their place in American musical history.

ELOISE creator Hilary Knight caught up with Evelyn Rudie who created the role of ELOISE in 1956 on television's 'Playhouse 90.' It brought her critical acclaim and an Emmy nomination at age six-the first time a child actress was so honored. Evelyn is now the director of the acclaimed off-Broadway hit, 2 ACROSS, which stars Andrea McArdle. Below, check out a picture of Knight, Rudie, and McArdle posing at the 2 ACROSS opening night!

Emmy Award-Nominated Actor Benjamin Bratt co-stars in UNTITLED MUSIC PILOT by Lee Daniels and Tom Donaghy. Bratt will play “Jahil,” a talent manager with impeccable taste, a hidden life and a drive for redemption.

The Off-Broadway premiere of Jerry Mayer's new comedy, 2 Across, is currently playing an open-ended engagement at St. Luke's Theatre (308 West 46th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). The production officially opens tonight, December 9, with Emmy Award nominee Evelyn Rudie ('Eloise') directing a cast that stars Andrea McArdle and Kip Gilman.