People Like Us 2005 - Articles Page 12.2

The French Institute Alliance Fran aise (FIAF), New York's premier French cultural and language center, today announced the 2019 Crossing the Line Festival, featuring 11 performances and a gallery exhibition from a geographically, generationally, and artistically diverse group of artists whose work transcends genres and boundaries. All performances are world, US, or New York premieres; they are united by their convention-breaking fearlessness as they confront topics from social injustice to personal demons. Many of the performances pay homage to legendary artists of our time and previous eras, while the theme of migration and its transformational effects on identity informs several others. The festival runs from September 12 to October 12. Ticket are available at crossingtheline.org.

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot will present 'Romeo and Juliet,' directed by Lukas Raphael, July 11 to 27 at La Plaza @ The Clemente Parking Lot, 114 Norfolk Street.  This popular New York summer institution is now in its 25th year. Its concept--presenting Shakespeare plays with a 'poor theater' aesthetic in a working parking lot--is now widely imitated around the US and around the world, with productions as far away as New Zealand.  The Drilling Company, led by Artistic Director Hamilton Clancy, has produced the attraction since 2005.

As part of the varied and top-notch Dance Series that Curator Jamie Nichols gifts us with every year, Presented by The Brand Associates in conjunction with The Brand Library and Art Center; the Dance Company GRAYSCALE performed outside on the lush grounds of the Glendale Brand Library and Art Center this past Saturday, May 11th, 2019 in 'Give Yourself Credit For Having More than Personality.' And since the series comprises of site-specific pieces it was performed exteriorly, on the outer stairs, landings and surrounding grounds of the magnificent Brand Library. GRAYSCALE, was Founded by Jessica Kondrath in 2005 in NYC, and relocated to Los Angeles in 2009. Collaborating and Accompanying Jessica and the dancers was Kevin Litrow's LITRONIX, a self-contained sound machine; performing his Brian Eno-influenced floating and drumbeat-driven compositions.

Tom Brennan explains that what you want, what you really, really want, is a comedy set in a school in May 1997.

Arthur, Guenevere, Lancelot, Merlin-these names spark the imagination and bring to mind images of knights, swords, castles, and magic. The tales of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and the legendary Camelot are the subject of myriad novels, movies, TV shows, songs, plays, and musicals. From the 1938 tale The Sword the Stone (which was made into the animated film by Disney in 1963) to the 2008 TV series Merlin to the 2005 Broadway show Monty Python's Spamalot (based on the 1975 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail), for generations these stories have taken us on magical adventures. The 1960 musical Camelot, by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe is based on the T.H. White novel The Once and Future King. Camelot comes to life at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre May 9-June 22. Check out our interview with Matthew Blake Johnson, who can be seen on stage at Dutch Apple as Mordred in Camelot.

When it comes to developing a loyal fan base, Troubadour Theater Company has found the secret: do outstanding work, stay true to your aesthetic, and give the people what they want - a great time at the theater. Artistic Director Matt Walker started the troupe and, with the help of longtime friend and foil, Beth Kennedy, continues to lead his merry band into the great theatrical unknown. Next up for the company is JULIUS WEEZER, which combines Shakespeare's JULIUS CAESAR and the music of Weezer to tell its tale of political intrigue Troubie style. Today, they talk about what it's like putting together a new show and why they keep on coming back for more.

Atticus Finch might be the voice we remember from To Kill a Mockingbird- the classic story that Aaron Sorkin brought to Broadway this season- but Adam Guettel is the man who made Mockingbird sing. The Broadway composer traded musical theatre for drama this season as he created the score for the critically-praised hit. Below, Guettel tells us all about how he found the sound of the play, and shares an exclusive clip from the To Kill a Mockingbird score.

JERSEY BOYS has been a Broadway favorite since the jukebox musical premiered in 2005. It can still be seen Off-Broadway at New World Stages, but in case you're not traveling to Manhattan any time soon, you can catch the show as it travels across America to a city near you. The story of the Four Seasons wouldn't be complete without the character of the incomparable Frankie Valli, whose perfect falsettos gave the group its iconic sound. I caught up with Jonny Wexler in Atlanta, who's been playing Frankie on tour for his second season. He's been with the production for 5 years total, having played Joe Pesci for 3 seasons. Here's what he had to say:

Fifteen years on from the release of their seminal, dance-punk single “Banquet,”Bloc Party are thrilled to announce they will be playing select shows in America performing their beloved, milestone debut album, Silent Alarm, from start to finish.  A list of dates is below; all shows go on sale on March 29th at 10 am local time at blocparty.com.

Taking us back to a world of hideous stonewashed denim, huge hair and even bigger rock anthems, Rock of Agesis on a new national tour. The jukebox musical has been doing the rounds since it first appeared in Hollywood in 2005, but this particular version shows that it has not aged well. The paper-thin plot focuses on sweet Southern gal Sherrie arriving in LA's bright lights. Here she meets the sweet and clean-cut Drew at the Bourbon Club. With the threatened demolition of the club as a background, Sheree is drawn into the murky LA underworld where she ends up working in a strip club. After various misunderstandings, the show concludes with a vaguely happy ending; so far, so predictable.

Next week when DANCING WITH THE STARS LIVE rolls into the Fox Theatre, Atlanta audiences will get a taste of the elegant show for one night, but fortunately for us, one of the dancers is leaving a 'microcosm of that experience' for us to engage with all year round.

Pippa Evans talks about the long-running Showstopper! (back in the West End) and about her life in theatre.

The first production of their new theatrical enterprise, As If Theatre Company, on Feb. 8

THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (or, as it is sometimes called, the much shorter, 'Drood') is a 1985 musical based on Charles Dickens unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Written entirely by Rupert Holmes, it was the first Broadway musical with multiple endings determined by the audience. Holmes received Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score. The production won five Tony Awards out of eleven nominations, including Best Musical. The musical is derived from both Dickens' final unfinished novel and British pantomime and music hall traditions that reached the height of their popularity in the years following Dickens' death. Produced originally by Austin Playhouse in 2005, it was nominated for six B. Iden Payne awards including the winner of Best Director for Musical Theatre (Don Toner). Jill Blackwood, Rick Roemer, and Jacqui Cross reprise their roles from that 2005 production.

CELEBRATION THEATRE presents, as part of its Celebrating New Works reading series, SKIN LIKE MILK by Ryan Fogarty, directed by Ryan Bergmann and performing one night only on Tuesday, December 11 at 7:30pm at The West Hollywood City Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd in West Hollywood.

This week finds Jeremy Benton - Broadway's favorite tap-dancing man - in Paducah, Kentucky, with the rest of the cast and crew of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, preparing for tonight's opening performance of the quintessential holiday season musical. He's spent so many holiday seasons performing in White Christmas, in fact (he joined the show back in 2005 and has been a part of the company off and on ever since) that it's become second nature to him now.

PS CLASSICS, the label that celebrates the heritage of Broadway and American popular song, has released its groundbreaking new recording Philip Chaffin: Will He Like Me? today, Friday, November 9. The album is featured in The New York Times "2018 Holiday Gift Guide," which raves, "From 'When I Marry Mr. Snow' to 'I Got Lost in His Arms,' Chaffin tells a familiar story that has never sounded so new." 

This week finds Jeremy Benton - Broadway's favorite tap-dancing man - in Paducah, Kentucky, with the rest of the cast and crew of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, preparing for tonight's opening performance of the quintessential holiday season musical. He's spent so many holiday seasons performing in White Christmas, in fact (he joined the show back in 2005 and has been a part of the company off and on ever since) that it's become second nature to him now.

Thirty years. It's an eternity in rock 'n' roll, and a marathon for the bands who fly its tattered flag. Revisit the class of 1988, and the casualties are piled high: a thousand bands that blew up and burnt out. In this chew-and-spit industry, the Spin Doctors are the last men standing, still making music like their lives depend on it, still riding the bus, still shaking the room. They've never been a band for backslaps and self-congratulation. Even now, plans are afoot for a seventh studio album and another swashbuckling world tour, adding to their tally of almost two thousand shows. But faced with that milestone, even a band of their velocity takes a breath for reflection. “I'd never have guessed,” admits drummer Aaron Comess, “this would have turned into thirty years of making great music together.”

The Ojai Film Festival and Women In Film (WIF) will present a Legacy Series event with acclaimed actress Eva Marie Saint on Friday, November 9 at the Ojai Art Center. The intimate filmed interview produced by WIF's Ilene Kahn Power and Dorothea Petrie, directed by Petra Haffter, and edited by David Flores and Zachary Weintraub, is a 40-minute retrospective of the Academy, and Emmy award-winning star's career in film, television and stage. The event begins at 4 pm with the screening, followed by Q&A with Ms. Saint. A reception will follow.

On “Camelot,” the beautiful, sensual new single from Sy Smith's critically acclaimed new album 'Sometimes A Rose Will Grow in Concrete,' the “Queen of Underground Soul” takes us on a heavenly, throwback-quiet-storm type of journey; inviting us to dream and fantasize along with her about the perfect love, “all in my mind.” The track, the third single from the collection following “Now and Later” and “Perspective,” will be serviced to Urban AC radio on September 24.  

PS CLASSICS will release the groundbreaking new recording Philip Chaffin: Will He Like Me? online and in stores November 9, 2018.

Thirty years. It's an eternity in rock 'n' roll, and a marathon for the bands who fly its tattered flag. Revisit the class of 1988, and the casualties are piled high: a thousand bands that blew up and burnt out. In this chew-and-spit industry, theSpin Doctors are the last men standing, still making music like their lives depend on it, still riding the bus, still shaking the room. They've never been a band for backslaps and self-congratulation. Even now, plans are afoot for a seventh studio album and another swashbuckling world tour, adding to their tally of almost two thousand shows. But faced with that milestone, even a band of their velocity takes a breath for reflection. “I'd never have guessed,” admits drummer Aaron Comess, “this would have turned into thirty years of making great music together.”

We chatted recently with Trafalgar Releasing's CEO Marc Allenby, and recently hired senior VP, programming and acquisitions Kymberli Frueh to get the scoop on everything the company is up to, the current state of event cinema and so much more.