BWW Review: There is Nothin' Like SOUTH PACIFIC
by Nancy Grossman - Jun 15, 2014
They don't make 'em like this anymore, so book your passage to Reagle Music Theatre in Waltham for an enchanted evening at SOUTH PACIFIC. Director David Hugo returns and sets the bar high with topnotch performances from Katie Clark, Peter S. Adams, and an ensemble of enlisted men and women who know their way around the terrific Rodgers and Hammerstein score.
Lawrenceville and Aurora Theatre Present 2014 PRELUDE Event, Featuring SOUTH PACIFIC, 7/3
by Courtnie Mele - Jun 12, 2014
The City of Lawrenceville will host its 9th annual PRELUDE celebration to honor America's Day of Independence on Thursday, July 3rd 2014 at 7:30pm. The event will feature the classic Broadway musical, South Pacific - performed by the award-winning Aurora Theatre followed by Fireworks. Free to the public, Lawrenceville's PRELUDE event will be held on the Lawrenceville Square by the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse.
Taylor Louderman, Bobby Conte Thornton, Robin De Jesus, Telly Leung & More to Star in Paper Mill Playhouse's GREASE
by Tyler Peterson - Apr 25, 2014
Paper Mill Playhouse concludes its 75th Anniversary Season with America's favorite musical, Grease. With book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, Grease will be directed by Daniel Goldstein with original choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter. Additional songs are by John Farrar, Barry Gibb, Scott Simon and Louis St. Louis. Grease will play the Millburn, New Jersey, theater from May 28 through June 29, 2014. The official press opening night is Sunday, June 1, at 7:00pm. Paper Mill Playhouse's 75th Anniversary Season is proudly sponsored by Investors Bank.
Ben Edquist, Arlo Hill and Natalie Ballenger Named Winners of 2014 LOTTE LENYA COMPETITION
by Diana Heisroth - Apr 15, 2014
Ben Edquist, of Houston, won the $15,000 First Prize in the finals of the 2014 Lotte Lenya Competition, sponsored by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music and held on April 12, 2014, in Kilbourn Hall of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Arlo Hill, of New York, won the Second Prize of $10,000, and the Third Prize of $7,500 was awarded to Natalie Ballenger, also of New York.
Judy Kaye Replaces Jayne Houdyshell in Carnegie Hall's All-Star GUYS AND DOLLS Concert
by Tyler Peterson - Mar 12, 2014
Carnegie Hall today announced that two-time Tony Award winner Judy Kaye will now play the role of General Matilda B. Cartwright, replacing previously announced actress Jayne Houdyshell, for its gala benefit performance of Guys and Dolls on Thursday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. Kaye's career highlights include Tony Awards for her performances as Best Featured Actress in a Musical in The Phantom of the Opera and Nice Work If You Can Get It and Tony Award nominations for her roles in Mamma Mia! and Souvenir.
Len Cariou & Lee Wilkof Join Cast of Carnegie Hall's GUYS AND DOLLS Concert; Full Cast Announced
by Tyler Peterson - Mar 5, 2014
Carnegie Hall today announced the complete cast for its gala benefit performance of Guys and Dolls on Thursday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. Tony Award winner Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd, Applause, A Little Night Music) joins the cast as Arvide Abernathy along with Tony Award nominee Lee Wilkof (Assassins, Little Shop of Horrors, Kiss Me Kate) as Harry the Horse. Members of the Mission Band joining Allison Blackwell (Agatha) are J.D. Webster (Calvin), Linda Mugleston (Martha), and Joseph Torello (Joseph).
Kennedy Center Announces Lineup for WORLD STAGES: International Theater Festival 2014
by BWW News Desk - Feb 19, 2014
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will host 22 theatrical offerings from 20 different countries during WORLD STAGES: International Theater Festival 2014 that will run for three weeks March 10-30, 2014 throughout the Center. The international festival features contemporary theater works offering 13 fully staged productions, 4 theater-focused installations, 3 readings of new works, and 2 forums. From Olivier and Tony Award-winning puppetry to innovative perspectives on old classics, a diverse showcase of theatrical expression will be represented by countries spanning the globe including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, England, France, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Pakistan, Palestine, Scotland, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, and the United States.
CT Repertory Theatre to Present MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, 2/28-3/9
by Tyler Peterson - Feb 3, 2014
Storrs: Sinatra is on the radio, soldiers returning home from the Korean War, and a beautiful seaside estate sets the scene for Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. Connecticut Repertory Theatre presents the comedy directed by Paul Mullins, onstage February 28- March 9 in the Nafe Katter Theater, Storrs. Sarah Wintermeyer stars as Beatrice and matches wits in this hilarious battle of the sexes with James Jelkin's Benedick.
Danny Burstein, Betsy Wolfe to Make Met Debuts in DIE FLEDERMAUS, Opening on New Year's Eve
by Tyler Peterson - Dec 27, 2013
A new production of Johann Strauss Jr.'s New Year's Eve classic, the comedic operetta Die Fledermaus, will open at the Met on December 31. Jeremy Sams, writer and creator of the Met's Baroque pasticheThe Enchanted Island, makes his company debut as director with the new staging, which is set in Vienna at the turn of the 20thcentury. Sams also contributes new lyrics for Strauss's work, which will be performed entirely in English; Tony Award-nominated playwright Douglas Carter Beane makes his Met debut with new dialogue. Adam Fischer conducts a cast of rising opera stars and Broadway performers. The cast is led by Susanna Phillips and Christopher Maltman as the unhappily married Rosalinde and Eisenstein; Jane Archibald as Rosalinde's feisty maid, Adele; Anthony Roth Costanzo as Prince Orlofsky; Michael Fabiano as Rosalinde's former lover, Alfred; Paulo Szot as the bumbling Dr. Falke; and Patrick Carfizzi as the prison superintendent, Frank. Broadway stars Danny Burstein and Betsy Wolfe make Met debuts as the drunken jailer, Frosch, and Adele's sister, Ida. Robert Jones is set and costume designer for the production, with lighting design by Jennifer Schriever and choreography by Stephen Mear in their Met debuts.
The Met to Open DIE FLEDERMAUS on New Year's Eve
by Tyler Peterson - Dec 3, 2013
A new production of Johann Strauss Jr.'s New Year's Eve classic, the comedic operetta Die Fledermaus, will open at the Met on December 31. Jeremy Sams, writer and creator of the Met's Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island, makes his company debut as director with the new staging, which is set in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. Sams also contributes new lyrics for Strauss's work, which will be performed entirely in English; Tony Award-nominated playwright Douglas Carter Beane makes his Met debut with new dialogue. Adam Fischer conducts a cast of rising opera stars and Broadway performers. The cast is led by Susanna Phillips and Christopher Maltman as the unhappily married Rosalinde and Eisenstein; Jane Archibald as Rosalinde's feisty maid, Adele; Anthony Roth Costanzo as Prince Orlofsky; Michael Fabiano as Rosalinde's former lover, Alfred; Paulo Szot as the bumbling Dr. Falke; and Patrick Carfizzi as the prison superintendent, Frank. Broadway stars Danny Burstein and Betsy Wolfe make Met debuts as the drunken jailer, Frosch, and Adele's sister, Ida. Robert Jones is set and costume designer for the production, with lighting design by Jennifer Schriever and choreography by Stephen Mear in their Met debuts.
Garibaldi-Meucci Museum Celebrates Ezio Pinza's Life Today
by BWW News Desk - Nov 17, 2013
Today, November 17 at 2 p.m., Nick Dowen will present an hour-long program on the life of opera great Ezio Pinza. Dowen, who has been collecting records since he was 13 years old, will share some of his thousands of recordings in a powerpoint presentation about the life of one of the most prolific singers in the history of music. A bass with a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, Pinza spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas. A popular recording star, Pinza went on to appear on Broadway, in Hollywood movies, and on television in his own series and daytime variety shows that were popular in the 1950s.
Garibaldi-Meucci Museum to Celebrate Ezio Pinza's Life, 11/17
by BWW News Desk - Oct 31, 2013
On Sunday, November 17 at 2 p.m., Nick Dowen will present an hour-long program on the life of opera great Ezio Pinza. Dowen, who has been collecting records since he was 13 years old, will share some of his thousands of recordings in a powerpoint presentation about the life of one of the most prolific singers in the history of music. A bass with a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, Pinza spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas. A popular recording star, Pinza went on to appear on Broadway, in Hollywood movies, and on television in his own series and daytime variety shows that were popular in the 1950s.
Alhambra's SOUTH PACIFIC with Eddie Mekka to Open 10/23
by Tyler Peterson - Oct 15, 2013
Eddie Mekka, who played the role of Carmine Ragusa - the Big Ragu - in the hit TV series Lavern & Shirley will be featured in the Alhambra's upcoming performance of Rogers and Hammerstein's, South Pacific presented by Brumo's. Mekka follows his Laverne & Shirley cast-mate (and good friend) Cindy Williams.