Few plays have stood the test of time in the way that The Importance of Being Earnest has. Written in 1895, this 'Serious Comedy for Trivial People,' as playwright Oscar Wilde termed it, offers situations and comedy that remain timeless and fresh. The characters are memorable, from the careless and self-centered Jack to the innocent and impressionable Cecily. Wilde skewers Victorian society in a manner that leaves audiences laughing from start to finish.
Few plays have stood the test of time in the way that The Importance of Being Earnest has. Written in 1895, this 'Serious Comedy for Trivial People,' as playwright Oscar Wilde termed it, offers situations and comedy that remain timeless and fresh. The characters are memorable, from the careless and self-centered Jack to the innocent and impressionable Cecily. Wilde skewers Victorian society in a manner that leaves audiences laughing from start to finish.
Cabrillo Music Theatre announces the next in a series of fundraising and entertainment events in the recently renovated Founders' Room of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. SHIRLEY JONES & PATRICK CASSIDY: TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY will take place on Sunday, February 10th, at 7:00PM, and reunites the Oscar-winning star of stage, films and television, Shirley Jones, with her son, Broadway and television star Patrick Cassidy. The Founders Room is located in the Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.
The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced today that the cast of the acclaimed epic musical GIANT will enter the recording studio in January to create an original cast album, which will be released by Ghostlight Records in spring 2013. GIANT officially opened at The Public on November 15 and features a book by Sybille Pearson, music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa, and direction by Michael Greif. The show will end its limited run at The Public Theater at Astor Place on Sunday, December 16 following a final two-week extension.
Full casting has been announced for THE SILENCE OF THE SEA, by Vercors, in a version by Anthony Weigh, part of the Donmar Trafalgar Season, running 10 January - 2 February 2013
Press night: Monday 14 January at 7pm
Kyle DeSantis, Executive Producer of Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, announced today that Broadway actor Tony Yazbeck will take over the role of "Don Lockwood" in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, replacing Sean Palmer who suffered an injury. The production, which is currently in previews, will now have its press opening on Friday, Nov. 30 at 8:30pm. Yazbeck will go into the production on Wednesday, November 21.
Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, makes a splash with the effervescent musical comedy SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, previewing tonight, November 8, opening November 15, and running through January 13, 2013.
Toby Jones and Sienna Miller Star in THE GIRL, an HBO Films Presentation in Association with BBC, Debuting Oct. 20 The film tells the story of Alfred Hitchcock's obsessive relationship with his leading lady Tippi Hedren during the making of 'The Birds' and 'Marnie.'
Dame Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap is the longest, continuously running play of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Running since 1952 in London would make it an intimidating play to take on, but the Hilberry Theatre Company pulls it off wonderfully. The acting, the set, and costumes are captivating and well done.
Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, makes a splash with the effervescent musical comedy SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, previewing November 8, opening November 15, and running through January 13, 2013.
As a special homage to Theodore Mann, Circle in the Square's co-founder, artistic director, and
co-producer who passed away on February 24th of this year, Circle in the Square Theatre School is inviting the theater-going public, the theater community and those who worked with him to share their remembrances of Mann and the over 175 productions that he with Jose Quintero, and later with Paul Libin brought to the stage.
During her recent show at 54 Below, Rebecca Luker's renditions of 16 Jerome Kern songs-some of which were more obscure pre-1920 ditties-were lovely and engaging. But as a complete nightclub performance, Luker's show was neither a compelling one-woman concert nor captivating cabaret.
A Memorial Tribute honoring Theodore Mann, Circle in the Square's Co-Founder, Artistic Director, and Co-Producer, who passed away on February 24 at the age of 87, will be held at Circle in the Square Theatre, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, today, May 1, at 1 p.m. Seating is open to the general public on a first come, first-served basis.
Catalina Bar & Grill will present "A Birthday Tribute To Billie Holiday" starring Billie Holiday's pianist Corky Hale and singer Freda Payne, with Special Guest, singer Tricia Tahara for One Night Only!!! The performance will be presented on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. at Catalina Bar & Grill; 6725 West Sunset Boulevard (just east of North Highland Avenue); Los Angeles, CA 90028. There is $20 Cover Charge. Valet Parking is available.
A Memorial Tribute honoring THEODORE MANN, Circle in the Square's Co-Founder, Artistic Director, and Co-Producer, who passed away on February 24 at the age of 87, will be held at Circle in the Square Theatre, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, on Tuesday, May 1, at 1 p.m. Seating is open to the general public on a first come, first-served basis.
Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham announced the line-up today for The Public's 2012-2013 Season, beginning in the fall with an October rededication of The Public's historic downtown building. The season continues the theater's nearly 60 year tradition of developing new theatrical voices and presenting Shakespeare to the entire New York community.
Public Theater has announced the line-up today for The Public's 2012-2013 Season, beginning in the fall with an October rededication of The Public's historic downtown building. The season continues the theater's nearly 60 year tradition of developing new theatrical voices and presenting Shakespeare to the entire New York community.
Herbert Blomstedt comes to Walt Disney Concert Hall to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in three performances of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14, at 8 pm, as well as Sunday, April 15, at 2pm. Also performing are soprano Ruth Ziesak, mezzo-soprano Gerhild Romberger, tenor Richard Croft, bass-baritone Hanno Muller-Brachmann and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Beethoven's 80-minute Missa Solemnis, considered by the composer to be his greatest work, is atypical for him. It's missing the sustained development of themes that is one of the composer's hallmarks. Also missing is Beethoven's penchant for theme and variations. Instead, the Missa presents a continuous musical narrative, almost without repetition.
The first LA Phil performances (in 1952) were followed by downtown performances in 1961, 1970 and 1980. The work has not been performed by the Philharmonic in 32 years.
Herbert Blomstedt was chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden from 1975 to 1985 and, in his continued relationship with the orchestra, was awarded its Golden Badge of Honour in 2007. Additionally, he holds the following titles with the various orchestras: Honorary Conductor of the NHK Symphony, Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, Honorary Conductor of the Gewandhausorchester in Leipzig, the Danish and Swedish Symphony, as well as the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he continues guest conducting the world's most pre-eminent orchestras. Blomstedt, who celebrates his 85th birthday in 2012, has an extensive discography that includes over 130 works with the Dresden Staatskapelle, among them all symphonies of Beethoven and Schubert, as well as the complete orchestral works of Carl Nielsen with the Danish Radio Symphony. With the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra he recorded exclusively for Decca. Several of the numerous recordings received major awards; the complete cycles of the symphonies of Jean Sibelius and Carl Nielsen enjoy reference standard. In September 2012, to make Blomstedt's jubiless, the querstand label is releasing a CD box set with all the symphonies by Anton Bruckner from live recordings with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Blomstedt has received several Honorary Doctorates and is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Music Academy and he was awarded the 'Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz' by the German Federal President Johannes Rau.
Following her debut at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein based in Dusseldorf and Duisburg, Ruth Ziesak's career led her from the stages of Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin and Dresden to the international platforms of Milan, Florence, Vienna, Paris, London and New York, where she shone in signature roles of Pamina, Ännchen, Marzelline, Ilia and Sophie. She has also extended her repertoire and made her debut in the role of the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro in Glyndebourne and Zurich. It is in this role that she appeared at the Wurttembergisches Staatstheater in Stuttgart under Manfred Honeck in the 2009/10 season. The versatile artist is a much sought-after concert soloist and works with the leading orchestras in Paris, Milan, Vienna, Munich, Leipzig, Amsterdam and London. She is also a frequent guest at the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the BBC Proms. In addition to her concert recordings with Georg Solti, Riccardo Chailly and Herbert Blomstedt for Decca, Ziesak has recorded Die Zauberflote (Solti/Decca), Fidelio (Dohnanyi/Decca), La Clemenza di Tito (Harnoncourt/Teldec), Der Freischutz (Janowski/BMG), Hansel und Gretel (Runnicles/ Teldec) and Robert Schumann's Genoveva with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (Harnoncourt/Teldec). Her solo recordings include Opera Arias by Mozart with the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin (German Symphony Orchestra Berlin) conducted by Marcus Creed (Capriccio) and lieder by Mahler (Gatti/BMG), as well as a series of lieder recitals for BMG, Naxos and Sony with Ulrich Eisenlohr.
Recent highlights of Gerhild Romberger's concert career include concerts with Manfred Honeck, who invited her for, among others, Mahler´s symphonies, Beethoven´s Missa Solemnis or the Große Messe by Walter Braunfels. Additional highlights include concerts at the NDR Hamburg with Wolfgang Rihm´s Drei spate Gedichte von Heiner Muller, with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Prague, numerous performances with Enoch zu Guttenberg (among others Bach´s Passions, Verdi´s Messa da Requiem, Beethoven´s Missa solemnis and Wagner´s Wesendoncklieder). She frequently works with the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester under Riccardo Chailly, as well as with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (in Schmidt´s Buch mit den sieben Siegeln and Mendelsson´s Elias with Thomas Hengelbrock), the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Herbert Blomstedt, the Symphony Orchestras of WDR and MDR and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. This season, Romberger performs with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, on tour with Beethoven's Missa solemnis with the Orchestre des Champs Elysees Paris under Philippe Herreweghe, the Bavarian Radio Chorus and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck in the United States and on tour in Europe.
American tenor Richard Croft is internationally renowned for his performances with leading opera companies and orchestras around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Opera National de Paris, the Berlin Staatsoper, Opera Zurich, Glyndebourne Festival, the Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. His clarion voice, superlative musicianship and commanding stage presence allow him to pursue a wide breadth of repertoire from Handel and Mozart to the music of today's composers. The 2011/2012 season sees Croft returning to the Metropolitan Opera for an encore engagement of their visually extravagant production of Satyagraha in the role of Gandhi which will also be broadcast live in HD to movie theatres around the world. He continues the operatic season with Bayerische Staatsoper where he will play the title role in Mitridate under Ivor Bolton. He began the concert season with two performances of the Messiah with the Minnesota Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and continues with performances of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and then with the Berliner Philharmonker conducted by Herbet Blomstedt.
Hanno Muller-Brachmann has sung with many of the world's leading orchestras and conductors, including: Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the London Philharmonic under Masur, Bach's St. John Passion with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra under Gardiner and with the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester under Blomstedt, Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette with the Berlin Staatskappelle under Luisi, Schubert's Alfons und Estrella with the Berlin Philharmonic under Harnoncourt, Beethoven IX with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Dohnanyi and with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Chailly and Beethoven IX and Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi under Chailly, Britten's War Requiem with the European Youth Orchestra under Ashkenazy and Beethoven IX with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Haitink. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Barenboim and has sung at the Festivals of Granada, Dresden, Salzburg, Lucerne, Vienna's Klangbogen, Tanglewood and the BBC Proms. Muller-Brachmann made his operatic debut in 1996 in Telemann's Orpheus under Rene Jacobs at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, where he was a member of the ensemble from 1998 and where he sang the great Mozart roles of Leporello, Figaro, Guglielmo and Papageno as well as his first Wotan under Barenboim. In addition to opera and oratorio, he can be heard in recitals in Berlin at both the Staatsoper and Philharmonie. He has given recitals in Graz, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Tokyo, Hamburg, Paris, Lausanne, London's Wigmore Hall and at the Vienna Konzerthaus, and at the Schwarzenberg Schubertiade, Berlin Festwochen, Ittingen and Edinburgh Festivals. He also works with the pianists Burkhard Kehring, Andras Schiff, Philippe Jordan, Graham Johnson, Malcolm Martineau and Daniel Barenboim.
Giving a voice to Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Grammy-nominated Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC), considered one of the world's leading choirs, is led by Music Director Grant Gershon. The Los Angeles Times proclaims, "Under Gershon, the Master Chorale seems to be able to master anything," The New York Times calls the choir "inspired," and The New York Observer declares it "a superb vocal ensemble." The Chorale is currently in its 48th season as a resident company of the Music Center of Los Angeles County and its 9th as the resident chorus at Disney Hall. Presenting its own concert series each season, it performs choral music from the earliest writings to the most recent contemporary compositions. To date, the choir has commissioned 27 and premiered 69 new works, of which 44 were world premieres, and has been awarded the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming three times - in 1995, 2003 and 2010. Its discography includes four CDs under Gershon's baton: A Good Understanding, an all-Nico Muhly disk recorded at Disney Hall and released by Decca in September 2010; Daniel Variations by Steve Reich, released in spring 2008 on Nonesuch Records; You Are (Variations) by Steve Reich, released in September 2005 on Nonesuch Records; and an RCM recording featuring Esa-Pekka Salonen's first choral work, Two Songs to Poems of Ann Jaderlund, and Philip Glass' Itaipu. A fifth CD with Gershon, to be recorded in June 2012 at Disney Hall and released in Fall 2012 on Decca, will feature three works by Polish composer Henryk Gorecki, including his rapturous Miserere, and two that have never been recorded - Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise) and Five Marian Songs. LAMC previously released three CDs under Music Director Emeritus Paul Salamunovich on RCM, including the Grammy-nominated Lauridsen-Lux Aeterna. The Chorale is also featured with Gershon on the soundtracks of such major motion pictures as Charlie Wilson's War, Lady in the Water, and License to Wed. Serving more than 30,000 audience members of all ages annually, the Los Angeles Master Chorale also provides education outreach to some 6,000 students each year.
The 'invaluable' and 'indispensable' Metropolitan Playhouse--2011 Obie Award winner--presents a revival of Deep Are the Roots, by Arnaud d'Usseau and James Gow. First staged in 1945 and revived in 1960, the play now receives the first professional production in the city in over 50 years, directed by Michael Hardart at Metropolitan's home. Closing is on 4/1/12. Tickets are $22 general; $18 students/seniors; $10 children, and may be purchased at www.metropolitanplayhouse.org/tickets or 212 995 5302.
The Pacific Symphony launches an exciting 2012-13 Pops season starring big-name guest artists, spectacular shows and some of the most treasured songs and genres of our time. From the "Empress of Soul," Gladys Knight, to Broadway showstoppers, the "Wicked Divas.'
According to The Huffington Post, Jane Fonda is currently in talks to portray former first lady Nancy Reagan in the upcoming film THE BUTLER. The film will be directed by Lee Daniels.
The New York Philharmonic presents Anywhere I Wander: The Frank Loesser Songbook, a celebration of the late legendary Broadway composer of Where's Charley?, Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella, Greenwillow, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Monday, March 26, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. Directed and conducted by Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, the evening will feature an all-star cast that includes Ann Hampton Callaway, Victoria Clark, Robert Morse, Bryn Terfel, a special appearance by Loesser's widow and leading lady Jo Sullivan Loesser, and others to be announced. The program will be choreographed by Andrew Palermo.
Catalina Bar & Grill will present "A Birthday Tribute To Billie Holiday" starring Billie Holiday's pianist Corky Hale and singer Freda Payne, with Special Guest, singer Tricia Tahara for One Night Only!!! The performance will be presented on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. at Catalina Bar & Grill; 6725 West Sunset Boulevard (just east of North Highland Avenue); Los Angeles, CA 90028. There is $20 Cover Charge. Valet Parking is available.
The 'invaluable' and 'indispensable' Metropolitan Playhouse--2011 Obie Award winner--presents a revival of Deep Are the Roots, by Arnaud d'Usseau and James Gow. First staged in 1945 and revived in 1960, the play now receives the first professional production in the city in over 50 years, directed by Michael Hardart at Metropolitan's home. Previews begin 3/3/12; Opening Night: 3/9/12; Closing: 4/1/12. Tickets are $22 general; $18 students/seniors; $10 children, and may be purchased at www.metropolitanplayhouse.org/tickets or 212 995 5302.
Rose Theatre Kingston will present THE LADY FROM THE SEA starring Joely Richardson, recently seen in U.S. version of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Also playing this season is HERE, a comedy about love and living together by one of Britain's most acclaimed playwrights, Michael Frayn.
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