Commissioned by the Finborough Theatre from Cerberus Theatre, the UK premiere and the English world premiere of controversial German playwright Rolf Hochhuth's Sommer 14 - A Dance of Death in a brand new translation opens at the Finborough Theatre for a four week limited season today, 5 August 2014 (Press Night: Thursday, 7 August at 7.30pm).
A.R. Gurney's enduring romance about first loves and second chances, LOVE LETTERS, will have its first Broadway revival, beginning performances Saturday, September 13, 2014, at 8pm, at the Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41 Street).
The hills of Kansas City will soon come alive with The Sound of Music, and talented performers from Broadway and Kansas City stages will lead the way to Starlight Theatre. The classic musical from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II is the fourth production of Starlight's 2014 Broadway season. It opens tonight, July 25 and runs seven consecutive nights through Thursday, July 31. A special Monday night performance is scheduled for July 28.
When you hear the term The Four Seasons and you think of 'Sherry,' 'Big Girls Don't Cry,' 'Oh, What a Night,' and 'Walk Like a Man' instead of snow, leaves, rain or sunshine, then the hit musical Jersey Boys is a must see!
There has barely been a bad word said about this show since it debuted on Broadway in 2012 (racking up seven Tony nominations), but because I didn't know much about it, I took a while to settle into the comedic rhythm of Georgia Shakespeare's production of ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS. However, once I realized that the show was far more farcical than I at first realized, it became one of the most laugh-out-loud, joyous nights of theatre I have had in years. So, if you go and see this show (which you absolutely should) simply give into the goofiness; you will thank me when you do.
The hills of Kansas City will soon come alive with The Sound of Music, and talented performers from Broadway and Kansas City stages will lead the way to Starlight Theatre.
Commissioned by the Finborough Theatre from Cerberus Theatre, the UK premiere and the English world premiere of controversial German playwright Rolf Hochhuth's Sommer 14 - A Dance of Death in a brand new translation opens at the Finborough Theatre for a four week limited season on Tuesday, 5 August 2014 (Press Night: Thursday, 7 August at 7.30pm).
In Violet, it's September 4, 1964 when Violet Karl boards a bus in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, bound for Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her journey will take her across the American South during the cultural revolution of the 1960s. By 1970, civil rights, Vietnam, women's liberation, and rock and roll youth culture will have reshaped society.
Author and Broadway star, Neile Adams McQueen, the former wife of the late movie star idol Steve McQueen, will kick off The Fourth Annual Idyllwild Authors Series presented by Eduardo Santiago & Pen Center USA on Sunday, June 1, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. at Cafe Aroma, 54750 North Circle Drive, Idyllwild, CA 92549.
Julien's Auctions, the world's premier entertainment and music memorabilia auction house, has announced Music Icons 2014 to be held today, Friday, May 16, 2014 and Saturday, May 17, 2014 at the Hard Rock Cafe New York located at 1501 Broadway in Times Square, Fifty years ago this year, a British rock band called The Beatles gave its first American TV performance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' and music history was made.
After an acclaimed 80th theater season, Beck Center for the Arts is proud to announce its 2014-2015 professional theater season, seemingly the most eclectic yet. Known for its uniquely diverse theatrical productions, Beck Center's new season includes five musicals, the fourth Baldwin Wallace Musical Theatre collaboration, two locally-produced premieres, one regional premiere, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama.
After an acclaimed 80th theater season, Beck Center for the Arts is proud to announce its 2014-2015 professional theater season, seemingly the most eclectic yet. Known for its uniquely diverse theatrical productions, Beck Center's new season includes five musicals, the fourth Baldwin Wallace Musical Theatre collaboration, two locally-produced premieres, one regional premiere, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama.
Seattle Repertory Theatre's full 2014-2015 season was announced today by Artistic Director Jerry Manning. The season is headlined by the first-ever presentation of Seattle writer Robert Schenkkan's striking meditation on power and morality in his two-part Lyndon B. Johnson plays, All the Way and The Great Society, in repertory format.
Seattle Public Theater (SPT) at the Bathhouse has announced its 2014-15 Mainstage season featuring two Pacific Northwest premieres and a world premiere play penned by a Gregory Award winning playwright.
Julien's Auctions, the world's premier entertainment and music memorabilia auction house, has announced Music Icons 2014 to be held Friday, May 16, 2014 and Saturday, May 17, 2014 at the Hard Rock Cafe New York located at 1501 Broadway in Times Square
This week at Joe's Pub at The Public, February 24-March 5, will feature: Fly: A Musical Tribute to Damon Intrabartolo, The Return of Radiant Baby, Stephanie McKay, Bridget Everett, Dom La Nena & Piers Faccini, Dawn Landes, Greg Laswell, Henry Wagons, The Hot Sardines, Ramya Ramana, The Greg Proops Chat Show, Schoolhouse Rock, Murray Hill Oscars Party, Kelly Joe Phelps, Shirve Alive, Queen of the Beatniks, Gia Mora & Einstein's Girl, Juan Perro and the Employee of the Month Show. Details belo
The fiftieth anniversary of John Kennedy's assassination last November turned up an avalanche of books seeking to present new angles or re-hash old ones. Larry Sabato's The Kennedy Half-Century does a bit of both.
Those who read Kennedy literature basically break down in three camps: obsessives (about the presidency, the assassination or both), neophytes (looking to get a handle on the basics) and tweeners (interested and reasonably astute about those basics but not on the verge of giving up their day jobs to learn more). I count myself a member of the third category. While I can't speak for how it would strike those who are a great deal more knowledgeable about the subject, for me, this was an easy and reasonably rewarding read.
The book is broken down into three parts: Kennedy's life and presidency; his assassination; and his legacy.
I'm not sure much new could be said on the first two matters and, for the most part–excepting a few tidbits on the assassination that amount to debunking-of-previous-debunkings-of-previous-debunkings and so on–Sabato makes no real attempt to give any substantially new perspectives or draw any rare conclusions. However, within the bounds of what he clearly did set out to do–i.e., give a summation of those aspects of Kennedy's life and death that would hold the attention of the general interest reader and provide an easy-access overview for at least some newcomers–he delivers very nicely.
The really interesting and, I think, valuable part of the book is the last: a long and fairly detailed look at the effect Kennedy's legacy has had on his nine successors.
This is still relatively fertile ground and, here, Sabato does come to some surprising conclusions and offers solid evidence to back his thesis. If you want to know why and how a conservative Republican like Ronald Reagan was able to channel Kennedy's aura and style more effectively than Lyndon Johnson (who was Kennedy's own vice-president), then this is a good primer on the subject. Same if you want to know how a good-old-boy policy wonk like Bill Clinton could effectively utilize the Kennedy brand–both as campaign style and governing substance–without having much of JFK's rhetorical wit (Kennedy was not exactly long-winded) or having overly warm relations with Senator Ted Kennedy, who was long-established as the family patriarch by the time Clinton reached the presidency.
In addition, Sabato does a fine job of treading on some tricky ground regarding the “real” JFK who actually governed the country for two and half years, and the mythical JFK, whose shadow hung over subsequent issues from Viet Nam to Civil Rights to the Space Program to the basic arguments over the tax code. Turns out, virtually every president since 1963 has tried in some form or fashion to use the aura of the Kennedy mythology–and, in some cases, the assassination mythology as well–to advance his agenda. While some have been far better at it than others, Sabato makes it clear that none have turned down the opportunity to exploit the legacy when the opportunity arose.
The books final third really turns on personalities then, but it avoids most of the common traps. I don't think there is anything here that strains credibility and that's a relief. The tendency to over-reach is all but endemic in the approach Sabato chooses, but–based on interviews I've seen with him and on the even more compelling evidence of the book itself–he seems to be inclined to stick to the facts. For instance, although Sabato seems to side with elite political and historical opinion which consistently tells us that the Bay of Pigs invasion was an unmitigated disaster, he also reminds us that the poll taken immediately after the event gave Kennedy's performance an eighty percent approval rating. It might seem a small thing, but plenty of historians would choose to leave out a little remembered fact that raises questions about their own conclusions. It's to the author's credit that he provides this kind of exemplary even-handedness throughout.
The happy result is a book where Kennedy's real accomplishments are acknowledged, as are the (mostly successful and highly self-conscious) efforts at hagiography carried on by his surviving family (especially his widow) and many of the political allies who served under him.
By the same token, Kennedy's almost incredibly reckless personal behavior is explained without being either rationalized away or reduced to the usual morality lessons. Sabato eschews peep-show licentiousness as deftly as he avoids preaching. I didn't come away thinking either Kennedy's sexual peccadilloes or his often seedy political tactics (this book does not shy away from reminding us that the main difference between Nixon's operatives and Kennedy's where dirty tricks were concerned in the 1960 campaign was that the Kennedy ops were better at it) were less than unsavory–frankly, the man was no saint.
But I didn't feel like taking a bath either. Frankly, the man was a pretty effective president for all his faults and–even more frankly–we're all sinners.
It's a rare Kennedy book that doesn't make me feel like I'm being snowed just a little so I especially appreciated this book's lack of agendas. In Sabato's hands a simple recitation of the facts makes for a good read. I think it's safe to say that most people will find it satisfying–just so long as they aren't after feeding an obsession!
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has added an exciting roster of screen legends and beloved titles to the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival,
The 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival will honor legendary actor, filmmaker and humanitarian Jerry Lewis with a multi-tiered celebration of his remarkable career.
Acclaimed British rockers Peggy Sue will kick off 2014 by touring the U.S. in advance of their highly anticipated third full-length Choir of Echoes, out January 28 onYep Roc Records. Joined by Mandolin Orange and Mariner's Children (Peggy Sue bass player Ben Rubinstein solo), on select dates, Peggy Sue will play shows in New York, Los Angeles and more. Please see below for full tour routing.
A look at some of the musical theatre, opera and cabaret productions in South Africa in 2013.
Nine of Miles Davis' earliest albums on Columbia Records, encompassing music that he recorded for the label in monaural sound from 1956 to 1961 (and released from 1957 to 1964), will be issued together on CD for the first time as Miles Davis:The Original Mono Recordings. This historic box set, comprising nine CDs in mini-LP replica jackets, will be available everywhere today, November 12, 2013 through Columbia/Legacy, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
Casting is announced for OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR, a Theatre Royal Stratford East Production:
WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director Terry Martin previously announced the directors for the Company's 2013-2014 Main Stage season at the Addison Theatre Centre. Directing the season opener, Hank Williams: Lost Highway (tonight, October 11-November 3, 2013) will be Michael Serrecchia.
A Finborough Theatre commission, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Michael Hastings' Lee Harvey Oswald - A Far Mean Streak of Independence Brought on by Negleck opens at the Finborough Theatre for a limited season onSunday, 3 November 2013, with an special additional performance on Friday, 22 November at 12.30pm at the exact time of the assassination.
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