Nothing seems to scare the valiant little troupe Threepenny Theatre Company. What has it got to lose? So what if the budget allows for no more than a perfunctory set? So what if its selection of classics (i.e., MACBETH) hardly has the appeal of a crowd-pleasing musical? Relying on a commitment to quality of writing and performance, it has pulled off a real coup: A stunning production of Eugene O'Neill's warhorse of a classic, the autobiographical LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, produced posthumously and, in 1962, given classic cinema status by Director Sidney Lumet and brilliant performers Ralph Richardson, Katharine Hepburn, Dean Stockwell, and Jason Robards, Jr. (to whom O'Neill was as essential as Tennessee Williams was to Elizabeth Taylor). This particular warhorse, however, is of the Trojan variety, and Director Matt Crewse has tamed the beast with the aid of four performances that are nothing short of brilliant.
Broadway fans had plenty of reasons to celebrate this year, with dozens of shows having opened since January, hundreds of actors having made their debuts, and many more having returned to the stage for critically acclaimed performances. Not all news was good though, as we also suffered a loss of an incredible amount of talent.
Below, BroadwayWorld sends a fond farewell to those who passed away in 2014.
New York City Center's 11th annual Fall for Dance Festival will feature free performances in Central Park and 24 acclaimed dance companies and artists from around the world, in six unique programs in September and October 2014. In keeping with the Festival's commitment to make dance accessible to everyone, the Festival will kick off with two FREE evenings of dance at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, in association with The Public Theater, today and tomorrow, September 12 and 13 (rain date, September 14) and will continue at City Center from October 8 - October 19 with all tickets at $15. The Festival's many free pre-show events will include dance lessons and panels by choreographers, artists and dance educators. Tickets will go on sale Sunday, September 14 at 11 a.m.
New York City Center's 11th annual Fall for Dance Festival will feature free performances in Central Park and 24 acclaimed dance companies and artists from around the world, in six unique programs in September and October 2014.
The journeys organized by Travel Dynamics combine first-class accommodations and stimulating sight-seeing with intimate chamber music performances in extraordinary locations. As co-Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society, along with my wife, the pianist Wu Han, we program the concerts and select additional musicians from the Society's artist roster to join us as collaborators. The passengers include music lovers who join the cruises through two of our prominent chamber music institutions New York's Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Silicon Valley's Music@Menlo. Joining us on this adventure were Suzanne Davidson and Edward Sweeney, the executive directors of each organization respectively, as well as violinists Kristin Lee and Arnaud Sussmann, two of the most exciting young performers on the classical music scene today.
The Stratford Festival will present its 2014 Legacy Award to Martha Henry. Her extraordinary contributions to the Festival and to the performing arts in Canada will be celebrated at a gala at Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel on Monday, September 29.
Arthur Gelb, the much beloved Managing Editor of The New York Times, a champion of theater coverage there as early as the 1950s and beyond, and co-author, with his wife Barbara, of a massive three-volume biography of American playwright Eugene O'Neill, is celebrated in the CUNY TV rebroadcast of a 1999 THEATER TALK interview, co-hosted by Michael Riedel of the New York Post and producer Susan Haskins, airing today, May 30 (2014) at 9:30am, 2:30pm, and 7:30pm. Mr. Gelb passed away on May 20.
Arthur Gelb, the much beloved Managing Editor of The New York Times, a champion of theater coverage there as early as the 1950s and beyond, and co-author, with his wife Barbara, of a massive three-volume biography of American playwright Eugene O'Neill, is celebrated in the CUNY TV rebroadcast of a 1999 THEATER TALK interview, co-hosted by Michael Riedel of the New York Post and producer Susan Haskins, airing Friday, May 30 (2014) at 9:30am, 2:30pm, and 7:30pm. Mr. Gelb passed away on May 20.
I was just a little more than a year into my new side career as a cabaret show reviewer when I first saw a Karen Oberlin show. It was Valentine's Day night 2012 and Oberlin—with guitarist Sean Harkness and guest violinist Aaron Weinstein—would be performing her romance-laced set, Stringing Along With Love, at the Metropolitan Room. At the time, all I knew about Oberlin was that she was considered among New York's best female cabaret singers, and I hadn't researched her performing history pre-show. About a third of the way into her set I leaned over to my wife (it was Valentine's Day after all) and whispered, “You know, she has a real Doris Day quality in her voice and in the way she delivers some lyrics.” This immediately ratcheted up my appreciation for Oberlin since there are four passions I inherited from my Dad—baseball, reading the morning papers, sports writing and Doris Day (well, also Sophia Loren, but that's for another column). Since Dad had grown up during the prime of the Big Band Era of the 1940s, I heard the sultry sounds of a young Doris Day singing songs like “Sentimental Journey” on the family stereo more than a few times. Once I saw Day's strikingly adorable blondness on a record cover and her rocking body in one of her films, I knew what Dad was talking about. As popular, famous, and near iconic as Doris Day became, in my book, as a singer and screen beauty she's always been vastly underrated. Little did I know that Karen Oberlin had been doing a Doris Day tribute show so since 2001 at places like Firebird, Iridium, and the late Danny's Skylight Room, and produced a CD, Secret Love: The Music of Doris Day, in 2002. Karen Oberlin had instantly become my secret love.
The schedule for this summer's Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival, which runs from July 20 to August 10, was announced today by Bill Bragin, Lincoln Center's Director of Public Programming. Nearly 100 free performances will take place across the plazas of Lincoln Center during three weeks. A special Memorial Concert for Pete and Toshi Seeger on July 20 will be followed by the official opening concert on July 23 with Larry Harlow's Hommy: A Latin Opera, the landmark work's first performance in 40 years. Complete festival details and a chronological listing of events follow.
The Theatre Royal Bath has announced its 2014 Summer Season, comprising four productions and starring Clare Higgins, Tim Pigott-Smith, Alison Steadman and Felicity Kendal. Beginning on 18th June with Edward Albee's WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF, the season continues with KAFKA'S DICK by Alan Bennett, followed by THERESE RAQUIN by Emile Zola, and concludes on 6th September with Noel Coward's HAY FEVER.
Now in its 16th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook will continue to expand its scope celebrating the best in American singing and songwriting. New this year, the opening night concert will befree, in the David Rubenstein Atrium, on Wednesday, January 22, 2014. 'Live From Lincoln Center,' the Emmy Award-winning program broadcast nationally on PBS stations, will shoot four of the first week's American Songbook concerts in The Allen Room: by James Naughton, Lawrence Brownlee, Jason Isbell, and Patina Miller. These performances will be broadcast nationally beginning in Spring 2014. In addition, American Songbook concerts taking place in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center will be live-streamed via http://watch.lincolncenter.org.
Now in its 16th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook will continue to expand its scope celebrating the best in American singing and songwriting. New this year, the opening night concert will befree, in the David Rubenstein Atrium, on Wednesday, January 22, 2014. 'Live From Lincoln Center,' the Emmy Award-winning program broadcast nationally on PBS stations, will shoot four of the first week's American Songbook concerts in The Allen Room: by James Naughton, Lawrence Brownlee, Jason Isbell, and Patina Miller. These performances will be broadcast nationally beginning in Spring 2014. In addition, American Songbook concerts taking place in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center will be live-streamed via http://watch.lincolncenter.org.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Romanian Film Initiative are pleased to announce the 8th edition of MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
Even though Colorado summers boast gorgeous weather and plenty to do outdoors, there are still several excellent productions to take advantage of that are fun for friends, family or a date night. Below is a listing of some of the highlights of for a fun-filled Colorado summer...
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts welcomes regional arts and cultural organizations participating in Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts 2013 (PIFA) returning to Philadelphia today, March 28 to April 27.
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts announces today regional arts and cultural organizations participating in Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts 2013 (PIFA) returning to Philadelphia March 28 to April 27. Produced by the Kimmel Center, PIFA 2013 combines the creative talents of both large and small Philadelphia arts and culture organizations to create innovative and new works. The biennial city-wide festival's 2013 curatorial theme is If You Had a Time Machine…with 50+ events presented in Philadelphia.
The Glendale Centre Theatre continues its 2012 season with the heartwarming and poignant Tony Award-nominated On Golden Pond starring stage and screen veterans Andrew Prine and Salome Jens, tonight, July 12 through August 11, 2012 at the Glendale Centre Theatre in Glendale, Calif.
REBECCA, the new musical based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier novel, has found its male and female leads: Jill Paice will play the role of "I" and Ryan Silverman the role of "Maxim de Winter." REBECCA will open on Broadway Sunday, November 18 at The Broadhurst Theatre. Previews will begin Tuesday, October 30.
The Glendale Centre Theatre continues its 2012 season with the heartwarming and poignant Tony Award-nominated On Golden Pond starring stage and screen veterans Andrew Prine and Salome Jens, July 12 through August 11, 2012 at the Glendale Centre Theatre in Glendale, Calif.
Today we are talking to an actor who has appeared in over fifty feature films and starred in plays on Broadway and in the West End all about his career thus far, looking ahead to his new role as John Sculley in the forthcoming jOBS, co-starring Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs and Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak, directed by Joshua Michael Stewart - the one and only Matthew Modine. In this all-encompassing chat tracing the past to the present, Modine also manages to give us the scoop on his featured role in the final part of Christopher Nolan's BATMAN trilogy, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, and shares his candid impressions of working with Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the rest of the starry cast of the sure-to-be blockbuster of the summer. Additionally, Modine illustrates his experiences working with director Robert Altman on screen and stage projects as diverse as SHORT CUTS and STREAMERS on film, Arthur Miller's FINISHING THE PICTURE in Chicago and RESURRECTION BLUES at the Old Vic in the West End and Modine expresses his overall general enthusiasm for acting and reveals deeply probing insight into many of his most memorable and famous roles to date - ranging from roles in Stanley Kubrick's FULL METAL JACKET to Alan Parker's BIRDY to his work with Oliver Stone, Tony Richardson, Jonathan Demme, John Sayles, Mike Figgis, John Schlesinger and others. All of that, a thorough discussion of his recent roles in the theatrical productions of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and THE MIRACLE WORKER, as well as recollections of working on many of his most beloved projects to date, such as AND THE BAND PLAYED ON, THE REAL BLONDE, ORPHANS, CUTTHROAT ISLAND, BYE BYE LOVE, THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE, WEEDS - and much, much more!
Celebrate Brooklyn! previously announced its lineup for this year, which begins today, June 5 with a free concert by reggae icon Jimmy Cliff.
Celebrate Brooklyn! today announced its lineup for this year, which begins June 5 with a free concert by reggae icon Jimmy Cliff.
Mad Cow Theatre's intimate 2-theatre complex in Downtown Orlando plays host to The Tenth Annual Orlando Cabaret Festival, May 3-13, 2012. Over 25 performances of jazz, pop, Broadway, comedy, and a few surprises featuring many of Central Florida's favorite artists.
Eight veteran vocalists team up to present four shows in this year's festival -the company includes Evan D'Angeles, Cami Miller, Zach Nadolski, Frank Siano, Trevor Southworth, Melissa Vasquez, Natalie Walker, and Julie Woods-Robinson.
Producers Ben Sprecher, Louise Forlenza, The Shubert Organization, Peter Bezemes, Tony Fusco, Larry Feinman, Nanda Anand and Peter Bogyo by special arrangement with/and based on the Vereinigte Buhnen Wien GmbH production, announced that the new musical REBECCA, based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier novel, will open on Broadway Sunday, April 22 at The Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). Previews will begin Tuesday, March 27. Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid, Love Never Dies, Master Class and as Christine in last month's 25th Anniversary Concert of The Phantom of the Opera in London) will play the lead role of 'I'. Additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks.
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