The Best Man 1960 - Articles Page 15

Sometimes once is just not enough, so, today, we have a super-special encore conversation with a recent InDepth InterView participant who shares even more candid tales from her impossibly colorful, genre-spanning career on Broadway and in Hollywood - star of properties as diverse as the Broadway musicals MR. PRESIDENT, KELLY and THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG, to movies like MOONSTRUCK and SHALL WE DANCE to her numerous TV appearances on everything from MATCH GAME to QUINCY to 30 ROCK - chameleon-like comedienne and actress Anita Gillette. Discussing some of the more ribald and hilarious stories from her idiosyncratic showbiz career - such as the riotous backstage goings-on out of town at the tryout of one of Broadway biggest bombs, KELLY - as well as spine-tingling "you had to be there"-type memories of the Golden Age - like Irving Berlin stopping by the Winter Garden every Wednesday just to see her Act One showstopper in ALL AMERICAN - Gillette paints a vivid picture of an era gone by, and, also, looks ahead to exciting future endeavors - especially the upcoming Ed Burns-directed feature film, THE FITZGERALD FAMILY CHRISTMAS, opening wide later this year. Of course, Gillette returns to the NYC stage the next two Mondays - September 24 and October 1 - with her new Birdland show, AFTER ALL, so in this all-encompassing conversation we also discuss the themes, style, songs and stories we can anticipate from that intimate solo piece, as well, and she generously shares her recollections of working with some of the men who penned many of the sensational songs she will be performing and figure in to some of the tales she will tell - Charles Strouse, Marvin Hamlisch, Jule Styne, Neil Simon, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks and the aforementioned Irving Berlin included. All of that and much, much more!

Berkeley Playhouse opens its fifth season with Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved final collaboration, THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Berkeley Playhouse founding Artistic Director Elizabeth McKoy helms this endearing family classic, featuring a cast of 40, with musical direction by Greg Mason and choreography by Staci Arriaga. THE SOUND OF MUSIC plays October 27 through December 2 (Press opening: October 27) at the Julia Morgan Theatre in Berkeley.

Fifteen of the most acclaimed films by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock come together on Blu-ray for the first time ever when Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection is released on October 30, 2012 for a limited time only. Digitally restored from high-quality film elements and presented in perfect high-definition picture and sound, Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection brings the Master of Suspense's best work to home audiences as it's never been seen before. This ultimate collector's set features 13 films previously unavailable on Blu-ray, a collectible 50-page book featuring storyboards, costume sketches, correspondence, photographs, and much more. Plus a treasure trove of over 15 hours of documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, screen tests, trailers and a new documentary 'The Birds, Hitchcock's Monster Movie,' enough to satisfy even the most ardent Hitchcock fan.

Just days after the play's successful revival closes on Broadway, The Actors' NET of Bucks County presents Gore Vidal's The Best Man.

Five days after closing on Broadway, the late Gore Vidal's political drama The Best Man lands on the Heritage Center stage in Morrisville for a September 14 - October 7 run. The Actors' NET of Bucks County launches its 17th season with co-founder Joe Doyle directing Vidal's tale of back-biting and blackmail at a fictitious 1960 political Convention in Philadelphia.

Meredith Willson's The Music Man will play the Frederick City venue beginning tonight, September 7th.

Just days after the play's successful revival closes on Broadway, The Actors' NET of Bucks County presents Gore Vidal's The Best Man.

Two days after the death of its author, I had the pleasure of taking in director Michael Wilson's outstanding revival of The Best Man – one of the best evenings Broadway had to offer last season – for the third time.  Gore Vidal most certainly went out with a landslide victory.

THEATER TALK remembers the late novelist, playwright, historian and political pundit Gore Vidal in a rebroadcast of an interview recorded in October 2000 and updated for the current Broadway run of his 1960 play, The Best Man. The interview was related to the play's first-ever revival on Broadway in 2000.

THEATER TALK remembers the late novelist, playwright, historian and political pundit Gore Vidal in a rebroadcast of an interview recorded in October 2000 and updated for the current Broadway run of his 1960 play, The Best Man. The interview was related to the play's first-ever revival on Broadway in 2000.

Meredith Willson's The Music Man will play the Frederick City venue beginning September 7th.

When the original Broadway production of Fela! closed in January of 2011, Zuccotti Park was little more than a block-long plaza where Wall Streeters would enjoy a bit of lunchtime sun.  For now, at least, the park has pretty much returned to that status, aside from the tourists taking photos of themselves at the spot now famous for birthing the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Pittsburgh CLO will present Fiddler on the Roof, July 13-22 at the Benedum Center. This classic tale is filled with 'memorable music, rousing dances and a touch of human wisdom.'

BWW had a chance to chat with all four members of 'The Craze' and find out how they transform themselves each night from four immensely talented American musicians of the 21st century to four young lads from 1950's Brighton, England.

Working Theater presents the Off-Broadway production of The Best of TheaterWorks!: Stories from the 99%. The production will feature six of the best short plays to come out of Working Theater's TheaterWorks! program. The 10-year old program teaches working men and women (bus drivers, doormen, 911 operators, DMV workers etc.) to write and perform their own short plays about their experiences at work. The classes end with a stage reading style performance where the students are teamed with professional actors and directors. This production however will be fully realized by a professional cast and crew.

In 1966 the Hallmark Hall of Fame presented a television adaptation of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's Off Broadway musical THE FANTASTICKS. Ricardo Montalban appeared as El Gallo and Bert Lahr and Stanley Holloway were the two fathers. The young lovers were played by Broadway's favorite ingenue, Susan Watson, and a clean-cut young man named John Davidson who had made a strong impression on Broadway audiences as Lahr's son in the musical FOXY.

Working Theater presents the Off-Broadway production of The Best of TheaterWorks!: Stories from the 99%. The production will feature six of the best short plays to come out of Working Theater's TheaterWorks! program. The 10-year old program teaches working men and women (bus drivers, doormen, 911 operators, DMV workers etc.) to write and perform their own short plays about their experiences at work. The classes end with a stage reading style performance where the students are teamed with professional actors and directors. This production however will be fully realized by a professional cast and crew.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents its monthly networking panel, Taking the Leap from Showcase to Commercial Producing: A Change of Perspective, Pitch and Priorities, a discussion focused on the transition from producing at the showcase level to the commercial level. The panel will take place at the Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street, NYC. Doors open at 7:00pm for networking and refreshments, panel starts promptly at 7:30pm.

World-renowned Jazz and Rhythm & Blues Vocalist, Barbara Morrison will present top talent in The 1st Annual Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center Blues Festival to be performed on two stages at the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center (BMPAC), 4305 Degnan Boulevard, #101, Los Angeles, CA 90036 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 18, 19 and 20, 2012.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents its next monthly networking panel, Taking the Leap from Showcase to Commercial Producing: A Change of Perspective, Pitch and Priorities, a discussion focused on the transition from producing at the showcase level to the commercial level. The panel will take place at the Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street, NYC. Doors open at 7:00pm for networking and refreshments, panel starts promptly at 7:30pm.

The Festival renews its long-standing Gilbert and Sullivan tradition this season with The Pirates of Penzance. Directed by Ethan McSweeny, this new production begins previews at the Avon Theatre on May 3.

With Gore Vidal's The Best Man enjoying a new run on Broadway, THEATER TALK this weekend will repeat an interview with the renowned playwright, recorded in October 2000 when the first-ever revival of the 1960 play was also on Broadway.

Remember when political conventions were fun?  When the delegates gathered into town, not to perfunctorily declare a pre-determined winner, but to debate through multiple votes, late night deals and maybe a few protest rallies to come up with a nominee?

This Tony Award-winning, critically acclaimed Broadway classic is an all-American institution, thanks to its quirky characters, charming dramatic situations, and one-of-a-kind, nostalgic score of rousing marches, barbershop quartets and sentimental ballads which have become popular standards.

Director Elizabeth Hayes' staging of the play-which is based upon a work that proved to be Bixby's final story-is confident and creative, her expert handling of her ensemble heartfelt and thoughtful. In fact, it's Hayes' complete understanding of the play which elevates it far beyond what appears on the page. Her artful approach to the material allows it to transcend the obvious manipulation and sentimentality that pervades the script, adapted by Schenkman from Bixby's film script (his final one, he supposedly finished the script on his deathbed, after starting it in 1960) which he filmed on a shoestring budget in 2007.