Just Say No 1988 - Articles Page 5

Samuel Beckett's masterpiece HAPPY DAYS has already begun previews May 15, 2019 at the Mark Taper Forum, with Dianne Wiest taking center stage as Winnie, partially buried in the sand. Providing a foil for her non-stop, almost-soliloquy, Michael Rudko portrays Willie, Winnie's mostly unseen husband. Michael found some time to answer a few of my inquisitive queries.

Ute Lemper talks to BroadwayWorld UK about her role in Rendezvous with Marlene, her 'personal homage to that great lady', at the Arcola Theatre

Roald Dahl's novel, MATILDA was published in 1988 to join his other popular children's books; among them, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, THE WITCHES and BFG. In 2010 The Royal Shakespeare Company commissioned a musical version and MATILDA THE MUSICAL was born in London's West End. ZACH's production includes two youth casts, I had the opportunity to see the 'Young Orange Cast'.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a show that is both fun and funny.  The Resident Theater Company has once again upped their game and produced a very high quality show.  Their tagline of 'NY Theatre in West Chester' is no mere hyperbole. 

Well, the next step in my decluttering/digitizing journey is throwing out my Chess CDs, not that they take up much space. I only have the Original Concept Recording and the Broadway cast. I'm going to download the freaking 2008 Royal Albert Hall concert version (with Idina Menzel, Josh Groban and Adam Pascal) to try to keep this column hip. But let's all just remember two things: 1.) I am not hip; and, 2.) I'm just downloading the concert for this column, so it doesn't really count as part of my digitizing.

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with Benny Green, The James Carter Organ Trio, Joao Bosco, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Frank Catalano Quartet, Clint Holmes, Joe Alterman, Aubrey Logan, Sheila Jordan, Dena DeRose, The Jive Aces, Michael Wolff, Jason Kravits, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more!

Check Out Everything Coming And Going From Hulu In April

Funny lady Julia Sweeney brings her latest one-woman show JULIA SWEENEY: OLDER & WIDER to the Geffen's Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater stage for a limited comedy engagement February 5 through February 10, 2019. I had the pleasure of delving into the comedic genius of this Saturday Night Live/The Groundlings alumnus, getting some very insightful responses.

The Directors Guild of America  today announced the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television, Commercials and Documentary for 2018.

It's wintertime West Michigan, but things are about to heat up downtown in DeVos Performance Hall. The Grand Rapids Symphony presents the rich and fiery flavor of Latinx music and dance in Rhythm of the Dance.

Well, it's that time of the year again--time for a look-back on what was worth making note of during the calendar year that's about to come to an end. It's from a totally personal, subjective point of view, of course, but frankly that's the way opera-lovers always seem to like it, n'est-ce pas? The productions worth noting come from places big, small and in-between, from composers old as the hills to freshly minted or somewhere in between (likewise the performers), from traditional or boldly modern to simply stand up and sing.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA first opened in London's West End in 1986 and later on Broadway in 1988. It continues to be among the most popular shows visitors have to see when in New York and continues to hold the record for the longest running show in Broadway history. As the show tours around North America, audiences are blown away by the talents of this amazing cast. As THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA makes it way to San Antonio, Texas, BWW had a chance to catch up with Susan Moniz who recently joined the cast and plays Madame Giry.

 Roy Clark, the legendary 'superpicker', GRAMMY, CMA and ACMaward winner, Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member and co-host of the famed 'Hee Haw' television series, died today at the age of 85 due to complications from pneumonia at home in Tulsa, Okla.

In the immortal words of The Heathers, 'It's time to prove your not a loser anymore' and make sure you catch Heathers the Musical before it ends its smash hit London run! In celebration of Heathers the Musical's last four weeks in the West End, closing on 24 November, producers Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor Mills are pleased to announce it's time for 'Big Fun' at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

Stephen Lawless will be directing the San Diego Opera's production of The Marriage of Figaro this week. I met with him in the opera company's rehearsal room recently to discuss that, how he came to be a director, and his views of a director's responsibilities.

It's the day of the show, y'all: The Nashville premiere of Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band is tonight - at The Barbershop Theatre, 4003 Indiana Avenue in The Nations - and six of the actors portraying Crowley's now-iconic characters took time from tech week to answer questions about their processes and to offer their reasons for why you should come see the show.

Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre transports audiences back to Baltimore - the capital of big hair and the city of big dreams - in 1962 with their production of Hairspray, now onstage through September 29. This weekend (which features the company's annual fundraising gala on Saturday night) kicks off the second weekend of the show's multi-week run in Historic Downtown Clarksville.

BRIC is pleased to announce a free concert by Brooklyn afrobeat juggernaut Antibalas on October 13,co-presented by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP) at The Plaza at 300 Ashland, to kick off the 2018 BRIC JazzFest. The announcement completes the programming for the fourth edition of the celebrated Brooklyn jazz festival, called a "proudly eclectic gathering [that] remains unbounded by convention" (New Yorker), and continues a yearlong celebration to cap off four decades for the pioneering NYC arts-and-media organization and leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn.

It's not easy having a conversation with Joel Roster. He's got a lot to tell you, and as the Artistic Director of a new theater company approaching its sophomore production, his manic (and yet genuinely friendly) energy runneth over when the name Aaron Sorkin comes up.

My heart is full for many reasons, not the least of which is that I can say, henceforth, that the last production of Steel Magnolias that I reviewed - this one at The Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson through Saturday, September 1 - was almost as good as that very first production I saw in Chicago in the summer of 1988. In fact, direct Donna Driver and her cast deliver a reading of Steel Magnolias that is as close to what Robert Harling wrote more than 30 years ago as any I've ever seen.

Heathers the Musical is bigger and better than ever before! A brand new song has been written into the show ahead of it's West End debut at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, along with multiple re-workings to the script.

BRIC has announced full programming for the 2018 BRIC JazzFest, the fourth annual edition of the celebrated Brooklyn jazz festival, whichcontinues a yearlong celebration to cap off four decades for the pioneering NYC arts-and-media organization and leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn. The multidisciplinary festival takes place over the course of a week (October 13-20) and thrives as what the New Yorker calls a "proudly eclectic gathering [that] remains unbounded by convention." This year's edition will feature film, dance, a panel discussion, workshops, and culminates with a three-night concert marathon, with performances occurring simultaneously throughout the various spaces comprising the dynamic BRIC House (647 Fulton Street, Brooklyn). For its 40th anniversary, BRIC has commissioned rising star trumpeter Keyon Harrold to write a new piece of music which will have its world premiere at the 2018 BRIC JazzFest.

Triumvirate Artists, a NYC-based production company that most recently created the Off-Broadway show "Delirium's Daughters," announces that Drama Desk and multiple Emmy Award-winning actor Christopher Lloyd will star as Ezra Pound in their upcoming play, "POUND." The show will debut as a limited engagement for 16 performances from October 4 to 28, 2018 at The Lion Theatre, located at 410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY.

The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles (SCLA) currently presents their new distinct take on Shakespeare's classic HENRY IV. Helmed by Tony Award-winning director Daniel Sullivan, SCLA has combined PART I and PART II into a single sitting of theatre, featuring the Los Angeles stage debut of Tom Hanks as Falstaff. We had the opportunity to chat with one of HENRY IV's most talented co-conspirators, actor Harry Groener who plays Northumberland and Justice Shallow.