Can-Can Revival 1981 - Articles Page 28

Highlights Include the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Natalie Cole, Michael Feinstein, Dudu Fisher, Kathy Griffin, Shirley MacLaine, Jackie Mason, Peking Acrobats, Itzhak Perlman, The Temptations & The Four Tops, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, Spring Awakening, Tango Inferno, West Side Story & the World Premiere Screening of Steven Caras: See Them Dance

"Museum as Hub: The Accords" is a multipart project exploring new forms of curatorial practice and international collaboration. Building on experimentation, critique, and play, the exhibition proposes new terms for agreement and considers whether an "accord" can inspire new methods of communication and production, and perhaps lead to new approaches to exhibition making in the process.

To create discourse about sex and age, Brava Theater presents The Oldest Profession, written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel (How I Learned to Drive, Baltimore Waltz). Directed by Brava Company Member Evren Odcikin and musical arrangements by Angela Dwyer, this production recognizes the awareness of women playwrights and the men that support them. Vogel's commentary on aging and sex will come to life during Women's History Month and in correlation with Support Women Arts Now (SWAN) DAY on March 26th. The Oldest Profession runs March 12th through April 9th (press opening, Monday, March 14th) at Brava Theater in San Francisco's historic Mission District (2781 24th Street at York). For tickets ($10-25) and information, the public can call the Brava Theater Box Office at 415-647-2822 or visit www.brava.org.

Highlights Include the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Natalie Cole, Michael Feinstein, Dudu Fisher, Kathy Griffin, Shirley MacLaine, Jackie Mason, Peking Acrobats, Itzhak Perlman, The Temptations & The Four Tops, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, Spring Awakening, Tango Inferno, West Side Story & the World Premiere Screening of Steven Caras: See Them Dance

Since Oprah Winfrey just had her final 'Favorite Things' show (twice), I thought that I'd take an opportunity for those of you who have waited until the last minute to make suggestions for last minute gifts, which you can still get with a full range of prices for your budget. These are MY Top 10 favorite gift for this holiday season and please note that they are in no particular order, but BroadwayWorld.com has done all the research for quick, click-on shopping to make it easier for you.

Listening to the popular theatre critic/journalist Peter Filichia talk about musicals can be twice as entertaining as half the shows on Broadway.  Ever hear his story about the audience reaction at the first preview of Bring Back Birdie?  Or the way he one-upped David Merrick after being tossed out of a preview of 42nd Street?  Or the exact moment he could tell, while watching an out-of-town tryout of Company, that Dean Jones would not be playing Bobby for long?

Joan Rosenbaum, who has led The Jewish Museum since 1981, creating its innovative identity as a museum of art and culture and doubling the size of its home at Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street, has informed the full Board of Trustees of her intention to retire at the end of June 2011 from her position as Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director of the Museum.

Sure, in America the guilty have just as much a right to a fair trial as the innocent.  But when someone you believe is guilty doesn't get one, is that a wrong you can be all that enthused about righting?  That's one of the discussion points that might be mulled over by leftist radicals downing shots of vodka after taking in Amy Herzog's After The Revolution.  Unfortunately, this tantalizing moral dilemma is regulated to a throwaway point in a play that teases us with its political content while contenting itself with being a rather formulaic family drama.  It's a good one, for sure; well-written (despite an unsatisfying ending) with absorbing conflicts and director Carolyn Cantor's excellent cast is always engaging, but every so often the play reminds us of an interesting direction the author decided not to take.

Kate Clinton The Lady HAHA Tour with Special Guest Roy Zimmerman will be coming to the Colonial on November 13, at 8PM. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased in person at the Colonial Ticket Office at 111 South Street Monday-Friday 10AM-5PM, performance Saturdays 10AM-2PM, by calling (413) 997-4444 or online at www.thecolonialtheatre.org.

Based on Reubens' 1981 cult classic stage production, The Pee-Wee Herman Show, with new elements from the ground-breaking CBS show 'Pee-wee's Playhouse' added generously, this new production is written by Paul Reubens and Bill Steinkellner, with additional material by John Paragon. Directed by Alex Timbers (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson), The Pee-Wee Herman Show will feature music by Jay Cotton and the work of renowned puppetry artist Basil Twist. Direct from its acclaimed, sold-out run in Los Angeles, The Pee-Wee Herman Show began its 48-performance limited run on Tuesday, October 26, 2010 and officially opened on Thursday, November 11 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd street). The engagement will run through January 2.

The Pee-Wee Herman Show, now running a limited engagement at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Broadway, is not geared towards anyone who is currently a child. It is, however, very much geared towards the inner child inside any one who cheered for Paul Reubens' iconic man-child character as he entertained us for five years on CBS' 'Pee-Wee's Playhouse' or in the movies 'Pee-Wee's Big Adventure' and 'Big Top Pee-Wee'. The show brings out the child inside all of the eager fans who comprise a cult following that began with the birth of Pee-Wee on stage at the Groundlings in 1981, even though some of the costumed-clad enthusiasts who attended the preview performance I saw this month were not even alive yet when Pee-Wee made that midnight debut.

Today, perhaps the greatest gift a Broadway baby could receive was benevolently bestowed upon me in the form of an indepth and revealing discussion with the foremost composer and lyricist of his generation, one of the greatest writers in American history in any medium - the unmatched musical and lyrical genius himself, Stephen Sondheim. In this portion of our complete discussion we discuss his new book, FINISHING THE HAT, as well as take a look back at his legendary career both in Hollywood and on Broadway. Merman to Madonna, Brecht to Barbra Streisand, COMPANY to GROUNDHOG DAY (or not) - we cover it all. See here just a glimpse of the reason why the name Stephen Sondheim means more to musical theatre than any other name in the last fifty years. Plus, his promise to - in his own immortal words from SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE - 'give us more to see' in the very near future. That moment cannot come soon enough, as any fan of theatre - or art in America, for that matter - can assuredly attest.

The LA Phil New Music Group begins the Green Umbrella 2010/11 season with a program featuring music from Bang on a Can composers Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe and David Lang, Tuesday, October 19, at 8 p.m. The program includes Gordon's Weather One, Wolfe's Dark Full Ride and Early That Summer and Lang's 'Heroin' from Songs for Lou Reed (accompanied by video by Doug Aitken) as well as the West Coast premiere of Lang's Pierced. The performance is led by conductor Jeffrey Milarsky and features Grammy award nominee vocalist Theo Bleckmann and LA Phil cellist Gloria Lum performing 'Heroin.'

The LA Phil New Music Group begins the Green Umbrella 2010/11 season with a program featuring music from Bang on a Can composers Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe and David Lang, Tuesday, October 19, at 8 p.m. The program includes Gordon's Weather One, Wolfe's Dark Full Ride and Early That Summer and Lang's 'Heroin' from Songs for Lou Reed (accompanied by video by Doug Aitken) as well as the West Coast premiere of Lang's Pierced. The performance is led by conductor Jeffrey Milarsky and features Grammy award nominee vocalist Theo Bleckmann and LA Phil cellist Gloria Lum performing 'Heroin.'

Long before New York had a fringe festival, New York had the Ensemble Studio Theatre's OCTOBERFEST, a marathon of new, developing plays crammed together on two floors of the theatre company's home at 549 West 52nd Street. The first OCTOBERFEST was in 1981.

Kate Clinton The Lady HAHA Tour with Special Guest Roy Zimmerman will be coming to the Colonial on November 13, at 8PM. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased in person at the Colonial Ticket Office at 111 South Street Monday-Friday 10AM-5PM, performance Saturdays 10AM-2PM, by calling (413) 997-4444 or online at www.thecolonialtheatre.org.

Blue Öyster Cult will be coming to the Colonial on October 8 at 8PM. Tickets for the performance are $45 and $35 and can be purchased in person at the Colonial Ticket Office at 111 South Street Monday-Friday 10AM-5PM, performance Saturdays 10AM-2PM, by calling (413) 997-4444 or online at www.thecolonialtheatre.org.

This fall, The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) will launch The Public Forum, an exciting new series of lectures, debates and conversations that showcase leading voices in the arts, politics and the media. Curated by Jeremy McCarter, a senior writer at Newsweek, Public Forum events are open to the general public. Tickets for the inaugural event can be purchased for $25 beginning Tuesday, October 5. Member tickets are on sale Tuesday, September 28.

Blue Öyster Cult will be coming to the Colonial on October 8 at 8PM. Tickets for the performance are $45 and $35 and can be purchased in person at the Colonial Ticket Office at 111 South Street Monday-Friday 10AM-5PM, performance Saturdays 10AM-2PM, by calling (413) 997-4444 or online at www.thecolonialtheatre.org.

Lead producers Margo Lion and Hal Luftig announced today that the new musical CATCH ME IF YOU CAN will open on Broadway Sunday, April 10, 2011 at a Nederlander theatre to be announced. This new musical, created by a team of Tony winners, features a book by Terrence McNally, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, choreography by Jerry Mitchell and is directed by Jack O'Brien. Previews begin March 7, 2011. Casting and additional design team will be announced shortly.

Long before New York had a fringe festival, New York had the Ensemble Studio Theatre's OCTOBERFEST, a marathon of new, developing plays crammed together on two floors of the theatre company's home at 549 West 52nd Street. The first OCTOBERFEST was in 1981.

By the time of his untimely death at 57 in 1981, Paddy Chayefsky was known as one of the most daring and talented American screen writers. His sharply satiric films-like Network, The Hospital, and Altered States-manage to combine laughs and tender moments of intimacy with his habitually wry and critical view of humanity. But cinema was a late frontier for Chayefsky, ventured into only after the writer had conquered television, with such classics of live TV as the drama Marty, and stage, where he had his second Broadway hit in 1959 with an unusual comedy called The Tenth Man. Now The American Century Theater is reviving The Tenth Man to open the company's 2010-2011 season.

Rundgren, IU's ninth Wells Professor, will teach the middle two weeks of a four-week, one-credit hour honors course designed for a maximum of 25 Wells Scholars and Hutton Honors Scholars. The class commences in late October and finishes in mid-November. Co-teaching the class will be IU Professor of Music Glenn Gass -- whose relationship with Rundgren helped make the professorship possible -- and IU Distinguished Professor of Sociology Bernice Pescosolido, who was instrumental in helping to plan the course. Gass, a professor at IU's world-class Jacobs School of Music, said he sees Rundgren's engagement at IU as the start of a trend in which legendary rock stars share their knowledge with a new generation. Rundgren, who performs frequently, gave a concert at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University in Indianapolis on Sept. 11. 'Todd is a treasure trove of memories, knowledge, stories . . .,' Gass said. 'This class is a way for him to celebrate what he's done and allows him to share his experiences with students who really want to hear what he has to say.' In addition to learning about the culture, politics and economics of the music business, from the 1970s through today, students will visit Professor of Anthropology Nicholas Toth at IU's Stone Age Institute to view some of the earliest tools used for making music. 'I think the students will love it. For us, the appeal of the class is really both Todd and Glenn,' said Professor of Physics Tim Londergan, director of the Wells Scholars Program. Londergan is a self-professed rock 'n' roll fan who has audited three of Gass' courses. The Rundgren course is currently full with a waiting list, and course auditors/visitors, including IU students not registered for the class, cannot be accommodated. During his stay in Bloomington, Rundgren will give a public lecture titled 'LONGHAIR: Todd Rundgren on the Beatles Effect' at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 in Ballantine Hall 013. He will also present a Halloween-night recital titled 'CLUSTER: The Birth of the T Chord' at 8 p.m. Oct. 31 in Auer Hall. Both are free and open to the public. Gass said he asked Rundgren to talk about the Beatles both because of Rundgren's collaborations with various members of the band and because of the window it will provide into his own music. 'If it was going to be 'Todd talks about Todd,' he may have felt awkward,' Gass said. 'By asking him to talk about the Beatles, we can get more insight into his music, too.' Rundgren's unique associations with the Beatles include a number of covers, participation in the Ringo All-Star Band and co-producing the power pop band Badfinger with George Harrison. When Harrison died, Rundgren did a highly acclaimed version of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' for a tribute album. In 1980, Rundgren and his then-band Utopia, did a loving sendup of the Beatles (Deface the Music) that Gass calls 'just genius.' Rundgren is also a longtime Beatles fan who credits Harrison with inventing the 'lead guitar' player, Gass said. 'When Todd was in the band Nazz, he wasn't the lead singer -- he was the lead guitar player -- which in the 50s meant one of the backup musicians. Because of George, lead guitar now means you're one of the band's leaders.' Glenn Gass Print-Quality Photo Gass initially met Rundgren in Hawaii, when Gass and his wife were on sabbatical for a year (and where they spent the past two summers). 'The kids start taking the bus together and the next thing you know, you're going to cookouts at Todd's,' Gass said. 'I quickly learned that everything they said about him was true. He's brilliant, articulate, really interesting -- and interested in things far beyond his own work and even his music. He's just a really engaged human being.' Rundgren is also known for staying true to his artistic muse. 'He refused to take the easy way out,' Gass said. 'The easy way would have been to do five more songs like 'Hello, It's Me.' He paid a price for that, but in the long run, in 50 years, I think that's why he'll matter more than starts who may have had more hits.' Rundgren was the highest paid producer of the 1970s, producing bands that ranged from the New York Dolls, The Band and Patti Smith to Meat Loaf, Hall & Oates and Cheap Trick. On Aug. 1, 1981 -- the evening MTV debuted with 'Video Kills the Radio Star' by the Buggles -- Rundgren was ready with his music video for 'Time Heals,' which premiered on MTV the same evening. Always a fan of technology, Rundgren made his music available through online downloads about 10 years before iTunes ('Everyone had dial-up connections then,' Gass commented. 'His fate is always to be just a few years ahead of his time.'). Gass said after the Beatles broke up, he was personally attracted to singer-songwriters like James Taylor, Neil Young, Carole King, Joni Mitchell -- and Todd Rundgren. 'Todd was always one of the best and most interesting performers. Even in those early albums, it was clear he wasn't just a singer-songwriter,' Gass said. At turns, Rundgren played with electric guitar or classical riffs, producing his own double album in 1972, on which he also played all of the instruments. From the time he met Rundgren in Hawaii, Gass starting thinking of ways to bring the performer to IU. A confluence of events sparked by a Rundgren speaking engagement at DePauw University led to the IU professorship. DePauw's executive director of media relations, Ken Owen, is 'a huge Todd scholar -- Todd to him is like the Beatles to me,' Gass said. 'All of a sudden it went from being a day dream to being a real possibility, and now it's actually happening,' Gass said. 'He really can call himself Professor Rundgren. This is not a gimmick: He is the Wells Professor.' About the Wells Professorships The Wells professorships are made possible by gifts from the IU classes of 1941, 1942 and 1963. Previous Wells professors have included the Honorable Helen Suzman, a South African political leader (Class of 1941 Wells Professor in 1993), Sir Malcolm Bradbury, a novelist-screenwriter-critic (Class of 1942 Wells Professor in 1997), and Holocaust scholar Christopher Browning (Class of 1943 Wells Professor in 2003). The most recently appointed Wells Professors were Sir (now Lord) Timothy Garden (Class of 1941 Wells Professor) and artist Robert Colescott (Class of 1943 Wells Professor), both of whom taught at IU in 2004.

Long before New York had a fringe festival, New York had the Ensemble Studio Theatre's OCTOBERFEST, a marathon of new, developing plays crammed together on two floors of the theatre company's home at 549 West 52nd Street. The first OCTOBERFEST was in 1981.

The Pee-Wee Herman Show played Hollywood's Roxy Theatre in 1981, was made into a hit movie in 1985, and ran as a Saturday morning kids' show from 1986-1991. And despite Paul Reubens' 1991 arrest for indecent exposure, Pee-Wee's reputation is as good as ever, with 'The Pee-Wee Herman Show' set to open at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on October 26. Reubens sat down with 'New York' so talk about the production.