Passion Revival 1996 - Articles Page 7

Maria Friedman and Anita Dobson join the company of Trevor Nunn's critically acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof, which is currently running at the reconfigured Playhouse Theatre until 28 September. Friedman plays Golde, and Dobson plays Yente from 18 June, taking over from Judy Kuhn and Louise Gold respectively. They join Andy Nyman (Tevye), Nicola Brown (Chava), Harriet Bunton (Hodel), Dermot Canavan (Lazar Wolf), Stewart Clarke (Perchik), Joshua Gannon (Motel), Matthew Hawksley (Fyedka), and Molly Osborne (Tzeitel), as well as Miles Barrow, Sofia Bennett, Philip Bertioli, Lottie Casserley, Elena Cervesi, Lia Cohen, Talia Etherington, Shoshana Ezequiel, Isabella Foat, Fenton Gray, James Hameed, Adam Linstead, Adam Margilewski, Robert Maskell, Benny Maslov, Robyn McIntyre, Gaynor Miles, Ellie Mullane, Tania Newton, Craig Pinder, Valentina Theodoulou and Ed Wade.

The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Dutch National Opera have appointed a new Chief Conductor: Lorenzo Viotti. The 29-year-old conductor with Swiss and French dual nationality will take over in the 2021-2022 season. 'He is an inspirational conductor, who has shown himself more than worthy of the most prominent concert podia and opera houses', says Rob Streevelaar, managing director of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. 'His deep understanding, passion and commitment for the stage coupled with his respect and love for the singers, provides a powerful combination of drama and music', adds Sophie de Lint, director of Dutch National Opera. Lorenzo Viotti will take over the baton from Marc Albrecht, who is stepping down at the end of next season.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents Inna Faliks, piano, one of the most "adventurous and passionate" (The New Yorker) artists of her generation, performing a world premiere by Richard Danielpour and works by Rodion Shchedrin, Schumann and Chopin in her Wallis debut on Sunday, May 12, 2019, 7 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The Ukrainian-born American pianist gives the world premiere of Iranian-American composer Danielpour's Eleven Bagatelles for Piano, Shchedrin's Basso Ostinato, Chopin's Polonaise-Fantasie, Op 61, and Schumann's Symphonic Etudes, Op 13, with posthumous variations. Faliks, Head of Piano at UCLA, performs on leading stages around the globe, garnering acclaim for her musical "poetry and panoramic vision" (The Washington Post) and "riveting passion" (The Baltimore Sun). Grammy winner Danielpour is "an outstanding composer" (New York Daily News) and one of the most recorded composers of his generation with a list of commissions from Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Dawn Upshaw, Emanuel Ax, the New York Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Guarneri and Emerson string quartets, among many others. Like Faliks, he also teaches at UCLA, as Co-Area Head, Composition.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Happy Friday! Finish off your week by catching up on the latest Broadway news!

The McCallum Theatre presents the 20th Anniversary Tour of Rent for five performances, Friday, February 8, through Sunday, February 10. In 1996, an original rock musical by a little-known composer opened on Broadway and forever changed the landscape of American theatre. Two decades later, Jonathan Larson's Rent continues to speak loudly and defiantly to audiences across generations and all over the world. I had the chance to chat with Lencia Kebede who plays Joanne in this current production, as the tour is making its way to The McCallum, about her personal journey and her journey with Rent. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation.

Since 1996, Center Theatre Group has recognized and celebrated local theatre artists with the Richard E. Sherwood Award. In 2018 Dorothy Sherwood, Richard's wife and fellow champion of innovative and adventurous theatre artists passed away. To honor the passion and dedication of both patrons of the arts, the award has been renamed the Dorothy and Richard E. Sherwood Award.

RENT is coming back to Detroit! The Detroit engagement is part of the 20th Anniversary Tour and will be here from January 8th -20th at the Fisher Theatre. In 1996, an original rock musical by a little-known composer opened on Broadway and forever changed the landscape of American theatre. Two decades later, Jonathan Larson's RENT continues to speak loudly and defiantly to audiences across generations and all over the world. The Pulitzer Prize and Tony-Award winning masterpiece returns to the stage in a vibrant 20th anniversary touring production. A reimagining of Puccini's La Boheme, RENT follows an unforgettable year in the lives of seven artists struggling to follow their dreams without selling out. BroadwayWorld Detroit had a chance to speak with Logan Marks, who plays the role of Mark in the 20thAnniversary Tour of RENT, about the show, his iconic role, and why RENT is still going strong 20 years later. Check out our conversation below!

The McCallum Theatre presents Dave Koz & Friends 'Christmas Tour 2018' today, December 18, at 8:00pm as part of the Fitz's Jazz Cafe at the McCallum series. A holiday tradition returns to the McCallum as Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour 2018 brings together a magical combination of musicians to celebrate this special season. Celebrated saxophonist Koz will be joined by special guests Mindi Abair, Jonathan Butler and Keiko Matsui performing their hits and jamming on fresh, lively arrangements of seasonal favorites in a high-energy show for the entire family. 

The McCallum Theatre presents Dave Koz & Friends 'Christmas Tour 2018' on Tuesday, December 18, at 8:00pm as part of the Fitz's Jazz Cafe at the McCallum series. A holiday tradition returns to the McCallum as Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour 2018 brings together a magical combination of musicians to celebrate this special season. Celebrated saxophonist Koz will be joined by special guests Mindi Abair, Jonathan Butler and Keiko Matsui performing their hits and jamming on fresh, lively arrangements of seasonal favorites in a high-energy show for the entire family. 

The Round Barn Theatre first produced "Annie" in 1996, its first year of repertory theatre. Nine year old Sarajane Morse Mullins captured the hearts of that first year's audience as the world's most famous redhead. Now twenty-two years later, Sarajane returns as Miss Hannigan on the same stage she began her professional career. Annie's red dress has been passed to Maddi Reese Ames, the next generation of budding starlets. It promises to be a special homecoming and debut for the two actresses and audiences.

Kyo-Shin-An Arts continues its 10th anniversary season with a concert titled Crimson Leaves on Sunday, October 28, 2018 at 4pm at Tenri Cultural Institute (43A West 13th Street, NYC), which features the Boston-based, inspiring young piano trio Neave Piano Trio and KSA Artistic Director,Shakuhachi Grand Master James Nyoraku Schlefer in music for piano trio and shakuhachi. This intimate performance of chamber music blurs the lines of world culture, encompassing fiery rhythms of Iran, the sensuous passion of Argentina, the sudden drama of Hong Kong, and the austere calm of Japan. Violin, cello, piano and shakuhachi come together in music by Amir Eslami (Seasons for shakuhachi and piano trio), Astor Piazzolla (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires for piano trio), Adrian Hon Chung Lam (Separated... at the Human Labyrinth of Asakusa Temple for shakuhachi and piano trio) and the famous traditional Shika no Tone (Cry of the Distant Deer) for two shakuhachi, with special guest Brian Tairaku Ritchi (bassist in The Violent Femmes).

No Limits, a nationwide non-profit organization proudly presents Silent NO MORE, directed by No Limits Founder and Executive Director Dr. Michelle Christie featuring five-time American Comedy Award nominee Kathy Buckley (the award winning PBS special "No Labels, No Limits"), acclaimed author Rebecca Alexander ("Not Fade Away") and alum of the No Limits Theater Group, on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 7:30 p.m. at The Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn Street.

Drive-By Truckers have always been outspoken, telling a distinctly American story via craft, character, and concept, all backed by sonic ambition and social conscience. Founded in 1996 by singer/songwriter/guitarists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood, the band have long held a progressive fire in their belly but with AMERICAN BAND, they have made the most explicitly political album in their extraordinary canon. A powerful and legitimately provocative work, hard edged and finely honed, the album is the sound of a truly American Band - a Southern American band - speaking on matters that matter. DBT made the choice to direct the Way We Live Now head on, employing realism rather than subtext or symbolism to purge its makers' own anger, discontent, and frustration with societal disintegration and the urban/rural divide that has partitioned the country for close to a half-century. Master songwriters both, Hood and Cooley wisely avoid overt polemics to explore such pressing issues as race, income inequality, the NRA, deregulation, police brutality, Islamophobia, and the plague of suicides and opioid abuse. As a result, songs like 'What It Means' and the tub-thumping 'Kinky Hypocrites' are intensely human music from a rock 'n' roll band yearning for community and collective action. Fueled by a just spirit of moral indignation and righteous rage, AMERICAN BAND is protest music fit for the stadiums, designed to raise issues and ire as the nation careens towards its most momentous election in a generation.

Producers Brass Jar Productions (Drunk Shakespeare) and Olivier Award-winning producer, James Seabright announced today that the critically acclaimed, no-holds-barred production of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting Live will premiere Off-Broadway this summer direct from a world tour. Adapted by Harry Gibson, the production captures the passion and controversy of the generation-defining novel and globally successful film and repackages it into a full-throttled stage show where the audience is an integral part of the action, including the notorious 'Worst Toilet in Scotland' scene. Directed by King's Head Theatre Artistic Director, Adam Spreadbury-Maher in collaboration with Greg Esplin (who will also appear in the U.S. production), Trainspotting Live will open a custom-built immersive performance space at 777th 8th Avenue, also home to the long running hit, Drunk Shakespeare. Preview performances are set to begin today, July 5, 2018 with an opening night set for Sunday, July 15, 2018. The U.S. cast of Trainspotting will be announced soon. Tickets are now on sale at www.TrainspottingNYC.com.

No Limits, a nationwide non-profit organization proudly presents Silent NO MORE, directed by No Limits Founder and Executive Director Dr. Michelle Christie featuring five-time American Comedy Award nominee Kathy Buckley (the award winning PBS special "No Labels, No Limits"), acclaimed author Rebecca Alexander ("Not Fade Away") and alum of the No Limits Theater Group, on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 7:30 p.m. at The Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn Street. An open-forum Q&A will follow the performance with cast members and audience members from the deafSign and deafSpeak communities. Tickets are $25 and are available now online at https://www.goodmantheatre.org/silentnomore or by phone via the Box Office at 312.443.3800. ASL Interpreter, Captioning, and Assistive Listening Devices are available.

Kent Tritle is Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the largest cathedral in the world; Music Director of the Oratorio Society of New York, the acclaimed 200-voice volunteer chorus; and Music Director of Musica Sacra, New York's longest continuously performing professional chorus. The 2018-19 season of “New York's choral conducting superstar” (Time Out New York) is marked by the expansion of the Oratorio Society's Carnegie Hall season from three to four concerts, which will include Kullervo, the rarely-performed symphonic poem by Sibelius, Szymanowski's Stabat Mater, and Verdi's Requiem.

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced casting for the final show of its 2017-18 Mainstage Season--Sunday in the Park with George, the quintessential Stephen Sondheim musical about the art of creation and the creation of art. Bill English will direct the 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical.

Full of wit, folly and heart, a tale of unrequited passion unfolds over the course of three days in the sunny Russian countryside as men and women, both young and old, learn the tender and ridiculous lessons of love. Antaeus Theatre Company presents the West Coast premiere of Three Days in the Country by Patrick Marber, a fresh, breezy update of Ivan Turgenev's classic comedy A Month in the Country. Andrew Paul directs the partner-cast ensemble for a July 12 and July 13 opening (one opening night for each cast) at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale, where performances continue through Aug. 26. Low-priced previews begin July 5.

RAGTIME is such an underrated piece of art. Although written in 1996 and staged for Broadway in 1998, it is almost prophetic in its reflection of the social unrest, racism and immigration sanctions prevalent in our world today. Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, with a book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, RAGTIME is as relevant today as it was when first conceived. Its timelessness is a credit to its brilliant and perceptive writing, albeit a sad commentary of our present society which has not learned from its past and has not progressed much in civility or compassion.

RAGTIME is a 1996 musical about the American experience at the turn of the 20th century with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty. The score is inspired by the musical styles of the period and includes marches, cakewalks, gospel and, of course, ragtime. Based on E. L. Doctorow's 1975 novel of the same name about early 20th century America, the story weaves together the disparite lives of three groups: African Americans, represented by Harlem musician Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Ben Toomer); the White upper-class of suburbia, represented by Mother (Emma Hearn), a New Rochelle matriarch; and immigrants, represented by Tateh (Trevor Berger), a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. The musical's message of acceptance and hope in the face of challenges is even more relevant today than it was two decades ago.

Just one month after Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) completed its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive, President and CEO David Zaslav and other company executives will provide a first look at the new global leader in real life entertainment to investors, advertisers, buyers, analysts and other partners today at 4 p.m. ET at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York.

Filmed entirely in October of 2008, a time when gentrification is rapidly displacing the working and middle classes, Wall Street is plummeting, and then-Senator Barack Obama is making his first presidential bid, ONE OCTOBER is a lyrical time capsule that captures the heart and spirit of New York. When seen from our current vantage point, the film foreshadows the roiling political upheaval spreading across the country today in 2018. Directed by Rachel Shuman and executive produced by three-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton ("Primal Fear," "American History X" and "Birdman"), this captivating feature documentary, which had its World Premiere at the 2017 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, chronicles intrepid radio host Clay Pigeon as he talks to a beautifully diverse cross-section of people throughout the city, exploring a microcosm of themes and issues including race, religion, economics, politics and culture. With today's news filled with ratings-hungry, sensationalist headlines and political pundits yelling over one another, Pigeon is quite the antithesis with his man-on-the-street style interviews, offering an authentic, warm-hearted and more humanitarian approach to journalism.

He has an Academy Award and makes a film about once a year, but Billy Bob Thornton never planned to be a movie star. Long before he rose to fame in 1996's "Sling Blade," Thornton had a passion for music, playing in numerous bands and even working as a roadie before starting his own band, The Boxmasters. Playing what they refer to as "psychobilly"- a combination of '60s hillbilly music and British invasion rock- The Boxmasters have established a cult following and will kick off their latest "Speck Tour" on July 6th at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville, CA.

Producers Brass Jar Productions (Drunk Shakespeare) and Olivier Award-winning producer, James Seabright announced today that the critically acclaimed, no-holds-barred production of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting Live will premiere Off-Broadway this summer direct from a world tour. Adapted by Harry Gibson, the production captures the passion and controversy of the generation-defining novel and globally successful film and repackages it into a full-throttled stage show where the audience is an integral part of the action, including the notorious 'Worst Toilet in Scotland' scene. Directed by King's Head Theatre Artistic Director, Adam Spreadbury-Maher in collaboration with Greg Esplin (who will also appear in the U.S. production), Trainspotting Live will open a custom-built immersive performance space at 777th 8th Avenue, also home to the long running hit, Drunk Shakespeare. Preview performances are set to begin on Thursday, July 5, 2018 with an opening night set for Sunday, July 15, 2018. The U.S. cast of Trainspotting will be announced soon. Tickets are now on sale at www.TrainspottingNYC.com.

Legendary ballet costume designer HOLLY HYNES and costume and scenic designer ZACK BROWN are among the 2018 TDF/Irene Sharaff Award recipients which were just announced by TDF, the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts. Ms. Hynes was selected to receive the 2018 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design and Mr. Brown will receive the Robert L. B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. The awards are presented through TDF's Costume Collection. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, April 20, at 6:30pm, at the Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).