Somewhere in my prodigious vinyl collection there is at least one album by the self-proclaimed 'High Priestess of Soul,' Nina Simone; and having just seen SIMPLY SIMONE: The Music of Nina Simone, at the Hattiloo Theatre, I am taking a deep breath and planning to thumb through my myriad of records in order to seek it out. Nina Simone never quite 'caught on' with mainstream audiences; the legendary Aretha Franklin, who, like Simone, emerged from a gospel background and was a gifted pianist, was much more successful in that respect. Simone was too idiosyncratic a performer to be pigeonholed or labeled. She scoffed at being called a blues singer or a jazz singer; her early classical training, encouraged by a white pianist and patron (who collected money from the people in the town and helped to enroll at Juilliard), always informed her music. Moreover, the songs she chose to interpret, in addition to her own, were an eclectic repertoire: Everything from Gershwin to the Beatles. Underappreciated in her own country, and disillusioned by the stagnation of the Civil Rights Movement after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she found her audience abroad, particularly in France; she turned her back on disco (which she disdainfully dismissed) and was selective and intelligent in the music she chose to interpret, which left no room for her on the popularity bandwagon.
Rose Theatre Kingston today announces its most ambitious project to date - this autumn the Rose stage will be transformed into a battlefield for The Wars of the Roses, a gripping adaptation of four of Shakespeare's history plays, directed by Trevor Nunn. The productions will play in rep from 16 September until 31 October, with press performances for all three plays on 3 October.
It's another busy theater week in Tennessee, and in Nashville there are an extra 50,000 to 100,000 country music fans jamming up traffic and increasing wait times at local restaurants, thanks to CMA Music Fest, which natives and longtimers will remember as Fan Fair. So while you're steering clear of our version of Broadway in downtown Nashville, which will be teeming with more people than you can shake a stick at (as my mama would say), you should instead make reservations to see some local talent onstage at some of the shows included in our Critic's Choice column today!
That will also explain my rapturous response to the performance of A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline, a dramatized tribute to the country music superstar that opened at Dickson's Gaslight Dinner Theater on Thursday, June 4, running for a much-too-short two weekends at what was once known as The Renaissance Center.
Julien's Auctions, the world's premier entertainment and music memorabilia auction house, announced the upcoming sale of the most historically important guitar associated with The Beatles ever to be offered — John Lennon's original 1962 J-160E Gibson Acoustic guitar.
Cathy Street, artistic director of Street Theatre Company, and Taylor Kelly, one of the actors in this production of Dogfight, took some time out of their schedules to answer some questions for us about this amazing production. Kelly is a new addition to the Nashville theatre community, having moved to Nashville right before rehearsals started on this production.
Today, in a special edition of The Friday Five (on Wednesday), we introduce two actors from The Gaslight Dinner Theatre's upcoming production of A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline: Linda Sue Simmons (my favorite Miss Chattanooga of all time) and Curtis LeMoine-Reed. Directed by Greg Frey, the musical - filled with some of Patsy Cline's best-loved hits that will transport you back to her starry heyday in the 1960s - opens Thursday afternoon at The Renaissance Center in Dickson.
On Sunday May 17 at Catalina Jazz Club renowned actress/singer Michele Lee made her Los Angeles cabaret debut. Why has it taken this long? She takes her one-woman show Catch the Light on the road regularly and recently played 54 Below in NYC, but has never played a club in her hometown of LA. Well, it's high time, and the packed house agreed as the four-piece orchestra played the Beatles' 'Michelle, my belle...' as Lee was introduced to thunderous applause. She made her way through the audience singing the powerhouse 'Feeling Good', and with a combination of incredible drive and energy, an uber strong vocal style and sheer sauciness and personal sass, Lee's conquest of the room was guaranteed.
Looking fabulous in black satin and sequins, she next essayed 'Nobody Does It Like Me' from her Broadway hit Seesaw. In the show she playe
'They called us losers, slackers, hub cap thieves. They said our college was second-class and inferior. But, we proved how wrong they were,' said Robert E. Bowen at the reception launching his book: 'The Vision, The Struggle: How Metropolitan State University of Denver Came to Be.'
The book is the first to tell the story of how Metropolitan State College of Denver, now a university, was created. Former Governor Roy Romer and Metropolitan State University (MSU) Denver President Stephen Jordan joined Bowen to launch the book on May 5th, the anniversary of the date Governor Love signed Romer's bill that created Metro State in 1963. 'This was the toughest battle of my political career,' Romer said. 'It was a fierce battle because quite honestly, the University of Colorado did not want this college created and the Denver establishment was against it.' He pointed out that the Metro coalition was bi-partisan citing the efforts of Rep. Palmer Burch, Rep. Allan Dines, Rep. Mark Hogan, Rep. Frank Kemp, and Sen. Joe Shoemaker among others.
The book describes the vision for the first state-funded college in Denver which was designed to be a different kind of college entirely. It outlines the seven-year struggle to pass the legislation and get the institution funded so it could open in 1965. Then, it chronicles the first six years of the fledgling school as it grew from a one-room office in the State Capitol to an institution of 7,000 students by 1971.
Author Bowen is a Denver native who grew up near Auraria. He enrolled at Metro in 1967 and graduated with a degree in history and political science in 1971. As a student, he was president of the student body and sat on the advisory board of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. He was a three-term state representative from Denver in the 1980s.
'If it weren't for Metro State,' Bowen said, 'I would not have received a college education. Thousands of others who have contributed so much to this community could not have gone to college either. Metro's open door gave them a second chance. Its affordability, its proximity to jobs, and a faculty that helped students succeed, made a college education possible.' Since it opened, 80,000 have earned degrees thanks to that vision and struggle.
The college was born in the 1960s, an era of great change in society. The Civil Rights movement was at its height; the struggle of Chicanos for respect was beginning as was the battle by women for equality. A war was raging in Vietnam and a battle against that war was raging on the college campuses of the nation. The counterculture and Hippie movement were in full swing. The generation gap was changing family life. Young people questioned authority and their music and hair styles were changing as well.
Bowen tells this story in the context of what was going on in society and Denver at that time. The book explains the decisions that were made in the setting in which they were made.
'Winston Churchill said history will treat me well because I intend to write it,' Bowen said. 'That is why I wrote this book. The history of this life-changing struggle has never been recorded; the stories of those responsible have not been told, especially the contributions of the students.'
Metropolitan State College was specifically created to be an urban-oriented college that would provide an educational opportunity for those who were previously left behind: students from middle income and poor families; minorities; women; married students who had to work while in school; working people who wanted an education to further their careers; and those who needed a second chance. Romer called them 'late bloomers.'
'Metro was designed to be a college without any walls dividing it from the city,' Bowen said. 'What happened in the city, happened in the college.'
Even though Metro was the newest and smallest college in the state, it was at the center of all the social change going on in Colorado in the 1960s. The anti-war movement for the entire state was organized at Metro; the Chicano student movement was centered at Metro; the African-American student movement was also centered at Metro, Bowen said.
The book is available in the Auraria Bookstore, online from the publisher's website https://rebalspress.leadpages.net/the-vision-the-struggle/, and Amazon.
Berkeley Repertory Theatre will conclude its 48th season with Richard Bean's internationally acclaimed One Man, Two Guvnors, a sassy update of Carlo Goldoni's classic knee-slapper, The Servant of Two Masters. Set in 1963 Brighton, England, One Man, Two Guvnors is a brilliantly delicious mash-up of splendid comedy, British pantomime, and music-hall revues. The uproarious plot features a disarming and doltish Francis Henshall who finds himself trapped by farce into working for two bosses - who are connected in wildly improbable ways. He just has to keep them from discovering each other. Inspired insanity, high-low antics, and nimble wordplay ensue - all backed by live musicians paying homage to rockabilly and a certain Fab Four. Directed by David Ivers - artistic director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival - and with songs by Grant Olding, One Man, Two Guvnors is a riotous blast complete with a colorful cast of characters in a topsy-turvy world of love triangles and mistaken identities. It previews today May 8, 2015, opens today, May 15, 2015, and plays through Sunday June 21, 2015. Press night for One Man, Two Guvnors will be held today, May 15, 2015. Individual tickets start at $29 and can be purchased by phone at (510) 647-2949 or online at berkeleyrep.org.
BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you our latest weekly series- ON RECORD. Ever wonder which Broadway tunes have inspired your favorite performers? Check back every Tuesday to find out which cast recordings have made an impact on Broadway's brightest stars.
In this week's edition, we hear from Howard McGillin, who is currently starring as 'Honore Lachaille' in Gigi- playing at the Neil Simon Theatre Theatre. Read on to find out his top five picks!
THE GRADUATE is an iconic American film that was a touchstone for an entire generation. It's a coming of age story about Benjamin Braddock's attempt to find his place in the adult world of the sixties. Anyone staging it lives in the shadow of the 1967 film and those indelible images and sounds. To be honest, I went in thinking that I would be hard pressed to think of a cinema piece that cried out less for a stage adaptation than this particular story. However, personally being long removed from both Charles Webb's 1963 novel and the film by Mike Nichols, I found that this piece actually stands on its own. It is quite different from both the novel and the film; but is, in and of itself, an entertaining evening.
'I carried a watermelon!', one of the most memorable lines from the classic love story Dirty Dancing, is brought to life on stage in the wildly fun production currently touring North America. For those who have been living under a rock since 1987 or have somehow deprived themselves from enjoying this beloved film, Dirty Dancing is the coming-of-age story of Frances 'Baby' Houseman told over the course of the summer of 1963. On a family vacation at an extravagant summer resort called Kellerman's in her last summer before attending college and living out her dreams of joining the Peace Corps and changing the world, Baby meets resident bad boy dance instructor Johnny Castle and their whirlwind romance is exciting, inspiring, and unforgettable.
Looking for some coverage on upcoming show: Jarrod Spector: A Little Help From My Friends, at Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck, NY, tonight, Apr 17 @ 8PM.
Berkeley Repertory Theatre will conclude its 48th season with Richard Bean's internationally acclaimed One Man, Two Guvnors, a sassy update of Carlo Goldoni's classic knee-slapper, The Servant of Two Masters. Set in 1963 Brighton, England, One Man, Two Guvnors is a brilliantly delicious mash-up of splendid comedy, British pantomime, and music-hall revues. The uproarious plot features a disarming and doltish Francis Henshall who finds himself trapped by farce into working for two bosses - who are connected in wildly improbable ways. He just has to keep them from discovering each other. Inspired insanity, high-low antics, and nimble wordplay ensue - all backed by live musicians paying homage to rockabilly and a certain Fab Four. Directed by David Ivers - artistic director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival - and with songs by Grant Olding, One Man, Two Guvnors is a riotous blast complete with a colorful cast of characters in a topsy-turvy world of love triangles and mistaken identities. It previews on Friday May 8, 2015, opens on Friday, May 15, 2015, and plays through Sunday June 21, 2015. Press night for One Man, Two Guvnors will be held on Friday, May 15, 2015. Individual tickets start at $29 and can be purchased by phone at (510) 647-2949 or online at berkeleyrep.org.
Looking for some coverage on upcoming show: Jarrod Spector: A Little Help From My Friends, at Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck, NY, Fri, Apr 17 @ 8PM.
There have been a few times in my life where I attended an event, be it a theatre production or a concert, and I woke up the next morning still reeling from the excitement with a cheesy smile plastered across my face. The first time I remember that happening was when my dad took me and my younger sister to see Hanson (yes, the Mmmbop guys) on their Middle of Nowhere Tour. I also remember feeling like that after I saw NEWSIES for the first time on Broadway. Experiencing THE MIDTOWN MEN at the Mahalia Jackson Theater was another one of those events. Not only are these guys some of the sweetest, most genuine humans I've ever met - we're talking funfetti cupcake status, here - they have a passion for entertaining that is unmatched.
There is a lot wrong with the central conceit of Marc Camoletti's farce BOEING BOEING, playing at the Garden Theatre through April 4th. Set in Paris in 1963, Bernard, an insatiable womanizer (likely with undiagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder) has figured out that the best way to reap the benefits of having three live-in fiancees without any of them knowing about each other is to only propose to flight attendants on conflicting schedules. From there, the jokes nearly write themselves as schedules change and weather delays departures. Directed by Keith Smith, the Garden Theatre's six-person cast bounces through the madcap comedy with an abundant joy, despite all of the outdated gender politics. BOEING BOEING, translated from the original French by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans, stands up well as a time-capsule from a different time with a different perspective, and if you can get past the show's uncomfortable premise, you are sure to enjoy its charming cast and taut direction.
A brand new season of West End musicals, pantomime, hilarious comedy and one night concerts with TOMMY STEELE, DAVID HASSELHOFF, BARBARA DICKSON, JUDY CORNWELL, CERI DUPREE, THE CHUCKLE BROTHERS and JOHN ALTMAN.
While enjoying the colorful and enchanting displays at the 2015 Boston Flower and Garden Show yesterday, patrons were treated to a surprise "Dirty Dancing" Flash Mob, featuring 20 local dancers among the vendors and exhibitions. The flash mob included iconic 80's hit songs 'Do You Love Me?' and '(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from the worldwide smash-hit film and the upcoming stage production, Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on stage this April. Check it out below!
The international hit comedy MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN, MY FATHER'S JEWISH & I'M IN THERAPY!, featuring actor/comedian Ron Tobin, comes to the Del Valle Theater, 1963 Tice Valley Road in Walnut Creek for a 3-week engagement, tonight, March 12- 29, 2015.
DIRTY DANCING, THE CLASSIC STORY ON STAGE, which is now in production at the Connor Palace transports the audience back to the summer of 1963. As is the custom of many well-to-do Jewish New York City families of that time, the Housemans have escaped for the summer to the Catskill Mountains, home of the Borscht Belt. It's a summer away from the sweltering city. It's a time for fun and games, and summer romances.
FRAWLEY BECKER is a published book and short story author and a published and three-time prize-winning playwright. A man of many talents, he was a State Department Entertainment Director for military bases outside Paris during the Cold War, founded the first African-American theatre company within the U.S. military in 1959, formed Paris Playhouse in 1963 and was the first to professionally produce Edward Albee plays in France. For the next ten years he worked as a bilingual dialogue coach in films while living in Paris, coaching Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Rex Harrison, Omar Sharif, Jacqueline Bisset, Ann-Margret, Samantha Eggar, Robert Ryan, Gene Wilder and all the Oompa-Loompas of the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Back in the U.S., Becker worked as a location manager for features including Jerry Maguire, Steel Magnolias, and the original Footloose, and TV movies for Oprah Winfrey Presents; and was a production executive at The Disney Studios. His award-winning, searing drama 'Tiger by the Tail' has its west coast premiere March 6 through April 19 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, CA. For more information about the play please visit http://www.thegrouprep.com
Skylight Music Theatre announces its productions for 2015-2016 season - a celebration of women. Through five incredible theatre productions Skylight will explore the strength, ingenuity, and resilience of women as they passionately fight both internal and external forces of human nature. Artistic Director, Viswa Subbaraman has selected five equally brilliant female directors. 'I truly believe these women have unique insights into the stories our female characters have to tell,' said Subbaraman.
Oh, what a story. Frankie Valli, who came to fame in 1962 as the lead singer of the Four Seasons, is hotter than ever in the 21st century.
Videos
