You're in Love Photos - Broadway

Another lovely early evening of pure dance bliss. Sun still shining on another ideal California spring day; the final performance in the three-part dance series by nine talented and soul-sharing dancers included Shari Washington Rhone, Justin Edmonson, Latrice Postell, Kacy Keys, Chris Smith, Tashara Gavin-Moorehead, Laura Ann Smyth, Alex Rasmussen and Bernard Brown; all a part of JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble. They performed mainly outside on the grounds surrounding the Library.​​​​​​​ This was the third and final performance of the Brand Associates Dance series that included Nickerson-Rossi Dance, Tropicaleiza and 4 weekends of workshops. Pat Taylor is a master at her craft. She created and is Artistic Director/Choreographer for the prestigious jazz dance company established in 1993. She not only chooses her music, dancers, production people, etc. to gel with her initial idea for a dance piece; she develops it with input from all the dancers as well, and creates through her emotions, her knowledge, love and history in Dance, and what she draws from each of her full-of-joy/life dancers... and they are into it! The program consists of excerpts from a new work they are now continuing to develop, after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, entitled “Songs My Mother Taught Me,” which, Pat Taylor explained, “celebrates music and reflections by renowned African-American women that are jazz artists, activists and engagers. It is a celebration of community, and a soul-stirring shout-out to living, learning and loving.

Orlando was a deeply engaging, intriguing and thought-provoking exploration whose pondering, messages, striking soundscapes and visuals reverberated and lingered long after the curtain had closed. It is a highly ambitious undertaking but Neuwirth and her colleagues were up for the challenge. What is most exciting is what has now been established for a venue such as The Wiener Straatsoper as we move into a new decade of uncertain times when it is vital that radical expressions of art and activism combined are given such a grand stage with which to proclaim their truths.

It is reasonable, with the Cleveland Orchestra playing its annual 'Salute to America' at Blossom, just yards away, and POTUS going through what appears to be his childhood dream of having tanks, planes and fireworks light up the nation's capital for its birthday, that Porthouse Theatre get into the mood by staging 'Tintypes,' a musical revue with almost fifty patriot songs.

Direct from a sold-out, critically-acclaimed London run, director Alexandra Spencer-Jones's electrifying stage production of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, based on Anthony Burgess' 1962 literary masterpiece, begins previews Saturday, September 2, 2017, with an opening night of Monday, September 25, 2017, for a limited Off-Broadway engagement through January 6, 2018. This production celebrates the centennial of Anthony Burgess' birth, in 1917.

Theatre, as do all of the arts, represents the era from which it comes or is written about. For example, Lanford Wilson's TALLEY'S FOLLY places the spotlight on Missouri in 1944, the border state that, until this day, is noted for its laws and customs regarding prejudice against Jews, Catholics and Blacks (e.g. the Ferguson incidents). It also showcases many of the feelings of border Southerners regarding 'proper' etiquette, the sanctity of the roles that women are to play in society, and the power of gossip. All this is folded into a charming tale.

Angel Desai, Stephen Bogardus, Patricia Birch and others salute NYC and 'West Side Story' in a concert at a Manhattan museum.