HAIR was written more than 50 years ago by Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt MacDermot and broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of 'rock musical' as well as using a racially integrated cast and inviting the audience onstage to join in the a?oeBe-Ina?? finale. But at the time it opened off Broadway at the end of 1967, it seemed unlikely that HAIR would be relevant five decades later. A product of the hippie counter-culture, sexual revolution, and Vietnam War protests of the late 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-war movement, while its profanity, depiction of the use of illegal drugs, treatment of open sexuality, irreverence for the American flag, and full-frontal nude scene caused much comment and controversy at the time. Yet today it seems what was shocking has become so common place that even a few children were in the audience at the performance I attended.
Lily Tomlin, upon accepting her award, remarked 'My partner Jane and I are honored and want to thank you for this award. It is amazing to see this whole outpouring for the LGBT community. Jane, couldnt be here tonight, but asked that I share her remarks 'We love the thought of being called Trail-Blazers. It makes us feel current and something out of Marvel Comics.' Neither of us has a good sense of direction, so we thought being called trail-blazers implies that we somehow new where we were going. So thank you for thinking of us as trail-blazers, rather than as museum pieces. Of course, there were times, Im afraid, we got lost on that trail and were more bewildered than blazing. We are still blazing, but we have had to cool down a bit. After all, we need to take care not to add to global warming.'
President/Founder of The Hollywood Museum, Donelle Dadigan, along with Council Member Mitch O'Farrell and Board President Esteban Montemayor of Christopher Street West, kicked off Pride weekend with the annual 'Real to Reel' exhibit that shines the spotlight on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBTQ) community in television and film through the decades. This year's event also feature a special recognition with The Future of Hollywood Award presented to actress Stephanie Beatriz and the Legacy Award to TONY Award winning actress, Julie Newmar.
Continuing Arizona Theatre Company's 2014/2015 season is a 1966 Broadway hit thriller and a 1967 Oscar-nominated movie classic starring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin: Wait Until Dark, by playwright Frederick Knott and adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher in 2013.
The full cast for To Sir With Love, joining the previously announced Olivier Award winning actor Matthew Kelly (Florian), is Mykola Allen (Denham), Harriet Ballard (Monica), Peta Cornish (Gillian), Kerron Darby (Seales), Ansu Kabia(Ricky), Paul Kemp (Weston), Heather Nicol (Pamela) and Nicola Reynolds(Clinty).
The full cast for To Sir With Love, joining the previously announced Olivier Award winning actor Matthew Kelly (Florian), is Mykola Allen (Denham), Harriet Ballard (Monica), Peta Cornish (Gillian), Kerron Darby (Seales), Ansu Kabia (Ricky), Paul Kemp (Weston), Heather Nicol (Pamela) and Nicola Reynolds (Clinty) and we've got the first photos of the cast in rehearsal!
Nicolas Kent will direct the World Premiere of Frank McGuinness' Greta Garbo Came to Donegal which runs from 7 January to the 20 February, with press night on 11January 2010. Design is by Robert Jones with lighting by Matthew Eagland and sound by Tom Lishman.
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