Jennie Mamary - Page 14

An extraordinary line-up of performers from across the arts community ushered in a new era of culture as they graced the stage for the opening of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas on March 10. Led by award-winning actor, Neil Patrick Harris, the evening featured performances by the who's who of music and Broadway's brightest stars. Check out photos and videos from the event below!

On March 1st the Broadway community came together to celebrate the launch of the new iPad app called Stage Write. The app is made for theatre professionals and allows you to draw stage elements, place icons of actors in their spaces, and utilize scenic design. It has numerous features that can be used to keep a detailed record of the staging of a production.

Celebration Theatre presents the third show of its 2011-2012 Season, THE COLOR PURPLE, book by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, musical direction by Gregory Nabours, choreography by Janet Roston and directed by Michael Matthews. THE COLOR PURPLE opened on Friday, March 9 and will perform through Saturday, May 26 at Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood. See the photos of the red carpet gala arrivals and performance below!

Celebration Theatre today presents the third show of its 2011-2012 Season, THE COLOR PURPLE, book by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, musical direction by Gregory Nabours, choreography by Janet Roston and directed by Michael Matthews. THE COLOR PURPLE opened on Friday, March 9 and will perform through Saturday, May 26 at Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood. Check out the opening night photos below!

The new Broadway production of Arthur Miller's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece DEATH OF A SALESMAN directed by eight-time Tony Award® winner Mike Nichols and starring Academy Award® winner Philip Seymour Hoffman as Willy Loman, Obie Award winner Linda Emond as Linda Loman and Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, The Amazing Spider-Man), making his Broadway debut as Biff Loman is currently in previews and opens on Thursday, March 15, 2012 at the Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue).It will play a strictly limited 16-week engagement. Check out the production photos below!

The Tabard Theatre Company concludes its 11th season with music and dance and a what-if sense of history as it presents THE TIN PAN ALLEY RAG, a play by Mark Saltzman with music and lyrics by Scott Joplin and Irving Berlin. Fifteen performances will be presented March 30 through April 22 at Theatre on San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose.

Blue Apple Theatre presents Hamlet, adaptation by William Jessop, touring production for Hampshire and the South of England in May 2012.

This year's Brighton Fringe Festival will see the launch of an entirely new Brighton-based theatre company, Theatre of the Preposterous, who will present an epic tale, RAGNAROK: THE WEIRD OF THE GODS.

After reigning since 2006 as the most critically acclaimed, award-winning supper club of its kind in the greater Los Angeles area, Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's will close its doors in Studio City, CA on Sunday, March 18 following its final show headlined by Reba Buhr, co-star of Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA. Miss Buhr is also a host for the Disney Channel's popular 365 television series. The announcement became official by producer Michael Sterling.

ril Productions presents a re-visioning of its production of The Vindication of Senyora Clito Mestres, starring Artistic Director Dragana Varagic who was nominated for an Outstanding Performance Dora Award for her solo in this acclaimed work just over a decade ago. The Vindication of Senyora Clito Mestres, in an all-new production directed by Varagic, runs March 21-25 at Theatre Passe Muraille's Backspace with an additional performance March 31 at the Isabel Bader Theatre.

The Groundling, a new comedy about a man struggling to save his marriage, will have a staged reading March 19 at 7:30 p.m. as part of South Coast Repertory's NewSCRipts series. It is the 117th play to receive a staged reading in SCR's venerable play reading program.

The Jewelbox Theater at the Rendezvous (2322 2nd Avenue Seattle, WA 98121) announced upcoming events.

The Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel itself featured headliners including Liza Minnelli, Dolores Hope, Eartha Kit, Carol Channing, Diahann Carroll, Andy Williams, Lainie Kazan, Patti Page, and the Chairman of the Board/Ole Blue Eyes - Frank Sinatra, not to mention literary icons such as Eloise (courtesy of Hilary Knight). This week, representatives of Persian Room's history from the 1940's to the 1970's gathered to remember, admire and respect its legacy including Marge Champion, Tommy Tune, Barbara Van Orden, Carol Lawrence, Leslie Uggams, Eve Plumb and more to celebrate the launch of Patty Farmer's new book, 'The Persian Room Presents,' released by Vantage Press. See the photos below!

Eric Ankrim and Kelly Karbacz go looking for love in First Date, a co-production between ACT - A Contemporary Theatre and The 5th Avenue Theatre which begins performances tonight. Get a first look at the production below!

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, the theatrical adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare from a demon's point of view, will be presented for two performances only at the Rose State Performing Arts Theater, 6420 S.E. 15th Street in Oklahoma-Midwest City Saturday, March 24 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tony Award winner Liza Minnelli will perform at The Stamford Center for the Arts and Palace Theatre's 3rd Annual Palace Gala on Friday, March 30 at 8pm. She will also be honored with the Arts Legacy Award. In addition, Widland and Moira K. Lyons will be presented with the Arts Ovation Award.

The 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards will be held in New York City at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Saturday, March 24. SMASH producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan will be honored with the Vito Russo Award.

BBC America announced new seasons of shows set to air in April:

NBC's 'Last Call with Carson Daly' announced that it will host its first-ever music showcase at the 2012 South by Southwest Music (SXSW) Festival, one of the world's largest music industry events, in Austin, Texas on Wednesday, March 14 (8 p.m. CT). 'Last Call' will partner with Sony Entertainment Network's Music Unlimited Service to spotlight six artists, including Tennis, Roll the Tanks, Thee Oh Sees, Lee Fields and the Expressions, Bomba Estero and Cults, from the Red 7 Patio in Austin. Daly will serve as the emcee for the showcase and introduce each band prior to their performance.

USA announced that Carla Gugino ('Watchmen,' 'American Gangster,' 'Entourage'), fresh off her acclaimed run on Broadway in 'Road to Mecca,' is set to star opposite Sigourney Weaver ('Avatar') in USA Network's provocative six-hour original series POLITICAL ANIMALS, from Warner Horizon Television. Gugino will star as Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporter Susan Berg, a hungry DC journalist bent on destroying the career of former First Lady and newly appointed Secretary of State Elaine Barrish (Weaver). Slated for the network's blockbuster summer lineup, the event drama comes from acclaimed television and film producers Greg Berlanti ('Brothers & Sisters,' 'Dirty Sexy Money,' 'Everwood') and Laurence Mark ('Dreamgirls,' 'Julie & Julia,' 'Jerry Maguire') and also stars James Wolk ('Lonestar,' 'Happy Endings') and Brittany Ishibashi ('Parenthood,' FAIRLY LEGAL).