Joseph Wood

Tacoma Little Theatre continues its 100th Anniversary season and celebrates the holidays with the holiday classic SCROOGE! THE MUSICAL. This musical, with book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, is adapted from the 1970 film Scrooge which starred Albert Finney and Sir Alec Guinness, and is directed by Micheal O'Hara, musically directed by Zachary Kellogg, and choreographed by Eric Clausell.

Tacoma Little Theatre continues its 100th Anniversary season and celebrates the holidays with the holiday classic SCROOGE! THE MUSICAL. This musical, with book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, is adapted from the 1970 film Scrooge which starred Albert Finney and Sir Alec Guinness, and is directed by Micheal O'Hara, musically directed by Zachary Kellogg, and choreographed by Eric Clausell.

On Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 2:30pm, composer Robert Sirota's Birds of Paradise – performed by flutist Linda Chesis, clarinetist David Valbuena, and pianist Alexandre Moutouzkine – will be presented on flutist Linda Chesis' Manhattan School of Music Faculty Recital, For the Birds, in the School's Greenfield Hall (120 Claremont Avenue). Birds of Paradise was commissioned and premiered by the Webster Trio in 2008 at the National Flute Association annual convention in Kansas City, MO. This performance will include commissioned videography by Jim Berman. Sirota explains, “In 2014, Linda Chesis programmed Birds of Paradise on the Cooperstown Music Festival. Having discovered the absolutely fantastic video footage of actual birds of paradise taken in New Guinea by the Cornell Birds of Paradise lab, she commissioned a video from Jim Berman to be performed with my piece.”

On Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 3pm, Concerts on the Slope presents composer Robert Sirota's second string quartet, American Pilgrimage, at St. John's Episcopal Church (139 St. John's Place).

Composer Robert Sirota is curating a new season-long series at National Sawdust (80 N 6th St). Titled Bridging the Gap, the series features concerts of chamber, choral, and solo works which Sirota has crafted to explore the student/teacher, mentor/mentee relationships between generations of composers. The concerts, all held on Sundays, include performances of works by both younger composers and the teachers who have influenced their development. Each concert is preceded by a discussion with composer mentors, mentees, and performers, led by a distinguished thought leader.

Composer Robert Sirota is curating a new season-long series at National Sawdust (80 N 6th St). Titled Bridging the Gap, the series features concerts of chamber, choral, and solo works which Sirota has crafted to explore the student/teacher, mentor/mentee relationships between generations of composers. The concerts, all held on Sundays, include performances of works by both younger composers and the teachers who have influenced their development. Each concert is preceded by a discussion with composer mentors, mentees, and performers, led by a distinguished thought leader.

Composer Robert Sirota is curating a new season-long series at National Sawdust (80 N 6th St). Titled Bridging the Gap, the series features concerts of chamber, choral, and solo works which Sirota has crafted to explore the student/teacher, mentor/mentee relationships between generations of composers. The concerts, all held on Sundays, include performances of works by both younger composers and the teachers who have influenced their development. Each concert is preceded by a discussion with composer mentors, mentees, and performers, led by a distinguished thought leader.

Composer Robert Sirota is curating a new season-long series at National Sawdust (80 N 6th St). Titled Bridging the Gap, the series features concerts of chamber, choral, and solo works which Sirota has crafted to explore the student/teacher, mentor/mentee relationships between generations of composers.

Composer Robert Sirota is curating a new season-long series at National Sawdust (80 N 6th St). Titled Bridging the Gap, the series features concerts of chamber, choral, and solo works which Sirota has crafted to explore the student/teacher, mentor/mentee relationships between generations of composers.

Composer Robert Sirota is curating a new season-long series at National Sawdust (80 N 6th St). Titled Bridging the Gap, the series will feature concerts of chamber, choral, and solo works which Sirota has crafted to explore the student/teacher, mentor/mentee relationships between generations of composers. Each concert will be preceded by a discussion with composer mentors, mentees, and performers, led by a distinguished thought leader. The concerts themselves will include performances of works by both younger composers and the teachers who have influenced their development.

Rick Charles Mueller, gay activist, playwright, novelist, actor, and director has announced the world premiere of his new play, 'In, Manhattan,' at the Thespis Theater Festival this coming August 4th, 6th, and 7th.

Rick Charles Mueller, gay activist, playwright, novelist, actor, and director has announced the world premiere of his new play, 'In, Manhattan,' at the Thespis Theater Festival this coming August 4th, 6th, and 7th.

Get all the scoop on 60 MINUTES, airing on CBS on Sunday, July 10, 2016!

Tonight, February 12, 2015 at 8pm, Concerts on the Slope will present Composer-in-Residence Robert Sirota's Triptych at St. John's Episcopal Church in Park Slope (139 St. John's Place).

On Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 8pm, Concerts on the Slope will present Composer-in-Residence Robert Sirota's Triptych at St. John's Episcopal Church in Park Slope (139 St. John's Place).

On Sunday, November 16, 2014 at 3pm, Concerts on the Slope will present Composer-in-Residence Robert Sirota's Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello at St. John's Episcopal Church in Park Slope (139 St. John's Place). The concert will also include Schubert's Nocturne, Marjorie Merryman's Echo, and Brahms' Trio in C Major, and will be performed by violinist Tema Watstein, pianist Cherie Khor, and Artistic Director of Concerts on the Slope, cellist Benjamin Larsen. Concerts on the Slope are open to the public and no tickets are required; a free will donation is suggested.

Mint Theater's newest production is The Fatal Weakness by George Kelly. Jesse Marchesedirects a cast that features Cliff Bemis, Cynthia Darlow, Kristin Griffith, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Patricia Kilgarriff, and Victoria Mack. The Fatal Weakness has scenic design Vicki R. Davis, costume design by Andrea Varga, lighting design by Christian DeAngelis, original music & sound design by Jane Shaw, and properties design by Joshua Yocom. Performances will continue through October 12th. Opening Night is set for Monday September 15th (7pm) at Mint's home (311 West 43rd Street, just west of 8th Avenue).

Mint Theater's next production will be The Fatal Weakness by George Kelly. Jesse Marchese directs a cast that features Cliff Bemis, Cynthia Darlow, Kristin Griffith, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Patricia Kilgarriff, and Victoria Mack. The Fatal Weakness will have scenic design Vicki R. Davis, costume design by Andrea Varga, lighting design by Christian DeAngelis, original music & sound design by Jane Shaw, and properties design by Joshua Yocom. Performances will begin tonight, August 19th and continue through October 12th. Opening Night is set for Monday September 15th (7pm) at Mint's home (311 West 43rd Street, just west of 8th Avenue).

Mint Theater's latest production The Fatal Weakness by George Kelly will begin performances Tuesday August 19th. Jesse Marchese directs a cast that features Cliff Bemis, Cynthia Darlow, Kristin Griffith, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Patricia Kilgarriff, and Victoria Mack. The Fatal Weakness will have scenic design Vicki R. Davis, costume design by Andrea Varga, lighting design by Christian DeAngelis, original music & sound design by Jane Shaw, and properties design by Joshua Yocom. Performances continue through October 12th only. Opening Night is set for Monday September 15th (7pm) at Mint's home (311 West 43rd Street, just west of 8th Avenue).

In the past several months, a minority of the populace has cried foul and defended the rights of the condemned, rights they say belong to convicted killers sentenced to death under the laws of their particular states after being found guilty by a jury of their peers. Two executions, in particular, stand out: the execution of Clayton Lockett by lethal injection in the State of Oklahoma, and the execution of Joseph Wood in Arizona. Both men were convicted of brutal and sadistic murders, and each man had attorneys and judges poring over the evidence during the entire appeals process. Yet, in the end, both men's sentences were upheld, and both men were executed. But wait: their executions were supposedly 'botched,' and there is the possibility that they suffered at the hands of the state while it carried out their sentences. Roy A. Teel Jr. is introducing a new fictional character, 'The Iron Eagle,' in his new Iron Eagle crime novel series. In Teel's novels, the Iron Eagle is avenging the deaths of the victims of brutal and sadistic killers, who have confessed their guilt. With their confessions and overwhelming evidence, the Eagle exacts justice for those that the killers brutally and mercilessly killed, and the killers' deaths are a hundred times more brutal than the manner in which they killed their victims. Justified? Read on. According to Teel, 'In the real life cases of Lockett and Wood, they received far fairer and more sympathetic treatment at the end of their lives than their victims did. There was no appeals process for their victims, other than their pleas for mercy begging their captors to allow them to live. There was no army of lawyers or police out to protect the victims' interest. They were brutally murdered in agonizing and humiliating ways as in the case of Lockett's victims.' 'Stephanie Neiman, 18, was dropping off her friend Summer Bradshaw at that house, and Lockett and his accomplices tried to take the keys to her new Chevy truck. Neiman, who graduated from high school only two weeks earlier, fought back, and the men covered her mouth with duct tape and beat her. They also covered her 18-year-old friend's mouth with duct tape, and beat and sexually assaulted her. Both were abducted, along with Bornt and his son. Lockett and his accomplices drove the four people they kidnapped west of Ponca City. Lockett asked Neiman if she planned to call the police. She would not say no, and Mathis spent 20 minutes digging a grave over which Lockett shot Neiman twice with a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun, the three other victims later told authorities.' (Jamie Fuller. Excerpted from the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/04/30/why-were-the-two-inmates-in-oklahoma-on-death-row-in-the-first-place) 'This 18-year-old girl not only suffered the depravity of her killer,' Teel says. 'She was tortured. There was no one to appeal to except her attackers, and what it got her was beaten, raped, tortured, shot, and buried, possibly, still alive.' Still, some have called Lockett's execution 'torture.' Teel's response: 'Really? Really?' In the first installment of The Iron Eagle Series, Teel begs to differ. 'Ms. Neiman did not have a soft gurney to lie on, medical attention, or medications to calm her in her final moments. No. This young girl, with the promise of a lifetime ahead of her, experienced only brutality and abuse until she was executed by her rapist over a shallow grave. That is the definition of torture, in my opinion.' As for Wood, why was he on death row? According to Bill McGuire and Danielle Genet as released by ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/US/arizona-execution-takes-hours-prompts-plea-stay/story?id=24687542 'Wood, 55, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder February 25, 1991, and sentenced to death July 2, 1991. 'Wood was involved in an unstable five-year relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Debbie Dietz, during the time of the crime. On August 7, 1989, Wood walked into the local body shop owned by her family and shot Debbie's 55-year-old father, Gene Dietz, in the chest with a .38 caliber revolver, according to a statement from the AG. 'Wood later located Debbie, and shot her once in the abdomen and once in the chest, killing her as well, the document stated. 'Jeane Brown, sister of Debbie Dietz, said at the press conference that 'it's been a long 25 years. Horrible 25 years. What I saw today, with him being executed, is nothing to the day it happened on August 7th, 1989. This was nothing. I don't believe he was gasping for air, I don't believe he was suffering. Sounded to me as though he was snoring. Finally it has come to a point in his life, where we can put this behind us, and continue to move forward although I still have to live the rest of my life without my sister and my father.' 'Once again, a brutal murderer who showed no mercy for his victims, short of letting them beg for their lives, was put to death,' says Teel. The concepts behind The Iron Eagle crime novel series are simple. The above convictions, drawn out appeals processes and executions of these brutal killers drive this novel series. 'The Iron Eagle,' while a vigilante, carries out in his fiction world what none of us wants to see, hear, or talk about. 'The Eagle' executes his victims with extreme brutality for their crimes and in the same or a similar fashion as they treated their victims. In the end, it is up to the reader to decide if justice has been served in this fifteen book series.' www.amazon.com/Rise-Iron-Eagle-Book-ebook/dp/B00KMHXWSI/ref=sr_1_2_title_0_main