Arlington News

Broadway legend Chita Rivera makes her Williamstown Theatre Festival debut opposite Festival favorite and former Artistic Director Roger Rees in the newest incarnation of Kander and Ebb's THE VISIT, the musical based on the 1956 tragicomedy by Swiss playwright Friedrich Durrenmatt, with book by Terrence McNally. Director John Doyle has reimagined it as a one-act with a focus on the love story, and his collaboration with Choreographer Graciela Daniele results in a show that makes movement a vital component to convey elements of the narrative without words.

Presented by lolflix.com, the Santa Barbara LOL Comedy Festival announces the addition of three new headline comedians; actor, comedian and radio host Jay Mohr (8pm on 9/5), actor and comedian Brad Williams (10pm on 9/5) and television host and comedian Kirk Fox (6pm on 9/5).

Arlington, Texas

Synetic Theater will open its 2014/2015 season with a new adaptation of HG Wells' haunting novel The Island of Dr. Moreau directed by and starring Paata Tsikurishvili.

Gustafer Yellowgold's Wisdom Tooth of Wisdom, the long awaited, sixth installment in the award-winning series ofGustafer Yellowgold 'Musical Moving Book' DVD/CD sets by illustrator/songwriter/performer Morgan Taylor, is set for release on September 23.

Ghostlight Records will release the original cast recording of The Public Theater's production of A SECOND CHANCE online and in stores today, August 5.

Williamstown Theatre Festival opened The Visit, starring Broadway legend, Chita Rivera and Tony Award winner, Roger Rees. The production runs through August 17, 2014.

Signature's Open House will celebrate the very best in theatre, music and fun today, August 2nd from noon to 10:00pm. Free and open to the public, this special event is an entire day full of exciting performances, demonstrations, master classes, exhibits, a concert on the plaza, and kids' activities offered both inside and outside the Signature Theatre complex.

Following the enormous success of the semi-staged performance of My Fair Lady at the Proms in 2012, John Wilson returns to perform Cole Porter's Tony Award-winning musical Kiss Me, Kate. Joining John Wilson and the John Wilson Orchestra, Broadway stalwarts Ben Davis, Alexandra Silber, Tony Yazbeck and West End star Louise Dearman lead the cast in an irreverent reworking of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew -- a play within a play. This is the BBC Proms debut for all four performers as they sing the energetic score in its original 1948 arrangement.

ArtReach Educational Theatre in partnership with Spotlite Theatrix Production Company is staging Spring Awakening. Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater, Music by Duncan Sheik, Based on the play by Frank Wedekind.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today announced the opening of Le Meridien Chicago - Oakbrook Center, a Rockbridge Portfolio property, following a $25 million transformation. Managed by Wischermann Partners Inc., Le Meridien Chicago - Oakbrook Center provides a new lens on Western Chicago's sophisticated Oak Brook area, home to a multitude of upscale shopping and dining options as well as Fortune 500 business headquarters.

President and CEO Kim H. Kowalke today announced expanded programmatic initiatives for the The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. Dr. Kowalke, who was invited to lead the Foundation by Lotte Lenya in 1981, described the present moment as 'the beginning of a new phase in the Foundation's history. The twelve-member Board of Trustees of the Foundation has made available the financial resources necessary to increase funding for grants and sponsorships substantially, expand existing programs, and embark upon new initiatives that will significantly advance the organization's mission. Staff appointments will enhance the Foundation's ability to respond to these new opportunities.'

The incomparable CHITA RIVERA returns to Birdland (315 West 44 Street) for seven shows only, Tuesday, October 7 through Saturday, October 11. Tickets are on sale now.

'If Danny Kaye had not been born,' a Hollywood writer once observed, 'no one could possibly have invented him. It would have been stretching credibility far past the breaking point'. Those words begin almost every biography of the legendary Danny Kaye and it is fitting words. Kaye may not have been as popular as Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, or may have been the person to get when Donald O'Connor wasn't available, but Kaye left a legacy on entertainment. You can narrow down to a handful of influential artists whose legacy is still being found in modern day entertainers. You can see pieces of Kaye in early Robin Williams, or Will Ferrell in his Saturday Night Live days. Kaye took the 'song and dance' man routine and went one step further - the patter song and the foppish mannerisms that made his style unique.

Signature's Open House will celebrate the very best in theatre, music and fun on Saturday, August 2nd from noon to 10:00pm. Free and open to the public, this special event is an entire day full of exciting performances, demonstrations, master classes, exhibits, a concert on the plaza, and kids' activities offered both inside and outside the Signature Theatre complex. The entire schedule and list of performers can be viewed by visiting our website at http://www.signature-theatre.org/open-house-2014

The Irish Repertory Theatre, which 'encourages the development of works focusing on the Irish and Irish American experience, as well as a range of other cultures,' continues the eighth season of its Reading Series with Jen Silverman's play The Moors, directed by Jackson Gay. The reading will take place on Monday, July 28 at 3pm on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage of the Irish Repertory Theatre (132 W. 22nd Street). The reading is FREE and open to the public. An RSVP to the Irish Repertory Theatre Box Office at (212) 727-2737 is strongly suggested.

Legendary director/writer/producer Garry Marshall will direct the Vineyard Theatre's New York debut of Mike Bencivenga's comedy BILLY & RAY this fall, with performances set to begin October 2 and an opening night scheduled for October 20 at The Vineyard, it has been announced by Douglas Aibel, Artistic Director, and Sarah Stern, Co-Artistic Director.

Ghostlight Records will release the original cast recording of The Public Theater's production of A SECOND CHANCE online and in stores August 5.

"My Son the Waiter, A Jewish Tragedy," actor-comedian Brad Zimmerman's account of his excruciatingly long journey to mild stardom, will finally reach New York after playing the provinces this summer. Produced by Dana Matthow and Philip Roger Roy's Playhouse Productions, Inc., "My Son the Waiter" takes up residence at Stage 72 - Triad Theatre, 158 West 72nd Street, for a limited 12-week run from Friday October 10 to Wednesday December 31. Zimmerman's spare-no-egos account of the joys of never giving up opens Off-Broadway on Sunday October 19 at 2pm.

On Monday, August 18, the third annual Summer Hummer, a bawdy, naughty burlesque bonanza of more than 60 stars of the Washington stage, will again raise funds to benefit Taking Care of Our Own, a program of theatreWashington.