Buster Keaton News

The Pasadena Playhouse and The Experimental Performance Laboratory at Caltech presented a special one-night-only staged reading of the new play TESLA, A Radio Play for the Stage by Dan Duling, directed by Michael Arabian (The Mark Taper Forum's award-winning Waiting for Godot), with live sound effects by SFX artist Tony Palermo, on May 4, 2013. BroadwayWorld was there to capture the event; check out photos below!

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and New York Asian Film Festival announced the details today for a rare series of appearances by international film icon, Jackie Chan on June 10 and 11, followed by the largest retrospective of his films ever held in North America (June 23-27).

A dark, anti-semetic joke alluding to cycling made the rounds in Europe between the First and Second World Wars and was the inspiration for a bitter absurdist cabaret called The Last Cyclist written in 1944 in the Terezin Concentration Camp by the young Czech playwright, Karel Švenk. This Chaplin-esque play was seen by many Terezin Ghetto inmates during rehearsals but it was banned by the ghetto's Council of Jewish Elders after its dress rehearsal. Švenk was sent to Auschwitz a few months later and his script was lost forever. Playwright Naomi Patz has reconstructed and reimaged Švenk's integral work and is bringing the The Last Cyclist to New York City audiences for the first time. Performances begin Saturday May 25 at the West End Theatre at Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew (263 W 86th St).

The Society for the Preservation of Music Hall (SPMH) presents its first silent film - Buster Keaton in Steamboat Bill, Jr., featuring the Mighty Wurlitzer and acclaimed theatre organist Clark Wilson - at Cincinnati's Music Hall Ballroom today, May 9 at 10:30 AM and 7:00 PM. The event is being presented in cooperation with the Ohio Valley Chapter of the American Organ Society.

Gary Naylor enjoys a disastrous play about a disastrous play.

The Pasadena Playhouse and The Experimental Performance Laboratory at Caltech announced that a special one-night-only staged reading of the new play TESLA, A Radio Play for the Stage by Dan Duling, directed by Michael Arabian (The Mark Taper Forum's award-winning Waiting for Godot), with live sound effects by SFX artist Tony Palermo, will be performed tonight, May 4, 2013, at 6:00 p.m.

The films selected for the 2013 edition will be screened in the company of those who restored the films as well as those directors that are still with us today.

The Pasadena Playhouse and The Experimental Performance Laboratory at Caltech announced that a special one-night-only staged reading of the new play TESLA, A Radio Play for the Stage by Dan Duling, directed by Michael Arabian (The Mark Taper Forum's award-winning Waiting for Godot), with live sound effects by SFX artist Tony Palermo, will be performed on Saturday, May 4, 2013, at 6:00 p.m.

The Society for the Preservation of Music Hall (SPMH) presents its first silent film - Buster Keaton in Steamboat Bill, Jr., featuring the Mighty Wurlitzer and acclaimed theatre organist Clark Wilson - at Cincinnati's Music Hall Ballroom on Thursday, May 9 at 10:30 AM and 7:00 PM. The event is being presented in cooperation with the Ohio Valley Chapter of the American Organ Society.

The acclaimed Australian musical ensemble Viola Dana will make a rare New York appearance to perform violist and composer Kathy Corecig's fresh and delightful new score to Buster Keaton's The General at Museum of the Moving Image. Corecig's country- and bluegrass-infused blend of American folk tunes, Steve Reich-inspired train evocations, and jazz will bring Keaton's great film to life in a performance that will enchant audiences of all ages. The performance takes place on Sunday, April 14, 2013, at 4:00 p.m. Tickets, which are $15 public/$9 Museum members (and free for Silver Screen members and above), include admission to the Museum, with access to the new exhibition Spectacle: The Music Video.

Parallel Exit, New York City's award-winning physical theatre company, presents MOVE IT! - a free evening presenting some of New York's most exciting physical and visual theatre artists. Featuring brand new solo acts from Parallel Exit's Joel Jeske and Danny Gardner, physical comedy from Harold Moeller, physical theatre from Lucas Caleb Rooney, and variety acts from Angelo Iodice and Miss Saturn, MOVE IT! will be presented at The Canal Park Playhouse on Monday, April 15th at 7:00pm and 9:00pm. Tickets are free and may be reserved by visiting www.parallelexit.com/moveit.

The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Elizabeth Doran Executive Director) announced their 2013-2014 season today. The season will include a revival of the longest-running Broadway musical revue, Smokey Joe's Cafe featuring the musical masterpieces of the legendary team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton, by Vanessa Claire Stewart and starring French Stewart ("3rd Rock From the Sun") which enjoyed a successful run at Sacred Fools Theatre Company this past summer; Above the Fold a new drama by Bernard Weinraub, about the world of journalism in the digital age, which received a HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse staged reading in 2012; Noel Coward's rarely produced A Song at Twilight, directed by Art Manke, who recently directed The Playhouse's hit revival of Coward's Fallen Angels; and a theatrical surprise production that will be selected and directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Sheldon Epps, to be announced at a later date. Panto at The Playhouse returns with Lythgoe Family Productions' special musical twist on the classic Aladdin tale, which will be offered as a holiday season add-on. The 2013-2014 Season begins September 2013.

The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Elizabeth Doran Executive Director) announced their 2013-2014 season today. The season will include a revival of the longest-running Broadway musical revue, Smokey Joe's Cafe featuring the musical masterpieces of the legendary team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton, by Vanessa Claire Stewart and starring French Stewart ('3rd Rock From the Sun') which enjoyed a successful run at Sacred Fools Theatre Company this past summer; Above the Fold a new drama by Bernard Weinraub, about the world of journalism in the digital age, which received a HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse staged reading in 2012; Noel Coward's rarely produced A Song at Twilight, directed by Art Manke, who recently directed The Playhouse's hit revival of Coward's Fallen Angels; and a theatrical surprise production that will be selected and directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Sheldon Epps, to be announced at a later date. Panto at The Playhouse returns with Lythgoe Family Productions' special musical twist on the classic Aladdin tale, which will be offered as a holiday season add-on. The 2013-2014 Season begins September 2013.

The Catastrophic Theatre has announced the first play of its 5th Anniversary Season: Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

French Stewart, TV star ('3rd Rock From the Sun') and local theatre mainstay ('Stoneface': 'Voice Lessons') hosted the 44th annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) Awards on March 18 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St. downtown.

Cutting Ball Theater announces that it will add an additional five performances of its current production of Eugene Ionesco's THE CHAIRS. This tragic farce, in the tradition of Cutting Ball's hit productions of Ionesco's The Bald Soprano (2010) and Victims of Duty (2008), is as comedic as it is heartbreaking. Annie Elias (Tenderloin) directs THE CHAIRS, featuring David Sinaiko, Tamar Cohn, and Derek Fischer. THE CHAIRS plays now through April 7 (added performances: Thursday April 4, 7:30pm; Friday, April 5, 8:00pm; Saturday, April 6, 2pm, 8:00pm; Sunday April 7, 5pm) at the Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor (277 Taylor Street) in San Francisco. For tickets and more information, the public may visit cuttingball.com or call 415-525-1205.

French Stewart, TV star ('3rd Rock From the Sun') and local theatre mainstay ('Stoneface': 'Voice Lessons') will host the 44th annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) Awards tonight, March 18 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St. downtown.

French Stewart, TV star ('3rd Rock From the Sun') and local theatre mainstay ('Stoneface': 'Voice Lessons') will host the 44th annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) Awards on Monday, March 18 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St. downtown.

ABC News reports that Willy Switkes, a Broadway actor best known for his roles in the films 'Tootsie' and 'Taxi Driver' has died at age 83. According to Switkes' niece, the actor was battling colon cancer and passed away last Thursday at a hospice in Rockville, Md.

In a first for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, live music will be featured during the performances of 'Twelfth Night,' which is scheduled May 24 through June 16 in Shakespeare Glen, Forest Park. Preview performances are scheduled May 22-23.