Long before Disney introduced the world to Anna and Elsa, Christina Rosetti penned GOBLIN MARKET, a fairytale narrative poem about the power of sisterly love. In Rosetti's poem, two sisters, Lizzie and Laura, triumphantly overcome the temptation of goblin men in a haunted wood.
Rosetti's piece has long been the subject of much interpretation and creative adaptations, including a musical version, which premiered at New York's Circle in the Square Theatre Downtown in 1986. This weekend. GOBLIN MARKET opened at Burning Coal Theatre as part of The Women's Theatre Festival.
Fusing together classical elements of both ballet and opera, GOBLIN MARKET is a visual feast, from Miyuki Su's fantastical set design to Jennifer Palmer's (The Carolina Ballet) mesmerizing choreography.
Christina Rosetti's poem 'The Goblin Market,' explores the themes of temptation, sacrifice, and the loss of innocence and has been the subject of varied interpretations and creative adaptations ever since its publication in 1862.
One such adaptation is a musical version by Polly Pen and Peggy Harmon which premiered in 1985 and had a successful run off-Broadway at Circle in the Square. This week, Pen and Harmon's piece opens at Burning Coal Theatre as part of The Women's Theatre Festival, and Director Ashley Popio says Rosetti's poem is as timely as ever.
'Here are two sisters that are coming of age and what happens to them is they dare to step off the path and they are attacked by goblins,' she says. 'And isn't that sort of a metaphor for what happens to us as women today if we dare to stray from the path.'
'So, one of the reasons we chose to cast this show with one black sister and one white sister, is we wanted to show that through intersectional feminism, women supporting each other no matter what, putting sisterhood first, that we can indeed fight those goblins together and emerge triumphant,' she adds.
The show, which marks the first time The Women's Theatre Festival has embarked on a musical, combines elements of theater, ballet, and classical music to create an air of magic, which Popio calls addictive.
The 29th Street Playwrights Collective has announced INDEPENDENCE DAY: An Old Play to Pay New Debt, written by John Robert Tillotson, as the recipient of the 2018 Michael Warren Powell Memorial Reading. The reading was named after the late founder of Circle in the Square Rep.
Emmy Nominated actor Grant Aleksander, best known for his role as Philip Spaulding on Guilding Light is replacing two other daytime drama legends Robert Newman (Guiding Light) and Richard Shoberg (All My Children), in Off Broadway's longest running play, Perfect Crime. Mr. Aleksander is returning to the role of Detective Asher (a role he took on this Spring) and begins performances tonight.
Kaufman Music Center's annual showcase of some of the best new musicals headed to New York theaters will include shows by Academy Award Winner and 'Let It Go' songwriter KRISTEN ANDERSON-LOPEZ ('Frozen') and RICK ELICE ('Jersey Boys,' 'Peter and the Starcatcher'), plus music director ANDY EINHORN ('Bullets Over Broadway, 'Sondheim on Sondheim' & the upcoming 'Hello, Dolly' starring Bette Midler). Featuring performances by BETSY WOLFE ('Falsettos'), SEBASTIAN ARCELUS ('Jersey Boys,' TV series 'House of Cards' and 'Madam Secretary'), DREW GEHLING ('Waitress') and many more.
Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announces a one-on-one networking event with commercial and indie producers, Writer-Producer Speed Date onJuly 15, 2018 with coaching sessions at 4:30pm and 5:30pm at Studios 353,353 W 48th St, NYC.
Animus Theatre Company (Jonathan Judge-Russo, Founding Artistic Director), an artist-driven company whose mission is to explore and illuminate the resilience of the human spirit, is thrilled to announce that their annual 12-Hour Reading Festival will return once again to Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre on Thursday, July 19, beginning at 11:00am. Having previously presented two successful 12-Hour Reading Festivals, the company is excited to announce that this year's festival will showcase the repertoire of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart).
Broadway's Once On This Island announced today that a new block of tickets are now on sale for the Tony Award winning production through September 2, 2019 at Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50th Street).
The Weston Playhouse Theatre is thrilled to present the five-time Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home to its new flexible 140-seat Second Stage, Weston Playhouse at Walker Farm. Refreshingly honest and wildly innovative, Fun Home is based on Vermont author and cartoonist Alison Bechdel's acclaimed graphic memoir. Audiences will follow Bechdel at three different life stages as she grows and grapples with her uniquely dysfunctional family, her sexuality, and her father's secrets.
The complete cast for the world premiere Chicago production of the new comedy musical, TOOTSIE has just been announced. Joining previously announced Tony Award nominee SANTINO FONTANA as Michael Dorsey will be LILLI COOPER as Julie Nichols, SARAH STILES as Sandy Lester, JOHN BEHLMANN as Max Von Horn, ANDY GROTELUESCHEN as Jeff Slater, JULIE HALSTON as Rita Mallory, MICHAEL McGRATH as Stan Fields, and REG ROGERS as Ron Carlisle.
Kaufman Music Center's annual showcase of some of the best new musicals headed to New York theaters will include shows by Academy Award Winner and 'Let It Go' songwriter KRISTEN ANDERSON-LOPEZ ('Frozen') and RICK ELICE ('Jersey Boys,' 'Peter and the Starcatcher'), plus music director ANDY EINHORN ('Bullets Over Broadway, 'Sondheim on Sondheim' & the upcoming 'Hello, Dolly' starring Bette Midler). Featuring performances by BETSY WOLFE ('Falsettos'), SEBASTIAN ARCELUS ('Jersey Boys,' TV series 'House of Cards' and 'Madam Secretary'), DREW GEHLING ('Waitress') and many more.
Williams Street Repertory, McHenry County's growing professional theater company, is bringing a show pulled straight from the iconic songbook of Johnny Cash to the stage in downtown Crystal Lake! "Ring of Fire" opens on July 6 at Raue Center For The Arts and runs select dates through August 12, 2018.
Eric Dittelman is best known as a semi-finalist and judges' favorite from season 7 of NBC's 'America's Got Talent,' where Howard Stern called him an 'Exceptional talent, one of my favorite acts!' and on Wednesday June 20th, New York audiences can experience his award-winning show live in MAGIC HOUR at The Triad Theater.
GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has announced that Two-Player Game - the new album from George Salazar and Joe Iconis - will be available on CD online and in stores on Friday, July 27. The album is being released in conjunction with the debut New York production of Be More Chill, which starts previews on Thursday, July 26. Two-Player Game is currently available in digital and streaming formats. For more information, please visit www.ghostlightrecords.com/joe-iconis-george-salazar-two-player-game.html
Recently, BroadwayWorld had the opportunity to interview Dane Laffrey who recently received his first Tony nomination for his work on the Broadway hit ONCE ON THIS ISLAND.
Dane's design is an explosive exercise in controlled chaos. Since ONCE ON THIS ISLAND is a tale of magical realism set in the Caribbean, Dane channeled the current conditions of regions hit by 2016's Hurricane Matthew. The stage is covered in sand, a crashed semi-truck takes up a corner of the space, a pool of water is held back by a pile of sand bags, and a downed power line has even crushed some of the seats. It's a complex set that has engrossed countless audiences seated in its theatre in the round setting. A seasoned scenic design veteran, Dane has designed sets for productions across Japan, Australia, Norway and the United States. Throughout his twelve years in the New York circuit, he's built sets for Broadway productions such as Spring Awakening and Fool For Love, along with off-Broadway hits such as The Maids and Woody Harrelson's Bullet for Adolf, as well as the upcoming production of Tennessee William's Summer and Smoke.
When Broadway's Once On This Island performs at the Tony Awards on June 10, the eight-time Tony Award-nominated Best Revival of a Musical will be playing to three audiences: the home viewing audience, the 6000+ people in the auditorium at Radio City Music Hall, and 130 special guests who will be in onstage seating surrounding a set that includes a sand-filled beach, water, goats, and chickens. The onstage guests will be comprised of volunteers and staffers from three organizations that bring relief to areas impacted by natural disasters: All Hands Volunteers, Americares, and UNIDOS Disaster Relief and Recovery Program.
