Tickets go on sale Friday, August 9 for Goodman Theatre Resident Director Chuck Smith's Chicago premiere production of Cheryl L. West's Pullman Porter Blues-a 2013 Helen Hayes/Charles MacArthur Award nominee for Outstanding New Play/Musical. This blues-infused "glorious ride" (DCist) follows three generations of African American Pullman porters in the 1930s-an era that no longer enslaves them, but still exploits them-in an updated production especially for the city of Pullman's origin.
TREASURE ISLAND ~ A NEW MUSICAL set to sail at Arkansas Rep on March 8, 2013. Featuring a book by Brett Smock and Carla Vitale and music and lyrics by Corinne Aquilina, the show is directed and choreographed by Brett Smock. Watch the video below as cast and crew replicate storms on the high seas in 'Hispaniola'!
TREASURE ISLAND ~ A NEW MUSICAL will set to sail at Arkansas Rep on March 8. Featuring a book by Brett Smock and Carla Vitale and music and lyrics by Corinne Aquilina, the show will be directed and choreographed by Brett Smock.
Following its celebrated opening at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Pullman Porter Blues travels across the country in its world-premiere co-production at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Inspired by her grandfather's work on the postal trains, playwright Cheryl L. West, whose work at Arena Stage includes Jar the Floor and Play On!, returns with the tale of three Pullman train porters whose journey is underscored by Midwest blues songs, including "Sweet Home Chicago" and "This Train." Directed by Lisa Peterson (Arena's The Rainmaker and The Quality of Life), Pullman Porter Blues runs November 23, 2012 - January 6, 2013 in the Kreeger Theater. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below.
Following its celebrated opening at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Pullman Porter Blues travels across the country to sweep D.C. audiences along for a ride in its world-premiere co-production at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Inspired by her grandfather's work on the postal trains, playwright Cheryl L. West, whose work at Arena Stage includes Jar the Floor and Play On!, returns with the tale of three Pullman train porters whose journey is underscored by Midwest blues songs, including "Sweet Home Chicago" and "This Train." Directed by Lisa Peterson (Arena's The Rainmaker and The Quality of Life), Pullman Porter Blues runs November 23, 2012 - January 6, 2013 in the Kreeger Theater.
I understand that opening night isn't always the glorious shining gem that it ought to be. Sometimes, no matter how good a show it may be, it's just not quite there yet. Such was the case with the Seattle Rep's opening night of Cheryl L. West's new play with music "Pullman Porter Blues". With a combination of opening night nerves, technical gaffs and a muffled sound system, it just wasn't the show I was so eagerly awaiting since I saw the workshop of the piece some years back. But even through its shortcomings the show still managed to shine through with history and heart and had some killer moments.
The Pasadena Playhouse announced today that its productions of TWIST - AN AMERICAN MUSICAL (seven nominations) and BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY (five nominations, tied with CTG's Fela!) are lead contenders for the 2012 NAACP Theatre Awards. The 2012 NAACP Theatre Awards ceremony will be held on November 5, 2012, at the Director's Guild of America in Hollywood.
Today we are talking to a multi-talented performer who has performed on Broadway in everything from BROOKLYN to WICKED who made her most recent Broadway bows standing by in both ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER and PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT - the dynamic and compelling Julie Reiber. Talking all about her new solo album, LOVE TRAVELS, and its various inspirations as well as casting a look back at her many Broadway, touring and regional roles thus far in her eclectic career - ALL SHOOK UP, SWEENEY TODD and many more included - Reiber and I attempt to illustrate her unique place on Broadway and what she would like to pursue in the future, both on the stage and in the recording studio. Additionally, Reiber opens up about her exhaustive song selection process for LOVE TRAVELS and shares candid stories of the recording process of her solo debut, including providing some background on the songs that did not make the cut, how the sterling arrangements arose out of the material and the process of becoming a singer-songwriter in her own right over the project's three-year-long creation. Also, Reiber outlines her experiences performing in the out-of-town tryout of the new musical adaptation of Armistead Maupin's TALES OF THE CITY penned by rock super group Scissor Sisters and expresses her desire to continue with future iterations of the 70s-set Broadway-bound tuner as she looks ahead to her new roles of recording artist, and, also, she is happy to announce, mother. Plus, Julie offers details on her role in the heretofore little-known Meat Loaf-inspired movie musical ECLIPSE OF THE HEART (hopefully released some red moon soon), expresses her thoughts on GLEE and SMASH, compared Broadway now versus a decade ago - and much, much more!
Yesterday in the 2012 Tony Awards Clip Countdown - a look at the finest moments in theatre history as shown on the Tony Awards telecasts over the last sixty years - we focused on the 1982 Best Musical winner, NINE. While Tommy Tune's Fellini-inspired fever dream won the big prize, Michael Bennett's innovative and visionary R&B pop opera DREAMGIRLS won many of the night's most significant awards and has certainly firmly established itself as a firmament of the history of the modern musical in the intervening years. Among the prizes won by the DREAMGIRLS cast and creative team: Best Actress for Jennifer Holliday, as well as wins in the Featured Actor In A Musical category, Best Book for Tom Eyen and wins in the technical categories for the unprecedented, hi-tech design.
30 years ago today, Dreamgirls premiered on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre. The production was directed by Michael Bennett, produced by Bennett, Bob Avian, Geffen Records, and The Shubert Organization, and choreographed by Bennett and Michael Peters. It starred Sheryl Lee Ralph as Deena Jones, Jennifer Holliday as Effie White, Loretta Devine as Lorrell Robinson, Ben Harney as Curtis Taylor, Jr., Cleavant Derricks as James 'Thunder' Early, and Obba Babatundé as C. C. White. Dreamgirls proved to be a star-making vehicle for several of its performers, particularly Holliday, whose performance as Effie received significant praise.
Reprise Theatre Company presents An Evening With Liz Callaway. It will have one performance only on Monday, September 19 at 8:00 pm, at UCLA's Freud Playhouse.
Reprise Theatre Company presents Patti LuPone 'Gypsy In My Soul' for one performance only on Tuesday, October 4 at 8:00 pm, at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA.
Reprise Theatre Company presents An Evening With Liz Callaway. It will have one performance only on Monday, September 19 at 8:00 pm, at UCLA's Freud Playhouse.
