Surflight Theatre, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Roy Miller and Executive Producer Timothy Laczynski, continues its 2011 season with I Do! I Do!, the Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt musical based on The Fourposter by Jan de Hartog.
The best known works of playwright/cross-dressing actor Charles Busch fall into two distinct categories. There are the plays he stars in and there are the plays populated by characters that probably regularly attend the plays he stars in.
Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week, or you're just in the mood for a recap of everything theatre, BroadwayWorld's new feature, 'This Week in Pictures' is here to satisfy your end of the week fix. Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to the West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more!
For last week's biggest events: visit THIS WEEK IN PICTURES: August 6- 12 !
The unfortunate case of laryngitis inflicting Death Takes A Holiday's leading man, Julian Ovenden, divided press reservations for the new musical into 'before' and 'after.' I was originally scheduled to see the show the week of its opening, but when understudy Kevin Earley began filling in, many of us were, understandably, put on hold to wait for his return.
Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Founder & Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director) will continue its 27th season with the New York premiere of the new play, Motherhood Out Loud, conceived by Susan R. Rose and Joan Stein. Directed by Lisa Peterson, the cast will feature Mary Bacon, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Randy Graff and James Lecesne.
Primary Stages launched its 27th season last night, August 16, with the World Premiere of a work commissioned by the company, the new comedy, Olive and the Bitter Herbs by Charles Busch directed by Mark Brokaw.The five-me mber cast features Dan Butler as Trey, David Garrison as Robert, Julie Halston as Wendy, Marcia Jean Kurtz as Olive and Richard Masur as Sylvan. Performances run through Saturday, September 3, 2011 at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). BroadwayWorld was there for the big opening and brings you photos from the event below!
Primary Stages launches its 27th season tonight, August 16, with the World Premiere of a work commissioned by the company, the new comedy, Olive and the Bitter Herbs by Charles Busch directed by Mark Brokaw.The five-me mber cast features Dan Butler as Trey, David Garrison as Robert, Julie Halston as Wendy, Marcia Jean Kurtz as Olive and Richard Masur as Sylvan. Performances run through Saturday, September 3, 2011 at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues).
In Olive and the Bitter Herbs, the latest comedy from Tony-nominated playwright Charles Busch (The Divine Sister, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife), actress Olive Fisher sees a ghost in her mirror, but that's the least of her problems.
Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Founder & Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director) launches its 27th season with the World Premiere of a work commissioned by the company, the new comedy, Olive and the Bitter Herbs by Charles Busch directed by Mark Brokaw.
Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Founder & Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director) launches its 27th season with the World Premiere of a work commissioned by the company, the new comedy, Olive and the Bitter Herbs by Charles Busch directed by Mark Brokaw.
Jim Caruso presented Broadway and television personality Julie Halston at Birdland (315 West 44th Street, NYC) on Monday, July 11. Her show, Old, New, Borrowed, Blue, is part of the Broadway at Birdland concert series, and combined her usual hysterical observations of life, show biz and the fall of Western Civilization.
Primary Stages is presenting the world premiere of the new comedy, Olive and the Bitter Herbs by Charles Busch with direction by Mark Brokaw. The play was commissioned by Primary Stages. The five-member cast features Dan Butler as Trey, David Garrison as Robert, Julie Halston as Wendy, Marcia Jean Kurtz as Olive and Richard Masur as Sylvan. BroadwayWorld was on hand with Richie Ridge to meet the company and takes you inside the first day of rehearsal below!
'Knickerbocker Holiday', a performance by The Collegiate Chorale recorded live at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on January 25 & 26, 2011 is now available for pre-sale from Ghostlight Records.
Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Founder & Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director) has announced today that David Garrison (By the Way, Meet Vera Stark) has joined the cast in the role of Robert for World Premiere of the new comedy, Olive and the Bitter Herbs by Charles Busch. Directed by Mark Brokaw, the previously announced cast will also feature Dan Butler as Trey, Julie Halston as Wendy, Marcia Jean Kurtz as Olive and Richard Masur as Sylvan. The play was commissioned by Primary Stages.
Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has announced that DAVID WILSON BARNES (Second Stage's hit Becky Shaw), JUSTIN BARTHA (The Hangover, Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor), ANNA CAMP (Second Stage's The Scene, 'True Blood'), and KRYSTEN RITTER (Confessions of a Shopaholic, Second Stage's All This Intimacy) will appear in the world premiere comedy, ALL NEW PEOPLE, written by ZACH BRAFF and directed by PETER DuBOIS. ALL NEW PEOPLE will begin previews on Tuesday, June 28 and officially open on Monday, July 25 at 7:00pm at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theatre (305 West 43rd street). For tickets or more information, please visit www.2ST.com.
While older plays can often be interpreted to suit modern tastes and standards, films serve as permanent records of the public attitudes of their times; particularly when considering the ways ethnic minorities were portrayed. Many a fine film from long ago can contain moments that strike the modern eye as racist, even in cases where the intention was to be racially sensitive. In the case of black actors from early Hollywood, we can admire the talent of the likes of Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson, Butterfly McQueen and Stepin Fetchit and say they opened door for others, but many have argued that their success came from demeaning their race as a whole by taking the types of roles that were within the white viewers' comfort zones.
Lynn Nottage's critically acclaimed world premiere comedy, BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK, has extended a second time, for two weeks through June 12 at Second Stage Theatre (305 West 43rd street). Directed by Jo Bonney, BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK is Ms. Nottage's first play to be produced in New York since she won the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined in 2009. For ticket information, please call the Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422 or visit the company's website, www.2ST.com.
BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK opened to critical acclaim on Monday, May 9th. Elisabeth Vincentelli of the New York Post called the play, "A DAZZLING, WILDLY ENTERTAINING COMEDY ABOUT RACIAL IDENTITY IN HOLLYWOOD" and Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News dubbed it, "AN ENORMOUSLY ENTERTAINING COMEDY." Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal called Vera Stark, "A SHARP-TOOTHED, INGENIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED COMEDY," while Roma Torre of New York 1 News raved, "BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK IS AN INCREDIBLE PIECE OF WORK - A LAUGH RIOT IN THE FIRST HALF FOLLOWED BY SCINTILLATING SOCIAL COMMENTARY IN THE SECOND -- IT ALL ADDS UP TO AN INCOMPORABLE GEM!"
BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK features Stephanie J. Block, Tony Award-nominee Daniel Breaker, Tony Award-nominee David Garrison, Kimberly Hebert Gregory, Kevin Isola, Tony Award nominee Sanaa Lathan, and Tony Award-winner Karen Olivo.
In this new comedy, Lynn Nottage draws upon the screwball films of the 1930's to take a funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood. BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK is a seventy year journey through the life of Vera Stark (Sanaa Lathan), a headstrong African-American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star (Stephanie J. Block) desperately grasping to hold on to her career. When circumstances collide and both women land roles in the same Southern epic, the story behind the cameras leaves Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy scholars will debate for years to come.
Lynn Nottage's world premiere comedy, BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK, already extended one week through May 29 at Second Stage Theatre, opens tonight, May 9. Directed by Jo Bonney, BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK is Ms. Nottage's first play to be produced in New York since she won the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined in 2009. For ticket information, please call the Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422 or visit the company's website, www.2ST.com.
BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK features Stephanie J. Block, Tony Award-nominee Daniel Breaker, Tony Award-nominee David Garrison, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Kevin Isola, Tony Award nominee Sanaa Lathan, and Tony Award-winner Karen Olivo. Let's see what the critics had to say!
Lynn Nottage's world premiere comedy, BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK, already extended one week through May 29 at Second Stage Theatre, and opened last night, May 9. Directed by Jo Bonney, BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK is Ms. Nottage's first play to be produced in New York since she won the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined in 2009. For ticket information, please call the Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422 or visit the company's website, www.2ST.com.
Lynn Nottage's world premiere comedy, BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK, already extended one week through May 29 at Second Stage Theatre, opens tonight, May 9. Directed by Jo Bonney, BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK is Ms. Nottage's first play to be produced in New York since she won the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined in 2009. For ticket information, please call the Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422 or visit the company's website, www.2ST.com.