Gloria Swanson News

On Friday March 11 Kirk Frederick's new book Write That Down! The Comedy of Male Actress Charles Pierce was launched at ONE the Gay and Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries on North Adams in downtown Los Angeles. The sellout event was a benefit for ONE Archives. There were scrumptious hors d'oeuvres, followed by a presentation, which included a video slide montage, a 5 minute film clip from Pierce's appearance, in the early 80s, on The Dick Cavett Show, and then an interview with Kirk Frederick by moderator/ USC professor of English Chris Freeman. Then came a Q and A with the audience and a book signing.

The Old Globe welcomes Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, making his musical directing debut with RAIN, a sumptuous world premiere musical by one of the most significant teams working in theatre today: composer and lyricist Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party, Giant) and book writer Sybille Pearson (Giant). Based on the short story by Somerset Maugham, RAIN will play March 24 - May 1, 2016 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Previews run March 24 - 31. Opening night is Friday, April 1 at 8:00 p.m. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the stars in character, plus the full company, below!

There is an iconic scene in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of Sunset Boulevard - based on the memorable film by Billy Wilder - in which Norma Desmond returns triumphantly (in Norma's myopic view of life since the talkies spelled an end to silent pictures, in which she made her fortune with her expressive face) to Paramount studios for an impromptu meeting with Cecil B. DeMille on the set of Samson and Delilah. Impressively played by Ginger Newman in the Nashville debut of Sunset Boulevard at The Larry Keeton Theatre, Norma is beautifully clad in haute couture, generating star power and unaware that she has slipped into obscurity for the most part, her legions of fans decimated by time and the general vagaries of life.

Taking on a stage role that was indelibly created onscreen by Erich Von Stroheim has got to be a daunting experience, but Nashville actor Randal Cooper takes on the theatrical challenge in The Larry Keeton Theatre's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, onstage in Donelson through March 5.

2014 First Night Honoree - and one of Nashville's most acclaimed actresses, cabaret artists and music directors - Ginger Newman is "ready for [her] close-up," as Norma Desmond in The Larry Keeton Theatre puts the finishing touches on their upcoming production of Andrew Lloyd Weber's Sunset Boulevard.

On March 4, EgoPo presents the opening of Clare Boothe Luce's comic masterpiece, The Women with an all-female cast of 19.

2014 First Night Honoree – and one of Nashville's most acclaimed actresses, cabaret artists and music directors – Ginger Newman is “ready for [her] close-up,” as Norma Desmond in The Larry Keeton Theatre puts the finishing touches on their upcoming production of Andrew Lloyd Weber's Sunset Boulevard.

The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego will soon present a world-premiere production- Michael John LaChiusa's Rain. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Eden Espinosa will lead the production as 'Sadie.' Directed by Barry Edelstein, the show will run March 24 to May 1, 2016 at the Old Globe's Shiley Stage.

On March 4, EgoPo presents the opening of Clare Boothe Luce's comic masterpiece, The Women with an all-female cast of 19. Directed by Artistic Director Lane Savadove, EgoPo Classic Theater continues their season of influential female playwrights with Luce, a woman who led an extraordinary life as a Broadway playwright, war journalist, congresswoman, ambassador, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. The Women previews March 3 and opens Friday, March 4. The show runs three weeks, closing on Sunday March 20. Tickets start at $25. All performances are at the Latvian Society of Philadelphia on 7th and Spring Garden.

Oscar®, Golden Globe® and Emmy® nominee Elizabeth McGovern returns to host the second season of Smithsonian Channel's MILLION DOLLAR AMERICAN PRINCESSES

Transport Group presents ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, starring Jackie Hoffman (On the Town, Difficult People, Hairspray) as Princess Winnifred and John 'Lypsinka'Epperson (Lypsinka's The Boxed Set, The Passion of the Crawford) as Queen Aggravain. The production opened last night, December 13. Let's see what the critics had to say...

Transport Group's revival may be the best reason to venture down to the Lower East Side since Yonah Schimmel learned how to make a knish.

First off, it feels superfluous for me to be reviewing this production, for the show is only running for two more days, so before you continue reading, buy your tickets to see it first.*

On Jan 10th, Los Angeles audiences are about to receive a rare experience and opportunity to see and hear the legendary Bill Pursell and successful daughter, Laura Pursell, sharing their family legacy on stage for the first time in years - With special appearance by family friend Don Most (Happy Days).

On Jan 10th, Los Angeles audiences are about to receive a rare experience and opportunity to see and hear the legendary Bill Pursell and successful daughter, Laura Pursell, sharing their family legacy on stage for the first time in years - With special appearance by family friend Don Most (Happy Days).

Astoria, New York, October 22, 2015-Museum of the Moving Image is pleased to announce 'The Hollywood Classics behindWalkers,' a screening series presented in conjunction with the exhibition Walkers: Hollywood Afterlives in Art and Artifact, the Museum's first major contemporary art survey. Through the work of 45 artists in painting, photography, sculpture, print, and video,Walkers examines the lasting impact of 20th-century film on culture, and the ability of its imagery to be recycled and reinvented by artists. Exhibition curator Robert M. Rubin has paired these artworks with a selection of rare movie ephemera including scripts, set photos, and costume design sketches, that when viewed through a 21st-century lens, serve as works of art in their own right.

When compared to SUNSET BOULEVARD, which follows the same classic film-to-stage pedigree as SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and tackles the same dilemma of making the transition from silent films to talkies in the 1920s - albeit of psychological melodrama in genre compared to the latter's rollicking parody - SUNSET BOULEVARD had big stars of stage and screen who headlined West End and Broadway. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN did not delve into such stunt casting from the onset - unless you consider Tommy Steele, who originated the role of Don Lockwood in the West End, as big as Elvis Presley or Gene Kelly, the silver screen's original Lockwood.

With breaking news arising late last week of Glenn Close being considered for a return to her Tony Award-winning role in Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Christopher Hampton's Tony Award-winning Best Musical SUNSET BOULEVARD as well as the show's anniversary of its original West End world premiere opening on July 12, now is an absolutely opportune time to turn back the clock to 1993 and see what precisely makes SUNSET BOULEVARD so spectacular - and muse on some of the major talent that could bring the type of big-time attention that would warrant a major revival of the musical, whether on Broadway, the West End or even the silver screen. Given that the original Billy Wilder film was penned with Gloria Swanson in mind and ultimately became a roman a clef of sorts for the unique star as well as considering the sordid history of original lead Patti LuPone and her odyssey in starring in the show, not to mention the victorious and memorable highs achieved by the leading ladies who have headlined the show - which, post-Close, included Betty Buckley, Rita Moreno, Diahann Carroll, Elaine Paige and more - the role is ripe for a star of epic proportions to introduce one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's most acclaimed musicals to a new generation. And, the time is now. The possibilities are virtually endless, but here are some particularly delectable ideas as we begin to consider who would be absolutely ideal for a new Norma Desmond fit for 2015.

Director and designer Colton Berry brings a solid artistic vision to Bayou City Theatrics staging of SUNSET BOULEVARD, but his conceptualizations remain better than the execution. Uneven acting and vocal performances, persistent sound issues and the price tag ($35 to $40) make this one hard to recommend.