James Miller News

CATS, the show that revolutionized musical theatre is coming to the State Theatre in Easton PA for two performances only Sunday, February 20 at 3 and 7 pm, presented by Troika General Management, LLC. Tickets are $50 and $55 and are on sale now at the State Theatre Box Office, by phone 610.252.3132 or online at www.statetheatre.org.

Macha Monkey continues its 10th season of fearless, funny, female theatre with a special remount of the sold-out HEARTS ARE MONSTERS by Seattle playwright Kelleen Conway Blanchard. This production, done in partnership with Theatre Off Jackson, will run from Friday, March 4 to Saturday, March 26.

You may know Tarun 'Tspoon' Nayar from his much in demand band Delhi 2 Dublin, but what you may not know is that Tarun is also a Vancouver based DJ/producer who is about to turn Asian-fused electronica on its ear. After travelling the four corners of the globe, Tarun has compiled 10 years of material for his latest solo effort, 22º of Beatitude (Chaiwalla's Boombox; March 01, 2011) which he describes as his most personal work to date.

JSP Records will release in 2011 a box set of four CDs to be called Judy Garland - Smilin' Through: The Singles Collection 1936-1947 that will include singles of all her known master takes, alternates and outtakes at Decca Records. In addition, JSP Records will release in early 2012 a double-CD of the original double-LP of Judy at Carnegie Hall, the best-selling and multi-Grammy award winning album of Judy Garland's historic performance at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961. Both sets will be produced by John Stedman, head of JSP Records, remastered by Peter Rynston, of Tall Order Remastering, and annotated by Lawrence Schulman. Andrew Aitken will sign the artwork.

Triangle: From the Fire, an original new dramatic oratorio about the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, with music composed by Tony-nominated Elizabeth Swados and conceived and directed by Cecilia Rubino -- and written by Rubino with poet Paula Finn -- will be performed at a special theatrical five-day run to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector will be the third presentation of the Inaugural Series of EARTh (Equity Actors' Readers' Theatre). Featuring some of the finest professional actors in the Greater Kansas City area, this concert-style stage reading will be presented on Monday, February 21, at 7:30PM in the Music & Art Building on the campus of St. Teresa's Academy/KCYA.

On Friday, February 10, 2010 at the National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South, NYC), a gala evening will be held to benefit the Center for Contemporary Opera (CCO). The evening celebrates the success of CCO's 2010-2011 season and will feature performances by CCO artists, such as Amy Burton and special guest performers from the Frost Opera Theater from The University of Miami (Florida).

The world-premier of Dubspot Online, a new, state of the art, web-based learning environment, is now just days away. Launching Monday, January 31st with the Ableton Live Producer Certificate Program, this new educational system will reinvent how people begin their careers in music production through its unique approaches to developing technical knowledge, artistic growth, and hands-on learning.

The Alden Theatre's Puppetry Festival on Saturday, Feb. 12, will give children, ages 4 through 8, insight into the wonderful world of puppets. The festival will include two shows by regional puppet companies and craft activities that will allow children to create their own puppets. Hours are 1:30-4:30 p.m. Tickets are $12, $10 for McLean tax district residents. The event will be held in the Community Hall of the McLean Community Center (MCC), which is located at 1234 Ingleside Avenue.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph, one of America's hottest young playwrights, will celebrate the world premiere of his psychological drama THE NORTH POOL at TheatreWorks, the nationally acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley. The truth shifts constantly in this riveting new work by Joseph, whose hit play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo makes its Broadway debut in March featuring Robin Williams. THE NORTH POOL stars Bay Area favorite Remi Sandri alongside TheatreWorks newcomer Adam Poss, with Giovanna Sardelli at the helm, and plays March 9-April 3 (press opening March 12) at TheatreWorks at Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto.

Jake Hertzog, one of the most original and exciting young guitarists on the scene, will be returning to the studio next month to record his third album. His trio will celebrate the new album with two performances at the Miles Café Jazz Club on Friday, February 4th and Friday, March 4th at 7:30pm.

The Ark Ovrutski Quintet will celebrate the release of its new CD, 'Sounds of Brasil,' by performing at the Zinc Bar on Tuesday, February 1st. The quintet will feature Jorge Continentino (Bari & Tenor Saxophones/Flute & Alto Flute), Michael Deese-Walve (Trombone/Flute/Alto Saxophones), Helio Alves (Piano), Ark Ovrutski (Bass) and Duduka Da Fonseca (Drums).

With so much interest in the movie 'The King's Speech,' CBS Sunday Morning is taking a look at stuttering - a condition that impacts around 3 million Americans and 65 million people worldwide - on January 30th. Our Time founder Taro Alexander and some of the Our Time kids will appear with 'King's Speech' Academy Award nominees David Seidler and Geoffrey Rush.

Producers Joan Stein and Stuart Ross announced casting today for the Monday, January 31, 2011 performance of STANDING ON CEREMONY: THE GAY MARRIAGE PLAYS. The cast includes Peri Gilpin, Rachel Harris, John Michael Higgins, Richard Kind, Kathy Najimy and Jon Tenney. The evening will feature one acts by some of America's most illustrious playwrights including Jenny Lyn Bader (Manhattan Casanova), Jordan Harrison (Doris to Darlene), Jeffrey Hatcher (Tuesdays with Morrie), Moises Kaufman (The Laramie Project), Neil LaBute (Reasons to Be Pretty), Wendy MacLeod (Schoolgirl Figure), Kathy Najimy (The Kathy and Mo Show), Jose Rivera (Marisol), Paul Rudnick (I Hate Hamlet) and Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife). Conceived and directed by Brian Shnipper, these new provocative plays were created in response to the on-going battle for marriage equality throughout the United States. STANDING ON CEREMONY, which benefits the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Equality California, will perform on Monday, January 31 and Monday, February 7 at Largo at the Coronet (366 N. La Cienega Blvd.) in West Hollywood.

Writers' Theatre continues its 2010/11 Season with Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw, directed by William Brown. The production runs April 19-June 26, 2011 at Writers' Theatre in Glencoe.

The Dominican University Performing Arts Center in River Forest, IL, will play host to Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theatre on Saturday, January 29th, at 7:30pm. Join DUPAC for an evening of passionate, fiery flamenco with 'one of Chicago's fiercest companies in any dance style' (Time Out Chicago).

A special exhibition featuring 90 exquisite objects that once adorned an exclusive compound in the Forbidden City will go on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art beginning February 1, 2011. Showcasing sumptuous murals, furniture, architectural elements, Buddhist icons, and decorative arts-almost all of which have never before been seen publicly-The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City will present works of art that demonstrate the highest levels of artistic accomplishment in 18th-century China. Highlights of the exhibition will include an imposing portrait of the Qianlong Emperor, a radiant silk panel depicting a Buddhist shrine, magnificent thrones executed with impeccable craftsmanship, and a monumental jade-and-lacquer screen consisting of 16 panels.

Jenny Eclair and Judith Holder's new comedy, 'Grumpy Old Women,' will open at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin on Wednesday, February 2nd, before embarking on an Irish tour. This opening follows preview performances at the Moat Theatre in Naas from Wednesday, January 27th, to Saturday, January 30th.

The Nick Stefanacci Band will celebrate the release of its latest CD with a concert at the Bitter End on Saturday, January 29th, at 8pm. They will perform most of the album along with some new songs.

South Coast Repertory will showcase the work of six local performers and companies - and mount a production of a popular play from last year's Pacific Playwrights Festival - in its new Studio Series, which will take place over eight weekends between March and June.