Jennifer Tipton News

With Fashion Week 2014 under way in the tents at Lincoln Center from February 6th to 13th, New York City Ballet dusted off Peter Martins' 2012 tribute to iconic designer Valentino for the evening performance at Koch Theater on Saturday, February 8th. A description of 'Bal de Couture' on the company's web site enthused that we would feel as though we were 'on a runway at the ballet'. Not so much. The unwieldy black and white ball gowns with red petticoats, described in a handout available in the lobby as 'dazzling', managed to make the svelte ballerinas appear to be thick-waisted as they maneuvered through Peter Martins' uninspired choreography along with male dancers in black suits. Three dancers in tutus darted in and out of the scenes set to the waltz and the polonaise from Tschaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, looking as though they had ended up at the wrong party. The central section, a cliched love triangle to Tschaikovsky's Elegie in G for Strings, went on far too long - as often happens in ballets by Martins.

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis in a new-to-Chicago production by famed director Sir David McVicar. It opens on Wednesday, March 5 with seven performances through Sunday, March 23. Performance dates are March 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 20, all at 7:30 pm, with a matinee at 2 pm on Sunday, March 23.

The Wooster Group has extended their previews of CRY, TROJANS! (Troilus and Cressida) through February 15 at the Performing Garage. The production is a re-working of their half of a 2012 collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company, focusing on the Trojan side of the drama as a pastiche American 'Indian' tribe.

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director) is proud to announce that the acclaimed THE APPLE FAMILY PLAYS: SCENES FROM LIFE IN THE COUNTRY, written and directed by Richard Nelson, will be recorded for television by THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET the week of December 16, following the end of the epic run at The Public Theater on Sunday, December 15. All four plays will be captured for posterity and broadcast at a future date. Fans of THE APPLE FAMILY PLAYS can attend a taping of one or all four of the plays by visiting www.publictheater.org.

The Wooster Group is currently developing a production of one of William Shakespeare's most enigmatic plays, Troilus and Cressida, translating it into a distinctly American idiom. The Group will present four weeks of preview performances of this new production, CRY, TROJANS! (Troilus & Cressida), from January 8-February 2 at The Performing Garage (33 Wooster Street).

The Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative today announced the seven celebrated artists, working around the globe, who will mentor seven young artists in 2014-2015.

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director) will begin performances for the return engagement of THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING, the first play in the tetralogy, The Apple Family Plays: Scenes from Life in the Country, on Tuesday, October 22. Written and directed by Richard Nelson, the acclaimed plays will run in repertory through Sunday, December 15 and culminate in the world premiere of the fourth and final play, REGULAR SINGING, which opens on the day it is set, November 22 - the 50th Anniversary of JFK's assassination that shocked the world.

American Ballet Theatre's 2014 season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The season will be highlighted by the Company Premiere of Frederick Ashton's Cinderella, and a Shakespeare Celebration to include Ashton's The Dream and Alexei Ratmansky's The Tempest. Season revivals include Leonide Massine's Gaîté Parisienne and Kenneth MacMillan's Manon.

Curtains up! AIR TWYLA propels Pacific Northwest Ballet into its new season with a trio of works by its first artist-in-residence, renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp. The program includes the world premiere of Waiting at the Station with a commissioned score by New Orleans music legend Allen Toussaint. Sharing the program with Waiting at the Station are the Scottish-inspired Brief Fling (a PNB premiere) and Tharp's homage to Ol' Blue Eyes and ballroom dance, the unforgettable Nine Sinatra Songs. AIR TWYLA runs for only seven performances, tonight, September 27 - October 6 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, launches its 2013-2014 Season with Paul Osborn's On Borrowed Time, directed by Tony and Academy Award-winner Joel Grey. Performances will begin in Two River's Rechnitz Theater (21 Bridge Avenue) today, September 14 and continue through Sunday, October 13. The opening night performance is Friday, September 20 at 8:00 p.m.

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, launches its 2013-2014 Season with Paul Osborn's On Borrowed Time, directed by Tony and Academy Award-winner Joel Grey. Performances will begin in Two River's Rechnitz Theater (21 Bridge Avenue) on Saturday, September 14 and continue through Sunday, October 13. The opening night performance is Friday, September 20 at 8:00 p.m..

Curtains up! AIR TWYLA propels Pacific Northwest Ballet into its new season with a trio of works by its first artist-in-residence, renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp. The program includes the world premiere of Waiting at the Station with a commissioned score by New Orleans music legend Allen Toussaint. Sharing the program with Waiting at the Station are the Scottish-inspired Brief Fling (a PNB premiere) and Tharp's homage to Ol' Blue Eyes and ballroom dance, the unforgettable Nine Sinatra Songs. AIR TWYLA runs for only seven performances, September 27 – October 6 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $28 and may be purchased by calling 206.441.2424, online at pnb.org, or in person at the PNB Box Office at 301 Mercer Street. AIR TWYLA is made possible through the generous support of presenting sponsor The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

American Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker will return to the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House for 12 performances beginning December 13, 2013, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. Tickets go on sale Monday, August 19, 2013 online, by phone and at the BAM box office.

Casting for American Ballet Theatre's 2013 Fall Season at the David H. Koch Theater was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Single tickets go on sale to the general public today, Aug. 1, for Lyric Opera of Chicago's 59th season.

Pacific Northwest Ballet opens its Box Office for 2013-2014 ticket sales on Monday, July 22. As is its tradition, PNB is offering aspecial money-saving deal to celebrate the company's 41st season: Pay no service fees on tickets purchased thru July 31. Tickets (as well as subscriptions) may be purchased through the PNB Box Office, either by phone (206.441.2424), online (pnb.org) or in person at 301 Mercer Street.

The World Premiere of The Tempest by Alexei Ratmansky will highlight American Ballet Theatre's inaugural Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, October 30-November 10, 2013. The Fall 2013 season, announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie, will also feature revivals of Bach Partita by Twyla Tharp, Les Sylphides by Michel Fokine, Gong by Mark Morris and Clear by Stanton Welch.