I am so fortunate that I live, work, and cover theater in a town like New York. It never fails to surprise me at how much talent is brimming over in New York. When I meet young actresses like Stephanie Courtney aka Sayonne, I am very excited to talk to them, because they are really embarking on a wonderful journey, especially when they are as grounded as this young diva to be. Many times, I feel like the proud and fun fairy godfather to so many of these performers.
Any actor worth their salt will tell you that every great play begins with the words on the page. Because of the worlds that playwrights (and Librettists) create, many people, even more than actors, have jobs inside and outside of the theater. So any chance to talk to a young playwright as delightful and talented as Chicago-based playwright, Philip Dawkins, I will take. His current opus, The Gentleman Caller is currently in rehearsals to make its New York debut at Cherry Lane Theater, as it coincides with its simultaneous World Premiere production, still running at Chicago's The Raven Theater, through May 27, 2018.
Annenberg Center Live and NextMove Dance have announced a new co-presenting partnership that will consolidate contemporary dance productions under one roof at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania. In the 2018-19 season, Annenberg Center Live and NextMove Dance will present 11 dance ensembles for Philadelphia audiences: Circa, Spectrum Dance Theater, Jessica Lang Dance, Caleb Teicher & Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dance Heginbotham, Union Tanguera + Kate Weare Company, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, BODYTRAFFIC, and Parsons Dance. Subscriptions to the 2018-19 season dance series are on sale now at AnnenbergCenter.org or 215.898.3900. Single tickets will go on sale in July.
Juilliard announced today that Alicia Graf Mack, former leading dancer of Dance Theatre of Harlem and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, will become director of the Juilliard Dance Division on July 1, 2018. Juilliard Dance is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious training programs in the world, offering instruction in both ballet and modern techniques designed to create true contemporary dancers and choreographers.
This May, two different artistic genres-street art and opera-are coming together for Seattle Opera's Aida. Acclaimed stage director Francesca Zambello was looking to create something unique when she asked the graffiti artist RETNA (born Marquis Duriel Lewis) to collaborate with her on a new production of Verdi's masterpiece. RETNA created the bold visual backdrops for Aida with his same distinct style, a type of graphic lettering and illuminated script that has earned him commissions from Usher and Justin Bieber.
Beloved as one of the world's most popular dance companies, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for a seven-performance engagement at the David H. Koch Theater June 13 - 17, 2018. Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle as it reaches six decades, the Company's repertory for the season features works by eight choreographers - including a world premiere by Jessica Lang - across three programs. Alvin Ailey's must-see masterpiece Revelations is the uplifting finale of each performance.
FABULOUS NEWS, The Actors Fund will present a one-night benefit concert of When Pigs Fly, featuring the cast from the recently canceled production. I went to the major press event for the show and managed to secure some fab interview moments with the entire cast and some of the creatives.
Known for its "powerfully engaging" (New York Arts) and "contemporary and fresh" (Theatre Is Easy) choreography, Ariel Rivka Dance (ARD) collaborates with the acclaimed Amy Marshall Dance Company and choreographer/dancer Chanel DaSilva for a season of provocative dance dedicated to empowering female expression. An audience favorite for its accessible, graceful signature style of movement, the all-female ARD celebrates its 11th season under the helm of choreographer Ariel Grossman. Program includes two world premieres by Grossman, one by DaSilva, and beloved repertory by both Grossman and Marshall. (Program details are below.)
CU Presents is proud to present another specially curated lineup of music, opera, dance and theatre for 2018-2019 (see a list of events below). Season ticket sales begin Monday, April 2 at 10 a.m., and single tickets are available beginning Monday, Aug. 20. Tickets are available at cupresents.org or over the phone at 303-492-8008.
I get so many great opportunities to chat with the legends, and under normal circumstances, I try to hold it together. Holding my Broadway fan boy energy at a safe distance, while maintaining a professional and coherent conversation with probing questions is something that I try to balance with every interview that I do. However, when you are in the room with 2x Tony Award Winning actress, singer, dancer, Chita Rivera, AND 2x Tony and Emmy Award Winning, dancer, actress, singer, Bebe Neuwirth, the balancing act is soooooooooo hard.
As we approach the middle of the season, and the new musicals and plays start previews in preparation for Tony Award considerations, Broadway Enthusiast and fellow Theater Ambassador, William Cortez-Statham, joins me to talk about the music that is available so far this season: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, THE BAND'S VISIT, and ONCE ON THE ISLAND.
The Washington Ballet (TWB) is proud to present Three World Premieres by choreographers Clifton Brown, Gemma Bond and Marcelo Gomes at the Harman Center, March 14-18, 2018. All three choreographers have had formidable dance careers with internationally recognized ballet companies. This triptych of exquisite new works by the emerging choreographers of our time reflects their own history and experiences as dancers. TWB reaffirms its commitment to advancing dance in the 21st century in this program of commissioned works that support both the evolution of ballet and the dancer.
Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) held its annual 2018 Gala honoring Tony, Academy, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Jessica Lange with The Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre on Monday, February 26, 2018 in the new Ziegfeld Ballroom (141 W 54th St, NYC).
Jessica Lange was honored with the Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre on Monday, February 26, 2018 at Roundabout Theatre Company's 2018 Gala.
Juilliard Dance, led by acting artistic director Taryn Kaschock Russell, continues its season with Spring Dances, a repertory program featuring Merce Cunningham's Sounddance, set to Untitled 1975/1994 by David Tudor and staged by Jean Freebury; Crystal Pite's Grace Engine, set to music by Owen Belton and staged by Alexandra Damiani; and Twyla Tharp's Deuce Coupe, set to music by the Beach Boys and staged by Richard Colton.
Metropolitan Ballet Company (MBC) will host Settlement Music School and PHILADANCO! D/2 in MBC's annual, Variations/Collaborations: An Evening of Music and Dance, at 7:00 pm on Saturday, March 24, 2018, at Kurtz Center of the William Penn Charter School, 3000 West School House Lane, Philadelphia. Tickets are now on sale for $20 in advance or $25 at the door; learn more and purchase tickets at www.metropolitanballetcompany.org.
White Bird is proud to welcome Jessica Lang Dance to the Newmark Theatre, March 8-10, marking the company's first time in Portland. Founded in 2011 in New York City, Jessica Lang Dance (JLD) creates and performs diverse repertoire, often with strong visuals and intense musicality. The Washington Post has declared that "Lang has a gift for conveying emotion with exquisite simplicity." Her work has been called "stunning" and "vibrantly cinematic" by Arts Birmingham (Alabama), and The Boston Globe states that "we enter new realms with each dance."
Since I began this podcast 2 years ago, The Kleban Prize has always been something that I love to cover, because it was the very first major event that I began my podcast experience as a theater journalist.
Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presents The Washington Ballet: Julie Kent and Gemma Bond on Sunday and Monday, February 25 and 26, 2018 at 7:30pm.
When given time to chat with yet another legendary performer of the stature of Austin Pendelton, you must take it. He continues to act, write, teach, and direct. About to take the stage again in the upcoming play, Delta in the Sky With Diamonds, or Maybe Not. He chats with me about his role in the show, as well as, his long career. Take a listen and enjoy.
