It's April 3, 1968, the night before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A thunderstorm rages outside as a mysterious visitor arrives at the Lorraine Motel, forcing Dr. King to confront his destiny and his legacy. The Mountaintop won the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award (London's version of the Tony Award) for Best New Play.
Happy Birthday, Laurence Olivier! Born in 1907, Olivier remains one of the most revered actors of the 20th century. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's Othello and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in Marathon Man and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in The Boys from Brazil. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles: Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh! What a Lovely War, and A Bridge Too Far, Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Sleuth, John Schlesinger's Marathon Man, Daniel Petrie's The Betsy, Desmond Davis' Clash of the Titans, and his own Henry V, Hamlet, and Richard III.
Bay Street Theatre begins the 2013 Mainstage Season with Lend Me a Tenor (May 28 - June 23). This hilarious Ken Ludwig comedy, under the direction of Don Stephenson, includes Judy Blazer, Scott Cote, Betsy DiLellio, Donna English, Nancy Johnston, Noah Plomgren, Steve Rosen and Roland Rusinek as its hilarious cast.
Burning Coal Theatre Company's artistic director, Jerome Davis, will conduct an eight week acting class based on the concepts the legendary acting teacher, Uta Hagen. The class will take place Mondays from 7 to 10 pm, June 10 through July 29th. The class is a scene study class which emphasizes ideas discussed in Ms. Hagen's landmark book Respect for Acting. Tuition is $200. To enroll, or for more information, please call 919.834.4001. Further information may be found at http://burningcoal.org/uta-hagen/. The class is open to people of all skill and experience levels age 16 and up.
Carrie Cracknell's critically acclaimed Young Vic production of A Doll's House will transfer to the West End for a strictly limited 12-week run beginning 8 August 2013, with Hattie Morahan reprising her award-winning role of Nora Helmer and Dominic Rowan playing Torvald.
Dr. Rennie Harris, Alvin Ailey Award recipient and renowned choreographer, returns to the New Victory stage (Legends of Hip-Hop, New Vic 2004, 2006; Puremovement, New Vic 1999) to inspire the next generation of hip-hoppers with Rennie Harris Awe-Inspiring Works-RHAW. Featuring a hip-hop dance theater company of talented young dancers, RHAW delivers straight- up Philly soul and fresh spins on classic street dance styles, creating depictions of city life and young love. Rennie Harris' RHAW, will run at The New Victory Theater, 209 West 42nd Street from tonight, May 17 through the 26th.
As previews begin for Timothy Sheader's production of To Kill a Mockingbird this evening, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre announce full casting for the 2013 season.
World-renowned playwright and Tony Award nominee Ken Ludwig (Crazy for You, Lend Me a Tenor) will be hosting an interactive discussion on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, followed by a book-signing of his new book How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Saturday, June 8 at 12pm.
Today, 13 May 2013, 12 year old Ali Rasul from Hartlepool, will become the thirty-third boy to play Billy Elliot in the West End. Now in its ninth year at the Victoria Palace Theatre where the show is currently booking to 21 December 2013, Billy Elliot the Musical last month was awarded its fifth Laurence Olivier Award - the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award voted for by the theatregoing public. Also in April, Billy Elliot the Musical welcomed its 4 millionth patron to the Victoria Palace Theatre. Scroll down for photos of Rasul in action!
Following her triumphant performance at the 2013 Laurence Olivier Awards and her sensational Friday Night Is Music Night concert, IDINA & FRIENDS, Tony Award-winning Broadway and West End star Idina Menzel made some recent radio appearances, as well.
Shakespeare's classic exploration of ambition, guilt and destiny opens at the Globe on 22 June 2013, the third and final play in the Season of Plenty's trio of supernatural Shakespeares. The production features Joseph Millson and Samantha Spiro as the murderous couple at the heart of the play, with Billy Boyd as Banquo and Gawn Grainger as Duncan. Celebrated cabaret artist Bette Bourne will play the Porter.
No one mines an audience for laughter like Frank Ferrante; the actor/comedian who keeps a crowd in stitches, improvising on a whim. Back in Seattle after last summer's sold-out run at ACT, Frank re-ignites his hilarious tribute performance as Groucho Marx that is partly scripted, partly improvised, and completely ridiculous. Frank Ferrante reprises the critically acclaimed An Evening With Groucho, that amazed audiences and created a buzzing smash hit. Winner of the 1987 New York Theatre World Award, nominee for the Outer Critics Circle Award and Laurence Olivier Award, and well-known for his comic creation 'Caesar' with Teatro ZinZanni, Ferrante is always a sure-fire hit for new audiences and a must-see for comedy lovers.
Bay Street Theatre begins the 2013 Mainstage Season with Lend Me a Tenor (May 28 - June 23). This hilarious Ken Ludwig comedy started rehearsals this week in New York City under the direction of Don Stephenson. The cast includes Judy Blazer, Scott Cote, Betsy DiLellio, Donna English, Nancy Johnston, Noah Plomgren, Steve Rosen and Roland Rusinek. Ticket prices are $59.50 and $69.50. For more information call the Box Office at 631-725-9500 or buy online at www.baystreet.org.
Coeurage Theatre Company (Jeremy Lelliott, Artistic Director), LA's 'Pay What You Want' Company, has announced their production of Translations by Brian Friel, directed by Coeurage Associate Artistic Director Ryan Wagner. There will be one preview performance on Friday, May 24 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, May 25 at 8pm. Translations will play through June 23 only at The Lost Studio on S. La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles.
Today we are talking to a legendary triple-threat performer who over the course of her unique career has become one of a select few in show business to have attained the entertainment quadruple crown - Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, that is; commonly referred to as the EGOT - the exceptionally gifted Rita Moreno. Exploring many aspects of her revealing and absorbing new autobiography RITA MORENO: A MEMOIR, Moreno opens up about her unique and boundary-breaking career in Hollywood and on Broadway, having appearing in three of the greatest movie musicals of all time - SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, THE KING & I and WEST SIDE STORY - as well as in the Mike Nichols classic CARNAL KNOWLEDGE, in addition to an impressive list of TV and theatre credits. Additionally, Moreno reveals her insights into the creative process itself and the strides she made in the industry as the first Latin American actress to win an Academy Award. Plus, memories of starring in Terrence McNally's THE RITZ on Broadway and its subsequent film adaptation, as well as a rich recounting of her time starring in the original West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's SUNSET BOULEVARD as the one and only screen icon Norma Desmond. Also, Moreno reveals plans to revisit her one woman show from which sprung her stupendous new book, titled LIFE WITHOUT MAKE-UP, as well as shares her thoughts on Broadway today, remarks upon favorite recent films, shows and performers as well as offers an update on her new family-friendly film MICKEY DEUCE and touched upon her current small-screen role in HAPPILY DIVORCED - and much, much more!
'Flying Home, down the rabbit hole, over the rainbow, and straight on till morning' -- the 2013 student-written musical of Northwestern University's Waa-Mu Show -- imagines a world in which Wonderland, Oz and Neverland collide. The journeys of fictional characters Alice, Dorothy and Wendy intersect and classic stories are woven together with a brand new fantasy twist. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the show in the photos below!
Top Hat won three 2013 Laurence Olivier awards for Best New Musical, Best Choreography (Bill Deamer), and Best Costume design (Jon Morrell) at the ceremony held on April 28. Bringing the prestigious statuette back to the US are Broadway producers Stewart F. Lane, Ted Hartley and Bonnie Comley. Scroll down for a photo of the producers with their award!
'Flying Home, down the rabbit hole, over the rainbow, and straight on till morning' -- the 2013 student-written musical of Northwestern University's Waa-Mu Show -- imagines a world in which Wonderland, Oz and Neverland collide. The journeys of fictional characters Alice, Dorothy and Wendy intersect and classic stories are woven together with a brand new fantasy twist.
The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team for the 2013 Shakespeare Festival. Festival Artistic Director Adrian Noble returns to San Diego for his fourth and final year of Festival programming. The internationally acclaimed director will helm productions of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Tom Stoppard's classic farce, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Laurence Olivier Award-nominated director Ian Talbot will make his Old Globe debut with the enduring Shakespeare favorite A Midsummer Night's Dream. The 2013 Shakespeare Festival, performed in repertory in the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, runs June 2 - Sept. 29. Subscription tickets from $66 to $270. Single tickets start at $29. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.
