Leslie Caron News

What a trail of stardust the whole musical leaves! There are the sets and lighting which dazzle in their nimble evocation of the wonders of Paris, with a side-step into a fantasy nightclub that seems to be Radio City Music Hall, complete with spangled leggy chorines and dudes in top hats and tails. There is the dancing of the athletic McGee Maddox and the graceful Allison Walsh. (How many performers out there can claim true balletic chops, skill at acting and singing - and the aforementioned hotness?) And the word 'dazzling' seems to have been coined for Gershwin's music, generously ladled over the entire enterprise, and beautifully performed.

The spotlight will shine bright at the Laguna Playhouse' annual gala, May 12, with special performances by 'Phantom of the Opera Star' Davis Gaines, a tribute to the Moulton Theatre's 50th anniversary, and a host of highlights celebrated throughout the much-anticipated, elegant affair.

Rogue Machine Theatre (2017 Ovation Award "Best Season," and two time recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle "Polly Warfield Award for an Excellent Season in a Small to Mid-Size Theatre") presents four new plays in 2018, about the haunted, about how we survive in a world that is increasingly nonsensical. In addition, an American premiere and a West Coast premiere are being added to Rogue Machine's season.

This must be one of the prettiest shows for the stage. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, currently being presented at Mirvish, will have you shaking your head in wonder at Bob Crowley's imaginative set design and Christopher Wheeldon's breathtaking direction and choreography. The musical, inspired by the Academy Award-winning motion picture with Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, features the sublime music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. Although the performances are tremendously uneven, the musical is a feast for the eyes that is an unmissable theatrical attraction in Toronto.

Academy Award and Golden Globe winning performer George Chakiris and acclaimed dancer, Barrie Chase have been named the honorees for the Professional Dancers Society's (PDS) annual Gypsy Awards Luncheon, it was announced by PDS President, Mitzi Gaynor and PDS Board Chairman, Joni Berry.  Emmy and Grammy nominated choreographer/director/singer Toni Basil will receive the organization's Choreographer's Award.  PDS' 31st Anniversary Luncheon will be held on Sunday, April 15, 2018 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel (9876 Wilshire Blvd.) in Beverly Hills, CA.

TV5MONDE USA, America's only 24/7 French language entertainment channel, has scheduled the world television premiere of the inaugural recipient of the 2017 French Culture Film Grant – Le Grand Remix – at 8:30pm/ET-5:30pm/PT on March 21st as part of its annual month-long Mois de la Francophonie celebration. French Culture Film Grant is the result of a partnership formed last year between #CreateLouisiana and TV5MONDE USA to celebrate Louisiana-based filmmakers and to inspire them to create groundbreaking new films showcasing French culture, the history of Louisiana and local acting talent. 

freeFall favorites Nick Lerew (freeFall's The Light in The Piazza) and Britta Ollman (freeFall's Red Velvet) return to St. Petersburg to co-star in a delightful musical romance. If you loved freeFall's The Light in The Piazza, you will fall in love all over again with freeFall's Spring Musical, Daddy Long Legs.

Lane Bradbury - dainty June to Ethel Merman's Rose in the original Broadway production of Gypsy - returned to the stage of Don't Tell Mama cabaret theater for another rousing performance of her current cabaret, LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU, AGAIN with a script by award-winning playwright, Doug DeVita.

Another S'Wonderful night at the Saenger! From the stunning backdrops to the French accents, you may find yourself believing that you're in Paris by the end of the night. 'An American in Paris' is a fantastic review of dance set to the incredible score by George and Ira Gershwin.

The Houston Symphony and Music Director Andr s Orozco-Estrada announced today details of the 2018-19 season, which marks Orozco-Estrada's fifth year as music director. Highlights of the season include conducting appearances by world-class violinists Joshua Bell and Itzhak Perlman; the world premiere of Aurora, a violin concerto by Houston Symphony Composer-in-Residence Jimmy L pez; and a semi-staged opera performance of Bart k's Bluebeard's Castle.

Laguna Playhouse announces the fourth show in the Laguna Playhouse 97th season, I AM MY OWN WIFE, written by Doug Wright and directed by Jenny Sullivan and starring John Tufts. We are so fortunate to start 2018 with this exquisite play and extraordinary performance, comments Laguna Playhouse Executive Director Ellen Richard. Adds Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham I AM MY OWN WIFE is a remarkable piece of theatre and even more so that the story is true, and still has so much relevance today. Our subscribers and audiences are in for an unforgettable experience. I AM MY OWN WIFE will begin previews on Wednesday, January 10; will open on Sunday, January 14 at 5:30pm and will run through Sunday, January 28, 2018 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Laguna Playhouse has announced the fourth show in the Laguna Playhouse 97th season, I AM MY OWN WIFE, written by Doug Wright and directed by Jenny Sullivan and starring John Tufts.

Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham, Executive Director Ellen Richard and Lythgoe Family Panto (LFP) have announced final casting for Lythgoe Family Panto's ALADDIN AND HIS WINTER WISH.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents the 1951 film An American in Paris with a live performances of the score, November 25-26 in Newark and New Brunswick. Gene Kelly stars as a former American GI who falls for Parisian Leslie Caron; the film features classic songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Constantine Kitsopoulos conducts.

Laguna Playhouse has announced a completely original and outrageous holiday event, THE SKIVVIES: SLEIGH MY NAME!

Laguna Playhouse has announced the fourth annual New Year's Eve return of superstar comedienne Rita Rudner, in her hilarious new show, RITA RUDNER: LAUGH, DRINK AND LEAVE. LAUGH, DRINK AND LEAVE will perform on Sunday, December 31 at 7pm at Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of HAIR - The American Tribal Love-rock Musical, Michael Butler, the Broadway producer who brought the musical to its greatest fame and popularity, announces his new production with performances April 20 to June 30 (opening night is April 29) at the newly renovated Palace Theatre at 630 South Broadway, DTLA (Downtown Los Angeles).

There is a new vision of heaven tap-dancing its way through my brain replete with beautiful showgirls and handsome chorus boys performing a show-stopping version of George and Ira Gershwin's I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise from An American in Paris, the sumptuous musical now onstage at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall through Sunday, November 5 and, quite frankly, if that is not what paradise will look like should I arrive there after my untimely demise, I will simply refuse to stay. For if paradise isn't the gorgeous and glittery, utterly theatrical vision supplied by this altogether splendid production, I'll say to hell with it (and me, I suppose), because surely paradise is set to a lush and memorable Gershwin score. Anything else is simply a poor facsimile of the real thing. Est-ce que tu comprends?

The 2015 musical, inspired by the Oscar-winning film of the same title, features a score by George and Ira Gershwin and a book by Craig Lucas opened at the Memphis Orpheum this week. Because the story centers on Ballet, which I'm not qualified to critique, I brought along Dmitri Roudnev, former Bolshoi soloist and current Ballet Master.

Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham, Executive Director Ellen Richard and Lythgoe Family Panto (LFP) have announced final casting for Lythgoe Family Panto's ALADDIN AND HIS WINTER WISH.