Mae West News

They say timing is everything. Well, with the success of AMC's 'Mad Men' and the pending release of the retro series for ABC entitled, 'Pan Am' as well as NBC's recently announced 'Playboy Club', it seems like the perfect time for the woman who opened for Sinatra and headlined at each and every one of the Playboy Clubs, Barbara Van Orden, to re-emerge, like Dolly Gallagher Levi in Jerry Herman's hit 'Hello Dolly!', in the public eye.

This coming weekend will mark the closing of the 405 or now known as CARAGEDDON!!

This coming weekend will mark the closing of the 405 or now known as CARAGEDDON!!

As a super-special Spring extension of BroadwayWorld's SOUND OFF column, every day until the Tony Awards on June 12 we will be presenting a spectacular new entry in the SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS series featuring a particularly entertaining, interesting, relevant and exciting Tony Awards-related clip from the last sixty-three years of the ceremonies (and subsequent seasons on Broadway) with a rundown and commentary on the sights, sounds and showmanship on display in each carefully chosen selection - all, of course, coming in anticipation of Broadway's biggest night, which will be broadcast on CBS this year, as always. Once again this year, BroadwayWorld is the official home of the 2011 Tony Awards and we will also be featuring exclusive interviews, articles, photos, video content, interactive features and more in the coming days and weeks leading up to the event so be sure to check back daily for your theatre fix!

The following acts are set for the June 2011 line-up at Joe's Pub: For additional information, visit: www.joespub.com

Penguin Rep Theatre (Joe Brancato, Artistic Director, and Andrew M. Horn, Executive Director) and Edmund Gaynes, in association with Don and Lizanne Mitchell, will present The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith, a musical by Angelo Parra, conceived and directed by Joe Brancato.

Penguin Rep Theatre (Joe Brancato, Artistic Director, and Andrew M. Horn, Executive Director) and Edmund Gaynes, in association with Don and Lizanne Mitchell, will present The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith, a musical by Angelo Parra, conceived and directed by Joe Brancato.

Aurora Theatre Company announced today that Arion Press in San Francisco will print a limited edition handcrafted book of renowned American playwright Edward Albee's script for A DELICATE BALANCE; the book printing will coincide with Aurora Theatre Company's production of the play.

Randy Roberts, the nationally known female impersonator, will return to New Hope with his newest version of Randy Roberts Live! for one special show, Saturday, May 28 at 8:30 pm.

THE ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE closes May 8 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($10-55) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

It's not a typo folks! This is not a review of anybody's production of "Sunset Boulevard," despite the vision mistakes of ALL of my friends when they asked me in writing where I was going. Instead, it's the seventh or eighth "Nunsense" musical (depending on whether or not you count one all-male show), that overwhelmingly popular and not-quite-as-critically-successful series of small-scale musicals by Dan Goggin, written over the last 25 years and featuring five characters in a series of wacky, real-time, semi-performance situations.

Joe's Pub at The Public Theater debuted in October 1998 and has quickly became one of New York City's most celebrated and in-demand showcase venues for live music and performance. With its genre-blind booking and vast diversity of interests, the stage at Joe's Pub gives voice to a world of varied and stellar artists. The following perforers are set to make appearances May 17-20:

BoHo Theatre presents Claudia Shear's Dirty Blonde, a multilayered exploration of American entertainment icon Mae West as seen through the eyes of a pair of disaffected present-day fans, running April 1 through May 1, 2011 at Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont Avenue. Dirty Blonde is directed by BoHo Artistic Advisor Stephen Genovese.

BoHo Theatre presents Claudia Shear's Dirty Blonde, a multilayered exploration of American entertainment icon Mae West as seen through the eyes of a pair of disaffected present-day fans, running April 1 through May 1, 2011 at Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont Avenue. Dirty Blonde is directed by BoHo Artistic Advisor Stephen Genovese.

BoHo Theatre presents Claudia Shear's Dirty Blonde, a multilayered exploration of American entertainment icon Mae West as seen through the eyes of a pair of disaffected present-day fans, running April 1 through May 1, 2011 at Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont Avenue.

In honor of Tennessee Williams' 100th birthday, Aurora Theatre Company continues its 19th season with the playwright's haunting drama THE ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE. Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross helms this evocative play featuring Beth Wilmurt, Charles Dean, Marcia Pizzo, and Thomas Gorrebeeck, along with Amy Crumpacker, Ryan Tasker, Leanne Borghesi, and Beth Deitchman.

Drawing on a series of recordings made over many years, acclaimed biographer Charlotte Chandler's I Know Where I'm Going, the most intimate and personal biography ever published of Hollywood legend Katharine Hepburn, is now available in paperback from Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.