Mary Ann News

Over three days of preliminary auditions today, February 25 through the 27th, 2013, approximately 90 of the best young American and Canadian opera singers will compete to reach the final round of the 42nd annual George London Foundation Awards Competition.

"In sickness and in health," are familiar words, but few spouses really expect to have that oath tested. Mary Ann Sheveland is one of those few, having cared for her husband during his battle with the coronary artery disease that ultimately claimed him.

Love, Loss, & What I Wore is described as an intimate collection of stories by Nora Ephron & Delia Ephron and based on the best-selling book by Ilene Beckerman. Like the popular book, the play uses clothing & accessories and the memories they trigger to tell funny and often poignant stories that all women can relate to.

Great Lakes Theater (GLT), Cleveland's Classic Company, will present an extraordinary pre-show discussion and performance event exploring the paranormal and the haunted history of the Hanna Theatre (and PlayhouseSquare's other theaters), in conjunction with the company's production of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare on Saturday, March 2nd.

Lyric Opera of Chicago and its general director, Anthony Freud, announced the lineup for Lyric's 2013-14 season today. Joseph Calleja, Joyce DiDonato, Nathan Gunn, Thomas Hampson, Ana Maria Martinez, Matthew Polenzani, and Patricia Racette are among those headlining the new season's offerings. These comprise 67 performances of eight different operas, beginning October 5, 2013 and concluding March 23, 2014: new productions of Parsifal, La traviata, The Barber of Seville, and Rusalka (Lyric premiere); a revival of Otello; and new-to-Chicago stagings of Madama Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, and La clemenza di Tito. Lyric's music director, Sir Andrew Davis, will lead three operas, and guest conductors Marco Armiliato, Bertrand de Billy and Michele Mariotti will make their house debuts. Additionally, Lyric will present a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in the spring of 2014, continuing the company's American Musical Theater Initiative, and Davis will conduct a special Subscriber Appreciation Concert in March featuring Lyric's creative consultant - the star soprano Renee Fleming - with tenor Jonas Kaufmann.

Lyric Opera of Chicago and its general director, Anthony Freud, announced the lineup for Lyric's 2013-14 season today. Joseph Calleja, Joyce DiDonato, Nathan Gunn, Thomas Hampson, Ana Maria Martinez, Matthew Polenzani, and Patricia Racette are among those headlining the new season's offerings. These comprise 67 performances of eight different operas, beginning October 5, 2013 and concluding March 23, 2014: new productions of Parsifal, La traviata, The Barber of Seville, and Rusalka (Lyric premiere); a revival of Otello; and new-to-Chicago stagings of Madama Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, and La clemenza di Tito. Lyric's music director, Sir Andrew Davis, will lead three operas, and guest conductors Marco Armiliato, Bertrand de Billy and Michele Mariotti will make their house debuts. Additionally, Lyric will present a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in the spring of 2014, continuing the company's American Musical Theater Initiative, and Davis will conduct a special Subscriber Appreciation Concert in March featuring Lyric's creative consultant - the star soprano Renee Fleming - with tenor Jonas Kaufmann.

Question: What the hell are 'EQUITY Pancakes'? Answer: 'EP's' are any buttermilk, wholegrain or fruit & spice enhanced pancake products eaten by any proud member of AEA. Preferably consumed at night, after a show, and garnished with a salty sweet pork product on the side. (Bacon Forever!)

Rodale Inc., the world's leading healthy lifestyle publisher, announced today that Mary Ann Naples has been named VP/Publisher, Rodale Books, effective March 4, 2013.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Executive Director Ellen Richard announced today that The Costume Shop theater, A.C.T.'s 49-seat black-box venue located in San Francisco's Central Market corridor, will be home to a custom-designed Art-o-mat vending machine. Made from revamped vintage cigarette machines, the Art-o-mat machine dispenses small, cigarette pack-sized original pieces of artwork. Ranging from stained glass to watercolors to clay sculptures, the original artwork can be purchased from the machine for $5 per item. An official public unveiling, curated by Art-o-mat creator Clark Whittington, will take place at A.C.T.'s Costume Shop theater (1117 Market Street) on Monday, April 8, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Delaware Theatre Company has announced the cast of Daryl Roth's presentation of LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE, coming to the DTC stage in early March.

Tony Award winner Richard Maltby, Jr. will direct The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's world premiere production of Cathy Tempelsman's A Most Dangerous Woman about the famed Victorian-era writer George Eliot. The production begins performances on September 18, 2013 at The Shakespeare Theatre's F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre in Madison New Jersey.

Over three days of preliminary auditions on February 25-27, 2013, approximately 90 of the best young American and Canadian opera singers will compete to reach the final round of the 42nd annual George London Foundation Awards Competition.

On the heels of its record-breaking 50th Anniversary season, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey today announced the line-up for its 2013 Season. The roster will include six productions on its Main Stage at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre in Madison and one summer production on the popular Outdoor Stage - the Greek amphitheater on the campus of The College of Saint Elizabeth in Morris Township as well as several special events and programs.

Manhattan Theatre Club will present its annual Winter Benefit, an evening of cocktails and dinner followed by a special one-night-only cabaret-style show featuring Broadway's brightest stars tonight, January 28, 2013 at The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Fredrick P. Rose Hall (Broadway & 60th Street).

American Lyric Theater (ALT) has been awarded two grants of $15,000 each from OPERA America's THE OPERA FUND for Repertoire Development. Announced earlier today by OPERA America, the grants are for two operas in development at ALT: La Reina by composer Jorge Sosa and librettist Laura Sosa Pedroza; and The Long Walk, by composer Jeremy Howard Beck and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann based on Brian Castner's critically acclaimed book of the same name.

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, has announced that it has awarded grants to 10 opera companies and four teams of artists through two funding programs: The Opera Fund: Repertoire Development and the Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Showcase. These grants support the production of new North American opera and help develop the careers of promising directors and designers, respectively.

Dan Goggin's latest installment in the Nunsense series is Nunset Boulevard, which world premiered in 2009. It is a delicious musical ode to old Hollywood. And yes, Norma Desmond does make a brief appearance. Continuing on its first national tour, the show stopped at the Norris Theatre Saturday for two performances. The matinee I attended was close to SRO, and most everyone just ate up the silly humor and 5 infectious characterizations - the Little Sisters of Hoboken - who find themselves stuck, not where they were led to believe at the Hollywood Bowl, but... at at the Hollywood Bowl A-Rama. Low on plot - there's even a song this time to spell it out - it's high on energy and sheer fun, with some great audience participation including real live bowling on a TV game show takeoff The Price Is Righteous.

The implausible story came straight from the bottom of the barrel tabloid, The Weekly World News. Three teenage spelunkers in West Virginia find a half human/half bat creature. The local sheriff brings him to the home of the town's veterinarian, Dr. Parker, whose kind wife, Meredith, takes care of him and transforms him into a likeable person. Their rebellious teenage daughter, Shelley, falls in love with him and Meredith reveals a shocking secret: Bat Boy is Shelley's twin brother!

Manhattan Theatre Club will present its annual Winter Benefit, an evening of cocktails and dinner followed by a special one-night-only cabaret-style show featuring Broadway's brightest stars on Monday, January 28, 2013 at The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Fredrick P. Rose Hall (Broadway & 60th Street).

Over two weekends in January, twelve intrepid groups of musical travelers will be transported eight centuries back in time to experience The Play of Daniel in the unique environs of The Cloisters Museum and Gardens, the branch of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. Concerts at The Cloisters will present The Play of Daniel in the Fuentidueña Chapel at The Cloisters - 99 Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park, in Manhattan - Fridays through Sundays, today, January 11th-13th and 18th-20th, 2013, with two performances each day, at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $75.