Mary Ellen News

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents an all-Gershwin NJSO POPS program in New Brunswick and Newark, tonight, April 19 and the 20th. Conductor Gerald Steichen returns to the NJSO stage to conduct the Orchestra in Gershwin favorites including An American in Paris, Cuban Overture and selections from Porgy and Bess and Girl Crazy, along with songs from the composer's rich canon.

In the darkness of the far future, humanity has formed the Earth Empire, and with unsurpassed technological might, it has managed to conquer countless worlds and sentient species, exploiting them brutally, oppressing them with no mercy. This dominion will not go unchallenged, however, as noble freedom fighters seek to cast away the yolk of oppression and spark a revolution in Faraway. This marks the beginning of Edmund Ironside's grand space opera, the first novel in an epic sci-fi trilogy.

LiveWire Chicago Theatre, in association with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, continues its 2012-13 season with the Chicago premiere of the dysfunctional family drama A PERMANENT IMAGE, by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by LiveWire Executive Director Joshua Aaron Weinstein, playing April 4 - May 5, 2013 at The Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St. in Chicago. The production features Janice O'Neill, Ed Dzialo, Mary Williamson and Jack McCabe. Tickets for A PERMANENT IMAGE are available at livewirechicago.brownpapertickets.com or by calling (312) 533-4666. The press performance is Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 pm.

LiveWire Chicago Theatre, in association with Chicago Cultural Center Presents, continues its 2012-13 season with the Chicago premiere of the dysfunctional family drama A PERMANENT IMAGE, by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by LiveWire Executive Director Joshua Aaron Weinstein, playing tonight, April 4 - May 5, 2013 at The Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St. in Chicago.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents an all-Gershwin NJSO POPS program in New Brunswick and Newark, April 19-20. Conductor Gerald Steichen returns to the NJSO stage to conduct the Orchestra in Gershwin favorites including An American in Paris, Cuban Overture and selections from Porgy and Bess and Girl Crazy, along with songs from the composer's rich canon.

Bay Street Theatre announces its Second Annual Honors Benefit on Saturday, April 27 at East Hampton Point. This year the honorees are Hampton's Hometown Heroes include David Bray, Ana R. Daniel, Michael Grim and James Osburn. All four of the honorees support Bay Street as well as many other local businesses & non-profits in the Hampton's Community. The event starts with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and buffet followed by the presentation of awards, which will be kicked off by funny lady, Joy Behar, at 8pm.

Bay Street Theatre, in partnership with the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps, has announced CASINO NIGHT on Saturday, April 13 from 7pm-11 pm. This is the second Casino Night at Bay Street Theatre, but the first in cooperation with the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Bay Street Theatre announces their Second Annual Honors Benefit on Saturday, April 27 at East Hampton Point. This year the honorees are Hampton's Hometown Heroes include David Bray, Ana R. Daniel, Michael Grim and James Osburn. All four of the honorees support Bay Street as well as many other local businesses & non-profits in the Hampton's Community. The event starts with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and buffet followed by the presentation of awards, which will be kicked off by funny lady, Joy Behar, at 8pm.

Gingold Theatrical Group celebrated their GOLDEN SHAMROCK GALA on Sunday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day) at The Players Club (16 Gramercy), honoring the prodigious talents of actress/director Judith Ivey and everyone's favorite television host, TCM's Robert Osborne; and, of course, George Bernard Shaw. Check out photos from the festivities below!

A special tribute concert to Stephen Sondheim, including 17 premieres of commissioned works inspired by his songs, will be taking place at "Music in the Loft" in Chicago's historic Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Avenue, Suite 801, on April 7, 2013 at 3:00 pm. Pianist Anthony de Mare will be premiering/performing some of the 36-piece "LIAISONS Project" featuring Sondheim-inspired pieces by composers ranging from Nico Muhly and Steve Reich to Duncan Sheik and Jason Robert Brown.

Tonight, March 9 (7 pm), as part of Symphony Space's The Music of Now Series, pianist Anthony de Mare returns to the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre for the second installment of Liaisons: Reimagining Sondheim from the Piano. Marrying his reputation as a champion of contemporary classical music with his deep respect for legendary musical theater composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, de Mare is building a unique piano repertory by commissioning 36 leading contemporary composers from the classical, jazz, theater, and film worlds to write short solo piano pieces inspired by Sondheim's music.

LiveWire Chicago Theatre, in association with Chicago Cultural Center Presents, continues its 2012-13 season with the Chicago premiere of the dysfunctional family drama A PERMANENT IMAGE, by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by LiveWire Executive Director Joshua Aaron Weinstein, playing April 4 - May 5, 2013 at The Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St. in Chicago. The production features Janice O'Neill, Ed Dzialo, Mary Williamson and Jack McCabe. Tickets for A PERMANENT IMAGE go on sale Monday, February 25 at livewirechicago.brownpapertickets.com or by calling (312) 533-4666. The press performance is Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 pm.

American Composers Orchestra (ACO) continues its season-long initiative, coLABoratory: Playing It UNsafe, the first and only professional research and development lab to support the creation of cutting-edge new American orchestral music through no-holds-barred experimentation, encouraging composers to do anything but 'play it safe.' Audiences will have the opportunity to see and hear the composers' works-in-progress at free lab workshops today, March 5, 2013 at 10am at Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY), and Today, April 2, 2013 at 2pm at The DiMenna Center (450 W. 37th St., NYC). coLABoratory culminates on Friday, April 5, 2013 at 7:30pm with a concert featuring all of the new works at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, conducted by ACO Music Director George Manahan.

Concert pianist Anthony de Mare premieres 17 new pieces from The Liaisons Project, his landmark concert and commissioning project based on the work of legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim. With LIAISONS, de Mare is building a brand new piano repertory, featuring 36 of today's most revered contemporary composers, that marries his reputation as a champion of contemporary classical music with his deep respect for Sondheim as one of the 20th century's great composers. The first 17 completed works from the LIAISONS project premiered on a 2012 multi-city tour that culminated with a sold-out performance at Symphony Space's Peter Jay Sharp Theater in April 2012. Another 17 will premiere during the 2013 season.

American Composers Orchestra (ACO) continues its season-long initiative, coLABoratory: Playing It UNsafe, the first and only professional research and development lab to support the creation of cutting-edge new American orchestral music through no-holds-barred experimentation, encouraging composers to do anything but 'play it safe.' Audiences will have the opportunity to see and hear the composers' works-in-progress at free lab workshops on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 10am at Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY), and Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at 2pm at The DiMenna Center (450 W. 37th St., NYC). coLABoratory culminates on Friday, April 5, 2013 at 7:30pm with a concert featuring all of the new works at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, conducted by ACO Music Director George Manahan.

The Rubin Museum will explore illusion and human perception in this year's edition of the popular Brainwave series of on-stage conversations between mind scientists and thinkers from diverse walks of life. Opening today, February 6, the series will include 20 on-stage conversations, 50 film screenings, and an interactive experience in which the museum will become a Memory Palace. While illusion is usually associated with vision, the series will engage audiences through all five senses to provide a comprehensive understanding of the subject.

LiveWire Chicago Theatre, in association with Chicago Cultural Center Presents, continues its 2012-13 season with the Chicago premiere of the dysfunctional family drama A PERMANENT IMAGE, by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by LiveWire Executive Director Joshua Aaron Weinstein, playing April 4 - May 5, 2013 at The Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St. in Chicago.

On Saturday, March 9 (7 pm), as part of Symphony Space's The Music of Now Series, pianist Anthony de Mare returns to the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre for the second installment of Liaisons: Reimagining Sondheim from the Piano. Marrying his reputation as a champion of contemporary classical music with his deep respect for legendary musical theater composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, de Mare is building a unique piano repertory by commissioning 36 leading contemporary composers from the classical, jazz, theater, and film worlds to write short solo piano pieces inspired by Sondheim's music.

On Saturday, March 9 (7 pm), as part of Symphony Space's The Music of Now Series, pianist Anthony de Mare returns to the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre for the second installment of Liaisons: Reimagining Sondheim from the Piano.

Bay Street Theatre has announced GIRLS NIGHT OUT, tonight, January 17 at 6:30 pm. Join hosts Diana de Castro, Emma Jacobs, Barbara Kushner, Summer Loucheim and Susie Sabin for a night of pampering and partying! Tickets are $25 per person available at the door, and include one drink of your choice and one raffle ticket good for entry into any of the evening's many raffles.