Friday evening I had the pleasure of experiencing a story loosely based on fact of the wonderful Louis Armstrong celebrated Jazz trumpeter and singer. Understandably hesitant at first with the idea of a “Virtual Performance” I sat in the comfort of my home with an open mind willing and ready to experience what was about to be laid forth. I've seen many performances presented by American Stage so I knew the magic would be there, but there is something about the “physical connection” that sort of “...in the room where it happens” that I missed so greatly here. That is not to diminish the understandably beautiful piece in which the fine folks at American Stage presented, and I completely admire their work here as we are all so much in need of live performances.
San Jose Stage Company has announced the full cast and creative team for the virtual world premiere of the new play STRANGE COURTESIES, written and directed by L. Peter Callender.
Directed by Ted Lange of “The Love Boat” fame, opening February 19 and running through February 28 with 12 pre-recorded performances, “Satchmo at the Waldorf” is set in 1971, Louis’ last public performance, four months before his passing. The show takes place in a dressing room backstage at the Empire Room of New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where Louis is reminiscing into a tape recorder about his life and relationship with his manager.
Elm Shakespeare Company continues its free, online event series, Building a Brave New Theater: Exploring Shakespeare & Race in 2020 with a BIPOC DIRECTOR'S FORUM on Thursday November 12 at 7pm on Zoom.
Elm Shakespeare Company announced its free, online event series, Building a Brave New Theater: Exploring Shakespeare & Race in 2020. Five evenings of performances and moderated conversation with BIPOC artists and scholars will bring the New Haven community (and beyond) together to celebrate and interrogate the 400-year old white playwright's work.
San Jose Stage Company has announced the titles for its upcoming virtual 38th Season. These virtual presentations will include NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (October 28 - 31, 2020), PERSUASION (December 23 - 27, 2020), KISS 2020 GOODBYE (December 31 - January 3, 2021), STRANGE COURTESIES (February 24 - 28, 2021) & BARCELONA (March 31 - April 4, 2021).
The nominees have been announced for the 2020 Theatre Tampa Bay Awards! 25 plays and 5 musicals were eligible for nomination before the remainder of the 2019-2020 season was cancelled in March.
Tampa Repertory Theatre will present a live, virtual production of award-winning Tampa Bay playwright Sheila Cowley's World War II drama Flying on Sunday, August 16 at 3 PM, on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. The production is helmed by internationally renowned stage director L. Peter Callender. A live talkback with the playwright, director and cast will be held following the performance.
With their 25th anniversary season interrupted by a global pandemic, The African-American Shakespeare Company will mount 5 productions in their 2021-22 season versus 4, which has been the norm for the last decade.
San Jose Stage Company has announced BEYOND THE BOARDS, a virtual series of conversations between the company's Artistic Director, Randall King and leading artists in the community and beyond.
San Jose Stage Company presents BEYOND THE BOARDS, a virtual series of conversations between our Artistic Director, Randall King and leading artists in our community and beyond. These weekly chats will take you behind the scenes of the powerful, provocative, and profound work you see at The Stage.
The African-American Shakespeare Company will present Noël Coward's classic Private Lives, directed by Clay David for six performances only this April. This draws their 2019/20 season to a close, a season that has seen the company mount a much-praised Othello, their annual holiday Cinderella, and the dramatic satire The Trial of One Short-Sighted Black Woman vs. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae.
The time is 2008, the place Detroit...this and more sets the stage for a hard hitting, knockout Tour de Force that chills you to the bone. Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew is a searing, eye opening look into the workforce division between blue-collar and white-collar and what might happen when the division of power crosses the line. I think director L. Peter Callender sums it up best in his director's notes by saying, 'Dominique Morisseau's 'Detroit Project' plays: DETROIT '67, PARADISE BLUE, and SKELETON CREW, not unlike August Wilson's 'Century Cycle' or Shakespeare's History plays, offer a sharply focused, raw, sometimes harsh, always heart-wrenching, beautifully penned look at the rigors of survival when driven souls must make high stakes, life or death choices. Dreams, hope, despair, mystery and secrets all fill the hearts and minds of her characters in the poetic and humorous Skeleton Crew.' The tight knit ensemble of four of the finest actors to hit the stage in some time do Morisseau's words justice and do so with gusto. From the moment the music is heard, to the first words spoke you are gripping on every breathtaking moment in this top-notch performance, that left you winded and exaspirated in all the best ways possible. The chill left down my spine from this show still lingers even days later.
The Marsh San Francisco presents Aren't Youa???, the newest solo show by actor Fred Pitts recounting his hilarious journey to visit all 21 California Mission churches, where he discovers being black makes him an instant celebrity a?" the question is which one? Set in the Summer of 2012, Pitts finds himself at one Mission after the next, encountering docents and fellow tourists.
American Stage Theatre Company Presents SKELETON CREW. It's 2008, and one of the last auto plants in Detroit is on shaky ground. The remaining factory workers are living paycheck-to-paycheck and now each of the workers must navigate the possibility of foreclosure. As power dynamics shift, and they are pushed to the limits of survival the line between blue collar and white collar gets blurred. With moments of heartbreak and humor, SKELETON CREW is a beautiful homage to the American blue collar worker.
Funny, electric, and heart-breaking are three words director L. Peter Callender used to describe the debut of Dominique Morriseau's Skeleton Crew at American Stage January 22 a?' February 23.
