Queen Mother News

"This is a story that's old as old, of how a girl turned straw into gold," and one that the audiences at Imagination Stage are sure to know! Directed by Janet Stanford and written by Mike Kenny, Rumpelstiltskin is a unique interpretation of a fairytale in which the characters discover their true place in the world, complete with witty poetry, exquisite movement, and original music performed live by a fiddle player.

'This is a story that's old as old, of how a girl turned straw into gold,' and one that the audiences at Imagination Stage are sure to know! Directed by Janet Stanford and written by Mike Kenny, Rumpelstiltskin is a unique interpretation of a fairytale in which the characters discover their true place in the world, complete with witty poetry, exquisite movement, and original music performed live by a fiddle player. Best for ages 5-10, Rumpelstiltskin runs in Imagination Stage's Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre today, February 5-March 16, 2014.

Arnold Steinhardt, acclaimed first violin of the illustrious Guarneri Quartet, joins the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) for its WESTSIDE CONNECTIONS chamber music series launch on Thursday, February 13, 2014, 7:30 pm, at the Moss Theater in Santa Monica. The three-part series, with 'LA Influential' as this year's thematic twist, examines the impact our diverse city has had on arts and culture through the eyes of distinguished guest artists and speakers. LACO Concertmaster and series curator Margaret Batjer has programmed evenings that showcase the virtuosic artistry of LACO musicians in chamber masterpieces, reflecting the compelling LA connections and inspirations that have deeply influenced the special guests, who in addition to Steinhart, include Culture Clash satirist/comedian Richard Montoya and actor/director/composer John Rubinstein.

Acclaimed harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell, founder and music director of Cleveland's Apollo's Fire makes her Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra debut when she conducts concertos by Vivaldi, Bach and Boccherini at LACO's "Baroque Conversations" series on Thursday, February 6, 2014, 7 pm, at Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Sorrell, who "forges a vibrant, life-affirming approach to the re-making of early music," according to BBC Music Magazine, leads Principal Cello Andrew Shulman, Cello Trevor Handy, Principal Violin II Josefina Vergara and Flute Sandy Hughes in Vivaldi's Concerto grosso in B minor (arr. Sorrell) after Sonata in B minor, Op. 1, No. 12, RV 63 ("La Follia"), and Concerto in G minor for Two Cellos, RV 531; Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050; and Boccherini's "Fandango" (arr. Sorrell) after Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D major, G. 448.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), continuing a long-established relationship with the Oregon Bach Festival, welcomes the Festival's new Artistic Director Matthew Halls as guest conductor in his California debut, leading a program that spans the centuries and spotlights LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, Principal Cello Andrew Shulman, Principal Oboe Allan Vogel and Principal Bassoon Kenneth Munday, on Saturday, January 25, 8 pm, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, and Sunday, January 26, 2014, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall. Halls, "a fresh and forceful talent" whose "music-making is strongly and clearly sculpted" (The Times, London), leads Mozart's Ballet Music from Idomeneo, K. 367, Haydn's Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major, and Beethoven's playful Symphony No. 1 in C major, which was instantly hailed as a masterpiece. Providing a dramatic counterpoint to the program is Aaron Jay Kernis' solemn Musica Celestis, a string-orchestra transcription of one of his string quartets that has been likened to Barber's famous Adagio.

"This is a story that's old as old, of how a girl turned straw into gold," and one that the audiences at Imagination Stage are sure to know! Directed by Janet Stanford and written by Mike Kenny, Rumpelstiltskin is a unique interpretation of a fairytale in which the characters discover their true place in the world, complete with witty poetry, exquisite movement, and original music performed live by a fiddle player. Best for ages 5-10, Rumpelstiltskin runs in Imagination Stage's Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre February 5-March 16, 2014. Tickets start at $10, and may be purchased online at www.imaginationstage.org, at the Imagination Stage box office, or via phone at 301-280-1660. Group rates are available.

A CHRISTMAS STORY holds a special place in the hearts of many Clevelanders. The present staging, under the direction of John McCluggage, while engaging, misses out on some of the farcical and endearing dynamics needed to make this a totally wonderful holiday present. It's not bad, just not everything that it could be or has been.

'The Frown of Fortune: A Luke Tremayne Adventure...A French Affair 1653' by Geoff Quaife (published by Trafford Publishing) follows a hit man who protects the interests of Lord General Oliver Cromwell against conspirators and criminals and excels in uncovering the many murderers that cross his path. In this riveting novel, plans for him to be an agent at the Royalist court go astray and instead, he finds himself engrossed in the intrigues and murders surrounding a French aristocrat.

Barbara Windsor has joined Theatre Royal Stratford East's fundraising campaign to build a sculpture of the legendary director, Joan Littlewood. The theatre launches a public appeal to raise the final 40% needed for the sculpture International artist Philip Jackson has been commissioned to create the bronze sculpture. The sculpture is due to be installed in spring 2014 in Theatre Square and will coincide with theatre's staging of Oh What A Lovely War.

The first concerts to be held in The Kingdom of Bhutan will feature Bryan Adams and k.d. lang on April 22 nd and 23 rd, 2014 in Thimphu, Bhutan, and will raise money for two Bhutanese charities

Among the 200 plays and musicals appearing at August's New York International Fringe Festival, there is one very unexpected production - a new Russian-language opera by the impressive 26-year old Russian composer Polina Nazaykinskaya.

Among the 200 plays and musicals appearing at August's New York International Fringe Festival, there is one very unexpected production - a new Russian-language opera by the impressive 26-year old Russian composer Polina Nazaykinskaya.

'Counting Crows: Stories of Love, Laughter and Loss' has garnered its second national book award this summer. The 2013 Beach Book Festival awarded first place in the 'Wild Card' category to the independently published book by Spencer Hatton, former Yakima Herald-Republic editor and columnist. The contest honors what promoters call the 'summer's hottest reads.'

Collaborations with The National Theatre of Scotland and Tramway, as well as Arches Brick Award and Platform 18 winners, together with some of the very best interNational Theatre companies, will all feature as part of the 2013 BEHAVIOUR festival at the Arches, today, 3rd April - 11th May 2013.

Collaborations with the National Theatre of Scotland and Tramway, as well as Arches Brick Award and Platform 18 winners, together with some of the very best international theatre companies, will all feature as part of the 2013 BEHAVIOUR festival at the Arches, 3rd April - 11th May 2013.

Garrett Lewis, four time Academy Award nominated set decorator, dancer and actor, died Tuesday, January 29 at the age of 77. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1935 and died at his home in Woodland Hills, California of natural causes.

The world-renowned classical Indian musician, Ustad Shafaat Khan will be performing on the Centenary Stage Company with internationally acclaimed virtuoso musicianship today, September 30th at 2:00PM.

The world-renowned classical Indian musician, Ustad Shafaat Khan will be performing on the Centenary Stage Company with internationally acclaimed virtuoso musicianship on Sunday, September 30th at 2:00PM.

MY NAME IS ELIZABETH is a book that celebrates 200 famous, infamous and unheralded Elizabeths in the world of beauty and fashion; love and passion; art, music and adventure; food and wine; politics and power; sport and movies, as well as its most recognisable face in this year of the Diamond Jubilee.

Complex play by Lynn Nottage Deserves Your Attention