Robert Edwards News

The Hangar Theatre Company continues its 45th Mainstage Summer Season with the regional premiere of the fabulous, sparkly, feel-good musical, Kinky Boots, directed and choreographed by Gerry Mcintyre. With music and lyrics by pop icon Cyndi Lauper and book by Tony-winner Harvey Fierstein, this high-energy show runs from July 19 through August 3 with matinee and evening performances.

At a reception at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival today, the beneficiaries of $70,000 in grants from Sundance Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation were revealed. Doron Weber, Sloan Vice President of Programs and Director of the Public Understanding of Science and Technology program, presented the Feature Film Prize to The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and announced the new winners: Skye Emerson for Challenger and Gillian Weeks for The New Miracle (Sundance Institute | Sloan Commissioning Grant); Anthony Onah for Goliath (Sundance Institute | Sloan Lab Fellowship); and Neilkanth Dave and Zachary Parris for DELTA-V (Sundance Institute | Sloan Episodic Storytelling Grant). Chiwetel Ejiofor's The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind was formally presented with a $20,000 check for winning the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize, as previously announced.

The Weston Playhouse Theatre is thrilled to present the five-time Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home to its new flexible 140-seat Second Stage, Weston Playhouse at Walker Farm. Refreshingly honest and wildly innovative, Fun Home is based on Vermont author and cartoonist Alison Bechdel's acclaimed graphic memoir. Audiences will follow Bechdel at three different life stages as she grows and grapples with her uniquely dysfunctional family, her sexuality, and her father's secrets.

Fortifying its commitment to invest in premium documentary programming, HISTORY has announced today 'HISTORY 100,' (working title) an ambitious new strand comprised of 100 films focusing on the most compelling historical events of the last 100 years. The first batch of eight films will spotlight significant stories in American history deserving to be told, such as the Mercury 13 group of prospective female astronauts that ignited an early public debate on gender equality, or provide new points of entry into iconic subjects like Mikhail Gorbachev. From acclaimed, award-winning auspices including Barbara Kopple (American Dream), Daniel Junge (Saving Face), Charles Ferguson (Inside Job) and Werner Herzog (Into the Inferno, Grizly Man), 'HISTORY 100' is a complement to the network's ongoing non-fiction and scripted series programming slate.

Fertility Fest, the world's first arts festival dedicated to fertility, infertility, modern families and the science of making babies, is delighted to announced the programme for its second edition taking place at Bush Theatre, 8 - 13 May 2018. Over 150 world class artists and fertility experts including scientists, clinicians and academics will share the stage to explore the bigger picture of fertility in the 21st century together, through theatre, music, film, photography, dance, visual arts, literature, poetry, discussion, workshops and debate. The diverse programme will bring together all voices - whatever their sex, experience or parenting stories - to ask key questions about fertility science and education, and encourage a more open public discourse around these issues.

At a reception during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival today, the beneficiaries of $60,000 in grants from Sundance Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation were revealed. Doron Weber, the Vice President of Programs at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, announced the winners: Michael Almereyda's Marjorie Prime won the Feature Film Prize; Adam Benic's Levittown (Sundance Institute | Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Episodic Storytelling Grant); Darcy Brislin and Dyana Winkler's Bell (Sundance Institute | Sloan Lab Fellowship); and Jamie Dawson and Howard Gertler's Untitled Smallpox Eradication Project (Sundance Institute | Sloan Commissioning Grant).

Jake Ehrenreich will open in A Jew Grows in Brooklyn 2.0 at the Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center on February 2nd. But prior to that opening, he'll visit the Miami Jewish Film festival as a special guest speaker to discuss his participation in the recent film, The Last Laugh, cinematographer Ferne Pearlstein's fascinating look at the importance of laughter under even the most dire of circumstances. 

The 2015 Gold Coast International Film Festival has an exciting slate of films taking place starting tonight November 9 and running through Nov 15, 2015

The 2015 Gold Coast International Film Festival announces an exciting slate of films for this year's Festival taking place November 9 - 15, 2015

FOR THE LAST TIME is a new jazz musical with music and lyrics by celebrated composer Nancy Harrow (This Side of Paradise), book by Will Pomerantz and Nancy Harrow, directed by Will Pomerantz(The Blue Flower), arrangements/ orchestrations by Dennis Mackrel (Conductor of the Count Basie Band), with music direction by Cody Owen Stine (Murder Ballad has received its world premiere at Theater Row's Clurman Theatre, and opened on May 28 and running through June 20, 2015. Tickets are $39-79 and can be purchased by visitingwww.Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200. Check out a look back at opening night below!

Beginning performances tonight, FOR THE LAST TIME is a new jazz musical with music and lyrics by celebrated composer Nancy Harrow (This Side of Paradise), book by Will Pomerantz and Nancy Harrow, directed by Will Pomerantz (The Blue Flower), arrangements/ orchestrations by Dennis Mackrel (Conductor of the Count Basie Band), with music direction by Cody Owen Stine (Murder Ballad). It is getting its world premiere at Theater Row's Clurman Theatre and will celebrate its opening on May 28 and running through June 20, 2015. Tickets are $39-79 and can be purchased by visiting www.Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.

FOR THE LAST TIME is a new jazz musical with music and lyrics by celebrated composer Nancy Harrow (This Side of Paradise), book by Will Pomerantz and Nancy Harrow, directed by Will Pomerantz (The Blue Flower), arrangements/ orchestrations by Dennis Mackrel (Conductor of the Count Basie Band), with music direction by Cody Owen Stine (Murder Ballad). It will get its world premiere at Theater Row's Clurman Theatre beginning performances May 19, opening May 28 and running through June 20, 2015. Tickets are $39-79 and can be purchased by visiting www.Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.

The Hollywood Reporter has shared an exclusive clip of WHEN I LIVE MY LIFE OVER AGAIN, starring Christopher Walken and Amber Heard.

The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by AT&T, today announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight, Midnight, and Special Screening sections as well as work in progress screenings. The 14th edition of the Festival will take place from April 15 to April 26 in New York City.

As all BOARDWALK EMPIRE fans know, tonight is the HBO series' penultimate episode. With the series finale just one week away, I recently spoke to John Ellison Conlee about his experience on the show. Conlee plays the younger version of The Commodore, Louis Kaestner. A character that played a major role in the first two seasons, when the older version was played by legendary actor Dabney Coleman.

Atlantic Theater Company has announced full casting for Nancy Harris' play OUR NEW GIRL, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch. Lisa Joyce, Henry Kelemen and CJ Wilson will join previously-announced Atlantic Theater Company founding member Mary McCann for the US premiere production.

It was a magical evening for LES MISERABLES and the Sound Mixing Team of Production Mixer Simon Hayes, Re-recording Mixers Andy Nelson and Mark Paterson, Scoring Mixer Jonathan Allen, ADR Mixer Robert Edwards and Foley Mixer Pete Smith at the 49th Annual CAS Awards. The family adventure won Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture - Live Action.

The Cinema Audio Society has announced its nominees for the 49th Annual CAS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for 2012 in six categories.

Forget "Rock Of Ages." That 21st century musical about the 1980s has nothing on the real thing. "Cats," the show that set much of the look and tone of musical theater for the next decade or so when it opened in London in 1981 and in New York in 1982 (and began continuous touring in 1984, a record unmatched in theater history) is on display for this week only (sorry, "Now And Forever") at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre. Forget "Rock Of Ages." That 21st century musical about the 1980s has nothing on the real thing. "Cats," the show that set much of the look and tone of musical theater for the next decade or so when it opened in London in 1981 and in New York in 1982 (and began continuous touring in 1984, a record unmatched in theater history) is on display for this week only (sorry, "Now And Forever") at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre. And I, who saw the original Broadway production twice during that heady decade and have not seen the show in any form since then, was eager to go and see what the fuss was, and is, all about. So I went, Tuesday night. If you've never seen this show, if you kids have never seen it, or if you want to experience the magic of this unique theatrical masterpiece one more time, then this is a great opportunity to do so, as this is the only remaining North American production to (somewhat) accurately replicate the award-winning, record-setting British musical that took America and the world by storm thirty years ago. This tour of non-Equity performers, with its usual orchestra of five beefed up to eight for a weeklong stand (May 1-6) in a major theatrical market, has enough going for it that I highly recommend it. It's a little like entering a time machine, and there's a lot of sleight of hand, but it works. Let me explain. What is "Cats?" Much maligned by insiders, derided as dated by visual artists, underrated by dance teachers and ignored by voice teachers (save for its megahit song, "Memory," which is heard twice, but never in the sheet music version everything has heard and claims to know), it is in many ways a dichotomy. It's a dance show (choreography by Gillian Lynne) written by a singer's songwriter (Andrew Lloyd Webber), as well as a British song cycle based on poems written by a St. Louis-born English poet (T. S. Eliot) who never intended his work ("Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats," and other snippets) to be either musicalized or staged. Its plot, slight though it is, is also the subject of much derision, but to this observer is very reminiscent of "A Chorus Line," a universally revered work that does include dialogue and more depth of character, but also honors unity of time and place. However, there are indeed works that dispense with plot entirely, and which people unabashedly love (you know, revues--"Ain't Misbehavin'" comes to mind), and even shows like "Forever Plaid" and Lloyd Webber's "Starlight Express" feature heaven-going as a climax that is not entirely a surprise. So, enough complaining about there being no dramatic tension, already. But the spectacle! Is it a rock concert with dance, a dance concert with character, a makeup and hair extravaganza with arena-style lighting (still thrilling, the work of David Hersey, as recreated by Rick Belzer), a radio-friendly cast album with a decidedly British keyboard-rock spin, an intellectual set of inscrutable poems with earworm melodies, an environmental theater piece that's fun for all ages (an unmistakeable set and costume design by the remarkable John Napier)--what exactly is going on? The answer, of course, is all of the above. Oh, and it owes a lot to the English music hall tradition and to contemporary classical music, too, not to mention Puccini. Name another show that encompasses so much. Not to mention that original marketing campaign. Aside from his immature works (the children's show "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and others), Lloyd Webber's previous shows written with Tim Rice (the two nominated for the Best Revival of a Musical Tony Award this year, "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita,") were both introduced to the world via record albums and marketing campaigns that featured a logo rather than a star name and image. But "Cats" seemed to take that even further, dispensing with the concept album and zeroing in on the show AS the star. Indeed, this show has no leading roles. Really. But who can forget that moon/cats' eyes/dancer silhouette logo, and the letters of the title in color-coordinated graffiti (echoing the oversized junkyard scene design). It was exciting and revolutionary at the time, and the only shows that have done it better since then (Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom Of The Opera" and director Trevor Nunn's "Les Miserables," all three produced by wunderkind Cameron Mackintosh) are the only ones that have run longer in London and New York, due to the lessons they learned from the feline juggernaut before us now. It was "the birth of the musical spectacular," as Broadway In Chicago's promotional materials tell us. This particular edition of the endless "Cats" tour, directed and choreographed by Richard Stafford and featuring mostly young, recent graduates of top U.S. musical theater and dance schools, is indeed "cut down" from the total makeover that the Winter Garden Theatre in New York displayed for the 18 years it played there (1982-2000). But the "Christmas lights" that once ringed the audience do indeed extend past the proscenium arch, and the cast makes several trips out into the aisles, a nice touch. The back wall of the set does not swing down to reveal the ship's set needed for the "Growltiger's Last Stand" sequence--they use drops and a false proscenium downstage center here, and I almost liked it better. The set as a whole is not as detailed and certainly not as deep as it once was, but if you haven't seen the video of the London production, or the show as it played in the early '80s, you would be none the wiser. Sound-wise, I have to give credit to sound designer Duncan Robert Edwards, musical supervisor Kristen Blodgette and music director J. Michael Duff. I swear the show sounds better than ever, even with a smaller orchestra than originally employed. And I could understand the lyrics! The costumes and makeup design look simplified to me, though, but again, a newcomer to the proceedings wouldn't know. And do I care of part of the set is inflatable, as rumor would have it? I don't care how they get it from city to city, or how quickly they do it, but somebody does care, and they figured out a way to make it work! The floating tire and the thing that comes down from the fly space (spoiler alert?) look great, absolutely. Absolutely. The cast is led by Melissa Grohowski as Grizabella, the role made famous by Elaine Paige and Betty Buckley and carrying with it, shall we say, a certain expectation of a certain money note. Boy, does Ms. Grohowski deliver! Three people stood during the applause for the number. Bravo to Clemmons/Dewing Casting, I say! The two singing roles for the men, Old Deuteronomy and Gus/Growltiger/Bustopher Jones, are essayed here by Nathan Morgan and Christopher E. Sidori, who both acquitted themselves well and were very effective theatrically, whatever their actual ages. Among the dance roles, Daniel J. Self as the narrator Munkustrap, Chris Stevens as Rum Tum Tugger and especially Chaz Wolcott as Mistoffelees were crowd pleasers: Self with his movement detailing, Stevens with his Elvis impersonation and Wolcott with his amazing fouette turns. The cast of two dozen or so performers dances uniformly well, and sings very well, too, save for a few minor quibbles with single lines here. And there or some missing low notes that older performers would probably have no trouble with. But these are easily forgiven. Who cares if the leading lights of Broadway (Harry Groener, Terrence Mann, Anna McNeely and of course Ken Page) have been replaced in these roles by recent graduates of Wright State, SUNY-Purchase and Oklahoma City University? These energetic, disciplined performers are working their tails off (pun intended), singing like people who can't dance a lick and are basking in the glow of theater history with every city they visit. Yes, the show has moments that seem a little longwinded, and sure, it doesn't challenge your intellect as much as it challenges your wallet and your caffeine intake (it takes place at night, and everybody is dressed like a cat!). But I challenge you to remain unmoved when Grizabella begs for physical contact, when old Gus relives his moment of youthful theatrical triumph, when assorted junk becomes the train that Skimbleshanks loves, and when the sopranos of the ensemble soar on the words, "'Round the cathedral rang 'Vivat!" Come on! It's "Cats." It's eye and ear candy galore. I don't even like cats, but I do like "Cats." Very much. "Cats" plays this week only, Tuesday night through Sunday night, with additional matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph Street in Chicago. Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago box offices, the Ticket Kiosk at Water Tower Place, all Ticketmaster retail outlets, by phone (800.775.2000) and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com. Photos: Melissa Grohowski; The Cast

FEBRUARY, 2010 MICHAEL MARCUS QUINTET ONE NIGHT ONLY!