Birth Place: New Albany, MS, USA
Thursday evening Jerry Lee Lewis was one of five legends inducted into The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) Hall of Fame. Although Lewis was unable to attend the ceremony hosted by Marty Stuart, Jerry Lee Lewis III accepted the award on his behalf with his father's sister, Linda Gail Lewis, who performed her brother's major hits “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin.'”
Multi-talented Sam Harris celebrates the release of his new novel THE SUBSTANCE OF ALL THINGS with an in-depth chat with Stephen Mosher
Storytelling Arts of Indiana is proud to partner with listening-room venues Indy Folk Series and Indy Acoustic Cafe Series to stage a?oeStories that Sing featuring Kate Campbella?? on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center.
Critically-acclaimed actors André Holland and Phylicia Rashad visit 92Y's Unterberg Poetry Center on Tuesday, February 18 at 8 pm to pay tribute to author Toni Morrisona?"with a dramatic reading of Morrison's last book, The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations. The actors will read selections from the book, curated by Morrison scholar and Columbia University professor Farah Jasmine Griffin, and commissioned by 92Y.
Drury Lane Theatre has announced casting for the final show in its 2019/2020 season, the Regional Premiere of the beautifully captivating Gershwin musical An American in Paris. Leading the cast are Josh Drake as American GI Jerry Mulligan and Leigh-Ann Esty as Lise Dassin. Drake can currently be seen on Broadway in Disney's Aladdin, and Esty returns to An American in Paris after playing the role of Lise on the show's national tour. This Tony Award-winning musical features music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin with book by Craig Lucas and is directed and choreographed by Lynne Kurdziel-Formato. An American in Paris runs January 31 a?" March 29, 2020, at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. The press opening is scheduled for Thursday, February 6, 2020, at 8:00 p.m.
On Wednesday, October 16 at 7:30 pm the Folger Shakespeare Library's O.B. Hardison Poetry Series presents the Eudora Welty Lecture with best-selling author Jesmyn Ward at the National Press Club. Sponsored by the Eudora Welty Foundation, this annual lecture celebrates creative origins in the spirit of Welty's treasured One Writer's Beginnings.
11-27 October, Pontine Theatre's co-directors, Greg Gathers & Marguerite Mathews, bring their unique approach to literary adaptation to Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1851 Gothic Romance, The House of the Seven Gables. Performances are Fridays at 7pm, Saturdays at 3pm and Sundays at 2pm.
En 1972, en una entrevista, un periodista le dijo al escritor argentino Jorge Luis Borges: “Es usted un genio”. Y él le contestó: “No crea eso, ésas son calumnias”. En otra ocasión dijo: “No creo en el valor de lo que escribo, pero sí en el placer de escribir”.
Live Source Theatre Group unveiled its next three productions at its recent Spring Gala event, celebrating its 8th season, held on June 18th at The Spanish Benevolent Society (239 West 14th Street).
'Based on a true incident' seems a phrase best reserved for a hardboiled television detective series, circa 1954 - perhaps followed by a title card reading, 'A Quinn Martin Production' (if you're of a certain vintage, you'll get my meaning) - but in the case of Bright Star, the Tony Award-nominated musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell now onstage at Cumberland County Playhouse through June 6, it's definitely fitting.
Author Kaye Park Hinckley announces that her new southern gothic, The Distance Between High and Low, is a finalist in the William Faulkner/William Wisdom Competition and the Tuscany Prize for Fiction.
Critically-acclaimed actors Andr Holland and Phylicia Rashad visit 92Y's Unterberg Poetry Center on Thursday, May 23 at 7:30 pm for a dramatic reading of Toni Morrison's new book, The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations. The actors will read selections of the book curated by Morrison scholar and Columbia University professor Farah Jasmine Griffin, which 92Y has commissioned for the event.
The Cave Dwellers explores the adventures of some homeless people who are camping out on the stage of an abandoned theatre that is about to be pulled down for a housing project. Humor, grace, innocence and improvisation distinguish this Broadway classic. An enchanting story.
Chicago Opera Theater (COT) continues its 2018/2019 season with the Chicago premiere of the contemporary opera "The Scarlet Ibis." Composed by Stefan Weisman with libretto by David Cote, "The Scarlet Ibis" was declared an "outstanding new chamber opera" by David Allen of The New York Times upon its debut at the 2015 Prototype Festival. Chicago Opera Theater presents the first full production of this operatic adaptation of James Hurst's 1960 short story (apart from its festival debut), featuring the artistry of stage director Elizabeth Margolius and conductor David Hanlon. The opera stars Annie Rosen (who also performed in COT's season-opening production of "Iolanta") as Brother and Jordan Rutter as Doodle.
Hand-picked by Quentin Tarantino for inclusion in the movie and soundtrack to 'Django Unchained', for which he received a Grammy nomination for his song 'Too Old to Die Young', and racking up 139,643+ listeners/month at Spotify, 10m+ views to date on his YouTube channel and 500,000+ spins/month at Pandora, Brother Dege Legg remains one of the best-kept secrets in Louisiana. The singer/songwriter/musician and writer (he received the heralded Louisiana Press Award in 2004 and 2008), is an heir to a long line of enigmatic characters birthed in slaughterhouse of the Deep South. Legg's Robert Johnson-on-Thorazine-style slide work paired with his droning-rural psychedelia has brought the backwoods sounds of Louisiana (hurricanes, cows, cicadas) to life while remaining firmly rooted in the troubled and death-obsessed masters. He released his fourth album, 'Farmer's Almanac', a sprawling, southern concept album that further explores the unique mysteries of small towns, in early summer on Psyouthern Records, and prior to the release he was on the road in Europe from April - June and just wrapped up a twenty date solo West Coast tour. Dege has just embarked on an East Coast/Southern tour with a full band and will be performing in NYC on 9/30 at the Mercury Lounge. The band features Dege (vocals, guitars); Greg Travasos (drums); Kent Beatty (bass); and Luke Vellion (guitars).
Country Music Hall of Fame member and Mississippi native Charley Pride, was honored with another industry accolade recently, celebrating his legendary career as a pioneering Country musician. Pride was inducted into the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience Hall of Fame class of 2018, on August 25th in Meridian, Mississippi, along with four other recipients; singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, Photographer William Eggleston, Writer and editor Willie Morris, and Blues musician Howlin' Wolf. Pride also received a 'Walk of Fame' star as part of the ceremony.
Two short one-acts, "Wild Orchids" and "Rosary Hill" by Heather J. Violanti, will debut September 10 to 16 in a double bill presented by Theater for the New City's Dream Up Festival. "Wild Orchids" is a film noir-esque, feminist, and fictionalized take on 1940's Hollywood, where a secretary has a chance encounter with William Faulkner that may change both their lives. In "Rosary Hill,' two gentle nuns tend to their garden in upstate New York but a closer look at the harsh Mother Superior reveals they may not be all that they seem. Both plays feature canny, nuanced female characters who have much more going on under the surface than meets the eye. Jennifer Sandella directs.
Vera Sola will release her debut album SHADES on November 9th. Today, the first track “Small Minds” has been shared via Flaunt. 'From the recording of the song I wanted the visuals to convey a sort of opulent decay,” said Vera. “The degradation that comes with the power of technology: of our bodies, of possibility for meaningful connection, of any jab at true romance. And the loneliness of all that—the extreme and singular loneliness that comes with physically being with someone while they're off in the cloud, in the 'net, all webbed up somewhere else.' SHADES is available for both digital and vinyl pre-order now.
The University Press of Kentucky has partnered with Kentucky Humanities on its new statewide literacy project, Kentucky Reads: All the King's Men. The program will use Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to guide a statewide conversation on contemporary populism and political discourse and their relationship to journalism. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Kentucky Humanities will host a series of community discussions and events centered on Warren's celebrated work and what it can teach us today.
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