Mail 1988 - Articles Page 8

The Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye reports that Kenneth Branagh, currently starring in his production of Macbeth at the Manchester International Festival, could be the top contender to take over as the Old Vic's new artistic director when Kevin Spacey steps down in September 2015.

Five to Fifteen: In September of 1975, Denise Sassoon entered the front gates of Arizona State Prison for Women inside the back of a government transport truck, sentenced to 'no less than five, no more than fifteen' years of incarceration. At 21 years old, how had she - a 60's Hippie peace-love-freedom child - wound up in this strange, callous, and violent place? And if she managed to live through her years there, who or what would she have to become? Five to Fifteen is Denise's story, fascinating in its detailed and personal perspective not only on surviving in prison during the mid-1970's, but living amidst the rampant drug culture of the 60's through the 80's and enduring the soul-rending ravages of rape, addiction, and societal intolerance. Five to Fifteen is an amazing and inspiring story of triumph over adversity, evidence that even the most extreme human pain can lay a foundation of strength and hope for others. Denise Sassoon did, indeed, survive her years at Arizona State Prison, though not unscathed emotionally and spiritually. Her experiences prior to, during, and after her incarceration more than qualified her to help others seeking freedom from the same difficulties. Since 1988, Denise has worked continuously in some aspect of prison re-entry programs and drug/alcohol treatments, including counseling clients, training counselors and support staff, managing in-house treatment programs for prison inmates, and assisting with or directing residential treatment facilities. She also helped develop pioneer programs for ex-convicts with drug and alcohol dependency issues that later served as models for statewide treatment curricula. Denise currently resides alongside her family in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona. ($20, ISBN: 978-1-937536-37-4, 6X9', 170pp) Contact: Anaphora Literary Press Director: Anna Faktorovich, Ph.D 5755 E. River Rd., Unit 2201 Tucson, AZ 85750 520-425-4266 director@anaphora literary.com www.anaphoraliterary.com 2013 Catalog: https://www.box.com/s/633xttgxlandqo8xu9ke Ordering Information: Pay Anaphora by PayPal or Credit Card www.amazon.com www.booksamillion.com www.barnesandnoble.com Baker and Taylor: http://www.btol.com E-mail: orders@btol.com Ingram Book Company: http://ingrambook.com/default.aspx E-mail: orders@ingrambook.com

During the curtain speech of the company's recently closed drama 'Dancing at Lughnasa' (read our BWW Atlanta review), Stage Door Players Artistic Director Robert Egizio announced the plays and musicals that will comprise the company's 40th Anniversary Season. The well-balanced slate of shows features comedies, dramas, musicals, and two regional premieres.

The Town Hall is proud to announce the season finale of Broadway by the Year featuring The Broadway Musicals of 1988, includingThe Phantom of the Opera, Chess, Legs Diamond, Romance Romance, Carrie, and More! Scott Siegel, the creator, writer, and host of Broadway by the Year has selected a half dozen performers to star in the concert, including Howard McGillin, who holds the record for playing 'The Phantom' longer than any other actor in Broadway history. He will be joined by one of his Christines, Jennifer Hope Wills. Drama Desk Nominees Farah Alvin (The Marvelous Wonderettes) and Kevin Earley (Death Takes a Holiday) return toBroadway by the Year. Lisa Brescia, who starred on Broadway in Twyla Tharp's The Times They Are A-Changin', as Elphaba in Wicked, and as Donna in Mamma Mia! makes her Broadway by the Year debut and favorite Scott Coulter will direct and star in the concert. The cast will be joined by the Broadway by the Year Chorus.

And this Monday, May 20th, John Bantay will do his farewell SPIN as he leaves to continue pursuing his career and becomes a stage manager at the long-running musical, Avenue Q. Speaking to John Bantay, I, of course, was curious as to what his favorite video clips have been over the years. He was reticent to put them in 'Top 10' format because, to him, he considers them all number 1's. So here's his hit list, in no particular order:

In tribute to the legends responsible for making American music part of global popular culture, the U.S. Postal Service today proudly announces the launch of a new Music Icons stamp series with the issuance of a stamp honoring Lydia Mendoza, one of the first and greatest stars of Tejano music.

Marking a triumphant return from a ten year absence, D'Oyly Carte Opera Company bursts back onto the stage with an historic collaboration with Scottish Opera; taking an all-singing, all-dancing, richly theatrical production of The Pirates of Penzance on an extended, major UK tour following its premiere at Theatre Royal Glasgow tonight 15th May 2013.

Howard County Arts Council (HCAC) has announced that applications for the FY2014 Mark Ryder Original Choreography Grant Program are now available. This program was established at the bequest of Mark Ryder's family, in honor of his life's work, to recognize individual creative expression, and to provide financial assistance to choreographers to create new original work. A fund has been established at the Columbia Foundation to enable monies to be awarded for this purpose in perpetuity. The grant award recipients will be announced at HCAC's Annual Meeting and Grant Awards Ceremony in September 2013. The minimum grant amount will be $500.

Anita Dobson will star in a new musical based on Camille Saint-Saens' The Carnival Of The Animals, according to a report by the Daily Mail. Created by Gavin Greenaway, Roger Hyams, Andrew Marshall and Brian Eastman, a tryout will open at Riverside Studios on July 4 and run for two weeks through July 14, 2013.

Richard Eyre returns to the Almeida Theatre to adapt and direct Ibsen's Ghosts. Ghosts will run from 26 September - 23 November 2013, with Press Night on 3 October. Members of the production team and cast will be announced shortly. Priority booking for Ghosts for Almeida Theatre members opens on 9 April 2013, with public booking opening on 23 April.

While the title may suggest that the play may be a run of the mill romantic comedy, Gurney's play is more of a character study, and through Sam Bass's sturdy production, those characters vividly come to life.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced today that the 2013 Public Theater annual gala will celebrate the company's acclaimed 1980 production of the musical, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, with a one-night-only concert performance on Monday, June 10 at the Delacorte Theater where The Public's production originally premiered more than three decades ago. Sir Howard Stringer, Arielle Tepper Madover, and Renee Beaumont will serve as Gala Co-Chairs for this unforgettable evening that will also honor the late Nora Ephron who was a longtime Public Theater board member and consummate lover of Shakespeare in the Park.

Strawdog Theatre Company's Hugen Hall has announced the Midwest premiere of Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery's Kill Shakespeare, directed by Anderson Lawfer, tonight, March 4 - March 26 at Strawdog Theatre Hugen Hall, 3829 North Broadway Street.

The Schoolhouse Theater and Gallery will offer theatergoers and art enthusiasts alike a rare opportunity to view the works of two artists with studios in Croton Falls who present uniquely differing views of the world through their art. The work of Tom Christopher and Michael Mapes will be on exhibit March 7 through March 30 at The Schoolhouse, in conjunction with the stage production of Jon Robin Baitz' 'Ten Unknowns,' an explosive drama centered on an artist who rages against the commercialization of art.

The Colony Theatre will present the fifth production of its 'Season of Premieres' with the Los Angeles Premiere of I'LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT, written and directed by Peter Colley. I'LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT will preview tonight, February 6; Thursday, February 7; and Friday, February 8 at 8:00pm. It will open on Saturday, February 9 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, March 3 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.

In the week leading up to the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present five public events celebrating this year's nominees.

Strawdog Theatre Company's Hugen Hall has announced the Midwest premiere of Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery's Kill Shakespeare, directed by Anderson Lawfer, March 4 - March 26 at Strawdog Theatre Hugen Hall, 3829 North Broadway Street.

The Colony Theatre will present the fifth production of its 'Season of Premieres' with the Los Angeles Premiere of I'LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT, written and directed by Peter Colley. I'LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT will preview on Wednesday, February 6; Thursday, February 7; and Friday, February 8 at 8:00pm. It will open on Saturday, February 9 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, March 3 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, presents FRANK GALATI'S adaptation of JOHN STEINBECK'S iconic THE GRAPES OF WRATH, opening Saturday, February 23 and closing Saturday, May 11, 2013 (previews begin Saturday, February 16), which brilliantly distills the quintessential American novel to its core while preserving its essence as perhaps the greatest American travel tale ever written. Directed by Michael Michetti, this timely work, filled with heartbreak and strength, features Steinbeck's words almost exclusively as well as deeply evocative music that includes period hymns, Dust Bowl songs and original music by Michael Smith written for the play's original 1988 Steppenwolf Theatre Company production, hailed by the London Daily Mail as "shatteringly perfect." The Chicago Sun-Times praised Frank Galati's adaptation as "utterly faithful to its source - that it is not only uncompromising, but devoid of sentimentality, and that it is flawless in the way it sweeps us into the lives of the characters, and their time, without a wasted word or motion." The run includes a 'Pay What You Can" date on Thursday, February 21.

Casa 0101 Theater, Josefina Lopez, Artistic Director, will present the play, "I Don't Have To Show You No Stinking Badges" written by Luis Valdez, the creator of "Zoot Suit," "La Bamba" and "Cisco Kid." This new production of "I Don't Have To Show You No Stinking Badges" is the first to be presented in Los Angeles in 25 years. It will star Carmelita Maldonado (of El Sereno as Connie Villa), Daniel E. Mora (of Glendale as Buddy Villa), Elizabeth Pan (a native of Thousand Oaks and resident of Beverly Hills as Anita Sakai) and Alex Valdivia (of Santa Monica as Sonny Villa) under the direction of Hector Rodriguez (of South Pasadena). The play will be presented in a Limited Run from February 8 - March 10, 2013 at the New Casa 0101 Theater; 2102 E. First Street (at St. Louis Street; Boyle Heights, CA 90033.

Marking a triumphant return from a ten year absence, D'Oyly Carte Opera Company bursts back onto the stage with an historic collaboration with Scottish Opera; taking an all-singing, all-dancing, richly theatrical production of The Pirates of Penzance on an extended, major UK tour following its premiere at Theatre Royal Glasgow on the 15th May 2013.

According to the Daily Mail, Sir Kenneth Branagh will play MacBeth in Shakespeare's tragedy at the Manchester International Festival next summer, which runs July 4-21, 2013. Rob Ashford is set to direct.

The Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC), recipient of the 2012 Caffe Cino Fellowship Award from the Innovative Theatre Foundation, has announced their additional IT Award Nominations and their 12th Season featuring the New York Premiere of Gregory S. Moss's (punkplay, House of Gold) Billy Witch and Willy Russell's (Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine) Blood Brothers. APAC is also fortunate to be working on a developmental piece with Grammy and Tony-award winning composer Galt MacDermot (Hair), Gone Tomoro. APAC's performance venue is located at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 30-44 Crescent St (@30th Rd) in Astoria, Queens.

INTO THE WOODS will be in the Wilson Mainstage Auditorium at South Bend Civic Theatre at 403 N. Main Street from tonight, July 27 through Sunday August 12.

Casa 0101 Theater, Josefina Lopez, Artistic Director, and The Center for Collaboration with the Arts at Whittier College will present "Lorca in a Green Dress," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Nilo Cruz, under the direction of Jennifer Sage Holmes at Casa 0101 Theater, 2102 E. 1st Street (at St. Louis Street), Boyle Height, Calif., on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 5:00 p.m., tonight, July 20 - August 26, 2012.