Applause 1982 - Articles Page 1.8

Legendary guitarist Gary Lucas upcoming retrospective THE ESSENTIAL GARY LUCAS via Knitting Factory Records offers ample evidence of this maverick artist’s trailblazing and unique career.

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest protest songs from 1939-2020. See if your favorite songs or artists made the list!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best musical theatre characters from 1940-2020; see if your favorites are on our list of the best characters from Broadway musicals.

Legendary guitarist Gary Lucas today shares his upcoming retrospective album THE ESSENTIAL GARY LUCAS, moves it release date to September 11 through Rare Lumiere/Knitting Factory Records.

Legendary guitarist Gary Lucas has announced THE ESSENTIAL GARY LUCAS, an extraordinary new compendium spanning 40 years of groundbreaking and provocative music. The 36-track, two-CD anthology arrives April 15 via Rare Lumiere/Knitting Factory Records.

a?oeI've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to diea?? might be one of the most well-known speeches in film history, whether you're a Blade Runner fan or not.

At its core, the original production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (and the movie adaptation it spawned) unabashedly celebrated its campy outlandishness. But unlike the original source material which was filled to the brim with sassy sight gags, cartoonish mannerisms, and pulp thrills, this new, gloriously reimagined production---now on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse through October 20, 2019 helmed by director Mike Donahue---feels much more grounded in reality and feels much more guided by the emotions of its characters, rather than have them just play second banana to the monstrous plant of excess vying for all the attention. With this pivoted focus, this incredible new production also now requires a cast of performers that can truly showcase that change---and, wow, did they ever find them in this brilliant ensemble!

There are times, perhaps if you know someone studying theatre at a liberal arts college, when one may be invited to attend a student-written play about how hip it is to be culturally-aware twentysomething intellectuals struggling to make it in the big city. The kind of play where introverted women clash with men who give the appearance of being sensitive in order to get laid. They all drink lots of vodka while quoting books and plays and films that show off the playwright's varied points of reference more than offer any insights into character.

Rachel Bertone has set the bar high for the 45th anniversary season of the Lyric Stage Company with her pitch perfect production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Assuming the mantle of both director and choreographer, with the dependable Dan Rodriguez as music director by her side, Bertone and her design team capture the grit and the innocence of the story set in the early 1960s, while finding ways to punctuate it with flashes of contemporary pizzazz. Puppet designer Cameron McEachern has crafted an Audrey II without gender bias on its menu, and despite being voiced by a woman (Yewande Odetoyinbo), the plant is no shrinking violet.

'Forbidden' is certainly a fitting adjective for Roxy's Downtown current production entitled Forbidden Broadway. If you simply look up the word 'forbidden' in the dictionary, you will find its meaning to be prohibited, not allowed or even banned. It's a clever little title to describe this Off-Broadway parody rated PG-13 which spoofs many lyrics and shows such as Mamma Mia, Cats, and even Hairspray which would send original playwrights and performing artists rolling in their graves with laughter. Opening originally in 1982 by parodist Gerard Alessandrini, the show has gone under many revisions to include even newer musicals. Starring Julia Faust, John Keckeisen, Seth Knowles, Shaun-Michael Morse, Patty Reeder, and Christine Tasheff, Forbidden Broadway runs from now until August 24 at the 1930s cabaret venue in downtown Wichita.

BWW Review: CATS at Popejoy Hall

Hello Des Moines! It's time to put on your Sunday clothes because Hello, Dolly!' is here for one week only at the Civic Center as part of the Des Moines Performing Arts and Willis Broadway Series. If you don't have tickets yet to this show, get one before 'Hello, Dolly!' leaves Des Moines. This production does a beautiful job of paying homage to the original production yet finding ways to make it their own.

Without a doubt, Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical CATS is of an era. Based on one of Lloyd Webber's favorite books as a child, T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, it was a perfect vehicle for the tastes of theatre lovers in the eighties, the decade of excess. The large-scale production, which opened on Broadway in 1982, was a highly theatrical concept featuring an elaborate light show, impressive dance numbers, and an intoxicating score, exactly what the public had come to expect from the composer of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and EVITA.

Featuring dancers and musicians from Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and Celtic Woman, Murphy's Celtic Legacy is the next generation Irish dance spectacular. Created by Chris Hannon, former principal dancer for Lord of the Dance, the choreography combines traditional Irish and Modern dance techniques, along with multimedia elements. The 19 dancers and seven-piece band weave an original tale drawn from Irish folklore-a tale of Kings and Queens, rebels and magic, epic battles between good and evil.

If you're looking to enjoy some holiday cheer in the comfort of a toasty theater look no further than the Noel S. Ruiz Theatre at CM Performing Arts Center's production of the family favorite 'Annie.' Lavish sets by the masterful Patrick Grossman, a spacious house with a majority of plush red seats and some of the best talent on the island - this production is nothing less than you would expect from this company. Although there are multiple other companies also producing 'Annie' this season I must say this would be quite difficult to top.

The 32nd ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles, the largest showcase of Israeli films in the United States, ended on a huge high note with its biggest audience in over three decades.  The programming consisted of 40 narrative films, documentaries, television series and shorts, including many U.S. and West Coast Premieres along with 25 leading Israeli filmmakers and actors in attendance. For the first time, the Festival awarded to the Audience Choice Award winners $100,000, granted by Festival sponsors BCL Finance Group, TUNNEL Post and Opus Post Production.  The funds will be divided among the winning filmmakers to produce their next films.

James Greene, a character actor with an illustrious stage career, but perhaps best known for his four-year stint on TV's 'The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd' with writer and director Jay Tarses, died on November 9, 2018, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 91.

Well-ensconced on the UCLA campus, Los Angeles Theatre Works presents audio theatre, or as pre-millennials call it 'radio drama,' a throwback technique of decades-old entertainment enhanced by current day technology. I had the chance to delve into the inner workings of LATW from one of the co-founders herself, Susan Albert Loewenberg.

Based on the popular comic strip by Harold Gray, Annie has become a worldwide phenomenon and was the winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The beloved book and score by Tony Award winners, Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, features some of the greatest musical theatre hits ever written, including 'Tomorrow.'

Tony® award-winning actor Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd, ALittle Night Music, Applause), in collaboration with Aruba productions, proudly presents and stars in Broadway and the Bard: An Evening of Shakespeare &Song at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, previewing Wednesday, June 6 with a press opening Thursday, June 7 and closing Sunday, June 10, 2018.

The 72nd Annual Tony Awards are this Sunday June 10th at 8/9c hosted by Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles. It's the biggest award show of the Broadway season and it closes out a long awards season for Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and plays. We can't help but wonder what chances this year's Best Musical and Best Play nominees have of taking home the ultimate prize...

That joyful noise you hear coming from the Hollywood Pantages Theatre this month is the thrilling sound of female empowerment, and it is reverberating like thunder from the heavens in the dynamically robust national tour of THE COLOR PURPLE. Director John Doyle's Tony Award-winning reinvention of the musical - which took Broadway by storm in 2015 - rings like a clarion call to arms for every woman who's ever been violated, abused, or otherwise kept down by a man, and, on opening night, the powerful women leading the cast proved themselves more than capable of leading the charge.

The Broad today announced the lineup for the third edition of Summer Happenings at The Broad, a music and performance series sponsored by Leading Partner East West Bank. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as a “wildly eclectic mix of music and art,” the summer event series – one of Los Angeles' most popular and anticipated events – will showcase more than 35 prominent and emerging artists and performers over four events. Tickets, including Series Passes (offers a savings of $25 and tickets to all four Summer Happenings), create-your-own ticket packages (offers a savings of $5 on each event when tickets are purchased for two or more events) and individual tickets ($30 advance), are available now at www.thebroad.org/happenings.

Tony® Award-winning actor Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Applause) comes to the Bay Area this summer, starring in his acclaimed one-man show Broadway and the Bard: An Evening of Shakespeare & Song, conceived by Cariou, Barry Kleinbort and Mark Janas, with direction by Kleinbort and musical direction by Janas.