Hats! 2006 - Articles Page 26

Imagine a magic show where there are no magic wands. No top hats. No smoke and mirrors. No rabbits in hats. This is a seemingly Impossible Occurrence for any magic act that your mind may have conjured up. However, as you will discover when you go and see Impossible Occurrences, Luke Hocking is no stereotypical magician.

Sixteen years after they swept San Francisco Bay Area audiences off their feet with the Tony Award-winning production Fool Moon, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) welcomes back Tony Award winners Bill Irwin and David Shiner in the West Coast premiere of the Signature Theatre production of Old Hats.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of the most iconic Broadway leading ladies in theatrical history, in honor of her passing earlier today at the age of 89, let us revisit this career-spanning InDepth InterView with the one and only Elaine Stritch. As a personal aside, following the conclusion of the interview proper the conversation between Ms. Stritch and I continued for several more minutes and she emphatically relayed to me that this had been her favorite interview to date and that she was incredibly appreciative and pleased with being questioned about the topics chosen herein. The following is reprinted exactly as it originally appeared here on BroadwayWorld on February 17. Hats off to a dynamite dame.

Today we are saluting one of Broadway's brassiest, bawdiest and best-loved leading ladies in honor of her death this week, the one and only Elaine Stritch.

The Bushwick Starr and Studio 42 will present the world premiere production of Important Hats of the Twentieth Century by Nick Jones (Emmy-nominated for Orange is the New Black, Trevor), directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Hand to God, Trevor).The production will run from October 7th through 31st, 2015, at The Bushwick Starr. The cast and full creative team will be announced in the spring of 2015.

Hailed by the New Yorker as "funny and touching, ceaselessly clever and scarily talented," Nellie McKay has recently finished an extended run in the off-Broadway hit Old Hats (winner of the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue) and has written two acclaimed musical biographies, Silent Spring: It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature, an exploration of environmental pioneer Rachel Carson, and I Want to Live!, the story of Barbara Graham, the third woman executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin. David Byrne tells the Wall Street Journal, "Her last two 'cabaret' shows I saw have been jaw-dropping. They both completely subverted the genre." Among Ms. McKay's charms, Mr. Byrne said, are the ways she playfully mixes what he called a "tragic noir vibe" with her "wicked sense of humor.'" Nellie will be performing at 54 Below (August 5-9) with her band members, Alexi David on bass, Cary Park on guitar, and Kenneth Salters on drums. Check out a sneak peek of her in action below!

American Songwriter is currently premiering 'This Love,' the first track from the debut LP of the same name by Brighton, U.K. band House of Hats, at http://www.americansongwriter.com. Produced by Pete Smith (Sting, Joe Cocker, Sheryl Crow) and out in the U.S. today, June 10 on Willow Walk Records, the album has already earned high praise in the U.K. with Q Magazine giving it three stars and commending the band's 'vocal pyrotechnics' and 'harmonies cascading into, over, through and beneath one another,' and Acoustic Magazine calling it 'just the stuff to hum along to' and asking if it could be 'just the kind of music we all need?'

Happy Birthday Al Jolson! Between 1911 and 1928, Jolson had nine sell-out Winter Garden shows in a row, more than 80 hit records, and 16 national and international tours. Although he's best remembered today as the star in the first (full length) talking movie, The Jazz Singer in 1927, he later starred in a series of successful musical films throughout the 1930s. After a period of inactivity, his stardom returned with the 1946 Oscar-winning biographical film, The Jolson Story. His Broadway credits include: Hold on to Your Hats, The Wonder Bar, Big Boy, Artists and Models, Bombo, and many more.

Matthew Weiner stopped by last night's THE COLBERT REPORT on Comedy Central and hats about the final season of 'Mad Men', offering insight into the complex and often troubled personality of Don Draper.

CALIFORNIA

While Barbra Streisand was celebrating her 72nd birthday yesterday, Christopher J. Hanke took to the cellar to wish the greatest star a happy birthday! Following the performance of the smash hit comedy Buyer & Cellar, Hanke started the crowd in a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" and brought out a cake and party hats to celebrate. Check out photos from the celebration below!

Today, Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon Producer Jo Schuman Silver announced Hats Off to 40 Years of Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon, a self-guided tour featuring iconic hats from the past 40 years running in May through June. With more than 20 hats being exhibited throughout the Bay Area, this is the first time in the show's history that this many hats have been displayed at one time. At 15 feet wide, 10 feet deep and 29 feet tall, visitors to Davies Symphony Hall can see the iconic Silver San Francisco Skyline Hat. Other hats include the World Hat and the Washington Hat at the de Young Museum, as well as the original Banana Carmen Hat at the SFJAZZ Center. A complete list of locations and viewing dates is below.

A.C.T. kicks off its 2014-15 season with the West Coast premiere of the Signature Theatre production of Old Hats (September 10-October 5, 2014), starring Tony Award winners Bill Irwin and David Shiner. Using music, technology, and movement - plus a few other tricks up their sleeves - Old Hats combines the inimitable magic, slapstick and hilarity of Irwin and Shiner into a wild and remarkable outing of theater for generations old and new. Directed by Tina Landau, Old Hats was the recipient of the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience and the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue. Old Hats marks the first collaboration for Irwin and Shiner since the smash Broadway hit Fool Moon, which set A.C.T. box office records during its sold-out 1998 run and their return engagement in 2001. Press night for Old Hats will be on Wednesday, September 17, 2014.

All right Gladiators, put on your white hats and buckle your seatbelts, because tonight's third season finale all the twists and turns than you would expect from a SCANDAL season finale. In the end, I was really proud of Shonda Rhimes that after last year's “Dad?” Season Finale, she seemingly went in a completely different way with this year's cliffhanger. I'm going to try and chronicle EVERYTHING that happened in this episode (while throwing in some observations and snark where I can), so grab yourself a glass of red wine, this is going to be a long one…

The ever-witty actor/comedian NATE CLARK (Suburgatory) is wearing plenty of hats this spring as he appears in Adult Swim's Dinner with Friends with Brett Gelman & Friends, is one of the newest members of the FOX Writers Intensive, his original pilot (Granted) is currently being reviewed by the network (FOX), and with his career in full swing, it comes as no surprise that Clark would sign on with such a well-respected group as UTA.

On June 10, U.K. label Willow Walk Records will release This Love, the highly praised debut album from Brighton-based band House of Hats, in the U.S.

John Pizzarelli once again expertly switches (musical) hats at Cafe Carlyle with his new concert of bossa nova music. The evening is titled "Strictly Bossa Nova" and it features Daniel Jobim, grandson of the seminal Antonio Carlos Jobim and an ensemble of Brazilian musicians.

Lisa Whelchel reunites with 'Facts of Life' co-star Kim Fields in 'For Better Or For Worse,' a Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere Fall 2014. The film, which is an adaptation of the bestselling novel For Better Or For Worse by Diann Hunt, has begun production in Vancouver, Canada. Antonio Cupo ('Hats Off To Christmas!') co-stars alongside Whelchel and Fields in this heartwarming romantic comedy about a woman who learns that perhaps there is such a thing as second chances when facing the pleasures and pains of love.

16 years after they swept San Francisco Bay Area audiences off their feet with the Tony Award-winning production Fool Moon, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) welcomes back Tony Award winners Bill Irwin and David Shiner in the West Coast premiere of the Signature Theatre production of Old Hats. Using music, technology and movement - plus a few other tricks up their sleeves - Old Hats combines the inimitable magic, slapstick and hilarity of Irwin and Shiner into a wild and remarkable outing of theatre for generations old and new. Directed by Tina Landau, Old Hats was the recipient of the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience and the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue. Old Hats marks the first collaboration for Irwin and Shiner since the smash Broadway hit Fool Moon, which set A.C.T. box office records during its sold-out 1998 run and their return engagement in 2001. At this time, tickets to Old Hats are available only to subscribers of A.C.T.'s 2014-15 season.

Santa Barbara audiences, get ready to saddle up! By critical acclaim, Riders in the Sky stand 'hats & shoulders' above the rest of the purveyors of 'Comedy & Western' entertainment, and on Sunday, February 23 at 3:00pm, the musicians behind beloved Toy Story's 'Woody's Round-Up' will perform at The Granada Theatre.

On Sunday, February 16, Goodspeed Musicals will hold a tag sale featuring costumes, vintage clothing, hats, lots of fabric, Goodspeed Logo merchandise and more in the lobby of The Norma Terris Theatre. Doors open 10:00 am - 3:30 pm. If you're looking for something special to do this weekend be sure to stop by the tag sale and stay for the Chester Winter Carnivale while in town!

A group of avid knitters formed of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory cast members have been knitting hats to support St Mungo's Woolly Hat Day (Friday 31 January) when the charity asks people to put their hats on for homeless people.

Hang on to y our hats and head for the storm cellar as The Peanut Butter and Jelly Players (Columbia Children's Theatre's newest performance company, featuring actors in grades 1-6) present L. Frank Baum's classic American fairy tale The Wizard of Oz January 31 - February 2 with shows Friday at 7:00 pm, Saturday at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm, and Sunday at 3:00 pm. General admission tickets are $10 regular admission and $8 for active military and seniors with proper ID. Advance ticket purchases are strongly recommended and may be purchased securely on-line at www.columbiachildrenstheatre.com. All shows take place at Columbia Children's Theatre on the second floor of Richland Mall, 3400 Forest Drive in beautiful Forest Acres.

Scott Siegel's Broadway Ballyhoo, which features an entirely different show with different stars every week, starts the new year with a particularly noteworthy Broadway cast. The long-running musical revue series, which will return to the Laurie Beechman Theatre to begin its second year this Wednesday night, is delighted to present Broadway star JANA ROBBINS who appeared on Broadway in Gypsy and a slew of other shows. She now wears two hats; Broadway producer and musical theater star. She will be joined by another Broadway star who made her debut on the great white way as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. Also in the cast, the highly regarded, award-winning jazz singer, Laurie Krauz, plus Broadway Rising Star, Justin Talkington who made such a strong impression the last time he performed at the Ballyhoo!

Tony Award winning composer/performer Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County, Parade), MacArthur Genius Bill Irwin (Old Hats, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), and Recording and Concert Star Nellie McKay (Old Hats, The 3 Penny Opera) have been announced as the first wave of guest stars scheduled to perform at the 2014 Nightlife Awards at The Town Hall on Monday, January 27th at 7 PM. Almost every week hereafter, more guest stars will be announced, and soon after the holidays the winners, who will perform to show why they were chosen -- will finally be announced to the public. The winners will not make acceptance speeches because the Nightlife Awards is the only All-Performance Award Show.