A Class Act 2000 - Articles Page 6

Mary Donnarumma Sharnick, currently an associate faculty English professor for Post University,  has been a highly accomplished and beloved educator her whole career. But inside was always the writer yearning to tell stories and bring the written word to life in a different way.

BAM has announced A New York Season, a celebratory homecoming that brings together a league of artists who have made, and continue to make, New York City the culture capital of the world.

To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of  9/11 the Palace Theater is unveiling a new initiative, Table Readings at the Palace Theater, presented by Gracewell Productions, with the reading of Five Bells for 9/11, a moving one-man play written and performed by New York actor Rich Swingle.

Real Time remix is a new selection of short works in which four storytellers crisscross paths across dimensions as they seek to survive the weight of white words and thrive. Learn more about the performances and how to view them here!

What Comes Next, or Meet the Dunnes, a new comedy by award-winning playwright Drama Desk nominee and Edgar Award recipient Laurence Klavan, is now available online from the 21st Century Players with free access to all. What Comes Next asks the question to which just about everyone who has ever lived has sought an answer: where do we go after we die, and can a person get a decent meal there?

Life sometimes gives you lemons could have been the subtitle for Rich Cyr's 2ND ACT presentation on June 23 at 7:00PM, Don't Just Dream It, Live It!

San Francisco Ballet brings its extremely successful 2021 Digital Season to a close by revisiting that all-time classic, Swan Lake, in a production choreographed by Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson back in 2009, and captured on video in 2016. Swan Lake is a particular favorite of mine, so I was sincerely looking forward to seeing it again and would love to be able to report that SFB was ending their season on a high note. Alas, that isn’t quite the case here. Instead, it was a little like re-encountering a long-lost friend who is going through a bit of a rough patch. It’s still lovely to see them, but they do seem to be missing some of the spring in their step.

Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre will launch a three-week festival in Ancoats this summer, HOPE FEST, with a programme of arts and cultural events from 16th July – 8th August.

San Francisco Ballet's revisiting of Helgi Tomasson's 'Romeo & Juliet' is, in a word, gorgeous. The dancing, the design and especially the music – all gorgeous. The penultimate program of its 2021 Digital Season is available for streaming through May 26th in a top-notch 2015 video capture featuring a nigh on perfect cast. Not all narrative ballets transfer effectively to a video format, but happily this one does, due to its focus on interactions between pairs and small groups, and its relative lack of the kind of mathy, geometric corps de ballet set pieces that can look somewhat diminished and underwhelming on a TV or computer screen.

On May 18 at 7pm at the Palace Theater in Waterbury,  as part of the theater's 2ND ACT series, Palomba will share her personal insights into what allowed her to make the choices she did, and how she sought guidance along the way after being sexually assaulted in 1993.

San Francisco’s revered 42nd Street Moon kicks off its 2021 “Moonbeams” season with Jason Graae in Perfect Hermany, a tribute to the late, great Jerry Herman, writer of such classic musicals as Hello, Dolly!, Mame and La Cage Aux Folles. The title Perfect Hermany is an unusually apt one as Graae is the perfect interpreter of Herman’s work, having starred in a much-lauded production Herman’s The Grand Tour in LA and toured for years with Herman in Hello, Jerry!, a revue of Herman’s work. Perfect Hermany is available for streaming on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through May 2, 2021. For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit 42ndStreetMoon.org. Among his many credits, Graae has appeared on Broadway numerous times, toured extensively as The Wizard in Wicked, performed with major symphonies across the country, recorded dozens of musical theater albums and has enjoyed a long association with 42nd Street Moon. He is known for the improbable combination of his antic, go-for-broke comedic style and the impeccable musicianship of his soaring tenor. He is the type of performer who can make you bust a gut one moment, and then melt your heart the next.   BroadwayWorld caught up with Graae last week from his home base in LA soon after he had completed filming Perfect Hermany. We talked about his long association with both Herman and 42nd Street Moon, his favorite Herman songs, a couple of key roles that somehow got away from him and a few he still hopes to have a go at. Graae is always a blast to talk to. It seems the guy just is incapable of not being funny, but he is also thoughtful and kind, and sort of a walking treasure trove of theatrical lore. The following conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

The criteria are that these shows have been nominated for Best Musical from the 3rd Tony Awards (the ceremony that started the Best Musical category) in 1949 to the nominations of what will now be the 74th Tony Awards in 2021. I will be determining their signs based upon their Broadway premiere date. With those rules in mind, here we go!

The Jazz Ensembles of Mount Holyoke College present the 16th edition of The Big Broadcast! on Saturday, March 6 at 2PM & 7:30PM, in a free streaming version of what would have appeared on the stage of Chapin Auditorium on the Mount Holyoke College campus in South Hadley, MA.

We may be in the doldrums of winter right now – with nippy temperatures, dark skies and some much-needed rain – but January also means that San Francisco Ballet (SFB) is back in season for the next several months and, to me, that signifies all’s right with the world. SFB is kicking off its 2021 digital season exactly where it left off last March, when the remainder of its 2020 season was abruptly cancelled for obvious reasons. The company presented an enchanting new production of George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream only to have the curtain come down on opening night to the news that the just-ended performance would be its last for the season.

The Traverse Theatre are delivering a Festive Feast of shows, films and events to round off 2020 in their all year-round digital festival venue, Traverse 3, throughout December.

Sydney Theatre Company Artistic Director Kip Williams today unveiled Act 1, the first five plays of the 2021 season with the remaining two thirds of the season to be announced in March. To celebrate the company's return to its newly renovated home at The Wharf, Williams will direct a new adaptation by Kate Mulvany of Ruth Park's classic Sydney story, Playing Beatie Bow. The 2021 season will also feature the Australian premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' dark comedy, Appropriate directed by Wesley Enoch at Roslyn Packer Theatre and three plays rescheduled from the 2020 season: Home, I'm Darling, Fun Home and The Wharf Revue: Goodnight and Good Luck. 

​​​​​​​Leaders in entertainment, business, philanthropy, politics, and the arts will gather virtually for a livestream of the 5th Annual Big Sunday Gala, celebrating more than two decades of the organization's work and three distinguished honorees – Michael Skloff, Tiffany Smith-Anoa'i and Hulu on Wednesday evening, August 12th beginning at 7:00 PM PT. 

The performing arts are one of the hardest hit segments of society since Covid19 ravaged the country. Although indoor performances are still prohibited, some summer arts programs and camps have created virtual versions of their offerings. This is a unique opportunity to study with some of the greatest arts educators in the nation, regardless of where you reside.

Nothing can stop BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge from bringing you interviews with your favorite Broadway stars! Tune in right here today, May 15 (12pm), as he chats with Julia Murney and Andrew Lippa!

Visit our list of the best musicals & shows you can watch from home! We've got you covered with all the must-sees on streaming sites including Tony-award winners, favorite stars and top performances.

Opening night of San Francisco Ballet's triumphant production of George Balanchine's a?oeA Midsummer Night's Dreama?? was both a thrilling and heartbreaking occasion. Thrilling because SFB gave a masterful performance of this Balanchine classic that has gone missing from its repertoire for far too long. Heartbreaking because mere moments after the final curtain came down, a notice was issued that all subsequent performances of a?oeMidsummer'sa?? scheduled run had been cancelled due the Mayor's efforts to prevent the spread of the corona virus. Of course, health concerns must take precedence, but it was still incredibly sad to think that others would not be able to experience this glorious production, at least for the time being. I also couldn't help feeling for the dancers and artistic staff who had clearly poured their hearts and souls into this huge endeavor. In the meantime, though, let's not let current events dim the glowing memories of opening night.

Back by popular demand, Blues Hall of Fame Guitarist and Singer/Songwriter Tom 'The Suit' Forst, will return for a second, 2ND ACT on April 21, 6:00pm, as part of the Palace Theater's 2ND ACT series.

THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS, a family-friendly, fun world premiere musical, comes to First Stage this March. Based on the bestselling book by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Adam Rex, First Stage Playwright in Residence John Maclay wrote the book and lyrics with Eric Nordin, also doing music and lyrics. First Stage favorite Kelly Doherty, (outstanding as Miss Trunchbull in last season's hit MATILDA The Musical), will be making her First Stage directing debut with this production.

The Philippine Theater Educational Association's (PETA) 52nd season-ender is unlike the more popular stage plays (e.g., The Normal Heart or Angels in America), which also talk about HIV and AIDS. Categorized by its creators as a a?oedrama anthology,a?? Under My Skin is a one-act play that weaves through several stories based on the experiences of real-life Filipino individuals living with HIV. At the onset, the main agenda of the play is to educate its audience with correct and updated information about HIV and AIDS in the Philippines.

Jack Levine of Beacon Falls is the next featured  presenter for the 2ND ACT series at the Palace Theater's Poli Club on March 3 at  6:00 pm. Tickets may be purchased at the Palace Theater's Box Office, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury, on line at palacetheaterct.org or by calling 203.346.2000.