Back Back Back 2008 - Articles Page 34

Retro Productions concludes their second season in residence at midtown's Spoon Theater with Mark Medoff's Off-Broadway hit When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?. Directed by Ric Sechrest, this Drama Desk, Obie and Outer Critic's Circle award-winning drama returns to New York City for a special limited engagement, May 7-23, 2009.

Playwrights Horizons, under the leadership of Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, is proud to announce four World Premieres for its 2009/2010 Season. Presented at the theater company's home at 416 West 42nd Street.

Theatre World Award-winner Mary Birdsong ('Reno 911!'), 'American Idol' and Broadway star Diana DeGarmo, West End musical actor and 'American idol' contestant Tom Lowe, and musical and film actress Tressa Thomas have been cast in 'Back to Bacharach and David,' the Off-Broadway hit having a 23-performance limited engagement, April 15 to May 17 (press opening April 19) at The Music Box @ Fonda, 6126 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood.

Adventure Stage Chicago (ASC) proudly announces the final production in its 2008-2009 season: the world premiere of Jason Tremblay's award-winning play KATRINA: THE GIRL WHO WANTED HER NAME BACK, directed by Tom Arvetis (ASC Producing Artistic Director).

PlayhouseSquare Partners announce Cleveland's party of the year, the 18th Annual Jump Back Ball (JBB), Rockin' Under the Sea. This unforgettable night on the town will be Saturday, February 28th, 2009 from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m at PlayhouseSquare in the State Theatre on Euclid Avenue. (VIP Party begins one-hour prior to the event at 6:30 p.m.) LEAVE YOUR FLOATATION DEVICES AT HOME... Buy your tickets today to Jump Back Ball, Rockin' Under the Sea - one of the 'hottest' annual events in town. After years of sell-out crowds, PlayhouseSquare Partners continue to strive in creating an atmosphere that takes the idea of a benefit to the next level or this year, below sea level. Among the 400 strong Partners membership roster, you'll find the who's who among Northeast Ohio civic and business leaders. It's a MUST be seen at event; guests come early and leave late - there is no other celebration like it!

The award winning Electric Pear Productions presents the third annual round of SYNESTHESIA, the ambitious performance piece that takes an unforgettable look at how artists influence, inspire and steal from each other. It is a peak inside the dirty work of creation through the schoolyard game of telephone...with art. Synesthesia is the culmination of five months of work by over a dozen breakout artists spanning 11 different genres including film, dance, comedy, photography, music, spoken word, puppetry, and even chocolate making; this year's presentation will be held Febuary 25th - 28th at Electric Pear's new home, The Wild Project (195 East Third Street, between Avenues A & B). Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by phone at 212-352-3101 or online at www.electricpear.org In the fall of 2008 the first artist Aja Money, slam poet and 2008 Hollywood Grand Slam Champion, chose a fortune cookie and used the enclosed fortune to inspire her work. After a few days of furious work, she passed his work off to a painter, and in turn, the painter created a piece of art that was passed on to the next artist - and so on, and so on...

L.A. Theatre Works, America's premier radio theater company, is back on the road, bringing two masterpieces of science fiction and adventure to performing arts centers and theatres across the country. War of the Worlds and The Lost World, which played last fall to great audience and critical acclaim, heads out on a seven-month national tour February 27 ? May 2, with a stop in Omaha, for one performance at the Holland Performing Arts Center?s Kiewit Concert Hall on Friday, March 20, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. John de Lancie ('Q' on Star Trek: The Next Generation) directs the double bill.

PlayhouseSquare Partners announce Cleveland's party of the year, the 18th Annual Jump Back Ball (JBB), Rockin' Under the Sea. This unforgettable night on the town will be Saturday, February 28th, 2009 from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m at PlayhouseSquare in the State Theatre on Euclid Avenue. (VIP Party begins one-hour prior to the event at 6:30 p.m.) LEAVE YOUR FLOATATION DEVICES AT HOME... Buy your tickets today to Jump Back Ball, Rockin' Under the Sea - one of the 'hottest' annual events in town. After years of sell-out crowds, PlayhouseSquare Partners continue to strive in creating an atmosphere that takes the idea of a benefit to the next level or this year, below sea level. Among the 400 strong Partners membership roster, you'll find the who's who among Northeast Ohio civic and business leaders. It's a MUST be seen at event; guests come early and leave late - there is no other celebration like it!

MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, Artistic Directors; William Cantler, Associate Artistic Director; Blake West, Executive Director) today announced that the second offering of their 2008-09 season will be Charles Busch's The Third Story, directed by Carl Andress.

The New York Post's PAGE SIX is revealing that Jennifer Lopez 'insiders' say Lopez is interested in starring in 'In the Heights,' the musical about Washington Heights. She went to the show twice last week and accompanied the producer, Meryl Poster, to dinner Friday evening at Nobu 57, where they discussed roles. Another insider quotes PAGE SIX says Lopez might be more interested in a movie version, as Broadway shows are exhausting and time consuming, and Poster also produced the screen version of 'Chicago.' A rep for Lopez said, 'She loves the play but is not Broadway bound.' There has been other unconfirmed information that she would like to direct the film version. Back in October 2008, at the REVIVAL: Broadway's Next Act panel discussion at Carnegie Hall, Hairspray movie director Adam Shankman revealed that Jennifer Lopez is very interested in guiding In The Heights to the silver screen. The diplomatic answer from 'Heights' star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda was that while he'd be leaving the show in February 2009, he hopes the musical will continue to thrive without him, but did not comment directly on a film version. Lopez spent a very public evening at a performance of In The Heights with her husband, Marc Anthony last year to celebrate her 39th birthday and is a very vocal fan of the show. Universal Pictures announced in November 2008 that it had acquired the rights to produce a feature film based on In The Heights, a multi-generational and multi-ethnic musical by Tony Award winner, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes.

The award winning Electric Pear Productions presents the third annual round of SYNESTHESIA, the ambitious performance piece that takes an unforgettable look at how artists influence, inspire and steal from each other. It is a peak inside the dirty work of creation through the schoolyard game of telephone...with art. Synesthesia is the culmination of five months of work by over a dozen breakout artists spanning 11 different genres including film, dance, comedy, photography, music, spoken word, puppetry, and even chocolate making; this year's presentation will be held Febuary 25th - 28th at Electric Pear's new home, The Wild Project (195 East Third Street, between Avenues A & B). Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by phone at 212-352-3101 or online at www.electricpear.org In the fall of 2008 the first artist Aja Money, slam poet and 2008 Hollywood Grand Slam Champion, chose a fortune cookie and used the enclosed fortune to inspire her work. After a few days of furious work, she passed his work off to a painter, and in turn, the painter created a piece of art that was passed on to the next artist - and so on, and so on...

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-wining Mint Theater Company (Jonathan Bank, Artistic Director) continues the 2008-2009 season with The Widowing Of Mrs. Holroyd by D.H. Lawrence beginning February 4th. In conjunction with that, they will present a series of play readings, speakers and discussions to add to the experience, all under the banner 'EnrichMINT events.' READINGS - $35 each or $95 for all three (save $10) January 19th, 2009 at 7:30 PM The Marrying Of Ann Leete by Harley Granville Barker, directed by Gus Kaikkonen with Mary Bacon, Ross Bickel, Chet Carlin, Paul Coffey, Jack Davidson, Kurt Everhart, Jonathan Hogan, Allison McLemore, Chris Mixon, Thomas M. Hammond, Laurie Kennedy, Lee Moore, Patti Perkins, Saxon Palmer, Sandra Struthers-Clerc, Marc LaVasseur, and Kyle Yackoski Written in 1899 when Granville Barker was 22, Ann Leete was the first play that Barker wrote without a collaborator. The Stage Society presented the play in 1901 but it was not seen again until the Royal Shakespeare Company produced it in 1975 with Mia Farrow in the title role. 'Its absence from the stage for more than two generations was unfortunate for English drama:' writes Dennis Kennedy in Granville Barker and the Dream of Theater, 'It is an extraordinary piece...' The play has never been produced in the U.S.

Florida Studio Theatre is proud to announce the cast for the upcoming Hula Hoop Sha-Boop, by Larry Deckel and John Leicht; Musical arrangements by John Tanner. A delightful stroll back to the fabulous 50s, Hula Hoop Sha-Boop takes us back to the age of innocence. Musical vignettes and comedic stories recount the days of poodle skirts and soda fountains. This sock-hopping tribute, features over a decade of favorites including ?Yakety Yak,' ?Stay,' The Twist,' ?It's My Party,' ?Peggy Sue' and many more!

Tonight, Monday January 5th, 2009, the company of the hit Broadway musical CHICAGO welcomes back Carol Woods in the role of Matron 'Mama' Morton, the reigning cell block diva of the Cook County Jail.

Back in Pictures celebrates the songs that were originally written for the masterpieces of the Golden Age of Hollywood, featuring music from Casablanca, Easter Parade, A Star Is Born, Pennies From Heaven, Disney, Meet Me In St. Louis, Gentlemen Prefer Blonds, The Wizard of Oz and many more. Back in Pictures is showing at the Reprise Room, 245 West 54th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue, New York, from April 7, 2008 through January 5, 2009.

We at BroadwayWorld are proud to bring you this small reminder of all that we gained and lost in 2008, during the video you'll see the expert work of our photographers. Every opening night, every special event and every final performance you'll find them, active and alive with excitement as they capture each and every moment.

In a year when new musical theatre productions in London consisted of juke box transfers, classic revivals, whimsical adventure stories and majestic failures, one might be forgiven for thinking that the age of great new musicals exists merely in days of Auld Lang Syne. So let's pause and think back over the year's musical fayre.

In 2008, the Guthrie was abuzz with new works and classic favorites in a busy 12-month lineup that included 19 productions across three stages. From starry world premieres to intimate studio engagements, we welcomed artists and audiences from around the globe to our world-class facility boldly nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River. In addition to the 13 Guthrie productions in 2008, we're proud to have presented the work of six other local theater companies. As the year comes to a close, we look back on the remarkable accomplishments of our cast, crew, staff and volunteers.

Upright Cabaret transformed into a winter wonderland of song last week as producers/hosts Chris Isaacson and Shane Scheel presented their 4th Annual HOLIDAY BLOWOUT 2008. This highly anticipated yearly event featured over 40 of Los Angeles' most talented performers, three Music Directors including Upright's Chris Bratten and guests Ben Toth and Gerald Sternbach, and welcomed over 700 patrons who came to be entertained on these four incredible evenings of cuisine, style and song.

What a year it has been here at BroadwayWorld, truly an astonishing 12 months of talent and excitement in the world of theatre and beyond! As always we have strived to bring you the very best, but as always you've got the final say and boy did your numbers show it in regards to what you found most exciting story wise. We tallied the numbers, combed the archives and are proud to bring you the top twenty articles of 2008! Relive the memories, revisit the opening nights and remember the magic of 2008, we can't wait to bring you whats ahead in 2009! Happy New Year from the entire BroadwayWorld.com team.

Betsy Morgan, who recently performed the role of Ariel in Broadway's The Little Mermaid, will joins the cast of the Off Broadway revival of The Fantasticks as Luisa tonight Monday, December 22, 2008. She replaces Margaret Anne Florence, who played her final performance on Wednesday, December 17.

Today's Broadway Blogs on BroadwayWorld.com from Friday, December 19, 2008.

JANUARY - APRIL 2009 JANUARY January 4 - 25 ● Julianne Argyros Stage ● World Premiere YOU, NERO By Amy Freed Directed by Sharon Ott The World Premiere of Pulitzer Prize nominee Amy Freed's new comedy about the infamous Roman emperor who decides to commission a play that could be the Colosseum's biggest hit ever - if its hapless author lives to tell the tale. Commissioned by SCR, You, Nero is directed by Sharon Ott who directed the staged reading at the 2008 Pacific Playwrights Festival. Freed's plays include the SCR commissions The Beard of Avon, Safe in Hell and Freedomland. Previews Jan. 4-8, opens Jan. 9, closes Jan. 25. Tickets: $20-$64 (Previews $20-$45, Regular Run $28-$64) See last page for performance schedule.

Betsy Morgan, who recently performed the role of Ariel in Broadway's The Little Mermaid, will join the cast of the Off Broadway revival of The Fantasticks as Luisa on Monday, December 22, 2008. She replaces Margaret Anne Florence, who will play her final performance on Wednesday, December 17.

Today's Broadway Blogs on BroadwayWorld.com from Sunday, December 14, 2008.