These Days 1928 - Articles Page 2

With the topic of illegal immigration so prevalent in today's news, now is the perfect time to take a very personal look at the trials and tribulations of those who immigrated, both legally and illegally, to our country in THE NEW COLOSSUS, a new play co-written by The Actors' Gang ensemble and its Artistic Director Tim Robbins, who also directs the production. In it, twelve of the acting troupe's members tell their ancestors' stories, reflecting their great diversity, struggles and journeys from oppression to freedom, a real personal testament celebrating the courage and great character of the refugees who came to this country throughout the last 200 years.

2020 is upon us, we're back in the twenties! The cousins that get them shows buzzin', Brock Harris and Johnson Brock, bring you The Secret, Not-So-Secret Show. Mums the word but if you happen upon this ad please join us for a rousing night of jazz and drinks a?"speakeasy style. Rumor has it Courtney Reed (Aladdin, In the Heights) will be headlining with Telly Leung (Aladdin, a?oeGleea??) and there are whispers of other Broadway crooners and flappers attending our hotsy totsy evening. The roaring 20s are upon us, join for a night of crooning, swooning, and vintage costuming.

Veteran producer Effie T. Brown (Dear White People, Project Greenlight, Real Women Have Curves) has been named the new CEO of Gamechanger, which launched in 2013 as the first film financing fund by and for women. Brown is broadening the fund's scope to include projects by and about people of color, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities. Gamechanger is also expanding into television and digital content with a new, fully monetized development fund that will enable it to buy, option and develop IP for television, streaming and digital platforms.

Orlando was a deeply engaging, intriguing and thought-provoking exploration whose pondering, messages, striking soundscapes and visuals reverberated and lingered long after the curtain had closed. It is a highly ambitious undertaking but Neuwirth and her colleagues were up for the challenge. What is most exciting is what has now been established for a venue such as The Wiener Straatsoper as we move into a new decade of uncertain times when it is vital that radical expressions of art and activism combined are given such a grand stage with which to proclaim their truths.

The Merry a?" Go a?" Round Playhouse is now enchanting audiences with a breathtaking production of Grand Hotel the Musical. Director Brett Smock's productions often are memorable and this one is no exception. With the lavish set, spot on casting, and impressive choreography this production is one of the top productions I've seen presented at The Merry - Go a?" Round Playhouse.

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is thrilled to announce its 99th season of shows!  

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

Skidmore Theater is pleased to announce its Spring Main Stage Production, Cabaretby Joe Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff, directed by artist-in-residence John Michael DiResta. This production explores queerness, fascism, and jazz in a highly immersive fashion in which the theater space is reinvented, transforming the JKB into the Kit Kat Club and allowing some audience members to sit on the stage at cafe tables

The University of Washington's Meany Center for the Performing Arts, under the leadership of Executive and Artistic Director Michelle Witt, announces its 2019/20 Season with a lineup of 23 adventurous and visionary artists from around the globe. One of the nation's leading university presenters, Meany Center brings artists of exceptional artistry and diverse perspectives to Seattle, providing extraordinary performances and unique learning experiences to both community and campus. The 2019/20 Season explores the theme of empathy in the arts and celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, an artist whose life and work resonates with the season's theme. The new season will also feature work by two Creative Research Fellows participating in the UW's Creative Fellowships Initiative, choreographer Brian Brooks and performance artist Daniel Alexander Jones.

Skidmore Theater has announced its Spring Main Stage Production, Cabaret by Joe Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff, directed by artist-in-residence John Michael DiResta. This production explores queerness, fascism, and jazz in a highly immersive fashion in which the theater space is reinvented, transforming the JKB into the Kit Kat Club and allowing some audience members to sit on the stage at cafe tables.

Leonard Maltin, curator of the DVD release of the Silly Symphony series, said "Walt Disney was a visionary.  He used his Silly Symphonies to expand the medium of animation to the limits of his imagination.  They are among Walt's greatest achievements and deserve to be seen and enjoyed by a new generation."

The Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program is proud to present Noel Coward's classic comedy Hay Fever. This madcap play about a weekend with the eccentric Bliss family will star the MFA Class of 2020 and a guest performer.  Director Jerrold Scott's production will take the audience back to the 1920's and remind them of the joy of life and fear of boredom. The show will run from February 27th-March 9th in Helen Theatre at Playhouse Square.

A Blank stage is set to adorn a combination of a house on one side and what will soon become the work stations of the women in this production. On the projection behind the set were words written to strike a chord with incoming audience members, "If one woman were to tell the truth about her life, the world would split open." These wise words from Muriel Rukyster were the only thing standing between the audience and the works to be portrayed on the stage this night. In the program, Founder and Director Fran Powers wrote, "Directing These Shining Lives has been a project of the heart. "It is vitally important to keep honoring courageous women who sacrificed so much for others." This is the foundation of the Powerstories Theatre mission."With that the scene is set and a whirlwind 90 minutes set to no intermission was about to unfold in front of us.

The Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA) annual conference came to Prague this year. It has an extensive performance program, crafted by host Guy Roberts and Prague Shakespeare Company, that was open to the public as well as conference attendees. The conference was all about bringing the focus back to the artistic sides of things, as theatre tries to compete in a world filled with on-demand entertainment.

Tony Award nominee Sharon McNight stars as legendary vaudeville entertainer Sophie Tucker, 'the last of the red hot mamas' in 'Red Hot Mama: The Sophie Tucker Songbook,' a bravura performance of one of the great performers of the 20th century.

A longtime advocate for music suppressed by the Nazi regime, Polish-Canadian pianist Daniel Wnukowski (vnoo-koff'-skee) makes his New York debut this February as part of a festival dedicated to the music of Galician-Jewish composer Karol Rathaus (1895-1954). Little-known today, Rathaus was a protege of Franz Schreker and built a successful career in Berlin before fleeing in 1932 due to the deteriorating political situation in Germany. He first migrated to Paris, then to London in 1934. He settled in New York in 1938 and joined the music faculty of Queens College two years later as its first professor of composition.

The Swamp tells the dramatic story of humanity's attempts to conquer the Florida Everglades, one of nature's most mysterious and unique ecosystems. Told through the lives of a handful of colorful and resolute characters, from hucksters to politicians to unlikely activists, The Swamp explores the repeated efforts to transform what was seen as a vast and useless wasteland into an agricultural and urban paradise, ultimately leading to a passionate campaign to preserve America's greatest wetland. As the world copes with increasingly deadly weather events, The Swamp is a timely tale of the perils of mankind's abuse of nature. Based in part on the book The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise by Michael Grunwald, The Swamp is produced and directed by Randall MacLowry and executive produced by Mark Samels. The film premieres on AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Tuesday,  January 15, 2019, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS.

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Michael J. LaChiusa (music, lyrics and book) and George C. Wolfe's (book) musical interpretation of Joseph Moncure March's once scandalous 1928 poem THE WILD PARTY is an escapist night of deliciously dark debauchery.  The latest production from Little Triangle Theatre is a feast for the senses with fabulous music combining with brilliant choreography and creative costuming.

During the 1940s and '50s, composer and jazz pianist Bobby Troup was getting his kicks writing songs like the classic "Route 66." Over that same period, Scotty Bowers was getting his kicks as "Hollywood's Gentleman Hustler" and Los Angeles' legendary "Pimp to the Stars." Now, New York-based cabaret star JEFF MACAULEY, who for three consecutive years (2016-2018) has been nominated for the MAC Award as "Best Male Vocalist," is connecting the stories of these two men and performing the best of the Bobby Troup Songbook in his new show: WHERE DID THE GENTLEMAN GO? THE SONGS OF BOBBY TROUP & THE LIFE OF SCOTTY BOWERS. The four-show run will open at PANGEA, Downtown's Alternative Supper-Club (178 Second Avenue, between 11th & 12th Streets) today, September 14 at 7 pm.

Prepare for an illuminating journey when The Psychedelic Film and Music Festival holds its inaugural event featuring a lineup of science fiction, horror, fantasy, surrealist and virtual reality films, music and stage performances and panel discussions set to explore the altered states of consciousness and truth behind the vibrant and enduring psychedelic culture. The week-long gathering will feature musical performances by Simon Boswell with The AND, Psychic Ills, Heaven, Michael Tapper, Roosevelt Island and Nosh alongside appearances by researchers Dr. Dennis McKenna, Robert Barnhart and other special guests notable for breakthroughs in the psychedelic community. Premiering at venues in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, the festival will run October 1-7, 2018.

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio and Berkshire Theatre Group will host a live debate among the Democratic candidates for Berkshire County District Attorney on August 28th from 1pm to 2pm at the Fitzpatrick Main Stage in Stockbridge, Mass.

During the 1940s and '50s, composer and jazz pianist Bobby Troup was getting his kicks writing songs like the classic "Route 66." Over that same period, Scotty Bowers was getting his kicks as "Hollywood's Gentleman Hustler" and Los Angeles' legendary "Pimp to the Stars." Now, New York-based cabaret star JEFF MACAULEY, who for three consecutive years (2016-2018) has been nominated for the MAC Award as "Best Male Vocalist," is connecting the stories of these two men and performing the best of the Bobby Troup Songbook in his new show: WHERE DID THE GENTLEMAN GO? THE SONGS OF BOBBY TROUP & THE LIFE OF SCOTTY BOWERS. The four-show run will open at PANGEA, Downtown's Alternative Supper-Club (178 Second Avenue, between 11th & 12th Streets) on Friday, September 14 at 7 pm.

Michael Feinstein and the Pasadena POPS close out their popular outdoor summer concert series at the Los Angeles County Arboretum on Saturday, September 8 with Broadway Goes to the Movies. The POPS season finale will provide a quintessential Feinstein experience with some of Broadway's greatest performers recreating songs from hit shows that traveled from 42nd St. to Hollywood. "This program is going to celebrate all the different musical aspects of Broadway and Hollywood," says Feinstein, who has put together a program spanning the Broadway canon from My Fair Lady to The Sound of Music to Jersey Boys. Highlights include "The Impossible Dream," "Can't Take My Eyes off of You," and "There's No Business Like Show Business," among many other beloved showtunes.