If I Were You 1938 - Articles Page 2

For two weeks now Brunswick’s Pickard Theater has been “alive with the sound of music,’ but on June 15 Hanley Smith and Will Ray, the stars of MSMT’s brilliant new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s THE SOUND OF MUSIC, joined MSMT Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark and BWW Maine Regional Editor Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold to celebrate the joy, inspiration, and continued resonance of this timeless musical at the first Peek Behind the Curtain program in three years. The popular panel discussion series held at Curtis Memorial Library returned to an enthusiastic, capacity audience for an hour of conversation about what Clark called “the quintessential American musical and the perfect show to launch post-pandemic MSMT’s Revival Season.”

This week, FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

“Marc Robin ‘s vision for this production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC is that of a joyful, hopeful child,” says Hanley Smith, the actress who makes her debut as Maria von Trapp this week as Maine State Music Theatre kicks off its “Revival Season.” Describing the lens through which director/choreographer Robin views the piece, she continues, “This production comes from a very joyful, youthful place at the same time that there is an awareness of the weight and import of the story. In the face of deep darkness in the world, the light becomes all the brighter. Marc knows how to create both those worlds and the battle between them and make you really want the light to win. And you believe it CAN win. And that is not naïveté; that is an act of courage.”

THE SOUND OF MUSIC's built-in charm and charisma is indeed very much present in McCoy Rigby Entertainment's latest stage iteration of this classic stage production, now playing at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through May 15, 2022. Filled with visually-captivating production values, a gorgeous-sounding orchestral sound, and an overall, infectiously winning spirit, this new production is a fun, pleasantly nostalgic throwback to the old-fashioned Broadway book musical.

Crawford again joins forces with pianist Victor Santiago Asunción, and on three tracks with guitarist JIJI, perform a survey of Latin American music that includes works by Leo Brouwer, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Carlos Guastavino, Manuel Ponce, Egberto Gismonti, and Astor Piazzolla.

This week I saw productions of two decades-old musicals, each written by one of theatre's great composer/lyricists, which, in their original productions, ran a combined total of nine performances on Broadway.

Theater J has announced Theater J’s 32nd season, which includes five plays and a bonus return engagement of a musical masterpiece.

What a conundrum for an artist. Is it more effective to deliver art to an audience by any means necessary or to have the 'vehicle' for displaying it match the work itself? For example, when it comes to the theatre, can a whisper ever truly be a whisper? Such is the dilemma for any theatre since 1938 producing Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN.

The Lantern’s first collaboration with nationally prominent director and playwright Steve H. Broadnax III, this world premiere play with music shows the dramatic confrontation between the great American blues musician Robert Johnson and the Devil from whom, legend has it, Johnson received his extraordinary talent.

Returning to lead the cast are Shereen Ahmed as Eliza Doolittle, Laird Mackintosh as Professor Henry Higgins, Leslie Alexander as Mrs. Higgins, Adam Grupper as Alfred P. Doolittle, Kevin Pariseau as Colonel Pickering, Gayton Scott as Mrs. Pearce, and Sam Simahk as Freddy Eynsford-Hill.

Though there are not may hills in the Argenta District, North Little Rock was definitely filled with the SOUND OF MUSIC this weekend, as the cast brought the Von Trapp family story to life at the Argenta Community Theater, 405 Main St, North Little Rock. This is the first partnership with Wildwood Park for the Arts, and I hope there will be many more, because this show is so good. Seriously, I will try to verbalize how great everyone is, but honestly, you need to go see it for yourself.

Lantern Theater Company announced today that its world premiere digital production of Me and the Devil, the Lantern's first collaboration with nationally prominent director and playwright Steve H. Broadnax III, will extend its streaming run through Sunday, November 21, 2021, to meet audience demand.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts Producing Artistic Director BT McNicholl will welcome you home to a very special return season of truly exhilarating events at the newly renovated theatre! Won’t it be amazing to once again laugh together at the unmistakable comedy of the one-and-only JAY LENO and the always hilarious MARGARET CHO?

With a mix of music old and new and a script written by Linnie Reedman, THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF HERSCHEL GRYNSPAN brings to life a story that has hitherto been confined to the backwaters of history. On the 7th of November 1938 a desperate 17-year-old Jewish refugee walked into the German Embassy in Paris and shot a German diplomat.

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has announced an exciting 2021-22 season of intimate concerts, live and with an in-person audience, in the Rose Studio: New Milestones, Rose Studio Concerts and The Art of the Recital, as well as a new season of its popular lecture series Inside Chamber Music and more.

San Francisco Opera announced today repertory, casting and reopening plans for its 99th season. Commencing with a performance of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca on Saturday, August 21, the 2021–22 Season marks the inauguration of Eun Sun Kim’s tenure as Caroline H. Hume Music Director and a reemergence of opera at the War Memorial Opera House.

How a director envisions a production makes all the difference in its prestation to an audience, starting with casting and continuing through rehearsals and all technical aspects of the show. I spoke with Branda Lock on bringing her vivid imagination and directing skills to George Bernard Show’s PYGMALION, filled with unique Lock-inspired changes to the casting which promise to shed new light on this classic tale of class struggles in Shaw’s time.

Mint Theater Company will kick off its Silver Lining Streaming Series today with the on-demand streaming of the HD recording of Days To Come by Lillian Hellman (The Little Foxes, Watch on the Rhine, Toys in the Attic, The Children's Hour), directed by J.R. Sullivan, beginning January 4th and continuing through February 21st. 

Spread the word, Upper Eastsiders -- all six seasons of “Gossip Girl” are coming to HBO Max on January 1st.

Mint Theater Company Artistic Director Jonathan Bank today announced the line-up for Mint’s popular Streaming Series for 2021, featuring HD recordings of past productions: Days To Come by Lillian Hellman, directed by J.R. Sullivan (will begin airing January 4th and continue through February 21st); plus much more!

The best gift isn’t under the Christmas tree, it’s on HBO Max! Celebrate Christmas Day with Wonder Woman 1984, starring Gal Gadot, when it flies onto the platform the same day it hits theaters around the country.

As those lines were read by the “stranger” during the first Zoom rehearsal for The War of the Worlds, director Matt Ripa, M.F.A. 2008, looked into his computer screen at his student actors. “You could see the hint of familiarity come across their faces,” he recalls. “It hit home.”

If you were planning the first in-person performance in the Kennedy Center in six months, a kind of historic cultural awakening after the darkness of the pandemic lockdown, you couldn't go wrong with a double bill of Renée Fleming and Vanessa Williams.

Pasadena Playhouse announces Fall Programming for PlayhouseLive, a first-of-its-kind nonprofit streaming platform to showcase theatrical productions to a national and international audience, launching online September 30. With the continuation of the Playhouse's efforts as the State Theater of California, PlayhouseLive productions will offer a broad range of voices and perspectives while ensuring that access to the programming will remain accessible to the widest possible audience.

An entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable evening.