J.B. 1958 - Articles Page 11

Today we lost one of the greats: the gentle giant of directors, Sidney Lumet. What a resume! Just to pick seven of perhaps the best known of the bunch, the bunch in question being over 100 titles strong: 12 ANGRY MEN, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, SERPICO, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK and BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD - the films spanning fifty years from MEN in 1957 and DEVIL in 2007 - it is clear to see why Lumet was one of the most cherished and celebrated directors in Hollywood, especially known for his tough, gritty New York stories and his pristine stage-to-screen transfers. For an excellent example of the latter (in addition to LONG DAY'S JOURNEY and the others) check out DEATHTRAP - based on Ira Levin's play, the longest-running thriller in Broadway history - featuring Michael Caine in one of his best roles and Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon in their finest performances on film. For an example of the former genre, look no further than NETWORK, containing one of the strongest screenplays ever penned, from the fiery and ferocious pen of Paddy Cheyefsky, and Faye Dunaway in her Oscar-winning performance for all the ages. As far as theatrical screenplays on screen, Lumet would be hard-pressed to even come close to the power, prescience and transformative brilliance at the core of the conceit of that film - yet he did just that; with his final, 2007 film no less. I am speaking, of course, of the underrated and riveting BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, with Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris. Taking an original screenplay that could just as well have been written for the stage - shades of 12 ANGRY MEN, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK and SERPICO, certainly - Lumet made a bristling, biting brilliant work of staggering craft and ingenuity - all with verve, energy and drive of a man a quarter of his age at the time (80). His films were classics in his own time and, now, in his passing, they are just as timeless - if not more so. With each passing year, new layers of truth, beauty, sadness and soulfulness can be found in the countless frames in the innumerable unforgettable scenes in his many masterpieces.

The Yale Glee Club celebrates its 150th anniversary with a gala Carnegie Hall concert on Friday, April 8 under the direction of Jeffrey Douma and joined by the Yale Symphony Orchestra.

Rubicon Theatre Company continues its 2010-2011 Season with the World Premiere of Lonesome Traveler, a musical event that takes audiences on a journey down the rivers and streams of American Folk Music -- from the hills of Appalachia to the nightclubs of San Francisco and New York; from the 1920s to the 1960s.

Rubicon Theatre Company continues its 2010-2011 Season with the World Premiere of Lonesome Traveler, a musical event that takes audiences on a journey down the rivers and streams of American Folk Music -- from the hills of Appalachia to the nightclubs of San Francisco and New York; from the 1920s to the 1960s.

The Homecoming closes March 27, 2011, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco).

Subscriptions go on sale today for the Columbus Symphony's 2011-12 Masterworks and Pops Seasons, the first full schedule under the leadership of recently installed Music Director Jean-Marie Zeitouni.

Alain Resnais (b. 1922), the French New Wave director whose distinctive films explore themes of time, memory, history, and desire, will be the subject of a major retrospective at Museum of the Moving Image, closing March 20, 2011.

The Paper Bag Players will present two shows of Whoop-Dee-Doo!, a new theater production for families, at The Jewish Museum on Sunday, April 17 at 11:30 am and 2 pm.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2010-11 season with a revival of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's most provocative play, The Homecoming, directed by A.C.T. Artistic Director and longtime Pinter collaborator Carey Perloff.

The Yale Glee Club celebrates its 150th anniversary with a gala Carnegie Hall concert on Friday, April 8 under the direction of Jeffrey Douma and joined by the Yale Symphony Orchestra.

Alain Resnais (b. 1922), the French New Wave director whose distinctive films explore themes of time, memory, history, and desire, will be the subject of a major retrospective at Museum of the Moving Image from February 25 through March 20, 2011.

Alain Resnais (b. 1922), the French New Wave director whose distinctive films explore themes of time, memory, history, and desire, will be the subject of a major retrospective at Museum of the Moving Image from February 25 through March 20, 2011.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater continues its inaugural season this spring with an unparalleled tribute to one of the nation's greatest living playwrights, Edward Albee. The company has mounted a two-month festival featuring 30 events, making nearly every one of his plays available in performance spaces throughout the Mead Center.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater continues its inaugural season this spring with an unparalleled tribute to one of the nation's greatest living playwrights, Edward Albee.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2010-11 season with a revival of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's most provocative play, The Homecoming, directed by A.C.T. Artistic Director and longtime Pinter collaborator Carey Perloff.

The Theatre School at DePaul University is delighted to announce that this coming December 31, 2010, will mark the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Merle Reskin Theatre (formerly The Blackstone Theatre). The Beaux-Arts style Blackstone Theatre, which was designed by Chicago architects Marshall and Fox, opened its doors just off of Michigan Avenue in the South Loop on New Years' Eve of 1910. In the course of the past century it has changed owners, names, addresses, audiences, and has stayed a hub of theatrical arts in a changing neighborhood and city. It faced many noteworthy changes in entertainment, including the introduction of the radio, television and film industries.

Though times certainly have changed from when the Greatest Generation showed true heroism in the battlefields of European and Tropical soil, it's staggering to realize that in 2010, racial issues still feel like a haphazardly patched wound reopened. Prejudice, no matter what the decade, still stings. These themes were boldly explored back in 1949, the year the original production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC first wowed audiences. In this new, exquisite, magnificent revival, director Bartlett Sher lets loose an oustanding, revitalized production that is now playing for a two-week engagement at the Orange County Performing Arts Center through October 24. It's a classic beautifully reborn.

Lincoln Center Festival began with the idea of expanding the possibilities presented at Lincoln Center and bringing to audiences something that they could not see elsewhere. This is a challenging goal in a city as culturally rich as New York, and the result has been an eclectic mix of artists and productions representing over 50 countries as of Festival 2009.

Lincoln Center Festival began with the idea of expanding the possibilities presented at Lincoln Center and bringing to audiences something that they could not see elsewhere. This is a challenging goal in a city as culturally rich as New York, and the result has been an eclectic mix of artists and productions representing over 50 countries as of Festival 2009.

The National Jazz Museum's June line-up includes discussions with musical artists Paquito D'Rivera and Craig Harris for Harlem Speaks; a talk with a living literary legend, Peter Straub, at Jazz for Curious Readers; and our adult education series, Jazz for Curious Listeners, features instrumentalists Jeremy Pelt, Nicholas Payton and Orrin Evans taking the reins of discourse on jazz in the 21st century. For more information visit http://jazzmuseuminharlem.org/

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater announces programming for an encore New York season at BAM's Howard Gilman Opera House from June 10th - 20th, the culmination of a 20-city U.S. Tour celebrating Judith Jamison's 20th year as artistic director.

Lincoln Center Festival began with the idea of expanding the possibilities presented at Lincoln Center and bringing to audiences something that they could not see elsewhere. This is a challenging goal in a city as culturally rich as New York, and the result has been an eclectic mix of artists and productions representing over 50 countries as of Festival 2009.

Casting for the 60th Music Circus season is nearing completion. After auditioning performers in New York, Los Angeles and Sacramento, California Musical Theatre Artistic Director Glenn Casale is finalizing the acting company for the seven-show season at the Wells Fargo Pavilion. The company is expected to include Broadway veterans, including Tony Award nominees, television comedians, up-and-coming young actors and plenty of returning Music Circus favorites. Complete cast lists are available online at www.SacramentoMusicCircus.com and are subject to change.

The National Jazz Museum's June line-up includes discussions with musical artists Paquito D'Rivera and Craig Harris for Harlem Speaks; a talk with a living literary legend, Peter Straub, at Jazz for Curious Readers; and our adult education series, Jazz for Curious Listeners, features instrumentalists Jeremy Pelt, Nicholas Payton and Orrin Evans taking the reins of discourse on jazz in the 21st century. For more information visit http://jazzmuseuminharlem.org/

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, recognized by U.S. Congress as a vital American 'Cultural Ambassador to the World,' will inspire, enlighten and entertain from May 20-23 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in the finale of a 20-city U.S. Tour honoring 2009 TIME 100 Honoree Judith Jamison on her 20th year as artistic director.