The Guthrie Theater today announced the full cast and creative team for the Theater's 2012 production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, presented by U.S. Bank. The perennial holiday favorite, now in its 38th year at the Guthrie, will feature a script by British playwright Crispin Whittell and be directed by Joe Chvala. Chvala is the founder and artistic director of the Flying Foot Forum and has previously served as movement director for the production. Longtime Guthrie actor J.C. Cutler will take on the role of grubby miser Ebenezer Scrooge. Cutler has been involved in 30 productions at the Guthrie since 1993, including five productions of A Christmas Carol - appearing as Ebenezer Scrooge (2011), Bob Cratchit (1995, 1997), Banker (1996) and Young Scrooge (1993, 1994) - and was last seen on a Guthrie stage in this past spring's American premiere of Conor McPherson's The Birds.
The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation today announced that after an international search to identify a new Executive Director, the Board of Trustees has chosen to continue the Ailey tradition of passing on leadership from one generation of the organization to the next by naming Bennett Rink to the post. Mr. Rink, Ailey's current Senior Director of Development and External Affairs, will succeed Sharon Gersten Luckman, who hired him in 1994, and who announced at the beginning of 2012 that she would step aside as Executive Director at the beginning of 2013.
Manhood takes on a very different meaning for baby boomers who waited until middle age to marry. Having committed late in life, they got newborn babies and dying parents at the same time. Such is the situation of the protagonist in 'RIPE,' a new solo show by playwright/actor/journalist John Jiler, which begins with him on the phone to a pharmacist, ordering three boxes of diapers at the same time: two for his aging parents, and one for his new-born son. The play's about being caught in the middle. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., will present the piece tonight, October 11 to 28, directed by Sturgis Warner, who staged 'Palestine,' the widely acclaimed solo show by Najla Saïd (daughter of Edward W. Said) at the Fourth Street Theatre of NY Theatre Workshop in 2010.
Shopko announced that legendary Green Bay Packers player Willie Davis will make a rare public appearance at the Shopko store located at Bay Park Square Mall in Ashwaubenon from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. today, September 29, 2012. Fans will have the opportunity to meet Davis and have him sign his new autobiography 'Closing the Gap.' Although it won't be on sale elsewhere until October 1, customers will be able to purchase the book at Shopko during this special event.
BBC AMERICA to premiere its new original series from Executive Producer Jamie Oliver, CHEF RACE: U.K. vs. U.S., with two back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, October 2. Ahead of the premiere, BBC AMERICA will present a special preview of the first episode on Saturday September 29, 10:00pm ET, following the mid-season finale of Doctor Who.
This November, be thankful for your family, even if they're not perfect - not everyone is so lucky. On Wednesday, November 21 at 9 PM E/P, Investigation Discovery premieres MY BROTHER THE SERIAL KILLER, a feature-length ID Films documentary that interviews the family of serial killer Glen Rogers, who claims to have murdered more than 70 people and chronicles what happened when those closest to him discovered how evil he was. Among his many victims, the film also explores the family's claims that Glen was linked to the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
On November 21 at 9 PM E/P, Investigation Discovery Films premieres MY BROTHER THE SERIAL KILLER, a feature-length documentary that interviews the family of serial killer Glen Rogers, who claims to have murdered more than 70 people and chronicles what happened when those closest to him discovered how evil he was.
Shopko announced that legendary Green Bay Packers player Willie Davis will make a rare public appearance at the Shopko store located at Bay Park Square Mall in Ashwaubenon from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 29, 2012. Fans will have the opportunity to meet Davis and have him sign his new autobiography 'Closing the Gap.' Although it won't be on sale elsewhere until October 1, customers will be able to purchase the book at Shopko during this special event.
Washington National Opera (WNO) presents American baritone Nathan Gunn in concert as part of its Celebrity Series today, September 23 at 4 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Accompanied by the WNO Orchestra under the baton of Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, Gunn will perform selections from operas by Mozart, Rossini, and Bizet, plus songs by Sondheim and other Broadway composers. American tenor William Burden will join him for a few duets. All three artists will make their WNO debuts with this performance.
A Grammy Award-winning bassist and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, Edgar Meyer's unparalleled technique and musicianship in combination with his gift for composition have established him as one of the finest artists of his generation. After a stunning 2009 performance with Bela Fleck and Zakir Hussain, Meyer returns to Texas Performing Arts in an intimate solo performance featuring classical music, jazz, bluegrass, and some of his own compositions tonight September 22, 2012.
Manhood takes on a very different meaning for baby boomers who waited until middle age to marry. Having committed late in life, they got newborn babies and dying parents at the same time. Such is the situation of the protagonist in 'RIPE,' a new solo show by playwright/actor/journalist John Jiler, which begins with him on the phone to a pharmacist, ordering three boxes of diapers at the same time: two for his aging parents, and one for his new-born son. The play's about being caught in the middle. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., will present the piece October 11 to 28, directed by Sturgis Warner, who staged 'Palestine,' the widely acclaimed solo show by Najla Saïd (daughter of Edward W. Said) at the Fourth Street Theatre of NY Theatre Workshop in 2010.
BBC AMERICA to premiere its new original series from Executive Producer Jamie Oliver, CHEF RACE: U.K. vs. U.S., with two back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, October 2. Ahead of the premiere, BBC AMERICA will present a special preview of the first episode on Saturday September 29, 10:00pm ET, following the mid-season finale of Doctor Who.
The 60th edition of the San Sebastian Festival will this year bestow its Donostia Awards on actors John Travolta, Ewan McGregor and Tommy Lee Jones and the Special 60th Anniversary Donostia Award going to director Oliver Stone. In 1969, Jones made his Broadway debut in John Osborne's A Patriot for Me. His other Broadway appearances include Four on a Garden and Ulysses in Nighttown.
A Grammy Award-winning bassist and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, Edgar Meyer's unparalleled technique and musicianship in combination with his gift for composition have established him as one of the finest artists of his generation. After a stunning 2009 performance with Bela Fleck and Zakir Hussain, Meyer returns to Texas Performing Arts in an intimate solo performance featuring classical music, jazz, bluegrass, and some of his own compositions on September 22, 2012.
Washington National Opera (WNO) presents American baritone Nathan Gunn in concert as part of its Celebrity Series on Sunday, September 23 at 4 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Accompanied by the WNO Orchestra under the baton of Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, Gunn will perform selections from operas by Mozart, Rossini, and Bizet, plus songs by Sondheim and other Broadway composers. American tenor William Burden will join him for a few duets. All three artists will make their WNO debuts with this performance.
Hudson Village Theatre ends their summer season with the crowd-pleaser Ned Durango Comes to Big Oak, by Canadian playwright and summer stock fave, Norm Foster. The play, first performed in 1994, is a Montreal premiere opening tonight, August 8th and running until September 2nd with several matinée performances during the week as well as on the weekends.
According to a family spokesperson, composer Marvin Hamlisch passed away Monday evening at 68 years old following a brief illness. Here's an interview with the legendary man from 2010.
Hudson Village Theatre ends their summer season with the crowd-pleaser Ned Durango Comes to Big Oak, by Canadian playwright and summer stock fave, Norm Foster. The play, first performed in 1994, is a Montreal premiere opening August 8th and running until September 2nd with several matinée performances during the week as well as on the weekends.
Alighiero Boetti: Game Plan marks the largest presentation of works by Alighiero Boetti (Italian, 1940-1994) in the United States to date. A full retrospective spanning the artist's entire career, the exhibition will be on view in two locations in the Museum from July 1 to October 1, 2012.
On Thursday, three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway composer Richard Adler passed away at the ripe old age of 90. Responsible for two of the biggest Broadway smash hits of the 1950s, THE PAJAMA GAME and GAMN YANKEES, Adler never quite managed to equal his career-high double-hitter of that era, yet his earlier work with Tony Bennett ('Rags To Riches'), Doris Day ('Everybody Loves A Lover') and Marilyn Monroe (the iconic 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President') surely shall solidify his place in the firmament of entertainment history along with his two classic musicals from the Golden Age. Winning both Best Score and Best Musical for both THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES, Adler's partnership with lyricist Jerry Ross - which began on Broadway in 1953 with JOHN MURRAY ANDERSON'S ALMANAC - was tragically cut short just months after the DAMN YANKEES premiere when Ross was diagnosed with lung disease and passed away soon thereafter. Yet, thanks to the beloved film versions of THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES and continued interest in the entities as expressed in the revivals and reappraisals of both onstage from Broadway to Biloxi to Bombay year after year, the snappy, snazzy tunes of Adler and Ross live on eight times a week all around the world - even now, more than fifty years after they premiered. Unfortunately, Adler's subsequent shows with other collaborators post-1955 failed to capture the early magic of his previous projects with Ross and his earlier musical and theatrical endeavors in the pop arena, with the racially charged KWAMINA flopping on Broadway in 1961 (though he took home a Best Composer Tony Award for his efforts anyway) and the awkwardly titled MUSIC IS failing to recreate the magic of its source material, Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, in 1976. A MOTER'S KISSES, starring Bea Arthur and a young Bernadette Peters, died on the road, as well. In the intervening years, Adler attempted musical adaptations taken from a number of intriguing sources - OF HUMAN BONDAGE and others among them - though only his ballet scores seemed to reach an audience; particularly his last, commissioned for a new production of Lorca's THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA in 1998. Of course, THE PAJAMA GAME has had two Broadway revivals - most recently the rapturously received Kathleen Marshall-directed production starring Harry Connick, Jr. and Kelli O'Hara; and DAMN YANKEES famously returned to the Great White Way with much ado in 1994 starring Victor Garber. Now seems particularly ripe for remounting YANKEES, as we approach twenty years in its absence - especially given the musical's seriously smashing showing at Encores! in 2007. Who knows, perhaps some risky producer will even take a chance on a new production of KWAMINA, MUSIC IS, A MOTHER'S KISSES or one of the bottom drawer shows someday soon to see if they possess any of the limitless potential shown by Adler's earlier work. Or maybe a stage treatment of his TV musical GIFT OF THE MAGI (originally composed for then-wife Sally Ann Howes)? Or, better yet, how about a revue? What a stupendous songstack Adler created over the course of his career - 'Whatever Lola Wants' to 'Hey There' to 'Hernando's Hideaway' to 'You Gotta Have Heart' to 'Steam Heat' to the aforementioned Bennett, Day and Monroe standards and so many more chestnuts.
ETOnline reports that Jim Carrey has dropped out of the planned sequel to the 1994 hit comedy DUMB AND DUMBER. The move comes just three months after director Peter Farrelly announced that both stars from the original film would return to reprise their roles.
Today in 1994, Passion opened at the Longacre Theatre, where it ran for 97 performances. Passion is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine. The story was adapted from Ettore Scola's film Passione d'Amore. Passion is notable for being one of the few projects that Stephen Sondheim himself conceived, along with Sweeney Todd and Road Show. Set in 19th century Italy, the plot concerns a young soldier and the changes in him brought about by the obsessive love of Fosca, his Colonel's homely, ailing cousin.
On the day of the State Memorial Service in his honour, NSW Premier, The Hon. Barry O'Farrell and Live Performance Australia (LPA) today announced that Jimmy Little AO will be one of the recipients of the prestigious JC Williamson AwardTM, to be presented at the 2012 Helpmann Awards®.
We'll be talking to nominees all day for their reactions! Click here for the complete list!
Audra McDonald for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for THE GERSHWINS' PORGY AND BESS
'I am honored and grateful and I'm super thrilled for the production as a whole to get so many nominations. I am so proud of this production and thankful to the Tony nominating committee for recognizing all aspects of the show. I got the news via text message. As usual, it was up at 6:15 for me to get the kids to school and I was back in bed by 8! Will was here though so it was nice to roll over when I got the news and say 'Hey I got a nomination!' Then we both conked out again. When we finally got up I asked him to be my date for the Tonys - he said yes! - so I guess that was our little celebration. Now it's back to being a mom for the day and get ready for the show tonight. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone at the theater tonight to congratulate them.'
Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner announced today that acclaimed/awarding winning actresses Judy Kuhn and Melissa Errico will star as Fosca and Clara in the company's new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Tony Award-winning musical PASSION, to be directed by John Doyle (the Tony Award-winning revivals of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and Company). PASSION is slated to begin performances in February, 2013. Additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks and months, as well as full creative team. PASSION opened on Broadway in May of 1994 and received the Tony Award that year for Best Musical.
| 1994 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
| 2012 | Off-Broadway |
Soho Playhouse Production Off-Broadway |
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