Only Kidding! 1989 - Articles Page 7

Sive Gubangxa, is a South African actor on the way up. Currently performing in THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, which is finishing up its Johannesburg season before a Cape Town transfer, she found time to answer some questions about the production, its director, Alan Committie, and theatre in South Africa.

I am incredibly proud of all my kids and Ryan is pursuing his dream as a performer. He has been performing for quite awhile now as a professional and I have had the idea that this would be so since about his Junior year in High School. I have always taken the time to include my kids (when they have shown an interest) into the shows I was doing. Ryan and his older sister, Kaitlynn, were able to be more inundated with it at a young age as I was more active as a professional performer and they got to be backstage and at rehearsal, and often in shows with me. Whenever I was in a show that needed kids, I got them an audition and, since they were talented, often got cast, so we were able to share the stage. Sound of Music, South Pacific, Music Man, Secret Garden, A Christmas Carol, all shows that my kids been able to share with me.

YOU can't shake the devil's hand and say you're kidding - so say Gap II students from The Actors' Hub in their latest self-devised production at the Casey Drama Centre.

???????Newly-appointed Theatre Three Artistic Director Jeffrey Schmidt has announced the 2017-18 season for productions on the Norma Young Arena Stage. Theatre Three, Dallas's fifty-six year-old theatre-in-the-round, is located in the Quadrangle in the heart of uptown at 2800 Routh Street, Ste #168, Dallas, TX 75201.

Though all of Harvey Granat's midday events are illuminating and entertaining, his most recent SONGS AND STORIES on March 16 at 92Y could've easily continued at least another half hour buoyed by audience enthusiasm. The event's special guests, author/producer/journalist Will Friedwald (who has his own 92Y series), and President of Jimmy Van Heusen's catalog, his great nephew, Brook Babcock, were both knowledgeable, engaging raconteurs. It was also a great pleasure to watch the two men join infectiously enjoying the afternoon.

Symphony Space's Just Kidding Series will welcome GRAMMY Award winner (and TMBG bassist) Danny Weinkauf and His Red Pants Band on Today, March 11 at 11 am.

Following a full-house event in January, Just Kidding at Symphony Space is proud to present once again The Big Family Quiz Thing, a fast-moving, interactive live quiz game for adults and their children (ages 7 and up).

Symphony Space's Just Kidding Series will welcome GRAMMY Award winner (and TMBG bassist) Danny Weinkauf and His Red Pants Band on Saturday, March 11 at 11 am.

The 2017 season continues at Nashville's historic and iconic Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre with Ron Osborne's Seeing Stars in Dixie, an affectionate comedy set in a small Southern town in 1956, where the film Raintree County - starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, no less - is being shot!

The McCallum Theatre presents 'Lorna Luft Sings the Judy Garland Songbook' on Tuesday, February 14, at 8:00pm. Lorna Luft's career has encompassed virtually every area of entertainment. A celebrated live performer; stage, film and television actress; best-selling author; recording artist and Emmy-nominated producer, she triumphs in every medium.Born to Judy Garland and producer Sid Luft, music and entertainment were part of her childhood. At age 11, she made her television debut singing on her mother's series, 'The Judy Garland Show.' At 16, already a seasoned performer, she shared the bill with her mother on Broadway in a month long concert engagement at New York's Palace Theater. I had the chance to chat with Ms. Luft as she was preparing for her upcoming engagement in the desert. Her are some excerpts from the conversation:

Windy City Playhouse (3014 W. Irving Park Road) announces the complete casting for Fernanda Coppel's "King Liz," a production that "keeps you gasping with excitement" (Observer) over one woman's journey to take on the male-dominated world of sports agents.

I was attracted to Peter and the Starcatcher because of the script. It is an extremely well-crafted and an exceptionally inventive grown-up's prequel to Peter Pan where twelve actors play over 100 assorted characters, through the use animated characterization and the boundless limits of imagination. The actors enter a sparse stage and create a world for us where we face high adventure, big dreams, tough choices and flying; and the audience is asked to employ their imaginations immediately. The script is smart, tight, heartwarming and hilarious.

Mx Justin Vivian Bond is a force of nature with more than a quarter century onstage under v's (Bond's preferred pronoun) belt. A singular performer with an endless supply of bon mots, Bond has been celebrated with an Obie Award, a Bessie, a Tony nod, and the Ethyl Eichelberger Award, among other accolades. Fresh off a year-long career retrospective culminating in September's THE GOLDEN AGE OF JUSTIN VIVIAN BOND, v returns to Joe's Pub on December 12 at 9:30pm with a new holiday show, THE BIPOLAR EXPRESS. Ahead of the first show, we spoke over the phone about the show, v's enduring career, and the holidays themselves.

So, remember last week when I teased an explosive season finale? I wasn't kidding… and the cast is certainly all in agreement as well… these two episode change everything. Liza encounters trouble with all three men in her life (Charles, David and Josh), but it's not as fun and freewheeling as it was in the hospital. Plus, she gets into a kerfuffle with Kelsey, while Diana makes some new developments in her relationship with Richard, and things with Kels and Colin start to get a little rocky, no thanks to devious little editor Pippa. It's a hell of a ride - to the Hamptons and back again - so grab your tissues and keep your emotions in check… 'cause it's all ahead on this week's final Season 3 recap. This one is definitely a SPOILER ALERT no matter which way you slice it (I tried my best, you guys!!), so don't read if you truly want to be surprised by the episode. If you have seen it, read on (thanks for the support!) But again, know going in, that these. Two. Episodes. Change. Everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. NOTHING will ever be the same. Got it? GOT IT?! Good. Phew! Now…. read on: 

So, apparently… while we're finishing up our turkey leftovers, prepping for a visit from the big man with the bag, and above all, bracing for snow… it's bright and shiny summer in the YOUNGER-verse. But while the weather outside may not be frightful… it's not quite all fun in the sun for Liza and Kelsey, who find themselves in hot water after a deal to secure Colin's manuscript goes rather awry. Ruh roh. 

Coming to the Garner Performing Arts Center on November 12th as part of their Broadway Voices series is Three-Time Tony Nominee Rebecca Luker. I was recently able to get in touch with Luker via email, so today, you shall be reading our conversation.

The Thrushes are the Blacklisters tonight: THE MAN FROM UNCLE is invoked by villain reference as computer systems fall, relationships prove to be honeytraps, and the search for Agnes closes. Will Mr. Kaplan live? Will Alexander Kirk die? And just which team is Liz Keen playing for?

Ask Celia Berk what she loves about New York and she'll give you a list. Or, better yet, an album. Corporate executive by day, cabaret chanteuse by night (and a damn good one), Berk has won a MAC Award (New York Debut – Female), a Bistro Award (Vocalist), a BWW Award (NY Cabaret Debut), and The Margaret Whiting Award from The Mabel Mercer Foundation since her 2014 debut album You Can't Rush Spring. Her latest, Manhattan Serenade, is an eclectic collection of New York and New York-esque songs steeped in nostalgia and romance, complete with arrangements by Alex Rybeck and a stunning orchestra. Extended by popular demand, Berk will celebrate its release once more at the Metropolitan Room this Friday, October 14 at 7:00 pm. Before the show, we sat down for a discussion on her love note to New York, carving out a space for yourself in the city, and typical New York resilience.

Throughout the week, we've been highlighting some of our favorite nominees with theatre backgrounds, and on Sunday, we will have all of the biggest Emmys news and looks back at the ceremony's best moments. Today, we are releasing our official BroadwayWorld predictions.

Occasionally in cabaret, one encounters a performer with 'star power.' Other times, one sees a legitimate star in a cabaret setting---say, Patti LuPone or Ben Vereen---and knows instantly why the person is a star. But in his Feinstein's/54 Below solo debut show, Tony Danza: Standards & Stories, Tony Danza reminds audiences what it means to be a star, onstage as well as off.

Have you ever seen a production where you thought that the actors where too good for the show? That's how it felt watching Studio 18 Production's inaugural show 'Bonnie & Clyde' at 12th Avenue Arts. I am very impressed that this brand new company threw together such a talented cast for this musical, and at such an esteemed venue. Unfortunately, with its pandering plot line and repetitive score, this musical felt beneath the caliber of those involved.

Full disclosure, cast members were possibly reviewing choreography from our dance call before walking into our very first Footloose rehearsal. Our fabulous co-choreographer, Jeff Dimitriou, set the bar high prior to day one and we wanted to be ready. More importantly, there was so much recall from that audition day because it was an exuberant experience! And, the moves were accessible because they were married to impulse. The choreography Jeff gifts to us is full, extended and comes from the heart. Dancing it out on stage is totally visceral, but only when we honour the steps as intended. It is so interesting how the energy of a scene shifts drastically by simply 'being bigger'. There is no grand explanation, but the energy percolates when we give in to the story told through movement. Over lunch, Jeff and I took a corner of our rehearsal space and talked life, art and Footloose. If you did not know before, Jeff's artistry stems far beyond choreography - he is a painter as well. We began by talking about this side of his work. 

'Broad: A term originated in the 1930s meaning woman. Less respectable than 'lady,' but much more respectable than 'bitch.' Broad: An independent, aggressive, assertive woman, usually in show business. Broads sing loud, are sarcastic, and are in your face. Broads are generally moderately attractive or better, never seen without their best dresses and perfect makeup, and they know how to compete and win in a man's world.' This is how Lesli Margherita began her one-woman show at Birdland Jazz on July 25, the second of a two-performance return engagement at the club. Reading from a music stand so as not to mince words, Margherita recited the dictionary definition of her show's eponymous moniker, because if nothing else, through Broad, Margherita wanted to make sure her audience understood one thing: Broads like her will never be deterred.

Cheeseburger Deluxe, a new musical play featuring book, music, and lyrics by J. William Bruce, will receive its world premiere production at The 4th Street Theater in New York City.

CPT heralds the arrival of a new season with a jam-packed line up designed to satiate all your innovative theatrical desires. With theatre/gig mash ups, MP rap battles, valiant attempts to smash the patriarchy, solve the housing crisis & sort out Europe, plus kids taking over the stage to lay down how it really is, this Autumn you won't want to be anywhere else.