Can-Can 1953 - Articles Page 8

What a trail of stardust the whole musical leaves! There are the sets and lighting which dazzle in their nimble evocation of the wonders of Paris, with a side-step into a fantasy nightclub that seems to be Radio City Music Hall, complete with spangled leggy chorines and dudes in top hats and tails. There is the dancing of the athletic McGee Maddox and the graceful Allison Walsh. (How many performers out there can claim true balletic chops, skill at acting and singing - and the aforementioned hotness?) And the word 'dazzling' seems to have been coined for Gershwin's music, generously ladled over the entire enterprise, and beautifully performed.

In celebration of its 65th anniversary, Disney's beloved flight of fantasy, “Peter Pan,” joins the highly celebrated Walt Disney Signature Collection, landing in homes on Digital and Movies Anywhere on May 29 and on Blu-ray June 5. With a little faith, trust and pixie dust, every member of the family will let their imagination soar on this epic adventure to Never Land, sparkling with legendary animation, extraordinary music and both all-new and classic bonus features.

The Tony Awards has just announced that this year's Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre will go to industry icons Andrew Lloyd Webber and Chita Rivera.

In the annals of jazz history, few events have been more influential than the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series, and the album series of the same name. From 1944 to 1957, pioneering impresario, Verve Records founder, Norman Granz organized a series of prestigious all-star concerts that featured a who's-who of the genre's most popular and influential artists. These shows were instrumental in raising jazz's public profile, and were among the first high-profile performances to feature racially mixed bands performing for integrated audiences.

When you think the classic era of Broadway Musicals, many lean toward Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe but for my money I always go right to Cole Porter. Maybe not as prolific when it comes to hit shows as the others but you can't dismiss the undeniable genius of "Anything Goes" and of course "Kiss Me, Kate" (my personal favorite), currently playing at the 5th Avenue Theatre. And the folks at the 5th have not only done right by this classic tuner by packing it to the brim with the best singers, dancers and comedians they could find but the production is a love letter to the predecessors of the production, most notably the visual style which is so reminiscent of the 1953 film version, making this far more than a killer show, but an homage.

The Crucible (1953) is a partially fictionalized narrative of the Salem witch trials which occurred in Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692 to 1693, written by American playwright Arthur Miller.

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of Maestro Nir Kabaretti, will present Gustav Mahler's monumental Symphony No. 6 for the first time in its 64-year history on Saturday, April 21, at the Granada Theatre. An encore performance will take place on Sunday, April 22. Presented without intermission, the concerts will start at 8 pm on April 21 and at 3 pm on April 22. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at www.granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222.

In a festive 70th birthday celebration honoring one of theatre's most celebrated composers, NBC aired 'Andrew Lloyd Webber Tribute to a Superstar' last night, March 28. You can now watch the full special below!

Rehearsals are in full swing for The 5th Avenue Theatre's production of Kiss Me, Kate, which begins performances next Friday, April 6.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and violinist Lisa Batiasvhili presented a concert of Schubert and Prokofiev riches on March 24,2018.

Particularly in light of the 2016 documentary I Am Not Your Negro, author and civil rights activist James Baldwin is garnering new attention and appreciation for his astute analyses of race, class, and sexuality in U.S. culture. Our reading group will take up his groundbreaking semi-autobiographical first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953). Attendees are invited to read this seminal text that brought mid-20th Century African-American literature out of the shadow of Richard Wright while deftly exploring the post-Civil War Great Migration, its southern roots, its religious inflections, and its generational tensions. The suggested edition is the most recent paperback (ISBN 978-0345806543). Traditional New Orleans fare of coffee and beignets at Muriel's Jackson Square with lively discussion to follow led by Festival favorite and Southern literary scholar Gary Richards. Seating is limited to 50 persons; pre-registration is required.

For the first time in three years "nuevo flamenco" guitar virtuoso Jesse Cook will return to the State Theatre in Easton for a performance on Saturday, April 21st. This is part of his concert tour in conjunction with his tenth album - Beyond Borders - which was released in August.

Musicals Tonight!, the brainchild of founder Mel Miller, will take its final bow with their 100th revival and New York Premiere of Calamity Jane. The musical western plays a limited engagement March 13th through March 25th at the Lion Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42 Street). Tickets are $45 and can be purchased through www.telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200 and at the Lion Theatre Box Office.

San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon (Daren A.C. Carollo and Daniel Thomas, Co-Executive Directors), currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary in continuous operation, has announced the full cast and creative team for the penultimate production of the 2017-2018 season: The Bay Area premiere of Stephen Sondheim's Saturday Night. Based on the play Front Porch in Flatbush by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, Saturday Night features a book by the Epstein brothers with music and lyrics by Sondheim. Saturday Night runs from March 28 - April 15, 2018 and will perform at the Gateway Theatre (formerly the Eureka Theatre). The press opening will take place on Saturday, March 31, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. Tickets range from $25 - $76 and can be purchased through the Box Office at (415) 255-8207 or online at www.42ndstmoon.org.   42nd Street Moon's production of Saturday Night will be directed by Ryan Weible and choreographed by Allison Paraiso-Silicani, with Music Direction by Daniel Thomas.  

Michael Weber, artistic director of Porchlight Music Theatre, is proud to announce Porchlight Music Theatre's 24th season that includes the 2018 - 2019 Mainstage, Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway seasons. Porchlight's Mainstage and Porchlight Revisits return to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street.

Musicals Tonight! Presents it's 100th revival with the New York Premiere of the musical western Calamity Jane, which will play a limited engagement March 13th through March 25th at the Lion Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42 Street).  Tickets are $45 and can be purchased through www.telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200 and at the Lion Theatre Box Office.

Live at Chelsea are pleased to present a musical celebration of Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, as part of the ongoing celebrations for his 70th birthday this year.

Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo is the kind of well-constructed, old-fashion farce that has been a mainstay of community theaters for generations, yet it was written in the early 1990's. Set in 1953, it captures the struggle in desperation of a second-rate repertory company touring mid-range towns with a reliable mix of the classics: Shakespeare and Cyrano de Bergerac, with slightly more modern comedies like Noel Coward.

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of Maestro Nir Kabaretti, will pay tribute to the musical genius of Leonard Bernstein with performances that highlight the breadth of his legacy on Saturday, February 17, and Sunday, February 18. Featuring award-winning soprano Lisa Vroman and singers from the Santa Barbara Choral Society, the concerts will take place at 8 pm on February 17 and at 3 pm on February 18 at the Granada Theatre. The program will include some of Bernstein's best-known works, including melodies from the ballet Fancy Free and his timeless West Side Story, as well as Aaron Copland's Quiet City and the world premiere of a piano concerto by acclaimed Santa Barbara-based composer Robin Frost. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at www.granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222.

Be afraid, be very afraid. In Miller's searing masterpiece, an invisible enemy unleashes a dangerous hysteria. As Artistic Director Mark Booher observed, From time to time, we human beings have periods of moral panic that overtakes us. The Crucible is one such timeless telling. While focused on literal witch hunts, it is also an allegory for any number of misguided crusades through the ages, including ominous opinions against select groups of people in our current state of the world.

London-based and British/Icelandic born punk rock trio Dream Wife will release their long-awaited self-titled debut album next week, but starting today you can stream the record early courtesy of NPR First Listen.

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of guest conductor Carolyn Kuan, will perform John Corigliano's Academy Award-winning score for The Red Violin, accompanied by Fran ois Girard's engrossing film in its entirety, at the Granada Theatre on Saturday, January 20, and Sunday, January 21. Featuring Canadian violinist Lara St. John as soloist, the concerts will take place at 8 pm on January 20 and at 3 pm on January 21. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at www.granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222.

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of guest conductor Bob Bernhardt, will usher in the year 2018 with a rousing New Year's Eve pops concert at the Granada Theatre. Featuring a program of movie soundtrack classics and an appearance by the spellbinding theatrical circus company Troupe Vertigo, the performance will begin at 8:30 pm. Tickets start at $39 and can be purchased at www.granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222.

Jerome Robbins, world renowned for his work as a choreographer and director of ballet and theater, film and television, would have been 100 years old on October 11, 2018. In honor of his life and legacy, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, partnering with other institutions across the country and around the world, will celebrate his centennial year through Spring 2019.

Tennessee Shakespeare Company, now celebrating its Tenth Anniversary Season as the Mid-South's professional, classical theatre and education organization, will stage Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy, Waiting for Godot, at Dixon Gallery & Gardens from December 7-17.