Lovers of musical theatre should get in quickly as new seats go on sale for the Brisbane season of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Broadway musical The King and I from Monday 10 February at 9.00am.
After NBC's foray into musical theatre with last week's live broadcast of The Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood, and with Laura Osnes' Cinderella sashaying on the Great White Way, the continued sway of Broadway composer-lyricist duo Rodgers & Hammerstein is unmistakable. In honor of their legacy, BroadwayWorld has rounded up some of the highlights of the Rodgers & Hammerstein cannon.
Robert Crais and Carolyn Hart have been chosen as the 2014 Grand Masters by Mystery Writers of America (MWA). MWA's Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. Mr. Crais and Ms. Hart will be presented with their awards at the Edgar Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, May 1, 2014.
Orange County, Calif.—Dec. 3, 2013—One of Russia's most fascinating and complex composers—Dmitri Shostakovich—goes under the magnifying glass when Pacific Symphony partners with Chapman University's Global Arts Program to present “Decoding Shostakovich,” a festival dedicated to the iconic composer, whose life unfolded under the Soviet system. There are myriad reasons for a festival devoted to this fascinating man, beginning with the tremendous impact he had on classical music in Russia and beyond. Through classical concerts and a wide array of presentations (discussions, film, dance, lecture, piano recital, theater, symposium, book club and master classes), “Decoding Shostakovich” probes deeply into the man to reveal the composer's relationship to his home country, its culture and politics and the effects these had on his music. The festival, which began in November, continues into February 2014. For more information about “Decoding Shostakovich,” visit: http://www.pacificsymphony.org/shostakovich_festival. (See the complete festival schedule below.)
In Richie's Fantastic Five: Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Yanagimachi & Kore-eda, Japan Society's Film Program honors Richie's legacy, presenting five timeless classics and hard-to-see gems over five months in glorious 35mm presentations. Curated by Hirano, a former Japan Society Film Program Director, the series highlights five seminal Japanese directors, who first became known throughout the world through Richie's work. Co-presented with The Japan Foundation, the series launches with Akira Kurosawa's High and Low (October 18); continuing with Kenji Mizoguchi's The Life of Oharu(November 16); Yasujiro Ozu's Equinox Flower (December 12), screening on Ozu's birthday and the 50th anniversary of his death; Mitsuo Yanagimachi's Himatsuri (January 24), unavailable on DVD; and Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life (February 19), marking the one-year anniversary of Richie's death.
Just last week, Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group announced the casting and initial tour schedule for their spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera launching a major North American Tour in Providence, R.I. at the Providence Performing Arts Center. With newly reinvented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM, the most successful musical of all-time, will be performed by a cast and orchestra of 52, making this one of the largest productions on tour in North America. Meet the cast below!
Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini and leading Australian theatre producer John Frost today announced the principal cast for Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic Broadway musicalThe King and I.
Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini and leading Australian theatre producer John Frost today announced the principal cast for Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic Broadway musical The King and I. Lisa McCune and Teddy Tahu Rhodes will co-star in the Tony Award-winning Australian production, which is being revived next year by the Gordon Frost Organisation and Opera Australia.
In Richie's Fantastic Five: Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Yanagimachi & Kore-eda, Japan Society's Film Program honors Richie's legacy, presenting five timeless classics and hard-to-see gems over five months in glorious 35mm presentations. Curated by Hirano, a former Japan Society Film Program Director, the series highlights five seminal Japanese directors, who first became known throughout the world through Richie's work. Co-presented with The Japan Foundation, the series launches with Akira Kurosawa's High and Low (October 18); continuing with Kenji Mizoguchi's The Life of Oharu(November 16); Yasujiro Ozu's Equinox Flower (December 12), screening on Ozu's birthday and the 50th anniversary of his death; Mitsuo Yanagimachi's Himatsuri (January 24), unavailable on DVD; and Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life (February 19), marking the one-year anniversary of Richie's death.
Cutting Ball Theater continues its 14th season with Eugene Ionesco's THE CHAIRS, in a new translation by Rob Melrose. This tragic farce, in the tradition of Cutting Ball's hit productions of Ionesco's The Bald Soprano (2010) and Victims of Duty (2008), is as comedic as it is heartbreaking. Annie Elias (Tenderloin) directs THE CHAIRS, featuring David Sinaiko, Tamar Cohn, and Derek Fischer, March 1 through 31 (Press opening: March 7) at the Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor (277 Taylor Street) in San Francisco. For tickets ($10-50) and more information, the public may visit cuttingball.com or call 415-525-1205.
With The Suit, theater director Peter Brook-whose 1987 production of The Mahabharata inaugurated the BAM Majestic Theater (now the BAM Harvey Theater)-returns to BAM with Theatre des Bouffes du Nord to showcase his signature approach of innovative stage design and the integration of live music. Written by Can Themba, The Suit was adapted for the stage by Mothobi Mutloatse, and Barney Simon.
INSPIRATION INFORMATION/ WINGS OF LOVE, a brilliant restoration personally supervised by Shuggie, arrives as a double-CD set on April 16, 2013, through Epic/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.
With The Suit, theater director Peter Brook-whose 1987 production of The Mahabharata inaugurated the BAM Majestic Theater (now the BAM Harvey Theater)-returns to BAM with Theatre des Bouffes du Nord to showcase his signature approach of innovative stage design and the integration of live music. Written by Can Themba, The Suit was adapted for the stage by Mothobi Mutloatse, and Barney Simon.
The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, presents the return of Grammy Award-winning jazz legend, Diane Schuur, nicknamed "Deedles," to celebrate the release of her recent album, THE GATHERING. The CD features special guests Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Mark Knopfler, Larry Carlton and Kirk Whalum.
The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, presents the return of Grammy Award-winning jazz legend, Diane Schuur, nicknamed "Deedles," to celebrate the release of her recent album, THE GATHERING. The CD features special guests Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Mark Knopfler, Larry Carlton and Kirk Whalum.
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.
Megan Hilty and Rachel York star in the Encores! production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, whick openedon May 9 at New York City Center. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is directed by John Rando with music direction by Rob Berman and choreography by Randy Skinner and will play for seven performances, May 9 - 13, at New York City Center, 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.
The 5th Avenue Theatre brings the wide open plains to Seattle with a reimagining of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
The 5th Avenue Theatre is bringing the wide open plains to Seattle this February with a reimagining of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
The 5th Avenue Theatre is bringing the wide open plains to Seattle this February with a reimagining of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
Single tickets to all of Manatee Players 65th Anniversary Season of musicals are now on sale.
Executive Producer Lou Spisto today announced that The Old Globe will produce the World Premieres of four new plays and musicals in its 2011-12 Winter Season. The season will feature the World Premiere musicals Some Lovers by music legend Burt Bacharach and Tony Award winner Steven Sater and Nobody Loves You by Gaby Alter and Itamar Moses, as well as the West Coast Premiere of John Kander and Fred Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys, recently nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical, directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. The two plays receiving World Premiere productions are Somewhere by Globe Playwright-in-Residence Matthew Lopez and The Recommendation by Jonathan Caren. The new season also includes revivals of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show and the Eugene O'Neill classic Anna Christie directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner David Auburn. Special events include the World Premiere of Odyssey by Todd Almond, a music theater event conceived and directed by Lear deBessonet celebrating the Globe's 75th Anniversary, The Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program production of Twelfth Night and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, which returns for its 14th consecutive year.
Roundabout's Education Dramaturg, Ted Sod, sits down with The Importance of Being Earnest actors, David Furr and Sara Topham, to discuss the show, working with Brian Bedford and take questions from the audience as part of our Lecture Series.
The Farmington Players are holding auditions for "The Producers," the blockbuster Mel Brooks' musical that blew away audiences on Broadway.
The Farmington Players are holding auditions for "The Producers," the blockbuster Mel Brooks' musical that blew away audiences on Broadway.
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