Passion 1997 - Articles Page 7

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest Motown songs from 1960-1994. See if your favorite songs or artists made the list!

Colorado Ballet Principal Chandra Kuykendall, who has called Colorado Ballet and Colorado Ballet Academy home for 31 years, will take her final bow at the conclusion of the Company's 2019/2020 season.

The Annenberg Center presents the long-anticipated Philadelphia debut of the Dunedin Consort, Scotland's Gramophone Award-winning baroque ensemble, Wednesday, January 29, at 7:00 PM at St. Mary's Church, Hamilton Village at 3916 Locust Walk on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Visit AnnenbergCenter.org for ticket information.

In what has become an annual ritual, a total of 40 established and emerging composers, lyricists, and librettists will converge on the Goodspeed campus from mid-January through mid-February 2020 to participate in the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing 15 new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration.

Following a sell-out run in 2017, the gripping revival of Karoline Leach's passion-fuelled thriller, Tryst, returns to the reinvented Chiswick Playhouse under the direction of Phoebe Barran (Four Days In Hong Kong, Orange Tree Theatre; award-winning short film Snapshots). Actor Fred Perry (Black Comedy UK Tour; The Honourable Woman, BBC) will reprise his acclaimed role alongside Scarlett Brookes (Blood Wedding, Young Vic; Macbeth, Shakespeare's Globe; The Merchant of Venice, RSC) in this stylish adaptation.

Jason O'Neill was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He became passionate about Irish dancing, Irish culture and music as a young boy and seeing RIVERDANCE changed his life. It became his goal to become a professional Irish dancer and perform in RIVERDANCE, which he has now done for 10 years. I had the chance to speak with O'Neill prior to his arrival in Montreal where the RIVERDANCE 25th ANNIVERSARY tour will play a limited engagement at Salle Wilfred-Pelletier, Place des Arts, January 10-12, 2020.

Soka Performing Arts Center presents internationally-acclaimed pianist Yefim Bronfman in a solo piano recital on Sunday, March 29, 2020 at 3pm. 'Listening to Bronfman play... is like being in a crowded room when suddenly a profound conversationalist begins to speak and everyone just steps back to listen with rapt attention.' (Chicago Sun Times). What more needs to be said about this titan of the piano whose playing exhibits all the elements - humor, playfulness, roguishness, nobility, and passion - of Beethoven's sonatas. The all-Beethoven program includes: Piano Sonata No.5 in C minor, Op. 10, No.1; Piano Sonata No. 6 in F Major, Op. 10, No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3; Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Op.57, Appassionata

Liz Kathman Grubow, president of Cincinnati Opera's board of trustees, today announced that Christopher Milligan has been named the next Harry Fath General Director & CEO of the company. Milligan's tenure begins March 2, 2020. 

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

The following acts are performing at City Winery Chicago (1200 W. Randolph St) throughout the month. All City Winery Chicago events are open to all ages and start at 8:00 p.m., unless noted.  Tickets can be purchased by calling 312-733-WINE (9463) or by visiting www.citywinery.com/chicago.

Birdland's December 2019 schedule will feature The Joe Lovano Nonet, Stacey Kent, Monty Alexander, A Swinging Birdland Christmas, Freddy Cole Quartet, Gunhild Carling, Julius Rodriguez, Veronica Swift Holiday Show, 'Season's Swingin' Greetings!a??, Marta Sanchez Quintet, Darius de Haas, Marilyn Maye New Years Eve Extravaganza, The Lineup with Susie Mosher, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and MORE!

The first clue that ANASTASIA was going to be different than what I expected was a note on the title page reading, “Inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Pictures.” Plural? A savvy journalist, I quickly asked Siri to bring up the imdb page for “Anastasia”. Turns out Fox made ANASTASIA twice, the 1997 animated off-brand Disney princess movie and a 1957 film that scored Ingrid Bergman's second Oscar and marked Helen Hayes' transition to the big screen. And it turns out the musical version has more in common with LES MISERABLES and RAGTIME than BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Gone is the hell-wizard Rasputin, his talking fruit bat sidekick, and the singing demon caterpillars. At intermission, I asked my third grade niece, Adalyn, how she was liking it. “It's awesome…it's real people, like no Beast or anything. No animals.” We decide that Disney staged musicals are great but more it's more impressive when you can achieve the magic without a story that departs from reality. ANASTASIA is historical fiction hypothetical. It poses a “what if…?” that a daughter of the last czar of Russia (The Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna) escaped when the czar's family was executed in 1918. Rumors persisted for decades that Anastasia did, in fact, escape. In 2007, DNA testing confirmed the remains of all four Grand Duchesses were in the Imperial grave. In this version, Terrence McNalley's book follows Anastasia's rediscovery of her identity after surviving the attack on her family and sustaining some plot enabling amnesia. Renamed “Anya” she grows up and makes a life in post-Revolution Russia. Anastasia's grandmother, the Dowager Empress (in a staggeringly moving performance by Joy Franz) has fled to France and offered a cash reward for anyone escorting the rumored alive Anastasia to Paris. The wily duo Vlad (Edward Staudenmayer) and Dmitry (Jake Levy) pull a My Fair Lady style makeover on Anya to collect the Dowager's prize. They are pursued by Gleb (Jason Michael Evans). A Soviet officer drawn to Anya romantically but tasked with finding and eliminating the last Romanov. Anya's memory becomes somewhat coaxed back, but the Dowager has stopped seeing Anastasia claimants after too much heart-break from countless frauds. It sounds dark, but with high-tech digital scenery and inspired performances across the cast it is delightful. Stephen Flaherty (Music) and Lynn Ahrens (Lyrics), responsible for bringing us RAGTIME, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, LUCKY STIFF, as well as the Oscar nominated songs carried over from the animated film. ANASTASIA is a perfect context for this pair. “Stay, I Pray You” (my favorite song of the evening) is evocative of RAGTIME's “New Music”. The two songs literally race my heart in a strangely specific way. My real test of a National Tour at Gammage is how fast I get the music playing in my car on the way home. At ANASTASIA I was already finding, “Stay, I Pray You” walking through the parking lot. The rest of the score is similarly haunting. Lila Coogan, as Anya/Anastasia, powers through the score with nuance, clarity, and passion. Tari Kelly, as Countess Lily, and Stadenmayer (Vlad) were Adalyn's favorite performances and I have to agree. This incredibly gifted pair take the “triple threat” designation (singer, dancer, actor) and go quadruple with the addition of flawless comic timing. The choreography by Peggy Hickey is masterful. It somehow combines inventive and traditional throughout and the ten-minute slice of “Swan Lake” infused into “Quartet at the Ballet” is the highlight of the second act. It's a fun-size version that gets an under-represented art form onto the plate. This kind of trope often means the plot putting the plot on hold. But here, it is the connective tissue between Anya, Dmitry, the Dowager, and Gleb as they each bring us up to speed heading into the show's climax. Ultimately, the show's success comes from applying a higher artistic standard to the “previously-animated-film-now-theatrically-staged” genre. It cashes in on the name draw of the 1997 film then gives the viewer something much more enriched than what they think they are coming to see.

Last week the book 'Me' was released by the legend Elton John and it got me thinking about Elton's contribution to musical theatre. His music and his generous personality have touched millions. His musical fantasy movie Rocketman, that came out earlier this year, based on his life is one of the greatest, in my opinion, films ever made. He has such a passion and love for everything he does and what he has given the magical world of musical theatre is just as extraordinary.

Based on the 1997 animated film 'Anastasia', Anastasia the New Broadway Musical, bowing on broadway in 2017, is an entertaining whirlwind of sight and sound. It will make you laugh and cry. You will undoubtedly leave the theatre with a lasting impression of grande theatricality and how it weaves its magic into our humdrum lives. Plus, it is based on fact. Currently onstage at the Hollywood Pantages until October 27 only, this Anastasia has the makings of a great big hit.

The Namâd Trio brings together three brilliant musicians in the world of Persian music. The internationally-renowned Pejman Hadadi, considered to be one of the most innovative Iranian percussionists today, is known for his work with the Dastan Ensemble and Zarbang, as well as his performances with celebrated artists from Iran and other cultures, including Hossein Alizadeh, Shahram Nazeri, Parissa, Ali Akbar Moradi, and Shujaat Khan. Saeed Kamjoo (kamancheh a?" spike-fiddle) has appeared as a guest artist with the Dastan Ensemble and been noted for his style which combines tradition with innovation. Kourosh Taghavi (setar-lute) studied with masters Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Hossein Alizadeh and has collaborated with many international and local cultural organizations to raise awareness on the importance of music in people's lives. Their critically acclaimed program, a?oeOde to Hope: A Melodic Epiphany,a?? is rooted in diverse world cultures. Featuring both ancient and modern melodies and rhythms, this haunting music provides an inner journey to passion and peace.

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

From Friday, September 13 through Friday, September 20, BAM presents Purpose and Passion: The Cinema of John Singleton, a career retrospective dedicated to the trailblazing late director. 'The sudden, shocking death of John Singleton at the age of just 51 in April 2019 robbed the world of a trailblazing, influential and, arguably, somewhat underrated chronicler of Black life on film,' says series programmer Ashley Clark. 'This is both a full retrospective of the late director's characteristically muscular, thought-provoking cinematic output, and a chance to pay tribute to a singular talent.'   

MTV Studios, a unit of MTV and Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) today announced Peabody(R), Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) winning actress Tracee Ellis Ross will voice and executive produce 'Jodie,' the first in a series of spinoffs based on MTV's iconic 'Daria' franchise. 'Daria,' which ran for five seasons (1997-2002) came out of MTV's 'Beavis and Butthead' based on the widespread appeal of the Daria Morgendorffer character whose wry wisdom was beyond her high school years. Daria was hailed for her feminist take on key issues such as class, race and gender.

Yesterday, The Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation, in partnership with the office of Majority Leader Laurie A. Cumbo, hosted the official event celebrating the street co-naming of Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace Way, located at the intersection of St. James Place and Fulton Street in Brooklyn, where the late rapper was born and raised. The event commemorated the life and legacy of the legendary Notorious B.I.G., and his impact on music as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time. Hundreds of fans showed up to witness this historic moment, joining Biggie's closest family and friends in celebration. 

Encore Radio is announcing that it has chosen Mousetrap Theatre Projects as its charity partner of the year for 2019. Established in 2016, Encore has a passion for all aspects of theatre and this is the first year the musical theatre media company has established a charity partner.

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) presents an exhibition dedicated to the work of American artist Roger Brown (1941-1997), examining the ways in which collecting, arrangement, and the theatrical informed and enriched his artistic practice. Roger Brown: Virtual Still Lifes, on view through September 15, 2019, features works made in the final years of the artist's life that combined his passion for collecting with his groundbreaking approach to painting. Marking the first solo museum show in New York devoted to Brown, the exhibition at MAD offers a rare opportunity to view over forty works that trace the artist's evolution through the lens of collection and display.

What makes a Broadway theatre? Technically any venue with 500 seats or more, located along Broadway in New York City's Theatre District is a Broadway theatre, and the art that is produced in these special places is widely considered the highest form of theatrical entertainment in the world. Today, forty-one theatres are technically Broadway houses, each with their own rich history. Below, we're giving you the scoop on the life of every one of them!

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents Inna Faliks, piano, one of the most "adventurous and passionate" (The New Yorker) artists of her generation, performing a world premiere by Richard Danielpour and works by Rodion Shchedrin, Schumann and Chopin in her Wallis debut on Sunday, May 12, 2019, 7 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The Ukrainian-born American pianist gives the world premiere of Iranian-American composer Danielpour's Eleven Bagatelles for Piano, Shchedrin's Basso Ostinato, Chopin's Polonaise-Fantasie, Op 61, and Schumann's Symphonic Etudes, Op 13, with posthumous variations. Faliks, Head of Piano at UCLA, performs on leading stages around the globe, garnering acclaim for her musical "poetry and panoramic vision" (The Washington Post) and "riveting passion" (The Baltimore Sun). Grammy winner Danielpour is "an outstanding composer" (New York Daily News) and one of the most recorded composers of his generation with a list of commissions from Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Dawn Upshaw, Emanuel Ax, the New York Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Guarneri and Emerson string quartets, among many others. Like Faliks, he also teaches at UCLA, as Co-Area Head, Composition.

In 2017, the Broadway musical version of Anastasia (which opened at Hartford Stage nice months earlier), based on the 1997 film, featuring music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and a book by Terrence McNally debuted to much fanfare, and now Nashville audiences are in the thrall of the cast and crew of the national touring company, onstage at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall through Sunday, March 24.

A powerful and passionate production of Peter Pan dazzled audiences this past weekend at The Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater in Syracuse, New York. The Syracuse City Ballet out did their past productions with this high-flying adventurous ballet. The staging, the flying effects, and of course the dancing were all magnificent under the Syracuse City Ballet's Artistic Director Kathleen Rathbun (direction and choreography).