Time 1986 - Articles Page 34

Nicolas Kent, the award-winning artistic director of London's acclaimed Tricycle Theatre, directs a new version of A Walk in the Woods, Lee Blessing's Pulitzer-nominated play about nuclear negotiations, at Northern Stage in White River Junction, VT. For the first time, with the playwright's input, the play will feature a woman portraying the American negotiator.

The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) has selected six finalists for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, recognizing the best scripts which premiered professionally outside New York City during 2009.

Two-time Tony Award-winner Brian Dennehy has thrilled Chicago audiences in unforgettable productions over the past two decades—Desire Under the Elms, Long Day's Journey into Night, The Iceman Cometh and Death of a Salesman; now, his portrayal of contrasting roles in the double-bill of Hughie by Eugene O'Neill and Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett is 'sheer theatrical dynamite' (Toronto Star).

Two-time Tony Award-winner Brian Dennehy has thrilled Chicago audiences in unforgettable productions over the past two decades—Desire Under the Elms, Long Day's Journey into Night, The Iceman Cometh and Death of a Salesman; now, his portrayal of contrasting roles in the double-bill of Hughie by Eugene O'Neill and Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett is 'sheer theatrical dynamite' (Toronto Star).

MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA ROBIN WILLIAMS Robin Williams, one of the most gifted actors and comedians of our time, returns to the MGM Grand Garden Arena Saturday, Dec. 5.

La Jolla Playhouse announced today the addition of the world-premiere musical Bonnie & Clyde, to its 2009-10 season, replacing The Big Time. This production features music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance), book by Ivan Menchell (The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and direction by Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!). Bonnie & Clyde will run November 10 - December 20, 2009 in the Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre.

When Tama Janowitz coined the phrase 'Slaves of New York' with the title of her 1986 collection of short stories, she was referring to how the lack of affordable apartments in the city flings people into quick romantic commitments or has them cling onto unhealthy ones for the sake of having a place to stay. In Brooke Berman's cleverly titled Hunters and Gatherers, a reference to societies that seek out food rather than farming, the real estate market hasn't grown less competitive but the computer age (especially Craig's List) has made it easier for people to hop around various short-term situations when the opportunities to plant roots are bleak and to escape the bad ones with a few mouse clicks and a successful interview.

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) have announced that acclaimed actor and playwright Eric Bogosian (Talk Radio, 'Law & Order: CI') has joined the cast of Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming Broadway production of Donald Margulies' TIME STANDS STILL directed by Daniel Sullivan.

Balagan Theatre opens it's new 10 show season with Jane Wagner's brilliant one woman show, 'The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life In The Universe'. In the hands of a lesser actress, the production could be simply an imitation of the superb performance of the original star Lily Tomlin, who won a Tony award in 1986 for the show. But Balagan's Terri Weagant shows she is more than up to the task.

Since bursting onto the national scene on Saturday Night Live in 1986, Dana Carvey has entertained millions with his uncanny impersonations of political leaders, entertainers and celebrities. From July 24-26, Carvey will be bringing his incomparable act to the Orleans Showroom for a three-evening engagement. All shows will begin at 8 p.m.

La Jolla Playhouse announced today the addition of the world-premiere musical Bonnie & Clyde, to its 2009-10 season, replacing The Big Time. This production features music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance), book by Ivan Menchell (The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and direction by Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!). Bonnie & Clyde will run November 10 - December 20, 2009 in the Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre.

Since bursting onto the national scene on Saturday Night Live in 1986, Dana Carvey has entertained millions with his uncanny impersonations of political leaders, entertainers and celebrities. From July 24-26, Carvey will be bringing his incomparable act to the Orleans Showroom for a three-evening engagement. All shows will begin at 8 p.m.

PBS's Great Performances will air the spectacular London concert revival of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus' 1986 cult musical Chess, featuring Reprise Records' Josh Groban and Idina Menzel as Chess in Concert on Wednesday, June 17th at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings).

Tony®-winning Broadway hits and blockbuster musical productions pack the Orange County Performing Arts Center?s 2009-2010 Broadway and Curtain Call Series, which are complimented by a line-up of bonus events. Audiences will enjoy Tony Award-winning shows and six Center premieres in a season that holds something for everyone. The Broadway Series includes Monty Python?s Spamalot starring John O?Hurley (October 6 ? 18, 2009); eight-time Tony Award-winning Spring Awakening (November 17 ? 29, 2009); ?80s flashback Xanadu (December 15 ? 27, 2009); a reenvisioned mounting of the Academy® Award-winning Dreamgirls (April 20 ? May 2, 2010); the 2008 Tony Award-winning Best Musical In the Heights (August 3 ? 15, 2010); and Mel Brooks? stage incarnation of his classic film, Young Frankenstein (September 7 ? 19, 2010). The companion Curtain Call Series offers The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (February 16 ? 21, 2010); the smash-hit Hairspray (April 6 ? 11, 2010); and the runaway-sensation Disney?s The Lion King (May 26 ? June 13, 2010). Three bonus events have also been added to the season ? the return engagement of two Center favorites: Rent (October 20 ? 25, 2009) with original stars Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp; the 30th anniversary tour of Annie (January 29 ? 31, 2010); and Rain ? A Tribute to the Beatles (March 22 ? 29, 2010), which showcases the music of England?s legendary Fab Four.

An all new cast of celebrities hits the dance floor on ABC's Dancing with the Stars with the highly anticipated two-hour season premiere MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2009 (8:00-10:02 p.m., ET) on ABC. Season Eight introduces viewers to 13 new stars including the youngest competitor to date, an NFL legend, a computer icon, a female rapper, three music artists, and a Wildboy. Additionally press notes state, love is a battlefield, when for the first time three real life couples take the ballroom floor. Husband and wife, Ty Murray and Jewel, compete for bragging rights while newly engaged professional dancers, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, go head-to-head. To top it off, country crooner, Chuck Wicks teams with girlfriend and two-time Dancing with the Stars champ, Julianne Hough.

An all new cast of celebrities hits the dance floor on ABC's Dancing with the Stars with the highly anticipated two-hour season premiere MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2009 (8:00-10:02 p.m., ET) on ABC. Season Eight introduces viewers to 13 new stars including the youngest competitor to date, an NFL legend, a computer icon, a female rapper, three music artists, and a Wildboy. Additionally press notes state, love is a battlefield, when for the first time three real life couples take the ballroom floor. Husband and wife, Ty Murray and Jewel, compete for bragging rights while newly engaged professional dancers, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, go head-to-head. To top it off, country crooner, Chuck Wicks teams with girlfriend and two-time Dancing with the Stars champ, Julianne Hough.

GATES OF GOLD, a new comedic drama by Frank McGuinness will hold its American Premiere at 59E59 Theaters. Previews begin Thursday, February 19, 2009. The official opening will be on Sunday, March 1, 2009. Produced by Artists Theatre Group, Inc., Warren Baker and Sally Jacobs, the production is directed by Kent Paul. Written by acclaimed Irish author Frank McGuinness, who earned a Tony Award nomination for Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, and received a Tony Award for best revival in 1997 for A Doll's House, GATES OF GOLD is an acerbic duel between Hilton Edwards and Miche?l MacLiamm?ir, fashionable and eloquent theatrical trailblazers who founded Dublin's Gate Theatre. GATES OF GOLD is funny, witty, deeply moving and a vibrant celebration of art, love, and, finally, life itself. This production marks the American premiere of GATES OF GOLD, which starred Alan Howard in Dublin and William Gaunt in the West End. Frank McGuinness was born in Buncrana, Co. Donegal, lives in Dublin and lectures in English at University College, Dublin. His plays include: The Factory Girls (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 1982 and Arcola Theatre, London, January 2006), Baglady (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 1985), Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 1985; Hampstead Theatre, London, 1986), Innocence (Gate Theatre, Dublin, 1986), Carthaginians (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 1988; Hampstead Theatre, London, 1989), Mary and Lizzie (RSC, 1989), The Bread Man (Gate Theatre, Dublin, 1991), Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (Hampstead, West End and Broadway (Tony nominated Best Play, 1992); The Bird Sanctuary (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 1992), Mutabilitie (RNT, 1997), Dolly West's Kitchen (Abbey, 1999; Old Vic, 2000) and Gates of Gold (The Gate Theatre, Dublin, 2002, Finborough Theatre, London, 2004). His translations include Ibsen's Rosmersholm (RNT, 1987), Lorca's Yerma (Abbey, 1987), Peer Gynt (Gate, 1988; RSC and international tour, 1994; RNT, 2000), Chekhov's Three Sisters (Gate and Royal Court, 1990), Brecht's The Threepenny Opera (Gate, 1991), Hedda Gabler (Roundabout Theatre, Broadway, 1994), Uncle Vanya (Field Day Production, 1995), A Doll's House (Playhouse Theatre, Broadway, 1997, which earned a Tony Award for Best revival), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (RNT, 1997), Sophocles' Electra (Chichester, Donmar Warehouse, Broadway, 1998), Ovstrovsky's The Storm (Almeida Theatre, London, 1998), Miss Julie (West End, 2000), Euripides' Hecuba (Donmar Warehouse, 2004), his adaptation of Du Maurier's Rebecca (David Pugh Productions, national tour, 2005) and his version of Phaedra (Donmar Warehouse, 2006). Frank's latest play There Came a Gypsy Riding was produced by the Almeida Theatre in 2007. His recent adaptation of Oedipus just ended its highly successful run at the National in London.

Air dates have not yet been set, but Wicked's Idina Menzel and Rent's Adam Pascal will join Great Performances favorite Josh Groban in a spectacular London concert revival of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus' 1986 cult musical Chess, this summer on Great Performances (check local listings). Presented by THIRTEEN in 5.1 digital surround sound on PBS HD, and featuring diamond-sharp lyrics by Tim Rice (Evita, The Lion King), the hit-filled production ('One Night in Bangkok,' 'I Know Him So Well,' 'The Anthem') was recorded in performance at Royal Albert Hall. 'A fantastic night' proclaimed musiccomh.com, while thestage.co asked 'Is there an original pop musical stuffed with better melodies?' neatly echoing Time's initial 1988 assessment: 'One of the best rock scores ever produced.' Adding to the excitement is the 50-piece City of London Philharmonic, led by David Firman, and the 100-voice West End Chorus.

Crossroads Theatre Company will open the 2008-2009 celebration season opens with The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe which had its World Premiere at Crossroads Theatre in 1986 under the direction of Crossroads co-founder L. Kenneth Richardson. George C. Wolfe was a resident artist at Crossroads at that time and it is widely recognized that The Colored Museum helped to put Crossroads on the national map as well as launch Wolfe's brilliant career.

Crossroads Theatre Company will open the 2008-2009 celebration season opens with The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe which had its World Premiere at Crossroads Theatre in 1986 under the direction of Crossroads co-founder L. Kenneth Richardson. George C. Wolfe was a resident artist at Crossroads at that time and it is widely recognized that The Colored Museum helped to put Crossroads on the national map as well as launch Wolfe's brilliant career.

No election year would be complete without the irascible, irreplaceable and incomparable Jackie Mason - whose 8th and truly final all-new, one-man comedy tour de force, JACKIE MASON - THE ULTIMATE JEW, opened at New World Stages, March 18th to rave reviews and unprecedented demand. And now, for the absolute last time, the show, originally scheduled for only ten weeks, will extend until August 31st.

Two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters and American Ballet Theatre principal dancers Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes will join the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company as guest artists at 'Prelude to a Dance,' a gala performance on Wednesday, April 23.

Mark Jacoby will join two-time Tony Award winning stars Chita Rivera and George Hearn in the Signature Theatre (Arlington, VA) production of The Visit. Signature's four-month celebration of the works of John Kander and Fred Ebb will also include The Happy Time, to star George Dvorsky, David Margulies and Michael Minarik.

A press rehearsal was recently held for 'The Gypsy Robe - In Our Time,' which was presented by Actors' Equity on Monday, February 12, 2007 at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Bruno Walter Auditorium.

The Mississauga Players have a must-see winner this time out with Jane Anderson's play, DEFYING GRAVITY. * * * * 1/2 (OUT OF 5)