A Christmas Memory - 2014 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 6

Today's subject Laura Giannarelli has been living her theatre life for many years now on both sides of the footlights. As a performer she just completed a star turn in Gulf View Drive at Washington Stage Guild (WSG), the company she helped found back in 1986. The company's current show Resolving Hedda runs through April 14th at their home at The Undercroft Theatre at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church.

Oh, those wacky Brits: They love their comedy dry, broad and often rather lowbrow, they adore mistaken identities, hijinks in the bedchamber and a bit with a dog. And that, gentle readers, is exactly what is delivered in the deliciously irreverent, surprisingly heartfelt Shakespeare in Love - Lee Hall's stage adaptation of the 1999 Oscar-winning best film of the same name - now onstage at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Johnson Theatre in a sparkling new production from Nashville Repertory Theatre.

Mary Kathryn Nagle's world premiere play Crossing Mnisose weaves together Sacajawea's story with that of the contemporary fight to protect the Mnisose (what Europeans named the Missouri River) from the Dakota Access Pipeline. As in her celebrated playsManahatta and Sovereignty, Nagle draws a clear, urgent line between the past and the present. Nagle's frequent collaborator Molly Smith (Sovereignty at Arena Stage) will direct.

The Playthings Theatre, an LGBTQ+ Company in New York City, will be performing its gala concert PlayFresh on Monday, March 11th at 7:00pm. PlayFresh is an evening of new LGBTQ+ music performed by Broadway's finest. Playthings will be honoring Ricky Ian Gordon with The P.R.I.D.E. Performing Arts Award for his contribution to theatre and the LGBTQ+ community.

Kieran Brown, in association with Chris Matanle and Union Theatre today announce a new season of monthly concerts - Sunday Night Socials.

Raven Theatre continues its 2018-19 season with Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle. This artful, surprising and often-funny memory play that explores how we are shaped by the people who hurt us will play February 7 - March 24, 2019 on Raven's 99-seat East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago.

Raven Theatre is pleased to announce casting for Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle. 

Raven Theatre is pleased to continue its 2018-19 season with Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle. This artful, surprising and often-funny memory play that explores how we are shaped by the people who hurt us will play February 7 - March 24, 2019 on Raven's 99-seat East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago

The Growing Stage, The Children's Theatre of New Jersey kicks off the holiday season with its original musical production of 'Babes in Toyland' from November 23 to December 16.The show was conceived by the company's Founder and Executive Director, Stephen L. Fredericks. TGS Artist-in-Residence, Perry Arthur Kroeger wrote the adaptation and song lyrics that are set to Victor Hugo's music. It is directed by Lori B. Lawrence, with musical direction by Stephen Fox, and choreography by Jillian Petrie.

The Philly POPS will present its fifth annual Christmas concert tradition: Comcast NBCUniversal I'll Be Home for Christmas: A Salute to the Military and First Responders December 7, 2018 at 8 p.m. at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. At this annual benefit concert, the POPS hosts 2,000 members of the military, veterans, police and fire departments, and their families. The concert is presented in partnership with the USO, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Police and Fire Departments.

San Francisco Playhouse celebrates the magic of the holiday season with the hit Broadway musical Mary Poppins. Susi Damilano will direct the Playhouse production, with music direction by Katie Coleman and choreography by Kimberly Richards.

Moonlight Presents offers two holiday events in December at the Moonlight Amphitheatre. Sponsored by Dr. Bronner's, the shows include the Doo Wop Project Christmas, featuring stars of Broadway's "Jersey Boys" and "Motown: the Musical," on Sat., Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. Amongst the singers is San Diego native Charl Brown who began his musical theatre journey as a student at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. He would go on to appearing in a number of shows locally, including The Moonlight's "Ragtime" in 2002, before going on to Broadway. Tickets are priced $15 - $40. On Sat., Dec. 8, experience the holiday favorite "Home Alone" on a big screen with pre-movie activities including a snow play area for the kids. Tickets are $5 or $10. Both shows are on sale now through VisTix at moonlightstage.com and by phone at (760) 724-2110.

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University (A.R.T.) announces November and December 2018 programming at OBERON, its club-style theater space for cutting-edge performance and a thriving incubator for local and emerging artists. Upcoming events include A.R.T.'s Live @ OBERON and Afterglow @ OBERON series, A.R.T. presentations, and independently produced events.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Tony Clements, Creative Director for Harmony Japan, New York. A native of Waterford, Wisconsin, Tony spent much of his early theater years in Milwaukee. He has been with Disney on Classic since 2007 and brings a very special perspective to navigating a career as multi-hyphenate artist.

Looking into the future, you'll find a number of new productions on tap for your entertainment pleasure, thanks to the efforts of theater companies all over Middle Tennessee. Here's our calendar for October 22, 2018, to help you plot your course through the end of the year...

Edward Bennett returns to the Royal Shakespeare Company for his third season, appearing in Polly Findlay's Macbeth. As the production comes to London, Bennett gives us an insight into Findlay's rehearsal room, discusses how Macduff is similar to previous roles he's played here, and also shares his own superstitions surrounding the Scottish Play and theatre...

The Old Globe announces its inaugural New Voices in the Community series: free public performances at libraries across San Diego County, followed by conversations with the playwrights and experts in the community. The first New Voices in the Community features three solo shows by women: Hold These Truths by Jeanne Sakata, "A" Train by Anne Torsiglieri, and Unveiled: A One-Woman Play by Rohina Malik.

Monday evening, November 12, 2018, 8 p.m., The New York Choral Society and Orchestra (NYCHORAL) will present its first program of the season, MY SHADOW AND MY LIGHT, under the baton of Music Director David Hayes at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. In honor of Veterans Day and in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War and the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Maestro Hayes has chosen a program that explores how three early 20th-century composers, two British and one American, created works expressing their deeply personal reactions to these profound moments in human history.

San Francisco Playhouse celebrates the magic of the holiday season with the hit Broadway musical Mary Poppins. Susi Damilano will direct the Playhouse production, with music direction by Katie Coleman and choreography by Kimberly Richards.

Adam Bock's A Life, commissioned by Portland Center Stage at The Armory, will receive its West Coast debut at The Armory following the success of the play's world premiere in New York. A Life begins preview performances on September 29, opens on October 5, and runs through November 11 in the Ellyn Bye Studio. Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan, who has frequently partnered with Bock, will direct. Nat DeWolf (Broadway: Take Me Out) will make his company debut as the astrology-loving and hopelessly single Nate Martin. DeWolf is joined by Cycerli Ash, also making her debut at The Armory, as well as returning artists Dana Green (Major Barbara and many others) and Gary Norman (Our Town).

Adam Bock's A Life, commissioned by Portland Center Stage at The Armory, will receive its West Coast debut at The Armory following the success of the play's world premiere in New York. A Life begins preview performances on September 29, opens on October 5, and runs through November 11 in the Ellyn Bye Studio. Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan, who has frequently partnered with Bock, will direct. Nat DeWolf (Broadway: Take Me Out) will make his company debut as the astrology-loving and hopelessly single Nate Martin. DeWolf is joined by Cycerli Ash, also making her debut at The Armory, as well as returning artists Dana Green (Major Barbara and many others) and Gary Norman (Our Town).

The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (HSDFF), presented by Mountain Valley Spring Water, announced today the official selections for this year's short and feature documentary lineups. This year's festival will include additional categories including U.S., International, Southern Stories, Sports, as well as a spotlight on films Made in Arkansas. Now approaching its 27th year, HSDFF is the longest running all-documentary festival in North America and is Academy Award®-Qualifying in the Documentary Short Subject Category.

Adam Bock's A Life, commissioned by Portland Center Stage at The Armory, will receive its West Coast debut at The Armory following the success of the play's world premiere in New York. A Life begins preview performances on September 29, opens on October 5, and runs through November 11 in the Ellyn Bye Studio. Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan, who has frequently partnered with Bock, will direct. Nat DeWolf (Broadway: Take Me Out) will make his company debut as the astrology-loving and hopelessly single Nate Martin. DeWolf is joined by Cycerli Ash, also making her debut at The Armory, as well as returning artists Dana Green (Major Barbara and many others) and Gary Norman (Our Town).

Cantata Singers 55th season begins on Saturday, November 3, 2018 at 8pm in New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall with J.S. Bach's cantata BWV 140, "Wachet auf," and the first complete performance of John Harbison's Sacred Trilogy.

Sono Luminus announces the October 26, 2018 worldwide release of He(a)r, the third album on the label from Icelandic ensemble Nordic Affect, following the group's acclaimed 2017 Raindamage recorded with producer Valgeir Sigurðsson and their 2015 debut Clockworking, which was featured on NPR's Songs We Love on The New Yorker's best-of-year list. He(a)r features seven world premiere recordings of works written for the group by five women composers – a soundscape by the group's artistic director, composer and violinist Halla Steinunn Stefa?nsdo?ttir, which lends its title He(a)r to the album; Reflections and Impressions by Anna Thorvaldsdottir; Spirals and Loom by Mari?a Huld Markan Sigfu?sdo?ttir (of the band amiina); Warm life at the foot of the iceberg by Mirjam Tally, and Point of Departure by cellist, singer, and composer Hildur Guðnado?ttir. Nordic Affect is four Icelandic women musicians: Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir, violin and voice; Gudrún Hrund Hardardóttir, viola and voice; Hanna Loftsdóttir, cello voice; and Gudrún Óskarsdóttir, harpsichord and voice. The idea for the album originated in a concert that Nordic Affect gave at Nordic Music Days, which drew on the group's ecosystemic approach to performing and featured music with links to the natural landscape and acoustics.