A Class Act - 2004 - London Articles Page 15

For legions of musical theater fans brought up on daily trips to Sesame Street, thanks to the fine folks at Children's Television Workshop, there is quite possibly no show more beloved than Avenue Q - the grown-up version of the kind of programming directed at children in hopes of helping them navigate the vagaries of childhood and adolescence. To be certain, Avenue Q is not for the easily offended or politically conservative, but the Tony Award-winning best musical of the 2004 Broadway season is an ideal outing for anyone with a highly developed sense of humor and a fondness for pushing the envelope, musical theatre-wise.

The first production of their new theatrical enterprise, As If Theatre Company, on Feb. 8

BroadwayWorld is deeply saddened to report the passing of the legendary Carol Channing. Channing died at 12:31am on Tuesday, January 15th, 2019, at home in Rancho Mirage, CA of natural causes.

After the success of School Play in 2017 and Magdalene in 2018 Tribe of Fools is embarking on their third spring-time show, Clown Sex Ed.

Gimlet Media's The Story Pirates Podcast, consistently voted as one of the top podcasts for kids, will launch a season of 20 new episodes on January 31 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever podcasts are streaming.

Philanthropists and founding board members Milton and Tamar Maltz have announced an exceptional gift to help fund the Maltz Jupiter Theatre's $32 million expansion plans: a $5 million matching challenge grant through The Milton and Tamar Maltz Family Foundation.

For many years now, the famed Cirque du Soleil has been combining the two worlds of circus and theater to create some spectacular productions. Anyone that has seen one of their shows in Las Vegas or elsewhere knows that when you attend a Cirque production, it's an unforgettable experience. Cirque has repurposed the music of The Beatles, taken us to a spectacular jungle world and elsewhere in their past productions, but with their latest touring show Crystal the company adds ice skating to their repertoire. Combining traditional circus skills with breathtaking ramp jumps, break dancing, show skating and much more Crystal is not your typical Cirque du Soleil production. It takes place entirely on an ice rink, but for those that remember it, this is not your standard Ice Capades by any stretch of the imagination either.

Acclaimed Chicago-based dynamic duo and America's Got Talent audience favorites Amy & Freddy will bring their holiday show A Very Divalicious California Christmas to Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood for one performance only on Tuesday, December 18, at 8:30pm, it was announced today by Chris Isaacson Presents.

Fresh off of their Barrymore win for Evolving Theatre Company, Tribe of Fools is bringing back their incredibly popular Holiday Burlesque. In the spirit of their recent win at the Barryore's this year's theme is "Evolving." The acts will be bigger, sillier and more sophisticated.

Enjoy a treasured holiday tradition with family and friends at southern California's most spectacular production of The Nutcracker from critically acclaimed Inland Pacific Ballet. The Nutcracker comes to life in this magnificent ballet with beautiful sets, dazzling costumes, and more than 80 dancers on stage. This annual holiday production tells the story of a young girl named Clara who receives a magical nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve and sets out on a wondrous journey to the Land of the Snow and the Kingdom of Sweets. Toy soldiers, life-sized dancing dolls, and a fantastic dream with battling mice, dancing snowflakes, waltzing flowers, and the delightful Sugar Plum Fairy stir the imagination. Meet the cast after the performance for photos and autographs. This is family entertainment at its best.

Announcing the Moscow Ballet superstar ballerinas and danseurs who bring their Nutcracker ballet with a Russian flair to life for audiences from coast to coast! Alexandra Elagina who graduated from the world-famous Kazan Ballet Academy and Kostyantyn Vinovoy who has won top prize at Serge Lifar International Ballet Competition. Also featuring local student dancers from Pennsylvania Classical Ballet. Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker is in Easton at the State Theatre on Sunday, December 9 for just two performances this holiday season.

The Story Pirates aren't your typical swashbuckling sailors.They don't steal gold, pillage villages, or claim land; they're searching for a different kind of treasure: kid's wildest, most imaginative stories. Stories by children from NYC and beyond will be brought to life and staged by the Story Pirates' professional improvisational and comedic actors - replete with music, costumes and sets. During the show, the Story Pirates will also take story ideas from the audience and turn them into hilarious  musical sketch comedy. The hosts and talent from the Story Pirates podcast will also perform.

Teri Schwartz, Dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), one of the world's most prominent academic institutions for entertainment and performing arts education, announced today the appointment of Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-nominated playwright Paula Vogel as the School's inaugural Hearst Theater Lab Initiative Distinguished Playwright-in-Residence for the 2018-19 academic year.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the full cast and creative team for Paradise Square: An American Musical. The world premiere is helmed by acclaimed director Moises Kaufman, with choreography by the legendary Bill T. Jones and a book by Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas, and Larry Kirwan. Music by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan, with lyrics by Nathan Tysen, and based on the songs of Stephen Foster. Paradise Square is produced by special arrangement with Garth H. Drabinsky in association with Peter LeDonne and Teatro Proscenium Limited Partnership.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, New York City Center's Principal Dance Company, returns to the theater's stage from November 28 - December 30, 2018 for a milestone season. During the Company's Ailey Ascending 60th Anniversary celebration, Artistic Director Robert Battle leads Ailey's 32 extraordinary dancers during this five-week holiday engagement that will elevate a legacy of excellence in artistry with premieres by some of today's most revered and prolific choreographers, including world premieres by Rennie Harris and Ronald K. Brown; a company premiere by Wayne McGregor; a new production of by Robert Battle; the return of a recent premiere by Jessica Lang, and special performances of rarely seen works by Alvin Ailey himself.

Pushcart Players presents "A Cinderella Tale…happily ever after" at Tribeca Performing Arts Center, NYC on Friday and Saturday, November 2nd and 3rd. Twice nominated for an Emmy, Pushcart Players is the recipient of numerous state and private awards for excellence and innovation, and has traveled nearly three million miles nationally and abroad -- from the little red schoolhouse to White House - stirring up serious fun since 1974.

San Francisco Opera presents the West Coast premiere of It's a Wonderful Life by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer in nine holiday-season performances from November 17 through December 9. The two-act work, a co-commission and co-production between San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, is based in part on Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life and The Greatest Gift, a story by Philip Van Doren Stern.

Pushcart Players presents "A Cinderella Tale…happily ever after" at Tribeca Performing Arts Center, NYC on Friday and Saturday, November 2nd and 3rd.  Twice nominated for an Emmy©, Pushcart Players is the recipient of numerous state and private awards for excellence and innovation, and has traveled nearly three million miles nationally and abroad -- from the little red schoolhouse to White House - stirring up serious fun since 1974.

Though the French public is more familiar with Chicago through the Rob Marshall movie of 2002, there has already been a French-language version at the Casino de Paris in 2004, but it actually came from Canada as part of an international tour.  Even before Stage Entertainment took over, that production was so successful that it was extended with a French cast taking over from the Canadians.  After the recent German production, Stage Entertainment could legitimately bring the show back to Paris.  After all, the spirit of Mr. Fosse had already entered the walls of Mogador Theatre since the international tour of Dancin' was transferred in 1981.   

Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is pleased to present ...while the dew is still on the roses…, an immersive exhibition from mixed media artist Ebony G. Patterson. A survey of the artist's recent work is situated within a visually dense environment designed to recall an overgrown, decadent "night garden." This site-specific installation-replete with twilight-colored cloth wallpaper, vegetal growths sprouting from the walls and silk leaves, flowers, and vines falling from the ceiling and framing paintings-augments thirteen of the artist's large-scale works that include videos, drawings, and tapestries, six of which were created for the show.

The award-winning SkyPilot Theatre Company will premiere seven original short plays during its inaugural SkyPilot One-Act Festival this November at Oh My Ribs! Entertainment, 6468 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood. The plays (titled Series A and Series B) will be performed over four nights (two nights for each Series) for three weekends. Tickets are $15 per night with the option of a Festival pass to see all works for $20.

What about the story keeps audiences coming back again and again to see The Phantom of the Opera? Is it the lushly romantic score composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber? Or could it be the costumes and scenery, so widely seen across the globe - and so easily identifiable as being from The Phantom - that they are considered iconic? Or could it be the mysteriously intriguing and sumptuously romantic Gaston Leroux story?

Fresh from new operatic triumphs in Paris and San Francisco, where she once again astounded audiences with her magnificent portrayals of opera's great dramatic heroines, soprano Sondra Radvanovsky returns to her hometown of Toronto for a rare and intimate recital with her long time pianist Anthony Manoli on Saturday, November 24 at 8pm at Koerner Hall, presented by ShowOne Productions.

Pushcart Players announces the 45th Season of touring theater for young audiences, bringing performances to schools, theaters, production venues, and community centers throughout the United States. In Pushcart's 5th decade of stirring up serious fun, the repertoire is an exceptional mix of musical productions exploring American history, self-discovery, classical music, teaching tolerance, and holiday celebrations.

After an absence of five years, White Bird is delighted to present the return of the world-famous Australian contemporary circus company, Circa, with the West Coast premiere of their astonishing new work HUMANS. Since 2004, from its base in Brisbane, Australia, Circa has toured the world-performing in 39 countries for over a million people. As was the case in Portland in 2013, with their White Bird debut, Circa's movement-based circus works have been greeted with standing ovations, rave reviews and sold-out houses across six continents. Under the direction of circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz, Circa's HUMANS features an ensemble of 10 exceptional, multi-skilled circus artists whose physicality and artistry are put to the test in Lifschitz' newest work.