A Class Act - 2004 - London Articles Page 17

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre presents critical and audience favorite Man of La Mancha by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, original production staged by Albert Marre, originally produced by Albert W. Selden and Hal James, and based on Cervantes' Don Quixote. ANW Artistic Director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott directs. La Mancha performs August 16 - September 9, 2018 (Press Opening August 18).

George M. Cohan has been attributed to being the father of the American Musical, whose works are the very roots of Broadway and musical theater that we know today. Without his numerous contributions to the American theater, Broadway as we all know it probably wouldn't even exist. This is the idea that's drummed rather loudly and patriotically by the ending of YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, the 2004 stage musical now in the midst of its Southern California regional premiere via Musical Theatre West. A fairly entertaining, if inescapably old-fashioned jukebox musical that paints rather broad strokes rather than giving a deep dive into Cohan's life story, this new production continues performances at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach through July 22, 2018.

Tickets will go on sale tomorrow for a Bruno Mars tribute act at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre on Thursday 1 November 2018, with Jeff Dingle as Bruno Mars.

Pushcart Players, New Jersey's renowned touring theater for young audiences presents "Ellis Island: Gateway to America" at Premiere Stages at Kean University on Wednesday, July 11, 2018 at 10:30 am.

Porchlight Music Theatre's Mainstage 2018 - 2019 season launches with Gypsy, A Musical Fable, October 12 - November 25, at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street, with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) will present Middle Eastern MixFest, a series of free readings co-curated by playwrights Mona Mansour and Heather Raffothat will run Wednesday, August 8th through Thursday, August 16th at Atlantic Stage 2 (330 West 16th Street).

While its original production, as most Broadway shows go, offered the expected big sets, first-rate costumes, and impressive production values, the 2015 Tony Award-winning revival production of THE COLOR PUPLE---currently slaying audiences for a week-long stop at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 24---is decidedly more subdued and scaled-down by comparison, allowing the songs, the story, and the cast performances to shine on their own merits instead. The resulting show is a powerful, uplifting one, bathed in a loving, spiritual embrace that shines a light on the struggles, the insecurities, the passions, and the tenacity of African-American women living in the early decades of the 20th Century. I can say without hesitation that this revival production is an excellent way to experience this beautiful, touching, and ultimately triumphant musical.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater is proud to announce Northwestern Mutual President Gregory C. Oberland as the newly elected Board President for a 2-year term.  Oberland has been a trustee for five years prior to being elected Board President.

Premiere Stages at Kean University will present Craig Garcia's Linger July 12-29 in Kean University's Bauer Boucher Theatre Center (Vaughn Eames Hall, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, N.J.). Recently selected from over 570 submissions as the winner of the 2018 Premiere Play Festival, Linger will feature actors Will Ehren, Michael Frederic, Robby Haltiwanger, Jonathan C. Kaplan, Sarah Kathryn Makl and Danielle Skraastad. John J. Wooten, producing artistic director of Premiere Stages, will direct.

In the black at the back of the Vineyard Theater during one of the final previews of The Beast in the Jungle the other night sat its composer, disguising himself as a member of the audience by dispassionately drinking in the stage action and politely applauding at the appropriate places. This is-typically-the usual battle station for the artist-in-progress. Atypically-in fact, for the first time--John Kander sat alone.

Hershey Felder returns to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Artswith Beethoven, directed by Joel Zwick, from July 27 to August 12, 2018. This new production is based on the original Aus dem Schwarzspanierhausby Dr. Gerhard von Breuning with text by Felder and features some of Beethoven's greatest compositions from his keyboard works such as the "Emperor Concerto" to the 5thand 9thSymphonies, his keyboard sonatas, and chamber music. The Samantha F. Voxakis, Karen Racanelli and Erik Carstensen production is an extraordinary one-man musical play that brings the composer to life as it dramatizes the true story of a Viennese doctor who spent his boyhood by the Maestro's side as the son of Beethoven's best friend.

Celebrating its 36th Anniversary, Outfest - the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization promoting equality by creating, sharing, and protecting LGBTQ stories on the screen - today announced the complete programming lineup for the 2018 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival presented by HBO. The nation's leading LGBTQ festival will be held July 12-22, 2018.

There's a new chandelier, new sets, and new costumes! But new doesn't necessarily mean improved. Laurence Connor's updated touring production of Broadway's longest-running show, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, has arrived in Toronto. For a first-time Phantom viewer, the experience will be a grand one - but those who have seen the show before will long for the original.

Dedicated to collecting, preserving and portraying the legacy of Greek history and culture in America, the National Hellenic Museum has the largest collection of Greek American artifacts and recorded oral histories anywhere. The National Hellenic Museum (NHM), 333 S. Halsted St., introduces its newest exhibition Lives Afloat: The Greek Refugee Crisis through the Lens of Tasos Markou 2015-2017 open Thursday, June 21, 2018 through spring 2019. This photographic exhibition portrays the realities facing refugees as they arrived in Greece at the height of the Greek Refugee Crisis.

Port Jefferson's Theater Three production of the musicial murder mystery romp Curtains is brilliant; it is a clever mash up of Columbo meets Kiss Me, Kate. Curtains is a wonderful show that reveals how a show's ensemble is not just its cast, but also its creative team. It emphasizes the importance of each and every talent involved with putting on a Broadway show. From the stage manager to the conductor; from the music team to the director. Theater Three's production successfully emits this theme.

Schimmel Center will present Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee Anna Deavere Smith's Obie Award-winning solo performance, Notes From the Field, for one weekend only on Friday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Today, June 2 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in preparation for a two week run at the Royal Court in London. The production is directed by Leonard Foglia and features original music composed and performed by bassist Marcus Shelby who joins Ms. Smith on stage.

Producer Scott Rudin has announced that to accommodate ticket demand, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women will add a ninth performance in its final week of performances. Nominated for six 2018 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Play, Three Tall Women must close as previously scheduled on Sunday, June 24, with the added 7:00 PM show now the final performance for the ecstatically received production. Tickets are on sale now at Telecharge.com, and at the Golden Theatre box office (252 West 45th Street).

Previews begin this Friday, June 1 for the Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) world premiere production of LOG CABIN, a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Jordan Harrison (Marjorie Prime, Maple and Vine, Doris to Darlene at Playwrights; "Orange Is the New Black").  Directed by Tony Award and Obie Award winner Pam MacKinnon (Clybourne Park, The Qualms at Playwrights; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Parisian Woman), LOG CABIN is the sixth and final production of the theater company's current 2017/2018 Season.  

The Bobby G Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in Colorado high-school musical theatre. Each year, the DCPA NewsCenter singles out a specific category and spotlights the five nominees. This year, we salute the Outstanding Chorus nominees. The sixth annual Bobby G Awards take place Thursday, May 24, at the Buell Theatre.

Porchlight Music Theatre concludes its fifth season of Chicago's "lost" musicals in staged concert series with Porchlight Revisits Do Re Mi, starring Porchlight Music Theatre's Artistic Director Michael Weber and Nancy Voigts, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and book by Garson Kanin, with direction and choreography by Christopher Pazdernik and musical direction by David Fiorello. Porchlight Revisits Do Re Mi is presented for three-nights-only Tuesday, May 22 through Thursday, May 24 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight's Memphis (previews begin April 19) at Porchlight's new home, The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street.

Porchlight Music Theatre concludes its fifth season of Chicago's "lost" musicals in staged concert series with Porchlight Revisits Do Re Mi, starring Porchlight Music Theatre's Artistic Director Michael Weber and Nancy Voigts, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and book by Garson Kanin, with direction and choreography by Christopher Pazdernik and musical direction by David Fiorello.

Chris Isaacson Presents has announced that cabaret favorites Amy & Freddy will bring their show to Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood for one show only today, May 18, at 8:30pm.

Chris Isaacson Presents has announced that cabaret favorites Amy & Freddy will bring their show to Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood for one show only on Friday, May 18, at 8:30pm.

The University of Washington School of Drama announced last month that Executive Director Todd London, who has served in that role since 2014, will step down in August.