A Far Country - 1961 - Broadway Articles Page 7

The potential prospect of the entertainment behemoth known as GLEE taking on perhaps the finest American musical ever written - WEST SIDE STORY - is enough to make any Broadway baby near-exultant, yet when the songs of the classic Bernstein/Sondheim score then are allowed to act as all-too-apt musical commentary on risque dramatic content in the highly controversial episode itself - all-too-appropriately named "The First Time" - a cataclysmic consequence can almost be counted on to inevitably arise. And, it did. Again. And again. And again - all night long. While it may have very well been Kurt, Rachel and Blaine's first roll in the hay, it would be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack to find much - if any - fault whatsoever with GLEE's button-pushing and excellently played tribute to Tony and Maria. Given what resulted from the doomed coupling of those Shakespeareans - Tony and Maria being more modern-day answers to Romeo and Juliet, of course - the ire of all the up-in-arms conservative helicopter parents in the country - and Capulets and Montagues, too, for that matter - could not even dare to try and contain the joy, excitement and sheer pleasure of what is undoubtedly one of GLEE's finest hours to date. There was a message or two to be learned, too. Yes, indeed, GLEE taking on WEST SIDE STORY went all the way - and then some. So, whether you are a Jet or Shark, you must be compelled to give it up for GLEE and its ode to WEST SIDE STORY.

When Jerry Herman was pegged by producer Gerard Oestreicher to write the score for a Broadway musical set in the fledgling State of Israel, he was a 28-year-old composer/lyricist mostly known for writing clever lyrics and snazzy tunes for Greenwich Village topical reviews like Nightcap and Parade.  But now, instead of writing for hip, downtown performers like Charles Nelson Reilly and Dody Goodman, he'd be penning a romantic score for opera stars Mimi Benzell and Robert Weede, with special comic relief material for Yiddish Theatre legend Molly Picon.

When we first meet Rita Lyons, she's sitting in a hospital room casually thumbing through a furniture catalogue, asking her husband, Ben, who lies in bed, dying of cancer, to help her come up with ideas for redecorating the living room after he's gone.

At age 79 the svelte Puerto Rican triple threat from Hollywood's bygone golden age continues to bring the house down. Currently starring in a new TV show (Happily Divorced) she is also simultaneously starring in her spectacular one-woman show Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup, which had its world premiere this week at the Berkeley Repertory Theater.

Signature Theatre Company (Founding Artistic Director James Houghton; Executive Director Erika Mallin), announced today seven productions for its inaugural 2012 season at Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street near 10th Avenue), the company's new Frank Gehry-designed permanent home opening in February 2012. Signature Center will allow the Company to expand its programming, introduce new initiatives, and build audiences. Featuring three intimate theatres, a studio theatre, rehearsal studio and a shared lobby with café and bookstore, Signature Center will be both a theatre community hub and a neighborhood destination.

At age 79 the svelte Puerto Rican triple threat from Hollywood's bygone golden age continues to bring the house down. Currently starring in a new TV show (Happily Divorced) she is also simultaneously starring in her spectacular one-woman show Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup, which had its world premiere this week at the Berkeley Repertory Theater.

The development of Phil Spector's magnificent Wall Of Sound productions, 'Tomorrow's Sound Today,' is given its most expansive display ever on the new box set, Phil Spector Presents The Philles Album Collection.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced a full slate of musical productions, a developmental reading series and special events for their eighth annual festival. This year's Festival will begin September 26th and continue through October 16th.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance today announced its full Harris Theater Presents 2011-2012 season, offering Chicago audiences a ground-breaking collection of innovative, culturally diverse programming by the world's finest musicians and dance companies, as well as Harris' signature collaborations with Chicago's leading dance and music institutions.

Joe's Pub at The Public Theater debuted in October 1998 and has quickly became one of New York City's most celebrated and in-demand showcase venues for live music and performance.

Tennessee Women's Theater Project returns to Nashville's Z. Alexander Looby Theater for the fifth year running - beginning Friday May 6 - for its annual Women's Work festival of performing and visual arts created by women. Running through Sunday, May 22, the festival cuts a broad swath across styles and genres to offer eleven completely different programs: poetry and essays; one-woman shows; staged readings of new plays; film, dance, music and a display of visual art works in the theater lobby. Opening the festival on Friday night is Thus Spoke the Mockingbird, starring Joy Tilley-Perryman as Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird.

Joe's Pub at The Public Theater debuted in October 1998 and has quickly became one of New York City's most celebrated and in-demand showcase venues for live music and performance.

Alain Resnais (b. 1922), the French New Wave director whose distinctive films explore themes of time, memory, history, and desire, will be the subject of a major retrospective at Museum of the Moving Image, closing March 20, 2011.

Alain Resnais (b. 1922), the French New Wave director whose distinctive films explore themes of time, memory, history, and desire, will be the subject of a major retrospective at Museum of the Moving Image from February 25 through March 20, 2011.

Alain Resnais (b. 1922), the French New Wave director whose distinctive films explore themes of time, memory, history, and desire, will be the subject of a major retrospective at Museum of the Moving Image from February 25 through March 20, 2011.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce that Atlantic Theater Company members Larry Bryggman and Matt McGrath and guest artists Lisa Emery, Rebecca Henderson and Darren Pettie will star in its first main stage production of the 2010-2011 season, THE COLLECTION & A KIND OF ALASKA: TWO PLAYS BY HAROLD PINTER, directed by Atlantic founding member Karen Kohlhaas.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents Edward Albee's A DELICATE BALANCE, directed by James Bundy, at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street, at York Street) October 22-November 13.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce that Atlantic Theater Company members Larry Bryggman and Matt McGrath and guest artists Lisa Emery, Rebecca Henderson and Darren Pettie will star in its first main stage production of the 2010-2011 season, THE COLLECTION & A KIND OF ALASKA: TWO PLAYS BY HAROLD PINTER, directed by Atlantic founding member Karen Kohlhaas.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents Edward Albee's A DELICATE BALANCE, directed by James Bundy, at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street, at York Street) through November 13.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents Edward Albee's A DELICATE BALANCE, directed by James Bundy, at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street, at York Street) October 22-November 13.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents Edward Albee's A DELICATE BALANCE, directed by James Bundy, at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street, at York Street) October 22-November 13.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce that Atlantic Theater Company members Larry Bryggman and Matt McGrath and guest artists Lisa Emery, Rebecca Henderson and Darren Pettie will star in its first main stage production of the 2010-2011 season, THE COLLECTION & A KIND OF ALASKA: TWO PLAYS BY HAROLD PINTER, directed by Atlantic founding member Karen Kohlhaas.

The multiple Emmy and Grammy winning Composer, Charles Fox, may not receive accolades for his melodic vocal abilities, but his story telling and skills on the piano are worthy of his iconic status in the music industry, as witnessed at his cabaret début on Sept 28th at Cabaret At The Castle.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and THIRTEEN's 'American Masters' series today announced that they have acquired A Letter to Elia, Martin Scorsese's new documentary exploring the life and talent of Oscar-winning director Elia Kazan.

Japan Society's fourth annual JAPAN CUTS Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema screens 25 feature films--the most in the festival's history and the largest showcase of contemporary Japanese cinema globally this year.