A Think Piece - 1982 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 4

UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) presents Pam Tanowitz/Brice Marden/Kaija Saariaho's Four Quartets on Saturday, February 15 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, February 16, at 3 p.m. at Royce Hall. Tickets starting at $28 are available now at cap.ucla.edu, 310-825-2101, and Royce Hall box office.

We need to appreciate, be proud of and understand our history, to make sense of it, and Coming Clean is a part of that. It's set in a time where 'gay bashing' was commonplace, the AIDS epidemic hadn't even happened, and the only place for gay men to find love and affection was in more dangerous places.

As Little Steven looks back on his early solo career with the upcoming boxed set, RockNRoll Rebel – The Early Work, the creatively restless Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is simultaneously looking forward with a slew of new releases including a theatrical, Gene Kelly-inspired video for his song “Love Again” from his latest album, Summer Of Sorcery, and an exuberant live performance of Bruce Springsteen's “Tucson Train.” Leading up to the December 6 release of the boxed set, Little Steven aka Steven Van Zandt has been steadily releasing digital deluxe editions of the albums included over the last few weeks and today has made available his 1989 album, Revolution, which includes two rare mixes of the title track. 

First recorded in 1969, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT with music and lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, finally opened Off-Broadway in November 1981 and then moved to The Great White Way in January 1982 where the production received six Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, Book and Score. This ever-popular musical based on the a?oeCoat of Many Colorsa?? story from the Bible's Book of Genesis failed to win even one Tony, but has gone on to be one of the most popular, family-friendly stories with actors of all ages involved in the big-scale production performed around the world. Now being presented as the 40th production by The Aerospace Players, directed by John Woodcock and Angela Asch (who also choreographed the show), the dedicated (and all volunteer) cast features stand-out performances by many in the leading roles who make the story as fun to watch as it is entertaining.

WA Opera are bringing Stephen Sondheim's much-loved musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of  Fleet Street to His Majesty's Theatre this July, and we caught up with opera star Antoinette Halloran, who joins the cast as the infamous Mrs. Lovett. Read on to find out her take on this twisted tale of blood and revenge. 

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is a farce about a whodunnit that keeps going in spite of itself. It begins at 'funny,' blazes past 'hilarious' and 'side-splitting' straight to 'uproarious,' then ramps it up in Act II. The award-winning script includes slapstick, repetition, mispronunciation, callbacks, prop comedy, crowding, unexpected entrances, pantomime, reversals, costume malfunctions, role switching, overacting, inappropriateness and an astonishing number and variety of spit-takes. The eight cast members are in every way awe-inspiring and terrific. Get it right and go to THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG. Being left out of the fun would be an awful shame.

Back in 1986, The Actors' Gang presented VIOLENCE: THE MISADVENTURES OF SPIKE SPANGLE, FARMER, originally written and directed by the group's Artistic Director Tim Robbins, which offered a no-holds barred satire of militarism and media manipulation. An updated version written by Robbins and Adam Simon, directed by Bob Turton, has re-invaded The Actors' Gang through June 22, 2019 in Culver City. The political and social satire tells the story of Spike Spangle, a down on his luck farmer who gets sucked into a whirlwind of celebrity and patriotism, fueled by his need for more money. During his journey, Spike joins Superman on billionaire Max Enormous' Celebrity Space Shuttle, and a nefarious plot twist leads to the deification of Spike Spangle as an American hero.

Now Nottage and director/choreographer Christopher Wheeldon are speaking up about their feelings in the New York Times. 'You can't watch the documentary without being profoundly disturbed by it, but again, we're not judge and jury,' says Wheeldon. 'In our process, we're facing it pretty much head on, but we're also studying the many facets of Michael Jackson.'

My first visit to Desert Ensemble Theatre proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Their presentation of two one-act plays -- Graceland and Asleep on the Wind - harkened back to a purity of theatre which was so exciting to me in my college days. By stripping away full sets in favor of a few strategic prop pieces in front of black drapes, all of the focus was on the actors and the words they were speaking, and director Rosemary Mallett certainly found actors who skillfully rose to the challenge.

I thought throwing out my Annie CDs would be easy--I thought I only had one! Obviously that would be the indispensable Original Broadway Cast Recording with Dorothy Loudon and Andrea McArdle. How wrong I was! I knew that, as a kid, I had the tape of the 1982 movie soundtrack with Carol Burnett and Aileen Quinn (and an all-star supporting cast!), but I didn't remember buying it on CD. And when the hell did I get the CD of the 1999 TV version (with Kathy Bates and an all-star cast)? And, oh yeah... I forgot about this studio album from the 90s with studio cast queen Kim Criswell--I think I bought back in the day somehow convincing myself Ruthie Henshall was playing Annie. (Spoiler alert: She plays Grace.) Oh, and I do remember this '30thAnniversary' deluxe production with Chicago area diva (and original star of the sequel, Annie Warbucks) Alene Robertson as Miss Hannigan plus a lot of bonus material. To add insult to injury, I also have a Blu-Ray of the recent Hollywood remake with Cameron Diaz. I don't even have a Blu-Ray player! This thing is definitely going into the trash along with all the audio, but I will listen to a few tracks online for my edification.

Following last year's momentous 50th anniversary celebrations, The Isle of Wight Festival today announces the first artists for the 2019 event, which kicks off the British festival season on  13th - 16th June.

Theatre for a New Audience presents About Alice, the world premiere of a new play by Calvin Trillin, inspired by his 2007 memoir of the same name. The production, directed by Leonard Foglia, plays January 8-February 3, 2019 at Polonsky Shakespeare Center (262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn). 

Theatre for a New Audience presents About Alice, the world premiere of a new play by Calvin Trillin, inspired by his 2007 memoir of the same name. The production, directed by Leonard Foglia, plays January 8-February 3, 2019 at Polonsky Shakespeare Center (262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn). 

Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater Foundation, announced today the New York City dance organization's programming for its Spring/Summer '19 season. Featuring a host of New York and world premieres, as well as iconic works from lauded companies, The Joyce Theater fulfills its mission of promoting the richness and variety of the performing arts to embrace the entire spectrum of movement styles and traditions. the upcoming Joyce season is poised to deliver engaging pieces for dance aficionados and newcomers alike.

I cannot even think of enough accolades to share about the current production being staged by Greenway Arts Alliance (Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz, Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors) at the Greenway Court Theatre (544 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles) through December 9. The totally entertaining and artistically brilliant production, directed and choreographed by NAACP Theater Award-winner Jeffrey Polk, pulled me in from the moment it started until the end, given the amazingly talented cast who bring the characters so realistically to life that you can actually feel all the emotions each is going through from moment to moment. You will laugh, be fearful, cry and celebrate with all of them by the time the show ends.

Perseverance Theatre, Alaska's professional regional theatre company, launches its 40th Anniversary Season this week with Our Town, by Thornton Wilder. The iconic American drama, featuring an all-Alaskan cast directed by Art Rotch, will play Oct. 5-Nov. 3 at the theatre in Juneau, and Nov. 9-25 at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts in Anchorage.

Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song opens tonight, Thursday, November 1 at The Hayes Theater (Broadway's Hayes Theater (240 West 44th Street).

Michael Urie chats about Vanessa Williams, Mercedes Ruehl and TORCH SONG

The Fizz have teamed up once again with Mike Stock to produce their FIRST ever Christmas record: Christmas With The Fizz, out on MPG Records on 16th November 2018. 

As fall finally starts to arrive here in DC, the Kennedy Center's dance season kicks into high gear bringing you dance companies from all over the country and the world.

Perseverance Theatre, Alaska's professional regional theatre company, launches its 40th Anniversary Season this week with Our Town, by Thornton Wilder. The iconic American drama, featuring an all-Alaskan cast directed by Art Rotch, will play Oct. 5-Nov. 3 at the theatre in Juneau, and Nov. 9-25 at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts in Anchorage.

Following the announcement of their Opening Night Film, Yen Tan's award-winning AIDS drama 1985, NewFest today announced the full lineup of their 30th annual celebration of the year's best LGBT films from around the world. The program of more than 140 narrative features, documentaries, episodic series and shorts runs from October 24-30 at the SVA Theatre, Cinépolis Chelsea, and The LGBT Community Center in New York City.

Performance Space New York announces First Mondays: Readings of New Works in Progress, organized by author Sarah Schulman (Maggie Terry, 2018; Conflict is not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility and the Duty of Repair, 2016). On the first Monday of most months between October 2018 and May 2019, the series will present audiences with an opportunity to gather and hear in-progress works from writers leading the literary avant-garde. First Mondays exemplifies the artistic community-building power in Performance Space New York's appointment of five Associate Artists. Today, the organization announces Sarah Schulman, Emily Johnson, Gillian Walsh, Sarah Ortmeyer, and Angela Dimayuga as the Associate Artists who will actively contribute to programming and administrative decision making in the years to come-honoring Performance Space New York's roots as a space run by the very people experimenting within it.

Paul McCartney's Egypt Station (Capitol Records) has entered the Billboard 200 at #1, making it the third Non-Beatles/Wings McCartney effort to top the U.S. chart and Paul's first Stateside #1 since 1982's Tug Of War. Earning  153,000 equivalent album units, Egypt Station is Paul's first solo album to enter the chart at #1. Since beginning a new and profound direction on his creative journey with the 1970 release of his debut solo album, McCartney, Paul has sold over 100 million albums and singles worldwide.

Irene Bedard, the Anchorage-born actor of Native descent who gave voice to Pocahontas in the Disney animated films, among other groundbreaking roles, will play the Stage Manager in Perseverance Theatre's 40th season opener, Our Town. The iconic American drama by Thornton Wilder, featuring an all-Alaskan cast directed by Art Rotch, will play Oct. 5-Nov. 3 at the theatre in Juneau, and Nov. 9-25 at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts in Anchorage.