A Wonderful Life - 2005 - Broadway Articles Page 19

Actor-singer-dancer-choreographer Adam Fleming became a part of Broadway history originating the roles of Sketch in Hairspray and Lucas in Bare. In 2005, he starred in David Brind and Adam Salky's acclaimed short film, Dare, about two teenage boys' tense, spark-filled encounter in a pool following high school play practice. Dare gained a cult following as part of Strand Releasing's 'Boys Life' series and ultimately achieved worldwide popularity via more than 12 Million views on Youtube. The fan fervor (and fan fiction!) eventually inspired a sequel, ten years later. The original and the sequel are now being presented together as The Dare Project and attracting new legions of fans.

Broadway's award-winning Karen Mason (and Arlington Heights native), star of the smash hit musicals LOVE NEVER DIES, MAMMA MIA!, HAIRSPRAY!, WONDERLAND and SUNSET BOULEVARD will make a special return concert appearance in her hometown after nearly a decade. Recipient of the 2019 MAC Lifetime Achievement Award, Karen Mason shares her love of the music of songwriters, John Kander & Fed Ebb, in her new show: KANDER & EBB & ALL THAT JAZZ! A homage to one of Broadway's and motion picture's most prolific songwriting teams, John Kander and Fred Ebb, the duo is noted for such landmark musicals as Cabaret, Chicago, Funny Lady and New York, New York.

Meganne George, Indiana-born beloved New York City theatre production designer, passed away on July 30th in her home on City Island. She was 52.

Native Earth Performing Arts is thrilled to announce the 32nd annual Weesageechak Begins to Dance. This year's festival invites emerging, mid-career, and established Indigenous artists from across Turtle Island and Australia to develop and showcase contemporary theatre, dance, and multi-disciplinary creations on November 13 to 23, 2019 at Aki Studio (585 Dundas St East).

Kansas City Symphony Board Chair Patrick McCown and Executive Director Daniel Beckley are pleased to announce they have renewed Music Director Michael Stern's contract through the 2022/23 season.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with The Mike Stern/Bill Evans Band, The Larry Fuller Trio, Jeff Harnar Sings Comden & Green, and more!

Fire Island Pines Arts Project presents THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE August 31 and September 1.

WaterTower Theatre will round out its 2019-2020 season with a special limited-engagement, concert-style production of the inspiring 1960s musical Golden Boy. Adapted from the 1930s drama by Clifford Odets, and featuring a book by Odets and William Gibson, Golden Boy tells the story of Joe Wellington, a young black man trying to rise from the Harlem ghetto as a prizefighter. Wellington, originated on Broadway in 1964 by the iconic Sammy Davis, Jr., is enticed by the boxing world's promise of fame and fortune, but he makes one critical mistake: falling for his manager's white girlfriend, Lorna.

Kate Grenville's acclaimed 2005 novel, The Secret River, centres around the brutality and tragedy surrounding the colonisation of Australia. After premiering in Sydney in 2013, the award-winning theatrical adaptation comes to the National's Olivier Theatre after blistering reviews at the Edinburgh Festival.

Due to an overwhelming response, The Fugard Theatre's production of multiple Tony-Award winning musical KINKY BOOTS has been extended for a final time. Bookings are now open until 2 February 2020.

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts:

Colm Feore will utter the first words on the Stratford Festival's newest stage, an echo of the inaugural performance in 1953, when Alec Guinness's opening speech in Richard III anticipated the a?oeglorious summera?? that was to come for Stratford. Feore, an internationally acclaimed stage and screen actor, is just one of a diverse company of accomplished actors who will present a repertory season of 15 productions in four remarkable theatres.

San Francisco Opera announces Canadian soprano Andriana Chuchman as the winner of the 2019 Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Emerging Stars Competition. Chuchman made her Company debut as Mary Hatch in Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer's It's a Wonderful Life last fall and was named a?oe2019 Emerging Star of the Yeara?? based on a popular vote conducted online at sfopera.com from July 9a?"July 31, 2019. As winner of the competition, now in its fourth year, Chuchman receives a $10,000 cash prize.

Salon is a weekly open mic night where artists can try out new material in a judgment-free zone. I recently did some undercover reporting. It wasn't dangerous or glamorous, like Hunter S. Thompson or Nellie Bly, though it was both alluring and scary at times. I infiltrated the cabaret community to see what it's like being a nightclub singer - and I had a really good time, but I don't want to do it again. I don't know how cabaret performers do it. It's exhausting and it's expensive. You spend all your time promoting yourself, you pay musicians, press reps, photographers and dry cleaners, and every day you run the risk of waking up with a cold and no voice, and an obligation to sing. It's nerve-wracking. Still, these artists continue to produce art for a willing audience: they do it for love of the art and of the audience. It begs the question, though, when a cabaret performer doesn't have a show to do, how do they keep their skills up? How do they continue to grow without spending precious earned cash on an expensive master class?

Over the Tavern opened to a full house Sunday at Theatre at the Center in Munster. The play by Tom Dudzick is directed by Ericka Mac with Janet Ulrich Brooks as Sister Clarissa, Logan Baffico as Rudy, Cory Goodrich as Ellen, Isabelle Roberts as Annie, Eric Slater as Chet, Julian Solis as Georgie and Seth Steinberg as Eddie. Over the Tavern offers a hilarious look at family life in the 1950s.  Over the Tavern continues its run through August 11.

Portland Opera announces an executive leadership transition, with General Director Christopher Mattaliano, who has led the company for 16 years, transitioning to the role of Artistic Consultant beginning with the 2019-20 season. Sue Dixon, current Director of External Affairs will serve as Interim General Director as of July 15. Dixon joined the company in May 2014 as Director of Development and was named Director of External of Affairs in 2017.

Keeping the comedy going this summer at Cape May Stage is Sidekicked, a new comedy by Kim Powers, a two-time Emmy Winner, directed by Roy Steinberg and starring Sally Mayes, an award winning Broadway veteran, as Vivian Vance that runs August 7th-September 20th, Tuesday-Sunday at 8:00 PM.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature Dove Cameron THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, Broadway-Bound TEA AT FIVE, Andrew Keenan-Bolger LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, and More!

Just two weeks into its South African premiere run, The Fugard Theatre's production of multiple Tony-Award winning musical KINKY BOOTS has been extended. Bookings are now open for performances until 27 October.

Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Norbert Leo Butz, Dale Dickey, Eddie Marsan, Bailey Noble and Katheryn Winnick have joined the cast of Flag Day, directed by Sean Penn and starring his children Dylan and Hopper, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Despite its general pleasant nature, many cute moments, and a plethora of genuine talent on stage, this stage musical adaptation of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY---Roald Dahl's beloved 1964 children's novel about a sweet, affable kid who wins a meet-and-greet (and more!) with an eccentric Candy Man named Willy Wonka--- comes off less magical and whimsical than one would hope it would be considering its source material. Is this national tour production---now continuing performances at Segerstrom Center for the Arts through June 9---joyful enough for kids and kids-at-heart to enjoy? Sure. But, overall, something about it feels just slightly under-baked, as if all the additional necessary ingredients that would have made this musical extraordinary didn't quite make it into the mix.

As days at the Fringe go, they don't get off to a more fun, fabulous and feel-good start than with a high-energy and heart-warming musical based on a much-loved Hollywood film, closely followed by two world premieres from some of the most exciting creative voices in Scotland and America.

For the past several seasons, Stratford's Festival Theatre stage has been home to classic musical theatre productions with catchy tunes that audiences might find themselves humming long after the company had taken its final bow. This season, the musical living on that stage is a little different. It is not a classic from the golden age of broadway, the music, while moving, is likely not that familiar ear worm that you will wake up singing, and the story is as gritty and high stakes as many of the Shakespearean productions we have seen on that stage in recent years. BILLY ELLIOT officially opened to a raucous standing ovation on Tuesday evening, making it clear that Stratford audiences are more than happy to branch out to something a little different.

For her 4th CD release, vocalist/violinist Calabria Foti wanted to do an album like her vocal heroes Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Judy Garland, and Nat “King” Cole did back in the day; that is, with a big orchestra and legendary arrangers on the podium in an iconic Hollywood recording studio. Ms. Foti says, “This is the most expansive project I have ever done, and at the same time, it's the most intimate and personal. I recorded at Capitol Records with a full orchestra, singing some of the most endearing, sentimental songs ever written, all for my loved ones. This album is a full-production tear-jerker!”

Boy Swallows Universe takes to the stage. Queensland Theatre and Brisbane Festival to produce the world premiere season of Trent Dalton's breakout mega-hit novel