Absolutely Fascinating - 2004 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 3

'La MaMa Puppet Series IV -- Built to Perform,' the latest in La MaMa's celebrated annual puppet program, will premiere five adult puppet theater productions and remount a popular children's attraction this fall, exploring the artistic and creative possibilities of puppetry in all its forms. The series will run from October 14 to November 28, 2010.

History buffs aside, most people would probably cringe at the thought of sitting through what could be-on the surface-a boring, classroom-like history lesson disguised as a stage musical that runs more than two and a half hours long.But yet, almost immediately, those fearful first impressions wonderfully faded away as soon as the curtain rose to reveal a stage full of men, of varying shapes and sizes, dressed in impeccable 18th-Century period garb.What could have been a long, excruciating theatrical exercise, is instead a riveting, edge-of-your-seat drama with plenty of heart and soul and a generous amount of genuinely comical moments. Musical Theatre West's production of '1776' (with performances running through July 25) is unquestionably brilliant, intensely affecting, and deeply moving-from its rousing beginning to its glorious end.

Next Theatre Company and Artistic Director Jason Southerland are thrilled to announce the 30th anniversary season, a year dedicated to plays that explore the myths that men and women create about their lives. The season opens in the fall with a world premiere presented at the National New Play Network's annual showcase. It continues with the regional premiere of a play Southerland first read when he met with Israeli playwright Motti Lerner (Pangs of the Messiah) in Tel Aviv earlier this year. The season comes to its climactic end with a pair of plays by Phyllis Nagy (pronounced 'Naij') who has captured wide acclaim in the United Kingdom but has been rarely produced in the U.S.

Today, we present the final section of the Sondheim Palooza for this week with a discussion of Sondheim's work in the last two decades. The shows themselves stand as solid proof that this is a composer/lyricist still at the absolute height of his abilities and at the top of his game, as we can very clearly hear in the scores for ASSASSINS, PASSION, THE FROGS and ROAD SHOW...

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) will end its production of the World Premiere of CLYBOURNE PARK, a new play by Bruce Norris on March 21st.

If Starina Johnson is a little slow in returning your phone calls this week, give her a break! This week, she finds herself in hell - of a sort - as she and her co-stars prepare for the opening night of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the third offering in ACT 1's (Artists Cooperative Theatre 1) 20th anniversary season. Opening Friday night, March 29, and continuing through Saturday, April 3, at Darkhorse Theatre, Virginia Woolf features Johnson in the role of Honey, as she shares the stage with First Night Award-winning actress Melissa Bedinger Hade as Martha, real estate wiz and local TV personality Ed Amatrudo as George and Matthew Scott Baxter as Nick.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced a two-week extension for the World Premiere of CLYBOURNE PARK, a new play by Bruce Norris ('A wonderful, original, grab-you-by-the-guts playwright' - WOR Radio; 'He specializes in comedies of discomfort' - The New York Times) that has just opened to excellent reviews.

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes the return of Fascinating Aida to Brits Off Broadway with the US premiere of FASCINATING AIDA - ABSOLUTELY MIRACULOUS!, written by Dillie Keane and Adele Anderson and directed by Frank Thompson.

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes the return of Fascinating Aida to Brits Off Broadway with the US premiere of FASCINATING AIDA - ABSOLUTELY MIRACULOUS!, written by Dillie Keane and Adele Anderson and directed by Frank Thompson.

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes the return of Fascinating Aida to Brits Off Broadway with the US premiere of FASCINATING AIDA - ABSOLUTELY MIRACULOUS!, written by Dillie Keane and Adele Anderson and directed by Frank Thompson.

Performing arts projects from Chile, Brazil, and Japan are among dozens of new events added to the 2010 schedule at REDCAT (the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater), which also announced today that the cast for the touring production North Atlantic, by New York's famed The Wooster Group, will feature Academy Award-winner Frances McDormand and Emmy-nominated ER Alum Maura Tierney.

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes the return of Fascinating Aida to Brits Off Broadway with the US premiere of FASCINATING AIDA - ABSOLUTELY MIRACULOUS!, written by Dillie Keane and Adele Anderson and directed by Frank Thompson.

The critically acclaimed Brits Off Broadway festival, host to the UK's most innovative and provocative theater in New York City, returns this year with a line up of seven productions. Presented by 59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer), Brits Off Broadway launches on Tuesday, November 3 and runs through Sunday, January 3.

The critically acclaimed Brits Off Broadway festival, host to the UK's most innovative and provocative theater in New York City, returns this year with a line up of seven productions. Presented by 59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer), Brits Off Broadway launches on Tuesday, November 3 and runs through Sunday, January 3.

It's the time of year where the Theatre World celebrates the best of the best and special recognition is bestowed upon certain individuals for their work. No...I am not talking about the Tony Awards...although I know where I will be that evening. I talking about the 19th Annual Kleban Awards, which will be presented in a private ceremony on June 1st, 2009.

Orson Welles is one of the most influential men in the history of American pop culture. He has had his fingers in more pies than can be imagined, from redifining what radio programing can be to indicting high ranking American officiates. Christian McKay and his fledgling theatre company, Atomic80 Productions have brought their already critically-acclaimed and award winning-play about the life and times of Orson Welles, Rosebud, to New York City. We sat down with Christian McKay to find out about Rosebud, Atomic80, Christian, and, of course, the man, the legend, Orson Welles.

This week we talk to the director Stephen Sachs and actors, Morlan Higgins and William Dennis Hurley of the new play by Athrol Fugard, 'Exits and Entrances' which is now playing at Primary Stages.

Joe Drymala and Eric Svejcar aren't a songwriting team, but they have a few things in common besides the fact that they both write musicals. The songs of both men will be sung by performers such as Euan Morton, Robert Cuccioli, Tyler Maynard, Kate Wetherhead and Amanda Watkins on April 26th for their Stuck in the Zipper concert at the Zipper Theatre, and it's safe to say that both like to take risks with their shows...

Tony-Nominated Keith Roberts Hurt in Baltimore May Miss One Month from 'Movin' Out' Tour

The show, will begin previews on April 3, 2006 and will open on May 1, 2006.

A visitor walking into the Avatar recording studio in New York City last May was greeted with the most stirring rendition of Stephen Sondheim's 'Too Many Mornings'. The voices of Marin Mazzie and her husband, Jason Danieley, were so exceptionally suited to the music that a new dimension was added to the material.

2004 Tony Award Nominee for FIDDLER Turns Playwright

CONTEST CLOSED! British musical comedy trio Fascinating Aida have announced the triumphant Off Broadway return of their show Absolutely Fascinating!

After love letters from the critics and intense audience acclaim, the splendidly savage and delightfully bitter British musical comedy trio FASCINATING AIDA have announced the triumphant Off Broadway return of their show Absolutely Fascinating. By popular demand, an exclusive limited engagement will run at the Kirk Theatre on Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street) from April 6 to May 15. Founding members and seasoned veterans Adele Anderson and Dillie Keane are again joined by dazzling new diva Liza Pulman, with musical director Russell Churney on piano. The official opening night is set for April 11

What do YOU think about when the curtain goes up on a brand new musical? Of course, the actors and directors get the lion's share of the praise, but we're about to get some first-hand insight as to what goes on with a musical - from the months of advance preparation through each nightly performance.