Applause - 2005 - Regional (US) Articles Page 3

We start the 2023 as we mean to go on; with some cracking West End shows. From some well-deserved transfers from the Theatre Royal Bath and Chichester Festival Theatre, to the UK premiere of George Takei's musical and the unknown story of Charlie  Chaplin and  Stan Laurel there are some true theatrical treats in store in January.

Maine State Music Theatre was saddened to receive news of the passing of one of its legendary stars – an actor whose career was inextricably interwoven with the history of Maine’s premier musical theatre. “Bernie” Wurger was a mainstay of MSMT summers from 1962 until 2000, playing 195 leading and supporting roles and winning an indelible place in the hearts of his public. His long and versatile career spanned opera, musical theatre, directing, and film not only in Maine but in New York and leading regional theatres across the country.

TEMAN (Teater Musikal Nusantara) did what many Indonesian thespians thought impossible: bring Jonathan Larson’s 1996 RENT to the country. The show’s themes — which proved to be just as relevant in 2022, if not more so — were powerfully brought to life through effective direction, heartrending performances, and delightful production design.

Pasadena Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman announced the latest news for the theater’s upcoming six-month-long celebration of the works and impact of Stephen Sondheim January 26 through June 11, 2023. 

St Helens-born actor Michael Parr – best known for his role as an Emmerdale bad boy – came home to perform in his hometown last night in the raucous comedy Rita, Sue & Bob Too! receiving a rapturous welcome. Check out all new photos here!

GRAMMY, EMMY, and twice Tony Award-winning singer, composer, director, author, actor, and playwright Billy Porter has released a timely and empowering new song entitled “Stranger Things” via Island UK and Republic Records.

Director Jay Schmuck’s staging of this production of The 39 Steps is highly creative. The dialogue is lively and the physical comedy is mesmerizing and hilarious. The cast and crew have put together an immensely entertaining evening, so get your tickets quickly.

Check out over 80 events that are happening in the Philadelphia area.  From food and fun to entertainment, there’s something for everyone!

Leapin’ Lizards! The full cast and creative team has been announced for the all-new tour of the iconic Tony Award®-winning musical ANNIE. In the title role of Annie is Ellie Pulsifer, a 12-year-old actress from South Florida, making her tour debut. 

A good time is guaranteed no matter which Baby Wants Candy show you attend, however, Shamilton just eclipses the rest and is ultimately a safer bet for a fun evening.

The musical is all over the place, but key performances make this one show to go out of your way to see.

One of Houston's newest theatre companies, The Garden Theatre, has announced its plans to bring a staged reading of While Childhood Slept by Sharon Sheppard and Jo Ellen Hubert to the MATCH and Holocaust Museum Houston. The original musical will run September 2-4, 2022 at Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston.

Bublé originally cut this performance of the Olivia Rodrigo smash at BBC Radio 2’s biggest celebration of live music in a decade at London’s BBC Maida Vale Studios. Energized by accompaniment from the BBC Concert Orchestra, he adds another dimension to the Gen Z pop staple. Watch the new performance now! Plus, check out upcoming tour dates!

Three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning R&B hitmaker, iconic songwriter, actor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist NE-YO returns with a new single and music video entitled “Don’t Love Me” via Motown Records. On the track, acoustic guitar threads around a throwback-style beat. The song arrives on the heels of the fan favorite “Stay Down” [feat. Yung Bleu].

It's Good Friday, and I am attending Aimee Mann's opening night at City Winery. It's the first of four shows she will be playing over the weekend in New York City, which is the first stop on her US tour to promote her new album, Queens of the Summer Hotel. Read our critic's review.

AIR PLAY, written, created by, and starring Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone, the Acrobuffos, is set to run at the New Victory Theatre from February 11th until March 6th. It features air sculptures in collaboration with Daniel Wurtzel and direction by West Hyler. With knowing smiles and suitcases full of surprises, this comedic duo elicits gales of laughter as they transform ordinary objects into uncommon beauty. This delightful, flightful homage to the power of air will take your breath away as the Acrobuffos goad gravity and make really, really, really high art out of the very thing we breathe.

The album includes hits like the GRAMMY® Award-winning global smash, “Lose Control (Feat. Ciara & Fatman Scoop)” and the GRAMMY®-nominated “We Run This.” To celebrate the album’s platinum certification and as a thank you to fans, Missy Elliott has released a limited number of The Cookbook as original vinyl double LPs.

I fell in love with Jersey Boys when I discovered the cast recording back in 2006. That recording turned me into a fan of the group The Four Seasons which I honestly didn't know before this. Granted I knew some of the songs, but I found it fascinating that also 'my elders' didn't really know the group either. Later I learned that they never toured outside the United states. That could be a reason why the band went under the radar. I saw the musical twice in London and once in Las Vegas although my jetlag almost killed that experience. I had to drink four Red Bulls to stay awake. Luckily I did not need any Red Bull during the Norwegian premiere of this show. The show itself was energy booster enough for me.

As only the third American opera company in history to reach this centennial milestone, the Company’s 2022–23 Season will honor San Francisco Opera’s glorious past while inviting the public into an exciting new era of musical excellence under Kim’s music directorship and a renewed commitment to innovation.

It seems variety is the spice of classical music and opera in San Diego. The city’s symphony orchestra plans to appear in a dozen or more venues next year, and the opera company has used a different venue for each of its three recent recital concerts. The latest of these featured Mexican-born tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz, and the operatic tenor’s program choices continued the varietal spice. The first half began with five Italian canciones followed by four Spanish zarzuelas and concluded with two Puccini arias. But many in the audience were waiting for the all-mariachi second half. Their reward was 11 Mexican-Spanish favorites sung in front of the 10-piece Mariachi Continental de México led by musical director Silvano Chavez.

After 20 months of darkened theaters and digital performances, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dancers make their long-awaited return to the Benedum Center stage Oct. 22-24 for the company's 2021-2022 “Season Premiere” with the PBT Orchestra. 

I missed a lot of theater where you can sit and be but after you reflect and re-reflect. This is the case with Flight over a Cuckoo's Nest at the Teatr Polski in Wroclaw. Go, feel and think.

From June 18th to June 22nd, PNB’s final digital performance of the 2020-2021 season bids a bittersweet good-bye to seven dancers who are leaving to begin new chapters of their lives.

The Road Theatre Company has begun streaming playwright Steve Yockey’s REYKJAVÍK, their second show of their 2021 virtual season. Set in Reykjavík, Iceland, Ann Hearn Tobolowsky directs the REYKJAVÍK cast of Stephen Tyler Howell, Alaska Jackson, Carlos Lacamara, Brian Ibsen, Danny Lee Gomez and Jacqueline Misaye. Ann managed to find some time between REYKJAVÍK rehearsals, and being half of a beloved Los Angeles theatre acting/directing couple, to answer a few of my enquiries.

San Francisco Ballet has announced Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson’s farewell season in 2022, celebrating Tomasson’s remarkable 37-year tenure leading the Company.