As You Were - 1920 - Broadway Articles Page 10

Alberta Theatre Projects has announced their 49th season line-up, which will run from September 2020 to May 2021. The season will feature a made-in-Calgary world premiere, a ground-breaking Shakespeare adaptation, two hit Canadian plays, a high-flying family adventure, and a gritty, immersive music theatre masterpiece, and four different seating configurations.

Ah the good old days! Back when the sky was clear, the water was clean and the red, white and blue of the 48 star spangled banner still waved true. Only not so much for people of color and immigrants who came to the 'land of opportunity'. Prejudice and racism is as American as apple pie as Southwest Theatre Productions's world premiere of TRADE WITH KLAN by Donald E. Baker so clearly illustrates.

2020 is upon us, we're back in the twenties! The cousins that get them shows buzzin', Brock Harris and Johnson Brock, bring you The Secret, Not-So-Secret Show. Mums the word but if you happen upon this ad please join us for a rousing night of jazz and drinks a?"speakeasy style. Rumor has it Courtney Reed (Aladdin, In the Heights) will be headlining with Telly Leung (Aladdin, a?oeGleea??) and there are whispers of other Broadway crooners and flappers attending our hotsy totsy evening. The roaring 20s are upon us, join for a night of crooning, swooning, and vintage costuming.

Check out Joe's Pub lineup for the Under the Radar festival featuring new and experimental work from Rizo (fka Lady Rizo), Lucy McComick, Daniel J. Watts, and Ryan J. Haddad. Rounding out the week is Kittel & Co, Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra, Jean-Michel Blais, Rev Billy, a very fun showcase from DANCE NOW, Nellie McKay, Aditya Prakash, Damien Sneed, William Prince, Xenia França, Luis Enrique and, as always, a ton more.

After a raucous sold-out performance this summer, Amber Martin returns with her tribute to the legendary Continental Baths and Bathhouse-era Bette Midler... in Bathhouse Bette. This performance focuses on the early 70's era of Bette Midler during Continental Baths days singing with her as yet unknown accompanist was Barry Manilow. As per the fashion of Bette... copious amounts of singing, stories, and dancing ensue!

With Latoya McCormick and Tron Montgomery leading the way in this Fats Waller revue, 'it's so nice, it should be illegal.'

Check out the Joe's Pub lineup for the tip-top of the year a?" a new Country Music night from Jim, Jenn & Neal; Haitian singer-songwriter BeLO; two of the three Ultramagnetic MCs Kool Keith and CED-GEE; Kittel & Co, Rev Billy, a very fun showcase from DANCE NOW and, as always, a ton more.

Sitting Bull. Geronimo. Red Cloud. These are some of the famous historical Native American figures featured in a rare collection of photographs newly acquired by the University of Michigan William L. Clements Library.

25 Shows & Performances in the Tampa Bay Area That Rocked Our World from 2010 to 2019!

The Broadway-aimed musical Americano!, inspired by the life of DREAMer and political strategist Tony Valdovinos, will premiere at Phoenix, Arizona's The Phoenix Theatre Company, January 29 - February 23. Opening night is January 31. Americano! is presented by The Phoenix Theatre Company and Quixote Productions (Jason Rose, producer), Tony Award-winning producer Ken Davenport (Altar Boyz, Godspell, Kinky Boots and Once on This Island) is the executive producer.

The cabaret sensation will help the patrons of 54 Below ring in the New Year with a brand new show... and this time he's doing something he has never done before.

'Dear Jack, Dear Louise' is a moving, funny, and heartbreaking show with a sweetly earnest cast and a formidable production team. Based on the true story of playwright Ken Ludwig's parents' letters and courtship during World War II, 'Dear Jack, Dear Louise' is a lovingly told and timeless romance, and a pleasurable reminder of the past and of our humanity.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the company for A Thousand Splendid Suns, adapted for the stage by Ursula Rani Sarma and based on the 2007 New York Times bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini (Kite Runner). Set in 1992 in war-torn Afghanistan, this gripping story centers around a friendship that develops between two Afghan women following a tragedy. While facing insurmountable odds of a brutal and oppressive way of life, the two form an unlikely bond in a heart-rending fight for survival. Directed by Carey Perloff, A Thousand Splendid Suns runs January 17 - March 1, 2020 in the Kreeger Theater.

In Arena Stage's Dear Jack, Dear Louise, Jake Epstein is not only talking about another period, but another form of communication, one long since forgotten by society a?' letters.

The incomparable life and extraordinary, trailblazing career of jazz titan and influential composer Charlie Parker will be honored throughout 2020 with a worldwide celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of his birth (August 29, 1920). Lovingly dubbed Bird 100 after the nickname of the preeminent alto saxophonist who was one of the fathers of bebop and progenitors of modern jazz, the centennial will include a host of major initiatives including exciting new music releases, a tribute tour, festivals and events, prestigious exhibitions, special partnerships, a unique graphic novel, exclusive collectible art, and myriad of independent appreciations and concerts.

a?oeGypsya?? is undeniably one of the all-time great achievements of the American musical theater. It possesses a thrilling combination of showbiz razzmatazz and dramatic intensity, grounded in Arthur Laurents' complex book and wrapped in an incomparably tuneful and stirring score by Jule Styne & Stephen Sondheim. For anyone who has not yet had the pleasure of seeing a?oeGypsy,a?? here's the basic rundown. This a?oemusical fablea?? is pretty much the ultimate backstage musical, set in the 1920's/30's against the backdrop of the dying vaudeville circuit and based on the true tale of the ultimate stage mother and her two daughters. Momma Rose, dissatisfied with the lousy cards life has dealt her, pushes her two young daughters to careers in show business as a way of fulfilling her own dreams. In real life, one eventually became successful actress June Havoc, and the other perhaps the most famous American stripper of all time, Gypsy Rose Lee. The show is replete with kiddie acts, charm songs, comic numbers and roof-raising anthems, all performed with a dual edge of gusto and desperation.

David Hirata is the creator and sole performer of a?oeA Box Without a Bottom (Soko-nashi Bako)a?? currently running at The Marsh Berkeley. Within the context of a magic show, Mr. Hirata connects his own personal story to that of earlier Japanese magicians in a way that explores the illusions of race and identity in America. Talking with him, it's evident that he's a true magic geek as he delights in sharing his extensive knowledge about the history of magic and finding hidden links to his heritage as a Japanese American.

There's a reason that Frank Loesser's a?oeGuys & Dollsa?? has endured all these years and keeps coming back, it's a near perfect musical. It's fun and frothy with that rare breed of songs that all move the story along and tell a story of their own. But with these songs, and because of them, you need a love story that reads true, connections with everyone on stage, and storytelling in the staging and choreography as well as in the dialog and lyrics. And while the current production at Village Theatre has some numbers that worked and some wonderful performers, it lacked those three elements making the show a nice collection of performances with no spark or cohesion.

When thinking of the great composers and playwrights whose works have graced Arena Stage, these are the names that come to mind. So when Disney's Newsies was announced for this season, it is understandable why some were shaking their head quizzically.

George Gershwin loved going to nightclubs. One evening when he was “on the town' with his pal Fred Astaire as they were in a club enjoying a group of entertainers George turned to Fred and said…”Where do all these new young talented people come from”?

When tragedy strikes it is often the relationships forged between those who survived that allows the victims to carry on. This shared experience bonds strangers and families alike. But what about those who were spared? Though family and friends not present may have avoided the worst, they, too, struggle with reconciling the impact to those they love and the guilt they feel having not been impacted directly. And all involved have to find a way to move on and live their lives. This prevailing emotion is at the center of Barbara Lebow's play, A SHAYNA MAIDEL which is now playing at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford.

The F. Scott Fitzgerald classic 'The Great Gatsby' is almost 100 years old, but the story still resonates.

RADIUM GIRLS, D.W. Gregory's sobering play based on real events is onstage at the Kimmel Theatre on Midland University campus. Yellowed newspaper articles about the Radium Girls, photographs, and copies of luminous watch faces and drinks are on display in the lobby, getting us prepared for the story to come. And let me tell you: this is one not to miss.

Lately John Austin's career seems to have two constants, exploring society's most topical issues and doing so at Arena Stage.

IN CIRCLES is a feast for the eyes, even if Gertrude Stein's texts as lyrics seem nonsensical at times. Just go with the flow and let the atmosphere of the avant-garde 1968 theatre scene set your mind free! If only Stein's lover Alice B. Toklas was there to hand out her special recipe brownies to enhance the 80-minute experience!