As You Were - 1920 - Broadway Articles Page 11

It's true what they say; the classics never do go out of style. That's particularly true with 1927's The Jazz Singer. The first feature-length 'sound film,' Alan Crosland's The Jazz Singer made history with its use of synchronized sound, however it's also remembered for its controversial use of blackface. Now, almost a century later, audience members get the opportunity to re-discover such a significant production in an entirely new medium.

When the Seattle Rep announced their season and I saw they were taking on Paula Vogel's incredible play a?oeIndecenta?? I was thrilled. But even more so I was surprised as to how many of my friends hadn't heard of it. I mean, it was nominated for a Tony, and even had the entire thing shown on PBS at one point. But still it was only the major theater geeks that had this one on their radar. Well, now that it's here I'm pleased to state that the Rep's production completely met and exceeded my expectations and now I can share my thoughts on this stunning play with you, Dear Readers, and explain why you need to catch it.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents renowned German clarinetist David Orlowsky and Italy's famed Quartetto di Cremona in a spellbinding Klezmer journey on Saturday, October 12, 2019, at 7:30 pm in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis.

An arresting artistic light shines over Lyric Arts in September, 2019. To begin their fall season,  Anoka's enterprising theater company produces on the Main Stage Theater, Bright Star--- a 2016 award winning musical by the creative genius of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. These two talents captured an interpretation of their Grammy Award winning album 'Love Has Come For You'  in their engaging production set in North Carolina through flashbacks beginning in 1945 that returns to  the early1920's. Lively compositions featuring bluegrass melodies enrapture the audience, while the musical's Southern ambiance and characters bring this uniquely American musical genre to stage life in one memorable and mesmerizing evening.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and Music Director Louis Langrée announce the release of the Orchestra's latest recording, Transatlantic. The album showcasing American composer George Gershwin's take on bustling Paris, French composer Edgar Varèse's take on New York's soundscape, and Igor Stravinsky composing the same work across two continents became available on Friday, August 30 for streaming and purchase digitally. A two-compact disc physical release of Transatlantic will be available September 13, 2019. This album includes the highly anticipated world premiere recording of the critical edition of George Gershwin's An American in Paris. The CSO also gave the world premiere performance of this new edition at La Seine Musicale in Paris in 2017.

Natalie Bassingthwaighte (Roxie) and Alinta Chidzey (Velma) lead the Sydney return of Walter Bobbie's multi award winning revival of John Kander (Music), Fred Ebb (Lyrics & Book), and Bob Fosse's (Book) CHICAGO

IMMERSIVE | LDN is a 32,000sq ft historic building in the heart of Mayfair, which was home to the Queen Victoria's Rifles Association until 2017. It includes three floors of immersive theatre and event spaces designated for performance, live gaming, events, escape rooms and private parties. For information about programming and venue hire visit www.immersiveldn.com

If Jayne Atkinson were looking for a tour-de-force, then she found one as the late Texas governor holding court at Arena Stage in Ann. Written by Holland Taylor, Ann is a one woman play about the late Texas Governor Ann Richards that is part reflective autobiography, part homage to public service, and always entertaining.

San Francisco Playhouse is thrilled to announce that their production of Dipika Guha's Yoga Play will move to Laguna Playhouse this fall. San Francisco Playhouse Artistic Director Bill English will direct, with most of the original Playhouse cast reprising their roles in the Southern California production.

Broadway and TV actor Frances Jue is currently starring in TheatreWorks' production of Julia Cho's 'The Language Archive.' Mr. Jue recently talked to BroadwayWorld about his lengthy and surprising career path, from his formative experiences with Stephen Sondheim and TheatreWorks to working with Tony winners David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori, and of course his continuing role on the CBS television series 'Madam Secretary.' His fascinating story serves as an inspiring example for anyone who doesn't see a clear path to success or struggles to find a place to fit in.

The U.S. tour of the Olivier Award-winning THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG lands at the Ahmanson Theatre for its Los Angeles stop beginning July 9, 2019. This madcap play-within-a-play also won, among other laurels, the Tony for Best Scenic Design in 2017. I 'rightfully' got a chance to ask a few questions of WRONG's Brandon J. Ellis. Brandon's the U.S. tour's original Trevor, the sound and lighting tech handling the play-within-a-play THE MURDER AT HAVERSHAM MANOR, a 1920's murder mystery.

This is one fast and furiously entertaining show!

INDECENT now onstage at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in a co-production with Huntington Theatre Company, magnificently directed by Rebecca Taichman, is as close to a Broadway-quality production as you will ever see in the City of Angels, with incredibly entertaining, stylized movement performed by triple-threat performers, guaranteed to draw you into not only the story but the necessity of its truth being brought to the stage now.

Notable for being the final selection of Woolly's incomparable Founding Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz, Rajiv Joseph's 'Describe the Night' is a must-see for any serious DC area theatergoer

Jeff Goldblum is behind the piano at the helm of the jazz ensemble, The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. Providing smooth charm with playful vamp. The 'hep-cat' works the crowd with Q and A, playing trivia, and laying down classic jazz standards and improv. Sunday June 2nd, Goldblum's The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra will be performing an intimate and energetic jazz performance at the 2019 Viva Health Starlight Gala for the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.

When you enter the downstairs space at La Mama, multi-colored fluorescent lights illuminate a multi-level stage.  Asked to enter the theater in twos, your first stop is a few steps up to a level.  If you so choose, you can go inside the curtain to speak with the great ancestors.  The play Messiah has big ambitions, a title which promises significance and a downtown sensibility right from the start.

'The Drowsy Chaperone' by Brick by Brick Arts successfully captures the joyful feeling of escape and mixes with a fun, mad-cap story, rich with 1920's tropes and characters. The plot of 'The Drowsy Chaperone' is not the highlight of the musical, and that's the point. It's how the story is told that delivers memorable comedy and musical theater gold.

The June 2020 release of the filmed production of Jeamarie Simpson's HERETIC, timed for the 350th Anniversary of Mary Dyer's execution, has just been announced. Although the premiere is a year away, it seems fitting that, coinciding with Mother's Day and the abiding relevance of issues related to free speech, we offer an exclusive interview with the author about the work and the person ('the mother of the First Amendment), conducted by her associate, Shannon Cain.

We at Kneehigh aren't the first to refashion a Beggar's Opera for our times. And I'm betting we won't be the last. The enduring power of John Gay's extraordinary musical mash-up of high and low art, first unleashed in 1726, made an explosive impression on popular culture then and continues to do so now.

Instead of immediately following up his hit 2013 urban jazz album Bleu Horizons with a like-minded sequel, guitarist Craig Sharmat immersed in the music scene of his new adopted hometown of Santa Barbara and formed The Idiomatiques - which became the first Gypsy Jazz band in history to score a hit on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart with the track 'C'est La Vie.'

This musical revue is a unique ensemble piece with Cole Porter himself at the center of the group of society friends and counterparts from literature and musical theatre of the 1920-40s. Director Mary Cutler and cast take on this revue, and Cutler's insights are shared here.

Baruch Performing Arts Center, along with New York-based theater company Blessed Unrest and Teatri ODA of Kosovo, will co-present the World Premiere of Refuge from April 25 - May 11 @ 7:30, with a variable weekly schedule and a 5pm performance Sun May 5 (Opening Night April 27) at Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue (25 Street between Third and Lexington Avenues), NYC. 

Committed since its inception to reviving important but neglected operas, Bard SummerScape has long proven itself 'an indispensable part of the summer operatic landscape' (Musical America).

Under the direction of Ivo Van Hove, Czech composer's Leos Janacek's song cycle, The Diary of One Who Disappeared, is given a rare performance by Muziektheater Transparant.

The Cabaret Theatre at Rutgers University finishes its 2018-19 season with their final musical production, The Wild Party.