Christmas from the Heart - 1998 - New York Articles Page 11

Goodman Theatre proudly announces the completed expansion of its Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement-a state-of-the-art, LEED-certified, 10,000 square-foot community arts center in the heart of downtown Chicago, accessible within the Goodman facility. Designed by Wheeler Kearns Architects with Lead Architect Chris-Annemarie Spencer, the Alice Center is the new home for the Goodman's myriad programs for youth, educators and lifelong learners. Newly-opened spaces-the Northern Trust Lab, Efroymson and Hamid Family Lobby, Sabl Conference Room and a library, kitchen and restroom facilities, including one gender-neutral restroom, funded by Linda Hutson-join the Clifford Family Lobby, Roger and Julie Baskes Rotunda, Walter Family Foundation Lab and Pritzker Foundation I.T. Hub. Prince Charitable Trusts/Patrick and Meredith Wood Prince are the Supporters of LEED Certification in the Alice. Chicago civic leader Michael Sachs named the Center in honor of his late wife, Alice B. Rapoport-a Goodman Trustee and 15-year champion of the theater's Education and Engagement outreach efforts.

On Monday, April 2nd at 9:30pm, Christopher Sloan & Gavin Esham want YOU to vote them to Broadway after getting to know them during Chris & Gavin's Broadway Campaign Spectacular, an evening of sketch comedy, song and unintentional nudity that tackles hot topics.

Jones Street Productions presents the New York premiere of Moolah, a new comedy by Arje Shaw (The Gathering, Magic Hands Freddie). Directed by Charles Messina (A Room of My Own), the limited engagement plays 16 performances only, April 5 - 29 at Roy Arias Stage II (777 Eight Avenue, between 47th - 48th Streets). The official opening night is April 12 at 7:30PM. Tickets are currently on sale at Ovationtix.com.

Esther and Schmuli are shy young Orthodox Jews embarking on an arranged marriage, despite barely knowing each other. Abe and Julia are high-profile celebrities embarking on a dangerously flirtatious correspondence, despite being married to other people. On the surface, the lives of these two couples couldn't be more different. But Anna Ziegler's funny, insightful, and mysterious new drama explores the hidden connections between seemingly disparate people, drawing audiences into an intriguing puzzle and a deeply sympathetic look at modern love.

Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) will host Druid, Ireland's most celebrated theatre company, and their critically acclaimed production of Waiting for Godot. Directed by Tony Award-winner Garry Hynes, Druid's production of Samuel Beckett's absurd, anarchic masterpiece will make its regional premiere at the Lansburgh Theatre (450 7th Street, NW) from April 17 through May 20, 2018 before it travels on to Chicago.

Lyricist, bookwriter, and Broadway performer Jill Abramovitz and Tony-nominated actor Anika Larsen (Beautiful) will co-host Prospect Theater Company's upcoming Good to Go Songwriters' Showcase: a concert celebrating new works-in-process created or co-created by women writers.  This special one night event will be presented on March 10, 2018 at 8pm at The TimesCenter (242 West 41st, NYC).

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full cast and creative team for the world-premiere musical Snow Child, based on Eowyn Ivey's Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel. Infused with a score that combines Alaskan string band-traditions with contemporary musical theater, Snow Child follows a couple rebuilding their lives in the Alaskan wilderness when they meet a magical and mysterious snow child who transforms them.

Final cast is today announced for Charles Court Opera's smart, stylish, sparkling fresh version of the most loved of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic masterpieces, The Mikado.

Lyricist, bookwriter, and Broadway performer Jill Abramovitz and Tony-nominated actor Anika Larsen (Beautiful) will co-host Prospect Theater Company's upcoming Good to Go Songwriters' Showcase: a concert celebrating new works-in-process created or co-created by women writers.  This special one night event will be presented on March 10, 2018 at 8pm at The TimesCenter (242 West 41st, NYC).

Following a smash hit run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017 and as seen on ITV's Royal Variety Performance, Circus Abyssinia makes its London premiere at Underbelly Festival for six weeks only. As circus marks its 250th anniversary this year, Circus Abyssinia: Ethiopian Dreams is a jubilant celebration of circus itself that will mesmerise audiences of all ages through the sheer infectious energy and spirit which fly from its cast.

A reimagined, revitalized production of Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning playwright Neil Simon's classic Laughter on the 23rd Floor marks the final production in the nonprofit's 4-Play Inaugural Season. Featuring John Ross Bowie (Speechless, The Big Bang Theory) and directed by Co-Artistic Director of Los Angeles' award-winning Celebration Theatre Michael A. Shepperd, Laughter on the 23rd Floor will play a limited run, March 23 through April 22, 2018.

Washington, D.C.'s St. Patrick's Day festivities get off to an early start as The Irish Tenors celebrate all things Irish with a special concert performance at the National Theatre on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 8:00pm.

The Alaskan wilderness, the architecture of Barcelona, and a small village in Ghana are among the diverse worlds explored in Prospect Theater Company's upcoming Good to Go Songwriters' Showcase: a concert celebrating new works-in-process created or co-created by women writers. The third annual concert event will be presented on March 10, 2018 at 8pm at The TimesCenter (242 West 41st, NYC).

Daniel Evans and Rachel Tackley said: 'We're enormously grateful for the warm welcome extended to us by our local community and those visiting from further afield during our first season, which welcomed Chichester's largest-ever Festival audience.

Musicals Tonight!'s 20th Anniversary Spring Season opener of Rodgers and Hart's The Boys From Syracuse, begins performances Tuesday, February 13th at The Lion Theatre on Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street).  The comedy farce about mistaken identity, as adapted by George Abbott, will play a limited engagement through February 25th.  The Boys From Syracuse is directed and choreographed by Jonathan Cerullo who has given the musical a  fresh new take with men cast in almost all of the female roles for the very first time.  Tickets are $45 and can be purchased through www.telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.

Nancy Manocherian's the cell (Artistic Director, Kira Simring) will present the Off Broadway Premiere of BASTARD JONES, a rock musical comedy based on Henry Fielding's bawdy 18th century novel, The History of Tom Jones. With book, lyrics, & direction by Marc Acito (Broadway's Allegiance) and music & lyrics by Amy Engelhardt (Grammy nominees The Bobs), performances begin June 14 at the cell. Opening is slated for Thursday, June 22.

Elizabeth Birnkrant, known for her roles in JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN for Eclipse Theatre, 1984 at Steppenwolf, VICES AND VIRTUES: THE GREAT WAR at Profiles Theatre and other roles with Sideshow, First Floor and Roadworks theatre companies, has been cast in the leading role of L'il Bit in The Artistic Home's production of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize winning HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE. The Artistic Home co-founder John Mossman will play Uncle Peck, the family member who has a sexual relationship with his niece Li'l Bit during her pre-teen and teenage years. Mossman, who directed The Artistic Home's BY THE BOG OF CATS last year, as an actor has most recently appeared as Leontes in THE WINTERS TALE and O'Trigger in THE RIVALS at Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre.  He has also appeared with The Artistic Home as MACBETH and as Shannon in NIGHT OF THE IGUANA. He played Atticus Finch in Oak Park Festival Theatre's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and performed in the Steppenwolf production of THE MARCH.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) is proud to present the world premiere of Lost Laughs: The Slapstick Tragedy of Fatty Arbuckle, written by Andy Bayiates and Aaron Muñoz, directed by Nathan Keepers, with performances February 14 - March 11, 2018, at the Nancy L. Donahue Theatre located at 50 East Merrimack Street in historic downtown Lowell. In addition, MRT is hosting a panel discussion on the historical context of Lost Laughs titled "Women's Rights, Prohibition, and the Fall of Fatty," on Thursday, March 1, immediately after the 7:30 pm show (details below).

The Irish Tenors kick off Washington, D.C.'s St. Patrick's Day festivities a week early as they celebrate all things Irish with a special concert performance at the National Theatre on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 8:00pm.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced complete casting today for the New York premiere of MISS YOU LIKE HELL. With book and lyrics by Quiara Alegr a Hudes and music and lyrics by Erin McKeown, the new musical is directed by Public Theater Resident Director and Founder of Public Works Lear deBessonet, with choreography by Danny Mefford. The musical will begin previews in The Public's Newman Theater on Tuesday, March 20 and run through Sunday, May 6, with an official press opening on Tuesday, April 10.

Casting has been announced for Musicals Tonight!'s 20th Spring Season opener of Rodgers and Hart's The Boys From Syracuse, the comedy farce about mistaken identity, as adapted by George Abbott.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present its 2018-19 season in its creative home at Houston's Wortham Theater Center after a year of displacement due to damage to the building from Hurricane Harvey. The 64th season will open October 19, 2018, with HGO's first performances in 20 years of Wagner's romantic ghost story The Flying Dutchman, in a new production featuring baritoneAndrzej Dobber as the Dutchman and the role debut of award-winning American soprano and HGO Studio alumna Rachel Willis-S rensen as Senta. To close the season, the new Kasper Holten production of Mozart's Don Giovanni featuring the HGO debut of baritone Philippe Sly in the title role and the role debut of soprano Ailyn P rez as Donna Anna will be presented in repertory with The Phoenix, a world premiere about the colorful life of Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart's librettist for the masterful Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and Cos fan tutte. The new work, written by composer Tarik O'Regan and librettist John Caird, will star renowned baritone Thomas Hampson as Lorenzo da Ponte in a belated HGO debut and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni as Da Ponte's son, Lorenzo. HGO will also present a revival of Daniel Cat n's ethereal Florencia en el Amazonas with internationally acclaimed soprano and HGO Studio alumna Ana Mar a Mart nez in the title role; the first HGO presentation of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers with the stellar tenor and baritone pairing of Lawrence Brownlee and Mariusz Kwiecien in the title roles along with soprano Andrea Carroll; and the return of HGO's 2012 production of Puccini's perennial classic La boh me, featuring the role debut of soprano and HGO Studio alumna Nicole Heaston as Mim .

San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock today announced plans for the 2018 19 Season. The Company's 96th Season will open Friday, September 7 with a gala double-bill performance of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in Jos Cura's production with an international cast featuring Lianna Haroutounian, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Roberto Aronica, Marco Berti and Dimitri Platanias, conducted by Daniele Callegari. To usher in the new opera season, San Francisco Opera Guild will produce its signature benefit event, Opera Ball 2018.

San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock today announced plans for the 2018 19 Season. The Company's 96th Season will open Friday, September 7 with a gala double-bill performance of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in Jos Cura's production with an international cast featuring Lianna Haroutounian, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Roberto Aronica, Marco Berti and Dimitri Platanias, conducted by Daniele Callegari. To usher in the new opera season, San Francisco Opera Guild will produce its signature benefit event, Opera Ball 2018.

The Artistic Home will continue its 2017-18 season with Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize winning HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, to be directed by The Artistic Home's Associate Artistic Director Kayla Adams. It will open to the press Sunday, March 25 at 7:00 pm, following previews from March 21-24. HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, which premiered in 1997, was a Pulitzer Prize winner and a pioneering drama for its examination of pedophilia and sexual abuse of women. It follows a young woman, named L'il Bit, from age 11 to age 18 and her friendship and sexual affair with her uncle. Director Adams says, this courageous and surprising script reminds me again and again of the healing power of storytelling. In reviewing the 2017 production by the Cleveland Playhouse, the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER said, We can rejoice that 'How I Learned to Drive' feels as fresh and fearless as it did two decades ago - and mourn for the same reason.