Co-Optimists - 1924 - West End Articles Page 12

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, recognized by U.S. Congress as 'a vital American cultural ambassador to the world,' returns to Paris, Basel, several German cities, and Copenhagen to perform 15 ballets from July 4 - September 10.

A few years ago I bought a recording of Schlagobers, which had been written by the venerable Richard Strauss for the Vienna State Opera Ballet in 1924. I had a difficult time listening to the music-it didn't gel, nor did it leave any imprint on my mind. I suppose there was a reason for it not having many recordings-compare this with Rosenkavalier. I remember doing some research on this project: Strauss was serving as co-director of the Vienna State Opera with Franz Schalk and wanted to raise the prestige of the ballet wing after it had been decimated in the First World War. As a devoted admirer of Diaghilev company, for which he had once written Josephslegende, Strauss went about composing and writing his own libretto for what was to become Schlagobers, choreographed by Heinrich Kröller, who devised a mass spectacle that required 287 costumes at a cost of four billion kronnen, becoming known as the 'billionaire's ballet.' And at a time when inflation was climbing minute by minute.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, recognized by U.S. Congress as 'a vital American cultural ambassador to the world,' returns to Paris, Basel, several German cities, and Copenhagen to perform 15 ballets from July 4 - September 10.

Single (non-subscription) tickets for San Francisco Opera's 2017 Fall Season at the War Memorial Opera House go on sale Monday, June 26, 2017, at 10 a.m. Tickets may be purchased online at sfopera.com; in-person at the San Francisco Opera Box Office, located at 301 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco and open Mondays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and by phone at (415) 864-3330 during Box Office hours. Full and Half Series subscription packages are also available. Tickets for the three cycles of Wagner's Ring during the summer of 2018 are available as complete, four-opera cycles only.

Lesser America (Half Moon Bay, The Bachelors, Carnival Kids, Trevor) presents the New York Premiere of IN A WORD by Lauren Yee, winner of the 2016 Francesca Primus Prize and a finalist for the ATCA/Steinberg Award. Directed by Tyne Rafaeli (The Bridges of Madison County national tour, Actually at Geffen Playhouse), previews began June 16 at Cherry Lane Theatre, where Lesser America continues its run as the inaugural Company in Residence. Opening night is slated for tonight, June 21.

New York Theatre Barn will present the 12th Anniversary Reunion Concert of Stephen Dolginoff's hit musical Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story on Monday, August 28, 2017 at The Cell.  Drama Desk nominee Stephen Dolginoff and Doug Kreeger (Les Miserables, Rooms) will reunite as Leopold & Loeb in the musical thriller, having co-starred together in the original 2005 Off-Broadway production and on the cast album. The concert will be a benefit for New York Theatre Barn, the company that helped launch Dolginoff's new musical Monster Makers. New York Theatre Barn's artistic director Joe Barros (Cagney, Gigi) directs, with Zachary Orts at the piano.

On Friday, June 16, beloved New York fixture Malachy McCourt receives the first Origin in Bloom Literary Award, a new annual Bloomsday award honoring the work of an Irish or Irish-American author.

Old Town School of Folk Music, with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), is pleased to announce a free, city-wide concert series, Soundtrack of the City, taking place June 8 - August 20, 2017.

Lesser America (Half Moon Bay, The Bachelors, Carnival Kids, Trevor) presents the New York Premiere of IN A WORD by Lauren Yee, winner of the 2016 Francesca Primus Prize and a finalist for the ATCA/Steinberg Award. Directed by Tyne Rafaeli (The Bridges of Madison County national tour, Actually at Geffen Playhouse), previews begin June 16 at Cherry Lane Theatre, where Lesser America continues its run as the inaugural Company in Residence.

Third Street Music School Settlement will be presenting three students graduating this June as recipients of the New York Community Trust Harris Scholarship.  This year's scholars, Emma Peleg, 17, Hale Sheffield, 17, and Jennifer Loo, 17, will each receive $25,000 over four years towards their college expenses.  Entering college in fall 2017, the scholars have been accepted to schools such as Yale University, Princeton University, Duke University, SUNY Stony Brook, Binghamton University, The New School, New York University, CUNY Hunter, CUNY Baruch, Oberlin College, and Northeastern University.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley kicks off its 48th season with the World Premiere of The Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga. Drawn from one of the first ever graphic novels, set to an infectious ragtime and vaudeville score by local composer/lyricist Min Kahng, the comic musical follows four Japanese immigrants in a world of possibility and prejudice: turn-of-the-twentieth-century San Francisco.

Discover 5 shows you won't want to miss at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 21 theatre's electrifying 2017 season of music & musicals.

Drew Cohen, President of Music Theatre International (MTI), announced today that MTI will represent the secondary stage performance rights to five musicals by the legendary writing team of Lerner & Loewe, including their masterpiece My Fair Lady, the beloved classics Camelot, Brigadoon and Paint Your Wagon, and their newly-restored early work, The Day Before Spring.   MTI, from June 1, will begin representing My Fair Lady in the US, the UK, and all English-language territories, and will represent the four other titles on a worldwide basis. (Some restrictions may apply).

For the sixth consecutive year, singers from around the world will gather online to compete in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition - a 21st century version of the amateur night at the Apollo Theater that helped launch the career of a gifted teenager from Newark, Sarah 'Sassy' Vaughan, more than 70 years ago.

Operas at the House, a showcase of three original operas inspired by the not-for-profit International House and each no longer than the traditional sit-com, will be performed Saturday, May 13 at 5 p.m. at NYU Tisch's Black Box Theater.  Co-sponsored by the Tisch Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program (GMTWP), International House, the NYU Tisch Department of Design for Stage & Film and American Opera Projects (AOP), Operas at the House is free with advance registration and open to the public. 

Award-winning actor/director Frank Ferrante re-creates his acclaimed New York and London stage portrayal celebrating America's greatest comedian - Groucho Marx.  You will feel as though Groucho is back, as Ferrante sings, dances and performs classic routines on the North Coast Rep stage, June 12 and 13th at 7:30pm.

The Tank (Rosalind Grush and Meghan Finn, co-artistic directors) is thrilled to present the world premiere of Franz Kafka's A HUNGER ARTIST, adapted from Kafka's story by Sinking Ship Productions, created collaboratively by performer Jonathan Levin, writer Josh Luxenberg, and director Joshua William Gelb. Part of The Tank's Flint & Tinder series, A HUNGER ARTIST begins performances on Thursday, June 1 for a limited engagement through Friday, June 27.  Press Opening is Wednesday, June 7 at 8 PM. Performances are at the Connelly Theater (220 East 4th Street, between Avenues A & B). Tickets are $15 - $35. To purchase tickets, visit www.thetanknyc.org.

In a press conference held today at the One World Observatory at the top of One World Trade Center (the Freedom Tower), Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, Chairperson of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP), alongside members of the Parade's Board of Directors, announced plans for the 2017 Parade, its 60th Anniversary celebration on Sunday, June 11.

Nearly a hundred years after Aline Barnsdall first envisioned an artist colony on Olive Hill in the middle of Hollywood, the public will have a rare opportunity to experience her dream come to life. Beginning May 6th, Hollyhock House, in partnership with Circle X Theatre Co. and J.U.S.T. Toys Productions, presents the Maria Irene Fornes play FEFU AND HER FRIENDS staged as an immersive theatrical event inside Hollyhock House. It is a first for this historical beauty and an exciting project that unites the past and present in more ways than one.

On Friday, April  28, 2017 at 7:30 pm Concerts at Saint Thomas Presents The Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir. As one of Europe's leading choirs, this fine choir has delighted listeners since 1924 with its interpretation of the works of major composers of the renaissance and baroque eras, as well as 20th century choral music for boys' and men's voices. Since 1959, the choir has been resident at Copenhagen Cathedral and as part of its duties performs at state occasions and during royal visits abroad.

On Friday, April 28, 2017 at 7:30 pm Concerts at Saint Thomas presents the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir. As one of Europe's leading choirs, this fine choir has delighted listeners since 1924 with its interpretation of the works of major composers of the renaissance and baroque eras, as well as 20th century choral music for boys' and men's voices.

Hailed as “one of the great amateur choruses of our time (New York Today) for its “full-bodied sound and suppleness (The New York Times),” The Dessoff Choirs completes its 92nd season with an unforgettable concert dedicated to utopian visions.

The National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) announced that the upcoming Parade scheduled for June 11th, 2017 on Fifth Avenue, will mark 60 years of celebrating Puerto Rican history, tradition, and achievement. 

Investigation Discovery (ID), America's leading mystery and suspense network, and the #1 ad-supported cable network for delivery of W25-54 year-to-date, today announced a powerful new slate of compelling, emotionally riveting programming featuring Real People and Real Stories.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts celebrates the musical legacy of Henry Mancini, one of the world's greatest composers, conductors and arrangers, on Saturday, April 1, 2017. From 'Moon River' to 'The Days of Wine and Roses' to the 'Peter Gunn Theme,' the music of Henry Mancini has helped define American film and television soundtracks for nearly five decades, and earned the legendary composer four Academy Awards, twenty Grammy Awards and numerous other honors, including a U.S. Postage Stamp. The evening not only honors Henry Mancini, but also celebrates Ginny Mancini and the Mancini family with a special performance by the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami-their first Los Angeles appearance since their move to Florida-with all proceeds benefiting the artistic, educational and outreach programs of The Wallis.