Co-Optimists - 1925 - West End Articles Page 11

This fall, Goodman Theatre presents its New Stages Festival-a free annual celebration and discovery of new plays by some of the country's finest established and emerging playwrights. Audiences experience a first look at seven new works-including three fully staged developmental productions (performed in repertory) There's Always the Hudson by Paola Lazaro-Muñoz; Felons and Familias by Sandra Delgado; Graveyard Shift by Korde Arrington Tuttle. In addition, four staged readings appear during the last weekend of the festival (October 4-7) including The Wizards by Ricardo Gamboa; Between Covers by Sarah Schulman; Birthday Candles by Noah Haidle; and Cressida on Top by Paula Vogel.

Robert Browning, called "the entrepreneur who almost single-handedly created and filled New Yorkers' passion for world music" in the New York Times, has presented world music since April 1976. The next few months feature music from Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, India and Crete. From his years at the Alternative Center for International Arts / Alternative Museum to his 26-year tenure at World Music Institute (which he co-founded and directed from 1985 - 2011) and his past five seasons as the director of Robert Browning Associates, he has presented over 1,800 concerts of world music and dance from internationally renowned figures and emerging artists from over 100 regions.

NYU today announced the first-ever NYU Broadway Orchestra, a new ensemble within NYU Steinhardt's Music and Performing Arts Professions department designed to train the next generation of Broadway musicians for a career in the world's best stage productions and pit orchestras, launching in fall 2018.

Tanglewood's season-long Bernstein centennial celebration will culminate in a gala concert on Bernstein's actual 100th birthday, August 25, to be recorded by Great Performances for an exclusive U.S. broadcast premiere December 28 at 9 p.m. on PBS

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Octavia Spencer and Queen Latifah will star in in The Rhinelander Affair following the controversial 1925 DIVORCE trial in New York involving a man from an upper-class New Rochelle family who married a bi-racial, working-class woman. It is a ripped from the headlines story from the 1920s with many meaty roles in what was a roller coaster ride about money, love, racism and betrayal.

UnsungMusicalsCo. and The York Theatre Company announced today a partnership for the next three years for UMC's Show Time! Trilogy. UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) focuses on researching and developing prescient projects that explore the vibrancy of the American musical theatre canon, and how past works influence the artists and repertoire of today and tomorrow.

Long Island's newest theatrical venue The Argyle Theatre (Evan Pappas, Artistic Director) presents the Tony Award winning hit Broadway musical Hairspray with book by Marc O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman at The Argyle Theatre (34 West Main Street, Babylon, Long Island).  Performances are set to begin Thursday, July 12, 2018 for a limited run through Sunday, August 26, 2018. 

From Friday, July 20 through Thursday, July 26, BAMcinématek presents Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers in collaboration with Kino Lorber and The Library of Congress. A follow-up to its award-winning Pioneers of African-American Cinema, this collection was produced for Kino Lorber by Bret Wood and curated by historian Shelley Stamp. The series presents a vast array of new 2K restorations, focusing primarily on women directors of the silent-era American cinema. As was frequently the case, women directors remained uncredited or were co-credited as director, even though for all intents and purposes, they were the de-facto directors and primary creative forces of the film. “Women played an extraordinary role in early filmmaking, but this history has been largely forgotten,” says series curator Shelley Stamp, 'I'm so thrilled that these films have been restored and re-scored so that contemporary audiences will have a chance to see what female filmmakers were up to 100 years ago.” Stamp will be present to introduce the first four programs in the series.

Tanglewood's season-long Bernstein centennial celebration-one of the most comprehensive looks at Bernstein's amazing impact on the worlds of music and theater taking place in the anniversary year-will culminate in a gala concert on Bernstein's actual 100th birthday, August 25. Reflecting the season-long theme, The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood concert will spotlight Bernstein's wide-ranging talents as a composer, his many gifts as a great interpreter and champion of other composers, his role as an inspirer of a new generation of musicians and music lovers across the country and around the globe, and his presence as a driving musical force at Tanglewood, 1940-1990.

Meet the cast and creative team of The York Theatre Company world premiere presentation of the new musical Lonesome Blues, based on the true story of legendary bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson, created by Alan Govenar (Texas in Paris) and Akin Babatunde (Blind Lemon Blues), directed by Katherine Owens (How Is It That We Live or Shakey Jake + Alice), performed by Akin Babatunde with David Weiss on guitar. Performances begin Tuesday, June 12, 2018 for a three-week limited engagement through Sunday afternoon, July 1, 2018 at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Opening Night is Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at 6:45 p.m.

The Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University (CBA), the first international institute devoted to the creation and academic study of ballet, today announced the 27 artists and scholars who will serve as CBA Fellows in the 2018-19 academic year. The group - which represents The Center's largest and most far-reaching cohort yet - features distinguished individuals in a range of disciplines, including scholar Cecile Feza Bushidi, lighting designer Brandon Stirling Baker, choreographer Chase Brock, choreographer, filmmaker, and dancer Pontus Lidberg, and scholar Janice Ross, among others.

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA; Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director), an award-winning company presenting Shakespeare alongside other classic and contemporary drama at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, Downtown Brooklyn, is pleased to announce its 2018-19 season-the 39th since its founding in 1979.

The York Theatre Company in association with Documentary Arts presents the world premiere of the new musical Lonesome Blues, based on the true story of legendary bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson, created by Alan Govenar (Texas in Paris) and Akin Babatunde (Blind Lemon Blues), directed by Katherine Owens (How Is It That We Live or Shakey Jake + Alice), performed by Akin Babatunde with David Weiss on guitar.

Continuing the momentum created with the current season launch of its Music Knows No Borders series, Executive Director Thor Steingraber unveils the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts' 2018-19 Season, which features four world premieres, two American premieres, several of the world's greatest orchestras, innovative jazz programs, two tributes to Hollywood legends, Broadway classics plus artists from 18 different nations who will appear on stage at The Soraya next season.  New Subscription Series tickets will go on sale May 1, 2018.

Southwestern Yacht Club (SWYC) presents its 48th annual Benefit on the Bay with three events on May 5, June 16 and 17, 2018. The events are open to the public, giving San Diego anglers and sailors the chance to experience the club while also benefiting ElderHelp of San Diego. To date, more than $750,000 has been raised by SWYC and its sponsors through these annual events, ensuring that San Diego seniors can remain independent and live with dignity in their own homes.  

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director), the multiple Tony Award-winning theatre dedicated to the production of new plays and bold interpretations of classic works, has announced its 2018-19 Season.

The clash between a daughter's philanthropic idealism and her father's hard-headed capitalism is at the heart of George Bernard Shaw's witty and timely classic Major Barbara, which begins preview performances at The Armory on April 14, opens on April 20, and runs through May 13 on the U.S. Bank Main Stage.

Bristol Old Vic have today announced the latest recipients of The Leverhulme Arts Scholarships for 2018-19. Bristol Old Vic's Ferment initiative has once again partnered with The Leverhulme Trust to offer exceptional local artists; Emma Callander, Laila Diallo, Julia Head, Jo Hellier and Kid Carpet (aka Ed Patrick), a year-long opportunity to explore their practice.

The critically acclaimed Brits Off Broadway, host to the UK's most innovative and provocative theater in New York City, presented by 59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) returns from Wednesday, April 11 - Sunday, July 1. The single ticket prices range from $25 - $70 ($20 - $49 for 59E59 Members). Tickets to Brits Off Broadway go on sale on Tuesday, March 6 at Noon, with a special pre-sale for 59E59 Members beginning Tuesday, February 27 at Noon. Tickets are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org.

Saturday and Sunday, March 10 and 11, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, participates in the Houston Jewish Film Festival in collaboration with the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center (ERJCC).

Could experiencing the lives of aging performing artists through young actors cause people to rethink their beliefs about aging and disrupt implicit biases? Of a Certain Age-a verbatim performance comprised of eight students portraying 16 performing artists and professionals over the age of 65-will explore this concept through performances at the Provincetown Playhouse from Friday, February 23 to Sunday, March 4.

This coming Tuesday, March 13, the Clarence Darrow Commemorative Committee marks two contributions by famed "attorney for the damned" Clarence Darrow: marking the 80th anniversary of the death of Darrow-the question "How does Darrow's work and legacy influence you?' will be answered by three Chicago attorneys active in progressive causes: Catharine O'Daniel, Nabeela Rasheed and Scott A. Schoettes.

Casting has been announced for The Trial, the next play in the Politics of the Absurd reading series presented by Christopher Maring/ CM Stage Productions. Joining the reading will be Krysta Rodriguez (What We're Up Against, "Trial & Error", Spring Awakening), Mamoudou Athie ("The Get Down", Patti Cake$,), Brian Wiles ("Public Morals", "Turn"), Brian D. Coats (Jitney, "Boardwalk Empire"), John Rothman (Ghostbusters, "One Mississippi") Sam Breslin Wright ("Madame Secretary", The Beaver), and Tony nominee Kristine Neilson (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, You Can't Take it With You). The Trial, adapted by Steven Berkoff from the novel by Franz Kafka, and directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (What We're Up Against, Dry Land), will take place at the Baruch Performing Arts Center on March 5, 6, and 7.

Broadway legend Elaine Stritch was born on February 2, 1925. In 2013, she celebrated her 88th birthday on Theater Talk with musical director Rob Bowman and actor Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, along with co-hosts Susan Haskins and Michael Riedel. Had Stritch not died in 2014, she would have been 93 today.

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) announced its 2018/19 season to a packed house in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre earlier this evening. The Orchestra's fourth-annual, free Season Preview Concert once again featured the entire orchestra onstage performing selected excerpts, with emcees Music Director Ward Stare and Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik.