Co-Optimists - 1925 - West End Articles Page 19

On Her Shoulders is pleased to present a FREE staged reading of Chicago (1926) by Maurine Dallas Watkins, directed by Melody Brooks on Wednesday, December 17, 2014.

The Louis Armstrong House Museum presents CoolYule! on Saturday, December 6, 2014 to welcome the holiday season. CoolYule! is the museum's first tree lighting ceremony featuring live jazz with Ben Flocks Trio and holiday treats. CoolYule! is free and open to the public. Downbeat for Ben Flocks Trio begins at 4:00 pm. The tree will be lit at 4:30pm in the Armstrong's Japanese inspired garden.

New Worlds Theatre Project (Ellen Perecman, Producing Artistic Director) has announced that it will present Peretz Hirshbein's Yiddish play, On the Other Side of the River, in a world premiere translation, beginning Saturday, November 29 at 7pm at HERE, 145 Sixth Avenue. The opening night is set for Thursday, December 4. On the Other Side of the River runs through Sunday, December 21.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) announces the appointment of an all-star cast of Visiting Industry Faculty and Guest Artists to its new Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) program, an undergraduate degree offering an unparalleled foundation for success in the diverse and evolving music industry. A unique curriculum integrating compositional craft with music technology will launch a new generation of composers adept in the fields of concert music, sound design and film and game scoring. Now accepting applications for the inaugural class of 2015, the Conservatory will produce versatile graduates who thrive as individual artists and as members of a creative team.

Casting is complete for the three developmental productions featured in 2014 New Stages, a free annual festival of new American plays that also includes three staged readings.

Casting is complete for the three developmental productions featured in 2014 New Stages, a free annual festival of new American plays that also includes three staged readings.

The New York Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert continue The Nielsen Project - the Philharmonic's acclaimed multi-season survey of the six symphonies and three concertos by Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) - with performances of Nielsen's Maskarade Overture and Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6, Sinfonia semplice, as well as the second release of the Philharmonic's series of recordings of Nielsen's complete symphonies and concertos.

In July, Cumberland County Playhouse and the Scopes Trial Festival in Dayton co-produced Front Page News, a new, historically accurate 'play with music' about the famous Scopes 'Monkey Trial.' Following that success, director Jim Crabtree turns to the fictional drama inspired by those events, Inherit The Wind. The play is based on elements of the Scopes trial, but also inspired by the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s. Crabtree's hymn-filled production strives to promote respect for all views. 'Working on Front Page News was a revelation,' says Crabtree. 'The more I learned the actual surrounding the Scopes Trial, the more respect I gained for the real people of Dayton. This knowledge informs our Inherit The Wind.'

When Gaston Leroux published THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA back in 1911, little did he realize the numerous chandeliers that would come crashing down through the decades, and I've witnessed a good number of them. First, in 1925, there was 'the Man of a Thousand Faces,' Lon Chaney, Sr., who frightened poor Mary Philbin (a well-done version, even IF the film was silent); then, for Universal in 1941, Claude Rains (Bette Davis' favorite co-star) was a more subdued vocal coach for soprano Susanna Foster (a wooden Nelson Eddy, alas, is a greater impending horror as 'Raoul'). I could go on - even Herbert Lom, the actor who was the harried police superior to Peter Sellers' 'Inspector Clousseau,' took a swing on the old light fixture. (And let us not forget diminutive Paul Williams in the slightly askew PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE.) All of these pale, of course, in comparison to the legendary interpretation by Michael Crawford in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which first brought the audience to its feet in 1986.

The United States premiere of the internationally acclaimed new work written and directed by Peter Brook and Marie-Helene Estienne, The Valley of Astonishment, featuring Kathryn Hunter (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Kafka's Monkey), Marcello Magni (Fragments), and Jared McNeill (The Suit), begins previews Sunday, September 14, at 7:30pm for an opening Thursday, September 18,at 7:30pm and a run through Sunday, October 5, at Theatre for a New Audience, Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place.

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre under the Artistic Direction of Kurt Beattie is proud to announce the Mainstage productions taking place in the 50th Anniversary Season in 2015. The mid-century mark will reflect ACT's contribution to the field throughout history and looking to the future with the theme, What Was, What is, and What Will Be. 2015 brings cause to celebrate two other milestone anniversaries: ACT will celebrate the 40th year of producing founder Gregory A. Falls' adaptation of A Christmas Carol, as well as the 90th anniversary of the 1925 Fraternal Order of Eagles building, ACT's historic landmark home since 1996. Commemorative celebrations and engagement opportunities will occur throughout the year. A brief history of ACT's founding is included following the season titles.

The New York Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert continue The Nielsen Project - the Philharmonic's acclaimed multi-season survey of the six symphonies and three concertos by Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) - with performances of Nielsen's Maskarade Overture and Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6, Sinfonia semplice, as well as the second release of the Philharmonic's series of recordings of Nielsen's complete symphonies and concertos.

Goodman Theatre introduces its "all-new fall," celebrating nine decades with new inspiration: three months of new American plays, each developed in the Goodman's new play programs.

Cabaret has made an indelible impact on musical theatre and inspired some of the greatest theatrical artists of the last century to imprint the work with their unique style. The undeniable power of this musical lies in the universal question it poses: why do we again and again allow destructive powers to take control of society?

Flamenco guitar virtuoso Jesse Cook will perform in Syracuse one night only, tonight, June 7 to benefit Syracuse Stage.

Flamenco guitar virtuoso Jesse Cook will perform in Syracuse one night only, Saturday, June 7 to benefit Syracuse Stage.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association announces the 2014/15 season programming for its acclaimed MusicNOW contemporary music series—dedicated to showcasing contemporary music through an innovative concert experience. Uniquely curated by CSO Mead Composers-In-Residence Mason Bates and Anna Clyne, the annual, four-concert series in 2014/15 presents a range of work from major musical figures such as Pierre Boulez and established contemporary talents such as John Luther Adams and Michael Gordon. Programs are performed by members of the CSO and guest artists led by MusicNOW principal conductor Cliff Colnot and guest conductors, which this year includes James Feddeck, winner of the 2013 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award.

The Segal Centre for Performing Arts will present the World Yiddish premiere of Soul Doctor: Journey of a Rock Star Rabbi, the new bio-musical based on the life of the controversial father of popular Jewish music, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. The Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre presents the Yiddish version of the 2013 Broadway bio-musical written by Daniel S. Wise with lyrics by David Schechter from June 8 to June 29, 2014. Presented in Yiddish with English and French supertitles.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents The Trumpet of the Swan, A Novel Symphony for Actors and Orchestra, adapted by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman from E.B. White's timeless children's novel, with music by Tony Award-winning composer, Jason Robert Brown. Norman and Brown are also currently represented on Broadway with the new musical adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County.

2013 Ivey Award recipient Freshwater Theatre Company finishes their season with the world premiere of Mrs. Charles, a brand new LGBT historical romance by playwright, historian, Freshwater Co- Artistic Director and author of 2010 Fringe hit Table 12: A Play at a Wedding Ruth Virkus*, directed by Jimmy LeDuc, theater faculty at Saint Paul College and freelance director whose recent credits include Dangerous Liaisons in Minneapolis and Grey Gardens in Atlanta, Georgia.

In July 2014, Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse and Dayton's Scopes Trial Festival will produce FRONT PAGE NEWS: Dayton and the World Famous Scopes Trial - a newly adapted play with music - in the historic Rhea County courtroom where William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow clashed over whether Tennessee schools would teach evolution or Biblical creation during Dayton's 1925 'Monkey Trial.'

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents The Trumpet of the Swan, A Novel Symphony for Actors and Orchestra, adapted by Marsha Norman from E.B. White's timeless children's novel, with music by composer, Jason Robert Brown. Norman and Brown are also currently represented on Broadway with the new musical adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County. The Trumpet of the Swan, part of the Jack Elliott Family Concert Series, runs for a limited engagement, this weekend, May 2 - 4, 2014 at the Bram Goldsmith Theater.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents The Trumpet of the Swan, A Novel Symphony for Actors and Orchestra, adapted by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman from E.B. White's timeless children's novel, with music by Tony Award-winning composer, Jason Robert Brown. Norman and Brown are also currently represented on Broadway with the new musical adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County.

Beloved classics, reimagined takes on well-known works, popular culture, and new, emerging and developing local artists can all be found in Seattle Theatre Group's historic venues during our 2014-2015 season.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today the details for Fassbinder: Romantic Anarchist (Part 1), May 16 - June 1. Divided into two parts, the retrospective will be the most extensive presentation of Fassbinder's films in New York since 1997, with Part 1 including almost all of his work leading up to 1974 and Part 2 (screening in November) to pick up from 1974 through 1982. The ambitious two-part series will include all of his theatrical features, much of his television work, films he starred in, films that influenced him, and films that were influenced by his work.