Come As You Are - 1955 - New York Articles Page 19

I was just a little more than a year into my new side career as a cabaret show reviewer when I first saw a Karen Oberlin show. It was Valentine's Day night 2012 and Oberlin—with guitarist Sean Harkness and guest violinist Aaron Weinstein—would be performing her romance-laced set, Stringing Along With Love, at the Metropolitan Room. At the time, all I knew about Oberlin was that she was considered among New York's best female cabaret singers, and I hadn't researched her performing history pre-show. About a third of the way into her set I leaned over to my wife (it was Valentine's Day after all) and whispered, “You know, she has a real Doris Day quality in her voice and in the way she delivers some lyrics.” This immediately ratcheted up my appreciation for Oberlin since there are four passions I inherited from my Dad—baseball, reading the morning papers, sports writing and Doris Day (well, also Sophia Loren, but that's for another column). Since Dad had grown up during the prime of the Big Band Era of the 1940s, I heard the sultry sounds of a young Doris Day singing songs like “Sentimental Journey” on the family stereo more than a few times. Once I saw Day's strikingly adorable blondness on a record cover and her rocking body in one of her films, I knew what Dad was talking about. As popular, famous, and near iconic as Doris Day became, in my book, as a singer and screen beauty she's always been vastly underrated. Little did I know that Karen Oberlin had been doing a Doris Day tribute show so since 2001 at places like Firebird, Iridium, and the late Danny's Skylight Room, and produced a CD, Secret Love: The Music of Doris Day, in 2002. Karen Oberlin had instantly become my secret love.

As the oldest performing arts organization in Palm Beach County, The Lake Worth Playhouse is pleased and proud to announce its 62nd season.

America loves cars, big or beautiful cars, and the late playwright James McLure uses a classical 1959 Thunderbird as a metaphor for his two one act plays In Tandem Theater blends into their season ending selection: 1959 Pink Thunderbird. These two one act plays directed by both Jane and Chris Flieller feature a feminine version and a masculine perspective on why the ionic pink T-bird, often immortalized in such songs as “Fun, Fun, Fun” by the Beach Boys, became romantic inspiration for hometown stories and legends, including those in Maynard, Texas, circa 1978.

The Laguna Playhouse Executive and Artistic Directors, Karen Wood and Ann E. Wareham are thrilled to present screen legend Leslie Caron, in her first Southern California theatrical performance in over 25 years! SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS, written by Richard Alfieri, with choreography by Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line) and directed by Michael Arabian (Waiting for Godot). SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS will also feature 6-time Ovation Award-winning actor David Engel. 'What an honor to have on our stage the incomparable Leslie Caron and the multi-talented David Engel,' remarks Wood. 'It's a dream cast and a dream come true. With Michael Arabian and Donna McKechnie directing and choreographing, this has to be one of the most anticipated productions in the Playhouse's storied history,' adds Wareham. SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS will begin previews tonight, April 26 and will open on Saturday, May 3 at 7:30pm and run through Sunday, June 8, 2014 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced exciting casting for their Main Stage productions, along with a several special events for their 2014 Summer Season. On the Main Stage: Festival veterans including Nate Corddry, Holley Fain, Christopher Fitzgerald and Nancy Opel join the cast of June Moon, directed by Jessica Stone (July 2- 13); Justin Long returns to Williamstown, joining Renee Fleming in the World Premiere of Living on Love(July 16 - 26), and theater veterans Judy Kuhn, Howard McGillin, festival favorite Roger Rees, and more join Chita Rivera in the John Doyle-directed production of The Visit, with choreography by Graciela Daniele (July 31 - August 17).

Tony award-winning actor/performer Hal Linden returns to the New York stage for six performances with his "Hal Linden Live in Concert" cabaret style, big-band classics inspired live show at Manhattan's Cafe Carlyle - 35 East 76th Street, NY, NY 10075 - from May 20th though May 24th.

The Laguna Playhouse Executive and Artistic Directors, Karen Wood and Ann E. Wareham are thrilled to present screen legend Leslie Caron, in her first Southern California theatrical performance in over 25 years! SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS, written by Richard Alfieri, with choreography by Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line) and directed by Michael Arabian (Waiting for Godot). SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS will also feature 6-time Ovation Award-winning actor David Engel. "What an honor to have on our stage the incomparable Leslie Caron and the multi-talented David Engel," remarks Wood. "It's a dream cast and a dream come true. With Michael Arabian and Donna McKechnie directing and choreographing, this has to be one of the most anticipated productions in the Playhouse's storied history,' adds Wareham. SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS will begin previews on Saturday, April 26 and will open on Saturday, May 3 at 7:30pm and run through Sunday, June 8, 2014 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

As the oldest performing arts organization in Palm Beach County, The Lake Worth Playhouse has announced its 62nd season.

The Old Vic today announced its programme for Summer/Autumn 2014. The CQS Space, The Old Vic in the round, will be home to the whole season of productions, continuing after Other Desert Cities which opens this month. The plays will be performed in the round, a transformation of The Old Vic's auditorium first seen for the award-winning 2008 production of The Norman Conquests. The season of productions is supported for the fourth consecutive year by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

This spring Japan Society continues to honor the late Donald Richie, whose criticism, commentary and advocacy contributed incomparably toward making Japanese art and culture, especially its cinema, revered throughout the world. As the second and final leg of the ongoing series, again curated by noted film scholar Kyoko Hirano, A Tribute to Donald Richie (1924-2013), Part 2: Richie's Electric Eight: The Bold & the Daring encompasses eight films that reflect the complexity, nuance, and brilliance of Japanese society, as seen through Richie's unflinching and insatiable eye.

Ever since it premiered on Broadway in 1973, Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, with a book by Hugh Wheeler, has been a favorite of musical theatre fans. The Michigan Opera Theatre was the first American opera company to present the piece in 1983, and other companies followed suit. It last graced Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) stages in 1999. Now, the musical, with an extraordinary set and gorgeous costumes by Isaac Mizrahi, is thrilling Houston audiences again with HGO's latest production of this American masterpiece.

The new year has already brought notable success for Houston Grand Opera (HGO), where the hotly anticipated American premiere of the long-lost Holocaust opera The Passenger-hailed by the Associated Press as 'the latest coup for a company known for producing new works'-took the national and local press by storm, and where the company's Rigoletto revival was pronounced 'glorious' (Theater Jones). These accolades come at an exciting time for the company, which continues this season's extraordinary line-up with the launch of the first American presentation of a visionary and groundbreaking treatment of Das Rheingold by La Fura dels Baus; the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's A Coffin in Egypt, named one of the twelve 'must-see opera events of the season' (Opera News); a new HGO production of Carmen from Broadway sensation Rob Ashford; and Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, which boasts designs by fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi.

Today we are shining a spotlight on one of the most respected and revered stage and screen stars of the last several decades who is known the world over for not only his stirring and commanding dramatic performances and touching and rib-tickling comedies on film, but also for his iconic roles on the stage playing Shakespeare, performing in straight drama and also musicals - and, perhaps, beloved most of all for his essaying of Captain Von Trapp in the celebrated Robert Wise film adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Tony Award-winning THE SOUND OF MUSIC - the elegant, graceful and eminently gifted Christopher Plummer.

This spring Japan Society continues to honor the late Donald Richie, whose criticism, commentary and advocacy contributed incomparably toward making Japanese art and culture, especially its cinema, revered throughout the world. As the second and final leg of the ongoing series, again curated by noted film scholar Kyoko Hirano, A Tribute to Donald Richie (1924-2013), Part 2: Richie's Electric Eight: The Bold & the Daring encompasses eight films that reflect the complexity, nuance, and brilliance of Japanese society, as seen through Richie's unflinching and insatiable eye.

Berkshire Theatre Group and Artistic Director/CEO, Kate Maguire have announced the Summer 2014 Theatre Season offering classic works coupled with contemporary plays.

The new year has already brought notable success for Houston Grand Opera (HGO), where the hotly anticipated American premiere of the long-lost Holocaust opera The Passenger-hailed by the Associated Press as 'the latest coup for a company known for producing new works'-took the national and local press by storm, and where the company's Rigoletto revival was pronounced 'glorious' (Theater Jones). These accolades come at an exciting time for the company, which continues this season's extraordinary line-up with the launch of the first American presentation of a visionary and groundbreaking treatment of Das Rheingold by La Fura dels Baus; the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's A Coffin in Egypt, named one of the twelve 'must-see opera events of the season' (Opera News); a new HGO production of Carmen from Broadway sensation Rob Ashford; and Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, which boasts designs by fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi.

What do the 1950s have in common with 1912? Ages of innocence, both. When Meredith Willson wrote his story with Franklin Lacey about a con artist bamboozling an Iowa town in 1912, which formed the substance of his musical The Music Man (1957), the effect became like that of N. Richard Nash's The Rainmaker. People were jubilant, ecstatic and welcomed Professor Harold Hill, as they craved a good old-fashioned love story coated with ironic excitement. He was a charmer, and they saw way past his bad side. Now in a colorful new production at Musical Theatre West (MTW) in Long Beach, this company pulls out all the stops and presents a delightfully bigger-than-life show that would do Willson proud. With super direction from Jeff Maynard and a divine cast led by Davis Gaines, The Music Man offers a refreshing take on the way life should be, whether 1912, 1955 or 2014.

Blumenthal Performing Arts invites you to participate in our next OPEN MIC night event tonight, Feb. 14 at 7:30pm at McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square. This free event is open to performers and spectators of all ages. Instrumentalists, singers, dancers, storytellers, poets, jugglers, magicians and others are all welcome. Audience seating is on a first-come-first-served basis.

Wasatch Theatrical Ventures will present one of the great American plays of the 20th century, INHERIT THE WIND, written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, directed by the award-winning Kiff Scholl, produced by Racquel Lehrman/Theatre Planners. In a small town courtroom and with the eyes of the nation upon them, two legal giants face off over a teacher's right to teach evolution to a high school class in this critically acclaimed drama based on the Scopes Monkey Trial. As rousing and relevant today as it was when it debuted in 1955, INHERIT THE WIND is an edge-of-your-seat riveting look at the age-old conflict between science and religion. The play opens Friday, February 8th and runs through March 16th at the Grove Theatre Center in Burbank, CA.

The sixth volume of the San Francisco Poet Laureate Series, Stray Poems opens with Alejandro Murguía's inaugural address, where he stipulates that as the city's first Latino poet laureate he is accepting his post on behalf of his community. He goes on to provide a brilliant and impassioned poetic account of San Francisco's Native and Latino literary history, stating, 'So Latin America fused to the history of San Francisco, and vice versa—San Francisco fused to the memory of Latin America.'

The talented teens of the award-winning Riverdale Rising Stars present ALL SHOOK UP, a musical comedy featuring the hits of Elvis Presley, for a limited engagement of seven performances only. Rock & roll-loving audiences of all ages can catch this show February 1 - February 9, 2014. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Blumenthal Performing Arts invites you to participate in our next OPEN MIC night event on Friday, Feb. 14 at 7:30pm at McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square. This free event is open to performers and spectators of all ages. Instrumentalists, singers, dancers, storytellers, poets, jugglers, magicians and others are all welcome. Audience seating is on a first-come-first-served basis.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond, including Jennifer Holliday, Chita Rivera, Jeff Daniels, Steve Kazee, After Midnight Swings the Holiday and more. Details below!

When it comes to the Golden Age of Broadway, there are few shows that are as accessible and wildly entertaining as Guys and Dolls. Since it's debut in 1950, the musical has graced Broadway six times, and there are now reports of a film remake. If the film is half as entertaining as the current production at The Playhouse, audiences will be pleased. The Playhouse's Guys in Dolls is vibrant, joyous, and entertaining from beginning to end.