Come As You Are - 1955 - New York Articles Page 20

This holiday season, BroadwayWorld brings you a look at some of our favorite shows playing across the country. Take a break from the hustle and bustle and treat your family to some of our theatrical favorites, now playing nationwide.

Below are the official remarks by President Obama at the 2013 KENNEDY CENTER HONORS reception, held Sunday, December 8th from the East Room of The White House

After NBC's foray into musical theatre with last week's live broadcast of The Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood, and with Laura Osnes' Cinderella sashaying on the Great White Way, the continued sway of Broadway composer-lyricist duo Rodgers & Hammerstein is unmistakable. In honor of their legacy, BroadwayWorld has rounded up some of the highlights of the Rodgers & Hammerstein cannon.

The busybodies of proper English village life are brilliantly skewered in Benjamin Britten's devastatingly satirical Albert Herring, onstage at Vancouver Opera for four performances only. Fast-paced, effervescent and musically clever, this sparkling 1950s-style company premiere is a scrumptious treat for Vancouver audiences.

Nine of Miles Davis' earliest albums on Columbia Records, encompassing music that he recorded for the label in monaural sound from 1956 to 1961 (and released from 1957 to 1964), will be issued together on CD for the first time as Miles Davis:The Original Mono Recordings. This historic box set, comprising nine CDs in mini-LP replica jackets, will be available everywhere today, November 12, 2013 through Columbia/Legacy, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.

The busybodies of proper English village life are brilliantly skewered in Benjamin Britten's devastatingly satirical Albert Herring, onstage at Vancouver Opera for four performances only. Fast-paced, effervescent and musically clever, this sparkling 1950s-style company premiere is a scrumptious treat for Vancouver audiences.

Katharine “Kat” Kramer, producer of Kat Kramer's Films That Change The World, will celebrate the film series' Fifth Anniversary on Wednesday, November 13, 2013 by presenting a one night only screening of the North American Premiere of FALLOUT

Casting is announced for OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR, a Theatre Royal Stratford East Production:

When You Wish/The Story of Walt Disney. It is high time that the life and career of iconic artist/animator Walt Disney be honored artistically. Of course, his films all stand the test of time, but we know little about the man, his persona and the early years of struggle. Wouldn't it be assuring to learn that success even for a genius does not come easy? And just plain fun to find out where and how Mickey Mouse came about? Instead of a biopic, the producers have decided upon an original stage musical. Therein lies the biggest flaw. This new tribute is labeled/described as a Pre-Broadway production. Let's reflect a moment or two on what makes for a successful Broadway show. Disney's own The Lion King, from screen to stage, is a perfect example of that kind of huge success. It is a spectacle with grand theatricality, giant universal family conflicts and dynamite appeal in sight and sound to sustain long lines at the box office. As endearing as it is, this little musical When You Wish falls short in these respects... in spite of the fact that it has a dream cast and a superlative creative team. Now onstage through November 3 at the Freud Playhouse at UCLA, the show, nonetheless, does have a carload of merit. If Broadway is not the answer, it does deserve a place somewhere.

Hotel Nikko San Francisco and Michael Feinstein have announced the upcoming lineup at the all-new Feinstein's at the Nikko for the months of October, November and December. Artists include Emmy Award winning actress Megan Mullally ('Will and Grace) and actress Stephanie Hunt ('Friday Night Lights,' 'Californication') and their band Nancy & Beth; actress, producer and singer Rita Wilson; Broadway star and recording artist Linda Eder; soul and jazz vocalist Oleta Adams; and more!

Reiko Douglas, the diminutive Japanese-born entertainer who arrived in the United States not able to speak or understand any English yet managed to become one of the most sought-after and popular panel guests on the late-night TV show circuit.

Nine of Miles Davis' earliest albums on Columbia Records, encompassing music that he recorded for the label in monaural sound from 1956 to 1961 (and released from 1957 to 1964), will be issued together on CD for the first time as Miles Davis:The Original Mono Recordings.

City Parks Foundation announces the 21st edition of the beloved late summer jazz favorite, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. In the world of modern music, few figures loom as large or cast as long a shadow as saxophonist Charlie Parker, best known as 'Bird' (short for 'Yardbird') to generations of musicians. He was born in 1920, and almost sixty years since his death in 1955, he is universally celebrated for single-handedly inventing bebop and bringing jazz into the modern era.

Hotel Nikko San Francisco and Michael Feinstein have announced the upcoming lineup at the all-newFeinstein's at the Nikko for the months of October, November and December. Artists include Emmy Award winning actress Megan Mullally ('Will and Grace) and actress Stephanie Hunt ('Friday Night Lights,' 'Californication') and their band Nancy & Beth; actress, producer and singer Rita Wilson; Broadway star and recording artist Linda Eder; soul and jazz vocalist Oleta Adams; and more! Additional artists will be announced at a later date.

Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC holds a special place in my heart. A particularly impressive production at a community theatre was my first time to see a Stephen Sondheim musical staged, and it began my love affair with the man's music. The Tony Award winning and successful 1973 musical features a score written entirely in schmaltzy waltz time signatures and has a delightfully soapy plot derived from Ingmar Bergman's 1955 Swedish film Sommamattens leende (In English: Smiles of a Summer Night). In 1977, a film version of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC was released, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Lesley-Anne Down, and Diana Rigg, with Len Cariou, Hermione Gingold, and Laurence Guittard reprising their Broadway roles. While the critical reception to the stage musical was glowing, the critical reception of the film was notoriously underwhelming. Despite this, Jonathan Tunick received an Oscar for his orchestrations of the memorable, lovely, and tuneful score, which is magnificently preserved on Masterworks Broadway's digital and CD re-release of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (Original Soundtrack Recording).

On August 16, 1977 we lost an American music and cultural icon: Elvis Presley. But, he has never truly left us. His memory endures with the vast amounts of music he recorded, the movies he made, and his likeness being used all over the planet. You would be hard pressed to find someone in this world that has never heard of Elvis Presley. With tribute artists performing in his likeness and multiple festivals around the world attracting fans of every age, it's no wonder that his music was lent to a Broadway musical. And just in time for the 36th anniversary of his passing, The Arundel Barn Playhouse's ALL SHOOK UP will help you relive yesteryear and maybe even hear the King's music in a completely new way.