Defying Gravity - 1997 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 3

Broadway fans had plenty of reasons to celebrate this year, with dozens of shows having opened since January, hundreds of actors having made their debuts, and many more having returned to the stage for critically acclaimed performances. Not all news was good though, as we also suffered a loss of an incredible amount of talent. Below, BroadwayWorld sends a fond farewell to those who passed away in 2014.

If you've been a regular reader of this particular reviewer's musings, you know that every year there are long stretches of time where I just haven't been able to critique all the shows I've seen that deserve commentary. So I end up playing what they call in sports, 'Catch-up ball,' and post a mash up of belated reviews from past shows. It's kind of like a critic's version of the song 'Six Months Out of Every Year,' from Damn Yankees. Give or take a month or two, that's usually the time period during which I store unpublished reviews in my fevered brain and then unload them all in one seemingly endless column-like this one is going to be. If my cabaret-show reviewing days will be over (as chronicled here), I might as well go out with a bang-and relieve my procrastination guilt during holiday season. Now I can scratch one New Year's resolution off the list.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & MC COY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT present pure 'electricity' with the third show in its 2014-2015 season, the Southern California Regional Premiere of the ten-time Tony Award-winning musical, BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL, music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, musical direction by John Glaudini, choreography by Dana Solimando and directed by Brian Kite. BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL will preview on Friday, January 16, 2015(with a press opening on Saturday, January 17) and run through Sunday, February 8, 2015 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present Seasons of Broadway featuring Robin De Jesus, Mandy Gonzalez, Marcus Paul James and Adam Pascal tonight, Nov. 7, at 8 p.m. Backed by a full band, these original stars from Rent, Wicked, In the Heights and more will perform an evening of classic pop, rock, jazz and hit songs from iconic Broadway shows that audiences know and love.

Signature Theatre presents Elmer Gantry, a musical version of Sinclair Lewis' best-selling novel, directed by Signature's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer (Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet). Schaeffer collaborated on the last production of Elmer Gantry at Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre in Chicago with authors John Bishop (book), Mel Marvin (music) and Bob Satuloff (lyrics) in 1998; the show has not been produced since then. This will be the 5th production in the show's history. Running in the MAX Theatre today, October 7 - November 9, Signature's production will include several brand new songs by Mel Marvin and Bob Satuloff and a reimagined script that John Bishop worked on until his death in 2006.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present Seasons of Broadway featuring Robin De Jesus, Mandy Gonzalez, Marcus Paul James and Adam Pascal on Friday, Nov. 7, at 8 p.m. Backed by a full band, these original stars from Rent, Wicked, In the Heights and more will perform an evening of classic pop, rock, jazz and hit songs from iconic Broadway shows that audiences know and love.

Signature Theatre has announced the cast of Elmer Gantry, a musical version of Sinclair Lewis' best-selling novel, directed by Signature's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer (Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet). Schaeffer collaborated on the last production of Elmer Gantry at Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre in Chicago with authors John Bishop (book), Mel Marvin (music) and Bob Satuloff (lyrics) in 1998; the show has not been produced since then. This will be the 5th production in the show's history. Running in the MAX Theatre October 7 - November 9, Signature's production will include several brand new songs by Mel Marvin and Bob Satuloff and a reimagined script that John Bishop worked on until his death in 2006.

Very few bands can claim their concert debut was at Woodstock, but Crosby, Stills & Nash have been establishing themselves as music legends since that fateful day in the summer of '69.

John Schreiber, NJPAC's President and CEO, and David Rodriguez, Executive Producer of the Arts Center, announced today a 2014-15 season packed with new, NJPAC- created, season-long series', collaborations with renowned artists and companies, an expansion of diverse programming, further integration of NJPAC's arts education programs within mainstage performances, and a continuation of the Arts Center's 17-year tradition of presenting world-class artists. With over 100 performances and special events announced for the acoustically superb 2,800- seat Prudential Hall, intimate 514-seat Victoria Theater, 250-seat Chase Room, and outdoors in Theater Square, by artists ranging from Patti LaBelle to The Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars; from Chris Botti to Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience; from Golda's Balcony with Tovah Feldshuh to the Brick City Jazz Orchestra; from Bela Fleck to Lula Washington Dance Theatre; from Beres Hammond to Audra McDonald; and from The Second City to Dinosaur Train Live!, NJPAC's new season has something for everyone.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for Alan Ayckbourn's science fiction comedy Communicating Doors. Eleven plays penned by Alan Ayckbourn have been produced by the Alley, including the American premiere of Henceforward, directed by Ayckbourn, in 1987 and House & Garden in 2002. Alan Ayckbourn has been inducted into the American Theatre's Hall of Fame, received the 2010 Critics' Circle Award for Services to the Arts, became the first British playwright to receive both Olivier and Tony Special Lifetime Achievement Awards and was knighted in 1997 for services to the theatre.

The Kennedy Center presents Children of Eden in Concert on Monday, May 19 at 8 p.m. in the Eisenhower Theater. Featuring music and lyrics by Oscar® and Grammy Award® winner Stephen Schwartz and book by John Caird, the semi-staged performance is directed and choreographed by Tony® nominee Marcia Milgrom Dodge. The all-star Broadway cast includes Ron Bohmer, Ashley Brown, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and Jeremy Jordan and will be accompanied by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. This one-time-only event is made possible by the HRH Foundation. Tickets go on sale to the general public on March 28.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for Alan Ayckbourn's science fiction comedy Communicating Doors. Eleven plays penned by Alan Ayckbourn have been produced by the Alley, including the American premiere of Henceforward, directed by Ayckbourn, in 1987 and House & Garden in 2002. Alan Ayckbourn has been inducted into the American Theatre's Hall of Fame, received the 2010 Critics' Circle Award for Services to the Arts, became the first British playwright to receive both Olivier and Tony Special Lifetime Achievement Awards and was knighted in 1997 for services to the theatre.

Welcome to middle age... proceed with caution! Diane Cary, Jane Kaczmarek and Sharon Sharth star as three successful women who challenge themselves to find love and personal fulfillment in the middle years of life. Steven Robman directs the ensemble cast, which also includes Gregory Harrison, James Lancaster and Joel Polis, in the world premiere of The Snake Can by Kathryn Graf (Hermetically Sealed). Performances run tonight, January 19 through February 24, presented by Indie Chi Productions at the Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles.

Welcome to middle age... proceed with caution! Diane Cary, Jane Kaczmarek and Sharon Sharth star as three successful women who challenge themselves to find love and personal fulfillment in the middle years of life. Steven Robman directs the ensemble cast, which also includes Gregory Harrison, James Lancaster and Joel Polis, in the world premiere of The Snake Can by Kathryn Graf (Hermetically Sealed). Performances run January 19 through February 24, presented by Indie Chi Productions at the Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles.

Now that the 2012 awards season has come to a close, BroadwayWorld is looking ahead to an exciting season coming up. This summer/fall Broadway will welcome a plethora of productions - from star-studded revivals to exciting new musicals. Below, we bring you the line-up of officially announced upcoming shows (still subject to change). Don't forget to stay tuned for more even more opening announcements expected soon!

Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel have just announced the design team for the upcoming Broadway revival of Gore Vidal's THE BEST MAN. Tony and Drama Desk Award winning scenic designer DEREK McLANE (33 Variations, Anything Goes), Tony and Drama Desk Award winning lighting designer KENNETH POSNER (The Coast of Utopia, Part 2 - Shipwreck) and five-time Tony Award nominated costume designer ANN ROTH (The Book of Mormon) will design the play about power, ambition, political secrets, ruthlessness and the race for the presidency.

Craft Spells present the final installment of our Room 205 episode. For this fantastically punchy live performance of 'From The Morning Heat,' director Monika Lenczewska and set designer Tamarra Younis used a combination of gravity-defying floating orbs, abstract light projections, and folk art paintings on plated-glass to symbolically convey Craft Spells' nostalgic ode to the morning after.

Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts Theaterfest is pleased to present the American Premiere of My Fairytale, a musical about Hans Christian Andersen. The musical is composed by Stephen Schwartz, the award-winning composer of Godspell, Pippin and Wicked, and will be presented in time for the 2011 centennial celebration of Solvang, CA as a Danish-American community. This exclusive engagement will preview in Santa Maria's Marian Theatre August 12 - 19, 2011, then open under the stars in the Solvang Festival Theater August 26, playing through September 25, 2011.

Jump, the internationally-renowned live-action martial arts comedy created by Yegam, Inc. Productions, begins performances tomorrow, Wednesday, May 11 at 2PM at Off-Broadway's New World Stages (340 West 50th Street). The new production features new music, new plot twists and a new cast of hilarious martial artists. Presented by Show & Arts USA, LLC. Jump's official night is Thursday, June 23.

Executive Producer Lou Spisto today announced that The Old Globe will produce the World Premieres of four new plays and musicals in its 2011-12 Winter Season. The season will feature the World Premiere musicals Some Lovers by music legend Burt Bacharach and Tony Award winner Steven Sater and Nobody Loves You by Gaby Alter and Itamar Moses, as well as the West Coast Premiere of John Kander and Fred Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys, recently nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical, directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. The two plays receiving World Premiere productions are Somewhere by Globe Playwright-in-Residence Matthew Lopez and The Recommendation by Jonathan Caren. The new season also includes revivals of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show and the Eugene O'Neill classic Anna Christie directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner David Auburn. Special events include the World Premiere of Odyssey by Todd Almond, a music theater event conceived and directed by Lear deBessonet celebrating the Globe's 75th Anniversary, The Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program production of Twelfth Night and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, which returns for its 14th consecutive year.

This spring, Jump, the internationally-renowned live-action martial arts comedy created by Yegam, Inc. Productions, comes to New York in a new production featuring new music, new plot twists and a new cast of hilarious martial artists.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance is thrilled to present a rare Chicago appearance by Pilobolus Dance Theatre, heralded as "one of the world's most popular modern dance troupes" by The New York Times.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance is thrilled to present a rare Chicago appearance by Pilobolus Dance Theatre, heralded as "one of the world's most popular modern dance troupes" by The New York Times.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance is thrilled to present a rare Chicago appearance by Pilobolus Dance Theatre, heralded as "one of the world's most popular modern dance troupes" by The New York Times.

A major highlight of Lincoln Center's inaugural White Light Festival this fall is the U.S. premiere of 'Sutra', a modern dance work by acclaimed Belgian/Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui featuring 17 monks from the original Shaolin Temple in three performances November 2-4 in the Rose Theater. In the first true collaboration between Western artists and the revered Buddhist institution, Sutra combines the graceful, gravity-defying athleticism of the Shaolin monks with Cherkaoui's signature blend of modern ballet, African dance, and hip-hop.