Democracy - 2004 - Broadway Articles Page 9

Following the internationally acclaimed production with sold-out engagements on Broadway and in London's West End, television legend, Oscar recipient and five-time Tony Award-winner Angela Lansbury returns to the stage in Noel Coward's smash-hit comedic play 'Blithe Spirit' in an exciting North American tour to be launched at Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre.

Playwrights Horizons' world premiere production of GRAND CONCOURSE, a new play by playwright and two-time Obie Award-winning actress Heidi Schreck (author of There Are No More Big Secrets, Creature, Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie'), opens tonight, November 11, 2014.

Lois Weaver is co-founder (with Peggy Shaw and Deb Margolin) of Split Britches, the world's premiere lesbian theater troupe, and is well-known for her dramatis persona, Tammy WhyNot, an aging trailer trash blonde who threw away Nashville stardom for a career as a contemporary performance artist. Tammy returns to La MaMa tonight, November 6 to 23 with 'What Tammy Needs to Know about Getting Old and Having Sex,' a new performance created with elderly women in Zagreb, Croatia and NYC that illuminates the taboo subject of desire, pleasure and intimacy in old people. This show is the project for which she was awarded a 2014 Guggenheim Fellowship.

Previews begin tonight, October 17 at 7:30 PM for the Playwrights Horizons' world premiere production of GRAND CONCOURSE, a new play by playwright and two-time Obie Award-winning actress Heidi Schreck (author of There Are No More Big Secrets, Creature, Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie'). Directed by Kip Fagan (The Revisionist, Asuncion), the play is the second production of the acclaimed theater company's 2014/2015 Season. It follows the critically-acclaimed Bootycandy, a new play written and directed by Robert O'Hara, which concludes its extended run this Sunday evening on the Mainstage.

Previews begin tomorrow, Friday, October 17 at 7:30 PM for the Playwrights Horizons' world premiere production of GRAND CONCOURSE, a new play by playwright and two-time Obie Award-winning actress Heidi Schreck (author of There Are No More Big Secrets, Creature, Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie'). Directed by Kip Fagan (The Revisionist, Asuncion), the play is the second production of the acclaimed theater company's 2014/2015 Season. It follows the critically-acclaimed Bootycandy, a new play written and directed by Robert O'Hara, which concludes its extended run this Sunday evening on the Mainstage.

Lois Weaver is co-founder (with Peggy Shaw and Deb Margolin) of Split Britches, the world's premiere lesbian theater troupe, and is well-known for her dramatis persona, Tammy WhyNot, an aging trailer trash blonde who threw away Nashville stardom for a career as a contemporary performance artist. Tammy returns to La MaMa November 6 to 23 with 'What Tammy Needs to Know about Getting Old and Having Sex,' a new performance created with elderly women in Zagreb, Croatia and NYC that illuminates the taboo subject of desire, pleasure and intimacy in old people. This show is the project for which she was awarded a 2014 Guggenheim Fellowship.

'Extreme Whether,' a new 'eco-drama' written and directed by Karen Malpede, centers on an embattled American climate scientist living in an idyllic wilderness estate in the Northeast Coast. Set during the record-hot summers of 2004 and 2012, the play pits the scientist against his twin sister in a no-holds barred family struggle over land ownership and the future use of their wilderness estate. In one corner is John Bjornson, a composite of famous climatologists. In the other is his twin sister, Jeanne, an energy spokeswoman married to a skeptical lobbyist. Actor Jeff McCarthy ('Cheers,' 'Urinetown,' 'Chicago') heads the cast of six as the scientist. Theater Three Collaborative and Theater for the New City will present the work at TNC today, October 2 to 26, 2014, directed by the author.

Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom is the award winning, prolific South African playwright whose critically acclaimed play RHETORICAL is being performed at London Stratford Circus from October 14th-18th as part of Afrovibes UK. Five actors portray multiple characters in this exploration of the art of persuasion using the words of Thabo Mbeki who was President of South Africa from 1999 to 2008.

The Kitchen and the Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism are pleased to present the U.S. premiere of Gaia Global Circus, a one-of-a-kind theatrical experiment that explores society's ambivalence toward mankind's greatest threat: global warming.

Following the internationally acclaimed production with sold-out engagements on Broadway and in London's West End, television legend, Oscar recipient and five-time Tony Award-winner Angela Lansbury returns to the stage in Noel Coward's smash-hit comedic play 'Blithe Spirit' in an exciting North American tour to be launched at Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre.

'Extreme Whether,' a new 'eco-drama' written and directed by Karen Malpede, centers on an embattled American climate scientist living in an idyllic wilderness estate in the Northeast Coast. Set during the record-hot summers of 2004 and 2012, the play pits the scientist against his twin sister in a no-holds barred family struggle over land ownership and the future use of their wilderness estate. In one corner is John Bjornson, a composite of famous climatologists. In the other is his twin sister, Jeanne, an energy spokeswoman married to a skeptical lobbyist. Actor Jeff McCarthy ('Cheers,' 'Urinetown,' 'Chicago') heads the cast of six as the scientist. Theater Three Collaborative and Theater for the New City will present the work at TNC October 2 to 26, 2014, directed by the author.

The Kitchen and the Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism are pleased to present the U.S. premiere of Gaia Global Circus, a one-of-a-kind theatrical experiment that explores society's ambivalence toward mankind's greatest threat: global warming.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced details for the third season of the American Opera Initiative, its comprehensive commissioning program that brings contemporary American stories to the stage while fostering the talents of rising American composers and librettists. Three teams of new opera composers and librettists—John Liberatore and Niloufar Talebi, Jake Runestad and David Johnston, and Rene Orth and Jason Kim—will premiere new 20-minute operas, each based on a contemporary American story, in a semi-staged concert performance on November 21, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced details for the third season of the American Opera Initiative, its comprehensive commissioning program that brings contemporary American stories to the stage while fostering the talents of rising American composers and librettists. Three teams of new opera composers and librettists—John Liberatore and Niloufar Talebi, Jake Runestad and David Johnston, and Rene Orth and Jason Kim—will premiere new 20-minute operas, each based on a contemporary American story, in a semi-staged concert performance on November 21, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.

Carnivores Tour featuring internationally renowned bands LINKIN PARK, THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS and special guest, AFI kicks off August 8 in West Palm Beach, Florida, for 25 shows across the US.

Playwrights Horizons has announced initial casting for its upcoming 2014/2015 Season. The announcement includes casting for the first two shows of the season: initial casting for BOOTYCANDY, the New York premiere of a new play written and directed by Obie Award winner Robert O'Hara (In the Continuum, Antebellum, Insurrection: Holding History); and initial casting for GRAND CONCOURSE, the World Premiere of a new play by playwright and two-time Obie Award-winning actress Heidi Schreck (There Are No More Big Secrets, Creature), directed by Kip Fagan (The Revisionist, Asuncion).

Grand Performances announces its 28th annual season with a line-up full of fan favorites, new musical obsessions, and events at the gorgeous California Plaza under the spectacular Downtown Los Angeles skyline. Starting Friday, June 13, 2014 and running through Saturday, September 13, 2014, the Grand Performances 2014 Summer Concert Series brings artists and audiences together for an array of music, dance, film, and spoken word featuring performers from around the globe and the streets of Los Angeles. Every show is free; no advanced reservations are required. Grand Performances at California Plaza is located at 350 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90071 (213-687-2159). For a complete overview of Grand Performances' upcoming season, hailed as the "best free outdoor summer concert series" by Los Angeles Magazine, please see the schedule here http://www.grandperformances.org/calendar/2014-season-overview.

The context surrounding an image, or its isolation without context, addresses the question of how the framing and re-framing of images influences our understanding of what we see and more broadly, of history. This exhibition brings together Sarah Charlesworth, Juan Manuel Echavarria, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Alfredo Jaar, Emily Jacir, Susan Meiselas, and Krzysztof Wodiczko, who demonstrate exceptional moral and formal rigor in their analysis of contemporary reality.

2014 sees Cape Town Opera celebrating its fifteenth year as South Africa's premiere opera company. From its home in Southern Africa to countries including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Israel, the United States and Australia, Cape Town Opera has thrilled audiences across the globe. Acclaimed for the vibrant vocalism and high-octane stage performances of its artists, Cape Town Opera's soloists and chorus continue to win the hearts of local and international critics and opera-lovers while proudly flying the South African flag and showcasing this country's wealth of talent. Michael Williams, Cape Town Opera's Managing Director reflects on this young company's history, 'Our survival would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors and especially the National Lotteries Distribution Trust fund, the audience, our talented singers and staff members. Equally important are the valuable collaborations we've forged with international opera companies. However we not only have to think more globally, we have to become more entrepreneurial in the way we run the company; it is after all a business, and that means balancing high quality with low overheads to survive.'

Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) is proud to present a staged reading of The God of This World, a new play in development by Don Thompson. The reading on March 23 at 7pm will be open to the public for free admission and the playwright will be in attendance for Q&A and welcomes feedback from the audience.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will host 22 theatrical offerings from 20 different countries during WORLD STAGES: International Theater Festival 2014 that will run for three weeks March 10-30, 2014 throughout the Center. The international festival features contemporary theater works offering 13 fully staged productions, 4 theater-focused installations, 3 readings of new works, and 2 forums. From Olivier and Tony Award-winning puppetry to innovative perspectives on old classics, a diverse showcase of theatrical expression will be represented by countries spanning the globe including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, England, France, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Pakistan, Palestine, Scotland, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, and the United States.

Lantern Theater Company, critically acclaimed in Philadelphia for their annual Shakespearean offering, presents The Tragedy of Julius Caesar as the highlight of their 20th season. Directed by the Lantern's Artistic Director Charles McMahon and starring Tony Award-nominated actor Forrest McClendon in the title role, the Lantern's production is inspired by the warrior ethos of feudal Japan, calling into question the rights of the ruler against the rights of his people. Performances run tonight, February 6 - March 16, 2014.

Spiritual/Mystical Unity is open and available to all, regardless of belief or religious preference. This is the self-realized universal ideal of contemporary mystic Spencer Perdriau. Towards the goal of world religious unity, he has written an insightful and wise tract about things that unify everyone and makes them equal in 'Difference Dissolved'.

Lantern Theater Company, critically acclaimed in Philadelphia for their annual Shakespearean offering, presents The Tragedy of Julius Caesar as the highlight of their 20th season. Directed by the Lantern's Artistic Director Charles McMahon and starring Tony Award-nominated actor Forrest McClendon in the title role, the Lantern's production is inspired by the warrior ethos of feudal Japan, calling into question the rights of the ruler against the rights of his people. Performances run February 6 - March 16, 2014. [Full schedule including special events is below]

This December, Chicago's acclaimed Spectacle company Redmoon presents the 15th Annual Winter Pageant featuring collaborators The Happiness Club of Chicago, Kalapriya Dance, Indonesian Dance of Illinois, Pineapple Dance Studio, Mexican clown artist Fernando Cordova Hernandez, aerialist Helena Reynolds and surf-rock band The San Andreas Fault. The approximately 50-minute-long production is directed by John Musial and Will Bishop with Redmoon Producing Artistic Director Frank Maugeri and choreographed by Pranita Jain. Redmoon's Winter Pageant takes place at the company's Pilsen home at 2120 S. Jefferson Street, tonight, December 13-15 and 20-22 (Fridays at 7 pm, Saturdays at 4 pm & 7 pm, Sundays at 1:30 pm & 4 pm). Press night will be opening night, Friday, December 13.