Do It Again! - 1971 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 20

In celebration of the artist's 85th birthday, Columbia Records/RPM Records/Legacy Recordings will release Tony Bennett - The Complete Collection, an extraordinary compilation chronicling the entire career of the great American pop vocalist as documented in the albums and singles he's made for Columbia Records (beginning in 1952 through the present), as well as his recordings for Roulette (an historic encounter with Count Basie and Orchestra in 1959), MGM (1972-73), Improv (Bennett's own label from 1973-76) and Fantasy (a pair of sublime titles with pianist Bill Evans, released in 1975-76).

The classic Columbia Records catalog recordings (1973-1987) of Aerosmith, America's all-time top-selling rock and roll band, will be available for the first time digitally on the iTunes Store beginning Tuesday, September 6.

The venerable entertainer shows no signs of slowing down as he embarks on a concert tour with fellow Monkees band mates Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz.

Today we are kicking off Broadway World's multi-part series of interviews with the stars of the 2011 Kennedy Center produced and Eric Schaeffer directed production of Stephen Sondheim & James Goldman's seminal showbiz musical, FOLLIES, currently in previews on Broadway at the Marquis Theater. Suave leading man Ron Raines sheds light on the central, pivotal role of Benjamin Stone and how he sees the character - in his youth, in his marriage, in the present and, also, in the future, post-Loveland and, even post-FOLLIES - as well as illuminates his interactions with the colorful array of stars he shares the stage with eight nights a week - chief among them: Bernadette Peters, Elaine Paige and Jan Maxwell! Additionally, we discuss what has changed in the transfer from Washington, D.C. to NYC, as well as examine the underlying message and story told in Ben's stunning musical triptych of 'The Road You Didn't Take', 'Too Many Mornings' and 'Live, Laugh, Love'. As if all that were not enough, Raines and I cast a glance back at his previous stage and screen work and discuss his solo albums, upcoming concert appearances and much, much more! Plus, first news of his essaying of the title role in SWEENEY TODD with Karen Ziemba in St. Louis next summer, directed by the helmer of the original Christopher Bond play that inspired Sondheim to compose the musical adaptation in the first place back in 1969.

Few names in the modern lexicon can and do raise such vitriolic and vociferous reactions from film fans, Broadway babies and pop culture mavens alike - let alone everybody else - and not only for his classic spate of films, but, even more so because of his tumultuous personal life and the fact it has been painted on pages in the press for decades; yet, no question, the name Roman Polanski does just that. Given what has come to pass in his oft-vaunted career, the perils of his private life have always informed his art in one way or another - from his war-torn orphan upbringing in Europe in a concentration camp to his wife and son's brutal slaying by the Manson Family to the infamous rape case that made him a fugitive to the US; up to the new millennium and the recent HBO documentary examining the court case and, of course, the upcoming feature film, CARNAGE, itself. From the suffocating claustrophobia and bizarre social and sexual proclivity examinations in KNIFE IN THE WATER, REPULSION and CUL-DE-SAC, to his more mainstream US films like the horror classic ROSEMARY'S BABY and, in my critics' opinion one of the finest films ever made, CHINATOWN. Taking into account his seamless stage-to-screen transfer of DEATH AND THE MAIDEN in 1994, Polanski's CARNAGE could very well stand alongside that tremendous achievement as a solid film all its own - even divorced from its theatrical roots - especially judging from the looks of today's just-released trailer for the feature film version, coming out in December as one of the year's most highly-anticipated Oscar-bait entries being released at the end of the year (as always). For those not familiar with the hit source play, GOD OF CARNAGE concerns itself with one evening and the meeting of two couples in Manhattan to discuss their sons' situation in school and over the course of the colorful extended conversation the tables are turned and the parents reveal themselves to be children at heart - in more ways than one.

The RiverPark Center event will feature a retrospective on Peter Falk, who played Columbo on television and died June 23. William Link, co-creator of the television series 'Columbo,' has written several Columbo short stories. Four will be selected and presented as Live Broadcast Theatre productions (formerly called Live Radio Theatre and presented in the style of old-fashioned radio shows).

The Manhattan Theatre Club's new Broadway production of MASTER CLASS by Terrence McNally, directed by Stephen Wadsworth, opened July 7 to trumedous praise at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. On the celebratory night, Richard Ridge caught up with the stars and creative forces of what many are calling a masterpiece, all of whom spoke candidly about the process of remounting the production and recreating the fascinating figures of the opera world of old.

The RiverPark Center event will feature a retrospective on Peter Falk, who played Columbo on television and died June 23. William Link, co-creator of the television series 'Columbo,' has written several Columbo short stories. Four will be selected and presented as Live Broadcast Theatre productions (formerly called Live Radio Theatre and presented in the style of old-fashioned radio shows).

The RiverPark Center event will feature a retrospective on Peter Falk, who played Columbo on television and died June 23. William Link, co-creator of the television series 'Columbo,' has written several Columbo short stories. Four will be selected and presented as Live Broadcast Theatre productions (formerly called Live Radio Theatre and presented in the style of old-fashioned radio shows).

Timely, relevant, bittersweet, and scathingly funny, The Prisoner of Second Avenue by the prolific Neil Simon gets the all-star treatment at ACT Theatre, April 29-May 29, with director Warner Shook at the helm and a cast that reads like a Who's Who in Seattle Theatre.

Morris Park Players Community Theatre (MPP) presents Grease, April 29 & 30, May 6, 13, & 14 at 7:30 pm, and May 1 & 7 at 2:00 pm, the second production at their new home of Thomas Edison High School Auditorium in Northeast Minneapolis.

Timely, relevant, bittersweet, and scathingly funny, The Prisoner of Second Avenue by the prolific Neil Simon gets the all-star treatment at ACT Theatre, April 29-May 29, with director Warner Shook at the helm and a cast that reads like a Who's Who in Seattle Theatre.

Morris Park Players Community Theatre (MPP) presents Grease, April 29 & 30, May 6, 13, & 14 at 7:30 pm, and May 1 & 7 at 2:00 pm, the second production at their new home of Thomas Edison High School Auditorium in Northeast Minneapolis.

Today we lost one of the greats: the gentle giant of directors, Sidney Lumet. What a resume! Just to pick seven of perhaps the best known of the bunch, the bunch in question being over 100 titles strong: 12 ANGRY MEN, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, SERPICO, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK and BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD - the films spanning fifty years from MEN in 1957 and DEVIL in 2007 - it is clear to see why Lumet was one of the most cherished and celebrated directors in Hollywood, especially known for his tough, gritty New York stories and his pristine stage-to-screen transfers. For an excellent example of the latter (in addition to LONG DAY'S JOURNEY and the others) check out DEATHTRAP - based on Ira Levin's play, the longest-running thriller in Broadway history - featuring Michael Caine in one of his best roles and Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon in their finest performances on film. For an example of the former genre, look no further than NETWORK, containing one of the strongest screenplays ever penned, from the fiery and ferocious pen of Paddy Cheyefsky, and Faye Dunaway in her Oscar-winning performance for all the ages. As far as theatrical screenplays on screen, Lumet would be hard-pressed to even come close to the power, prescience and transformative brilliance at the core of the conceit of that film - yet he did just that; with his final, 2007 film no less. I am speaking, of course, of the underrated and riveting BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, with Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris. Taking an original screenplay that could just as well have been written for the stage - shades of 12 ANGRY MEN, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK and SERPICO, certainly - Lumet made a bristling, biting brilliant work of staggering craft and ingenuity - all with verve, energy and drive of a man a quarter of his age at the time (80). His films were classics in his own time and, now, in his passing, they are just as timeless - if not more so. With each passing year, new layers of truth, beauty, sadness and soulfulness can be found in the countless frames in the innumerable unforgettable scenes in his many masterpieces.

Timely, relevant, bittersweet, and scathingly funny, The Prisoner of Second Avenue by the prolific Neil Simon gets the all-star treatment at ACT Theatre, April 29-May 29, with director Warner Shook at the helm and a cast that reads like a Who's Who in Seattle Theatre.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Next season's musicals from Broadway In Chicago, Porchlight, Northlight, Writers' Theatre and more, plus 'White Noise,' 'Grease,' Alice Ripley, and, yes, more!

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts today announced the recipients of the 2010 Sally Ordway Irvine Awards. In addition to the traditional awards for Vision, Commitment, Initiative and Education, a new award was given this year to acknowledge extraordinary efforts to expand access to the arts across Minnesota.

The 2011 COLUMN Awards will have blinding star wattage appearing on their stage for this year's gala. Yesterday on a live tele/webcast the 2011 COLUMN Award nominations were announced.

Years before Coppola's Godfather enthralled a nation and decades before "Sopranos" and "Boardwalk Empire" fed viewers' insatiable appetites for serial gangster melodrama, the yakuza (Japanese mafia) were mainstays of the Japanese film industry.

Though Shakespeare's first play, TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, is ungainly and raw at times, many of the devices and plot mechanisms that will soon become the playwright's stock in trade are present in its text. As such, it remains a crude example of an early work by a master still fine tuning his craft. In Galt MacDermot (music), John Guarre (lyrics) and Mel Shapiro's (who polished and 'corrected' the Bard's book) 1971 musical adaptation it becomes a light-hearted and enjoyable introduction to his work, full of the same pluck and irreverence that distinguished MacDermot's Hair, but fully capable of standing on its own merit too. New Line Theatre and director Scott Miller's current production of Two Gentlemen of Verona not only rocks, but it's hilarious as well, aided greatly by the spectacular efforts of an enthusiastic cast and a crack band. I honestly can't recall when I've ever witnessed an audience laugh at and enjoy Shakespeare more; the resident 'Bad Boy of Musical Theatre' has come through again.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Bohemian Theatre Ensemble season, a Stephen Schwartz world premiere, Alice Ripley in concert, the Chicago Symphony plays 'West Side Story,' 'Tomorrow Morning,' more.