Forty-Deuce! - 1980 - Off-Off-Broadway Articles Page 2

Independent record label Independent Project Records (IPR) announced that 1983, the first-ever release from the Torn Boys, the until-now hermetically-sealed early 80's post-punk quartet out of Stockton, California featuring Jeffrey Clark, Kelly Foley, Duncan Atkinson and a 19 year-old Grant-Lee Phillips.

The Tank has revealed the cast and creative for the World Premiere of Three Scenes in the Life of a Trotskyist, by Andy Boyd. See is is taking part in this production.

Writer, performer, and founding member of Culture Clash Herbert Sigüenza takes on the role of Picasso for A Weekend with Pablo Picasso from L.A.Theatre Works (LATW) in this one-man tour-de-force. Learn more about the show and find out how to get tickets here!

Melissa Lewis Wong, a queer, Chinese American, dance and drag artist, is proud to announce the world premiere of 花和霧 flowers and fog, a portrait of the artist and their mother, Joy ChenYu Lewis, bridging cultures, identities and art disciplines.

After more than 40 years, thousands of shows, tens of thousands of students, and hosting and training some of the best comic voices in Boston -  the organization announced today it can no longer operationally sustain going forward.

There's a hardcover, there's a kindle, there's an audiobook. But there's also a system to enjoying it, and Stephen Mosher has tested it out, with satisfying success.

Last night, November 21, 2023, a Kansas City tradition, the 42rd annual (almost) Kansas City Repertory Theatre production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” opened at the Spencer Theater on the UMKC campus for an extended run through Christmas Eve. Except for the Covid year when the live production was replaced by a video version, audiences have gathered for “A Christmas Carol” since 1980. The house lights dim and a cast of Victorian holiday carolers appear complete with an onstage costumed orchestra. Our Storyteller (Nedra Dixon) also dressed in stunning early Victorian garb, welcomes us. Ms. Dixon is elegant and charming in this her first stint as the Storyteller.

The weather outside might still be frightful for a while, but what better time to stay in and snuggle up with a great Broadway read? Check out our complete Winter 2024 reading list!

Matt Chait’s A Family Business world premieres November 17, 2023, at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre (with previews November 15th and 16th). Brian Shnipper directs the cast of Eric Stanton Betts, Alli Brown, Michelle Jasso, Lindsay G. Merrithew, Bruce Nozick and Julie Pearl. I had the chance to throw out a few questions to Matt, the playwright and man integral to Los Angeles Theatre history.

INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS announces the first-ever release from TORN BOYS, featuring members of Shiva Burlesque, Gary Young’s Hospital, and Grant Lee Buffalo. The comprehensive archival post-punk release will be available on digital, CD, and vinyl formats with a bonus DVD. Debut single and video for 'See Through My Eyes' out tomorrow.

Join MidAmerica Productions on January 7, 2024 at Carnegie Hall for a special 40th anniversary concert featuring over 500 musicians. Maestro Tiboris and John Rutter will lead an epic performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Rutter's Magnificat. Don't miss this unforgettable celebration of four decades of making life-changing music.

The rise of the legendary, groundbreaking troupe THEATRE IN LIMBO – co-founded Off-Broadway by Charles Busch and Kenneth Elliott in the 1980's – is chronicled in the new book “BEYOND RIDICULOUS: Making Gay Theatre with Charles Busch in 1980s New York.' Learn more about the book and find out when you can purchase it here!

Before East Lynne Theater Company (ELTC) revs up its fall lineup, the curtain prepares to close on its summer 2023 Mainstage Season with a six-week run of A. R. Gurney's “Love Letters”– but with a twist. From Sept. 6 to Oct. 14, the play will be performed by a real-life couple with a connection each of the six weeks: three married couples, an engaged duo, and two pairs who share a romantic past. 

As part of Wabanaki REACH’s truth-telling initiative, Beyond the Claims- Stories from the Land & the Heart, the organization has partnered with Threadbare Theatre Workshop to create where the river widens, a new play by, for, and with Wabanaki people. 

The musical was composed by the late Marvin Hamlisch (A Chorus Line) with lyrics by Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood). It is based on the iconic 1963 film by the late Jerry Lewis. This album signifies the last musical written by Hamlisch before his untimely passing.

City Lit Producer and Artistic Director Terry McCabe announced that the theatre’s 2023-2024 season—its forty-third—will be his last on its staff. 

Ping Chong and Company (PCC) and Yara Arts Group will present Undesirable Elements: Ukraine, the newest work in PCC's Undesirable Elements series, in which real people share their own stories on stage.

Produced for release by Hallman, Grammy® nominee Randy Poe (also author of Buck ‘Em: The Autobiography Of Buck Owens), and multi-Grammy® winner Cheryl Pawelski, with Mastering and Restoration by multi-Grammy® winner Michael Graves, the release sounds as fresh as it did when it was first recorded.

La MaMa will present the first-ever revival of Evelyn Brown (A Diary), a lost work by the celebrated playwright María Irene Fornés (1930–2018).

Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine is nearly forty years old and, despite being firmly set in the 1980's, its issues of loneliness, bravery and the need for personal fulfilment still resonate deeply.

Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT) is kicking off their 30th anniversary season by changing the name of their bi-annual New Work Series to Spark Theatre Festival NYC. The company will also return to premiering new works Off-Broadway in Fall 2023.

Sometimes a show comes along that is so powerful, at times shattering, with a top-flight cast, that it deserves two Broadway World reviews. Tampa Rep's production of THE ELEPHANT MAN certainly fits into that category. My BWW colleague, Drew Eberhard, saw the show at its final preview, and I had the honor of attending its opening weekend. At the play's center is a performance by Paul Potenza in the title role that should have anyone reading this sentence to stop what they're doing and obtain their tickets ASAP. THE ELEPHANT MAN runs at the HCC Studio Theater in Ybor City thru February 19th, so you better hurry.

After spending 90 minutes with the O’Shea family, we can thank whatever gods we pray to that we A. did not grow up in the early 1970s, B. that we do have the Internet and C. that this loving but dysfunctional family is not our own.

Ensemble Theatre Company will present the second show of its 2022-23 Season, an all-new take on the holiday favorite, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, written by Charles Dickens, adapted by Patrick Barlow (The 39 Steps) and directed by Jamie Torcellini. 

Turner Classic Movies (TMC) will present a 12-film tribute to Angela Lansbury on November 21st. The 24-hour marathon will include some of her most memorable films including Gaslight and The Manchurian Candidate, as well as an airing of the 1982 filmed production of Sweeney Todd. Dame Angela Lansbury passed away on October 11, 2022, at the age of 96.