I Land - 2007 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 15

Since its 2015 premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts - a popular laboratory for some of Broadway's most recent smash hits -Waitress, with music and lyrics by the indomitably popular songstress Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson, has made defying the theater community's wildest expectations look easy as pie. Somewhat quietly, Waitress has baked a more than 1100 performance run (and counting) on Broadway, spanning nearly three years, no small feat for a modern musical, particularly one that does not rely upon spectacular stage effects, grandiose chorus numbers, a well-known jukebox catalog or Disney source material. Adapted from Adrienne Shelly's 2007 film of the same name - which was by no means a box office juggernaut - the musical incarnation of Waitress has none of these things. What it does have, however, is a fantastic score, relatable and likeable (with one exception) characters, and a well-mixed blend of humor and heart.

Producers Anita Greenspan and Tony Hawk with Executive producer Adam Zotovich announced today that a new musical adaptation of the 2007 Nick Hornby novel, SLAM, is in development. This new project will feature a book by Tony Award Nominee Kyle Jarrow (SpongeBob SquarePants the Musical) with music and lyrics by Mark Mothersbaugh (prolific film composer, co-founder of new wave band Devo). Pro-skater Tony Hawk, who is featured as a character in the novel, is a producer on the project and is slated to develop skate choreography.

Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Sam Hodges today announces the full cast for his production of Howard Brenton's The Shadow Factory which returns to celebrate NST City's first anniversary after opening the space with a sell-out run last year. The cast includes Denise Black (Lady Cooper/Ma Dimmock), Bethan Cullinane (Jackie Dimmock), Joe Tracini (Len Gooch) and Michael Fenton Stevens (Lord Beaverbrook) joining returning cast members David Birrell (Fred Dimmock/Hugh Downing), Catherine Cusack (Lil Dimmock/Sylvia Meinster) and Shala Nyx (Polly Stride). The production opens on 1 February, with previews from 30 January, and runs until 2 March.

Happy New Year Rochester theatre-goers! It is now officially 2019, and with it a new year full of wonderful theatrical productions of all varieties on stages large-and-small across the 585. We're fortunate to live in a city with some of the most diverse and eclectic arts organizations in New York State, so I thought I'd take a minute to highlight some of the productions I'm most excited about in 2019. A couple caveats: #1, the typical theatre season runs September(ish)-June(ish), and most theatre companies haven't announced their 2019-2020 seasons yet, so this article really only encompasses the first half of 2019; and #2, my theatrical tastes and interests aren't necessarily representative of the wider theatre-going community, so this list may not reflect Rochester's most anticipated or talked-about shows on the horizon (notice RBTL's upcoming run of Hamilton didn't make the cut, not for lack of worthiness). That being said, enjoy, and as always your thoughts and feedback are welcome!

Garry Marshall Theatre presents the West End and Broadway play The Mountaintop by Katori Hall.  The Mountaintop is directed by Gregg T. Daniel, who recently staged A Raisin in the Sun at A Noise Within (Ovation Award nomination for Best Director) and Her Portmanteau at Boston Court.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) is thrilled to announce the eighth annual Roundabout Underground Reading Series, a five-night event that includes nightly readings of new works written and directed by emerging artists, as well as post-show receptions. The Reading Series will feature new works by Aaron Carter, Emily Feldman, Dave Harris, Jonathan Spector and Sanaz Toossi.

While watching Chance Theater's brand new OC-premiere of EMMA: THE MUSICAL--Paul Gordon's charm-filled 2007 stage musical adaptation of Jane Austen's beloved 1815 novel--I noticed a welcome sensation that took over me throughout most of the production… I could not stop smiling. Delightfully appealing and positively buoyant in a great many aspects, this wonderfully witty and quite beguiling production--directed with engaging gusto by Casey Long--continues performances at their Cripe Stage in Anaheim through December 23, 2018.

Liverpool is guaranteed to have a white Christmas as LHK Productions brings the fairest panto in all of Liverpool, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to The Epstein Theatre.

The Broad Stage presents Theater Latte Da's All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce Of 1914, the highly celebrated docu-musical about an extraordinary moment in history for two performances only on Saturday, December 22, 2018 at 4:00pm and 7:30pm.  

Can a musical drama set on a grim WW I battlefield make an audience feel good? Those working on the San Diego Opera's staging of All Is Calm: the Christmas Truce of 1914 are certain it can. The work tells the true story of the spontaneous unofficial truce between WWI enemies who left their trenches and entered the no-man's land between them to join in a celebration of the Christmas holidays. Peter Rothstein wrote the drama for his Minneapolis-based company Theatre Latte Da, and based it on material from the period, the most important of which is the verbatim text of letters and war journals written by soldiers who participated in the truce.  The cast sings many songs popular during the war and a few traditional Christmas carols. All were arranged by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach, and are sung a cappella in the English, German and French languages of the soldiers. Vanessa Dinning has taken on the challenge of coaching in nearly 20 different dialects.

Laura Little Theatricals and Theater Latte Da present the American premiere production of the off-Broadway premiere of the new musical All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, now playing off-Broadway at the Sheen Center for Thought & Culturein a limited holiday engagement through December 30. Performances are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30PM; Sunday at 7pPM; Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday at 2PM. (Exceptions: There are no performances on Sunday, December 9 at 2PM or Sunday, December 23 at 7PM; there is an additional performance on Monday, December 24 at 2PM.)

December brings four Prime Original series and one Prime Original movie exclusively available for Prime members to stream or download at no additional cost to their membership.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the full cast and creative team for Paradise Square: An American Musical. The world premiere is helmed by acclaimed director Moises Kaufman, with choreography by the legendary Bill T. Jones and a book by Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas, and Larry Kirwan. Music by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan, with lyrics by Nathan Tysen, and based on the songs of Stephen Foster. Paradise Square is produced by special arrangement with Garth H. Drabinsky in association with Peter LeDonne and Teatro Proscenium Limited Partnership.

On January 13, 17 and 19 Franz Welser-Most and The Cleveland Orchestra continue an ongoing commitment to present opera at Severance Hall with a made-for-Cleveland production of Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos which is being performed for the first time in the Orchestra's history. In his years as music director, Welser-Most has led The Cleveland Orchestra in performances of many orchestral works by Richard Strauss, as well as presentations of four other Strauss operas: Elektra (2004), Der Rosenkavalier (2007), Salome (2012), and Daphne (2015).

There's no day but January 27, 2019 when it comes to FOX's Rent. 

Laura Little Theatricals and Theater Latte Da announce casting for the Off-Broadway premiere of the new musical ALL IS CALM: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914.

The Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan's 12th Annual Other Israel Film Festival is pleased to announce this year's event will be held November 1-8, 2018. Screenings will be held at the JCC on 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, with additional special screenings at JCC Harlem, New York University's King Juan Carlos Center, and The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Brooklyn. Individual tickets and festival passes are now available at otherisrael.org.

Hulu has announced the titles that are coming and going in November. Please note titles and dates are subject to change.

George Lopez's multi-faceted career encompasses television, film, standup comedy and late-night television. Lopez is currently on a solo standup comedy tour, The Wall World Tour, coming to the Bass Concert Hall on January 19, as well as a group tour, The Comedy Get Down, starring himself, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley & Cedric 'The Entertainer'. The four The Comedy Get Down comedians also recently wrapped a BET scripted comedy series based on their tour. Lopez will star on A&E's "Very Superstitious With George Lopez" that began airing in April.

George Lopez's multi-faceted career encompasses television, film, standup comedy and late-night television. Lopez is currently on a solo standup comedy tour, The Wall World Tour, coming to Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at the Duke Energy Center on January 11, as well as a group tour, The Comedy Get Down, starring himself, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley & Cedric 'The Entertainer'. The four The Comedy Get Down comedians also recently wrapped a BET scripted comedy series based on their tour. Lopez will star on A&E's "Very Superstitious With George Lopez" that began airing in April.

Ovens Auditorium will host comedian George Lopez on The Wall World Tour in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019, at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, at all Ticketmaster outlets or at the Bojangles' Coliseum Box Office located at 2700 E. Independence Blvd. Tickets cost between $59.50 and $65.50 (plus applicable service charges) and are subject to change. A VIP Meet and Greet package is also available. The package includes one premium reserved seat, meet and greet with George Lopez, one Individual photo with George Lopez, early entry, one drawstring bag, one official George Lopez golf towel, one signed tour poster and one commemorative VIP laminate. For a direct link to purchase tickets, click here.

Actor and IAC Honorary Chair Gabriel Byrne; Corey Johnson, Speaker of the New York City Council; Congressman Joseph Crowley; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; New York City Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl; Ciaran Madden, Consul General of Ireland; and other City and State dignitaries joined the Irish Arts Center board, staff, and supporters as they broke ground today on the New Irish Arts Center, a heralded multidisciplinary center that will bring people of all backgrounds together through the excellence and dynamism of Irish arts and culture. The ceremony marked the start of construction on Phase One of the new facility, a state-of-the-art new building at 726 11th Avenue, now fully funded and scheduled to open in late 2020.

The Marie-Josee Kravis Prize for New Music at the New York Philharmonic, which recognizes a composer for extraordinary artistic endeavor in the field of new music, has been awarded to South Korean composer Unsuk Chin. One of the world's largest new-music prizes, the Kravis Prize includes $200,000 and a commission to write a work for the New York Philharmonic. Ms. Chin's new orchestral work will receive its World Premiere by the Philharmonic in a future season. Funding for the Kravis Prize comes from a $10 million gift to the New York Philharmonic in 2009 by Henry R. Kravis in honor of his wife, Marie-Josee, for whom the Prize is named. Past Prize winners include Henri Dutilleux, Per Norgard, and Louis Andriessen.