I Like It Here - 1946 - Broadway Articles Page 5

There's one thing that Wichita knows and that's theatre. There's no better way to celebrate this celebrated art form than with a classy live radio play version of It's A Wonderful Life - A Live Radio Play, presented by the Wichita Scottish Rite Signature Theatre at the Wichita Center for Performing Arts at 9112 E. Central Avenue. Under the direction of Deb Campbell, the theatre company is now in its 15th season and made up mainly of community-based performers.   

For two nights in a row, I experienced rousing gospel music as part of #TCTheater. In other words, was a good week. The night after seeing Penumbra Theatre's annual gospel rendition of the nativity story BLACK NATIVITY, I attended opening night of Park Square Theatre's regional premiere of the new play MARIE AND ROSETTA, the true story of lesser known gospel legend Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Written by Playwrights' Center affiliated writer George Brant, MARIE AND ROSETTA imagines the night of the first performance of Rosetta and her protege/duet partner Marie Knight. A night in 1946 Mississippi when there was no room at the inn for two black women singers, so they rehearsed and slept in a funeral home with a kindly owner. This play with music paints a beautiful picture of these two very different women, their music, and their relationship, as well as the hardships both faced in their lives and careers, and brings these two musical legends to vivid life. A 'joyful noise' indeed.

The always in-demand Cameron Watson, a stalwart of the Los Angeles theatre community, will next be helming the holiday production of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY at the Pasadena Playhouse for a brief run December 12 to 23. Cameron managed to find some time between his many creative responsibilities to answer a few of my inquisitive inquiries.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers, announces the top ASCAP holiday songs of 2018. According to an ASCAP analysis of streaming and terrestrial radio data, the hit classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” written by ASCAP songwriter Walter Afanasieff and pop star Mariah Carey, holds the #1 song position for the second year in a row.

Arkansas Repertory Theatre, the state's largest nonprofit professional theatre, is proud to announce its 2019 'Rebuild the Rep' Season. Beginning in February, the new season marks the return of The Rep after productions were suspended in April because of funding shortages.

Following the critically acclaimed release of 'Lost West End Vintage' (highlighted in The Sunday Times as an 'Essential New Release') and 'Lost West End Vintage 2', Stage Door Records are pleased to continue the album series with 'Lost West End Revues' to be released on November 30th 2018.

The Barbican today announces its full January to June 2019 Theatre and Dance programme. Tickets for the season go on sale to Barbican Members Plus on Wednesday 17 October, to Barbican Members on Friday 19 October and on general sale on Friday 26 October 2018.

Johnny Dwinell of Daredevil Production, LLC and hit songwriter, Brent Baxter, of SongwritingPro.com have announced their podcast, “The C.L.I.M.B. (Creating Leverage In the MusicBusiness,)” has partnered with Disc Makers as a professional resource for singers, songwriters and indie artists. Listeners can hear in-depth discussions about the art, craft, and business of songwriting, actionable marketing strategies to grow their audience and be discovered, and even be connected with publishers and industry pros. Listen to “The Climb” here and it can also be found on Spotify and iTunes,

The New Orleans Ballet Association kicks off its 2018-2019 dance season at the Mahalia Jackson Theater on September 22 at 8 p.m. with the awe-inspiring DIAVOLO | Architecture in Motion. As top 10 finalists last summer on the NBC hit TV show, 'America's Got Talent,' DIAVOLO wowed millions of viewers by pushing the limits of dance as extreme sport and defying gravity with breathtaking, daredevil movement on a huge playground of oversized architectural structures. Simon Cowell raved, 'the set pieces are incredible and really, really clever. I am actually gob smacked. It is that good!' Since becoming a TV sensation, the company has been entertaining legions of new fans and selling out live performances.

When NBC Sports presents the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Atlanta Falcons in the “NFL Kickoff” game next Thursday, Sept. 6 (coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC), it will mark the 10th season together in the broadcast booth for the NBC Sunday Night Football announce team of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth.

The first ever collection of George Szell's Complete Recordings for Columbia Masterworks on 106 CDs is now available thanks to Sony Classical. The collection features symphonies, overtures and other orchestral works, concertos and chamber music, recorded from 1946 to 1969, 92 recordings remastered from the original analogue tapes using 24 bit / 192 kHz technology.

"How Hope Happens," the Fourth Season at Mosaic Theater Company, will open with Marie and Rosetta, written by George Brant and directed by local artist Sandra L. Holloway. This play featuring gospel music, blues, and rock n' roll tells the story of the first rehearsal between Sister Rosetta Tharpe (recently inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame), and her young protegee Marie Knight.

'This is a period in history where art is rejuvenating the people. From a musical standpoint, An American in Paris depicts an interesting time in the European-American cultural exchange. The many colors of French, German, British music were being influenced by American sounds to create a new, singular musical aesthetic, and this, in turn, influenced American musicians who emulated these aspects. It became a snowball of invention.' Music Director David Lamoureux is talking about the exciting period of cultural cross contexts and artistic innovation that was Post War Paris. He is joined by two of his collaborators on the production, directed and choreographed by Jeffry Denman, which opened at the Ogunquit Playhouse on July 13: Assistant Music Director Patrick Fanning and Assistant Choreographer Ashley Marinelli. The trio waxes eloquent about the fertile, innovative artistic world of the play and its time period and the opportunity to bring this milieu and story to life at the famed playhouse which celebrates its 86th season.

For more than a half-century, the embrace between Cuba and the United States has been subject to an odd dance of politics, including a still-standing embargo. Nevertheless, the bond between the two nations is deep and strong as ever, expressed most forcefully through the dance of culture-especially music. 

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will pay homage to the glittering world of Hollywood musicals with Mad About Musicals!, a special month of programming celebrating timeless movie musicals such as The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain and Cabaret. TCM is once again partnering with Ball State University and Canvas to offer a free online multimedia course tied to this programming special about the history of the musical genre and its evolution with cultural and technological shifts. Enrollment is open until June 17 and fans can sign up for the course at musicals.tcm.com.

New York City Ballet's Centennial Celebration at the Koch Theater in Lincoln Center of the 100th anniversary of Jerome Robbins' birth honors the prodigiously gifted dancemaker, the company's Co-Founding Choreographer, with a ballet lover's feast of five programs from May 3rd to May 20th 2018. The run include two world premieres as well as 20 ballets by Robbins. He died in 1998 at the age of 80, but “Robbins 100” shows beyond a doubt that his legacy endures.

The Beach Boys are pleased to announce a new album, The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, to be released worldwide on June 8 by Capitol/UMe. Produced by Nick Patrick and Don Reedman, the album pairs The Beach Boys' original vocal performances with new symphonic arrangements, newly recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. Available now for preorder in digital, CD, and 180-gram 2LP vinyl LP formats (2LP vinyl to be released August 17), The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra spans decades of timeless Beach Boys hits and favorites across its 17 tracks.

Eugene O'Neill's ferocious American classic, The Iceman Cometh, starring Tony Award winner, two-time Academy Award winner, and 2018 Academy Award nominee Denzel Washington opens tonight on Broadway Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

The 2018 Tanglewood Season, June 15-September 2, is dedicated to the spirit of Leonard Bernstein on the centennial of his birth, with programs celebrating his iconic stature as one of the great artistic figures of the 20th century and his immeasurable contribution to the Tanglewood festival from 1940 to 1990

San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock today announced plans for the 2018 19 Season. The Company's 96th Season will open Friday, September 7 with a gala double-bill performance of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in Jos Cura's production with an international cast featuring Lianna Haroutounian, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Roberto Aronica, Marco Berti and Dimitri Platanias, conducted by Daniele Callegari. To usher in the new opera season, San Francisco Opera Guild will produce its signature benefit event, Opera Ball 2018.

San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock today announced plans for the 2018 19 Season. The Company's 96th Season will open Friday, September 7 with a gala double-bill performance of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in Jos Cura's production with an international cast featuring Lianna Haroutounian, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Roberto Aronica, Marco Berti and Dimitri Platanias, conducted by Daniele Callegari. To usher in the new opera season, San Francisco Opera Guild will produce its signature benefit event, Opera Ball 2018.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers, announces its Top Holiday Songs for 2017. According to an ASCAP analysis of streaming and terrestrial radio data, 1994's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You,' written by Walter Afanasieff and Mariah Carey, moves to #1, joining enduring Christmas classics like 'A Holly Jolly Christmas'(written by Johnny Marks, 1962) and 'Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow'(written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, 1945), at the top of the charts. (Check out ASCAP's interview with Afanaseiff about writing 'All I Want' at http://bit.ly/2k8S9E0)

THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING was a 1946 novel by Southern writer Carson McCullers. It took her five years to complete, although she did interrupt the writing for a few months to write the short novel The Ballad of the Sad Caf . The novel has been adapted for the stage, motion pictures, and television. McCullers herself adapted the novel for the Broadway stage in 1950. The film version followed in 1952 and a stage musical version, F. Jasmine Addams, was produced Off-Broadway in 1971. The work examines why people exclude others and the resulting consequences. The central figures also talk about how they wish the world was more fluid and changeable in terms of race, gender and identity, all of which runs thematically through McCullers body of work.

SPANGLISH FLY, the critically acclaimed 11-piece Latin boogaloo group, has confirmed details on their upcoming album Ay Que Boogaloo!, due out February 16th on Chaco World Music, the label founded by Latin Grammy nominated producer and composer Chaco (Manuel Garcia Orozco). In his liner notes, Bobby Sanabria calls the record 'a combination of great musicianship, clever songwriting, and slick arranging. And guess what Pilgrims? You can dance to it too!'