If It Was Easy - 2001 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 8

Since Taylor Swift released her hit song 'Shake It Off' about two years ago, many listeners have pointed out the uncanny similarity between her lyrics and the 2001 song 'Playas Gon' Play' by girl group 3LW.

If not for the fact that she is already one on Broadway, it could be said that Rachel Potter's performance in Mamma Mia! - which opened last night at Nashville's historic Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre - was, without doubt or without danger of fulsome exaggeration a "starmaking turn." With a glorious voice and stage presence to spare, Potter's Sophie seized control of the opening night audience from the very first moment she stepped onto the stage, never relinquishing control for one second, even when sharing the stage with the redoubtable Martha Wilkinson, the undisputed queen of musical theatre in Music City.

Here's an oft-proven truism, if not a fact, about theater in Nashville: If Martha Wilkinson is the star of a particular show - any show, whether it's Noises Off, Chicago, Little Shop of Horrors, Sister Act (well, you get my drift) - you can rest assured that she will (A) play the role to the hilt, (B) knock your socks off with her timing and delivery and (C) you'll believe that, no matter how many times you've seen a show, any show, it was as if you were seeing it for the first time.

Iceland in the 19th Century was not exactly an idyll; it was an island nation of farming and fishing communities, pretty much cut off from the much of the rest of the world. Crime was rare and capital crimes rarer still. So the country's criminal cases have become the stuff of legend, including the child rape case in Rifsaedasel of 1837, which is as infamous to Icelanders as The Manson Family is to Americans. Contemporary Icelandic playwright Hrafnhildur Hagalin revisits this infamous case with 'Guilty' (2014), a verse play that gracefully and provocatively examines issues of obsession and mercy which cling to it to this day.

The Mosaic Theater Company ignites its third season with a sure hit, a proven crowd-pleaser about the Empress of Blues.

Iceland in the 19th Century was not exactly an idyll; it was an island nation of farming and fishing communities, pretty much cut off from the much of the rest of the world. Crime was rare and capital crimes rarer still. So the country's criminal cases have become the stuff of legend, including the child rape case in Rifsaedasel of 1837, which is as infamous to Icelanders as The Manson Family is to Americans. Contemporary Icelandic playwright Hrafnhildur Hagalin revisits this infamous case with 'Guilty' (2014), a verse play that gracefully and provocatively examines issues of obsession and mercy which cling to it to this day.

Pig Iron Theatre Company, the internationally acclaimed, Philadelphia-based organization, has announced that the world premiere of its ambitious, timely production A Period of Animate Existence will take place September 22-24 at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania in the 2017 Fringe Festival, co-presented by FringeArts and Annenberg Center Live.

If you are in need of a pick-me-up or a fun night out, pack a picnic and head to Wolf Trap for a trip down the aisle you'll never forget.

The New Group has announced four productions for its 2017-2018 Season.

THE PULSE PROJECT by Sherry Bokser, Thom Fogarty, Alyson Mead and Amy Merrill, directed by Thom Fogarty, will be presented Sunday, June 11th, 2017 at 5pm at Assembly Hall at Judson Memorial Church (239 Thompson St. NYC).

Brothers, Brant and Michael Eustice, play the two brothers, James 'Eggs' Benedict, and Tom, respectively.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! We hope you are feeling hale and hearty this morning as we pose the musical question: Do you have tickets to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (running at TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall through Sunday)? If not, make every effort to get downtown to see the show. It's truly remarkable and you will be moved more than you could possibly imagine. So there! Get to it!

360repco presents, in association with the Dramatist Guild, the first reading of Sherry Bokser's THE PULSE PROJECT on May 5th at 8 p.m. at Dramatist Guild's Mary Rodgers Room (1501 Broadway, 7th Floor).

Music has always played an important role in the life of Latvian violinist Baiba Skride. Born into a musical family, her father (a choir conductor), mother (an accompanist) and grandmother (a singing teacher), encouraged Skride and her two sisters to practice singing and learn instruments from a young age.

Amelie is an extraordinary young woman who lives quietly in the world, but loudly in her mind. She covertly improvises small, but surprising acts of kindness that bring joy and mayhem. But when a chance at love comes her way, Amelie realizes that to find happiness she'll have to risk everything and say what's in her heart. Come be inspired by this imaginative dreamer who finds her voice, discovers the power of connection and sees possibility around every corner. In these uncertain times, Amelie is someone to believe in.

Spend an Intimate Evening with Kristin Chenoweth Coming to The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall

When Liza Minnelli tells showbiz, "Look out… here comes Nicolas King," you know this performer is the real deal. Having toured with Minnelli and appeared in three Broadway shows by the time he was a teenager, King is no stranger to showmanship and storytelling. Now, he has partnered with legendary jazz pianist and music director Mike Renzi to release his new album, ON ANOTHER NOTE, a collection of rich jazz standards that follow the plot of a love story.

The following acts are performing at City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, throughout the month of April.

Coachella Valley Repertory's DISGRACED examines identity and prejudice. It is expertly performed, timely, and searing and will almost definitely leave a lasting impression on theatregoers.

The 52nd Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards will be presented tonight at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town. With the local theatre industry counting down to the ceremony, BroadwayWorld presents a special feature that highlights the nominees and some of the discourse that has transpired since the nominations were released last month.

The internationally acclaimed Pig Iron Theatre Company's A Period of Animate Existence, an ambitious new multimedia stage work meditating on extinctions, climate change, and the Anthropocene, will figure prominently in the timely conference An Ecotopian Toolkit for the Anthropocene, which the Penn Program in the Environmental Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania presents April 13-15.

Today Ryan Adams released his first album of all new original material since 2014's Ryan Adams. The launch of Prisoner coincides with the announcement of a tour for Ryan Adams and his band. The tour includes a show on June 18 at the brand-new Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City.

Pig Iron Theatre Company, the internationally acclaimed, Philadelphia-based organization, has announced A Period of Animate Existence, an ambitious new multimedia production that meditates on perhaps the most pressing issue facing this and future generations-climate change, which threatens to result in the loss of 20-50% of all living species on earth-and asks, "How do we contemplate the future in such a moment?"

Today's subject might be considered one of the hardest working guys in show business. Tom Story is currently living his theatre life on both sides of the footlights. His expertly directed production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe finishes its successful run at Adventure Theatre MTC in Glen Echo, MD this weekend. You can also see him onstage in the one-man play Fully Committed at MetroStage in Alexandria, VA through January 8th.

Tell me about working with Cirque du Soleil. How long have you been with them? TORUK - The First Flight is my first Cirque du Soleil show. I started with the majority of artists in July of 2015. I actually first auditioned for Cirque du Soleil in 2001 and made it to their artist database in 2002. It was puppetry that finally got me to run away with the circus!