I'll Say She Is - 2016 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 7

Today, THE ILLUSIONISTS' Charlie Frye speaks exclusively with BWW and explains why he takes his art seriously, but never takes himself seriously!

Following the curtain speech made by the Broadway cast of Hamilton to Vice President-elect Mike Pence that took over the Internet, the resultant aftermath included an article from Hot Air writer Larry O'Connor (formally known by the alias 'Stage Right') titled 'And this is why I was a closeted conservative when I worked on Broadway' (sic).

Sitting in my seat watching Lance Horne and his many friends perform at NEW WORK NEW WORK I: EXTRAORDINARY DAYS at Joe's Pub, I couldn't help but feel like I was at a really great dinner party (if I were invited to dinner parties with some of the most talented artists in the city). The seats---and, in this case, the songs---were assigned, but the host didn't try and force conversation, and the whole affair was better for it. The purpose of the November 21 show, the first in a year-long residency, was for the successful composer and musical director to showcase his recent work, and, for new material, Horne's songs were quite polished.

They're back!!! That's right! Everyone's favorite blasphemous musical comedy has returned to Louisville.

Mexico, similar to the rest of Latin America, is quite a catholic and conservative country. As to be expected, when RENT came along for the first time to the Aztec lands in 2001, it was considered excessively racy and immoral. An exotic dancer as the leading lady? Unfathomable! I mean, sure, Julia Roberts' stole our hearts in a similar role in Pretty Woman, but then again, she wasn't a crack addict or dying of AIDS. So yeah, you can imagine how this wasn't exactly Mexico's cup of … tequila. 

As challenging a work of theatrical artistry that you could possibly conceive of, Parade affords BUMT students a sublime opportunity in pursuit of excellence in a production that vociferously demands to be seen and experienced. It is one of the year's best musicals in a Nashville theatrical season that has boasted one after another significant stage triumphs, with two leading performances that are stunning in their complexity and passionate delivery.

The latest instalment of LET THERE BE LIGHT, our series showcasing some of Britain's best theatrical lighting designers, focuses on Lucy Carter. A regular collaborator with Wayne McGregor, as well as numerous other leading choreographers and dance companies, she's also worked on operas and plays, including Husbands & Sons at the National Theatre and Oil, currently playing at the Almeida.

LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture announces the 2016/2017 LABA Fellows, consisting of a group of twelve culture-makers-a mix of visual artists, writers, dancers, musicians, actors and others, who are brought together to study classic Jewish texts in a non-religious, open-minded setting centered on a chosen theme.

Veteran Broadway and Off-Broadway actress, Kellie Overbey sat down with BroadwayWorld ahead of the Sunday to chat about the #FairWageOnStage Campaign. 

Never mind those two scoundrels... vote for THIS scoundrel! It's time to consider W.C. FIELDS FOR PRESIDENT.

This November, FRIGID New York @ Horse Trade presents the Fifth Annual Gotham Storytelling Festival featuring a wide variety of downtown storytellers and solo performers.

Rehearsals began today, 12 September 2016, for Grain in the Blood, a brand new production from playwright Rob Drummond, commissioned by the Traverse and co-produced with the Tron Theatre, Glasgow.

Tammy Faye (nee Tammy Lang) is a luminary on the downtown NYC performance art scene. Long before I met her, I'd heard her name spoken with reverence by many artists and musicians I met when I first came to the city in 1999. Recently I saw the performer in her current show, HOLY WAR 2016: THE NEW REGIME at Pangea, in which she returns to her well-known original character Tammy Faye Starlite, a twisted conflation of Tammy Faye Bakker, Tammy Wynette, and then some. Tammy Faye Starlite brings a perverse, amoral, politically adjacent evening of song and signature improvised unhinged patter, which arises out of such an 'unacceptable' yet earnest point of view that the minds of the audience members are set free to wander in a vast desert of uncertainty, outrageousness, and catharsis of an unknown nature. It was an exhilarating and delightfully uncomfortably confounding place to be. I wanted to talk with this extraordinary performer to learn about her particular vision and creative process. Seeking to reconcile the performer Tammy Faye with the woman Tammy, I discovered a humble, down-to-earth, curious woman immersed in an ongoing critical examination of our culture---both pop and high---as well as the media and the political landscape we are mucking around in these days. Tammy also comes across as a serious, ambitious artist, pushing to present her work and be a part of the cultural conversation. We met at a cozy macaron shop in Chelsea on the day of the train crash in Hoboken. Tammy, coming from her home in Hoboken, was able to take an alternate route via bus into the city and keep our appointment, a decidedly un-diva-like move, which I found endearingly respectful. She and I spent over an hour talking about her work over the years, this shit show of an election, and the underlying question about the place of femininity and women in our culture at present.

Since winning hearts during his stint on Strictly Come Dancing, partnered by Flavia Cacace, actor and astrologer Russell Grant has starred in Hairspray, Grease and The Wizard of Oz. He's now hosting The Golden Age of Dance, a celebration of great dance numbers from classic films like Top Hat, Follow the Fleet, Swing Time and Shall We Dance, featuring a company of West End dancers and The Novello Orchestra. The show is at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 13 November and Wales Millennium Centre on 15 November.

Internationally renowned conductor Xian Zhang makes her debut as the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's 14th Music Director at venues throughout the state across two weekends, October 27-November 6 in Newark, Princeton, New Brunswick, Morristown and Englewood.

 Peculiar Works Project announces a new site-specific, political farce: Androboros: Villain of the State, a 1-hour adaptation of America's first play in celebration of its 300th Anniversary. In this contemporary staging - in an actual boxing ring - characters inspired by today's political leaders will metaphorically slug it out just days before Americans go to vote. This is a rare opportunity to see an American first in a unique sett ng during an extraordinary election season - right for theater lovers and politics haters!

Ryan McCartan is Brad Majors in the Fox remake of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, airing on October 2oth at 8pm. Check your local listing for detail and be prepared to do the Time Warp again!

Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts announced today the cast and creative team for August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, directed by Jade King Carroll, who helmed our critically-acclaimed production of Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters' First 100 Years last spring.

Never mind those two scoundrels... vote for THIS scoundrel! It's time to consider W.C. FIELDS FOR PRESIDENT.

THE REALISTIC JONESES is an odd little play. But I shouldn't be surprised; the other Will Eno play I've seen (THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING) by Loudmouth Collective) is exceedingly odd. But odd in the best way. THE JONESES is a little more, well, realistic, than the one-man show THOM PAIN, with an actual plot and characters in conversation with each other. But I still don't understand everything that happened, and sometimes characters say things that don't make sense, and there's no resolution to the problems the characters are facing. But that's OK. I like theater that doesn't tie things up in a neat bow in the end, that's a little unexpected and even jarring. I'm happy to spend 90 minutes or so in this odd and sometimes uncomfortable world populated by odd and sometimes unlikeable people, beautifully brought to life by this fantastic four-person cast.

WP Theater welcomes Obie Award Winning actress Zainab Jah (Eclipsed) and rising actress Jessica Luck, joining two-time Grammy-nominated comedian Lisa Lampanelli (HBO, Comedy Central, The Howard Stern Show) and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Ann Harada (Avenue Q, Cinderella) in completing the cast for the world premiere of STUFFED, a new play written by Lampanelli, with additional material by Ashley Austin Morris.

Lucky for all of us here in New Orleans, Mark Cortale is again bringing his Broadway in New Orleans series to the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) beginning tonight at 7:30pm.  The first concert of the 2016-2017 series features an actor/singer who you may know from any number of Broadway shows such as LES MISERABLES, SHE LOVES ME, and most recently FUN HOME.  Or, if you grew up in the 90s like me, you may know her as the barefoot running, Native American, Disney princess Pocahontas.  Is "Colors of the Wind" anyone else's go-to road trip jam?

This November, FRIGID New York @ Horse Trade presents the Fifth Annual Gotham Storytelling Festival featuring a wide variety of downtown storytellers and solo performers.

Patti LuPone sat down to chat with the Asbury Park Press leading into her Tom's Cabin performance this Saturday October 1st. 

There lies an insidious nature beneath excessive indulgence, and three college students' summer break perfectly captures how dark too much fun can get in 'The Summer House'.