In Love With Love - 1928 - Broadway Articles Page 14

With 'velvet stairs, easy chairs, and perfumed air gently blowing,' the Grand Hotel Berlin may not be a character in the traditional meaning of the word, however, it is the catalyst which sets in motion the fate of every guest who walks through its opulent revolving doors. For choreographer Kelly Crandall d'Amboise, it is her job to provide that motion as the production begins performances this week at Signature Theatre.

RICKIE LEE JONES is that rare musician who has transcended the singer/songwriter mantle by incorporating different radio genres from the get-go and she continues that tradition on the forthcoming album KICKS, her newest collection of songs from the great American songbook. Due out June 7, the album spans two decades (50s-70s) of pop, rock and jazz, presenting her unique and sophisticated interpretations of these songs.

One of the nation's most adventurous opera companies, Odyssey Opera, presents the Boston premiere of Richard Strauss's little-known opera Die agyptische Helena (The Egyptian Helen) with libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. As part of Odyssey Opera's sixth season, this marks the second of three works to be performed in 2019 inspired by one of the most enigmatic figures in ancient history, Helen of Troy. The challenging title role of Helen will be played by soprano Kirsten Chambers (Met Opera). With orchestra and chorus conducted by Gil Rose, this two-act concert performance will be sung in German with English subtitles.

Irish Repertory Theatre announced today special events and programming for the month of April as part of The Sean O'Casey Season, celebrating 30 years of Irish Repertory Theatre.

One of the nation's most adventurous opera companies, Odyssey Opera, presents the Boston premiere of Richard Strauss's little-known opera Die agyptische Helena (The Egyptian Helen) with libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. As part of Odyssey Opera's sixth season, this marks the second of three works to be performed in 2019 inspired by one of the most enigmatic figures in ancient history, Helen of Troy. The challenging title role of Helen will be played by soprano Kirsten Chambers (Met Opera). With orchestra and chorus conducted by Gil Rose, this two-act concert performance will be sung in German with English subtitles.

The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-M st announced details of their 2019-2020 season which encompasses 76 concerts over 26 weeks. One significant highlight includes a festival designed to explore music and art that was banned, marginalized, and destroyed during the Nazi's Degenerate Art movement, and the continuing impact of censorship on creative expression in society today. The festival will center on Alban Berg's Lulu, one of the 20th century's most influential operas, and includes partner programming with the area's notable arts institutions.

Principal Guest Conductor David Charles Abell returns to his hometown of Philadelphia for Cole Porter's Broadway: Too Darn Hot, the explosive penultimate performance of The Philly POPS 40th Anniversary Season, April 12-14 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. 

Renowned for presenting sophisticated and provocative theater that appeals to both kids and adults, 24th Street Theatre puts a cutting edge spin on a seemingly simple tale. The Los Angeles premiere of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, adapted for the stage by Dwayne Hartford from the award-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo, opens on April 6 at 24th Street's converted carriage house on the edge of L.A.'s historic West Adams historic district. Low-priced previews take place on March 9 and 10.

In 1928 Virginia Woolf explored her freedom of identity with her novel Orlando. Coming out of a fierce but heartbreaking affair with Vita Sackville-West, Woolf imagined a young Elizabethan boy who lives for centuries, meeting poets and kings, and delving into sexuality and gender.

Irish Repertory Theatre announced today special events and programming for the month of March as part of the The Sean O'Casey Season, a comprehensive retrospective of the work of renowned Irish playwright Sean O'Casey, celebrating 30 years of Irish Repertory Theatre.

Juliet Doherty, nationally-recognized dancer, film actress and 'ballet goddess' according to Dance Spirit Magazine, stars as Lise in the regional premiere of An American in Paris at Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy, Utah. Doherty will make her Hale Centre Theatre debut on the Young Living Centre Stage, the most-technologically advanced theater-in-the-round stage in the world, February 18 - April 6, 2019.

The Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program is proud to present Noel Coward's classic comedy Hay Fever. This madcap play about a weekend with the eccentric Bliss family will star the MFA Class of 2020 and a guest performer.  Director Jerrold Scott's production will take the audience back to the 1920's and remind them of the joy of life and fear of boredom. The show will run from February 27th-March 9th in Helen Theatre at Playhouse Square.

A Blank stage is set to adorn a combination of a house on one side and what will soon become the work stations of the women in this production. On the projection behind the set were words written to strike a chord with incoming audience members, "If one woman were to tell the truth about her life, the world would split open." These wise words from Muriel Rukyster were the only thing standing between the audience and the works to be portrayed on the stage this night. In the program, Founder and Director Fran Powers wrote, "Directing These Shining Lives has been a project of the heart. "It is vitally important to keep honoring courageous women who sacrificed so much for others." This is the foundation of the Powerstories Theatre mission."With that the scene is set and a whirlwind 90 minutes set to no intermission was about to unfold in front of us.

The National Ballet, under the guidance of its artistic director, the legendary Karen Kain, brought Ottawa a treat this week. Three short ballets, each with a vastly different feel, graced the stage of Southam Hall.

A sold-out house of theater patrons and supporters shared in the excitement when Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts' Artistic Directors, Kelly Fouchi and Gary Rucker revealed the popular and diverse line-up of productions for the 2019-2020 season Sunday evening, January 27 at the theater in Kenner's historic Rivertown. 

The Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA) annual conference came to Prague this year. It has an extensive performance program, crafted by host Guy Roberts and Prague Shakespeare Company, that was open to the public as well as conference attendees. The conference was all about bringing the focus back to the artistic sides of things, as theatre tries to compete in a world filled with on-demand entertainment.

n the midst of a polar vortex this winter, MN Opera sends an early valentine filled with warmth to the Twin Cities in their production The Italian Straw Hat at the Ordway Center's Orchestra Hall. This comic Italian opera set in 1950's Paris plays similar to a French farce while sung in Italian and accompanied with English subtitles. Composed and written by Nino Rota and his wife Ernesta, the composer earned accolades for his film scores written for Federico Fellini, and "The Godfather," both the first and second versions. In this opera, Rota's mid-century comedy, a groom's horse eats an expensive straw hat on the morning of his wedding day while his father in law's patent leather shoes fit too tight. Sound extraordinary? Yes, all is wondrous mayhem as this Parisian wedding spins out of control and delightful events happen on stage throughout this enchanting opera.

In Arizona Broadway Theatre's production of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, Director Kurtis Overby has assembled all the pieces of this American classic into a charming and engaging interpretation that is, to be clear, en pointe! The result is a jaunty, rhapsodic, and sentimental journey across avenues, cafes, and a dance studio where eros (romantic love) and pragma (practical love) intersect.

Every January I look forward to attending THE MANOR by Katherine Bates, presented by Theatre 40 inside the historic Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills where the story upon which it is based actually took place. Now celebrating its 17th year, the annual production has become a Los Angeles/Beverly Hills institution with several performances selling out even before tickets go on sale to the public. Its popularity, no doubt, is due to the scandalous true story as told by the talented actors, costumed to time-period perfection, as well as the chance to be inside the grand and glorious architectural landmark in which the events of 90 years ago actually took place, performed in two acts taking place 10 years apart. The names of all characters in the Doheny saga have been changed, of course, "to protect the guilty" as we are told before the play begins by the mansion's loyal butler, James (Daniel Lench who has masterfully played the part for 6 years).

Two theatre greats died in December 2018, both with history at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.  Dancer and teacher Blanche Lund died on December 1, 2018, and composer Galt MacDermot died on December 17, 2018. Because of the holidays the theatre did not have a chance to properly mark the passing of these remarkable people. We will do so now.

After a sold out run last fall, the recent revival of The Diary of Anne Frank, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman ('97 Broadway version) will return for a limited engagement previewing January 11, 2019.

The subject matter varies, but a common theme among the works found in the new exhibition "Harrison Hurwitz: Photographer, Working" is a theme of photos made under stressful conditions. The exhibition opens Jan. 8 at the Appaloosa Library, 7377 E. Silverstone Drive, Scottsdale, and runs through Feb. 28.

The Swamp tells the dramatic story of humanity's attempts to conquer the Florida Everglades, one of nature's most mysterious and unique ecosystems. Told through the lives of a handful of colorful and resolute characters, from hucksters to politicians to unlikely activists, The Swamp explores the repeated efforts to transform what was seen as a vast and useless wasteland into an agricultural and urban paradise, ultimately leading to a passionate campaign to preserve America's greatest wetland. As the world copes with increasingly deadly weather events, The Swamp is a timely tale of the perils of mankind's abuse of nature. Based in part on the book The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise by Michael Grunwald, The Swamp is produced and directed by Randall MacLowry and executive produced by Mark Samels. The film premieres on AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Tuesday,  January 15, 2019, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS.

Quintessence Theatre Group's production of Lionel Bart's beloved musical Oliver! is extending its Philadelphia run. Adapted from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, the production will play at Mt. Airy's Sedgwick Theatre now through December 30, 2018. The tale about finding hope and a chosen family in the bleakest of situations started performances on November 14, 2018.

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.