In Real Life - 2002 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 15

Winner of both the Tony and Olivier Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for author Bruce Norris, Clybourne Park is a razor-sharp satire about the politics of race and real estate. The play returns to London following sell out runs at The Royal Court and in the West End.

Hairspray The Musical is based in 1962 Baltimore, the show answers the question, “Can a big girl with big hair and even bigger dreams, dance her way into changing the world?”

 Fault Line Theatre will continue the 2022 Season of Irons in the  Fire, the organization’s reading series of new plays in development, with God Save the Queer by Zackary Grady, directed by Portia Krieger and featuring Michael Urie (George), Mallory Portnoy (Charlotte), Keshav Moodliar (Tariq), Seth Clayton (Louis), and Mary McCann (Kate).

The Road Theatre Company returns to live performances with the world premiere of Bernardo Cubria’s THE PLAY YOU WANT March 1, 2022; the first of three plays performing in repertory. Michael John Garcés directs the cast of Peter Pasco, Chelsea Gonzalez, Natalie Llerena, Jonathan Nichols, Roland Ruiz, Christopher Larkin, Stewart J. Zully and Presciliana Esparolini. I had the chance to query Bernardo on THE PLAY YOU WANT and his other important upcoming projects.

The latest Alcove Dinner theater opens February 4 through March 5 with Neil Simons Broadway classic “The Odd Couple”, directed by Bruce Jacklin with major support from MTVarts. One of the most celebrated American comedies of all time, and considered Neil Simon’s most well-crafted and popular play, “The Odd Couple” is a hilarious take on the conflicts between the two friends when they attempt to live together. “The Odd Couple,” opens February 4 and runs through March 5. Performances are every Friday and Saturday evening, with social hour beginning at 6:30 PM. There will be a matinee only on Saturday, February 19, at 2 PM. Matinee tickets can be purchased at the door. All other reservations and menu sections must be made on line at https://www.alcoverestaurant.com/

Joining the previously announced Michael Fox (Jim/Tom), Andrew Langtree (Karl/Steve), Richard Lintern (Russ/Dan), Imogen Stubbs (Bev/Kathy) and Eric Underwood (Albert/Kevin) are Katie Matsell (Betsy/Lindsey) and Aliyah Odoffin (Francine/Lena).

Come in from the cold and check out what’s hot at the 16th Annual Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals. The much-anticipated three-day festival of brand-new works returns to the Goodspeed campus after having been canceled in 2021 due to Covid-19. 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre continues its live, in-person Main Stage season with an uproarious look at the state of the American theatre, Jane Martin's Anton in Show Business. Directed by CCCT's Executive Artistic Director Marilyn Langbehn and featuring an all-female cast playing multiple roles (including men), Anton in Show Business plays for 9 performances from March 4-20.

Meet all of the Broadway actors in THE GILDED AGE! The new series features appearances by Audra McDonald, Denée Benton, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Kelli O'Hara, Carrie Coon, Claybourne Elder, Donna Murphy, Katie Finneran, Debra Monk, Taylor Richardson, Douglas Sills, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Patrick Page, Michael Cerveris, and more.

Having had to shut down the production of Bruce Norris' seminal play Clybourne Park at final dress rehearsal in March 2020, Trish Wadley Productions and David Adkin, in association with Park Theatre, have announced that the production, originally planned for the play's 10th anniversary year, will open at the venue in March.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts wants you to start your new year with some unforgettable experiences and extraordinary entertainment!  

Each of the shows mentioned below stood out this year in a year of people working hard to get back to work and who all deserve praise for doing so. With all that and a whole lot more in mind, here is the Best of Bobby - 2021 Edition:

The Music Man officially begins previews tonight on Broadway! Meet the cast bringing the iconic musical back to the stage!

The leading male roles of the identical twin Antipholus brothers will be played by real-life identical twins John and Matthew Drinkwater, the young musical duo who have become stars of the internet and have performed at major New York venues including Birdland, Feinstein's/54 Below, The Green Room 42, The Town Hall, and Don't Tell Mama.

The phrase “No one is irreplaceable” was shattered this past week when composer/lyricist/GOD of American musical theatre Stephen Sondheim passed away at age 91. Simply put, Sondheim was unique, groundbreaking and a true original that many tried to copy and never could.

2021 closes with new soundtracks, including West Side Story and Annie LIVE!, and new musical films, including Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas and Encanto, hitting streaming services. This month also features new livestream concerts from Seth Rudetsky and Jessica Vosk, with RHONY's Countess Luann streaming from 54 Below.

Barry and Fran Weissler are adapting the acclaimed 2002 independent film Real Women Have Curves into a musical. Sergio Trujillo has been tapped to direct, with Lisa Loomer writing the book and Grammy-winning dup Jesse & Joy writing the score, likely making it the first Broadway musical with a Latine director, bookwriter, lyricist, and composer.

The new song and video that pairs luxurious flexes and fierce bars with a nostalgic, fitting, and booming sample of Crime Mob's 'Stilettos (Pumps).' “Designer” arrives hot on the heels of Banks’ 2021 American Music Award nominations — for “Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist,” and “Favorite Trending Song” for her hit single, “Buss It.”

In October 2001, Mamma Mia! opened on Broadway, just weeks after the horrific events of 9/11, and most pundits had little inkling that the show – a jukebox musical comprised of ABBA hits and the story of a young girl trying to divine the identity of her father from among three of her mother’s suitors some 21 years earlier – would go on to become the ninth longest running musical in the history of the New York theatrical enclave. But Mamma Mia! was exactly what the theater-going public needed in the aftermath of an epoch-shattering and historic event: an enormously entertaining, fast-paced show set to an eminently hummable, danceable score of songs that could whisk them away to another time and place.

Greystone Hall and the Colonial Playhouse of Delaware County present the 2021 production of The Manor, a two-act play by Kathrine Bates, directed by Sam Barrett.  Inspired by a true story from the 1920''s, the play was designed to be performed in the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills where those events took place.

Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright August Wilson’s play “Radio Golf” will officially open the 2021-2022 mainstage season at Gulfshore Playhouse. Directed by Marshall Jones III, “Radio Golf” will play at Gulfshore Playhouse beginning Nov. 11 through Dec. 5, 2021.

The national tour of MY FAIR LADY opens October 7th in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre, running through October 31st. Bartlett Sher directs this timeless story of Professor Henry Higgins’ experiment to transform the social standings of Eliza Doolittle, a lowly flower girl, to one fitting comfortably in high society. MY FAIR LADY, brimming with familiar musical standards, stars Laird Mackintosh as Professor Higgins and Shereen Ahmed as Eliza Doolittle. Had the chance to catch Laird during his offstage time before his evening performance.

Chris O'Connor, Mile Square Theatre's Founder and Artistic Director, has announced he is stepping down from his role in January. O'Connor founded Mile Square Theatre (MST) in 2002 while he was pursuing his master's degree at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts. The company got its start performing shows in Hoboken's parks, libraries, high school auditoriums, and even private homes.

LA Opera has opened their 35th season with Verdi's IL TROVATORE. Conducted by James Conlon and directed by Francisco Negrín, live performances at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion through October 10th will be supplemented by two live streams October 3rd and 6th. IL TROVATORE stars Guanqun Yu in the role of Leonora. Had the chance to query Guanqun on her vocal regimen and her lightbulb moment when she realized she wanted a career singing opera.

Memories are fickle things. We rehearse them, we shape them, and we eventually forget the original events and end up making new ones, filling the gaps with our experience of them rather than the actual occurrences. It’s the core concept of Shelagh Stephenson’s multi-awarded play, The Memory of Water. Premiered in 1996 on the Hampstead Theatre stage, it went on to win an Olivier in 2000, debut in the States, tour internationally, and even landed on the big screen in 2002 titled Before You Go directed by Lewis Gilbert.