It's a Wonderful Life - 2004 - London Articles Page 17

What happens when a strapping young Englishman suddenly finds he has become a woman? It's an amazing journey, to say the very least, in Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's sweeping and witty Orlando, beginning a 5-week run at Stage West on Thursday, April 3.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces a distinguished list of music headliners to be presented at the 55th annual Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, a production of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The 10-day celebration of the arts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is unlike any other in the nation. The world-class, multi-disciplinary festival is free to attend and is open to the public. Attracting over 400,000 visitors annually, the Festival begins on the first Friday in June and takes place at the confluence of Pittsburgh's famed three rivers in Point State Park, throughout picturesque Gateway Center, and in the city's world-renowned Cultural District.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, are thrilled to announce in this, their 23rd season, the world premiere of SOVEREIGN BODY, written by Emilie Beck and directed by Scott Alan Smith (That Good Night, Lady). SOVEREIGN BODY will preview tonight, March 22 at 8pm; Sunday, March 28 at 2pm and Thursday, March 27 at 8pm and will open on Friday, March 23 at 8pm and run through Saturday, May 10 at the Historic Lankershim Arts Center, 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, CA.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has today announced that much-loved entertainment programme Strictly Come Dancing will be honoured with the Special Award at this year's British Academy Television Craft Awards

Anne Sweeney, who oversaw 18 years of tremendous growth and success of Disney's global entertainment and news properties and who helped shepherd the television industry into the digital age, today announced that she would be departing The Walt Disney Company [NYSE: DIS] in January of 2015 to pursue a career in Television Directing. Sweeney, who joined the company in 1996, is currently co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney/ABC Television Group.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre continues the second half of its season with Tribes, a sophisticated and moving family drama by celebrated British playwright Nina Raine. Her profound and powerful new play became an award-winning hit in London and New York. Now renowned director Jonathan Moscone brings it to Berkeley Rep this April for its Bay Area premiere. Tribes follows Billy, a young man who was born deaf into a loquacious and highly opinionated academic family who raised him to lip-read and integrate into the hearing world. When he meets Sylvia - raised by Deaf parents and going deaf herself - Billy decides it's time to speak on his own terms and to be heard. Playing out in words, sign language, and sometimes mesmerizing silence, this penetrating drama examines familial love, notions of belonging, and the intersections of communication. Tribes start previews Friday, April 11, opens on April 16, and closes on Sunday, May 11, 2014.

Acclaimed young baritone John Brancy and pianist Mario Antonio Marra, winners of the 2013 Music Academy of the West Marilyn Horne Song Competition, will perform the world premiere of Force by up-and-coming composer Chris Kapica, as well as the famous Schumann song cycle Dichterliebe, works by Dvorak, and a trio of American standards at 7:30 pm in Hahn Hall tonight, March 4.

The arts in Philadelphia continue to be fueled by some of the most talented versatile professional actors in the Delaware Valley. I was happy to literally catch up to one of the busiest leading ladies, Jennie Eisenhower, who will soon start rehearsals for her role as Elaine Harper at the Walnut Street Theater's upcoming production of Arsenic and Old Lace.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, announced today that the world premiere of SOVEREIGN BODY, written by Emilie Beck and directed by Scott Alan Smith (That Good Night, Lady) will now preview on Saturday, March 29 at 8pm; Sunday, March 30 at 2pm and Thursday, April 3 at 8pm and will open on Friday, April 4 at 8pm and run through Saturday, May 24 at the Historic Lankershim Arts Center, 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, CA.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, are thrilled to announce in this, their 23rd season, the world premiere of SOVEREIGN BODY, written by Emilie Beck and directed by Scott Alan Smith (That Good Night, Lady). SOVEREIGN BODY will preview on Saturday, March 22 at 8pm; Sunday, March 28 at 2pm and Thursday, March 27 at 8pm and will open on Friday, March 28 at 8pm and run through Saturday, May 10 at the Historic Lankershim Arts Center, 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, CA.

The national tour of Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT, the explosive Broadway hit, makes its Washington premiere tonight, February 18, and continues through the 23rd at National Theatre as part of the Broadway at the National subscription series.

The American Dream takes on a Latin Beat, as Cabrillo Music Theatre will present the regional professional premiers of this "new classic" - the multi-Tony-winning Best Musical of 2008, IN THE HEIGHTS. IN THE HEIGHTS fuses contemporary music with timeless family struggles, and its' warmth, humor and joyful message resonates with all ages. IN THE HEIGHTS opens on Friday, March 28, 2014, playing until Sunday, April 6th, at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

The award-winning international phenomenon THE X FACTOR has concluded its domestic run after three seasons, it was announced today by Syco, FremantleMedia North America and Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX).

Acclaimed young baritone John Brancy and pianist Mario Antonio Marra, winners of the 2013 Music Academy of the West Marilyn Horne Song Competition, will perform the world premiere of Force by up-and-coming composer Chris Kapica, as well as the famous Schumann song cycle Dichterliebe, works by Dvorak, and a trio of American standards at 7:30 pm in Hahn Hall on Tuesday, March 4. Following the recital, world-renowned mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne will conduct a question-and-answer session with the performers on stage.

Productions of Translations and Afterplay, produced as part of a season of work dedicated to the Irish playwright Brian Friel, will play Sheffield Theatres this spring.

Lantern Theater Company, critically acclaimed in Philadelphia for their annual Shakespearean offering, presents The Tragedy of Julius Caesar as the highlight of their 20th season. Directed by the Lantern's Artistic Director Charles McMahon and starring Tony Award-nominated actor Forrest McClendon in the title role, the Lantern's production is inspired by the warrior ethos of feudal Japan, calling into question the rights of the ruler against the rights of his people. Performances run tonight, February 6 - March 16, 2014.

The 2013 winners of the Music Academy of the West's Marilyn Horne Song Competition, baritone John Brancy and pianist Mario Antonio Marra, will perform the premiere of Force by up-and-coming composer Chris Kapica, Schumann's Dichterliebe, works by Dvorák, and American standards in a trio of East and West Coast recitals. The first will take place at the Music Academy's Hahn Hall in Santa Barbara, California on Tuesday, March 4, followed by Santa Monica's Broad Stage on Friday, March 7, and the National Opera Center in New York City on Sunday, March 16. The New York recital is part of OPERA America's Emerging Artist Recital Series, a showcase for finalists and prizewinners from the nation's most prestigious young artist programs and competitions.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE presents the world premiere of THESE PAPER BULLETS!, a modish ripoff of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, adapted by Rolin Jones, with songs by Billie Joe Armstrong, and directed by Jackson Gay, March 14-April 5 at the University Theatre (222 York Street). Opening Night is Thursday, March 20.

"Everybody's got the right to some sunshine." Nine characters looking for either love, equality or a common voice, deliver that message on the Farmington Players stage in the Stephen Sondheim musical, Assassins. They are determined to change the world by targeting the United States President in pursuit of their own twisted versions of "The American Dream."

Written and performed by Daniel Beaty, Arena Stage's The Tallest Tree in the Forest examines what happens when art meets advocacy and the inherit tension between the two as experienced by the late entertainer Paul Robeson.

Pacific Symphony announces what is perhaps its most significant season to date for the 36-year-old orchestra-the 2014-15 Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation Classical Series and special events, celebrating Music Director Carl St. Clair's 25 years at the helm. Filled with giant stars and giants of the repertoire that have moved listeners for centuries, the season is pure St. Clair-embracing and celebrating all that great music can mean to the human heart.

Anthony Freud, general director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, announced today that the company will present a new production of Richard Wagner's monumental four-opera masterpiece, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) starting in 2016-17.

Full casting has been announced for the productions of Translations and Afterplay, as part of an upcoming season of work dedicated to the Irish playwright Brian Friel, taking place at Sheffield Theatres this spring.

Lantern Theater Company, critically acclaimed in Philadelphia for their annual Shakespearean offering, presents The Tragedy of Julius Caesar as the highlight of their 20th season. Directed by the Lantern's Artistic Director Charles McMahon and starring Tony Award-nominated actor Forrest McClendon in the title role, the Lantern's production is inspired by the warrior ethos of feudal Japan, calling into question the rights of the ruler against the rights of his people. Performances run February 6 - March 16, 2014. [Full schedule including special events is below]

Casting has been announced for the upcoming national tour of Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT, the explosive Broadway hit, which makes its Washington premiere February 18 - 23 at National Theatre as part of the Broadway at the National subscription series.