Just So - 1985 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 17

As theatre comes roaring back, this autumn and winter see plenty of exciting new productions, including big West End musicals and intriguing plays. Here are the shows that we’re most looking forward to seeing.

stream.theatre have put over one hundred performances on sale with 8 exclusive new titles and even more to be announced in the coming weeks. 

Famous for his overtly political works against apartheid, Athol Fugard is probably South Africa's most highly regarded playwright. The Orange Tree Theatre put on his searing Blood Knot in 2019 about brothers across the race divide and now revisits his work with the powerful story of a forbidden relationship between a white woman and a black man in Statements After An Arrest Under The Immorality Act.

They got hit with a double whammy. Not only were they sidelined first by the pandemic for a year and a half, but to now present 'The Chandelier' all this time later, and still under many Covid restrictions, the entire piece, which was to be 'site-specific' had to be reworked and reimagined. Heidi Duckler, the Founder/Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance, and Choreographer of the piece gave a short introduction explaining how this World Premiere presentation came to be. 'The Chandelier' was inspired by a novel of the same name written by Brazilian Clarice Lispector and published originally in 1946. The book was translated recently from Portuguese into English by Magdelena Edwards and Benjamin Moser. The piece was first constructed to be performed at the Wallis Annenberg Center, highlighting different areas and spaces inside and outside of the theatre, different architectural patterns and settings, to tell the story of a young woman, Virginia, through her own musings and ideations. That was the original plan, however with all the Covid rules and restrictions still in place, it was realized it needed to be performed outside, and contained in one space, with the audience socially distanced. What was created was an innovative, stylized space that became different sets/places as the narrative unfolded, magically and mystically bringing her inner imagination to life.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will resume in-person performances when it launches its previously announced 51st season, featuring eight plays and musicals presented October 2021 through August 2022, kicking off with the new indie folk-rock musical Lizard Boy.

The first Norwegian non-professional production of Billy Elliot is a solid piece of entertainment, and deserves to be seen by the local community. I urge parents to ask their kids to put down the smartphones, iPads and gaming devices for a few hours and go experience Billy Elliot's journey of self-discovery. You parents may learn a thing or two as well, along the way.

Stockard Channing and Rebecca Night will perform in the Pulitzer Prize-winning 'night, Mother by Marsha Norman.  This astonishing play, which had its UK premiere at Hampstead Theatre in 1985, will be directed by the theatre's Artistic Director, Roxana Silbert.  'night, Mother will run from 22 October until 4 December 2021.

As live performances return to venues throughout Southern California, Irvine Barclay Theatre has announced nearly 20 shows that it has added to its season, which kicks off on September 19 with the country chart-topping trio The Gatlin Brothers.

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced its return to live performance with its 27th season that includes the 2021 – 2022 Mainstage, Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway seasons. 

In 1985 Great Performances on PBS presented a television special titled 'The Best of Broadway' that featured Tom Bosley hosting a treasure trove of performers from the American Musical Theater performing the numbers that they made famous on the Broadway stage.

The Actors’ Gang Theater has just begun streaming their live virtual production of WE LIVE ON, based on the 1970 Hard Times by Studs Terkel. Directed by Actors’ Gang’s artistic director Tim Robbins, WE LIVE ON is performed in three parts. Had a chance to have a fun chat with Patti Tippo, who’s playing legendary burlesque dancer Sally Rand.  

Flex Passes to The Youngstown Playhouse are on sale now and include admission to any four performances within the 2021 Season. Learn more here!

The 2021-2022 Mercury Theater Chicago season has been announced. Mercury Theater Chicago welcomes audiences back in November to its beautiful home in the Southport Corridor with the feel-good blockbuster hit SISTER ACT directed by Reneisha Jenkins, featuring Chicago favorites Alexis J. Roston and Hollis Resnik. 

Breaking ground is nothing new for Ashley, who was the first trans member of the pit crew in Rupaul’s Drag Race in addition to appearing in fashion campaigns for Diesel, Barney’s, and Calvin Klein.

Listen to the song here and find out how to pre-order the album, which will be released on August 6.

LES MISERABLES STUDENT EDITION coming soon to Fort Wayne Summer Music Theatre, featuring 65 students from across 23 area schools.

The novel was first published in French in 1985, and has been in print for over 35 years. The new English edition will shortly be re-issued.

The new release, featuring 11 songs written or co-written by Tony Marsico, the bassist and co-writer for the Cruzados and a member of the band’s punk-era precursor the Plugz, will be issued on CD on August 13, 2021 on Marsico’s imprint Scamco; an LP edition will follow in the fall.

After several delays due to the pandemic, it was good to be back at the Massy Opéra, one of France's premiere musical theater venues now, after Cabaret and Into the Woods, this time for two performances (June 24th and 25th) of a brand-new Arts Lyrica production of Singin' in the Rain, spoken in French and sung in English.

The Company unveils three new productions: Ludwig van Beethoven's Fidelio and, continuing the Company's Mozart-Da Ponte Trilogy, Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni. The new season also includes the return of Bright Sheng and David Henry Hwang's Dream of the Red Chamber, a free Opera at the Ballpark simulcast, multiple concert programs and a new livestreaming option for select performances.

San Francisco Opera announced today repertory, casting and reopening plans for its 99th season. Commencing with a performance of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca on Saturday, August 21, the 2021–22 Season marks the inauguration of Eun Sun Kim’s tenure as Caroline H. Hume Music Director and a reemergence of opera at the War Memorial Opera House.

Dorset Theatre Festival will open its 44th season with a revival of Christopher Durang's comedy Laughing Wild outdoors at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, VT.

This week (June 21-28) in live streaming: Kate Reinders, Amanda Kloots and Jennifer Nettles visit Backstage Live, Fredi Walker-Browne shares Ten Minute Tidbits, a Kerry Butler masterclass, Tovah Feldshuh in Becoming Dr. Ruth, and so much more!

Set on Ballardong boodja, the story takes place around an abandoned hospital in the township of York. It's a thrilling ride from humour to terror as we wind back time to reveal a dark past. 

The 21/22 season is Jobsite's 23rd year of bringing the Tampa Bay region gripping, powerful experiences in an intimate environment.