Mask - 2008 - Los Angeles Articles Page 7

Toadies have two new non-musical releases planned for early 2021. The band partnered with local coffee roaster Full City Rooster in 2019 for the release of Toadies Texas Pecan Coffee. That partnership has lead to a new brew, Dark Secret. 

Passim has awarded $40,141 to 24 musicians through its Iguana Music Fund. The Iguana Music Fund awards gifts annually to musicians for career building projects and for projects that provide community service through music.

Talking to Khori Dastoor, General Director of Opera San José brings to mind that old quote from Elizabeth Taylor when she was faced with unimaginable adversity, “Now is the time for guts and guile.” Just one year into her tenure as GD, Dastoor is faced with an almost impossible situation due to the Covid pandemic. Out of all the arts, opera, the artform which she has made her life’s work, arguably has the biggest challenges. After all, the act of singing operatically produces enormous amounts of aerosols, the core audience is older and thus especially at risk for Covid, and the population at large may not consider opera to be essential to their lives. Since creating new works is practically impossible, many GD’s are offering a sort of greatest hits of former glories, video snippets from past years that were already in the can. Or maybe something like a “reading” of an old holiday chestnut like Der Rosenkavalier, presented Brady-Bunch style on Zoom. So what does Dastoor do instead? She goes bravely programs a brand-new, beautifully-produced production of Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers, starring no less than world-renowned opera star Susan Graham, alongside two of Opera San José’s super-talented Resident Artists, soprano Maya Kherani and baritone Efraín Solis. This immensely moving chamber work is based on an unpublished play by Terrance  McNally, adapted by librettist Gene Scheer, and tells the story of a family struggling to connect during the early years of the AIDS pandemic. The work premiered in 2008, yet somehow feels more relevant than ever, given the parallels with what we’re all going through today, as evidenced by McNally’s death from Covid earlier this year. The opera is currently available for streaming through the end of December. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit operasj.org. BroadwayWorld spoke with Dastoor shortly after the filming of Three Decembers had been completed. Dastoor was remarkably open and forthcoming about the challenges of the opera world right now, even as her passion for growing the artform burns stronger than ever. We talked about how she managed to produce Three Decembers during Covid, her successful earlier career as a lyric soprano, and the imperative to keep the arts alive during these difficult times. Her responses to my questions were invariably thoughtful, often surprising and not without humor. And, as a rare woman of color leading an opera company, her understanding of the need to open up her artform runs deep. Above all, though, she is just plain fun to talk to - effortlessly engaging, whip-smart, emotionally transparent, and without an ounce of pretension.

As their end of year fundraising celebration, Creative Cauldron is hosting a multi-cam HD live streamed telethon spectacular featuring musical and theatrical talent from across the DMV, some community voices and special prizes, which will be hosted by Matt Conner.

Pittsburgh Opera to continue performing for live, in-person audiences with dramatic opera Soldier Songs

USITT will begin a series of Collaboration Conversations by welcoming Tony Award-winning collaborators, Julie Taymor and Donald Holder to discuss the process of working together to build a production. The online event will be held Monday, Nov. 9, 2020 at 7:00 pm EST and is offered free of charge for USITT members.

San Francisco Opera will present Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor on Sunday, October 25, 2020 at 6 PM at Fort Mason Flix Drive-In. This one-night-only opportunity to witness opera on the 40' X 20' LED screen at the Marina District drive-in and enjoy snacks from Off the Grid food trucks will feature the Company's 2008 performance of Lucia di Lammermoor starring French soprano Natalie Dessay.

Mexican-born, actress, singer and activist Maite Perroni killed the red carpet at GQ's Men of The Year Awards in Mexico. 

In this wildly unprecedented year, Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT), CalArts' center for contemporary arts in downtown Los Angeles, has announced its first-ever all-streaming and virtual season of experimentation, discovery, and lively civic discourse online this fall.

On Friday August 28, 2020, the Ed Mirvish Theatre will celebrate its 100th year. This storied venue opened exactly a century ago as the Pantages Theatre.

Fall into the exciting new original series and A-list blockbuster movies arriving this September on HBO Max.

Celebrating 60 years as Los Angelesa?? oldest non-profit theater company, Company of Angels presents a live-streamed event Whata??s Going On? A Virtual Play Festival: Watch Whata??s Going On? live on Saturday, August 1 & 8 at 8 PM PST on Youtube at https://bit.ly/CoAWhatsGoingOn, Facebook Live at Facebook.com/CompanyofAngels or via their Website at companyofangels.org/whatsgoingon

In response to our list of documentaries for theater lovers, we asked you on social media which ones we missed and we compiled the list of documentaries that should've been included!

Originally scheduled to take place from July 10-19, 2020, Festival organizers, like many theater companies and festivals across the city, state and country, started to explore the possibility of going virtual to connect local and international artists not only with the Festival's traditional audience but also to audiences outside of Chicago.

Acclaimed Western heritage artist Jack Terry has created a new masterpiece entitled, Texas Maskuerade Party, celebrating living legendary Texans all proudly wearing their themed Texas masks, and inspired by Gary P. Nunn's non-partisan advocacy group launched last month.

In spite of not being able to perform as usual, East Lynne Theater Company's artistic director, Gayle Stahlhuth, figured out how two of its programs can continue: 'Tales of the Victorians' and the 'Student Theater Workshop.'

East Lynne Theater Company commissioned Susan Tischler to create a one-person play based on Croy's book and perform it under the direction of Karen Case Cook, at The Chalfonte Hotel in 2008.  She later performed this comedy at ELTC's performance venue, The Cape May Presbyterian Church and on the road.

Today (May 28) in live streaming: Josh Groban is back for movie night, Steven Pasquale has a Classic Conversation, and so much more!

Today (May 27) in live streaming: Chad Kimball visits Backstage Live, Debra Messing and Victoria Clark visit Stars in the House, and so much more!

Today (May 26) in live streaming: Star Trek Voyager reunites, a new episode of It's the Day of the Show Y'all, and so much more!

Actor Anthony Hopkins has gone viral for a new video of him taking on Drake's TikTok dance challenge, the 'Toosie Slide.'

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best musical theatre characters from 1940-2020; see if your favorites are on our list of the best characters from Broadway musicals.

Minnesota Orchestra Creative Partner for Summer at Orchestra Hall Jon Kimura Parker and President and CEO Michelle Miller Burns announced plans today for Summer at Orchestra Hall, a new take on the Orchestra's summer festival that will run from Friday, July 17, through Sunday, August 9, celebrating the Orchestra's home in the city and its proximity to the revitalized Peavey Plaza.

Actors' Shakespeare Project (ASP) continues its 16th season with The Merchant of Venice, performed at the Plaza Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA. Performances run March 11-April 5, 2020.

Today's top stories: get a first look at new cast members in Frozen, and more!