No Time for Comedy - 1939 - Broadway Articles Page 8

At the annual New Conservatory Theater Center (NCTC) Season Announcement Party for subscribers, donors, artists and press, NCTC Founder & Artistic Director Ed Decker announced the line-up for the 2015-16 subscription season. Regarded nationally and internationally as San Francisco's Premier LGBQI and Allied Theatre Company, NCTC builds on this rich tradition with its 2015-16 Season, featuring exhilarating U.S., regional and world premieres, as well as two extraordinary musicals.

Known for presenting off-Broadway-quality theater in an intimate environment, The Theater Project will usher in spring with the presentation of Moonlight & Magnolias on March 26th at the Burgdorff Cultural Center in Maplewood, New Jersey.

Tony Award-winning costume designer, JESS GOLDSTEIN (currently represented on Broadway with Jersey Boys and On the Town), and scenic designer DOUGLAS W. SCHMIDT are among the 2015 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, May 1, at 6:30pm, at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street). Mr. Goldstein was selected to receive the 2015 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design and Mr. Schmidt will receive the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design.

Broadway fans had plenty of reasons to celebrate this year, with dozens of shows having opened since January, hundreds of actors having made their debuts, and many more having returned to the stage for critically acclaimed performances. Not all news was good though, as we also suffered a loss of an incredible amount of talent. Below, BroadwayWorld sends a fond farewell to those who passed away in 2014.

Join DorothyTM, TotoTM and the rest of the crew as they head to Emerald CityTM for a special two-night event brought to you by Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. "TCM Presents: The Wizard of Oz" will be shown in select U.S. cinemas

Netflix has shared the slate of movies and TV shows which will be available for streaming beginning January 2015. Check out the list below!

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, new media, news, radio, and promotional writing during 2014.

Chicago's Eclipse Theatre Company, the Midwest's only theatre company to focus on a single playwright each season, will feature the works of award-winning American playwright Terrence McNally for their 2015 Season. Eclipse will explore the range of McNally's output with three full productions, plus readings and public events about the playwright.

Jobsite's first play of the season is a winner; if this is any indication of the shows to come, it's going to be quite an exciting year of theater.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company announces its 2014-2015 ReDiscovery Series with a selection of five plays by significant women playwrights of the early 20th Century, directed by local D.C. directors. The first reading to kick off the series will be Chains of Dew by Susan Glaspell, directed by Holly Twyford, on Monday, September 15.

Scarlett O'Hara won and then lost Rhett Butler, Atlanta burned and the antebellum South was shown in all its splendor and decimation in one of cinema's most treasured and most successful films, “Gone With the Wind.”

Debbie Reynolds – actor, singer, dancer, author, champion for the preservation of the artifacts of film history and for the understanding and treatment of mental illness – has been named the 51st recipient of SAG-AFTRA's highest honor:

Berkshire Theatre Group and Artistic Director/CEO Kate Maguire are excited to announce the 2014 fall schedule of events at The Colonial Theatre, The Garage and The Unicorn Theatre. Tickets are available for purchase to members and passholders on August 15 and to the general public on August 19.

The award-winning Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company's next production is a swashbuckler: the world premiere of 'Zorro!' based on Johnston McCulley's 'The Curse of Capistrano' (1919) adapted by James Rana. Spanish for 'fox,' Zorro fought the oppressive colonial government in Spanish California with a quick sword and wit. Wearing a mask, he kept his identity secret, even to the woman he loved. In 1939, Bob Kane and Bill Finger gave credit to McCulley's masked avenger, with his dual identity, as their inspiration for 'Batman.' Like Bruce Wayne and Batman, Don Diego and Zorro are never seen together at the same time.

During intermission last Friday at the Hackmatack Playhouse season opening, and opening night for "Arsenic and Old Lace," an audience member was overheard, "No, it's not my first time here, I was here a few years ago for the Julia Child tribute, and that was funny, too!" That was 'Bon Appetit,' and four years ago. Others in the audience were (more) regulars who see every show at this quaint, real (old) barn playhouse in Berwick.

During intermission last Friday at the Hackmatack Playhouse season opening, and opening night for "Arsenic and Old Lace," an audience member was overheard, "No, it's not my first time here, I was here a few years ago for the Julia Child tribute, and that was funny, too!" That was 'Bon Appetit,' and four years ago. Others in the audience were (more) regulars who see every show at this quaint, real (old) barn playhouse in Berwick.

New Hampshire Theatre Project's Youth Repertory Company will present Joseph Kesselring's macabre and hilarious comedy, Arsenic & Old Lace, today, May 16-25.

If you are even a semi-regular reader of this column of reviews, you know that about every three or four months, I post a compilation of observations of shows from the previous quarter of the year. This cabaret critiquing mash up happens for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I admittedly see too many cabaret shows for the amount of time I have to promptly review them (and then, of course, the usual writer's procrastination sets in). So I have to prioritize the timeliness of the reviews based on the prestige of the performer, the length of a show run, the strength (or lack thereof) of the performance, etc. The quality of the shows in these compilations—which can range from a half dozen to a dozen reviews in one shot—are usually a mixed bag of outright raves, qualified positives, and constructive pans (I'm not a fan of the word “negative” in the reviewer lexicon). With that in mind here are a collection of cabaret show reviews going back to the start of a very harsh winter.

First produced in 1939, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE by American playwright Joseph Kesselring is a farcical black comedy revolving around the Brewster family, descended from the 'Mayflower,' but now composed of insane homicidal maniacs. This classic play has been produced around the world and will continue to be done as long as audiences love to laugh at the outrageous situations and over-the-top characters, especially the eccentric, and frequently murderous and disturbed, family.

New Hampshire Theatre Project's Youth Repertory Company will present Joseph Kesselring's macabre and hilarious comedy, Arsenic & Old Lace, on May 16-25. Directed by Robin Flower, this delightful script has been entertaining audiences since 1939. Arsenic & Old Lace is the zany story of Mortimer Brewster, his brother who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt, and his adorable two aunts who have a knack for charity work (or murder by another name). With eleven bodies in the cellar and one in the window seat - and a feisty fiancee who is determined to marry him no matter how crazy his family is - Mortimer experiences the worst night of his life. Throw in older brother, Jonathan, currently on the run from the law, his drunk plastic surgeon, Dr. Einstein, and a slew of other madcap characters, and Arsenic & Old Lace is guaranteed to tickle every funny bone.

Palo Alto Players is excited to introduce audiences to a Dr. Frankenstein that Mary Shelley could never have imagined. Reanimated from Mel Brooks' 1974 film, Brooks and Thomas Meehan (The Producers) have teamed up again to create the musical Young Frankenstein. With material just as funny today as it was thirty years ago, this monstrously good musical is super-charged with laughter and fun. Join Dr. Frankenstein (that's 'Fronk-en-steen'!) and the rest of this delightfully deranged cast of characters on a wild ride through Transylvania. Young Frankenstein will run for 11 performances (April 25-May 11, 2014) at the Lucie Stern Theater, located at 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. Tickets are on sale now by ordering online at www.paplayers.org or calling 650.329.0891.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Hold onto your hats! Shows beginning in late April include 'Avenue Q,' 'Ragtime,' 'Juno,' 'Hey! Dancin'! Hey! Musical!,' 'How To Succeed...,' 'Hair,' 'The Sound Of Music,' 'Motown' and 'The Wizard Of Oz!' AMAZING! Plus news from The Second City, the Goodman, that JCS arena tour, a 2015 'Little Shop' and the return of the Mormons! Whew!

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) has announced that six of their classic films with upcoming tent-pole Blu-ray anniversary and special editions will be featured at the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival from April 10-13 in Hollywood.

Palo Alto Players is excited to introduce audiences to a Dr. Frankenstein that Mary Shelley could never have imagined. Reanimated from Mel Brooks' 1974 film, Brooks and Thomas Meehan (The Producers) have teamed up again to create the musical Young Frankenstein. With material just as funny today as it was thirty years ago, this monstrously good musical is super-charged with laughter and fun. Join Dr. Frankenstein (that's "Fronk-en-steen"!) and the rest of this delightfully deranged cast of characters on a wild ride through Transylvania. Young Frankenstein will run for 11 performances (April 25-May 11, 2014) at the Lucie Stern Theater, located at 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. Tickets are on sale now by ordering online at www.paplayers.org or calling 650.329.0891.