Play It Cool - 2006 - Los Angeles Articles Page 9

Joe's Pub at the Public has announced a fresh slate of shows for the holiday season, starting today, December 2!

Joe's Pub at the Public has announced a fresh slate of shows for the holiday season, starting December 2-13! 

'People are complex,' muses Aimee K. Grant, who plays Akeelah's mom, Gail, in AKEELAH AND THE BEE, the new musical at Arena Stage when I sat down with her and her on-stage daughter, 17-year old Johannah Easley (Akeelah) to talk about their experiences with the show. Increasing understanding within and among people is the power of theater, we agree, and Akeelah definitely offers up a story of complex people, young and old. Based on the wildly popular 2006 film of the same name, it's the story of a determined young girl from a difficult situation, competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Akeelah's life is filled with challenges, as are many people's, and that's where this story resonates. Although a tale of triumph over adversity may not seem a new one, each person's story is different, and Akeelah's has layers that will be relatable to many in the audience.

He's going to put a smile on your face and song in your heart.

On November 16 & 17, Performance Space 122 (PS122) is presenting two special nights of Eric Bogosian's 100 Monologues series to benefit PS122's move next year back into their home in the East Village.

Find out what it's like to play a pop music legend on Broadway from the boys who did it.

To benefit their 2016 return to their East Village home, Performance Space 122 (PS122) and Executive Producer Anson Mount bring together widely acclaimed playwright Eric Bogosian and director Jo Bonney, along with their close friends, for two-nights of hand-selected, intimate performances from Bogosian's 100 Monologues series.

Elisabeth Moss is one of my favorite actresses on television. But as the theatre community does with any famous person who has stepped even a toe on the stage, we claim Moss as our own.

'Theatre for the deaf? On Broadway?' It's a question that many theatre fans have asked since July 7, when official word came that Deaf West Theatre's production of Spring Awakening would land on Broadway this fall. The upcoming production, which will run September 8 through January 9 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, will sound the same to fans of the 2006 Tony-winning musical, but it will be performed simultaneously in American Sign Language by a cast of 27. Wait...what? That's right- this production, which marks the first Broadway revival of the show since it closed in 2009, comes complete with ASL, and though the concept seems revolutionary, this is far from the first time that it has been done (and has worked). Let's review:

Composer Paola Prestini, the Creative and Executive Director of National Sawdust (NS), today announced programming for the non-profit's inaugural fall season in its new home-a $16 million, 13,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art chamber hall in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The performance and recording venue, designed by Brooklyn-based architecture firm Bureau V in the shell of century-old former sawdust factory, will provide composers and musicians a setting in which they can flourish, and a place where they are given commissioning support, mentoring and other critical resources essential to create, and then share, their work. For audiences-serious fans and casual listeners alike-the venue will be a place to discover genre-spanning music at accessible ticket prices.

BroadwayWorld San Francisco talks with Jacquelynne Fontaine, who plays Carlotta in the current national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom of the Opera.' Fontaine talks about her time in Italy as an opera singer and how far she has come since winning Miss California in 2006.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Idina Menzel and Broadway In Chicago will shake Millennium Park this weekend! The Improvised Sondheim Project, the 'Grease' sing-along and 'Urinetown' have two performances, while 'H2$,' 'Miss Saigon' and 'South Pacific' each play three weekends. Plus dueling 'Spamalot's, and the sixth anniversary of 'The Showtune Mosh Pit!'

Lincoln Center Out of Doors one of the country's longest-running, free, summer outdoor festivals opens its 45th season on July 22, 2015. A range of concerts, dance performances, family events, related film screenings, talks, and an exhibition will be presented across three weeks, from July 22 - August 9.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Andris Nelsons have entered into a new partnership to create Classical Live, a unique initiative that offers a new paradigm for the distribution of live recordings of classical music available only on Google Play Music. Classical Live will offer participating orchestras—the BSO, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, and Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra—an opportunity to release up to four live concert recordings each season for download exclusively on Google Play Music with the first recordings to be made available at music.google.com or classical-live.com beginning on June 15.  

The Grammy-winning Brazilian music legend Sergio Mendes, whose success has prompted global audiences to jump from their seats and cheer for more than half a century, will bring an impressive group of musicians and vocalists for a Latin-flavored concert at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre Monday June 22 at 8:00pm.

This summer, Joe's Pub at The Public (425 Lafayette, NYC) welcomes a slate of artists that defy genre but share a core of unadulterated and soulful vocals. The calendar promises a season of outstanding music performances from artists ranging from jazz man Brian Blade, making his singer-songwriter debut, to indie songbird Diane Birch to NPR phenomenon Fantastic Negrito to SXSW success story and mother-son duo Madisen Ward & the Mama Bear.

The play Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind, which was written in Germany in the late 19th century was censored for a time due to its frank portrayal of masturbation, abortion, homosexuality, rape, child abuse and suicide. Exposing the rocky sexual coming of age of a group of teenagers, its helter-skelter but life-affirming journey is again explored in the 2006 Tony Award winning musical of the same name Spring Awakening through folk based and alternative rock, and boasts some expertly staged storytelling, singing, choreography and exuberant performances at the Wallis Annenberg through June 7 only. This is a brief return of Deaf West's critically-acclaimed production from last fall 2014 directed by Michael Arden.

Due to popular demand, Cutting Ball Theater announces that it will add an additional two weeks of performances of its current hit production of MOUNT MISERY by Cutting Ball resident playwright Andrew Saito. Cutting Ball Artistic Director Rob Melrose helms this new play, featuring David Sinaiko, Giovanni Adams, Lori Holt, and Geoffrey Nolan. MOUNT MISERY plays now through June 21 (added performances: Wednesday, June 10, 7:30pm; Thursday, June 11, 7:30pm; Friday, June 12, 8pm; Saturday, June 13, 8pm; Sunday, June 14, 5pm; Wednesday, June 17, 7:30pm; Thursday, June 18, 7:30pm; Friday, June 19, 8pm; Saturday, June 20, 8pm; Sunday, June 21, 5pm) at the Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor (277 Taylor Street) in San Francisco. For tickets ($15-50) and more information, the public may visit cuttingball.com or call 415-525-1205.

Ray Wylie Hubbard will perform today, May 16 at 9 p.m. at Brooklyn's Hill Country Live.

Art & culture are vital to our existence and Seattle Theatre Group's 2015-2016 season features ample offerings of live performance experiences from arts provocateurs, global masters, cultural icons, and contemporary legends.

In Jim Neu's musical 'The Floatones,' four rather strange characters meet at their encounter group and decide the best way to get better is through show business. They form a vocal quartet on the cutting edge of a new fusion between entertainment and self-help. Their night club act shares their group insights in speech and song, interweaving their individual stories, creating a post-Chorus Line. 'The Floatones' debuted in 1995 and will be revived by La MaMa E.T.C. on the play's 20th anniversary, today, May 1 to 10, 2015 co-directed by Catherine Galasso and Keith McDermott. It is the first production of a Jim Neu play since his death in 2010.

Hodges & Hodges couldn't wait to see this eight time Tony award winning show.

In Jim Neu's musical 'The Floatones,' four rather strange characters meet at their encounter group and decide the best way to get better is through show business. They form a vocal quartet on the cutting edge of a new fusion between entertainment and self-help. Their night club act shares their group insights in speech and song, interweaving their individual stories, creating a post-Chorus Line. 'The Floatones' debuted in 1995 and will be revived by La MaMa E.T.C. on the play's 20th anniversary, March 1 to 10, 2015 co-directed by Catherine Galasso and Keith McDermott. It is the first production of a Jim Neu play since his death in 2010.

Ray Wylie Hubbard will perform on Saturday, May 16 at 9 p.m. at Brooklyn's Hill Country Live.

In Jim Neu's musical 'The Floatones,' four rather strange characters meet at their encounter group and decide the best way to get better is through show business. They form a vocal quartet on the cutting edge of a new fusion between entertainment and self-help. Their night club act shares their group insights in speech and song, interweaving their individual stories, creating a post-Chorus Line. 'The Floatones' debuted in 1995 and will be revived by La MaMa E.T.C. on the play's 20th anniversary, March 1 to 10, 2015 co-directed by Catherine Galasso and Keith McDermott. It is the first production of a Jim Neu play since his death in 2010.