Something You Did - 2008 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 19

This year, the Bowl's annual staged musical visits the 2001 international phenomenon about a young woman's plot to uncover the identity of her father among three of her mother's former loves, all of whom are invited to her wedding on a Greek island. But which man turns out to be her father and walks her down the aisle? Filled with ABBA's timeless songs, including 'Dancing Queen' and 'Voulez Vous,' get ready to have the time of your life July 28-29-30 seeing MAMMA MIA! at the Hollywood Bowl, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall and conducted by David Holcenberg. Kathleen Marshall is one of Broadway's most celebrated artists. Honored numerous times for her work on stage and screen, she has won three Tony Awards (with six more nominations) and two Drama Desk Awards (four additional nominations). Marshall has also been nominated for both an Olivier and an Emmy. The MAMA MIA! production at the Hollywood Bowl marks her Los Angeles debut as a director/choreographer, and I recently was fortunate to speak with her, and stars Corbin Bleu and Lea DeLaria, about their excitement being involved in the musical extravaganza.

Playwright Jake Brunger and composer Pippa Cleary have been creating musicals together since they met at Bristol University in 2008. Their work includes Jet Set Go!, The Great British Soap Opera and an adaptation of Sue Townsend's beloved The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 . The latter begins a London run at the Menier Chocolate Factory this week.

Master Mixologist, Justin Noel teamed up with Mionetto as brand mixologist two years ago. His appreciation for the brand stems from his admiration of the product itself, and the appeal of working with such a rich and diverse history, in today's beverage scene.

Being an opera singer is a little like walking a tightrope without a net--no matter who you're singing with, you're out there on stage, alone, for the crowd to cheer but, also for everyone to hear each glitch or misstep in your singing. Soprano Angela Meade--who's starring as Imogene in Caramoor's concert performance of Bellini's IL PIRATA, a role debut, on July 8--not only did her first wire-walking with a major role but at a big house: the Metropolitan Opera.

Breast cancer, drug use, Nazis -- sounds like the MUSEUM OF DYSFUNCTION is back.

Bay Area based duo, Bang Data combines many different musical textures into their songwriting to cultivate a sound unlike anyone else making music today.

The New Group has announced four productions for its 2017-2018 Season.

Sisters Grimm, a company founded by composer Ella Spira and choreographer Pietra Mello-Pittman, is following up hit show INALA with new dance musical Voices of the Amazon. Fusing ballet, contemporary and capoeira with a Brazilian score and narration by Jeremy Irons, it premieres this July at Sadler's Wells.

Breast cancer, drug use, Nazis -- sounds like the MUSEUM OF DYSFUNCTION is back.

JAPAN CUTS, North America's premiere showcase for new Japanese cinema, returns for its 11th installment July 13-23 to serve up a slice of the best and boldest films from Japan never before seen in NYC with special guest filmmakers and stars, post-screening Q&As, parties and more. Boasting a thrilling slate of epic blockbusters, shoestring independents, radical documentaries, mind-bending avant-garde, newly-restored classics and breathtaking animation, Japan Society's renowned summer film festival promises a bounty of cinematic discoveries for film fans and pop culture enthusiasts alike.

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, celebrates the opening of Project Dawn by Karen Hartman at People's Light (Malvern, PA), its 71st NNPN Rolling World Premiere.

Today's subject Taylor Stanley is living his theatre life as a company member of  New York City Ballet (NYCB), one of the most famous and prestigious ballet companies in the country. With repertoire works that feature choreography by such greats as George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, it's easy to understand why the company has that status. NYCB begins a one week engagement at the Kennedy Center's Opera House on June 6. The two programs will feature the works of George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck, and the DC premiere of a work by Alexei Ratmansky.

Bay Area based duo, Bang Data combines many different musical textures into their songwriting to cultivate a sound unlike anyone else making music today.

BWW Interview: WRITER HERB KAUDERER

South Bay Musical Theatre, a renowned Bay Area company for over 50 years, will present CHESS IN CONCERT May 28 and June 3. We speak with the creatives about the show's appeal and have a little fun with the material.

In this week's special edition, we caught up with playwrights from Ensemble Studio Theatre's Marathon of One-Act Plays. Series A features El Grande by Maggie Diaz Bofill, How My Grandparents Fell in Love by Cary Gitter, The Fork by Emily Chadick Weiss, Showtime Blues by France-Luce Benson, and Blue Handed by David Zellnik. For more information, visit: www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org

The World Science Festival has announced complete programming for the  10th anniversary Festival, which will bring science to the crossroads of the world, Times Square, and to locations across the five boroughs of New York City, with more than 50 events, May 30 - June 4, 2017.

Any time a high school theater department takes on a Stephen Sondheim musical, the intensity level cranks up a notch. So when drama teacher Joseph Donia took on Into the Woods, which the school last did in 2008, he needed some extra expertise behind the scenes to deal with Sondheim's uniquely difficult vocal score. Enter Kayla Bailey, a graduate of Oaks Christian High School (2007), Cal Lutheran University (2011), and a former Miss Ventura County (2012), who has been seen locally mainly as a performer. Donia chose Bailey to be his vocal director despite Bailey never having served in that capacity before. But when, as the saying goes, opportunity knocks, you go for it, and Bailey, who has a uniquely positive spin on life, leaped in feet first and has been having the time of her life. We spoke with Kayla in between performances about this unique experience, one which has already had a major effect on her career outlook going forward.

The Old Globe today announced its 2017-2018 Season, which will kick off with the world premiere musical Benny & Joon, with book by Kirsten Guenther, music by Nolan Gasser, and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein.

Lincoln, Nebraska's Con O'Shea Creal has this to say about SOMETHING ROTTEN!--I would say it's such a good time for all. If you love musicals, there will be something for you there. If you grew up wondering why you were reading, "Romeo and Juliet" in high school and you just wanted to bang your head against the desk, this is going to give you some shared experience to release those feelings of frustration about Shakespeare.

Brenda Rae, a fast rising opera star in Europe, is now spreading her wings across the United States. She has a sound reminiscent of molten silver, a wide range, and a great deal of flexibility. At Santa Fe this summer she will sing Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, a romantic, bel canto opera about a real Scotswoman who lost her reason when forced to marry a man she did not love.

Shortly before performances began for MY FAIR LADY at Lyric Opera, I had the opportunity to sit down with Lisa O'Hare (Eliza Doolittle) and Bryce Pinkham (Freddy Eynsford-Hill) for a conversation backstage at the opera house. O'Hare and Pinkham are no strangers to working together, as they both originated roles in the 2014 Tony Award-winning musical A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER. Pinkham in fact revealed that one of the reasons he signed on to MY FAIR LADY was to have a 'front-row seat' to see O'Hare's take on Eliza, a role she has performed previously in the West End and in a 2008 U.S. national tour. While dressed in street clothes but still wearing faces full of stage makeup, O'Hare and Pinkham chatted with me about what it's been like to reunite, why they're excited to be involved in this staging of Lerner and Loewe's classic musical, and how it feels to perform on the Lyric stage. Read on for excerpts from the conversation.

The World Science Festival will culminate its groundbreaking first decade by bringing science to the crossroads of the world, Times Square, and to locations across New York City's five boroughs, with more than 50 events, May 30 - June 4, 2017.

I am incredibly proud of all my kids and Ryan is pursuing his dream as a performer. He has been performing for quite awhile now as a professional and I have had the idea that this would be so since about his Junior year in High School. I have always taken the time to include my kids (when they have shown an interest) into the shows I was doing. Ryan and his older sister, Kaitlynn, were able to be more inundated with it at a young age as I was more active as a professional performer and they got to be backstage and at rehearsal, and often in shows with me. Whenever I was in a show that needed kids, I got them an audition and, since they were talented, often got cast, so we were able to share the stage. Sound of Music, South Pacific, Music Man, Secret Garden, A Christmas Carol, all shows that my kids been able to share with me.

Today, John Tartaglia speaks with BWW about the important new Netflix series JULIE'S GREENROOM, which teaches kids, 'the arts don't discriminate.'