Sunday - 1904 - Broadway Articles Page 7

30 years after its stage debut, experiencing MISS SAIGON nowadays exposes just how outdated and out-of-touch it is with our increasingly diverse world view. The musical's original production---which first debuted in the West End in 1989 before transferring to Broadway in 1991---became a global hit despite some loud, very understandable controversy. Most audiences, however, ignored the accusations of orientalism, misogyny, and white-washing and instead focused on the show's epic melodrama and theatrical splendor, much of it powered by the lush music of Claude-Michel Schönberg and the lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. The show continues at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through October 13, 2019.

New Chef at Hotel Washington 'When I boarded the ferry in the middle of January, the prow grinding through broken Lake Michigan ice, and fell in love with the island in the dead of winter, I knew it was for real,' says Matt Poole, the new chef for Hotel Washington. A Midwest native, Poole has lived in the Bay Area for the last five years working first at Desco, a regional Italian restaurant in Oakland and then the premier farm-to-table institution Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Working under chef Simone Ferrara at Desco, Poole learned the values of Italian cooking, nuanced yet simple flavors in perfect balance and in time with the seasons. He moved to Chez Panisse in 2016 where he gladly took to the challenge of cooking a daily-changing menu utilizing a never-ending parade of the best meats and vegetables. Chez Panisse, founded by the visionary restaurateur Alice Waters in 1971, has built deep relationships with farmers, ranchers and orchardists to bring the best of the generous California seasons to its guests. His time on the west coast refined his culinary skills and also showed him how restaurants can build and sustain a community. 'I've seen how they have the power to nourish people and surprise them, to build economies around passionate producers and nurture the people whom they employ,' says Poole. But Poole didn't always want to be a chef. After graduating from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI with a Fine Arts degree, he started an art gallery, traveled, collected records and started a record label for his 30th birthday. At 31, he weaseled his way into the kitchen at Marie Catrib's, the beloved Grand Rapids restaurant where he had been working in the deli. Sharing a tiny prep table with Catrib and his first mentor Jill Henemeyer, Poole fell in love with food as the perfect blend of creativity, craft and community. He says, 'All the loose ends of my life came together in cooking.' Getting a late start to cooking, Poole decided he needed to make a big move to catch up. 'I remember reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain where he basically said if one didn't start cooking at 20, he missed his chance. But Bourdain also impressed upon me how if one is willing to put up with long hours in hot kitchens, tired and sore, and one can't imagine being anywhere else he are crazy enough to be a cook,' says Poole. So he packed up and moved west. The abundance he found there was a revelation. He marveled at tender dates, ten varieties of broccoli at the farmers market, citrus growing in front yards and seafood glistening and smelling of fresh ocean air. He learned to prepare everything California had to offer, but began to wonder what farm-to-table cuisine would look like back along the shores of the Great Lakes. At the same time a college friend, Russell Rolffs of Hoot Blossom Farm on Washington Island, texted him out of the blue asking if he'd consider moving back to the Midwest. For the next year and a half, Poole and Rolffs stayed in touch, talking about the vegetables and herbs they were excited about, menu ideas, and Island life. 'Matt told me about a type of basil he was using at Chez Panisse called Piccolo Fino or Fino Verde, a fine leaf basil that is superbly aromatic. I tried growing it last summer and it grew well for us. I was so pleased,' says Rolffs. In February 2019, Matt Poole decided he too wanted to take the leap and leave his work in California to join forces with Hotel Washington. Poole recruited two friends to join him in his new adventure. He met Baker and Pastry Chef Amanda Ebenhoeh and Sous Chef Ian Milosek while working at Marie Catrib's. They are both Michigan natives and looking forward to reconnecting with Poole. The new Hotel Washington team will work with Hoot Blossom Farm, Folk Tree Farm and other growers on the Island and start partnering with foragers and other Wisconsin producers. "This is our chance to see what is happening on the Island already," says Poole. "What grows here, what the land wants to make, what the people are hungry for. We get to harness our skills to take all this and make something beautiful and delicious with it," says Poole. The Restaurant will serve a special Mother's Day Brunch on Sunday, May 12 at 11 am to 2 pm. The following Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19, 4:30 - 8:30, the restaurant invites Islanders for a preview of the menu. The season officially opens Tuesday, May 21 for dinner seven nights a week through October from 4:30 - 8:30. For reservations, call 920-847-3010. About Hotel Washington and Studio Hotel Washington and Studio is a historic hotel with eight second-floor sleeping rooms, a yoga studio, and a restaurant open May through October featuring a seasonal, farm-fresh menu. First opened in 1904, the Hotel is now in its fifth season with owner Jean Kokes. Located on the scenic Detroit Harbor of Washington Island, WI, the Hotel offers the perfect venue for retreats, weddings, and getaways. www.hotelwashingtonandstudio.com / 920-847-3010 / 354 Range Line Road, WI, 54246.

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Kazakhstan's oldest theatre, the Abay Kazakh State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, makes its UK debut at the London Coliseum on Sunday, November 17th with performances of the classic one-act ballets Chopiniana (left) and Scheherazade.

A Noise Within (ANW) presents the first chronological chapter in Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's American Century Cycle, Gem of the Ocean, directed by Gregg T. Daniel. Daniel previously directed ANW's Ovation Award and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award-nominated production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for the theatre's 2017-2018 season.

A Noise Within (ANW), California's acclaimed classic repertory theatre company, is proud to present the first chronological chapter in Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's American Century Cycle, Gem of the Ocean, directed by Gregg T. Daniel. Daniel previously directed ANW's Ovation Award and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award-nominated production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for the theatre's 2017-2018 season. Gem of the Ocean will run Sept. 22 through Nov. 16, 2019 with press performances on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 29 at 2 p.m.

Mount Wilson Observatorya?"the scientific marvel above Pasadena, atop Mount Wilsona?"is pleased to announce the fifth date in its Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome six-month series, to take place on Sunday, September 1, 2019. The performances are presented inside the iconic vaulted dome of the 100-inch telescope. A season of musical adventures, thoughtfully curated by Artistic Director Cécilia Tsan, is offered on the first Sunday of each month through October with two shows per date.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

The fifth season of Summer Evenings during the 2019 Mostly Mozart Festival presented 3 delightful concerts, featuring soloists Anthony McGill, clarinet, and Sharon Isbin, guitar.

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with John Pizzarelli: A Tribute to Benny Goodman, Dee Dee Bridgewater, David Matthews Trio, The Count Basie Orchestra, Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration, Chris Byars Original Sextet, Nicki Parrott, Gunhild Carling, Ken Peplowski and Diego Figueiredo, Birdography: Celebrating Charlie Parker, Lorin Cohen, Sam Behr, Laila Biali, Carole J. Bufford, The Lineup with Susie Mosher, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more!

Japan Society proudly announces its 2019-2020 Performing Arts Season, featuring works by visionary artists in dance, music, theater and more, along with one-of-a-kind related workshops and events, as detailed below.  Notably, Fall 2019 features programming thematically linked to the celebration of Japan's new era, Reiwa, following the recent May 2019 enthronement of the 126th emperor, Naruhito. 

On September 21 and 22, Ivy Baldwin Dance will present Quarry, a site-specific performance work at Manitoga, the former home and 75-acre woodland garden of the late American industrial designer Russel Wright. Quarry takes inspiration from Wright's desire to blur lines between outside and inside, nature and the man-made, and from his deep commitment to experimentation with form and material.

The London premiere of Philip King's 1970 play Go Bang Your Tambourine opens at the Finborough Theatre for a four week limited season on Tuesday, 6 August 2019 (Press Nights: Thursday, 8 August 2019 and Friday, 9 August 2019 at 7.30pm).

Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO) is pleased to announce completion of The Lauridsen Opera Center, a $3.5 million dollar renovation, restoration and expansion of Indianola's historic 1904 Carnegie Library building, located at 106 West Boston Avenue. DMMO purchased the building in 1985 from the City of Indianola through a generous gift from Mary Belle Windsor. Since then, it has served as the year-round community engagement and administrative home of the organization. Substantial construction work began on May 1, 2018. The new opera center is named for Des Moines-based philanthropists Nixon and Virginia Lauridsen who provided a $1 million leadership gift in support of the project. The Grand Opening will occur on June 29, 2019 and other opportunities exist (see below) for the public to tour the building.

La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts presents a fascinating, stirring look at patriotism - and what it means to be an American - with YOU'RE A GRAND OLD RAG, aptly named thanks to the famous Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, celebrating the music of the legendary George M. Cohan on June 30that 2 PM. Recognized even today as the iconic Yankee Doodle Dandy, Cohan became synonymous with Americanism through his rousing songs "Over There," "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Give My Regards to Broadway" and more. Today, the national dialogue brings this Congressional Gold Medal winner front and center.

This year's 6th annual immersive Bloomsday Breakfast hosted by Origin Theatre Company and Bloom's Tavern in Midtown lands on Father's Day, Sunday June 16 at 11am.  

For Bloomsday 2019, Irish actress Eilin O'Dea will perform 'Molly Bloom by James Joyce,' the American premiere of her tour de force rendition of Joyce's best known and most complex female character.  Shows will be June 13-15 and 19-22 at The Theater at 244, 244 West 54th Street (10 fl.) and June 16 as part of 'Bloomsday on Broadway XXXVIII' at Peter Jay Sharp Theatre of Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street.  The performance, lifted verbatim from the Penelope episode of 'Ulysses,' has brought O'Dea critical acclaim in Ireland and Europe for her no-holds-barred, candid look into Molly Bloom's whirling mind.

For its fourth and final production of the season, Opera in the Heights (OH), the opera company that provides a stage for emerging performers and affordable opera to the Greater Houston Area, presents Puccini's enduring classic Madama Butterfly - with a difference. This co-production of OH and the Los Angeles-based Pacific Opera Project actualizes the heart of the opera's tragic cross-cultural love story by translating its original Italian libretto into the two languages of the protagonists - Japanese and English - and featuring Japanese-American singers in the Japanese roles.

The Jewish Museum will present Israeli-American pianist Daniel Gortler and Brazilian violinist Daniel Guedes performing the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Edward Grieg, and contemporary Brazilian composer Mozart Camargo Guarnieri on Thursday, May 16 at 8 pm. This is Mr. Gortler's fifth appearance at the Jewish Museum, and Mr. Guedes's first.

The innovative new-music ensemble The International Street Cannibals (ISC) presents Schoenberg DNA a concert of vocal and chamber works featuring the brilliant duo of pianist Conor Hanick and soprano Ariadne Greif, with award-winning violinist Anna Tsukervanik. Centered around Schoenberg's radical musical ideas, the program will trace an evolutionary trajectory starting from Beethoven and Schumann, to Alma Maria Schindler-Mahler, to the Second Viennese School with Alban Berg and Anton Webern, all the way to the music of the great Hungarian composer Gy rgy Kurtag. Hanick and Greif will traverse a repertoire of art songs spanning from 1825 to 1908, and Tsukervanik will join Hanick to perform works for violin and piano by Webern and Kurt g. The concert is presented by The International Street Cannibals (ISC) and is a creation of Ariadne Greif, Conor Hanick, and ISC's founder/director Dan Barrett.

On Sunday April 14 Pacific Opera Project (POP) presented Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera, Madama Butterfly, in Japanese and English in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo. The company also live-streamed it online. Did anyone ever think an American Navy officer would speak to a young Japanese lady in Italian? l'd expect him to speak English and the lady from Nagasaki to speak Japanese. That is what happened at the performance on Sunday. Despite translations from Goro, the marriage broker, and Sharpless, the American consul, Pinkerton and Butterfly had trouble understanding each other as they came from completely different cultures.

Mount Wilson Observatory - the scientific marvel above Pasadena, atop Mount Wilson - is pleased to announce the third season of its Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome, which will take place on the first Sunday of each month, inside the iconic vaulted dome of the 100-inch Hooker telescope. A wide range of musical adventures, thoughtfully curated by Artistic Director Cecilia Tsan, will be presented in this acoustically remarkable venue during the six-month run of the 2019 season, which concludes on October 6th. See the Concert Series schedule and line-up below. Poised for rediscovery, the grounds of the legendary observatory- founded in 1904 by astrophysical pioneer George Ellery Hale-are open for free to the public year round. For visitor information please see https://www.mtwilson.edu/visiting.

Mount Wilson Observatory - the scientific marvel above Pasadena, atop Mount Wilson - is pleased to announce the third season of its Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome, which will take place on the first Sunday of each month, inside the iconic vaulted dome of the 100-inch Hooker telescope. A wide range of musical adventures, thoughtfully curated by Artistic Director Cecilia Tsan, will be presented in this acoustically remarkable venue during the six-month run of the 2019 season, which concludes on October 6th. See the Concert Series schedule and line-up below. Poised for rediscovery, the grounds of the legendary observatory- founded in 1904 by astrophysical pioneer George Ellery Hale-are open for free to the public year round. For visitor information please see https://www.mtwilson.edu/visiting.

On April 13th Opera San José's 35th season will conclude with Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

American Ballet Theatre (ABT), America's National Ballet Company, brings the Chicago premiere of its new story ballet Whipped Cream to the Auditorium Theatre April 11-14. Whipped Cream features choreography by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, sensational sets and stunning costumes by pop-surrealist artist Mark Ryden, and a revived 1924 score by composer Richard Strauss (performed by the Chicago Philharmonic).