DVR Alert: Talk Show Listings Tuesday, Jan 27 - Liza Minnelli, Harry Connick Jr. & More
by Robert Diamond - Jan 25, 2009
Liza Minnelli was born in Los Angeles and made her screen debut as a toddler in the musical In the Good Old Summertime in 1949. One of the world's best-loved entertainers, she won Tony awards for Flora, the Red Menace in 1965 and The Act in 1978, along with a third for Best Personal Achievement, resulting from her 1974 engagement at the Winter Garden Theatre. Nominated for an Academy Award? for The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), she won the best actress prize for her best-known film, Cabaret (1972), which also won her a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA. She won an Emmy for Liza with a 'Z' (1972) and was also the recipient of a Grammy Legend Award in 1989, making her one of the few artists who have won entertainment's top six awards. Liza has also been the recipient of three David di Donatello Awards - for The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), Cabaret (1972) and Lifetime Achievement (2002). Film credits include Charlie Bubbles (1968), Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970), Lucky Lady (1975), A Matter of Time (1976), New York, New York (1977), Arthur (1981) Stepping Out (1991), and The Oh In Ohio (2006). Liza recently attracted an entirely new generation of fans with her acclaimed turn as 'Lucille 2' on the Emmy-winning Best Comedy Arrested Development, and for her appearance on the chart-topping album The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance.
THE THREEPENNY OPERA Opens At International City Theater
by Gabrielle Sierra - Jan 20, 2009
Filled with colorful criminals, biting social satire and a brilliant score, The Threepenny Opera opens International City Theatre's 2009 Season at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Jules Aaron directs Michael Feingold's translation of the trailblazing musical by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill that became one of the most influential plays of the 20th Century. Darryl Archibald is musical director and Kay Cole choreographs the five-week run February 20 through March 22; low-priced previews begin February 17.
First performed in 1928, Brecht and Weill's The Threepenny Opera was a revolutionary musical theater masterpiece that mocked the bourgeois political movement of pre-Hitler Germany. Brecht's brittle, sardonic tale of beggars, thieves and prostitutes, adapted from the 1728 play The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, was a fierce social and political critique, and Weill's innovative score that fused American jazz with German cabaret captured the ironic tone of the lyrics. Part acid social criticism, part bittersweet romance, the now eighty-year old saga of 'Mack the Knife' and his entourage of criminals and whores has never lost its theatrical punch.
'It's a satire on capitalism and corruption told from the viewpoint of the 'little people',' notes Aaron. 'If there was ever time to revive this show, it's now. Michael [Feingold]'s translation is earthy, gritty and very funny. I think it's going to strike a chord with audiences.'
'LIZA'S AT THE PALACE' Original Cast Recording Released 2/3
by Gabrielle Sierra - Jan 6, 2009
New York critics and theatre audiences fell under the spell of Liza Minnelli's unmatchable magic when she returned to Broadway's legendary Palace Theatre and played a recent sell-out engagement. Now, music lovers around the world will get the same chance when 'Liza's at the Palace....' the new original cast recording of her incomparable show will be released on February 3rd (Hybrid Recordings).
Deborah Rush Added to Starry BLITHE SPIRIT Cast
by Robert Diamond - Dec 10, 2008
The producers of the upcoming Broadway revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit are pleased to welcome Tony-nominated actress Deborah Rush in the role of Mrs. Bradman, reuniting her with her Noises Off! director, two-time Tony Award winner Michael Blakemore.
Liza Minnelli Receives Rave Review for Rhode Island Concerts; Broadway Next
by Robert Diamond - Nov 20, 2008
Due to overwhelming demand, 'Liza's at the Palace....' the new show starring Liza Minnelli will play an additional two weeks of performances at Broadway's Palace Theatre (Broadway & 47th Street). With an opening set for December 3rd (6:30PM), Miss Minnelli will bring her unmatchable magic to Broadway for an engagement now scheduled to play through December 28th---surpassing the originally announced closing date of December 14th. Included in the extension, is a special holiday matinee at 3PM on December 24th.
Stephen Schwartz and Friends at the Old Globe 3/9
by Reynard Loki - Nov 18, 2008
Old Globe Executive Producer Lou Spisto recently announced that the theatre will present a special one-night engagement of Stephen Schwartz and Friends.. This delightful event, featuring the Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer/lyricist of the smash Broadway musicals Wicked, Godspell, Working, Pippin and many others, will be performed in the Old Globe Theatre on Monday, March 9 at 7:30pm. Schwartz will be center-stage for an evening of unforgettable music and memories, with some of Broadway's best singer/actors, including, Debbie Gravitte, Liz Callaway and Scott Coulter, performing Schwartz's most beloved songs.