That's Life! - 1994 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 16

Les Mis. A French title, and a show so popular it has its own nickname. When the show premiered in London in 1985, some people wondered how on earth Victor Hugo's masterpiece of a novel could be turned into a musical. Those people have long since been silenced. Les Miserables has become one of the world's most beloved musicals, and Maine State Music Theatre's current production proves exactly why.

SJCChicago LLC is proud to announce the Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre's production of SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE - THE SONGS OF LEIBER AND STOLLER at the Royal George Cabaret Theatre (1641 N. Halsted Ave.) has been extended through August 4. The hit production received rave reviews from Chicago and just recently received three Non-equity Jeff Awards for Best Production - Revue, Best Director - Musical or Revue and Best Music Direction. Smokey Joe's Cafe now runs through Sunday, August 4.

Ehrenkranz Artistic Director Jane Moss today announced the roster for Lincoln Center's fourth multidisciplinary White Light Festival, October 24 through November 23, 2013. The Festival's focus is music's capacity to illuminate the many dimensions of our interior lives, with a particular emphasis this year on the power of the voice. Spanning numerous musical traditions, genres, and disciplines, the Festival will offer 23 performances, films, and events featuring seven premieres and debuts by artists and companies from more than a dozen countries, including France, India, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, the U.K., Mali, Estonia, Italy, Austria, Canada and the U.S. New to this edition of the Festival is White Light on Film, film screenings followed by discussions with their directors. Other Festival components include: a panel discussion focused on the subject of time, pre- and post-performance artist discussions, and the popular post-performance White Light Lounges.

As the theatre curtains lower and the Festival Hub concerts at David Pecaut Square come to an end each night, the 7th Annual Luminato Festival is prepared to maintain momentum with a series of after-hours shows through Luminato Late Night Music featuring a Montreal DJ, a German Art collective, a troubadour, and a symphony.

Ben Rimalower, star of the hit off-Broadway show 'Patti Issues' shares his 10 favorite LuPone moments with Broadway World Chicago

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and New York Asian Film Festival present a rare series of appearances by international film icon, Jackie Chan tonight, June 10 and the 11th, followed by the largest retrospective of his films ever held in North America (June 23-27).

Hilarious, visually arresting, and surprisingly heart-warming, PRISCILLA - QUEEN OF THE DESERT---the rousing stage musical adaptation of the 1994 Oscar-winning indie film of the same name---is an outlandishly silly show from start to finish, filled with non-stop eye-popping visuals, out-of-this-world costumes, playfully cheeky adult banter, and a smile-inducing songbook crammed with familiar, decade-defining pop hits. Though a show about drag queens may not necessarily be everyone's cup of tea, open-minded theatergoers seeking to experience a fun, non-serious, genuinely entertaining spectacle will truly enjoy this musical comedy's first national tour production now playing a limited engagement at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood through June 16.

Sundance Institute welcomes 13 projects, selected for its annual June Directors and Screenwriters Labs, taking place at the Sundance Resort in Utah from today, May 27 through June 27. Under the leadership of Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Institute's Feature Film Program, and the artistic direction of Gyula Gazdag, the Fellows selected for this year's program include emerging filmmakers and projects from the United States, Europe, Mexico, Peru and Somalia.

The Law of Attraction is not a law at all. It only gives people an excuse to be lazy. People cannot just think their way to riches. It requires the right action for the right reasons. They need new and different solutions to their old chronic problems that are practical, easy to understand, and easy to implement. That's why author John Stagl offers proven, effective suggestions on getting back in control of one's life in the first book in this series, Stop the Rain Dance. It's unique and inspiring, filled with powerful, life-changing tools to solve long-standing challenges in key areas of life health, relationships and finances.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and New York Asian Film Festival announced the details today for a rare series of appearances by international film icon, Jackie Chan on June 10 and 11, followed by the largest retrospective of his films ever held in North America (June 23-27).

Sundance Institute today announced the 13 projects selected for its annual June Directors and Screenwriters Labs, taking place at the Sundance Resort in Utah from May 27 through June 27. Under the leadership of Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Institute's Feature Film Program, and the artistic direction of Gyula Gazdag, the Fellows selected for this year's program include emerging filmmakers and projects from the United States, Europe, Mexico, Peru and Somalia.

SJCChicago LLC has announced the extension of Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre's production of Smokey Joe's Cafe - The Songs of Leiber and Stoller at the Royal George Cabaret Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted Ave. through June 30.

IFC is bringing comedian and podcaster Marc Maron to the small screen this spring with a new ten episode scripted comedy series titled MARON.

Get out your most sparkly shoes, because Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is headed for Durham. This glitzy show follows drag queens through the Australian outback on a bus named, of course, Priscilla. The big production numbers are paralleled only by the heart of the storyline. Ultimately, it's a show about accepting yourself and others for their own brand of fabulous. I recently had the chance to speak with Wade McCollum, who plays Tick/Mitzi. I got the scoop on what it's like to perform in such a demanding show, how he prepared, and the ins and outs of his complex character.

Thirty years after directing and choreographing the Odyssey Theatre's award-winning West Coast premiere, and following a wildly successful Off Broadway revival at the York Theatre last season, Bill Castellino reunites with musical directorGerald Sternbach to charm audiences with a revitalized, updated version of Ionescopade at theOdyssey Theatre beginning May 31.

Brooke Shields has been announced as the director of the Hollywood Bowl's upcoming production of CHICAGO, which holds the record as the third longest running show in Broadway history. Rob Fisher has also been announced as the conductor of the production. Shields starred in CHICAGO both on Broadway and in London's West End and this marks her directing debut. Fisher's association with the show began with the 1996 Broadway revival and he continues to be supervising music director of CHICAGO productions around the globe.

The Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street) presents Douglas Carter Beane's new play The Nance directed by Jack O'Brien, opening tonight, April 15. This production features Jenni Barber, Andrea Burns, Cady Huffman, Mylinda Hull, Nathan Lane, Geoffrey Allen Murphy, Jonny Orsini and Lewis J. Stadlen.

Pacific Theatre has announced its 30th anniversary season! To celebrate three decades producing theatre, Pacific Theatre is offering a jam-packed season celebrating the past with revivals of some of the company's most iconic work and embracing the present with thought-provoking, entertaining work new to Vancouver audiences.

The new American musical Hands on a Hardbody will open tonight, March 21, at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 West 47th Street). Let's see what the critics had to say...

Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day's vocalist/guitarist wrote the lyrics for 'American Idiot' in the rock opera style of 'The Who', with songs that follow three disenfranchised young men- Johnny (Alex Nee), Will (Casey O'Farrell), and Tunny (Thomas Hettrick) as they attempt to leave their stifling suburban selves in the hopes of not becoming another 'American Idiot'.

IFC is bringing comedian and podcaster Marc Maron to the small screen this spring with a new ten episode scripted comedy series titled MARON.

Today we are talking to a veritable legend in her own time - arguably the most influential and recognizable female stand-up comedian of all time, the one and only Joan Rivers. Opening up and revealing her trademark, impossible-to-top wit all the while, Rivers and I discuss many aspects of her life and career, with a particular focus on her many current projects - most importantly, the third season of her smash hit reality series JOAN & MELISSA: JOAN KNOWS BEST? on WE TV. What will happen when Joan, Melissa and company visit Colonial Williamsburg? What illicitness will they discover on Willie Nelson's former tour bus? Will Joan get arrested for protesting her book being banned at a big retailer? Answers to these questions all will be arrived up on Saturday. In addition to all about JOAN & MELISSA Season Three and the current series-high ratings run of FASHION POLICE, Rivers and I take a look back at many of the remarkable figures she has encountered and worked with over the course of her career - among them: Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Woody Allen and many more - and she generously shares candid backstage stories and remembrances as only she can. Of paramount interest to theatre fans may be the announcement of a revival of her one-woman play SALLY MARR… AND HER ESCORTS, which she will be reviving in a special weekly pop-up theatre space on Broadway later this year. Also, as if all of that were not enough, Joan gives us the 411 on her new uncensored web series, IN BED WITH JOAN, as well as her cute new pet lover's web project, MY FAT PET. Plus, her fashion forecast for 2013 and best current trends, favorite films of awards season, thoughts on Broadway today and her picks for the best shows to see as well as much, much more awaits in this career-spanning conversation!

Even as his latest book attracts international attention, Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright premieres his new play at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. A reporter renowned for his work with The New Yorker - and the bestselling author behind The Looming Tower and Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief - Wright is also the playwright who penned My Trip to al Qaeda and The Human Scale. Now he debuts a fictional play about the last days of legendary journalist Oriana Fallaci. Don't miss this sizzling new script, which is directed by Oskar Eustis, stars Concetta Tomei and Marjan Neshat, and features an incredible team of designers. The 65th world premiere presented by Berkeley Rep, Fallaci begins previews in the Roda Theatre tonight, March 8, opens March 13, and runs through April 21.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Concerts by Audra McDonald, Sarah Brightman and Chester Gregory, Yeston's 'Death Takes A Holiday' and more from Circle Theatre, all our top current runs, plus the premieres 'Straight Camp,' 'Things Fall Apart' and 'Next Stop!'

A legendary trio of country veterans gets back to the roots of their music with stories and songs. With over one hundred songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, forty-two top singles and fourteen #1 songs between them, good buddies Aaron Tippon, Joe Diffie and Sammy Kershaw perform on stage together in an acoustic evening filled with 'You've Got To Stand For Something,' 'John Deere Green,' 'She Don't Know She's Beautiful,' and so many more.