The American Way - 1939 - Broadway Articles Page 15

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, located at The Graduate Center, CUNY, announces its Spring 2017 season of free public programs. The season features free public programs, welcoming and celebrating contemporary theatre and performing artists from around the world.

In the 89 years that the Academy Awards have been held, over 40 musicals have either been nominated for or have won an Oscar for Best Picture, including this last December's LA LA LAND. The first musical to ever win Best Picture was THE BROADWAY MELODY at the second Academy Awards in 1929. The film starred Charles King, Eddie Kane, Bessie Love and Anita Page

Six-time Tony Award-winning costume designer CATHERINE ZUBER and legendary scenic designer TONY STRAIGES are among the 2017 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients which were just announced by Theatre Development Fund (TDF), a not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts.

Beginning 10 May 2017, Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia will present the work of the pre-eminent American painter Philip Guston (1913 - 1980) in a major exhibition exploring the artist's oeuvre in relation to critical literary interpretation. In a spirit reflective of how Guston himself cultivated the sources of his inspiration, 'Philip Guston and The Poets' considers the ideas and writings of major 20th century poets as catalysts for his enigmatic pictures and visions. Featuring works that span a fifty-year period in Guston's artistic career, the exhibition includes 50 major paintings and 25 prominent drawings dating from 1930 until his death in 1980. The exhibition draws parallels between the essential humanist themes reflected in these works, and the language and prose of five poets: D. H. Lawrence (British, 1885 - 1930), W. B. Yeats (Irish, 1865 - 1939), Wallace Stevens (American, 1879 - 1955), Eugenio Montale (Italian, 1896 - 1981) and T. S. Eliot (American-born, British, 1888 - 1965).

After years of development, the world premiere of Riders of the Purple Sage, a new opera based on Zane Grey's Western novel of the same name will be unveiled in Phoenix and Tucson.

Celebrated American pianist George Winston will release a cancer research benefit album, Spring Carousel, on RCA Records on March 31, 2017. Spring Carousel features a collection of 15 solo piano compositions written by Winston while in recovery from a bone marrow transplant for Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) at City of Hope, in Duarte, California, near Los Angeles. Proceeds from sales of Spring Carousel will directly benefit City of Hope. George Winston is available for interviews upon request.

The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University is pleased to present Larry Bell: Pacific Red from January 21 - April 2, 2017.  

Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Atlanta playwright Topher Payne about his new show, Greetings Friend Your Kind Assistance is Required, premiering at Georgia Ensemble Theater on January 5 and running through the 22nd. A fun and quirky guy, Topher was a delight to talk to, and I'm looking forward to seeing what kinds of conversations Greetings Friend Your Kind Assistance is Required will spark. Without further ado, Topher Payne!

Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) announced today the start of the 2017 cookie season, which marks the 100th year of the first known sale of cookies by Girl Scouts. A century ago, girls started participating in what would evolve into the largest entrepreneurial training program for girls in the world: the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Through the program, girls learn the essential skills they need to become effective leaders, manage finances, gain self-sufficiency, and develop confidence in handling money. To commemorate this banner year for the organization and celebrate how the cookie program powers amazing experiences for Girl Scouts year-round, the highly anticipated Girl Scout S'mores cookies are now available, joining classics like Thin Mints and Trefoils/Shortbread.

Now in its eighth season, the Obie Award winning The Fire This Time Festival will run January 16-February 5, 2017 at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery).

The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University is pleased to present Larry Bell: Pacific Red from January 21 - April 2, 2017.  

Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct the New York Philharmonic in the World Premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Wynton Marsalis's The Jungle (Symphony No. 4), commissioned by the Philharmonic as the first of The New York Commissions, with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis; William Bolcom's Trombone Concerto with Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi as soloist; and Copland's Quiet City, featuring Principal Trumpet Christopher Martin and English horn player Grace Shryock in her Philharmonic solo debut.

Walnut Street Theatre continues its landmark 208th season with an exciting stage adaptation of the all-time classic musical THE WIZARD OF OZ. Directed by Glenn Casale, with choreography by Rodney Glen Roberts, THE WIZARD OF OZ began previews on November 8th, opens on November 16th and runs through January 8th on the Walnut's Mainstage. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Walnut Street Theatre continues its landmark 208th season with an exciting stage adaptation of the all-time classic musical THE WIZARD OF OZ. Directed by Glenn Casale, with choreography by Rodney Glen Roberts, THE WIZARD OF OZ began previews on November 8th, opens on November 16th and runs through January 8th on the Walnut's Mainstage. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd Tamara Harvey today announces the 2017 spring season for the company.

The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra's music director Larry Rachleff takes the podium on Today, November 12 with violinist Alexander Kerr playing Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto. The Orchestra will also perform Dvorak's Sixth Symphony and Dreamtime Ancestors, a 2015 composition by Christopher Theofanidis. The concert is Today, November 12 at 8:00pm, with an Open Rehearsal Friday, November 11 at 5:30pm.

Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres Robert Hastie today announces his inaugural season. The new season opens with Hastie directing William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar bringing Shakespeare back to the Crucible; this will be followed in the Studio by the winner of the new annual RTST Director Award Scheme Kate Hewitt directing the regional premiere of Nina Raine's Tribes.  

The Gish Prize Trust recently announced that Elizabeth LeCompte, founding member and director of the internationally acclaimed experimental theater company The Wooster Group, has been selected to receive the 23rd annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize.

 SoundBox, the San Francisco Symphony's experimental performance venue and late-night live music series, opens its third season on December 9­-10 with SFS Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas curating and conducting two concerts celebrating the life and work of visionary American composer, artist, writer, and activist Lou Harrison. This season marks the centennial of Lou Harrison's birth; Harrison was born in May 1917 and passed away in February 2003.

'I LOVE TWYLA THARP. She is humor, irreverence, craft, and boogie all rolled into one pint-sized woman.' - Peter Boal, PNB Artistic Director

The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra's music director Larry Rachleff takes the podium on Saturday, November 12 with violinist Alexander Kerr playing Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto. The Orchestra will also perform Dvorak's Sixth Symphony and Dreamtime Ancestors, a 2015 composition by Christopher Theofanidis. The concert is Saturday, November 12 at 8:00pm, with an Open Rehearsal Friday, November 11 at 5:30pm.

In 1980, after the last credit rolled off the big screen at the final showing, the Roxy movie theater closed it doors, reopening three years later as a live performance theatre. 

Walnut Street Theatre continues its landmark 208th season with an exciting stage adaptation of the all-time classic musical THE WIZARD OF OZ. Directed by Glenn Casale, with choreography by Patti Colombo, THE WIZARD OF OZ begins previews on November 8th, opens on November 16th and runs through January 8th on the Walnut's Mainstage.

City Parks Foundation is thrilled to announce a new commissioned, site-specific work debuting at the historic Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park this October. Oltra mar, directed, choreographed, and designed by Luca Veggetti, fuses dance with the art of puppetry. The work was inspired by and is set to the music of celebrated Finnish composer, Kaija Saariaho.

Full disclosure: I'm a sucker for a good historical, science fiction time travel television romp. Few things make me happier than watching a confused character walk into a time machine for the first time and discover a world full of new possibilities. That being said, few shows manage to pull off the delicate balance of hokey era-specific references and honest to goodness drama. One of two things usually ends up happening: either the cheesy one-liners about time travel and the scientific explanations of how it's possible overwhelm the audience, or both of those things are ignored and we're left with a regular, run of the mill drama. TIMELESS, NBC's newest primetime headline, manages to strike that hokey/honest balance and takes viewers along for the ride through time.