The Beauty Prize - 2005 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 10

Veteran Broadway press agents Jim Byk and Shane Marshall Brown have created The Press Room, a new theatrical and entertainment publicity office now open in New York City. Founders Byk and Brown are joined by publicist Kelly Guiod, who serves as Vice President for the company.

Ensemble for the Romantic Century (Eve Wolf, Executive Artistic Director) is proud to announce the opening of Angelica Page in the title role BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP: An Encounter with Emily Dickinson. Opening Night is this Thursday, September 27th.

Noted American playwright, screenwriter, and librettist David Henry Hwang who wrote the 1988 Tony Award for Best Play 'M. BUTTERFLY' (which is currently playing at Maybank Performing Arts Theater until September 30) is coming to Manila to conduct a strictly by invitation only 'Master Class' on September 28 - 3 pm.

Passion River Films announced today that they have secured North American rights to LATE LIFE: THE CHIEN-MING WANG STORY, directed by Frank W. Chen. The film will open in NY October 26 and expand to select theaters across the country.

During last night's Season Release Bash at Filament Theater, Artistic Director and Co-Founder Michael Patrick Thornton proudly announced The Gift Theatre's 2019 Season will include: a revival of John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning drama DOUBT: A PARABLE directed by Ensemble Member John Gawlik and featuring Ensemble Members Jennifer Glasse, Maryann Thebus and Michael Patrick Thornton (February 27 - March 31) and the Chicago premiere of Hansol Jung's WOLF PLAY, directed by guest artist Jess McLeod (October 18 - November 24). The Gift's 17th season will also include a soon-to-be-announced third production (July 12 - August 18).

Brush off your tiara and unleash your inner princess with Broadway's original Cinderella, Belle and Jasmine! Hosted by two-time, Tony-nominated star, Laura Osnes (Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella) and her own Fairy Godfairy, Boston's own Benjamin Rauhala (musical director extraordinaire), the evening also stars the multitalented Susan Egan (Tony-nominated for Disney's Beauty and the Beast and voice of 'Meg' in Hercules), Courtney Reed (the original 'Jasmine' in Disney's Aladdin on Broadway), and special guest Adam J. Levy as the show's Prince of the Night.

Dael Orlandersmith, "an intense poet, writer and intellectual" (Chicago Tribune), brings her newest work, Lady in Denmark, to the Owen Theatre. Reuniting with director Chay Yew (Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men, 2012), Orlandersmith's world premiere production is a reflection on love and adversity starring stage and screen actress Linda Gehringer in a 90-minute solo performance. Helene (Gehringer) is a Danish American woman coping with the death of her husband who finds solace in the hauntingly beautiful music of their favorite singer, Billie Holiday. This is her journey through the couple's time together-from the smoky jazz clubs of post-war Copenhagen to the home they shared in present-day Chicago. Lady in Denmark is one of five world premieres this season, all originally developed as a part of the Goodman's New Stages Festival. The creative team includes Andrew Boyce (set), Christine Pascual (costumes), Lee Fiskness (lighting) and Mikhail Fiksel (original music and sound). Donald E. Claxon is the Production Stage Manager. Lady in Denmark appears October 19 - November 18, 2018 (opening night is October 29 at 7pm) in the Goodman's Owen Theatre (170 N. Dearborn); tickets ($15-45; subject to change) go on sale Friday, August 31, by telephone 312.443.3800 or online GoodmanTheatre.org/LadyInDenmark.

Acclaimed director Ava DuVernay's short-form film entitled “August 28: A Day in the Life of a People” will make its national television debut on Tuesday, August 28 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on OWN. Starring Lupita Nyong'o, Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Regina King, David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, André Holland, Michael Ealy and Glynn Turman, DuVernay's 22-minute scripted film uses a robust combination of both documentary and narrative techniques to transport viewers through six stunning historical moments that all actually occurred on the same day in various years.

Bringing together some of today's most remarkable ballet talents, Daniel Ulbricht's Stars of American Ballet returns to Jacob's Pillow, appearing in the Ted Shawn Theatre August 22-26. A principal dancer with New York City Ballet since 2007, Ulbricht is lauded as "one of the best male ballet dancers in New York" (Dance Magazine). As Artistic Director, curator, and performer, Ulbricht brings a unique vision and perspective to performance. With a cast highlighting 14 powerhouse dancers of New York City Ballet, this collective celebrates the legacy of choreographic legend Jerome Robbins with a program of his masterpieces on the occasion of his centennial, augmented by two Robbins-related PillowTalks.

American Classical Orchestra (ACO) kicks off its 2018-19 season on Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at 8:00pm in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center with Mozart Serenade, a concert of festive music by Mozart. ACO is joined by acclaimed period violinist Krista Bennion Feeney in Mozart's Haffner Serenade and will use contrabasses instead of cellos as is indicated in the original score, creating a refreshingly transparent sound. Pianist Christian De Luca, a virtuosic Juilliard historical performance program graduate, makes his Lincoln Center debut on fortepiano in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, a work popularized in the Swedish film Elvira Madigan. The 2018-2019 season marks the orchestra's 34th year of presenting historically accurate, engaging, and educational concerts, led by Artistic Director and Founder Thomas Crawford.

A wickedly comic satire by groundbreaking British playwright Philip Ridley, Radiant Vermin examines consumerism in the age where enough is never enough. A young couple, Jill and Ollie, sign a contract for their dream home at seemingly no cost. With a baby on the way, they are forced to find out how far they'll go to get everything they've ever dreamed of... and more.

AstonRep Theatre Company, under the new artistic leadership of Derek Bertelsen and Sara Pavlak McGuire, is thrilled to announce its 2018-19 Season, kicking off this fall with Martin McDonagh's dark comedy THE LONESOME WEST directed by Company Member Dana Anderson. This winter, the season continues with AstonRep's 10th ANNUAL WRITERS' SERIES, a daylong festival of workshops from talented local and regional writers. The season concludes next summer with Rebecca Gilman's drama THE CROWN YOU'RE IN WITH, directed by Co-Artistic Director Derek Bertelsen. 

ZHONG-JING FANG, soloist of American Ballet Theatre, PAOLA HARTLEY, former principal dancer of Ballet Arizona, KARL CONDON, former principal dancer of the Boston Ballet, and ILYA KOZADAYEV, former soloist of the Houston Ballet will be on the Shreveport Dance Academy's Summer Intensive to be held in Shreveport, Louisiana.   Zhong-Jing Fang and Paola Hartley will be on the faculty from July 23-27, 2018, and Karl Condon and  Ilya Kozadayev will be on the faculty from July 30-August 3, 2018.  

The Bravo! Vail Music Festival has just commenced its 2018 season and already it is tempting patrons with the announcement that Chamber Orchestra Vienna – Berlin will make its North America debut at the distinguished summer classical music festival in 2019 alongside lauded violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. The performance also marks Anne-Sophie Mutter's Bravo! Vail debut. Bravo! Vail Artistic Director Anne-Marie McDermott made the announcement from stage to a thrilled audience of nearly 2,000 at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. Specific details about the repertoire and concert date are not yet available. More information about Bravo! Vail can be found at www.bravovail.org.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) will present Middle Eastern MixFest, a series of free readings co-curated by playwrights Mona Mansour and Heather Raffothat will run Wednesday, August 8th through Thursday, August 16th at Atlantic Stage 2 (330 West 16th Street).

While its original production, as most Broadway shows go, offered the expected big sets, first-rate costumes, and impressive production values, the 2015 Tony Award-winning revival production of THE COLOR PUPLE---currently slaying audiences for a week-long stop at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 24---is decidedly more subdued and scaled-down by comparison, allowing the songs, the story, and the cast performances to shine on their own merits instead. The resulting show is a powerful, uplifting one, bathed in a loving, spiritual embrace that shines a light on the struggles, the insecurities, the passions, and the tenacity of African-American women living in the early decades of the 20th Century. I can say without hesitation that this revival production is an excellent way to experience this beautiful, touching, and ultimately triumphant musical.

Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Fran Drescher was joined by Tony Winner Priscilla Lopez at NYC drag star Marti Gould Cummings weekly talk show Stage Fright.

California Shakespeare Theater continues its 44th Season with the West Coast Premiere of Everybody, a sparkling new riff on the 15th-century morality play The Summoning of Everyman by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, whom the New York Times calls "one of this country's most original and illuminating writers.' A finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Everybody is Cal Shakes' second official offering under the New Classics Initiative (NCI), exploring what it means to be a classical theater in the 21st century, and to allow living writers to expand our classical canon. Directed by Nataki Garrett making her Cal Shakes debut, Everybody plays July 18 - August 5 at the Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda. Low-priced previews take place July 18-20; Opening Night is July 21. Tickets (ranging from $20?$92) are available through the Cal Shakes Box Office at 510.548.9666 or by visiting www.calshakes.org. Ticket prices are subject to change without notice.

Free For All, one of the capital's cherished annual traditions, will return this summer to Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC), offering two weeks of free performances of the Company's 2016 production of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. Directed by STC Associate Artistic Director Alan Paul, whose hit production of Camelot has extended through July 8 due to popular demand, the production will run at Sidney Harman Hall (610 F St NW) from August 21-September 2, providing more than 12,000 people the chance to see the play free of charge.

The 72nd Annual Tony Awards are this Sunday June 10th at 8/9c hosted by Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles. It's the biggest award show of the Broadway season and it closes out a long awards season for Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and plays. We can't help but wonder what chances this year's Best Musical and Best Play nominees have of taking home the ultimate prize...

The National Philharmonic ends its 2017-2018 season at The Music Center at Strathmore with a musical celebration, '100th Anniversary of Poland's Independence,' today, June 2 at 8 p.m. at the Concert Hall at the Music Center at Strathmore. Conducted by world-renowned Polish Maestro Miros?aw Jacek Baszczyk, the concert will feature music composed by Poland's greatest musicians, performed by some of today's leading vocalists and musicians. The performance will commence with an introduction by the Ambassador of Poland, Piotr Wilczek. The 100th anniversary of Poland has significant meaning for the National Philharmonic, which is led by Polish-born Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski. One of the National Philharmonic's veteran artists, Brian Ganz-who will perform at the Polish celebration concert-is also a frequent performer of Frederic Chopin, beginning a quest in 2011 to perform all of the great Polish composer's works. During this celebratory concert, Maestro B?aszczyk will lead the National Philharmonic Chorale, accompanied by Esther Heideman, soprano; Magdalena Wor, mezzo-soprano; Tyler Duncan, baritone; and the National Philharmonic in Krzesimir D?bski's Hussars' Polonaise and Karol Szymanowski's Stabat Mater and Mr. Ganz in Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21.  Ticket prices are $23-$76 and are free for young people age 7-17. Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nationalphilharmonic.org or call 301.581.5100.

The National Philharmonic ends its 2017-2018 season at The Music Center at Strathmore with a musical celebration, '100th Anniversary of Poland's Independence,' on Saturday, June 2 at 8 p.m. at the Concert Hall at the Music Center at Strathmore. Conducted by world-renowned Polish Maestro Miroslaw Jacek Baszczyk, the concert will feature music composed by Poland's greatest musicians, performed by some of today's leading vocalists and musicians.

American Classical Orchestra (ACO) today announces its programming for the 2018-19 season, the orchestra's 34th year of presenting historically accurate, engaging, and educational concerts led by Artistic Director and Founder Thomas Crawford. ACO performs four concerts presented in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and two salon concerts in a private venue. ACO is joined this season by an illustrious group of acclaimed period-performance soloists including violinists Krista Bennion Feeney and Aisslinn Nosky, pianist Christian De Luca, and flutist Sandra Miller.

Paper Mill Playhouse is proud to announce John Doyle's production of The Color Purple will open the 2018-2019 season, replacing the previously announced Unmasked. The Tony Award-winning revival of The Color Purple that exhilarated Broadway will thrill audiences at Paper Mill Playhouse from September 26 to October 21.

The National Philharmonic ends its 2017-2018 season at The Music Center at Strathmore with a musical celebration, "100th Anniversary of Poland's Independence," on Saturday, June 2 at 8 p.m. at the Concert Hall at the Music Center at Strathmore. Conducted by world-renowned Polish Maestro Miros?aw Jacek Baszczyk, the concert will feature music composed by Poland's greatest musicians, performed by some of today's leading vocalists and musicians. The performance will commence with an introduction by the Ambassador of Poland, Piotr Wilczek. The 100th anniversary of Poland has significant meaning for the National Philharmonic, which is led by Polish-born Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski. One of the National Philharmonic's veteran artists, Brian Ganz-who will perform at the Polish celebration concert-is also a frequent performer of Frederic Chopin, beginning a quest in 2011 to perform all of the great Polish composer's works. During this celebratory concert, Maestro B?aszczyk will lead the National Philharmonic Chorale, accompanied by Esther Heideman, soprano; Magdalena Wor, mezzo-soprano; Tyler Duncan, baritone; and the National Philharmonic in Krzesimir D?bski's Hussars' Polonaise and Karol Szymanowski's Stabat Mater and Mr. Ganz in Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21.  Ticket prices are $23-$76 and are free for young people age 7-17. Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nationalphilharmonic.org or call 301.581.5100.