The Connection - 1961 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 5

Bernadette Robinson, who has built a reputation as a vocal chameleon able to recreate the sound of the 20th century divas, brings back her solo show SONGS FOR NOBODIES for another season at the Sydney Opera House.

This season brings Matthew Lopez' Olivier Award-winning, two-part drama, The Inheritance, to the Broadway stage.

a?oeFor nearly forty years this story has given faithful service to the Young in Heart; and Time has been powerless to put its kindly philosophy out of fashiona??..a?? These words from L. Frank Baum dance across the screen during the overture of MSMT's stunning new production of THE WIZARD OF OZ, reminding the audience of the perennial appeal of this beloved story. And as the curtain goes up, the audience is treated to arguably the largest, most lavish production in MSMT history with a cast of fifty (that includes twenty children and a dog), dazzling technical elements, staging and choreography to blow one away, and performances to melt the heart. a?oea??When I saw Marc Robin's production at the Fulton in 2016, I said, a?oeWe have to do this at MSMT. THE WIZARD OF OZ had not been on this stage since 1961, and it was time to give it a new life,a?? says Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark. Clark is one of the large panel, which also includes Marc Robin, Travis M. Grant, Carolyn Anne Miller, Susan Cella, Ian Knauer, and David Girolmo, who have come together in conversation with BWW's Maine Editor Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold in MSMT and BWW's final season collaboration of PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN at the Curtis Memorial Library on August 14th.

They have held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for over 50 years, playing music that is nothing less than a vibrant living history. Whether tapping into New Orleans' Afro-Cuban roots on their last recording, or providing a "joyous, wide-ranging account…crammed with fascinating facts and toe-tickling tunes" (New York Times) in the award winning award-winning documentary "A Tuba to Cuba," Dixieland jazz - a deeply American music - is deepened further in their capable hands. The Harris Center is proud to welcome them back to Folsom.

Stew and Heidi Rodewald of the band The Negro Problem and the songwriter team who created the Tony, Drama Desk and Obie-winning musical Passing Strange are hitting the road with a new act called Staged Dives, which they're previewing at the Ancram Opera House in Columbia County, New York June 28 and 29 before bringing it to Joe's Pub in August. They talked with Dan Dwyer of Off Script about the new show and their twenty-year collaboration.

Elvis Week 2019 will mark the 42nd anniversary of Elvis' passing and Graceland® is preparing for the gathering of Elvis fans and friends from around the world for the nine-day celebration of Elvis' life. Events include appearances by celebrities and musicians, The Auction at Graceland, Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest Finals, live concerts, fan events, and more. Events will be held at the Mansion, the entertainment and exhibit complex, Elvis Presley's Memphis, the AAA Four-Diamond Guest House at Graceland resort hotel and the just-opened Graceland Exhibition Center.

When Emily Whitlow takes the stage and croons "I Fall to Pieces" or another of Patsy Cline's greatest hits at Hackmatack Playhouse in Berwick this month, the 22-year-old will be immersing herself in the music of her hometown.

Following a sell-out priority booking period, the West End production of Dear Evan Hansen today announces a second additional ticket release will take place at 10am on Monday 10 June 2019, with tickets on sale to Saturday 4 April 2020. Dear Evan Hansen begins previews at the Noel Coward Theatre on Tuesday 29 October 2019 with opening night on Tuesday 19 November 2019 at 7pm. Casting will be announced at a later date.

On today's episode of 'Live with Kelly and Ryan,' Barbara Eden stops by to talk about going on tour with the play 'Love Letters!'

Four symphonic orchestras, a major heritage museum and one of Los Angeles' leading performing arts centers will join forces in 2020 for an ambitious collaborative initiative that will bring to life the sounds of music once lost. 

La MaMa presents a Planet Connections production of Alex Raid's exploration of the world of the millennial, The Floor is Lava. A production directed by Glory Kadigan, revived and presented as part of the 57th season of LaMaMa - one of the original theaters of the Off-Off Broadway movement. Performing May 09 - May 19, 2019 at The Downstairs | 66 East 4th Street; Thursday to Saturday at 8PM; Sunday at 5PM; $25 Tickets; $20 Student/Senior Tickets. www.lamama.org or call 212-352-3101

The Los Angeles Master Chorale - the country's preeminent professional choir and choir-in-residence at Walt Disney Concert Hall - will reveal a new collaboration with acclaimed artist and filmmaker Doug Aitken at GALA 2019 on Saturday, March 23. The Gala will be held at the Marciano Art Foundation at 4357 Wilshire Boulevard from 5:30PM - 10PM, providing guests with a rare opportunity to enjoy exclusive evening access to the contemporary art gallery's collection and exhibitions in addition to a special preview performance of the commission from Doug Aitken performed by the Master Chorale conducted by Grant Gershon, Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director.

TV icons Barbara Eden ("I Dream of Jeannie") & Hal Linden ("Barney Miller") star in A.R. Gurney's Love Letters at The Ridgefield Playhouse on Saturday, March 2 at 7:30pm. Don't miss this funny and emotional portrait of the powerful connection of love!

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is pleased to announce the first show in its fifth season of our TYA Family Series... James and The Giant Peach. With book by Timothy Allen McDonald, music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, based on the book by Roald Dahl, and directed by Darryl B. Hovis, James and The Giant Peach will preview from February 15 through February 17; regular performances will begin February 17 and continue through March 3 at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Fyda-Mar Stage.

The critically acclaimed conversation series Speakeasy will return for a fourth season in select cities beginning January 7th and on the WORLD channel at 7:00 pm on Sunday, January 13th, check local listings for additional times. The six episodes will feature an all new group of iconic artists, Grammy Award winners, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, and beloved musicians engaging in intimate conversations between friends.  Each episode gives fans an inside look into some never before told stories from some of the world's most prolific performers including Sting, Shaggy, Joe Elliott, Lenny Kravitz, members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Michael McDonald, and Billy Gibbons.  Full episodes will also be available at www.speakeasytalks.com.

The 2018 Inaugural NAAP (National Asian Artists Project) Gala took place on December 2nd celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Rodgers & Hammerstein's groundbreaking musical 'Flower Drum Song'. Cast members from numerous productions including the original 1958 Broadway company, tours, the 1961 film and the 2002 Broadway revival took over the Golden Unicorn Restaurant in the heart of Chinatown for a magical evening that included a spectacular eight course Chinese banquet and a sensational show.

Frances Smith Cohen has built an astounding career as a dancer, educator and director in Arizona for more than 60 years. That legacy is now being honored by Scottsdale Arts Education & Outreach with a special exhibition in the ArtReach Space at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts from Nov. 30 through Jan. 8.

Macy Medford and Arden Guice may only be college students, but their performances as Violet and Daisy Hilton, the heroines of Side Show - the iconic musical by Bill Russell, Henry Krieger and Bill Condon that debuted on Broadway some 20 years ago - in Belmont University Musical Theatre's production that runs for just one weekend, are nothing less than a professional triumph for each young woman. Thoroughly committed and startlingly focused, Medford and Guice perform an oftentimes tricky, always challenging, task in order that the two young women effectively become their characters, ensuring the musical packs an emotional wallop delivered straight to the collective heart of its audience, while showcasing the evolution of a musical theatre program at the Nashville university, which over the years has gained a national reputation as the training ground of the next generations of Broadway stars yet to be.

Tony Award nominee Lainie Kazan and Emmy Award winner William Shatner, whose Broadway stage careers have spanned six decades, reveal personal stories of their Jewish upbringing in the new PBS special Hanukkah: A Festival of deLights. The program airs nationwide on PBS stations in the week leading up to and through the holiday (check local listings) and in the New York metropolitan area on PBS as follows: on WLIW/21 on Sunday, November 25 at 7:30 pm (check wliw.org for additional airings) and on the first and last nights of Hanukkah on Thirteen -- Sunday, December 2 at 2:30 pm and Sunday, December 9 at 8 pm.

The Marie-Josee Kravis Prize for New Music at the New York Philharmonic, which recognizes a composer for extraordinary artistic endeavor in the field of new music, has been awarded to South Korean composer Unsuk Chin. One of the world's largest new-music prizes, the Kravis Prize includes $200,000 and a commission to write a work for the New York Philharmonic. Ms. Chin's new orchestral work will receive its World Premiere by the Philharmonic in a future season. Funding for the Kravis Prize comes from a $10 million gift to the New York Philharmonic in 2009 by Henry R. Kravis in honor of his wife, Marie-Josee, for whom the Prize is named. Past Prize winners include Henri Dutilleux, Per Norgard, and Louis Andriessen.

Baz Bamigboye of The Daily Mail has just revealed that the Tony Award-winning best musical, Dear Evan Hansen, will make its West End debut at the Noel Coward Theatre in November 2019!

One of the oldest theaters in NYC - 74 E. 4 St., home to the 2018 Tony Award-winning La MaMa in the East Village - will mark the start of its first-ever restoration and renovation since the building was constructed in 1873 with a GROUNDBREAKING EVENT attended by Tony winning composer and longtime La MaMa company member SCOTT WITTMAN (Hairspray, the upcoming remake of Mary Poppins), NYC Deputy Mayor ALICIA GLEN, TOM FINKELPEARL (Commissioner of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs), BRAD HOYLMAN (NY State Senator), NYC Council Member CARLINA RIVERA, the world-renowned National Medal of Arts recipient PING CHONG, La MaMa Artistic Direct MIA YOO and Board President FRANK CARUCCI, along with performers from the SPIDERWOMAN THEATRE and THE SILVER CLOUD SINGERS.

Matthew Morrison couldn't be more 'Glee'-ful about launching Bay Area Cabaret's 15th Anniversary Season on Sept. 30 at the world-famous Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. 'I love places that have so much history,' says the Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee. Among the celebrated singers who've sung there: Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Marlene Dietrich, Peggy Lee and Tina Turner. And in 1961, Tony Bennett first performed 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco' there, which is especially apt since the Fairmont sits high upon Nob Hill, 'where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.'

'An all-engrossing, captivating theatrical experience that you surely won't forget.'