The King and I - 1985 - Broadway Articles Page 17

The Stratford Festival has announced that Chilina Kennedy will headline a musical Forum Showcase on November 4 at Stratford's Avon Theatre. Tickets are now on sale for Chilina Kennedy in The House of Martin Guerre in Concert.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! First, we'd like to wish a happy opening to Ink, which officially opens on Broadway tonight!

Even before it opened this month, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment knew they had a hit production on their hands with SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, based on the greatest movie musical of all time with screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green and songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. Adapted from the 1952 movie of the same name which starred Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen, the plot closely adheres to the original story set in 1920s Hollywood during the waning days of the Silent Screen era, focusing on romantic leading man, Don Lockwood, his tap dancing sidekick Cosmo Brown, aspiring actress Kathy Selden, and Lockwood's platinum blonde leading lady Lina Lamont, whose less-than-dulcet vocal tones make her an unlikely candidate for stardom in the new talking pictures.

Craft Recordings is pleased to announce the 25th anniversary reissue of  GRAMMY®-award winning artist Dave Alvin's King of California. Available at streaming services and on CD, and for the first time on vinyl, the album was originally released in 1994, to critical acclaim on Hightone Records. The remastered, expanded edition includes a previously unreleased instrumental studio track, “Riverbed Rag,” along with bonus material. Click here to pre-order King of California, available June 28.

Craft Recordings is pleased to announce the first-ever vinyl edition ofJames Taylor's 2007 live album, One Man Band. Available June 7th, the double-LP set is pressed on 180-gram vinyl, and housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket. Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed at RTI, this uniquely intimate performance captures Taylor at his best—paired only with his guitar, drum machine and esteemed keyboardist Larry Goldings (John Mayer, Sia, John Scofield) plus pre-recorded accompaniment of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus on “My Traveling Star” and “Shower The People.” Full of his signature wit and warmth, Taylor's anecdotes—interspersed throughout the evening—offer background on some of his most popular songs.

The Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival is pleased to announce that Kathleen Turner, a living legend of the stage and screen, will be the guest of honor at this year's Performance Gala, the festival's annual fundraising dinner.

The Actors' Gang presents VIOLENCE: The Misadventures of Spike Spangle, Farmer, written by The Actors' Gang Artistic Director Tim Robbins and Adam Simon and directed by Bob Turton, who was most recently seen at The Actors' Gang as "The Maniac" in Accidental Death of an Anarchist. This no-holds barred satire of militarism and media manipulation begins performances May 2nd (Press Opening May 11th at 8:00pm) and will run Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, through June 22nd. 

Nathan Lane has returned to Broadway this season in the new play Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus. Lane has had an extremely diverse career, spanning over 30 years. From comedic musicals, to heart-wrenching plays, to screen work, voiceovers, and much more, Lane has become a household name.

ZACH Theatre, Central Texas' premier professional theatre, announces six Mainstage productions along with the Family Series and holiday add-ons as part of the 2019-20 season. The Mainstage Season includes: Steven Dietz's new work Dracula: Mina's Quest, a 21st century look at the Bram Stoker classic; A Night with Janis Joplin returns celebrating the legendary rock goddess;  Every Brilliant Thing, Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe's touching and charming play; the timely and probing new work Roe by Lisa Loomer; the new immersive musical Reunion '85; and the quintessential family musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein's, The Sound of Music.

Fences, August Wilson's towering, Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about an embittered black man denied his dream and the soul-searing wounds he inflicts on his family, opens at Palm Beach Dramaworks on Friday, March 29 (8pm) at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre. Performances continue through April 21, with specially priced previews on March 27 and 28.

Fences, August Wilson's towering, Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about an embittered black man denied his dream and the soul-searing wounds he inflicts on his family, opens at Palm Beach Dramaworks on Friday, March 29 (8pm) at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre. Performances continue through April 21, with specially priced previews on March 27 and 28.

Adapted for family audiences from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, BIG RIVER: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the story of Huck and his friend Jim, a slave, as they travel along the mighty Mississippi River. Huck tries to help Jim escape to freedom and reunite with his family.

The Actors' Gang presents One Act Festival, featuring two contrasting programs performed in repertory. Show one, entitled The Classic, begins performances March 14th (press opening March 23) and features two classic one-act plays -- Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit, directed by Brian T. Finney, and Samuel Beckett's Krapps's Last Tape, directed by Cynthia Ettinger. Show two, entitled The Original, begins performances March 16 (Press Opening March 29) and features three new one-act plays written, directed, and acted by The Actors Gang ensemble:  Tradition, written by James Edward Bane and directed by Tess Vidal, A Perfect World, written by Lynde Houck and directed by Danielle Powell, and Clean Slate, written by Bob Turton and directed by Zoe Hall. Both programs will run Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, through April 20th.  

Fane Productions presents Margaret Atwood live on stage and in cinemas on Tuesday, September 10th in celebration of the global publication of The Testaments, Atwood's highly anticipated sequel to her seminal work, The Handmaid's Tale. 

Fences, August Wilson's towering, Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about an embittered black man denied his dream and the soul-searing wounds he inflicts on his family, opens at Palm Beach Dramaworks on Friday, March 29 (8pm) at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre. Performances continue through April 21, with specially priced previews on March 27 and 28.

Adapted for family audiences from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, BIG RIVER: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the story of Huck and his friend Jim, a slave, as they travel along the mighty Mississippi River. Huck tries to help Jim escape to freedom and reunite with his family.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and world-renowned Nashville-based keyboardist Reese Wynans releases his first-ever solo album Sweet Release today; a collection of songs honoring a paramount selection of blues-rock legends. The much anticipated album comes following a career that's spanned over 50 years and literally hundreds of historical collaborations. Sweet Release also serves as Joe Bonamassa's inaugural credit as a producer. Bonamassa has long been a fan of Wynans' work, urging him to create a solo album and championing the project as producer. Today, the album is available to stream and/or purchase via reesewynans.com, jbonamassa.com and all major music services and in stores.

Here's what is coming and going to Hulu for March!

Emerging Artists Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director Paul Adams, celebrates their 25th season by presenting their bi annual New Work Series. The series runs February 27 - March 17 at TADA Theater in the Flatiron District and features new works from a diverse group of artists. New musical, plays, solo-shows and dance pieces (in varies stages of development), will be presented.

Emerging Artists Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director Paul Adams, celebrates their 25th season by presenting their bi annual New Work Series. The series runs February 27 - March 17 at TADA Theater in the Flatiron District and features new works from a diverse group of artists. New musical, plays, solo-shows and dance pieces (in varies stages of development), will be presented.

The 1985 Broadway season might have been one of the weakest on record for musicals; in fact, only three shows were nominated for Best Musical at the Tony Awards that year. We had an Ellie Greenwich jukebox musical (Leader of the Pack), one of Harold Prince's big budget disasters (Grind), and a musical based on Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Big River). Needless to say, at least in my opinion, Big River won the Tony Award for Best Musical and several other awards in part due to a lack of competition. Despite some catchy songs by Roger “King of the Road” Miller the show suffered, in my opinion anyhow, from there simply being too much of it. William Hauptman's book tried to focus on multiple stories as opposed to having Huck and his relationship with runaway slave Jim be the true heart.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) has added three performances to its highly anticipated upcoming production of Birdy, adapted by Naomi Wallace from the novel by William Wharton, and directed by Steven Maler. The production now runs February 27 through March 17 at the Carling-Sorenson Theater at Babson College in Wellesley.

Arts patrons will come together on Wednesday, April 3, 2019 for The Kennedy Center Gala Celebrating the Human Spirit, honoring philanthropists Patrick G. Ryan and Shirley W. Ryan of Chicago, and actor, producer, and humanitarian Forest Whitaker, the recipients of the 2019 Kennedy Center Award for the Human Spirit. The evening features an intimate dinner and awards presentation, a Gala Performance by Tony Award-winning icon Idina Menzel, and an after-party. Carol Melton and Jodie W. McLean are the co-chairs of the 2019 Kennedy Center Gala. Sponsorship and package options vary and concert-only tickets may be available; attire for the evening is cocktail; please see below for more information.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author Ayad Akhtar's (Arena's Disgraced) timely tale Junk. Inspired by the real junk bond giants of the 1980s, Akhtar explores how the riveting, hostile takeover of a family-owned manufacturing company paved the way to expose the rise of greed, power, race and wealth that led to reshaping the rules of Wall Street and the world. Directed by Jackie Maxwell, Junk runs April 5 - May 5, 2019 in the Fichandler Stage.

Producer Ken Davenport (Once on This Island, Spring Awakening) has obtained the Broadway stage rights to the life story of the great American singer, songwriter, actor and activist, Harry Belafonte.