BWW Reviews: Variations on a Theme - Three Musicals, THE COLOR PURPLE, CALVIN BERGER, and LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, All Speak to Beauty and Self-Worth
by Jill Schafer - Jan 27, 2015
At first glance, the musicals THE COLOR PURPLE, CALVIN BERGER, and LA CAGE AUX FOLLES may not seem to have much in common. The settings couldn't be more different - the rural South in the early 20th century, a modern day high school, and a drag club in 1970s France. But since I happened to see them all on the same weekend, I couldn't help but draw parallels between them. All three musicals all speak to themes of beauty, identity, self-worth, and having the courage to be who you really are, despite what the world is telling you. In THE COLOR PURPLE, a young, poor, black woman is told that she's ugly and worthless, but after a lifelong journey she arrives at a place of strength and self-love. CALVIN BERGER sets the classic play Cyrano de Bergerac in a modern high school, where a young man feels that his large nose prevents him from getting what he wants in life and chooses to hide behind the handsome popular guy, both of whom eventually learn it's better to be loved for who you are. Finally, in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, a middle aged man who feels more comfortable dressed as a woman is asked by his own son to hide who he is, but confidently declares 'I am who I am!' Another thing these three musicals have in common is that they can all currently be seen on Twin Cities stages featuring talented local casts. Read on for more details on each, pick one that suits your fancy, and go see a local musical that just may inspire you to love you you really are!
BILLY JOEL's Complete Studio Albums Catalog For iTunes, Available Today
by Caryn Robbins - Jan 21, 2014
Columbia Records and LegacyRecordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, announce therelease ofBilly Joel - The Complete AlbumsCollection, all ofthe artist's studio albums now Mastered For iTunes, available today on iTunes:iTunes.com/BillyJoel.
Casting Announced for BLACK BATTLES WITH DOGS at Southwark Playhouse
by Kelsey Denette - Mar 22, 2012
Three Europeans are isolated on the construction site of a western company in the heart of Africa, surrounded by barbed wire fences. High up on the watchtowers above, African security guards call out in the night to one another in throat songs to keep awake. As evening falls, a mysterious man, Alboury, penetrates the camp. When it emerges that he has come to demand the body of his brother who died that day in unknown circumstances, the ensuing action leads to a disturbing twist of events.
Columbia/Legacy Recordings Commemorates Billy Joel's 40-Year Solo Career With Two Special Releases
by Gabrielle Sierra - Sep 20, 2011
Columbia/Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, is commemorating forty years of Billy Joel's career as a solo recording artist with a pair of historic releases - a limited edition Billy Joel - The Complete Albums Collection boxed set and a two-disc Legacy Edition of 1973's Piano Man album (exclusively featuring a long-lost fabled radio concert from 1972) - each appealing to aficionados of the iconic American singer-songwriter-performer.
Syracuse Theater Pioneer Joseph Lotito Dies at 82
by Jessica Lewis - Oct 27, 2009
Joseph Lotito, one of the pioneers of Syracuse's community theater scene and Founder/Executive Director of Salt City Center for the Performing Arts, died of heart failure at the age of 82 on Sunday.
