The Mother of Us All - 1983 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 6

It's hard to believe, but the ever-youthful, trailblazing actor/writer/comedian Marga Gomez is now well into the fourth decade of her remarkable career. Known for her funny and touching solo theater pieces as well as her uproarious standup comedy, Gomez recently revived her hit play Not Getting Any Younger for the MarshStream International Solo Fest where it won the award for Best Solo Show. In the play, Gomez weaves commentary through hilarious surreal life vignettes like little Marga visiting the worst amusement park ever with her showgirl mom in tow, and adult Marga trying to get a senior discount at Forever 21. In a swift 55 minutes, Gomez looks back on how even an outspoken lesbian can find herself in the closet for women of a certain age. Luckily for viewers everywhere, Gomez is now reprising the show for two more livestreamed performances on December 5th and 6th. Additional details can be found on the MarshStream website. BroadwayWorld recently chatted by phone with Gomez from her home in the Glen Park neighborhood of San Francisco. Our conversation delved into how she adapted Not Getting Any Younger for virtual performance, her experience as one of the first successful, out lesbian comedians, and her colorful family history in the Latino variety show world. Offstage, she is much as you would expect - naturally warm, funny and down-to-earth - but also surprisingly nerdy about the careful technique that goes into making a successful virtual performance.

Film at Lincoln Center announced today that Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock will be the Opening Night film of the 58th New York Film Festival, making its World Premiere.

DIAVOLO/Architecture in Motion's The Veteran Project will premiere its THIS IS ME: LETTERS FROM THE FRONT LINES on The Soraya Facebook page Friday July 31 at 4p PST. Returning to The Soraya for their fourth engagement, DIAVOLO's latest movement piece deals with our current pandemic isolation from the first responders' perspectives. DIAVOLO/Architecture in Motion's founder and artistic director Jacques Heim, who directed and choreographed THIS IS ME: LETTERS FROM THE FRONT LINES, shared some behind-the-scenes of THIS IS ME and background of the performing company he founded in 1992.

Happy Gay Pride! BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest LGBTQ songs and anthems from 1920-2020. See if your favorite songs or artists made the grade!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest protest songs from 1939-2020. See if your favorite songs or artists made the list!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest Motown songs from 1960-1994. See if your favorite songs or artists made the list!

Queer|Art, New York City's home for the creative and professional development of LGBTQ+ artists, is pleased to announce the upcoming summer season of Queer|Art|Film, taking place online May 25th-August 17th.

Cabaret's most celebrated and venerated emcee didn't let a little thing like a shelter in place order keep him from entertaining the masses. He just took his cast party to bed. Everyone into your PJ's!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best musical theatre characters from 1940-2020; see if your favorites are on our list of the best characters from Broadway musicals.

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best TV episodes from the 1950's to 2020; see if your favorites made the list!

The Beatles! Rihanna! Michael Jackson! Johnny Cash! Kanye West! The Rolling Stones! Aretha Franklin! Bob Dylan! Miles Davis! Nirvana! BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the greatest albums from the rock and rap era (1950-2020); see if your favorites made the grade!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the greatest theatrical works (non-musical) from 1920-2020; see if your favorites made the list!

The theatre landscape has changed dramatically since the 1977 premier of Abigail's Party but Leigh remains as real, raw and relevant as ever before. At 77 the writer / director shows no signs of slowing down. After venturing into period pieces with Topsy-Turvey and Mr Turner, Leigh's most recent picture Peterloo is his most ambitious yet. We've put together a list of Leigh's top ten works.

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best film musicals since the sound era began; see if your favorites made the list!

How do we make a list of the 101 greatest show tunes from the past 100 years? Well, we did the near-impossible task.  Check out our full list here! 

While Jobsite's production of DOUBT, A Parable, is temporarily suspended in light of the current national health crisis, the resident theater company of the Straz Center is not delaying the release of their new season.

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

Undermain Theatre presents Whither Goest Thou America: a new work festival.

Mabou Mines, the esteemed experimental theater company, and Weathervane Productions, in association with Philip Glass' Days and Nights Festival, add free documentary film screening and Promenade concert performance, and announce complete casting for a unique upcoming celebration of legendary playwright and director María Irene Fornés. The February 21-March 7 engagement centers on the New York premiere of Philip Glass' transformation of her five-page play Drowning into an opera and a version of Fornés' acclaimed Mud. JoAnne Akalaitis directs these two intimate productions-both with new music composed by Glass-at Mabou Mines (150 First Avenue).

Now available from Harper Collins is Richie Jackson's Gay Like Me- a poignant and urgent love letter to his son. In the new book, the award-winning Broadway, TV and film producer reflects on his experiences as a gay man in America and the progress and setbacks of the LGBTQ community over the last 50 years.

Neil Simon's indecision about genre in Brighton Beach Memoirs was related to his problem being direct about his parents. A true account would necessarily have revealed their fighting, his father's desertions and infidelities, and the eventual failure of their marriage, and could only have been presented as a tragedy or melodrama. A comedy (and Brighton Beach is formally a comedy) would need to present a sanitized version of what Simon remembered; it would satisfy his audience (which expected comedies) and his parents, but it would also come further from the flavor Simon wanted to present. What we get in consequence is a play in three somewhat inconsistent genres.

Sundance Institute will gather 25 celebrated and revered expert voices across film, art, culture and science to award feature-length and short films shown at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival with 31 prizes, announced at a ceremony February 1. Short Film Awards will be announced at a separate ceremony on January 28. The Festival takes place January 23 through February 2 in Park City, Salt Lake City and Sundance, Utah.

2019 has come and gone, and we are reflecting on those we have lost in the Broadway and theatre communities throughout the year.

Actor/playwright Doug Haverty will become Group Rep's new artistic director in January 2020. In our conversation he tells our readers in great detail about the upcoming season and talks in depth about his vision for the theater. How long have you been a member of Group Rep? DH: I started in 1983, so 36 years.

Birdland Jazz Club has released its schedule for December 30-January 12. Performers include Marilyn Maye, John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey Duo, The Billy Stritch Trio, and more.