The Mother of Us All - 1983 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 8

Joseph Robinette's adaptation of Jean Shepherd's beloved Yuletide story doesn't make all the right moves, but A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL will still warm your holiday spirit if you're patient with it.

Hershey Area Playhouse is proud to present its holiday production, A Christmas Story.

The play is no longer titled TORCH SONG TRILOGY and the venue is no longer known as The Little Theatre, but there's still a marvelous homecoming taking place at The Helen Hayes, where Second Stage's recent Off-Broadway revival of Harvey Fierstein's groundbreaking TORCH SONG has transferred to the home of its historic original Broadway run.

The Verdi Chorus 35th anniversary season culminates with its Fall 2018 concert Passione! Opera! for two performances only at the First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica on November 10 and 11 led by Founding Artistic Director Anne Marie Ketchum. As the only choral group in Southern California that focuses primarily on the dramatic and diverse music for opera chorus, this program, which marks the end of a landmark year for the company, will feature selections from three Verdi operas - Aida, Don Carlo, and the famed chorus "Va, pensiero," from Nabucco, as well as operatic sequences from Boito's Mefistofele, Saint-Saens' Samson and Delilah, Catalani's La Wally and Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann.

Align Entertainment presents the hilarious holiday classic A Christmas Story: The Musical from November 2-17, 2018, at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby. The multi-Ovation Award-winning producers have assembled a talented cast of local stars and young up-and-comers for the heartfelt Broadway adaptation of Jean Shepherd and Bob Clark's 1983 film. The musical is set to an infectiously delightful score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (creators of La La Land and The Greatest Showman), and follows the story of 9-year-old Ralphie Parker, who wants nothing more for Christmas than an official Red Ryder Carbine Action BB gun. The story is a celebration of childhood and imaginative discovery, a triumphant family-friendly experience that will hit home with anyone who ever desperately wanted a toy during the holidays.

No need to bury the lede: this production of LES MISERABLES is the most true-to-Broadway theatrical experience I have ever had outside of the Great White Way. Cameron Mackintosh's subtle updates breathe new life into the classic material, and deliver one of those rarified theatrical moments in which everything comes together as intended - the kind of show where you catch yourself holding your breath, lest you miss a moment.

Zhong-Jing Fang was promoted to soloist at the American Ballet Theatre in 2018, the first Chinese ballerina to be promoted to soloist since Yan Chen in 1993. Almost ten years ago, she tore her posterior tibial tendon in her right foot during a rehearsal. Doctors told her that the chances of her returning to the stage were extremely slim.

The Verdi Chorus 35th anniversary season culminates with its Fall 2018 concert Passione! Opera! for two performances only at the First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica on November 10 and 11 led by Founding Artistic Director Anne Marie Ketchum.   As the only choral group in Southern California that focuses primarily on the dramatic and diverse music for opera chorus, this program, which marks the end of a landmark year for the company, will feature selections from three Verdi operas - Aida, Don Carlo, and the famed chorus 'Va, pensiero,' from Nabucco, as well as operatic sequences from Boito's Mefistofele, Saint-Saens' Samson and Delilah, Catalani's La Wally and Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann.

San Diego Repertory Theatre announced the cast lineup for Fun Home, one of the most celebrated musicals in recent Broadway history. Fun Home is the coming-out memoir of Alison Bechdel, an exploration of family, memory, first love and a daughter's relationship with her father. Fun Home was nominated for 12 Tony Awards in 2015 winning five including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Leading Actor and Actress in a Musical. Fun Home was also winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical and the Obie Award for Musical Theatre.

For more than a half-century, the embrace between Cuba and the United States has been subject to an odd dance of politics, including a still-standing embargo. Nevertheless, the bond between the two nations is deep and strong as ever, expressed most forcefully through the dance of culture-especially music. 

'An Evening With Greg Brown' is set for the Boulder Theater today, June 22, 2018.

In the opening scene of PARALLEL LIVES, two Supreme Beings plan the beginning of the world with the relish of two slightly sadistic suburban wives decorating a living room. From this moment, the audience is whisked through a series of skits that catapult them into the outrageous universe of comediennes Kathy Najimy and Maureen (Mo) Gaffney. Najimy and Gaffney first performed PARALLEL LIVES in 1983 at The Old Town Theatre in San Diego. Six years later, they opened the show off-Broadway at The Westside Theatre in New York and in 1991, PARALLEL LIVES became an HBO special. Later this month, Emily Levinstone and Keith Liles step into Kathy and Mo's shoes for the opening of PARALLEL LIVES at Burning Coal Theatre as part of the North Carolina Women's Theatre Festival. Judy Long, who is making her Raleigh directorial debut, says the show covers themes that are relevant today as they were 35 years ago, including women's rights, LGBTQ rights, and acceptance. Gaffney and Long opened up about the relevancy of PARALLEL LIVES 35 years later.

Irondale, Brooklyn's leading theatrical ensemble producing immersive and non-traditional performance experiences, will present the M. Edgar Rosenblum Award to American actor, author and playwright, Alan Alda. The award will be presented at Irondale's 35th Anniversary Celebration Benefit, May 10, 2018, at the Norwood Club in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. 

The Warner Stage Company will present the final performances of THE FULL MONTY on the Warner Theatre Main Stage May 11 and 12 at 8 pmand May 13 at 2 pm. Don't miss the most highly anticipated closing number of any show!

 A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, is bringing back its smash hit production of MICHAEL FRAYN's hilarious NOISES OFF from now until Saturday, May 26, 2018, reviving a critical and audience favorite for all to enjoy. Two performances on Saturday, May 26 were just added due to popular demand.

Irondale, Brooklyn's leading theatrical ensemble producing immersive and non-traditional performance experiences, will present the M. Edgar Rosenblum Award to American actor, author and playwright, Alan Alda. The award will be presented at Irondale's 35th Anniversary Celebration Benefit, May 10, 2018, at the Norwood Club in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. 

The Alliance Theatre is making another stop on the road, this time at the Fulton County Southwest Arts Center where they're presenting a pair of one-act plays, Hospice and Pointing at the Moon, both by celebrated playwright Pearl Cleage.  BroadwayWorld caught up with Pearl Cleage to talk about her work. 

Artistic Director Braden Abraham today announced Seattle Repertory Theatre's new eight-play 2018/2019 season, which features a sweeping theatrical adaptation of a best-selling novel, a world premiere from a local playwright, a Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical, a thriller direct from London's West End, and more.

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, is bringing back its smash hit production of MICHAEL FRAYN's hilarious NOISES OFF from Saturday, April 21 to Sunday, May 20, 2018, reviving a critical and audience favorite for all to enjoy. Featuring most of the original A Noise Within cast, Noises Off, directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott, pays tribute to the art of theatre-making itself as chaos reigns onstage and off.

The Old Globe, together with Children's Theatre Company (CTC), and in partnership with The Old Vic, today announced details for the Minneapolis and San Diego productions of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax in its U.S. premiere. The production, based on the book The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, is adapted for the stage by David Greig (Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company; recent work: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Cover My Tracks) with music and lyrics written by Charlie Fink (Frontman/songwriter for the hit musical group, Noah and the Whale (2007-2015). H. Adam Harris, along with Meghan Kreidler and Rick Miller puppeteering, will play The Lorax. Joining them is Steven Epp as The Once-ler. Playing multiple roles in the ensemble are Ansa Akyea, Christopher Becknell, Stephanie Bertumen, Brian Bose, Ryan Colbert, Lynnea Doublette, Johannah "Joh" Easley, Rajane Katurah, Ryan Lear, Ryan Dean Maltz, Emily Michaels King, and Autumn Ness.

Epic reunions and not-to-be-missed intimate conversations will take center stage during the 17th annual Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, running April 18-29. Tribeca will celebrate the anniversaries of Schindler's List, Scarface, and In the Soup, bringing three classics back to the big screen.

With ELECTRICITY, the hit LGBT comedy/drama starring stars Terry Ray ('My Sister is So Gay') & Mel England ('Best Day Ever'), sparks fly again in Palm Springs April 9-11. This  immersive theater experience plays inside an actual motel room at INNdulge Resort, 601 S. Grenfall Rd., Palm Springs, CA. I had the opportunity to catch up with the actors as they prepare for this upcoming engagement to talk about their own careers and coming together for this very unique production. Here are a few experts from that conversation:

Stanislav Ioudenitch, Artistic Director of Park International Center for Music (Park ICM), announced today that their spring season kicks off in March with a world-class European performer never before heard in Kansas City and in one of Kansas City's acoustical gems, the 1900 Building in Mission Woods, Kansas. "We adore performing in the wonderful spaces of the 1900 Building," said Ioudenitch. "Between their 300-seat Parkway Room and their more intimate Rose Hall (75-150), they can accommodate our different needs as both of their halls can be "tuned" according to our performance requirements. It is truly a hidden jewel that is just being discovered in the Kansas City arts public."

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, located at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, announces its Spring 2018 season of public programs. The season features free public programs throughout the fall and winter, with contemporary theatre and performing artists from around the world.