The Show Off - 1950 - Broadway Articles Page 19

Ray of Light's (ROL's) production of The Rocky Horror Show filled me with hope for the youth of America. Lest that sound a bit strange, allow me to explain. Yes, ROL's a?oeRockya?? delivers in spades on the sexy entertainment value of this transgressive, go-for-broke show. But a?" it is also grounded in layers and layers of queer showbiz history even though it is presented by performers and designers who are way too young to have been around for the real thing. Taking the written-in-the-1970s-but-set-in-the-1950s show as its starting point, this production adds loopy gay cultural references from the 1930s right up to the present day - as if concocted by some crazed drag queen and thrown into a blender to see if it will explode. Surprisingly, it never does and it somehow all works.

From the heartwarming story of the mean old Grinch to an evening of impressive moves by your TV favorites from So You Think You Can Dance, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is your holiday season headquarters for live entertainment with programming fit for the entire family. Tickets for the following engagements are on sale now at TheSmithCenter.com.

Just in time for Halloween, Marietta Theatre Company serves up a campy combo of Grease meets The Walking Dead with Zombie Prom, running at the Lyric Studio on the Square from October 18 - November 2. This 1950's musical was first produced at the Red Barn Theatre, Key West, Florida in 1993. It opened off-Broadway in New York City at the Variety Arts Theatre in 1996, later opening in London with a UK premiere at the off-West End Landor Theatre in 2009.

Today, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre announced a brand new season of shows, taking audiences into the autumn of 2020 with a variety of hit musicals, classic dramas, one night concerts, opera, dance and comedy.

The Watermill Theatre today announces its new season for Spring 2020. The new programme draws on and develops The Watermill's long history of reinventing established musical theatre titles, daring ensemble Shakespeare productions and pertinent contemporary writing.

The 19/20 theatrical season has seen several milestones for many of its area theatres but the biggest by far is the 70th anniversary of the company that helped pioneer the regional theatre movement in this country Arena Stage.

Set upon the picturesque banks of the Hudson River and immersed in vibrant autumnal foliage, celebrated companies and artists presented diverse and world-class dance at this year's  Hudson Valley Dance Festival on Saturday, October 12, 2019, in Catskill, NY. Two performances at Historic Catskill Point raised $145,964 for Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. 

Watching Richard O'Brien's a?oeThe Rocky Horror Showa?? at San Jose Stage Company, I was struck by what an odd duck the show is. There really is nothing else even remotely like it in the musical theater canon. At this point in its stage-to-screen-back-to-stage evolution, it invites you not just to experience the live stage play unfolding in front of you, but also encourages you to re-enact own your own experience of having seen the movie, probably decades ago. To aid in the latter, goody bags including all the necessary accoutrements such as newspaper, squirt guns, toilet paper, etc. are available in the lobby at 5 bucks a pop. Audience members gleefully shout out all the expected callbacks from midnight screenings of yore (a?oeAsshole!a??, a?oeSlut!a??) while engaging in a playful competition to come up with the most clever and unexpected contemporary retorts. Surely audiences in the late 1970's did not reference such things as Mar-a-Lago. So here we have a show set more or less in the 1950's, written in the 1970's, and with references to 2019. Talk about your time warp!  

Located at 330 N. Broadway inside First United Methodist Church is the Forum Theatre Company. Under artistic director Kathryn Page Hauptman, her current production of Memphis The Musical is nothing short of being truly incredible earning her a firm reputation of being a convincing story telling director. Taking place in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1950's among a racially divided south, the show depicts exactly what the city is best known for: being the birthplace of rock n' roll. With a well-rounded, talented cast, stunning lightning and set design plus rocking choreography, this show will captivate you from start to finish drawing anyone in our own city looking for quality, music theatre entertainment next to Broadway. The show runs September 26 through October 13th under permission of Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

Written by Dann Berg and Avital Asuleen (Director/Choreographer), THE FLOORSHOW intersperses song-and-dance numbers into the dramatization of the personal and professional hurdles that an all-female performance troupe faces in 1951 New York City. Moving between onstage and backstage at The Gilded Palace, THE FLOORSHOW nests an emotionally rich female-sisterhood narrative within a framework of creative competition and sexism.

a??a??a??a??a??a??a?? the american vicarious proudly presents the World Premiere of (A)loft Modulation by NYC-based playwright Jaymes Jorsling. Inspired by true events at 821 6th Avenue from 1957 - 1965,  (A)loft Modulation will feature a live jazz band led by saxophonist Jonathan Beshay that will improvise nightly. Opening Night is tonight, Thursday October 3rd. This limited Off-Broadway engagement runs through Sunday, October 27th.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature ALMOST FAMOUS, Rob McClure As MRS. DOUBTFIRE, and more!

In the annals of musical theater, Norma Desmond is one of those larger than life characters, like Mame Dennis, Dolly Levi, and Eva Peron, who cries out for an actor with a specific and rare combination of skills to play the role. Tony Award-winner Alice Ripley ascends to playing the faded silent-screen star in the North Shore Music Theatre production of SUNSET BOULEVARD, after originating the role of Betty Schaefer in the 1994 original Broadway cast which starred Glenn Close. In so doing, Ripley joins the pantheon of singular talents who have put their personal stamp on the musical iteration of Norma, stepping out of the shadow of the indelible mark Gloria Swanson made on celluloid in Billy Wilder's 1950 film.

a??a??a??a??a??a??a?? the american vicarious proudly presents the World Premiere of (A)loft Modulation by NYC-based playwright Jaymes Jorsling. Inspired by true events at 821 6th Avenue from 1957 - 1965,  (A)loft Modulation will feature a live jazz band led by saxophonist Jonathan Beshay that will improvise nightly. Previews begin tonight, Thursday September 26th, with Opening Night set for Thursday, October 3rd. This limited Off-Broadway engagement runs through Sunday, October 27th.

Children's Musical Theater San Jose (CMT San Jose), a nationally acclaimed theater company honored 11 times by the NEA and the oldest operating performing arts organization in San Jose, has announced its 52nd Season of shows.

The London Theatre Company by special arrangement with Elliott & Harper Productions and Catherine Schreiber, presents the much-celebrated Leeds Playhouse production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe over the 2019/20 festive season at the Bridge.

The 32nd Annual Virginia Film Festival will feature a deep and diverse program of more than 150 films, including some of the hottest titles on the festival circuit today, and an array of special guests from throughout the industry, and from across the globe. This year's lineup includes award-winning actor, writer, and director Ethan Hawke, noted actor Ann Dowd, international bestselling author John Grisham, actor Dennis Christopher, acclaimed filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu - plus more than 100 filmmakers in all.

After graduating from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts in 1953, Barry Yellen wore many hats: stage manager, lighting designer, car show producer, managing director, touring show booker, film producer and distributor, fund manager.

a??a??a??a??a??a??a??Beck Center for the Arts is pleased to produce The Member of the Wedding, directed by regional talent Eric Schmiedl. This limited engagement runs October 4 through November 3, in the Studio Theater. This intimate performance space puts the audience in the middle of this regal family drama. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Buy early and save with promo code: FRANKIE to receive $5 off each adult/senior ticket purchased by Oct 3, 2019. Preview performance is the Thursday before opening night, October 3. Opening Night is Friday, Oct 4. Tickets range from $10 Smart Seats to $33 each. Group and student discounts are available.  Tickets are on sale now.

Born Yesterday opens Venice Theatre's 70th MainStage Season on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. It will keep audiences laughing through Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets begin at $27 for adults, $17 for college students, and $15 for youth through 12th grade. They are available online at www.venicetheatre.org or by calling the box office at 941.488.1115.

Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel's soaring romantic and tragic musical a?oeLight in the Piazzaa?? is not often tackled a?? thank the theater Gods. I'm not saying it's bad by any stretch of the imagination, it's just that I'd hate to see every small company, without the resources to handle it well, take it on. Fortunately, they've built in a few traps that may dissuade. First off, it's not your typical, rollicking musical with songs you'll be singing after. Second, there's all that Italian that your cast needs to learn and deliver authentically. And finally, it's some tough music. It needs to be done by insanely talented professionals who can handle these beautiful melodies that fly up into the rafters (often in Italian) as well as the heartfelt story. Enter Showtunes Theatre as they begin their 20th season, who routinely gather together the cream of the crop of Seattle artists for just a few weekends, books in hand, and you'll find yourself gifted with the mind-blowingly gorgeous evening that is their current production of a?oeLight in the Piazzaa??.

Things are about to get a little 'RUTHLESS' at Theater UnCorked with their production of Joel Paley and Marvin Laird's RUTHLESS! The Musical!

The American Theatre Wing's Jonathan Larson and MAC's John Wallowitch Award-winning writer Joel B. New presents the concert premiere of Monkey Trouble Unleashed! at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre on Sunday, October 6th at 6:30pm. A mashup parody of an action thriller starring Jet Li and a family film starring a Capuchin monkey, this genre-bending musical comedy tells the story of a man who wears a collar and is trained to attack whenever it is removed. Featuring original songs with titles like a?oeDon't Make A Monkey Out of Me,a?? a?oe(Help Me) Move This Body,a?? a?oeWelcome To My Deathmatch,a?? and a?oeMonkey See! Monkey Kill!a??

a??a??a??a??a??a??a??the american vicarious proudly presents the World Premiere of (A)loft Modulation by NYC-based playwright Jaymes Jorsling. Inspired by true events at 821 6th Avenue from 1957 - 1965,  (A)loft Modulation will feature a live jazz band led by saxophonist Jonathan Beshay that will improvise nightly. Previews begin Thursday September 26th with Opening Night set for Thursday, October 3rd. This limited Off-Broadway engagement runs through Sunday, October 27th.