The Trial - 1955 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 6

The Finborough Theatre's 'Celebrating British Music Theatre' series follows Perchance to Dream with Ivor Novello's last musical.

The Finborough Theatre's 'Celebrating British Music Theatre' series follows Perchance to Dream with Ivor Novello's last musical.

For many Americans - okay, white suburban middle classers into traditional gender roles - the 1950s was an idyllic time when the country could rest easily with our post-war status as the world's super-power before the internal unrest of the 60s began exposing the ugly imperfections.  For stressed out, caffeinated 21st Century urbanites, a trip to the world depicted in period sitcoms like Father Knows Best and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet or the nostalgic recreation, Happy Days, might offer a welcome mental vacation to a less-complicated era of structured roles and lower expectations.  Or perhaps even a permanent lifestyle change.

No matter how early you enter the house for New York Theatre Workshop's production of Once, the play is already well underway.  Most of the thirteen-member ensemble, all of whom play musical instruments, seem to have long been gathered inside designer Bob Crowley's cozy Dublin pub, playing traditional folk songs, dancing a bit and singing their hearts out.  The festive mood resembles the kind of improvised jam session you might luckily stumble upon some night and never want to leave, especially since audience members are welcome to join them on stage, purchase a drink or two and linger a while.

The new DC area theatre season begins in September. Over 50 shows are opening in our professional and community theatres. But before we move on to the new season and what's opening in September, let's look back at my personal favorite musicals, plays, and performances in both musicals and plays in the DC area - from August 2010 to August 2011.

Oak Park Festival Theatre announces its 2011-2012 performance season. Following last year's successful four-play season, there will be two productions indoors, in addition to the two outdoors in Austin Gardens.

Laurence Luckinbill, award-winning actor and Abingdon Theatre Company Honorary Board Member, will read his one-person show CLARENCE DARROW TONIGHT! at the June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street) on June 19 at 7:00pm; all tickets are $25 and include a wine reception following the reading.

According to the NY Times, Tony and Emmy winner Sada Thopson passed away on Wednesday in Danbury, Connecticut from lung disease. She was 83 years old.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is bringing more classics to DVD in May through the unique 'manufacturing on demand' ('MOD'). The newest selection of available films is a part of MGM's Limited Edition Collection and available through major online retailers. The sixth installment of releases ranges from 1938's Mr. Wong, Detective starring Boris Karloff to 1992's Laws of Gravity with Edie Falco.

Three-time Tony Award-winning scenic designer ROBIN WAGNER and esteemed costume designer LEWIS BROWN are among the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, April 8 at 6:30pm at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street). Mr. Brown was selected to receive the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design, and Tony Award-winning scenic designer Robin Wagner will receive the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. Sadly, Mr. Brown passed away in January of 2011. His award will be accepted by his long-time colleague and friend, Albert Wolsky, who was the recipient of the 2010 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award

Act II Playhouse continues its 2010-2011 season with the first American production of The Pride of Parnell Street (March 22-April 13) by renowned Irish playwright Sebastian Barry.

Three-time Tony Award-winning scenic designer ROBIN WAGNER and esteemed costume designer LEWIS BROWN are among the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, April 8 at 6:30pm at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street). Mr. Brown was selected to receive the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design, and Tony Award-winning scenic designer Robin Wagner will receive the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. Sadly, Mr. Brown passed away in January of 2011. His award will be accepted by his long-time colleague and friend, Albert Wolsky, who was the recipient of the 2010 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award

Act II Playhouse continues its 2010-2011 season with the first American production of The Pride of Parnell Street (March 22-April 13) by renowned Irish playwright Sebastian Barry.

Why watch a movie at home when you can celebrate cinema the way it was meant to be seen! This August, the Palace Theatre will once again play host to screening classic cinema from Hollywood's Golden Era of the 1930's through the special effects laden 1980's!

Why watch a movie at home when you can celebrate cinema the way it was meant to be seen! This August, the Palace Theatre will once again play host to screening classic cinema from Hollywood's Golden Era of the 1930's through the special effects laden 1980's!

Outfest, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing, showcasing and protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) images, has announced an original and diverse programming lineup for Outfest 2010: The 28th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. The nation's leading LGBT festival and the oldest film festival in the city will be held July 8 to 18.

Why watch a movie at home when you can celebrate cinema the way it was meant to be seen! This August, the Palace Theatre will once again play host to screening classic cinema from Hollywood's Golden Era of the 1930's through the special effects laden 1980's!

Outfest, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing, showcasing and protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) images, has announced an original and diverse programming lineup for Outfest 2010: The 28th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. The nation's leading LGBT festival and the oldest film festival in the city will be held July 8 to 18.

The American judicial system is as much on trial as the defendant when twelve diverse jurors dramatically wrestle with their civic duty. Locked in a jury room, tempers flare and frustration abounds as their own prejudices, fears, and cultural biases boil to the surface in what was expected to be an open-and-shut case of an inner-city teen on trial for the murder of his abusive father.

David Troughton joins Kevin Spacey to lead the cast in Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's explosive courtroom classic Inherit the Wind directed by Trevor Nunn. Inherit the Wind plays at The Old Vic, London 18 September - 20 December 2009, with a Press Night set for Thursday, 1 October 2009.

The American judicial system is as much on trial as the defendant when twelve diverse jurors dramatically wrestle with their civic duty. Locked in a jury room, tempers flare and frustration abounds as their own prejudices, fears, and cultural biases boil to the surface in what was expected to be an open-and-shut case of an inner-city teen on trial for the murder of his abusive father.

Veteran actors Ed Dixon and Scott Jaeck lead the cast of The Cleveland Play House production of Inherit the Wind, written by Jerome Lawrence & Robert Edwin Lee and directed by Associate Artistic Director Seth Gordon.

David Troughton joins Kevin Spacey to lead the cast in Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's explosive courtroom classic Inherit the Wind directed by Trevor Nunn. Inherit the Wind plays at The Old Vic, London 18 September - 20 December 2009, with a Press Night set for Thursday, 1 October 2009.

David Troughton joins Kevin Spacey to lead the cast in Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's explosive courtroom classic Inherit the Wind directed by Trevor Nunn. Inherit the Wind plays at The Old Vic, London 18 September - 20 December 2009, with a Press Night set for Thursday, 1 October 2009.

Inherit the Wind star Brian Dennehy will be interviewed on 'Theater Talk' this Friday, July 6th at 12:30 AM.