This Rock - 1943 - Broadway Articles Page 14

The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, offers the finest in world-class Classic Soul, R&B, Traditional Pop, Jazz, Comedy, Revue and Cabaret entertainment.

Jack Viertel, Artistic Director of New York City Center's Encores! series, today announced the final two directors for the 2012 Encores! season.

Jack Viertel, Artistic Director of New York City Center's Encores! series, today announced the final two directors for the 2012 Encores! season. As previously announced, James Lapine will direct the first Encores! show of the season, Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, opening on February 8, 2012. Marc Bruni will direct Rodgers and Hammerstein's rarely seen Pipe Dream, opening on March 28¸ and John Rando will direct Jule Styne and Leo Robin's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes opening on May 9. Music Director Rob Berman will conduct all three musicals. This year, the number of performances has been expanded: Pipe Dream and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes will play for seven performances each, and Merrily We Roll Along, extended for a two-week run, will play for 15 performances.

The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, offers world-class Classic Soul, R&B, Traditional Pop, Jazz, Comedy, Revue and Cabaret entertainment.

New York City Center will reopen following a historic renovation and modernization with a star-studded gala on October 25. The event will kick off a celebratory season of new and expanded programming, festivals, exhibits, a special commission, and performances by world-class dance and theater companies. The renovation, designed by Ennead Architects, LLP (formerly Polshek Partnership), has transformed the landmark building into a contemporary cultural center complete with modern amenities and enhanced historic details, from the mezzanine lobby's painted ceiling and murals to the auditorium's arabesque dome. City Center is located on 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.

On Thursday, August 4, the 33rd annual Seaside Summer Concert Series at Coney Island, hosted by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, will proudly welcome the one and only Aretha Franklin.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced a full slate of musical productions, a developmental reading series and special events for their eighth annual festival. This year's Festival will begin September 26th and continue through October 16th.

On Thursday, August 4, the 33rd annual Seaside Summer Concert Series at Coney Island, hosted by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, will proudly welcome the one and only Aretha Franklin.

The award-winning East Lynne Theater Company is proud to present a world premiere based on the works of this famous Algonquin Round Table personality. Titled 'The World of Dorothy Parker,' it is adapted and directed by Gayle Stahlhuth, and runs Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. from July 27- Sept. 3 at The First Presbyterian Church

Audiences of all ages will fall in love with Pittsburgh CLO's production of The Sound of Music, July 19-31 at the Benedum Center. T

Joshua William Gelb's Blind Alley Guy: Notes for an Unfinished Play by Eugene O'Neill plays June 23 - July 2

New York City Center's 19th Encores! season will open in City Center's newly restored and renovated theater on February 8, 2012 with Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, and will continue with Rodgers and Hammerstein's rarely seen Pipe Dream on March 28¸ followed by Jule Styne and Leo Robin's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on May 9. For the first time, each musical will play for seven performances.

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.

The Open Fist Theatre Company is thrilled to announce the second production of its 2011 Season, the Los Angeles premiere of a newly revised version of Sam Shepard's CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS, directed by Scott Paulin (who played Wesley in Magic Theatre's production where Mr. Shepard was playwright-in-residence).

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

Following the opening of Terence Rattigan's Flare Path, the Theatre Royal Haymarket Company today (1 April 2011) announce a further two productions to be directed by Trevor Nunn in his role as Artistic Director. After a three week run at the Chichester Festival Theatre, Nunn's production of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead comes to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in June, followed in September by William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Further productions in the season will be announced shortly.

The Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz and the Institute of Contemporary American Music presents a Master Class with Bob Dorough Wednesday, March 30, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, in Room 342, Fuller Music Center.

The Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz and the Institute of Contemporary American Music presents a Master Class with Bob Dorough Wednesday, March 30, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, in Room 342, Fuller Music Center.

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

Rochelle Slovin, Director of Museum of the Moving Image, today announced the complete schedule for the screenings and programs that will celebrate the grand re-opening of America's only museum dedicated to film, television, and digital media.

Rochelle Slovin, Director of Museum of the Moving Image, today announced the complete schedule for the screenings and programs that will celebrate the grand re-opening of America's only museum dedicated to film, television, and digital media.

One of the most beloved and enduring characters in the history of American popular culture is aiming to finally make her way to the Broadway stage. Hazel - the saucy maid whose wry attitude, infallible wisdom and heart of gold has captured the hearts of millions for more than 60 years - will be in the spotlight again in an exciting new Broadway musical with music by composer Ron Abel and lyrics by Chuck Steffan. The veteran duo has acquired the rights to Hazel from the estate of creator Ted Key and are hoping to bring the show to the Great White Way in 2011.

New York City Center's seventh annual Fall for Dance Festival, running September 28 - October 9, will showcase 20 national and international companies and choreographers. With ticket prices remaining at $10 for all seats, a night of dance is more affordable than a night at the movies. The festival will include world and U.S. premieres, and will feature several companies making their first U.S. appearances.

The first-ever exhibition of work by Isamu Noguchi to be presented in Greece openson June 27, 2010, at the Museum of Contemporary Art on the island of Andros. Isamu Noguchi: Between East and West, which is on viewthrough September 26, 2010, has been organized by theMuseum of Contemporary Art of the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation in collaboration with The NoguchiMuseum in New York City. Isamu Noguchi: Between East and West includes sculpture, drawings, models, and photographs, illuminating the diversity of Noguchi's body of work.

Rundgren, IU's ninth Wells Professor, will teach the middle two weeks of a four-week, one-credit hour honors course designed for a maximum of 25 Wells Scholars and Hutton Honors Scholars. The class commences in late October and finishes in mid-November. Co-teaching the class will be IU Professor of Music Glenn Gass -- whose relationship with Rundgren helped make the professorship possible -- and IU Distinguished Professor of Sociology Bernice Pescosolido, who was instrumental in helping to plan the course. Gass, a professor at IU's world-class Jacobs School of Music, said he sees Rundgren's engagement at IU as the start of a trend in which legendary rock stars share their knowledge with a new generation. Rundgren, who performs frequently, gave a concert at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University in Indianapolis on Sept. 11. 'Todd is a treasure trove of memories, knowledge, stories . . .,' Gass said. 'This class is a way for him to celebrate what he's done and allows him to share his experiences with students who really want to hear what he has to say.' In addition to learning about the culture, politics and economics of the music business, from the 1970s through today, students will visit Professor of Anthropology Nicholas Toth at IU's Stone Age Institute to view some of the earliest tools used for making music. 'I think the students will love it. For us, the appeal of the class is really both Todd and Glenn,' said Professor of Physics Tim Londergan, director of the Wells Scholars Program. Londergan is a self-professed rock 'n' roll fan who has audited three of Gass' courses. The Rundgren course is currently full with a waiting list, and course auditors/visitors, including IU students not registered for the class, cannot be accommodated. During his stay in Bloomington, Rundgren will give a public lecture titled 'LONGHAIR: Todd Rundgren on the Beatles Effect' at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 in Ballantine Hall 013. He will also present a Halloween-night recital titled 'CLUSTER: The Birth of the T Chord' at 8 p.m. Oct. 31 in Auer Hall. Both are free and open to the public. Gass said he asked Rundgren to talk about the Beatles both because of Rundgren's collaborations with various members of the band and because of the window it will provide into his own music. 'If it was going to be 'Todd talks about Todd,' he may have felt awkward,' Gass said. 'By asking him to talk about the Beatles, we can get more insight into his music, too.' Rundgren's unique associations with the Beatles include a number of covers, participation in the Ringo All-Star Band and co-producing the power pop band Badfinger with George Harrison. When Harrison died, Rundgren did a highly acclaimed version of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' for a tribute album. In 1980, Rundgren and his then-band Utopia, did a loving sendup of the Beatles (Deface the Music) that Gass calls 'just genius.' Rundgren is also a longtime Beatles fan who credits Harrison with inventing the 'lead guitar' player, Gass said. 'When Todd was in the band Nazz, he wasn't the lead singer -- he was the lead guitar player -- which in the 50s meant one of the backup musicians. Because of George, lead guitar now means you're one of the band's leaders.' Glenn Gass Print-Quality Photo Gass initially met Rundgren in Hawaii, when Gass and his wife were on sabbatical for a year (and where they spent the past two summers). 'The kids start taking the bus together and the next thing you know, you're going to cookouts at Todd's,' Gass said. 'I quickly learned that everything they said about him was true. He's brilliant, articulate, really interesting -- and interested in things far beyond his own work and even his music. He's just a really engaged human being.' Rundgren is also known for staying true to his artistic muse. 'He refused to take the easy way out,' Gass said. 'The easy way would have been to do five more songs like 'Hello, It's Me.' He paid a price for that, but in the long run, in 50 years, I think that's why he'll matter more than starts who may have had more hits.' Rundgren was the highest paid producer of the 1970s, producing bands that ranged from the New York Dolls, The Band and Patti Smith to Meat Loaf, Hall & Oates and Cheap Trick. On Aug. 1, 1981 -- the evening MTV debuted with 'Video Kills the Radio Star' by the Buggles -- Rundgren was ready with his music video for 'Time Heals,' which premiered on MTV the same evening. Always a fan of technology, Rundgren made his music available through online downloads about 10 years before iTunes ('Everyone had dial-up connections then,' Gass commented. 'His fate is always to be just a few years ahead of his time.'). Gass said after the Beatles broke up, he was personally attracted to singer-songwriters like James Taylor, Neil Young, Carole King, Joni Mitchell -- and Todd Rundgren. 'Todd was always one of the best and most interesting performers. Even in those early albums, it was clear he wasn't just a singer-songwriter,' Gass said. At turns, Rundgren played with electric guitar or classical riffs, producing his own double album in 1972, on which he also played all of the instruments. From the time he met Rundgren in Hawaii, Gass starting thinking of ways to bring the performer to IU. A confluence of events sparked by a Rundgren speaking engagement at DePauw University led to the IU professorship. DePauw's executive director of media relations, Ken Owen, is 'a huge Todd scholar -- Todd to him is like the Beatles to me,' Gass said. 'All of a sudden it went from being a day dream to being a real possibility, and now it's actually happening,' Gass said. 'He really can call himself Professor Rundgren. This is not a gimmick: He is the Wells Professor.' About the Wells Professorships The Wells professorships are made possible by gifts from the IU classes of 1941, 1942 and 1963. Previous Wells professors have included the Honorable Helen Suzman, a South African political leader (Class of 1941 Wells Professor in 1993), Sir Malcolm Bradbury, a novelist-screenwriter-critic (Class of 1942 Wells Professor in 1997), and Holocaust scholar Christopher Browning (Class of 1943 Wells Professor in 2003). The most recently appointed Wells Professors were Sir (now Lord) Timothy Garden (Class of 1941 Wells Professor) and artist Robert Colescott (Class of 1943 Wells Professor), both of whom taught at IU in 2004.