This and That - 1916 - West End Articles Page 19

The Drama League officially launches DirectorFest tomorrow, a city-wide festival focusing on the art and future of contemporary American stage directing, at various locations around NYC: The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture (18 Bleecker Street), The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas), and The Drama Book Shop (250 West 40th Street) from January 13-22, 2018. Festival details, tickets and additional information are now available at www.directorfest.org, or by calling (212) 244-9494.

A sizzling blend of domestic comedy and romance, symphonic music and opera, thrilling virtuosity and extraordinary artistry, will melt the icy grip of winter this February as The Dallas Opera presents a once-in-a-lifetime pairing: Erich Wolfgang Korngold's rarely performed 1916 opera, The Ring of Polykrates, preceded by the composer's famous Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 that premiered nearly three decades later in 1945.

January 13, 2018, with an added performance on MLK Day, January 15th. Adapted for the stage by Jerome Hairston, with music by Victor Zupanc, the show is inspired by four of Keats' most beloved stories, including the 1963 Caldecott Award-winning The Snowy Day. The show celebrates the wonder of childhood in the city - from making tracks in the freshly fallen snow, to learning how to whistle, to imagining new worlds with a best friend who lives across the hall - these small moments of delight and joy are captured beautifully. Incorporating shadow puppets, songs, mime and humor, the 45 minute show for children will appeal to all ages.

Son of Semele has announced its full line-up of 2018 programming at the Son of Semele Theater, located at 3301 Beverly Boulevard (@Hoover) in Los Angeles.New for 2018, performances in the first two weeks of Son of Semele Ensemble shows will be pay-what-you-can. In addition, Son of Semele continues to offer all patrons a complimentary beverage with proof they took a taxi, Uber or Lyft to the theater.

This winter and spring Bucks County Playhouse offers a full slate of entertainment representing a wide variety of musical, comedy and special event performances as part of the Visiting Artists Series at the Playhouse.

Joshua Weilerstein will conduct the New York Philharmonic in a French program spotlighting Ravel. The program he will lead, in which he is replacing Charles Dutoit (who withdrew from the performances), remains unchanged: the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet as soloist; Le Tombeau de Couperin; Valses nobles et sentimentales; Bol ro; and Ravel's orchestration of Debussy's Sarabande et Danse, Wednesday, January 17, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 19 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, January 20 at 8:00 p.m.

Cast announced for NYC Premiere of The Snowy Day and Other Stories by Ezra Jack Keats at St. Luke's Theatre Taylor Alexis Bass Jahbril Cook Garrett Gray ( New York, NY, November 21, 2017 ) ; The Snowy Day and Other Stories by Ezra Jack Keats has announced the cast for its NYC premiere Off- Broadway at St. Luke's Theatre this January 13, 2018.

Christmas is always new for Early Music New York and its Founding Director, Frederick Renz. Every year has a different theme - music from different periods, or parts of the world.

These days, targeted ads are flying at us at every turn. I find myself in constant inner struggle, because I keep getting pulled in though I never truly enjoy myself, because I know what they're doing to me! So, imagine my surprise when I found myself delightfully lost in the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players' most recent marketing campaign ayeharmony.com. The site claims to be the '#1 online dating site for the Queen's navy, sisters, cousins, aunts and more,' with dating profiles featuring a variety of characters from the show. The usernames and profiles are filled with Gilbert and Sullivan inside jokes, but are so deftly handled that the layman won't be left out in the cold. Simply put this is a genius campaign no matter how you slice it. Even if I wasn't a G&S fan, I would check this production out.

Complete with the String of Pearls Orchestra and the IN THE MOOD Singers & Dancers, IN THE MOOD, a 1940s musical revue creates a nostalgic atmosphere that transports the audience back in time a time when everyone was singing and dancing to the same kind of music. IN THE MOOD Returns To The Duke Energy Center on Thursday, January 25 at 7:30pm. Tickets go on sale Friday, December 15 at 10am. For tickets visit the Duke Energy Center Box Office or DukeEnergyCenterRaleigh.com.

Guest pianist Natasha Paremski joins the Columbus Symphony and Music Director Rossen Milanov as they celebrate the passion and exoticism of the Russian masters in the first installment of the Russian Winter Festival. The full program includes Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 ( Classical ), and Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy.

Charles Dutoit will conduct the New York Philharmonic in a French program spotlighting Ravel, featuring the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet as soloist; Le Tombeau de Couperin; Valses nobles et sentimentales; Bol ro; and Ravel's orchestration of Debussy's Sarabande et Danse, Wednesday, January 17, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 19 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, January 20 at 8:00 p.m.

Cosmic Designs is a world-premiere multimedia experience that pairs the inspiration of an orchestral concert with beautiful imagery of our home planet and the solar system beyond, brought to life by the National Philharmonic and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and sponsored by Lockheed Martin. This performance will consist of Claude Debussy's sea-themed La Mer, followed by Gustav Holst's majestic work, The Planets, and include new images from NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio. The National Philharmonic launches the new year at The Music Center at Strathmore with this out-of-this-world performance. The concert, conducted by Philharmonic Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski, will take place Saturday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 28, at 3 p.m. Journey through this stunning multimedia presentation featuring original NASA images of our solar system and the Earth's seas, explore exhibits about the latest NASA discoveries and missions, engage in conversation with NASA scientists, and meet a NASA astronaut. During the performance, planetary scientists Gina Dibraccio and Geronimo Villanueva will discuss the projected images and the science behind them. Separate free pre-concert lectures with Philharmonic Associate Conductor Victoria Gau will be held in addition to NASA Q&As for adults and NASA Chats for kids. A NASA-themed pop-up gift shop will be on site, and audience members can learn from NASA-themed displays. The concerts are performed in Strathmore's Concert Hall. Tickets are $25- $82 and are free for young people age 7-17. Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nationalphilharmonic.org or call 301.581.5100.

Theater J, the nation's largest and most prominent Jewish theater, announced today the launch of the Yiddish Theater Lab dedicated to preserving and reviving the forgotten literature of the Yiddish Theater. Through this initiative, Theater J will uncover and re-interpret nearly-forgotten Yiddish classics in new English language readings, workshops, commissions, and eventually productions.

Haven Theatre has announced casting for Bertolt Brecht's unsettling and unflinching drama FEAR AND MISERY OF THE THIRD REICH, translated by Eric Bentley and directed by Artistic Director Josh Sobel.

What good is sitting alone in your room this week? If you don't already have plans to see a Broadway show, come out to see your favorite Broadway stars in a cabaret act instead. Highlights this week include:

The Snowy Day and Other Stories by Ezra Jack Keats has announced the cast for its NYC premiere Off-Broadway at St. Luke's Theatre this January 13, 2018.

There are nine remaining weeks to see the new musical Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The final performance will be on Sunday, January 14, 2018 after playing 27 previews and 305 regular performances at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street).

Sergei Polunin announces full casting for Project Polunin's SATORI, which will play a limited season at the London Coliseum from 5 to 10 December 2017.

The Drama League has announced Academy and Tony Award-winner Kevin Kline and 'American Idol' finalist Justin Guarinihave joined the roster of special guest performers for the 34th Annual Musical Celebration of Broadway and the launch of the Benefit Gala Auction.

Wagner College Theatre, as part of its New Works Agenda, will present three works-in-progress Trifles, Small Town Story and The Mouth Pieces, at its intimate Stage One space (located behind the Wagner College Football Stadium).

Hampstead Theatre presents Simon Gray's deftly funny play Cell Mates which has been unperformed since 1995.

World-renowned tenor Anthony Kearns will sing the National Anthem and God Bless America at the 2017 Jim McKay Maryland Million Day at Laurel Park, it was announced.This is the third year Kearns will sing at this extraordinary day of racing for Maryland-sired

Premiere Stages will present three free readings of the 2017/2018 Liberty Live Commission, Black Tom Island by Jersey City resident Martin Casella, November 17th through 19th in the Miron Student Center Little Theatre at Kean University.

Calling all Trick-or-Treaters! Broadway's Golden Ticket, Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is launching a Halloween Candy Buy Back to ship uneaten Halloween candy to our troops overseas in conjunction with the Soldiers' Angels' Treats for Troops Program.