Those We Love - 1930 - Broadway Articles Page 11

Schimmel Center at Pace University is proud to announce the 2015 | 2016 season at The Schimmel Center at Pace University, located at 3 Spruce Street between Park Row and Gold Street in downtown Manhattan, adjacent to City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge.  Schimmel Center is a world-class performing arts and culture series with an emphasis on showcasing the globe's greatest talents in the areas of theatre, music, cabaret, dance, film and family entertainment. 

Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its nightly performances running July 15-26, 2015. Scroll down for details!

McLEAN, Va. -

While watching THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS, the African-American version of Sophocles' OEDIPUS AT COLONUS as created by Lee Breuer (with music by Bob Telson), I was reminded of the reimagining of the Old Testament by Marc Connelly in the 1930 Pulitzer Prize-winning THE GREEN PASTURES. Like GOSPEL, THE GREEN PASTURES serves up time-honored material by transposing it to a religious setting;. PASTURES relates the Old Testament as envisioned by a young Afro-American boy; thus, Heaven is one big fish fry. When I first saw the 1936 film version (which Connelly, a white man, scripted for Warners' director William Keighley), I found it a special experience -- a wonderful all-black cast was an anomaly for a young viewer in the late 1950's and early i60's; now, with the passage of time (and legislation), I can understand why modern audiences would find it politically incorrect (though that cast is still peopled with some amazing talent). Interestingly, Mr. Breuer eschews following Connelly's suit, and though he utilizes a Black minister and church service to tell his tale, he focuses instead on an ancient Greek tragedy rather than the Old -- or New -- Testament.

Physical Festival Chicago announced today the full program for its second annual celebration of this energetic, imaginative and boundary-breaking form of theater. The following companies and artists will participate in this week-long event to be held July 7-12: Single Shoe Productions (UK, Portugal & USA), Walkabout Theater Company (Chicago), DeCollage (Spain) and David Gaines (Washington DC). The Festival will also feature a Scratch Night, a preview of what's next in the physical theater scene, and four professional Master Classes with the visiting artists at Columbia College Chicago, 916 S. Wabash Ave. The performances will take place at Links Hall, 3111 N. Western Ave., Chicago. Festival passes are $35 and tickets for individual shows are $10-$12; they can be purchased online at www.physicalfestival.com and http://linkshall.ticketfly.com/search/?q=Physical or by calling Links Hall, 773-281-0824.

I have to say that when it comes to Kander and Ebb's "Cabaret" I prefer my Kit Kat Club dirty, my Sally Bowles damaged and my Berlin dangerous. And while the current production at Village Theatre has all of those elements, they're all very safe versions of those elements. And while director Brian Yorkey attempted a very thoughtful telling of the story, often times the pacing was so deliberately slow as to lose any urgency of the moment.

Cleveland Play House (CPH) will bring some of America's top playwrights to Cleveland in their 2015 New Ground Theatre Festival (NGTF.) CPH's annual showcase of new theatrical works, once again made possible by Honorary Producer Roe Green, gives playwrights from around the nation the opportunity to test-drive new work, collaborate with CPH artists, and launch never-before-seen productions on CPH's stages. CPH Artistic Director Laura Kepley interjects: 'Roe's generosity makes new work at Cleveland Play House possible. Because of her, we are able to create new plays that speak to the current moment which will have a lasting impact on local audiences and the national field.'

The weekend is upon us, which means you have just a few hours to figure out a game plan so you don't miss out on all the fun that's happening all around you. We've got the goods on theatrical events this weekend, to save wear and tear on your brain, and we can offer some sound advice: Just do as we say and everything will be fine. Resistance is futile.

There always seems to be so much to do in Nashville, from a creative and theatrical standpoint, we're often asked for recommendations of what's not to be missed on our calendar. Well, have no fear, gentle readers, we're at your service, at the ready to tell you of the shows you really should see this week and in the coming weeks…

Hoagy Carmichael wrote Stardust, Georgia on My Mind, The Nearness of You and Heart and Soul, four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.

Attending a multilingual performance at Cafe Sabarsky in The Neue Galerie (86th Street and Fifth Avenue) is like stepping back in time. The room speaks to an era of higher refinement, not stuffy, but encouraging pedigree and brio. Few artists epitomize this more than celebrated cabaret veteran singer/pianist Steve Ross, whose fascinating and emotionally translucent shows here never fail to enlighten and entertain.

Concert aficionados from around the country will want to make room on their summer calendars for Music Mountain, America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, when it kicks off its record-breaking 86th Anniversary Season beginning Sunday, June 14th! In keeping with last season's success, Music Mountain will continue their season past Labor Day - making this season, once again, one of the longest running seasons since the 1930s! The summer will include many favorite returning chamber ensembles, first time guests, the ever-popular Saturday Evening Twilight Series featuring Jazz, Country, and Folk Music, and the first Great Artist Recital Series. Concerts are scheduled through September 27.

Strawdog Theatre Company and Artistic Director Hank Boland are proud to announce their 2015 - 2016 season, "The Tipping Point."

Chicago Inclusion Project Founder and Producer Emjoy Gavino announces the launch of The Chicago Inclusion Project, a collective dedicated to championing inclusion and diversity in Chicago theatre.

Geffen Playhouse announces its coming landmark season which underscores the two decades of world-class theater the not-for-profit organization has produced since its 1995 opening. Artistic Director Randall Arney's selections feature some of theater's most established artists: Tony, Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winner John Patrick Shanley; four Pulitzer Prize finalists Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, Rolin Jones, Rajiv Joseph, and Sarah Ruhl; multi-Grammy Award winner Billie Joe Armstrong; House of Cards writer Laura Eason, and much produced playwright Bess Wohl (American Hero, Pretty Filthy).

The Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) and the County of Carleton Law Association (CCLA) are celebrating 16 years of producing the Lawyer Play Fundraiser with Parfumerie, a comedy adapted by E.P. Dowdall from the original by Miklos Laszlo.

Cleveland Play House (CPH) will bring some of America's top playwrights to Cleveland in their 2015 New Ground Theatre Festival (NGTF.) CPH's annual showcase of new theatrical works, once again made possible by Honorary Producer Roe Green, gives playwrights from around the nation the opportunity to test-drive new work, collaborate with CPH artists, and launch never-before-seen productions on CPH's stages. CPH Artistic Director Laura Kepley interjects: 'Roe's generosity makes new work at Cleveland Play House possible. Because of her, we are able to create new plays that speak to the current moment which will have a lasting impact on local audiences and the national field.'

Lauren Stanford (who won the MetroStar Singing Competition at the Metropolitan Room in 2013) has convincingly done herself up to look like the legendary Helen Morgan in her new show, More Than You Know, which she introduced at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in late October and brought to 54 Below this past Friday night. Stanford's presentation is 2/3 singing and 1/3 biography. Research is evident; specific adds color. The use of framed photographs and several conjectured telephone calls is effective (the actress listens). Vocals don't emulate Morgan's controlled vibrato, but Stanford has sufficient musical feel for the period to make mimicry unnecessary. Her uneven contralto can add feeling to a song rather than diminishing it. There are, however, other issues.

This weekend the presents their fourth annual New American Voices Play Reading Series featuring MY FRIEND DAHMER by Jake Arky, EBENEZER CREEK by James McLindon, directed by Cheramie Hopper, LILY'S BLUE by David Alan Brown, directed by Jacey Little, and finally, THE ME GENERATION by Catherine Rush, directed by Paige Kiliany.

In a two-reviews-in-one column critiquing shows from last March, my esteemed editor, Stephen Hanks quoted the poet Robert Browning: “A man's reach should exceed his grasp. Or what's a heaven for?” Hanks pointed out that Browning's famous line is about setting goals, striving, and ambition, all of which are commendable desires. But, alas, in this particular review he felt the two singers in question “fell short.” One of those singers was Shana Farr and the show she has been performing throughout the past year, In The Still of the Night: Music of Noel Coward and Cole Porter. So here we are a year later, immersed in the revelry of the 2015 award season celebrating excellence in cabaret, and Farr's uniquely theatrical homage to Coward and Porter has recently won her the 2015 Bistro Award for “Outstanding Concept Show.” In spite of my editor's previous reservations about this show, he was open to hearing another perspective—whether positive or negative—so off to the Laurie Beechman Theatre I ventured on the last day of February to find out for myself whether Shana's show was truly award-worthy. Sorry, oh editor of mine, but you might have missed the boat on this one.

Gary Naylor sees a revival of a 1963 musical that looks gorgeous and is filled with lovely melodies, but doesn't reach its potential due to its leads not quite sparking as lovers.

Three musicals and two plays - along with the return of the 2nd OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN FESTIVAL for lyricists - will comprise the historic BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE's 76th anniversary season in New Hope, Pa. starting in April, it has been announced by the Playhouse's producing team of Tony Award-winning producers, Alexander Fraser, Robyn Goodman, Stephen Kocis and Josh Fiedler.

Concert aficionados from around the country will want to make room on their summer calendars for Music Mountain, America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, when it kicks off its record-breaking 86th Anniversary Season beginning Sunday, June 14th! In keeping with last season's success, Music Mountain will continue their season past Labor Day - making this season, once again, one of the longest running seasons since the 1930s! The summer will include many favorite returning chamber ensembles, first time guests, the ever-popular Saturday Evening Twilight Series featuring Jazz, Country, and Folk Music, and the first Great Artist Recital Series. Concerts are scheduled through September 27.

Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its nightly performances, January 14 - 25, 2015. Details below!

Every year, despite a litany of warnings they come to the Big Apple with big dreams. Warnings like: “You have to pay your dues.” “It's a tough business, kid.” “How are you going to survive?” There's no such thing as an overnight success, yet still they come to be at “the top of the heap,” as Kander and Ebb so eloquently put it. The four young performers featured here haven't yet vaulted to the top of the cabaret heap, but they've certainly made their marks with excellent shows during 2014, while exhibiting the potential to get there. The spotlight is already shining on Chrysten Peddie, Angela Dirksen, Rembert Block, and Kristoffer Lowe.