What Did You Expect? - 2016 - Articles Page 17

We had a chance to chat with Rye Mullis, the director of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® latest extravaganza OUT OF THIS WORLD world premiering on the west coast at The STAPLES Center July 14, 2016. Rye's entertainment resume, besides directing, includes acting, casting and professional wrestling.

CPT heralds the arrival of a new season with a jam-packed line up designed to satiate all your innovative theatrical desires. With theatre/gig mash ups, MP rap battles, valiant attempts to smash the patriarchy, solve the housing crisis & sort out Europe, plus kids taking over the stage to lay down how it really is, this Autumn you won't want to be anywhere else.

New shows on sale this week at bergenPAC...

In the mid-west American town of Bomont, a small tight knit community are suspicious of any new-comer, and especially streetwise Chicago teenager Ren McCormack. Ren has moved from Chicago with his mother Ethel after the sudden departure of his dad. Eager to move on from his recent loss and keen to spread his wings in a new town, Ren's dreams of a new start are dashed when he discovers one curious fact about Bomont County; rock music and dancing are illegal.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's flashy musical gets a different take.

Popular choreographer Al Blackstone, known for his Broadway style routines on So You Think You Can Dance, is excited to be returning for his third season at the Fire Island Dance Festival. Blackstone will be presenting an excerpt from his new work, Freddie Falls In Love, which recently had its premiere at The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York City. The show was also a benefit performance for DRA and Blackstone figured it would be a perfect fit for this year's festival.

You know how some people are effortlessly glamorous even when they are meeting up for a simple chat? The describes Monstah Black with whom I met a month ago to discuss his upcoming show at Dixon Place, "HYPERBOLIC! (The Last Spectacle)". Monstah is a handsome black man with impeccable style even when he is lounging and taking it easy. He and his husband, Manchild Black, are legends in the club and music scene.

BWW speaks to comedian Phil Jerrod about his Edinburgh Fringe 2016 show 'Hypocrite'.

The 1991 Disney film Beauty and the Beast is a spectacular work of animated musical storytelling. Belle, a type of feminist in a sense (at least within the context of Disney, especially when compared to Ariel, who taught millions of young girls just two years earlier that it is important to change who you are for a man), is an independent, intelligent, and beautiful young woman who reads and finds pleasure in the pursuit of knowledge. She has found her voice and she demands to be heard. So naturally, the whole town thinks she is crazy. A heroine of this caliber is a lot to live up to in any fairy tale and such a fanciful, witty and heartfelt presentation seems impossible to duplicate, but that's what I expect from a Broadway production. I expect seats that can cost a good $120 to rival the magic created by the brilliant animators working with Disney in the early part of that transitional decade. Unfortunately, the touring Broadway musical produced by NETworks Presentations does not live up to this expectation. In fact it falls quite short of perpetuating the wonder and depth established in the original film. I brought my twin 6-year-old daughters to the show and they loved it. Certainly it was quality enough to entertain a kindergartener, but is that really what Dallas should grow to accept as quality theatrical art. We have a booming and continuously growing art scene and so-called 'Broadway' productions such as this should not be tolerated in our community. Broadway is supposed to be a leader in the creation of quality art, not the preservation of an industry that overcharges audiences, underpays artists, undermines unions, and whose primary mission is not artistic success but financial success.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Little Shop of Horrors Reunion Concert; Blood Brothers in Concert; 54 Celebrates The Neil Simon Theatre; Rob McClure at 54 Below; and 54 Celebrates Prince.

Old School Square has served for over 25 years as the gathering place for Delray Beach, and the 2016-17 Season will launch a new era of arts and entertainment for all ages.

"When I called to do this job, I was shocked and terrified at first. It's such an iconic part," confides actress Kate Fahrner, who makes a double debut in Evita at Maine State Music Theatre on June 29, 2016. The three-week run marks the young and talented Broadway star's role debut as the mesmerizing Eva Peron, as well as her first MSMT appearance. And if this weren't enough of a challenge, she adds, she has a number of other exciting things happening in her life right now as well - foremost among them a one-year old daughter, who (with the help of family) has accompanied her to Maine for rehearsals.

Artists have been added to the schedule for Lincoln Center Out of Doors, one of the country's longest-running, free, summer outdoor festivals which opens its 46th season on July 20.  The popular festival will fill the plazas of Lincoln Center with a diverse range of music, dance, spoken word, and family events, featuring dozens of U.S., international, and local artists through August 7.

Wilton's Music Hall today announces its exciting new season programme, which sees the world's oldest surviving grand music hall welcome a diverse range of work, shining a spotlight on live music and bespoke theatre productions. Highlights include Sadie Frost starring as Gypsy Rose Lee in world premiere BRITTEN IN BROOKLYN and musical FLOYD COLLINS, which tells the story of a 1920s Kentucky cave explorer.

ALBANY, Ore., June 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ Romantic comedy author Whitney Dineen, did not expect the backlash she's getting from her recent release, Mimi Plus Two. Mimi Plus Two, is the second installment in the Mimi Chronicles, which was preceded by The Reinvention of Mimi Finnegan, currently a finalist in the prestigious 2016 RONE Awards.

Times are hard for choreographers, which is why Elisa Monte, Jennifer Muller, Molissa Fenley, and Margo Sappington have banded together to present their full-length works at New York Live Arts. What one might not be able to afford, four are more than capable of shouldering. While a solid business idea, the results as seen on Wednesday June 15th, 2016 were decidedly uneven. It's not that the works were too different in tone, it's that the quality was rarely of top caliber.

BETHLEHEM, Pa., June 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ A diverse group of faculty members from all four of Lehigh University's colleges in departments from Theatre to Entrepreneurship to Chemical Engineering share their picks for summer reading below following the lead of Lehigh President John D. Simon who discussed the impact of a recent read in the May 27 th issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

At a rally held on Monday in memory of the victims of this weekend's mass shooting at the Orlando nightclub Pulse, UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT  Tituss Burgess performed a moving version of the West Side Story classic 'Somewhere.'

Besides the Hollywood Bowl's all-star concert event, THE LITTLE MERMAID also made a splash at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. This visually-gorgeous, fully-staged new production of the film's Broadway stage adaptation---produced locally by McCoy Rigby Entertainment with new staging and direction by Glenn Casale---continues in the city of La Mirada through June 26.

BWW speaks to artistic director Suzanne Lofthus about the Cutting Edge Theatre production Downs With Love.

It's that time of year, and I can't help but wonder if your CD collection and iPod are Tonys ready. It's just a handful of hours until the 70th annual Tony Awards, and New York City and theatre fans across the world are excitedly buzzing about this year's ceremonies which will be broadcast live on Sunday, June 12, 2016 at 8/7c on CBS. This Broadway season has some exciting contenders in the musical categories, and to get you ready for the big night, I'm recapping the albums you should be listening to (or at least pre-ordering).

Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: A Funny Thing Happened: Songs from the Road to Broadway; Broadway's Best Musical Comedy Stars!; Tom Wopat at The Metropolitan Room; The Skivvies at 54 Below; and Nicolette Robinson at 54 Below.

Performance Mix Festival returned to Abrons Art Center for its 30th Anniversary on June 6th, 2016. Founded in 1986 by curator Karen Bernard and presented by New Dance Alliance, this platform for experimentation and risk-taking has stood at the vanguard of showcasing established and emerging artists of a decidedly offbeat slant since its inception. Opening night's 8 pm performance - some days have a 7 pm and 8 pm performance - featured Brussells-based dance artist Michael Helland's site responsive installation "RECESS: The Ritual Experience Concept Event Spa Show".

BWW speaks to Rachel Pedley-Miller about her 2016 Edinburgh show Killer Cells.

He's played everyone, from Galileo Figaro in We Will Rock You, to the titular character of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He's also earned a stellar reputation both here and overseas a soloist in his own right. In fact it's hard to find anyone in the performance industry who doesn't admire the talent, work ethic and congeniality of Michael Falzon. I found myself thoroughly charmed in a chat with him about his brainchild Swing On This that has had more comebacks than Farnham! And with good reason as I discovered.