Feature: EDDIE: THE FRIENDSHIP THAT CHANGED HISTORY at White Theatre
by Alan Portner - May 9, 2023
On the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, a not commonly cited friendship, between President Harry S. Truman and a Kansas City friend may well have had an outsized influence on the success of the new tiny country. That man was Eddie Jacobson, Truman’s close friend since 1905. Both Truman and Jacobson served in the same World War I artillery unit, became business partners, and remained lifelong friends.
Interview: Mary Beth Webber of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
by Cary Ginell - Mar 10, 2023
The classic 1964 musical Fiddler On the Roof arrives in Thousand Oaks on Thursday, March 9 and prior to opening we had a chat with Mary Beth Webber, who plays the part of Yente in the show. Mary Beth is jubilant and honored to join this amazing cast and crew as she makes her national tour debut. Her favorite roles include M'Lynn (Steel Magnolias), Elsa (The Sound of Music), and Mama Noah (Children of Eden), however, her most important role to date is Mom to her seven daughters.
Theater J Announces 32nd Season
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Mar 9, 2022
Theater J has announced Theater J’s 32nd season, which includes five plays and a bonus return engagement of a musical masterpiece.
25th Istanbul Theatre Festival to Take Place This October and November
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Sep 14, 2021
With the slogan “Theatre In These Trying Times”, the 25th edition of the festival has set out to breathe fresh air into both the world of theatre and to theatre lovers with a programme of mostly new productions that look at the world, which is in search of a new normal, through the lens of theatre.
BWW Review: HIJIKATA MON AMOUR Honors A Trailblazer While Exploring the Future of Butoh
by Cindy Sibilsky - Nov 11, 2019
'On a personal level, to me, the piece represented the lineage: a student hears a teachers' voice and is forever changed by it,' Vangeline described. 'A butoh student must be lost to be found, walk in the dark, dive deeply inside themselves, and, as Tatsumi Hijikata said, 'pluck the darkness from their own flesh.'
BWW Interview: Author Jacqueline T. Lynch Talks About ANN BLYTH ACTRESS, SINGER, STAR
by Don Grigware - Feb 10, 2017
Author Jacqueline T. Lynch has just published Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain about the Mt. Tom Playhouse in Holyoke, Massachusetts. She interviewed me about three years ago, since I was born and raised in Holyoke and ... since I spent my childhood watching the Valley Players at Mt. Tom. The Players were my mentors for my odyssey through the acting world. It's a fascinating book. Lynch has also written the only biography in existence of movie and musical star Ann Blyth. In the following interview she talks about both books and her life as a writer.
BWW Interview: MSMT Panel Examines the Enduring Appeal of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
by Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold - Jul 28, 2016
One week into the virtually sold-out run of MSMT's Fiddler on the Roof, cast members, Bill Nolte, Susan Cella, Erick Devine, and Rachel Rhodes-Devey, together with MSMT's Managing Director Stephanie Dupal convened in the third Peek Behind the Curtain panel discussion at the Curtis Memorial Library on July 27, 2016, to examine the phenomenon of the show that continues to mesmerize audiences fifty-two years after its Broadway debut. In response to moderator Carla Maria Verdino-Sullwold's observation that Fiddler is a show which - like its characters - survives, the participants discussed their individual perspectives on the show, their characters, and the universal themes that continue to speak powerfully to audiences.
California Shakespeare Theatre Presents YOU NEVER CAN TELL
by Rebecca Russo - Jul 21, 2016
California Shakespeare Theater's 25th anniversary season at the Bruns Amphitheater returns to the works of George Bernard Shaw with his sharply-observed take on feminism, class distinctions, and romance, You Never Can Tell, directed by Obie award-winner Lisa Peterson, from August 10 through September 4. For tickets and information, contact the Cal Shakes Box Office at 510.548.9666 or visit www.calshakes.org?
BWW Interview: Tradition, Tradition . . . and Innovation: Gary John La Rosa Directs FIDDLER at MSMT
by Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold - Jul 11, 2016
'This is like a real homecoming. The last time I worked at Maine State Music Theatre was in 1995, and it was also Fiddler on the Roof,' says nationally acclaimed director-choreographer Gary John LaRosa. La Rosa, who is widely considered one of the reigning authorities on the beloved 1964 Bock-Harnick bitter-sweet musical about Russian Jews confronting a changing world, has in his own words, 'literally done dozens' of Fiddler productions throughout his vibrant, busy career. 'I've actually stopped counting,' he says with a smile, though we note that among all these, he staged the 50th anniversary Fiddler gala on Broadway, as well as at least four of these won prestigious theatre awards and nominations. This month he finds himself in Brunswick, Maine, directing a thirty-six person cast in MSMT's third main stage show of the 2016 season.
BWW Interview: Jenny Sullivan of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE at Rubicon Theatre Company
by Cary Ginell - Mar 1, 2016
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was originally a short story penned in 1953 by Dorothy M. Johnson (1905 - 1984), who wrote numerous articles and stories with Western themes. In 1962, Valance was adapted for motion pictures in a blockbuster film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, James Stewart, and Lee Marvin, in the title role of the sadistic gunslinger who is taken on by Stewart, who portrayed a tenderfoot attorney new to the dusty town of Shinbone. Jethro Compton's new stage play is based on the short story instead of the movie, getting its start in England in 2014. The Rubicon Theatre Company's new production marks the play's American debut, starring Gregory Harrison in the role of Bert Barricune, the equivalent of John Wayne's Tom Doniphon in the film. Reviews of the play have called it 'gripping drama' and 'consistently absorbing.' We spoke with Jenny Sullivan, who is directing Rubicon's production and she talked about the process of presenting a subject that has become much more famous through the film adaptation than for the original story.