Just So Photos - Chester, CT (Regional)

When the musical Ragtime was produced for Broadway in 1998 it was a colossal, big-budget show.  It cost some ten million dollars.  What in the world were the folks at tiny little Union Avenue Opera thinking when they decided to include this show in their twenty-ninth season?  Ragtime, the musical treatment of E. L. Doctorow’s vast rambling nostalgic, wonderfully American novel, is far removed from opera.

What did our critic think of BEETLEJUICE at Broadway San Jose? Who knew that Beetlejuice would be just the right tonic for the nightly news and this summer’s Indictment Watch ’23 (there’s still Georgia to watch for).  Turns out that frighteningly funny laughs about death beats reality every time. This screen-to-stage adaptation from the iconic, beloved 1998 Tim Burton film of the same name was made for the stage. But it has a less than one-week-only, “Bay-stay” (it RIP after August 6) so get your tickets now. Forget your troubles, c’mon it’s scary at Broadway San Jose’s Beetlejuice!

Popular Broadway performer Jason Danieley will stage 'Ragtime: The Symphonic Concert with the Boston Pops May 12-13 at Boston's Symphony Hall, and July 8 at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA.

As one of the lucky October-born people, the celebration of Halloween has always been a very important occasion for me as it is just a handful of days after my birthday. Growing up enjoying playing dress-up at this time of year always brought out my imagination into the realm of spirits, goblins, and how I just assumed they lived together with us in this world. So at this time of year, I have always wanted to attend the annual GHOSTWALK an in the streets production held in Santa Paula which brings to life encounters with local sprits who share the history of unique locations in the lovely quaint town. And now virtually I have - and so should you!

The dancers manifested exquisite flowing lines hit, yet not lingered on, as they lyrically moved to the next count of the music ever so smoothly, sometimes creating in between that and the next beat, a separate movement, sort of a bridge from the last position and the next... an asterisk; exclamation point, if you will... or a grace note... The stunning choreography will sweep you away to the haunting, gritty, yet buoyantly hopeful lyrics of Leonard Cohen. He has such a unique style to his writings and his presentation. This extraordinary company and their Artistic Director Louis Robitaille, have taken the essence of his intent and transformed it into internal emotion and external movement, simultaneously. By that, I mean, when they dance and move, or pose, their bodies are feeling the emotion being expressed through words or music. The way this was presented, so seamlessly blending from one piece, even though separate choreographers, into the next piece on the repertoire, it just seemed a magical, visual extravaganza for both the eyes and the soul. The company received Leonard Cohen's blessing to perform this amazing tribute, and it is indeed, special and poignant.

At the elegant Soroya Theatre in Northridge, CA, Martha Graham's Dance Company, under Artistic Director Janet Eilber's seasoned guidance, performed a most incredible group of works.  Some were originally created approximately 80 years ago, by Martha Graham, a true icon in the Dance world.  The EVE Project, as this evening, March 2nd, 2019 was entitled, gave us a wide variety of themes within a theme, that being Women and their significance, their power, their passion and their strength.  It was polished to perfection, and each piece carried many meanings and concepts and was just so beautifully performed and articulated. The Martha Graham Dance Company is the oldest contemporary dance company in the United States, founded in 1926.  Since it's inception it has explored and encompassed political and humanitarian issues, as well as affairs of the heart and human interactions, while creating a prolific dance technique that is unequaled in it's scope.  Graham created a total of 181 ballets during her long career, and is recognized as a primal artistic force of the 20th century, being named in 1998 as 'Dancer of the Century' in Time magazine, and labeled one of the female 'Icons of the Century' by People Magazine.

There's enough excitement in Atlanta this month to fill a fleet of pumpkin-carriages as Alliance Theatre mounts the highly-anticipated regional premiere of Ever After, a musical adaptation of the popular 1998 film of the same name which made its premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse in 2015. Ever After, loosely based on the Cinderella fairy tale, tells the story of Danielle de Barbarac, the Cinderella-esque young daughter of a 16th-century landowner who's forced into slavery by her stepmother after the unexpected death of her father. When a chance encounter with a prince stirs up considerable excitement for the young servant girl, Danielle finds that she might have the strength to take on her stepmother…and the world. Broadway diva Sierra Boggess, most known for her acclaimed turns as Ariel in The Little Mermaid and Christine Daae in Phantom of the Opera, will take on the role of the vibrant Danielle. BroadwayWorld caught up with Boggess to talk about the show.

SHE LOVES ME, the 1963 Broadway musical with book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, was based on Miklos Laszlo's 1937 play, Parfumerie, a warm, gentle comedy that follows the tangled dating life of perfume shop employee Georg Horvath whose dating life goes awry when he discovers that the stranger he has fallen in love with through a secret correspondence is none other than Amalia Balash, a co-worker with whom he constantly bickers. This universal tale about mistaken identity and romantic love went on to become the inspiration for the classic films The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Ole Summertime, and Nora Ephron's 1998 box office hit You've Got Mail in which Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan took their secret romance online through emails.

Berkeley Playhouse continues their tenth anniversary season of professional theater for family audiences with their largest production of the season, Ragtime. A sweeping musical epic of hopes and dreams in an America facing change at the turn of the 20th century, Ragtime boasts Tony Award-winning score and lyrics by the Broadway powerhouse duo, Stephen Flaherty and Lynne Ahrens (Once on This Island, Anastasia, Suessical) and a book by four-time Tony Award-winner Terrence McNally (The Full Monty, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Master Class), based on the celebrated novel by E. L. Doctorow. Celebrating its twentieth anniversary of opening on Broadway this month, the original 1998 production was nominated for a staggering thirteen Tony Awards and fourteen Drama Desk awards.

These are just some of the ways NTI students have responded to working with our alumni company, The Debate Society. The Debate Society is an Obie Award winning, Brooklyn based company that creates new plays through the collaboration of Hannah Bos (writer/performer/NTI Fall '98), Paul Thureen (writer/performer/ NTI Fall '98/ MATS '00), and Oliver Butler (director/developer). The company specializes unexpected stories set in supremely intricate, vividly theatrical worlds.

The company of Cabaret just celebrated their opening with the Gypsy Robe ritual. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the event and brings you full photo coverage below!

So when David decides to write a blog for Broadwayworld while living in Vienna for a month, he doesn't anticipate that finding a library will be difficult, because it is, or finding wifi that matter. Thus here he sits in Westbahnof, pretending to wait for a connection, eating a croissant, and typing his blog post on his airplane mode iPhone (to avoid roaming). That's right, there is no laptop when RyanAir (a cheap European airline) had the strictest weight restrictions imaginable.

Kentwood Players presents the 1998 Tony Award-winning musical 'RAGTIME' with book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty from Friday, March 15 to Saturday, April 20 at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth, with Musical Director Bill Wolfe, Choreographer Victoria Miller, and produced by Margie Bates and Gail Bernardi by special arrangement with Music Theatre International. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at photos from the production below!

There are certain occasions when even the most jaded New York audience can just smile and say thank you. The duo recital by soprano Renee Fleming and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham Sunday night at Carnegie Hall was just such an occasion. Given that both divas have sold out Carnegie Hall as individual performers, the dual recital was something very special indeed.

TimesTalks just welcomed musician Alanis Morissette. TimesTalks events take place at TheTimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, New York City. For additional information or to purchase advance tickets, which are $30 for each interview plus service fees, please call: 1.888.NYT.1870 or visit www.TimesTalks.com.