This One Man Photos - Broadway

What did our critic think of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD at Desert Theatreworks?

What did our critic think of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW at Burlington County Footlighters?

For the past several summers, I have attended the Festival of Arts and The Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. But this year, I also decided to also visit two other art festivals along Laguna Canyon Road rather than spend any time cruising the town as I had done before. The full-day of exploring all the artistic delights on display this year at all three locations left me dazzled by all the talent on display, while wishing I had lot of extra income to purchase and bring home many of the awe-inspiring items that caught my fancy. But the real highlight of the day was viewing the abundance of 'local color' on display in this summer's 'Under the Sun' themed Pageant of the Masters.

Highlighting the old time blues and soul style of Bessie Smith AKA The Empress of The Blues, MOAN THEM BLUES provides a different style of theatrical entertainment. Essentially a one woman show starring Toni Ringgold, with her piano man sidekick Jawbone (played by Ke'Aier Mufasa Denson), the reminiscent blues of Bessie Smith is performed, while revealing deeper emotional connection to the material sung for the eager audience. Missing only cigarette smoke in the lounge, Frank Benge directs this show simply with a piano, a flask and tumbler and of course the traditional crowd work vintage vaudeville performances were known for. With a career beginning with a traveling vaudevillian performance troupe, Bessie Smith began to rise as a star in the early 1920's. Gaining a following in the Southern United States along with the east coast, Bessie quickly climbed monetarily to be the highest paid performer of her time and genre. With the show set towards the end of Bessie's career in the early 1930's, the rise of 'talkies' and the the great depression completely devastated performers and the music industry alike. Remembering the 'good ole days' of rising fame, men and the love of gin, Toni Ringgold performs Bessie's more memorable songs. The storytelling (written by Robert King Jr) in between the songs reveals more and more about her tumultuous life that has led her to the dim stage in The Sahara Lounge.

Proud Haddock's The Dog Beneath The Skin will star Pete Ashmore (Arms and the Man, Watford Palace Theatre; Private Lives, Mercury Theatre; Treasure Island, Birmingham Rep) as Alan Normanand Cressida Bonas (Mrs Orwell, Old Red Lion Theatre, Southwark Playhouse; An Evening With Lucian Freud, Leicester Square Theatre; The Great Gatsby, Leicester Square Theatre) as The Dog.

The dog days of summer arrive early this year, as Rubicon Theatre Company presents a spring production of A.R. Gurney's howlingly funny canine comedy SYLVIA, a love story about empty nesters Greg and Kate, and an irrepressible mutt named Sylvia. Written by Drama Desk, Obie and Lortel Award-winning playwright A.R. Gurney (also known for Love Letters and The Dining Room), the plot follows what happens after a man going through a midlife crisis finds a dog in Central Park and brings her home without consulting his wife.

Rubicon Theatre Company celebrates Black History Month with THE DEVIL'S MUSIC: THE LIFE AND BLUES OF BESSIE SMITH, starring singer and actress Miche Braden of the original Off-Broadway production (named one of the 10 Best Off-Broadway productions of the year by the N.Y. Daily Times). Described by CBC as a, "bawdy, bluesy, boozy rollicking night out at the theatre," the show follows the life, loves and career of blues and jazz singer Bessie Smith, called the "Empress of the Blues." 

Hollywood Boulevard's newest theatre troupe is one to keep an eye on.

'The Last Tycoon' opened last night at the Tabard Theatre, direct from its run at the Arts Theatre in London's West End. Adapted for the Tabard stage it depicts the heady days of the 1930's glamorous Hollywood scene. Written by Simon Levy, with the approval of the F Scott Fitzgerald Estate, and directed by Linnie Reedman.

Director Kip Williams brings Louis Nowra's THE GOLDEN AGE to life with sensitivity and simplicity.

Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre (CAMT) has created 'The New World Symphony: Dvorak in America,' a play chronicling the American years (1892-1895) of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, during which he produced a flurry of 'American' works. GOH Productions and Dvorak-American Heritage Association (DAHA) will present the piece as a work in progress January 30 and 31, 2016 at Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street (Upper East Side). This production is preparatory to the play's upcoming world premiere run, which will be presented by La Mama Experimental Theatre, 66 East 4th Street (East Village), six weeks later: from March 10 to 27, 2016 (see more info below). The play is conceived and directed by Vit Horejs. Composer and Musical Director is saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. Scroll down for a sneak peek at some of the puppets!

Centred on the days following the disappearance of famed aviator, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, WE ARE THE GHOSTS OF THE FUTURE invites the audience to meet the varied inhabitants of a poor harbourside community in this Immersive Theatre.

Cole Porter's ANYTHING GOES takes audiences on a fun filled voyage filled with music and mystery, dance and dilemma, love and learning and fabulous 1930's fashion.

Kiev's National Academic Theatre of Russian Drama Lesya Ukrainka brings a festival of events celebrating Ukrainian culture to the St. James Theatre from 8 to 19 September 2015, curated by Mikhail Reznikovich, Artistic Director of the National Academic Theatre of Russian Drama Lesya Ukrainka. The festival, comprising four plays, two free film screenings and a photography exhibition, will give British audiences a rare chance to acquaint themselves with some of Ukraine's cultural masterpieces as well as its developing modern arts scene. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the productions!

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company continues with this season's opening Shakespeare production of 'The Comedy of Errors' playing November 21- December 13, 2014. For this production, Cincinnati Shakespeare is thrilled to welcome the Executive Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Association, Patrick Flick, to the director's chair for the first time at CSC! The production features Cincinnati Shakespeare's Resident Ensemble members including Jeremy Dubin, Paul Riopelle, Justin McCombs and Josh Katawick. The design is generously sponsored by Towne Properties. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

Over the course of their 2014 season, Theatre at the Center, a major equity player on the Chicago theater scene, has introduced audiences to never-before-seen productions on Chicagoland stages. To round out their current season, they will be making no exception and present the regional debut of the musical adaptation of Truman Capote's A CHRISTMAS MEMORY, through December 14, with a press opening last night, Sunday, November 16 at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster. Directed by William Pullinsi, A CHRISTMAS MEMORY is a labor of love for its Broadway veteran team, written by Duane Poole, with music by Larry Grossman and lyrics by Carol Hall. Based on Capote's touching memoir of his own childhood, this wistful Southern Christmas tale is a tender portrait of a rare friendship across generations with a joyous score that will bring love and light to everyone's hearts this holiday season. Sure to delight the entire family, Capote's masterpiece springs to life in this heartfelt musical treat.

With its emphasis on improvisation, stock characters, and a genial carnival atmosphere, the Commedia dell' arte (dating back as early as the 16th century) has never had much appeal to me; I generally find the productions thumb-twiddling after a while. I certainly had my reservations about Playhouse on the Square's current production, ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS, adapted by British playwright Richard Bean from a 1743 play by Venetian Carlo Goldoni. However, as much as I cringe at the thought of a play written in this tradition, at the opposite end I am very much a fan of British humor at its silliest - from the 1930's and 40's comedies of Will Hay (who, at least in a number of films, utilized his own kind of stock company) to the sketches of Benny Hill and Rowan Atkinson's delightful MR. BEAN (and wasn't there a group called MONTY PYTHON?) That said, Mr. Bean's sublimely silly little take on the Goldoni play, removed in time and place to early 1960's Brighton, has a plot that bounces from corner to corner of the proscenium like a ping pong ball on Ritalin.

This past Sunday, May 18th, the sold out audience at the first NY revival of William Inge's A LOSS OF ROSES included Inge's nephew, James A. Mahan, as well as Mahan's children and grandchildren. They joined the cast onstage afterwards for a full family & company portrait. On behalf of the family, James Mahan's daughter Sandra wrote the following to the production the next day: 'A heartfelt thank you for having us! We so enjoyed the play and meeting the cast. Clearly everyone involved with this production put much heartfelt energy into it. Your theater has such a very warm and inviting feel which we embraced!'

The Shaw Festival is one of the two major Canadian theatre celebrations, the other being The Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. Both are professional,, high quality venues.

San Diego Musical Theatre announces Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show, at the Birch North Park Theatre from September 27 - October 13, 2013 at the Birch North Park Theatre. The outrageously prodigious comic and musical soul of 1930's Harlem lives on in this rollicking, swinging, finger-snapping revue that is still considered one of Broadway's best. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

Don't just hunker down during Cleveland's upcoming season of discontent and snow, support the local theatres. BTW…tickets or gift cards to local theatres make great holiday presents!

Roundabout Theatre Company announced the full cast this July for the new Broadway production of Rupert Holmes' Tony Award-winning musical comedy The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The show is set to open on November 13, 2012 and will star Stephanie J. Block as Edwin Drood. Meet the whole cast in the video and bios below!

"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption... there is always something." These are the words of Willie Stark in Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, All the King's Men. Although it was written in 1946, Warren's story of secrets and the misuse of power extends much deeper than the political arena, and it remains as relevant today as ever. Nola Productions presents this poignant piece, as adapted by Adrian Hall, now running through September 15 in the Historic El Portal Theatre's Forum Theatre in North Hollywood. BroadwayWorld has more production photos below.

"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption... there is always something." These are the words of Willie Stark in Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, All the King's Men. Although it was written in 1946, Warren's story of secrets and the misuse of power extends much deeper than the political arena, and it remains as relevant today as ever. Nola Productions presents this poignant piece, as adapted by Adrian Hall, August 10 - September 15 in the Historic El Portal Theatre's Forum Theatre in North Hollywood. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!

If there were an International Idol ... The José Iturbi International Music Competition would be it. José Iturbi was recognized as the world's greatest classical pianist during the 1930's - 1970's. He appeared in several Hollywood films of the 1940s, notably playing himself in the 1943 musical, Thousands Cheer and in the 1945 film, Anchors Aweigh. He worked with legendary talents including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Cornel Wilde, and many more. Today, the name José Iturbi has a legacy that still lives through The José Iturbi International Music Competition. It is appropriate that one of the most sought after awards by those who have devoted their lives to music, be dedicated to this remarkable man.