As You Like It Photos - Broadway

Sydney Symphony Orchestra pairs with MM Creative Productions to celebrate the centenary of the movie and media behemoth Disney with DISNEY 100 THE CONCERT

Antaeus Theatre Company highlights the culture and history of six additional Los Angeles neighborhoods with Season Two of its popular 'The Zip Code Plays: Los Angeles' podcast series, set to launch May 20. Here are my interviews with the four female directors who discuss their own personal histories within the Zip Code Plays they direct. (Gigi Bermingham, Jennifer Chang, Saundra McClain, and Bernadette Speakes)

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.

Goodman Theatre revives Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, Emily Mann's 'warming theatrical event' (Variety)that celebrates the lives of 'two strong, vibrant women dispensing joy and wisdom' (Chicago Tribune). Goodman Theatre Resident Director Chuck Smith's production features Ella Joyce and Marie Thomas as the Delany centenarians, Bessie (1891 - 1995) and Sadie (1889 -1999), respectively, as they trace their lives in a heartfelt reflection of their family history and triumphs over prejudices in times of social unrest.

ENGAGING SHAW begins in England in 1897 in a comfortable cottage in Stratford, England, where Shaw hopes to complete his new play. As he engages in conversation with his friends, the happily married cottage owners, Beatrice and Sidney Webb, we learn Shaw is a notorious flirt and heartbreaker who enjoys romancing women, attracting them to him "like a moth to the flame." But it is soon apparent he is not particularly interested in sex, a fact reflected in his real life where he remained a virgin until his 29th birthday. It's the thrill of the hunt that is the main attraction for Shaw, thoroughly enjoying the effect he has on women as he pursues them, not in the keeping of them. In present-day parlance, he'd be considered a sexist cad. Beatrice sees an opportunity to deflect Shaw's interest in her (and hers in him) by inviting their wealthy benefactor Charlotte to visit, knowing when she meets Shaw, the financially challenged but famous Irish playwright and political activist, that sparks will fly.

If you happened to be on the subway this month and smelled something particularly fishy (not the usually kind of subway fishy) you may have been in the same car as a mermaid. Saturday, June 17th, 2017 marked the 35th Annual Mermaid Parade on Coney Island. That's right. One day a year, all the mermaids of Coney Island are magically granted feet and march down Surf Ave and the Boardwalk until they grow their fins back and return to their watery homes… Okay maybe not quite mermaids, but close! Thousands of artists, and mermaid enthusiasts march in the parade every year. Over 3,000 Seashell clad individuals strolled, danced, and rolled down Surf Ave this year. It began pouring rain before the parade and several times during. Luckily, it is the Mermaid Parade, so a little water wasn't a problem for the marchers.

The classic and moving drama A Moon For The Misbegotten is the next show in Playhouse on Park's Mainstage Series. Opening night is Friday, February 17, at 8pm, with a complimentary pre-performance wine and cheese reception at 7pm. 

The classic and moving drama A Moon For The Misbegotten is the next show in Playhouse on Park's Mainstage Series. Opening night is tonight, February 17, at 8pm, with a complimentary pre-performance wine and cheese reception at 7pm.  A Moon For the Misbegotten runs through March 5. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

In the 1920's Hollywood's counterpart was the Kaufman Astoria Studios.  The historic movie studio produced silent films as well as the first 'talkies'.  The Astor Room which sits 'Below' the sound stages was the original studio commissary and it has been lovingly preserved in all it's glory…. complete with the same Mason & Hamlin 1923 Grand Piano used by the musicians of the day.  Where Rudolph Valentino dined with other silent film stars, studio executives, and extras you now enjoy a great meal while being entertained every Wednesday by host Michael Mott and his group of talented friends.  This weeks guest vocalists were Morgan Assante (Les Miserables), Josh Tolle (Kinky Boots), and Haley Swindal ) Jekyll & Hyde).  Composer, Lyricist, singer Michael Mott is a bit like Astoria's answer to Seth Rudtsky and it's one of the few places where prices are probably lower than in the 1920's.  There's no cover or minimum.  Seeing new talent in this historic setting is like going back to the future. 

The Segal Centre for Performing Arts will conclude its record-breaking 2012-2013 theatre season with the world premiere Yiddish musical Tales From Odessa, based on the stories of Isaak Babel, book by Derek Goldman and music & lyrics by Josh 'Socalled' Dolgin. A Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre production directed by Audrey Finkelstein, Tales From Odessa runs in the Segal Theatre now through July 7th, 2013; in Yiddish with English and French supertitles. Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

In August, 2009 I was greeted by incredibly enthusiastic students on 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam. The Juilliard School: this was my new home and although my mom and sisters were overwhelmed by the welcoming committee, they knew I'd fit right in. Orientation lasted one week in which I met students from all over the world, set up my dorm room, and got use to downsizing from my two-bedroom apartment in Las Vegas. The school held several seminars to orient us, and organized outings to help us get our bearings in the city while having some fun before the Juilliard schedule took over our lives!

On its tenth anniversary, the Philippine Opera Company ('La Boheme', 'Harana') brings back its critically acclaimed production of Terrence McNally's 1996 Tony award-winning play 'Master Class', starring Philippine cinema icon Ms. Gil in the role of the opera world's grand dame Maria Callas (1923-1977). Presented in a master class format, the straight play explores what could have transpired inside the opera's classroom with Callas at the Juilliard 1971-72, at the time when the dramatic soprano had already lost her voice.