Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: December 31, 2023
By: Laura Deni
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NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS AND GETTING MARRIED TO YOUR VIBRATOR

Wedding are always a hot commodity in Las Vegas. This New Year's Eve is expected to be a record breaker. The number to surpass this New Year's Eve is 4,492. That record was set on July 7, 2007 - or 7/7/07. The Associated Press said that since 2018, the city typically records between 450 and 550 New Year's Eve marriages.

With New Years Eve falling on 12 -31-23 the numerical 123123 is considered lucky or at least easier for a husband not to forget.

If you don't have a mate or aren't all that satisfied by the one you have, you can get married to your vibrator in Las Vegas in what are promoted as "commitment ceremonies". Touted as "perfect for those who want to express their love for one another without making the ultimate commitment of marriage. Get "married" to your best friend for life, your longtime partner, your cellphone, anything really!"

The ceremony includes: "Walk down the aisle towards your partner for life. Listen and enjoy the traditional wedding music played during your ceremony. Write your own special words to say during the ceremony, or repeat the vows of love and promise from your minister. Assuming your intended has fingers, Exchange rings to symbolize your pledge to one another. Be pronounced as a committed couple & seal your love with a kiss! Enjoy a photo session with our wedding photographer. Sign a commitment certificate to treasure for a lifetime," according to The Little Vegas Chapel.

Couples who are already legally married are welcome to have a Renewal of Vows ceremony - to each other or someone or something else. Las Vegas. Commitment ceremonies are as low as $299.

There are also the always popular ceremonies where you are united by an Elvis impersonator in a ceremony sanctioned by Elvis Presley Enterprises.

In addition to weddings New Years means celebrations, resolutions and cleaning up. Welcome 2024.

Over 7,000 police officers patrol Times Square on NYE.

Over 1,000 security cameras monitored by the police department in and around Times Square.

312 sanitation workers clean up more than 60 tons of trash left in Times Square . That takes three hours to complete the sweep up.

In Las Vegas over 400,000 revelers will bring in the New Year. Officials report that "very few" police officers "won't" be on duty.

408 traffic fatalities occur each New Year's Eve

New Year's Day is the most popular day for car thefts with an average of 2,320 while New Year's Eve ranks 4th with 2,201 stolen vehicles. Christmas Eve comes in 8th with 2,011 missing cars.

New Year's eve is the busiest night of the year for illegal "celebratory" gunfire. 46,500 people get hurt in car crashed each New Year's Eve.

Hourly rates for a babysitter on NYE $23.50 - $55.50.

You should eat 365 black eyes peas to guarantee a year's worth of luck. Eat 12 Grapes at Midnight, is a food superstition that originated in Spain is meant to bring you luck for the year ahead. Just eat 12 grapes at midnight—one for every month! But you have to finish them before the clock stops chiming.

Dont' eat Chicken: It is a superstitious food to eat on New Year’s Eve. Because chickens have wings, all your luck could fly away. :pbster is another no-no. Many cultures believe that eating lobsters before midnight is bad luck because they move backwards, therefore setting you up for a year of setbacks. Don’t eat Turkey either, they scratch backwards. Instead, eat fish which is considered another good New Year’s entrée, since fish only swim in one direction — forward.

Throw salt over your shoulder to keep the bad away, by blinding the evil behind you. Puerto Ricans sprinkle sugar outside their houses to invite the good luck in.

Stock up your food cabinets. Empty empty shelves can signal a year of scarcity.

More than 20% of all champagne bottles sold in the U.S.A. are sold in December.

Speaking of food, the Empire Steak House right off Times Square in New York City is positively giddy that they are being touted as offering America's "most audaciously-priced steak dinner ever sold." The New Years Eve gourmet chow down is priced at $20,000 per couple.

Being extremely wealthy or drunk helps in ordering.

"The dinner includes: Japanese Wagyu steaks coated in 24k gold, unlimited Dom Perignon champagne and a lot of other "inflationary priced" delicacies - but the tax and tip are extra. The usual 15% tip for a meal would be another $3,000 on top of the bill," according to the release.

If you can afford to spend that much for a meal it seems that you ought to be able to ante up a few bucks for charity. indeed, 31 percent of all charitable donations happens in December with 12 percent taking place the last three days of the year.

40 %-45% of American’s make one or more resolutions each year. Most resolutions are to start a new habit than break an old one. Many resolutions are broken on January 2nd.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

ART AND ABOUT

VICE ADMIRAL SIR TIM LAURENCE

Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence. Photo: Wikipedia

who is the husband of Anne, the Princess Royal, has been appointed by the Prime Minister as the next Chair of Trustees of the Science Museum Group. Sir Tim will take up an initial four-year term on January 1, 2024.

He has previously served as a Commissioner and then as Chair of English Heritage (2015-2022), overseeing the care of its more than 400 historic sites and 40 small museums. Sir Tim has focused on built heritage, railways and urban regeneration since leaving the Royal Navy in 2010.

The announcement was welcomed by Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, who said: "Sir Tim’s passion and expertise around built heritage will be a great asset to the Group alongside the leadership he will bring to our talented Board of Trustees. Sir Tim’s experience of leading English Heritage through a period of great change will be invaluable as we continue our own journey of transformation across our five museums and collections care facility."

Sir Tim Laurence said: "Over the last decade I have admired from afar the remarkable pace and quality of change across the Science Museum Group and in recent months have been fascinated to learn more about the transformations still to come. It will be a great honour to lead the Trustees of an organisation that does so much to inspire millions of visitors with the wonders of science."

His 37 years of Naval service included four warship commands and a series of senior roles in the Ministry of Defense, culminating as CEO of the organization which manages MOD’s property and infrastructure worldwide. He graduated from University College Durham in 1976 with a BSc in Geography, with Geology and Climatology, and was a Hudson Fellow at St Antony’s College Oxford (1998/99).

The Science Museum Group is the world’s leading alliance of science museums, welcoming over five million visitors each year to five sites: the Science Museum in London; the National Railway Museum in York; the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester; the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford; and Locomotion in Shildon.

TAIPEI BIENNIAL 2023: SMALL WORLD the title "Small World" suggests both a promise and a threat: a promise of greater control over one’s own life, and a threat of isolation from a larger community following a global pandemic. Our world can become smaller as we grow closer to one another, but also as we grow apart.

This "Small World" takes place within such a suspended state of being unable to join together nor completely separate. Through a series of presentations that comprise sound, music, moving images, photography, video, paintings, sculptures and installations, “Small World” presents audiences with the dilemma faced by us and our societies.

Curated by curator Freya Chou, curator Reem Shadid, and writer and editor Brian Kuan Wood, this year’s iteration will bring together over 50 international and local artists and musicians, transforming the museum into a space of listening, gathering, improvising, and exploring alternative ways to perceive and apply what we learned from the recent pandemic.

Nineteen new works and commissions are featured at the Biennial, alongside installations, performances, and musical and cinematic experiences that question promises of the simple and sensual amidst increasing tension and complexity. On exhibit through March 24, 2024 at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

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SWEET CHARITY

EARL SCRUGGS 100th BIRTHDAY will be celebrated on Saturday, January 6, 2024, when a stellar lineup of bluegrass and country artists will come together at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium to celebrate the 100th birthday of the legendary Earl Scruggs, who died in 2012. His revolutionary style of banjo playing forever changed the landscape of bluegrass music. The special tribute concert will air live, one time only, exclusively on Veeps.

This show will feature musical direction by the renowned Jerry Douglas, with performances by The Earls of Leicester, The Del McCoury Band, Gena Britt, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Stuart Duncan, Jimmie Fadden, Bela Fleck, Jeff Hanna, Sierra Hull, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Jim Mill, Justin Moses, Jerry Pentecost, Todd Phillips, Harry Stinson, Bryan Sutton, Tony Trischka, and more.

Proceeds will benefit The Earl Scruggs Center, which is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of Scruggs' remarkable life and contributions to music.

Scruggs is considered the most influential and imitated banjo player in the world. The duo he co-founded, Flatt & Scruggs, provided the banjo-driven music for the theme song of the hit TV series, The Beverly Hillbillies. The 1967 blockbuster film Bonnie and Clyde featured their 1949 recording of Scruggs’ composition, Foggy Mountain Breakdown — one of the most recognizable songs in the bluegrass canon. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985, the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1991, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007, and the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009. The Recording Academy presented Earl with four Grammy performance awards and the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Among numerous other honors, Scruggs was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.

SPREADING THE WORD

BATON ROUGE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL takes place at the Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge, Louisiana January 10-14, 2024.

On Wednesday, January 10, 2024 Remembering Gene Wilder will be shown. Ron Frank directs Glenn Kirschbaum's script. Starring Mel Brooks and Alan Alda.

Told in part through Wilder’s own voice (luckily, he recorded the audiobook of his memoir, which serves as narration), Remembering Gene Wilder is a treat to watch with its generous helpings of film clips from across Wilder’s career. Yes there are the ever-fresh line readings (“Put…the candle…back”) and his manic physical antics (his pre-verbal meltdown when Zero Mostel’s Bialystok separates Bloom from his little blue blanket) -- but there are also uproarious outtakes from the set of Young Frankenstein and poignant home movies from his marriage to Gilda Radner. Billed as "a tender and eye-opening tribute."

PAUL ANKA has a two nighter January 5-6 at the Arizona Musicfest in Scottsdale, Arizona.

THE 2024 WILLIAMSTOWN THEATER FESTIVAL GALA will honor Jenny Gersten for her extensive theatrical career, including 15 years of artistic leadership with the Festival. The annual gala held at City Winery is set for February 12, 2024.

THE BOOK OF MORMON that hilariously irreverent, nine-time Tony-winning musical comedy by Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and Robert Lopez will celebrate 13 years on Broadway on March 24, 2024. On December 28, 2023, The Book of Mormon played its 4643rd performance on Broadway, surpassing Jersey Boys to claim the 12th rung as one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history.

The Book of Mormon follows two mismatched missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they attempt to preach the faith to the inhabitants of a remote Ugandan village.

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DAME SARAH CONNOLLY will receive the King's Medal for Music 2023, it has been announced. Music aficionado King Charles has approved the award to the mezzo-soprano, known for the breadth and richness of her work on the concert platform and operatic stage, as well as her advocacy for musical education.

In a statement, Connolly responded: “I feel incredibly honored to receive this medal from my peers, and from King Charles whose personal involvement in the Arts means so much. The United Kingdom’s musical influence is global, and cannot be underestimated. Our success will continue with supportive, loud voices."

Connolly was invested as a DBE in the 2017 Birthday Honours, having been awarded a CBE in the 2010 New Year Honours. In 2020, she was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society in recognition of her services to music.

In 2010, she made her role debut of "Der Komponist" in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Metropolitan Opera. She was awarded the 2011 Distinguished Musician Award from the Incorporated Society of Musicians. For her recital at Alice Tully Hall in New York, Connolly received a rave review in The New York Times.

She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree by Nottingham Trent University in 2017. In July 2019 she announced temporary leave to undergo breast cancer surgery withdrawing from upcoming performances with the English National Opera.

According to a press release, the nominating process for the King's Medal for Music award is overseen by a committee chaired by the Master of The King’s Music, Judith Weir. Connolly will receive the Medal during an Audience with His Majesty in 2024.

KING CHARLES III'S NEW YEAR'S HONORS LIST includes celebrity notables:

Shirley Bassey, known for recording the Bond songs Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever, is one of the all-time bestselling artists. She becomes a Companion of Honour, one of the top honours, for her services to music. She said: "My heart is full of emotion and I am truly humbled." Bassey becomes the 64th living member of the order, which can only have 65 members at any one time. Earlier this year she was awarded the Order of Saint Charles by Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Singer Leona Lewis has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music and to charity. The 38-year-old won the third series of The X Factor in 2006 and went on to achieve success with singles including Bleeding Love; Run and Better In Time. She is also a seven-time Brit award nominee and was nominated three times for a Grammy award. Away from singing, Leona and her husband, German-born creative director Dennis Jauch, opened a coffee shop with sustainability at its heart in Los Angeles, planting a tree for every cup they sell having partnered with the National Forest Association.

The romance author Jilly Cooper receives a damehood for her services to literature and charity. Cooper said: "I am absolutely and incredibly bowled over. I cannot believe I am a DBE, which in my case also stands for Delighted, Bewildered and Ecstatic."

Brian Clarke, 70, known for his large-scale stained glass and mosaic projects, symbolist paintings and set designs is thought to be the first stained-glass artist to receive a knighthood.

Sonia Boyce, who became the first black woman to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2022, is made a dame for her services to art. The show exhibited in Venice, Feeling Her Way, went on to win the event’s top award.

Sir Ridley Scott is made a Knight Grand Cross (GBE) for his services to the UK film industry. In a career that has spanned more than 40 years, Scott has directed a number of the most highly regarded films of the 20th century including Alien; Blade Runner and Thelma and Louise.

Judith Weir, the first female master of the king’s music in the role’s 398-year history, is given a damehood. She was first appointed as master in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II.

Stuart Murphy, the recently departed chief executive of the English National Opera, is awarded a CBE. During his tenure, the ENO offered free tickets for under-21s and discounted tickets for under-35s in an attempt to broaden opera’s appeal.

Michael Eavis, the founder of Glastonbury Festival, receives a knighthood for his services to music and charity.

Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke and her mother, Jennifer Clarke, receive MBEs for their work advocating for people with brain injuries. The pair co-founded the charity SameYou, which works to develop better mental health recovery treatment for survivors of brain injuries. In 2011, the actor had a life-threatening stroke during a workout. It is believed they are the first mother and daughter to receive the same award in the same honours list.

Fellow Game Of Thrones actor Oliver Ford Davies said he is “honoured” to be made an OBE for services to drama. The performer, 84, best known for his Shakespearean stage work, found new fans as Maester Cressen in the HBO fantasy series and as Sio Bibble in the Star Wars prequel trilogy films, released in 1999, 2002 and 2005.

Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood, whose handshake is a highly coveted honour on the show, has been made an MBE for services to baking and broadcasting. He has appeared on the Channel 4 show since 2010, first with Dame Mary Berry and now with Dame Prue Leith, judging and criticizing the efforts of amateur bakers.

Veteran broadcasterSteve Wright said he wants to dedicate becoming an MBE "to all the people in broadcasting who gave comfort and public service during the pandemic". Best known for presenting his afternoon show on BBC Radio 2 over several decades, he was honoured for his services to radio in the New Year Honours.

Eav Don Black, a songwriter known for working with Andrew Lloyd Webber and for co-writing several Bond songs, receives a CBE for services to music.

Felicity Dahl receives a damehood for her role in setting up Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity in 1991 in memory of her husband. The charity works in partnership with the NHS to provide specialist nurses and support for seriously ill children living with complex, lifelong conditions.

Christian Horner, the chief executive of Red Bull Racing, receives a CBE. Sir Bill Beaumont, the chair of World Rugby and a former captain of the England rugby team, is awarded a grand cross. Ron Dennis, the founder and former chief executive of the sports car manufacturer McLaren, is knighted.

Oscar-winning actor James Martin has told how he "cried his eyes out" after learning he was to be made an MBE while broadcaster Pamela Ballantine has been made an MBE on the first anniversary of being diagnosed with breast cancer for her many years of work supporting charities.

Another veteran broadcaster Tony Blackburn has described being made an OBE as "the icing on a very lovely cake" after almost six decades in the "best job" on BBC and commercial radio stations. The 80-year-old, who became a household name as the first DJ on BBC Radio 1 when it launched in 1967, is honoured for his services to broadcasting and charity.

Author Sir Alexander McCall Smith has said he feels "very touched" to be knighted.

In science, Maggie Aderin-Pocock, the space scientist and co-presenter of the long-running BBC documentary The Sky at Night, is made a dame. Earlier this year, Mattel created a Barbie doll of Aderin-Pocock in celebration of International Women’s Day.



FANNIE: THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER by Cheryl L. West.

Fannie Lou Hamer. Photo: Biography

Directed by Henry D. Godinez.

Starring Maiesha McQueen as Fannie Lou Hamer.

Musical accompaniment by Morgan E. Stevenson Musical Director, Keyboards, Harmonica, Vocals - Spencer Bean Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Bass, and Vocals - Dorian Phelps Percussion, Vocals

Justice will not be denied.

Rising from humble roots as the daughter of a Mississippi sharecropper, Fannie Lou Hamer became a leader in the struggle for voting rights at a time when Civil Rights were far from secure. Her grit and determination to keep fighting, through bad times as well as good, shows what it means to be a true revolutionary. "You’ll be clapping and crying and singing along with a show that is part theatre, part gospel revival, and all inspiration."

was born in 1917, the 20th child of Lou Ella and James Lee Townsend, sharecroppers east of the Mississippi Delta. Fannie Hamer was born on October 6, 1917 in Montgomery County, Mississippi, the 20th and last child of sharecroppers Lou Ella and James Townsend. She grew up in poverty, and at age six Hamer joined her family picking cotton. By age 12, she left school to work. In 1944, she married Perry Hamer and the couple toiled on the Mississippi plantation owned by B.D. Marlowe until 1962. Because Hamer was the only worker who could read and write, she also served as plantation timekeeper. I n 1961, Hamer received a hysterectomy by a white doctor without her consent while undergoing surgery to remove a uterine tumor. Such forced sterilization of Black women, as a way to reduce the Black population, was so widespread it was dubbed a "Mississippi appendectomy." Unable to have children of their own, the Hamers adopted two daughters.

In June 1963, after successfully completing a voter registration program in Charleston, South Carolina, Hamer and several other Black women were arrested for sitting in a "whites-only" bus station restaurant in Winona, Mississippi. At the Winona jailhouse, she and several of the women were brutally beaten, leaving Hamer with lifelong injuries from a blood clot in her eye, kidney damage, and leg damage.

In 1964, Hamer’s national reputation soared as she co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), which challenged the local Democratic Party’s efforts to block Black participation. Hamer and other MFDP members went to the Democratic National Convention that year, arguing to be recognized as the official delegation. When Hamer spoke before the Credentials Committee, calling for mandatory integrated state delegations, President Lyndon Johnson held a televised press conference so she would not get any television airtime. But her speech, with its poignant descriptions of racial prejudice in the South, was televised later. By 1968, Hamer’s vision for racial parity in delegations had become a reality and Hamer was a member of Mississippi’s first integrated delegation.

Frustrated by the political process, Hamer turned to economics as a strategy for greater racial equality. In 1968, she began a "pig bank" to provide free pigs for Black farmers to breed, raise, and slaughter. A year later she launched the Freedom Farm Cooperative (FFC), buying up land that Blacks could own and farm collectively. With the assistance of donors (including famed singer Harry Belafonte), she purchased 640 acres and launched a coop store, boutique, and sewing enterprise. She single-handedly ensured that 200 units of low-income housing were built—many still exist in Ruleville today. The FFC lasted until the mid-1970s; at its heyday, it was among the largest employers in Sunflower County.

In 1971, Hamer helped to found the National Women’s Political Caucus.

In 1977, Hamer died of breast cancer at age 59.

Creative Team: Psywrn Simone Understudy & Assistant Director. Collette Pollard Scenic Designer. Ari Fulton Costume Designer. Jason Lynch Lighting Designer. Victoria Delorio Sound Designer. Mike Tutaj Projections Designer. Richard J. Roberts Dramaturg. Nathan Garrison Stage Manager.

January 9 - February 4 at the Indiana Repertory Theatre in Indianapolis, IN.

JUST FOR US Created by Icons Bazaar from the Noun Project.

Starring Alex Edelman.

Directed by Adam Brace.

In the wake of a string of anti-Semitic rhetoric pointed in his direction online, standup comic Edelman decides to go straight to the source; specifically, Queens, where he covertly attends a meeting of White Nationalists and comes face-to-face with the people behind the keyboards. What happens next forms the backbone of the shockingly relevant, utterly hilarious, and only moderately perspirant stories that comprise Just for Us.

January 5 - 7 on the Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

THE LION KING music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and a book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, with additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer.

Directed by Julie Taylor.

Giraffes strut. Birds swoop. Gazelles leap. The entire Serengeti comes to life as never before. And as the music soars, Pride Rock slowly emerges from the mist. Over 100 million people worldwide have experienced the awe-inspiring visual artistry, the unforgettable music, and the uniquely theatrical storytelling of this Broadway spectacular — one of the most breathtaking and beloved productions ever to grace the stage.

Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, The Lion King brings together one of the most imaginative creative teams on Broadway. Tony Award-winning director Julie Taymor brings to life a story of hope and adventure set against a fantastic backdrop of stunning visuals. The Lion King also features the extraordinary work of Tony Award-winning choreographer Garth Fagan and some of Broadway’s most recognizable music, crafted by Tony Award-winning artists Elton John and Tim Rice.

Featuring: Kayla Rose Aimable, William John Austin, Iman Ayana, Isaiah Bailey, Samantha Lauren Barriento, John E. Brady, Layla Brent, Vernon Brooks III, Sasha Caicedo, Lauren Carr, Thembelihle Cele, Daniela Cobb, Nick Cordileone, Jaxyn Damasco, Lyric Danae, Marquis Floyd, Tony Freeman, Mukelisiwe Goba, Peter Hargrave, Drew Hirshfield, Aliah James, Eric Bean, Jr., Joel Karie, Mason Lawson, Gabisile Manana, Christopher L. McKenzie, Justin Mensah, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, Aaron Nelson, Jeremy Noel, Sicelo Ntshangase, Erick D. Patrick, Sayiga Eugene Peabody, Yael Pineda-Hall, Gerald Ramsey, Darian Sanders, Maia Schechter, Poseletso Sejosingoe, Aniya Simone, Robbie Swift, Martina Sykes, Jennifer Theriot, Courtney Thomas, Denzel Tsopnang, Forest VanDyke, Khalifa White, and Jordan Nicole Willis.

Production Team: Michael Curry Mask Designer/Puppet Designer Robert Elhai, David Metzer and Bruce Fowler orchestrations. Garth Fagan choreographer, Donald Holder Lighting Designer, Richard Hudson Scenic Designer, Michael Ward Hair & Makeup Designer. Steve Canyon sound design.

January 7-28, 2024 at the Keller Auditorium in Portland, OR.

SIX musical comedy with music, book, and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss.

A modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII, presented in the form of a pop concert.

Winner of 23 awards, including the 2022 Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.

The Boleyn Tour features Gerianne Perez as Catherine of Aragon - Zan Berube as as Ann Boleyn - Amina Faye as Jane Seymour - Terica Marie as Anna of Cleves - Aline Mayagoitia as Katherine Howard and Adriana Scalice as Catherine Parr.

With alternates Aryn Bohannon, Wesley Carpenter, Jana Larell Glover, Taylor Pearlstein, Cassie Silva, and Kelly Denice Taylor.

During the first part of January performances are January 2, 2024 - January 7, 2024 at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts in Reno, Nevada. January 9, 2024 - January 21, 2024 at the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City, Utah.

PRETTY WOMAN Music & Lyrics by Brian Adams and Jim Vallance. Book by Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton. The musical is based on the 1990 film of the same name written by Lawton and directed by Marshall.

Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell.

Based on the Julia Roberts-Richard Gere movie about a star-crossed meeting between a sex worker and a disillusioned businessman.

Featuring Ellie Bake as Vivian Ward, Chase Wolfe as Edward Lewis, Rae Davenport as Kit De Luca, Adam DuPlessis as Happy Man. Liam Searcy as Philip Stuckey.

The cast includes: Matthew Blum, Brianna Clark, Kerry D'Jovanni, Vincent Diperi, Laureen Esser, Charlie Fusari, Steven Gagliano, Justin Glass, Christian Maxwell Henry, Alexandra Kinsley, Joshua Kring, Bethany McDonald, Robert Miller, Hank Santos, Taylor M. Sheppard, Devyn Trondson, Elana Valastro, Sarah Wag and Channing Weir.

The creatives are: DB Bonds (Direction Recreation), Rusty Mowery (Choreography Recreation), Willie Van Dyke (Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations), David Rockwell (Original Scenic Design), Christine Peters (Tour Scenic Design), Gregg Barnes (Costume Design), Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Philip Rosenberg (Lighting Designer), John Shivers (Sound Design), Josh Marquette (Hair Design), Fiona Mifsud (Makeup Design), Pearsons Casting CSA CDG CDA (Casting), Randy Cohen (Keyboard Programmer), Shane Ffrench (Music Director), Molly Goodwin (Production Stage Manager), Nate Coffey (Assistant Stage Manager), Alied Global Marketing (Tour Marketing & Press) Dave Burch (Technical Director), Gregg Damanti (Production Manager).

The first part of January the tour has performances January 8 - 10, 2024 at Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs, CO. January 12 - 14, 2024 the shows are at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousands Oaks, CA.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

FINAL OVATION

TOMMY SMOTHERS an American comedian, composer and musician, best known as half of the musical comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick, died December 26, 2023 from lung cancer at his home in Santa Rosa, CA. He was 86.

In announcing Tom’s passing, brother and comedy partner Dick Smothers stated, "Tom was not only the loving older brother that everyone would want in their life, he was a one-of-a-kind creative partner. I am forever grateful to have spent a lifetime together with him, on and off stage, for over 60 years. Our relationship was like a good marriage – the longer we were together, the more we loved and respected one another. We were truly blessed."

Thomas Bolyn Smothers III was a competitive unicyclist, and a state champion gymnast in the parallel bars.

The Smothers Brothers initially wanted to be folk musicians.[6] Tom did not feel that he was good enough to be a professional musician, but he was funny enough to do comedy. The two began adding comedy bits to their act. The Smothers Brothers next appeared on the CBS sitcom The Smothers Brothers Show from 1965 to 1966. Tom felt that the show did not play to the brothers' strengths and wanted creative control over their next venture. Tom Smothers negotiated creative control over their next CBS show, a variety show entitled The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967. The documentary Smothered describes how the brothers (particularly Tom) fought CBS censors to sneak in references to religion, recreational drugs, sex, and the Vietnam War. Smothers is widely quoted as saying: "The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen." The brothers' oppositional politics led to their show's demise, with David Steinberg later claiming "The most innovative variety show on television shut down because of political pressure". During the same years, Tom wrote and recorded mainstream songs, such as "Can't Help Falling in Love with You." Tom has since stated, "When the Smothers Brothers came on the air we had no political point of view or social consciousness, it just evolved as the show was on the air."

After the show was canceled, Smothers became more strident in his politics.

"I lost perspective, my sense of humor. I became a poster boy for the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and I started buying into it. It was about three years when I was deadly serious about everything.... I'm still politically active, I'm still angry, but I've got it in the right position now," he has been quoted as explaining.

To augment their act, "Yo-Yo Man" became part of their shows. Tom Smothers had created the mostly non-speaking character in the late '60s, a comedic performer of tricks using a yo-yo. The term "Yo-Yo Man" is registered in his name. In their 2008 tour, Yo-Yo Man was listed as the group's opening act.

In 2008, during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, Smothers was awarded a special Emmy. In 1969, when he was head writer of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the writing staff was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedic Series. Smothers had refused to let his name be on the list of writers nominated for the Emmy, because he felt his name was too volatile. The award at the 2008 ceremony was presented by Steve Martin, who was one of the writers who originally won the award.

On May 6, 2011, the American Civil Liberties Union's Sonoma County chapter honored Smothers with its Jack Green Civil Liberties Award for his work against television censorship and for speaking out for peace and civil liberties.

Smothers introduced some musical acts at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. As he became more politically active, he befriended similarly inclined celebrities like John Lennon.

In 1969, Smothers and Lennon played acoustic guitars on Lennon's recording of his single Give Peace a Chance. Smothers' name was also mentioned in the song.

The Smothers Brothers starred in Nevada resorts on a regular basis - doing standing room only business.

Smothers was the owner of Remick Ridge Vineyards in Sonoma County, California, which he established in 1977 and sold in 2023. Smothers and his wife, Marcy Carriker, have two children, Bo (born 1991) and Riley Rose (born 1996). He also has a son, Thomas Bolyn Smothers IV (Tom Jr.), from his first marriage, and one grandson, Phoenix Parrish-Smothers. Tom and Dick had a sister, Sherry, born in September 1941 in Pasadena, California and who died in April 2023.

In 2023, Smothers announced he had been diagnosed with stage two lung cancer. He died from the disease at his home in Santa Rosa, California, on December 26, 2023, at the age of 86.

Dick Smothers and his wife Marie have requested that memorial donations can made to the National Comedy Center, the nation’s official cultural institution dedicated to comedy and home to the Smothers Brothers archive.

DAVID LELAND BAFTA, Emmy and Grammy winning director and writer died December 24, 2023 He was 82.

Leland's career spanned five decades.

Leland wrote films including Personal Services and Wish You Were Here, and famously directed Band of Brothers.

He trained as an actor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama as a young man, before co-forming the Drama Centre London. He then moved to the Crucible Theatre for stage management. David worked with Monty Python stars Michael Palin and Terry Jones and directed Victoria Wood's first play, Talent.

Pirce Brosnan was given his first stage opportunity by Leland in Tennessee Williams' play The Red Devil Battery Sign.

David also directed Liam Neeson in the movie The Big Man, and directed Land Girls with Rachel Weisz and Anna Friel.

He was a friend of George Harrison, and worked as a director on the Beatles' film Checking Out and Concert For George, which was released after the guitarist's death.

Leland later returned to the stage to direct musical A Tribute To The Blues Brothers - which played in the West End and toured for 10 years across the UK and Australia.

Meanwhile, in TV Leland won an Emmy award for outstanding directing for an episode of HBO's Band Of Brothers and was both a director and writer for The Borgias.

Other awards include a Grammy for best long form music video, having directed Concert For George - a memorial music event at the Royal Albert Hall in honor of the late Beatles star George Harrison.

Leland was a close friend of Harrison and worked as a director on the guitarist's 1988 film Checking Out.

He is survived by his wife Sabrina, his four daughters and six grandchildren and, as states his official obit - "all of whom he loved almost as much as Arsenal Football Club."

KAMAR DE LOS REYES best known for the Call of Duty video game franchise and the long-running soap, One Life To Live, was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1967 and grew up in Las Vegas, died on December 24, 2023 after a brief battle with cancer. He was 56.

Raised in the backstage wings of Las Vegas hotels by his Cuban father, percussionist Walfredo de los Reyes, Kamar de los Reyes knew the second he was hoisted onto the stage to dance with Lola Falana at the age of 8, that he not only wanted to perform, but he wanted to be out front.

Kamar's father, a Cuban drummer and percussionist, would see two of his three sons follow in his footsteps: the percussionist of the band Chicago, Walfredo Reyes Jr., and to former Yanni, and now Zac Brown Band percussionist, Daniel de los Reyes. Kamar, the youngest of the brood, chose to go another route. While in high school, he discovered the arts as a singer and dancer. During his senior year, a stage role as El Gallo in The Fantastiks marked his acting debut. Shortly thereafter, Kamar would go to Los Angeles, to visit his brother Daniel, who was playing percussion for the Cher video We All Sleep Alone. Kamar landed a dancing role and subsequently went on to work with Kenny Ortega in the feature film Salsa (1988) and the television series Dirty Dancing (1988). Later in 2001, Kamar would work again with Ortega in the VH-1 movie The Way She Moves (2001). Only this time, he would work as the lead actor.

He made in Broadway debut in the critically acclaimed Off Broadway play Blade to the Heat and rose to critical attention for his portrayal of gay Irish-Mexican boxer Pedro Quinn.

Another early role was in a 1995 Public Theater production of The Tempest, where he starred as Ferdinand opposite Patrick Stewart as Prospero. He also appeared in Toni Braxton’s 2000 music video for Spanish Guitar. On the big screen, he played Watergate burglar Eugenio Martínez in Oliver Stone’s 1995 movie, Nixon, and he was in Lisa France’s 2005 movie Love & Suicide.

In the soap One Life to Live, he first appeared in 1995 as Antonio, a former gang member who went on to become a lawyer and a cop. He left the show in 1998, but returned from 2000 to 2013.

During his time on that show, he met his wife, The Fosters actress Sherri Saum, 49. The couple tied the knot in 2007 and had 9-year-old twin sons, John and Michael (he also had another son, Caylen, from a past relationship.

After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, de los Reyes played an active role in the recovery efforts. Kamar and his brother Daniel de los Reyes, along with Day Glow Relief, made five trips to the hurricane-ravaged island.

He’s survived by his widow, Sherri Saum, his three sons, his parents, his brothers, percussionists Walfredo Reyes Jr. and Daniel de los Reyes, and his sisters, Lily and Ilde.

TOM WILKINSON OBE the BAFTA award winning actor died suddenly in home on December 30, 2023 in England. He was 75.

In addition to a BAFTA, during his lengthy career he received a Golden Globe, a Primetime Emmy Award and nominations for two Academy Awards.

Wilkinson graduated in English and American literature from the University of Kent at Canterbury. While at university, Wilkinson became preoccupied with acting and directing with the University of Kent Drama Society (now called T24 Drama Society). After finishing his degree, Wilkinson then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 1973.

His role in the ensemble cast of the comedy drama The Full Monty in 1997, earned him a BAFTA. His portrayal of Matt Fowler, in Todd Field's In the Bedroom, received international praise from critics. For the role, he was named Best Actor of the Year by the New York Film Critics' Circle, and went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. That success was followed up by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Normal; The Exorcism of Emily Rose; Batman Begins, and< i>Separate Lies.

In 2007, Wilkinson played Arthur Edens, an attorney with bipolar disorder, in Michael Clayton and garnered much critical acclaim and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The same year, he played an uncle planning for murder in Woody Allen’s Cassandra's Dream, and played opposite Billy Crudup as children's book writing partners in Dedication.

Wilkinson lived in North London with his wife, actress Diana Hardcastle. They had two daughters together, Alice and Molly who survive him.

MAURICE HINES actor, director, choreographer, singer died December 29, 2023 at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey. He was 80.

He made his Broadway debut in The Girl in the Pink Tights in 1954.

As a member of his family's tap dance show, Hines, Hines & Dad, they performed on a regular basis in New York and Las Vegas.

He was cast as Nathan Detroit in the national tour of Guys and Dolls, after which he returned to Broadway in Eubie! His additional Broadway credits include Bring Back Birdie and Sophisticated Ladies as a performer, Uptown... It's Hot! as a performer - earning a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Musical - and choreographer, and Hot Feet, which he conceived, choreographed, and directed.

Hines co-directed and choreographed the national tour of the Louis Armstrong musical biography Satchmo and directed, choreographed, and starred in the national tour of Harlem Suite with successive leading ladies Jennifer Holliday, Stephanie Mills, and Melba Moore. He directed and choreographed Havana Night in Cuba, an all-Latino production of The Red Shoes in the Dominican Republic, and created the revue Broadway Soul Jam to inaugurate an entertainment complex in the Netherlands.

Hines directed and choreographed music videos, including one for Quincy Jones. He was the first African American to direct at Radio City Music Hall.

He appeared with his younger brother the late Gregory Hines, in his only film The Cotton Club.

He is survived by his nephew Zach and his niece Daria.

Next Column: January 7, 2024
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Laura Deni

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