Broadway To Vegas
SHOW REVIEWS CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS GOSSIP NEWS
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Copyright: June 10, 2001
By: Laura Deni
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EQUITY ESTABLISHES NEW LAS
VEGAS RULES
In a move being heralded as a competitive breakthrough, Equity has established a new code for
bringing Equity shows into Las Vegas
STEVEN HOOD while performing at the Venetian
Hotel, Las Vegas. Photo By Laura Deni
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"Equity has instituted a special contract for Las Vegas that enables producers to bring in Equity
shows in a more competitive basis. It wasn't fair to make a Las Vegas production compete with
New York," reported singer/actor
Steven Hood, vice liaison for the Las Vegas branch of Equity.
"In the past it was impossible for a producer to do a matinee and evening show in Las Vegas and
compete with New York. They couldn't afford to bring a production here," reiterated Hood,
who performs at the Venetian Hotel. He indicated he hasn't yet received a copy of the new rules.
"Now there are some modifications. Actors will be paid almost as much as in New York, be
eligible for pension provisions, but give up some of the other benefits.
Hood stated that the first show to operate under the new guidelines is Men Are
From Mars, Women Are From Venus which has been running in Las Vegas at the Flamingo
Hilton Hotel with Equity permission. They now move into the status of an Equity production.
"With the exception of the touring shows that is the only Equity production in Las
Vegas,"continued Hood.
"At any time Las Vegas has between 200-300 Equity members. Many are retired performers.
There are also several major stars who are Equity members who live in Las Vegas such as Jerry
Lewis, Robert Goulet and Phil Ford and Mimi Hines."
ELI'S COMIN - A TRIBUTE TO
LAURA NYRO
Laura Nyro died of ovarian cancer at the age of 49 in 1997. She left more than one child born in
this world to carry on, she left a legacy of music.
LAURA NYRO
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Off-Broadway's Eli's Comin' currently in a world premiere engagement at the
Vineyard Theater offers a music-theatre piece inspired by that music. It stars a
five member cast including; Judy Kuhn a three time Tony nominee for She Loves Me,
Chess and Les Miserables as Emmie, a woman journeying into the heart and soul of
New York City. Wilson Jermaine Heredia, who won a Tony Award for Rent, plays the
captain - as in the Nyro song Captain St. Lucifer. Along the way Emmie, encountering
mothers, daughters, angels, demons, lovers and a tarot card reader played by Anika Noni
Rose who exhibits a fabulous, powerful voice that knocks the socks off a song - all of whom
play a part in Emmie's salvation. Ronnell Bey and Mandy Gonzalez are excellent. The group is
backed by an outstanding six piece jazz ensemble led by pianist and musical director Joe
Rubinstein, with guitarist Marvin Sewell and trumpeter Eddie Allen.
Eli's Coming is not a biographical piece about Nyro, nor a traditional book musical or
revue; rather, it is a music-theater piece inspired by the emotional and musical landscapes of
Nyro's songs, which experiment with form and feeling, sharing a connection with modern
poetry and art, inspiring musicians and music lovers for over three decades.
Co created by Diane Paulus and Bruce Buschel, Eli's Coming is directed by
Paulus. The musical arranger is Diedre Murray.
ANIKA NONI ROSE, MANDY GONZALEZ,
RONNELL REY and JUDY KUHN in Eli's Comin. Photo By Carol Rosegg
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Nyro's unprecedented string of popular hits in the 60s and 70s include Stoned Soul Picnic,
Stony End, Wedding Bell Blues, Sweet Blindness and Eli's Coming, which she
recorded on such groundbreaking albums as Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and
New York Tendaberry - was without question, one of the most influential
singer/songwriters of her day. She blended jazz, rhythm and blues, rock, gospel and folk music.
Her own music was influenced by the likes of Debussy, Coltrane, Burt Bacharach and the
doo-wop groups she sang with on the street corners where she grew up in her native
Bronx.
"I would go out singing, as a teenager, to a party or out on the street, because there were
harmony groups there, and that was one of the joys of my youth," Laura had said of her musical
roots. "I mean you could just go out and sing. If I look back now, all these years later, I
must have had a spiritual, holistic feeling from all of that."
A conservative approach was never her road. "I'm not interested in conventional limitations when
it comes to my songwriting. For instance, I may bring a certain feminist perspective to my
songwriting, because that's how I see life. I'm interested in art, poetry, and music."
By age 17, she had written the classic And When I Die, popularized by Peter, Paul and
Mary, and later Blood, Sweat and Tears. The radio airwaves of the late 60's and 70's were filled
with her songs. Wedding Bell Blues, Stoned Soul Picnic, Blowin' Away, Save The
Country, and Sweet Blindness, a bouquet of compositions, all became hits for The
Fifth Dimension, as did Eli's Comin' for Three Dog Night, and Stoney End for
Barbra Streisand.
Laura's work draws from soul, jazz, blues, R&B, and folk-rooted music, along with a modern
classical influence. Her songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Carmen McCrae,
Suzanne Vega, Phoebe Snow, Roseane Cash, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Jane Siberry, Mongo
Santamaria, Junior Walker and the All Stars, Chet Atkins, Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt,
George Duke, Maynard Ferguson, Thelma Houston, Patti Larkin, and The Roches. The
prestigious Alvin Ailey Dance Company includes Laura's music in their performance piece
Cry. And the Canadian Ballet has danced to Emmie, which Laura had said
was her mother's favorite song.
Born in New York on October 18, 1947, Laura was brought up on city life. She listened
to the late 50's and 60's girl groups, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Smokey
Robinson and the Miracles, Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions, Mary Wells, Dusty Springfield,
and the early Burt Bacharach-Hal David songs of Dionne Warwick. While Laura read poetry at
home her mother played records by Leontyne Price and impressionist classical composers such
as Ravel, Debussy and Persicetti.
Throughout her high school years at Manhattan's Music and Art Institute Laura's ear was tuned
into the protest music of Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, early Bob Dylan, the Beatles and "adored" the
music of Van Morrison. "I was always interested in the social consciousness of certain songs. My
mother and grandfather were progressive thinkers, so I felt at home in the peace movement and
the women's movement, and that has influenced my music," she explained at the height of her
career.
At the age of 18 Laura made her first extended professional appearance, singing at the legendary
Hungry i coffeehouse in San Francisco.
Nyro's life was played out on the road. Her Nested tour of 1978 found a pregnant Laura on stage
up until a few weeks before the baby was born. Performing to four sold out performances at The
Bottom Line, the eight-month pregnant Laura told the crowd "We're both really happy to be
here."
In 1984 Mother's Spiritual, a major work of 14 original songs, was released. The lyrics
were presented at the Chicago Peace Museum. Her second "live" recording - Laura-Live At
The Bottom Line, released on Cypress/A & M, 1989 drew upon a combination of Laura's
classic compositions and eight original new songs featuring Roll of the Ocean, and the
Japanese Restaurant Song. The tour was dedicated to the Animal Rights
Movement.
In 1993 Walk The Dog And Light The Light arrived with the studio version of Broken
Rainbow, about the unjust relocation of the Navajo people., considered one of Laura's most
important songs of social protest. It was written for the film of the same name, which won the
Academy Award for Best Documentary of 1985.
This past March Angel in the Dark an album featuring 16 songs recorded by Nyro in the
years prior to her death was released by Rounder Record.
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DONNA REED FESTIVAL
FEATURES EXPERTS
The annual Donna Reed Performing Arts Festival takes June 17-23 in Denison, Iowa. The
respected Festival brings in experts conducting seminars in a wide variety of entertainment
categories.
Donna Reed was born Donnabelle Mullenger in Denison, Iowa. She captivated the country with
her sensitive portrayals in films like the great American classic It's a Wonderful Life and
From Here to Eternity for which she won the coveted Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actress.
DONNA REED
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Perhaps best remembered for her work on her own television series, The Donna Reed
Show, which aired from 1958 through 1966, she played the role of an honest, humorous, and
nurturing mother much like her real self.
Behind the cameras, she was the uncredited producer and director of the show, studying and
mastering both lighting and cinematography--roles rarely handled by women of that
time.
The Donna Reed Foundation was formed in 1987 by members of the actress' hometown
community of Denison, Iowa her husband, Grover Asmus, actress Shelley Fabares who played
her television series daughter and Norma Connolly.
Based in Denison the Donna Reed Foundation operates to recognize, encourage, and support
talent through national, state, and local scholarships, conduct workshops taught by outstanding
industry professionals from across the country, and promote stage plays, concerts, and other
cultural activities throughout the year. It also works towards supporting a performing
arts center, full film archive, a museum, and professional studio facilities dedicated to developing
new artists.
This year's Performing Arts Festival Masters' Seminars Include:
THE BUSINESS OF SHOW BUSINESS Learn what happens behind the scenes in negotiations
with casting directors, agents, and business affairs professionals to get you jobs in New York,
Hollywood, or anywhere between Moderator: Lisa Dalton Panel: David Windsor, Eddie Foy III,
Executive in Charge of casting for Dick Clark Productions. Vic Sutton, Meryl O'Loughlin,
Aviva Bergman, and Danny Goldman.
THE INS AND OUTS OF THE DEAL
AVIVA BERGMAN
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taught by attorney Aviva Bergman, currently the Senior
Vice President of Business Affairs at Lifetime Television.
Bergman is responsible for all business affairs for all types of programming including reality,
scripted, movies of the week, and documentaries.
THE WORLD OF WORKSHOPS: USING THE NETWORKS
TO MAKE IT IN
HOLLYWOOD by Hannah Sussman.
WHAT AGENTS LOOK FOR by
Instructors: David Windsor and Vic Sutton with Guests:
Ryan Kirk Buechler and Ben Lang.
DEVELOPING YOUR CHARACTER taught by Gigi Perreau. Starting as a baby
in the MGM film Madame Curie and one of the first to be honored with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, Gigi has over 50 years of acting experience, 20 years as a director and
most recently a teacher and coach.
SPONTANEOUS CHARACTER: OUT OF CONTROL, IN
FULL CONTROL
DARRYL HICKMAN
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Instructors are Tony Sears and Darryl Hickman.
One of Hickman's first roles when he was just nine years old was in the film classic The
Grapes of Wrath with Henry Fonda.
He went on to perform in over 70 films.
IMPROVISATIONAL TECHNIQUES by Instructor Howard Storm. Snatched from
the comedy club circuit to direct Valerie Harper in Rhoda, Storm has helmed Laverne
and Shirley, Mork and Mindy, Taxi, Major Dad, Alf, and Everybody Loves Raymond,
directing comedic giants Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Tony Danza, Ray
Romano, and Jim Carrey.
A MUSICAL THEATER WORKSHOP with Guest Instructors: Meryl O'Loughlin, Alan Young,
Gigi Perreau, Candy Olson, Kristen Oei, and Darryl Hickman.
WRITING THE NOVEL by
Instructor: Joyce Burditt.
JOYCE BURDITT
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Her first novel, The Cracker Factory, was a national best seller before becoming an
ABC-TV movie starring Natalie Wood and Shelley Long.
Joyce has worked at NBC as Vice President of Comedy Development, written and produced
Matlock starring Andy Griffith, Perry Mason starring Raymond Burr, and Father
Dowling Mysteries starring Tom Bosley and Tracy Nelson. She created Diagnosis Murder
starring Dick Van Dyke.
Joyce is currently working on a pilot for the Lifetime television network.
DRAMA OF DANCE and SPIRIT OF
DANCE FOR THE DISABLED by instructor
Zina Bethune. Her Broadway work includes a starring
role as Greta Garbo in Tommy Tune's Grand Hotel. She has also directed or
choreographed over 50 plays, films, videos, and ballets.
APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE
WPP ANNUAL WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS GALA
takes place tomorrow night at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers with actress
Mariska Hargitay serving as emcee.
Co-Chairs: are Wila H. Jordan, founder/CEO of Jordan Edmiston Group and Suzanne
Wright.
The honorees include:
EVELYN CUNNINGHAM
Founder, Coalition of 100 Black Women;
journalist, author, feminist, tap dancer;
AUDRA McDONALD the Tony
award winning actress and recording artist.
LAURA PELS the producer who
created the Laura Pels Foundation.
TWYLA THARP
the ground breaking choreographer/director of dance, film, stage and
television/video.
IRENE WORTH an inestimable
actress on stage and film.
EUGENIA ZUCKERMAN a
distinguished concert and recording artist.
The presenters include: Richard Parsons Co-Chief Operating Officer, AOL/Time-Warner, Inc.
Richard Parsons, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artistic director of the Roundabout Todd Haimes,
Robert Batscha President, Museum of Television, author Edward Albee, and film maker David
Seltzer.
Celebrating its 23rd Anniversary Season, Women's Project & Productions is
the nation's preeminent non-profit Off-Broadway theatre company dedicated to producing and
developing new plays by women. Founded in 1978 by Julia Miles, WPP has produced over 100
plays by women playwrights and sponsored almost 400 readings and workshops,
featuring a veritable Who's Who of women in American theatre - playwrights Anna Deavere
Smith, Maria Irene Fornes, Emily Mann, Pearl Cleage; actors Mary McDonnell, Frances
Sternhagen, Jayne Atkinson, Deirdre O'Connell, Lizbeth Mackay, Daphne Rubin-Vega; and
directors Lisa Peterson and Liz Diamond, among others. Each year their successful curriculum -
based arts education program Ten Centuries of Women Playwrights serves over 1,900 students in
20 New York City public intermediate and high schools. In addition the Women's
Project publishes anthologies of the plays produced, and hosts conferences and panels on women
in theatre and Community outreach events.
BACK TO BROOKLYN HOMECOMING FESTIVAL founded in 1983 to commemorate the centennial of the Brooklyn Bridge,
this high-profile festival showcases the cultural and ethnic diversity of Brooklyn and honors its
own by dedicated one of the 135 bricks in the Garden Celebrity Path.
Lilias White
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The bricks were designed by artist April Kinser and feature bronze plaques inscribed with the
name of the Brooklyn son or daughter and the phrase The Greatness of Brooklyn is its People.
Today brick laying honors are bestowed upon Broadway's Tony Award-winning diva Lillias
White. Inducted alongside White will be Las Vegas resident comedian Pat Cooper, lawyer and
author Alan M. Dershowitz, writer Pale Marshall and folksinger son of Woody Guthrie, who also
is the Brooklyn Homecoming King. Past Celebrity Path recipients include Walt Whitman, Jackie
Robinson, Jimmy Smits, Mary Tyler Moore and Woody Guthrie.
CURTAIN DOWN
JANE EYRE which was nominated
for five Tony's but won none, closes tonight. Previous closing notices had been posted, but the
inevitable was delayed in hopes of a Tony win. Losses are about $9 million.
BELLLS ARE RINGING which
probably never should have opened in the first place closes tonight. The production which has
bounced checks to its stars and lost more than $7 million, mutilated the talents of Faith
Prince.
A CLASS ACT the musical about
the late lyricist Ed Kleban, will also close tonight. This is an excellent production. Nominated
for five Tony awards, expect a national tour. If it hits your town go see it.
KENNEDY CENTER SALUTES STEPHEN
SONDHEIM making theater history as it celebrates the
accomplishments of one of the
theater's great creative talents. In this unprecedented festival, to be staged May 10-August 25,
2002, six of Stephen Sondheim's greatest musicals in brilliant new Kennedy Center productions
featuring some of the most exciting performers, directors, and designers in the theater
today.
The shows will be performed in repertory, a format that will allow you to see all six musicals in
a short period of time. In fact, the Weekends with Sondheim option that the Kennedy Center is
offering permits a patron to see all six shows in two weekends.
Expected to sell out early, the packages include The Opening Night Series for $2,000
includes a $1,500 tax-deductible contribution plus one Premium ticket to each of the six
Sondheim musicals on the Saturday Opening Nights, plus an invitation to each of the six Opening
Night parties.
At a press conference at Sardi's in New York City, the shows' directors were announced by
Michael M. Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center. Sondheim was not present. Kaiser noted
that the Center's Sondheim musicals will be augmented by its presentation of the New National
Theatre Tokyo's Pacific Overtures in Japanese with English subtitles. Also, the Kennedy Center
Education Department will present a family-friendly adaptation of Into the Woods. And,
to top it all off, Barbara Cook will offer her popular Mostly Sondheim concert at the
Terrace Theater in June.
The directors are: Christopher Ashley for Merrily We Roll Along and Sweeney
Todd, Mark Brokaw for A Little Night Music, Sean Mathias for Company,
and Eric Schaeffer the artistic director of the entire Celebration for Passion and
Sunday in the Park With George.
Each of the Kennedy Center shows will be performed by full-size orchestras playing the original
orchestrations. Kay Cameron is musical director of The Sondheim Celebration, which
will be presented in the Eisenhower Theatre at the Center.
ROCKY HORROR SHOW
undergoes some cast changes. Luke Perry, known for his role as the alcoholic bad boy Dylan on
Beverly Hills, 90210, plays the straight-laced Brad Majors June 26-July 29.
In a nasty headline making exit, Rocker Joan Jett left the musical revival, to be replaced as super
groupie Columbia by Saturday Night Live star Ana Gasteyer.
THOU SHALT NOT the new
musical from Susan Stroman, and composer Harry Connick, Jr., produced by Lincoln Center
Theater is progressing. Based on Therese Raquin, Emile Zola's harrowing novel
about adultery and murder, the play was originally set in Paris. Stroman and Connick Jr. shifted
the action to Connick's home town of New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century.
Kate Levering, now starring in 42nd Street, will play the title character of Therese
Raquin, who conspires with her lover, Laurent, played by former Music Man star Craig
Bierko, to kill her husband, Camillem, played by Norbert Butz. Debra Monk and Leo Burmester
are also in the cast. Thou Shalt Not will run at the Plymouth Theatre from Sept. 20 to
Jan. 6. Opening night is Oct. 25. A preview of the show - which features a big Mardi Gras
production number - will be held tomorrow for group-sales ticket agents.
HOLLYWOOD ARMS written by
Carol Burnett and her daughter Carrie Hamilton, will be directed by Hal Prince. The production
stages its premiere at the Goodman Theater in Chicago in the fall of 2002.
NIGHTFALL a new play
by Joanna Murray Smith, the author of Honour, which ran briefly on Broadway.
In the psychological drama, two parents are forced by a stranger to examine the
disappearance of their daughter. Max Mayer directs. Opens June 27 at Vassar College's
Powerhouse Theatre in Poughkeepsie, NY.
THE CIVIL WAR Dallas, TX -
June 12 - June 24.
FOSSE Schenectady, NY at
the Proctors Theatre June 12-17.
MONKEY AND THE BONE DEMON as part of Wolf Trap's Kay Shouse Great Performance Series, developed
to honor the founder's vision for artistic excellence, Wolf Trap commissioned an original dance
piece by contemporary masters Pilobolus. The performance includes the world premiere of
Monkey and the Bone Demon, a work choreographed by Pilobolus Artistic Director
Alison Chase. A phantasmagoric experience based loosely on the classic Chinese saga of magic
and danger, the dance is two parts beauty, one part breathtaking high-risk adventure, and a
healthy dose of lighthearted fun. June 13th at Wolf Trap Filene Center.
AND THEN THERE'S BEA
starring Bea Arthur. June 12-17 at the Brown Theatre in Louisville, KY.
DAME EDNA in Denver,
Colorado at the Auditorium Theatre June 13 - July 2.
THE VAGINA MONLOGUES at
the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco features Las Vegas resident Susan Anton, five time Emmy
nominee Christina Pickles, and Diana Ross' daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross through June
24.
BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS June 12-17 in San Antonio, Texas at the Majestic
Theatre. Led by the stars Ann-Margret and Gary Sandy the entire cast went into the recording
studio with producer Bruce Kimmel to record the cast album. The production is currently in the
middle of a 50-city tour which marks Ann-Margret's musical-theater debut. On the album she
chirps five songs including a new ballad written just for her. The album comes out on June 29 on
the Fynsworth Alley label.
WHO'S WHERE
TONY DANZA tonight
in Easton, PA at the State Theatre. On Tuesday Tony opens at Feinstein's At The Regency
NYC for an engagement running through June 30.
NATALIE COLE June 15 in
Detroit, Michigan at the Fox Theatre.
FRANK SINATRA, JR June 16
Lincoln Center, NYC.
JOHNNY MATHIS June 14 in
Antioch, TN at the AmSouth Amphitheatre.
DON RICKLES June 15 in
Brownsville, TX at the Rancho Viejo Country Club. The next night Mr. Warmth takes center
stage in Bay St. Louis, MS at Casino Magic.
ROY CLARK June 14 in Santa
Rosa, CA at the Luther Burbank Center and then on June 15 in Medford,
OR at the Craterian Ginger Rogers.
'N SYNC June 19 in Toronto,
ON at the Toronto Skydome.
TONY BENNETT June 22-24 at
Caesars in Atlantic City.
BRIAN SETZER'68 COMEBACK SPECIAL June 15 in Saratoga, CA at the Historic Mountain Winery and then a two
nighter June 16-17 at Caesars Tahoe, Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
ALANIS MORISSETTE winds up
her European tour this week. Tomorrow she is in Paris, France at the Olympia June 12 Shepherd's
Bush, London. June 13 - Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street June 15 it's a performance in Vienna,
Austria at Libro Musichalle and on June 16 she is in Imola, Italy at the Heineken Jammin
Festival.
MADONNA Thursday and Friday
performing in Milan, Italy at the Fila Forum.
THE IRISH TENORS at the
Orpheum Theater, in Minneapolis on June 15.
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH ITZHAK
PERLMAN with Leonid Grin, conducting. A stellar night of
music featuring one of the great virtuosos of our time. The program includes Mendelssohn's
Violin Concerto in D minor, Handel's Royal Fireworks Music, Elgar's majestic
Pomp and Circumstance, and Ravel's passionate Bolero. June 14 Wolf Trap
Filene Center.
BERNADETTE PETERS stars with
the National Symphony Orchestra Henry Charles Smith, conductor. Marvin Laird, conductor at
the Wolf Trap Gala. Tony Award-winning Broadway diva Peters joins the NSO performing
selections from her Broadway and recording careers, and
personal favorites. June 15 at the Wolf
Trap Filene Center.
THIS AND THAT
PRINCE CHARLES has a
potential back-up profession in case that future king gig doesn't work out. Camilla's boyfriend
has always had a deep love for architecture and recently designed an Islamic garden for the
Chelsea Flower Show. The garden - combining the elements of water, shade and perfume - will
be will be transplanted at his Highgrove country home. The centerpiece is an octagonal fountain.
The Prince won a silver medal for the garden, which is based on designs of Turkish rugs at his
Highgrove home. The Prince of Wales's interest in the built environment and in the importance
of re-establishing an integrated approach to traditional building crafts is well known. In 1988 he
presented a major television documentary on architecture in Britain, A Vision of
Britain.
Next Column: June 17, 2001
Copyright: June 10, 2001. All Rights Reserved. Reviews,
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