Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: June 19, 2022
By: Laura Deni
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THE SUN ALSO RISES IS A CAPTIVATING PERFORMANCE

L.A. Theatre Works, the world’s leading producer of audio theater, has commissioned and recorded an audio adaptation by the BBC’s Kate McAll of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.

The Sun Also Rises is a poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I "lost" generation - Hemingway credited Gertrude Stein with coining the term Lost Generation, which Hemingway used as an epigraph to The Sun Also Rises. A group of friends decamp from 1920s Paris for the Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona. In the week of drinking, bullfighting and jealousy that follows, friendships are upended and hopes for love dashed.

"Kate’s adaptation adeptly sets the tone of life in the aftermath of World War I for the listener," says L.A. Theatre Works producer Anna Lyse Erikson, who directs the recording. "She captures Hemingway’s voice, and clarifies the parallels he draws of bullfighting to war, and to life."

The Sun Also Rises established Hemingway as one of the great writers of the 20th century. Today it is considered one of Hemingway’s masterpieces and a classic work of literature.

Hemingway said that he learned a writing foundation from the style sheet for The Kansas City Star, where he worked as cub reporter. It's been stated that Hemingway applied the iceberg theory better in The Sun Also Rises than in any of his other works, by editing extraneous material or purposely leaving gaps in the story. Writing which is devoid of sentimentality and flowery language. He made it clear that he wanted to break from Gertrude Stein's advice to use "clear restrained writing."

Bringing this L.A. Theatre Works recording to life are actors Patrick Heusinger as Jake Barnes, an American ex-patriot living in Paris and Hemingway’s alter-ego; Rhian Rees as Lady Brett Ashley; Geoffrey Arend as Robert Cohen; Seamus Dever as Bill Gorton; André Sogliuzzo as Mike Campbell and the Count; Devon Sorvari as Frances and Georgette; Herbert Sigüenza as Spanish hotel keeper Montoya; and newcomer Derrick Kemp as the young toreador, Pedro Romero.

The suburb casting was done in house (as are all LATW productions) by L.A. Theatre Works producing artistic director Susan Albert Loewenberg and senior producer Anna Lyse Erikson.

The fact that the actors are all appearance appropriate to their characters in incidental. Crucial are their voices and acting abilities - their articulations bringing the famed story to life.

Also of significant importance is the gold standard of sound, thanks to Charles Carroll, recording engineer, sound designer, editor, Mixer for The Invisible Studio. The special affects are important and executed to perfection by The Foley Artist Jeff Gardner. A cigarette lighter flicking, background music adding atmosphere but never overpowering the dialogue, horses' hooves, a kiss, breathing, knocking on a door, a bull snorting - all vital to the production - are - potent.

Jake Barnes is the narrator and protagonist. Jake is an American veteran of World War I working as a journalist in Paris, where he and his friends engage in an endless round of drinking and parties. Although Jake is the most stable, he strugglesover his love for Lady Brett Ashley, his impotence, and the moral vacuum that resulted from the war. Jake positions himself as an observer, using his insight and intelligence to describe only those around him, rarely speaking directly about himself. However, in describing the events and people he sees, in a detached, ironic tone, Jake implicitly reveals much about his own thoughts and feelings.

The characters are based on real people in Hemingway's circle, and the action is based on real events, particularly Hemingway's life in Paris in the 1920s and a trip to Spain in 1925 for the Pamplona festival and fishing in the Pyrenees. Hemingway presents his notion that the "Lost Generation" - considered to have been decadent, dissolute, and irretrievably damaged by World War I - was in fact resilient and strong.

Americans were drawn to Paris in the Roaring Twenties by the favorable exchange rate, with as many as 200,000 English-speaking expatriates living there. The Paris Tribune reported in 1925 that Paris had an American Hospital, an American Library, and an American Chamber of Commerce. Many American writers were disenchanted with the US, where they found less artistic freedom than in Europe. America was also experiencing prohibition and characters in this novel - drank to excess. During that decade it was also easy to get a Paris divorce.

The audio opens in Paris.

Over 100,000 perished in WW I, Those that survived were shell-shocked, tended by volunteer nurses. They discovered that there was more than one way to die, as influenza spread across the globe.

They couldn't face going home so they stayed in Paris, drinking as though they were about to die.

The ladies of the night were going by, looking for their evening meal. Jake finds one in a green dress attractive until she smiles and exposes bad teeth, which he attempts to ignore. He invites her into his horse cab. When prostitute Georgette tries to get down to business, he explains that he was "hurt in the war".

"Pity you got hurt in the war. We could have had a nice time," responds Georgette as she complains that Paris is expensive and dirty.

At the bistro Jake runs into the promiscuous divorcée Lady Brett Ashley who is with Count Mippipopolous, a wealthy Greek count and a veteran of seven wars and four revolutions. Count Mippipopolous becomes infatuated with Brett who always refers to him as "count". A stable, sane person, he serves as a foil for Jake and his friends. Jake is in love with Lady Brett, a beautiful British socialite with bobbed hair. Vulnerable and starved for reassurance, she drinks heavily. As the recording begins, Brett is separated from her second husband and awaiting a divorce. Her life, like the lives of many in her generation, is aimless and unfulfilling, filled with numerous destructive love affairs which embodies the new sexual freedom of the 1920s. Though she loves Jake, she is unwilling to commit to a relationship with him because it will mean giving up sex.

Jake and Brett met and fell in love during the war, when he was shipped to a hospital in England and was nursed by volunteer Lady Brett, who he supposes wanted something she couldn't have. His first comment to her of "Rot in heck" is off putting and almost laughable. The first impression is that somebody cleaned up Hemingway's dialogue. Later he exclaims "to hell with you Lady Brett Ashley and one assumes the "rot in heck" comment he made to her was in deference to her being a woman.

Robert Cohn is a wealthy American writer living in Paris. It's explained that "his friends can reach him trough his bankers" - has writer's block. He was married for 5 years producing 3 children. He took up boxing to compensate for being treated as a Jew at Princeton. He is involved with Franceis Clyne, a recently divorced, manipulative status seeker who is determined to marry him - because her looks are beginning n to fade. Though he is an expatriate, Cohn is different - no direct experience in World War I and he is Jewish. He holds on to the romantic prewar ideals of love and fair play. As a Jew and a non-veteran, Cohn is a convenient target for the cruel and petty antagonism of Jake and his friends.

Cohn is based on Harold Loeb, a fellow writer who rivaled Hemingway for the affections of Duff, Lady Twysden (the real-life inspiration for Brett). Hemingway used Loeb as the basis Cohn, a character remembered chiefly as a "rich Jew."

When Cohn confesses his romantic interest in Brett to Jake, Jake cautions him against pursuing a relationship with Brett, who is engaged to Mike Campbell, a constantly drunk, bankrupt Scottish war veteran with a terrible temper. Both Brett and Cohn eventually leave Paris: Brett sets off for San Sebastian - a small beach town in Spain - and Cohn for the countryside.

A few weeks after their departure, the writer Bill Gorton (another of Jake’s friends) arrives in Paris. Gorton is also a taxidermist, who tries to encourage Jake to buy a stuffed dog, musing that the road to hell is paved with unbought stuffed dogs. Like Jake, Bill is a heavy-drinking war veteran, though not an expatriate. Bill uses humor to cope. He and Jake, as American veterans, "share a strong bond, and their friendship is one of the few genuine emotional connections in the novel." However, Bill is not immune to the petty cruelty that characterizes Jake and Jake’s circle of friends.

Together, Jake and Bill decide to go to Spain to attend the Fiesta de San Fermín in Pamplona, Spain, to see the running of the bulls and the bullfights. Before they leave, Jake and Bill run into Brett, who has recently returned from Spain, with her fiancé, Mike (André Sogliuzzo). His excellent Scottish accent is clear and easily understood.

Brett and Mike ask to accompany Jake and Bill to Pamplona. In private Brett confesses to Jake that she spent the last few weeks in Spain with Cohn.

Bill and Jake take a train to the south of France, where they meet Cohn. Bill, Jake, and Cohn travel to Pamplona, where they are joined by Brett and Mike. They stay at a local hotel owned by a man named Montoya. Montoya is a bullfighting enthusiast, eager to introduce the foreigners to the sport, which he views as something sacred.

Brett and Jake are captivated by the bullfights. Brett is mesmerized by a handsome. 19-year-old bullfighter named Pedro Romero. A charmer he carries himself with dignity and confidence at all times, making him a perfect foil for Jake and his friends. His passion for bullfighting gives his life meaning and purpose. That is contrasted with Belmonte, a retired bullfighter who has come out of retirement to fight on the same day as Pedro Romero. In his early days, Belmonte was a great. Coming out of retirement he discovers that he can't live up to the legends that had developed around him. Hence, he is bitter and dejected. "He seems to symbolize the entire Lost Generation in that he feels out of place and purposeless in his later adult life."

The bull fighting scenes are engrossing. Steers and bulls are explained: bulls are only dangerous when they are alone and bulls kill for pleasure not for food.

While Mike, Cohn, and Jake spar over Brett, Brett runs off to Madrid with Romero, which ends Jake's friendship with Cohn.

The recording ends with Bill returning to Paris, Mike staying in Bayonne, and Jake going to San Sebastián on the northern coast of Spain. As Jake is about to return to Paris, he receives a telegram from Brett asking for help; she had gone to Madrid with Romero. He finds her there in a cheap hotel, without money, and without Romero. She announces has sent Romero away for fear of corrupting him and has decided to go back to Mike.

Stein, referring to Hemingway and his writer friends, reportedly told him, “You are all a lost generation” - a remark Hemingway used as an epigraph to The Sun Also Rises.

The themes of The Sun Also Rises appear in its two epigraphs. The first is that term coined by Gertrude Stein; the other epigraph is a long quotation from Ecclesiastes: "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose."

in the end of this performance he quotes that passage from Ecclesiastes with the subsequent reasoning that the characters may have been battered but were not lost.

The L.A. Theatre Works audio recording of The Sun Also Rises is available for digital download.

The recording was done by The Invisible Studios in West Hollywood: Mark Holden, Owner; Charles Carroll, Recording Engineer, Sound Designer, Editor, and Mixer. The senior radio producer who handles all the post-production is Ronn Lipkin.

L.A. Theatre Works' radio theater series broadcasts weekly on public radio stations across the U.S. and daily in China on the Radio Beijing Network.

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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

PRINCESS DIANA: A TRIBUTE EXHIBITION

Princess Diana

will be staged in Las Vegas inside the shops at Crystals this August.

The 10,000-square-foot exhibit intends to become a permanent exhibit.

Don't expect to see Diana's real gowns - but prepare to be amazed by professional recreations and miniatures.

"The exhibition has been designed to transport visitors effortlessly into the life of world-famous royalty through the designer fashions, personal effects and historic items of the "People’s Princess" and family and friends important in her life," according to the release.

"The exhibition is created and produced by SBX Group and SEE Global Entertainment in partnership with Pink Ribbons Crusade, a 501(c)(3) all-volunteer charity sharing its multi-million-dollar collection of Diana artifacts and royal family memorabilia to raise funds to fight breast cancer. Organizers worked to curate the exhibit from a collection of Diana and British royal memorabilia considered by many to be the world’s most comprehensive – a collection that has taken the internationally respected charity more than 45 years to assemble."

Guests will journey through 12 themed rooms anchored by three standout collections: "Wedding of the Century," "Fashion Icon" and "Gone Too Soon: A Memorial." The exhibition will include a life-size artistic sculpture of the most famous wedding dress in history, nine Diana-worn textiles, historic royal family items and more than 500 original items and personal objects belonging (or relating) to Diana as well as other well-known royals, including Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William and Prince Harry.

"On display in the "Wedding" room, will be a life-size recreation of Princess Diana’s wedding gown – the most famous wedding dress of all time. Intricately created by world-renowned Belgian artist and sculptor Isabelle de Borchgrave, the voluptuous gown was exclusively commissioned by Pink Ribbons Crusade for this exhibition. De Borchgrave is considered the world’s leading artist in the manipulation of paper and paint. Also on display will be Borchgrave’s recreation of the wedding costumes of Diana’s bridesmaids and groomsmen as well as her bridal shoes.

In the "Fashion Icon" room, visitors can admire the largest on-display collection of Diana’s iconic fashions, including famous creations from her favorite designer Catherine Walker to her good friend Gianni Versace. Nine historical textiles will be featured, including eight well-known evening dresses worn by the trend-setting princess at world events and on royal tours.

Additionally, organizers commissioned exquisite, 18-inch-tall exclusive replicas of the 79 personal dresses Diana herself pulled from her designer wardrobe to sell at Christie’s Auction in New York to support a few of her favorite charities. Created by talented seamstresses worldwide, the 79 miniature dresses took more than three years to create. With detailed miniscule beadwork and exacting embroidery, "these small but intricate gowns possess artisanal handiwork that easily rivals that of well-known labels from Paris and London."

The "Gone Too Soon: A Memorial" room will vividly transport visitors to the week of Diana’s passing and funeral including a recreation of the people’s vigil, this room will feature a floral installation and striking Palace gates reproduced to their actual size.

The project is designed and fabricated by Las Vegas-based Astound Group. Presenting partners also include LV Exhibitions LP, SBX Group, The August Group, Pink Ribbons Crusade, A and SEE Entertainment.

Adding a significant amount of exclusive photography to the exhibition will be Anwar Hussein, the longest-standing living professional photographer of the royal family, who began his career capturing royal photos in the 1960s.

TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART has announced a partnership with Lucas County Metropolitan Housing that focuses on immersive community outreach and includes an engagement program that embeds art making into LMH’s services. The partnership, which will increase access to art experiences for residents of 10 LMH campuses within a two-mile radius of TMA, is underway and will continue until at least June 2026, fostering a culture of belonging in the Toledo community.

Adam Levine, Ph.D., Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey director of the Toledo Museum of Art, and Joaquin Cintron Vega, president and chief executive officer of LMH, created this project because they believe the transformative power of art making is relevant for all residents, regardless of age or skill level.

METSPEAKS: THE GULF STREAM AND THE ATLANTIC WORLD Join scholars and artists for a discussion of Winslow Homer's iconic painting The Gulf Stream and its intersecting themes of race, politics, and environment in the context of the Atlantic world.

Participants include:

Ada Ferrer, Julius Silver Professor of History and Latin American History, New York University.
Bernard Ferguson, poet and essayist.
Hugh Hayden, artist.
Stephanie Herdrich, Associate Curator of American Painting and Sculpture, The American Wing, The Met.
Sylvia Yount, Lawrence A. Fleischman Curator in Charge, The American Wing, The Met.

This virtual program is prerecorded.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents. Presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Free; advance registration is not required. Wednesday, June 22, 6–7 pm EST Online. Watch on YouTube or Facebook. Note: No login required.

REMEMBERING JEWISH DUBLIN The first Jewish settlers arrived in Ireland in the 13th Century. But it was with the arrival of Litvak Jews in the 1880s that the Dublin community really began to grow. From Ben Briscoe to Leopold Bloom, Jews have long featured in the city's rich history. This fascinating exhibit celebrates the role played by Jews in the social and cultural life of Dublin, Ireland.

Curated by Dr. Melanie Brown and the Irish Jewish Museum.

Exhibit on display at The Little Museum in Dublin, Ireland.

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SWEET CHARITY

RAISE THE ROOF For one night only, Prostate Cancer UK, Jools Holland and an all-star line up unite to Raise the Roof and stop lives being rocked by prostate cancer.

Hosted by AJ Odudu and Jim Moir, this unforgettable evening of music and comedy will include performances by Celeste, Chris Difford, Emeli Sandé, Melanie C, Olly Alexander, Paloma Faith, Paul Jones, Paul Weller, Sir Rod Stewart, Ruby Turner and Van Morrison. Stand-up stars Gina Yashere, Harry Hill, Omid Djalili, Shaparak Khorsandi and Stephen K Amos will showcase their comedic talents.

Raise the Roof is the brainchild of Jools Holland (who recently spoke out for the first time about his prostate cancer diagnosis), alongside Prostate Cancer UK founder, Professor Jonathan Waxman.

“Thankfully I was successfully treated for prostate cancer, but if more people were aware of their risk and caught the disease early, then more lives would be saved. If Raise the Roof was able to achieve this and save one man’s life it would be the best thing ever that would come out of this.” – Jools Holland

As the most common cancer in men, 1 in 8 will get prostate cancer in their lifetime. The good news is prostate cancer is very treatable if caught early. But Covid-19 has meant thousands?of men – more men than ever before – have gone undiagnosed. Without a screening program and money to fund the research to get there, too many men will still be diagnosed too late. That’s why Jools Holland and Prostate Cancer UK are uniting for one night only to stop lives being rocked by prostate cancer. Wednesday, June, 22 at Royal Albert Hall in London.

WILL ON THE HILL celebrated its 20th year anniversary on June 13th with a return to an in-person performance on the Sidney Harman Hall stage.

Members of Congress, some of Washington’s most dramatic residents themselves, celebrated the work of William Shakespeare in one of Washington’s most anticipated bipartisan events of the year.

Playwright, actor, and author Nat Cassidy returns to STC with another delightfully witty script directed by STC’s Senior Director of Engagement and Education Samantha Wyer Bello. The evening’s performance also featured students from D.C.’s own Charles H. Flowers High School.

This year’s show explores just what the Bard has been up to during the recent pandemic. Shakespeare himself will grace the stage to share snippets of his next masterpiece (he wrote King Lear during a pandemic, after all). STC is delighted to welcome back Justin Guarini in the role of William Shakespeare.

Our illustrious cast of characters included a few more recognizable faces from a nearby Hill: Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL), Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), and Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA). The cast also included CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash, former Chief of Staff at the Central Intelligence Agency and NBC/MSNBC National Security Analyst Jeremy Bash, and Grover Norquist with Americans for Tax Reform.

This joyous and bipartisan evening of the Bard's best take on power and politics raises money to support the Theatre's arts education and engagement programs, which reach students and community members at home, at school, online, and in our theatres.

A NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS campaign is raising funds for UNICEF USA's efforts to support children affected by Russia's attack on Ukraine. "Community service is ingrained in broadcasters' very foundation and we are committed to helping the people suffering during this conflict by spreading the word about the lifeline work UNICEF and partners are doing in Ukraine and garnering support for their relief efforts," says NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt.

THE G’DAY AAA ARTS GALA hosted by the American Australian Association in partnership with the Embassy of Australia and Australia’s Consulate-General Los Angeles, recently took place, bringing together prominent Australians and Americans to celebrate and showcase Australian creativity, talent and strong partnership with the United States.

Indigenous neo-soul duo Electric Fields opened the show with a performance of their hit ‘Gold Energy.’

Hosted by Waleed Aly, this gold energy carried on throughout the evening, with remarks by John Berry, President of the American Australia Association stating “Tonight, we celebrate our honorees and their enormous contribution to the American Australian friendship along with the energy and optimism of our two cultures that is so beautifully reflected by those in the arts.”

This was followed by Josh Gad introducing his Wolf Like Me co-star, Isla Fisher, who received the Excellence in the Arts Award for her outstanding performances in film, television and as an author. The recognitions continued with a video highlighting recipients of the Association’s Arts Fund, including Australian director Benita de Wit, and award-winning Indigenous singer-songwriter Jess Hitchcock, the later performing Will Not Let Them Win.

Electric Fields continued to fill the evening with music with a performance of their latest release Catastrophe, which led into the presentation of the Rising Star award to prolific producer, Tushar Apte, who has collaborated with Chris Brown, Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, BTS, Blackpink, and Noah Cyrus and whose work has over 1.3 billion collective streams.

Aussie Country Star Morgan Evans treated the crowd to a performance of Young Again. This was followed by Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason, and Impact Australia & Arts Fund Alum Screenwriter Jessie Hughes who introduced the evening’s final award recipients, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.The award was presented by Thirteen Lives star Viggo Mortenson. The powerhouse duo received the Innovation in Entertainment Award in recognition of the extraordinary impact the two men have had on the Australian film industry both through their mentorship of emerging Australian talent, and through the film projects shot and produced in Australia using Australian talent, whilst highlighting Australia as a desirable location for international productions.

Additionally, Julia Corcoran, an emerging Australian producer was announced as the 2022 recipient of the Screen Australia-American Australian Association-On Bass Fellowship, a full tuition scholarship to the AFI Conservatory. The creation of the American Australian Association-APRA AMCOS Global Professional Development Award was also announced, which will support an emerging Australian artist, songwriter or producer to undertake career development in the United States each year.

Commenting at the event, Ambassador the Hon. Arthur Sinodinos said, "The Australian Embassy, Washington DC and the Australian Consulate-General, Los Angeles, are long-standing partners of the G’Day USA program. We’re delighted to work alongside our good friends at the American Australian Association and with Tourism Australia, the Australian Trade Commission and Qantas to deliver the 2022 Arts Gala in person in Los Angeles. This unique event celebrates the best of modern Australia, our creative talent and diversity. We also acknowledge those Americans and Australians who have done so much to strengthen artistic links between our two countries. I sincerely congratulate this evening’s honorees."

The entire crowd, including guests G Flip, Phillip Noyce, Viggo Mortensen and Bruna Papandrea joined Morgan Evans and Jess Hitchcock in a beloved G’Day USA tradition: closing the show with a group sing of I Still Call Australia Home.

The Gala raised money to support the American Australian Association and its Arts Fund.

The American Australian Association is the largest privately funded non-profit organization dedicated to broadening, strengthening and developing ties across the Pacific. For over 70 years, our programs have connected our two cultures, guided our people and provided new opportunities for a diverse network of trail blazers. The Association’s scholarships & exchanges champion progress, creativity and expression, providing opportunities to young American and Australian leaders to undertake transformational study, research and professional or artistic development in each other’s country. To date, we have awarded more than US$14million to over 900 graduates, veterans and artists. We are committed to fostering artistic achievement through our Arts Fund, which provides scholarships of up to US$40,000 to emerging American, Native American, Australian and Indigenous Australian artists.

STEPHEN COLBERT STAFFERS ARRESTED - MISUNDERSTANDING OR CRIMINAL ACT?

Stephen Colbert is as bright as any late night talk show who ever existed. When Colbert is seated behind his desk interviewing political/social activist leaders he's informed, respectful, engaged and professional. However, when delivering his monologues he can in be insensitive and rude, such as regularly mocking and insulting Queen Elizabeth II. Nightly he engages in near hysterical rants; voraciously condemns those who participated in the January 6th capital insurrection and criticizes those not obeying the law. Correct in assessment, over the top in delivery. Now, he is facing his own set of problematic headlines.

Robert Smigel the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog puppeteer and voice, who is a frequent guest on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and nine Colbert staff members and producers were arrested Thursday evening, June 16, 2022, at the House of Representatives in Washington, DC charged with illegal entry. They were arrested and detained in the Longworth House Office Building after being escorted out of the January 6 committee hearing earlier in the day because they did not have proper press credentials.

Those arrested in addition to Smigel have been publicly named as Jake Plunkett, associate producer Allison Martinez, Tyrone Dean, Stephen Romond, Nicoletta Green, Brendan Hurley, David Feldman and Colbert writer Josh Comers.

Earlier in the day the group reportedly banged on doors of several Republican offices - including that of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Lauren Boebent of Colorado - as they allegedly filmed a skit for Late Night with Stephen Colbert that was to center around the January 6 hearings.

Making light of an insurrection in which people were not only injured but died, and the Vice President of the United States almost hung, isn't something that lends itself to mirth.

However, were Saturday Night Live in production they could have had a field day with this one.

Rep. Rodney David, R-Ill. the ranking member on the House Committee on Administration - which has jurisdiction over the Capitol Police and House chamber operations - told Jesse Watters Primetime Friday that he intends to demand answers when Congress returns to session.

Davis said the Colbert clan sniffed around an area of the Cannon House Office Building being used for media staging during the January 6 Committee hearings. David said they were later ejected by members of the press, who had them escorted out, due to a lack of credentials. The Colbert Nine were rejected when they applied for press credentials by the House Radio/TV Gallery as the Colbert Nine were was not viewed as "news" reporters.

However, CBS firmly stated that their interviews were authorized and pre-arranged through Congressional aides of the members interviewed.

On Thursday morning the group reportedly did interview some members of the January 6 Committee, including Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. and Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla. They also interviewed Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass.

The Cobert Nine again entered the building after the Capitol complex was closed to public visitors and took videos and pictures around the officers of two Republican member of Congress, Minority Leadeer Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R.-Colo). They did not break in, but were let permitted to re-enter the Longworth House Office Building sometime after 4 p.m. by an aide to Auchincloss and left unattended for several hours to freely roam around.

Capitol Police issued the following statement:

"On June 16, 2022, at approximately 8:30 p.m. , U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) received a call for a disturbance in the Longworth House Office Building. Responding officers observed seven individuals unescorted and without Congressional ID, in a sixth-floor hallway. The building was closed to visitors, and these individuals were determined to be a part of a group that had been directed by the USCP to leave the building earlier in the day," the statement reads. "They were charged with Unlawful Entry. This is an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges after consultation with the U.S. Attorney."

SPREADING THE WORD

ON MONDAY, JUNE 20, PBS will Broadcast: Who Killed Vincent Chin? The documentary, which originally aired on POV in July 1989, details the incident from initial eye-witness accounts, the ensuing murder trials to the lenient sentences the assailants received, and the repercussions for the families and community involved.

Vincent Chin was a 27-year-old Chinese American attending his all-American bachelor party in Detroit on June 19, 1982 to celebrate his upcoming wedding. That night, he was brutally beaten to death by two white men, with a baseball bat at a time of intense anti-Asian hate. Vincent was the only child of Lily and C.W. Hing Chin, a Highland Park couple who adopted him from a Chinese orphanage when he was six. Lily and David, a U.S. Army veteran who fought in World War II, were both working-class immigrants from China's Guangdong province. They labored in Detroit's Chinese laundries and restaurants–the few industries where Asian immigrants could find jobs. His father passed away in 1981, and Vincent and his fiancée were looking for a house with room for his mother Lily.

By 1982, Vincent and his fiancée had planned for a June wedding. Vincent worked two jobs - a draftsman by day in Oak Park and a waiter on weekends at a Chinese restaurant in Ferndale. He also attended night school to learn computer operations. Vincent’s father had died in 1981 and the couple was looking for a house with room for his mother Lily. Vincent was well-liked by coworkers and supervisors for his friendly, easy-going nature as well has his strong work ethic and skills. Instead of celebrating his wedding, his 400 guests attended his funeral.

The horrific hate-filled slaying of Vincent Chin would have been tragic enough, but on March 16, 1983, the two killers were sentenced after pleading "no contest" to a reduced charge of manslaughter and freed without spending a day in jail. Defense attorneys told the sentencing judge, Charles Kaufman, that Vincent started the fight against the two white defendants,(who had snunk up behind him) who appeared in court clean, wearing suits, never having spent a day in jail. No prosecutor was present to refute the claim, and no family members had been notified that the sentencing was to take place.

After 15 minutes of proceedings, Kaufman sentenced Ebens and Nitz to three years' probation and $3,000 in fines. Explaining his sentence, Kaufman said, "These aren't the kind of men you send to jail."

The Detroit Institue of Arts is promoting "two historic panel discussions currently taking place – one that reunites original Vincent Chin activists and one that brings together emerging leaders – will examine where the modern Asian American civil rights movement started and where it is going."

In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Chin’s death, a series of Remembrance & Rededication activities organized in a partnership between the American Citizens for Justice, the Vincent and Lily Chin Estate, Detroit Public Television, the Center for Asian American Media, and the City of Detroit Arts and Culture Department are scheduled to take place throughout the U.S.

MOLLY SMITH who for the past 25 has served as artistic director of Arena Theatre in Washington, DC has announced that she will retire in July 2023.

A nationwide search will take place for her successor.

"Before I came to Arena, I went around the world twice and it’s time to go again. I want to spend more real time with family and friends and perhaps direct a project or two. I realized the other day that I’ve been working steadily for over 50 years and it’s time to live life differently."

The theatrical world wishes her the best in enjoying her beloved "bears, bees, honey, wilderness, mountains."

THE KYIV CITY BALLET under the artistic direction of Ivan Kozlov, has announced a U.S tour from September 16 to October 24, 2022. The Fall tour is a US premiere and marks the Kyiv City Ballet’s first United States performances ever.

The US tour will include a full-length Swan Lake (choreography by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov and Ivan Kozlov), and a second mixed repertory program of three ballets: Thoughts (choreography by Vladyslav Dobshynskyi) a contemporary ballet, Tribute to Peace (choreography by Ekaterina and Ivan Kozlov) a neo-classical work, and Men of Kyiv (choreography by Pavlo Virsky) a Ukranian folk dance.

Two of Ukraine’s prima ballerinas: Krystina Kadashevych and Oksana Bondarenko will perform with the company on their US tour. The company’s principal dancer is Vsevolod Maevskiy, a former soloist of the Mariinsky Ballet and Kozlov’s former student.

TALES OF THE VICTORIANS has returned for its thirty-third tear at the East Lynne Theatre Company in Cape May, New Jersey.

Take tea at a unique Cape May venue, indulge in tantalizing treats, and listen to stories by famous American authors like O. Henry, Zora Neale Hurston, and Mark Twain read by ELTC performers.

Last Thursday Michele LaRue read Representing T. A. Buck written by Edna Ferber. On June 23, Tales will be on the Outdoor Stage at Cape May MAC, with Stephanie Garrett and Frank Smith performing. The Harriet Tubman Museum, is the venue for June 30, with Garrett and Smith once more performing.

Meanwhile, on ELTC's mainstage is Dorothy Parker: A Certain Woman running through July 23. On Tuesday, June 21 Cape May Stage and ELTC have partnered together to celebrate LBGTQ+ Month with a staged reading of Indecent by Paula Vogel.

MUSIC AT THE ODYSSEY bass player John Snow returns to curate, music direct and emcee Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s live Music at the Odyssey series this summer with celebrations honoring Joni Mitchell, Stephen Sondheim and Nina Simone, plus two performances of the original cabaret event Wide Eyed in Wonder—Escapades and Serenades along Love’s Trail of Longing starring Snow and multiple award-winning actor Tony Abatemarco.

Saturday, June 25: Music at the Odyssey Celebrates Joni Mitchell - Featured artists: vocalists Abby Litman, Moira Mack and Ren Martinez, and sax player Ben Flocks. House band: musical director John Snow on bass, Nate Lichtenberger on drums, and Nathan Heldman on piano and keys.

Audience members on Saturday, July 9 and Saturday, July 16 will be treated to a new evening of cabaret created by and starring actor Tony Abatemarco and musician John Snow. Songs from the American songbook—including classics by George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Les Paul and Mary Ford, as well as favorites by Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello and Lennon/McCartney—are sung by Abatemarco to arrangements by Snow, who accompanies on piano and bass. Musical numbers are interspersed with patter between the two and stories from Abatemarco’s colorful life.

On Saturday, August 6 it’s Music at the Odyssey Celebrates Stephen Sondheim. Vocalists Bella Hicks, Carson Higgins and Max Sheldon sing songs composed by the master lyricist and composer along with other classics from stage and film musicals. The house band includes Snow on bass, Ryan Mcdiarmid on drums, and Paul Cornish on piano and keys.

Finally, sax player Flocks returns on Saturday, August 27 to join vocalists Clayton, India Carney and Segun Oluwadele for Music at the Odyssey Celebrates Nina Simone. Backing them up once again are Snow on bass, Mcdiarmid on drums, and Cornish on piano and keys.

Performances at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles.

SUPERMAN IN CONCERT you can celebrate Hollywood’s greatest cinematic superhero i as part of the Royal Albert Hall’s Films in Concert series.

Directed by Richard Donner, and showcasing a young Christopher Reeve, Superman (1978) features a star-studded cast including Margot Kidder as intrepid reporter Lois Lane, Gene Hackman as the villainous Lex Luthor, and the inimitable Marlon Brando as Jor-El.

Donner’s beloved film adaptation relays the inspiring origins of Superman, from his narrow escape as an infant from the doomed planet Krypton, to his formative years on a farm in Smallville, Kansas, and finally to his arrival in Metropolis, where he leads dual lives as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent and as the mythical Man of Steel.

Superman in Concert will see the film played in high-definition on the big screen, while John Williams’ triumphant original score will be conducted by Anthony Gabriele and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra live to picture.

June 25, 2022 at Royal Albert Hall in London.

PAUL McCARTNEY who celebrated his 80th birthday on June 18, 2020 is scheduled to perform June 25 in England at the Glastonbury Festival, a gig that was one of his 2020 canceled dates.

SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY hosts The Washington Ballet for their production of NEXTsteps from June 22–26 at Sidney Harman Hall. Reflecting the voices of our time, NEXTsteps features new ballets created by emerging and acclaimed choreographers. Celebrating the evolving beauty and power of ballet, this program showcases the art's relevance and advancement. Works by Brett Ishida, Jessica Lang, and Mthuthuzeli November will exemplify the evolution of ballet, the dancer, and art.

ROGUE ARTISTS ENSEMBLE presents three staged readings, June 22-24 followed by talk-backs, of Schlitzie: Alive and Inside the Decaying Sideshow, an immersive, interactive theater experience currently in development for a full production in 2023.

Written by Eric Fagundes with Rogue Artists Ensemble. Directed by Sean Cawelti.

One of history’s most iconic and misunderstood sideshow performers, Schlitzie is best known for his appearance in the now infamous film Freaks. Committed to a mental institution when his sideshow was shut down, Schlitzie went on to perform his act in MacArthur Park after his release, where he was lovingly known as "Ratoncito." The readings will take place at the Valley Relics Museum, a unique pop culture museum located in the Van Nuys Airport in two brand new airplane hangars.

Supported by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Valley Relics Museum.

BILLIE EILISH wraps up a leg of her tour on Tuesday, June 21, with a show in Cologne, Germany at the LANXESS Arena.

TONY WINNERS KELLI O'HARA AND ADRIENNE WARREN headline Broadway In The Park on June 24. This second annual event, co-presented by Signature Theatre and Wolf Trap, features your favorite Broadway hits under the stars at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia.

GLADYS KNIGHT the empress of soul will grace London's Royal Albert Hall stage for two nights - June 29-30.

THE JANE AUSTEN SUMMER BALL will be held in the stunning 18th Century Banqueting Room of the Guildhall in central Bath, England on June 25, 2022.

The event will include live music from Beau's Band, with calling and instruction provided by Liz Bartlett of the Jane Austen Dancers, as well as a two course buffet.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER RELEASES IT'S 2022 SURVEY OF JOURNALISTS

The Center’s survey of 11,889 working U.S.-based journalists conducted online between February 16 and March 17, 2022. finds that they continue to express a high degree of satisfaction in their jobs: Seven-in-ten journalists say they are very or somewhat satisfied with their job, and 77% say they would pursue a career in journalism again.

At the same time, when asked to describe their industry in a single word, nearly three-quarters of respondents (72%) use a word with negative connotations; the most common are words that relate to “struggling” and “chaos.” The report also identifies several specific areas of concern for journalists, including the future of press freedom, widespread misinformation, and politically like-minded people getting news from the same sources.

Among key findings from the report:

Just 14% of journalists surveyed say they think the U.S. public has a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the information it gets from news organizations these days; most believe that Americans as a whole have some trust (44%) or little to no trust (42%). When a similar question was posed to the American public however, 29% of U.S. adults say they have at least a fair amount of trust in the information they get from news outlets, while 27% say they have some trust and 44% have little to no trust.

About seven-in-ten journalists (71%) say made-up news and information is a very big problem for the country, higher than the 50% of U.S. adults who say the same. And while 71% of journalists are extremely or very confident in their ability to recognize false information when working on a story, a smaller 43% say news organizations do a good job managing or correcting misinformation.

When asked about the best newsroom approach to coverage of a false statement made by a public figure, far more journalists say news organizations should “report on the statement because it is important for the public to know about” (64%) than say they should “not report on the statement because it gives attention to the falsehoods and the public figure” (32%). About a quarter of reporting journalists (26%) say they have unknowingly reported on a story that was later found to contain false information.

Three-quarters of journalists say that they largely agree on the basic facts of the news, but about half (52%) say it is not possible to report news that nearly everyone finds accurate.

Looking forward, journalists express great concern about the future of press freedoms in the U.S. 57% say they are extremely or very concerned about the prospect of press restrictions being imposed in the U.S. 23% are somewhat concerned, while just one-in-five express low levels of concern about this. Older journalists are more likely to be extremely or very concerned about it – 68% of those 65 and older say this, compared with 42% of those ages 18 to 29.

While there is no consensus among journalists about whether opposing views always warrant equal coverage, they express wide support for keeping their personal views out of their reporting.

55% say that in reporting the news, every side does not always deserve equal coverage, greater than the share who say journalists should always strive to give every side equal coverage (44%). In contrast, the U.S. public largely says that journalists should always strive to give equal coverage (76%).

82% say journalists should keep their views out of what they report on, although there is less agreement among journalists over whether journalists meet this standard. Just over half (55%) think journalists largely are able to keep their views out of their reporting, while 43% say they are often unable to.

Journalists express deep concerns over political sorting in the public’s news consumption habits. Three-quarters of those surveyed say it is a major problem when people with similar political views get their news from the same news organizations. The American public, however, appears much less worried: Roughly four-in-ten U.S. adults (39%) say this is a major problem.

Journalists see many ways that social media helps them do their jobs, but overall they see it as a negative force on the industry. Among journalists who use social media for their work, 87% say it has a very or somewhat positive impact on promoting news stories, and 79% say it helps them connect with their audience and find sources for their news stories. At the same time, however, two-thirds of all journalists surveyed (67%) say social media has a very or somewhat negative impact on the state of journalism as a whole. Just 18% say social media has a positive impact on the news industry.

Roughly four-in-ten journalists (42%) say they have been harassed or threatened by someone outside their own organization in the past year, and within this group, the vast majority (78%) say that harassment came through social media at least once.

67% say their organization has achieved sufficient gender diversity, about half as many – 32% – say it has reached sufficient racial and ethnic diversity. 42% say addressing issues of diversity and inclusion is a “major priority” for their newsroom. Relatedly, about half (48%) have participated in a formal training session or meeting on diversity in their workplace in the past year, and 40% have done so on how to cover issues of diversity and inclusion.

The survey sought to gauge the financial standing of journalists and the economics of the organizations they work for, finding both optimism and concern.

41% say they received a salary increase in the past year. The greatest portion – 50% – say their salary has stayed the same, while far fewer (7%) experienced a pay cut.

Looking at news organizations more broadly, journalists are somewhat more likely to say their news organization expanded (33%) than cut back (22%) in the past year, with a lack of change again being most common (46%).

The margin of sampling error for the survey of 11,889 U.S.-based journalists is plus or minus 1.0 percentage points.

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JENNIFER HUDSON for entering the glorified ranks of EGOT members - a handful of individuals who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

Hudson received her missing piece, a Tony Award, last Sunday as producer of Strange Loop which was awarded the Tony as Best Musical.

A two-time Grammy winner, her Oscar win took place in 2007 for Dreamgirls, and she took home an Emmy last year for Baba Yaga, an animated short that she helped produce.

Hudson made her Broadway debut as a cast member in The Color Purple in 2015.

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA has announced the appointment of rising star Joel Thompson as the first full-time Composer-in-Residence in HGO history. Thompson, who composed HGO’s 71st world premiere opera, The Snowy Day will return to Houston for a new five-year appointment beginning on August 1, 2022.

“This position was created for Joel because he is one of the most brilliant minds of his generation, a transformative artist that is redefining the future of opera and expanding its reach,” states HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “We are thrilled for Joel to be joining the artistic leadership of HGO, a company whose commitment to discovery, innovation, and excellence is well-known. We are confident that Joel’s artistic contributions are making the world a better place, and we can’t wait to see and hear what he will do next.” 2022-23 | HGO Composer-in-Residence Announcement - Joel Thompson

As Composer-in-Residence for HGO, Thompson will live and work in Houston full time. He will serve as a member of the company’s artistic leadership, in charge of expanding and deepening the company’s relationship with the greater Houston community. Initiatives will include forming music-based educational partnerships with schools and non-profits and identifying and mentoring homegrown composers, librettists, and other artists and creatives who, in turn, will help him forge the path forward.

Over the course of his five-year tenure with HGO, Thompson plans to compose a major mainstage commission, plus a set of smaller-scale original works, informed thematically by his collaborations with the people who live here. These original compositions will premiere at HGO, and advance the company’s fundamental mission of supporting the creation of relevant, vibrant new works that speak directly to this community and attract new audiences to the art form.

THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP (TCG) the national organization for theatre, proudly announces that Seema Sueko has been awarded the Alan Schneider Director Award. The Award was established in honor of Alan Schneider's significant contribution to theatre in the U.S. and his lifelong commitment to the development of career opportunities for freelance directors. It is designed to identify and assist exceptionally talented mid-career freelance directors whose achievements have been demonstrated through work in specific U.S. regions or territories, but who may not be known more widely or recognized nationally.

Seema Sueko (she/her) (www.seemasueko.com) is a freelance director focused on building just communities through a practice which includes generative work, consensus organizing, and research and development. Most recently, she was commissioned by Jack Reuler at Mixed Blood Theatre to create an original piece, imagine a u.s. without racism, for which she interviewed 100 strangers across the U.S., two from each state, and wove, hacked, honored, and fictionalized elements from the interviews into a cohesive story, which she directed in April 2022 along with a blog and community pantry. Past positions include Deputy Artistic Director at Arena Stage, Associate Artistic Director at The Pasadena Playhouse, and Co-Founder and Executive Artistic Director at Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company. Next, she will direct The Chinese Lady at Denver Center and Silent Sky at Asolo Repertory Theatre. Raised in Honolulu, Seema received her MA in International Relations from University of Chicago and resides in the D.C. region. Seema serves on the Executive Board of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and the Board of Trustees of their Foundation (SDCF) and is currently learning about Solidarity Economy (SE) and exploring how the tools of SE could be applied to theater making.

Recent recipients of the Alan Schneider Director Award include: Daniel Banks (2020), May Adrales (2018), Kimberly Senior (2016), Liesl Tommy (2014), Bart DeLorenzo (2012), and Anne Kauffman (2010).

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

ACTOR GARY BUSEY best-known for his lead role in the controversial 1978 biopic The Buddy Holly Story, on June 23, 1990 purchased one of Buddy's guitars, complete with tooled leather case made by the rocker, in auction for approximately $240,000.



SCENES FROM A YELLOW PERIL by Nathan Joe.

Direction by Jane Yonge.

Featuring Amanda Grace Leo, Louise Jiang, Nathan Joe, Angela Zhang, and Uhyoung Choi.

An uncomfortable, playful, and enlightening provocation on racism and privilege in Aotearoa.

This is a doom scroll disguised as a play: a world premiere from an arresting new voice. A meta-analysis of Asian identity, carved into razor-sharp scenes that cut to the cultural quick. Scenes from a Yellow Peril is less a play, more a series of insights that, when taken together, expose the pain of the way in which some people are othered but whose experience will not be denied.

From award-winning Chinese-New Zealand writer, actor, poet and general polymath Nathan Joe, the work dissolves the traditional play format into a rapid-fire collection of snapshots and observations, flickering past in a rush of live music and hard-to-hear truths.

Contains strong language, discussions of violence and sexual/adult themes.

The creatives are: Rachel Marlow Production Design - Steven Junil Park Costume Designer - Music Kenji Iwamitsu-Holdaway.

A co-production between Auckland Theatre Company and SquareSums&Co, in association with Oriental Maidens.

June 21 – July 3 at the ASB Waterfront Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand.

ANYTHING GOES Cole Porter Music and Lyrics P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse Original Book. Timothy Crouse & John Weidman New Book. This production features Cole Porter’s joyful score, including I Get A Kick Out of You; You’re the Top and the show stopping Anything Goes.

Directed and choreographed by the award-winning Kathleen Marshall.

Featuring a 50 strong cast and ensemble of the finest they have to offer on the London stage and a full-sized live orchestra, this uplifting production of Anything Goes features heart-warming romance, farcical fun and spectacular show stopping dance routines and the Cole Porter score including including I Get A Kick Out of You; You’re the Top and the show stopping Anything Goes.

Starring multi award-winner Kerry Ellis as Reno Sweeney and Olivier Award Winner Denis Lawson as Moonface Martin. Joining them is Olivier Award Winner Simon Callow as Elisha Whitney and Musical Theatre Royalty Bonnie Langford as Evangeline Harcourt.

With Samuel Edwards, Nicole-Lily Baisden, Carly Mercedes Dyer, and Haydn Oakley.

The creatives are: Derek McLane Set Designer - Jon Morrell Costume Designer - Hugh Vanstone Lighting Designer - Jonathan Deans Sound Designer - Stephen Ridley Musical Supervisor & Musical Director.

Saturday, June 25—Saturday, September 3, 2022 at the Barbican Theatre in London.

DOM JUAN by Molière’s reconfigured Ashley Tata into a Women-Led Production featuring a new translation commissioned from Scholar Sylvaine Guyot and Fisher Center Artistic Director Gideon Lester.

This Tragicomedy opens Bard SummerScape 2022 taking place June 23–July 17, 2022.

Bridging 17th Century France and Late-‘70s America, this world premiere production interrogates questions of class, faith, gender, and the individual’s responsibility to society.

Cast Includes: Jordan Bellow as Elver, Roger Casey as Pierrot/Alonso, Kirsten Harvey as Carla/Charlotte, Pauli Pontrelli as Gusman/Matty, Alok Tewari as Louis, Tony Torn as A Poor Man/Mr. Sunda, Zuzanna Szadkowski, and Amelia Workman.

The creative team includes Paul Pinto (Original Music), Dan Safer(Choreography), Afsoon Pajoufar (Scenic Design), and Ásta Bennie Hostetter (Costume Design) joined by Cha See (Lighting Design), Chad Raines (Sound Design), Lisa Renkel (Video Design), Fre Howard / Faces by Fre (Hair and Makeup Design), Cha Ramos (Intimacy and Fight Direction), and Taylor Williams (Casting).

"Molière’s portrait of the libertine Dom Juan combines slapstick comedy with the taut psychology of a thriller. With this production, Tata - currently serving as Visiting Artist-in-Residence in Theater and Performance at Bard College - becomes one of the first women directors ever to tackle the Molière classic. Setting his story in a fantasy world where 17th-century France meets late-1970s America (right after the passing of Roe V. Wade—and reverberating in a moment when Roe v. Wade is likely to be overturned), her production asks: what is it for a woman to be a libertine? With this glittering and ferocious interpretation of Molière’s study of lust and power, Tata freshly examines class, faith, gender, and the individual’s responsibility to society."

Performances of Dom Juan take place beginning June 23, 2022 in the LUMA Theater at the Fisher Centerm Annandale-On-Hudson, NY.

THE WEST SIDE WALTZ by Academy Award-winning writer Ernest Thompson who has deconstructed his script for The West Side Waltz.

Directed by Mary Jo DuPrey.

Forty-one years after its premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum presents the world premiere of an "all new" revival of The West Side Waltz.

Thompson’s newly revised, music and heart-filled comedy stars Theatricum artistic director Ellen Geer as Margaret Mary Elderdice, an aging concert pianist living alone on New York’s Upper West Side. Geer’s sister, Melora Marshall, takes on the role of Margaret’s spinster neighbor, the violin-playing Cara Varnum, and her daughter, Willow Geer, plays Robin Bird, the would-be actress who comes into their lives. Also in the cast are Miguel Pérez as the building’s super and Charles Lin as Glen, a young attorney with eyes for Robin.

Originally commissioned by Center Theatre Group, the 1981 production, which starred Katharine Hepburn and Dorothy Loudon, toured to sold-out houses across the country, including four months on Broadway. The 1995 film starred Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli and Jennifer Grey.

”When Ellen approached me about a production at Theatricum, I re-read the play, which I hadn’t looked at since we made the movie,” says Thompson. “It’s been a gift and a privilege to go back in and dig deeper into the relationships among these three women, to investigate them anew and give the play more gravitas than it had before. The play gets done all over the world, but not as much in the U.S., partly because of the difficulty that ‘playing the music’ places on the performers. But I also think that perhaps it’s because I never really finished the play, and now I’ve had a chance to finish it.”

”With everything that’s going on in the world, it’s a great time to be doing a comedy, and a great time to be doing a relationship, character-oriented piece, and that’s what I tried to do—to enhance that and get into the hearts and guts of these characters,” he says. The creative team for The West Side Waltz includes lighting designer Zach Moore; set designer/prop master John Eslick; and costume designer Beth Eslick. Music compilation and sound design are by Marshall McDaniel. Karen Osborne is the production stage manager, assisted by JP Pollinger.

The West Side Waltz will run in repertory every weekend with The Merry Wives of Windsor and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, each of which opened earlier in the season. A fourth production, the world premiere of a new stage adaptation by Ellen Geer of Trouble the Water, Rebecca Dwight Bruff’s historical novel about escaped slave Robert Smalls who went on to become a U.S. Congressman, will join the repertory season on July 9.

Unlike most theaters in the L.A. area that stage continuous runs of a single play, Theatricum, using a company of actors, will perform each of the plays in repertory, making it possible to see all four plays in a single summer weekend.

The West Side Waltz opens on Saturday, June 25 and continues through October 1. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is located in Topanga, California midway between Malibu and the San Fernando Valley.

ROE a hyper-staged reading of Roe, a powerful, poignant and often humorous play by Lisa Loomer.

Directed by Vanessa Stalling.

"We’re acting quickly and urgently in answer to the upcoming Supreme Court ruling expected to overturn Roe v Wade," says Fountain artistic director Stephen Sachs. "We intend to use theater as a vehicle for social and political action. A call to action. Guerrilla-style theater. Actors holding scripts. Simple staging. Lisa has revised her script to bring it up-to-date, and we’re lucky to have Vanessa, who directed the 2020 production at the Goodman Theatre."

Reprising their roles from the Goodman production, Kate Middleton will star as Norma McCorvey - the woman who would come to be known to the world as Jane Roe - opposite Christina Hall as Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who argued the landmark case at the Supreme Court. An ensemble of actors will take on the myriad of other roles.

Roe is a fast-moving, fair-minded look at the complicated human beings behind the case, the challenging years that followed the court’s fateful decision, and the polarization around the issue in America today. Originally commissioned through the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s American Revolutions program in a production that traveled to Arena Stage and Berkeley Rep.

June 23 through July 10, in Los Angeles on the Fountain Theatre's outdoor stage.

THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL by Anne Brontë. An adaptation by Emme Hoy.

Directed by STC’s Resident Director Jessica Arthur.

An epic of love and freedom

When Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was published in 1848, it became an instant sensation. The witty, stirring, and groundbreaking story of Helen Graham and her mysterious arrival in the town of Lindenhope – a young son in tow but no husband in sight – so shocked and galvanized English society that Brontë’s equally famous sister (Jane Eyre’s Charlotte Brontë) sought to prevent its republication.

Taking inspiration from sources as diverse as Fleabag and Pride and Prejudice and starring Tuuli Narkle and Remy Hii the cast includes Danielle Catanzariti Tara Morice, Ben O'Toole, Steve Rodgers, Eliza Scott, Anthony Taufa, and Nikita Waldron.

The Understudies are Danielle Catanzariti and Alfie Gledhil.

"A whip-smart and contemporary production that will bring this lush, rallying, and beautifully-told story into the present to share with a brand new generation."

The creatives include: Set Designer Elizabeth Gadsby - Costume Designer Renée Mulder - Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest - Composer & Sound Designer Clemence Williams - Assistant Director Megan Wilding - Set Design Associate Jeremy Allen - Fight & Intimacy Director Nigel Poulton - Dance Choreographer John Gardiner-Gaden - Voice Coach Jennifer White.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was co-commissioned and developed by the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and Sydney Theatre Company. Performances June 21 - July 16, 2022 on stage at the Roslyn Packer Theatre of the Sydney Theatre Company in Sydney, Australia.

CHAINS by Elizabeth Baker.

Directed by Jenn Thompson.

Featuring Jeremy Beck, Kyle Cameron, Anthony Cochrane, Christopher Gerson, Olivia Gilliatt, Jeff Gurner, Laakan McHardy, Andrea Morales, Ned Noyes, Brian Owen, Elisabeth S. Rodgers, Claire Saunders, Peterson Townsend, Amelia White, and Avery Whitted.

Chains tells the stories of a few ordinary people yearning for a less ordinary life. Charley lives with his wife Lily in suburban London, sharing a cramped house with a lodger. Charley commutes daily to an office in London, his only pleasure is the tiny garden patch beside the house which gives little satisfaction. Charley’s sister-in-law, Maggie, finds the drudgery of shop work so stifling that she plots an escape by marrying a kind man she doesn’t love - an escape that can’t provide the adventure she craves. Charley & Maggie are both shaken when Charley’s lodger announces that he’s tired of the grind and he’s leaving for Australia - the day after tomorrow. His decision sends a tremor through the family that threatens to break the ties that bind Maggie and Charley to their ordinary lives.

The Mint Theatre production will officially open on June 23 continuing through July 23 at Theatre Row in New York City.

BETWEEN THE LINES based on the book by Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer. Book by Timothy Allen McDonald, with music & lyrics by Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson.

Directed by two-time Tony Award nominee Jeff Calhoun.

Choreographed by Paul McGill.

Starring Arielle Jacobs, Jake David Smith, Vicki Lewis, Hillary Fisher, Will Burton, Jerusha Cavazos, John Rapson, Wren Rivera, Sean Stack, and Julia Murney.

An empowering and enchanting new musical for anyone who has ever sought to find their place in the world. An outsider in a new town and a new school, Delilah seeks comfort in the pages of her favorite book, where she feels heard and understood by the handsome Prince Oliver. But as the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur in both extraordinary and astonishing ways, Delilah discovers how to find her place in the real world while keeping her dreams alive.

Oofficially opens Sunday, June 26, 2022 at the Tony Kiser Theater in New York City, for a strictly limited engagement. Though it is being performed at the Tony Kiser Theater, this is not a Second Stage Theater production.

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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.

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