Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: March 13, 2022
By: Laura Deni
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ARTISTS STAGE BENEFITS FOR FELLOW UKRAINIAN PERFORMERS

Those in the entertainment world are noted for being aggressively competitive when it comes to getting a part. They are also noted for banding together in times of need.

The current invasion of Russia into Ukraine - including bombing of a maternity and children's hospital has galvanized an already supportive group of performers who are staging numerous benefits for the Ukrainian people.

Musicians around the world have been using their talents to speak out against the actions of Russian president Vladimir Putin since the start of the invasion on February 24, 2022.

Last Sunday, a flashmob of 200 musicians descended upon London’s Trafalgar Square to perform Ukrainian works. Numerous arts organizations, venues and musicians have spoken out in solidarity with Ukraine, with many concerts commencing with the Ukrainian national anthem.

Tomorrow, March 14, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City will stage s benefit for Ukraine relief which will be broadcast on radio worldwide by the European Broadcasting Union, Sirius XM and streamed on the Met’s website.

Music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead a program that will feature Ukrainian bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi and the Met chorus in Ukraine’s national anthem and A Prayer for the Ukraine, a choral work by a Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov.

The 70-minute program also will include Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, “Va, pensiero” from Verdi’s Nabucco,” soprano Lise Davidsen in Richard Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs) and the finale of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Davidsen, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, tenor Piotr Beczala, and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green.

A benefit concert, hosted by a Washington-based chamber music group, The Washington Arts Ensemble will raise funds for families affected by the war in Ukraine. All proceeds will be donated to Save the Children.

Ukrainian born Marta Krechkovsky, a violinist based in Pittsburgh, and fellow Juilliard graduate Natalia Kazaryan, a pianist living in Washington, D.C. have organized the event. The Washington Arts Ensemble concert will be held at Natalia's home in Washington, D.C., April 3, with a second one planned a few days later.

Musicians which have held violin bows and singers accustomed to cradling microphones have joined the Ukrainian Border Guards, swapping instruments for guns - something most of them have never before held. John Zorn and The New School's College of Performing Arts in New York City announced a concert to benefit qualified organizations providing critical support and relief to those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. The company encourages everyone to donate the original ticket price of $50 and more if you are able.

The concert featured:

Laurie Anderson: Violin, Voice, Electronics; John Zorn: Sax, Julian Lage: Guitar, Scott Colley: Bass, Kenny Wollesen: Drums, Sofia Rei: Voice, and Leo Genovese: Piano.

In Las Vegas a concert benefiting Ukraine is being held today, Sunday, March 13, in the theatre at the Clark County Library. Musicians from the Las Vegas Sinfonietta will perform sections from Mozart and Ukrainian composers.

Milwaukee's Colectivo Coffee

Milwaukee's Colectivo Coffee hosted a benefit concert. Co-presented by the Dnipro Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, "Stand With Ukraine: Why We Are Fighting" featured a performance by Ukrainian pianist Roman Rudnytsky, along with other musical performances, spoken poetry, storytelling and more.

The concert was free, with donations being collected to support Sunflower of Peace Foundation, a Boston-based nonprofit organization helping Ukrainians affected by the Russian military invasion. Guests were also be able to make financial donations to St. Michael's Ukrainian Church, to support their weekly shipments of medical supplies and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Colectivo also will donate 20% of the Prospect cafe's afternoon sales to Sunflower of Peace, and the chain's 20 locations are donating 100% of sales of their blue and yellow shortbread cookies to the nonprofit.

London's The Comedy Store will stage a fundraiser on Tuesday for the people of the Ukraine. The comedians feels a particular kinship to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy who began his career as a comic.

Award-winning funny woman Sarah Keyworth who can be seen currently in her own comedy special Dark Horse on Amazon Prime, teamed up with Russian-born comedian Olga Koc to stage this event, which sold out in just a few hours, and will also stream live to raise money for the Ukrainian Red Cross Society.

Top British laugh getters on the bill include Joe Lycett, James Acaster, Nina Conti and Nish Kumar.

The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra turned its scheduled March 10 concert into a benefit concert for the people of Ukraine, with all ticket income donated to humanitarian aid. "Called ‘Ukraine in our Hearts – Solidarity Concert," it included both the Ukrainan national anthem and Prayer for Ukraine by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. Artists included conductor Andris Poga, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani and the Edvard Grieg choir.

The concert was also live streamed on Bergenphilive.

Last Sunday, March 6, Daniel Barenboim conducted the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in a concert from Berlin's Staatsoper, in aid of Ukraine with all proceeds from this broadcast, both live and on replay, donated to the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN's Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.

Anne-Sophie Mutter

Also last Sunday, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Ye-Eun Choi (violins), Vladimir Babeshko (viola), and Daniel Müller-Schott (cello) performed string quartets at the Inter­national Red Cross, Geneva with tickets sales going to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Another benefit was Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova, Russian cellist Maya Fridman and Ukrainian percussionist Konstantyn Napolov joining other artists to offer a "Concert for Peace" at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Within 48 hours of tickets going on sale, more than €85,000 had already been donated, with the money going to support the work of Giro 555, the Dutch member of the Emergency Appeals Alliance (EAA).

The concert was be Livestreamed by the Dutch classical radio station NPO Radio can be watched via Facebook and YouTube.

Viewers were asked to donate to the Red Cross or to support their national charity for Ukraine.

On Tuesday, March 8, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian State Orchestra, together with Anne-Sophie Mutter and conductor Lahav Shani, held a benefit concert at the Isarphilharmonie. All proceeds from the concert will go to support Save the Children's work in Ukraine.

The event was broadcast live on radio on BR-KLASSIK, and then video-streamed on Saturday March 12 on BR-KLASSIK CONCERT, before receiving subsequent online and television broadcasts. The program will include Beethoven's Symphony No 5 and Violin Concerto.

"Everyone can and must help now. Words alone are not enough," Mutter told the press. "This is a terrible humanitarian disaster. We must stand together with the people of Ukraine. I ask you from the bottom of my heart for your donation to Save the Children so that as many children as possible in Ukraine and neighboring countries can be helped."

In response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Europe, Chamber Music | OC held a special virtual benefit concert on Tuesday, March 8th. 100% of the proceeds went to United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, Inc. Featured artists included violinists Iryna Krechkovsky (Trio Céleste), Marta Krechkovsky (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra), Grammy-winning pianist Nadia Shpachenko (Cal Poly Pomona), Marisa Gupta (international concert pianist), the Endpin Cello Choir, and members of Chamber Music | OC’s Pre-College Program.

"As a symbol of our solidarity with Ukraine, the (Royal Albert) Hall The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra also opened their recent concert here with a stirring rendition of the Ukrainian national anthem.

Musicians 0f all genre have flourished in the Ukraine since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity which culminated in the ousting of elected President Viktor Yanukoyvch and the overthrow of the Ukrainian government. Particularly popular were the annual Underhill Festival, set for three days June 3-5, 2022 featuring both local and international acts; the festival had been counting on 20,000 ticket buyers. There was also this summer’s annual Atlas Festival, a music and arts festival, July 6-10 set to feature Twenty One Pilots, Yungblud, and Alt-J along with locally bred artists.

Taking place at the Expocenter of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, it was founded as Atlas Weekend by Dmytro Sydorenko and is organized by PMK Event Agency and concert hall Atlas. In 2022, the festival was rebranded under its current name.

Just as the country is battered, so is the performance scene. Theatres are closed, performing artists are out of work and their future is in rubble.

Soldering on in the traditional "the show must go on" posture are Ukrainian performers who are on stage in other countries.

Marichka Marczyk, who is Ukrainian-Canadian, and her husband, Mark Marczyk, who is a Canadian of Ukrainian descent, formed Balaklava Blues, a Toronto-based band that performs wildly contemporary renditions of Ukrainian folk songs. The Marczyks wrote the music and performed live for Dogs of Europe, a production by the underground company, which opened at London’s Barbican last Thursday and ran through Saturday, March 12, 2022.

Dogs Of Europe. Photo: Barbican

"From one of the world’s bravest theatre companies comes a visceral, psychological drama set in the near future, depicting a dystopian super-state in which individual rights have given way to control.

Based on the novel by Alhierd Bacharevic. Nicolai Khalezin directed was the set designer and dramaturgy. Natalia Kaliada served as Co-Director with Maryia Bialkovich Co-Dramaturg. Translation by Daniella Kaliada.Roman Liubyi Filmmaker and Animator. Richard Williamson Lighting and Video Designer. Sergej Newski Composer. Mark & Marichka Marczyk of Balaklava Blues Original Music and Live Performance. Ella Wahlström Sound designer. Maria Sazonova Choreographer. Mikalai Kuprych Videographer. Neil Kelso Illusions. RC-Annie Stage Combat Consultants. Maryna Yakubovic Rehearsal Director. Keegan Curran Associate Sound Designer.

"In 2049, a murder investigation sets a man on a quest, his search bringing him to former Belarus and Russia, now a European territory ruled by a secret service. But his journey becomes less about the regime’s origins, more a revelation about his own role in its creation. Based on a novel by Alhierd Bacharevic – now banned in Belarus - Dogs of Europe is an epic fantasy and political thriller about the dangers of looking away when authoritarianism takes root.

"Exiled from their native country, the co-founders of Belarus Free Theatre are political refugees who make work, renowned for its physical theatrical style, that plays to courageous audiences in secret locations across Minsk and around the world. Having lived in democracies and a dictatorship, this show is especially prescient.

This is a hard time for other Canadian musicians of Ukrainian descent – even if, like Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra violinist Adriana Lebedovich, they’ve never been to Ukraine.

In a show of solidarity, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) is starting all of its March concerts with Melody in A Minor, by Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk. The piece, suggested by CPO violinist Adriana Lebedovich, who is of Ukrainian descent has become one of Ukraine’s spiritual anthems.

Cellist Natasha Boyko herself a refugee from Ukraine, who has a doctorate in music, was born in Lviv. She fled for Canada in 1979 with her then-husband, also a musician, and their son. The Soviet government refused to let them leave with any identification documents, and allowed them to bring only $100 and 25 kilograms of baggage each, as first reported by NPR.

In Vancouver, they were helped by local philanthropists, including Vancouver Recital Society founder Leila Getz, who organized a recital for Boyko at her home, where influrencers in the arts community could hear her play, said NPR.

Yesterday, March 12, teenage students at Julliard saying "we cannot-stand-idly-by" staged a benefit concert, performing as Harmony for Healing.

Harmony for Healing is a non-profit organisation that was formed in 2020 by twin sisters Bethany and Susanna Bobbs, who organized virtual concerts benefitting musicians negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Now switching focus to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the organization held livestreamed concert on Saturday, March 12, to raise funds for United Help Ukraine, a volunteer-based organisation that provides medical and humanitarian aid to victims of the invasion.

Students from the Juilliard School and the Perlman Music Program performed works for strings and piano, including pieces by Wieniawski, Paganini, Dvorák, Sarasate, as well as many others.

The concert is available to watch on Harmony for Healing’s YouTube page.

The City Winery in New York City put on a benefit concert for Ukraine through the Come Back Alive foundation, the largest foundation providing support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The event took place this past Thursday, March 10, hosted by Ukrainian singer Eugene Hütz his band Gogol Bordello. There wasl also performances by The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn & Franz Nicolay, Jesse Malin, Lady Lamb, Marc Roberge from O.A.R., Matisyahu, Patti Smith, The Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt and Suzanne Vega.

Additionally, City Winery produced a limited edition, custom labeled wine which was be available at the benefit concert and online.

"Come Back Alive Foundation stands with the Ukrainian Armed Forces by funding purely defensive initiatives. Since 2014, we have supplied nearly 1,000 thermal scopes and over 250 reconnaissance drones. Along with this material support, we’ve supported technological advancements with 1,500 tablets containing «Armor» artillery calculation software. Come Back Alive also conducts training to give our troops broader skill sets. Since 2015, we’ve introduced courses for medical care workers, artillerymen, snipers, sappers, and defense analysts. After arriving home from the front line of defense, our troops receive support with sports rehabilitation and the development of veteran-run businesses. Our organization does not use funds to buy weaponry. Our mission is purely to supply technology, training, and ammunition to help save the lives of Ukrainians and help our soldiers defend Ukraine."

Bay Area of California is hosting a variety of events helping the people of Ukraine.

A "Concert for Peace" was staged in San Francisco's Hayes Valley with musicians from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music raising money to help the people of Ukraine. Donations raised will go to Direct Relief, an organization providing medical supplies in Ukraine.

Violinist Rose Crelli organized the concert, after seeing heartbreaking images of destruction on TV.

Kseniya Naturina Fenner, a former peace corps volunteer, sold Vareniki, tradititional Ukrainian dumplings in Golden Gate Park, proceeds tol help humanitarian relief efforts.

The Bay Area is seeing "the first refugees from war-torn Ukraine arrive in the Bay Area. Some barely made it out alive."

In the East Bay, several dozen people gathered for a vigil at the Lafayette Hillside War Memorial to pray and support Ukriane.

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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

UKRAINIAN MUSEUMS, GALLERIES AND CHURCHES race to save priceless works of art.

Other European cultural institutions have offered to store the priceless works.

Leading Polish museums have joined together to establish the Committee for Assistance to Museums of Ukraine offering help and practical support to their Ukrainian museum colleagues.

The committee was set up on the initiative of the Warsaw Rising Museum. Almost 20 institutions from all over Poland have already joined the project. The Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv, which is the Ukraine's largest art museum, has been carefully, but as rapidly as possible, packing away priceless art.

The Lviv National Art Gallery contains paintings by Polish artists including Jan Matejko and Julian Falat, while the Lviv branch of the Ossolineum is a Polish cultural institution that houses a collection of Polish manuscripts.

Ukraine has several UNESCO World Heritage sites that are under direct threat of destruction, with Kyiv being home to St Sophia Cathedral, which contains unique mosaics and frescoes from the early 16th century, as well as the Pechersk Lavra, an Orthodox monastery founded in 1051.

Museums such as the Museum of the History of Religion are packing up the shelves and displays. Churches are also scrambling to save precious items. At the Latin Cathedral, the sculptures have been covered with cardboard, foam and plastic to protect them from possible shrapnel.

In Kharkiv, the Dormition Cathedral of the Mother of God and the historic buildings of Vasyl Karazin University have been damaged by Russian bombardments.

Historical sites have also been destroyed in Zhytomyr, Mariupol and Kherson.

THE BEATLES: GET BACK TO LET IT BE the newest exhibit from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame lets patrons experience one of the most iconic moments of the 20th Century by stepping inside The Beatles’ January 1969 rehearsals, studio sessions, and legendary Apple Corps rooftop concert, the band’s final live performance. The Beatles: Get Back to Let It Be, opens March 18, 2022 at the Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

This groundbreaking exhibition curated by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is an immersive complement to Peter Jackson's docuseries, The Beatles: Get Back.

“The Beatles have had a massive, global impact across generations. We are excited to welcome a diverse mix of fans from around the world to experience this exhibit and are grateful for the support of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison, Apple Corps Ltd., and Peter Jackson for helping us tell this important story,” said Greg Harris, President & CEO, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Fans will experience The Beatles’ creative journey through the exhibit’s original instruments, clothing, and handwritten lyrics used by The Beatles and seen in the film, including items loaned directly by Paul McCartney, Ringo Star, and the estates of George Harrison and John Lennon. The exhibit will feature high-definition film clips, audio, and custom projections, transporting fans into The Beatles’ vibrant world of January 1969.

THE FRALIN MUSEUM OF ART at the University of Virginia has announced the establishment of The Ruth C. Cross Endowment for Acquisitions and Collections Care. The $1 million endowment is created by the late museum donors’ family. The Fralin Museum of Art’s longstanding patron, volunteer and friend, Ruth Cunningham Cross passed away in 2021.

“The Fralin Museum of Art has been profoundly influenced by Ruth’s hard work and dedication to caring for our collection, introducing new members and volunteers and engaging the community through exhibitions and K-12 programming,” said Matthew McLendon, J. Sanford Miller Family director at the Fralin. “As a member of the Fralin’s advisory board and volunteer board, Ruth’s legacy with the institution has helped create the museum we are today.”

POSTWAR MODERN New Art in Britain 1945-1965. A revelatory new take on art in Britain after the Second World War, a period when artists had to make sense of an entirely altered world.

Postwar Modern explores the art produced in Britain in the wake of a cataclysmic war. Certainty was gone, and the aftershocks continued, but there was also hope for a better tomorrow. These conditions gave rise to an incredible richness of imagery, forms and materials in the years that followed.

Focusing on "the new", Postwar Modern features 48 artists and around 200 works of painting, sculpture, photography, collage and installation. It explores the subjects that most preoccupied artists, among them the body, the post-atomic condition, the Blitzed streetscape, private relationships and imagined future horizons. As well as reconsidering well-known figures, the exhibition foregrounds artists who came to Britain as refugees from Nazism or as migrants from a crumbling empire, in addition to female artists who have tended to be overlooked.

Artists represented include: Adrian Heath, Alan Davie, Alison Smithson, Anthony Hill, Anwar Jalal Shemza, Aubrey Williams, Avinash Chandra, Bert Hardy, Bill Brandt, David Hockney, David Medalla, Denis Williams, Eduardo Paolozzi, Elisabeth Frink, Eva Frankfurther, Francis Newton Souza, Francis Bacon, Franciszka Themerson, Frank Auerbach, Frank Bowling, Gillian Ayres, Gustav Metzger, Hans Coper, Jean Cooke, John Bratby.

John Latham, John McHale, Kim Lim, Lee Miller, Leon Kossoff, Lucian Freud, Lucie Rie, Lynn Chadwick, Magda Cordell, Mary Martin, Nigel Henderson, Patrick Heron, Peter King, Peter Smithson, Prunella Clough, Richard Hamilton, Robert Adams, Robyn Denny, Roger Mayne, Shirley Baker, Sylvia Sleigh, Victor Pasmore, William Scott, and William Turnbull.

On display through Sunday, June 26, 2022 at the Barbican in London.

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SWEET CHARITY

RED BULL THEATRE will celebrate Women’s History Month with an online benefit reading Margaret Cavendish’s The Convent of Pleasure, directed by Kim Weild, presented in collaboration with R/18 Collective. This benefit reading is Pay What You Can.

First published in 1668, The Convent of Pleasure, was written as a closet drama - a play intended to be read rather than performed. In its 354 year history, there have been very few public presentations and Red Bull is delighted to provide this opportunity to hear Margaret Cavendish’s play read aloud with the support of R/18 Collective.

When Lady Happy and her friends decide to ignore society’s expectations and consciously choose to avoid men and marriage, they seclude themselves inside a free-thinking and joyous community, creating a radical feminist utopia: the Convent of Pleasure. Cavendish’s 17th-century play imagines a space established by and for women to live for pleasure without men. But when a mysterious Princess comes to join the convent, a "princely brave woman truly, of a masculine presence," the paradise of the enclave shakes.

Following the Livestream reading, there will be a free online Bull Session on Thursday, March 17th: an interactive discussion of the play and its themes with director Kim Weild, noted scholars, and members of the company. The livestream will be on Youtube with chat.

Red Bull Theater’s online readings offer the unique opportunity to hear rarely-produced classic plays, and brand new plays in conversation with the classics, performed by the finest actors in New York. All of our current online offerings are free, but advance reservations are recommended.

SPREADING THE WORD

IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES' “RUBBER SOUL" AND "REVOLVER" Muriel Kauffman Theatre An impressive cast of musicians is coming together for a special tribute to The Beatles' iconic "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" albums. Timeless Beatles favorites and other classic rock 'n' roll hits performed by Todd Rundgren, Christopher Cross, Joey Molland (Badfinger), Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts), Denny Laine (founding member of The Moody Blues and Wings) and Jason Scheff (Chicago).

These legendary artists will perform their respective hits, like Todd Rundgren’s “I Saw the Light,” Christopher Cross’ “Sailing,” Badfinger’s “No Matter What” and more, alongside Beatles classics from the band's “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” albums.

Sunday, March 27, 2022 Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, MO.

PAMELA ANDERSON will make her Broadway debut playing Roxie Hart in Chicago.

She steps into the lead role on April 12 for an eight week run through June 5 at the Ambassador Theatre in NYC.

LYRICS AND LYRICISTS 50th anniversary season opens at 92Y in New York City with David Loud: Facing the Music on March 19, 20 and 21, celebrating the career of the renowned Broadway music director.

Filled with astonishing stories, collected during his 34 years of working on Broadway, his perspective on musical theater, which includes both the view from the orchestra pit and from the stage, is wry, compassionate, and funny. Included will be stories from his Broadway debut at the age of 19 as the onstage pianist in the original cast of Hal Prince’s production of the Stephen Sondheim legendary flop/cult classic Merrily We Roll Along, plus behind-the-scenes anecdotes and unforgettable songs from his many shows including She Loves Me, Curtains and more. It’s a joyful, big-hearted celebration of a Broadway life featuring vocalists Heidi Blickenstaff, Laura Darrell, David Garrison, Alex Joseph Grayson and Matthew Scott.

The show is based on David’s forthcoming memoir, Facing the Music, which Lynn Ahrens calls “beautifully written, filled with vivid details, braided with love and loss and wit and the perspective of someone with an utterly unique story to tell.”

In addition to his Broadway career, David is a longtime and beloved L&L artistic director, bringing shows celebrating Burton Lane, Frank Loesser, Cole Porter and the Hal Prince/Stephen Sondheim collaboration to 92Y’s stage.

LIAM NEESON'S next movie, which will be shot in Donegal, Ireland is seeking "rugged GAA (Gaelic football) players of all ages" to appear as extras in the flick, The Land of Saints and Sinners which will begin shooting at the end of this month and last until May.

The action-adventure tells the story of a retired assassin who is forced into a game of cat and mouse with three terrorists.

The film will be directed by Robert Lorenz who worked with Neeson on The Marksman.

The extras will be used in scenes featuring a GAA game.

Players need to look rugged with "1970s hairstyles (sideburns, mustaches, beards and longer hairstyles), GAA players, men and women of all ages, good availability (continuity roles will require multiple shoot days!)".

The fishing port of Killybegs and its surrounding areas including Glencolmcille are to be the location for two months of filming, according to casting notices.

The film also stars Belfast-born actor Ciarán Hinds, who has been a lifelong friend of Neeson. The two have starred in several films together including John Boorman's Excalibur.

THE CENTER FOR FICTION a 200-year-old literary nonprofit that has created an immersive home for readers and writers in downtown Brooklyn, and Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, will co-present Sarah Ruhl and Matthew Aucoin in Conversation on March 16 at 7pm ET at The Center for Fiction, in Brooklyn, NY, and via livestream.

Composer Matthew Aucoin and playwright Sarah Ruhl recently collaborated on an opera version of Ruhl’s acclaimed play Eurydice. They will discuss their collaboration and the process of transforming the play into a libretto, which was in Ruhl’s words, “one of distillation, with effort and grace.” This event represents the fourth collaboration between The Center and TCG, with past events featuring Jackie Sibblies Drury and Claudia Rankine; Annie Baker and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins; and Heidi Schreck and Paula Vogel.

L.A. THEATRE WORKS all-star cast records Dominique Morisseau’s compelling Pipeline available for digital download March 18.

Larry Powell directs a stellar cast including Sophina Brown, Eugene Byrd, Demetrius Grosse, Sharon Lawrence, X Mayo, Uyoata Udi and Karen Malina White.

Pipeline is Morisseau’s strikingly powerful work play about a mother’s hopes for her son and their clash with an educational system that seems to be rigged against him.

Nya, a dedicated teacher at an inner-city school, is desperate to give her only son opportunities that her own public high school students will never have. When a controversial incident at his private school threatens to get Omari expelled, Nya must confront his rage and her own fight to give her son a future without turning her back on their community.

ERNEST SHACKLETON'S LOST SHIP FOUND an expedition that set out in search of the lost ship of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton found it - 106 years after the vessel sank off Antarctica. The wooden ship Endurance has been located remarkably intact about 10,000 feet underwater in the Weddell Sea.

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922) was a polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic, and one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

Shackleton's trans-Antarctic expedition went dangerously awry. As World War I was beginning in 1914, the British explorer Shackleton set out to traverse Antarctica. The plan was for Shackleton to take 27 men on two ships, the Endurance and the Aurora, that would arrive at different locations on the continent to explore two routes by which to sledge across the ice. But in January 1915, the Endurance became trapped in ice off the coast of Antarctica.

In 2017 Shackleton's adventures spawned an off-Broadway musical Ernest Shackleton Loves Me by GrooveLily band members Valerie Vigoda and Brendan Milburn and Tony Award-winning book writer Joe Di Pietro, followed by a cast recording. See Broadway To Vegas column of February 11, 2018.

16TH ANNUAL GOODSPEED FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS the much-anticipated three-day festival of brand-new works returns to the Goodspeed campus after having been canceled in 2021 due to Covid-19. This year’s Festival is unique in that all of the new musicals to be showcased are written by women.

The Festival kicks off on Friday, March 18 at The Goodspeed in East Haddam, CT with a staged reading of A House Without Windows. This fascinating new tuner features a book by Anna Ziegler and music and lyrics by Anna K. Jacobs. Saturday, March 19 will be highlighted by a staged reading of the darkly comic and powerful new musical HoT, which has music by Lynne Shankel and words by Sara Cooper. The final day of the festival features The Gunfighter Meets His Match, a new musical filled with humor and heart with book, music and lyrics by Abby Payne. Additional Festival events include seminars, symposium and exclusive cabarets.

ELVIS PRESLEY ENTERPRISES AND GIBSON GUITARS have treamed up to create two stunning Acoustic Guitars that Mark Key Musical Moments in the legendary career of icon Elvis Presley: the Gibson Elvis Dove and Gibson Elvis SJ-200, both in Ebony. The Elvis Dove and SJ-200 are handmade by the expert luthiers and artisans of the Gibson Acoustic Custom Shop in Bozeman, Montana.

The new Gibson Elvis Dove in Ebony is based on a customized 1969 Gibson Dove that was gifted to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll by his father, Vernon Presley, which Elvis played in concert regularly from 1971 through 1975, famously during Elvis’ legendary satellite-televised Aloha From Hawaii concert in 1973. In 1975, while in mid-performance during a concert in Asheville, NC, Elvis gifted the Gibson Dove to an astonished audience member.

Elvis often used Gibson SJ-200 acoustic guitars, aka “The King of Flat Tops.” Gibson has now created Elvis’ favorite SJ-200 in Ebony that is based on a guitar that was given to Elvis as a gift at a recording session at RCA Studio B in Nashville, TN in the mid-1960’s. Elvis often used this Gibson SJ-200 acoustic guitar for numerous high-profile live performances and in 1976, Elvis gave it to his close friend and aide at Graceland Marty Lacker.

The new Gibson Elvis Dove in Ebony features a solid Sitka spruce top, solid maple back, sides, and a mahogany neck capped with an Indian rosewood fretboard. The new Dove is equipped with a modern LR Baggs VTC electronics with an under-saddle piezo pickup and soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls.

The new Gibson Elvis SJ-200 features a maple back, sides, and neck, as well as a Sitka spruce top. The guitar features all of the attractive SJ-200 touches, including mother-of-pearl graduated crown and parallelogram inlays, an iconic Moustache bridge and an Indian rosewood fingerboard, and comes equipped with an LR Baggs VTC under-saddle pick up. As an extra personalized Elvis touch, both guitars come with a Kenpo Karate decal included in the hardshell case.

CELEBRATE THE LEGENDARY NELSON RIDDLE with the New York Pops on March 16, 2022 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The evening will feature rare arrangements from Nelson Riddle's vast catalogue brought to life by Tony DeSare and Capathia Jenkins.

The event will be conducted by Christopher Riddle. After Nelson Riddle passed away in 1985, his son Christopher assumed conducting duties for The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, bringing his father's music and its distinctive sound to audiences across the globe.

KATHY MATTEA & SUZY BOGGUSS Together at Last tour has performances Thursday, May 19, 2022 at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, CT. Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss have each carved out careers in popular music with country chart-topping hits spanning two decades, Grammy Awards and Platinum records. Friends since their early days in Nashville, they've always wanted to tour together. Now they have.

ALAN CUMMING & ARI SHAPIRO: OCH & OY - A CONSIDERED CABARET takes place Friday, March 18 at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, CT.

Tony Award-winning actor Alan Cumming and NPR’s All Things Considered host (and Pink Martini guest vocalist) Ari Shapiro bring an evening of tunes and tall tales.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the staff at Broadway To Vegas

THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF FLYING TIGER LINE FLIGHT 739

60 years ago on March 16, 1962, Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 (FTLF 739) was on a secret mission sanctioned by President Kennedy, to fly to Vietnam. This secret Vietnam reconnaissance mission went missing and no trace of the plane or its passengers have ever been found. Onboard were 93 United States Army soldiers and 11 civilian crewmembers.

The pilot of the plane was Bob Hope's USO tour pilot and Hope was on the plane just before it went missing.

Very little is known about what happened to FTLF 739 and its crew and passengers, and due to the circumstance surrounding this mission, the names of those lost have not yet been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. However, today many families and loved ones of these heroes still fight to have their loved ones recognized for their contributions to our freedom and our shared history.


Presently, this private memorial is the only recognition that the heroes of FTLF 739 have ever received for their shared sacrifice to our nation. However, that can change. Senator Gary Peters (MI) introduced Senate Bill 2571 which is supported by Senators Blackburn (TN), Stabenow (MI), and Shaheen (NH). This bill which is presently sitting in the committee for Energy and Natural Resources seeks to have these long-forgotten heroes added to the list of names on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. “As an Army Veteran who has had the privilege of serving alongside so many amazing patriots serving in our special operations and intelligence communities I know we may never have the opportunity to share the full story of these men's sacrifice,” said Joe Reagan, Director of Military and Veteran Outreach for Wreaths Across America. “This should not stop us from providing their families, and all Americans the opportunity to honor their service by saying their names in our nation’s Capital. Adding their names to the Vietnam wall alongside their 58,318 Brothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War is a fitting tribute to these men and a reminder to all of us that our freedom is oftentimes secured by men and women who serve in silence.”

Wreaths Across American states: If you support our nation’s veterans and want to see American heroes recognized for their significant contributions to our freedom, please write your Senator and ask them to add the names associated with FTLF 739 to the Vietnam War Memorial. On Wednesday, March 16 at 12pm ET/9am PT, Wreaths Across America will be streaming a live event to remember and commemorate the 60th anniversary of Flying Tiger Line Flight 739. The event will be streamed LIVE on WAA’s Official FB page and on Wreaths Across America Radio which can also be heard via the iHeart Radio app, or by downloading it at the App Store or on Google.



A TOUCH OF THE POET by Eugene O’Neill.

Directed by Ciarán O’Reilly.

Proud and tempestuous Cornelius Melody (Con) owns a run-down inn and tavern near Boston in 1828. Laden with debt, Con clings to his tenuous identity as a landed gentleman and war hero and chastises his wife and daughter for actions that expose the family’s humble Irish origins. When his daughter, Mary, falls in love with a wealthy American guest at their inn, Con’s pride drives him to an explosive reckoning with his true place in the New World.

The cast includes: Belle Aykroyd as Sara Melody, David Beck as Dan Roche, Robert Cuccioli as Cornelius “Con” Melody, Kate Forbes as Nora Melody, Mary McCann as Deborah Hartford, Andy Murray as Jamie Cregan, Emma O’Donnell as u/s Sara/Nora/Deborah, James Russell as Mickey Maloy, David Sitler as Patch Riley, John C. Vennema as Nicholas Gadsby and Rex Young as Paddy O’Dowd.

The creatives are: set design by Charlie Corcoran, costume design by Alejo Vietti, lighting design by Michael Gottlieb, original music by Ryan Rumery, sound design by M. Florian Staab, properties by Brandy Hoang Collier and hair & wig design by Robert-Charles Vallance. April Ann Kline serves as Production Stage Manager with Jade Doina (Dublin Carol) as Assistant Stage Manager and Gail Baldoni as Associate Costume Designer.

A Touch of the Poet, Eugene O’Neill’s tragic tale about the immigrant experience and generational aspiration, was the first work written for the playwright’s famously unfinished cycle about the Irish in America. Completed in 1942, A Touch of the Poet has received four Broadway productions. It premiered in October of 1958 at the Helen Hayes Theatre, nearly five years after the playwright’s death.

A Touch of the Poet runs through April 17, 2022, at Irish Rep on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage in New York City

WHAT YOU ARE NOW by Sam Chanse.

Directed by Steve Cosson.

Pia is a passionate young researcher investigating cutting-edge new ideas about how to heal the mind from traumatic memories. But her interest is also personal, deeply intertwined with her family’s history. When a figure from the past unexpectedly shows up, urging Pia’s mother to testify about her experiences during the violence of 1970s Cambodia, unresolved histories are brought to the surface. Pia must navigate through a latticework of interconnected memories: her relationship, her brother Darany and, centrally, her mother Chantrea—making discoveries that will radically alter everyone’s lives in the present.

what you are now asks what if our memories aren’t fixed, but change each time we recall the past? This world premiere by Sam Chanse is "a thrillingly insightful new play that asks the audience to move through the shifting dance between the past and present, and to consider how with new understanding we might change "who you were then" to "what you are now."

The cast includes Sonnie Brown, Curran Connor, Emma Kikue, Robert Lee Leng and Pisay Pao.

Scenic design by Riw Rakkulchon, costume design by An-lin Dauber, lighting design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, sound design by Leah Gelpe, original music by Sophy Him and props design by Caitlyn Murphy. Soriya Chum serves as dramaturg and Fran Acuña-Almiron is the production stage manager.

Presented by Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and The Civilians. Part of the EST/Sloan Science & Technology Project, previews in progress at the at EST’s Curt Dempster Theatre in New York City with opening night set for March 17 for a limited run through April 3, 2022.

STRAIGHT LINE CRAZY David Hare's newest play - a blazing account of the life of Robert Moses.

For forty uninterrupted years, Robert Moses was the most powerful man in New York. Though never elected to office, he manipulated those who were through a mix of guile, charm and intimidation.

Motivated at first by a determination to improve the lives of New York City’s workers, he created new parks, new bridges and 627 miles of expressway to connect the people to the great outdoors. But in the 1950s, groups of citizens at grass roots began to organize against his schemes and against the motor car, campaigning for a very different idea of what a city was and for what it should be.

Ralph Fiennes stars as Robert Moses whose iron will exposed the weakness of democracy in the face of charismatic conviction.

Alongside Ralph Fiennes as Robert Moses are Alisha Bailey, Samuel Barnett, David Bromley, Al Coppola, Siobhán Cullen, Ian Kirkby, Alana Maria, Dani Moseley, Guy Paul, Helen Schlesinger, Mary Stillwaggon Stewart and Danny Webb.

Performances begin March 16, 2022 at the Bridge Theatre in London.

GRACE Music and Lyrics by Nolan Williams, Jr.; Book by Nolan Williams, Jr., and Nikkole Salter.

Directed and Choreographed by Robert Barry Fleming.

Grace examines the little-told history of African-American culinary tradition and the challenges faced by Black-owned businesses. The musical captures a day in the life of the Mintons, a Philadelphia family who gather to mourn the loss of their matriarch and deal with the future of their family restaurant in a changing neighborhood. "Heartfelt and hopeful, timely and timeless, Grace is the new American musical where, although family comes first, everyone has a seat at the table."

Packed with an eclectic mix of styles including jazz, R&B, rousing up-tempos and raise-the-roof ballads, Grace is an electrifying musical feast celebrating the perseverance of family and the power of traditions. March 19 - May 14, 2022 at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC.

THE FEVER SYNDROME by Alexis Zegerman.

Directed by Hampstead Artistic Director Roxana Silbert.

‘We are all slaves to our genes. Worse than that; we are all slaves to our parents' genes.’

Robert Lindsay stars as Professor Richard Myers, the great IVF innovator, who is virtually a secular saint because of the thousands of babies he has created throughout his career. Now, his family gathers to see him receive a lifetime achievement award. However, the fractious group are more accustomed to debate than empathy, so it’s not long before the family home in the Upper West Side of Manhattan is once again alive with dispute.

A thrilling portrait of a brilliantly dysfunctional family, starring Lisa Dillon, Jake Fairbrother, Alexandra Gilbreath, Robert Lindsay, Sam Marks, Bo Poraj, Alex Waldmann, Nancy Allsop and Charlotte Pourret Wythe.

Performances March 19 - April 23, 2022 at the Hamstead Theatre in London.

LYSANDER'S AUNTY nominated for the prestigious Adam New Zealand Play Award, this larger-than-life contemporary comedy is written by multi award-winning New Zealand writer Ralph McCubbin Howell.

Directed by Hannah Smith.

"Hilarious, unique and a little bit magical, the unmissable Lysander’s Aunty will take you on a wild ride with a fresh Kiwi take on one of the greatest stories ever told."

With quick, witty dialogue and a pacy plot, this brand-new, energetic production stars Miriama McDowell as Lysander’s outrageous renegade aunty.

Sepelini Mua’au makes his Auckland Theatre Company debut as Lysander and a swag of celebrated New Zealand performers, including 2021 Billy T Award winner Brynley Stent ( and 2021 Comedy Festival Fred Award winner Eli Matthewson, along with actors Stephen Lovatt, Claire Chitham, and Jonathan Martin are in the outstanding ensemble cast.

Creatives include Set Designer Daniel Williams, renowned Costume Designer Elizabeth Whiting, Lighting Designer Sean Lynch, Sound Designer Eden Mulholland, with Movement/Fight Director Dan Bain and Choreographer Brigid Costello.

March 17 – April 3, 2022 at the ASB Waterfront Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP (TCG) has announced the application launch of THRIVE! Uplifting Theatres of Color. With $1,635,000 in support from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, TCG is working in partnership with an Advisory Circle of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to provide unrestricted funds for Black theatres, Indigenous theatres and Theatres of Color (BITOC) based in the U.S. (including Tribal Nations and U.S. Territories).

THRIVE! will provide two grant opportunities, Respond and Recognize, as well as host Rebuilt: A Learning Cohort, which will strengthen participating theatres’ effectiveness in areas such as financial planning, crisis management, scenario planning, and program evaluation.

A SOUVENIR €0 commemorative note of James Joyce has been released to commemorate the centenary of the publication of James Joyce's Ulysses.

The Dublin writer's face is printed on the note which is printed in the same facility that presses Euro banknotes for the EU at the request of Euro Note Souvenir, the exclusive license-holder of zero Euro notes in Ireland. The company has previously honored other iconic Irish mainstays, including the city of Dublin, revolutionary political figures like Michael Collins and Bobby Sands, Kilkenny Castle, and the Cliffs of Moher.

The James Joyce Zero Euro Note features a portrait of the iconic Joyce with his cockeyed hat, cane, and glasses, encircled by a ring of stars. Just 5,000 of these limited edition notes will be printed.

"James Joyce’s work and life embodied what it means to be Irish in a way we had not seen before," said Peter Schneider, Founder of Euro Note Souvenir.

Ulysses is set entirely on one day, June 16, 1904. Ulysses follows Leopold Bloom and Stephen Daedalus as they go about their daily business in Dublin, Ieland.

Ulysses is a modernist novel by Irish writer James Joyce. It was first serialized in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920 and then published in its entirety in Paris by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, Joyce's 40th birthday.

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CONGRATULATIONS IN ADVANCE TO ALL OF THE BAFTA WINNERS the ceremony takes place tonight, March 13, 2022 at Royal Albert Hall in London. Despite being Patron of the organization, Prince William will miss the ceremony, instead sending a video message.

Rebel Wilson will host the awards.

Among those attending are Lady Gaga, Aaron Sorkin, Benedict Cumberbatch and Lashana Lynch while those performing during the ceremony include Shirley Bassey and Emilia Jones.

Presenters include: Daisy Ridley, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Millie Bobby Brown, Patrick Stewart, Regé Jean-Page, RuPaul, Salma Hayek, Sebastian Stan, Sienna Miller, Simon Pegg, Simone Ashley, Sophie Okonedo, Sophie Turner, Tom Hiddleston and Wunmi Mosaku among others.

The show will be broadcast on BBC and iPlayer in the U.K. and Britbox in the U.S.

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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.

Next Column: March 20, 2022
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Laura Deni

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