Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: August 20, 2017
By: Laura Deni
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IN OUR CURRENT ATMOSPHERE OF ABHORRENCE, TWO RECORDINGS - LEGALLY BOUND AND THE VIEW UPSTAIRS - IN DIFFERENT WAYS - SING OF LOVE

Legally Bound is a recording of Broadway’s hottest couple, Orfeh and Andy Karl in their Feinstein’s/54 Below debut which took place December 8 - 14, 2016.

The gorgeous black and white CD cover shot by Jenny Anderson drips with elegance - and is perhaps misleading. It shows an elegantly dressed, glamorous couple - Orfeh and Andy Karl - looking much like Clark Gable and Jean Harlow.

Sure, Orfeh and Andy are a glam couple, but this smokin' hot CD isn't a collection of 1930's 'moon, June, croon,' sappy romantic ballads.

Legally Bound is a dynamite CD which wails and soars.

The CD opens with the couple proclaiming their love for each other in the dynamic You're All I Need to Get By, leading into a hard charged, statement making Ain't No Mountain followed by some delightful chatter about their romance and previous Broadway and off-Broadway performances - including some shows that weren't mega hits.

They were both in Legally Blonde which earned Orfeh a Tony nomination. They had met 6 years earlier and have famously appeared alongside one another in such shows as Saturday Night Fever, Me and Mrs. Jones, and Live on Broadway 2.

Andy received back to back Tony nods himself, one for his star turn as the title character in Rocky in 2014, and another for his role as Bruce Granit in the Broadway revival of On the Twentieth Century in 2015. He is currently starring as Phil Connors Groundhog Day which earned him an Olivier Award for the West End mounting and a Tony nomination for his amazing performance in the Broadway production.

They married in 2001.

All aspects of what encompass love are included in this CD released on Broadway Records - such being a friend in The Promise to determination in History, indicating the couple can hold on through anything.

At one point they were both appearing Off-Broadway - she in The Great American Trailer Park Musical while Andy was in Hunka Hunka Burning Love a short lived show which allowed Karl to prove he can channel Elvis.

They mash up those shows in Make Like a Nail powerfully performed by Orfeh whose voice soars followed by Karl delivering If I Can Dream starting out mellow and building to a Elvis crescendo, which is Orfeh's cue to join in with a revival ending to make believers out of any listener.

This statement making CD wails and rocks.

The stars were in perfect alignment when Orfeh's vocal chords were created. She has a voice which is a national treasure. You can't create such an instrument. It has to be a gift which can be nurtured but not manufactured. Her vocal abilities are sparkling, faceted gems capable of powerful, layered, inspiring, and ferocious tones, style, breath control and delivery. She is one awesome singer.

Karl is no slouch, either. His voice has depth and character. He's played Presley, Stalone's Rocky and Bill Murray's lead character in Groundhog Day - that's a trio tough to pull off.

He includes selections from each show including Keep On Standing from Rocky, and the gentle, contemporary Seeing You from Groundhog Day.

The high voltage Piece of My Heart blows the audience away.

Their live 54 Below performances included different special guests taking part in each show with Andrew Logan's appearance included on this CD. Logan's participation is a duet with Orfeh in a song which Orfeh and Karl declare to be their favorite - I'm Your Baby Tonight. It's an all stops pulled out delivery.

It doesn't matter whether they are covering, Presley, Joplin or Diana Ross the couple - singularly or together - put their own powerful interpretation and claim ownership.

The fast moving CD ends with Kiss. The urge is to play the CD again - and again.

Orfeh and Andy Karl are joined by musical director Steven Jamail for an unforgettable evening of chart-toppers, show-stoppers, wrapped in the magic of romance. Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright.

The amazing band includes: Conductor/piano Steven Jamail. Percussion: Jeremy Yaddaw. Guitar: Micah Burgess. Bass: Colin Dean. Keyboard and backup vocals: Britt Bonney. Backup vocals: Tim Kodres.

Mastered by Greg Reierson, of Rare Form Mastering. Package design Robbie Rozelle. Photos: Van Dean.

Tracks:
1. “You’re All I Need to Get By”
2. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
3. “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now”
4. “A very rowdy crowd…”
5. “The Promise”
6. “Something good had to come out of the 80s…”
7. “Make Like a Nail”/“If I Can Dream”
8. “I love it when the napkins start to dance…”
9. “History”
10. “Some artists that you come up listening to…”
11. “I’m Your Baby Tonight” (with Andrew Logan)
12. “That show really sort of pushed the limits…”
13. “Keep on Standing ”
14. “Piece of My Heart”
15. “That happens in my living room at least twice a week…”
16. “Seeing You”
17. “Kiss”

THE VIEW UPSTAIRS enjoyed a respectable Off-Broadway run at The Lynn Redgrave Theater. from February 28- May 21, 2017. The original cast recording has been released by Broadway Records.

Directed by Scott Ebersold, the story is inspired by one of the most significant, but rarely spoken about attacks against the LGBTQ community that took place in a New Orleans gay bar called The UpStairs Lounge.

On June 24, 1972 between 7:56 p.m. and 8:12 p.m. an arson attack took place resulting 32 deaths and 15 non fatal injuries. The deceased ranged in age from 21-59.

The official cause is still listed as "undetermined origin", according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. which also reported that the most likely suspect, a gay man named Roger Nunez, known as a local hustle and troublemaker, who had been ejected from the bar earlier in the day after fighting with another customer, was never charged, and took his own life in November 1974. No evidence has ever been found that the arson was motivated by hatred or overt homophobia. Until the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, the UpStairs Lounge arson attack was the deadliest known attack on a gay club in U.S. history.

Coverage of the fire by news outlets minimized the fact that LGBTQ patrons had constituted the majority of the victims, while editorials and talk radio hosts made light of the event. No government officials made mention of the fire: as Robert L. Camina, writer/director of a documentary Upstairs Inferno about the fire, said in 2013, “I was shocked at the disproportionate reaction by the city government. The city declared days of mourning for victims of other mass tragedies in the city. It shocked me that despite the magnitude of the fire, it was largely ignored," according to an November 15, 2013 article written by Diane Anderson-Minshall Remembering the Worst Mass Killing of LGBT People in U.S. History in The Advocate.

At the moment the nation seems to be engulfed in the words 'terrorism' and 'hate crimes', which have different dynamics - one encompassing many with a variety of backgrounds while a hate crime is specific.

What happened in New Orleans was neither terrorism nor a hate crime. The assumed perpetrator, Nunez, was a gay man with a long history of mental illness. Later he confessed to several of his acquaintances that he was angry, wanting to get even for being thrown out of the establishment, so he threw lighter fluid on the steps and lit a match. He claimed he didn't realize the entire place would catch fire. What incensed the gay community then and the LGBTQ community now is that because the victims were gay - their deaths didn't matter. Their lives hadn't counted - even though several were accomplished professionals and none were criminals or derelicts. All were human beings with loved ones, families and friends - but that was ignored.

They were treated as expendable - because they were gay.

The provocative musical The View Upstairs has music, lyrics and book by Max Vernon. The production doesn't re-enact the tragedy. Rather, it raptures in the joy the club offered in its heyday.

The producers of the stage show described it as: "The View Upstairs pulls you inside the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant ‘70s gay bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans. This forgotten community comes to life in all its gritty, glam rock glory when a young fashion designer from 2017 buys the abandoned space, setting off an exhilarating journey of seduction and self-exploration that spans two generations of queer history.”

The cast is composed of pop/R&B singer Jeremy Pope, Taylor Frey, Nathan Lee Graham, Frenchie Davis, Benjamin Howes, Michael Longoria, Ben Mayne, Nancy Ticotin, Randy Redd, Richard E. Waits, and Anthony Alfaro. James Dobinson serves as music supervisor and orchestrator.

Transporting the story-line are hard charging lyrics which can offend. Each musical bar is crammed full of dialogue. The pointed words are intentional. This is a recording for a target specific audience.

The CD begins with songs about the rush of temporary lust - of bar pickups that "reeks of cheap cologne /it's my favorite escape from the world outside." The bar becomes the haven for finding a new "mother, friend or lover."

The music is well constructed and arranged. You're not going to be humming any of the compositions, but that was never the intent. This is a social commentary show. It has a point to make and does so.

The music is a cross between psychedelic and urban edgy.

Tract 14 is the first slowed down, softer song Theme Song. It's lovely. What follows is the equally beautiful closer The View Upstairs. The CD contains three bonus tracts.

Produced by Michael Croiter. Recorded at Avatar Studios NYC, New York, NY.

Recording engineer - Andy Manganello. Assistant engineer - Luke Klingensmith. Second assistant - Brandon Pirrone. Mixed by Doug Derryberry and Matthias Winter. Edited by Michael Croiter and Matthias Winter. Production manager - Jill Dell'abate. Mastering engineers - Michael Fossenkemper. Edited and mixed at Yellow Sound Lab, NYC.

The accompanying booklet contains interesting, eye catching, color photographs. by Kurt Sneddon. Package design by Robbie Roselle.

Song List:
1. Some Kind of Paradise -- Company
2. #householdname -- Jeremy Pope 3. Lost or Found? -- Randy Redd, Nathan Lee Graham, Michael Longoria, Frenchie Davis, Ben Mayne
4. What I Did Today -- Taylor Frey
5. Are You Listening, God? -- Benjamin Howes, Randy Redd, Frenchie Davis, Nathan Lee Graham, Jeremy Pope, Taylor Frey, Ben Mayne
6. World Outside These Walls -- Frenchie Davis, Company
7. Completely Overdone -- Nancy Ticotin, Michael Longoria, Jeremy Pope, Taylor Frey
8. The Future Is Great!!! -- Jeremy Pope, Company
9. Waltz (Endless Night) -- Taylor Frey, Benjamin Howes, Ben Mayne, Nathan Lee Graham, Frenchie Davis, Randy Redd
10. Sex on Legs -- Michael Longoria, Company
11. Better Than Silence -- Ben Mayne
12. The Most Important Thing -- Nancy Ticotin, Nathan Lee Graham, Benjamin Howes, Michael Longoria, Frenchie Davis
13. Crazy Notion -- Jeremy Pope, Taylor Frey, Company
14. Theme Song -- Nathan Lee Graham, Company
15. The View UpStairs -- Jeremy Pope, Company
16. And I Wish -- Taylor Frey (BONUS)
17. Dead Center -- Instrumental (BONUS)
18. I Was Meant for More -- Instrumental (BONUS)










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ART AND ABOUT

ANDREA DONNELLY: WE'VE MET BEFORE

Andrea Donnelly, Body Blot #1, 2011, hand-woven cotton, dyed and painted, 77 x 108 in., North Carolina Museum of Art, Purchased with funds from the William R. Roberson Jr. and Frances M. Roberson Endowed Fund for North Carolina Art, © 2011 Andrea Donnelly

“Cloth, in its infinite variety and varied significance, is deeply linked to our histories and emotions through the body. Whether it’s woven to hang on the wall or to grace the neck and shoulders, I make cloth that creates connection.” - Andrea Donnelly.

North Carolina–raised artist Donnelly explores the dynamic between the formulaic methods of hand-woven cloth and the impulsiveness of ink in the creation of her larger-than-life textiles, featuring images of the human body, blots, and delicate floral abstractions. Her art furnishes both mental and physical spaces by creating an intimate, tactile relationship between the viewer and cloth. She employs photography to create the silhouettes within her work, giving her art a precision that reiterates the meticulous process of hand weaving fiber.

Calling her work “a literal record of its making,” Donnelly uses textiles to replicate the process of creating a mirror image on paper with ink through dying, weaving, unweaving, and weaving again. “Through passage of time and rhythm of repetition,” she notes, “the actions of weaving are captured and layered like memory in the buildup of thread upon thread. As I weave, I submerge image within its structure. The density and transparency of that structure give form to both image and atmosphere. The cloth I create is a mental landscape, quietly inhabited.”

Organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art. On display August 26, 2017 – January 28, 2018 at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S MOUNT VERON ESTATE south of Alexandria, Virginia suffered severe damage on Friday, August 11, 2017, when heavy rainfall - estimated to be 6-7 inches within one hour - triggered a mudslide which knocked down almost a 100-foot section of a brick wall as well as causing other damage at the historic site.

According to Curt Viebranz, president and chief executive of the landmark south of Alexandria, Virginia the estimate to repair the damage will be "north of a million bucks." Home of America's first president, Mount Vernon is owned and operated by a private, nonprofit organization.

SWEET CHARITY

ANNUAL OLD GLOBE COUTURE FASHION SHOW to Raise Funds for The Old Globe in San Diego, CA will be presented by Globe Guilders and Neiman Marcus, featuring fall collections from top fashion designers takes place Wednesday, August 30, 2017 in the Costa del Sol Ballroom of the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, CA.

Once again this year, Neiman Marcus is producing The Art of Fashion, an exclusively curated show featuring the Fall collections, including both couture and prêt-à-porter, of a special group of designers.

Each year, the Globe Guilders Fashion Show features couture expertly selected by Neiman Marcus from the elite designers they represent, including Gucci, Etro, and Tom Ford; runway samples from Monique Lhuillier and Marchesa; and a compelling collection from Naeem Khan. This year, from New York to Milan, fashion has become the creative platform to reflect a world of assertion and empowerment. Rich and robust reds, shocking pinks, and gorgeous greens all share the spotlight. The early ’80s are reflected in rebellious punk-rock studs, spikes, grommets, and silver sequins. On the softer side, expect transparent sheers, flounced cuffs, and beautiful crushed velvets appearing on everything from handbags to shoes.

Guests will be greeted with a champagne reception at in the sunlit foyer and will have the opportunity to bid on silent auction items. Beginning at noon in the ballroom, there will be a live auction followed by the fashion show and a delicious lunch. After the show, Neiman Marcus will present a one-of-a-kind boutique for browsing and shopping in the foyer.

Globe Guilders Kim Neapole, Lisa Berry Shaw, and Lynn Silva are the Celebrating Couture 2017 Co-Chairs; Jo Ann Kilty is the Honorary Chair. Over 600 supporters of The Old Globe from the San Diego community are expected to attend, including prominent philanthropists, heads of corporations, and representatives of major organizations.

BRITNEY SPEARS has announced that one dollar of every ticket of her Las Vegas residency sold through the end of the year will go to public schools in a partnership with the Louisiana School Boards Association, as first reported in The Advocate.

Spears is a native of Kentwood, Louisiana. The Advocate reports that The School Board's association executive director Scott Richard told The Advocate that the performer's ’ contribution will go to a fund formed after last summer’s floods damaged several schools.

LAS VEGAS REGULAR BRUNO MARS on August 13, 2017 announced to fans attending his performance at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan that he and tour promoter Live Nation are donating $1 million from that concert to aid those affected by the Flint water crisis through the charity The Community Foundation of Greater Flint.

PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS CELEBRITY BENEFIT a star-studded red carpet fundraiser featuring a world-class art exhibit, an exclusive live concert with a famous musical guest artist, a celebrity-hosted performance of the Pageant of the Masters, and the exciting conclusion of a raffle.

Funds raised will go toward the Festival of Arts Building Fund.

Saturday, August 26, 2017. Laguna Beach, California.

Last year's event featuring Jane Lynch grossed approximately $270,000 for future arts programming.

SPREADING THE WORD

ALL 17 MEMBERS OF THE PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Two-time Tony Award winning director George C. Wolfe - Photo: IBDB

in a scathing letter have resigned in direct response to the Administration’s handling of the racially charged events in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities is an official White House agency and was established in 1982 under President Reagan. It acts as an advisory committee to the White House on cultural policy.

The committee works with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, along with other federal partners and the private sector.

The panel consists of artists from the worlds of theatre, film, the visual arts, and literature.

Those resigning include: two-time Tony-winning director George C. Wolfe, actor and Obama advisor Kal Penn, photographer and painter Chuck Close, musician Paula Boggs, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri; entertainment and media entrepreneur Fred Goldring, Florida attorney Andrew J. Weinstein, the architect Thom Mayne, Jersey Boys actor John Lloyd Young, journalist Richard Cohen, talent manager and producer Eric Ortner, Caroline Taylor, wife of singer James Taylor, Jill Cooper Udall, the former head of cultural affairs for New Mexico, Howard L. Gottlieb, Anne Luzzatto, Ken Solomon and Victoria S. Kennedy, the co-founder of the Go Campaign. All were appointed by President Barack Obama.

The White House said President Trump had already decided against renewing the advisory committee for budgetary reasons.

“While the committee has done good work in the past, in its current form it simply is not a responsible way to spend American tax dollars,” the statement read. The committee never convened under Mr. Trump.

HISTORIC NORTH THEATRE in Danville, Virginia will celebrated their 70th anniversary August 25 with a reception featuring light hors d'oeuvres, drinks, the opening of the exhibition Marilyn Monroe-More Than Just A Blonde Bombshell, in the Carrington Gallery with a Marilyn Monroe look alike in attendance, plus Wayne Alan's sleight of hand show.

Called America's Most Unique Theatre there is also a bed & breakfast, decorated in the Retro look of 1947 when the theatre opened."It is graced with period antiques, reproductions, and show business collectibles. The entertainment theme includes memorabilia from stars that have appeared at The Historic North Theatre as well as many of the famous movies that were shown there."

The six uniquely decorated guest rooms are: The Marilyn Monroe Room, The Frank Sinatra Room-Ole Blue Eyes’ Room, The Tonight Show Room, The Virginia International Raceway Room, The Jimmy Stewart Room, and The Nat King Cole Room.

The theatrical portion specializes in "live family friendly shows, productions, concerts and classic films which produce a theatrical sense of wonder designed to bring a smile to your face and heart."

BAY STREET UNDER THE STARS presents a free concert reading of Kiss Me Kate starring a cast of 14 led by Broadway's Melissa Errico, Opera star Richard Troxell.

Bring your family, picnics and blankets August 25-26 to Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor, New York.

LIVING THE GREAT WAR features the Living History Volunteer Corps and other World War I living historians sharing their knowledge and inviting the public to inspect their collections in a camp setting on the World War I Museum grounds in Kansas City.

The event on Saturday, August 26 and Sunday, August 27 features educational programs on weapons, a Story Time program and a fun-filled obstacle course.

The Kansas City Dawn Patrol will have several replicated WWI-era aircraft on display, while people have the opportunity to inspect and ride in a restored 1915 Ford Model T machine gun carrier vehicle (weather permitting).

KENNEDY LIBRARY FORUMS presents A Conversation with Misty Copeland on Monday, August 28, 2017 in Boston, MA.

Misty Copeland, a Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, will discuss her distinguished career with Meghna Chakrabarti, the host of WBUR's Radio Boston.

A book signing with Misty Copeland, the author of Life in Motion, Firebird, and Ballerina Body, will follow.

THE THEATER AT THE 14th STREET Y begins its 2017-18 season with two productions opening on August 28.

Addy & Uno has an original concept and book by Nava R. Stilton Ph.D.

Music & Lyrics by Bonnie Gleicher.

Presented by the Realabilities Theater Company Addy & Uno is called "a new puppet musical about kids with disabilities. Told through unforgettable music, humor, and heart, this show celebrates the wondrous abilities within disability, empathy, and the understanding that it's "nice to be nice."

The Altruistic Theater Company offers Committed written by Natalie Menna and directed by Brock Hill.

Committed examines the final days of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gough's life before his murder. The play explores the collision of an artist's unyielding vision with modern political realities and the inevitable tragedy when uncompromising values clash.

Both productions run August 28-September 24, 2017 at the Theater at the 92 St Y in New York City.

NATIONAL BACON LOVERS' DAY is today, Sunday, August 20. So is National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day. Monday is National Sweet Tea Day. Wednesday is National Cuban Sandwich Day and National Spongecake Day. Thursday is National Peach Pie Day. National Whiskey Sour Day is Friday. August 26 is National Cherry Popsicle Day.






TONY AWARD NOMINATED CHOREOGRAPHER DAN KNECHTGES is the new director of Houston,'s Theatre Under The Stars. He will move to Houston from New York City the end of this month.

Knechtges announced he will focus on producing new works in Houston.

In The Big Apple he choreographed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2005 and the 2007 production of Xanadu, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for best choreography.

Knechtges isn't a stranger to TUTS. Last year he was guest director of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, at the invitation of then artistic adviser Sheldon Epps, who guided TUTS on an interim basis after the exit of TUTS' previous artistic director, Bruce Lumpkin, in April 2016.

SARAH CARTWRIGHT, PhD has been promoted to the position of Ulla R. Searing Curator of Collections by the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Ar in Sarasota, Florida. In this position she plays a central role in developing and executing The Ringling’s exhibition program while being responsible for the care, display and interpretation of a wide-ranging collection of European art of international standing.

Cartwright joined The Ringling in 2013 as a post-doctoral Curatorial Research Fellow. During this time she worked closely with the museum’s permanent collection, building documentation on the European paintings and providing research assistance. At the conclusion of this fellowship, she assumed the role of Grants Administrator. Over the last three years, Cartwright has secured well over a million dollars in support of exhibitions, conservation and general operations.

Prior to joining The Ringling, Cartwright held curatorial positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at Villa La Pietra in Florence, Italy, as well as a Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship in Art History at Columbia University.

BILL WERDE who served as editorial director of Billboard from 2008 -2014 has been named the director of the Bandier Program for Music Business and Entertainment at Syracuse University, a part of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The program is endowed by alumnus Martin Bandier who is the chairman of Sony/ATV Music Publishing,

Over the past year-and-a-half Were has served as a strategic adviser for a number of media and music industry companies and non-profit organizations.

THE MUSICARES FOUNDATION an affiliated charity of the Recording Academy announced new elected leadership and Board members.

Former Vice Chair Michael McDonald, founder and CEO of artist management company Mick Management is elected Chair; Board member Kirdis Postelle, senior vice president, Warner Bros. Records, is Vice Chair; and Board member James Higa, executive director, Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, is Secretary/Treasurer. MusiCares' departing Chair Alexandra Patsavas, founder, Chop Shop Music Supervision, has been named Chair Emeritus.

Newly elected MusiCares Foundation Board members include Steve Boom, vice president, Amazon Music; Ambrosia Healy, executive vice president and head of media strategy and relations, Capitol Music Group; Jeff Jones, CEO, Apple Corps Ltd.; and Carianne Marshall, partner and head of creative licensing, SONGS Music Publishing.



MY FAIR LADY

The cast of My Fair Lady. photo: Capitol Theatre

book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. music by Frederick Loewe. Adapted from George Bernard Shaw's play and Gabriel Pascal's motion picture Pygmalion.

the 60th Anniversary Production of the famed Lerner and Loewe musical.

Directed by Julie Andrews who in 1956 would play the irresistible Eliza Doolittle, in only her second role on Broadway, a role that would catapult her into international stardom.

Musical direction by Guy Simpson.

Choreography by Christopher Gattelli.

The Cinderella story about the Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, and the appealingly arrogant phoneticist, Professor Higgins, is an endearing tale that charms audiences with its warmth and vivid characters.

The clash of cultures sparks some of the theatre's most jubilant songs and witty dialogue. The triumphant score features unforgettable numbers including 'Wouldn't It Be Loverly?, On the Street Where You Live, I Could Have Danced All Night, and Get Me to the Church on Time.

Starring as Professor Higgins is Downton Abbey's Charles Edwards. Anna O'Byrne stars as Eliza Doolittle. Reg Livermore as Alfred P. Doolittle. Robyn Nevin as Mrs. Higgins. Joel Parnis is cast as Freddy Eynsford-Hill. Tony Llewellyn-Jones is Colonel Pickering. Mrs. Pearce is portrayed by Deidre Rubenstein and Karpathy is played by Glen Hogstrom.

The ensemble includes: Justin Anderson, Octavia Barron Martin, Danielle Belle, Deborah Caddy, Elisa Colla, Rodney Dobson, Mark Doggett, Josh Gates, Tom Handley, Matt Heyward, Kate Maree Hoolihan, Georgina Hopson, Erin James, Hollie James, James Lee, Allyce Martins, Holly Meegan, Scott Morris, Meredith O'Reilly, Josh Robson, Vanessa Rosewarne, Ashleigh Rubenach, Greta Sherriff, David Sirianni, Sophie Viskich, Paul Whiteley, Katherine Wiles, and Don Winsor.

The creatives include; Oliver Smith (set designer) - Cecil Beaton (costume designer) - Rosaria Sinisi (scenic supervision) - John David Ridge (costume recreation) - Richard Pilbrow (lighting designer) - Michael Waters (sound designer) - John Isaacs (hair and wig designer) - Rick Sharp (make-up designer) - Naomi Berger (associate scenic supervisor) - Michael Gottlieb (associate lighting designer) - Stephen Bienskie (associate choreographer) - Karen Johnson Mortimer (associate director).

The sell-out 60th Anniversary Production of My Fair Lady directed by Julie Andrews returns from August 24, 2017 at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, Australia.

SILENT SKY by Lauren Gunderson. Her play I and You was the winner of the 2014 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award and a finalist for the 2014 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Silent Sky was a finalist for the 2013 Jane Chambers Award.

Directed by Todd Nielsen.

Featuring Jennifer Cannon, Jennifer Parsons, Leslie Stevens, Eric Wentz and Erin Anne William.

Decades before the ‘hidden figures’ made famous by the Academy Award-nominated film, astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921) and her female colleagues at the Harvard Observatory acted as “human computers,” using math and measurement to chart the skies. Without ever being allowed to touch a telescope - a task prohibited to women at the turn of the 20th century - Leavitt discovered a method to measure the distances of faraway galaxies and paved the way for modern astronomy.

Working without recognition in a male-dominated field that refused to treat women as equals, Leavitt discovered more than 2,400 variable stars, about half of the known total in her day. By intense observation of a certain class of variable star, the Cepheids, she discovered a direct correlation between the time it took a star to go from bright to dim to how bright it actually was. Knowing this relationship helped other astronomers, including Edwin Hubble, to make their own groundbreaking discoveries. She also developed a standard of photographic measurements that was accepted by the International Committee on Photographic Magnitudes and called the “Harvard Standard.”

Remembered by a colleague as “possessing the best mind at the Observatory,” Leavitt worked at the Harvard College Observatory until her death from cancer in 1921.

The creative team includes set designer Christopher Scott Murillo, projections designer Lily Bartenstein, lighting designer Donna Ruzik, costume designer Kim DeShazo, sound designer Jeff Polunas, props designers Patty and Gordon Briles, and hair and wigs designer Anthony Gagliardi. Casting is by Michael Donovan and the production stage manager is Victoria A. Gathe.

Silent Sky runs August 23 through September 10 at the International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, CA.

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE a revival of Joseph Kesserling’s infectiously funny black comedy.

Directed by Elina de Santos.

Starring Alan Abelew, Michael Antosy, Ron Bottitta, Jacque Lynn Colton, Sheelagh Cullen, Darius De La Cruz, Alex Elliott-Funk, Mat Hayes, Gera Hermann, Liesel Kopp, Yusef Lambert, J.B. Waterman.

Inspired by real-life serial killer Amy Archer-Gilligan, who was convicted of poisoning her boarders for their pensions. Arsenic and Old Lace debuted on Broadway in 1941. It went on to play 1,444 performances and was made into a now-classic film directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant.

The creative team includes set designer Bruce Goodrich, lighting designer Leigh Allen; sound designer Christopher Moscatiello, costume designer Amanda Martin and props master Misty Carlisle. The stage manager is Morgan Wilday, the assistant director is Everett Keeter.

Performances of Arsenic and Old Lace take place through October 8 at The Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles, CA.

WHO'S WHERE

COLDPLAY entertains Monday, August 21 in Toronto, ON at the Rogers Centre. On Friday their tour stops in Houston, TX at the NRG Stadium @ NRG Park.

GRAMMY AND ACADEMY AWARD WINNER STEPHEN SCHWARTZ AND FRIENDS are the final performers for the Music Mondays series at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY, The evening will feature Emmy Award winner Liz Callaway, Tony Award winner Debbie Gravitte and Scott Coulter. Monday, August 28, 2017.

AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD on stage Sunday, August 27, at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

TIM McGRAW AND FAITH HILL in the spotlight Thursday, August 24, in Fargo, ND at the Fargodome. On Friday they kick off a two nighter in Saint Paul, MN at the Xcel Energy Center.

GREEN DAY takes to the stage on Monday, August 21, in Cuyahoga Falls, OH at the Blossom Music Center. Thursday's stop is at Wrigley Field in Chicago. On Saturday the show is at the PAC in Darien, NY.

IDINA MENZEL entertains Tuesday, August 22, at Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA. Wednesday's gig is at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, OR. Friday's stop is at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV. On Saturday she's on stage at the Greek Theatre at in Berkeley, CA. Next Sunday, August 27, she's in the spotlight at the Vina Robles Amphitheatre in Paso Robles, CA.

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN: SHOWSTOPPERS Two-time Emmy Award and five-time Grammy Award nominated Michael Feinstein performs show stopping songs that made Broadway great… from then and now. Featuring songs by iconic theatrical composers and lyricists such as Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Marvin Hamlisch, and even some contemporary composers and lyricists of today. Special guests: John Lloyd Young (8/23-27), and Betty Buckley (8/29-9/3). Performances August 23 through September 3, 2017 at Feinstein's/54Below in New York City.

FINAL OVATION

JOE BOLOGNA an Oscar nominated and Emmy award winning actor and playwright died Sunday, August 13, 2017 at the City Of Hope Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA two days after he and his wife Renee Taylor celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary. Bologna had experienced a three-year battle against pancreatic cancer. He was 82.

Bologna was nominated for an Oscar in 1971 for best adapted screenplay for Lovers and Other Strangers. He won an Emmy in 1973. He frequently collaborated with his wife.

On Broadway he wrote, directed and starred in If You Ever Leave Me...I'm Going With You! which ran from August 6, 2001 - September 23, 2001; wrote and starred in It Had to Be You which was mounted May 10, 1981 - June 21, 1981 and wrote Lovers and Other Strangers which was staged September 18, 1968 - November 16, 1968.

Last February 26 he receive a lifetime achievement award at the Night of 100 Stars for the Actors' Fund of America.

He is survived by his wife and son Gabriel.

STUART THOMPSON six-time Tony-winning producer and manager died in New York City on August 17, 2017 due to complications from esophageal cancer. He was 62-years-old.

Thompson worked on over 70 Broadway and West End productions.

His storied career included producing The Book of Mormon on which he served as executive producer for the U.S. companies and a co-Producer of the West End and Australian productions.

His most recent Broadway credits include Sweat (2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama), John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation, The Present, King Charles III, No Man’s Land / Waiting for Godot, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2013), Death of a Salesman (2012), Jerusalem, The Motherf**ker With the Hat, A View From the Bridge (2010), God of Carnage, and Exit the King. He also produced No Man’s Land and King Charles III in London’s West End.

After working at the Kennedy Center with the American National Theatre, he began his career in theatrical management. Thompson’s first Broadway assignment as a general manager was on Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men at the Music Box Theatre in 1989, followed by Tru with Robert Morse at the Booth Theatre the same season.

In 1993 Thompson launched Stuart Thompson Productions with Blood Brothers on Broadway. General manager David Turner joined the company in 2008, and in 2015, Thompson teamed with Turner to form Thompson Turner Productions.

Thompson's six Tony Awards resulted from producing the Pulitzer Prize-winning Proof in 2001, God of Carnage in 2009, The Book of Mormon in 2011, revivals of Death of a Salesman in 2012 and Skylight in 2015 and, also from two years ago, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

He produced the three longest-running plays on Broadway of the past quarter-century: The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Proof and Curious Incident.

The Broadway League has announced that Broadway marquees will dim their lights in memory of the prolific producer and general manager on August 22 at 6:45 PM for one minute. He is survived by his husband Joe Baker.

Survivors also include his brother Graham Thompson and sister in law Nicole Thompson and niece Lucy Thompson; sister in law Paula Baker and brother in law Ben Fournier; nephews Joey Fournier, Beau Fournier and Drew Fournier; father in law Joe Baker Jr and mother in law Joyce Baker; cousin Margot McCowage and family.

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Laura Deni

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