Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: August 27, 2017
By: Laura Deni
CLICK HERE FOR COMMENT SECTION

GETTING MARRIED: IT'S NOT YOUR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER'S VISION - QUIRKY IS IN

If getting married by an Elvis impersonator or having Mickey and Minnie Mouse attend your reception is beginning to sound ordinary have you considered a shotgun wedding at The Gun Store? Worried about what to serve at the reception? Consider getting married at a Taco Bell. Pondering who to invite? How about including a pack of lamas. each wearing a bow tie. Or, if you knew you were suppose to do something important, but have trouble remembering what - maybe you signed up for a Cannabis Wedding. Want to get hitched where Prince William and Kate live? One of the Hilton daughters did just that - and you can, too. There is also that magnificent castle where the PBS series Victoria is filmed. Jump the broom there.

Quirky wedding are all the rage and Las Vegas is at the forefront of accommodation.

In 2016, 81,325 marriage licenses were issued by the Clark County (Las Vegas) Clerk's office.

While weddings in Las Vegas have dropped a third in the last decade, the business of making two into one is both lucrative as well as an institution which lends itself to creativity.

Weddings by Mandalay Bay Resort can arrange for early morning weddings at the Shark Reef Aquarium. Create an everlasting moment for you and your guests by walking up the aisle surrounded by 1.3 million gallons of seawater and 15 species of sharks. . Your intimate ceremony will take place prior to the aquarium's opening with prices starting at $1,000. Limited to 10 guests, the wedding will take place at 9 a.m. and it's standing room only - no swimming.

If you need an affair to accommodate up to 50 guests, go for the Seascape Wedding Package which costs $2,000. Fifty guests will also receive admission to Shark Reef. For the ceremony they will be seated on Chiavari chairs. "Our beautiful Seascape venue is located in Shark Reef Aquarium with windows looking directly into our 1.3 million-gallon seawater tank."

No feeding the water life wedding cake or anything else - including the father of the bride secretly wishing he could feed the groom to the fishes.

Okay, so you can't get enough of Elvis. Relax. He can marry you in Las Vegas. The King will even walk the bride down the aisle of the Graceland Chapel and conclude the wedding with the Presley hit Viva Las Vegas.

In a rush to get hitched? Make it a drive-thru wedding. Get spliced while your car idles at the drive through wedding chapel, or you can tie the knot in a pink Cadillac provided by the venue.

If you feel it's more romantic to be closer to Elvis' grave, the Graceland Mansion in Memphis also has a wedding chapel.

Bite the bullet and plan a custom Shotgun Wedding at The Gun Store in Las Vegas. "We perform wedding ceremonies and vow renewals, and your special day can be as big (or small!) as your heart desires. We can take care of everything from flowers to photography to make your day extra special and unique. Have your ceremony in our beautiful wedding chapel, and then head on over to one of our upscale private VIP Ranges with your wedding party and start your ‘happily ever after’ with a BANG!"

$450 will get entitle you and your significant other to a vow Renewal or Commitment Ceremony in The Gun Store Chapel while the $500 package includes a legal wedding ceremony. Both packages include Gift Bags - Photos with Guns in VIP Range (Up to 3 Guns Each) - 5 shots each on a shotgun - 2 Signature Gun Store shirts - 2 Signature Gun Store hats. There is also a Vegas VIP option at almost $1,000 per person that lets customers shoot submachine guns, a sniper rifle, an AK-47 and more.

Nothing speaks more to the fast food generation than getting that relationship legal in your favorite fast food joint.

McDonalds actually started offering $400 wedding packages in Hong Kong in 2010. Taco Bell got into the act this year and Las Vegas was the virgin offering.

Dan Ryckert and Bianca Monda became the first couple to marry at the Taco Bell Las Vegas Cantina. Photo: Taco Bell.

Two months ago Dan Ryckert and Bianca Monda officially became the first couple to marry at the Taco Bell Cantina on the Las Vegas Strip.

The ceremony took place at the location’s on-site wedding chapel, where Ryckert and Monda exchanged vows in front of friends, family, and a large Taco Bell logo modified to look like wedding bells. They were winners of Taco Bell’s Love and Tacos contest, receiving an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas to get married in a chapel at the chain’s flagship restaurant.

Their $600 wedding package included the use of an ordained officiant, a reception area big enough for 15 guests, Taco Bell champagne flutes, a Taco Bell garter, a Taco Bell bow-tie, a 12-pack of tacos, a bouquet made from sauce packets, and a two-tiered Cinnabon Delights wedding cake.

The wedding venue opened to the public on August 7, 2017.

If the wedding couple isn't high enough already - how about toking it up at the Cannabis Wedding Chapel a first for Las Vegas and probably anywhere else.

"Choose from any of our dope WEEDING packages for a completely hassle-free experience in Las Vegas. Simply set the ceremony date and we’ll take care of the work. Roll-up to the The Cannabis Chapel ready to get dazed and confused," states the promo.

The chapel offers several packages such as:

The WEEDING package includes:
The Use of Our Wedding Chapel - Wedding Coordinator, Reggae Wedding Music - Witness free of charge - Use of silk cannabis bouquet for the ceremony - Use of silk cannabis boutonniere for the ceremony - Time slot for pictures in front of "Welcome to Cannabis" Las Vegas sign, archway and altar.

All features of the Joint Matrimony package include:
1 hour pro photography session with revisions and memory stick upload.
Two new patient medical marijuana cards valid for a year.
Souvenir newlyweeds t-shirts and wellness kit.

Giving 'till death do us part' a netherworld subtext is the Gothic Wedding Package available on Halloween from the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.

According to the promo potential soul mates can "Feel the chill of the open grave as the fog rolls over our chapel/cemetery, filled with eerie organ music. From the depths of a tomb-filled landscape emerges a horrifyingly traditional minister to perform your...um....very frightening... marital rites. (Zombie Elvis, Grim Reaper or Count Dracula minister may be substituted for an additional charge. This means you'll be "coffin" up some extra cash...sorry.) We know your ghoulish guests will never forget your hauntingly unique wedding!"

"Our outrageously creative Las Vegas weddings provide alternatives for couples who don't necessarily want a traditional wedding with all the usual trappings. At Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, we specialize in theatrical and inventive wedding experiences. Even if it's not Halloween, we're always ready to put on a costumed wedding of the spine-chilling variety."

Included in the package are Haunting Music and Décor - Floral Presentation of two Black Roses and Matching Boutonniere.

Across the pond the straight laced British are showing a certain fun side of the marital ritual.

West Sussex, England is officially the sunniest spot in the UK and has a number of venues specializing in weddings.

You can get married at Wakehurst inside the Elizabethan Mansion or outside it on the croquet lawn, as well as in the Millennium Seed Bank where the bridal couple can vow their love will grow which standing on top of the vault containing the world’s largest seed collection.

In this picture posted on their website the Llama Park's photo is headlined "Marco meets the Bride," with the following caption: “I love you,” says Marco. “Stop that it tickles…! You naughty Llama.”

A favorite place to jump the broom for animal lovers is Llama Park in Forest Row which offers the opportunity get up close and personal with the cute camelids. "The Marriage Barn has a window overlooking a llama pen, so the occupants can attend your ceremony in their best bow ties, should you wish!," states the venue.

"If you have lots of young guests, there is a huge amount of entertainment on hand, from the many animals, which include Spanish horses, alpacas, reindeer, donkeys, pigs and of course llamas, to a bouncy castle. With two large barns and a terrace providing three separate, but connected, areas of 3,000 square feet there is ample space for weddings of up to 120 people with the option of having a marquee attached to the main building for larger weddings."

The incredible Llama Park has a never ending series of events, including open air movies. Visitors can walk and feed the llamas. A must see visit stop for anyone in the area.

Weddings have been held for people coming from around the world including a couple who live in Dubai.

The beautiful dark haired bride got into the spirit of the location by putting a carrot in her mouth and permitting a llama to wrap his lips around it and claim it for himself.

The venue described the event in part: "The after dinner party was treated to a rocking evening with a lively barn dance run by the Ashdown Forest Band, a real hoot, and a fantastic disco from Stuart and Bill’s Crawley-based Dancing Disco. The Bride was a Somali Muslim and so we prepared a menu which included Halal chicken cooked in a spicy sauce to go with boned and rolled legs of lamb stuffed with whole cloves of garlic and spit roasted. This is a ‘speciality’ of The Llama Park by the way."

If you're more in a traditional and romantic frame of mind and want to feel like a princess on your wedding day, get married where Prince William and Kate live and - yes - where Princess Diana called home with William and Harry after her divorce. It's Kensington Palace in London. Located within tranquil Kensington Gardens, the palace’s inspiring wedding venues are some of the most beautiful in London. As Kensington Palace says "the romance of Kensington Palace promises you and your guests an unforgettable wedding day."

I've been there and the garden and wedding areas are spectacular.

This is the place where, in July 2015, hotel heiress Nicky Hilton - wearing a stunning $100,000 Valentino gown - married heir James Rothschild who is a grandson of Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild. Paris Hilton was maid of honor. The guests dined on mac and cheese, mini pizzas and potatoes with caviar.

The couple are parents to daughter Lily-Grace who celebrated her first birthday on July 8, 2017. Last month it was confirmed that a second child is one the way.

Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria and Tom Hughes as Prince Albert in their marriage scene from Victoria. Hughes is a former member of the Jigsaw Music Theatre Company who graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in acting. Photo: PBS

One of the greatest love stories of all time is that between Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. The PBS series Victoria. one of the highest-rated dramas on PBS in 20 years, was shot in part at Carlton Towers in Yorkshire, which is home to Lord and Lady Fitzalan Howard - Gerald and Emma to their friends - and their children, Arthur, Florence (known as Flossy) and Grace. The place has been in the ancestry since 1268. One of the Carlton Towers' ancestors Sir Miles Stapleton of Bedale (c.1320-1372) was one of the original 24 Knights of the Garter.

Before the current residents pulled up the moving van the place hadn't been lived in for 20 years, so a lot of remodeling has taken place. It takes a lot of thought and elbow grease to make a drafty estate into a cozy feeling mansion. Thanks to Emma's passion for decorating that has been accomplished.

Carlton Towers is impressive. Photo: Carlton Towers.

The Gothic exterior, the imposing clock tower, sweeping staircases and stunning state rooms is sought after as a location site for film and TV companies.

The lavish ITV1 costume drama Victoria was partially filmed at Carlton Towers. Starring Jenna Coleman as the young queen, Carlton played the part of Windsor Castle.

The stunning 18th century state rooms provided the location for most of the Victoria shoot, with Coleman as Queen Victoria and Rufus Sewell as her trusted minister Lord Melbourne filming key scenes.

Carlton staff were on hand throughout to offer every assistance to the production team, including lighting fires in the splendid fireplaces to add another element of authenticity.

In Britain the first episode of Season 2 airs tonight, August 27, while in America Victoria begins a second Masterpiece season on PBS in January.

Victoria is only one of many screen roles for Carlton. In recent years the estate has been the setting for a diverse range of film and TV projects, from blockbuster Bollywood movies to a small screen adaptation of one of Charles Dickens’ classic tales.

You don't need to be in a movie to have a scene sealing event. Consider getting married there.

Venetian Doors in a formal dining room open the stunning wedding room. Photo: Carlton Towers.

The two-story majesty of the Baroness Tower bridal suite is ideal for the first night of a honeymoon. Traveling with a large bridal party? No problem. There are 16 bedrooms, accommodating 31 people, which have been individually designed and furnished by Lady Gerald Fitzalan Howard to offer a tranquil haven.

You and your guests will be enchanted by the elegance and beauty of this 17th century hidden gem. Set in 250 acres of parkland, Carlton Towers is an historic treasure – and "it is all yours for the most special day of your life. With exclusive use of the house and gardens, you and your guests will love exploring. From the epic grandeur of the staterooms to the informality of the bar tucked under the Minstrels’ Gallery, it is filled with secrets to discover.

"You can't beat a traditional English wedding...even if sun isn't always guaranteed; the stylish wedding will make up for it. You will be married in most impressive surroundings where you can simply feel the historic importance of the venue," Broadway To Vegas was told.

"The wedding organizers will help you make your wedding day extra special and your guests will love it. From Carlton Towers you can easily go on to enjoy a honeymoon in Scotland or London or touring Britain in general. It's also easy to get on a plane and within the hour you are in Europe."

While Broadway To Vegas was told that "it's not cheap to get married in true British style, Towers understands that every wedding is unique and therefore they offer bespoke packages which give couples the chance to fit their dream venue into their budget."










Broadway To Vegas is supported through advertising and donations. Priority consideration is given to interview suggestions, news, press releases, etc from paid supporters. However, no paid supporters control, alter, edit, or in any way manipulate the content of this site. Your donation is appreciated. We accept PAYPAL.

Thank you for your interest.

ART AND ABOUT

PAINT THE REVOLUTION: MEXICAN MODERNISM, 1910–1950

Frida Kahlo Self Portrait On the Border Line between Mexico and the United States. Oil on Metal 1932.

charts the development of modern art in Mexico and the social, political, and cultural forces that shaped it over the course of nearly half a century. Featuring some 175 works - including prints, photographs, books, newspapers, easel paintings, large-scale portable murals, and mural fragments - Paint the Revolution is called by the venue "unprecedented for its breadth and variety."

The most comprehensive exhibition of modern Mexican art displayed in the United States in more than seven decades, Paint the Revolution presents masterpieces by well-known figures such as Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo.

Also on display are works by many of their important contemporaries, including Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Miguel Covarrubias, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, Carlos Mérida, Roberto Montenegro, and Dr. Atl (Gerardo Murillo). Three historical murals by los tres grandes (“the three great ones”) - Orozco, Rivera, and Siqueiros - are digitally re-created and projected in the galleries. The exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to see the emergence of Mexico as a center of modern art.

On display through October 1, 2017 at the Museum of Fine Art in Houston, Texas.

AVEDON'S AMERICA

Blue Cloud (Larry) Wright, slaughterhouse worker, Omaha, Nebraska, August 10, 1979, Gelatin silver print, 59-5/8 x 47-1/8 inches © The Richard Avedon Foundation

Displaying over fifty years of Richard Avedon's photographic career, the exhibition is a comprehensive presentation of black and white images that are as visually striking as they are psychologically intriguing.

Avedon's work stands as a testament to his dedicated desire to understand the unifying beauty in diversity.

On display through October 9, 2017 at Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York.

A Museum Gallery Talk with Mia Fineman, Associate Curator of Photographs for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, co-curator of the 2002 Richard Avedon Portraits retrospective exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will take place Saturday, September 9, 2017.

Avedon, who died in 2004 at the age of 81, was an American fashion and portrait photographer. An obituary published in The New York Times said that "his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century".

In addition to his continuing fashion work, by the 1960s Avedon was making studio portraits of civil rights workers, politicians and cultural dissidents of various stripes in an America fissured by discord and violence, according to a 2012 article in The New York Times. He branched out into photographing patients of mental hospitals, the Civil Rights Movement in 1963, protesters of the Vietnam War, and later the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Hollywood presented a fictional account of Avedon's early career in the 1957 musical Funny Face, starring Fred Astaire as the fashion photographer "Dick Avery." Avedon supplied some of the still photographs used in the production, including its most noted single image: an intentionally overexposed close-up of Audrey Hepburn's face in which only her noted features - her eyes, her eyebrows, and her mouth - are visible.

Hepburn was, in fact, Avedon's muse in the 1950s and 1960s. He went so far as to say: "I am, and forever will be, devastated by the gift of Audrey Hepburn before my camera. I cannot lift her to greater heights. She is already there. I can only record. I cannot interpret her. There is no going further than who she is. She has achieved in herself her ultimate portrait."

SWEET CHARITY

ICELAND LAVA TREK Take on this short but challenging trek through a high pass between two majestic glaciers, and see the new lava from the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

The challenge: Explore Iceland's majestic landscapes. Trek 54km over 5 days, up to a high pass between two glaciers. Finish at the beautiful waterfall of Skógarfoss before returning to Reykjavik to explore or visit the famous Blue Lagoon thermal spa.

Money raised will help The Prince's Trust change the lives of the UK's most disadvantaged young people.

The Iceland Lave Trek takes place August 30-September 4, 2017.

SPREADING THE WORD

HURRICANE HARVEY which made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 played havoc with several arts events. The 24th Annual TransCanada Houston Theater District Open House and the Galveston Art Walk were cancelled and postponed respectively.

The Theater District Open House originally slated for today, August 27, would have allowed the public to preview Houston's best performing arts organizations, with free performances from the Houston Symphony, Houston Ballet, Alley Theatre, Society for the Performing Arts and others. The next Theater District Open House will take place in 2018.

The Galveston Arts Center and the Galveston Artist Residency were both planning Saturday, August 26, receptions. Both events have been rescheduled for September 9, 2017.

WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL has disclosed that during its recently concluded successful run of 172 performances the production office consumed 50 pounds of gummy bears.

WORKS & PROCESS the Performing-Arts Series at the Guggenheim in New York City will present Falls the Shadow by Daniil Simkin on Monday and Tuesday, September 4 and 5.

Commissioned by Works & Process and created by American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Principal Dancer Daniil Simkin, Falls the Shadow is a new production featuring Simkin, ABT soloist Cassandra Trenary, Ana Lopez from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and dancer Brett Conway; choreography by Alejandro Cerrudo; projection design by Dmitrij Simkin; and costume design by Dior.

The performers' movements will be captured by motion sensors, generating 3-D mapped visuals that will be projected onto the rotunda to create an immersive experience that merges technology, music, visual art, fashion, and dance. As part of the Rotunda Project, this 30-minute performance will be viewed from the ramps and requires audience members to stand for the duration of the program.

PRINCESS DIANA'S SOAP

Princess Diana gave used soap bars to friends.

last week the Daily Mail ran a major piece on John Hoatson's 13,000 piece collection of Princess Diana memorabilia. A resident of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to the newspaper, in 2011 a museum valued his collection at a half million dollars.

What caught the attention of Broadway To Vegas is that one of the Princess Di objects, which was even pictured in the paper, was a bar of hotel soap which she brought back from a trip to Barbuda in 1997. One conclusion is that it puts her in the same category as everyone else - she kept toiletries which hotels provide to guests. Joan Rivers used to brag that she not only kept the personal care items from the bathroom, but if she spied a maid's cart in the hall she's swipe everything she could grab.

As for that Diana soap bar. According to the above mentioned newspaper report, this was a bar of soap which Diana used to wash her hands. She then kept the used bar and gave it as a memento to her friend Simone Simmons who - years later - would give it to Hoatson for his collection.

Why would Diana - or anyone - give a used bar to soap to somebody as a remembrance? On the one hand, it's a bit personal. On the other hand, it's just plain odd.

A convention of psychiatrists could engage in an interesting discussion.

August 31, 2017 marks the 20th anniversary since Princess Diana was killed in an auto crash in Paris, France.

NATIONAL BURGER DAY is today, Sunday, August 27. Monday is National Cherry Turnovers Day. Tuesday is National Chop Suey Day. National Toasted Marshmallow Day is Wednesday while Friday is National Gyro Day and Saturday is National “Grits for Breakfast” Day.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

GEORGE CLOONEY AND HIS WIFE AMAL who is a human rights' attorney, have through The Clooney Foundation for Justice donated $1 million to Southern Poverty Law Foundation to combat hate groups.

“What happened in Charlottesville, and what is happening in communities across our country, demands our collective engagement to stand up to hate,” the Clooneys said in the statement.

24th STREET THEATRE in Los Angeles announced it will donate half of all opening day ticket sales from its upcoming production, La Razón Blindada (Armored Reason) by Argentine playwright Arístides Vargas, to the Southern Poverty Law Center to help track hate groups in America.

"La Razón Blindada is about political oppression and standing up to hate, and it kicks off our ‘Speaking Up/Standing Up’ 20th anniversary season,” says 24th Street executive director Jay McAdams. “This just feels like the right thing to do. It reflects our entire mission as an organization.”

La Razón Blindada, which is performed in Spanish with English supertitles, is scheduled to open on September 9, 2017 with two performances, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

THE REAL WINNER OF THE MAYWEATHER/McGREGOR FIGHT was Las Vegas with Floyd Mayweather's last five fights in Las Vegas generating a combined non-gaming economic impact of roughly $56 million, according to figures provided by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Over 150,000 people arrived in Sin City to watch the super welterweight fist-a-cufts on big screens at private parties or at the 20,000 seat T-Mobile Arena between undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC champion Conor McGregor - making his boxing debut.

The National Anthem was sung by Demi Lavato.

The fighters "trained" by spending four days trash talking, spewing forth enough hot air hype to float a blimp.

Now they can laugh all the way to the bank. Mayweather was guaranteed $100 million and McGregor $30 million, which doesn't include what each fighter will receive from pay-for-view.



CHRIS BAILEY has been named the managing director of Endstation Theatre Company in Lynchburg, VA.. Bailey previously served as managing director and webmaster for the Virginia Theatre Association (VTA), a statewide nonprofit theatre consortium located in downtown Lynchburg. While at VTA he helped double the membership of the organization and oversee the migration of their data and registration systems to a digital format. Bailey continues to serve as chair of VTA’s professional theatre division.

Endstation Theatre Company also announced a deepening of its partnership with Randolph College by relocating its administrative office to Thoresen Hall on the Randolph College campus. Since 2016, Endstation Theatre Company has been the theatre company in residence at the College during the summer season.This strategic move will allow the Company to strengthen its identity and expand opportunities for collaboration between the Company and the College.



AIN'T TOO PROUD a new musical about the life and times of The Temptations by Kennedy Prize-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau.

Music and Lyrics from The Legendary Motown Catalog. Music by arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

Orchestrations by Harold Wheeler.

Musical Direction/Supervision & Arrangements by Kenny Seymour.

Directed by two-time Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff.

Choreography by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Sergio Trujillo.

Billed as: "An electrifying new musical about the life and times of The Temptations, the greatest R&B group of all time (Billboard Magazine 2017). They were five young guys on the streets of Detroit when they were discovered by Berry Gordy, who signed them to his legendary new label. After 24 attempts, they finally had a hit and the rest is history - how they met, how they rose, the groundbreaking heights they hit, and how personal and political conflicts threatened to tear the group apart as the nation fell into civil unrest.

"(A) thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty, and betrayal. Iconic hits like My Girl, Just My Imagination, and Papa Was a Rolling Stone and the signature dance moves that made the “Classic Five” Temptations part of our cultural history forever."

In alphabetical order, the production features: Esther Antoine (Swing) - Derrick Baskin as Otis Williams. Shawn Bowers as Lamont. Jeremy Cohen as Shelly Berger. E. Clayton Cornelious as Richard Street. James Harkness as Paul Williams. Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr. (Swing) - Taylor Symone Jackson as Johnnie Mae. Jared Joseph as Melvin Franklin. Jahi Kearse as Berry Gordy. Jarvis B. Manning, Jr. as Al. Jeremy Pope as Eddie Kendricks. Devin L. Roberts (Swing). Rashidra Scott as Josephine. Caliaf St. Aubyn as Dennis. Ephraim Sykes as David Ruffin. Nasia Thomas as Mama Rose. Christian Thompson as Smokey Robinson. Candice Marie Woods as Diana Ross.

Clayton Craddock on Drums.

Robert Brill - Scenic Design. Paul Tazewell - Costume Design. Howell Binkley - Lighting Design. Steve Canyon Kennedy - Sound Design. Peter Nigrini - Projection Design.

This World Premiere plays August 31-October 8, 2017 at Berkeley Rep, a Tony Award-winning regional theatre in in Berkeley, CA.

IN THE BLOOD written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks.

Directed by Sarah Benson.

In the Blood is being presented in tandem with Parks’ Fucking A, directed by Jo Bonney, as part of The Red Letter Plays.

Both plays are modern-day remixes of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel The Scarlett Letter. This is the first time that Signature has presented two plays by the same writer in different theatres simultaneously at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

In the Blood has Hester La Negrita as a penniless mother of five condemned by the men who love her. Hester turns to former lovers, friends, and the institutions meant to support her, only to be spurned by them all with devastating consequences.

The cast includes Lortel Award-nominee Jocelyn Bioh, Michael Braun, Obie Award-winner Russell G. Jones, Ana Reeder, Tony Award-nominee and Drama Desk Award-winner Saycon Sengbloh, Tony Award-winner Frank Wood.

The creative team includes Louisa Thompson (Scenic Design), Montana Blanco (Costume Design), Yi Zhao (Lighting Design), Matt Tierney (Sound Design), J. David Brimmer (Fight Direction), Cookie Jordan (Wig Design), Annie-B Parson (Choreographer), Elizabeth Streb/Streb Extreme Action (Movement). Terri K. Kohler is the Production Stage Manager. Casting by Caparelliotis Casting.

The production runs August 29 through October 8, 2017 with a September 17 opening night in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York City.

RHINOCEROS by Eugene Ionesco (1909 - 1994) who was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre.

Translated by Eli Rosen.

Directed by Moshe Yassu.

Featuring Gera Sandler, Alec Burko, Amy Coleman, Macha Fogel, Malky Goldman, Sean Griffin, Chezky Israeli, David Mandelbaum, Caraid O’Brien, Eli Rosen, Luzer Twersky, and Melissa Weisz.

Nearly 60 years since its premiere, the agonizingly comedic Rhinoceros is making its Yiddish language debut. Considered one of the main influences of Theatre of the Absurd, in Rhinoceros the sublime is merged with the ridiculous in this savage commentary on the human condition, in which an individual citizen of a small town watches his friends turn into rhinoceroses one by one until he alone stands unchanged.

For its first production of the 2017-18 season, New Yiddish Rep will present the Yiddish world premiere of Rhinoceros. Opening Night is set for Thursday, September 14th at the Castillo Theatre, 5 New York City. The play will be performed in Yiddish with English supertitles.

WHO'S WHERE

LADY GAGA in the spotlight Monday, August 28, at Citi Field in New York City. Friday's gig is at Fenway Park in Boston.

TOMMY VIG the famed vibraphonist and his octet with vocalist Mia Kim of Kim Sisters fame perform Saturday, September 2, at the Budapest Jazz Club in Budapest, Hungary.

COLDPLAY on stage Monday, August 28, in Miami Gardens, FL at the Hard Rock Stadium.

IDINA MENZEL stars at the Pechanga Resort in Temecula, CA on Friday, September 1. On Saturday she's on stage at the Pearl Theatre in Las Vegas. Next Sunday, September 3 she performs at the Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, AZ.

TIM McGRAW AND FAITH HILL entertain Thursday, August 31 in Rosemont, IL at the Allstate Arena. On Saturday they are on stage in Cincinnati, OH at the U.S. Bank Arena.

GREEN DAY headlines the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA on Monday, August 28. Tuesday's stop is the Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, CT. On Thursday the show is at the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, NJ. Friday's gig in is Raleigh, NC at the Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek. Next Sunday, September 3, the show is in West Palm Beach, FL at the Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre.

FINAL OVATION

JERRY LEWIS legendary entertainer died Sunday, August 20, 2017 in Las Vegas from end-stage cardiac disease and peripheral vascular disease. He was 91. He had recently suffered from a urinary tract infection, requiring a two month stay in a Las Vegas rehabilitation facility before being released on August 7.

Lewis had endured prostate cancer and two heart attacks; he also suffered from type 1 diabetes; and he has battled pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease for which he took Prednisone, causing his weight to balloon for years. In 2002 he underwent surgery to have a device implanted that prevented nerves in the spinal cord from relaying pain messages to the brain.

Lewis initially gained widespread fame as one half of the Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis team. The duo played clubs, dominated the early days of TV and headlined movies such as Scared Stiff in 1953, Hollywood or Bust in 1956, The Caddy in 1953 and Living it Up in 1954.

They broke up in 1956 and each went on to enjoy extraordinarily successful solo careers. They were reunited only after Frank Sinatra intervened in 1976 having Martin appear on Lewis’ MD telethon when Sinatra dramatically introduced Martin to the stage.

The two men were seen together on stage for the last time when Martin was making what would be his final live performance at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 1989. Lewis wheeled out a cake for Martin's 72nd birthday, sang Happy Birthday to him, and joked, "Why we broke up, I'll never know." Martin died in 1995 at the age of 78.

In 1967 Lewis started teaching film direction at the University of Southern California. His students included George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

Lewis popularized the technique of using video cameras and multiple closed circuit monitors, which allowed him to review his performance instantly. His techniques and methods of video assist, which he documented in his book and his USC class, enabled him to complete most of his films on time and under budget. However, Lewis did not explicitly invent the process, although for a long time I thought he had been the inventor.

A well researched report entitled Video assist predates Jerry Lewis 'patent' was conducted by Peter Glaskowsky and published June 22, 2009 and a follow up report on July 20, 2009 in C/Net. The report contradicted Lewis' claim that he was not only the inventor but held a patent.

What can't be disputed is that his exceptional career saw him star in over 50 motion pictures.

In 2004 the Library of Congress added The Nutty Professor to the National Film Registry, acknowledging that it was a movie of lasting cultural significance and worthy of preservation.

In 2012, the 86-year-old Lewis directed a stage-musical adaptation of that classic 1963 movie comedy with a score by Marvin Hamlisch and a book and lyrics by Rupert Holmes. The show started a pre-Broadway run at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville. Unfortunately, Hamlisch passed away and the production fell apart.

Lewis' desire to play Broadway took two decades to come to fruition. Lewis appeared in a revival of Hellzapoppin' with Lynn Redgrave in 1976, but it closed on the road before reaching Broadway.

Producer Alexander H. Cohen had convinced Lewis to star in the revival and then sued him for refusing “to rehearse adequately for a play,” according to the lawsuit.

The suit dragged on for three years until Lewis agreed to settle, claiming the legal battle was becoming too expensive.

According to the NY Times issue of February 15, 1981: "Jerry Lewis will pay the Hellzapoppin Company . . . $39,000 to settle a claim arising out of losses incurred when Mr. Lewis allegedly refused to rehearse adequately for Mr. Cohen's 1977 Broadway-bound play, 'Hellzapoppin.' The producer closed the updated version . . . after its Boston run at a loss of more than $1.2 million."

Under the terms of the settlement the $39,000 could increase to $78,000 if payment wasn't made within 18 months. The problem was acerbated in that Lewis was in the midst of a bankruptcy proceeding in Las Vegas. Those papers had been filed in October, 1980. The petition listed debts totaling less than $450,000 - the same figure his first wife had yearly requested in a separation lawsuit.

"I would indicate that the action was not taken for the purpose of thwarting any legitimate efforts by Mrs. Lewis to seek spousal support," the entertainer's Beverly Hills attorney Alan Isaacman said referring to a separation lawsuit filed in Los Angeles by Patti Lewis, the entertainer's wife of 35 years. As the law requires the separation lawsuit was temporarily suspended because of the Las Vegas bankruptcy action.

Lewis had been embroiled in a series of legal complications resulting from his defunct chain of Jerry Lewis movie theaters which was facing an anti-trust trial in Los Angeles federal court. That trial was also halted after the bankruptcy action.

Finally in 1995 Lewis' desire to star on Broadway was realized when, at age 69, he replaced Victor Garber as the devil in a Broadway revival of Damn Yankees.

Lewis was avid in his desire to find a cure for Muscular Dystrophy. From 1986 to 2011 he hosted the Muscular Dystrophy Association and its Labor Day weekend telethon. Lewis is credited with having raised $2.45 billion.

For his fund-raising work on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy Awards ceremony in 2009. The actor was also nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for his MDA work.

Lewis was married to Patti Lewis for 36 years before the union ended in divorce in 1980. Lewis admitted in several interviews that he had been unfaithful, particularly during the heyday of Martin and Lewis when, he said, “I was like a kid in the candy store.”

After their divorce Lewis moved to Las Vegas.

Lewis could be mercurial and polarizing. Many considered him difficult to work with. Perhaps he was too talented. He danced to his own drummer and once I took him apart in an editorial. See Broadway To Vegas column of February 20, 2000.

Later I was not just invited to a press conference he was conducting at a Las Vegas hotel, but seriously encouraged to attend. I showed up. The room was primarily filled with second to third rate scribes who could be manipulated and controlled by whoever put a dime in their respective pockets. Again, NOT everyone in the room - but there were several who couldn't seriously write and had the moral code of a snake. Most worshiped the ground Lewis walked upon. I'd soon find out why.

Lewis took to the podium and addressed his comments to me.

Referring to that article I wrote about him he said - "You are the only person who has ever told me to 'shut up' and gotten away with it. You didn't hear a peep from me. Not a peep. I have never been so eloquently and brilliantly - told off."

My initial reaction was to be amazed. It takes a very big man to do something like that in public. The only other person who has ever apologized to me in public - or publicly admitted that I was correct - was Sammy Davis, Jr. during his last performance which took place in Northern Nevada. I had gone up to see his final show. Years earlier I had written a scathing article about him. His minions called me everything except a white woman and indicated they'd do everything they could to destroy me. Davis knew he was about to die. He stopped his show and approached me. He got about two feet from my face and told the crowd that he wanted to apologize. He announced that everything I'd written in that article was the truth and asked me to forgive him.

For a few minutes I put Lewis in the same category as Sammy Davis, Jr. It takes a big man to make such a public statement.

Then my newfound respect for Lewis evaporated. The press conference ended and Lewis addressed what I considered to be the lowlifes in the room. He told them to line up at a table where they would receive money. Lewis made a sassy comment that he knew that's the real reason they had shown up. I don't know if they received checks or signed receipts for cash. I did see that paperwork took place, but I didn't wait around. I was told the amounts went up to $2,000.

Lewis was paying a group people who engaged in a variety of schemes including spreading lies about me, attempted to damage my home, stalked, some with associates who had a knowledge of printing, and had access to equipment and, if what I've been told is true, helped forge and alter documents about me. They operated on the premise that - one person makes up an outrageous lie and two others swear to it. Therefore, a lie is believed.

Years later while a guest on The Larry King Show Lewis referenced the group - explained how he knew of some people who would actually meet and plot how to destroy a person's career, although Lewis didn't mention me by name. My phone rang nonstop with callers wanting to know if I'd seen the The Larry King Show and, if not, I really needed to get a copy.

In 1983 Lewis married Sandra Pitnick. By all accounts he was both passionate and faithful to her from the moment they first met until the day he died.

He is survived by her and five sons from his first marriage, including musician Gary Lewis, who formed “Gary Lewis & the Playboys” and recorded the hit This Diamond Ring in 1965. His son Joseph Lewis died from a narcotics overdose on October 24, 2009. He is also survived by his daughter from his second marriage, Danielle (Dani) Sara Lewis, named in honor of Lewis' dad. There are also several grandchildren.

A by-invitation-only memorial service is planned for Labor Day.

STOP THE HATE

Next Column: September 3, 2017
Copyright: August 27, 2017 All Rights Reserved. Reviews, Interviews, Commentary, Photographs or Graphics from any Broadway To Vegas (TM) columns may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, utilized as leads, or used in any manner without permission, compensation and/or credit.
Link to Main Page

---

Laura Deni

For the snail mail address, please E-mail your request.
CLICK HERE FOR COMMENT SECTION