Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: February 21, 2016
By: Laura Deni
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AGELESS SHAKESPEARE HAS HIS DEATH CELEBRATED

Shakespeare contributed 1700 words to the English language. Considerably more than that will be uttered in a plethora of worldwide events commemorating the 400th anniversary of The Bard bidding this world adeau.

A major undertaking is Shakespeare400, a consortium of leading cultural, creative and educational organizations, coordinated by King’s College London. Through a connected series of public performances, programs, exhibitions and creative activities in London and beyond, partners are celebrating the legacy of Shakespeare during the quatercentenary year.

Though deceased, Shakespeare remains socially and politically relevant.

The Barbican in London is giving The Bard his just due celebrating Shakespeare's innovative legacy with some of the most inventive theatre around, from King Lear set in the Australian outback, to Ivo van Hove’s re-imagining of Henry V, Henry VI and Richard III as modern-day leaders.

Try one of Forced Entertainment’s 40 Minute Shakespeares performed on a table-top or bring the family to a free weekend inspired by the Bard featuring Shakespearean bingo, (fake) tattoos, treasure hunts and even hairdos.

Last Wednesday Sir John Eliot Gardiner led the LSO and his Monteverdi Choir in the first of a trio of concerts exploring some of the greatest music inspired by his writing. Mendelssohn, who adored Shakespeare’s writings, composed his concert overture based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The overture was immediately acclaimed as a masterpiece and, many years later, he was made an offer he couldn’t refuse by the King of Prussia to provide a score for an entire production in 1843.

For the concert Ceri-Lyn Cissone appeared as Titania,Frankie Wakefield as Oberon and Alexander Knox played Puck.

For the second concert on February 25, Gianandrea Noseda, leads the LSO. An evening of history and tragedy begins with Smetana’s interpretation of Richard III’s rise to power and eventual downfall, before Simon Trpceski, joins the stage to perform Liszt’s Piano Concerto No 2. The concert continues with Tchaikovsky’s first masterpiece, his fantasy-overture Romeo and Juliet, the musical portrayal of the star-crossed lovers for which he drew on emotions from his own romantic misadventure, before moving on to Strauss’ dramatic Macbeth to finish the evening with a flourish.

Table-top Shakespeare

From March 1-6 Forced Entertainment brings you the Complete Works like you’ve never seen it before, each of Shakespeare’s 36 plays condensed and presented on a table-top using a cast of ordinary, everyday objects.

A salt and pepper pot for the king and queen. A spoon stands in for a servant and a candle for the Friar. Macbeth becomes a cheese grater, Pericles a light bulb and Hamlet is now a bottle of ink.

Directed by Tim Etchells, with a text by Robin Arthur, Tim Etchells, Jerry Killick, Richard Lowdon, Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden and Terry O’Connor, the Design is by Richard Lowdon.

Co-produced by Berliner Festspiele – Foreign Affairs Festival, Berlin and Theaterfestival Basel, theatre pioneers Forced Entertainment explore the dynamic force of narrative and language in their simple yet distinctive summary of the playwright’s comedies, tragedies, histories and late work. One by one, members of the ensemble retell all the plays over six days - creating scaled-down worlds that are vivid, accessible and comic - inviting audiences to enjoy one or as many performances as they fancy.

A few of the other events include Shakespeare Weekender: Play On taking place March 5-6 when the Barbican will bid you welcome to activity-packed days as boisterous and subversive as Shakespearean drama.

Shakespeare is the starting point but the featured artists and their modern responses to the playwright’s world take centre stage. Drawn from theatre, dance, art and music, they gather here from around the UK. Visitors are invited to dip into a multitude of surprising and offbeat events; even the food will be Shakespeare-inspired.

Confirmed artists include Crafternoon Tea Club, Christopher Green, Hogarth Shakespeare, Davy and Kristin McGuire, Museum of London, Orly Orbach, Royal Shakespeare Company and Told by an Idiot.

A Shakespeare and Modernism Symposium will take place April 30 in The Pit at the Barbican Centre.

This one-day symposium explores the relationship between modernist thinking, scenography, art and literature in the early to mid-twentieth century, posing questions about modernism's legacy for Shakespeare production and scholarship today.

Tickets include a glass of wine at the end of the day.

Shakespeare writing at his desk. Photo: Birmingham City University

A life-size installation featuring more than a dozen of Shakespeare’s most famous creations handcrafted from paper and cardboard by first year students from the from the design for theatre, performance and events degree course at Birmingham City University is causing much ado about something.

The 22 students created everything from King Richard III to King Lear and Caliban to Romeo and Juliet including a 10ft high balcony and even a walk-in tavern.

The tavern in the installation is intended to replicate London’s historic Gorge Inn, where history’s most famous playwright is believed to have penned many of his works.

Traditional Elizabethan music, selected by the students, plays throughout the exhibition hall alongside words taken from Two Noble Kinsmen - Shakespeare’s final play - as a poignant tribute to his lasting legacy.

Working night and day the project took almost three weeks to complete. Guided by Hollie Wright, the students utilized techniques learned in the course to sculpt 850 feet of corrugated cardboard and nearly 5,450 feet of brown paper into the scenes. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust helped students research the project.

Caliban in the Tempest. Photo: Birmingham City University

"The project is a simple yet extremely effective approach to experiential learning," Wright commented. "We want the first year students to engage with fundamental principles associated with performance design including scale, narrative, space, light, sound, audience and collaboration; as well as abilities that are difficult to teach like tenacity and determination."

The installation is on display at the university’s Parkside building, and open to the general public until February 26. Then a number of the characters and settings will be displayed in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Marie Brennan, Creative Programmes Manager for The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said: "It’s very rare that you get an art installation that really looks at the times that Shakespeare was writing in as well as looking at new interpretations of his own work, so it's really an unusual and creative concept to bring those two together into one installation.

“We're delighted with this collaboration and we're really excited, that in this important year, we've got something we can show our guests from all over the world."

Across the pond, the University of New Hampshire in conjunction with the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH is sponsoring a series of events to commemorate Shakespeare. Key among the activities is an exhibition of an original First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays, published in 1623, at the Currier Museum from April 9 to May 1, 2016. The exhibit and all related events are free and open to the public.

On March 23 Shakespeare on the Quad will show the film Shakespeare Behind Bars, directed by Hank Rogerson.

This award-winning documentary will introduce you to the inspiring work of Curt Tofteland, founder and director of Shakespeare Behind Bars, a Shakespeare performance program for prisoners based in Ohio. MUB Theater. On March 30 Tofteland, a pioneer in Shakespeare in the prisons programs, will speak about his work and about Shakespeare as a tool for social rehabilitation and personal discovery. See Broadway To Vegas column of January 2,2005

Other events taking place during the month of April include a discussion between University of Massachusetts-Lowell Professor Kevin Petersen and UNH-Manchester Professor Susanne Paterson about Shakespeare's enduring place in American culture, with special emphasis on popular culture and film.

First Folio Late Night takes place April 21 with a lively conversation with St. Anselm College Professor Landis Magnuson and UNH Professor Douglas Lanier about the First Folio as a historical document and a living text. Theatre KAPOW will perform scenes from Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Live music will be provided by the Manchester Community Music School.

Chicago Shakespeare Company is staging a yearlong festival involving 850 events which necessitated a 68-page catalog. Produced by Doreen Sayegh, the multidisciplinary festival addresses all of the senses - including taste. Those buds will be tantalized with Culinary Complete Works featuring 38 local chefs creating dishes inspired by each of the plays.

There are also dance pieces, concerts, lectures, operas, and plays from troupes across Chicago and the globe.

The Chicago festival kicked off last month with a Russian-language production (with a projected English translation) of Measure for Measure from Cheek by Jowl and Moscow’s Pushkin Theatre. Other foreign language mountings include Polish and Belorussian takes on King Lear, a Mexican adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet translated into Chinese opera, and Twelfth Night performed in Hindi.










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ART AND ABOUT

SCULPTED IN STEEL: ART DECO AUTOMOBILES AND MOTORCYCLES 1929-1940 Today's automotive manufacturers strive for economy and efficiency, but there was a time when art and elegance reigned. Sculpted in Steel: Art Deco Automobiles and Motorcycles, 1929–1940 celebrates the cars and motorcycles designed during this iconic period.

Sculpted in Steel showcases 14 cars and three motorcycles, alongside historical images and videos. The classic grace and modern luxury of Art Deco design dazzles in vehicles from the United States and around the world. The innovative, machine-inspired Art Deco style began in France in the early 20th century, but the movement was interrupted by World War I. The style reemerged across Europe after the war, and the 1920s to 1930s proved to be one of the most creative eras for international design in all mediums. Art Deco influenced everything from fashion and fine art to architecture and transportation

Automakers embraced the sleek iconography of streamlining and introduced industrial materials to present aircraft-inspired body styles. Grilles and hood ornaments, headlamps, windows, and instrument panels are just some of the elements that were transformed through the use of chrome detailing and innovative aerodynamics. The cars and motorcycles on view in Sculpted in Steel were crafted from the finest materials of the time.

Sunday, February 21, 2016 – Monday, May 30, 2016 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas.

A CELEBRATION OF GOOD TASTE - THE DINNER SERIES The Tsars' Cabinet. Step back in time, journey across an ocean or peek into another culture...in style.

Three times a year, the Reading Public Museum in Reading, PA offers an alluring series of sophisticated dining opportunities. They stir the senses by pairing the culinary talents of some of the area's best chefs, restaurants and catering experts with artworks and objects from The Museum's collections and special exhibitions.

February's dinner on February 25, 2016 celebrates the exhibition The Tsars' Cabinet: Two Hundred Years of Russian Decorative Arts Under the Romanovs..

Featuring Gracie's 21st Century Cafe and Catering, Vodka Cocktail Hour, wine pairings, and a curator's discussion of art in Russia.

VOGUE 100: A CENTURY OF STYLE showcases the remarkable range of photography that has been commissioned by British Vogue since it was founded in 1916, with over 280 prints from the Condé Nast archive and international collections being shown together for the first time to tell the story of one of the most influential fashion magazines in the world, to celebrate the magazine’s centenary.

Since its launch in 1916 - when American Vogue couldn’t be sold in the UK - the British fashion bible has blazed a trail in fashion, beauty and portrait photography. Iconic images by renowned photographers including Cecil Beaton, David Bailey, Irving Penn, Norman Parkinson, Cecil Beaton, Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, Nick Knight, Tim Walker, as well as Herb Ritts, Corinne Day, and Lee Miller, demonstrate its inventiveness and vision.

The retrospective, curated by Robin Muir, who said his staff combed through close to 2,000 issues of British Vogue, US Vogue and Paris Vogue from the past 100 year, features portraits of luminaries from Henri Matisse and Lucian Freud to Gwyneth Paltrow and Lady Diana Spencer - as well as more unexpected exhibits, including war photographs by Lee Miller. A magical trip back through the century.

Through May 22, 2016 at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

PRINCE CHARLES

HRH The Prince of Wales with National Gallery Chair of Trustees, Hannah Rothschild, and Director, Dr Gabriele Finaldi. Photo: National Gallery

has been named the first Royal Patron of the National Gallery in London.

Last Tuesday The Prince of Wales toured the new Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art exhibition with Director of the National Gallery, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Hannah Rothschild, before meeting members of staff and other invited guests.

Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art, is the first major presentation of Delacroix’s art in Britain for more than 50 years. The exhibition surveys the artist's dynamic career and then moves beyond it, assessing for the first time the influence he exerted during the decades following his death. It has been organized with the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

There has long been an association between the heir to the throne and the National Gallery – His Royal Highness was previously a Trustee from 1986 to 1993.

Commenting on the Royal Patronage, Hannah Rothschild, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said:

“As a patron of the arts, a passionate advocate for cultural life, and a former trustee, The Prince of Wales is uniquely qualified to become the National Gallery's first Royal Patron. It is a great honour for the institution and we look forward to working more closely with him in the years to come.”

The exhibit is on view to May 22, 2016.

SWEET CHARITY

ELTON JOHN AND DAVID FURNISH will host the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 24th annual Academy Awards Viewing Party Wonderful Crazy Night on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at West Hollywood Park in Los Angeles.

Elton and his band will perform various selections for their guests, including songs from his new album Wonderful Crazy Night, co-produced by Elton and T-Bone Burnett with lyrics by Bernie Taupin.

The evening features a sumptuous dinner designed by award-winning Chef Gordon Ramsay served during the live telecast of the 88th Academy Awards, followed by a live auction and Elton’s special performance.

SPREADING THE WORD

SMITHSONIAN SALUTES RAY CHARLES a concert at the White House will be taped Wednesday to air February 26 on PBS.

Singer Demi Lovato, Usher, The Band Perry, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes and Sam Moore of Soul Man will perform. Also among the performers honoring the late Georgia on My Mind and Hit the Road Jack singer, who died in 2004, are gospel artists Yolanda Adams and Leon Bridges, soul singers Andra Day and Anthony Hamilton and Empire star Jussie Smollett.

Hosted by Michelle Obama this is the 16th held as part of the In Performance at the White House series honoring leaders in the music world.

The event also includes which includes a student workshop.

92Y'S LYRICS & LYRICISTS presents Battle for the Airwaves: The Songbook Meets Rock and Country.

Radio in the 1950s was a kaleidoscopic mash-up of American Songbook standards, swinging rhythm & blues, country classics and that new genre—rock ’n’ roll—sometimes all on the same station. James Naughton, a two-time Tony Award-winner, makes his debut as an L&L artistic director for Battle for the Airwaves: The Songbook Meets Rock and Country, with a show exploring the mid-century creative explosion in American popular music.

“I think the music that one hears as a kid stays with you forever,” comments Naughton. “I was a youngster in the ‘50s and there was a distinctive sound that we call '50s music.’ It was the music that was playing from the time I started riding a bicycle until I was driving a car. It was the blues and rhythm & blues, mostly, but there were elements of country western, gospel, rockabilly and doo-wop. I always wanted to do a show with all these musical strands in it. And here we go."

Joining him on vocals to sing hits made famous by such iconic singers and vocal groups as Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, The Coasters and The Platters are powerhouse R&B and jazz singers Everett Bradley, Kevin Osborne, Solange Prat and Vaneese Thomas. John Oddo is the music director and Keira Naughton serves as the co-stage director.

Saturday, February 27-Monday, February 29 at 92Y in New York City.

THE SECOND ANNUAL SEGAL CENTER FILM FESTIVAL ON THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE with work by: Romeo Castellucci (Brentano); Jan Fabre (The Problem); Sascha Just (Heirs); Keeril Makan/Jay Scheib (Persona); Adam Soch (Reza Abdoh: Theatre Visionary) Robert Wilson (Winona Ryder Video Portrait).

The Festival will present more than 30 features, shorts, documentaries, music videos, and discussions with leading NY-based and international theatre artists from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, DR of The Congo, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Syria, UK, and the US.

This event is co-curated by festival founder Frank Hentschker (Executive Director and Co-Director of Programming at MESTC), Antje Oegel (AO International and Co-Director of Programming at MESTC), and Nina Segal (Playwright and Producer). Festival Producer: Joy Arab.

Thursday, February 25 and Friday, February 26, 2016 at The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, The Graduate Center, City University of New York.

FEBRUARY 23 is national Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

CALLING ALL TWINS March 4 is ‘Twin Night’ at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles.

Bring your twin to see My Sister, starring identical twins Elizabeth and Emily Hinkler, and receive one free ticket.

My Sister is the story of identical twins living in early 1930s Berlin. Magda is a beautiful aspiring cabaret singer. Matilde, affected with cerebral palsy, is housebound, where she writes the satirical songs and comedy for Magda’s act. Für immer zusammen (“together forever”). For how long will that remain possible? Billed as "an ultimately chilling tale presented with charm and humor."

Written by Janet Schlapkohl with original music by Christopher Gene Okiishi, with lyrics by Janet Schlapkohl. Directed by Ron Sossi and Paul David Story.

Performances of My Sister continue through March 13 at the Odyssey Theatre.

SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE has sold the three-level French Normandy-styled chateau, shared by Celine Dion and her late husband Rene Angelil, located on a private island in the Montreal River in Quebec for $25.5 million.

Celine returns to performing at Caesars Palace on Tuesday, February 23.

EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN is an important election promise from many of the presidential hopefuls. Nobody seems to address why women were paid less in the first place. It has nothing to do with women being considered inferior to men - just the opposite.

As a child, back in the days when all men (expect laborers) wore dark suits, white shirts and ties to work every day, and no self respecting female would dare leave the house without a hat and gloves, an elementary teacher was discussing that more and more women were working.

Because of the large number of American women fulfilling war industry jobs during World War II, the National War Labor Board urged employers in 1942 to voluntarily make "adjustments which equalize wage or salary rates paid to females with the rates paid to males for comparable quality and quantity of work on the same or similar operations."

Employers ignored the suggestion.

That was the era when household chores had a defined role. The woman cooked, cleaned the house, washed and ironed the clothes. The man took out the garbage, cared for the lawn and washed the car.

A decade later Keeping Up with the Jones had become the social norm; in many cases necessitating a two family paycheck.

Yet there was little evidence of equal pay follow through. Girls in my elementary school class were advised to understand that they would be paid less. 'Why?' I had the temerity to ask.

The teacher was aghast at what she called "a ridiculous question." The class was told that men have to be paid more because they can't take care of themselves. We learned that a man wouldn't know how to clean a house. After all - just ask any wife - it's the husband who dirties up the place. A man has to hire a cleaning lady. That costs money. You can't expect a man to wash and iron his shirts. He wouldn't know how to operate an iron. He has to send his laundry out. That costs money You can't expect a man to cook for himself. Men wouldn't know what to do with a stove and measuring spoons. He'd starve if he didn't eat out. That costs money.

So, dear children, men have to be paid more because they can't take care of themselves the way women can. Man have to have a cleaning lady, a laundry service and eat out. Women are capable of working outside the home they also keep clean while cooking delicious meals and doing the washing and ironing.

Let's stop the inequality. Men are equal to women. They should be expected to clean, cook and iron. Thus, women should be paid more or men should be paid less. Just even it out.



TO ALL OF THE GRAMMY WINNERS Of particular interest to Broadway To Vegas readers:

Best Musical Theater Album was won by Hamilton Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom, Jr., Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos & Phillipa Soo, principal soloists; Alex Lacamoire, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bill Sherman, Ahmir Thompson & Tarik Trotter, producers; Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast) Atlantic Records.

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Uptown Funk Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap. RPM Records/Columbia Records.

Best Music Film Amy Asif Kapadia, video director; James Gay-Rees, video producer. Universal Music Group

Best Improvised Jazz Solo CherokeeChristian McBride, soloist. Track from: Live At The Village Vanguard (Christian McBride Trio) Mack Avenue Records

Best Jazz Vocal Album For One To Love Cécile McLorin Salvant. Mack Avenue Records

Best Jazz Instrumental Album Past Present John Scofield. Impulse! records.

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album The Thompson Fields Maria Schneider Orchestra. ArtistShare records.

Best Latin Jazz Album Made In Brazil Eliane Elias. Concord Jazz

Best Latin Pop Album A Quien Quiera Escuchar (Deluxe Edition) Ricky Martin. Sony Music Latin.

Best Blues Album Born To Play GuitarBuddy Guy. RCA Records/Silvertone Records.

Best Folk Album Béla Fleck And Abigail Washburn Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn. Rounder records.

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling) A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety Jimmy Carter. Simon & Schuster Audio.

Best Comedy Album Live At Madison Square Garden Louis C.K. Comedy Dynamics.

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me (Various Artists) Julian Raymond, compilation producer. Big Machine Records.

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy Ben Bram, Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan, Kirstin Maldonado & Kevin Olusola, arrangers (Pentatonix). Track from: That's Christmas To Me. RCA Records.

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)Maria Schneider, arranger (David Bowie) Track from: Nothing Has Changed Legacy/Columbia records.

Best Orchestral Performance Shostakovich: Under Stalin's Shadow - Symphony No. 10 Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra) Deutsche Grammophon.

Best Opera Recording Ravel: L'Enfant Et Les Sortilèges; Shéhérazade. Seiji Ozawa, conductor; Isabel Leonard; Dominic Fyfe, producer (Saito Kinen Orchestra; SKF Matsumoto Chorus & SKF Matsumoto Children's Chorus) Decca.

HANG IN THERE

AUTHOR PAT CONROY 70, who announced on his ace book page that he is suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Conroy, who lives in South Carolina, penned numerous books including The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini.



ANGEL REAPERS written by Residency Five playwright and MacArthur “Genius” Award winner Martha Clarke, and Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winner Alfred Uhry.

Directed and choreographed by Ms. Clarke.

Featuring traditional Shaker songs and a stunning mix of modern dance and actual Shaker movements, Angel Reapers promises to capture the soul of the Shakers, an early American religious sect, which sought to connect with God through ecstatic ritual and strict celibacy. While the congregants strive desperately to maintain divine purity, the needs of the flesh threaten to take hold.

The cast includes Sophie Bortolussi, Nicholas Bruder, Asli Bulbul, Lindsey Dietz Marchant, Ingrid Kapteyn, Rico Lebron, Gabrielle Malone, Sally Murphy, Matthew Oaks, Andrew Robinson, and yon tande.

The design team includes Marsha Ginsberg (Scenic Design), Donna Zakowska (Costume Design), Christopher Akerlind (Lighting Design), Samuel Crawford & Arthur Solari (Sound Design), and Arthur Solari (Music Direction). B. Bales Karlin is the Production Stage Manager. Casting by Telsey + Company, Tiffany Little Canfield, CSA.

The production officially opens on February 22 opening night in The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York City.

THE WAY WEST by Mona Mansour.

Directed by Labyrinth Artistic Director Mimi O’Donnell,.

Features Labyrinth Company Member and Obie award-winner Deirdre O’Connell.

The Way West is a new, offbeat comedy about life and debt. In the play, Mom (O’Donnell) has entered a new chapter in her life: Chapter 11. Of course, that doesn’t stop her from spending money… Or borrowing money… Or loaning out money… Or digging herself deeper and deeper into debt. When her two daughters decide to stage a financial intervention, things look like they’re getting better. Until they don’t.

Joining O’Donnell in The Way West are Nadia Bowers as Manda, Curran Connor as Robbie/Delivery Guy, Alfredo Narcisco as Luis, Anna O’Donoghue as Meesh, and Portia as Tress.

The creative team includes David Meyer (sets), Bradley King (lights), Ryan Rumery (sound), Ásta Bennie Hostetter (costumes) and Lily Perlmutter (production stage manager).

Performances of The Way West will take place February 25–April 6 at Bank Street Theater, in Manhattan.

THE MAN IN THE WOMAN'S SHOES written and performed by Mikel Murfi.

"I think none of us is old, me heart has never been old."

It’s October 1978, Pope John Paul the First is not long dead, autumn is closing in and cobbler Pat Farnon has “some business” to do in town. “Today is beginning to feel very special and I’ve no idea why.”

The Man In The Woman’s Shoes follows Pat as he walks the five miles from his white cottage to town and back again. He meets unforgettable characters along the way, including water diviner Huby Patterson, GAA enthusiast extraordinaire Kitsy Rainey, big voiced Casimir Marshall, an array of farmers all named Gilmartin and Kemp, a man whose idea of a good time is to direct traffic wherever he may find it. Pat may be an aging man but he has a boundless enthusiasm for life.

“It’s half time, there’s a pipe band on the field and the smell of oranges all of a sudden - ah, this is the life!”

Billed as "hilariously funny, tender and at times downright daft play that will leave you uplifted and in love with life again."

The Man In The Woman’s Shoes was originally commissioned by the Hawk's Well Theatre in Sligo with Sligo County Council Arts Service and last year toured to venues around Ireland.

Following the Wednesday, March 11th performance, enjoy a post-show discussion with Mikel Murfi and Director of Education at Tectonic Theater Project Matt Freeman about the process of making The Man In The Woman’s Shoes.

In an effort to bring art directly to the community, Irish Arts Center will travel The Man In The Woman’s Shoes for two shows specifically for the senior community. March 10 at the Aisling Irish Community Center, Yonkers, NY and March 16 at the New York Irish Center, Long Island City, NY.

February 24 - 28 at the Irish Arts Center in New York City.

RED SPEEDO written by Lucas Hnath.

Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz.

Set on the eve of the Olympics swim trials, pressure builds as front-runner Ray confronts the lure of endorsements, the perils of mixing the personal and professional, and the unforgiving weight of success. Through Hnath’s signature dark wit and exacting language, Red Speedo is billed as "a captivating exploration of America’s obsession with winning at all costs."

The cast features Alex Breaux, Peter Jay Fernandez, Lucas Caleb Rooney, and Zoë Winters.

The production features scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez; costume design by Montana Blanco; lighting design by Yi Zhao; sound design by Matt Tierney; and fight direction by Thomas Schall.

In previews with the official opening slated for March 3, 2016, running through March 27, 2016 for a limited engagement at New York Theatre Workshop, NYC.

BOOM written, directed, and performed by Rick Miller.

A cutting-edge kaleidoscope of images, music and video, Boom explodes onto the stage, capturing the fascinating turbulence of the postwar Baby Boom generation. Miller brings to life dozens of politicians, writers, activists and entertainers, effortlessly recreating each one. Covering the years 1945 to 1969, he embodies the music, media, culture and history that defined a generation. Boom is billed as "a mind-blowing experience."

February 24 - March 12, 2016 at the NAC English Theatre, Natonal Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada.

WHO'S WHERE

KRISTIN CHENOWETH appears February 26, 2016 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, FL

ELLIE GOULDING Friday, February 26's show is at the Konig-Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. Next Sunday, February 28, her tour stops at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland.

CHICAGO headline the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ on February 26.

NSO POPS: BROADWAY TODAY with Darren Criss & Betsy Wolfe who team up for a hit parade of fresh favorites from The Last Five Years, The Book of Mormon, Frozen, and more along with songs from Cabaret, Company, and other modern classics. Friday, February 26, 2016 - Saturday, February 27, 2016 at the Concert Hall, Kennedy center in Washington, DC.

JOHN PIZZARELLI performs at the Straighten Up And Fly Right: The Nat King Cole Tribute at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia on Friday, February 22. On Saturday his show is at the Mayo PAC in Morristown, NJ.

JENNIFER NETTLES is at the Wiltern in Los Angeles on Tuesday, February 23. On Friday the show is at the Wells Fargo Center in Santa Rosa, CA. Saturday's gig is at the Fox Theater in Bakersfield, CA.

ANITA GILLETTE AND PENNY FULLER bring their Sin Twisters, Too act to 54 Below in New York City for performances on February 24 and March 2. Directed by Barry Kleinbort, with musical direction by Paul Greenwood. The show is billed as "a must for anyone who loves theater music and show biz lore, and who cherishes the enduring bonds of friendship."

FINAL OVATION

WARREN MANZI a playwright whose Off Broadway thriller, “Perfect Crime,” remains the longest-running play in New York theater history — nearly 29 years and counting died on Thursday, February 11, 2016 of pneumonia in Lawrence, Mass. He was 60.

Perfect Crime, which opened on April 18, 1987, played its 11,824th performance on Friday, making it the longest-running straight play in the city’s history. The Fantasticks, which in its original Off Broadway incarnation, from 1960 to 2002, ran for 17,162 performances, is a musical.

An actor and a veteran of New England community theater, Manzi penned Perfect Crime in 1980, at 25, while working as Tim Curry’s understudy in Amadeus on Broadway. His play was optioned for Broadway but never produced there.

Perfect Crime had its first Off Broadway performance at the Courtyard Playhouse in Greenwich Village. Over the years it has occupied a string of theaters; its current home is the Anne L. Bernstein Theater, part of Theater Center.

His other writing credits include the short plays One for the Money and The Queen of the Parting Shot.

Warren Michael Manzi earned a master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama. As an actor, he appeared in several films, including The Manhattan Project (1986), starring John Lithgow, and Nuts (1987), starring Barbra Streisand.

Manzi’s wife, the former Ellen Margaret Michelin, whom he married in 1995, died of kidney failure the next year. Mr. Manzi, who had lived in Lawrence in recent years, leaves no immediate survivors.

HARPER LEE the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist of the 1960 masterpiece To Kill a Mockingbird died February 19, 2016 in her hometown on Monroeville, Alabama. She was 89.

Next Column: February 28, 2016
Copyright: February 21, 2016 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.
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Laura Deni

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