Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: January 9, 2022
By: Laura Deni
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COVID DEJA VU - DEAL WITH IT

You might think you're heard all of this before - you have.

Covid has taken over the star slot.

Last Wednesday the Chicago Shakespeare Theater announced the postponement of the eagerily anticipated world premiere of The Notebook.

Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook has music and lyrics by singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and book by Bekah Brunstetter.

The following day Broadway in Chicago announced it is pushing back the date for the North American tour launch of Moulin Rouge! The Musical to March 19; the show will run through May 14 at the James M. Nederlander theatre.

The production stars Conor Ryan as Christian and Courtney Reed as Satine.

The Goodman Theatre announced it will postpone its planned world-premiere production of The Outsiders, a musical based on the novel by S.E. Hinton and the Francis Ford Coppola movie, with a book by Adam Rapp and music by Jamestown Revival. The production is expected to be mounted next season.

On Broadway, Playwrights Horizons has delayed the Taylor Reynolds directed satire Tambo & Bones. The The Dave Harris penned piece will also require Covid booster shot requirments.

Paradise Square which was originally set to open on Broadway in February has delayed the launch with previews beginning on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, and open Sunday, April 3, 2022, at the Barrymore Theatre.

In response to the Covid surge, Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC has canceled all performances of Katori Hall's The Mountaintop, which was to have been mounted January 21 through February 13, 2022.

London's Mary Poppins and The Phantom of the Opera have each reduced their weekly schedule by two shows a week, thanks to Covid.

The 64th annual Grammy Awards Show due to be held in Los Angeles on January 31, 2022 has been postponed due to coronavirus, organizers said.

Uncertainty around the Omicron variant determined that going ahead "simply contains too many risks", according to a statement from the Recording Academy and CBS.

The event, which is regarded as "music's biggest night," will take place on a future date to be announced soon, organizers said.

The health and safety of the music community, the live audience and hundreds of employees remained their top priority, they added.

Jazz keyboardist Jon Batiste has the most nominations with 11, while Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber and Doja Cat are all up for the main awards.

That postponement came on the heels of the Sundance film festival cancelling all in-person events in Utah citing the rapid spread of Omicron.

All its independent movie premieres and events will take place online, organizers said in a statement.

This marks the second year in a row that the Sunday Film Festival has cancelled in person events due to the Covid surge.

Sundance, a high-profile independent fest that kicks off the year in movies, was due to take place in Park City, Utah, from January 20-30, 2022.

As it did last year, it will still take place as an on line form, on its special streaming platform.The 40th edition will feature films by high-profile names, such as Lena Dunham and Jesse Eisenberg and a four-hour documentary about Kanye West.

“While it is a deep loss to not have the in-person experience in Utah, we do not believe it is safe nor feasible to gather thousands of artists, audiences, employees, volunteers and partners from around the world, for an eleven-day festival while overwhelmed communities are already struggling to provide essential services,” Sundance representatives said in a statement.

The Slamdance Film Festival which takes place January 27th-February 9, 2022 will also be virtual streaming on demand for 100+ films.

The Critics Choice Awards announced that it has postponed its in-person awards gala amid rising concerns regarding COVID-19. The awards show was set to have taken place on January 9, 2022 at Century City’s Fairmont Century Plaza, with a ceremony hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer.

According to a statement, postponing the ceremony was “the prudent and responsible decision at this point.” The message also cited “thoughtful consideration and candid conversations” with The CW and TBS, the networks set to broadcast the 27th annual event.

“We are in constant communication with L.A. County Health Officials, and we are currently working diligently to find a new date during the upcoming awards season in which to host our annual gala in-person with everyone’s safety and health remaining our top priority,” the statement continued. “We will be sharing additional details with our friends and colleagues throughout the entertainment industry as soon as we can.”

The Palm Springs International Film Society announced that its Film Awards on January 6 would be tabled. It was to have been a star studded night set to honor Kristen Stewart, Penelope Cruz, Jane Campion, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Hudson, the Belfast team, Andrew Garfield, the ensemble from King Richard, Lady Gaga and Nicole Kidman.

BAFTA Los Angeles' annual Tea Party, set for January 8, which had been set for January 8 at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, was also scraped.

The organization stated it is attempting to formulate a 2022 digital Tea With a Nominee.

The tea has become an award-season favorite, with proceeds from the awards gala going to support the group’s education and outreach and other charities and organizations.

Also, the Governor Awards ceremony, scheduled for January 15, was postponed. Additionally, the AFI Awards, slated for January 7, have been delayed until a yet-to-be-determined date.

February’s IDA Documentary Awards has pushed back to a March virtual event thanks to the Omicron surge.

The 72nd ACE Eddie Awards has set a new date from February 26 to March 5 at a 50 percent capacity in-person event due to the Omicron surge.

The event will take place at the Theater at the ACE Hotel in Los Angeles, with an afterparty at the historic Clifton’s Republic.

The World Economic Forum last month postponed its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, moving it from January to mid-2022, citing the omicron variant. And JPMorgan Chase said its annual health-care conference in San Francisco scheduled for later in January would be virtual instead of in person.

The Damn Short Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Boulder City, Nevada, which is the gateway to Boulder Dam. It is typically held in the beautiful and historic Boulder City Theatre. For the second year in a row it will unspool on video with plans to return as a live event at the Boulder City Theatre in 2023.

The 18th Annual Dam Short Film Festival takes place virtually February 10-14, 2022. Presenting the films in a virtual format allows “viewers to watch at their leisure, from anywhere in the US, at any time of the day or night,” said the DSFF Board of Directors.

The Boulder Dam Hotel is in itself a place of historical importance. During the 1930s the Boulder Dam Hotel became a huge draw for people visiting Boulder Dam. The hotel also quickly became popular with movie stars who needed to establish Nevada residency so they could obtain a "quickie" divorce.

Some of the famous guests during 1934 included A.P. Gianni, founder of Bank of America; Bette Davis, who stayed at the hotel while on vacation following the filming of Of Human Bondage; and the cast and crew of RKO films, who stayed while they produced Silver Streak. Famous 1935 guests included honeymooners Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr.; Will Rogers, who was performing on stage at the Boulder Theatre; the Maharajah and Maharani of Indore, India; and Cardinal Pascelli, who later became Pope Pius XII.

The remainder of the 1930s welcomed the Duchess of Westminster; George Pepperdine, founder of Pepperdine University; Henry Fonda; Boris Karloff; Senator Robert Taft; Shirley Temple; and Howard Hughes, who recuperated at the hotel after wrecking his airplane on Lake Mead, according to the official bio.

According to a tour operation company, "for film buffs, Boulder City plays an important role in the Oscar-winning La La Land. Emma Stone’s character Mia Dolan grew up in Boulder City, and in the film she creates and performs a one-woman show called So Long, Boulder City. Her character’s love of film started because her aunt worked at the library and she would walk there as a child to watch classics. “Del Prado Library” in the movie is not a real library. Director Damien Chazelle chose Boulder City for the story because he liked the name and it was feasible that Mia could drive there within a day from Los Angeles.

The hotel is open for business.

CES, the largest consumer technology trade show in the world, did open in Las Vegas last Wednesday with some serious exhibits - Google, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Panasonic and Amazon, and many others, as well as media organizations - backing out thanks to Covid. There was also more than a 75% drop in attendance. Never-the-less, interesting products included a speaker that magnetically attaches to an I phone, electric cars, a fitness tracker for your dog and stuffed animals which gnaw on your finger (seriously).

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

ART AND ABOUT

CODE NAME MARY

Muriel Gardiner. Photo: Freud Museum/

The extraordinary life of Muriel Gardiner. Little known now, Muriel Gardiner had an extraordinary, multi faceted life – as a young American woman who courageously fought fascism in 1930s Austria, as a post war psychoanalyst in the US, with a close relationship to Freud’s most famous patient the Wolf Man, and as the founder of the Freud Museum London. She is also believed to be the model for the Lillian Hellman’s character Julia, in the 1977 Oscar winning film.

In the 1920s she traveled to Europe, attended Oxford University, and moved to Vienna where she hoped to be analysed by Sigmund Freud. In Vienna she had a short-lived marriage to a British musician Julian Gardiner, by whom she had a daughter Connie.

In Vienna Muriel Gardiner studied medicine, and in the 1930s became increasingly involved in political activities against the repressive Austrian regime which had come to power in 1934. Under the code name ‘Mary’, she smuggled money and procured false passports for her comrades. Her apartment acted as a safe-house for anti-fascist dissidents, while fugitives hid in her cottage deep in the Vienna Woods. She fell in love with, and later married, Joseph Buttinger, leader of the Austrian Revolutionary Socialists.

On display at the Freud Museum in London until February 6, 2022.

Online Lecture in honor of Holocaust Memorial Day. takes place January 27, 2022. The Freud Museum is proud to welcome Prof Dr Carmen Birkle for this special lecture on Holocaust Memorial Day, exploring the extraordinary life of Muriel Gardiner.

LIVING LEGACIES Twenty-four exemplary works acquired over the last two years from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, one of the most important organizations supporting the work of African American artists from the southern United States, will debut in January at the Toledo Museum of Art. Living Legacies: Art of the African American South features works of art in a range of media by some of the most significant artists of their generation.

Many in the exhibition were active during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s and express their journey having to contend with injustice and discrimination through their artistic and cultural production. Lonnie Holley's work transforms discarded materials into powerful, often biting critiques of societal wrongs, from racial injustice and child neglect to environmental destruction. He often uses materials like old car parts and truck gears, electrical cords and recycled pieces of communication technology.

In Cutting Up Old Film (Don't Edit the Wrong Thing Out) (1984) Holley comments on the construction of history, calling into question whose voices and perspectives become part of or are “cut out” of the official record.

Other highlights include the metal assemblages by Ronald Lockett (Verge of Extinction, 1994) and Joe Minter (How Do I Look?, 1997).

Artists included in the exhibition are Leroy Almon, Thornton Dial, Thornton Dial, Jr., Richard Dial, Lonnie Holley, Ronald Lockett, Joe Minter, John B. Murray, Royal Robertson, Georgia Speller, Henry Speller, Luster Willis and several generations of women quiltmakers, including Louisiana Bendolph, Mary Elizabeth Kennedy, Jessie T. Pettway, Lola Pettway, Lucy T. Pettway, Martha Pettway, Rita Mae Pettway and Florine Smith, as well as Estelle Witherspoon, one of the founders of the Freedom Quilting Bee.

Living Legacies recognizes both their crucial contributions to a broader understanding of 20th-century American art and their artistic influences upon subsequent generations of artists.

Living Legacies will offer a mix of media, techniques and approaches, with works organized by family, aesthetic and visual affiliation, as well as along social, spiritual and political themes.

Curated by Jessica S. Hong, TMA’s curator of modern and contemporary art, Living Legacies: Art of the African American South will be on view in the museum’s New Media Gallery from January 15 through May 1, 2022.

MYSTERY IN THE MUSEUM takes place Friday, January 14, 2022 at the SMoCA in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Hey there sleuths, it’s time to dust those detective hats off for an encore presentation of Mystery in the Museum.

Join in this encore presentation and adventure through SMoCA, cracking codes and solving riddles to break an accidental curse on the Museum. Cash bar all evening with snacks to follow. Capacity is limited.

MET ESCCAPES - INSPIRING WALT DISNEY: THE ANIMATION OF FRENCH DECORATIVE ARTS takes place on line Wednesday, January 19, 2–3 pm ET.

For individuals living with dementia, together with their family members or care partners. Take a break from the everyday with online explorations of works of art from The Met collection.

Free, though advance registration is required from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

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SWEET CHARITY

FRED EBB FOUNDATION has donated donates $2.6M to Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS. The $2.6 million dollar gift is overseen by Ebb’s nephew Mitchell S. Bernard.

The Foundation established in 2005 under the terms if Ebb's will, has two purposes. First, it bestows an annual award - with a $60,000 stipend - to an aspiring musical theatre songwriter or songwriting team that has not yet achieved significant commercial success.

Tidtays Sinutoke and Isabella Dawis won the 17th annual rFed Edd Award. The award was presented at an invite-only celebration at Birdland in Ne York City on January 3, 2022.

t Second, it makes an annual contribution to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Since its first $300,000 contribution in 2005, the Ebb Foundation has donated over $24.8 million dollars to Broadway Cares.

The Fred Ebb Foundation also donated an additional $1.5 million to the Actors Fund, which supports people in the entertainment and performing arts industries particularly through partnerships with the Friedman Health Center, the Artists Health Insurance Resource Center and the COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund.

SPREADING THE WORD

BETTY WHITE who left us all too early at the age of 99, was interviewed at the age of 98 by Alan Alda for his informative and interesting Clear & Vivid podcast.

In fondly remembering White, who calls herself "a dirty old broad," Alda has reposted the interview which is titled Betty White and Alan Alda Fall Desperately in Love. Don't miss it.

ANGRY, RAUCOUS & SHAMLESSLY GORGEOUS by Pearl Cleage.

Directed by Susan V. Booth.

How do we represent ourselves and share our stories? This joyous journey of discovery tells the story of four African American women in their 20s, 40s, and 60s who each have a unique perspective on feminism, art, and activism.

"In Angry, Raucous & Shamelessly Gorgeous, pioneering and imperious actor Anna Campbell returns to the U.S. after being in a self-imposed exile for 25 years. Her groundbreaking Black feminist theatre piece — a controversial collection of monologues performed in the nude — is set to be revived as the centerpiece of a performance art festival in Atlanta. What promises to be both a triumphant homecoming and a much-needed career resuscitation turns sour when the diva discovers that Pete, an inexperienced younger woman and an adult entertainer, is set to recreate Anna’s legendary performance. Angry, Raucous & Shamelessly Gorgeous is a bold and funny story by one of America’s preeminent Black female playwrights that explores ambition, post-feminism, the generational divide, activism, and who has a right to tell our stories."

Starring Cynthia D. Barker as Kate Hughes, Terry Burrell as Anna Campbell, Shakirah DeMesier as Precious “Pete” Watson and Marva Hicks as Betty Samson.

Scenic Design: Collette Pollard - Costume Design: Kara Harmon - Lighting Design: Michelle Habeck - Sound Design: Clay Benning - Wig Design: Lindsey Ewing - Stage Manager: Anna Baranski - Assistant Stage Manager: Samantha Honeycutt.

Performances start January 13 at Hartford Stages in Hartford, CT.

THE PUNCH BROTHERS the Grammy Award winning Mandolinist Chris Thile, guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjoist Noam Pikelny, and violinist Gabe Witcher perform January 17, 2022 at the Sunset Cultural Center in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBRD has welcomed Greg Kinnear, making his Broadway debut as Atticus Finch, and Baize Buzan as Scout. The production is at the Shubert Theatre in NYC.

In London the production will star Rafe Spall as Finch.

NEA JAZZ MASTER EDDIE PALMIERI who recently celebrated his 85th birthday performs 10 shows at Birdland in New York City January 11-15, 2022.

AN EVENING WITH FRAN LEBOWITZ takes place Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at Sunset Cultural Center in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA.

In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of our most insightful social commentators. Her essays and interviews offer her acerbic views on current events and the media – as well as pet peeves including tourists, baggage-claim areas, after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan.

HEIDI FLEISS the former brothel madame turned bird lover, who lives in Pahrump, Nevada is offering a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person who shot and wounder one of her beloved parrots. The ex-madame says the incident is causing her to leave Nevada.

FOR FREEDOM INTERNATIONAL (FFI) AND PARTNERS AGAINST CHILD TRAFFICKING (PACT) have joined forces today to educate over 15,000 Thailand students on how to Detect, Defend and Disrupt would be predators throughout Thailand starting in February 2022” stated Mattias Bjorqvist, Operations Director of For Freedom International. “Starting in February 2022, the 15,000 students in Thailand will learn how to protect themselves and their fellow students from trafficking.”

“Human trafficking is one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises in the world and within these heinous operations, child sex trafficking is one of the vilest acts. Across the globe, children are exploited, having been taken by traffickers who are eager to make a profit at the expense of their victims’ freedom. We are honored to be a partner with FFI to take an active stance in preventing child sex trafficking in Southeast Asia. PACT's student training program will be offered in both English or Thai for students and also tied to the Thai culture”, Rick Naylor, CEO and Founder of PACT, stated. “PACT training programs are based on three essential ingredients: student to student, relevant information, and culture driven."

"The most crucial step in preventing child sex trafficking is to inform students and empower them by teaching warning signs, risk factors, and safe actions to take in a potential trafficking situation. Not only does our student training teach this and more, but it is built on students equipping students in a peer-to-peer model that increases receptivity and builds a safe community. By introducing this training program in Thailand, we will be able to give students the ability to keep themselves protected and empowered in the midst of a dangerous world", Naylor went on to say.

PACT is recognized for its multilingual, culture driven, and interactive educational platform. The Rotary Club to End Human Trafficking (RCEHT) an international club is the education partner to PACT.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

MEGHAN MARKLE the Duchess of Sussex was awarded about $1.50 in damages from Associated Newspapers after The Mail on Sunday was found guilty in an invasion of privacy suit. The Mail on Sunday published a letter Meghan had written to her father in 2018.

The mother of two wasn't interested in a monatary reward; rather the judgement.

The media company will also pay an unspecified sum for a separate case of infringing her copyright.

Associated Newspapers will also ante up a confidential sum for copyright infringement, while the Mail on Sunday also will have to pay a substantial part of Meghan's legal costs, which are estimated to be over $3M

Plus the newspaper had to publish a front page statement about her courtroom success.

In her own statement issued after the ruling, the wife of Prince Harry urged people to be "brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that... profits from the lies and pain that they create".

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2021 'MADE IN NY ' AWARD PRESENTED TO TONY AWARD WINNING BROADWAY, TV AND FILM ACTRESS PATINA MILLER The New York City's Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment presented Tony Award-winning actor Patina Miller the 'Made in NY' Award for her contributions to the entertainment industry in New York City at the 42nd annual MUSE Awards on December 16th.

Miller starred in both the Broadway and West End productions of Sister Act, as well as the 2013 revival of Pippin, which earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The MUSE Awards, which were presented virtually this year by the New York Women in Film and Television, aims to celebrate the achievements of men and women who work both on-screen and behind the camera in New York City. Previous 'Made in NY' honorees include Awkwafina, Meryl Streep, Whoopi Goldberg, Tina Fey, Spike Lee, John Leguizamo, and Michael K. Williams.

E-Book

Soft back Book

This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

FINAL OVATION

SIR SIDNEY POITIER Tony nominee and Oscar winner died January 7, 2022 in Los Angeles. He was 94.

Poitier appeared in the original Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun opposite Ruby Dee.

He made his Broadway debut in Lysistrata, for which, though it ran a failing four days, he received an invitation to understudy for Anna Lucasta.

In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, becoming the first Black male actor to win the award. He received two further Academy Award nominations, ten Golden Globes nominations, two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, six BAFTA nominations, eight Laurel nominations, and one Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination and one Tony award nomination. Poitier was also the recipient of a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.

Poitier was born unexpectedly in Miami while his parents were visiting. His birth was two months premature, and he was not expected to survive, but his parents remained in Miami for three months to nurse him to health. Poitier grew up in the Bahamas, then a British Crown colony. Owing to his unplanned birth in the United States, he was automatically entitled to U.S. citizenship. Thus, he received both United Kingdom and American accolades.

Poitier was granted a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974. In 1995, Poitier received the Kennedy Center Honor. In 2009, Poitier was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor.

For his role in diversifying Hollywood and for his role in paving the way for further Black actors, he has been described as "the most important figures of 20th century Hollywood".

Poitier was first married to Juanita Hardy from April 29, 1950, until 1965. In 1959, Poitier began a nine-year affair with actress Diahann Carroll.He married Joanna Shimkus, a Canadian former actress, on January 23, 1976, and they remained married for the rest of his life. He had four daughters with his first wife (Beverly, Pamela, Sherri, and Gina) and two with his second (Anika] and Sydney Tamiia In addition to his six daughters, Poitier had eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. When Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas in September 2019, Poitier's family had 23 missing relatives.

Next Column: January 16, 2022
Copyright: January 9, 2022 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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