Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: July 2, 2017
By: Laura Deni
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FOR A HOT SUMMER, MAGICIAN DIXIE DOOLEY OFFERS A COOL SHOW

Dixie Dooley in his magic shop inside the Hall of Antiquities. Photo: Boulevard Mall.

Las Vegas is having a record breaking heat wave - and that is nothing to celebrate. People are hot and irritated. Air conditioners are struggling to spit out something resembling cool air.

Some residents looking for anything air conditioned head to shopping malls. One such place is The Boulevard Mall - which is changing. The oldest shopping mall in Las Vegas intends to focus on entertainment. Already open is an enormous SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium. A massive movie theatre complex is under construction as is a Cosmic Mini Golf course. A train whistles as it moves around the Mall, it's cages filled with both kids and parents along for the ride.

Across from Sea Quest is Hall of Antiquities. The shared space venue has ten renters who display antiques, collectables and odd-ball old stuff. Vendors take turns serving as sales clerks. Activities include a weekly auction with bids opening at $1.00 and glass blowing demonstrations.

One of the sections is a Magic Store owned by veteran magician Dixie Dooley, an award-winning and record-setting magician and escape artist. Dooley has been a Las Vegas staple for years, since his initial appearance at the Sahara Hotel in 1978. Still fooling people, every Sunday afternoon the ageless 62-year-old Dooley performs two free shows. Each twenty minute show is different.

A stage is set up in a large pathway that once led into a now closed Macy's department store. In front of the stage are several rows of comfortable, straight back chairs.

It's time for the show to start and only two people are seated and it's suspected they work in the Hall of Antiquities. Nonpulsed, Dooley in a black sparkle jacket takes to the stage. Suddenly shoppers take notice. The minute he begins a slide of hand illusion mall customers walking towards either a major Goodwill store or an exit towards a parking garage, stop, turn and join the audience. By the time the first trick is finished the chairs are filled, people are standing; and some adults with children are even sitting on the floor.

Almost every possible human description is part of the audience.

The magic maker, who has received the Merlin Award from the International Magicians Society, is noted for his Houdini tricks including being hoisted upside down 60-feet in the air and getting out of a straight jacket. At his Boulevard Mall performance he references Houdini and one of his illusions is a Houdini dice box trick.

The afternoon show is an up-close-and-personal delivery of well-performed illusions. It's a delightful way to spend a half hour. Dooley interacts with the crowd, making everyone feel welcome.

Proving that less can be more, his Mall Show isn't high tech or complicated. However, 'simple' is not to be confused with 'easy' Consider, say, Lang Lang playing the piano. Anybody can buy sheet music and pianos are everywhere. To actually become a concert pianist is another story. Magic rings, which come with instructions, are sold in magic stores and on line. To actually learn how to use them is - difficult. Watching Dooley's graceful moves is like viewing a well choreographed ballet.

His show stopper is his impressive floating of an audience member in the air.

People who were hot and cranky when they arrived at the Mall are relaxed and cheerful after enjoying Dixie Dooley's performance. Two free shows every Sunday afternoon.

The only downside to the performance is that the older gentleman who handled some of the props and kept running around taking pictures should dress better and try not to call so much attention to himself. He's distracting. It may be a free show, but the performer is a professional. Keep the surrounding atmosphere on that level.










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ART AND ABOUT

POLLOCK AND MOTHERWELL: LEGENDS OF ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

Robert Motherwell, Elegy to the Spanish Republic, No. 126, 1965-75. Acrylic on canvas, 77 3/4 x 200 1/4 inches. Purchased with the aid of funds from The National Endowment for the Arts with matching funds and partial gift of Robert Motherwell. University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City. © Dedalus Foundation, Inc. Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.

Jackson Pollock and Robert Motherwell are two of the most celebrated American painters from the mid-20th century. The exhibition emphasizes the radical innovation of American abstraction in mainstream art by featuring two monumental paintings, Mural and Elegy to the Spanish Republic, No. 126. It explores legends surrounding each work and artist by unpacking fact from fiction.

Mural, Pollock’s largest-ever canvas, was commissioned in 1943 by famed art collector and dealer Peggy Guggenheim. It established a new direction of massive scale and bold freedom for the movement that came to be known as Abstract Expressionism. Techniques used in Mural foreshadow methods Pollock would later develop in his best-known “poured” paintings. In 1948 Guggenheim gifted Mural to the University of Iowa and from 2012 to 2014 the painting underwent an immense conservation effort by The Getty in Los Angeles.

One of the most elegant works in the series due to its vastness and thoughtful integration of color, Motherwell’s Elegy to the Spanish Republic, No. 126 is a unique salute to Pollock. In 1972 it was commissioned by the director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art to hang with and directly respond to Mural’s larger-than-life size.

July 8, 2017 - October 29, 2017 at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO.

THE BERLIN PAINTER AND HIS WORLD Athenian Vase-Painting in the Early Fifth Century B.C. Organized by the Princeton University Art Museum, this touring exhibition of ancient Athenian vase-paintingfocuses on the art and career of the anonymous artist known as the Berlin Painter.

Eighty-four vessels and statuettes of bronze and terracotta from the early fifth century B.C. will be shown, including dozens of the finest vases attributed to the Berlin Painter along with works by other extraordinary artists of the period.

The masterpieces are on loan from 15 museums and two private collections, including the British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Vatican’s Museo Gregoriano Etrusco and the Musée du Louvre.

The painted subjects range from athletics and musical performances to the rich body of Greek myth and epic..

July 8-October 1, 2017, at the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio.

FRANCO GRIGNANI: ART AS DESIGN 1950-1990

By Franco Grignani who was noted for his "Woolmark" logo. Photo: Estorick Collection.

Best known for his swirling "Woolmark" logo, Franco Grignani (1908-1999) was an extraordinary graphic designer and artist whose dazzling works anticipated many of the key ideas and visual characteristics of Op Art by several years.

Comprising around 50 pieces from the Grignani family collection, this exhibition introduces UK audiences to the work of an artistic pioneer whose achievements have tended to be overshadowed by later figures such as Bridget Riley.

July 5, 2017 - September 10, 2017 at Estorick Collection in London.

SWEET CHARITY

19TH ANNUAL BROADWAY BARKS will once again take over New York City's Shubert Alley on Saturday July 8, 2017. The event, co-founded by Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore, features celebrities of the Great White Way who use their star power to find loving homes for animals in need from 28 participating NYC area shelters.

Bernadette Peters and Malcolm McDowell, whose wife designer Kelly McDowell painted this year's poster art, will serve as co-hosts.

The rain or shine event is free and open to the public.

Show up and adopt some love.

Celebrity participants lending their support include:
Christy Altomare (Anastasia)
James Barbour (Phantom of the Opera)
P.J. Benjamin (Wicked)
John Bolton (Anastasia)
Reed Birney (1984)
Steven Booth (School of Rock-The Musical)
Petrina Bromley (Come From Away)
Sophia Anne Caruso (Lazarus)
Jenn Colella (Come From Away)
Corey Cott (Bandstand)
Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!)
Alma Cuervo (On Your Feet! The Musical)
Ariana DeBose (A Bronx Tale The Musical)
Siobhan Dillon (Sunset Boulevard)
John Dossett (War Paint)
Susan Dunstan (Come From Away)
Christine Ebersole (War Paint)
Jennifer Ehle (Oslo)
Kim Exum (The Book of Mormon)
Rebecca Faulkenberry (Groundhog Day)
Kathy Fitzgerald (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Jenn Gambatese (School of Rock-The Musical)
Janeane Garofalo (Marvin’s Room)
Mandy Gonzalez (Hamilton)
Jackie Hoffman (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Jayne Houdyshell (A Dolls House, Part 2)
Ben Jacoby (Beautiful - The Carole King Musical)
Rachel Bay Jones (Dear Evan Hansen)
Andy Karl (Groundhog Day)
Kendra Kassebaum (Come From Away)
Derek Klena (Anastasia)
Beth Leavel (Bandstand)
Katrina Lenk (Indecent)
Laurie Metcalf (A Dolls House, Part 2)
Abby Mueller (Beautiful - The Carole King Musical)
Bebe Neuwirth
Eva Noblezada (Miss Saigon)
Caroline O’Connor (Anastasia)
Laura Osnes (Bandstand)
William Parry (Groundhog Day)
Mary Beth Peil (Anastasia)
Eric Petersen (School of Rock-The Musical)
David Hyde Pierce (Hello, Dolly!)
Condola Rashad (A Dolls House, Part 2)
Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen)
Nic Rouleau (The Book of Mormon)
Charlie Russell (The Play That Goes Wrong)
Caesar Samayoa (Come From Away)
Brian Sears (The Book of Mormon)
Douglas Sills (War Paint)
Bobby Conte Thornton (A Bronx Tale The Musical)
Evan Todd (Beautiful - The Carole King Musical)
Taylor Trensch (Hello, Dolly!)
Celia Weston (Marvin’s Room)
Betsy Wolfe (Waitress)
Jessica Keenan Wynn (Beautiful - The Carole King Musical)

CAPE COD HEALTHCARE SUNDAY SUMMER SOCIAL takes place Sunday, July 9, 2017 at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, Massachusetts with Honorary Chairs, Ruth Clark and Blanche Seifer.

Enjoy a family-style seasonal supper while listening to performances of Jazz and American Classics from the Skylark Vocal Ensemble, considered the Premiere American Professional A Cappella Chamber Choir.

The event will help to support Cape Cod Healthcare’s Cancer Services.

THE MUSIC GOES ROUND AND ROUND

BANDSTAND ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING has been released by Yellow Sound Label and Broadway Records.

This is a review of the CD, not the production.

Currently on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre the music is by Richard Oberacker and lyrics by Robert Taylor and Oberacker.

The musical is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuehler which is important, because this musical belongs to Blankenburhler who added another Tony award to his collection for this show. He first took home the Tony for Hamilton.

Bandstand stars Tony Award nominee Laura Osnes and Corey Cott featuring Tony Award winner Beth Leavel, Alex Bender, Joe Carroll, Brandon J. Ellis, James Nathan Hopkins, and Geoff Packard.

According to the official description: "Set in the smoke filled, swing fueled night clubs of 1945, Bandstand brings the against-all-odds story of singer/songwriter Donny Novitski (Cott) and his band of mismatched fellow WWII veterans to the stage.

"When a national radio contest to find America’s next big swing band offers a chance at instant fame and Hollywood fortune, Donny must whip his wise-cracking gang of jazzers (Bender, Carroll, Ellis, Hopkins, Packard) into fighting shape. Teaming up with the beautiful young war widow Julia (Osnes) as their singer, they struggle to confront the lingering effects and secrets of the battlefield that threaten to tear them apart. Playing for every voiceless underdog in a world that has left them behind, they risk everything in the final live broadcast to redefine the meaning of victory. With an explosive original score and choreography inspired by the high energy swing rhythms of the era, Bandstand is a truly American story of love, loss, triumph and the everyday men and women whose personal bravery defined a nation."

Inside cover of Bandstand CD.

All of the band members have problems associated with military service.

Neither of the composers served in the military although several of the producers either are veterans or have close ties with family and the military.

The experienced stars all have excellent voices, but again, the score is the choreographer's playground.

As is the case with many Broadway cast recordings, listening to the CD won't particularly help you understand the plot line. Nor will any tune stick in your mind or have you humming. However, the Bandstand CD makes an excellent souvenir for those who have seen the production. The technical quality of the CD is excellent.

The frequently similar sounding and constructed score begs for a talented choreographed to work movement magic. It comes close to being a swing and jazz choreographer's dream because the choreographer assumes make it-or break-it control.

The fact that Blankenbuehler uses his expert choreography to convey emotion can't be appreciate by listening to a CD.

Composers Oberacker and Taylor conquered the almost unattainable - getting their first effort actually mounted on Broadway after being staged at the respected Paper Mill Playhouse. The production also displays a highly creative and interesting marketing concept - capitalizing on current American pro-military support to connect with a musical which has a military undercurrent. Since the 40s there have been countless plays/musical and movies with a military component. Some have become classics - On The Town, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and don't forget Miss Saigon - or the drama The Best Years of Our Lives.

However, this is the first show in ages to use an overt military marketing tie-in. When former Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden introduced the show's number on the Tony Awards the coupe scored was right up there with the best laid military invasion.

Publicity indicates that Bandstand became the first Broadway production to seek and receive “6 Certified” status from Got Your 6, (military support slang for 'got your back') a nonprofit group that largely works with Hollywood productions to ensure fair portrayal of veterans on screen … or, in some cases, on stage. Broadway To Vegas wasn't able to ascertain whether any other Broadway production has ever applied for such a certification and been refused.

It was Tom Smedes, one of the producers, who contacted 6 Certified wanting their support. The organization tweaked the script and met with the actors.

There are also ticket tie-ins with the military.

The 1940s sound is driven and intense. Basically a love story, hero Donny is romancing Julia, the widow of his deceased best friend. Both Corey Cott (Donny) and Laura Osnes (Julia) vocally shine. Both singers know how to convey emotion, be it Donny's anger, frustration, angst and determination in I Am and Right This Way; or Julia's heartache, love and longing in Love Will Come and Find Me Again delivered in the torch song idiom of that period. Tony winner Beth Leavel is cast as Julia's mother. Her pondering on Everything Happens is outstanding.

While the choreographer and a strong cast can take credit for Bandstand's success, Oberacker and Taylor are immensely talented. Their next effort could be a long term hit known for a strong score. They need to be proud of what they have accomplished with Bandstand and shouldn't rest on their laurels.

Musical Supervisor and arranger - Greg Anthony Rassen. Music Director and keyboardist - Fred Lassen. Music coordinator - Howard Joines. Co-orchestrator - Bill Elliott and Greg Anthony Rassen. Vocal arranger - David Kreppel.

Orchestra:
Associate Music conductor/Keyboardist - Matt Perri
Keyboard-Guitar - Matt Hinkley
Violin/Viola - Sylvia D'Avanzo
Reeds - Vito Chiavuzzo, Harry Hassell, Greg Riley
Trumpets - Nick Marchione, Harry Hassell, Greg Riley
Troumbones - Michael Boscarino, Jeff Caswell
Bass - Ray Kilday
Drums - Adam Wolfe

Donny Nova Band:
Piano - Corey Cott
Bass - Brandon J. Ellis
Drumns - Joe Carroll
Saxophone/Clarinet - James Nathan Hopkins
Trombone - Geoff Packard
Trumpet - Alex Bender, Joey Pero
Edited & Mixed by Michael Croiter

Recording Engineer Andy Manganello. Production Manager Jill Dell-abate. Recorded by Avatar Studios, NYC. Mixed at Yellow Sound Lab, NYC. Edit Assistant Matthias Winter. Assistant Engineers Nate Odden and Alex Conroy. Mastered by Michael Fossen Kemper at Turtle Tone Mastering. Keyboard Programmer Randy Cohen. Music Coordinator Howard Joines.

Key art photos by Nathan Johnson. Production photos by Jeremy Daniel. CD Package design by Robbie Rozelle. Cover Art: AKA.

SPREADING THE WORD

LITERARY DEATH MATCH features a mix of four established and emerging authors who perform their most brilliant work before a live audience and a panel of three all-star judges. After a pair of readings, the judges take turns spouting hilarious, off-the-wall commentary, focusing on Literary Merit, Performance and Intangibles.

The judges select two authors to advance to the finals, "where we trade in the show’s literary sensibility for an absurdly comical climax - like a spirited game of Pin the Mustache on Hemingway, or a literary spelling bee featuring complicated author names - to decide who takes home the Literary Death Match crown."

JUDGES:
Literary Merit: Rakesh Satyal, Lambda Award-winning author.
Performance: Jena Friedman, comedian.
Intangibles: Dick Cavett, legendary Emmy Award-winning TV show host.

READERS:
Round 1:
Elna Baker, This American Life producer.
Chimene Suleyman, British poet and author of Outside Looking In.

Round 2:
Sunil Yapa, Asian American Short Story Contest-winning author of Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist.
Dan Wilbur, creator of Better Book Titles, and author of How Not to Read and Never Flirt With Puppy Killers.

Hosted by LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga.

Friday, July 7, 2017 at Guild Hall in East Hampton, NY.

92Y IN NEW YORK CITY has announced that Ted Chapin, President & Chief Creative Officer of Rodgers & Hammerstein, will serve in the newly created role of Producer of Lyrics & Lyricists, beginning next season. For nearly five decades, L&L has been at the forefront of exploring and sharing the best of the American Songbook.

Chapin will work with a variety of artists to create the 2018 season, including Jonathan Groff, Rob Fisher and Amanda Green, Lynn Ahrens, and David Loud. There will be both familiar composers - Leonard Bernstein, Frank Loesser, Irving Berlin - as well as those new to L&L, like Bobby Darin, who in addition to his career as a singer, wrote over 100 songs.

JULY 4TH is National Barbecue Day and Caesar Salad Day. Wednesday is July 5 National Apple Turnover Day. Thursday is National Fried Chicken Day. Friday is National Macaroni Day.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

THE STAR PLAZA THEATRE IN MERRILLVILLE, INDIANA a 3,400-seat theater that has headlined Itzhak Perlman Bob Dylan, Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock will be torn down by its owner White Lodging following a final December show featuring the Oak Ridge Boys, as first reported by The Times of Northwest Indiana.

The venue is the third-largest in the Chicago market after the Chicago Theatre and the Arie Crown Theatre in the McCormick Place Convention Center, and had been the home to the Northwest Indiana Symphony, which now faces an uncertain future.

White Lodging said the property will be redeveloped with no plans for a music venue.

RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA USE became legal in Nevada on July 1, 2017. A conservative estimate is that the 10 percent excise tax on recreational marijuana is expected to generate roughly $70 million in the next two years to be channeled to the Nevada Distributive School Account - $29.5 million in the first year, followed by $39.8 million.

Adults age 21 and older are now able to buy up to an ounce of marijuana, or one-eighth of an ounce in marijuana-infused edibles and concentrates during each store visit.

Lines were around the block to enter the 36 stores licensed to sell the product.

Due to federal regulations, smoking or consuming marijuana in public is forbidden. Getting caught will cost you a $600 fine. Pot won't be tolerated on the Strip or in resorts.

Substantial publicity has been generated regarding the numerous edibles, expected to be extremely popular with tourists. Those brownies have been around for ages. I remember the decades when major Vegas hotels had headliners - primarily middle of the road singers with a comic as an opening act. They performed approximately a week at a time, meaning individual hotels had press openings 3 or 4 times a month. Press agents, primarily from Los Angeles, enjoyed coming to town with their stars.

Press agents are an interesting species. Some of the brightest and more creatives minds enter the field. So do low class jerks. Several of the later species were a male dominated firm with a female. She'd bake pot brownies, put them in sandwich bags and sneak them into the showroom in her purse. When the showroom lights went down, they got high. The firm still exists. The men are still jerks - only older.

I've never tried the stuff myself. From observation, it seems to dull people down. The dumb just get dumber.



THE CRADLE WILL ROCK Music and Libretto by Marc Blitzstein.

Directed and Choreographed by Lawrence Edelson.

Conducted by John Mauceri.

Featured artists include mezzo soprano Ginger Costa-Jackson as Moll; bass Matt Boehler as Mr. Mister; mezzo soprano Audrey Babcock as Mrs. Mister; tenor Keith Jameson as Harry Druggist; baritone Christopher Burchett as Larry Foreman; and bass baritone Justin Hopkins as Reverend Salvation.

The Cradle Will Rock has been almost exclusively produced with piano since its infamous opening night, which was shut down by the Federal Government in 1937. Both an attack on the abuse of political power by the wealthy and a paean to labor and poor people struggling to get by, Cradle is as timely now as it was when it premiered in 1937. Opera Saratoga celebrates the 80th Anniversary of Blitzstein's revolutionary American labor opera in a new production that will be performed with Blitzstein's original orchestrations - the first such performances since the 1960 production at New York City Opera.

In Steeltown, USA, everything and everyone can be bought - at least that's what Mr. Mister thinks. The greedy businessman uses his wallet to control anyone he wants, including the local newspaper editor, preacher, university president, doctor... even the artists! But Larry Foreman's efforts to unionize local workers threatens to rock the cradle and shift the balance of power out of Mr. Mister's control. An allegory on corruption and corporate greed both timely and timeless, The Cradle Will Rock's biting humor and brazenness is as impactful now as it was when it premiered in 1937. Blitzstein's eclectic, jazzy score is a propulsive mix of classical parody, popular melodies, and dramatic ensemble numbers, with a smoky flavor redolent of Kurt Weill - but all-American in its raw energy and urgency.

Scenic Designer: Martin T. Lopez. Costume Designer: Anya Klepikov. Lighting Designer: Brandon Stirling Baker.

July 9 - 16, 2017 at Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, NY.

OTHER DESERT CITIES by Jon Robin Baitz.

Directed by Mary Jo DuPrey.

This funny, explosive and entertaining look at unruly family politics was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.. The manicured life of a conservative actor-turned-politician and his impeccable wife is upset when relatives arrive at their Palm Springs home for the holidays.

Brooke Wyeth, a once promising novelist, returns home after a six-year absence to celebrate Christmas with parents Lyman and Polly, brother Trip and Aunt Silda. Lyman and Polly are the seemingly perfect upper middle class couple, “living the dream” in Palm Springs replete with wealth, political influence and A-list connections. But when Brooke announces that she is about to publish a memoir focusing on an explosive chapter in the family’s history, the holiday reunion is thrown into turmoil. As in all desert lands, mirage can transfix and trick the inhabitants. When the heat gives way, reality comes into sharp and unrelenting focus. Old family wounds are opened, childhood memories are tested and the Wyeth clan learns that some secrets cannot stay buried forever.

This production is a really a family affair that includes a cast featuring members of Theatricum Botanicum's founder Will Geer’s own family: daughters Ellen Geer and Melora Marshall, and granddaughter Willow Geer as well as Mark Bramhall, and Rafael Goldstein..

The play’s title refers to a roadside sign on the eastbound I-10 that directs drivers to exit at Palm Springs, California, or head on to “other desert cities.”

Costume design is by Vicki Conrad; lighting design is by Zach Moore; sound design and original music are by Marshall McDaniel; set design is by Rich Rose; and props are by Sydney Russell. The production stage manager is Elna Kjordian.

Presented by Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga CA July 8–September 30, 2017.

GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY written and directed by Conor McPherson.

Music and Lyrics by Bob Dylan.

Duluth, Minnesota. 1934.
A community living on a knife-edge huddle together in the local guesthouse.

The owner, Nick, owes more money than he can ever repay, his wife Elizabeth is losing her mind and their daughter Marianne is carrying a child no-one will account for.

And, when a preacher selling bibles and a boxer looking for a comeback show up in the middle of the night, things start to spiral beyond the point of no return. Brought to life by a 20-piece company of actors and musicians, award-winning playwright Conor McPherson "beautifully weaves the iconic songbook of Bob Dylan into this new show full of hope, heartbreak and soul."

Featuring: Sheila Atim as Marianne Laine. Ron Cook as Dr Walker. Bronagh Gallagher as Mrs Burke. Shirley Henderson as Elizabeth Laine. Ciarán Hinds as Nick Laine. Claudia Jolly as Katherine Draper. Arinzé Kene as Joe Scott. Debbie Kurup as Mrs Neilsen. Jim Norton as Mr Perry. Sam Reid as Gene Laine. Michael Shaeffer as Reverend Marlowe. Jack Shalloo as Elias Burke. Stanley Townsend as Mr Burke. With ensemble members Kirsty Malpass, Tom Peters, and Karl Queensborough.

Stage design by Rae Smith - Simon Hale is Orchestrator, Arrangements & Musical Supervisor - Mark Henderson - Lighting by Simon Baker - Sound by Alan Berry - Musical Director is Lucy Hind - Movement Director is Joe Murphy - Associate Director is Jessica Daniels is Baylis Assistant Director and Jessica Ronane CDG is the Casting Director.

Recipient of 2016 Edgerton New Play Award. Performances July 8 - October 7, 2017 at The Old Vic in London.

GUYS AND DOLLS based on a story and characters by Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows.

Directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes.

Nathan Detroit needs some serious dough to keep his “oldest established permanent floating crap game” going. He’s also got his hands full with his marriage-minded girlfriend Adelaide. But when Nathan makes a bet with high-roller Sky Masterson, his problems appear to be solved. Based on Damon Runyon’s famous tales of small-time hoods and showgirls, Guys and Dolls is filled with some of the most wonderful show tunes ever, including Luck Be a Lady, I’ve Never Been in Love Before, and the irrepressible anthem Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.

The cast features Terence Archie as Sky Masterson, J. Bernard Calloway as Nathan Detroit, Audrey Cardwell as Sarah Brown, and Veronica J. Kuehn as Miss Adelaide, as well as Matt Bauman as Benny Southstreet, Todd Buonopane as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Steve Greenstein as Big Jule, and Ed Hollingsworth as Lt. Brannigan, Ralph Johnson as Arvide Abernathy, and Linda Libby (as Gen. Matilda B. Cartwright.

The ensemble members, who portray crapshooters, Hot Box Girls, and various denizens of the underworld, include Chelsey Arce, Giovanni Bonaventura, Jonathan Brugioni, Richard Bulda, Juan Caballer, Lance Carter, Cody Davis, Richard Gatta, William Geary, Evan Kasprzak, Julie Kavanagh, Celeste Lanuza, Tara Shoemaker, and Ala Tiatia.

The creative team features Lee Savage (Scenic Design), Brian C. Hemesath (Costume Design), Paul Miller (Lighting Design), Kevin Kennedy (Sound Design), Sinai Tabak (Music Director and Additional Arrangements), Lee Wilkins (Associate Director and Choreographer), Tara Rubin Casting/Kaitlin Shaw, CSA (Casting), and Peter Van Dyke (Production Stage Manager).

Roll the dice as Guys and Dolls - a first-ever production of this Broadway masterpiece at The Old Globe - runs July 2 – August 13 at The Old Globe in San Diego, CA. Presented in association with Asolo Repertory Theatre.

INTIMATE APPAREL by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage.

Directed by Bay Street's Artistic Director Scott Schwartz.

Intimate Apparel tells the story of Esther Mills, a skilled African-American seamstress who has her own successful business in 1905 making lingerie for both society ladies and "ladies of the night." But Esther is lonely, and as she searches for something more in her life, she finds intimacy comes in many forms, from a poetic love with George, a handsome Caribbean laborer working far away on the Panama Canal, to complicated friendships with the different women in her life, to the most unlikely connection of all, a growing bond with Mr. Marks, a Hasidic shopkeeper, who shares his exquisite finds of fabrics and maybe something deeper.

July 4 - July 30 at Bay Street Theater, Sag Harbor, NY.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

Directed by Gary Griffin.

Music director is Brad Haak.

Choreography by Alex Sanchez.

Load up the chariots. Considered one of Broadway’s greatest farces, this musical romp through Rome includes desperate lovers, mistaken identities, scheming neighbors and secrets behind every toga. With delicious tunes and a lot of laughs.

Starring Mark Linn-Baker (Senex), E. Faye Butler (Domina), David Josefsberg (Lycus), Marrick Smith (Hero), Nathaniel Hackmann (Miles Gloriosus), Whit Reichert (Erronius), Marcus Choi, Justin Keyes, and Tommy Scrivens, who join the previously announced Jordan Gelber (Pseudolus), John Tartaglia (Hysterium), and Ali Ewoldt (Philia).

July 5-11 at The Muny in St. Louis, MO.

DR, SEUSS' THE LORAX based on the book The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, adapted for the stage by David Greig, with music and lyrics by Charlie Fink.

Directed by Max Webster.

The silky soft tufts of the Truffula trees are the perfect stuffs to knit the perfect Thneeds. But the first chop, chop of the perilous ax begins the powerful tale of The Lorax. When the last tree of the forest falls, was it worth losing paradise for nothing at all? "The most beloved environmental tale of all time, The Lorax will have you singing in Seussian rhymes."

The creative team also includes Rob Howell (Scenic and Costume Design), Jon Clark (Lighting Design), Tom Gibbons (Sound Design), Phil Bateman (Musical Director, Arranger).

Originally produced at The Old Vic theatre in London, where it was directed by Webster, Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax includes puppet design by Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes, famous for their Tony Award-winning War Horse puppetry design, and choreography by Drew McOnie.

Performances run July 3 - August 12, part of the Globe’s 2018 Summer Season, on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in San Diego, CA.

YANK! story and original music by American brothers David and Joseph Zellnik.

Directed by James Baker.

Musical direction by James Cleeve.

Choreography by Chris Cuming.

A poignant love story based on the true, hidden history of gay soldiers during World War II.

Following the men in Charlie Company, YANK! the musical explores what it means to be a man and fall in love… and struggle to survive in a time and place where the odds are stacked against you. Based on the Off-Broadway production, the musical pays homage to the timeless music of the 1940s.

In 1943, young Mid-Westerner Stu is called up to serve in the forces and becomes a reporter for Yank Magazine, the journal ‘for and by the servicemen’. Following the men in Charlie Company, this acclaimed musical explores what it means to be a man and fall in love.

Scott Hunter as Stu with Andy Coxon as Mitch, Waylon Jacobs as Sarge/Scarlet and Bradley Judge as Rotelli.

The rest of the company is completed by Benjamin Cupit, Lee Dillon-Stuart, Chris Kiely, Kris Marc-Joseph, Mark Paterson, Tom Pepper and Sarah-Louise Young.

Completing the creative team are designer Victoria Hinton, lighting designer Aaron J. Dootson, sound designer Chris Bogg and casting director Benjamin Newsome.

July 3 - August 13 at the Charing Cross Theatre in London.

WHO'S WHERE

PAUL McCARTNEY performs July 5 in Miami, FL at the American Airlines Arena.

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS a Summerfest favorite and one of the most iconic bands in American music history, have announced the first dates of their 40th Anniversary Tour, which includes two shows, Wednesday, July 5 and Thursday, July 6, at the Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee. Joining them for both performances is breakthrough country artist Chris Stapleton.

KINGS OF LEON appear at Barclaycard British Summer Time at Hyde Park in London on July 6.

QUEEN AND ADAM LAMBERT entertain Tuesday, July 4, at Rogers Plaza in Edmonton, AB. Thursday's stop is at the Pepsi Center in Denver. On Saturday they can be found at Century Link Center in Omaha, NE. Next Sunday, July 9, they are on stage at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO.

COLDPLAY begins a two night gig at the Stadio San Siro in Milan, Italty on Monday, July 3. Saturday, July 8, finds them in Dublin, Ireland at the Croke Park Stadium.

TIM McGRAW AND FAITH HILL have a two night stand beginning Friday, July 7, in Boston, MA at the TD Garden.

IRON MAIDEN stars at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Monday, July 3. Wednesday's gig is at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA. Friday finds the group at the Usana Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City,Utah. Next Sunday, July 9 the show is at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE.

GREEN DAY appear at Barclaycard British Summer Time Tuesday, July 4, at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, Scotland. Then they'll appear at Mad Cool Festival on Friday, July 7, at Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain.

THE WEEKND on Thursday, July 6, appears at NOS Alive Festival in Lisbon, Portugal at the Passeio Maritimo De Alges.

Next Column: July 9, 2017
Copyright: July 2, 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.
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Laura Deni

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