Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: July 28, 2024
By: Laura Deni
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A CAULDRON, CELINE DION AND LADY GAGA OLYMPIC WINNERS

Celine Dion performing at the 2024 Olympics. Photo: NBC

The rain soaked, four hour Olympic opening ceremony, headed by artistic director Thomas Jolly, had its controversial moments. Running along the Seine River, The Parade of Nations featured 10,500 athletes and 94 boats.

However, viewers fondest expectations were delivered by a creative original and spectacular lighting of the cauldron followed by a memorable show stopping performance by Celine Dion - which may have been her greatest performance ever.

The Vegas superstar wasn't compelled to race around the stage so that all of the customers could see her. She did not use almost non stop dramatic gestures so that those in the cheap seats would know she was there. She did what she and few others could ever do, she stood there and deliver a performance worthy of unstoppable accolades.

The woman announced her Stiff Person Syndrome diagnosis in 2022. The neurological disorder causes rigidity in the torso and limbs and can induce severe muscle spasms. Dion looked sensational - as though she has never experienced even a hang nail.

She was stunningly sophisticated beautiful - from her hair, brush stroke perfect make-up, and her to-die-for white, crystal and beaded couture Dior gown. Dion may single-handedly bring back dress-to-impress, sophisticated evening gowns.

She stood before a grand piano, those black and whiters played in the perfect key by Steinway artist Scott Price. Falling rain didn't deter the performance, although nobody has ever said that letting rain fall on a piano was a good idea.

Her voice was nothing short of perfect. In the past she has occasionally experienced some jabs from various critics for her vocal delivery such as: "From 1993-1997 she was literally screaming at times above D5, constantly straining . . . after 1998 she started to utilise heady mix when it came to upper belts and it's the only thing that has saved her voice from complete and utter destruction" to "you can hear wear and tear in her voice when she reaches the high notes using twang and mask resonance, both of which are very damaging. . . vocal coaches only further damaged her voice."

Her rendition of Hymne à l’amour are how notes are supposed to sound. If I find out she utilized protools I am going to be devastated. However, her job was to give a show stopping performance and she did.

Her vocal delivery of the song made famous by Edith Piaf would have the deceased diva, in whatever stratosphere she is now residing, on her feet clapping.

This was Celine's finest hour.

Earlier, French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most listened-to French-speaking artist in the world, emerged from a pyrotechnic display in an all-gold out to sing her hit Djadja accompanied by a Republican guard band of the French army.

At the beginning of the Opening Ceremony it was Lady Gaga's turn.

I don't know if Lady Gaga knows French or went to the effort to learn the words in French for a cover of Mon truc en plumes by Zizi Jeanmaire, France’s leading lady of Music Hall performances in the 1950s. Lady Gaga pulled it off.

Lady Gaga sang in a prerecorded performance, with dancers shaking pink plumed pompoms, honoring the French cabaret which brought production shows - and those famous showgirls - to Las Vegas resorts where they reigned for years.

In an Instagram post, Gaga expressed gratitude for the opportunity and celebrated Jeanmaire. She also shared her love for France and the country's culture.

"Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music—I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth—Paris," she wrote in her caption.

People are still talking about that Cauldron.

That magnificent Olympic Cauldron in a hot air balloon. Photo: Olympic Committee.Pool photographer Peter Cziborra

The Torch, the Relay cauldron and the Olympic Cauldron are the three objects designed by Mathieu Lehanneur for the epic journey of the Olympic Flame.

Born into a large family on August 29, 1974 in France, he studied at the French National School of Industrial Design where he graduated in 2001. His diploma project on drug packaging design entered the MoMA collections. He explained to Maison&Objets: "This project led me to question the scientific world: how can we integrate scientific knowledge or techniques into everyday life? I had the carte blanche from VIA (Innovation in Furniture Valorization, a key player in promoting design in France, where the greatest designers, from Andrée Putman to Philippe Starck, have exhibited, and then I developed an air purifier project with a scientist."

Science has long been integrated into his life.

He worked his way through school testing drug packaging before they hit the market. As he told M&O "That’s when I realized how, beyond the active ingredient of the drug, there is a whole relational aspect between the patient, like you and me, and a blister pack of medication. The relationship that should be established between this somewhat special object and us depends on its appearance, the message it conveys, but is not considered in treatments. The question went beyond the idea of packaging: it was really about shaping the active ingredient."

The same year he set up his own design firm, where he prefers to explore natural and technical possibilities, pushing the limits of design.

He has been married to his wife, Cecile since May, 2018. Designer Cécile Fricker Lehanneur in 2015 launched CÉCIL a fine jewelry brand which offers limited editions or sur-mesure of hand crafted jewells for women.

Lehanneur has won numerous accolades including the 2008 Best Invention Award, 2021 French Design Award and the 2014 IF Product Design Award. He has also been awarded Maison&Objets 2024 Designer Of The Year and in 2015 he was appointed Chief Designer at Huawei. Lehanneur was also given the honor of designing the Olympic cauldron and torch for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

With a resolutely innovative design, these objects share the same metallic hue, the result of mixing the gold, silver and bronze medals.

His melding of science and art stands out.

For the first time in the history of the Games, the Olympic Flame shines without fuel thanks to EDF, Premium Partner of Paris 2024. A meticulous combination of a cloud of mist and beams of light, the Olympic Flame flickers with electricity as its sole source of energy. As part of its partnership with Paris 2024, EDF is supplying 100% renewable electricity produced in France to power the Games venues, which now include the Cauldron.

Visible and warm, this Flame is also a technical feat. The ring of fire, almost 7 metres in diameter, incorporates 40 LED spotlights to illuminate the cloud created by 200 high-pressure misting nozzles. Above all, EDF has succeeded in guaranteeing the flow of electricity and water 60 metres above the ground, when the Cauldron is in flight.

Lehanneur came up with a new-generation hot-air balloon that carries a ring of fire with it. Positioned on the ground during the day, the Cauldron will take off into the Paris sky at sunset each evening. Both monumental and light, it will be visible from hundreds of metres away, for all to see. With the help of the Louvre, Paris 2024 has chosen to install the Olympic Cauldron in the Jardin des Tuileries, in the fabulous alignment of the Louvre and its Pyramid, the La Concorde obelisk and the Champs-Elysées dominated by the Arc de Triomphe.

In keeping with the Games Wide Open spirit, Paris 2024 offers the public the chance to get up close to the Cauldron via free ticketing. From Saturday, July 27, and every day during the Games, 10,000 people will be able to approach the Cauldron, at a rate of 300 admissions per quarter of an hour. This opening of the Jardin des Tuileries from 11am to 7pm, with a capacity set at 3,000 people simultaneously, puts the Cauldron within easy reach of the public during the day before it returns to the Paris skies at nightfall.

The seven-meter-wide ring of flames topped by a 30-meter-tall hot-air balloon is, according to Olympic organizers, "a tribute to the first flight in a hydrogen-filled gas balloon," which took place in Paris in 1783. In December of that year, the hot-air balloon became the first human-carrying aircraft when two of its French inventors, physicist Jacques Charles and engineer Nicolas-Louis Robert, took flight from Tuileries Gardens.

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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

UNIQLO TATE PLAY OSCAR MURILLO: THE FLOODED GARDEN

Oscar Murillo's the Flooded Garden. Photo: Tate Modern. Photo by Tim Bowditch and Reinis Lismanis, courtesy the artist. Copyright © Oscar Murillo.

takes place through August 26, 2024 at Take Modern in London.

UNIQLO Tate Play: The flooded garden, part of Tate Modern’s free program of art for all in partnership with UNIQLO. This year, artist Oscar Murillo invites visitors of all ages to make their mark on a vast, layered painting in the Turbine Hall, creating a collaborative work of epic proportions. The installation takes inspiration from Claude Monet’s Water Lilies depicting his garden in Giverny, France, while building on Murillo’s series of Surge works, which feature gestural strokes in oil paint flowing across the canvas like water.

Visitors will enter a curved structure framed by towering walls of canvas that have been populated with hundreds of hand-drawn messages and drawings by international visitors to Tate Modern. Audiences are invited to layer wave-like brushstrokes atop the canvases, with their gestures flowing together to create The flooded garden, painting in hues of deep blues, bright yellows and pinks. These continually evolving collaborative paintings will then remain on display in the Turbine Hall for all to see.

As part of this year’s commission the artist has also invited performers to flood Tate Modern with sound. Mar, Rio y Cordillera, a group of 12 musicians from the Valle del Cauca region of Colombia, will present weekly performances in the Turbine Hall celebrating traditional music from the Colombian Pacific. Anchored by The flooded garden, these musicians, percussionists, and performers will also takeover green spaces across London with a series of impromptu 'looding' performances throughout August.

A survey display in Tate Modern’s South Tank of Murillo’s Surge series paintings from over the years provides inspiration for visitors. Influenced by Claude Monet’s celebrated Water Lilies paintings, created while Monet was experiencing cataracts, Murillo draws similarities between this loss of sight and the way people can be 'socially blind' – impeding our ability to truly understand one another. Murillo calls this idea 'social cataracts', explaining 'we are in this kind of blinded existence, the façade of beauty'. Having first exhibited Surge works in 2019, Murillo continued to develop the series during the global pandemic while in his hometown in Colombia. Here he divided his time between the studio and working with his community, in what he describes as a time of "social collapse".

Murillo’s site-specific Mesmerizing Beauty 2024 installation floods the centre of the South Tank, with white plastic garden chairs holding framed works on paper. Often incorporated into Murillo’s exhibitions and performances, these simple chairs evoke informal community gatherings. Murillo’s paintings are placed on wooden supports that resemble placards, reminiscent of political protest. Encircled by a multi-panelled installation of the artist’s Surge (social cataracts) 2019-2024 paintings, suspended from the ceiling, the artist’s layered blue gestures flow cyclically around the space, symbolic of the connecting fluidity of water, and mirroring the curved participatory structures in the Turbine Hall.

On August 1 the artist invites a group of performers to activate this installation. Using movement and spoken word, performers respond to drawings inscribed with words such as 'strike', 'force', 'law', 'masses' and 'protest'.

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SWEET CHARITY

BROADWAY BARKS takes place Saturday, August 3rd in Broadway's Shubert Alley hosted by Bernadette Peters and Sutton Foster, produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Those needing a forever home will make their Broadway debut on stage alongside some of Broadway's favorite stars for the celebrity presentations.

The afternoon will feature the following celebrities of the stage who use their star power to help find loving homes for adoptable animals from 25 participating rescue groups and shelters.

Celebrity participants include:

Wants a forever family.

Eric Anderson (The Great Gatsby) - Philippe Arroyo (& Juliet) - Jeannette Bayardelle (& Juliet) - Shoshana Bean (Hell's Kitchen) - Dan Berry (The Outsiders) - Maya Boyd (& Juliet) - Stan Brown (Water for Elephants) - Andra Burns (The Notebook The Musical) - Andrew R. Butler (Stereophonic) - John Cardoza (The Notebook The Musical) - Gabriela Carrillo (Six) - Victoria Clark (Kimberly Akimbo) - Jenn Colella (Suffs) - Joe De Paul (Water for Elephants)- Olivia Donalson (Six) - Gregg Edelman (Water for Elephants) - Jordan Fisher (Hadestown) - Jasmine Forsberg (Six) - Sara Gettelfinger (Water for Elephants) - Dorian Harewood (The Notebook The Musical) - Nikki M. James (Suffs) - Jeremy Jordan (The Great Gatsby) - Sky Lakota-Lynch (The Outsiders) - Storm Lever (Six) - Isabelle McCalla (Water for Elephants) - Wade McCollum (Water for Elephants) - Paul Alexander Nolan (Water for Elephants) - Brad Oscar (Wicked) - Emma Pittman (The Outsiders) - Maryann Plunkett (The Notebook The Musical) - Eddie Redmayne (Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club) - Jelani Remy (Back to the Future) - Didi Romero (Six) - Adi Roy (Aladdin) - Austin Scott (& Juliet) - Christopher Sieber (Death Becomes Her) - Jennifer Simard (Death Becomes Her) - Emily Skinner (Suffs) - Steven Skybell (Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club) - Alexandra Socha (Wicked) - Dennis Stowe (Aladdin) - Justin David Sullivan (& Juliet) - Paulo Szot (& Juliet) - Jordan Tyson (The Notebook The Musical) - Michael Urie (Once Upon a Mattress) - Ben Jackson Walker (& Juliet) - Khaila Wilcoxon (Six) - Betsy Wolfe (& Juliet) - Joy Woods (The Notebook The Musical.

Proceeds from the event benefit participating shelters and rescue groups.

Broadway Barks co-founded by Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters in 1998 has become New York City's premiere animal adoption event. More than 2,000 cats and dogs have stolen Broadway's spotlight and the hearts of all who come to Broadway Barks. Approximately 85% of these furry friends have successfully found forever homes.

SPREADING THE WORD

FOOD FOR THOUGHT for the second year in a row, organic berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries) took the top sales spot, raking in $1.66 billion in 2023 and growing 6% from the prior year.

In terms of highest percentage of organic consumers, the top three states are Vermont, Oregon, and California.

A few of the celebrities who are organic devotees include Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Nicole Richie, Nicole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Ashton Kutcher, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

CAN YOU HEAR ME an original L.A. Theatre Works audio play merges scientific and personal to relay history of radio.

L.A. Theatre Works audio theater recordings are broadcast weekly on public radio stations across the U.S., so LATW appropriately celebrates its 50th anniversary with an original audio play about Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi and the discovery of radio. Written by Anna Lyse Erikson and directed by Rosalind Ayres, Can You Hear Me is now available for digital download.

Lucy DeVito stars as Marconi’s daughter, Degna, with André Sogliuzzo as the man whose boyhood experiments led to the first transatlantic wireless message in 1902, to the saving of 700 lives during the sinking of the Titanic, and to radio as we know it today. Inspired by Degna’s book'My Father, Marconi', Can You Hear Me merges the scientific and the personal into one compelling story. Also in the cast are Martin Jarvis, Kurt Kanazawa, Moira Quirk, Darren Richardson and Mark Jude Sullivan.

Can You Hear Me is available as part of L.A. Theatre Works’ Relativity Series of science-themed plays, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

THE PSYCHO-DYNAMICS OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES takes place August 7 at the Freud Museum in London.

There exists a growing distrust in government and institutions, with emotive politics dominating discussions and a public mood of fear and paranoia. This is evident in the language of populist figures, and the rise of populism more generally in Europe and the US. Callum Blades uses Kleinian psychoanalysis as a lens to examine "beneath the surface" of conspiracy theories and the current political mood, emotive ideologies, power idealization, projection, and denial.

A PERFORMANCE OF STARLIGHT EXPRESS at the Troubadour Theatre in Wembley Park, England will be attended by Edward and Sophie, known as The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. He is the patron. They will attend the August 7, 2024 performance.

Audiences will be immersed inside a world of speed, song and storytelling as an incredible cast of 40 whizz around and above, performing songs, including AC/DC, Make Up My Heart, Light at the End of the Tunnel and the iconic Starlight Express.

As a child’s train set magically comes to life and the engines race to become the fastest in the world, Rusty the steam train has little hope of winning until he is inspired by the legend of the "Starlight Express".

Seen around the world by over 20 million people, Starlight Express has music by by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, the creative team is helmed by Luke Sheppard, set designer Tim Hatley, video designer Andrzej Goulding, costume designer Gabriella Slade, lighting designer Howard Hudson, sound designer Gareth Owen with new orchestrations and musical supervision by Matthew Brind.

New choreography by Ashley Nottingham and casting by Pearson Casting CDG; Arlene Phillips returns as creative dramaturg.

THE THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL will also have some important attendees - The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. He is the Patron. They will attend not just one performance, but two. The attended one on July 27 and will attend the second on July 29. The performances take place at Worcester Cathedral, in Worcester, England.

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CASEY SOWARD has been named president and CEO of the Boch Center, home of Boston's the iconic Wang and Shubert theaters.

"Casey was chosen following an extensive search process that produced a robust and diverse field of candidates from across the country and around the globe. The search committee cited Casey’s commitment to excellence, innovation, and collaboration."

Most recently he served as Executive Director of the Cabot Center for the Performing Arts where he helped change the trajectory of this prominent institution. During his almost 10-year tenure, he transformed the Cabot from a local treasure to a highly successful regional performing arts center and was the driving force behind major expansions in programming and education initiatives.

Earlier in his career, Casey held leadership positions at the Boston University School of Music and the New England Philharmonic.

THE LATIN RECORDING ACADEMY has announced that Albita (Cuba), Lolita Flores (Spain), Alejandro Lerner (Argentina), Los Ángeles Azules (México), Draco Rosa (Puerto Rico) and Lulu Santos (Brazil) will receive this year's Lifetime Achievement Award, as part of its annual Special Awards Presentation. Additionally, Ángel ‘Cucco’ Peña and Chucho Rincón will receive the Trustees Award.

"It is with great pride that we honor these musical legends—who continue redefining our Latin music and heritage—and we look forward to celebrating them as part of our Latin Grammy 25th anniversary festivities in November," said Manuel Abud, CEO of The Latin Recording Academy.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to performers who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to Latin music and its communities. The Trustees Award is bestowed on individuals who have made significant contributions to Latin music during their careers in ways other than performance. Both distinctions are voted on by The Latin Recording Academy's Board of Trustees.

The honorees will be celebrated during a private event as part of Latin Grammy Week on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Miami.

WEDDING BELLS

JOHN SCHNEIDER AND DEE DEE BENKIE SORVINO were married July 23, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Schneider, 64, is the actor, singer and movie diretor best known for his role as Beauregard "Bo" Duke in the television sries The Dukes of Hazzard. He was previously married three times and has three children. H is third wife Alicia Allain died from breast cancer in February 2023.

The bride is the third wife and widow of Paul Sorvino who passed away in July 2022. They were married from 2014 until his death.

Dee Dee, 58, is an Emmy award winning television personality.

in addition to their Vegas wedding the couple has announced they will have an official wedding celebration on August1,2024 at The Hollywood Museum where they first met.



MOULIN ROUGE a jukebox musical with a book by John Logan. Based on the 2001 film Rouge! directed by Bas Luhrmann.

Directed by Alex Timbers.

Choreographer Sonya Tayeh.

Enter a world of splendor and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur, and glory! A world where Bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows and revel in electrifying enchantment.

Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage, remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. Directed by Tony Award winner Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a theatrical celebration of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and — above all — Love. With a book by Tony Award winner John Logan; music supervision, orchestrations, and arrangements by Tony Award winner Justin Levine; and choreography by Tony Award winner Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge! is more than a musical — it is a state of mind.

Cast: Gabrielle McClinton as Satine - Christian Douglas as Christian - Robert Petkoff as Harold Zidler - Nick Rashad Burroughs as Toulouse-Lautrec - Andrew Brewer as The Duke of Monroth - Danny Burgos as Santiago - AK Naderer as Nini .

With: Arianna Rosario, Nicci Claspell, Max Heitmann, Renee Marie Titus, Amar Atkins, Carina R. Avila, Eric Allen Boyd, Rhys Carr, Jada Simone Clark, Darius Crenshaw, Nicolas de la Vega, Mark Doyle, Jimena Flores Sanchez, Tommy Gedrich, Cameron Hobbs, Nathaniel Hunt, Kal Kalil, Chloe Rae Kehm, Katie Lombardo, Melissa Hunter McCann, Connor McRory, Luke Monday, Tanisha Moore, Kenneth Michael Murray, Elyse Niederee, Omar Nieves, Stefanie Renee Salyers, Maia Schechter, Adéa Michelle Sessoms, Jordan Vasquez, and Jerald Vincent.

The creatives include: Choreographer Sonya Tayeh. Music Supervisor, orchestrator, arrangements & additional lyrics Justin Levine. Scenic designer Derek McLane. Costume designer Catherine Zuber. Lighting designer Justin Townsend. Sound designer Peter Hylenski. Hair designer David Brian Brown. Makeup designer Sarah Cimino. Creative services Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin. Casting Jim Carnahan, Stephen Kopel. Music producer Matt Stine. Associate music supervisor Ted Arthur, Music director Andrew Graham. Co-orchestrators Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, and Matt Stine. Dance arrangements Justin Levine and Matt Stine. Production stage manager. Dawn Fenton. Associate director. Matt DiCarlo. Resident director David Ruttura. Associate choreographer. Camden Gonzales.

The band:

Conductor/Keyboard Andrew Graham. Associate conductr/Keyboard Wendy Feaver. Drums Mark Pardy. Reeds Rajiv Halim. Trumpet Adam Roebuck. Guitars Tim Morey and Joe Parker. Bass Marcus Vann. Violin/Viola Chuck Bontrager. Cello Kelsee Vandervall.

The American tour of Moulin Rouge is currently on stage in Kansas City, MO at the Municipal Auditorium Music Hall through August 4, 2024. The following production is in Tulsa, OK at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center August 6 – August 11, 2024.

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS a new adaptation by Emmy Award winner Amy Sherman-Palladino.

Directed by Tony Award nominee Lear deBessonet.

On the heels of its record-breaking, sold-out run at New York City Center’s Encores! earlier this year, Once Upon A Mattress returns to Broadway. An uproarious update of the Hans Christian Andersen tale, "The Princess and the Pea", Once Upon A Mattress sets an unapologetic free spirit loose in a repressed kingdom, where Winnifred the Woebegone charms, delights, and dances her way to the top… of a stack of mattresses. The musical first premiered in 1959, with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer.

Tony Award winner Sutton Foster reprises her acclaimed Encores! performance as Winnifred the Woebegone, and Drama Desk Award winner and SAG Award nominee Michael Urie stars as Prince Dauntless. Rounding out the principal cast are two-time Tony Award nominee Brooks Ashmanskas as The Wizard, Tony Award Nominee Daniel Breaker as The Jester, Tony Award Nominee Will Chase as Sir Harry, Nikki Renée Daniels returns as Lady Larken, David Patrick Kelly returns as King Sextimus, and Ana Gasteyer as Queen Aggravain. The show begins previews on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, and will celebrate Opening Night on Monday, August 12, 2024 at The Hudson Theatre in New York City.

RACHMANINOFF AND THE TSAR A New Musical Play featuring the music of Sergei V. Rachmaninoff with a book by Hershey Felder.

Directed by by Trevor Hay.

Having safely left Russia during the 1917 revolution, legendary pianist-composer Sergei Rachmaninoff made his home in the United States. In 1942, at the age of 68, he received American citizenship and bought a home in Beverly Hills, but his soul never left Russia. Six months thereafter, a terminal illness brought forth the memory of an encounter with Russia’s last Tsar, Nicholas II, and the Tsar’s daughter, the Grand Duchess Anastasia. This memory would haunt him until the end.

Featuring Rachmaninoff’s most beautiful music including the Second Piano Concerto, the Paganini Variations, Preludes, and Symphonic Selections, Rachmaninoff And The Tsar, will have Felder in the role of Sergei Rachmaninoff, and for the first time, Felder will play opposite another artist, British-Italian Jonathan Silvestri in the role of Tsar Nicholas II.

The creatives are: Dramaturgy by Jerry Patch. Concept design is by Hershey Felder. Lighting is by Erik S. Barry, sound and production management is by Erik Carstensen, Projections are by Stefano Decarli, Costumes are by Marysol Gabriel and hair is by Tom Watson.

August 7-25, 2024 at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA.

SOMETHING MOVING: A MEDITATION ON MAYNARD by Pearl Cleage.

Directed by David Kote.

Award-winning author and playwright Pearl Cleage explores the election of Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first African American mayor, from the vantage point of an artist and an insider – Cleage served as Jackson's press secretary during his campaign and followed him into City Hall for two years as Director of Communications. In choosing to tell the story of this 1973 landmark election, Cleage creates a cast of characters drawn from her own participation in this transformative moment in our city's history. By looking back, Cleage invites us to reflect on the meaning of leadership and the kind of future we want to build.

The cast includes: Eliseo Arreloa, Dru Sky Berrian, Terry Burrell, Amari Cheatom, Galen Crawley, Shelli Delgado, Kayla Ibarra, Patrick McColery, Margo Moorer, Tony Vaughn.

Jeremiah Davison sound design, SaraKeith projection design, Jasmine Williams lighting design, Xiaonan (Chloe) Liu stage management production assistant and Barbara Gantt O'Haley stage manager.

Commissioned by Ford's Theatre as part of the Ford's Theatre legacy commissions.

On the Alliance Theatre's Hertz Stage August 2-11, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

BOEING BOEING written by the French playwright Marc Camoletti. The English -language adaptation, translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans.

Directed by Reggie Law.

Fasten your seatbelts–there’s turbulence ahead in this laugh-out-loud tour-de-farce! It’s the 1960’s and Bernard (Keith Rubin), an American living in Paris, couldn't be happier. He has the perfect setup: three international fiancées, each a beautiful airline hostess with frequent "layovers." He keeps "one up, one down, and one pending" until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris, and Bernard’s apartment, at the same time.

Those three beautiful fiance´es are Gloria the American (Jessica Mosher), Gretchen the German (Maddie Franke) and Gabriella the Italian (Carissa Fiorillo).

Rounding out the cast are Marcy McGuigan (Berthe) and Grayson Powell (Robert).

The creatives are Ethan Anderson music director and Dale Brown, casting director.

Boeing, Boeing was first staged in London at the Apollo Theatre in 1962 and transferred to the Duchess Theatre in 1965, running for seven years. In 1991, the play was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most performed French play throughout the world.

August 9 - 25 at Flat Rock Playhouse in Flat Rock, NC.

TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare.

Artistic director Kate Kennedy.

The play follows the shipwrecked Viola (Reina Gibbs) as she falls in love with Duke Orsinio (Kevin Allen) in disguise as Cesario, a man. Orsinio in turn is in love with Olivia (Jasmine Williams), who is, naturally, in love with Cesario. Add in Viola’s twin Sebastian (Adriel Velázquez), the authoritarian steward Malvolio (Lanny Lowery) and a few scheming side characters and you have this famed romantic comedy of errors.

Opening August 7, 2024 for 10 performances. Enjoy Shakespeare Under the Stars outdoors in the fountain courtyard at Buena Vista Winery in Buena Vista, CA.

PAGLIACCI music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo.

Directed by Dan Wallace Miller.

Conducted by Carlo Montanaro.

When a commedia dell’arte troupe arrives in a small Italian village, they are greeted by cheers of welcome. Makeup and costumes transform actors from commoners into clowns, but the infidelity of one wife and the fury of her husband cannot be concealed. Comedy turns to tragedy when jealousy rages, lovers are revealed, and the curtain comes down on murder.

Known for the iconic aria "Vesti la giubba," this classic Italian verismo ("slice of life"). Set in 1940s Italy, our the production features artful sets and traditional commedia dell’arte costumes.

The performers are: Michael Chioldi, Monica Conesa, Michael J. Hawk, John Marzano, Diego Torre and Tiffany Townsend.

The creatives are: Steven C. Kemp scenery and prop's designer - Cynthia Savage costume designer - Abigail Hoke-Brady lighting designer - Geoffrey Alm fight director - Ashlee Naegle wigs, hair and makeup designer - Michaella Calzaretta chorus master - Julia Mayering youth chorus master. .

The Orchestra and Chorus: Assistant Personnel Manager Keith Higgins. Violin I: Noah Geller, Concertmaster - Helen Kim, Assistant Concertmaster - Eduardo Rios - Emerson Millar - Jennifer Bai - Timothy Garland - Mikhail Shmidt - Jeannie Wells Yablonsky - Caitlin Kelley - Dawn Posey. Violin II: Kathleen Boyer, Principal - Evan Anderson, Asst. Principal - Natasha Bazhanov - Brittany Breeden - Stephen Bryant - Xiao-po Fei - Artur Girsky - Blayne Barnes. Viola: Mara Gearman, Principal - Timothy Hale, Asst. Principal - Olivia Chew - Wesley Dyring - Daniel Stone - Allison Farkas - Kayleigh Miller - Camille Ripple.

Cello: Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, Principal - Nathan Chan, Asst. Principal - Eric Han - Vivian Gu - Sunnat Ibragimov - Charles Jacot.- Double Bass: Jennifer Godfrey, Principal - Jonathan Burnstein, Asst. Principal - Sam Casseday - Travis Gore.

Flute: Jeffrey Barker, Principal - Bridget Pei - Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby. Piccolo: Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby. Oboe: Ben Hausmann, Principal - Stefan Farkas. English Horn: Stefan Farkas. Clarinet: Laura DeLuca, Principal. Jennifer Nelson. Bass Clarinet: Eric Jacobs. Bassoon: Seth Krimsky, Principal - Paul Rafanelli - Kipras Mažeika. Horn: Jeffrey Fair, Principal - Jenna Breen - Jonathan Karschney - Matthew Berliner. Trumpet: Alexander White, Principal - Christopher Stingle - Michael Myers. Trombone: Chase Waterbury, Principal - Keith Winkle - Eden Garza. Tuba: John DiCesare, Principal.

Timpani: Matt Decker, Principal. Percussion: Jonathan Wisner, Principal - Rob Tucker - Gunnar Folsom. Harp: Valerie Muzzolini, Principal - Sophie Baird-Daniel. Keyboard: David McDade. Chorus: Soprano. Jennifer Campbell, Karen Early Evans, Dana Johnson Robbins, Ellaina Lewis, Linda Mattos, Ibidunni Ojikutu, Eleanor Stallcop-Horrox, Shelly Traverse, Amy Van Mechelen, Lyndee White. Alto: Erica Convery, YeonSoo Lee, Dawn Padula, Elizabeth Peterson, Melissa Plagemann, Bianca Raso, Meg Stoltz, Heidi Vanderford.

Tenor: Nathan Barnes, Andrew Etherington, James Galbraith, Eric Angus Jeffords, German Mendoza, Korland Simmons, Jon Suek, Stephen Wall. Bass: Mark Davies, Craig Grayson, Glenn Guhr, Zachary Martin, Michael Monnikendam, Micah Parker, Jonah Spool, Revere Taylor, Nathaniel Voth.

Youth Chorus: Lorenzo Jose Boado, Abby Chao, Autumn Helene Chociej, Avyana Ewing, Fiona Hurley, Zinaida Koroleva. Victora Le Metzger. Elizabeth Moore. Kaitlyn Naumowicz. Reagan Nino. Sadie Peterson. Anneliese Ulmer-Schultz. Shantha Vallur. Rex Walker. Chloe Weiner. Natalie Wu.

Seattle Opera's production is on stage August 3–17 at McCaw Hall in Seattle, Washington.

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FINAL OVATION

JOHN MAYALL known as the godfather of British blues, he helped shape 1960s rock through his band the Bluesbreakers died at his home in California on July 22, 2024. He was 90.

A multi-instrumentalist who sang and played guitar, keyboards and harmonica, No fewer than seven members of his groups have been named to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which announced in April that Mayall would be inducted this fall.

In 2005, Mayall was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Honours List Mayall began living in the US part time in the late 1960s, living there full time by the early 1970s. A brush fire destroyed his house in Laurel Canyon in 1979, seriously damaging his musical collections and archives.

Mayall was married twice, and has six children and six grandchildren. His second wife, Maggie Mayall, is an American blues performer, and since the early 1980s she has taken part in the management of her husband's career. They married in 1982, and divorced in 2011.

THE NELONS Grammy nominated, Gospel Music Hall of Fame quartet lost three of their members in a plane crash on July 26, 2024.

The Nelons were inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016 and were winners of 10 GMA Dove Awards, including multiple song of the year and album of the year awards.

The group's first number-one song was Come Morning and was awarded the Southern Gospel Song of the Decade for the 1980s.

A total of seven people perished in the Wyoming plane crash.

The Nelons co-founder, Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and their daughter, Amber Nelon Kistler died in the crash. Also killed in the tragic accident were Amber's husband Nathan Kistler, their assistant Melodi Hodges, and the pilot, Larry Haynie and his wife, Melissa. Haynie was chairman of the Georgia Board of Corrections and was remembered for "a career of valued public service," according to a statement from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

There were no survivors.

The Atlanta-based Gospel music family was en route to join a gospel cruise, the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska. The Gather Management Group managed the gospel group. Youngest daughter and fourth band member Autumn Nelon Streetman and her husband Jamie Streetman were not participating in the cruise because Autumn is pregnant with a baby boy.

Next Column: August 4, 2024
Copyright: July 28, 2024 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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