Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: July 4, 2010
By: Laura Deni
CLICK HERE FOR COMMENT SECTION

FOOD AND INTERACTIVE FUN LURES THEATER PATRONS

Sex sell tickets. So does food.

Photo by Erroll McQuinn Photography UK

Interactive dinner theater presentations - most in the murder mystery genre - have been around for decades. Some scripts are better than others - as are the actors - and the plotlines tends to be original, if not predictable.

Taking the interactive dinner show concept to a new art form is Interactive Theatre Australia with their Faulty Towers - The Dining Experience is a three course dinner and two hour interactive show, which is currently on a European tour doing sold out performances.

Originally developed for corporate events, Interactive Theatre Australia - a Professional Theatre Company based in Brisbane Australia, and founded in 1997 - expanded the production for the public arena. Faulty Towers the Dining Experience debuted in Brisbane on April 24 1997. Since then thousands of people throughout the English speaking world have enjoyed the antics of Basil, Sybil and Manuel. The production has won fans and accolades at Edinburgh, Melbourne and Adelaide Festivals for the last three years.

Although the show avoids quoting directly from Fawlty Towers and uses a 'U' rather than a 'W' in the title, there are references to well-loved episodes and features the characters made famous by John Cleese, Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs. The company does emphasize that "The performers are impersonators only, and have no connection to John Cleese, Connie Booth or the BBC."

Diners become part of a 13th episode of John Cleese's drama, which was inspired by the Monty Python actor's experiences in a Scottish hotel.

The show "stars" three impersonators of Basil, Sybil and Manuel who roam through the restaurant, taking their comedy to the tables, and occasionally making such a large scene that everyone is involved.

Basil is manic, Sybil domineering, and Manuel - of course - is hopelessly language-challenged.

Everything that can go wrong, does in some beautifully controlled chaos.

There might be a fire drill, Basil attempting to place a secret bet on a race, or some exaggerated goose-stepping.

You can mention the war if you like, but just don't ask for more butter. Because if you do, your waiter, Manuel, will find an unsuspecting female diner and proceed to head-butt her.

If you ask for more salt, you will get a bundle of salt in paper (salt and pepper). Then Basil stabs him with a fork, with much punning along "you fork me" lines.

Some diners might find themselves fishing the chef's false teeth out of their tomato soup, catching bread rolls, and stroking the hamster - or is it a rat? - that Manuel keeps in his pocket.

The production is currently at the Raheen House in Tipperary, Ireland as part of the Junction Festival. The July schedule includes stops at the Dunamaise Theatre in Ireland followed by performances at the Millenium Forum in Londonderry, Draoicht Arts Centre in Dublin, Langtons Hotel in Kilkenny, Woodlands House Hotel in Limerick, Gougane Barra Hotel - Theatre by the Lake in Macroom, West Cork and Dooleys Hotel in Waterford.

Across the pond in Topanga, CA, Theatricum Botanicum, started by the black listed actor Will Geer, is a venue which has always danced to its own tune. Thus, it should come as no surprise that when Geer's daughter Helen Geer decided to offer dinner and a play, the audience wouldn't be subjected to an ordinary boxed grub chow-down.

Partake before the performance in a professionally catered, costumed character entertainment experience.

The gastronomical feast in the Theatricum's gardens is followed by a performance of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream or Alexander Dumas' The Three Musketeers, newly adapted by Ellen Geer.

Patrons can enjoy the Dream Savor which is a sumptuous Greek buffet, attended by a costumed cast of fantastical fairies, before A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Children and adults will enjoy songs and face-painting after the meal and before the show. Every Thursday in August.

French Feasts is what the name implies - a French buffet, attended by a costumed cast of swashbucklers and saucy chambermaids before The Three Musketeers, taking place every Friday in September.



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

Thank you for your interest.

ART AND ABOUT

AIN'T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING

Michael Jackson's Stage Worn Fedora, Victory Tour, 1984 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Photograph by Shaan Kokin/Julien's Auctions

How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment. The exhibition is the first to explore the rich history and the cultural significance of Harlem’s Apollo Theater.

It features photographs and artifacts to trace the story of the theater from its origins in 1913 as a whites-only burlesque hall to its starring role at the epicenter of African American entertainment.

The co-curators of the exhibit are Tuliza Fleming of the Smithsonian and Guthrie Ramsey Jr., the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania.

Below are just a few of the items on display at the museum:

James Brown’s cape and jumpsuit - Brown was an Apollo regular even after he reached superstar status.

Michael Jackson’s fedora - Jackson won Amateur Night in 1967 with the Jackson 5.

The Supremes’ dresses - The original trio first played the Apollo in 1962 as part of the dazzling Motown Revue.

Cab Calloway’s baton - Calloway was one of the most popular swing era band leaders.

Sammy Davis’ childhood tap shoes - Davis first appeared on the Apollo stage in 1947.

Peg Leg Bates’ peg leg - Despite losing his left leg in an accident at age 12, Bates pursued his dream of tap dancing. By the mid-1930s, he was an Apollo regular.

Duke Ellington’s score for Black and Tan Fantasy (1927) - The legendary jazz composer and bandleader wrote some of the best-known compositions in American music.

Ella Fitzgerald’s dress - Fitzgerald made her Amateur Night debut at the age of 17.

Miles Davis’ flugelhorn - Davis frequently headlined at the Apollo.

LL Cool J’s jacket and hat - LL Cool J remains one of today’s best-known rappers.

Celia Cruz’s dress - Known as the Queen of Salsa, Cruz was a symbol of Afro-Cuban music throughout the African diaspora.

This exhibition is organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Through August 29, 2010 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture Gallery, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

ARTHAMPTONS now in its 3rd successful year, ArtHamptons has established itself as one of the top new art fairs in America. Expect to see a mesmerizing display of post-war and contemporary art, presented by a renowned lineup of international galleries. It’s all assembled in a museum-like setting at Sayre Park’s 5 bucolic acres - a spectacular 50,000 sq ft. modular museum - largest tent structure ever built on the East End.

Opening Preview Party on July 8 , 2010 benefits LongHouse Reserve .

Admission benefits East Hampton’s LongHouse Reserve.

Honoring excellence in the visual arts. The 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree is painter and printmaker Donald Sultan. Recognizing his 30 remarkable years of combining simplified imagery and complex techniques in reinventing the still life.

The event will feature a vetted selection of 7,000 art works offered for sale. A dazzling displays of 83 upper-tier galleries from 6 countries and 35 cities - the finest work of 600 respected artists. July 9-11, 2010 at Sayre Park Bridgehampton, NY.

ALLIANCE FRANCAISE IN SAN FRANCISCO is offering a class on Impressionist art history that complements the de Young’s current exhibition Birth of Impressionism. Join artist and Impressionism expert Jennifer Mondfrans as she explores the lives, challenges and motivations of the most famous French Impressionists: Monet, Degas, Renoir, Manet, Pissarro and Cézanne.

The next set of Impressionist art history classes offered at Alliance Française in San Francisco starts on July 7. The classes will be held for 8 weeks every Wednesday from 7–8:30 pm. The classes are taught in English.

2010 TORONTO OUTDOOR ART EXHIBITION As the largest outdoor art exhibition in Canada, the TOAE offers a fresh-air alternative to conventional art shows and galleries. Approximately 100,000 visitors attend the exhibition every year.

Side by side, hundreds of established artists, undiscovered talents and innovative students sell their work directly to the public and make lasting connections with art dealers and collectors.

Now in its 49th year, the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition [TOAE] is a juried showcase featuring contemporary fine art and craft that takes place rain or shine.

In 2009, the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition's award program presented over $35,000 in cash awards and prizes to participating artists.

The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is a charitable, non-profit organization supported by a group of volunteers active in the art and corporate communities.

Admission is free and no percentage of the artists' sales is taken by the organizers. This year's event is July 9, 10 & 11, 2010 at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, Canada.

RELIGIOUS LEADERS ACT LIKE CRITICS AND CALL FOR A PASSION PLAY REWRITE

Passion Play in Oberammergau

Gripped by war, poverty and plague, the good people of Oberammergau, in the southern German section of Bavaria, vowed that if they survived they would put on a 'passion play' every ten years.

That was back in 1633. They survived, and performed the first Oberammergau Passion Play in 1634. Ever since, their descendants have carried out that pledge.

Once a decade since 1634 half the Bavarian village's population - some 2,000 folks in all - take to open-air stage to perform the Passion Play, making it the longest-running theatrical event in history.

The actors are from the village. For instance, in real life Jesus is a psychologist and Mary Magdalene works as a flight attendant.

Like all productions, reviewers have their say.

This year the production has been under the magnifying glass of Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, the director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations of the American Jewish Committee, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, who met in Oberammergau to attend a performance.

Both men tactfully called for a re-write.

The two religious leaders attended the July 1st performance together, as well as going back stage before sharing a dinner, which afforded them the opportunity discuss Catholic and Jewish perspectives on the play.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan Passion Play in Oberammergau

Rabbi Gary Greenebaum

They were joined by the play's director Christian Stückl so that they might gain further insight into the artistic, dramatic, cultural, and spiritual elements of this historic and, at times, controversial drama.

Stückl directed the 1990 and 2000 productions. He also manages Munich's outstanding Volkstheate Theatre.

Oberammergau is the most influential Passion Play in the world, and sets the standard for the genre. During the last forty years, through the efforts of Christian and Jewish leaders and scholars, the play has undergone significant revisions in an ongoing process of mitigating anti-Jewish stereotypes and themes.

The Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations, an umbrella group for more than 30 academic and educational interfaith centers in the U.S. and Canada, drafted a list of 17 recommendations for a new script.

The current version contains edits from the 1980s overseen by director Stückl and dramatist Otto Huber. Even with an emphasis on Jesus as a rabbi and the elimination of anti-Jewish references from the Gospel of Matthew, the current script continues to raise ire among clerics and academics alike.

The study recognized these changes, but called for further adjustments.

The report has been praised by Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg, director of the department of interfaith affairs for the Anti-Defamation League, as a "monumental step forward in proving how Christians and Jews can work together to benefit both faiths."

Director Christian Stückl

Stückl is supported by the artistic team that also staged the Passion Play in 2000: deputy director and dramatic adviser Otto Huber, set and costume designer Stefan Hageneier and music directors Markus Zwink and Michael Bocklet who conducts the 60-piece orchestra and choir.

Soloists are: Maria Buchwieser, Gabriele Weinfurter-Zwink, Katharina Osterhammer, Claudia Köpf, Antonie Schauer, Paul Fellner, Heinrich Buchwieser, Josef Zwink, Andreas Eitzenberger, Caroline Fischer-Zwink and Heinrich Buchwieser, who is 52 has been participating in the Passion Play since 1960.

Composer Rochus Dedler was born in Oberammergau in 1779. No evidence exists as to how much Dedler's Passion Play score was drawn from earlier performances of the Play but it is likely that he was influenced by the music of Mozart and Joseph and Michael Haydn. Some of his melodies have been likened to Weber's or Schubert's Romantic expressiveness.

While there have been several adaptations of his music in the intervening years the music performed during the Passion Play is still based on Dedler's original work.

Zwink has adapted and re-arranged Dedler's music and has also composed new music to accompany some new tableaux vivants from the Old Testament for the 2010 performance.

The 2010 edition of The Passion Play will be seen by half a million during its 102 performance season which runs through October.

REGIONAL THEATERS OFFER INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS

Tony Award winning regional theaters are springboards for numerous Broadway success stories.

For every regional venue which has been blessed with that statue, there are countless playhouses though not household names, never-the-less, are offering up bold concepts and courteous presentations.

An innovative creative concept was employed by the Bailiwick Theater in Chicago for their production of the Elton John-Tim Rice musical, Aida which officially opens July 9th.

A costume design competition, inspired by Project Runway.

Bailiwick's executive director Kevin Mayes announced a call for fashion designer submissions for the ancient Egypt-set musical that features a fashion show sequence called My Strongest Suit, sung by Amneris.

Four designers would be chosen to create four Egyptian-inspired gowns for the sequence.

"This is a unique opportunity for local designers to display their talents to a new audience every night," Mayes said. "The selected designers will be responsible for only one dress each, to be worn by an actress down the set's 'runway.' These four designs should not only be Egyptian-inspired, but should be fun and outrageous. We're looking for real 'knock-out' designs to bring this fashion-show-within-a-show to life."

Artistic creations poured in making the selections difficult. Finally Mayes announced the four winners: Maria Danae Mandis, Emily Rohm, Christina Telkamp, and Kevin Vong. In addition, Mayes announced that quilt artist Nina Henderson has created an enormous and elaborate handmade robe to be used in the song Dance of the Robe.

The chosen designers then collaborated with the production's design team to craft a gown, using their own materials. In return, the designer will be featured in press publications and the show program. The dresses will be used for the entire run of the production and will be returned to each designer once show has closed.

The winning designers come from a varied background.

Maria Danae Mandis studied at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, earning her BS in History, emphasis on Cultural European History, with a minor in Art History, emphasis on Egyptology and Architecture. As Senior Vice President/Production Director of Playboy Magazine, Maria worked with Hugh Hefner on a daily basis. Maria also served as interior designer, fashion director, event planner, window display designer for Chicago's Mannequin Nightclub. Current projects include designing her 2010 Collection under the Danae Design label and designing an interior home goods line under the MDM Studio label.

Emily Rohm is the owner of ROHM, a design label that specializes in handmade bridal garments and accessories. Her gowns have been seen on brides across the USA as well as in Canada, England, Australia, and even Switzerland. She started her own business after years of working as a theatrical costume designer. For the past nine years she has worked as a guest artist designer and instructor at Lawrence University, where she has created costumes for productions, including The Magic Flute, Romeo And Juliet, and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Christina graduated with Honors from the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in Fashion Design.

Kevin Vong was born in a small farming and fishing village along the Mekong River in Laos. A victim of the Vietnam War, Kevin fled to Bangkok as a refugee. The U.S. Government and the Lutheran Church of Milwaukee sponsored Kevin to immigrate to the USA. Kevin graduated with honors from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. His gowns have been seen on As The World Turns; at the White House for a black tie event worn by a Fox News correspondent; by the Master of Ceremonies for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of McDonald's; as a finalist for Michelle Obama's inaugural gown; and now for his first theatrical design for the Bailiwick's production of AIDA.

Bailiwick Chicago was formed by a group of dedicated actors, directors, and production professionals when Bailiwick Repertory Theater closed its doors in September 2009. This group, called the Collective, is responsible for developing, implementing, and upholding the artistic mission and vision of the company. Bailiwick Chicago's mission is to tell stories that stimulate our audience and celebrate our diverse community, enhancing our understanding of ourselves and others.

In the first Chicago production since its national tour, Aida will be directed by Bailiwick Chicago Collective member Scott Ferguson, with co-musical direction by Jimmy Morehead and Collective member Robert Ollis, and original choreography by Iega Jeff and Gary Abbott. Those two men serve as the artistic director and associate artistic director of the Chicago dance company Deeply Rooted Productions.

Tony nominated Jeff Daniels founded the non-profit Purple Rose Theatre Company

The Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea, Michigan is the baby of Jeff Daniels. For 20 years Purple Rose has been presenting mixed offerings that range from the familiar to the unknown. What makes the upcoming season unusual is that all of the productions will not only be world premieres, but penned by Michigan playwrights.

First up is Daniels' Best of Friends. Set in a small Michigan town, it's billed as a "wicked comedy (which) paints a startling, yet familiar picture of two married couples as they navigate the minefield of their friendship until it blows up in their faces."

Michael Brian Ogden: penned Corktown, "a heartbreaking and hopeful dark comedy about an extraordinary day in the life of a Detroit mobster who finds love under the most violent and dangerous circumstances."

Some Couples May ... is by Carey Crim. The "bittersweet comedy charts one woman's journey with her family through the challenges and heartbreak of infertility to the promise of motherhood."

Consider the Oyster a World Premiere by David MacGregor. "This deceptively light comedy is takes two scientific facts - 1) all oysters are born male and then turn female, and 2) doctors are now using oyster shells to help repair human bone - and spins them into a modern fairy tale that asks: what does it really mean to love someone?"

Alan MacVey Director of the Division of Performing Arts and Chair of the Theatre Arts Department.

Iowa City, Iowa may be best know for its role in The Music Man, but staking its own claim to fame is the Iowa Summer Repertory Theatre. Starting as not much of anything to becoming an Equity theater, they specialize in spotlighting one playwright each season. A few regional theaters have the same mindset, but Iowa Summer Rep has been doing it for over 25 years.

This season, which runs through July 25, they are presenting a festival of plays by Theresa Rebeck.

Crime is an arena playwright Theresa Rebeck is familiar with. A Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright with a distinguished stage pedigree, she is also an Emmy award-winning TV writer who honed her skills on adrenaline-rush dramas like Law and Order: Criminal Intent, LA Law and NYPD Blue.

Iowa Summer Rep presents three productions: The Scene, a racy comedy about the lives of four New Yorkers on the fringes of the entertainment industry; Mauritius, an ingenious crime caper that explores the world of high-stakes stamp collecting; and The Family of Mann, a hilarious expose of the world of Hollywood sitcom writers. There will also be a staged reading of her Pulitzer Prize-nominated work, Omnium Gatherum about a most unusual dinner party in the wake of 9/11.

The Scene directed by Brandon Bruce has performances running through July 11. Mauritius directed by Eric Forsythe is staged through July 10. The Family of Mann opens July 13 with performances through July 25 and is directed by Mary Beth Easley.

The staged reading of Omnium Gatherum co-written with Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros takes place on July 18. In 2000, Summer Rep also became an Actors' Equity Company, elevating its status as a professional theater company.

In 2008, Iowa Supper Rep celebrated its 25th season of presenting the work of a single-modern playwright, but a rich tradition of summer theatre at Iowa actually extends back more than three-quarters of a century. Performances were so popular that one performance during the summer of 1921 was reported to have had an audience of 2,000. Beginning in 1939 and continuing for more than 40 years, summer theatre productions were a part of the University's Fine Arts Festival. In 1984, Iowa Summer Rep presented its first single-playwright season honoring Tennessee Williams, offering a unique focus in American summer theater. In 2000, Summer Rep also became an Actors' Equity Company, elevating its status as a professional theater company.

While many things have changed in the 88-year history of summer play production at Iowa - and attending a performance no longer costs a dime as it did in 1923 - Iowa Summer Rep has provided a unique and exciting gathering place for the community, whose continued presence and support has inspired a tradition of excellence.

THE 2010 NATIONAL PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE AND THEIR CHOSEN SEVEN

Chris D'Arienzo, writer of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages, will work on a new project. Photo: Getty images

The esteems Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill Theatre Center in Waterford, CT has selected seven plays to be presented from more than 600 which were submitted for consideration from its open submissions policy.

This is the Conference's 46th season. More than 600 plays were submitted for consideration. Those making the cut are:

They are: Creation by Kathryn Walat. Lisa Peterson will direct. Featuring Barron, Piter Marek, John Preston and Nick Westrate. When a renowned evolutionary biologist suddenly develops an obsession for music, four lives become unexpectedly entwined, in this play about the mysteries of the human mind, the alchemy of the creative process, and the spark that changes everything (July 9 and 10).

The Dream of the Burning Boy by David West Read, directed by Evan Cabnet. Featuring Birney, Jessica Cummings, Ben Gunderson, Ben Morrow, Caitlin O’Connell, JD Taylor and Libby Woodbridge. In a high school classroom, a poster on the wall reads: "Everything Will Be All Right. The poster offers little comfort to English teacher Larry Morrow, who is trying to move on after the sudden death of a popular student, but finds himself haunted by a troubling dream. (July 14-15).

Follow Me To Nellie's by Dominique Morisseau, directed by Seret Scott. Featuring Nyahale Allie, Peter Jay Fernandez, Lynda Gravatt, Kelly McCreary, Warner Miller, Amirah Vann, Nick Westrate and Michelle Wilson. If you follow the footsteps to Nellie Jackson's Whorehouse, you may discover a hopeless blues singer looking for a way out, a brave freedom fighter looking for a way in, and a house of wounded women, looking for a new day. In 1955 Mississippi, during the reign of segregation, to get what they're looking for may cost everything they have... (July 16-17).

Close Up Space by Molly Smith Metzler with Tony Award nominee Sheryl Kaller directing. The cast will include Birney, Robbins, Michael Chernus, Jessica Digiovanni and Libby Woodbridge. Paul Barrow is the most feared and powerful book editor in the biz. He reads the dictionary for pleasure and spends his days alone, scouring manuscripts for grammatical errors or anything "schmaltzy" to bludgeon with his red pen. But when his grieving daughter Harper shows up unannounced at his office-having been expelled from boarding school because she refuses to stop speaking Russian-Paul has no idea how to communicate with her. How does a father navigate with only his red pen as a guide? (July 21-22).

The Burden of Not Having a Tail by Carrie Barrett, directed by Suzanne Agins, will feature Alison Weller. You are invited to an intimate bunker-side chat on how to prep for when "It" happens. Your discussion leader will be a paranoid woman with a tragic past. "Think of the worst case scenario and then think of something worse than that. It's going to be worse than something that's worse than that." (July 23-24).

A Devil at Noon by Anne Washburn, directed by Steve Cosson, with Clapp, Scott Drummond, Rebecca Hart, Scott Lowell and David Ross. A play about a science fiction writer living in the bad part of Berkeley, California in a slightly imaginary 1981. His novel is going well but his magnets no longer adhere to the refrigerator, he has an ant problem, and the young woman who popped up on his doorstep won't tell him her last name. (July 28-29),

Comes a Faery by James McLindon, featuring Walsh, Rob Campbell, Ryan King, Nicole Lowrence and Danielle Slavick. A single mother deployed overseas. Her little girl left with a less-than-willing aunt. A cantankerous Irish fairy who may or may not have escaped from a favorite storybook. Has he come to keep the lonely child company ... or steal her soul? (July 30-31).

Pulitzer Prize winner Alfred Uhry will be writer-in-residence.

Chris D'Arienzo, writer of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages, will work on a new project in collaboration with Wendy C. Goldberg, the conference's artistic director. Goldberg served as the creative advisor on Rock of Ages.

Yaroslava Pulinovich, a Russian writer who at 22 won the debut playwriting award from the Et Cetera Theater in Moscow, will also be in residence.

SWEET CHARITY

ANOTHER AMERICAN: ASKING AND TELLING

Marc Wolf

over the course of eight consecutive Mondays beginning July 12, 2010, the DR2 Theatre in New York City will present benefit performances of this Marc Wolf one-man show.

Several nonprofit organizations will receive a portion of the proceeds. The Elton John AIDS Foundation will be the featured organization for the July 12 performance and will benefit from the sales of its designated block of tickets for that date. EJAF will also receive a portion of general ticket sales from the full series of benefit performances. GHMC is the charity to benefit from the July 19 performance and Servicemembers Legal Defense Networks is the August 16 charity.

The Obie Award-winning play, with original direction by Joe Mantello, takes the audience on a national tour of sexual politics, the American military, sanctioned discrimination, and its very human cost. Distilled from over 150 interviews, writer and performer Marc Wolf portrays a community of characters struggling with the government's ban on gays and lesbians in the armed forces. According to Wolf, "Interviews were conducted in person due to the performance aspect of this project: to portray these people honestly and specifically, it was important that I be with them to get a sense of their physicality and their world." During the course of the evening, Wolf creates 20 real-life characters who show us every side of this divisive issue.

OCEANA will hold its inaugural Hamptons Splash Party on July 10, 2010 at the Water Mill, N.Y. home of Lois Robbins and Andrew Zaro.

Oceana board members Ted Danson and .Law & Order star Sam Waterston are confirmed to attend. The evening will also feature a surprise musical guest.

Co-chairs for the event are Lois Robbins and Susan Cohn Rockefeller.

Oceana’s celebrity guests will also be joined by an exclusive group of prominent figures in the Hamptons, including Vera Wang and Arthur Becker, Ellen and Dan Crown, Sandi and Andrew Farkas, Tom and Lori Florio, Senator Frank Lautenberg and Bonnie Lautenberg, Tami and Fred Mack, Julie and William Macklowe, and Lizzie and John Tisch. The event, which will overlook Scott Cameron Beach on Mecox Bay, will feature a cocktail reception and buffet dinner. The night will also include a live auction with the proceeds going to Oceana, as well as a presentation on Oceana and its mission.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY special Actors Fund performance takes place Sunday, July 11, at The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC.

THE KENNEDY FUNDING INVITATIONAL tennis tournament will have tennis pros taking to the court to raise funds for breast cancer care centers.

Past players at the Cole Schotz Celebrity Match, part of the invitational, include Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.

Men's Players include: Kevin Anderson, Guillermo Cañas, Jhonson Garcia, Paul Goldstein, Wayne Odesnik, Michael Russell, Dudi Sela, Vince Spadea, and Todd Widom.

Begun as a tribute to a family friend who lost her battle against breast cancer, the Kennedy Funding Invitational has grown exponentially abd in just its first four years, has raised more than $3 million to fight the disease, with proceeds benefiting The Leslie Simon Breast Care and Cytodiagnosis Center at Englewood Hospital and The Breast Center at Nyack Hospital.

The 2010 Kennedy Funding Invitational is on July 7-11 at the Dellwood Country Club in NYC.

12th ANNUAL BROADWAY BARKS returns to Shubert Alley on Saturday, July 10.

Hosted by Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters, the star-studded dog and cat adopt-a-thon benefiting New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies, features celebrity presentations of pets from citywide animal shelters.

Moore and Peters will be joined by more than thirty of the brightest stars of stage and screen to hopefully find loving, good homes for animals who would like to adopt a pet parent.

SPREADING THE WORD

KELSEY GRAMMER

Kelsey Grammer enjoying success on Broadway while enduring a life-style change at home

the 5-time Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee - currently starring on Broadway in La Cage Aux Folles - announced via Twitter that he and wife Camille Dontacci are getting divorced after 13 years of marriage and two children.

Grammer tweeted, "Things fell apart between us. That is all. She is still the mother of my children and any disparagement of her will only hurt the children. Camille did not want this but has made a very difficult decision and I respect her for it."

"To my twitter friends, I once again ask that all tweets about Camille be kind and mindful of the fact that she is the mother of my children."

Reports are circulating that against Kelsey's wishes, Camille, a former Playboy model, intends to star in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

One of her cast mates will be Adrienne Maloof-Nassif, whose family owns the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Maloof-Nassif is married to Dr. Paul Nassif of Dr. 90210 fame.

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA who has long been a supporter of live stage productions, took her daughters Sasha and Malia to the July 1st performance of the hit musical Mary Poppins at the Opera House of The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Caroline Sheen, who starred in the U.K. tour, heads the cast of the North American tour which is mounted at the Opera House venue through August 22.

GUIDANCE by Daria Polatin. A staged reading directed by Mark Brokaw featuring Jason Butler Harner, Johanna Day, Sarah Steele, Dan McCabe, and Andrew Polk.

A new high school guidance counselor gets caught up in the lives of his students. Not even his Advil addiction can save him in this comedy about love and life in a complex world.

July 8-10 - part of the Cape Code Theater Project in Falmouth, MA. The Cape Cod Theatre Project brings together playwrights of new American plays with professional directors and actors - often straight from Broadway - for staged readings. This is your opportunity to experience the birth of an exciting new play before it moves on to major stages around the country.

THE COLORADO FESTIVAL OF WORLD THEATRE July 8-17 in Colorado Springs, CO presents a series of workshops and seminars. On July 16 Murray Ross hosts the Festival Panel: Lucie Arnaz, David Gallighan, Valerio Festi, Monica Maimone and Gordon Davidson.

Broadway star Linda Purl offers several seminars including Getting to Know Your Instrument: YOU which includes Movement and Theatre Games, Sense Memory and Improvs. In another seminar Linda Purl instructs in Building a Cabaret in which the students need to have memorized 1 song.

John Sheehan presents How Theatre Works: The Way Theatrical Elements Communicate.Diane Ronneberg is in charge of The Dresser: Transforming the Actor, Professor Tom Lindblade teachers Origins of the Dramatic Impulse, Sabin Epstein helms Directions from a Director, Tom Lindblade chairs Origins of the Dramatic Impulse, and Dakin Mathews stages Actor Meets Text: Mining Shakespearian text for Acting Clues Preparation in which participants need to have memorized 12-24 lines from one of Shakespeare’s plays.

Mara Purl instructs Playwrighting: Premise & Sub-text, Session I in which the preparation includes writing a 3-page, 2-character scene In a follow up session, participants will be asked to re-write the scene. Act Right – Act Wrong with Christian Medovich requires students to have reviewed Romeo & Juliet scenes and Act Right glossary.

THE PEARL PROJECT a Filipino-American theater festival in which some of the finest Filipino-American and American artists will converge in a theater festival at Theatre Row’s The Clurman Theatre in NYC.

Two full-length plays and two one-acts will be presented in repertory. The original plays are written by Palanca Award (Philippine’s Pulitzer Prize) winners Eric Gamalinda, Jorshinelle Taleon-Sonza, and DCT Playwright Fellow Kristine M. Reyes. The limited engagement runs from July 6 through July 25,2010.

INTERNATIONAL HISPANIC THEATRE FESTIVAL OF MIAMI CELEBRATES ITS 25th ANNIVERSARY by inviting some of the best Hispanic theatre productions from Latin America, Europe and the United States. Events will be held at various locations in Miami, Miami Beach and Key Biscayne. This year the award-winning IHTF of Miami honors Mexico in recognition of the contribution this country has made to Latin American culture. The festival will run from July 7 – August 1, 2010.

GLEE'S co-creator/executive producers Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan discuss the process of crafting this rousing paean to the transformative powers of performance. Like nothing else on television, this critically hailed ensemble comedy musical follows the efforts of the William McKinley High School show choir - a motley crew of talented misfits - as they brave the humiliations of high school united in spirit and song. Glee is distinguished by its layered, tonally fluid writing, dazzling musical numbers, and winning performances from the likes of Matthew Morrison as the club’s dedicated leader, Lea Michele as the precociously talented and utterly irritating star of the group, and Jane Lynch as a psychotic cheerleading coach bent on the club’s destruction. Monday, July 12 at The Writers Guild Theater in Los Angeles. Presented by The Paley Center for the Media.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE has announced that it was recently named the recipient of a $900,000 grant from The James Irvine Foundation. The grant will fund the Playhouse's new Theatre Without Walls program over the next four years.

PHILADELPHIA'S PRINCE MUSIC THEATER in an attempt to keep the wolf from their door, has turned to movies as their lifeline to keeping an performance venue open.

Presented as Summer Cinema the new movie theater approach is described as "part of the Prince's strategy to keep the theater self-supporting."

The theater was to have gone up for auction on July 13 when an advertising error cased a delay.

Last Tuesday Common Pleas Court Judge Idee C. Fox on Tuesday denied a petition by the Prince's operators to prevent it from going on the auction block. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer which first broke the story, "The ruling initially cleared the way for TD Bank, holder of the Prince's mortgages, to put the theater up for sheriff's sale on July 13."

But two hours later, the theater says, it received a temporary reprieve. Because TD Bank failed to advertise the property, the Sheriff's Office postponed the sale, according to Marjorie Samoff, the Prince's producing director. "Rules of civil procedure require that it be listed three times before it's sold," Samoff said. "The earliest possible sale date now would be in October."

In the meantime the Summer Cinema series continues with screenings of Toy Story 3. Other first-run features will be opening at the Prince throughout the summer months.

ANDY WARHOL'S ELIZABETH TAYLOR PAINTING has been auctioned off to an anonymous bidder for $10.18m - which was within the projected sell range and a loss from the $17.32m the painting fetched in a 2007 New York sale.

Titled Silver Liz the painting was created in 1963 and had not been seen in public for more than 20 years before it went on a prediction display in June.



OSCAR PETERSON

Ruth Abernethy next to her Oscar Peterson creation

has been immortalized in a life-size statue which was unveiled Wednesday by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip during the first day of their trip to Canada.

Dignitaries audibly gasped when Her Majesty pulled a golden rope that raised a red velvet curtain and revealed the incredible sculpture.

The bronze Peterson sitting at his piano was sculpted by Canadian artist Ruth Abernethy who was commissioned by the Oscar Peterson National Committee, led by Peter Herrndorf, President and CEO of the National Arts Centre. The committee raised more than $300,000 for the project.

Abernethy whose career was launched following twenty years of professional prop management and building for theatre and film, spent nearly two years working on the Peterson project. Her sculptures are noted for capturing individual animation, body language and facial expression. In short, creating a 'moment', as well as a likeness.

Her Oscar Peterson creation features the jazz icon in a bow tie and waistcoat seated at a replica of his favorite piano, a Bösendorfer Imperial - which had extra keys added and a space on the seat beside him for passers-by to sit down.

Peterson's widow, Kelly, and daughter Celine attended the ceremony at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, as did numerous dignitaries including cabinet ministers John Baird and James Moore who is the minister of Canadian Heritage, Liberal MP Bob Rae and former Ontario premier Bill Davis.

The program also included a performance by the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir under the direction of Trevor Payne.

Oliver Jones, a longtime friend of Peterson's, performed the jazz icon's signature piece, Hymn to Freedom. Peterson, who died in 2007, went from a working-class Montreal neighborhood to become one of the world's greatest piano virtuosos. He made more than 200 jazz recordings during his career and won seven Grammy awards. He was famously called "the maharajah of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington. Peterson performed for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto during the Golden Jubilee Gala Concert in 2002.







I DREAM

Quentin Earl Darrington stars as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

a new musical drama with book, music and lyrics by Douglas Tappin, with additional music & lyrics by Cedric Perrier.

Directed by stage and television star Jasmine Guy.

Music Director Keith Williams. Orchestral Arranegment Carl Marsh. Additional Music Arrangement Greg Phillinganes.

The work dramatically portrays a range of sharply-defined characters, each as integral to the story as the civil rights leaders themselves: from the unforgiving lives of sharecroppers in South Georgia to the brave citizens of Atlanta, Birmingham, Selma, Chicago and Memphis; from the judges who legislated change to the preachers and police who defended or resisted it.

This is a story honoring the indomitable spirit of the many men, women and children of differing class, color and creed who chose to stand for equality; and the many who fell along that long road to freedom.

Quentin Earl Darrington will star as Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The cast also includes Demetria McKinney, best known for her performances in Tyler Perry's House of Payne, as Coretta Scott King, along with Avery Sunshine - Grandma, Ben Polite - Ralph David Abernathy, Bill Killmeier - J. Edgar Hoover, Bob Carlisle - Professor, Eric Moore - Daddy King, Desmond Sean - Hosea Williams, Sam Collier - David, Arietha Lockhart - Mama King, Kislyck Halsey - Rosa Parks, Tony Desario - William Allen, Greg Bosworth - Ronald Allen, Sherrie Seiden - Vivien Allen, Camilla Zaepfel - Katherine Allen, Bruce Meadows - Police Chief, Wesley Morgan - Preacher, Bus Driver, Clerk, Niles Fitch and Kamil McFadden - Young MLK, Royce Mann and Robert Oliver Norris - Young Ronald Allen, Tim Stylez - Sammy Davis Jr.

The Ensemble: Lumumba Seegars, Theresa Cunningham, Juel Lane, Jelani Jones, Arietha Lockhart, Ava Hill, Caitlyn Martin, Jazmine Dinkins, Nia Lancelin, Stuart Schleuse, Whitney Umstead, Jenna Edmonds, Melody Pinion, and Brandon Suave.

The production crew includes: Dawn Axam - Asst. Choreographer. Sherrie Dee Brewer - Production Stage Manager Lisa Watson - Production Manager. David Coyle - Company Manager. Kat Conley - Scenic Designer. Shilla Benning - Costume Designer. Joseph Futral - Lighting Designer. Bobby Johnston - Sound Designer. MC Park - Props Master. Ken McNeil - Wardrobe Supervisor. Juel Lane - Asst. Choreographer.

Presented by Atlanta's Alliance Stage at the Woodruff Arts Center, July 9-31, 2010.

BABALU created by Emmy Award-winner Lucie Arnaz, who serves as host, is a tribute to the music of Desi Arnaz, Sr. Starring Tony Award-nominees Raúl Esparza and Valarie Pettiford. A 15-piece orchestra which will play from the original Desi Arnaz Orchestra charts. Ron Abel will serve as music director and Las Vegas area resident Desi Arnaz, Jr. will make a special guest appearance playing percussion.

Babalu highlights Arnaz's greatest hits and pays homage to the major role he played in planting the first seeds of the Latin music explosion in this country. The show will also feature performances by local Miami dancers, choreographed by Ramon Del Barrio.

July 8 - 11, 2010 in the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall of the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami, FL.

110 IN THE SHADE the Harvey Schmidt, Tom Jones and N. Richard Nash musical. This theater-in-the-round mounting is directed and choreographed by Dave Tinney.

Starring four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald (who hasn't done theater-in-the-round since high school) as Lizzie and Tony nominee Will Swenson as Starbuck.

Also in the cast are: Marvin Payne as H.C. Curry, Kevin Goertzen as File, Tim Threlfall as Noah Curry, Jared Young as Jimmy Curry and Rachel Lynn Woodward as Snookie. The ensemble comprises Erik Agle, Ben Hess, John Graham, Darick J. Pead (alternate), Ricky Parkinson, Craig Williams, Lita Giddins, Julie Olson, Korianne Orton Johnson, Lena Latu, Laurel Lowe, Bailee Brinkerhoff, Janell Lewis, Sara Schmidt, Hailey J. Smith, Emily Castleton, Melissa Lindsey and Natalie Wheeler (alternate).

Musical direction by Dave Zabriskie. The design team includes Bobby Swenson (scenic design), Penny Jones (painting), MaryAnn Hill (costumes), Linda Hale (properties), Cody Swenson (lighting) and Cody Hale (sound).

The plot concerns Lizzie Curry, "a spinster in the American Southwest during the Dust Bowl year of 1936," according to the production. "Two suitors are interested in Lizzie: one is a respectable, upstanding citizen, while the other is a con-man who comes to the moisture-deprived town masquerading as a rainmaker. Lizzie's choice cuts deeper than selecting a beau - she must decide whether it is best to pursue a life of dreams or to live the life that the world considers responsible and reasonable."

The production is a fundraiser for the nonprofit Hale Center Foundation for the Arts and Education. Both McDonald and Swenson are donating their time and talents to the production, which will otherwise feature an all-local cast.

Founded by the late Ruth Hale, HCTO is a year-round community theatre in Orem, UT, that has been in operation since 1990. The theatre is now run by her son, Cody Hale, his wife, Linda; Ruth's grandson, Cody Swenson, and his wife, Anne. Actor Will Swenson, a Provo native, is also a grandson of Ruth and Nathan Hale.

McDonald and Swenson appear through July 10. Beginning July 12 and continuing through Aug. 7, the roles of Lizzie and Starbuck will be played by, respectively, Natalie Wheeler and Darick J. Pead. At the Hale Center Theater in Orem, Utah.

ASPECTS OF LOVE Music By Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics By Don Black & Charles Hart - based on the novella by David Garnett.

Trevor Nunn returns to the Chocolate Factory to direct the first major London revival starring Michael Arden (Alex Dillingham) and Katherine Kingsley (Rose Vibert), Dave Willetts (George), Rosalie Craig (Giulietta), Martyn Ellis (Marcel), and Rebecca Brewer (Jenny), along with Jill Armour, Louisa Lydell, Ian McLarnon, David Roberts, Savannah Stevenson, Dominic Tighe, and Rebecca Trehearn.

Set & Costume Design - David Farley. Musical Supervisor - Caroline Humphris. Choreography - Lynne Page. Lighting - Paul Pyant. Sound - Gareth Owen. Orchestrations - David Cullen. Musical Director - Tom Murray.

The musical tells the story of passion, love and loss across three generations of a family and their companions set against the background of 1940’s France and Italy. Alex Dillingham, a young student traveling through France, falls in love with the alluring actress Rose Vibert. As the pair embark on a passionate affair, the unexpected arrival of Alex’s uncle changes their lives forever. A love story spanning twenty years binding six people and three generations as they come to appreciate that love changes everything.

First produced at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London on 17th April 1989, where it ran for 1,325 performances before finally closing on 20th June 1992.

July 7-26, 2010 at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London. The Menier is an award winning 180-seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Factory.

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Music by John Kander. Lyrics by Fred Ebb. Book by Terence McNally. Based on the novel by Manuel Puig.

Directed by Stephen Colyer.

Based on the novel and the Oscar-winning movie, Kiss of the Spider Woman is the story of humanity and friendship in the most unlikely of places. Director Stephen Colyer has taken this large-scale, explosive, critically acclaimed musical and reworked it for our intimate Darlinghurst Theatre Company stage.

Two men share a prison cell in Latin America. Molina is a flamboyant window dresser set up to spy on Valentin, a Marxist revolutionary. In an atmosphere of political paranoia loyalty is tested and prejudices are confronted.

Molina escapes the prison brutality by recounting movies of the screen beauty Aurora. There is one film he avoids telling in which she plays the Spider Woman who kills with her kiss.

Featuring - Alexis Fishman, Frank Hansen, James Lee, Wayne McDaniel, Jennifer White, Jim Williams, Matt Young.

Musical Director - Craig Renshaw. Designers - David Fleischer. Lighting Designer - Jack Horton. Sound Designer - Jed Silver.

Previews begin July 8 with performances through August 8. Darlinghurst Theatre in Potts Point in New South Wales, Australia.

LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE welcomes Kathryne Dora Brown, Tyne Daly, Bonnie Franklin, Glenne Headly and Amy Pietz to the Los Angeles cast on July 6. Nora and Delia Ephron penned the play based on Ilene Beckerman's book of the same name that "uses clothing and accessories and the memories they trigger to tell funny and often poignant stories that all women can relate to."

Jenny Sullivan directs the West Coast mounting of the play that currently plays the Westside Theatre Off-Broadway. Love, Loss, and What I Wore is at the Geffen in Los Angeles. The new cast will be with the production through August 1, 2010.

FIFTH OF JULY by Lanford Wilson. Directed by Terry Kinney.

Set in rural Missouri in 1977, Wilson's Broadway hit focuses on the disillusionment with America in the wake of the Vietnam War. Alternately funny and moving, Fifth of July deals with a group of former student activists and friends and the changes that have been wrought in their lives and attitudes in the years since leaving college.

The talented cast includes Daniel Deferrari, Kally Duling, veteran Broadway actress Elizabeth Franz, Shane McRae, Anson Mount, Jennifer Mudge, Kellie Overbey, and David Wilson Barnes.

Running July 6 – August 1 at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY. This is a co-production with the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts where it will move following its run at Bay Street.

CARNIVAL! Music and Lyrics by Bob Merrill. Book by Michael Stewart. Based on Material by Helen Deutsch. Directed by Darko Tresnjak. Choreographed by Peggy Hickey.

The magical and heart-warming tale of a naïve young woman who eagerly joins a traveling circus. Surrounded by a riot of acrobats and jugglers, music makers and clowns, she is dazzled at first by the troupe’s manipulative magician.

In the end she finds happiness with a disillusioned puppeteer who can only express himself through his delightful puppets.

Based on the film Lili and with songs like Love Makes the World Go Round, and Her Face.

Principals: Lauren Worsham (Lili), Adam Monley (Paul), Mike McGowan (Marco), Michelle Blakely (Rosalie), Nathan Klau (Jacquot), and Laurent Giroux (Schlegel).

The ensemble includes Joshua Dean and Ben Franklin, co-founders for New York based aerial theatre company Suspended Cirque along with Melissa Blakley, Price Waldman, Timothy Hughes, Kara Kimmer, Robin Masella, Clifton Samuels, Amy Shure, Justin Urso and Dana Winkle

Swings: Miguel Edson and Melissa Steadman

Set Designer: David P. Gordon. Costume Coordinator: Fabio Toblini. Lighting Designer: John Lasiter. Puppet Designer: Robert Smythe. Music Director: Michael O’Flaherty. Assistant Music Director: F. Wade Russo. Orchestrations: Dan DeLange.

July 9, 2010 - September 18, 2010 Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, CT.

DAMN YANKEES Book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop. Words and music by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Directed by John Simpkins. Musical direction by Mark Hartman and choreography by Stephanie Lang.

Starring André De Shields (Applegate), Felicia Finley (Lola), Austin Miller (Joe Hardy), Stephen Berger (Van Buren), Scott Davidson (Joe Boyd), Jan Leigh Herndon (Meg), and Rebecca Kupka Overton (Gloria Thorpe), along with William C. Bailey, Solomon Buchman, Amanda Trusty, Rebecca Stavis, Bronson N. Murphy, James Lee Glatz, James Erickson, Jeremy Morse, Zander Meisner, Andrew Leggieri, Amy Jane Finnerty, Kristen da Costa, Ashley Chasteen, Jason "Sweet Tooth" Williams and Freddie Kimmel.

Performances through August 29 at the John W. Engeman Theater at Northport, NY.

NEVERMORE: THE IMAGINARY LIFE AND LYSTERIOUS DEATH OF EDGAR ALLAN POE by Jonathan Christenson. Directed by Jonathan Christenson. Music by Jonathan Christenson. Sound by Wade Staples. The choreographer is Laura Krewski. Set design by Bretta Gerecke.

Commissioned by Magnetic North Theatre Festival. Co-commissioned by Luminato. Developed with the support of Keyano College Theatre, Fort McMurray and the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Nevermore: The Imaginary Life And Mysterious Death Of Edgar Allan Poe which takes its title from the ominous phrase croaked by the bird in The Raven, is a delightfully grotesque musical tale fusing he hauntingly humorous myths of Poe with a chilling score, that appeals to the darker side within us all.

Showcasing the Gothic dreamscape of Poe's life, this whimsical production is billed as "at once playful and perverse, brutal and heartfelt, beautiful and enthralling." "Characterized by its striking visuals, heightened physical performances, evocative text and sinister music, Nevermore is homage to an iconic misfit whose work has developed a cult following."

Edmonton-based theatre company Catalyst has brought their award-winning gothic musical fable to London for the first time, presented by barbicanbite10, as part of LIFT 2010. LIFT (London International Festival of Theatres) Summer 2010 sees the return of the London-wide, international LIFT festival under the leadership of new Artistic Director, Mark Ball. It has been 9 years since the last full city-wide festival.

Nevermore: The Imaginary Life And Mysterious Death Of Edgar Allan Poe runs July 6-10, 2010 in London.

WHO'S WHERE

JOAN RIVERS brings her wit and sass to the Laurie Beechman Theatre in NYC offering performances July 7-8 and July 14-15, with a portion of the ticket sales benefiting God's Love We Deliver and Guide Dogs for the Blind.

MARY TESTA a two-time Tony Award nominee presents her new solo show, in which she will be joined by two-time Tony Award-winning orchestrator Michael Starobin. July 12 at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse Cape May Stage in Cape May, NJ.

MICHAEL BUBLE on stage Tuesday, July 6 at the Coliseum in Richmond, VA. On Wednesday the tour stops at the Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va. On Friday he performs at the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC.

JUSTIN BIEBER on stage Monday, July 6 at the Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, TX. On Tuesday he'll be thrilling his fans at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK. On Thursday the performance is at the lst Bank Center in Broomfield, CO. Saturday the tour stops at The E Center in West Valley City, UT.

LADY GAGA has a busy week. A three night gig begins Tuesday, July 6, at Madison Square Garden in NYC. On Sunday, July 11, she opens a two nighter at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

ANDREA MARCOVICCI in Marcovicci Sings Movies II, Saturday, July 10, at The Guild Hall in East Hampton, NY.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE IGUANA hosted by MAC Award winners Dana Lorge and Richard Skipper. Barry Levitt on keyboard & Saadi Zain on bass. Wednesday's guests include: David Alpher & Jennifer Litt, Jon Burr & Lynn Stein, Janice Hall, Cindy Marchionda. July 7, 2010 at the Iguana VIP Lounge in NYC.

BRET MICHAELS AND LYNYRD SKYNYRD bring their tour to the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY on Wednesday, July 7. On Thursday the show is at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. On Friday they're on stage at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, VA and on Saturday they can be enjoyed at the Comcast theatre in Hartford, CT.

STING entertains Tuesday, July 6 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. On Wednesday the show is at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. On Friday he can be enjoyed at the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City. Saturday the performance is at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ.

JEFF BECK on stage Tuesday, July 6, Vienna State Opera in Vienna, Austria. Friday there is another show in Austria, this one at the Burgkultur in St. Veit. On Saturday he appears as part of the Moon & Stars Locarno in Locarno, Switzerland.

BLACK EYED PEAS take part in the Heineken Jammin' Festival Monday July 5. at Parco San Giuliano in Venice, Italy. On Friday they appear at T in the Park in Kinross UK. On Saturday they are part of Oxegen at Punchtown Rececourse in Naas, Ireland.

LYLE LOVETT entertains Friday, July 9, at the Riverwind Casino in Norman, OK. On Saturday, July 10 the show is at Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, OK.

ADAM LAMBERT on stage Tuesday, July 6 at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville. On Wednesday the show is at the Ryman in Nashville. On Friday the tour stops at the Allen Theatre in Cleveland. Saturday's show is at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville.

BILL HOLMAN 3 time Grammy Award winner brings his Big Band to Upstairs At Vitello's Jazz & Supper Club in Studio City, CA on July 9.

RINGO STARR & HIS ALL STARR BAND starring Rick Derringer, Richard Page from Mister Mister, Wally Palmer from The Romantics, Edgar Winter, and Gary Wright. Wednesday, July 7 at Radio City Music Hall, New York City.

Next Column: July 11, 2010
Copyright: July 4, 2010. All Rights Reserved. Reviews, Interviews, Commentary, Photographs or Graphics from any Broadway To Vegas (TM) columns may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, utilized as leads, or used in any manner without permission, compensation and/or credit.
Link to Main Page

---

Laura Deni

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