Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: July 7, 2024
By: Laura Deni
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ANGEL BY ZALIE BURROW

Zalie Burrow has expertly penned a moving and emotional play - the topic of which affects more families than people realize.

Cherry Cookson directs Claire Skinner as Mary, Jamie Glover as Ted, Andrew Macbean as the doctor and Beth Eyre as the midwife in moving and sensitive performances which confront emotionally devastating subjects of stillbirth, mental illness and suicide.

In the final stages of labor with a midwife telling her to "push" 44-year-old Mary is finally realizing her dream of having a child. She gives birth to a boy and named him Angel. From the start she neglects her husband as she devotes all her time to looking after their new baby. But then she notices that he is starting to grow wings.

The doctor assures her the little knobs are normal because he is an angel boy. As the knobs turn into wings his clothes hide the feathers. Meanwhile, Mary's husband Ted, who is a successful author, is frustrated and angry about being ignored. They no longer go out to dinner. And, she has stopped cooking at home. Formerly a good good, the few times she attempted a recipe it's been a disaster. He also misses the "cuddles."

He calls her doctor seeking help. The medical advice is to "Hang on in there" and "come in, in the morning"

Ted poignantly counters - "This kind of a loss can do terrible things to a man, too. It isn't just the woman's baby."

Ted mentions he is writing another book which is encouraging news to the doctor. "Keeping busy is the key," says the medic intoning the frequently used suggestion. "Then there is no room left for the pain."

Ted would tell Mary that he loved her and "she never even heard me."

When he discovers that she has spent 400 pounds for school uniforms and 50 pounds for shoes Ted explodes. "Mary, he will not need anything because he doesn't exist. We can't go on like this," he bellows.

He goes to bed and hears his wife calling - "Wait for me."

The ending is heart retchingly horrific.

Heard on Wireless Theatre Company.

Again, exceptional acting would be expected from season pros Claire Skinner and Jamie Glover and they do not disappoint. The two midwife scenes are succinctly written, depicting joy and devastation.

The sound balancing is excellent and there is an effective use of music.

Music Composed and Performed by Isabel Herschmann. Music Recorded by Samuel Herchmann. Sound Recording by Beth Eyre. Edited by Graham Donnelly.

NOTE: On the average, 21,745 babies are still born every year in the U.S. This is the equivalent of a school bus full of children every day. According to the Center for Disease Control.

According to the latest data, the global stillbirth rate last year was 13.9 stillbirths per 1,000 total births. This equates to 1 in 72 or worldwide, there are more than 2.6 million stillbirths every year.

If you know of someone who ha experienced this loss and don't know what to say - then simply say;"I don't know what to say." Do not pontificate on and on thinking you are "required" to offer your opinions. You may mean well, but all you are doing is making things worse.

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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

DISCOVER DEGAS

Detail from Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, 'Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando', 1879 © The National Gallery, London

Degas’s 'Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando' takes centre stage in this exhibition that sheds light on this work with newly discovered information about the painting and its sitter.

This radical Impressionist masterwork records an extraordinary moment and features a remarkable figure – the circus artist Miss La La, or Anna Albertine Olga Brown (1858?1945). In 1879 Degas made the talented aerialist the subject of one of his most original and arresting paintings, capturing her in one of her most striking and perilous acts. Suspended from a rope held between her teeth by a leather mouthpiece, Miss La La is hoisted up towards the ceiling of the Cirque Fernando.

Featuring new material, from rare, previously untraced drawings of her by Degas, to entirely unpublished photographic portraits of Miss La La, the exhibition turns the spotlight on her, and on the painting, telling their story for the first time at the Gallery.

This is the third in the museum's series of "Discover" exhibitions which explore lesser-known masterpieces in a new light.

Discover Degas & Miss La La on display until September 1, 2024 at the National Gallery in London.

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SPREADING THE WORD

WORLD CHOCOLATE DAY is July 7th to honor and enjoy chocolate in all its forms. It commemorates the historical introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550 and has become a global celebration of this beloved treat. Emirates airline has turned serving chocolate into an obsession. "Chocolate is always present in the dessert offerings served onboard to all Emirates customers regardless of class of travel. Additionally, on the carrier's longer routes, chocolate candy bars are served in a snack tray, and chocolate lollipops are offered to children during festive celebrations," says their release.

The Dubai-based carrier said it saw over 45 million individual pieces of luxury chocolate consumed onboard its flights in 2023 by customers across all classes, in addition to an array of chocolate-based desserts as part of its inflight catering options.

The Middle Eastern airline serves artisan chocolate as part of its signature meal service in all classes, to 140 global destinations. In the last year alone, Emirates economy class customers have consumed 36.3 million individual chocolates, while customers in the carrier’s relatively new premium economy cabin have enjoyed 322,000 chocolates.

In business class, Emirates customers consumed 8.2 million chocolates, while those fortunate to experience the airline’s first class offering have access to unlimited chocolates and have gobbled their way through a staggering 122,000 large gourmet chocolate boxes. first class Emirates partnered with Valrhona to create a bespoke luxury chocolate box for its first class customers, who are offered the chocolates after their onboard meals and receive a box as a parting gift at the end of their flight.

According to the airline, it collaborates closely with connoisseur chocolatiers from around the globe and rotates the chocolate offering onboard every three months to make sure its frequent flyers do not tire of the chocolate range being offered.

The airline is currently partnering with elite French chocolatier, Valrhona. Recognized worldwide as the chocolatier of choice by prestigious chefs and chocolate gourmands, Valrhona was established in France in 1922. Valrhona is "enowned for its dedication to excellence and innovation in the art of chocolate making, as well as its commitment to ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility," reported the airline.

As part of the regular rotation for Emirates customers, chocolates are selected from the most renowned producers globally including Bateel, Coco Jalila and Forrey & Galland from the UAE, Butlers from Ireland, Godiva, Canonica and Neuhaus from Belgium, Pacari from Ecuador, and Hotel Chocolat from the UK. The chocolate brands are selected for a multitude of reasons including their content, whether dark, milk or white chocolate, bonbons, pralines, or truffles.

Chocolate is always present in the dessert offerings served onboard to all Emirates customers regardless of class of travel. Additionally, on the carrier’s longer routes, chocolate candy bars are served in a snack tray, and chocolate lollipops are offered to children during festive celebrations. In the onboard lounges of its Airbus A380 fleet, Emirates customers can also indulge in vegan and non-vegan chocolate-based treats to ensure that all tastes are catered for.

IAN McKELLEN 85, will not return to the role of John Falstaff in a tour of Player Kings after he fell off a London stage mid-performance last month, the play’s producers have announced.

McKellen was starring in Player Kings, a production of William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Parts One and Two, in London's West End theatre district on June 17 when he lost his footing and fell off the front of the stage during a fight scene and was taken to a hospital.

RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN'S CAROUSEL Jamie Muscato will lead the cast as Billy Bigelow, opposite Christine Allado as Julie Jordan and Rebecca Caine as Nettie Fowler.

Emma Butler is directing, with music direction by Adam Hoskins.

Joining them are Ahmed Hamad as Enoch Snow, Sophie Isaacs as Carrie Pipperidge, David Mildon as The Narrator, Tim Prottey-Jones as Jigger Craigin and Verity Quade as Mrs Mullin, alongside an ensemble company from Trinity Laban Musical Theatre and a full orchestra.

The tale of hope, redemption and the power of love comes to the Royal Festival Hall for a one-night-only concert.

The entrancing musical score features the hit songs "You’ll Never Walk Alone"; "Mister Snow" and "If I Loved You", which made the musical Time magazine’s choice of best musical of the 20th century.

One show on July 12 at Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London.

JAMES CORDEN'S performance in The Constituent is receiving rave reviews. The Emmy and Tony award winner stars at London’s Old Vic opposite BAFTA winner Anna Maxwell Martin as a stressed-out ‘opposition’ MP.

Corden plays Alec, a British army veteran who now earns a living installing security alarms after serving in Afghanistan. This brings him to the office of ex-school mate, now MP, Monica (Maxwell Martin).

As they get chatting, Afghanistan veteran is now about to lose custody of his children. He hopes Monica can help him in the custody battle, which is being settled in a family court. She refuses to take sides, and when he returns with a box of live ammunition, warns him "there are certain things I cannot help you with...one of them is firearms".

Zachary Hart comically portrays Monica’s Police Protection Officer, and Billy Bragg uses scene changes to whim about social justice.

The well researched script by Joe Penhall has been called - subtl(e) with paranoid expectations.

The play covers family law, military regulations, psycho-pharmaceutical preparations and the diverse actions of shotgun cartridges.

STRIPPER TASSEL REGULATION according to Associate Professor Kevin Slack of Hillsdale College who teaches a class called The American Left in a section labeled "Liberalism's Rejection of Progessivism" discussed the National Industrial Recovery Act (NRA) which regulated prices and "all types of things all the way down to strippers' tassels and the kind of material they could be made of."

The NRA was the brainchild of Gerard Swope (December 1, 1872 – November 20, 1957) who was an American engineer and electronics businessman who worked his way up through the ranks to become president of General Electric Company. He received honorary doctorates from Rutgers, Union, Colgate, Stevens Institute of Technology, Washington University in St. Louis, and Haifa Institute of Technology.

In 2005, Forbes Magazine ranked Swope as the 20th most influential businessman of all time.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

THE ROCKETS RED GLARE Each year, Americans set off nearly 300 million lbs (136,000 tonnes) of fireworks – nearly one pound for every person living in America.

In 2022, that figure jumped to more than 460 million pounds (209,000 tonnes) of fireworks. In 2023, firework sales in America cleared a whopping $2.3 billion – increasing by over $100 million from the year prior.

According to a recent report, Americans spent three times more on fireworks in 2023 than they did in 2012, likely fueled by post-pandemic demand in private firework sales.

TOTAL SPENDING ON PODCAST ADS to grow by 25% and hit over $5 billion by 2027 according to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io. The total spending on podcast ads will reach $4 billion in 2024, four times more than just five years ago. This figure is projected to grow by a further 25% and hit over $5 billion by 2027.

Statista expects that over 65% of that value will come from the world`s largest podcast advertising industry, the United States. The US market is expected to hit $3.3 billion in total ad spending by 2027, or 30% more than this year. Far below, China follows with roughly half a billion dollars in podcast ad spending by 2027, or 13% more than this year. All other top podcast advertising markets, like Japan, India, and Brazil, will see less than $100 million in total ad spending.

The Biggest Podcast Enthusiasts are in Spain, United States and Sweden.

According to the Reuters Institute’s latest Digital News Report survey, Spain had the highest podcast adoption rate of 44%, up from 39% five years ago. The United States and Sweden saw similar growth, with 44% and 43% of podcast listeners in 2024, respectively. The survey also showed Canada and the United Kingdom saw the biggest podcast adoption growth, rising by 12% and 10% in five years, respectively. Japan and France were at the other end of the scale, with 26% and 28% of respondents having listened to a pod in the past month.

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THE ROYAL BALLET SCHOOL in London has announced that Lady Sarah Chatto has been named as the new president, succeeding His Majesty King Charles III, who has become the Patron of the Royal Ballet School. Lady Sarah's mother, the late Princess Margaret, once held the title her daughter now holds.

Lady Sarah previously served as Vice-President since 2004. Aside from being an advocate of the Royal Ballet School, the 60-year-old is a talented artist as well as the patron of the Frederick Ashton Foundation and Vice President of the Royal Drawing School.

Similarly, throughout her life, Princess Margaret had a deep love for ballet. According to the Royal Ballet School website, she served as President of the School from 1956 (alongside the late Queen Elizabeth II, who served as patron of the intuition) up until she passed away in 2002.

BOLSDALE LIFE EDITOR'S LUNCH AND AWARDS 2024 was held at Boisdale Canary Wharf, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. The magazine, which was founded 10 years ago, annually honors Britian’s "esteemed writers, journalists and cultural commentators".

This year's event was hosted by Atomic Kitten’s Natasha Hamilton and MasterChef judge William Sitwell. The major winners:
Food and drinks writer Tom Parker-Bowles, son of Queen Camilla, received the Spirits Writer of the Yer award. Presenting his award was Irish Post publisher Elgin Loane,

Northern Irish writer Mary Killen was presented with the Feature Writer of The Year award.

Tomintoul Distillery wins Boisdale Life Whisky Producer of the Year Award.



THE BOOK OF WILL by Lauren Gunderson.

Directed by Bonnie J. Monte.

How far would you go to honor and preserve a friend’s legacy? What if that friend was William Shakespeare and his plays were about to be lost to history forever? Lauren Gunderson’s acclaimed play The Book of Will shines a light on the amazing true story of two ordinary men whose love for their friend and his genius continues to influence our world four centuries after Shakespeare’s death.

The ensemble includes veteran company members Michael Stewart Allen and Anthony Marble as Henry Condell and John Heminges, two members of Shakespeare’s acting troupe who, five years after Shakespeare’s death, took up the seemingly impossible mission to gather all his plays together into one collection. Other leading roles are brought to life by Pearce Bunting as Ben Jonson, Brent Harris as Richard Burbage and William Jaggard, Isaac Hickox-Young , Amy Hutchins ,Victoria Mack, Jack Steiner, Patrick Toon, and Carolyne Leys.

The design team includes scenic design by Sarah Beth Hall; costume design by Hugh Hanson; lighting design by Matthew Adelson, and sound design by Ms. Monte. The production stage manager is Alison Cote. The Book of Will is sponsored in part by Lynne and John Rathgeber.

July 10 - July 28, 2024 at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre on the campus of Drew University in Madison, NJ.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie.

Directed by Elizabeth Williamson.

Featuring Elizabeth Bunch as Mrs. Rogers. Dylan Godwin as Philip Lombard. Chris Hutchison as Dr. Armstrong. Susan Koozin as Emily Brent. Melissa Molano as Vera Claythorne. Spencer Plachy as Rogers. Gabriel Regojo as Fred Narracott/ Anthony Marston. David Rainey as Sir Lawrence Wargrave. Christopher Salazar as William Blore. Todd Waite as General MacKenzie.

The understudies are: Lindsay Ehrhardt, Chris Hury and Christian Tannous.

A secluded island, ten strangers, and a deadly game of survival. Experience the tension and drama live on stage as Agatha Christie’s classic novel comes to life in a chic cliffside house. The clock is ticking, and the suspense is palpable. The body count rises as the characters grapple with their own secrets and guilt. Can you solve who is behind it all?

July 19 - September 1, 2024 at the Hubbard Theatre of the Alley in Houston, Texas.

The creatives are: Nick Vaughan Scenic Design - Brenda Abbandandolo Co-Costume Design - Amanda Roberge Co-Costume Design - Isabella Byrd Lighting Design - André Pluess Sound Design - Molly Wetzel Dialect Coach - H. Russ Brown Fight Director - Amy Ramsdell Stage Manager - Ethan Mitchell Assistant Stage Manager.

From July 19 to September 1, 2024 Alley Theater in Houston, Texas.

THE BAUHAUS PROJECT written by Tom Jacobson.

Directed by Martha Demson.

Starring Jack Goldwait, Sang Kim, Katarina Joy Lopez, Chloe Madriaga, John C. Sweet.

Open Fist Theatre Company premieres The Bauhaus Project by Tom Jacobson, a world premiere theatrical event presented in two binge-worthy parts (Part 1: Bauhaus Weimer and Part 2: Bauhaus Dessau and Bauhaus Berlin) highlighting the rise of fascism and anti-Semitism in Germany and its effect on the arts.

In this provocative play-within-a-play, five Southern California art students re-enact the history of the famous Bauhaus School, using their respective disciplines of environmental design, music, fine art, graphic design and theater to recreate the dramatic history in real time.

Each of the students portrays multiple historic Bauhaus figures, many of whom later fled to the U.S. or died in concentration camps, including architect and Bauhaus founding director Walter Gropius and his successors, architects Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; painters Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Oskar Schlemmer and Lyonel Feininger; textile artists Gunta Stolzl, Maria Kipp and Otti Berger; furniture designer Marcel Breuer; photographer Laszlo Moholy-Nagy; graphic designer Herbert Bayer; composers Arnold Schönberg and Alma Mahler; and architects Ludwig Hilberseimer and Fritz Ertl — the latter of whom would go on to design buildings at Auschwitz.

Part I, which focuses on the school’s founding and early years in the city of Weimar, will run Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 4 p.m., while Part 2, which looks at the school’s moves, first to Dessau, then to Berlin, in the face of increasing Nazi scrutiny, will play on Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. Audience members can choose to view the entire Bauhaus Project over the course of two evenings; two matinees; or on a single Saturday. The history is sequential, so it is not advised to view the parts out of order.

Presented by Open Fist Theatre Company, performances: July 19 through August 25 at Atwater Village Theatre in Los Angeles, CA.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA based on the 2006 film and featuring music by Elton John, lyrics by two-time Tony winner Shaina Taub, and a book by Kate Wetherhead.

Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell.

The Devil Wears Prada follows aspiring fashion journalist Andy Sachs. When she is hired as assistant to Miranda Priestly, editor-in-chief of the fictional Runway Magazine, she discovers that breaking into the industry requires more than she expected.

Vanessa Williams leads the cast as the ruthless Miranda Priestly, sharing the stage with Georgie Buckland as Andy, Amy Di Bartolomeo, James Darch as Christian, Rhys Whitfield as Nate, and Olivier winner Matt Henry as Nigel.

The ensemble includes Maddy Ambus, Selena Barron, Robertina Bonano, Lloyd Davies, Elishia Edwards, Akeem Ellis-Hyman, Natasha Heyward, Samuel How, Luke Jackson, Liam Marcellino, Robbie McMillan, Ciro Lourencio Meulens, Theo Papoui, Eleanor Peach, Ethan Le Phong, Harriet Samuel-Gray, Olivia Saunders, Kayleigh Thadani, Ella Valentine, and Tara Yasmin, with standby Debbie Kurup and swings Gabby Antrobus, Pamela Blair, Elizabeth Fullalove, Jinny Gould, Gabriel Mokake, Christopher Parkinson, and Jon Reynolds rounding out the company.

The creatives are: scenic designer Tim Hatley, costume designer Gregg Barnes, lighting designer Bruno Poet, sound designer Gareth Owen, and hair, wig, and makeup designer Campbell Young Associates. Casting is by Jill Green. Orchestrations and arrangements are by music supervisor Tom Deering, and Katharine Woolley is music director. Giles Martin serves as music executive.

The Devil Wears Prada had its world premiere at Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre in 2022, with a different creative team and cast.

This Pre-West End run at Theatre Royal Plymouth began on July 6. Performances continue through August 17, with West End performances set to begin October 24 at London's Dominion Theatre.

E-Book

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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.

Next Column: July 14, 2024
Copyright: July 7, 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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