Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: June 16, 2024
By: Laura Deni
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TAYLOR SWIFT RULES THE WORLD

Taylor Swift

Never mind political polls. Let's go to the important rankings. The number of lemmings which followed the Pied Piper pales in comparison to the number of young ladies with infusing hormones who follow Pied Piper Swift - and I don't even think she owns a flute.

However, as the definition refers to a person who had the ability to charm others - Swift rules.

Taylor Swift currently has an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion. According to Forbes, which recently published a series of 2024 billionaire reports, Swift is the first musician to reach 10-figure status solely based on songwriting and performing - rather than brand deals or business ventures. Sales and streams accounted for roughly 86%, or $461 million, of her recorded music revenue.

Swift spent her early years on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania that her father had purchased from one of his clients, and she spent her summers at her family's vacation home in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, where she occasionally performed acoustic songs at a local coffee shop. As a child, she performed in Berks Youth Theatre Academy productions and traveled regularly to New York City for vocal and acting lessons. Her early love for country music was influenced by Shania Twain, Patsy Cline, LeAnn Rimes, and the Dixie Chicks, and she spent weekends performing at local festivals and events. After watching a documentary about Faith Hill, she became determined to pursue a country-music career in Nashville, Tennessee.

At 11, Swift traveled to Nashville with her mother to visit record labels and submit demo tapes of Dolly Parton and Dixie Chicks karaoke covers. She was rejected by all the labels, which led her to focus on songwriting.

Fast forward and Swift is by anyone's definition a major performer/songwriter. Her personal life has garnered as much publicity as her musical endeavors. Both Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar printed rundowns of the 39-year-old's romantic involvements: Lucas Till - Taylor Lautner - John Mayer - Jake Gyllenhaal - Connor Kennedy - Harry Styles - Calvin Harris - Tom Hiddleston - Joe Alwyn - Matty Healy - Travis Kelce. After she began writing about the men after the breakups, Colin Jost was prompted to use her as the butt of one of his SNL Week-end Update jokes - thereby cementing her as a superstar.

Swift isn't the first singer to catch lightning in a bottle. Decades ago I remember being in Elvis Presley's dressing room at the Las Vegas hotel then called The International. He had a bit of the sniffles. At one point he wiped his nose with his finger and then studied the droplet on his finger. 'You know, if I put this up for sale, somebody would buy it,' he said more to himself than to those in the room.

To jump onto the coat-tails can mean trickle down profits, Swift and her branding appear to be everywhere.

Collections, display and exhibits on everything Swift abound.

Latest up - The New Jersey Stone Harbor Museum, an archival museum founded in 1996 to preserve the history, activities and events of the borough has launched a 2024 Taylor Swift collection. Items being displayed include photos of Swift vacationing in Stone Harbor as a child, which were provided by her family, plus four Midnights vinyls that form a clock display; a Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film poster, a Taylor Swift-inspired Peter Max poster, and a Midnights-themed guitar signed by Swift.

"Our Museum is thrilled to have these items," Teri Fischer, President of the Board of Trustees for the Stone Harbor Museum, said in a press release. "It’s not just about the items, it’s about the fact that her family wanted us to have personal family photos from some time ago that were taken while they were staying in Stone Harbor."

Swift was raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, about an hour west of Philadelphia, but visited Stone Harbor with her family in summers from 1992 to 2004. According to published reports; Some of her earliest performances were at the Coffee Talk coffeeshop. She also sang karaoke at Henry’s, which has since shuttered. One of her favorite spots was Italian Garden which has also since closed down. She even went to Springer’s, a popular ice cream shop in the area. Her favorite flavor? Cookies ‘n’ cream.

Her father, Scott Swift, had an important relationship to Stone Harbor as he volunteered as an EMT with the Stone Harbor Volunteer Fire Company No. 1.

“We hope that the 2024 Taylor Swift collection at the Stone Harbor Museum will now bring new and old visitors into the Museum where they will not only enjoy seeing these wonderful items, but that they will learn about other Stone Harbor history as well," continued Fischer. in the release. "Our mission is to acquire, preserve, display, celebrate and promote archival and artifactual items relevant to the development of our unique cultural heritage and to delight, inspire and educate the present and future generations about the story of Stone Harbor, NJ. Taylor Swift is definitely part of the Stone Harbor story, and I know that she does delight and inspire so many of us."

This is just the latest exhibition. Last year, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York debuted the "Taylor Swift: Storyteller" exhibit which closed last month. It featured costumes from some of her most iconic tours and music videos like "Shake it Off," "I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)," and "Bejeweled."

The Grammy Museum Experience previously staged a Taylor Swift exhibit at the Prudential Center in 2018.

As for Swift, the global pop star continues the European leg of the Eras Tour, following the release of her album “The Tortured Poets Department” that was released in April. She performed three shows at England's Anfield Stadium in Liverpool on Thursday, June 13; Friday, June 14; and Saturday, June 15. Paramore was the supporting act for the European dates. Thursday marked Swift's 100th show of the tour. The singer has announced that Eras Tour will end in December.

If you have to ask the price of tickets, you can't afford them.

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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

WILLIAM KENTRIDGE

William Kentridge: Drawn from Africa. Photo: Potter Museum of Art. Curator: Dr Jane Kinsman

This exhibition at the Taipei Art Museum is a collaborative effort between the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London, showcasing Kentridge's draftsmanship as the curatorial focus.

From his earliest charcoal drawing to the stop-motion short film series of drawing for the projections, and from film directing to stage performances, as well as his recent large-scale drawings of trees and flowers using ink and charcoal, the exhibition meticulously traces his creative trajectory and aesthetic dimensions.

Over four decades of dedicated exploration in monochromatic expression, Kentridge has developed a fresh vocabulary of expanded translation from his drawings. In his works, the seemingly limitations of black and white breed boundless energy. With subtle delineation, he conveys depth and complexity, revealing intricate layers of meaning and emotion.

Visitors will not only be dazzled by Kentridge's remarkable mastery of materials shown in this exhibition but also witness how he employs poetic and humorous nuances to evoke profound resonance when addressing the solemnity in life. Kentridge educated at the University of the Witwatersrand and Johannesburg Art Foundation, is especially noted for a sequence of hand-drawn animated films he produced during the 1990s. The latter are constructed by filming a drawing, making erasures and changes, and filming it again. He continues this process meticulously, giving each change to the drawing a quarter of a second to two seconds' screen time. A single drawing will be altered and filmed this way until the end of a scene. These palimpsest-like drawings are later displayed along with the films as finished pieces of art.

He has created art work as part of design of theatrical productions, both plays and operas. He has served as art director and overall director of numerous productions, collaborating with other artists, puppeteers and others in creating productions that combine drawings and multi-media combinations.

Kentridge believed that being ethnically Jewish gave him a unique position as a third-party observer in South Africa. His parents were lawyers, well-known for their defense of victims of apartheid. The basics of South Africa's socio-political condition and history must be known to grasp his work fully, much the same as in the cases of such artists as Francisco Goya and Käthe Kollwitz.

Kentridge has practiced expressionist art: form often alludes to content and vice versa. The feeling that is manipulated by the use of palette, composition and media, among others, often plays an equally vital role in the overall meaning as the subject and narrative of a given work. One must use one's gut reactions as well as one's interpretive skills to find meaning in Kentridge's work, much of which reveals very little content. Due to the sparse, rough and expressive qualities of Kentridge's handwriting, the viewer sees a sombre picture upon first glance, an impression that is perpetuated as the image illustrates a vulnerable and uncomfortable situation.

Aspects of social injustice that have transpired over the years in South Africa have often become fodder for Kentridge's pieces. Casspirs Full of Love, viewable at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, appears to be nothing more than heads in boxes to the average American viewer, but South Africans know that a casspir is a vehicle used to put down riots, a kind of a crowd-control tank. The title, Casspirs Full of Love, written along the side of the print, is suggestive of the narrative and is oxymoronic. A casspir full of love is much like a bomb that bursts with happiness – it is an intangible improbability. The purpose of a machine such as this is to instil "peace" by force, but Kentridge noted that it was used as a tool to keep lower-class natives from taking colonial power and money.

In 1979, he created 20 to 30 monotypes, which soon became known as the "Pit" series. In 1980, he executed about 50 small-format etchings which he called the "Domestic Scenes". These two extraordinary groups of prints served to establish Kentridge's artistic identity.

In 1986, he began a group of charcoal and pastel drawings based, very tenuously, on Watteau's Embarkation for Cythera. These extremely important works, the best of which reflect a blasted, dystopic urban landscape, demonstrate the artist's growing consciousness of the flexibility of space and movement.

In 1996–1997, he produced a portfolio of eight prints titled Ubu Tells the Truth, based on Alfred Jarry's 1896 play Ubu Roi. These prints also relate to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission conducted in South Africa after the end of apartheid. One of the stark and somber prints from this portfolio, in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art.

The Six Drawing Lessons, delivered as part of The Norton Lectures series at Harvard University in 2012, consider the work in the studio and the studio as a place of making meaning developed.

Working with what is in essence a very restrictive media, using only charcoal and a touch of blue or red pastel, he has created animations of astounding depth. A theme running through all of his work is his peculiar way of representing his birthplace. While he does not portray it as the militant or oppressive place that it was for black people, he does not emphasize the picturesque state of living that white people enjoyed during apartheid either; he presents instead a city in which the duality of man is exposed.

Kentridge has been commissioned to create stage design and act as a theatre director in opera. His political perspective is expressed in his opera directions, which involves different layers: stage direction, animation movies, and influences of the puppet world. He has staged Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (Monteverdi), Die Zauberflöte (Mozart) and The Nose (Shostakovich). Following the last work, he collaborated with the French composer François Sarhan on a short show called Telegrams from the Nose, for which he made the stage and set design for the performance.

In November 2015 his "provocative and visually stunning new staging" of Berg's Lulu, premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a co-production with the English National Opera and the Dutch National Opera. On August 8, 2017, William Kentridge's Wozzeck (Alban Berg) premiered at the Salzburg Festival and received enthusiastic reviews.

In 2023, Kentridge received the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for the production of Sybil at the Barbican Theatre, London.

William Kentridge Exhibition will be on display through September 1, 2024 at the Taipei Art Museum.

SARAH GANZ BLYTHE a highly respected curator, educator, and scholar with more than 25 years of museum experience, will be the new Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Director of the Harvard Art Museums, interim Provost John Manning has announced. Ganz Blythe is joining Harvard from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD Museum), where she is currently Deputy Director, Exhibitions, Education, and Programs. She will take her post as director on August 12.

In addition to the RISD Museum, she has worked in curatorial and educational positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, both in New York.

Ganz Blythe holds a B.A. in art history from Wellesley College and a Ph.D. in modern art from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. She has taught at Brown University, Wellesley College, and RISD, and has published widely throughout her career on the complicated histories of museums, art pedagogy, and underrepresented women artists.

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SWEET CHARITY

MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND by Joy Behar. The popular TV personality and Bay Street Board of Trustees member Joy Behar and her friends, including Susie Essman, Tovah Feldshuh, Sherri Shepherd, and more will perform Ny First Ex-Husband, Behar's all-new show.

My First Ex-husband is a series of monologues, both funny and poignant, written by Behar and will grace the stage one night only to benefit the Bay Street Theater.

June 22 at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY.

SPREADING THE WORD

GOD LIKES A GOOD LAUGH so 107 comedians from 15 nations, including US celebrities Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chris Rock, Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Jim Gaffigan, Mike Birbiglia, Kathleen Madigan, David Sedaris, James Martin, Tig Notaro, Italy's Silvio Orlando, and British actor and comedian Stephen Merchant and others were invited to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis.

There are some invitations you jump at to accept and this was one of them. Before flying to Italy's southern Puglia region to meet world leaders at the G7 summit, Pope Francis hosted the laugh makers at the Vatican, celebrating the importance of humor.

Also in attendance was American Jesuit Father James Martin, author of Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughtr Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life.

"In the midst of so much gloomy news, immersed as we are in many social and even personal emergencies, you have the power to spread peace and smiles,” the leader of the Catholic Church told the comedians, speaking in Italian.

"You unite people, because laughter is contagious," he continued.

Then he earned his own laugth when he said: "I ask you to please pray for me: for, with a smile, not against!"

"You manage to make people smile even while dealing with problems and events, large and small. You denounce abuses of power; you give voice to forgotten situations; you highlight abuses; you point out inappropriate behavior," Pope Francis added.

Francis pointed out that in the creation, "Divine wisdom practiced your art for the benefit of none other than God himself, the first spectator in history. Remember this," he added. "When you manage to bring intelligent smiles to the lips of even a single spectator, you also make God smile."

Francis also said it was OK to "laugh at God" in the same way "we play and joke with the people we love."

After delivering his speech, Francis individually met each comedians.

BROADWAY CELEBRATES JUNETEENTH along with partners at the Times Square Alliance, the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) is proud to help present Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth, part of the Broadway League's Black to Broadway initiative, a free outdoor concert centered around Black artistry and unity that will feature an entirely Black Broadway cast performing Broadway musical numbers.

The concert will be hosted by Michael James Scott and take place in Times Square on Wednesday, June 19th from 11:00am- 12:30pm (rain or shine) as the community gathers to honor and celebrate this important holiday.

LONDON MUSICAL THEATRE ORCHESTRA has announced the cast for their production of Something Rotten.

Jason Manford will star as s Nick Bottom, Gary Wilmot as Nostradamus, Richard Fleeshman as Shakespeare, Marisha Wallace as Bea, Evelyn Hoskins as Portia, Cassius Hackforth as Nigel Bottom, Steve Furst as Shylock, Ashley Samuels as Troubadour, Cameron Blakely as Brother Jeremiah and Jenna Boyd as Lady Croydon.

The UK premiere of Something Rotten! plays in Concert at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London on August 5th and 6th, directed by Tim Jackson.

MAGGIE SAJAK daughter of recently retired wheel spinner Pat, is known to many as the social poster for Wheel Of Fortune. Some who live and die by what they read on the internet may think that if they were thin and had gorgeous clothes and a famous father, they could also do that job. Consider this. Recently, Maggie learned that she had passed the California Bar on her first attempt - one of the toughest bar exams in the nation. She's a lawyer. Her brother is a doctor.

AI STEVE IS RUNNING FOR PARLIAMENT for the Brighton constituency in the upcoming UK general election on July 4. While having an AI candidate may sound like a futuristic premise, it is on the ballot. The human behind AI Steve is Steve Endacott, a Sussex entrepreneur. AI Steve wins Endacott told the press he’ll merely be a conduit, and the AI will make the policy decisions.

He says that he sees AI Steve as a way to allow for a more direct form of democracy. "We are actually, I think, reinventing politics using AI as a technology base, as a copilot, not to replace politicians but to really connect them into their audience, their constituency," says Endacott. AI Steve was designed by Neural Voice, an AI voice company of which Endacott is the chair. According to Jeremy Smith, the company’s co-founder, AI Steve can have up to 10,000 conversations at once. "A key element is creating your own database of information," says Smith in published reports. "And how to inject customer data into it."

As explained to the press: AI Steve will transcribe and analyze conversations it has with voters and put issues of policy forward to "validators," or regular people who can indicate whether they care about an issue or want to see a certain policy enacted.

LUISA SPAGNOLI QUEEN OF CHOCOLATE

A recognizable product, especially at holiday time.

being aired on PBS is a exquisite, sensitive film/documentary, filmed in 2016, telling the true story of Luisa Spagnoli who was an Italian businesswoman, famous for creating a women's fashion store and the chocolate brand, Perugia.

Directed by Lodovico Gasparini, written by Franco Bernini, Gloria Malatesta, Maria Rita Parsi. With a cast off 55, the production stars Luisa Ranieri, Vinicio Marchioni and Matteo Martari.

The series was filmed and set in various places in the old town of Perugia, the protagonist's hometown which is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The sweet shop where Luisa started her business making confectionery and chocolate was reconstructed in Via Rocchi, recreating, with the help of master chocolatiers at Perugina, the original products she sold.

In 1922, a brand of Italian chocolates called Baci ("Kisses") was created. The recipe for Baci now, a little more than 100 years since it was created, remains the same: dark chocolate, gianduia, chopped hazelnuts and crowned with a whole hazelnut. By 1939, her chocolate brand Baci Perugina was so successful that it arrived in other countries including the US.

After the end of the war, Spagnoli created a new company, breeding poultry and angora rabbits. In 1928, Spagnoli was the person to think of the idea of using angora yarn for knitwear including shawls, boleros, and fashionable garments which she trademarked Angora Spagnoli. At the Fiera di Milano exhibition, her innovation was showcased, and the activity of the company soon expanded. Being diagnosed with throat cancer, Spagnoli was unable to witness the growth of her company, which began about four years later under the guidance of her son Mario. Giovanni Buitoni moved her to Paris to obtain medical care available, remaining with her until her death in Paris in 1935 at the age of 58.

There are now more than 100 clothing shops throughout the world, with the headquarters still based in Perugia.

A captivating production filmed in muted tones with exceptional directing, acting, camera work and lighting. Broadcast in Italian with English subtitles.

A don't miss it production.

TENNESSEE HAS SPECIALTY THEATRE LICENSE PLATES Residents of Tennesse can support the Tennessee Theatre and other local arts organizations by purchasing a speciality or vanity license plate. Many of the Theatre's free community and educational events are supported by the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Tennessee Specialty License Plate Program.

The State of Tennessee offers more than 100 specialty license plates for Tennessee motorists to display on their registered motor vehicles. By purchasing an Arts Specialty License Plate, automobile owners are supporting the Tennessee Theatre and many other arts organizations across the state.

TEATRO GRATTACIELO announces its 30th anniversary gala concert, celebrating their history and part of their mission: the rare Italian Verismo era. This milestone event does not only celebrate thirty years of enthralling performances and cultural revitalization, breathing new life into lesser-known operatic treasures, but also embodies Teatro Grattacielo’s commitment to fostering diversity, supporting emerging artists, building into the future and excellence in the arts.

The event will showcase the exceptional talents of renowned Mexican conductor and pianist Abdiel Vázquez. He will accompany guests soprano Celeste Morales, tenor Jeremy Brauner, mezzosoprano Hana Yiu, and Camerata Bardi Vocal Academy’s young artists soprano Victoria McGrath, soprano Tiernan Chase, and bass-baritone Henry Hyunsoon Kim, who will perform the works of celebrated composers Puccini, Boito, Samaras, Leoncavallo, Wolf-Ferrari, Mascagni, bringing together guests and patron of the arts.

The free event will be held on Friday, June 21st, at the Columbus Citizen Foundation, New York, NY. Attendance is by invitation only due to limited venue capacity. For all our other followers, the event will be broadcasting live on their Facebook page.

THE PRINCESS OF WALES Princess Kate, who is referred to as "my beloved daughter-in-law" by King Charles gave him the best official birthday present possible - she was well enough to attend the Trooping of the Colors on Saturday, June 15, 2024.

Both his Majesty and Princes Kate are inspirational to others who have heard those upending, life altering words - it's cancer. While Kate's husband, Prince William is no slouch, he'd probably be the first to admit that he "married up."

While the event did have some rain, the working royals were elegantly presented. Queen Camilla opted for a soft mint green, silk crepe coat and dress from Anna Valentine, and a hat by Philip Treacy. She accessorized with her Grenadier Guards military brooch, and a pearl necklace. Kate Middleton was a knock out in white. Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh selected a lemon sherbert colored midi dress by Beulah, featuring a subtle puff shoulder and gorgeous fluted sleeves with a tailored bodice and off-center buttons at the skirt. She added a veiled fascinator in a matching hue and sparkling gold earrings. Her now grown daughter, college student Lady Louise Windsor, wore a stunning blue and white floral Suzannah London dress, which she had worn to her uncle's coronation. On her head was a pale blue hat from her mother's collection. Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, who always looks smart, arrived in a creme coat and gloves with a beige hat.

Important participant was The Irish Guards Household Division Regimental Mascot, an Irish Wolfhound, named Turlough Mor but called Seamus. Wearing his red regimental outfit - Seamus took his place at the front of the Regiment and led the Band of the Irish Guards, and the Drums and Pipes of the Irish Guards onto Horse Guards parade. The three Wales childen were blue and white color coordinate. And, little Louis - as usual - put a smile on everyone's faces. Happy "official" birthday to the King. Long may be reign.

THE KING'S FOUNDATION'S INAUGURAL AWARDS CEREMONY

King Charles (center) poses with (from third left) Penny Lancaster, Rod Stewart, David Beckham, Sienna Miller (fourth right), Naomi Campbell and Edward Enninful at The King's Foundation Awards on June 11, 2024. Photo: Press pool/Kirsty Wigglesworth/The King's Foundation

Pipers from the National Piping Centre and the Rock Choir who are based in Tetbury and often perform at Highgrove greeted 250 guests who were attending the King;s Foundation Inaugural Awards Ceremony at St. James Palace on June 11, 2024.

King Charles, 75, looked dapper and happy at the first-ever awards for the charity he established in 1990 as the Prince of Wales. The King's Foundation (formerly The Prince's Trust) works to create improved communities where people, places and the planet can harmoniously coexist, and the awards are now set to be held annually to celebrate students, teachers, alumni and partners for their work furthering the organization's aims across a slew of sectors. The Foundation supports learning and entrepreneurship across traditional arts, textiles, rural skills, health and wellbeing and even recently teamed up with CHANEL.

Its headquarter are at Dumfries House in Scotland, which was saved by a consortium led by the King, and also cares for the Castle of Mey in Caithness and Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire. In addition, it runs from three further educational sites in London and has a branch in the United States.

It is one of the most important charities ever established by a living human being. Someday King Charles should rank along with Clara Barton founding the Red Cross and the Salvation Army established by William Booth.

The awards, which will take place annually, had nine awards pesented, culminating in the monarch personally presenting The King Charles III Harmony Award, given to an individual to recognize their long-term commitment to the foundation’s mission.

King Charles presenting the Harmony Award to former UN secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Photo: Kellogg College Fellow

That award went to Ban Ki-moon, the former United Nations Secretary-General. The special award recognizes an individual's long-term commitment to the mission of The King's Foundation.

Ban Ki-moon, who as UN Secretary-General played a major role in securing the Paris Climate Agreement and promoting the Sustainable Development Goals, is a Kellogg College Bynum Tudor Fellow, as is His Majesty King Charles III.

Food campaigner and TV chef Jamie Oliver won an award as "advocate of the year".

Sir Rod Stewart and David Beckham, who was recently announced as an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, handed out awards as did actress Sienna Miller, editor Edward Enninful, model Naomi Campbell, gardener and presenter Alan Titchmarsh and chef Raymond Blanc.

"It’s wonderful, it’s a great honor. I come from a very poor family and to find myself here in this wonderful place is a great honor. We all have to remember where we come from,’ Sir Rod said.

Referring to King Charles, he said; "He had (cancer) treatment today, he told me. I went through all that. I had treatment five days a week. Like him, I was still working. He’s remarkable," he added.

Blue ribbon attendees laugh as King Charles and Sir Rod Stewart kid around. Photo: Press pool/Kirsty Wigglesworth/The King's Foundation

Sir Rod revealed in 2019 he had suffered prostate cancer for three years and that he is now in the clear. The singer's wife, the lovely Lady Penny who is al an Ambassador for the charity, said: "Just like my husband, His Majesty’s work ethic is incredible. He was the driving force behind looking after the planet, our communities, our historical buildings. He’s been that driving force for so many years before everyone got on the bandwagon. He knew exactly what he was talking about and the fact that he was itching to get back to work and do what he does best. He wants to make sure he makes his mark and raises enough awareness among people, so the younger generation will come through and follow on his work."

The awards also featured live demonstrations of some of The King’s Foundation’s education programs including furniture-making, woodworking and embroider.

Both Stewart and Beckham presented prizes at the awards. Beckham has also agreed to serve as an ambassador recently returned from Highgrove where he was schooled about the organization and checed out some of the charity’s educational programs at workshops.

The King's Foundation offers educational courses for around 15,000 students each year, as well as health and well-being programs for another 2,000 people annually. Other offerings include regeneration projects across the U.K. and overseas to revitalize communities and historic buildings.

"I’m excited to be working with The King’s Foundation and to have the opportunity to help raise awareness of the charity’s work. I’ve always been keen to help young people to expand their horizons and I’m particularly looking forward to supporting the Foundation’s education programs and its efforts to ensure young people have greater access to nature," Beckham said in a statement at the time. The King's Foundation Awards included live demonstrations of some of the charity's educational programs like furniture making, woodworking and embroidery, plus architecture and place-making work. King Charles spent time speaking to students and ambassadors to learn more about how the foundation has made a difference.

The American branch of The King's Foundation is based in New York City and has experienced a busy period.

This Spring, The King’s Trust USA and their delivery partner City Year supported over 200 young people across thirteen schools in Chicago, Detroit and New York City through the Enterprise Challenge program. On May 23rd they hosted the inaugural US Enterprise Challenge Finals in New York City, which brought together nearly 100 attendees to hear the business plans from each of the 2024 Regional Enterprise Challenge Winners.

Designed to increase students’ knowledge of corporate ethical strategies and business concepts, Enterprise Challenge encourages and inspires a new generation of entrepreneurs through gamification and mentorship. Using a unique business simulation game, students not only develop entrepreneurial skills through realistic scenarios but also hone transferable soft skills including creative thinking, decision making, teamwork and communication.

Meet the 2024 Enterprise Challenge Finalists:

Star’s Bike Shop, Chicago Eco-friendly transportation and community services.

City Training, Detroit - Accessible fitness options and safe spaces for local youth to get involved in activities like self-defense training.

Fresh Faces, New York City - Affordable hygiene products with creative toiletry kits and educational resources.

This year’s champion was Fresh Faces, an all-girls team hailing from The Bronx, NY, who developed a business concept to promote fair and equitable hygiene solutions in New York City schools. In an outstanding demonstration of teamwork and networking, they have partnered with the runners up from the NYC Regional Final, commissioning them to crochet the bags for their hygiene kits. As winners of the US Enterprise Challenge Finals, Fresh Faces will receive $2,000 of seed funding to launch their business. We would like to thank our Founding Corporate Program Partner, The Watches of Switzerland Group Foundation, and our delivery partner, City Year, for making this work possible! Get Hired is an n employability program aimed at young people who may be struggling to secure employment through a traditional recruitment process, Get Hired is addressing the power imbalance between young people and employers.

On June 3rd, 24 City Year AmeriCorps members participated in an Empowerment Day during which they practiced their interview skills with corporate volunteers in preparation for real interviews with employers looking for new hires.

At the Get Hired event on June 10th, AmeriCorps members had the opportunity to interview for more than 35 available roles with 6 organizations from the non-profit and for profit sectors.

The King’s Trust Global Gala 2024 took place May 2nd with Global Ambassadors, Lionel Richie and Edward Enninful OBE, welcoming an exceptional group of philanthropists, celebrities, and friends and alumni of The Trust in New York City. The event shone a spotlight on the young people supported by the work of The King’s Trust, celebrated the international reach of the Trust’s programs and raised vital funds that will help The King’s Trust Group deliver more programs to help young people gain skills and find meaningful work.

The Group’s first event under their new name following the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III in 2023, the Global Gala raised $1.5 million to invest in young people around the world through the delivery of education, enterprise and employability programming.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

39 COPENHAGEN FESTIVALS have received a total of DKK 48 million in state subsidies. The list of recipients spans major events like DOX and Pride, as well as grassroots indie projects like Copenhagen Comics and 60 Seconds.

THE SHUBERT FOUNDATION has announced a record-breaking $40 Million in Annual Grants. Over 650 not-for-profit theatres, dance companies, academic theatre training programs, in both rural and urban areas will benefit from the funding.

"We are delighted to be able to increase both our funding and the number of grantees yet again this year," President of The Shubert Foundation Diana Phillips said in a statement. "Our unrestricted grants support not-for-profit live performing arts nationwide at a still-challenging time when support for these organizations remains crucial.

"As production costs have soared while audiences have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels," Phillips continued, "we are gratified to know that our open-door policy and the general operating funds we provide are more appreciated than ever by our growing constituency. Not only is this funding necessary for the recovery and sustainability of these organizations, but it is key to expanding their reach to new audiences as well."

The Shubert Foundation provides general operating support to 484 professional resident theatres and 115 dance companies developing and producing new work throughout the United States. Funds are unrestricted, which allows organizations to utilize their awards as they see fit. The Foundation has also allocated $730,000 to the NYC public schools in support of arts education efforts.

Since 2005, The Shubert Foundation has provided more than $8.6 million to the NYC Department of Education. The Shubert Scholars Program provides another $1.2 million in scholarships to students in university theatre arts programs to help alleviate student debt for early-career artists.

The Shubert Foundation was established in 1945 by Lee and J.J. Shubert in memory of their brother Sam. The Shubert Foundation grants program, which began in 1977, has awarded more than $653 million to not-for-profit arts organizations0

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THE 77th ANNUAL TONY AWARDS will be held Sunday, June 16, 2024 at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater in New York City.

The show will air on CBS. Ariana DeBose will host for the third year in a row.

For a Complete list of Nominees and Winners click here.

DRAMA DESK 2024 WINNERS were presented Monday, June 10 at NYU Skirball Center. NYC.

Tony Award Winners Sutton Foster and Aaron Tveit hosted the ceremony. In keeping with the Drama Desk's mission, the nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway during the 2023-2024 season for this year’s awards. Shows were eligible with 21 or more unique live performances. The Drama Desk Awards are the only major New York City theater awards for which productions on Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off Off Broadway compete against each other in the same categories. David Barbour and Charles Wright are The Drama Desk co-presidents. As was the case last year, all performance categories are gender-free. The updated gender-free categories are: Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical, Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, and Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical. Each of those categories had twice as many nominees as the former gendered categories and those categories have two winners each.

The list of winners:

Outstanding Play: Stereophonic, by David Adjmi, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Musical: Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Revival of a Play: Appropriate, Second Stage Theater

Outstanding Revival of a Musical: I Can Get It for You Wholesale, Classic Stage Company

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play: Jessica Lange, Mother Play, Second Stage Theater and Sarah Paulson, Appropriate, Second Stage Theater

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical: (There are 3 winners in this category as it includes a tie) Brian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses, Atlantic Theater Company - Maleah Joi Moon, Hell’s Kitchen - Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses, Atlantic Theater Company.

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play - Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play, Second Stage Theater and Kara Young, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical - Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen and Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Outstanding Direction of a Play: Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants

Outstanding Choreography: Justin Peck, Illinoise, Park Avenue Armory

Outstanding Music: Shaina Taub, Suffs

Outstanding Lyrics: David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Book of a Musical: Itamar Moses, Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Orchestrations: Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Music in a Play: Will Butler, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Revue: Amid Falling Walls, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play: David Zinn, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical: Paul Tate dePoo III, The Great Gatsby (includes projections)

Outstanding Costume Design of a Play: Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical: Paul Tazewell, Suffs

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play: Jane Cox, Appropriate, Second Stage Theater

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical: Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim (projections), The Outsiders

Outstanding Projection and Video Design: Peter Nigrini, Hell’s Kitchen

Outstanding Sound Design of a Play: Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical (3-way tie): Nick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Cody Spencer, The Outsiders and Walter Trarbach, Water for Elephants.

Outstanding Wig and Hair: Nikiya Mathis, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Manhattan Theatre Club

Outstanding Solo Performance: Patrick Page, All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain

Unique Theatrical Experience: Grenfell: in the words of survivors, St. Ann’s Warehouse, National Theatre, and KPPL Productions

Outstanding Fight Choreography: Cha Ramos, Water for Elephants

Outstanding Adaptation: An Enemy of the People, by Amy Herzog

Outstanding Puppetry: Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman, and Camille Labarre, Water for Elephants

SPECIAL AWARDS:
Ensemble Award - The cast of Stereophonic – Will Brill, Andrew R. Butler, Juliana Canfield, Eli Gelb, Tom Pecinka, Sarah Pidgeon, and Chris Stack – who execute David Adjmi’s hypernaturalistic text with extraordinary care and precision, while also performing Will Butler’s music with the freshness and life that makes us believe we are witnessing, first-hand, the creation of a new American classic.

Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award - Cole Escola, who both wrote and stars in one of this season’s biggest hits Off Broadway, Oh, Mary! Following in the long legacy of queer artists who write themselves into American history, Escola’s new “gay fantasia on national themes” is a hilarious reminder of why we must continue to interrogate our past.

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL AWARDS
How to Dance in Ohio Authentic Autistic Representation Team – Sammi Cannold, Nicole D'Angelo, Becky Leifman, Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt, Liz Weber, and Jeremy Wein – for their steadfast support of autistic theatermakers, and their strides toward true accessibility for neurodiverse individuals both on and offstage.

Lighting designer Isabella Byrd, whose self-described technique as a “darkness designer” has earned her a cache of nominations and awards in the United States and abroad. During this season, Byrd illuminated two Broadway shows done in the round, An Enemy of the People and Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Off Broadway, her spotlight on quiet, small-scale stories both enchanted us in Primary Trust and mesmerized us in Infinite Life, with a parking-lot sky that marked the passage of time.

Lady Irene Gandy, for career achievement. A press agent extraordinaire for over five decades, Lady Irene has always demonstrated her passion, dedication, and love for theater. A Broadway producer and Sardi's honoree, she is a zealous advocate for inclusion, diversity, and equity in the arts.



SWAN LAKE IN THE ROUND by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Choreography and Direction by Derek Deans.

Yuri Uchiumi, ENB’s guest répétiteur.

The cast features; Emma Hawes, Ashley Coupal, Sangeun Lee, Aitor Arrieta, Francesco Gabriele Frola, Gareth Haw, Erina Takahashi, Yonah Acosta, Lorenzo Trossello, Laurretta Summerscales. James Streeter playing the half-man, half-bird sorcerer Rothbart.

While the ballet dancers at the English National Ballet practice for over 150 hours in preparation for their Swan Lake in-the-round shows at the Royal Albert Hall, the show is a technical challenge behind the scenes as well! In the Hall, technicians work for over 44 hours to raise the whole floor of the auditorium, rig new lighting and set the stage for an 80-piece orchestra who will play 124 minutes of music.

With a cast of 120 dancers, including 60 intricately dressed swans, the Swan Lake costumiers have a challenging job. Every one of the 100cm diameter principal tutus must be studded with over 200 Swarovski crystals, 400 sequins and 5 metres of feathers. 200m of ribbon are used. Each costume takes over 4 hours of work. There are 600 pairs of pointe shoes.

The creatives are Peter Farmer design and Howard Harrison lighting design.

Presented by the English National Ballet and Royal Albert Hall, performances through June 23, 2024 at Royal Albert Hall in London.

FAWLTY TOWERS by John Cleese.

The hit sitcom was based on real life hotel owner, Donald Sinclair, and Cleese was given the idea when he stayed at Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay.

The play combines the plots of three half-hour episodes of the TV show - including The Germans, with its famous line 'Don't mention the war!'

Starring Adam Jackson-Smith as Basil, Anna-Jane Casey as his wife Sybil, Hemi Yeroham as waiter Manuel and Victoria Fox as Polly, the chambermaid.

The show, which opened last month at London's Apollo Theatre, has been extended until at least Christmas.

TWO STRANGERS (CARRY A CAKE ACROSS NEW YORK) a British musical by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan. Music: Jim Barne

Directed and choreographed by Tim Jackson.

Featuring Dujonna Gift and Sam Tutty.

Dougal is a naïve, impossibly upbeat Brit who's just landed in New York for his dad’s second wedding. The dad he’s never known. Waiting for him at the airport is Robin, the sister of the bride. She’s a native New Yorker, she’s late for work, and she doesn’t have time to stop and see the sights. Instant attraction? Nope. But with an extravagant wedding approaching and the Big Apple at their feet, anything could happen...

Extended to August 31, 2024 atthe Criterion Theatre in London.

THE OUTSIDER Written by Paul Slade Smith.

Directed by Brian Shnipper.

Starring Thomas Anawalt, Jonathan Bray, Taylor Leigh Edwards, Susan Huckle, Nikhil Pai, Stephen Rockwell, Natalie Storrs.

The Outsider runs through June 30 at the International City Theatre in Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center’s Beverly O'Neill Theater, Long Beach, CA.

KATHY AND STELLA SOLVE A MURDER musical comedy from Jon Brittain and Matthew Floyd Jones with Fabian Aloise.

Co-Director ad choreographer Fabian Aloise.

Musical Director Andrew Hilton.

BFFs Kathy and Stella host Hull's least successful true crime podcast. When their favorite author is killed they are thrust into a thrilling whodunnit of their own!

Featuring: Bronté Barbé, Rebekah Hinds, Elliot Broadfoot, Hannah Jane Fox, Ben Redfern, Imelda Warren-Green, Elliotte Willams-N’Dure. Understudies Jen Caldwell and Chelsea Hall. Standby Felicia & Sue Shaw Sorelle Marsh.

The creatives are: Set & Costume Designer Cecilia Carey - Co-Sound Designer Tingying Dong - Co-Sound Designer Dan Samson - Lighting Designer Peter Small - Associate Director Charlie Martin - Associate Costume Designer & Costumer Supervisor Isobel Pellow - Associate Musical Director Catherine Benson - Props Supervisor Charlotte King - Hair & Makeup Supervisor Tevae Humphrey - Music Associate Tom Mitchell - Musical Supervisor & Orchestrator Charlie Ingles - Dramaturg Gillian Greer - Casting Director Annelie Powell CDG - Casting Assistant Alice Walters - Resident Director Jennifer Caldwell - Dance Captain Chelsea Hall.

The Band: Keys #1 / MD Andrew Hilton Musical Director, Musical Supervisor & Orchestrator. Keys #2 / Associate MD Catherine Benson Catherine is a Musical Director and Pianist. Guitar Laura Browne - Drums Philip Williams.

Until September 2024 at the Ambassadors Theatre, London.

EVITA Lyrics by Tim Rice. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Originally Directed by Harold Prince. Directed by Bill English.

Music Direction by Dave Dobrusky.

Choreography by Nicole Helfer.

The Tony Award-winning musical Evita charts young and ambitious Eva Peron’s meteoric rise from poor illegitimate child to the most powerful woman in Latin America. Told in part through the lens of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, Evita recounts the incredible story of Argentina’s matriarch as she rallies the heart of a nation to bring about a new era in Argentine history.

Featuring Sophia Alawi as Eva - Peter Gregus as Peron - Alex Rodriguez as Che. With Malia Abayon, Christine M. Capsuto-Shulman, Jurä Davis, Chachi Delgado, Gabriella Goldstein, César Lino, Catrina Manahan, Dian Sitip Meechai, Deanalís Arocho Resto, River Bermudez Sanders, Nicholas Tabora, and Chanel Tilghman.

June 27 – September 7, 2024 at the San Francisco Playhouse, SF Calif.

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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.

FINAL OVATION

JADE STICE an original cast ember of Miss Saigon died in a hiking accident reported on June 7, 2024 in mainland Honolulu. She was 53.

"Stice made her mark in community theater in 1989 as one of the titular daughters in Tommy Aguilar’s production of 13 Daughters at the Hawaii Theatre; she stole the show with a show-stopping song- and-dance number that she performed flawlessly despite having one leg in a cast to the knee. Next came Dreamgirls, also at the Hawaii Theatre, and then playing the female lead in Diamond Head Theatre’s 1990 production of Singin’ in the Rain, according to the The Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

In 1991 Stice moved to New York where she successfully auditioned for the original Broadway cast of Miss Saigon. She was a member of the company for the next decade; she was also a member of the first Broadway touring company of Jekyll & Hyde.

Stice returned to Hawaii in 2001 to star in DHT’s spring production of Chess. She doubled as director/choreographer of DHT’s staging of Jekyll & Hyde later that year.

Stice and her sister, Dr. Ligaya Stice, co-founded the I'm a Bright Kid Foundation in honor of her former musical theatre teacher Ron Bright. The foundation worked to share Bright's legacy through the performing arts and arts education for new generations.

Stice is survived by her three children, her sister Ligaya Stice, and her sister Paraluman Stice-Durkin.

TONY LO BIANCO Tony nominated actor best known best known for his role in the Academy Award-winning film The French Connection, died Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at his horse farm in Maryland after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 87.

A former Golden Gloves boxer, he would go on to act in theater, film and television.

Lo Bianco acted in 102 films during his career. His last film was the 2022 Ray Romano-directed comedy Somewhere in Queens.

Lo Bianco also acted on stage, earning a Tony Award nomination in 1983 for his portrayal of Eddie Carbone in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. He won an Obie Award for his role in an off-Broadway production of Yanks-3, Detroit-0, Top of the 7th in 1975.

He was also involved in many charitable organizations throughout his life, including the United Service Organizations (USO), Building Homes for Heroes, The Wounded Warrior Project, the National Italian American Foundation, Sons of Italy in America, among others. His support of U.S. veterans led him to produce and narrate a tribute video called Just a Common Soldier. The video has received over 22 million views and received two Emmys, according to Lo Bianco's website.

He is survived by his third wife Alyse Best Muldo Lo Bianco whom he married in 2015, three daughters from his first marriage to Dora Landrey, and their families.

RON SIMONS four time Tony award winning producer died June 12, 2024. He was 63.

He graduated from Columbia Business School in 1989 with an MBA in marketing and international business. He was soon hired at Microsoft as a product manager in San Francisco, California. Then he switched gears. After receiving an MFA in acting from the University of Washington Simons moved from California to New York. There he became a company member of The Classical Theatre of Harlem. Expanding into producing he founded Simon Says Entertainment. His first theatre producing credit was the 2012 revival of Porgy and Bess starring Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis.

For the next decade, Simons would be a co-producer on numerous Broadway shows, and he would win Tony Awards as a producer for Porgy and Bess; A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder; Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike;, and Jitney. His other credits include producing on Ain't Too Proud and the 2012 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, which featured a majority-Black cast for the Tennessee Williams classic.

He was a 2018 recipient of Columbia College's John Jay Award.

Next Column: June 23-, 2024
Copyright: June 16, 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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