Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: June 5, 2022
By: Laura Deni
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BLOOMIN' CELEBRATIONS ON BLOOMSDAY HONOR JAMES JOYCE

James Joyce in a September 1922 issue of Shadowland photographed by Man Ray.

2022 marks 100 years since the publication of one of the greatest modern novels, Ulysses by James Joyce.

Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually on June 16 , 1904, which is the day depicted in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the central character in Ulysses. The novel follows the life and thoughts of Leopold Bloom and a host of other characters – real and fictional – from 8am on June 16, 1904 through to the early hours of the following morning.

Joyce started writing Ulysses in March 1914, but put it aside to finish his play Exiles, about a husband and wife’s troublesome relationship. On June 16, 1915 he wrote to his brother Stanislaus to say he had finished the first episode of Ulysses. After Ulysses was published in 1922, Joyce’s friends began to mark June 16 as Bloomsday.

Ulysses originally introduced in the American journal The Little Review, is published in Paris on Joyce’s 40th birthday.

Due to its sexually explicit scenes, the book was considered obscene by a number of governments at the time. Ulysses was burned in the U.S. in 1918, in Ireland in 1922, in Canada in 1922, and England in 1923 — the book was officially banned in England in 1929, most likely because the mass-burning was not sufficient in suppressing its readership.

In the United States, Joyce's novel was a source of controversy and the subject of an obscenity trial in 1921. Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap's serial publication of Ulysses in their American magazine The Little Review between March 1918 and December 1920 led to seizure of the edition by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. This led to legal proceedings and the obscenity conviction handed down before Joyce had even completed the work.

According to the James Joyce Center in Dublin, Ireland:

In 1924, Joyce who was nearly blind for most of his life, was hospitalized, his eyes bandaged having had one of many eye-related operations in hopes of improving his vision. geries Friends sent him a bunch of white and blue flowers (white and blue being the colors of the cover of Ulysses) but Joyce despondently scrawled in his notebook "Today 16 June 1924 twenty years after. Will anybody remember this date."

The first major celebration of Bloomsday came in 1929. Adrienne Monnier, partner of the publisher of Ulysses, Sylvia Beach, published Ulysse, the French translation of Ulysses in February. Then, to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first Bloomsday, she organized a Déjeuner Ulysse which was held at the Hotel Leopold near Versailles. Unfortunately, the event took place a little late, on June 29 not June 16.

Celebrations often include dressing up like characters from the book. One of the hallmark fancy dress items of Bloomsday is the straw boater hat. Celebrations include readings, performances and visiting the places and establishments that are referenced in the book. The Bloomsday Breakfast is another common celebration, which involves eating the same breakfast as Leopold Bloom consumes on the morning of June 16. This includes liver and kidneys alongside the typical ingredients of an Irish fried breakfast.

The first Bloomsday celebrated in Ireland was in 1954, the fiftieth anniversary of the first Bloomsday, when the writers Patrick Kavanagh and Flann O’Brien visited the Martello Tower at Sandycove, Davy Byrne’s pub, and 7 Eccles Street, reading parts of Ulysses and drinking a great deal as they went! The James Joyce Centre hosts Bloomsday Breakfasts and other events in the run up to June 16 as well as on the day.

Why did Joyce choose 1904?

The James Joyce Centre in Dublin states: "We believe that on that day Joyce went out with Nora Barnacle, his future wife, for the first time. Joyce and Nora met for the first time on Friday, June 10, 1904 on Nassau Street, near Finn’s Hotel where Nora worked. They arranged to meet again on Tuesday 14 June, outside Sir William Wilde’s house on Merrion Square. Joyce turned up for the meeting but Nora didn’t. Joyce wrote to her at the hotel on 15 June asking if she would like to make another arrangement."

According to Joyce’s biographer, they went walking together in Ringsend on June 16 and Joyce later told Nora "You made me a man." The summer of 1904 was very significant for Joyce. Not only did he meet Nora but he started writing the stories for Dubliners and, after spending six days living with Oliver Gogarty at the Martello Tower in Sandycove in September, Joyce made the decision to leave Ireland. (Though Joyce lived at the Tower in September 1904, he was not living there in June. His letter to Nora on June 15 was written from 60 Shelbourne Road where he was renting a room at the time.)

Joyce shared numerous sexually explicit letters with his wife that have since been auctioned off for nearly half a million dollars, and they’re quite steamy. However, Joyce almost burned the original manuscript for A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man after an intense argument with his wife, Nora, but luckily, Joyce’s sister was able to rescue it.

Joyce’s first novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was published the same year as Dubliners, a collection of 15 short stories.

Some incidents in Joyce’s life during the summer of 1904 became material for Ulysses. On June 20, a drunken Joyce - an accomplished tenor and won the bronze medal in an Irish competitive festival of classical music - was thrown out of a National Theatre Society rehearsal in a hall on Camden Street: at the end of episode 9 (of Ulysses) this incident is ascribed to Stephen. On June 22, Joyce was involved in a drunken altercation which left him with a black eye and other injuries. In Ulysses, Stephen becomes involved in a similar altercation with an English soldier at the end of episode 15.

Announcement of the initial publication of Ulysses

The headlines of the newspapers on June 16, 1904 concerned current events like the Russo-Japanese War, the sinking of the ferryboat General Slocum in New York, the assassination of the Russian governor of Finland, & the winner of the Gold Cup race at Ascot.

On p. 5 of the Freeman’s Journal was news of the sinking of the General Slocum the previous day on New York’s East River under the headline Appalling American Tragedy. The passenger ferry burned & sank, killing over 1000, almost all of them women & children from the German Lutheran community on a Sunday school outing. Events occurring on June 16, 1904 also become part of Ulysses.

In Finland, the Russian Governor General Nikolai Bobrikov was shot by civil servant Eugen Schauman (who then shot himself) inside the Senate building at 11am Helsinki time on June 16. The assassination is mentioned in episode 7, at the offices of the Freeman’s Journal (7.601-2). At Ascot, in England, a twenty-to-one outsider called Throwaway was the winner of the 3pm Gold Cup race. The Freeman’s Journal had tipped the favorite, Sceptre, to win.

In a spotcheck of Bloomsday events we found celebrations arouns the world. Of course Ireland is celebrating.

The Abbey Theatre and Dublin City Council have been working with acclaimed actor Barry McGovern to commemorate this centenary year. Barry has celebrated this famous text for over 30 years and he takes to the Peacock stage to read the complete book over seven consecutive days. The production is curated by The City Arts Office for Dublin City Council and will begin June 10 and end on Bloomsday, Thursday, June 16th.

Curator: Ray Yeates - Photography: Ste Murray - Producer: Melissa Nolan - Stage Manager: Marella Boschi.

Where there is more than one chapter per session, there will be short breaks between each chapter.

The Irish Cultural Centre presents three events to mark Blooms.

On Thursday, June 16 at ICC’s Foyer Bar it's Open Mic Night where patrons are encouraged to "come along and dare to do a reading, recite a bit of prose or a poem by James Joyce, or sing a ditty, or a Dublin song, or do anything that tickles your fancy!."

From June until August, the ICC presents the spectacular exhibition Painting Ulysses by Ireland’s great painter Aidan Hickey. The exhibition comprises 18 large-scale paintings, depicting each of the 18 chapters in James Joyce’s Ulysses.

On Saturday June 18th The ICC will be presenting the he and the she it…A Portrait of James Joyce the brilliant internationally acclaimed one man theatre show which is written and performed by Ireland’s great actor Frank Grimes.

In Melboune, Australia Bloomday Festival events began yesterday, June 4, 2022 with Love's Bitter Mystery, the live world premiere of Bloomsday in Melbourne's first feature film which is directed by Carly Wilding. Unspooling at the Rivoli Cinema, Hawthorn East, the feature-length film is set in Paris and Dublin in 1903-4. How does a young nobody become the most lionized author of the twentieth century?

Filmed in the stately setting of the spookily atmospheric Victorian mansion Villa Alba, this new play features love, death, sex and violence - and the two powerful women who made James Joyce.

From Wednesday June 15-Saturday June 25, 2022 it's a new play: Molly Bloom, diva and siren, promenades in Melbourne at the MC Showroom, Prahran.

Directed by Carl Whiteside with Musical Direction by Emma Austin, Molly Bloom – earthy, vulgar, feisty – is reinvented for the centenary of James Joyce’s infamous banned classic. Forced to choose between a rich adulterer with a vicious glint in his eye and an all-too-familiar husband in Leopold Bloom, Molly reveals herself as never before, the celebrated toast of Gibraltar, Dublin and the world. Bloomsday presents the world premiere of a riotously funny and shockingly frank adaptation of the (in)famous final chapter of Ulysses.

On Thursday, June 16, 2022, The Annual Bloomsday Dinner and Seminar takes place in the The MC Showroom with Prof. Peter Kuch and Assoc. Prof. Frances Devlin-Glass.

That is followed with Dinner with Joycean entertainment at the Ines Wine Bar which is easy walking distance from the theatre.

In American happenings are seemingly everywhere.

Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom is also on stage at the Irish Rep in New York City, adapted for stage by Aedín Moloney & Colum cCann.

Directed by John Keating. Music by Paddy Moloney. Performed by Aedín Moloney.

It is Ireland in the early hours of June 17th, 1904. Molly Bloom’s husband – the philandering Leopold "Poldy" Bloom – has just come home and fallen asleep in their Dublin row house. Molly – a daughter, a mother, a lover, and a long-suffering wife – patrols the pathways of her wild and leaping consciousness. She is lustful. Scared. Exuberant. Heartbreakingly lonely. Vivaciously reckless. And profoundly funny.

Currently, Women and the Making of Joyce's Ulysses is on display through July 17, 2022 at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas.

This exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center, curated by Clare Hutton of Loughborough University, investigates the important and largely unacknowledged role of women in realization of his famed masterpiece.

Objects from the Ransom Center's James Joyce Collection tell the story of the formative role of his family members and, in particular, of four women—Margaret Anderson, Jane Heap, Harriet Shaw Weaver, and Sylvia Beach, who were associated with innovative literary experimentation of the period—all of whom helped Joyce's novel gain widespread notoriety and success.

In the United Kingdom, Harriet Shaw Weaver committed to substantial, and initially anonymous, financial support of Joyce, and published excerpts of Ulysses in The Egoist. Within days of arriving to live in Paris in July 1920, Joyce had enlisted the help of yet another tireless female helper. Sylvia Beach played a pivotal role in bringing the full novel to print under the imprint of her bookshop and lending library Shakespeare and Company, and helped the novel reach a broad audience in print.

See more than 150 rare objects that tell this story, including a first edition of Ulysses, page proofs for its first printing, original copies of The Little Review, manuscripts in Joyce's hand, rare books, printed ephemera, and photographs.

The Exhibition Curator is Dr. Clare Hutton as Reader in English and Digital Humanities at Loughborough University. Her monograph, Serial Encounters: Ulysses and the Little Review (OUP, 2019) has been reissued in paperback.

Join Irish Network Minnesota Thursday, June 16, 2022, for their 5th annual Bloomsday Festival. The party place is the beautiful Summit Manor in Saint Paul, MN.

The event includes: Appetizers, beer, wine, music, dancing, dramatic readings from James Joyce’s Ulysses along with presentation of Irish Network Minnesota’s Annual Bloomsday Literary Award.

Period dress is always encouraged.

The event benefits Minnesota Food Share March Out Hunger campaign.

The HARP Museum at Utica, New York's Irish Cultural Center will be transformed into Dublin for one day on Friday, June 17th, as they host their fifth annual Bloomsday event.

The event will consist of a presentation of the Dublin sites visited by Bloom, each accompanied by dramatic readings by accomplished local actors and scholars, interspersed with traditional Irish music performed by the Craobh Dugan-O’Looney chapter of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann. Theme-appropriate refreshments will also be available.

There is no cost to attend, but seating is limited and people interested in attending are asked to register at Eventbrite.

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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

GRACELAND TO CELEBRATE 40th ANNIVERSARY the 23 room, 17,552sq. foot house in Memphis, which Elvis Presley called home and was turned into a museum by his ex-wife and two estate executors in 1982 will celebrate its 40th anniversary as a museum on June 7th by introducing a "Welcomet to MyWorld Exhibit" which will explore the story of Elvis' Graceland through photos, personal artifacts, and Graceland archival footage, costumes, instruments and cars in the Memphis entertainment complex, which measures more than 200,000 square feet.

Elvis lived in Graceland from June 26, 1957, until his death on August 16, 1977.

More than 22 million visitors from all over the world have stopped by the museum in its 40 year history.

In November 1991, Elvis Presley's Graceland was placed on the National Register of Historical Places.

According to Graceland: "When Elvis passed away in August of 1977, he could have left one of the great fortunes of entertainment history, had he been one to worry about financial planning, rather than freely enjoying and sharing his wealth as he did. While the estate he left was by no means broke, there was a cash flow problem, especially with Graceland costing over half a million dollars a year in maintenance and taxes. It seemed logical for Priscilla and the other two executors to open Graceland to the public. In late 1981, they hired Jack Soden, at the time a Kansas City, Missouri investment counselor, to plan and execute the opening of Graceland to the public and oversee the total operation. Soden continues today as Graceland’s President and CEO. Graceland welcomes over 500,000 visitors each year, is one of the most visited home tours in the United States and is the most famous home in America after The White House."

In related Presley news, last week Las Vegas wedding chapels got all shook up when several chapels received a cease-and-desist letter from the advising them that they were conducting weddings performed by Presley impersonators, using the name Elvis Presley and his likeness without permission of the estate.

Wedding chapel operators and Elvis impersonator marriage officials panicked because the letter began with a strong threat while the muddled offer to enter into an authorized business relationship was hidden in the middle.

Authentic Brands Group (ABG) stated that the wedding chapels are infringing on intellectual property rights related to Elvis Presley, creating "the false impression that Elvis Presley Enterprises has approved, endorsed, or sponsored the Infringing Chapel. The Infringing Chapel is clearly trading off the Elvis Presley intellectual property rights, image, name and likeness without the consent of Elvis Presley Enterprises."

In 2013, Authentic Brands Group announced that it had purchased the intellectual property associated with the rock-and-roll icon from Core Media Group.

On Thursday Authentic Brands Groups issued a clarifying statement regarding the "confusion and concern" their cease-and-desist letter had caused.

"There is no intention to shut down chapels that offer Elvis packages in Las Vegas. That was never our intention," ABG said. "We are working with the chapels to ensure that the usage of Elvis' name, image and likeness are in keeping with his legacy. We are seeking to partner with each of these small businesses to ensure that their use of Elvis' name, image, and likeness are officially licensed and authorized by the estate, so they can continue their operations. Elvis is embedded into the fabric of Las Vegas, and we embrace and celebrate Elvis fandom," the statement continued. "From tribute artists and impersonators to chapels and fan clubs, each and every one of these groups help to keep Elvis relevant for new generations of fans."

No matter the celebrity, "partner with" always translates into plain English that the estate wants a piece of the action. In the case of the wedding chapels it amounts to a few hundred dollars per year, per chapel.

SEE THE NEWLY CLEANED PINK BOY

The Pink Boy by Thomas Gainsborough.

a special display centered on the newly conserved Pink Boy, brings together Waddesdon's collection of paintings by Thomas Gainsborough of boys in Van Dyck dress.

This display celebrates the return of Thomas Gainsborough’s The Pink Boy (1782), one of Waddesdon’s most popular paintings, after being cleaned and conserved, a process that has revealed much about the painting’s creation.

This special display reveals it anew, freed from a discoloured varnish, alongside three other Waddesdon Gainsboroughs that depict boys in so-called "Van Dyck" dress.

Gainsborough revered Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641)—the leading painter at Charles I’s court—considering him the supreme exponent of British portraiture, against whose measure contemporaries judged him. Gainsborough’s boys in "Vandyke" dress—each of differing age and social class and painted for different purposes—play with the fluid relationship between clothing and identity.

The Pink Boy is a more youthful counterpart of the famous Blue Boy which is housed at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California and, like him, wearing an 18th-century fancy-dress version of 17th-century clothes.

The Pink Boy is as much a showpiece of Gainsborough’s skill, demonstrating his relationship to the art of the past as well as his modernity, as it is a portrait of the sitter, who is probably Master Francis Nicholls. It acquired its nickname in the 19th-century, in the wake of The Blue Boy’s fame.

Dr Juliet Carey is Senior Curator at Waddesdon Manor. The paintings are on display Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, England.

BLACK CITIZENSHIP IN THE AGE OF JIM CROW Through September 18, 2022 in the Wylie Gallery of the World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

Explore?the struggle for full citizenship and racial equality that unfolded after the Civil War, and leading into WWI.

When slavery ended in 1865, a period of Reconstruction began (1865–1877), leading to achievements like the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. By 1868, all persons born in the?United States?were citizens and equal?before?the law, but efforts to create an interracial democracy were contested from the start. The promise of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments fell short as state laws chipped away at their guarantees and federal court decisions paved the way for a “separate but equal” America, ushering in the age of Jim Crow.

In 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and entered World War I. At the time, African Americans made up only 10 percent of the population, but a total of 13 percent of the segregated United States armed services. Though the American military reflected the diversity of its population, the majority of African American soldiers – nearly 80 percent – were organized into supply, construction or other non-combatant units. However, two predominately African American combat divisions were formed that proved the battlefront capabilities of African American troops. Sgt. Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts, both members of the 93rd Division, 369th Infantry Regiment – later known as the Harlem Hellfighters – were the first American recipients of the French Croix de Guerre for bravery. They were not awarded medals from the United States until after their respective deaths.

BRIAN HERNANDEZ 21, told Dallas, Texas police he was upset "at his girl" when he broke into the Dallas Museum of Art through a window and smashed millennia-old artworks valued at more than $5 million.

Hernandez was unarmed and justified himself by saying "he got mad at his girl so he broke in and started destroying property," according to the arrest warrant.

The intent of the act was "not theft of art or any objects on view," confirmed a public statement from the museum.

A 6th century B.C. Greek amphora, Black-Figure Panel Amphora and a Greek pot dating from 450 B.C, Red-Figure Pyxis 450 B.C were both victims of the rampage. Those two items alone were valued at some $5 million.

Other damages also include a 6th century ceramic cup, Kylix Herakles and Nemeon Lion' valued at $100,000, and the Caddo statue Batah Kuhuh Alligator Gar Fish, valued at roughly $10,000.

Hernandez has been charged with criminal mischief, which could land him in prison for five years.

The attack came three days after a man disguised as an "old woman" in a wheelchair threw cake at the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The attack did not damage Da Vinci's masterpiece and only left white cream smeared across its bulletproof safety glass.

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SWEET CHARITY

IRISH REP'S 2022 GALA CONCERT: A CELEBRATION OF THE MUSICALS OF HAROLD PRINCE takes place June 13, 2022 at Town Hall in New York City.

Michel Bell, Len Cariou, Glenn Close, Joel Grey, Ciaran Sheehan, Max Von Essen, and Kaley Ann Voorhees, will be among the performers paying tribute to Harold Prince's incredible work on Broadway and beyond.

The event will honor Loretta Brennan Glucksman and Harold Prince.

Directed & Arranged by Charlotte Moore. Full Orchestra & Chorus under the Direction of John Bell.

Kevin Curley, Gala Chair.

"On this special evening, we remember our pal through his groundbreaking musicals and celebrate his legacy as a friend and collaborator – a leader who lifted up young artists and new endeavors. Hal and his wife Judy were two of Irish Rep’s earliest champions, helping us to become the company we are today, and Hal went on to serve on our Board for more than 30 years," stated the Irish Rep.

"This special evening will honor Loretta Brennan Glucksman, who will receive Irish Repertory Theatre’s Visionary Leadership Award in recognition of her philanthropic support of Irish communities and her tireless work in promoting Irish culture and heritage in the US and around the world.

"Irish Rep also celebrates Artistic Honorees Linda Fisher and David Toser, whose costume designs have brought to life hundreds of characters in more than fifty productions over the last 33 years."

UNITED WE SING a concert benefitting the People of Ukraine takes place June 5, 2022 at the Congregational Church of Manhasset in Manhasset, NY.

100% of all donations received will go to benefit The International Committee of The Red Cross, providing humanitarian support for the people of Ukraine.

New Camerata Opera is a New York City-based, cooperative company in its sixth season. Its mission is to engage, excite, and educate through immersive performances that break down barriers and inspire fans of the future. NCO offers mainstage operas, children's operas through Camerata Piccola, and produces short operatic films with CamerataWorks.

EVERLAND PRESENTS: THE CONCERT FOR CLIMATE which took place June 4. The event was emceed by Kodjo Akolor and Headline artists included Julian Lennon and Julian Marley & The Uprising. Also performing were artists from around the world who are lending their voices to raise awareness of the urgent need to protect nature and safeguard life on Earth.

The event was of the UN Environment Program’s World Environment Day 2022 celebrations which took place June 2-5 in Stockholm, Sweden.

The purpose of the gathering was to call call attention to the urgent need to stop deforestation.

RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE 2022 SUMMER GALA takes place Saturday, June 11, 2022 in Ridgefield, CT.
R&B/Funk/Soul icon 10-time Grammy Award winner Chaka Khan brings a night of her greatest hits as the headliner for the Summer Fundraising Gala.

Gala ticket holders will enjoy an open bar, signature drinks, small plates from various area restaurants and caterers. Everyone can bid on great silent and live auction items.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JUDY a very special evening celebrating Judy Garland’s 100th birthday and starring the singers Carole J. Bufford and Stephanie Blythe together for the very first time.

Featuring the glorious music that made Judy Garland a household name, it all takes place at the Birdland Theater in New York City on Judy’s birthday - June 10th - and includes a three course gourmet dinner at 6:30 followed by the show at 8. And to top it all off, the proceeds from the ticket sales will go to benefit the Mabel Mercer Foundation.

SPREADING THE WORD

ALFIE BOE singing The Impossible Dream while a photo tribute to the late Gen Colin Powell took place, during the PBS Memorial Day Concert hosted by Gary Sinese and Joe Montanga was stunning!

The format for this annual presentation has been honed into an art form. All of the performers are always splendid, but there was just something extra special about Boe's singing tribute to Powell.

On June 3rd and 4th the English tenor made his Las Vegas debut performing at the International Theater at Westgate Las Vegas Resort. The Tony award winner thrilled audiences with his magnigicent voice and charismatic personality singing a range of songs from Broadway favorites to today's hottest hits.

Boe and Michael Ball will begin a UK tour on June 26.

FRANCE HAS GIVEN QUEEN ELIZABETH a horse named Fabuleu de Maucour in honor of her Platinum Jubilee.

The four footer was accepted on behalf of the Queen by Lord Rupert de Mauley, the Master of the Horse, inside Windsor Castle last n Wednesday.

Fabuleu, a grey gelding, didn't arrive with a bow, but he did have a ceremonial saddle and a cavalry sabre.

“The shapeliness and elegance of the horse, a 7-year-old standard-bearer for the Garde Républicaine, epitomises French horse-breeding,” the French embassy said in a statement.

The horse was part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s escort on the Champs-Elysées during the Victory in Europe Day commemorations this year, the statement added.

'ROUND MIDNIGHT jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk’s revered ballad, was interpreted in spectacular style by Bay Area guitarist and composer John Schott and an all-star group of improvisers in a continuous eight-hour exegesis, June 4. The concert was performed live in San Francisco and streamed online as the centerpiece of DAWN, a bold reimagining of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot by the national arts and culture non-profit Reboot.

On Shavuot, Jews are encouraged to stay up through the night studying holy texts, and in the concert, 'Round Midnight Reconsidered, the musicians approached the composition as Jews celebrating Shavuot tradition would a Torah passage - as an overnight study session.

The ensemble of more than a dozen musicians used Jewish approaches to textual commentary as a framing principle for their improvisations. Each of the 48 measures of ‘Round Midnight, which typically take 90 seconds to perform, were stretched to 10 minutes length, resulting in a complete performance lasting eight hours. Each note, group of notes, and rest were treated as an object for contemplation and commentary. This extended experience was intended to transform the music into a powerful medium for spiritual realization.

Accompanying Schott were Aurora Josephson and Cecilia Englehart on vocals; Nikita Manin and Cory Wright, woodwinds; Crystal Pascucci, violoncello; Mark Clifford, vibraphone; Scott Larson, trombone; Jason Hoopes, acoustic bass; Suki O'Kane, Jason Levis and John Hanes, drums and percussion.

Sections of the score, texts and photos were projected on the walls during the performance to add context and depth.

The event is the latest installment of Reboot’s DAWN, a reimagining of Shavuot, one of Judaism's least known but most important holidays. In 2008, Reboot’s DAWN marked the opening of the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco with an imaginative and experiential arts and culture festival. In 2010, Reboot’s DAWN took over the California Academy of Sciences for an audacious Shavuot bash. During the pandemic lockdown of the past two years, Reboot has celebrated DAWN online with 12 hours of music, film, comedy, dance, food and teaching across multiple channels. John Schott has been evolving the all-night piece since the first DAWN event in 2004.

PAUL ANKA who has never delivered anything other than a sensational performance in his entire 65-year career, last March 10th taped his show at the Smith Center in Las Vegas, which PBS is currently airing. "Anka Sings Sinatra: His Songs, My Songs, My Way" is a glorious performance with exquisite lighting and top notch musicians. Look for it this week on PBS.

ISN’T IT BLISS? SONDHEIM ON LOVE Conceived, Written, Directed, Hosted, and Music Directed by Ted Sperling.

Stephen Sondheim’s astute, clever, emotionally intelligent exploration of the many facets of love is unrivaled in musical theater. Tony Award winner and Lyrics & Lyricists favorite Ted Sperling conceived and hosts this show looking at love through the Sondheim songbook.

The incomparable songs address love in all its phases: its giddy heights (What More Do I Need), crushing heartache (Not a Day Goes By), manic panic (Getting Married Today) and the emotional ambivalence Sondheim captured with perfect pitch (Being Alive). Hear them and more than a dozen others, including Send in the Clowns; Barcelona and Move On, in this one-of-a-kind celebration of the most innovative and influential composer-lyricist in Broadway history.

June 18, 19, 20 at 92Y in New York City.

BILLIE EILISH opens a two nighter Tuesday, june 7 at the OA Arena in Manchester, UK. On Friday, June 10 she begins a three night stand at the O2 in London.

DID YOU KNOW THAT there is a Jane Austen board game. It's called Polite Society. Up to 7 players compete to collect the most desirable dinner party guests.

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PATTI LaBELLE AND CHEF JOSE ANDRES will receive the Service to America Leadership Award from the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation (NABLF) during the Celebration of Service to America Awards on June 7 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

The Service to America Leadership Award is NABLF’s highest individual citation that is presented in recognition of honorees’ commitment to advocacy and public service.



CAN'T PAY? DON'T PAY! written by Nobel Laureate Dario Fo and Franca Rame.

Directed by Bob Turton.

Hungry and fed up by rising prices and stagnant wages, Antonia joins a revolt of women at the local supermarket. Determined to live with dignity and rejecting an austerity diet of dog food and birdseed, the women's protest escalates, and looting ensues. As police search door to door, Antonia and her friend Margherita frantically try to hide their 'liberated' goods from their husbands and the police.

Can't Pay? Don't Pay! questions why, in a world of bailed-out banks and overpriced prescription drugs, theft is only a crime when it is committed by those truly in need.

The cast includes Kaili Hollister as Antonia, Lynde Houck as Margherita, Jeremie Loncka as Giovanni, Luis Quintana as Luigi, Steven M. Porter as multiple characters (Agent, Old Man, Sergeant, Undertaker), and Stephanie G. Galindo as multiple characters (Officer, Agent, Nurse, Assistant.).

Extended at The Actors' Gang Theater in the old Ivy Substation in Los Angeles through Saturday, June 11.

THE CAR MAN Matthew Bourne's multi award-winning dance thriller which is Bizet's Carmen reimagined.

Music by Terry Davies and Rodion Shchedrin.

Directed and Choreographed by Matthew Bourne.

A dance-thriller based on Bizet’s beloved Carmen, The Car Man will be completely reimagined for the gladiatorial arena of the Royal Albert Hall, adding a frisson of danger as the dancers perform throughout the auditorium amid stage designs by Olivier and Tony award-winner Lez Brotherston.

The 19th Century Spanish cigarette factory becomes a greasy garage-diner in 1960s America where a small-town’s dreams are shattered by the arrival of a handsome stranger. Fuelled by heat and desire, the inhabitants are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge.

Matthew Bourne’s vivid storytelling combines with one of the most passionately dramatic scores ever written, with musical arrangements by Terry Davies featuring Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite (after Bizet’s Carmen), to create a dance event.

An expanded cast of 65 dancers and musicians, starring Will Bozier and Richard Winsor as "Luca," and Ashley Shaw and Zizi Strallen dancing the role of "Lana."

The role of "Angelo" will be shared by Paris Fitzpatrick and Dominic North. "Rita," Lana’s older sister, will be performed by Kayla Collymore and Kate Lyons. The role of "Dino" Lana’s violent husband will be played by Alan Vincent.

Joining them are: Jonathon Luke Baker (Franco); Benjamin Barlow Bazeley (Fabio); Alistair Beattie (Marcello); Stephanie Billers (Delores); Isaac Peter Bowry (Elio); Cordelia Braithwaite (Mercedes); Ben Brown (Ricardo); Reece Causton (Dirk); Jade Copas (Natalie); Harrison Dowzell (Rocco); Cameron Flynn (Roberto); Rose Goddard (Sophia); Glenn Graham (Bruno); Bryony Harrison (Frankie);Shoko Ito (Elisabetta); Monique Jonas (Bianca); Nicole Kabera (Gina);Kurumi Kamayachi (Silvana); Katrina Lyndon (Monica); Rory Macleod (Marco);Andrew Monaghan (Vito); Stephen Murray (Chad); Harry Ondrak-Wright (Lorenzo); Edwin Ray (Alberto);Danny Reubens (Hot Rod); Sam Salter (Raf); Gabrielle de Souza (Giulietta);Catrin Thomas (Claudia);Christopher Thomas (Ugo) andBryony Wood (Elsa).

The creatives also include: Sound by Paul Groothuis. Lighting by Chris Davey. Designed by Lez Brotherston.

Thursday June 9 - Sunday June 19, 2022 at Royal Albert Hall in London.

In the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre of the Irish Rep in New York City June 8 – July 17, 2022.

THE PIN-UP GIRLS An East Coast Premiere written by James Hindman and Jeffrey Lodin.

Directed by James Hindman.

The Pin Up Girls sing a cavalcade of hits inspired by actual letters home from our troops overseas! While singing at their local VFW hall, Leanne and her friends stumble upon a huge stash of letters that go back a hundred years from World War I to Afghanistan. Inspired by what they find - funny, romantic, heartbreaking and they put on a show that celebrates the men and women who serve our country.

Starring Jillian Louis, A.J. Melnick, Diana Leticia Truman and Pheonix Vaughn.

The creatives are: Musical director, Jeffrey Lodin - Choreographer, Eugenio Contenti - Associate choreographer, Molly Model - Set design by Jessica Parks - Lighting design by Jill Nagle - Sound design by Nick Simone - Costume design by Patricia E. Doherty - Technical director, Brian Snyder - Production stage manager, Kristin Pfeifer - Assistant stage manager, Rachael Malloy - Assistant lighting designer, Janey Huber - Master electrician, James Lockhart.

June 8 - July 10 at New Jersey Rep in Long Branch, New Jersey.

THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA McBRIDE by Matthew Lopez.

Directed by Jamie Torcellini.

Casey is young and broke, with a baby on the way and the landlord knocking on his door. Now, the owner of the bar where Casey works as an Elvis impersonator has replaced his act with a B-level drag show, and Casey’s about to learn a lot about show business—and himself.

Starring Karese Frizell, Donzell Lewis, Taubert Nadalini, Jeff Sumner, Tom Trudgeon.

The creative team for the ICT production includes set designer Tyler Scrivner, lighting designer Donna Ruzika, costume designer Kim DeShazo, sound designer Rebecca Kessin, prop designer Patty Briles, and hair and wigs designer Anthony Gagliardi. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA and Richie Ferris, CSA. The production stage manager is John Freeland, Jr.

Previews June 8-9 with an Opening Night Gala on June 10 with performances through June 26, 2022 at the International City Theatre in Long Beach, CA.

THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR AND A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM open Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, where the 2022 repertory season is sponsored by the S. Mark Taper Foundation.

Opening the summer season on Saturday, June 11 is the Bard’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, reset in 1950s small-town America during the nascent period of second-wave feminism and featuring a rockin’ score of ‘50s tunes. Things might seem picture perfect in "Small Town U.S.A"... but when opportunistic schemer and womanizer John Falstaff blows into town with his gang and tries to woo two wealthy ladies at once, the town’s women gleefully plot his comeuppance. Theatricum artistic director Ellen Geer directs.

Beginning Sunday, June 12, Theatricum brings back its signature production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by company favorite Melora Marshall. An annual season staple going back decades, Theatricum’s wooded stage morphs into the enchanted woods of Athens, where mortal lovers chase and are chased, players prepare, and fairies make magical mischief in Shakespeare’s most entertaining and beguiling comedy.

The Merry Wives of Windsor stars longtime company members Jeff Wiesen as the libertine hooligan Falstaff; Emily Bridges, Willow Geer and Melora Marshall as Mistresses Ford, Page and Quickly; Jonathan Blandino and Bill Haller as Masters Ford and Page; Cavin (CR) Mohrhardt as Dr. Caius; Alistair McKenzie as Parson Hugh Evans; Tim Halligan as Shallow; and Earnestine Phillips as the Hostess of the Garter.

The rest of the cast includes Joseph Darby, Miller Friedman, Christopher Glenn Gilstrap, Julius Geer-Polin, Ethan Haslam, Corrin King, Alexandra Kunin, Charles Lin, Ashley Maimes, Michaela Molden, Kenneth Montley, Aleksander Ristic, Gerald C. Rivers, Taylor Jackson Ross, A.M. Sannazzaro, Andy Stokan, Sky Wahl, Seth Weaver and Elliott Grey Wilson.

Lights are designed by Zach Moore, costumes by Tracy Wahl, and the prop master is Alex Sheldon. Original music and sound design are by Marshall McDaniel. The production stage manager is Kim Cameron.

Heading the cast of lovers, fairies, clowns, and sprites in Dream are Olivia Michael as Helena; Steven Taub Gordon as Demetrius; Fiona Dorn and Michaela Molden, alternating as Lysander; Anais Morgan as Hermia; Tiffany Coty as Oberon; Heidi-Marie Ferren as Titania; Colin Guthrie as Theseus; Taylor Jackson Ross as Hippolyta; Jonathan Blandino as Bottom; Emoria Weidner as Quince; and Christopher Glenn Gilstrap as Puck.

Also in the cast are Matthew Clair, Ted Elrick, Miller Friedman, Jamie Gallo, Ethan Haslam, Bri Hunter, Corrin King, Joelle Lewis, Julia Lisa, Ashley Maimes, Aarush Mehta, Milo Rechler, Jacob Salazar, A.M. Sannazzaro, Quinnlyn Scheppner, Isabel Stallings, Torianna Turnbow, Seth Weaver and Aralyn Wilson.

The creative team includes lighting designer Zach Moore, costume designer Beth Eslick and prop master Alex Sheldon. Original music and sound design are by Marshall McDaniel. Karen Osborne is the production stage manager.

Unlike most theaters in the L.A. area that stage continuous runs of a single play, Theatricum, using a company of actors, will perform each of the plays in repertory.

The Merry Wives of Windsor opens on Saturday, June 11; A Midsummer Night’s Dream opens on Sunday, June 12. Performances run in repertory through October 2.

Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is located in Topanga, CA which is midway between Malibu and the San Fernando Valley.

A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 by Lucas Hnath.

Directed by James Macdonald.

Featuring double Olivier Award winner Noma Dumezweni is joined by Patricia Allison, BAFTA and Tony Award winner Brían F. O'Byrne and June Watson.

Fifteen years after Nora Helmer slammed the door on her stifling marriage, she’s back with an urgent request. But first she must face the family she left behind.

Designer Rae Smith transformed Donmar in the round.

Previews from June 10, 2022 at the Donmar in London.

QUEEN by Madhuri Shekar.

Directed by Aneesha Kudtarkar.

Queen follows PhD candidates Sanam and Ariel who have spent the better part of the last decade exhaustively researching vanishing bee populations across the globe. Just as these close friends are about to publish a career-defining paper, Sanam stumbles upon an error in their calculations, which could cause catastrophic damage to their reputations, careers, and friendship. Now, Sanam is confronted with an impossible choice: look the other way or stand by her principles and accept the consequences? Queen is a provocative portrayal of brilliant women confronting inconvenient truths.

Featured in Queen will be Stephanie Janssen ; Ben Livingston; Keshav Moodliar; and Avanthika Srinivasan.

The creatives will include: scenic design by Junghyun Georgia Lee, costume design by Phuong Nguyen with Assistant Costume Designer Kyle Artone, and lighting design by Yuki Nakase Link with Assistant Lighting Designer Jackie Fox. Sound design and original music by UptownWorks: Daniela Hart, Bailey Trierweiler, and Noel Nichols.

Queen launches the NAATCO National Partnership Project (NNPP), an ambitious new initiative to establish relationships with theaters around the country to develop and implement strategies for including Asian American theater artists, technicians, and administrators in their practices. On American stages today, there is a growing emphasis on inclusion and belonging. But Asian Americans continue to be largely excluded from this movement and continue to be portrayed in stereotypic and formulaic ways. Since its founding, NAATCO hasbeen dedicated to changing this dynamic. Long Wharf Theatre, as an anchor NNPP partner, joins in the effort towards promoting more expansive representations of Asian Americans.

The National Asian American Theatre Co., Inc. (NAATCO) was founded in 1989 by Richard Eng and Mia Katigbak. NAATCO’s mission is to assert the presence and significance of Asian American theatre in the United States, demonstrating its vital contributions to the fabric of American culture.

Opening June 10th – July 2ndat the A.R.T./New York Mezzanine Theatre in New York City.

FIVE BY TEN an evening of short plays by Tennessee Williams.

Directed by Ward Nixon.

The five Tennessee Williams one-act plays featured in Five by Tenn are: "The Strangest Kind of Romance," "The Last of My Solid Gold Watches," " The Lady of Larkspur Lotion, " "Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen" and "Hello From Bertha."

While each play is set within a rather shabby bedroom in a rather seedy location from East St. Louis to New Orleans, the audience is introduced to a delightful range of seven female and eight male Williams’ characters striving to survive and thrive within their less-than-fortunate situations.

Featring Frank Bowman, Jeff burchfIEld, Susan Case, Sheila Dehner, Marilyn Duryea, Clinton Faulkner, Kelly Gilmore, Beth Griffith Janet Girardeau, Franco Pistritto, Joseph Rose, Gloria Sauvé, Mark Solari and Valarie Tekosky.

The creatives include: Tuquan Smith is the technical director. Costumes are by Katherine Roberson, with sound design by Nicholas Wilson, lighting design by Stephen D. Cornelius and scenic design by Harlan Penn.

June 9-19, 2022 at the Bernie Wohl Center, New York, N.Y.

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