Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: March 21, 2010
By: Laura Deni
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CELEBRATING SONDHEIM AS STEPHEN SONDHEIM TURNS 80

Many successful living composers inspire jealously and resentment among their colleagues, and oblivious feelings among those who are fans of the work, but ignorant of the composers.

New York City born Stephen Sondheim generates respect and admiration from both contemporaries and the ticket buying public. Even Sondheim’s lyrics have entered the American language - from “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” to “Send in the Clowns". School children study him.

A small sampling of his famous scores include - as composer/lyricist - A Little Night Music, Into the Woods, Company, Sweeney Todd, Follies, Pacific Overtures, Sunday in the Park with George, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Assassins, Anyone Can Whistle as well as the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy.

Nobody would want to replicate his well-to-do but abusive upbringing, described in Meryle Secrest's biography, Stephen Sondheim: A Life, as his having endured an isolated and emotionally neglected childhood.

At the age of ten Stephen's father, a remote figure, abandoned him and his mother a woman Stephen "famously despised", printed The New York Times. According to Master of the Musical by William A. Henry, III, the composer once wrote a thank-you note to close friend Mary Rodgers that read, "Dear Mary and Hank, Thanks for the plate, but where was my mother's head? Love, Steve." When his mother died in the spring of 1992, he did not attend her funeral. His mother was allegedly psychologically abusive and distant, according to The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child (1972), Yale University Press by Robert A. King.

His despicable childhood has been used to explain part of his creative process - complex, dark, moody, surprising, haunting.

The score to Sweeney Todd is considered one of Sondheim's most complex, with compositional style compared to Maurice Ravel, Sergei Prokofiev, and Bernard Herrmann - who scored Alfred Hitchcock films. Sondheim himself has described the piece as a "black operetta."

The guy who graduated magna cum laude from Williams College in Williamstown, MA and wrote for the Topper television series, has managed to transfer much of his inner pain, fear and anger into mass appeal musical commentary.

He's been rewarded with an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards - more than any other composer - including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize. He has been described as "the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theatre.

Stephen Sondheim is having his 80th birthday this week and celebrations are taking place around the globe.

The glad-you-were-born celebration kicked off with The New York Philharmonic presenting the birthday boy with a two night Birthday Concert last Monday and Tuesday The Avery Fisher Hall event was hosted by Tony Award winner David Hyde Pierce.

Steven Sondheim

That celebration of Sondheim's natal day included his most enduring orchestral music and songs - performed, in some cases, by the stars of the original Broadway cast productions - in addition to rarely-heard material.

The concert boasted the talents of Laura Benanti, Matt Cavenaugh, Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark, Jenn Colella, Jason Danieley, Alexander Gemignani, Joanna Gleason, Nathan Gunn, George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, John McMartin, Donna Murphy, Laura Osnes, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Bobby Steggert, Jim Walton, Chip Zien, and American Ballet Theatre dancers Blaine Hoven and Maria Riccetto.

Lonny Price directed with choreography by Josh Rhodes; Paul Gemignani conducted the New York Philharmonic. Sondheim, in acknowledging the applause, was brought to tears. He told the SRO crowd; “Alice Longworth Roosevelt said, ‘First you’re young, then you’re middle-aged, then you’re wonderful.’ This was wonderful - thank you all.”

The Gala included a pre-concert reception, concert and post-concert birthday dinner with the artists.

For those not able to attend in person, that concert will subsequently be broadcast on PBS' Great Performances in 2011.

This week-end Signature Theatre in Washington, D.C. is celebrating the make-a-wish-candle-blowout with several events.

Sondheim's works have been performed many times by Signature, including the current staging of Sweeney Todd.

Among the highlights of Signature weekend’s activities are Happy, Birthday, Steve! a celebration with birthday cake and a sing-along of Sondheim songs tonight, Sunday, March 21.

Back in The Big Apple, Sondheim On Sondheim a look at Stephen Sondheim through his music, films and taped interviews, conceived and directed by James Lapin is in previews at Studio 54 for an engagement running through June 13.

This is a completely different kind of Sondheim revue: an intimate portrait of the famed composer in his own words...and music. An ensemble cast, led by Tony Award winner Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat, with Leslie Kritzer, Euan Morton, Norm Lewis, Erin Mackey and Matthew Scott perform brand-new arrangements of over two dozen Sondheim tunes, ranging from the beloved to the obscure.

On Sondheim's actual birthday - March 22 - the revue is rolling out the red carpet with a special performance of Sondheim at 80. The man of the hour will be in the audience.

Bernadette Peters, Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams, Rita Moreno, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Duncan Sheik, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey are among the artists who will pay tribute to Sondheim at this Roundabout Theatre Company's benefit.

That evening, guests will see an early performance of the new Roundabout revue Sondheim on Sondheim at Studio 54. Next, guests will enjoy a gourmet dinner and "a very personal star-studded musical tribute," with new songs by contemporary musical theatre writers, at the Sheraton New York.

Songwriters participating include Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey of Next to Normal fame, Michael John LaChiusa who created The Wild Party, Andrew Lippa of The Addams Family, Robert Lopez of Avenue Q and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda of In the Heights fame, Duncan Sheik of Spring Awakening. Stew and Heidi Rodewald the ones behind Passing Strange and Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire from Shrek.

Sondheim's longtime musical director Paul Gemignani has been the musical director for more than 40 Broadway and West End shows. He's taking part in many of the Sondheim tributes.

Their original compositions will be sung by some of Broadway's biggest talents, such as Berndadette Peters in front of an audience that will include friends and artists from his six decades on Broadway such as Elaine Stritch, Lauren Bacall, Donna Murphy, Kelli O'Hara, Lynn Redgrave, Sam Mendes, Frank Rich, Michael Cerveris, La Chanze and more.

The tribute concert is directed by Paul Gemignani, Sondheim's longtime musical director. The creative team includes music direction and arrangements by David Loud, Dan Knechtges musical staging, sets by designers Beowulf Boritt, Susan Hilferty costumes, Ken Billington lights , Dan Moses Schreier sound and Peter Flaherty projection and video, plus Michael Starobin orchestrations. All proceeds from this event will benefit Roundabout Theatre Company's Musical Theatre Fund.

Roundabout also has a long relationship with Sondheim, having produced five Tony Award nominated Sondheim revivals including Company (1995), Follies (2001), Tony Award-winning Assassins (2004), Pacific Overtures (2004) and Sunday in the Park with George (2008). In 2005, Roundabout honored Sondheim with the Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre for the indelible impact his life's work has made on the theatre world.

Angela Lansbury, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Keaton Whittaker in A Little Night Music currently playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre in NYC. Tonight, March 21, a special performance to benefit the Actors Fund takes place. The production, which originated at London's Menier Chocolate Factory, began previews on Broadway Nov. 24, 2009, under the direction of Trevor Nunn. Photo by Joan Marcus

The Honorary Chairs of the Gala are Barry Diller & Diane von Furstenberg and Bernadette Peters. The Gala chairs are Michael T. Cohen, Martin & Perry Granoff and Tom & Diane Tuft. The Vice-chairs are Edward & Betsy Cohen, Mike & Pilar de Graffenried, Ted & Mary Jo Shen, Mark R. Fetting & Georgia D. Smith.

The Stephen Sondheim-Arthur Laurents musical Anyone Can Whistle will play the famed New York City Center Encores! production April 8-11. Raúl Esparza, Edward Hibbert, John Ellison Conlee and Jeff Blumenkrantz will join Tony Award winners Donna Murphy and Sutton Foster in a production directed by Casey Nicholaw who will also choreograph.

The ensemble comprises Clyde Alves, Tanya Birl, Holly Ann Butler, J. Austin Eyer, Sara Ford, Lisa Gajda, Stephanie Gibson, Linda Griffin, Karen Hyland, Natalie King, Grasan Kingsberry, Max Kumangai, Michael Marcotte, Joseph Medeiros, Denny Paschall, Monica L. Patton, Steve Schepis, Eric Sciotto, Tally Sessions, Brian Shepard, Dana Steingold, Brandon Tyler, Anthony Wayne and Patrick Wetzel.

Birthday events in the UK include the Northern Ireland premiere of Sweeney Todd starring Peter Corry and Nuala McKeever at Theatre at the Mill in Newtownabbey. Anyone Can Whistle is on stage through April 16th at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London. Tomorrow, March 22, A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim @ 80 takes place Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre, Walthamstow, England. March 24th – 27th will be a mounting of Marry Me A Little at Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham. Today, March 21, Elaine Paige appears on Sunday on BBC Radio 2 in a show devoted to Sondheim. On April 3-4 a Sondheim Birthday Concert will be performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Maria Friedman and Graham Bickley at respectively Cadogan Hall, London and Royal & Derngate, Northampton.

The birthday festivities continue April 10th in Side by Side, a tribute to Sondheim performed by Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Carl Davis at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. On April 11th another birthday gala takes place, this one at the London Palladium. On May 2, The Night of 1000 Voices includes a Sondheim birthday celebration at Royal Albert Hall. From May 19th – June 12th Sweeney Todd is on stage at Dundee Rep. Other events continue throughout the year.

There are also 10 Sondheim birthday concerts in Scandinavia and one in Denmark.

Back in America from May 6 – 8 it's Sondheim at 80 with the NSO Pops conducted by Marvin Hamlisch at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC. On Saturday, July 31, Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration directed by Lonny Price, conducted by Paul Gemignani, starring Patti LuPone, Michael Cerveris and George Hearn takes place at the Ravinia Festival Pavilion, Ravinia IL.

Later on, at New York City's Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center, Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano - a three-concert series, will feature the work of 30 commissioned composers creating solo piano pieces based on the music of Stephen Sondheim. Currently in development, the project includes distinguished artists ranging from Milton Babbitt and William Bolcom to Steve Reich and Daniel Bernard Roumain.

Sondheim's legacy lives not just through his music but from Celebrating Sondheim, a web resource for teachers that enables students to explore the world of one of the greatest living musical theatre talents through ArtsEdge, a project of the Education Department of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Each of Sondheim's musicals is distinctively different; different from other Broadway musicals, and different from other Sondheim musicals as well. All were ground-breaking in their time, all remain provocative today.

Happy Birthday, Stephen Sondheim.



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ART AND ABOUT

RICHARD HAMILTON: MODERN MORAL MATTERS

Kent State 1970 Screen-print from 13 stencils 73 x 102.2 cm © 2010 Richard Hamilton

Richard Hamilton has embraced many different media since the 1950s, including painting, printmaking, installation, typography and industrial design. This major exhibition reassess the nature of the British artist’s pioneering contribution, focusing on Hamilton’s political works.

The installations, prints and paintings on view take international politics, riots, terrorist acts and war as their subject matter, examining how these conflicts are represented by the media, including via television and the internet.

Through its fragmentation of images, manipulation of space and reference to different styles and genres, Hamilton’s work interrogates the representations that surround us. Yet his analysis of the image is counterbalanced by an underlying, allegoric lyricism, through which he reinvigorates the genres of portraiture and history painting.

This survey of Hamilton's political works also explores in depth the artist's working processes and the varied ways he uses photographic material. It investigates his continued interest in creating multiples of a single, iconic image as both a mirror and a critique of the visual overload created by the media.

Hamilton, born in 1922, was a leading instigator of Pop Art in Britain and a key member of the Independent Group, formed in the 1950s by a group of artists and writers at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts. Retrospective exhibitions of his work have been held in the UK at the Hanover Gallery (1964) and Tate Gallery (1970 and 1992). Hamilton was Britain's representative at the 1993 Venice Biennale.

The artist has previously collaborated with the Gallery on projects including the Serpentine Gallery Interview Marathon (2006). Richard Hamilton: Modern Moral Matters is a development of the exhibition Richard Hamilton: Protest Pictures at Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (2008).

Through April 25, 2010 at the Serpentine Gallery in London.

LETTERS BY J. D. SALINGER As a tribute to J. D. Salinger (1919–2010), who died January 27, The Morgan Library & Museum presents a pair of exhibitions, the first which began last Tuesday, of ten letters by the author.

Written to Michael Mitchell, who was commissioned by Salinger to create the dust jacket for The Catcher in the Rye, the letters cover a forty-year period and constitute an extraordinarily rare and revealing correspondence. They richly document a period of Salinger's life that has remained obscure and provide hitherto unknown details about the daily habits and thought of this legendary author.

The first exhibition of four letters will run through April 11. The second exhibition of six letters will open on April 13 and run through May 9. Both will be shown in the Morgan's historic McKim building in New York City.

The letters were acquired in 1998 as part of the Morgan's Carter Burden Collection of American Literature. The Morgan restricted access to the letters during Salinger's lifetime in deference to the author's widely known desire for privacy. Now that the restriction has been lifted, the letters are to be exhibited for the first time and will be available to scholars.

They reveal many sides of Salinger's personality. Writing about marriage, parenthood, travel, work, and his self-imposed isolation from friends and society, he was at turns self-deprecating, admiring, affectionate, playful, and acerbically funny. Some letters attest to his suspicion of publishers as well as his impatience and anger with the admirers and would-be biographers who would intrude into his private life.

He wrote eloquently and poignantly about the challenges to creativity that come with middle age, and the self-doubt attendant upon his writing. But he confirmed what many of his devoted readers had long hoped: Salinger continued to adhere to a strict writing discipline and, by the mid-1960s, had completed at least two novels and continued to work on others.

SWEET CHARITY

24TH ANNUAL NIGHT OF A THOUSAND GOWNS

Last year's Night Of A Thousand Gowns procession

The Imperial Court of New York hosts a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and God’s Love We Deliver. Emperor XVIII Tony Monteleone and Empress XXIII Anne Tique will lead majestic personages in jewels and gowns, white tie and tails, as they make their royal entrance to the Broadway Ballroom of the New York City Marriott Marquis Hotel.

The March 27th evening will include Broadway entertainment, a 5-hour open bar, full course dinner, a Viennese dessert buffet, dancing, a silent auction, and the midnight coronation of the new reigning monarchs Imperial Crown Prince Royal Jack & Imperial Crown Princess Royale Farrah Moans.

Honorary Chairs: Michael Feinstein, Leslie Jordan, Jerry Mitchell, Dame Joan Rivers, and Dame Robin Strasser. Honorary CoChairs; Scott Barnes, John Bartlett, Marc Bouwer, Ron Corning, Ari Gold, Charlie Herschel, Hugh Hildesly, Dina Manzo, Chris March, James McDaniel, Daniel Nardecio, Mark Nelson, Coco Peru, Arthur Schwartz, Lisa Sherman, Blaine Trump, Tamara Tunie, Robert Verdi and Ben Wymer.

Broadway Bares featuring the hottest Broadway dancers will headline the event performing Football Strip and Stimulus Package. Legendary dance music artist Crystal Waters, Broadway star Terri White (Finian’s Rainbow), Dance-pop singer Kristine W., Pop vocalist Kelly King, Drag Divas Coco Peru & Jesse Volt, and DJ Sherry Vine will perform.

American infantry officer Lt. Dan Choi will be honored with the Imperial Diamond Award. Choi has been publicly challenging America’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

MANDY PATINKIN appears Saturday, March 27, in a performance at the Judy Bayley Theatre at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to benefit The Nevada Conservatory Theatre at UNLV and Theatre of the Emerging American Moment (TEAM). Winner of both a Tony Award and an Emmy Award Patinkin will be backed by Paul Ford on piano. VIP tickets includes preferred seating, light refreshments following the performance and a meet and greet with Mandy Patinkin.

SPREADING THE WORD

A TRIBUTE TO GEORGE CARLIN HOSTED BY WHOOPI GOLDBERG

George Carlin

takes place Wednesday, March 24, at the New York Public Library's Celeste Bartos Forum.

The presentation will feature special guest performers Ben Stiller, his parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, Kevin Smith, Richard Belzer, Louis CK, Lewis and Lapham, and others who will pay tribute to the iconic comedian.

Carlin was a five time Grammy Award winning comedian and writer who was a Las Vegas icon. Carlin and his Seven Dirty Words comedy routine were central to the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, in which a narrow 5–4 decision by the justices affirmed the government's power to regulate indecent material on the public airwaves.

Carlin passed away June 22, 2008.

WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY is no fairy tale, as it chronicles the time from 1984 to 1994, when a perfect storm of people and circumstances changed the face of animation forever. It is a story of clashing egos, out-of-control budgets, escalating tensions... and one of the most extraordinary creative periods in animation history.

Director Don Hahn, the producer of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King and producer Peter Schneider, former chairman of the studio, key players at Walt Disney Studios feature animation department during the mid 1980s, offer a behind-the-magic glimpse of the turbulent times the animation studio was going through and the staggering output of hits that followed over the next 10 years. Artists polarized between the hungry young innovators and the old guard who refused to relinquish control, mounting tensions due to a string of box-office flops, and warring studio leadership create the backdrop for this fascinating story told with a unique and candid perspective from those that were there. Through interviews, internal memos, home movies and a cast of characters featuring Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Roy Disney, alongside an amazing array of talented artists that includes Steven Spielberg, Richard Williams, John Lasseter and Tim Burton, Waking Sleeping Beauty shines a light on Disney animation’s darkest hours, greatest joys and its improbable renaissance.

After a successful festival debut, Waking Sleeping Beauty will begin its theatrical run with limited releases in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco on March 26, 2010. Waking Sleeping Beauty was an Official Selection at the 2009 Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and winner of the Audience Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

JUST PASSING Staged readings, with fully staged songs, of a new drama by Candyce Columbus with lyrics by Candyce Columbus and Esther Posner and music by Wes Hambright.

Set in 1999 at Heavenly Crossing Funeral Home somewhere in the Midwest, the show finds the Virtuosi siblings preparing for the viewing of their recently departed 84-year-old mother. Family dynamics are revealed during flashbacks to their father's viewing in 1971 when leisure suits, crushed velvet bellbottoms and earth tones were in.

The cast in alphabetic order includes Dan Bullard (Mortician/Pastor Paul), Jack Chansler (Larry Virtuosi/Bowler 1), Columbus (Victoria), Elyse Cook (Virginia), Kimberly Emerson (Betty Viruosi/Bowler 3), Sandra Hakman (Ruth), Mary House (Christina Sheffield/Bowler 2), David McGee (Leo), Jane Park (Rita Sheffield), Derek Rue (Jack Chevalier), Saldana (Timmy Sheffield/Bowler 4), Lydia Bangtson Schwam (The Woman) and Barry Schwam (Uncle Mike). Rosemary Hygate serves as narrator.

The staged reading takes place Sunday, March 28 at The Raven Playhouse, North Hollywood, CA.

ARTIST TALK WITH WILLIAM CHRISTIE the esteemed musical director of Les Arts Florissants and curator of the BAM Opera Festival, discusses opera, his work, and his thoughts of the day in a conversation with Ara Guzelimian, dean of The Juilliard School. Thursday, March 25 at the Hillman Attic Studio, Brooklyn. Part of the 2010 Spring Season and the BAM Opera Festival.

MUSICAL THEATRE AUDITIONING - YOUR BEST 16 BARS is a Master Class being taught by Tony award winner Randy Graff and Michael Larsen beginning Thursday, March 25. Singing’s only one piece of the equation in an audition situation - how do you demonstrate your dramatic chops in under a minute? This course is designed to help you to turn that 16 bar road-block into an opportunity. By mastering the emotional arc and context of your song, you can create cuts that have a beginning, middle, and end… transforming every audition into what you do best – a complete performance. Covering traditional musical theater, rock and pop, Broadway’s Randy Graff and Michael Larsen will help prepare students for any musical audition situation. A prerequisite: Resume submission. March 25, April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6, 13 at Primary Stages, NYC.

THE TEMPERAMENTALS TALK OUT MONDAYS a weekly post show discussion will feature actress Elizabeth Ashley and director Michael Wilson. Monday, March 29. The Temperamentals tells the story of two men - the communist Harry Hay and the Viennese refugee and designer Rudi Gernreich - as they fall in love while building the first gay rights organization in the United States pre Stonewall . The characters consist of the actual men who founded the Mattachine Society (Harry Hay, Rudi Gernreich, Chuck Rowland, Bob Hull, and Dale Jennings), as well as other prominent figures of the time in Hollywood and the film industry as well as the world of fashion. New World Stages, NYC.

KENNEDY CENTER'S NIGHTS AT THE OPERA SERIES

Terrence McNally

For five-weeks the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington is celebrating the works of Terrence McNally through panel discussions and the mounting of three of his plays.

The Lisbon Traviata, directed by Tony Award nominee Christopher Ashley, derives its title from an actual 1958 Callas production of La Traviata at Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos. . Two thousand copies of an unauthorized recording made by a cast member during a live performance, despite their amateur quality, quickly became collector's items among the diva's fans

Stephen, portrayed by Tony Award nominee Malcolm Gets, especially adores Maria Callas and dishing the latest gossip with his best friend, the wildly flamboyant and catty opera queen Mendy, who is played by Tony winner John Glover.. They talk late into the night in an attempt to distract Stephen from his unraveling relationship with his partner. When Stephen returns home to confront his lover, a tragedy erupts on the scale of a grand opera.

The production has set design by Derek McLane, costume design by David Woolard, lighting design by Philip S. Rosenberg and sound design by John Gromada. The Lisbon Traviata began performances at the Terrace Theatre March 20 with the official opening set for March 25 and run through April 11.

Golden Age, directed by Walter Bobbie, is a backstage drama surrounding the premiere of Bellini's final opera I Puritani, featuring the ensemble cast of Rebecca Brooksher as Grisi, Jeffrey Carlson as Bellini, Roe Hartrampf as Florimo, Marc Kudisch as Tamburini, Hoon Lee as Lablache, Christopher Michael McFarland as Rubini, Benjamin Cook as Page, and Amanda Mason Warren as Malibran. This D.C. premiere has performances through April 4.

Master Class, stars Tyne Daly as Maria Callas in this Tony-winning play, which depicts the diva reminiscing on the triumphs and tragedies of her life and career. The cast also includes Jeremy Cohen as Manny, Laquita Mitchell as Second Soprano (Sharon), Ta'u Pupu'a as Tenor (Tony), and Alexandra Silber as First Soprano (Sophie). Performances through April 18 in the Eisenhower Theatre.

Several moderated discussions are being held in conjunction with Nights at the Opera. On March 22, 2010, actors Zoe Caldwell, John Glover, Audra McDonald, and Richard Thomas - performers who have worked to bring Terrence McNally's words to life - reflect on the joys and the challenges in presenting the art of one of the great modern playwrights.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

TIGHTENING THEIR BELTS Chef Charlie Trotter has fallen victim to the bad Las Vegas economy. He has shuttered his award-winning Restaurant Charlie in the Palazzo Hotel. Likewise, Chef David Burke is closing his restaurant David Burke located in The Venetian.

CURTAIN DOWN

GHOSTS the West End production of Henrik Ibsen's classic, translated by Frank McGuiness, will end its run early at the Duchess Theatre, closing on March 27, 2010. The production, which stars Lesley Sharp, Ian Glen who also directs, Malcolm Storry and Harry Treadaway, had been scheduled through May 15, 2010.



SHIRLEY JONES AND PATRICK CASSIDY IN CONCERT legendary Hollywood and Broadway leading lady Shirley Jones makes her UK debut in a show in which she will be joined by her son actor/singer Patrick Cassidy as special guest.

Patrick has just completed his one-man show entitled Just Act Normal. Through music and stories, he reflects growing up in a home where every single person around the dinner table is in Show Business.

The London show which runs 1 hour and 45 minutes intends to include musical numbers; Tonight; If I Loved You; I'm In Love With A Wonderful Guy; Send in the Clowns; Memory; 76 Trombones; What's the Use of Wonderin'; When I Fall in Love; He Touched Me; He Loves Me; As Time Goes By; Can't Help Lovin' That Man; You Made Me Love You; Oklahoma!; Oh, What a Beautiful Morning; People Will Say We're in Love; Out of My Dreams and You'll Never Walk Alone.

12 performances only beginning March 22 at the Arts Theatre, London.

THE WAKE by Tony-nominated Lisa Kron. Directed by Leigh Silverman.

The Wake follows a woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown: Type-A journalist Ellen, whose certainty about politics and love gets blown out of the water. The Wake "promises to generate plenty of conversation -- no matter whom you voted for in the last election." In this brand new play, it’s Thanksgiving of 2000 and the presidential election still has not been decided. Ellen insists that her friends and family don’t understand how bad the situation really is. But no one can make Ellen see the blind spot at the center of her own politics and emotional life.

The cast of features in alphabetical order Emily Donahoe, Carson Elrod, Andrea Frankle, Miriam F. Glover, Deirdre O’Connell, Heidi Schreck and Danielle Skraastad.

Co-Produced with Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Previews begin March 21, with the official opening set for March 28 for a runs through April 18, 2010 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles.

LEND ME A TENOR a revival of the hilarious farce by Ken Ludwig. Directed by Tony-nominated Stanley Tucci.

The all-star cast includes Tony winner Anthony LaPaglia, Golden Globe winner Tony Shalhoub, Justin Bartha, Brooke Adams, Mary Catherine Garrison, Tony nominated Jennifer Laura Thompson, Jay Klaitz, and two-time Tony nominee Jan Maxwell.

Set in the 1930s, Lend Me a Tenor is a madcap screwball comedy that takes place when Tito Merelli, the fiery-tempered and world famous Italian superstar, arrives in Cleveland, Ohio to make his debut with the local opera and promptly goes missing. As Saunders, the show's presenter, conspires to cover for Tito’s absence, placate his hot-blooded wife, and distract his most passionate fans, chaos on a truly operatic level ensues.

Design and creative team; John Lee Beatty (set designer), Martin Pakledinaz, (costume design), Kenneth Posner (lighting design), and Peter Hylenski (sound design).

Lend Me a Tenor is in previews with the official opening set for April 4, 2010 at the Music Box Theatre in NYC.

BOEING-BOEING by Marc Camoletti and Beverley Cross. Directed by Mark Schneider. The Tony award winning revival was overseen and originally directed by Matthew Warchus.

Starring: Rob Breckenridge, Stephanie Fieger, Caralyn Kozlowski, Nancy Robinette, Liv Rooth and Joseph Urla.

Boeing-Boeing is an uproarious jet-propelled comedy that had audiences and critics cheering on Broadway and London’s West End.

The creative team includes; Rob Howell (Scenic Design and Costume Design), Chris Rynne (Lighting Design), Paul Peterson (Sound Design), Dan Rosokoff (Stage Manager) and Annette Yé (Assistant Stage Manager).

Free post-show forums take place Tuesday, March 23 and 30 & Wednesday, April 7 in which audience members can discuss the play with members of the cast following the performance.

Official opening night was Thursday, March 18, with performances through April 18 at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, CA.

ALL ABOUT ME staged by three-time Tony nominated director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw pares two talented but totally diverse performers - Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphries) and Michael Feinstein.

Feinstein and Humphries conceived the evening with Lizzie Spender and Terrence Flannery and then penned the piece with playwright Christopher Durang, the 90-minute, intermissionless production. In addition to comedienne Everage and musician Feinstein, All About Me features Gregory Butler, Jodi Capeless and Jon-Paul Mateo.

Scenic and costume design by Anna Louizos, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Peter Fitzgerald and video design by Chris Cronin. Stephen Adnitt designed Dame Edna's wardrobe. Rob Bowman serves as musical supervisor with orchestrations by John Oddo, music coordination by Michael Keller and additional arrangements by Glen Kelly.

Officially opened March 18 at the Henry Miller's Theatre, NYC.

IN THE MOOD a 1940s Musical Revue which concludes the 2009-2010 Arts in the Afternoon series presented by Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College.

Conceived by musical producer Bud Forrest, In the Mood began touring in 1994, following its inclusion as part of the official entertainment for the World USO's events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the second World War. The show has toured all over the U.S., Canada, and Europe, as well as for one of President Bill Clinton's Inaugural Balls. This appearance is part of In the Mood's 16th national tour.

The show takes a nostalgic look back at the 1940s, a time in America's history when music and dance set a mood intended to inspire hope, promise and prosperity in the face of World War II.

The cast of In the Mood includes Adriana Lomysh Campbell, Christina Caplan, Kelly Jakiel, Jason Campbell, AJ Converse, and Paul Saylor. Members of the String of Pearls Big Band Orchestra include Jostein Aarflot, Greg Armstrong, Bob Bennett, Al Caldwell, Tom Dupin, Bud Forrest, Bruce Gates, Eric Harper, Brandon Moodie, David Phy, John Sobus, Art Swanson, and Gene Thorne.

The creative team includes Christina Caplan (Stage Direction & Dances); Vic Shoen, David Bandman and Bob Tartaglia (Musical Arrangements); Linda Tomlin (Costumes); Andi Schultes (Lighting) and Brian Lloyd (Sound). In the Mood at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College, Sunday, March 28, 2010.

BLOODY, BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON written and directed by Alex Timbers. Music and lyrics by Michael Friedman.

Billed as "audaciously redefines America’s seventh president, the man who invented the Democratic Party and doubled the size of our nation, with a raucous blend of outrageous comedy, anarchic theatricality and an infectious emo rock score - focusing on populism, the Indian Removal Act, and Jackson's relationship with his wife Rachel.

The cast features River Aguirre as Lyncoya; James Barry as Male Soloist; Michael Crane as Clay/Blackhawk; Michael Dunn as Calhoun; Greg Hildreth as Red Eagle; Jeff Hunter as John Quincy Adams; Lucas Near-Verbrugghe as Martin Van Buren; Maria Elena Ramirez as Rachel; Kate Cullen Roberts as Elizabeth; Ben Steinfeld as Monroe; Benjamin Walker as Andrew Jackson; Colleen Werthmann as The Storyteller; and Emily Young as Female Soloist.

The production has scenic design by Donyale Werle, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Justin Townsend, and sound design by Bart Fasbender.

Developed by New York-based experimental company Les Freres Corbusier, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson premiered in January 2008 in Los Angeles at the Kirk Douglas Theater, produced by Center Theatre Group. March 23 - April 25, 2010 at the Public Theatre, NYC.

VIGIL written and directed by Morris Panych. Starring Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis and Marco Barricelli.

"Let's not talk about anything depressing, alright? . . .
Do you want to be cremated?"
Kemp, in Vigil

Billed as a deliciously dark comedy. When an embittered, self-involved bachelor arrives to care for the dying aunt he hasn't seen since childhood, his brief visit stretches to interminable lengths. As her health improves against all odds - and against his hopes - their relationship evolves in unexpected ways. Vigil offers an uncanny balance of gallows humor and grave ruminations on family, identity, and the human condition.

The creative team includes; Ken MacDonald (Scenic and Costume Designer); Alan Brodie (Lighting Designer); Meg Roe and Alessandro Juliani (Sound Designers); Joseph Smelser (Stage Manager).

March 25–April 18, 2010 at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

WHO'S WHERE

MICHEL LEGRAND AND FRIENDS three-time Oscar and five-time Grammy Award-winner Michel Legrand will perform a tribute to his 50 years of music and movies. During the show, Legrand will conduct a 66-piece orchestra and perform with many of his superstar friends such as Roberta Flack, Dionne Warwick. Steve Lawrence, Melissa Manchester, Neil Sedaka, Jerry Lewis, Andy William, George Benson, Patti Page and Frank Sinatra, Jr. Saturday, March 27, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas.

FREDA PAYNE is back performing at the Iridium Jazz Club in NYC March 25th to 28th.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE IGUANA with hosts Dana Lorge and Richard Skipper. Barry Levitt on keyboard and Saadi Zain on bass. Guests include: Lindsay Aster, Susan Eichorn Young, Julie Reyburn, Sydney Meyer and Diana Templeton. Wednesday, March 24 at the Iguana VIP Lounge, NYC.

THE MOODY BLUES perform Monday, March 22, at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, NC. On Wednesday the show is at the Performing Arts Center in Durham, NC. On Thursday they are on stage at the Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, VA. Friday the tour stops at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. On Saturday they can be enjoyed at the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA.

REBA McENTIRE AND GEORGE STRAIT on stage together Friday, March 26 at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, OR. On Saturday they perform at the Dome in Tacoma, WA.

BILLY JOEL AND ELTON JOHN are in South Africa this week. On Wednesday the show is at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Friday they are center stage at the Indoor Sports Stadium at Port Elizabeth. Next Sunday they'll be pleasing the audience at the Val De Vie Wine Estate in Cape Town.

BON JOVI has two sets of two nighters. On Tuesday he opens at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. On Friday he begins the two night stand at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

TAYLOR SWIFT in a two night stand beginning Friday, March 26 at The Palace in Auburn Hills, MI.

EXAMUEL AX AND DAWN UPSHAW in recital. The pianist and soprano perform March 23 at the Los Angeles Philadelphia.

PIFFLE AND PROFUNDITIES

JANE FONDA who narrated Grapes of Wrath last week at Carnegie Hall See Broadway To Vegas column of March 14, 2010 blogging that she is a "freak for great magic and I have seen slight of hand and illusionists there (Magic Castle) that make me gasp."

Next Column: March 28, 2010
Copyright: March 21, 2010. All Rights Reserved. Reviews, Interviews, Commentary, Photographs or Graphics from any Broadway To Vegas (TM) columns may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, utilized as leads, or used in any manner without permission, compensation and/or credit.
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Laura Deni

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