Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: March 24, 2024
By: Laura Deni
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DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES SURPASSES EXPECTATIONS - IT'S BRILLIANTLY SOBERING

Brian d'Arcy James and Kelli O'Hara in Days of Wine and Roses.. Photo Joan Marcus

Productions which are stage interpretations of mega hit movies have an obstacle course. Many leave much to be desired. The 1962 Blake Edwards film Days of Wine and Roses starred Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in a blockbuster which scored an Oscar nomination as Best Picture. The movie was actually a screenplay by JP Miller adapted from his own Emmy nominated 1958 Playhouse 90 teleplay of the same name. The film was not a musical but featured theme music by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. Their composition Days of Wine and Roses took home the Oscar for Best Song.

Making the film had a powerful effect on the cast and crew.

Director Blake Edwards became a non-drinker a year after completing the film and went into substance-abuse recovery. He said that he and Jack Lemmon were heavy drinkers while making the film. Both Lemmon and Remick sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous long after they had completed the film. Lemmon revealed to James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio his past drinking problems and his recovery. The film had a lasting effect in reinforcing the growing social acceptance of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Now comes the Broadway production, which is commanding. Though it is a musical adaptation, don't expect a 'we're a couple of drunks; one-two-three-kick' production. Rather, it's deep, dark, insightful, booze fueled mercurial destruction of what alcoholism does to a family.

With a book by Craig Lucas, music and lyrics by the widely respected Adam Guettel - the same writing team behind The Light in the Piazza, and is sensitively directed by Michael Greif.

Lizzie Clachan’s 60s set design is spot on and even includes a shallow moat full of real water running through the front of the set with lighting designer Ben Stanton turning it into a reflection pool. This being the era of bee-hives, flips and exaggerated back combing, one can't help but notice and appreciate the creations of hair and wig designer David Brian Brown. Dede Ayite's costumes bring the A line back to life as well as creating the slept-in-their-clothes hungover garb.

It's the Mad Men era when drinking was America's favorite sport. Three martini lunches. Cocktails before dinner and a nightcap before bed. A little buzz helped get through the workday.

The mesmerizing production stars a charismatic couple: the powerful Brian d'Arcy James and the dynamic Kelli O'Hara.

O'Hara shoulders the score - which takes 'what would alcoholism sound like if it was music' - and delivers desperation/melancholy heartache.

Baritone Brian d'Arcy James does an sensitive delivery on As the Water Loves the Stone.

Brian d'Arcy James stars as Joe Clay a PR wiz. His meets Kirsten - played to perfection by Kelli O'Hara - who prior to meeting Joe, drinks soda pop and admits to being addicted to chocolate candy bars. They meet at a work related event, held on a cruise ship/floating bar.

Dinner follows and Korean war vet Joe fawns over Kirsten as he plys her with Brandy Alexanders, which remind her of the candy bars she so enjoys. At first reluctant to take a sip, but Joe is convincing and soon Kirsten, whose hobby is reading books, begins to relax and enjoy the drink.

They are inebriated when they announce their marriage to Kirsten's protective father (an effective Byron Jennings) who runs a greenhouse/plant nursery and designer Clachan’s greenhouse is a showstopper. A guess is that there isn't an artificial flower left in New York City.

It's there that Joe's statement making rendition of Four Three Five has him declare his intentions to repair past transgression.

The greenhouse serves as the location where the couple will vow to get sober and - fall off the wagon.

In one scene a drunken Joe destroys the greenhouse, trashing anything in his way to locate a liquor bottle he hid in one of the flower pots - and now is desperate to locate.

The harrowing tale of people consumed by their mutual addiction as they trod the co-dependence treadmill.

Underneath their drinking is a love story, submerged in alcohol. Like so many drunks, they promise to stop, then relapse; seek treatment, relapse. They forgive each other and then sink into drunken complicity.

Their marriage produces a daughter Lila - magnificently played by Tabitha Lawing. She's outside the triangle of her mother, father, liquor bottle. She been forced to raise herself and is the emotionally stable one in the family.

You know what's coming - then again you don't. The barbed delivery and innuendo emotionally tap danced by O'Hara and James makes what could be a predictable booze fueled script - both exciting and tormenting.

All of the scenes are memorable. Two as examples: An inebriated Kirsten lands in a motel room, with sheets that may not have been changed, a bottle of gin and strangers - men who momentarily become her intimate friend. When Joe finds her, her explanation is "the world looks so dirty to me when I'm not drinking." O'Hara makes the line stand as a reasonable explanation.

A emotional flip of an example is a drunk to the gills Kirsten in a manic vacuum cleaning segment.

You won't leave the theatre humming any of the tunes, but their intoxicating, haunting emotional impact will linger.

Days of Wine and Roses is at Studio 54, New York City only through March 31, 2024. Make an effort to see it.

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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

AGENTS OF POWER: BODY ADORNMENT IN AFRICAN ART

Museum official readies a display. Photo: San Diego Museum of Art

on display at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park, San Diego, CA through July 7, 2024.

Body adornment amongst African peoples is rich and diverse, an essential aspect of cultural expression, identity, and heritage. Across the continent, different cultures use body art to communicate creativity and cultural identity through performance, sculpture, beadwork, and print form. Such elements collectively illustrate each group’s social status, spiritual support, military strength, and individual cultural aesthetic. Through a selection of works from the Mesa College World Art Collection and The San Diego Museum of Art, this exhibition examines Maasai, Chokwe, Zulu, and Xhosa art representing the body or meant to be worn on it as an agent of power.

Intricate beaded collars and female headpieces represent beauty, strength, and social status in the many distinct body art practices of the Maasai peoples. The Chokwe people, primarily located in central and southern Africa, are known for their exceptional wooden masks and sculptures adorned with elaborate scarification.

These artworks often represent ancestors, spirits, and mythological figures. Feathers were an essential part of warrior regalia for the Zulu people, who create objects with intricate designs that are both functional and artistic. Warriors wore plumes on their heads, often made of crane or ostrich feathers and signifying their rank or achievements.

Located in South Africa, the Xhosa people have a long history of beadwork. Xhosa beadwork characterized by vibrant colors and intricate patterns in necklaces, headdresses, and bracelets, often plays an important role in ceremonies and rituals. As a group, these works display some of the unique artistic traditions distinguishing each of these cultures and reflecting the social structures, beliefs, and history of their peoples.

The San Diego Museum of Art is grateful to Dr. Denise Rogers for her ongoing work with the SDMA African art collection and for curating this display. The San Diego Mesa College World Art Collection is grateful to Rosa Dubost and the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center for the generous donation of many of the Maasai works on view in Agents of Power: Body Adornment in African Art.

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SWEET CHARITY

A BENEFIT READING OF LETTICE AND LOVAGE will be presented March 24 at London's Ambassadors Theatre to benefit Alzheimer's Research U.K.

Maureen Lipman, Tom Conti, Anne Reid, Miranda Hewitt, and Cassandra Hodges will star in the reading directed by Loveday Ingram.

The play follows flamboyant tour guide Lettice Douffet, who comes up against brusque traditionalist Charlotte Schoen from the Preservation Trust for theatrically over-embellishing historical facts on her tours of Fustian House.

The marvelous play was written for Maggie Smith, who originated the role of Lettice Douffet in both London and New York. The Broadway mounting played the Ethel Barrymore Theatre March-December 1990, winning Tony Awards for both Smith and co-star Margaret Tyzack. It is one of my all time favorite plays. I was fortunate to see it twice.

Miranda Hewitt produces the upcoming benefit.

Last year, Alzheimer’s Research UK asked Olivia Coleman to narrate what she calls "their beautiful, poignant and heartbreaking campaign animation, Change The Ending.

"I’m so proud of the film and the small part I played in bringing it to life," Coleman posted, "We need to come together as a global community if we’re to overcome dementia. And with the right support and resources, we’ll get there. And Alzheimer’s Research UK will lead that charge. Research is progressing at an astonishing rate and the very first treatments clinically proven to slow Alzheimer’s disease are coming through. But we can’t stop there. A cure once felt so hopeless, and something reserved for the most far-fetched sci-fi movie. But now, it feels within sight. We just need to grab it."

SPREADING THE WORD

A 50th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT OF PIPPIN will be presented at The London Palladium April 1-2, 2024.

With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O Hirson, the show includes classic songs such as Corner of the Sky and Magic to Do. It follows a young prince who is jettisoned into a world of war, royalty and treachery while on a quest for true happiness and fulfillment.

The concert features the Tony Award-winning star of Broadway’s Shucked, Alex Newell, as the Leading Player. Alongside Newell is the London Musical Theatre Orchestra and a 50-strong choir.

JAMES CORDEN has been announced as the star in the world premiere of Joe Penhall's The Constituent at the Old Vic theatre from June 13 to August 10, 2024. The new play also stars BAFTA winner Anna Maxwell Martin.

'I am not your punch bag! I am a Member of Parliament!'

An MP with an instinct for compassion.

An ex-serviceman with a life in free fall.

And a parliamentary protection officer who’s having none of it.

This volatile new play stars BAFTA Award winner Anna Maxwell Martin as Monica, a hard-working opposition backbencher whose ideals of public office are tested by the demands of Alec, a man in crisis, played by Tony, BAFTA and Emmy Award winner James Corden.

The play also features Zachary Hart as Mellor.

With Rob Howell's set & costumes and Hugh Vanstone's lighting, the production is directed by Olivier and Tony Award winner Matthew Warchus and written by Olivier Award winner Joe PenhallThe Constituent deconstructs politics, panic alarms and the conflict between public service and personal safety.

THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING AND THE DRAMA BOOK SHOP in New York City have partnered to launch a monthly play-reading club, The Playreaders Club. The club will offer both in-person and virtual programming to engage the theatre community across the nation and unite theatre enthusiasts, professionals, students, and educators to engage in reading and discussing published theatrical works.

THE OLD GLOBE in San Diego, CA has announced the four-member cohort for the 2024 Classical Directing Fellowship, a program of the Karen and Stuart Tanz Fellowships at The Old Globe, led by the Globe’s Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, a leading Shakespearean teacher, author, podcast host, and director.

This year’s fellows, who are active directors who have worked with The Old Globe in various artistic capacities, include Andréa Agosto, Kandace Crystal, Kian Kline-Chilton, and Desireé Clarke Miller.

The fifth year of this series of workshops on Shakespearean directing will be held at the Globe from Monday, March 25 to Friday, March 29, 2024. In addition to the workshops, the 2024 Classical Directing Fellows will be invited to observe rehearsals of the upcoming summer production of Henry 6, adapted and directed by Edelstein.

The Classical Directing Fellowship focuses on Shakespeare’s text, how it is put together, and how it works in the imaginations and voices of American actors. In these seminars, Edelstein presents a series of techniques that the fellows then employ in rehearsals with a company of professional actors. The work culminates in a private presentation. After that, all involved debrief and broaden the conversation to larger questions about Shakespeare, American culture, and the director’s art and life. Throughout the week, in addition to the artistic work, fellows meet with members of the Globe’s staff in many departments to deepen knowledge of how a classically oriented theatre brings plays to life.

MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS 79m who three years ago announced he was being treated for a brain turmor, will conduct New York Philharmonic's opening subscription program leading the orchestra in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 14 with Emanuel Ax and Mahler's Fifth Symphony on Sept. 12, 13 and 15.

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEWARK AND ARTS EDUCATION AT NJPAC are announcing a partnership for a certificate program centered on justice-oriented arts pedagogy and business practices. This Teaching Artist Certificate program is the first-of-its-kind partnership between a university and a performing arts center. This new initiative will prepare teaching artists for life-impacting work in classrooms, healthcare, and community settings.

On Tuesday, March 26, 2024 officials will hold a meeting at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center to outline the vision for the new partnership.

Participants will include:
John Schreiber, President and CEO of NJPAC
Eric Booth, Author and Teaching Artist innovator
Jacqueline Mattis, Dean of Faculty, RU-N School of Arts & Sciences
Lynnette Mawhinney, Interim Chair of Urban Education Dept., RU-N School of Arts & Sciences
Jennifer Tsukayama, Vice President of NJPAC Arts Education

GHOST ARMY FINALLY RECEIVES RECOGNITION: IT'S ABOUT TIME

Members of the Ghost Army were honored with gold medals. John Christmas, standing left, Bernie Bluestein and Seymour Nussenhaum in wheelchairs. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Ghost Army League Project

On Thursday, March 21, 2024 member of The Ghost Army finally received their long overdue gold medals from the United States Congress.

Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II is how the World War II museum refers to them.

Activated on January 20, 1944, the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, known as the "Ghost Army," was the first mobile, multimedia, tactical deception unit in US Army history. Consisting of an authorized strength of 82 officers and 1,023 men under the command of Army veteran Colonel Harry L. Reeder, this unique and top-secret unit was capable of simulating two whole divisions—approximately 30,000 men—and used visual, - such as inflatable tanks - sonic, and radio deception to fool German forces during World War II’s final year.

Armed with nothing heavier than .50 caliber machine guns, the 23rd took part in 22 large-scale deceptions in Europe from Normandy to the Rhine River, the bulk of the unit arriving in England in May 1944, shortly before D-Day.

The brainchild of Colonel Billy Harris and Major Ralph Ingersoll, both American military planners based in London, the unit consisted of a carefully selected group of artists, engineers, professional soldiers, and draftees, including famed artists such as fashion designer Bill Blass, painter Ellsworth Kelly, and photographer Art Kane. Many West Point graduates and former Army Specialized Training Program participants were assigned to the 23rd, and it was said to have one of the highest IQs in the Army with an average of 119.

The unit waged war with inflatable tanks and vehicles, fake radio traffic, sound effects, and even phony generals, using imagination and illusion to trick the enemy credited with saving the lives of between 15,000 and 30,000 American soldiers. The 23rd, along with the 3133rd Signal Service Company in Italy, helped liberate Europe from the grip of Nazi tyranny.

Following the war, the unit’s soldiers were sworn to secrecy, records were classified, and equipment packed away. Except for a newspaper article right after the war, no one spoke publicly about the deceivers until a 1985 Smithsonian article. Though knowledge of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops was then public, it was still officially classified until the mid-1990s.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and General Charles Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff congratulate Ghost Army veteran John M. Christman. Photo by Henry Villarama Army Multimedia and Visual Information Division

On Thursday, after many years of lobbying with Rick Beyer, president of the nonprofit Ghost Army Legacy Project, they finally received official public recognition — in the form of a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor the legislative body bestows.

House Speaker Mike Johnson served as host for the special event, along with House and Senate leaders and sponsors of the legislation passed in 2022 authorizing the award, Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements by individuals or institutions. It was be the first time the Gold Medal, designed and produced by the U.S. Treasury Department, was unveiled.

Only seven of the more than 1,000 troops who served in the Ghost Army are still alive today. They are: James “Tom” Anderson, Dover, DE - - Bernard Bluestein, Hoffman Estates, IL - - John Christman, Leesburg, NJ - - George Dramis, Raleigh, NC - - William Nall, Dunnellon, FL - - Seymour Nussenbaum, Monroe Township, NJ - - John Smith, Woodland, MI.

Three — John Christman, Seymour Nussenbaum, and Bernard Bluestein were able to attend.

100-year-old Bernard Bluestein, joined the visual deception unit from the Cleveland Institute of Art and went on to pursue a career in industrial design; 99-year-old John Christman, served as a demolition specialist and 100-year-old Seymour Nussenbaum, who joined the Army from the Pratt Institute helped make the counterfeit patches worn by the unit, and worked in package design for many years after the war.

Like many of the group's members, Nussenbaum came from art school. Others were drawn from advertising and public relations firms. "It was like putting on a big production," Nussenbaum, told the Associated Press. "We have had in some cases people impersonating generals, putting on a general's uniform and walking around the streets.

"Our mission was to fool the enemy," he said. "To put on a big act."

"I guess we were successful, because the Germans fired upon us," Bluestein told the Washington Post. "We convinced them we were the real thing."

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who introduced the act authorizing the medal, noted that he had worked alongside a Ghost Army vet, John "Jack" McGlynn, in the Massachusetts state legislature. McGlynn died in 2016.

"What made the Ghost Army special was not just their extraordinary courage, but their creativity," said Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH), the House sponsor of the bill authorizing the Gold Medal. "Their story reminds us that listening to unconventional ideas, like using visual and sound deception, can help us solve existential challenges like defeating tyranny." Other primary bill sponsors include former Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT), and Senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in the Senate.

Many family members attended the ceremony to accept the medal on behalf of their loved one. Those in attendance included Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Andrew Mead and his wife, Kelly, of Bangor who attended in honor of Justice Mead's father, Sergeant Donald Mead a member of the 3133rd Signal Service Company.

House Speaker Mike Johnson opened the event reading a quote from a print-out of the U.S. Army's report on the mission, which was declassified in 1996: "Rarely if ever has there existed a group of such few men which had so great an influence on the outcome of a major military campaign."

"The Ghost Army's tactics were meant to be invisible, but today their constructions will no longer remain unseen in the shadows," said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., one of the bill's two Senate sponsors. "Their weapons were unconventional, but their patriotism was unquestionable."

Beyer also produced an outstanding 2013 PBS documentary on the Ghost Army and co-authored of The Ghost Army of World War II. PBS is noted for repeating - and repeating - and repeating it's programs. The Ghost Army documentary deserves another airing.

Bill Blass in his jeep somewhere in Europe, in a photo taken by his friend Bob Tompkins. He served three-and-a-half years and took a gun shot wound to a leg. Photo from Ghost Army League Project

The Army recruited art students and young professionals from ad agencies, communications companies and other creative professions. Many would go on to legendary careers, like fashion designer Bill Blass and painter and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly. The Ghost Army included highly trained radio operators, engineers and people from all walks of life, Beyer told NHPR.

One of those people was Gilbert Seltzer. The 26-year-old architectural draftsman was told after enlisting in the Army that he would be put on a top-secret mission, and ended up leading a platoon of men within the Ghost Army. The unit deployed legions of inflatable tanks, pumped fake engine rumbles and other sound effects through massive speakers and sent fake radio messages for the enemy to intercept, convincing Germans occupying the French city of Brest that the Americans would attack from the east and west, when in fact U.S. forces were coming in from the north. German artillery targeted the fake tanks, according to the Ghost Army Legacy Project.

In later operations, the Ghost Army kept Nazi forces from attacking a weak point along the front line near the Moselle River in September 1944 by posing as the 6th Armored Division. As the Allies invaded Germany toward the end of the war, the Ghost Army imitated a 40,000-man force amassing on the bank of the Rhine River 10 miles south of where the actual crossing was planned.

Seltzer, who died at the age of 106 in 2021, told Storycorps in 2019 that soldiers would project the sound of tanks on the nights that they moved through villages in France, Belgium and Germany.

"The natives would say to each other, 'Did you see the tanks moving through town last night?' And they were not lying," he said. "They thought they were seeing them! Imagination is unbelievable."

Their aim, he said, was to "draw fire away from the real battery to us." Seltzer recalled deceiving German forces during the Allied crossing of the Rhine River in March 1945, getting them to assemble some 20 miles away from where the actual crossing was made.

That's one of several notable successes of the Ghost Army, which lost at least three of its soldiers and saw dozens more injured during the war - including Bill Blass who was shot in the leg.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell quoted one late veteran, saying "'sparing one mother or new bride the agony of putting a gold star in their front window' was what their unit was all about."

U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said that traces of the Ghost Army's approach can still be found in military deception operations today. "Even though technology has changed quite a bit since 1944, our modern techniques build on a lot of what the Ghost Army did, and we are still learning from your legacy," she said. Wormuth said Thursday that immediately after the war, Ghost Army soldiers received a letter of thanks from then-Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, with a memorable P.S.: "If you tell anyone, I'll see that you hang."

Beyer told WUNC before the ceremony that the mission had been so deeply classified that the "Army basically lost it."

"It kind of forgot about it until the late 80s, when they suddenly rediscovered this and started bringing Ghost Army soldiers to the Pentagon for briefings," he explained.

Rep. Ann Kuster, D-N.H., the bill's first sponsor and the daughter of a WWII veteran who spent six months in a German POW camp, said many of her generation's fathers did not talk about the war afterwards — and that was especially true for the top-secret Ghost Army.

"One of my favorite lines was one gentleman who only would tell his family 'I blew up tanks,' without saying they were inflatable tanks," she told Thursday's gathering.

Once the mission was declassified, Beyer and other veterans' relatives spearheaded efforts to celebrate its legacy. The nonprofit Ghost Army Legacy Project, which was founded in 2016, erected two historical markers in Europe while leading the fight for a gold medal.

Bluestein, the only veteran who spoke at the ceremony, offered his thanks to those who had supported the effort.

"You've all contributed to my existence and to my being who I am," he said. "I'm very proud and happy to be here to receive this honor."

At the end of the ceremony, Chaplain (Maj.) Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky noted how the judge and prophet Gideon led a band of 300 warriors "who used a combination of audacity, skill, daring and deception to sow confusion, fear and most importantly defeat in the hearts of the massive Midianite army.

"Two thousand years later, two elite and likewise small groups, 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and 3133rd Signal Service Company, again used these attributes — audacity, skill, daring and deception — to throw the evil that was Hitler and his Nazi armies into utter disarray."

For the names of The Ghost Army click here

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

ITALY'S PRIME MINISTER GIORGIA MELONI is seeking €100,000 (£85,374) in damages after deepfake porn videos of her were uploaded on a US pornographic website.

A deepfake image is one where the face of one person is digitally added to the body of another.

A 40-year-old man, thought to have produced the videos, and his 73-year-old father are under investigation.

Police have said they were able to locate them by tracking the mobile device that was used to post the videos.

Both men are accused of defamation. Under Italian law, some defamation cases can be criminal and carry a prison sentence.

Ms Meloni, who has served as Prime Minister since 2022, is due to testify before a court in the Sardinian city of Sassari on July 2, 2024.

According to the indictment, the videos were posted on a US pornographic website, where they were viewed "millions of times" over the course of several months.

Ms Meloni's legal representatives said that, if her request for damages is successful, she will donate the €100,000 to a fund to support women who have been victims of male violence.

Maria Giulia Marongiu, Ms Meloni's lawyer, said the sum was "symbolic" and the demand for compensation was meant to "send a message to women who are victims of this kind of abuse of power not to be afraid to press charges."

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BROADWAY'S 15 TIME TONY WINNER WENDY FEDERMAN was honored by the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey, in a special event to celebrate Women's History Month.

The luncheon honored Wendy Federman, a distinguished 15-time Tony Award-winning theatre and film producer, for her remarkable achievements.

A few of her productions include: A Strange Loop, Ain't too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations, An American in Paris, Angels In America, Beetlejuice, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Cabaret, Carousel, Catch Me if You Can, Be more Chill, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Company, Dear Evan Hansen, Dreamgirls, Evita, Funny Girl, Gutenberg the Musical, Hadestown, Hair, Hands On a Hard Body, Driving Miss Daisy, Hello Dolly!, Here Lies Love, It's Only a Play, Jagged Little Pill, Lend Me a Tenor, Leopoldstadt, Life of Pi, Mouling Rouge, Network, Parade, Pippin, Ragtime,Something Rotten, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Three Tall Women, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tommy, Tootsie, The Band's visit, The Crucible, The Piano Lesson, The Play That Goes Wrong, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime, The Lehman Trilogy, The Lifespan of a Fact, Three Tall Women, Wolf Hall.

During her acceptance speech, Federman shared that when she began her career on Broadway, she faced challenges in being taken seriously, and people often preferred to speak to the men at the company. Federman said, "I vow to continue to promote women's rights and issues in all aspects of my life and career, saying that women are powerful and can do anything."

Those in attendance included New Jersey's First Lady Tammy Murphy and ABC 7-NY News Reporter Nina Pineda who served as the event’s emcee.

Violinist Kersten Stevens performed and a presentation by Performing Arts School students, including vocalist Esther Lee who performed "If I Loved You" from Carousel, one of Federman's productions.

Guests also enjoyed a performance by bergenPAC's preprofessional Dance Ensemble, choreographed & led by Artistic Director of Dance, Roberta Mathes. The dancers performed "Lady Marmalade," from another Federman production, Moulin Rouge.

Valerie V. Huttle, the Chair of bergenPAC, said, "The Women's Luncheon supports the Performing Arts School's mission to expand its programs for students with special needs and to conduct outreach initiatives for students in public schools across New Jersey. The funds raised from this event will enhance the programs at the Performing Arts School and contribute towards upgrading its facilities where future stars train."

SIR ELTON JOHN AND HIS WRITING PARTNER BERNIE TAUPIN received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at an all-star concert in Washington, D.C., on March 20. Artists from across the musical spectrum joined the national library and U.S. leaders to honor the great songwriting duo. The lineup included Joni Mitchell, Garth Brooks, Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Metallica, Maren Morris, Billy Porter, Charlie Puth and Jacob Lusk of Gabriels.

Bestowed in recognition of the peerless songwriting team of George and Ira Gershwin, the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is the nation's highest award for influence, impact and achievement in popular music.

The event was taped for PBS and will premiere on PBS stations nationwide on April 8, 2024.

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS (NAB) has announced that FOX's groundbreaking true crime series, America's Most Wanted, will be inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame for television. The series will be honored during the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame Ceremony, held on the Main Stage of the 2024 NAB Show, April 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Since 1988, America's Most Wanted has turned television viewers into armchair detectives, using viewer leads and information to help solve cases across the country and pursue justice for crime victims. John Walsh and his team of experts have helped law enforcement capture 1,195 fugitives and bring more than 50 missing children home to their families.

For prolific and Emmy-Award winning series host John Walsh, America's Most Wanted supports his longstanding mission to be a powerful voice for crime victims around the world. Walsh originally launched the series on FOX in 1988 after his own son Adam was abducted from a mall near their home. Adam's remains were found two weeks later. Through the experience of this tragedy, the Walshes founded the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and continue to fight for victims' rights and for justice throughout the country and wherever children or crime victims are in need.

John Walsh will accept the award with his son and co-host Callahan Walsh. Callahan Walsh works with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children as a child advocate and uses his platform to promote child safety programs.

SARA BRUNER has been named producing artistic director designate for Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.

The announcement coincides with the news of Charles Fee's retirement as Producing Artistic Director of Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, effective at the end of the 2025-2026 season. As part of a planned succession, Bruner will seamlessly transition into the role of Producing Artistic Director at the end of Fee's tenure.

Bruner has carved a distinct path through the theatrical world, significantly contributing to various disciplines. Along with her substantial time with GLT, ISF and LTSF, she was a company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for six years.

Beyond her artistic endeavors, Bruner's accomplishments include receiving the prestigious Princess Grace Award in 2018 and earning an Executive MBA from Boise State University.

THE AMERICAN THEATRE CRITICS ASSOCIATION (ATCA) has announced six finalists for the 2024 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, recognizing the playwrights who produced the best scripts that premiered professionally outside of New York City in 2023.

The top award, which carries a $25,000 honorarium, and two citations valued at $7,500 each, will be presented on May 4 at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Calif., as part of the annual Pacific Playwrights Festival. At $40,000, Steinberg/ATCA is the largest national new play award program of its kind.

In 1977, ATCA began to honor new plays produced at regional theaters, as a way of balancing the existing awards landscape, which often focuses on works produced in New York. No play is eligible if it has gone on to a New York production within the award year. Since 2000, the award has been generously funded by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

The 2024 finalists, listed alphabetically by title, are:

Eternal Life, Part 1 by Nathan Alan Davis. A trippy and transcendent comedy that explores ecology, environmentalism, and the quest to live forever. One family’s experience on the forefront of a mission to create a “Super Earth” unfolds with humor, relatability, and a healthy dose of whimsy, including a talking goose. Premiered by Wilma Theater (Philadelphia, PA).

The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh. A seriocomic encounter between two immigrant women from different cultures, this play is a spirited and poignant ode to the challenges and rewards many experience as newcomers to American society. As the women bond over food, dancing, Thanksgiving turkey, and homesickness, they forge a new and valuable friendship to face the future. Premiered by Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (Milwaukee, WI).

K-I-S-S-I-N-G by Lenelle Moïse. Two Black teenagers build a fragile relationship as they bridge class, familial, and sexual differences in this whip-smart and tender play, which avoids the clichés associated with many adolescent rom-coms. Premiered by Huntington Theatre Company (Boston, MA).

I Carry Your Heart With Me by Jennifer Blackmer. Inspired by her mother’s stint as a young stenographer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Blackmer’s one-actor, multi-character play explores a middle-aged woman's conflicted memories of her top-secret post capturing the experiences of soldiers during the Vietnam War, and her involvement with one troubled veteran. Premiered by Third Avenue Playworks (Sturgeon Bay, WI).

Motherhouse by Tuckie White. This portrait of a quartet of sisters (and one niece) gathering for their mother's funeral is both zany and devastating as it plumbs the dynamics of an emotionally scarred clan. As they drink and reminisce, clash and comfort, the reunion pulsates with vitality as it unearths secrets and lies. Premiered by Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (Chicago, IL).

Predictor by Jennifer Blackmer. Based on the true story of a woman fighting sexist colleagues to invent the first widely available home pregnancy test, this play tells the story of Margaret Crane’s successful battle within a pharmaceutical firm for female reproductive autonomy with verve, wit, and bite. Premiered by Capital Stage (Sacramento, CA).

Past recipients of ATCA’s New Play Award include August Wilson, Lynn Nottage, Lanford Wilson, Lee Blessing, Michael Cristofer, Marsha Norman, Lauren Yee, Moises Kaufman, and Qui Nguyen. Last year’s honoree was the ripple, the wave that carried me home by Christina Anderson.

SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS OF MAINE was honored to receive the Sidney R. Yates Award, which recognizes lawmakers who provide support for the National Endowment for the Humanities and other humanities-related programs. She received this award from Dean Allbritton, Ashton Wesner, Rory Hallowell, and Nathan Dunn of the Colby College Center for Arts and Humanities; Stephen Kidd of the National Humanities Alliance; and Aaron Rosen of the Clemente Course in the Humanities.

The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.



PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME by Brian Friel.

Directed by Ciarán O'Reilly.

Starring Peter Cormican, Ciaran Byrne, Terry Donnelly, Patrick Fitzgerald, Deirdre Madigan, David McElwee, Clare O’Malley, Ciarán O’Reilly, Tim Palmer, James Russell, AJ Shively, and Emmet Earl Smith.

Set in 1962, this classic bittersweet comedy revolves around the young Gar O’Donnell on the eve of his departure from Ireland to America. Gar’s heartache from losing his girlfriend to a successful businessman propels him to accept an invitation to go and live with an aunt in Philadelphia. Despite the wild fantasies of what life in America might hold, and his yearning to escape the tedium of small town Ballybeg, a kind word from his taciturn father could change his mind.

On the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage through May 5, 2024 at The Irish Repertory in New York City.

Beginning April 15, 2023 in Irish Repertory Theatre Gallery Mapping the Land: The Literary Landscape of Brian Friel Curated by Sarah Moran and Co-curated by Muireann Lalor.

Discover our on-site exhibition that explores the life and work of master Irish playwright Brian Friel, from his early fiction in The New Yorker to his enduring influence on theater. Learn about his deep connection to the Donegal landscape and its people, immortalized in his most iconic works, as well as his evolution as a writer and the events that inspired his plays. Mapping the Land: The Literary Landscape of Brian Friel features the playwright’s personal letters, photographs, manuscripts, and more. Written guides and displays will lead visitors through Friel’s life, from his birth in 1929 to his death in 2015.

Members of the public can view the exhibition April 15 - June 20, 2024 in Irish Repertory Theatre’s 2nd Floor Gallery at 132 West 22nd Street, beginning one hour before our regular daily performances. This exhibition is free and open to the public. No reservations are required during normal viewing hours.

THE WORLD IS NOT SILENT by Don X. Nguyen.

Directed by Marya Mazor.

Performed in English, Vietnamese, American Sign Language, and Vietnamese Sign Language.

This moving story explores the relationship between a son, Don, and his estranged father as they try to reconnect in the wake of his father’s recent hearing loss. Don learns that the key to communication and connection is speaking from the heart as the play explores how language, at the same time, divides and unites us. This play was part of Alley All New Festival in 2022.

Featuring: Tony Aidan Vo, Long Nguyen and Mai Le.

The creatives are: Mimikiko Suzuki MacAdams Scenic Design - Sara Ryung Clement Costume Design - Jennifer Fox lighting design - Melanie Chen Cole sound design - Victoria Beauray Sagady projection design - Long Nguyen Vietnamese sign language consultant - Adam Noble fight director and intimacy specialist - Edward Khris Fernandez stage manager - Laura Pilar Gutierrez assistant stage manager.

World Premiere March 22 – April 14, 2024 presented by the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas.

PURPOSE by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

Directed by Phylicia Rashad.

The Jaspers are an influential Chicago family; a pillar of Black American Politics including civil rights leaders, pastors and congressmen. But when the youngest son Nazareth returns home with an uninvited guest, the family is forced to reckon with itself as secrets are revealed and cracks are exposed.

Featuring ensemble members Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis & Jon Michael Hill along with Ayanna Bria Bakari, Harry Lennix & Tamara Tunie.

Performances now at Goodspeed in Chicago.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER co-written by Daniel Goldstein and the late Michael Friedman.

Directed by Trip Cullman.

The cast and creative team has been revealed for Unknown Soldier at Arena Stage., a reinvigorated version of the heartfelt original musical will make its D.C. premiere in Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater, Unknown Soldier will run March 29 – May 5, 2024. Cleaning out her grandmother’s home, Ellen Rabinowitz discovers the photograph of an anonymous soldier tucked away in a box of keepsakes. And so begins a sweeping, romantic musical about a woman’s journey to unearth the secrets buried in her family’s past. Spanning three generations, Unknown Soldier unravels a delicate tangle of family lore, as Ellen chases the extraordinary story that unlocks her history—and charts her future.

Reprising their roles from the production’s Off-Broadway run are Kerstin Anderson as Lucy Lemay and Perry Sherman as Francis. The cast will also feature Riglee Ruth Bryson as Lucy Rabinowitz/Young Ellen, Adam Chanler-Berat as Andrew, Lora Lee Gayer as Ellen Rabinowitz, Nehal Joshi as Doctor, and four-time Tony Award nominee Judy Kuhn as Lucy Anderson.

Rounding out the company will be Amy Griffin, Candice Shedd-Thompson, Jordyn Taylor, Wood Van Meter, Elizabeth Vargo, Ronald Joe Williams, Taylor Witt, and Sumié Yotsukura.

The creative team includes Choreographer Patrick McCollum, Music Supervisors Julie McBride and Marco Paguia, Music Director Chris Kong, Tony Award nominee Set Designer Mark Wendland, Costume Designer Jacob A. Climer, Tony Award nominee Lighting Designer Ben Stanton, Tony Award winner Sound Designer Leon Rothenberg, Tony Award nominee Projection Designer Lucy Mackinnon, Hair, Wig, and Makeup Designer J. Jared Janas, Associate Director Susanna Wolk, Associate Choreographer Francine Espiritu , Dramaturg Otis Ramsey-Zöe, Casting Director Joseph Pinzon, NY Casting by Patrick Goodwin, The Telsey Office, Stage Manager Lisa Ann Chernoff, and Assistant Stage Manager Dayne Sundman.

Unknown Soldier comes to Arena Stage following its 2015 world premiere at Williamstown Theatre Festival and an early 2020 Off-Broadway run at Playwrights Horizons, both directed by Cullman. Unknown Soldier will run March 29 – May 5, 2024. Arena Stage in Washington, DC.

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FINAL OVATION

BYRON JANIS world-famous American pianist died March 14, 2024 in Mount Sinai hospital in New York . He was 95.

"The passing of Byron, my husband of 58 years, is such a loss to me and the world," his widow Maria Cooper Janis said in a statement. "Byron understood that music has many powers including that of bridging barriers that seem insurmountable, and in today’s fractured world, let us remember and practice this to honor his legacy."

Born in 1928, Janis launched his 85-year musical career as a child prodigy, becoming the first student of Vladimir Horowitz in 1944 and debuting with Arturo Toscanini’s NBC Symphony Orchestra, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He came to world renown in the late 1940s at the forefront of a generation of newly minted American talents, at age 18 the youngest artist to sign with RCA Victor Records.

He made numerous recordings for RCA Victor and Mercury Records, and occupies two volumes of the Philips series Great Pianists of the 20th Century.

In 1960, Janis became the first musician to take part in a cultural exchange program under the auspices of the U.S. State Department, touring Russia and serving as a de-facto musical ambassador.

Janis’s lefthand pinkie was permanently numb after a childhood accident when he was 11, severing a tendon and a nerve. In 1973, when he was 45, psoriatic arthritis set in, affecting his hands and his wrists. Though the pain was excruciating, he stopped at nothing to keep on performing — even after some of his finger joints fused.

“It was a life-and-death struggle for me every day for years,” Janis told the Chicago Tribune in 2014. “At every point I thought of not being able to continue performing, and it terrified me. Music, after all, was my life, my world, my passion.”

He finally went public with his diagnosis in 1986, becoming a spokesperson for the National Arthritis Foundation.

Janis was also a composer. He wrote music for musical theater, including the score for a 1993 Off-Broadway adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, for television shows, and in collaboration on several pieces with Cy Coleman.

He is survived by his second wife Maria Cooper, daughter of screen actor Gary Cooper and his wife Veronica. His son, Stefan, from his first marriage, was a poet, translator and art critic. He died in 2017.

JOEL LISH founder and former Music Director of the Palisades Symphony died March 5, 2024 one week before his 89th birthday.

In 1970 Joel became Chair of the Music Department of Palisades High School, where he remained until he retired from teaching in 1995. While still in his first year of teaching at Palisades High, Joel started the Palisades Symphony in early 1966. Joel was incredibly fortunate to meet Eva Holberg, a Pacific Palisades music-lover and volunteer, who eventually became the President of the orchestra and ran it successfully for more than 50 years until her death at age 91 in 2022. The Palisades Symphony continues to thrive in the community. The orchestra presents seven concerts every year which are always free and open to the public. Two of these concerts are in collaboration with the Brentwood-Palisades Chorale, and one is a showcase for young local artists.

Joel's retirement from full-time teaching allowed him to devote more time to his other career as a professional violist. Joel has performed casual, strolling, chamber, and orchestral music with many ensembles throughout the Los Angeles area. He sometimes worked on cruise ships as a solo violist, taking requests from passengers as they were enjoying their dinner. He especially enjoyed his work with Murray Korda's "Monseigneur Strings" – a group of musicians who were renowned in the Los Angeles area for playing for high-end society functions for presidents and Hollywood royalty.

Joel also participated in many studio recordings for motion pictures and television. For several years he conducted the Los Angeles Mandolin Orchestra and the Casa Italiana Opera Company.

Joel leaves behind his wife, cellist Jan Kelley-Lish; two sons – Dr. Benjamin Lish (Gigi) of Ventura and Michael Lish (Kristin) of Bend, Oregon; one grandchild Joel's first wife, Kyoko Lish, passed away in 2006.

Next Column: March 31, 2024
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Laura Deni

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