Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: March 27, 2022
By: Laura Deni
CLICK HERE FOR COMMENT SECTION

POLITICALLY CORRECT MUSIC MAN LIGHTS UP BROADWAY

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster with cast of The Music Man. Photo: Joan Marcus

The Winter Garden Theatre in New York City has been transformed into River City, Iowa. 1912 for Meredith Willson's beloved 1957 mega hit The Music Man.

Book by Meredith Willson; Music by Meredith Willson; Lyrics by Meredith Willson; Story by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey.

Just when we needed a perk-me-up from life along comes the eagerly anticipated classic The Music Man.

A cautious Hugh Jackman stars as Harold Hill, the traveling salesman who dupes Iowans into buying instruments for an imaginary band.

Prim and proper library Marian played by Sutton Foster, isn't fooled for a second until she is blinded by love.

Many times when unrealistic anticipation meets the reality of the performance, customers feel letdown. In the case of this production, the nit pickers can find some fodder to carp.

The show is suppose to be a throw back to nostalgia - to a romanticized time that never really existed. A time when romantic dreams came true, although Mid-westerners kept their closed minds buttoned shut.

The first thing you notice is the curtain - rather, the lack of the traditional version. There is a barn façade that opens to display backdrops painted in the style of Iowian Grant Wood. The set along with the colorful costumes are the work of Santo Loquasto.

Directed by Jerry Zaks, the production acknowledges our overly cautious society, having been sanitized to remove anything that might be presumed to be racist, insensitive to social standing or portraying women as anything other than standing on a pedestal, which, sadly, takes away from the societal statement making edges in the original version.

Low bows to Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn, and Jayne Houdyshell as his wife. He is delightfully blustery and she is brilliant. Also, to Shuler Hensley as Marcellus Washburn, Hill's sidekick. Buddy Hackett in the movie version left big shoes to fill and Hensley is the perfect fit.

The plethora of amazingly talented children cast leaves no doubt that the next generation of Broadway stars is anxiously kicking up their heels ready to gain their own foothold.

Always a fan of Willson, I once won a regional championship reciting Ya Got Trouble, and I've always though his concocting Rock Island to the rumble of train wheels was sheer genius.

A family show on everyone's must see list, assuming you can locate a ticket. Should be in for a long and enjoyable run.

Music orchestrated by Jonathan Tunick; Vocal arrangements by David Chase; Dance arrangements by David Chase; Additional lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman; Musical Director: Patrick Vaccariello Choreographed by Warren Carlyle; Associate Director: Stephen Edlund; Associate Choreographer: Sara Edwards; Assistant Choreographer: David Scotchford Scenic Design by Santo Loquasto; Costume Design by Santo Loquasto; Lighting Design by Brian MacDevitt; Sound Design by Scott Lehrer; Hair and Wig Design by Campbell Young Associates; Make-Up Design by Campbell Young Associates; Lead Associate Scenic Designer: Evan Adamson; Associate Scenic Design: Jisun Kim; Associate Costume Design: Matthew Pachtman and Martha Bromelmeier; Associate Lighting Design: Nick Solyom; Associate Sound Design: Alex Neumann; Assistant Scenic Design: Samuel Vawter; Assistant Costume Design: Cathy Small; Assistant Lighting Design: Nyle Farmer; Assistant Sound Design: Tracy Cowit; Lighting Programmer: David Arch Company Manager: Heidi Neven and Brian Tucker. Production Stage Manager: Thomas Recktenwald; Stage Manager: Mary MacLeod and Shannon Hammons; Assistant Stage Mgr: Ayisha Hunt and Brandon Allmon-Jackson

Music Contractor: Seymour 'Red' Press and Kimberlee Wertz; Musical Supervisor: Patrick Vaccariello; Conducted by Patrick Vaccariello; Associate Conductor: Jim Laev;

The musicians are:

Trumpet: Trevor Neumann, Jeremy Miloszewicz and Wayne duMaine; Trombone: Mike Boschen; Bass Trombone: Jack Schatz; French Horn: Lawrence DiBello and Shelagh Abate; Reed: Steve Kenyon, Dave Noland, Jay Brandford, Rick Heckman and Alden Banta.

Piano: Jim Laev; Bass: Leo Huppert; Drums: Eric Poland; Percussion: Victor Pablo.

Concertmaster: Robin Zeh; Violin: Louise Owen, Philip Payton, Chala Yancy, Martin Agee and Belinda Whitney; Cello: Charles duChateau and Emily Brausa.

Music Copying: Katharine Edmonds, Emily Grishman Music Preparation and Alden Terry Casting: The Telsey Office; Press Representative: DKC/O&M; Advertising: RPM; Fight direction by Thomas Schall; Dance Captain: Maria Briggs and Ryan Worsing; Dialect Coach: Jess Platt; Fight Captain: Ryan Worsing; Photographer: Joan Marcus

In addition to Jackman and Foster the musical stars: Remy Auberjonois as Charlie Cowell, Shuler Hensley as Marcellus Washburn, Jayne Houdyshellas as Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn, Emma Crow as Zaneeta Shinn, Carlee Flanagan as Gracie Shinn, Phillip Boykin as Olin Britt, Eddie Korbich as Jacey Squires and Quartet Conductor, Rema Webb as Mrs. Squires, Garrett Long as Ethel Toffelmier, Linda Mugleston as Alma Hix, Nicholas Ward as Oliver Hix, Marie Mullenas as Mrs. Paroo, Benjamin Pajak as Winthrop Paroo, Lance Roberts as Constable Locke, Jessica Sheridan as Maud Dunlop, Daniel Torres as Ewart Dunlop, Kayla Teruel as Amaryllis, and Gino Cosculluela as Tommy Djilas.

With Jordan Beall, Ronnie S. Bowman Jr. , Phillip Boykin, Curtis Holland, Drew Minard, Sean Montgomery, Nick Alvino, and Branch Woodman as traveling salesmen.

Ensemble: Audrey Cardwell, JT Church, Kammie Crum, Aydin Eyikan, Ethen Green-Younger, Emily Jewel Hoder, Eloise Kropp, Ethan Lafazan, Kayla LaVine, Drew Minard, Tanner Quirk, Ann Sanders, Sherisse Springer, and Mitchell Tobin.

Swings: Maria Briggs , William Thomas Colin , Haley Fish , Richard Gatta , Emily Jewel Hoder , Daniel Patrick Russell , Kathy Voytko and Ryan Worsing.

Standby: Max Clayton (Harold Hill).

Understudies: Nick Alvino (Tommy Djilas), Ronnie S. Bowman Jr. (Ewart Dunlop, Oliver Hix), Maria Briggs (Zaneeta Shinn), Audrey Cardwell (Marian Paroo), Max Clayton (Marcellus Washburn, Charlie Cowell), Kammie Crum (Zaneeta Shinn), Carlee Flanagan (Amaryllis), Richard Gatta (Ewart Dunlop, Oliver Hix), Ethen Green-Younger (Winthrop Paroo), Emily Jewel Hoder (Amaryllis, Gracie Shinn), Ethan Lafazan (Winthrop Paroo), Sean Montgomery (Harold Hill, Marcellus Washburn, Jacey Squires, Constable Locke), Linda Mugleston (Mrs. Paroo), Lance Roberts (Charlie Cowell, Mayor Shinn, Olin Britt), Daniel Patrick Russell (Tommy Djilas), Ann Sanders (Alma Hix, Maud Dunlop, Mrs. Squires), Jessica Sheridan (Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Mrs. Paroo), Sherisse Springer (Ethel Toffelmier, Maud Dunlop, Mrs. Squires), Kathy Voytko (Marian Paroo, Ethel Toffelmier, Alma Hix), Rema Webb (Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn), Branch Woodman (Mayor Shinn, Jacey Squires, Ewart Dunlop) and Ryan Worsing (Olin Britt, Oliver Hix, Constable Locke).

E-Book

Soft back Book

Broadway To Vegas is supported through advertising and donations. Priority consideration is given to interview suggestions, news, press releases, etc from paid supporters. However, no paid supporters control, alter, edit, or in any way manipulate the content of this site. Your donation is appreciated. We accept PAYPAL.

Thank you for your interest.

E-Book

Soft back Book

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

SHOEPHORIA! Showcasing 350 pairs of boots and shoes, many drawn from the Fashion Museum’s world-class collection, alongside ‘star’ shoes borrowed for the exhibition, Shoephoria! traces the evolution of shoe style over the last 300 years.

The exhibition includes shoes worn by iconic figures from British cultural life, including actors Noel Coward and Margaret Lockwood, music hall star Fred Kitchen, ballerinas Margot Fonteyn and Alicia Markova, and Nicola Adams in Strictly Come Dancing 2020. Shoephoria! aims to present a new way of looking at footwear and its wearers in a show that demonstrates the creativity and style of shoemakers and wearers throughout history.

From the oldest shoes in the collection – a pair of red velvet mules from the 1690s – to sneakers and trainers from the 2000s; from shoes belonging to Queen Mary and Queen Victoria to designer shoes by Vivienne Westwood, Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo, Shoephoria! offers a close-up look at the various styles that make up the history of footwear.

Star objects in the display include:

Dancing shoes worn by Nicola Adams on Strictly Come Dancing 2020

Shoes worn by iconic British ballerinas Margot Fonteyn and Alicia Markova

Queen Victoria’s elastic-sided boots from the 1850s, by shoemaker Joseph Box

Shoes and prosthetics worn by seven-year-old Harmonie-Rose Allen from Bath, a junior ambassador for Meningitis Now

The oldest shoe in the Museum’s collection: a red velvet mule with gold and silver embroidery ca 1690s

Noel Coward’s monogram-embroidered velvet slippers ca 1967

A pair of long, green Russian boots ca 1900s worn by Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873 -1938), an English aristocrat on the fringes of the Bloomsbury Group

Queen Mary’s diamanté bow shoes ca 1930s, by celebrated British shoemaker Rayne

A pair of Dr Martens boots (about 2015) digitally printed with an image taken from famous series of Georgian paintings The Rake’s Progress by Hogarth

As part of our Shoephoria! display there is a Wearers’ Walkway, a photographic presentation of ordinary people and their extraordinary shoes.

On display at The Fashion Museum n Bath, England.

SUPERHEROES, ORPHANS & ORIGINS: 125 YEARS IN COMICS The Founding Museum in London presents the first major exhibition to explore the representation of foundlings, orphans, adoptees, and foster children in comics, graphic novels and sequential art from around the globe.

Examining over a century of mainstream comics, graphic novels and sequential art from around the world, this exhibition explores the challenging origins and complex identities of some of the most popular figures in comics.

DC’s Superman, who was found by his adoptive parents, is one of many comic heroes who are orphans: Spider-Man’s parents die in a plane crash; Batman’s parents are killed in a street robbery; and Black Panther – whose mother dies soon after childbirth and whose father is killed – is known as ‘the Orphan King’. Marvel’s X-Men experience both discrimination and social ostracisation. The superheroes’ early life experiences impact on their roles and the stance they take over good and evil in their comic lives.

Looking beyond the traditional ‘superhero’ genre the exhibition also includes characters from early newspaper comic strips, Japanese Manga and contemporary graphic novel protagonists. Historical newspapers, original artwork and contemporary digital work will be on display, as well as examples of international comics rarely exhibited in the UK.

Three new artistic commissions that examine care identity and experience have been specially created for the exhibition by comic artists Asia Alfasi, Bex Glendining and Woodrow Phoenix.

Loaned works will sit alongside objects from the collection, to encourage an exploration of the parallels between real foundlings and their illustrated counterparts.

Superheroes, Orphans & Origins has its own origins in a previous work commissioned by the Museum in 2014, when care-experienced poet and performer Lemn Sissay OBE created the site-specific piece Superman was a Foundling, a poem printed on the walls of the Museum’s Study Studio.

April 1 – August 28, 2022 at the Foundling Museum in London.

A WAY THROUGH ABSTRACT ART OF THE 1940'S This exhibition explores the decisive leap from figuration to abstraction that characterized much of the advanced art produced in America in the 1940s. A Way Through: Abstract Art of the 1940s, the third in a series sponsored by the Art Bridges Foundation, features eleven works from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, including major paintings by Arshile Gorky, Lee Krasner, Alice Trumbull Mason and George L. K. Morris.

Many of the artists in the exhibition – such as Suzy Frelinghuysen, Irene Rice Pereira, Charles Green Shaw and Esphyr Slobodkina – were pivotal to the founding of the American Abstract Artists group in New York in 1936. Drawings and prints by Paul Keene, Hedda Sterne, Judith Rothschild and John von Wicht from the Palmer Museum of Art’s collection are also on view, shedding light on the evolution of abstract art in America during these tumultuous years.

Organized by the Palmer Museum of Art. This is one in a series of American art exhibitions created through a multi-year, multi-institutional partnership formed by the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of the Art Bridges Initiative.

Through May 15, 2022.

ART IN TUNE takes place Friday, April 8, at the Boston Museum of Fire Art.

Enjoy Art in Tune in the MFA’s galleries - featuring an evening of free live musical performances highlighting the Museum's musical instrument collection.

Discover music from all over the world, performed in eight locations throughout the MFA. Internationally celebrated musical artists have chosen galleries, artwork, or in many cases, collection instruments that resonate with their craft, spinning out a blend of musical and visual art unlike any other.

Performances include:

Instruments: Sioux and Seneca flutes performed by Hawk Henries (Nipmuc).

Instruments: Native North American percussion and voice performed by Chris Newell (Passamaquoddy).

Instruments: Puerto Rican cuatro and voice performed by Fabiola Méndez.

Instrument: voice performed by Women of the World.

Instrument: West African bala performed by Balla Kouyaté and World Vision.

Instruments: Indian sarangi and tabla performed by Suhail Yusuf Khan and Giri Subramaniam.

Instruments: Flemish virginal performed by musicians from the Handel and Haydn Society.

Instrument: Chinese erhu performed by Shaw Pong Liu.

E-Book

Soft back Book

SWEET CHARITY

SOLIDARITY The Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland has partnered with a group of independent Irish artists for Solidarity, a night of performances, poetry and song to support those affected by the war in Ukraine. The event will raise money for a number of charities working with victims of forced migration worldwide.

Hosted by Panti Bliss, Solidarity will feature musical performances from Camille O’Sullivan, Kila and Maria Doyle Kennedy, readings from playwright Mark O’Halloran, author Sinead Gleeson, performance artist Amanda Coogan and actor Stephen Rea, with more performers to be announced in the coming weeks. The performances will include a mix of both Ukrainian and Irish literature and song.

Dublin gallery, Hang Tough, will be unveiling a special limited edition artwork to purchase on the night, with all proceeds being donated to Scoop Foundation. The evening will also include a special presentation from Ireland Helps Ukraine.

Playing on the Abbey stage at Sunday, April 10, with 100% of the box-office will be donated to Irish Refugee Council, Doras and Irish Emergency Alliance.

A CIRCUS IN BUDAPEST Hungary has provided help for around 100 Ukrainian circus students who fled their homes in Kharkiv and Kyiv from the Russian invasion.

According to Euro news after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Capital Circus of Budapest along with a Hungarian school for acrobats arranged for the Ukrainian circus students to come to the capital where they would be provided with food and accommodation.

This past week, the Capital Circus of Budapest performed a two-night show with the Ukrainian students in attendance.

All proceeds from the shows will be used to buy circus equipment for the Ukrainian performers.

CONCERT TO BENEFIT THE UKRAINE RED CROSS EMERGENCY APPEAL organized by musician Slim Man, is taking place on Sunday, April 3rd, in Palm Springs, California.

He reports that the concert sold out in three hours.

All proceeds will go to the Emergency Appeal through the Ukraine Red Cross Emergency Appeal.

SPREADING THE WORD

SEATTLE REP'S first ever sensory-friendly performance will take place with their production of Teenage Dick on April 2, 2022. Seattle Rep is proud to be certified by Sensory Access, whose goal is to make all events more accessible to those with sensory processing difficulties.

Sensory-friendly performances welcome audiences to engage in an accessible and relaxing theater-going experience. This theatergoing experience is made to cater to people with sensory sensitivities. The autism and neurodivergent communities especially benefit from these performances, where adjustments are made to make your audience experience comfortable.

Some adjustments you can expect that will make this performance an accepting and welcoming environment for all include:

Trained ushers, volunteers, and front-of-house staff
A large quiet area in the lobby
Fidget items available for all audience members
Sensory guide available online, and in-person kits available for check out, including noise-reduction headphones
House lights slightly raised
Loud noises, strobe lights, and other over-stimulating effects reduced or eliminated
Assistive devices allowed throughout the performance, including tablets and phones
Space to move, talk, make noise, leave your seats, and re-enter the theater throughout the performance
Please note: Teenage Dick is recommended for high school aged youth and adults. This performance contains haze, profanity, blood, depictions of violence, and ableism (including negative stereotypes and slurs).

In addition to dedicated sensory-friendly performances, all of Seattle Rep’s productions are now sensory accessible.

DISRUPTION a new play written by Andrew Stein and directed by Hersh Ellis will have an industry reading on Thursday, March 31 at Open Jar Studios in New York City.

With every aspect of human life documented with data and disrupted by technology, will computers soon be able to tell us what will make us truly happy? And should we listen? One tech gazillionaire thinks so and is using his friends to prove it.

Distruption features Heidi Blickenstaff, David Wilson Barnes, Tina Benko, Victoire Charles, Avanthika Srinivasan, Paco Tolson, Sathya Sridharan and Tommy Schrider.

"A couple years ago, I was without my phone for a day and it hit me how scarily reliant my entire existence had become on this one small box," said playwright Andrew Stein. "I started thinking about how technology is this slow-burn, taking over our lives inch by inch until what? Where does it end? And is this something we ultimately really want?"

THE ARMED MAN: A MASS FOR PEACE a repertoire of moving choral works united in the condemnation of war. The Really Big Chorus returns with 1,000+ voices to showcase Sir Karl Jenkins’ 20th-century choral classic The Armed Man: a Mass for Peace with a supporting program of popular orchestral works. Audiences will be amazed by the power and commitment of this splendid chorus, comprising choirs and individual singers from all over the UK and abroad.

The Armed Man fuses words and music from many different centuries and cultures in condemnation of war and the misery it brings: war – wherever it is – diminishes us all. The words of the Latin Mass are juxtaposed with the Adhan (the Muslim call to prayer), with the Mahabharata (an ancient Indian epic) and poetry from across the world.

Sunday, April 3, at Royal Albert Hall in London.

WALL TO WALL SELECTED SHORTS was an all day event yesterday, March 26. The free event was live streamed from New York City and available to audiences everywhere.

Readings from the free live streamed event commissioned authors for 35 new short stories.

This all-day celebration featured the debut of newly commissioned short stories brought to life by actors, musicians, dancers, artists, and filmmakers.

The readings were by: Purva Bedi - Becca Blackwell - Jane Curtin - Crystal Dickinson - Brandon J. Dirden - Edie Falco - Fred Hechinger - Holly Hunter - Jane Kaczmarek - Stephen Lang - Sonia Manzano - Arian Moayed - James Naughton - Kelli O'Hara - Maulik Pancholy - Dawn Akemi Saito - Liev Schreiber - Tony Shalhoub - Emily Skeggs - Rita Wolf - BD Wong.

With stories by: Rabih Alameddine - Jenny Allen - Lesley Nneka Arimah - Aimee Bender - Marie-Helene Bertino - Jai Chakrabarti - Patrick Cottrell - Elizabeth Crane - Michael Cunningham - Patrick Dacey - Edwidge Danticat - Dave Eggers - Omar El Akkad - Jacob Guajardo - Lauren Groff - A. M. Homes - Mira Jacob - Jac Jemc - Etgar Keret - Lisa Ko - Victor LaValle - J. Robert Lennon - Ben Loory - Carmen Maria Machado - Juan Martinez - Maile Meloy - Joe Meno - Helen Phillips - Simon Rich - Namwali Serpell - Rivers Solomon - Elizabeth Strout - Susan Perabo - Luis Alberto Urrea - Jess Walter - Weike Wang.

Featuring commissioned pieces inspired by the stories from illustrator Michael Arthur, filmmaker Adam Douglas Thompson, DJ Raydar Ellis, choreographers Larry Keigwin, Heidi Latsky, and Leonardo Sandoval, visual artist Roz Chast, musicians Lakecia Benjamin, Laura Gibson, Marcy Heisler & Zina Goldrich.

Selected Shorts is a weekly public radio show broadcast on over 130 stations. The radio show is recorded live at the popular New York City stage show which began in 1985 and still enjoys sell-out performances in their 800 seat theater. Our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the world with a rich diversity of voices from literature, film, theater, and comedy.

VILINUS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL the largest cinematic event in Lithuania, after a two year hiatus because of the pandemic, came back with live screenings of 90 feature and 51 short films by filmmakers from 56 countries. The festival opened on March 24 and takes place until April 3 in selected Lithuanian cinemas.

This year, to show solidarity with Ukraine, the Festival boycotted all Russian filmmakers, replacing their films with Ukrainian productions from past years. For this reason, all screenings are free for war refugees from Ukraine, and some of the films have been translated or dubbed in Ukrainian specifically for them.

The event, which will be showing 90 feature films and 51 short films from 56 countries, dedicated its opening night on March 24 to Ukrainian colors and symbols: blue and yellow colors were displayed on the screen while the hall of Forum Cinema Vingis in Vilnius, the capital, was bedecked in sunflowers = the reminder of war fatalities and a glimmer of hope for those still fighting. The opening night screened First Cow by American director Kelly Reichardt, was awarded Best Film title at New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2020. First Cow is from a screenplay by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond based on Raymond's novel The Half Life. It stars John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, Scott Shepherd, Gary Farmer and Lily Gladstone.

Lithuania has already welcomed over 28K war refugees from Ukraine to date, and one of the films, Belle by Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda, was dubbed by Ukrainian refugee actor Karina Chernyavskaya.

“Our annual mission to show quality cinema was given a new meaning this year. For this reason, we will commit to creating a reason and a place to meet up, be together, and feel a sense of unity and normalcy, which, according to psychologists, is essential right now, as much as possible,” said Algirdas Ramaška, CEO of the Festival.

The Festival is celebrating the return of live events after two pandemic years by upscaling its main venue this year and hosting screenings in one of the most prestigious cultural spaces in the country—the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. The theatre, located in the heart of Vilnius and on the shores of the Neris River, was built in 1974 and has become an iconic symbol of Lithuanian culture and arts throughout the years.

By transferring to a high culture venue, the event aims to show the undeniable value of cinema, as well as celebrate world-famous creators and films—Annette by cult favorite French director Leos Carax, Circus by Charles Chaplin, and many more. Other venues will also screen Pilgrims, a debut by Lithuanian director Laurynas Bareiša, which won the Orizzonti Award at Venice Film Festival 2021, as well as many other films.

Moreover, the Festival will include Meeting Point—Vilnius 2022, the work-in-progress audiovisual industry event, which aims to scout, develop, and support European creators and their debut films, at the same time creating a cross-Europe cinematic network.

Even though traditional events were scrapped during the pandemic, the unprecedented situation evoked several creative decisions on behalf of organizers in the past several years: drive-in screenings at Vilnius Airport, unlimited screenings in hotel rooms, and the option to see all films in the comforts of one’s home.

THE RECORDING ACADEMY stages their 24th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Grammy Week Event Saturday, April 2, 2022 at ARIA Resort & Casino, Pinyon Ballroom in Las Vegas.

A reception is followed by a luncheon and program.

The Entertainment Law Initiative promotes discussion and debate around compelling legal matters and trends in the ever-evolving music industry. In partnership with some of the nation’s most esteemed entertainment attorneys, the initiative works year-round to provide networking and professional development opportunities for music professionals and cultivates the next generation of music attorneys through educational opportunities for law students.

2022 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award Recipient
SUSAN GENCO
Co-President of The Azoff Company

2022 Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Contest Winner
SONA SULAKIAN
USC School of Law, Los Angeles

Keynote Speaker
CAMERON CROWE
Oscar-Winning Writer/Director/Producer.

PINK MARTINI FEATURING CHINA FORBES GIPSY KINGS André Reyes. After three sell-out performance in 2019, 2020 and 2021, the Kings of Catalan rumba, The Gipsy Kings by Andre Reyes will return on March 31, 2022 to Dubai Opera in Dubai, UAE.

AN AMERICAN IN LONDON SERIES at the London cabaret Crazy Coqs, will celebrate the music of Hollywood, Broadway, and more. Opening the series is Melissa Errico March 30-April 1.

CELEBRATING THE OSCAR'S RED CARPET AND ELTON JOHN'S 75TH BIRTHDAY

Hopefully tonight's Oscar Award with hosts Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall will start a new trend of people not only tuning in to the Oscars, but watching to see who wins an award, rather than just to see how people are dressed.

In the meantime, that On the Red Carpet at the Oscars Pre Show for the 94th Oscars presents a live star-studded and fan-fueled pre-show, followed by On the Red Carpet After the Awards and On the Red Carpet After Dark. Airing after the Academy Awards, both post-shows will recap the awards, fashion and parties, with the next-day streaming special On The Red Carpet After the Awards.” With 7.5 hours of live Oscar pre- and post-show coverage, the red carpet event will air in 84 markets and across 200 territories worldwide.

On the Red Carpet at the Oscars will be hosted by ABC7 Los Angeles entertainment reporter George Pennacchio, who will welcome Hollywood’s stars on the red carpet at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. He will be joined by 6ABC/WPVI-TV Philadelphia entertainment reporter Alicia Vitarelli and ABC7/WABC-TV New York’s entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon who will share his annual Oscar winner predictions.

On the Red Carpet celebrates movie lovers with correspondent Karl Schmid who will join fans’ watch parties that are broadcasting from across the country showing their love for movies. Adding to the fan experience, On the Red Carpet teamed up with Disney Movie Insiders, the official loyalty program of The Walt Disney Studios, to reward fans with opportunities to earn points toward exclusive movie rewards.

Fashion and celebrity influencer Nicky Hilton will join the red carpet with supermodel Roshumba Williams and ABC7 meteorologist Leslie Lopez to take a close look at this year’s designs, trends and fashion from the red carpet.

Also airing in the pre-show, On the Red Carpet Storytellers Spotlight shines a light on diversity through an intimate conversation series that amplifies the work and voices of historically underrepresented diverse storytellers. In the special, executive producer of the 94th Oscars Will Packer and Oscar nominees Ahmir "Questlove" Thomas, Lin-Manuel Miranda and 13-time nominated songwriter Diane Warren will share their journey as storytellers and speak to the thematic focus of celebrating what it means to be seen and heard.

After the Academy Awards, Pennacchio will host On The Red Carpet After The Awards at the Governors Ball; correspondent Schmid will broadcast from the Vanity Fair party, and ABC7 reporter Christiane Cordero will be live at the Elton John Foundation Gala.

Elton John turns 75.

Friday, March 25, 2022 was Elton John's 75th birthday.

Speaking on his birthday, Elton said ‘I’m not usually one to look back or get nostalgic, but 75 is such a milestone birthday. I’ll definitely find time today to take stock and thank my lucky stars for my wonderful family, friends, and career.

"I feel unbelievably lucky that at 75, I still love what I do so much - I’m still so energized about music and excited I get to play, listen and talk about this every single day. Being back on the road is a blast, and the thrill of playing live is as amazing as it was 50 years ago.

"I have so much to pass on to the new generation of fans and artists alike, and I’m determined to keep giving back to the industry that has given me so much.’

His Yellow Brick Road tour has resumed in America. When the tour completes it will have played 311 performances worldwide.

In celebration of his birthday, Elton’s Diamonds: The Ultimate Greatest Hits album has been released via streaming platforms, with 48 tracks mixed in Dolby Atmos for the very first time.

Diamonds: The Ultimate Greatest Hits has already become one of the ten biggest selling albums in the UK a full 5 years after it first reached the top 5 of the album chart. It has reached triple platinum status in the UK and has just spent its 227th consecutive week in the Top 75 of the official album charts - 124 of those weeks have been in the Top 20.

In another celebration of Elton’s milestone birthday, also saw the unveiling of the latest episode of IHeartRadio’s Dua Lipa: At Your Service - Dua’s podcast, which features an unguarded interview between her and Elton, out now. Timed to celebrate his Birthday, listeners of this week’s At Your Service will now get a coveted seat at the table while the pair talk shop. From tales of wild nights at Studio 54 to how some of his most memorable songs and moments came about because he’d been in the “right place at the right time,” Elton has some of the most unmissable stories at his fingertips, and he’s sharing them with the listener.

To cap off this busy period, tonight, Sunday, March 27, will also mark The 30th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party. The event will be co-hosted by John's husband and Foundation Chairman David Furnish with 12-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter/actress Lady Gaga, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy Award-winning artist Billy Porter and Emmy Award-winning actor Eric McCormack. Six-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, performer, producer, and New York Times best-selling author Brandi Carlile is also set to perform at the iconic event.

Outside of music, John is an HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser, and has been involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s. Following the deaths of Ryan White and Freddie Mercury, John established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, and a year later he began hosting his annual Foundation Academy Awards Party, which has since become one of the biggest high-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry. Since its inception, the foundation has raised over £300 million.

John has received five Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards; including for Outstanding Contribution to Music; two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, a Tony Award, a Disney Legends Award, and the Kennedy Center Honor. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him 49th on its list of 100 influential musicians of the rock and roll era. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. In 2013, John received the first Brits Icon award in recognition of his "lasting impact" on UK culture, which was presented to him by his close friend Rod Stewart. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music and charitable services in 1998. French President Emmanuel Macron presented John with France's highest civilian award, the Legion d'honneur, in 2019, and called John a "melodic genius" and praised his work on behalf of the LGBT community.

Emotionally, Elton will be doing double duty tonight, March 27, being at his AIDS Oscar party in spirit while he is performing at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Other Yellow Brick Road shows this week include: Wednesday, March 30, at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. April Foods Day finds him at the Gainsbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. On Saturday, April 2, the show is at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

THE PERKS OF BEING A WORKING ROYAL

Prince Charles showed off his Riverdance leg kick as his wife giggled.

If you have HRH in front of your name and are a working royal you get to do a lot of fun things.

For instance, that Wales Family. The Prince of Wales, that would be Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and his eldest son, formerly known as Prince William of Wales, now the Duke of Cambridge and his wife Kate have been picking up dance moves and trade tips. What with uncertain times, you never know when a second career might come in handy.

For the music loving Charles, who is an accomplished Cello player, he and his spouse received a lesson how to play the bodhrán drums (a framed drum of Irish origin) with the traditional musicians who frequent the popular ICC Irish culture center Hammersmith, west London. The ICC has been bringing the best of Irish culture to the capital for 25 years.

The Centre boasts its own performance auditorium, delivers cultural events and performances across art forms including music, film, theatre, literature and visual arts.

The couple also watch a Riverdance performance.

Duchess Camilla looked stunning in a green silk print dress that was designed by former Prime Minister David Cameron's wife Samantha Cameron and her label Cefinn.

After the music lesson Prince Charles received a refresher course on how to pull a pint of Guinness. Then Charles took a few swallows, ending up with foam on his nose, causing his wife to giggle.

Then he showed off his dance moves when he came up on stage to unveil a plaque and demonstrated his high leg-kicking abilities imitating Riverdance moves - much to the delight of the crowd.

Prince William got his groove on dancing in Belize.

Bringing to life the song "If I could shimmy like my sister Kate," Prince William's wife got saucy with her husband.

In the Caribbean, Prince William and Duchess Kate helped make traditional chocolate when they visited the Che'il Mayan Chocolate Factory on March 20, 2022 in Indian Creek, Belize. They also took part in a tasting during which Kate, the mother of three, declared their children would be "so jealous".

Later, William and Kate got their groove on when William took to the dance floor. His wife was pictured shimmying toward a giggling William, 39, in the sand before she grabbed him by the arm to join her in a clip posted to Twitter by a fan account.

“Catherine is flirting with William! #RoyalVisitBelize,” the tweet read.

Duchess Kate is another member of the royal household where the word "stunning" applies. For her Belize adventure she wore a blue floral Tory Burch gown. Her husband was color coordinated in a casual outfit of a blue shirt and slacks.

Then William and Kate journeyed to Bob Marley's home in Jamaica and had a ball playing the bongo drums.

E-Book

Soft back Book

ENCOMPASS NEW OPERA THEATRE recently honored legendary theatrical icon and Tony award luminaries Chita Rivera and Danny Burstein in a gala musical salute celebration at the National Arts Club in New York City.

Honorary Gala Chairs were Sheldon Harnick and Maury Teston.

The elegant evening – hosted by Midge Woolsey of Thirteen/WNET and WQXR Radio - will feature recollections and tributes by well-known Musical Theatre and Opera personalities and friends from the Music Theatre and Opera world including John Doyle, George Dvorsky, Sheldon Harnick, Maury Yeston, and Karen Ziemba. Dazzling musical entertainment will feature stars of stage and screen. Beth Ertz was the Music Director/Arranger/Pianist; Richard Pearson Thomas, Associate Music Director. Michael A. Kerker of ASCAP and Nancy Rhodes of Encompass co-produced and directed. The 2022 Gala Chairs were Daniel J. De Siena and Deborah Surdi.

Sheldon Harnick presented Danny Burstein with the Sheldon Harnick Award for Creative Excellence and John Doyle presenedt Chita Rivera with the Encompass Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in the American Musical Theatre.

Past honorees include Sheldon Harnick (both for his 80th and his 90th Birthdays), John Kander, Charles Strouse, Jerry Herman, Jerry Bock, Maury Yeston, Joseph Stein, Richard Maltby, Jr., David Shire, John Weidman, Marvin Hamlisch, Alan Menken, Joel Grey, Jeanine Tesori, Barbara Cook, Lee Adams, Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, Terrence McNally, Christine Ebersole, Estelle Parsons and Maury Yeston.



HI, ARE YOU SINGLE written and performed by Ryan J. Haddad.

Directed by Laura Savia.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company has announced the world premiere of writer/performer Ryan J. Haddad’s Hi, Are You Single on its Washington D.C. stage, where it is being presented in association with L.A.’s IAMA Theatre Company.

The two companies banded together in 2021, during the height of the pandemic, to stream Haddad’s exploration of the complicated world of dating from his unique perspective as a gay man living with cerebral palsy.

Ryan has a higher sex drive than you. He also has cerebral palsy. You can often find him on Grindr or at your local inaccessible gay bar. Join writer/performer Ryan J. Haddad on his search to find love. Or a date. Or at least a hookup. From encounters with drag queens to platonic lap dances, Ryan will guide you through the gay dating scene with his provocative take on intimacy, rejection, and judgment. His one request? Please bring an attractive male friend with you. Haddad was the recipient of IAMA’s 2020 Rhimes Unsung Voices Playwriting Commission. Hi, Are You Single? was developed by Dixon Place, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and The Public Theater/Under the Radar, and originally developed with Laura Savia.

Hi, Are You Single? will receive its world premiere staging with an in-person audience on the Woolly Mammoth stage from March 28 through April 10.

Talkbacks on April 1 (ASL interpreted) and April 8.

BLACK LOVE book and lyrics by Chinonyerem Odima, Music by Ben and Max Ringham.

Meet Aurora and Orion. Sister and brother. Constellations in time. More than blood. More than just family.

Inside their small London flat, memories of their parents’ Black love surrounds them. When that love is threatened, they must first find understanding and connection before they can begin to find a way back to one another.

Nicholle Cherrie (Roo) and Beth Elliott (Lois) join Nathan Queeley-Dennis who reprises his role as Orion. Kiln Theatre will be transformed into the round for this new musical celebrating and investigating the the Black experience through form-busting storytelling, real-life stories and imagined worlds.

From March 28, 2022 st the Kiln in London.

THE 47TH by Mike Bartlett.

Directed by Rupert Goold.

It is 2024 and as America goes to the polls, democracy itself is on the brink. Who takes the White House – and at what cost? The 47th, a chaotic glimpse into the underbelly of the greatest political show on earth – the next presidential race. With Bertie Carvel as Donald Trump, Tamara Tunie as Kamala Harris and Lydia Wilson as Ivanka Trump.

Performances begin Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at the 1,000 seat The Old Vic in London.

BIRTHDAY CANDLES bu Noah Haidle.

Directed by Vivienne Benesch.

Birthday Candles features Emmy Award winner Debra Messing, Enrico Colantoni, John Earl Jelks with Crystal Finn, Susannah Flood, Christopher Livingston.
,br> Debra Messing returns to the stage as Ernestine Ashworth, who spends her 17th birthday agonizing over her insignificance in the universe. Soon enough, it’s her 18th birthday. Even sooner, her 41st. Her 70th. Her 101st. Five generations, dozens of goldfish, an infinity of dreams, one cake baked over a century. What makes a lifetime…into a life?

Presented by th Roundabout Theatre Company, Birthday Candles opens officially on April 10, 2022. This is a limited engagement through May 29, 2022 at the American Airlines Theatre in New York City.

IN THE NEXT ROOM, OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY by Sarah Ruhl.

Directed by Lane Allison.

Set in the 1880s at the dawn of the age of electricity, and based on the little-known historical fact that doctors used vibrators to treat “hysterical” women (and some men), the play centers on a doctor and his wife and how this new therapy affects their household. Dr. Givings is obsessed with the marvels of technology and what they can do for his patients. His wife, Catherine, is only a bystander in her husband’s world, listening at the door from the next room as he treats his female patients. Dr. Givings is not sure exactly how the vibrator helps the women he treats — but they do keep coming back.

What, exactly, were doctors thinking, when they utilized vibrators in the name of medical treatment? And what did women think was happening to them when doctors treated their so-called “hysterical” symptoms with such a newfangled and highly personal machine?

"When I discovered how the vibrator was invented and used medically in the 19th century, I was astonished," Ruhl said in an interview. "Treating women with a vibrator was not considered sexual because women weren't supposed to experience sexual desire or pleasure. Doctors thought it was releasing fluid that had built up and was causing the womb to be flooded, giving the woman hysterical symptoms. Which in a way is quite accurate."

"It’s very telling that, when inventors got to thinking about which items should be prioritized for an electric upgrade, the machines used to treat hysteria were in the top five, just behind the sewing machine, fan, kettle and toaster,” says Allison. “The buzz they created is still reverberating today — unintentionally sparking an indelible awareness of the varied and rich complexities of repression due to one’s gender, ethnicity, class, education and sexual identity, thus illuminating a path for change."

In the Open Fist production, Spencer Cantrell and Dionna Veremis star as Dr. and Mrs. Givings, with Stephanie Crothers as the doctor’s anxious, depressed and “hysterical” patient Mrs. Daldry and Alex Wells as her husband. Monazia Smith portrays Elizabeth, the Givings’ wet nurse; Bryan Robert Bertone is the Bohemian painter Leo Irving; and Jennifer Zorbalas plays Annie, the Dr’s faithful assistant.

Scenic design is by Jan Munroe, lighting design is by Sarah Schwartz, sound design is by Marc Antonio Pritchett, and costumes are designed by Mylette Nora. The propmasters are Bruce Dickinson and Ina Shumaker, and the production stage manager is Jennifer Palumbo.

In the Next Room, or the vibrator play premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009 before opening on Broadway later that year. Sarah Ruhl, a MacArthur Fellowship winner, can currently be heard on Clear & Vivid, the Alan Alda podcast, in which she discusses the play, and how she overcame a serious stroke.

Performances at the Atwater Village Theatre in Los Angeles through April 23.

E-Book

Soft back Book

This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

FINAL OVATION

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT the first female USA Secretary of State and best selling author died from cancer pn March 23, 2022. She was 84.

Albright, who served as secretary of state from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton, pushed for NATO expansion eastward into the former Soviet bloc and helped lead the NATO bombing campaign in 1999 to halt ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. She previously served as Clinton's U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997.

She graduated from Wellesley College and earned a master's degree from Columbia University.

Before becoming the 64th secretary of state, Albright worked for the 1972 presidential campaign of Edmund Muskie, a Democratic U.S. senator from Maine, and later became his chief legislative assistant. She would go on to work for Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security adviser for President Jimmy Carter, and worked for various nonprofits during the Reagan and Bush years.

She also worked as a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University from 1982 to 1993, and returned to the university as the school's Michael and Virginia Mortara Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy.

A best selling author, she described her Jewelry-Box Diplomacy in her book Read My Pins in which she revealed how she discovered the power of jewelry to convey foreign policy messages and used jewelry as a diplomatic tool during her years with the Clinton administration. The first major museum exhibition of jewelry from her personal collection premiered at the Museum of Arts and Design on September 30, 2009. The display could be enjoyed through Sunday, November 27, 2011 at the Carter Presidential Library & Museum in Atlanta, GA.On October 20, 2012 a display of 200 of her colorful brooches opened at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA. See Broadway To Vegas column of September 18, 2011

She married Joseph Albright of the Medill newspaper-publishing family in 1959. The couple who divorced in 1982 had three daughters. She is survived by her daughters, grandchildren and other family members.

TAYLOR HAWKINS drummer for the Foo Fighters, died on Friday, March 25, 2022, in Bogota, Colombia while the band was on tour. He was 50.

In a statement by local health authorities, a call for emergency services was made because Hawkins was suffering from chest pain, while in his hotel room at the Casa Medina hotel in Bogotá, Colombia. Health personnel who attended the scene performed CPR. Hawkins did not respond to CPR and was declared dead.

He died just hours before the band was to perform in Colombia. The night before his death the band had announced that they would appear at the Grammy Awards which take place in Las Vegas on April 3.

From June 1995 until March 1997, Hawkins was Alanis Morissette's drummer on the tour supporting Jagged Little Pill and her Can't Not tour. He appeared in the videos for "You Oughta Know", "All I Really Want", and "You Learn". He also appeared on Morissette's VHS/DVD Jagged Little Pill, Live (1997).

In addition to his drumming with the Foo Fighters, Hawkins also provided vocals, guitar, and piano to various recordings. He performed the lead vocal on a cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar". Two versions of the song were released, one as the B-side to "Learn to Fly" and another on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack album. He later sang lead vocals on "Cold Day in the Sun" from In Your Honor, which was later released as a single, as well as a cover of Cream's "I Feel Free," which appeared as the B-side of "DOA" and on the EP Five Songs and a Cover. Hawkins also sang lead vocals for the band's cover of Joe Walsh's "Life of Illusion".

Hawkins' final performance with the Foo Fighters before his death was at the Lollapalooza Argentina festival on March 20, 2022.

Hawkins and his wife, Alison, married in 2005. They had three children together who survive him.

Next Column: April 3, 2022
Copyright: March 27, 2022 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.
Link to Main Page

---

Laura Deni

For the snail mail address, please E-mail your request.