Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: November 15, 2020
By: Laura Deni
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BLOODY SUNDAY REMEMBERED

Transilience, by David McSweeney, a special commission by the GAA Museum.

The Abbey Theatre, in a special partnership with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), mark the 100th anniversary of Bloody Sunday with a broadcast from Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland - the historic home stadium for Gaelic sports.

14 Voices From The Bloodied Field brings together 14 writers, 14 directors, and 14 actors to give voice to the men, woman, and children who were killed in Croke Park on November 21, 1920.

Bloody Sunday marked a decisive turning-point in Irish history. In Croke Park, the Dublin and Tipperary football teams lined out for a great challenge match.

14 people were killed and hundreds more wounded when British Forces opened fire on the crowd attending a Dublin-Tipperary football challenge match. The protesters, all Northern Catholics, were marching in protest of the British policy of internment of suspected Irish nationalists.

The victims were: Jane Boyle, James Burke, Daniel Carroll, Michael Feery, Tom Hogan, Michael Hogan, James Matthews, Patrick O'Dowd, Jerome O'Leary, William (Perry) Robinson, Thomas Ryan, John William (Billy) Scott, James Teehan, Joe Traynor.

On the eve of the centenary, this commemorative performance will be streamed on the Abbey Theatre's website and social channels. Watch for free, Friday, November, 20, 2020 7pm.

The actors are:

Michael Hogan: Frank Blake Patrick O'Dowd: Steve Blount - James Matthews: Bryan Burroughs - Joe Traynor: Callan Cummins - Thomas Ryan: Moe Dunford - Jane Boyle: Caitríona Ennis - William (Perry) Robinson: Jack Galvin - Daniel Carroll: Liam Heslin - James Burke: Laurence Kinlan - Tom Hogan: Alex Murphy - John William (Billy) Scott: Ian O'Reilly - James Teehan: Shane O'Reilly - Michael Feery: Marty Rea - Jerome O'Leary: Jake Verrecchia.

Writers are:
Barbara Bergin - Stephen Brennan - Timmy Creed - Jo Egan - Fionn Foley - Paul Howard - Thomas Kilroy - Deirdre Kinahan - Tracy Martin - Colin Murphy - Jimmy Murphy - Lynda Radley - Billy Roche - Jimmy Smallhorne.

Directors are:
Ben Barnes - Jane Brennan - Eoghan Carrick - Veronica Coburn - Dan Colley - Tom Creed - Jeda de Brí - Emma Jordan - Raymond Keane - Maisie Lee - Jo Mangan - Ronan Phelan - Stephen Rea - Sarah Jane Scaife.

A Remembering Bloody Sunday Exhibition has opened at the GAA Museum. This focal point for the museum’s Bloody Sunday centenary program explores the tragic events that unfolded on November 21st 1920 and their impact on Irish history through artefacts, official documents, and photographs. At the heart of the exhibition is a focus on the 14 civilians killed at Croke Park.

The exhibition honors the victims, tells their stories, and provides visitors with a place to reflect and learn more about the events surrounding the darkest day in GAA history.

Memorabilia and artefacts on display includes letters sent to family members in the aftermath of the shootings, medals from players who played for both Tipperary and Dublin on the day, portraits of those who list their lives, and personal items belonging to the victims and those in attendance. There is also a cymbal from the band that opened the fateful match, which is on loan from the Brother Allen Collection in the Military Archives, as well as a burial register from Glasnevin Cemetery Museum.

The painting Transilience, by David McSweeney, a special commission by the GAA Museum to mark the 100th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, is also on view. Transilience, which means an abrupt change or leap from one state to another, was created by artist David Sweeney, who is a former Dublin GAA senior hurling captain and the GAA’s eLearning Manager at Croke Park.

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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

TELLING STORIES displays the work of the third-generation Inuit artist Annie Pootoogook of Kinngait, Canada (formerly known as Cape Dorset), and two American artists, Amy Cutler and Robyn O’Neil. Twenty-five large and small-scale works and an animated film, drawn from TMA’s holdings and public and private collections across North America, will be featured in the exhibition.

Annie Pootoogook’s colorful, directly observed compositions recount the everyday domestic and social activities of her Kinngait community as a fluid continuum shaped by past traditions and present-day routines to challenge picturesque portrayals of Inuit life as an untouched world tied to the past.

Robyn O’Neil is well known for her monumental graphite compositions depicting diminutive, male figures who inhabit vast and forbidding natural settings. In style and mood, her distinctly contemporary works build upon the longstanding tradition of landscape art to consider human struggles in nature, extreme weather and nature’s ephemeral beauty.

Amy Cutler makes the condition of struggle the center of female experience in her dreamlike compositions. Cutler’s enchanting worlds that tap into a broad range of visual motifs, fairy tales and personal experience subvert narrative conventions to comment on the prescribed roles and expectations society places on women.

November 21, 2020-February 14, 2021 at the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) in Toledo, Ohio.

THE CONTEMPORARY AFRICIAN ART INITIATIVE (CAAI) is a new multi-year project that seeks to expand the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin’s holdings of contemporary African art. The CAAI is funded by a five-year gift from the Straus Family Foundation. Using funds from the gift, curators at the Chazen have already begun to identify and select works created by contemporary African artists for purchase.

“The CAAI is an incredibly important and relevant project for our museum and our community,” said Amy Gilman, director of the Chazen. “It will add to the global perspectives featured in our permanent collection and build on the UW–Madison’s connections to Africa through research and collaborations. We are grateful to the Straus Family Foundation for supporting this dynamic effort.”

To date, through the Contemporary African Art Initiative, the Chazen Museum of Art has purchased 16 works from eight artists representing seven countries in Africa. The first group of objects were chosen because of their individual power and interest, and because their diversity of approach and media reflects trends in contemporary African art. In addition, they were selected with the intention of developing relationships with these artists, many of whom are involved with institution-building in their home communities. “We see this as the beginning of our relationship with both these artists and the next generation of artists they are fostering through their community engagement,” said Katherine Alcauskas, chief curator of the Chazen.

Highlights of the acquisitions include Exodus by Cameroonian artist Barthélémy Toguo, a leader in the field who also created Bandjoun Station, a foundation that hosts researchers and artists-in-residence and helps them develop project proposals alongside their local communities. Exodus is drawn from a body of work that Toguo began in 2008 for an exhibition at the National Museum of Immigration in Paris. The work considers the migrant and refugee crises, and consists of a bike-drawn wagon filled with bags made from African fabrics and polypropylene. Exodus is currently on view at the Chazen, which is open with limited hours due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Another work, Mary Sibande’s Sower in the Field, is a rare large-scale bronze created by the South African artist best known for her sculptures and works on paper that document performances. In these works, Sibande places female domestic workers in roles of power denied to them under apartheid in South Africa. Given the current cultural discussions around the purpose, intent and effect of monuments in America, this work – a life-size sculpture of a black woman intended to be shown at ground-level – will engage students and visitors in conversations around representation. The sculpture will be cast at a foundry in South Africa, supporting local enterprise and industry in the coming months.

Born in Lille to a French Ivorian family, photographer François-Xavier Gbré trained in commercial photography in Italy and France before relocating in 2010 to Bamako, Mali, and later Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. He often turns his camera to modernist construction in these areas of Africa. The Chazen purchased two of his works, Piscine #1, Université Félix-Houphouët-Boigny, Riviera, Cocody, Abidjan and Station CIDP #2, Ségou, Mali.

Other works acquired in this first group include sculpture by Moataz Nasr (Egypt), multimedia work by Collin Sekajugo (Uganda, Rwanda), photography by Léonard Pongo (Democratic Republic of the Congo), photography by Lebohang Kganye (South Africa) and sculpture by Péju Alatise (Nigeria).

An additional work, by Senegalese painter Omar Ba, has also been acquired utilizing other museum acquisition funds, with the intention of being complementary to the CAAI.

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SWEET CHARITY

STEVEN TYLER'S JANIE'S FUND and Youth Villages Launch LifeSet Program in Las Vegas with Clark County Department of Family Services to assist young people transitioning from foster care.

The inaugural virtual event on November 12 featured testimonials, LifeSet program initiatives, auction items from Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, and a special message and an entertaining performance from Tyler.

LifeSet is the largest program model helping transition-age youth who reach adulthood in foster care in the country working in 18 states and D.C. and is the only program to have demonstrated impacts in a number of areas of a young person's life in a large, randomized controlled trial. This is the first program of its kind in Clark County, Nevada.

The Clark County Department of Family Services (DFS) has adopted the Youth Villages LifeSet model as the bridge from foster care to successful adulthood for young people in the Las Vegas valley turning 17 in foster care. Participation in the youth-driven LifeSet program is voluntary. Young people who have experienced foster care may struggle in the transition to adulthood, especially when working to overcome childhood adversity. The evidence-informed LifeSet program model puts young people in the driver's seat of their lives, with a trained specialist by their side to navigate the complexities of early adulthood.

"The transition into adulthood is not easy for any teen, let alone those in the foster care system lacking family support structures," said Clark County Commission Vice Chairman Lawrence Weekly, himself a product of the foster care system. "I'm excited by this new collaboration that will provide individualized assistance to our kids."

Specially trained DFS specialists are available 24/7 to help the youth, who typically participate in the program for six to 12 months, based on individual needs. Specialists meet with young people at the location of the youth's choosing, face-to-face weekly, helping them set and achieve their goals around housing, transportation, education, employment, health and relationships through experiential learning.

Funding for the collaboration of the critical services is coming through a partnership between the national nonprofit, Steven Tyler's Janie's Fund, and is a part of Youth Villages' drive to expand effective services for transition-age youth across the country.

From Janie's Fund: "If you or someone you know may be experiencing abuse or neglect, please call the Childhelp® National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) or visit childhelp.org/hotline/ for help. Anyone can report suspected child abuse or neglect, and reporting can save a child’s life. For state-specific info, visit Childwelfare.gov. Your call can protect a child and get help for a family."

Janie’s Fund is a philanthropic initiative created by Steven Tyler in partnership with Youth Villages to bring hope and healing to girls who have suffered the trauma of abuse and neglect. Steven first gave voice to this cause with his hit “Janie’s Got a Gun,” and his establishment of the fund ensures that these vulnerable girls will have an enduring voice for years to come. Janie’s Fund has two important goals: to bring much-needed awareness to the issue of abuse and neglect of children and to generate financial support to ensure that girls receive the most effective services available to help them overcome the trauma and pain of abuse.

FUSTERCLUCK the organization founded by The Who's music director and conductor Keith Levenson and singer/actor Gilgamesh Taggett to support those in the live entertainment industry, has launched the first episode of its In the Coop interview series. Featuring Eddie Vedder in a virtual sit-down with Levenson, the pair discuss gig postponements, life during COVID, and touring with the Who.

Vedder will be the first of a lineup of stars appearing on In the Coop — just one of the many ways Fustercluck is working to support and drive awareness of those in the live entertainment industry (and their families) who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. The organization also produces music parody videos and conducts fundraising through the sale of branded merchandise.

A long lineup of names working both onstage and off has stepped up in support of Fustercluck's campaign, including Vedder, Roger Daltrey and Zak Starkey of The Who, the legendary Darlene Love, conductor/maestro Steven Mercurio, Jon Anderson of YES, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, and Broadway actors Adrian Zmed (Grease), Chilina Kennedy (Beautiful), Justin Matthew Sargent (Spider-man, Turn Off The Dark), J. Michael Zygo (School of Rock), Tony nominee Elizabeth Stanley, Lee Duveneck of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and many more.

Levenson is also working as music fest supervisor for the “Live Events Lift Up Festival” (LEVL UP Fest). Billed as "A Festival of Music & Stories of Life On & Off the Road”, the charity event will take place at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, streaming virtually for free on December 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET via NoCap Shows.

All proceeds raised will benefit MusiCares, the Roadie Clinic, and Country Music Association Foundation (CMAF).

STARS IN THE HOUSE Hosts Seth Rudetsky & James Wesley present Plays in the House which airs special performances of live readings of classic, award-winning plays, until Broadway reopens. These performances are all free and will remain online for four days after the initial live broadcast.

Monday November 16th (at 8pm) will offer a performance of Shaw’s rarely performed Man & Superman, adapted and directed by David Staller, featuring Robert Cuccioli, Claybourne Elder, Santino Fontana, Nikki M. James, Christine Toy Johnson, Rob McClure, Lauren Molina, John-Andrew Morrison, Vishaal Reddy, and Lenny Wolpe. Please note: Ms. Molina replaces the previously announced Margaret Odette.

This performance is presented to benefit The Actors’ Fund.

These performances are all free and will remain online for four days after the initial live broadcast.

Man & Superman: A comedy of Hellish proportions. Jack, a confirmed bachelor, is determined to keep clear of Ann’s matrimonial designs on him. He flees across continents and even, in the legendary dream act of Don Juan in Hell, to Hades for a chat with the Devil and back again to avoid having to meaningfully connect to another person. But, finally, her intelligent will is too much for him. This play gleefully examines the importance of embracing our true self without artifice so that we may connect to and understand ourselves and, ultimately, become a part of our community and the world around us.

This is one of Shaw’s most enduringly delightful, famously iconic, and yet least known plays, which will be performed (almost) complete in a pithy but substantially cut two and ½ hour version created by Staller who is the artistic director of New York’s Gingold Theatrical Group, now in its 15th year.

GIBSON GIVES (THE CHARITABLE ARM OF GIBSON GUITARS) AND GUITARS FOR VETS have announced the inaugural Rock To Remember, a virtual concert, which took place on Wednesday, November 11, Veteran’s Day, raised funds to provide music programs for returning U.S. military veterans afflicted with PTSD.

Rock To Remember was hosted by Jared James Nichols and featured performances from a diverse group of artists including Don Felder, Big & Rich, Joe Bonamassa, Phil X and The Drills, Travis Denning, Lee Roy Parnell, Orianthi, Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger (Halestorm), Meghan Patrick, Frank Hannon (Tesla) with JT Loux Band, Jimmy Vivino and Friends, Meghan Linsey and Tyler Cain, Honey County, Bones Owens, Nick Perri and The Underground Thieves, Laine Hardy and many more. Additionally, a handful of U.S. veteran graduates of the Guitars For Vets programs were featured performing their original songs.

Guitars For Vets (G4V) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that directly supports veterans struggling with the challenges of Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) by providing them with free guitars of their own and guitar lessons in both a one-on-one, and a group setting. Thousands of U.S. veterans are afflicted with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and struggling with physical injuries. In fact, more soldiers have committed suicide since the Vietnam War than have died in actual battle. Many are now finding hope in an unlikely place: behind the wood and strings of a guitar. The healing power of music helps soldiers cope.

SPREADING THE WORD

L.A. THEATRE WORKS has announced a 9-play Digital Season of new, state-of-the-art audio recording.

Each of the recordings will include bonus features, such as interviews with the playwrights, actors, experts in the field and more.

First to be released is The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse — Liza Weil and Josh Stamberg star in the newest L.A. Theatre Works state-of-the-art audio recording, a biting satire by newly-named MacArthur Fellow FastHorse. A roast of well-meaning political correctness, The Thanksgiving Play puts the American origin story in the comedy-crosshairs: Three “woke,” white thespians are tasked with devising an elementary school pageant about the first Thanksgiving, while avoiding any culturally appropriative missteps. The cast also features LATW regulars Ellis Greer and Mark Jude Sullivan. Directed by Rosalind Ayres, the LATW recording, which will be released on November 18, 2020, just in time for the holiday, will include a virtual interview with playwright Larissa FastHorse by LATW producing artistic director Susan Albert Loewenberg.

LIVINGSTON TAYLOR 70TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT takes place Saturday, November 21, 2020 @ 8pm presented by the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, CT.

The first 50 ticket buyers will receive a signed commemorative poster. Livingston Taylor, brother of James Taylor, is best known for Top 40 hits I Will Be in Love with You, and I’ll Come Running, to I Can Dream of You and Boatman. Taylor returns to the Ridgefield Playhouse stage to celebrate his 70th Birthday with a special, intimate, socially distanced concert.

HOUSTON'S SOCIETY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS located in Jones' Hall, is the Southwest's largest presenter of touring arts, has launched a new series of timed and ticketed digital shows this month to deliver works by touring performers from around the globe, along with free premieres of brief, newly commissioned digital works by Houston artists that run indefinitely on its social-media channels. SPA’s digital season kicks off November 21 with four programs.

7:30 p.m. November 21: A joyful, 90-minute concert by the Choir of Man, an all-male British vocal group, known across the globe as “the ultimate-feel good show,” The Choir of Man offers up 90 minutes of indisputable joy. It’s a party. It’s a concert. It’s a pint-filled good time set in a real working pub that combines hair-raising harmonies, high-energy dance, and live percussion with foot-stomping choreography. Filmed at an English pub, the multi-talented cast of handsome blokes sings everything – pub tunes, folk, Broadway, classic rock – all to roof-raising heights.

7 p.m. November 28: Viewers can speak with Clark and Ellen Griswald (aka Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo) as they lead audiences through this live event as they share fan-favorite clips from the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!, reveal their favorite memories from the making of the Vacation franchise and answer your questions in a live audience Q & A. Fans can expect the unexpected as these legends share a no-holds-barred trip down memory lane and unveil the behind-the-scenes secrets of the making of a blockbuster film franchise. Add a new twist to your holiday tradition—gather the family and cozy up on the couch as we stream the Griswolds directly to your living room for this live virtual event that is fun for all ages. Chestnuts and eggnog recommended.

7 p.m. December 5, 12 and 19: The interdisciplinary performance collective Manual Cinema, which impressed audiences at Jones Hall last fall with its Frankenstein, is back with a world premiere Christmas Carol, which reimagines Charles Dickens’ classic as a puppet show shared over a pandemic-era Zoom call.

7 p.m. February 6: With Rebirth of a Nation, composer and multimedia artist DJ Spooky (Paul D. Miller) rethinks the controversial but innovative silent film Birth of a Nation for the Black Lives Matter era, mixing film and his original score, recorded by the Kronos Quartet.

LCT SPOTLIGHT SERIES Lincoln Center Theater's digital programming for the 2020-21 season, will feature LCT artists in digital performance and discussion. The series will kick off on Tuesday, November 17 at 9pm with a celebration of the digital release of the original cast recording of Grace McLean’s new musical In the Green.

Evan Cabnet, Artistic Director of LCT3, which commissioned and eventually premiered the musical in the summer of 2019, will host the Lucille Lortel Award winner’s performance of songs from her critically acclaimed work, after which questions will be taken from viewers. A free Zoom event. Produced by Lincoln Center Theater, the In the Green recording was recently released digitally by Ghostlight Records.

LEAD FOOT The Nebraska State Patrol has issued 902 tickets to motorists driving over 100 mph in the first 10 months of 2020 — a 68% increase over the previous five-year average.

PRINCE CHARLES ENTERS THE WORLD OF FASHION

A selection of clothes from the new line sanctioned by Prince Charles and Federico Marchetti. Photo: Net-A-Porter

Always on the Best Dressed List, Prince Charles has become a clothing entrepreneur.

As President of the Prince's Foundation, this past week he launched his own fashion line - dubbed The Modern Artisan project - featuring designs by students and recent graduates from Italy and the United Kingdom.

The 18-piece sustainable clothing collection was created in collaboration with Federico Marchetti, chairman and CEO of Yoox Net-A-Porter Group, parent of Mr. Porter.

The collection celebrates both the rich heritage and future of British and Italian textile craftsmanship. The new collection consists of 10 women’s items and eight menswear items.

All items are handmade from natural and organic materials of the highest quality, and come from suppliers selected according to sustainable principles. No synthetic fibres were used, only cashmere and wool from Scotland, and ecological silk made in Italy.

Behind the collection is the work of The Modern Artisan, a project of The Prince's Foundation. This foundation was founded in 1986 by Prince Charles to support Scotland's heritage traditions, such as the distinctive knitwear and tartan, as well as its architecture. All items are handmade from natural and organic materials of the highest quality, and come from suppliers selected according to sustainable principles. No synthetic fibers were used, only cashmere and wool from Scotland, and ecological silk made in Italy.

Six Italian students from leading design school Politecnico di Milano’s Fashion in Process (FiP) research laboratory were allowed to design the clothing. The pieces were then produced in the United Kingdom, as British artisans undertook training in delicate production skills at Dumfries House, the headquarters of The Prince’s Foundation in Ayrshire, Scotland, allowing them to craft the majority of the collection by hand in the estate’s Textile Training Centre.

A ladies' outfit from the new collection. Photo: Net-A-Porter

During the manufacturing process, the artisans learned advanced technical production skills such as industrial sewing, pattern drafting, and quality control, while also developing the expertise to handle wool, cashmere, and silk fabrics to ensure garment finishes meet the requirements of the luxury market. These skills have been formally recognized with the manufacturing artisans completing a Modern Apprenticeship Award in Heritage Textiles in partnership with Glasgow Clyde College.

The knitwear was designed by the Italian artisans and manufactured at Johnstons of Elgin’s knitwear mill in Hawick, Scotland, where all of the artisans learned about the British knitwear development process. Throughout the project, the British and Italian designers collaborated across borders to share knowledge, cultures, and experiences to enrich the collection.

In the women's wear collection, details from the wide legs and midi lengths to the cinched-in waists and pussy bows were design choices informed by customer preferences. Similarly, data informed the choice of colors in the menswear, from the camel coat to the navy trousers, and influenced defining features such as the drawstring detail at the waist of the casual trousers.

The collection design, carried out during the 500th anniversary year of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, took inspiration from the convergence of art and science in da Vinci’s work. The result is a sophisticated collection that marries formal lines and simple construction. Da Vinci’s knots are a feature throughout the collection. His studies of drapery inspired the women's wear, realized through folds, pleats, smocking, ties and bows. The menswear references da Vinci’s technical studies of engineering and anatomy, and his fascination with architectural details.

“The Modern Artisan project is a unique collaboration that champions sustainability and prepares trainees with the skills and confidence needed to gain employment in the fashion and textile industry, or start their own business,” said Jacqueline Farrell, education director at The Prince’s Foundation at Dumfries House. “Managing the project on behalf of The Prince’s Foundation at Dumfries House and overseeing our skilled tutors teach the trainees artisanal skills and traditional methods of production to a new generation of makers has, for me, been a dream come true. I am very much looking forward to seeing what the artisans do next and am confident that each and every one of them will use the skills they have developed throughout The Modern Artisan project to make a positive impact on the fashion and textile industry and help preserve these invaluable heritage craft skills.”

“I’ve long been inspired by uniting seemingly opposing worlds,” added Marchetti. “The Modern Artisan project harnesses Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to transform the ancient profession of craftsmanship into a contemporary career: we have equipped the next generation of artisans with the digital tools of the trade to navigate an ever-evolving landscape. Designed in Italy and crafted in the UK, this truly sustainable luxury collection illustrates the vast possibilities of cross-border collaborations to tackle environmental challenges and train creative talents in these uncertain times and beyond.”

The collection is for sale worldwide via Net-a-Porter, Yoox, Mr. Porter, and The Outnet. The proceeds will go to The Prince's Foundation, which will use the money to give new training courses. The Modern Artisan project is a long-term partnership between Yoox Net-A-Porter Group and The Prince’s Foundation, which will be showcased at Michelangelo Foundation’s Homo Faber in 2021.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

HOPE YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER BECOMES OR MARRIES A PLUMBER rememeber the old days when parents hoped their children married or became doctors or lawyers? The idea being they would then enjoy a great living with an exceptional lifestyle. Think again. According to the American Bar Association (ABA) "most new lawyers are drowning in more than $100K in law school debt. An ABA survey details the consequences — from poor mental health to delayed life decisions."

The recently released 2020 Law School Student Debt Survey Report reveals that law student debt is both substantial and widespread, and it has a profound and personal impact on the newest members of the U.S. legal profession.

“I lie awake at night worried about whether I will be able to give my children the life my parents gave me, and whether I will ever know the feeling of true financial stability, which is what I was seeking when I went to law school.”

That’s what one respondent commented to the ABA 32-page report.

The report shows that:
More than 75% of respondents had at least $100,000 in student loans at graduation
Over half had more than $150,000 in student loans
More than 1 in 4 has $200,000 or more in student loans
Over 85% of lawyers surveyed had more than $80,000 in student loans at graduation
Among the many aspects of lawyers’ lives that student debt affects include such personal decisions as the ability to start a family — about half of respondents chose to postpone or not have children at all; a quarter postponed getting married. Debt also extends into their ability to make purchasing decisions that contribute to the economy — more than 50% decided to postpone or chose not to take a vacation, buy a house and buy a car.

More than 1,000 newer lawyers and recent law school graduates completed the survey, which was conducted March 1-31. The data was analyzed by AccessLex Institute.

THE SMITH CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS in Las Vegas will layoff over 163 employees on January 1, 2021 - most of whom had previously been furloughed. The venue had hoped to be able to recall some or all of the workers when the facility re-opened; but due to the surge in Covid-19 cases and no re-opening date in the near future the Smith Center had no other choice but to terminate employment, as the venue depends upon traveling productions to stay operational.

In a letter sent to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, a representative for The Smith Center announced that employee salaries were paid in full through July 3. As of July 4, furloughed employees stopped receiving full salaries but retained their benefits, according to the letter.

Virtual holiday concerts have been scheduled for next month.



NY CLASSICAL THEATRE New York City’s all-free Off-Broadway Equity theatre company, has announced that Matthieu Chapman, Ph.D has joined the company as Literary Director. Chapman will lead script reading, analysis and dramaturgical research in support of NY Classical’s goal to explore first-time English-language translations of World Classics, new plays inspired by historic texts and work outside the historical Western canon.

Chapman earned his MLitt in Dramaturgy and MFA in Acting from Mary Baldwin College’s Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance Program and his Ph.D. in Theatre History, Theory and Criticism from the UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance.

THE DRAMA LEAGUE announces the establishment of its first-ever Directors Council, composed of nationally-renowned directors Daniel Banks, Melia Bensussen, Christopher Burris, Jillian Carucci, Jennifer Chang, Desdemona Chiang, R.J. Cutler, Estefanía Fadul, Raz Golden, Brian Eugenio Herrera, Adam Immerwahr, Gwynn MacDonald, Tony Phenlan, Lisa Portes, Lisa Rothe, Rob Urbinati, Nicole A. Watson, Sharifa Yasmin, and Pirronne Yousefzadeh.

This new Directors Council is made up of award-winning directors and creators from across the country, in theater and its related mediums, who have participated in The Drama League’s director-focused programming in the past, and have committed to providing counsel, guidance, and partnership to the organization moving forward. The Directors Council, born out of the organization’s comprehensive strategic planning in 2019, was formed as a way to further embed artists in the decision-making process of The Drama League, establish peer-to-peer mentorship for Fellowship recipients, and to have the nation’s leading directors guide The Drama League’s programming initiatives as the organization expands its mission to support directors and lead in the re-emergence strategies of Broadway and the American theater industry.

THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS welcomes Malakhi Eason as its new Director of Programming and Community Impact, following an international search guided by Arts Consulting Group. He will begin working at the Festival November 16th.

Malakhi RL Eason II brings more than 15 years of arts administration experience to the Festival. Originally from Boston, Eason was most recently Programming Manager at Omaha Performing Arts, where he curated the expansive Jazz on the Green Series, ranging from intimate cabaret performances to outdoor concerts featuring artists like Ladama, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Kim Waters, Sammy Miller and the Congregation, and Marcos y Sabor. Eason was formerly a background singer for touring artists while living in Los Angeles, CA.

A graduate of University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, CT, Eason earned a Masters of Arts in Leadership from Grace University and is working on a Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Leadership from Creighton University.

The International Festival of Arts & Ideas is a year-round organization that culminates with an annual celebration of performing arts, lectures, and conversations each summer in New Haven, Connecticut. The Festival convenes leading artists, thought leaders, and innovators from around the world for dynamic public programs to engage, entertain, and inspire a diversity of communities. More than 80% of Festival programs are free to the public, including events that feature some of the most influential jazz, classical, dance, and theater artists of our time.

The Festival was established in 1996, by Anne Calabresi, Jean M. Handley, and Roslyn Meyer.

The Festival is presented with major support from Yale University, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Connecticut Office of the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO . . .

PRINCE CHARLES who celebrated his 72nd birthday yesterday, Saturday, November 14, 2020, by joining his wife Camilla on an official tour of Germany in honor of Remembrance Day, marking their first overseas trip together amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It's understood that the couple is taking all necessary measures to comply with COVID-19 regulations and guidance in Berlin during their trip.

Known to like birthday cake, the birthday boy also got his fill of the annual treat.

E-Book

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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

QUESTION: WHO DIED WAY TOO SOON? ANSWER: ALEX TREBEK the beloved host of Jeopardy died of pancreatic cancer on Sunday morning, November 8, 2020 at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by family and friends. He was 80.

Jeopardy! will continue to air episodes hosted by Trebek, who was last in studio on October 29, through Christmas Day, the show said last Sunday. There are currently no plans for announcing a new host.

Trebek has won five daytime Emmy Awards and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2011.

Trebek, who has a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Canadian Walk of Fame, was named in 2017 an officer of the Order of Canada, his native country’s second-highest civilian honor.

Trebek is survived by his wife Jean and their adult children, Emily, a real estate developer, and Matthew, the owner of OSO, a Mexican restaurant, and Lucille’s, a restaurant/bar, both in New York City.

NORM CROSBY comedian who regular starring Las Vegas, died of heart failure on November 7, 2020 in Los Angeles. He was 93.

He was dubbed "The Master of Malaprop" for mispronouncing words.

For decades he was a Las Vegas regular. He wore hearing aides on stage. Back in the days when there were two shows a night- a dinner show and a cocktail show - it wasn't unusual for a drunk in the audience to heckle. When Crosby was shot a barb about his hearing aides he explained that he served in the Navy in World War II with his hearing permanently damaged from depth charges that exploded while he was on anti-submarine patrol in the North Atlantic, defending the country that permitted hecklers.

He became the first national chairman of the Council for Better Speech and Hearing in 1979.

He is survived by his wife, Joan, a former Rockette, whom married in 1966 and their two children Andrew and Daniel, and two grandchildren.

LAWRENCE CLAYTON died November 2, 2020 after a two year battle with glioblastoma cancer. He was 64.

Clayton made his Broadway debut in Dreamgirls as a replacement in the role of C.C. White. He went on to play the role on the first and second National Tours of the production as well, in 1983 and 1985.

In 1992, Clayton returned to Broadway in The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club. His other Broadway credits include Once Upon a Mattress (1996), The Civil War (1999), It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues (1999), Bells are Ringing (2001), and most recently the revival of The Color Purple (2015). Clayton has also appeared Off-Broadway several times in productions including Romance in Hard Times (1989), Tapestry: The Music of Carole King (1993), Saturn Returns (1998), Crowns (2002), and Damn Yankees (2017). He also appeared Off-Broadway in Romance in Hard Times; The Exception and the Rule, and Tapestry, among others. His national tour and regional credits include Jesus Christ Superstar; Les Miserables; The Wiz; The Boy From Syracuse, and in Big River at Paper Mill Playhouse (1997) and The Civil War (1998).

ISRAEL HOROVITZ was an American playwright, director, actor and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company in 1979 died November 9, 2020 at his home in Manhattan from cancer. He was 81.

In 2017 Horovitz resigned from Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester, Massachusetts, after nine women came forward accusing him of sexual assault.

Horovitz wrote more than 70 produced plays, many of which have been translated and performed in more than 30 languages worldwide.

He is survived by his third wife Gillian Horovitz and his four children; Julie from his first marriage to Elaine Abber and three children from his second marriage to Dorid Keefe - Rachael Horovitz, a film producer known for producing the films About Schmidt and Moneyball, Matthew Horovitz, a television producer-director known for producing the NBA Network and Adam Horovitz, member of Beastie Boys.

TOM PREWITT Avant Bard Theatre’s Executive and Artistic Director since February 2013 died suddenly on November 11, 2020.
WSC Avant Bard (commonly known as Avant Bard, and formerly known as Washington Shakespeare Company or simply WSC) is a small, primarily non-Equity theater based in Arlington, VA.

For ten seasons Prewitt served as Associate Artistic Director at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, where he led the education and outreach programs.

A Harvard graduate, Prewitt was also Managing Director of City of Peace DC, and had been since 2008.

DOUG SUPERNAW who charted eleven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Track charts with three number one singles, died November 13, 2020 at his home in Texas. In February 2019 he was diagnosed with with Advanced Stage IV lung and bladder cancer and after aggressive treatment, the cancer spread to his brain and spine and he was placed in Hospice care in October of 2020. He was 60.

A mainstay in Country music in the 90’s, Supernaw was noted for his hits Reno; I Don’t Call Him Daddy, and Not Enough Hours In The Night.

He is survived by his third wife, his children and grand-children.

Next Column: November 22, 2020
Copyright: November 15, 2020 All Rights Reserved. Reviews, Interviews, Commentary, Photographs or Graphics from any Broadway To Vegas (TM) columns may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, utilized as leads, or used in any manner without permission, compensation and/or credit.
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Laura Deni