Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: November 28, 2021
By: Laura Deni
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LIFE AT DEATH'S DOOR WILL MAKE YOU THINK, LAUGH AND SQUIRM

Brian Blessed

Life At Death's Door presented by the Wireless Theatre Company, is an award winning documentary written by Ann Theato and Steve Spence with enough humor to make what could be creepy, engrossing.

After all, we are all going to die. If you're philosophy is to let somebody else worry about your remains - you might want to re-think that option.

"Before Queen Victoria we always buried our own After all, why would you let a perfect stranger see you naked?," asked narrator Brian Blessed. whose lenthy list of credits includes portraying Old Deuteronomy in the 1981 original London production of Cats at the New London Theatre.

Blessed has also appeared in a number of Shakespearean roles on both stage and screen, including four of the five Shakespeare films directed by Kenneth Branagh: as the Duke of Exeter in Henry V (1989), Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing (1993), the Ghost of Hamlet's Father in Hamlet (1996), and both Duke Frederick and Duke Senior in As You Like It (2006).

His voice is perfect for the part of the narrator in this production and he delivers his lines with aplomb.

The actors include Adam Hall, Ann Theato, Greg Page, Jenny Runacre, Jessica Dennis, Kevin Haney, Stephem Hill and Tom latter.

The official description explains: "When it comes to death, we are bad consumers. Because we don’t plan ahead, because we don’t talk about it, we are in a state of shock and exhaustion. We don’t question, we don’t shop around and it makes us very vulnerable potentially. This award winning audio documentary deals with our universal attitudes to death and dying."

Taking care of the details and viewing a death as a business deal can save you over half the cost of even a "reasonably priced" going away party. There are also hidden costs and sneaky ways to up-sell. You're made to feel guilty if you don't want upscale.

Because we don't plan ahead, talk bout it, or shop around - making the person vulnerable, the listener is warned.

You're informed that you don't need a hearse, coffin, funeral director and, in many countries, you can legally bury a person on your own land - like a back yard. In fact, you can order a coffin on line at substantial savings - just make sure it's the right size so that the dearly departed fits. A layer of stress in dealing with the funeral arrangements is eliminated from the usual stresses or sadness and shock.

Ah, but all those questions.

What about an afterlife - being brought back from the dead?

Cryogenics is called "a supple and demand" deal - a devise to get you into the future. However, it does take someone who "thinks outside the box" to consider this growing in popularity option. Between 1962 and 2000 there were 1000 signed up, but in the last 12 years another 1,000 have signed on to be frozen in liquid nitrogen. The person is referred to as a patient rather than a dead body.

If that sends shivers down your spine - that's the coldness of liquid nitrogen.

Cells die off very quickly - with a one-half hour window between clinical death and cellular death - which is when cell preservation must begin. All body fluids are drained out and replaced with a "human antifreeze" to keep body cells alive. The body is placed in a container, covered with dry ice and shipped to American where the "patient" is stored. There are only two countries - America and Russian - which have storage facilities.

The cost? $120,000 to be stored indefinitely, which can be paid through life insurance.

Eventually the "patient" will be brought back to life in a designer body, so most customers preserve only their head rather than their entire body, since the brain with memory and information is what is important to preserve.

If the entire body is preserved the body is stored upside down so that if a shortage of liquid nitrogen takes the place the head would be the last to be effected.

Then there is cadaver donation to medical schools, which isn't an easy option. Med schools have too many dead bodies lying around and don't need any more. The major reason for rejection is that the person is too fat. Cutting down the supply need - the manufacture of realistic human like body parts which serve the teaching purpose.

With the advent of COVID, bodies are rejected if they have tested positive for the virus within the month before death.

Also be careful of misleading ads. According to the BBC, a man who donated his mother's body to what he thought was Alzheimer's research learned later it was used by the Army to test explosives.

In 2019 a Jury awarded $58M in a lawsuit against a body donation firm that sold cadavers for military testing.

Cremation is another option, although environmentalists aren't on board because cremation results in 46 different pollutants some of them remaining in the atmosphere for 100 years.

An effort is now being made to reduce mercury emotions into the air.

On the downside is a rise in cremation costs because people are getting fatter, taking 3 hrs to melt down into 2 kilograms of ashes.

Before the fire party can begin, two doctors are required to see the body to make sure death wasn't murder. One doctor see the body and then the second doctor has to agree with the first. Both doctors charge a fee which in the trade is called "ash cash".

Thousands of skeletons are purchased each year. JonsBones is the leading provider of medical human osteology.

As the Delta Rhythm Boys sang in their 1960 hit, "Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones" include categories of:

Long Bones Including: Tibias, Fibulas, Femurs, Humeruses, Radiuses, and Ulnas.

Articulations Including: Marked and Unmarked Complete Skeletons.

Flat BonesIncluding: Pelvises, Sternums, Ribs, and Scapulae.

Various Bones Including: Vertebrae, Sacrums, Mandibles, and Patellas.

Rarities Including: Medical Abnormalities, and Hard To Find Pieces.

As their website says: "Whether you’re an avid bone collector or you’ve just stumbled upon a family heirloom and are looking to give it a new home, please reach out to us."

For generations families have felt it's more dignified to bury your own family. Once you bury grandpa you can't dig him up again, warns the documentary.

Burial at sea has been around forever. Life At Death's Door points out that this type of burial is generally done "en mass." Coffins are sent overboard in a job lot. The coffins have a concrete base so that the coffin sinks like a stone. The body has to be chained inside the coffin. There are urns which dissolve in less than a hour in sea water and ashes. Just because there is a body of water doesn't mean you can use it as a personal deceased dumping ground. For instance, there are only three locations in England where this type of burial is permitted.

How about being shot into space? If William Shatner and former New York Giants star Michael Strahan can blast off while alive, you can accomplish that after death. Ashes are put inside a lipstick size tube where they orbit earth for up to 15 years, eventually vaporizing as it returns to earth. Gene Roddenbury said his good-bye that way as did his wife actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry who appeared in nearly every Str Trek episode. Trek actor James Doohan who played Scotty, the chief engineer teleporting Star Trek crew to and from the Enterprise, and sci-fi pioneer Arthur C. Clarke were launched toward the heavens in November 2014.

The documentary didn't divulge how narrator Blessed intends to make his exit. Considering his history, an assumption can be made that it won't be ordinary. Blessed has even completed 800 hours of space training at Star City in Russia. This is also the man who in 1963, then in his late twenties, came across a woman giving birth in London's Richmond Park. Blessed delivered the healthy baby girl, then bit through the umbilical cord. Blessed has also attempted to climb Mount Everest three times without supplemental oxygen, reaching heights of 28,200 feet (8,600 m) in 1993 and 25,200 feet (7,700 m) in 1996, but without reaching the summit. He has reached the tops of Aconcagua in Argentina and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. He is the oldest man to have reached the North Magnetic Pole on foot, where he says he punched a polar bear on the nose.

Another form of "sky burial" takes place in Tibet. A priest chops up the body, places it on top of a mountain and let the birds consume it.

Presented by the Wireless Theatre Company, Life at Death’s Door Edited By: Malcolm Thorp. Directed By: Jack Bowman. Music By: Polly Haynes. Edited by Malcolm Thorp.

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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

BEATLES VS. STONES Morrison Hotel Gallery explores the parallels as well as the differences between the two greatest rock bands of all time with a web-exclusive exhibition. They've revisited both bands wowing American television audiences, stripping down for a frolic in the surf (Beatles) or playing for a solo stripped-down fan (Stones).

From John Lennon and Keith Richards each showing off their uncanny ability to emanate the utmost in coolness while posing for a variety of shots in their solo photoshoots to the Fab Four mirroring a Mick Jagger pose in a parka, the exhibition does a masterful job of showcasing the style, talent, and playfulness that helped these lads shape the music of the 20th century.

The exhibition features images from David Magnus, Thomas Monster, Terry O’Neil, Stephanie Pfriender Stylander, Charles Trainor, The Vincent Vigil Collection, Robert Whitaker, and more.

Beatles vs. Stones exclusively at MorrisonHotelGallery.com.

ART BASEL the Internationally attended week in Miami, Florida includes Triller, the AI-powered global platform. Centered on NFT’s, touted to become "the art currency of the future."

Opening on Monday, November 29 through December 4, located at the new BLK Miami Studio in Wynwood, The week-long activation will feature digital and physical auctions, celebrity guest speakers, live painting, surprise NFT drops, pop-ups, integrations, live musical performances, first-look opportunities, gallery exhibits, and private walk-throughs along with exclusive VIP events.

All will take place at the Triller Art Gallery pop-up, including a launch party with Hyperverse x Jacquees, an NFT Drop with Note Mercato & artist Cory Van Lew, an NFT drop with Cryptopunks, a Live Art activation with PunkMeTender and Lifewtr, along with The Bishop Gallery’s astounding, never-seen-before Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit. A major NFT score is a "historic drop" live NFT auction experience, featuring rare photographs of Basquiat from the collections of Alexis Adler and Al Diaz.

Also making a presence is The Gutter Cat Gang, a leading NFT collection in the crypto space "Gutter Cat Gang: The Outpost," is slated to take place during Miami's Art Week at Ace Props + Studios. The Gutter Cat Gang’s Virtual World in the Metaverse will Become an IRL (In Real Life) Immersive experience celebrating the Intersection of Art, Technology and Community. Collaborators include Coinbase, Sandbox, REEF Technology. The event will bring the metaverse into reality throughout the back alleys of Gutter City. This three-day immersive exhibition runs from December 2-4 2021.

Showcasing members of the GCG community, the event will feature a curated selection of rare NFT's from The Gang's members, among other NFT collections. These collections will be seen in the real-life space alongside numerous community-centric activities. Additionally, various auctions and displays by Pop Wonder, Felix Semper, Mark Watts, Pindar Van Arman, Gxng Yxng, ARTIS4LOVERS, Alien Queen, Mokibaby, and others will be exclusive collabo/merch drops from Carl’s Contrabrand Van, and a Diamond Supply Co X Gutter Cat Gang Pop Up Shop where special limited collaborative merch will be released, and the unveiling of a surprise for Gutter Cat Gang and Diamond Crypto Dunk holders that will be celebrated with an immersive experience.

Celebrity holders include Von Miller, Trey Songz, Daryl Morey, Ja Rule, Ben Simmons, Dez Bryant, Andy Millanokis, Lamelo Ball, Arizona Iced Tea, M. Shadows, Jonah Bolden, Nick Diamonds, Brandon McManus, Marlon Humphrey.

If it's Art Basel then liquor must be part of the festivities.

Dos Hombres Mezcal presents the Bacchanale Basel party on the Saturday night of Art Basel, at The Bonnier Gallery on December 4th.

Dos Hombres is "the hot new Mezcal brand" created by Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad.

This event, Bacchanale Basel, is not open to the public but 30 lucky winners can enter a clever online contest to win two VIP passes.

The questions concern Breaking Bad, Dos Hombres and the exhibition painting by Richard Höglund which can be found at the Bonnier Gallery.

Drenched in Dragon’s Blood. Dusted with pulverized bone and marble. Scored in silverpoint.

Richard Höglund’s new series of paintings for the exhibition Minyades are dark excavations that come through to the other side of the pandemic.

Debuting at The Bonnier Gallery during Miami Art Week, the show is entitled Minyades, opens December 2 through February 28, and is curated by Grant Bonnier.

LUBAINA HIMID over four decades, Lubaina Himid’s powerful and poetic work has made her an increasingly influential figure in contemporary art – from her pivotal role in the British Black arts movement of the 1980s to winning the Turner Prize in 2017. Tate Modern presents Himid’s largest solo exhibition to date, incorporating new paintings and significant highlights from across her remarkable career. Taking inspiration from the artist’s interest in opera and her training in theatre design, the show unfolds across a sequence of scenes which put the visitor centre-stage. Through a series of questions placed throughout the exhibition, Himid asks us to consider how the built environment, history, personal relationships and conflict shape the lives we lead.

Presenting over 50 works that bring together painting, everyday objects, poetic texts and sound, the exhibition offers a rare chance to experience the breadth of Himid’s influential career. Early installations including the well-known A Fashionable Marriage 1984 enter into a dialogue with recent works such as her series of large format paintings Le Rodeur 2016-18, while new paintings created during lockdown go on public display for the first time. Himid says: “I have always thought of my work as starting when people get to see it. For me nothing starts until then.”

An early fascination with pattern, influenced by her mother’s career as a textile designer, has always been central to Himid’s work. “Patterns occur when I am talking to myself and trying to make visual the music, the sound, the noise and the poetry which underpins all of my work” says the artist. A series of suspended cloth flags inspired by East African kanga textiles welcome visitors to the exhibition at Tate Modern, featuring evocative lines of poetry which address the kanga’s layered uses and meanings, as well as its associations with fashion.

A major highlight of the exhibition is the presence of sound installations, including Blue Grid Test 2020, created by Himid in collaboration with artist Magda Stawarska-Beavan. Displayed in the UK for the first time, this 25-metre-long painting features 64 patterns from all over the world, each painted a different shade of blue on top of a variety of objects pinned to the gallery walls. Coupled with a sound installation layering instrumental music with Himid’s voice, the work creates a visual and sonic embrace. Reflecting on this idea, Himid asks visitors: 'What does love sound like?'

The show culminates in a group of recent paintings and painted objects, which center on extraordinary moments of everyday life which are rarely portrayed.

The exhibition is organized by Tate Modern in collaboration with Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne/Plateforme 10. Lubaina Himid is curated by Michael Wellen, Curator, International Art, Tate Modern and Amrita Dhallu, Assistant Curator, International Art, Tate Modern.

On exhibit through July 3, 2022 at the Tate Modern in London.

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SWEET CHARITY

A WONDERFUL LIFE TABLE READING on December 5, 2021 will benefit the Ed Asner Family Center.

Tom Bergeron hosts the event directed by Victor Nelli.

Jason Sudeikis is cast in the Jimmy Stewart role as George Bailey. Sudeikis’ real-life uncle George Wendt plays George Bailey’s Uncle Billy. The cast also includes Jean Smart, Rosario Dawson, Mark Hamill, Martin Sheen, Mandy Patinkin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Phil Lamarr, Ben Mankiewicz, Ron Funches and Ed Harris.

Becoming an annual tradition, this is the second virtual live-read of It’s a Wonderful Life to benefit The Ed Asner Family Center. Last year Pete Davidson assumed the character of George Bailey. Asner, who passed away last August, was directly involved in last year’s event. This year's reading will be a tribute to him.

The Ed Asner Family Center promotes mental health and enrichment programs to children with special needs and their families.

The Asner benefit is presented in partnership with Turner Classic Movies and sponsored by MeTV, and this year also will honor Mike Darnell, President of Unscripted and Alternative Television at Warner Brothers, and his family. The cast will include Darnell’s daughter and Social Director of TEAFC, Chelsea Darnell, autistic actors Spencer Harte and Domonique Brown along with neurodivergent TEAFC members Ryan Booth and Lucas Salusky.

The live virtual table read begins at 5 pm PT on Sunday, December 5.

BROADWAY AT BIRDLAND featuring eight-time Tony Award-winning producer Jamie deRoy and her acclaimed Jamie deRoy & friends cabaret show on Monday, December 6th.

Performers who light up the marquees of cabaret, theatre, music and comedy will join Ms. deRoy. Special Guests include: Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, Christy Altomare, Jelani Alladin, Ali Ewoldt, Cassondra James, Mauricio Martinez and Donna McKechnie.

The one-night only show is part of the club's Broadway at Birdland Concert Series.

Proceeds from the event, produced by Ms. deRoy, will benefit The Actors Fund: Jamie deRoy & friends Cabaret Initiative which assists those in the cabaret industry who have medical needs and concerns. The Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs honored her with a MAC Award for her many shows that have benefited her signature initiative.

SPREADING THE WORD

NBC'S ANNIE LIVE! airs on NBC December 2, 2021 from Bethpage's Gold Coast Studios.

Celina Smith portrays Annie. Taraji P. Henson as Miss Hannigan, Harry Connick Jr. as Daddy Warbucks, Nicole Scherzinger as Grace, Tituss Burgess as Rooster, and Megan Hilty as Lily St. Regis and, Alan Toy as FDR.

Other at Annie's orphanage are Felice Kakaletris as Molly, Cate Elefante (Waitress) as Kate, Sophie Knapp (Once) as July, Tessa Frascogna as Tessie, Arwen Monzon-Sanders (Frozen) as Duffy, and Audrey Cymone as Pepper.

Rounding out the ensemble are Wendi Bergamini, Jadaya Bivins, Brittany Conigatti, Ben Davis, Zachary Downer, Karla Garcia, Kayla Goins, Luke Hawkins, Christopher Hernandez, Afra Hines, Trinity Inay, Jeff Kready, McKenzie Kurtz, Jenny LaRoche, Brandt Martinez, Morgan Marcell, Liz McCartney, Anastacia McCleskey, Giana Rice, Eliseo Roman, Lily Tamburo, Sherrod Tate, Kennedy Thompson, Tanairi Vazquez, Jacob Keith Watson, Alex Wong, and Corde Young.

Lear deBessonet and Alex Rudzinski will share directing duties, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo, costumes by Emilio Sosa, production design by Jason Sherwood, and orchestrations by Stephen Oremus. The special will be executive produced by Robert Greenblatt, Neil Meron, and Alex Rudzinsky with Chloe Productions as producer.

On November 25 it was announced that Andrea McArdle, who was set to portrayed the newly created role of Eleanor Roosevelt has dropped out of the show due to a family emergency. McArdle had earned a Tony Award nomination for her starring role in the 1977 Broadway production of Annie.

"I am saddened to announce I will not be participating in Annie Live!, " McArdle, 58, said in a statement to the press the day before Thanksgiving.

"My father is currently in the hospital," she said referring to Paul McArdle, a former statistician, "and I need to put all of my energy into his health and well-being. I wish everyone involved with the production great success. Break a leg everyone."

Her mother, Phyllis, died in 2017.

SHOW GLOBES can be enjoyed through December 26 in New York's Time Square Broadway Plaza.

Celebrate the return of Broadway and the holiday season with these larger-than-life snow globes show globes inspired by the designs of Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Dear Evan Hansen, The Lion King, and Wicked.

HOLLAND TAYLOR slated to bring her delightful play Ann about the governor of Texas Ann Richards - a play which Taylor both wrote and stars in to the Pasadena Playhouse in California this coming March.

THE WILLIAM INGE THEATER FESTIVAL will celebrate its 39th anniversary April 21-23, 2022 by honoring Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage with the Distinguished Achievement in the American Theater Award.

Nottage is the only woman to date to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning plays are Ruined and Sweat, and they are two among scores of award-winning stories written for theatre, film, and television. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant, the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Creativity, the Dramatists Guild Hull-Warriner Award, the inaugural Horton Foote Prize, a Helen Hayes Award, the Doris Duke Artist Award, and a Joyce Foundation Commission grant, among many other esteemed awards. She is also an Associate Professor in the Theatre Department at Columbia School of the Arts.

Nottage will attend the Festival and accept the Award in person; she will join writers such as Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson, Neil Simon, Paula Vogel, Stephen Sondheim, David Henry Hwang, and Arthur Miller—among many other theatre luminaries—who have accepted the Festival’s Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award.

The William Inge Theater Festival was founded by Independence’s own Margaret Goheen in 1981 in honor and celebration of Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award-winning playwright and Independence native son, William Inge. The Festival has expanded its programming over the past two decades, cultivating year-round programming, and the organization’s name was changed to the William Inge Center for the Arts in 2004. The original Festival was a simple one-day event; the Inge Center’s season has grown to feature the multiple-day and internationally-recognized William Inge Theatre Festival each spring.

In 2022, the three-day Festival honoring Nottage will consist of a daily slate of participatory theater workshops, a series of panel conversations, the 5th Annual New Play Lab reading series of new American short plays, and performance events for attendees of all ages and experience levels.

The Festival will culminate in a tribute to Lynn Nottage written by playwright Stacey Rose, directed by Nicole A Watson, and starring performers from across the nation.

ATLANTIC CROSSING which just won an International Emmy Award (see below) is a fascinating saga. The series covers some surprising and little-known relationship involving U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Norway's Crown Princess Martha (waas there a real romance?) who never became queen because of an early death from cancer in 1954 at age 53. Her widower Olaf never remarried and ruled the country without a queen for 33 years until his own death on January 17, 1991. Today, Martha and Olav’s son Harald, born in 1937, sits on the Norwegian throne as King Harald V of Norway. Harald married commoner Sonja Haraldsen (now Queen consort) in 1968, creating a controversy. Allegedly, Harald told his father that if he did not have his consent to marry Sonja, he would marry no one, according to Royal Central, which would have brought an end to the Norwegian royal line. The couple have two children — Princess Martha Louise, born in 1971, and Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, born in 1973. They also have five grandchildren. In January of 2021, Harald celebrated his 30th year on the throne.

FAREWELL TO SHMALTZ TOUR - EXODUS 201

Shmaltz Brewing Company the biggest, the smallest, most award-winning, and still the only Jewish beer company in America, handcrafters of HE'BREW - The Chosen Beer - announces its farewell season after 25 years in the beer business with the release of a fitting tribute, Exodus 2021 Barleywine Ale (8.8% ABV) brewed with Date, Fig, Pomegranate, and Grape.

Shmaltz Brewing embarks on its "Farewell to Shmaltz Tour" in cities nationwide with Exodus 2021, Bittersweet Lenny's RIPA, Hop Manna, and multiple vintage draft releases selling through the end of the year.

Craft tasting room (Troy, NY) hosts a "Donut and Beer Extravaganza" on the first night of Hanukkah Sunday, November 28.

Shmaltz Brewing hosts the Grand Finale of everyone's favorite craft beer holiday tradition "Hanukkah vs. Christmas: The Battle Royale of Beers" with EBBS (from Queens) and Mainstay Brewing (from Philly) at Broooklyn's Spuyten and Duyvil which is also in Brooklyn on Saturday, December 4, 2021.

At The Independent in Tampa, FL Shmaltz joins Original Sin and Dunedin Brewing for an epic "Class of '96" beer bash with live music and food pairings on Sunday, December 12.

Select events will feature Shmaltz Liquor - Small Batch Whiskey. Distilled from multiple years of Jewbelation Anniversary Ales and aged 9 years in Buffalo Trace and Pappy Van Winkle Barrels, Shmaltz Liquor was distilled at St. George Spirits (Alameda, Calif.) for SF Beer Week 2010. After aging for 9 years to coincide with the 25th Anniversary of Shmaltz, Cowan will have Shmaltz Liquor - Small Batch Whiskey available in NYC, Philly, and Tampa, and will be sold nationwide during the holiday season.

A relentless punsters, founder and owner, Jeremy Cowan quips, "Was it Mark Twain or Groucho Marx who said, 'You can't start a new chapter without putting a period on the last one. Otherwise it's just a typo.'"

When Shmaltz Brewing began in 1996 hand-delivering 100 cases of its beloved "HE'BREW - The Chosen Beer" out of owner/founder Jeremy Cowan's grandmother's Volvo, 700 small independent craft breweries represented only 2% of the beer market. Shmaltz put roots down for an industry that has since created and sustained a transformative movement, growing to nearly 10,000 craft brewers and over 20% of the overall beer market by revenue. Shmaltz stood out as one of the most idiosyncratic brands of its day; one that cooked along for an initial 10 years and in the mid-2000s became a pop-cultural phenomenon with a dedicated global cult following.

From the label of Exodus 2021: "25 years - A life in so many chapters," writes Cowan. "The sacred species, bountiful throughout: 'Of wheat and barley, grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive trees & date honey (Deut 8.8).' Tolstoy: 'One must have the prospect of a Promised Land to have the strength to move.' Bart and Lisa: 'Are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet...' Let us rise above plagues and false idols to fare thee well, let your life proceed by its own design, and sing sweet songs to rock our souls.

Proudly participating across the spectrum of the Jewish community with non-profits, arts groups, and service organizations, "HE'BREW Beer" made it to the White House for "Jewish Heritage Night" and served during multiple presidencies (Bush, Clinton, Obama), as well as multiple eras of New York City Mayors. A bottle remains in the permanent collection at the Contemporary Jewish Museum (San Francisco).

"HE'BREW Beer" further found its way into fanatical TV shows and motion pictures such as Friends, Garden State, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, CNN Headline News, The Today Show, and many others. It secured the only license from CBS Consumer Products to brew two critically acclaimed Star Trek Golden Anniversary Ales to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the iconic franchise, Star Trek. Shmaltz later released a Collector's Edition beer commemorating the 30th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Cowan and his team were also invited to brew George Washington's "Small Beer" recipe in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the New York Public Library.

L'Chaim!

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

THEATRE FACTS 2020 discloses that not-for-profit theatres contributed nearly $2.1 billion to the U.S. economy and attracted 23 million attendees, according to Theatre Facts 2020, released by Theatre Communications Group (TCG), in partnership with SMU DataArts. Based on TCG’s Fiscal Survey and SMU DataArts’ Cultural Data Profile (CDP), Theatre Facts is the only in-depth report that examines the attendance, performance, and overall fiscal state of the U.S. professional not-for-profit theatre field.

Unless otherwise noted, all of the financial changes reported in this release reflect average, inflation-adjusted figures for the Trend Theatres for the 5-year period from 2016 to 2020. Key findings include: Average 5-year earned income rose annually then fell in 2020, resulting in a 5-year decrease exceeding inflation by 13%. Average single ticket income was 33% lower in 2020 than in 2016 (40% lower than 2019), and subscription income fell by 29% over the period, with a 5-year high in 2019.

All levels of government support were at their 5-year peak in 2020, with perhaps some growth explained by COVID-19 relief funding.

Average contributed income from other individuals (non-trustees) grew 46% over the 5-year period, including a 37% increase from 2019.

The average theatre’s budget size shrank by 12% from 2019 to 2020. The biggest shift was a 2020 cut in general and management personnel expenses, which was nearly half its 2019 level.

Working capital improved to a 5-year high in 2020. Over half of theatres in 2016 had negative working capital, dropping to 39% of theatres in 2020.

Theatre Communication Group’s Theatre Facts 2020 was written by Zannie Giraud Voss, professor and director of SMU DataArts at Southern Methodist University (SMU); Glenn B. Voss, professor emeritus and SMU DataArts research director; Daniel Fonner, associate director for research, SMU DataArts; Adrian Budhu, deputy director and COO, TCG; Teresa Eyring, executive director and CEO, TCG; and Laurie Baskin, director of Research, Policy & Collective Action, TCG.

SMU DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research, is a joint project of the Meadows School of the Arts and Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. SMU DataArts compiles and analyzes data on arts organizations and their communities nationwide and develops reports on important issues in arts management and patronage. Its findings are available free of charge to arts leaders, funders, policymakers, researchers, and the general public.

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THE 49TH INTERNATIONAL EMMY AWARDS CEREMONY took place on November 22, 2021 at Casa Cipriani in New York City, recognizing excellence in television programs produced and aired originally outside the U.S., and non-English language US primetime program between the dates of January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.

1 Special Award and 11 Emmy statues were presented by the International Academy during the evening. Top winners included:

21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards which aired from Las Vegas, Nevada and TV Movie/Mini-Series Atlantic Crossing which is being rerun in America on PBS.

As to the international Emmy Awards event, former NBA Player and NBA Champion with the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki presented the International Emmy Directorate Award to Dr. Thomas Bellut, Director General of German public broadcaster ZDF, one of Europe’s major and most renowned broadcasters.

The 11 winning International Emmy programs and performances span 8 countries: France, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, PR China, Thailand, the UK and the US. They are: Kubrick by Kubrick (Arts Programming), David Tennant (Best Performance by an Actor), Hayley Squires (Best Performance by an Actress), Call my Agent ! – Season 4 (Comedy), Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice (Documentary), Tehran (Drama Series), 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards (Non-English Language US Primetime Program), The Masked Singer (Non-Scripted Entertainment), INSiDE (Short-Form Series), The Song of Glory (Telenovela) and Atlantic Crossing (TV Movie/Mini-Series).



KIKI & HERB CELEBRATE THE SEASON the octogenarian duo serve up their legendary brand of holiday cheer in Kiki & Herb SLEIGH at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).

Created by Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman.

This holiday season, prepare yourself for sleighing belles, rabid yells, and tidings of joy from New York’s most iconic “octogenarian” lounge act, Kiki & Herb, created and performed by Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman. A match made in—depending on who you ask—a 1934 Western Pennsylvania children’s asylum, the 90s San Francisco club circuit, or the dawn of time, this relentlessly fabulous duo makes its BAM debut.

Bond and Mellman’s signature cocktail of boozy banter, pop-culture shmaltz, and claws-out cultural critique has charmed this city for more than two decades. The infamous duo make their way through a number of seasonal songs, belting Christmas classics off their long-out-of-print 2000 album Do You Hear What We Hear and slinging enough cheer to choke down even this helluva holiday season.

Kiki & Herb are the creation of Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman. Kiki is a washed-up, boozed-up chanteuse, with a voice that is a mixture of Tom Waits and Ethel Merman with a dash of Judy, whose middle age passed her by some time ago. Herb, her piano-battering, lifelong accompanist, provides support both musically and emotionally. As Kiki & Herb, Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman have dazzled audiences around the world for almost two decades with their ground-breaking, wildly popular cabaret shows.

Set design by Steven Hammel. Costume design by Marc Happel. Lighting design by Brandon Stirling Baker.

Performances through November 30—December 4, 2021.

THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER by Thornton Wilder.

Directed by Sarah Jane Scaife and Raymond Keane.

In this shapeshifting meditation on family, progress, death, and renewal we see the Bayard family experience 90 Christmas dinners over 90 years, compressed into 50 minutes of playing time.

The cast: Liam Bixby, Bryan Burroughs, Emmet Byrne, Rachael Dowling, Eoin Fullston, Fionnuala Gygax, Aisling Kearns, Fíona Lucia McGarry, Máire Ní Ghráinne, Rachel O’Bryne, Will O’Connell, Valerie O'Connor.

November 30- December 31, 2021 on the Peacock Stage of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland.

THE STREETS OF NEW YORK A Holiday Show by Dion Boucicault.

Adaptation, Songs, & Direction by Charlotte Moore.

Music Direction by Mark Hartman.

Choreography by Barry McNabb.

With Amy Bodnar, Amanda Jane Cooper, Richard Henry, David Hess, Ben Jacoby, Justin Keyes, Daniel J. Maldonado, Polly McKie, Jordan Tyson, Ryan Vona, Price Waldman, and DeLaney Westfall.

December 4, 2021 – January 30, 2022 In the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre of Irish Rep in NYC.

MORNING'S AT SEVEN a comedy by Paul Osborn.

Directed by Obie Award winner Dan Wackerman.

The comedy has returned to New York for the first time in 20 years with an all-star cast which includes Academy Award nominee and Obie Award winner Lindsay Crouse, Obie Award winner Alma Cuervo, Dan Lauria , Academy Award nominee Patty McCormack, Alley Mills, two-time Tony nominee Tony Roberts, Tony Award winner John Rubinstein, Keri Safran, and Jonathan Spivey .

The plot focuses on four aging sisters living in a small Midwestern town in 1928, and it deals with ramifications within the family when two of them begin to question their lives and decide to make some changes before it’s too late.

The scenic design is by Harry Feiner; costume design by Barbara A. Bell; lighting design by James E. Lawlor III; and sound design by Quentin Chiappetta. Casting is by McCorkle Casting, Ltd.

Playing through Sunday, December 5, 2021 off-Broadway at Theatre at St. Clement’s, in New York City.

AUTUMN ROYAL a performance on screen by Kevin Barry.

Directed by Ciarán O'Reilly.

Starring Maeve Higgins and John Keating.

May and Timothy are looking after the father who has long since taken ill to bed. Their own lives are on hold and they’re not getting any younger. Should they stay and help? Or is it time for them to move on?

This dark comedy set on the northside of Cork city is about life and death, love and hate, jealousy, rage, horror, and homicidal notions – just a normal play about a family.

Autumn Royal from the Irish Rep will be available for streaming for two weeks only from November 29 to December 12, 2021.

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

STEPHEN SONDHEIM one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, praised for having "reinvented the American musical" died November 26, 2021 at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He was 91.

Sondheim's best-known works as composer and lyricist include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), and Into the Woods (1987). He was also known for writing the lyrics for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959).

Sondheim's accolades include nine Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Tony in 2008), an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom. He also had a theatre named for him on Broadway and in the West End of London.

On September 15, 2021, while appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Sondheim announced that he was working on a new musical called Square One in collaboration with David Ives. The same day, Nathan Lane revealed that he and Bernadette Peters were involved in a reading of this new work.

His final interview took place five days before he died with The New York Times columnist Michael Paulson in which he reflected on his storied career and new ventures.

His show Company is in previews on Broadway. It's a reimagined production, opening December 9, at the Jacobs Theatr, in which the protagonist, who has traditionally been played by a man, is now played by a woman.

He is survived by his husband Jeffrey Scott Romley whom he married in 2017.

LISA BROWN three time Emmy Award nominee, known for TV roles on Guiding Light and As the World Turns as well as appearing on Broadway died November 24, 2021 after a brief illness. She was 67.

On Broadway during the 1970s she was in productions of Hello, Dolly!; Pal Joey and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. While starring on Guiding Light, Brown starred in 42nd Street on The Great White Way.

She starred as Nola Reardon on Guiding Light, playing the role from 1980 through various plots until the serial’s 2009 finale.

Paired with the late Michael Tylo’s dashing Quinton Chamberlain, the characters would become one of the iconic CBS soap opera’s most popular romantic couples. Tylo died earlier this year.

In 1985, the actress joined the cast of As The World Turns originating the role of Iva Snyder, quickly becoming a fan favorite as a character with a dark past in the Midwest town of Oakdale, Ill. She played the part from November 6, 1985 to 1994 and with several guest appearances from 1998 to 2003.

Brown was married to actor Tom Nielsen, who had once played her boyfriend Floyd Parker on Guiding Light, from 1982 to 1985. In 1997, she married Brian Neary. Her son, James Anthony Nielsen, played her infant son on Guiding Light and is now the lead singer of Senses Fail. Brown helped produce and direct their videos.

She is also survived by daughter Victoria from her first husband Tom Nielsen, two grandchildren, Penelope Ruiz-Nielsen and Brayden Hopf, and her second husband Brian Neary.and two grandchildren.

BILLY HINSCHE part of the singing group Dino, Desi & Billy and a touring musician with The Beach Boys died of lung cancer Saturday, November 20, 2021, the same day as his 95-year-old mother. He was 70.

He earned a B.F.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Theater, Film and Television in 1974. He youred with The Beach Boys as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist (often playing keyboards and rhythm guitar) from 1971 to 1977 and 1982 to 1996. Hinsche provided backing vocals on recordings for Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," Warren Zevon's "Desperados Under The Eaves," America's "Hat Trick," Joan Jett's "Good Music" and others.

Next Column: December 5, 2021
Copyright: November 28, 2021 All Rights Reserved. Reviews, Interviews, Commentary, Photographs or Graphics from any Broadway To Vegas (TM) columns may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, utilized as leads, or used in any manner without permission, compensation and/or credit.
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Laura Deni

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