Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: November 29, 2020
By: Laura Deni
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SIR ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER SPEAKS OUT ABOUT COVID-19 TRIAL AND BROADWAY

Sir Andrew lloyd Webber taking part in the vaccine trial.

Last Friday, November 27, 2020 CNBC interviewer Wilfred Frost spoke with Oxford University’s Professor Sir John Bell and legendary composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. CNBC provided Broadway To Vegas with a transcript.

The interview in part:

FROST: All of these trials rest on people volunteering to be a candidate in the, in the vaccine trial and Andrew you were one of those people. Why did you put yourself forward in the first place?

WEBBER: Well, as you probably know I've been fighting to get theaters reopened and indeed all forms of indoor and music spaces, up and down, not only just Britain, but all over America and the world based really on the information that I got very much earlier in the year, in fact January to be precise, from South Korea where live performances have continued all that time. And because I really tried to absolutely bang the drum for live entertainment, it seemed to me that the very least I could do is I don't live that very far from Oxford was to volunteer as an oldie to, to see if I could be accepted onto the trial.

FROST: And Andrew, as your industry, as you know it so well for live theater and live musical performances, how have governments, particularly the UK and the US, responded. Have they been helpful or does the future of your industry rest on science and developments like this vaccine?

WEBBER: Well, obviously, it clearly does depend a great deal on the vaccine but there have been a number of measures, a load of measures that have been applied in say Korea, and in, in Japan, for example, which have mitigated the effects of the virus enormously. And it has been frustrating because one hits the health authorities all the time. Every time you come up with something new, you know, or something you know, old that has been successfully trial in other places, there's always some reason why you can't proceed with it. And I know it's actually frustrating government actually in Britain too. However, we are where we are, and I can only report that I don't know whether I've actually had the real vaccine because of course by the nature of the experiment, I wouldn't know. But if I have, I haven't had any effects from it whatsoever other than feeling great.

FROST: Professor Sir John, whether the results suggest 90% efficacy or the 60% efficacy that we'll dive into in a moment, when is it realistic do you think that we'll be back to normal going to live theater and have herd immunity in countries like the UK and US?

BELL: Well, I think the rollout of the vaccines is likely to happen pretty quickly after, at the end of December beginning of January, and my, my expectation is the UK, which of course is a much smaller pool than the US but we should be pretty substantially vaccinated I would have thought by spring. Maybe late spring but certainly by spring, so I'm hoping we're going to get back to normal and be able to enjoy the theater, as we always did before and I'm completely with Andrew, that we need to work hard to try and get those things back in play.

SARA EISEN: As someone, Sir John, who's trying to read the vaccine results and compare them to what we've gotten from Moderna and Pfizer, can you talk a little bit about why the half dose seemed to work better and be more effective than the full dose and, and whether the age group had anything to do with it? The fact that everyone taking the half dose was below age 55 and whether those confusion questions do give regulators like the FDA and others or should give them pause to approving this vaccine?

BELL: No. So, just to repeat myself. The full data will be published in a medical journal so people can examine it. Taking snippets of data is not a helpful way to make an analysis of what's actually going on. It is absolutely true you need to compare the different populations between the different trials, but you also have to decide what you think efficacy actually is. Is efficacy stopping people getting a cough and a fever, or is it stopping people getting severe disease and being admitted to hospital because you get, you get different numbers for those things and that's important. Or importantly, because this vaccine is the only one that shown it, is it important to show that you stop a symptomatic spread, viral replication that would cause the epidemic to carry on, rather than not carry on. And so, there's a whole set of issues that you need to look at, durability, and ultimately also access to the vaccine, a vaccine that can be relatively readily deployed has advantages as well. Vaccine that lasts a long time that is obviously going to be of importance. So, I think the problem with the press release, you know, who’s, who's got the biggest one is, is actually an unhelpful way to look at the data and that's why I really welcome the regulators having a look at this carefully.

FROST: So, Professor Sir John, are you actually disappointed a little bit in how AstraZeneca, your partners, handled the press release and could you also reflect for us on why you picked them as a partner in the first place?

BELL: Yeah, so we, we’re a university, we're not, we're not a drug company, and it was clear that although we have a lot of experience in developing, discovering and developing vaccines we've never manufactured, commercialized, done the full regulatory package for vaccine. So, we needed, we did need help in terms of doing that and this was back in April we looked around quite hard to try and find a company that could actually help us. AstraZeneca had, didn't have a long reputation vaccines, as you know, they they've done a bit of work in attenuated flu, but they've got quite a strong biological experience and the great thing about this vaccine is it's really easy to make. It's like a biologic, it's like an antibody. So, they were up for helping us and we needed help and it's worked rather well. We've done really lots of things together over the last few months and they’ve lived up to all the things they said they would do for us and we're really pleased to have them as a partner.

EISEN: Do you worry about how many people are going to agree to take the vaccine? There's already such a public skepticism around how fast these vaccines are developed whether corners were being cut and to put out a press release like this that raised so many questions, do you worry that it's going to have an unintended consequence of making people even more skeptical?

BELL: Well I, there's a, there is a, there is definitely an anti-vaccine movement out there which concerns me a bit. I think we're at the beginning, beginning of the analysis of the data. You know are, that's an interim result from us, we still have at least twice as many instant cases to report, we'll report those thoroughly, we’ll report these thoroughly. The regulators can have a serious look and I think the real question is, do you, do you rely on the regulators and I have to say certainly our regulators in Europe, or Europe have proved to be highly reliable and very independent so I think the public in Europe will trust the regulators opinion and, and we will rely on them to come up with a decision.

FROST: Andrew, so Professor Sir John thinks April is viable for things to be getting back to normal. Do you think there will be huge pent up demand for, for live theater? Are you optimistic about a strong second half of 2021 and what's on the cards, do you have a new musical coming out?

WEBBER: Well, I have my Cinderella that should have opened six weeks ago, opening now in May, and I feel very, very optimistic that we will achieve those dates. I mean I've been very, very closely involved with all of the authorities here and also with talking in every week, except for this week because of Thanksgiving but to the Broadway League and monitoring what is going on, obviously, on your side of the Atlantic, and I am very, very positive but certainly as far as Britain is concerned that I think that you know after rather a bumpy probably, you know, going into January and perhaps the beginning of February, I think things will start to get a lot better. And I must say, just coming back to that point of the Professor was making about press releases, I obviously been very interested in this, for, for the reason I want you to get audiences back into the theater. I did have a look very, very carefully at what was the announcement of the other two vaccines and the press release is there, and it was very clear that that's exactly what they were. It was press releases that I don't believe and correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe that either of them have yet got to the point where the regulators have actually authorized them.

FROST: Definitely they’re at different stages, Andrew, and as you said, we need to wait for all of the full data. In the meantime, I'm also fascinated by what producers like yourself Andrew have done during COVID times and I know you've embraced social media emphatically. I also, I'm sure you saw that Disney paid a lot to have a recording of a stage show in Hamilton as opposed to needing to adapt it into a movie or a TV show, specifically for TV screens as opposed to stage. Is that, has that made you rethink what you want to do with all of your many assets and released, whether it's to Disney + or Netflix, recordings of the stage shows in future as opposed to adapting them fully to movies?

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella is a stage musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by David Zippel and a book by Emerald Fennell

WEBBER: Well we made available all of the movies and all of the recordings for television that were of all of my shows that we could free during lockdown anyway because that, that's something that’s the really least I could do. But I would stress one thing, I'm a theater animal. I'm not really a cinema animal, and I don't believe you can really, really ever, at the moment, have a substitute for the live experience of that extraordinary thing when you go to the theater and you know that that performance is just for you and the other members of the audience. I just don't think you can replicate that. So, whilst I do think that there is a, there is a great value in filming theater and it’s getting much, much better, my concentration has really been to get theater back open again. I did record the whole of the album of Cinderella at home in lockdown and with a few, now we've been able to open up a little bit in London in the last few weeks, I did actually add my cast in London and a small orchestra as well but it reminds me a little bit of Jesus Christ Superstar 50 years ago which I couldn't get on stage because nobody wanted to put it on stage and so it was recorded first, and now I've had to record Cinderella first because I can't get it on stage, the sort of irony. But, you know, the album will come out next year and if, and so that you know I haven't been idle in lockdown in fact it's been the very reverse.

EISEN: Like so many of us, true fact, Wilfred and I’s best ever double date was at a Phantom of the Opera production on Broadway. You know in New York, people miss Broadway it’s a huge business, a lot of jobs depend on it, it's not going to come back we think until summer 2021. Andrew, what is that going to look like when it does come back? Do you think there are going to be any permanent changes?

WEBBER: Well I think certainly fans will come back. I just hope the audience is well I mean there are all sorts of things that can be done. I mean, there have been trials done now, which I know the FDA have been looking at very closely of particularly one chemical but in a very small quantity and this chemical has been around for a very long time, actually since the 1940s, appears to neutralize cold and flu viruses and indeed the COVID one, but it hasn't actually been passed yet. I mean there are so many things and then something like that would be a game changer for public transport for any area where you’re in any indoor space, so I'm pretty optimistic that things will get back to normal. And I can also say that there are so many ways that career have proved that they could get back to normal, a lot quicker if they even if the vaccine hadn't been on the horizon but listen, I'm excited about the vaccine, I think we all are. And all I can say is that every time I've been to Oxford, the professionalism and the way that I've been treated, and it's not because of me as I've seen it with everybody else there, has been really, really extraordinary.

FROST: Well, Andrew I think when we, when we're all allowed to go back to that I'll definitely be seeing Cinderella. I might actually see Phantom of the Opera again for about the 20th time first as my favorite. Professor Sir John, just quick final question. Do you, can you confirm for us whether there will be another set of trials in order to get approval in the US? Or is this a sort of a binary outlook that the data that you already have will be used and either people will approve it or not?

BELL: So I don’t, so I can't give you the answer to that question. They are obviously, the folks at AstraZeneca be managing the regulatory advance in the US. And so, I can't really tell you whether they'll either need another trial or wish to do another trial so that's still an open question.
,br> FROST: Professor Sir John Bell and Andrew Lloyd Webber, a great pleasure having you both with us. Thank you very much for joining us.

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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

THE CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART has named Yorimoto Boldt, Ph.D. to a two year appointment as associate curator of American art. She is currently working as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation postdoctoral curatorial fellow at the American Philosophical Society, and will begin her tenure as associate curator of American art on January 4, 2021.

TATE has announced that all four of its galleries will reopen on December 2, 2020. People will once again be able to visit the national collection of art on display at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives, featuring hundreds of artworks from across the centuries and around the world.

Two brand new exhibitions, Zanele Muholi at Tate Modern and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye at Tate Britain, will open to the public for the first time that day.

Alongside these new exhibitions and the collection displays, visitors to Tate Britain will be able to see Turner’s Modern World, Steve McQueen’s Year 3 and Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s Winter Commission, while Tate Modern will reopen Bruce Nauman and Kara Walker’s Hyundai Commission, now extended until February 7, 2021. Don McCullin continues at Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives will reopen Haegue Yang.

As the galleries reopen, every precaution has been taken to make the experience safe and enjoyable. To ensure people can keep a safe distance from each other, all visitors, including Members, need to book a timed ticket in advance to visit the collection displays or exhibitions.

NINA KATCHADOURIAN MONUMENT TO THE UNELECTED on view through December 3, 2020.

Nina Katchadourian’s installation Monument to the Unelected takes the form of signs resembling those typically displayed on street corners during political campaigns. The 59 signs display the names of candidates who have lost an American presidential election. ICYMI: a new sign was recently installed. Don't miss it!

You can view SMoCA’s installation at 2506 N 13thSt, Phoenix, AZ 85006, in the yard of a private residence near the cross streets of Thomas Road and 12th?Street. "Our advance thanks to visiting patrons for their respect to the property, neighbors and surrounding neighborhood, and works included in the installation."

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SWEET CHARITY

DAVID LYNCH TO LAUNCH “MEDITATE AMERICA” ON DECEMBER 3 a live, virtual benefit concert featuring headliners including Graham Nash, Elvis Costello, Katy Perry, Hugh Jackman, Deborra-lee Furness. Jim James, Kesha, and Angelique Kidjo.

The free event, coined “Meditate America,” will be a celebration to raise support to bring free Transcendental Meditation (TM) training to adults and children in need, including healthcare workers on the COVID-19 frontlines, veterans battling PTSD and depression, and families living in at-risk communities. The event will also highlight “Heal the Healers Now,” a new initiative to bring TM to the medical providers who are working tirelessly to end the pandemic.

Highlights of the celebration will include:
Graham Nash singing “Our House” with a children’s choir
Elvis Costello singing “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?”
Kesha and Jim James singing the Bob Dylan classic, “I Shall Be Released”
Sting singing “One World Is Enough” with Angelique Kidjo and then “Fragile” solo
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness interviewing Katy Perry about her meditation practice
George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, and ABC Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton will host the event.

TIK TOK: ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION JOIN FORCES FOR WORLD AIDS DAY The AIDS Partnership campaign between TikTok and Elton John AIDS Foundation started November 25, with TikTok users being offered access to a quiz on HIV/AIDS education and awareness. The legendary Sir Elton will also take part in a special livestream on the app beginning at 11 a.m. PT on December 1.

Back in 2018, the Elton John AIDS Foundation launched the world’s first HIV Social Impact Bond aimed to find people who don’t know they are living with HIV and connect them to life-saving treatment and care. Through this model, over 130 new diagnoses and 120 people re-engaged with care who had dropped off treatment Lucy Wood is the Results Coordinator at Lewisham’s HIV Clinic recalled the first new diagnoses they had from this project through the department: an 85-year-old woman. Despite being seen by doctors previously, HIV was not considered a likely cause. This highlights how crucial it is to break down these misconceptions and judgements about who may or may not have HIV. To achieve the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, they have teamed up with TikTok to do just that with this new interactive quiz. If you’re on TikTok, simply head to the effects panel to take part.

IF THE FATES ALLOW: A HADESTOWN HOLIDAY ALBUM

Hades is a musical place.

If The Fates Allow: A Hadestown Holiday Album featuring the talented cast of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical Hadestown, has been released on Broadway Records.

Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown retells the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice with a Great Depression-inspired industrial post-apocalyptic setting. The show infuses themes like isolationism, exploitation of workers, and even climate change with New Orleans jazz, folk, and pop music as Orpheus goes to the underworld to rescue his fiancée Eurydice.

"Featuring the cast of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical Hadestown, "If The Fates Allow: A Hadestown Holiday Album" offers both solace and celebration as we head into a winter season like no other. Starring Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer and Kay Trinidad as "The Fates" and featuring the entire Hadestown cast, (Patrick Page, André De Shields, Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, and Amber Gray,) this album includes beloved holiday classics, songs composed by Hadestown's Anaïs Mitchell, Yvette Gonzales-Nacer, and Liam Robinson, as well as gems waiting to be rediscovered, all in a sound steeped in blues, folk, ragtime, and jazz that has made Anaïs Mitchell's groundbreaking musical a phenomenon. This 14-track album is sure to lift your spirits and keep you livin' it up this holiday season."

Absolutely.

The recording begins with the gentle Thank God It's Christmas by Brian May and Roger Taylor building to a dramatic conclusion establishing that those Fates can harmoniously sing with depth and emotion. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming evokes the same feelings.

Marvin Gayle's Purple Snowfakes is special, with vocalization which inspire visulization of the falling white stuff.

This unique Christmas album is a not to be ignored musical treat. A harmonic showcase. It's also a testament to the importance of an arrangement. Some tracts are easily recognizable - such as Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas while others such as Sleigh Ride are a high octane version - almost sounding like a new tune - with the excellent musicians taking center stage.

This is not a step back in time Christmas recording. There is nothing moody or maudlin about a missed or sad Christmas. Even the upbeat Blue Christmas with Andree De Shields delivering a traditional version will get your toes tapping.

If The Fates Allow: A Hadestown Holiday Album conjures up descriptions such as exhilarating and vibrant. Also eerie and otherworld.

However, Come Healing by Leonard Cohen and Patrick Leonard featuring Patrick Page is introspective and beautiful. So is the sensitive Someday At Christmas by Ron Miller and Bryan Wells.

This recording overflows with imagination and talent. There is even a nod to Hanukkah with the clever 8 Days of Hanukkah by The Dap Kings and Waye Gordon. This is definitely not your average Christmas album. Even the black and red rose packaging is analogous to the Broadway show.

While the musical styles won't inspire you to embrace a traditional fuzzy Christmas mood longing for hot chocolate and gingerbread, it will stoke your curiosity to see Hadestown, which will launch a National Tour. In its first year, it the tour will visit more than 30 cities coast to coast.

MUSICIANS:
Liam Robinson piano, accordion, banjo, additional percussion
Jacob Garchik trombone
Chris Tordini acoustic bass
Kyle Sanna guitar
Fung Chern Hwei violin, viola
Mariel Roberts cello
Allison Miller Drums, percussion
Todd Sickafoose additional keyboards and percussion
Cody Owen Stine organ
David Lai music coordinator.

Vocal arrangements and music direction by Liam Robinson. Most arrangements and orchestrations by Tony award winner Todd Sickafoose.

DISC: 1
1. Thank God It's Christmas
2. Sleigh Ride
3. Come Healing Featuring Tony Award Nominee Patrick Page
4. Song of the Magi Featuring Jewelle Blackman
5. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
6. Purple Snowflakes Featuring Kay Trinidad
7. Blue Christmas Featuring Tony Award Winner Andra de Shields
8. Winter Song Featuring Grammy Award Winners Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada
9. Gift for An Angel Featuring Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer
10. Someday at Christmas
11. The Longest Winter By Tony Award Nominee Amber Gray
12. 8 Days (Of Hanukkah)
13. 'Twas the Night
14. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

SPREADING THE WORD

HEDGEHOGS

Julie Gougall holding one of the rescued hedgehogs who will enrich biodiversity, rather than being used as a croquet ball. Photo: Dumfries House

are the animals who appeared in the 1951 Disney film, Alice in Wonderland, - used as croquet balls by the Queen of Hearts. For Queen Elizabeth II the three, 4-month-old rescued hedgehogs now residing at the five-acre Queen Elizabeth Walled Garden at Dumfries House will enrich biodiversity on the estate, while allowing the hedgehogs to enjoy a more natural setting.

Prince Charles, known as the Duke of Rothesay while in Scotland, and his wife Camilla, are technically the pet parents.

Having been nursed back to a healthy weight by volunteers at Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue centre, Hedgehog Educational Gardener Julie Dougall hopes that local school children will help her pick names for the new additions.

Hedgehogs are in decline in the UK, with wildlife trusts reporting half the numbers across the country compared to the 1950s.

“Although the hedgehogs will be free to roam the walled garden at their leisure, one of our dedicated volunteers has made two bijou houses for them to use for shelter and hibernation,” Dougall posted, referring to a local Prince’s Foundation volunteer, Tom Anderson, who upcycled timber found on the estate.

Dougall continued: “I just think it's great to get as much wildlife into the estate as we can, and we became aware that Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue, a brilliant Ayrshire charity, were looking to rehome some hedgehogs. We welcomed one male and two female hedgehogs earlier this month, and I'm sure they'll be great for the education of children we typically have here on the estate, particularly when they're learning about the food cycle.

“We're trying to bring a biodiversity of wildlife back into the estate. If the hedgehogs breed, great. The more, the better! It would be excellent for the species and for the estate. The education garden is organic and they're basically a pesticide that doesn't harm the soil, taking care of bugs, slugs, and snails.”

THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS MUSICAL stage production, filmed in London airs as a two hour special December 9, 2020 on NBC.

GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST TROLLEY RIDES is popular annual event staged by the East Lynne Theater Company in West Cape May, NJ.

The eerie tale of The Twelfth Guest by Mary Wilkins Freeman, in which a strange young woman appears suddenly for Christmas dinner, and stays awhile is one of two that are performed on the Ghosts of Christmas Past Trolley Rides. The other ghostly story is Old Applejoy's Ghost by Frank R. Stockton, in which a jolly spirit convinces his grand-niece to persuade her uncle to celebrate Christmas in the mansion the way in which it used to be celebrated. The stories were adapted for storytelling by ELTC's artistic director Gayle Stahlhuth.

These classic American ghost tales are memorized, not read - told by costumed storyteller Susan Tischer in a dark trolley, while the twinkling lights of the beautifully decorated homes and streets are seen through the windows. This popular pastime has been running since 2007. Due to the pandemic, fewer people will be on the trolleys, windows will be open, and guests are asked to wear masks.

The "spirited" thirty-minute rides run weekends through December 28.

PILGRIMAGE PAST AND PRESENT presented by the Museum of London on Monday, December 7, has curator Meriel Jeater commemorating the anniversary of the death of Thomas Becket with a livestreamed panel discussion exploring pilgrims and pilgrimage, both historically and in the modern day.

Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder on December 29, 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. Becket is featured in numerous plays including the historically inaccurate Becket or The Honour of God , a 1959 play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England.

The first Broadway production premiered on5 October 5, 1960 at the St. James Theatre. It was produced by David Merrick and directed by Peter Glenville, and starred Laurence Olivier as Thomas Becket and Anthony Quinn as King Henry II. The production was nominated for five Tony Awards and won four, including Best Play. The play later transferred to the Royale Theatre and then to the Hudson Theatre.

In 1884, England's poet laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote Becket, a play about Thomas Becket and Henry II. Henry Irving produced the play after Tennyson's death, and was celebrated in the title role.

Modern works based on the story of Thomas Becket include T. S. Eliot's play Murder in the Cathedral (subsequently adapted as the opera Assassinio nella cattedrale by Ildebrando Pizzetti), Jean Anouilh's play Becket (where Becket is no longer a Norman but a Saxon), which was made into a movie with the same title, and Paul Webb's play Four Nights in Knaresborough. Webb has adapted his play for the screen and sold the rights to Harvey and Bob Weinstein.

The struggle between Church's and King's power is a theme of Ken Follett's novel The Pillars of the Earth, of which one of the last scenes features the murder of Thomas Becket. Medieval mystery author Jeri Westerson recreated Chaucer's pilgrims and their time in Canterbury, along with murder and the theft of Becket's bones in her fourth novel in the Crispin Guest series Troubled Bones. An oratorio by David Reeves entitled Becket (The Kiss of Peace) premiered in 2000 at the Canterbury Cathedral, where the actual event took place, as a part of the Canterbury Festival and was used as a fundraiser for the Prince's Trust.

PAUL GIAMATTI brings Herman Melville’s classic short story, Bartleby, the Scrivener, to life in a new audio recording released by the 92nd Street Y Unterberg Poetry Center.

Published in 1853, Bartleby, the Scrivener tells the story of a quiet, hardworking legal copyist who works in an office in the Wall Street area of New York City. One day Bartleby declines the assignment his employer gives him with the inscrutable "I would prefer not." The utterance of this remark sets off a confounding set of actions and behavior, making the unsettling character of Bartleby one of Melville's most enigmatic and unforgettable creations.

Said Emmy award winning actor Giamatti: “It’s one of my favorite short stories by one of my favorite writers, so I was particularly gratified to be able to read it out loud. I’ve always wanted to.” He added: “It’s a wonderful story – a very strange but sad story – but also funny, I think it’s very funny.”

The recording was commissioned and produced by the Poetry Center; Giamatti recorded it while sheltering in place last summer. The actor will discuss the story and Melville in a December 3, 7 pm virtual talk with Melville biographer and Columbia University American Studies professor Andrew Delbanco.

THE LONDON THEATRE ORCHESTRA brighten up this festive season with the brand-new musical staged concert of A Christmas Carol at the Dominion Theatre, bringing to life Dickens' classic festive fable with a sparkling Broadway score.

Jacqueline Jossa and Matt Jay-Willis will join Brian Conley in the all-star cast, alongside Lucie Jones, Sandra Marvin and Cedric Neal.

With sensational music from London Musical Theatre Orchestra, soaring melodies by Alan Menken, moving lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and the most famous of all Christmas stories, this is the 2020 event that will unite friends, families and loved ones with the magic of live entertainment.

Don't miss this limited socially distanced season from December 7, 2020 to January 2, 2021.

SIDNEY MEYER Join the Conversation with the quintessential example of New York Cabaret, Sidney Myer. He has been a Cabaret Booking Manager for almost four decades at iconic clubs like Don’t Tell Mama, Rose’s Turn and Panache. Artists he has presented have gone on to careers on Broadway, Television, Motion Pictures; become the Star Search $100,000 Grand Prize Winner, the highest jackpot winner in Lotto history, receive multiple Emmys, Grammys, Tonys, Oscars and a Pulitzer Prize.

Monday, December 7, 2020 on line 6-7:30 pm ET, presented by 92Y in New York City.

DARLENE LOVE'S LOVE FOR THE HOLIDAYS at Sony Hall streams Saturday, December 5 at 8PM EDT or Watch On Demand for 48 Hours.

Rolling Stone Magazine has proclaimed Darlene Love to be "one of the greatest singers of all time" and that certainly rings true, but perhaps Paul Shaffer says it even more concisely: "Darlene Love is Rock N' Roll!" – which was made official when she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Bette Midler, a great fan of her work, in 2011. Through the years, Darlene Love continues to captivate audiences worldwide with her warm, gracious stage presence and superb performances.

To continue this long standing tradition, Darlene performs a number of special Christmas shows every year and continues to enchant her fans with Christmas spirit.

BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY In-Person or Livestream Holiday Swingin’ Party Wednesday, December 2, 7:30 p.m. at the Virginia G. Piper Theater in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Put a swing in your holiday season when Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s holiday concert comes to Scottsdale, Arizona. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, together for over 25 years, — famously named after an autograph by blues legend Albert Collins - continues its decades-long mission to celebrate and revitalize jazz and swing music - America’s original musical art form - and bring joy to audiences around the world.

LILEANA BLAIN-CRUZ IN CONVERSATION: ON DIRECTING AT LINCOLN CENTER THEATER (LCT) with Lileana Blain-Cruz in Conversation: On Directing at LCT. This free event will feature newly appointed Resident Director in conversation with fellow director Saheem Ali, who directed the LCT production of The Rolling Stone. The event will be moderated by emerging director Machel Ross (assistant director of the LCT3 production of Marys Seacole).

Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 7PM EST

BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY (BSC) the award-winning theatre in Pittsfield, MA. in the heart of the Berkshires, and under the leadership of Founder/Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, will present a free virtual reading of The Supadupa Kid 2: Move, the action/superhero book by Pittsfield-based author Ty Allan Jackson. The reading will feature a cast of local youth and parents from the Berkshires and NY State Capital Region. Boyd will direct the reading, which will begin streaming free on December 3, 2020.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

GRASPING THE FUTURE Steppenwolf NOW is a new virtual programming stream "featuring breakthrough stories written by America’s most talented voices, spotlighting the nation’s premier ensemble theatre."

The venerable Chicago theatre is offering virtual memberships for streaming from anywhere in the world.

Steppenwolf says: "This holiday season, treat yourself or someone special to six damn good stories".

What Is Left, Burns - the first production you get with a virtual membership - is streaming now and available to watch anytime through the end of August. Up next Wally World, a two- act radio play set in a superstore on Christmas Eve begins streaming December 16.

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GRAMMY NOMINEES FOR BEST MUSICAL THEATER ALBUM are:

Amélie (Original London Cast Recording)
Principal soloists: Audrey Brisson, Chris Jared, Caolan McCarthy, and Jez Unwin
Producers: Michael Fentiman, Sean Patrick Flahaven, Barnaby Race, and Nathan Tysen
Lyricist: Nathan Tysen
Composer-lyricist: Daniel Messe

American Utopia (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Principal soloist and producer: David Byrne

Jagged little Pill (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Principal soloists: Kathryn Gallagher, Celia Rose Gooding, Lauren Patten, and Elizabeth Stanley
Producers: Neal Avron, Pete Ganbarg, Tom Kitt, Michael Parker, Craig Rosen, and Vivek J. Tiwary
(Songwriters Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard are not considered part of the nomination, as less than 51 percent of the album features new music; the rest comes from their pre-existing catalog.)

Little Shop of Horrors (New Off-Broadway Cast Recording)
Principal soloists: Tammy Blanchard, Jonathan Groff, and Tom Alan Robbins
Producers: Will Van Dyke, Michael Mayer, Alan Menken, and Frank Wolf

The Prince of Egypt (Original London Cast Recording)
Principal soloists: Christine Allado, Luke Brady, Alexia Khadime, and Liam Tamne
Producers: Dominick Amendum and Stephen Schwartz
Composer-lyricist: Stephen Schwartz

Soft Power (Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording)
Principal soloists: Francis Jue, Austin Ku, Alyse Alan Louis, and Conrad Ricamora
Producer: Matt Stine
Lyricist: David Henry Hwang
Composer-lyricist: Jeanine Tesori

The 63rd annual ceremony will take place January 31, with The Daily Show host Trevor Noah emceeing the primetime broadcast for CBS.

SHAWAB IQBAL is the new Executive Director and Joint CEO of the Gate in London.

Shawab will start in January and is succeeding Lise Bell who leaves the company to start a new role as Executive Director of The Director's Theatre Writer's Theatre.

Shawab is currently Executive Director at Eclipse Theatre. He is also a London area Council Member for Arts Council England and a Senior Artistic Associate at the Bush Theatre.

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

HAL KETCHUM a 17-time Billboard chart topper died Monday evening, November 23, 2020 from complications of dementia. He was 67.

He released 11 studio albums since 1986, including nine for divisions of Curb Records.

He was a member of Nashville's famed Grand Ole Opry.

In June 1998, Ketchum was diagnosed with a neurological disorder called acute transverse myelitis, an ailment of the spinal column, which left Ketchum without the use of the left side of his body. He had to relearn basic tasks, including how to walk and play the guitar.

Ketchum was also a painter and his work has been shown in Santa Fe, New Mexico's Pena Gallery, where he had an art-show opening in 2002. He was also a master carpenter and enjoyed making toys.

On April 14, 2019, Ketchum's third wife, Andrea, announced on his Facebook page that early-onset senile dementia including Alzheimer's disease had progressed to the point that he could no longer perform.

Next Column: December 6, 2020
Copyright: November 29, 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

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