Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: October 3, 2021
By: Laura Deni
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RAPUNZEL ALONE IS ENCHANTING

A fully-produced, stand-alone audio theater recording of Rapunzel Alone by Olivier Award-winning playwright Mike Kenny has been released in advance of the world premiere production that will be presented live-in-performance next spring.

Commissioned by 24th Street Theatre, Rapunzel Alone is "a sophisticated reimagining of the classic fairy tale that is geared for adults and children alike."

It’s 1944 and bombs are falling in London. With her mum and dad on the front line, Lettie is evacuated to the country, where she finds refuge on Miss Pearce’s farm. But at what price? Is finding safety for a 12-year-old, mixed-race city girl in a rural, homogeneous community akin to isolating her in a tower?

“When Mike and I first envisioned the play, we wanted to address the increasing isolation felt by young people as a result of social media,” says 24th Street Theatre artistic director Debbie Devine. “Then the pandemic hit, and the whole world fell into loneliness and isolation. Our message is how the consoling power of connection heals the agony of isolation.”

The audio recording features the voices of Rayna Campbell as Miss Pearce, Brian Inerfeld as Conrad, Jay McAdams and Feyisola Soetan as Lettie and is narrated, irresistibly, by the playwright himself. It is co-directed by 24th Street Theatre artistic director Debbie Devine and Jesús Castaños Chima, who will also co-direct the on-stage productions in 2022. Original music is composed by Bradley Brough. Excellent audio production, sound design and Foley are by multiple award-winning audio producer Jeff Gardner. The production was recorded in New York, London, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

As the play opens Lettie's mother is writing a letter to whomever will be caring for Lettie, explaining her daughter's likes and dislikes."I'm sure they will love you. This will tell them all about you - what you like to eat," she tells her daughter. War is raging. Bombs are falling and Lettie's parents are desperate to keep their daughter safe. She is being sent to a farm in Jamacia.

Lettie is met by the farm owner Miss Pearce - a no nonsense woman who has an interesting philosophy of life - she doesn't believe people should travel with a suitcase heavier than they can carry - since that implies that they feel the world should help - assuming at least partial responsibility for them.

In addition to a heavy suitcase, it is discovered that Lettie has brought head lice with her. Miss Pierce is forced to cut Lettie's long hair.

Lettie who misses her London flat, bedroom and parents, admits that she is lonely. Farm work is hard and the sun isn't even up. Gertrude the Goose appears annoyed that Lettie is invading her territory and Lettie isn't too fond of Gertrude, either. Lettie isn't pleased that Miss Pearce has given Lettie's hair to Gertrude to help with her nest building. Soon eggs appear. Then three little goslings are hatched as crows circle, ready to have them for breakfast.

All events in this production are metaphors constructed in a way that are understandable for children, yet not boring to adults opening up an opportunity for discussion about wide ranging social issues.

Mailboy Conrad, who taunts Lettie, has an edge. His father is away at war and although a boy himself, he's the man of the family, delivering the mail which was once his father's occupation. He thinks Miss Pearce is a witch and says so, telling Lettie that Miss Pearce has put a spell on her.

He has trouble explaining his feelings - the goodies versus the baddies without being able to offer a reason except "because they are the baddies."

War is cruel. Life in general is cruel. An official army letter arrives for Conrad's mother.

Miss Pearce admits that most of the children in the village call her a witch. She explains that if you are a woman, living alone, who doesn't make friends easily, people will make up all kinds of lies. Small lives, small minds and big mouths. Calling people names because they don't look like you. "Nature," she says, "doesn't have an opinion." She explains to Lettie that on their own they are a curiosity - together they are a force.

Miss Peace tries to teach Lettie to read and write so she can correspond with her parents in England who write to her as well as sending money. Miss Pearce also attempts to emotionally empower Lettie to stay strong and resourceful.

She also cautions her not to talk to strangers.

It isn't until the end that Miss Pearce divulges how the story of Rapunzel related to her.

Each of the characters in this play are trapped within their own tower.

Sometimes you can help others escape their entrapment. Sometimes you can help yourself. Other times the best you can hope for is learning to cope with what you have.

While the production has excellent publicity in play, unfortunately, there can be an accidental conflict between play content and advertising. There is a possibility that this will send out mixed messages.

That the play is set in Britain during world War II is incidental. A play needs a setting and WWII is as good as any, but it shouldn't be the focal point in advertising. In fact, those who remember WWII are either ultra old or dead, so there is a concern that some might view the production and come away with the wrong perspective - wanting to discuss WWII.

What this play should encourage people to think about and discuss are universal problems; loneliness, being bullied, being lied about, isolation, heartache, struggle, taking on too many responsibilities and looking out for others.

The play does that. The advertising does not.

An interesting, well crafted modern interpretation of a well known, 1812 fairy tale, Rapunzel, by the Brothers Grimm which was an aadaptation of the 1790 Schulz version.

A supplemental art project created by local Los Angeles high school student Leah Abazari under the mentorship of Emmy nominated designer Matthew G. Hill will be available to download alongside the play. Lettie's Journal, a hauntingly beautiful visual record of the character’s experiences — from waving goodbye to her mum at the train station, to her isolation and loneliness on the farm — can be viewed before, during or after hearing the play in order to deepen the listening experience. “We are very pleased to be sharing such a beautiful audio recording as a wonderful preview of the live performance here at The Wallis next year,” says Wallis artistic director Paul Crewes. “This project and its approach to the retelling of this classic story are as impressive as the people involved in creating it.”

The live performances, presented by 24th Street Theatre in association with the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, will take place March 12 through March 19, 2022 at The Wallis, followed by a six-week run, March 26 through May 1, at 24th Street.

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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

POUSSIN AND THE DANCE

NG62, Nicolas Poussin, A Bacchanalian Revel before a Term, 1632–3 © The National Gallery, London

opens October 9, 2021 at The National Gallery in London. Get ready to lose yourself in a mythical world of gods and mortals, revelry and drama.

In this exhibition, around twenty paintings and drawings from public and private collections around the world will be shown for the first time alongside some of the celebrated Classical antiquities that inspired them. These works are being seen together for the first time in a generation and will allow visitors to trace Poussin’s influences and the sophisticated translations he made between marble, paint and paper. The exhibition focuses on Poussin’s early Roman career, from his arrival in the city in 1624 until about 1640 when he was called back to France to serve as First Painter to the King under Louis XIII.

A landmark exhibition of works by Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) – the first ever to focus on his pictures of dancers and revelers.

Nicolas Poussin is an artist’s artist. For centuries, his works have been hugely influential, inspiring artists as diverse as David and Cézanne, Picasso and Bacon. Yet Poussin is sometimes overlooked by the public who often find his paintings cold, difficult or overly erudite. Art historians have tended to characterize him as a philosopher, rather than a painter, and his pictures are rarely presented in a warm or approachable way. Poussin and the Dance intends to challenge this perception, exploring a part of the artist’s production that has never been examined before: his depictions of dance.

Poussin and the Dance will include wild, raucous and surprisingly joyous scenes, showing whirling, cavorting figures who are either half-naked or too drunk to hold themselves up. It will cast the French classical artist in a completely new light, showing how he grappled with the challenges of arresting movement and capturing the expressive potential of the body.

When choreographing his compositions, he created wax figurines which he arranged in a kind of model theatre (or ‘grande machine’). Key to bringing Poussin and his working methods to life in the exhibition will be not only the juxtaposition of antiquities, drawings and paintings, but also a reconstruction of some of these wax figurines. This exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to rediscover Poussin in a fresh, new, exciting light, to appreciate the paradox between his diligent working process and the joyful, carefree scenes he created, as well as the ingenious solutions he found to bring the dances and riotous movement of the ancient world to life. Exhibition organized by the National Gallery, London and the Getty Museum, Los Angeles. On display until January 2, 2022.

STANLEY DONWOOD is the artist responsible for Radiohead’s mysterious album covers — all those strange, digitally manipulated images that speak of modern alienation. Donwoood's decades-long creative collaboration with Radiohead has been truly extraordinary. Between 1999 and 2001, the artist created paintings in response to the albums Kid A and Amnesiac, six of which are now being offered for sale at Christie’s.

In October six of Donwood’s canvases — created during the recording of Kid A and soon after — are offered in First Open: Post War and Contemporary Art Online, part of the 20th/21st Century auction series in London. Among them are the desolate, snow-covered Residential Nemesis (1999) and Hole (2001). Lyrical yet menacing, with sinister skies, the paintings suggest nature fighting back against an oppressive force.

The works will be exhibited at Christie’s in London, October 9-15, together with drawings, lyrics and digital art by Donwood and Yorke. The artist’s gallerist, James Elwes, describes the paintings as ‘pieces of history with an evocative soundtrack’.

MIMI O CHUN: IT'S ALL CAKE On view through Jan. 23, 2022 at SMoCA in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Experience New York-based artist Mimi O Chun’s first solo museum exhibition at SMoCA, presenting all-new soft sculptures produced over the past year and a half—a time marked by the global COVID-19 pandemic, a polarized political climate, and a civil uprising for racial justice. Chun explains that “these cultural, political, and economic winds formed a perfect storm that have exposed and exacerbated the structural inequities of a late capitalist economy.” Reflect and reexamine the reality of our time with Chun's soft sculptures that reckon with the illusions influenced by popular culture and consumerism.

This exhibition is part of the series Project Space - an initiative that supports emerging and established artists in expanding their practice. Organized by Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) and curated by Lauren R. O’Connell, curator of contemporary art.

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SWEET CHARITY

OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH and Fashion & Wellness Brands are supporting the Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

According to the National Breast Cancer Coalition, in 2021 there will be an estimated 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in women and 2,650 cases diagnosed in men. The month of October is a time to campaign and raise awareness for the disease in order to promote early screening, testing, and to raise funds for prevention, treatment and cure. Here are some brands helping to support this great cause.

Some of the brands supporting the initiative are:

Sustainable loungewear brand, Hue Division, is donating proceeds from sales of all pink products including hoodies, sweatpants, and t-shirts, during the month of October to the Young Survival Coalition (YSC). YSC is a charity whose mission is to strengthen the community, address the unique needs, amplify the voice and improve the quality of life of young adults affected by breast cancer, locally, nationally and internationally. Every stitch from Hue Division is imbued¯with the bright, vivid colors and spirit of city life. The sustainable loungewear collection uses high quality production, eco-friendly manufacturing, and is made and packaged with ZERO plastic. It's perfect for those looking for a luxurious leisure experience without sacrificing our planet.

Premium CBD brand Sky Wellness will be donating proceeds from sales during the month of October to the Coalition of Blacks Against Breast Cancer a nonprofit whose mission is to provide high quality information and support to Black breast cancer patients within the Phoenix metropolitan area, and to educate the Black community about breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, and screening - and also to Bosom Buddies of Arizona - an organization founded to increase awareness of breast cancer by prevention, early detection and to provide support to women and men diagnosed with breast cancer, and their families. Sky Wellness is a line of affordable, premium THC Free, Hemp-derived CBD products that are designed to elevate health, enhance well-being and make life feel better. Available online and at 1,300 Convenience & specialty retail locations nationwide.

Remo Tulliani is running a buy-one-get-one free promo on their Dakota Navy Pink, Grace, Harmony, and Brave socks with the promo code HOPE. The Remo Tulliani philosophy is to take something familiar and make it new to make it better. Better means materials that are superior for their feel and performance. Better means designed for style, not just to be trendy. Better means priced lower than the pricey luxury brands while beating them on quality. The collection includes socks.

Custom Silk artist and designer Rory Worby is donating one of her unique scarves to the Breast Cancer Alliance auction for their Gala next month. All her designs are a one-of-a-kind work of art continually inspired by nature. The collection uses environmentally friendly dyes, non-toxic water based resist, and natural sea salt hand-painted with Japanese sumi brushes. The result is astonishing wearable art and home accessories.

PUMPKIN CHAMPIONSHIP WEIGH OFF

The excitement is building in Pumpkintown as the World’s Greatest Gourd Growers and their mind-blowing, Volkswagen-sized orange orbs hope to squash the world record on Monday, October 11 at the 48th Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off — the “Super Bowl of Weigh-Offs” — in the World Pumpkin Capital of Half Moon Bay, California and and this year organizers, in association with title sponsor Safeway, are upping the ante big time to celebrate the world’s greatest gourd growers. The world’s biggest top prize has been increased to $9/pound (from $7/pound) for the 2021 weigh-off champion. Also at stake are thousands of dollars in super hefty prize money doled out to the top 20 plus the big carrot: a $30,000 total mega-prize for a new world record pumpkin entered at Half Moon Bay.

Defending champion Travis Gienger's rhinoceros-sized 2,350-pound mega-gourd (he named it The Tiger King) handily won the 2020 Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off as the heaviest pumpkin weighed in North America in 2020.

Before you start licking your lips at the thought of a ginormous pie - pumpkins idea for pies will generally will be between 4 to 10 pounds, and be far smaller than pumpkins preferred for carving. Large pumpkins are bad for pies. The larger a pumpkin is, the more the flavor is spread out over more flesh, weakening the flavor.

Never-the-less, if last year's winner was turned into pies, it would make between 235 to 587.5 pies. If turned into a jack-o-lantern it would terrify the entire neighborhood.

Beauty also matters in this contest. A special $1,000 prize will be awarded to the "Joe Cotchett Family Most Beautiful Pumpkin".

Additional special bonus prizes include: Biggest California Pumpkin — $1,000; Biggest Coastside Pumpkin — $1,000.

Using forklifts and special harnesses, the gargantuan gourds will be carefully placed on a 5-ton capacity, industrial-strength digital scale under the watchful eye of officials from the San Mateo County Agricultural Commissioner's Office of Weights, Sealers, and Measures. Half Moon Bay’s Weigh-Off will serve as an officially sanctioned Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC) site.

OFFICIAL RULES:
• This event is open to growers of giant competition-sized pumpkins only.
• Pumpkins must be grown, cared for, and entered by the weigh-off contestant.
• Each contestant is limited to one entry.
• Pumpkins that have won prizes in any other weigh-off competitions are not eligible.
• In the event of a tie, prize money will be distributed equally among the tied parties.
• Decisions of the judges are final in all cases.
•Pumpkins must be in healthy and undamaged condition, free of rot, holes and cracks through the cavity, chemical residue, and soft spots.
•To be classified as pumpkin, specimen must be 75% yellow/orange in color; all others will be classified as squash.
•The vine must be trimmed to one inch from the stem. No foreign material is permitted in the weighing.
•All pumpkins will be weighed without the use of tarps or other carrying devices.
•Pumpkins will be classified by division based on where the specimen is grown, not the residence of the grower.
•The weigh-off will be conducted in accordance with GPC rules.

PRIZE MONEY:
1st Place — $9 per pound
2nd Place — $3,000
3rd Place — $2,500
4th Place — $2,000
5th–10th Place — $1,000 each
11th–20th Place — $200 each

SPECIAL PRIZES:
World Record Pumpkin — $30,000 (total)
Biggest California Pumpkin — $1,000
Biggest Coastside Pumpkin (Montara to Pescadero) — $1,000
Most Beautiful Pumpkin — $1,000
Special GPC plaques and ribbons will also be awarded.

SPREADING THE WORD

DAVID LEE ROTH who celebrates his 67 birthday on October 10, has announced that when he performs at the House of Blues in Las Vegas in January that will be his swan song. The performer is retiring.

He was the lead singer of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again from 2006 to their disbandment in 2020.

BILL LOCKWOOD will step down as the Director of Special Programming at McCarter Performing Arts Center in Princeton, New Jersey at the end of June 2022. He will continue to work with the organization in a consulting capacity. William W. Lockwood, Jr. has been responsible for McCarter’s special programs for more than half a century and is currently the senior arts presenter in the United States in terms of continuous service including positions at New York’s Lincoln Center, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

Known as a "Classic Impresario," Lockwood's association with McCarter goes back almost 60 years when he produced his first events while a Princeton undergraduate. Since 1963, he has brought thousands of celebrated world-class artists and burgeoning talent to McCarter’s stages across classical music, jazz, pop, dance, family, cabaret, authors, and film.

McCarter was the winner of the 1994 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre.

JOHN TESH pianist, composer and Emmy Award-winning radio and TV host will bring his acclaimed concert production, Songs And Stories From The Grand Piano, to The Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA on October 8, 2021.

The performance features John performing some of his favorite compositions with a full band, with an appearance by his son Gib Gerard. Throughout the show, John reminisces about his life and 25-year career through music, photos and hilarious anecdotes. He reveals how he got his first job in radio, the enduring impact of his NBA theme song, Roundball Rock, the story behind that infamous Red Rocks Live performance in the driving rain, and also how he overcame his recent battle with cancer.

RANDY RAINBOW the hilarious comedian and satirist performs October 7 at The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, IN. On Friday and Saturday the audiences will be laughing at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC.

SUTTON FOSTER IN CONVERSATION: HOOKED: HOW CRAFTING SAVED MY LIFE at 92 Y in New York City takes place in person and on line Wednesday, October 13, 2021.

Sutton Foster, two-time Tony Award winner and star of the hit television series Younger, take part in an up-close and personal talk about her career and new book Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life. Equal parts memoir and crafting book, Hooked is the answer to the question: How does the talented Foster make everything she does look so easy? An avid crafter from her early performing days when she picked up a cross stitch needle to escape bullying chorus girls, Foster found that crafting kept her centered. She talks about it all, along with her reflections on her fraught relationship with her agoraphobic mother, a painful divorce, her struggle with infertility, the joy of adopting her daughter, the thrill she experiences when performing, and her return to Broadway early next year in the eagerly awaited revival of The Music Man with Hugh Jackman.

DANIEL CRAIG will return to Broadway next spring in the starring role of Shapeareare's Macbeth, with Oscar nominee Ruth Negga in the role Ldy Macbeth. The all new, star studded cast will appear in the strictly limited production to be directed by Tony award winner Sam Gold. The 15 week run will begin performances on March 29, 2022 at the Lyceum Theatre.

Craig, 53, last starred on Broadway in the 2013 production of Harold Pinter's Betrayal.

He made his Broadway debut in 2009's A Steady Rain.

WATCH CONSTELLATIONS ON LINE Due to popular demand all four casts of Michael Longhurst's critically acclaimed revival of Nick Payne's Constellations will be available to watch online October 2021.

One of the first productions to open post lockdown, Constellations has been a smash-hit success, seen by over 60,000 people. After breaking box office records at the Vaudeville Theatre in London, the company announced that all four casts' performances will be available to watch on demand worldwide, marking the first time they have streamed our work on our own dedicated platform.

In an innovative producing model, devised in response to the pandemic, Michael Longhurst's production featured four different casts, each refracting the play afresh: Sheila Atim & Ivanno Jeremiah, Peter Capaldi & Zoë Wanamaker, Omari Douglas & Russell Tovey, and Anna Maxwell Martin & Chris O’Dowd. Following the final performance they welcomed all of them back to the Vaudeville Stage (minus Ivanno Jeremiah), along with understudies Shyvonne Ammad & Adam Samuel Bal.

Michael Longhurst said: "It has been a privilege to be the first live performance for so many after such a hiatus - and to be a vital part of reanimating the West End. A production model born of practicality has brought artistic joys - mining the possibilities inherent in the multiverse, celebrating different identities and diversifying the offer to audiences. Constellations is a love story that transcends time and space - so I am thrilled that after capturing these astonishing performances in close-up, all four interpretations of Nick’s beautiful play will now be accessible to a global audience digitally – as well as free for schools in the UK."

Constellations will be available to rent in October. Households will be able to watch the show for 24 hours after purchase; or choose the multi buy of all 4, with extended viewing time. Captioned and audio described versions will be available, in partnership with VocalEyes and Stagetext.

TRACY LETTS playwright, actor and Steppenwolf Theater member has created three short online pieces. Three Short Plays By Tracy Letts is now streaming.

“These plays share at least one thread: a world off-kilter. But since I wrote these pieces, the actual world has undergone some hair-raising transformations, which have cast mysterious new light on these plays. They feel very much like stories for 2021.” – Ensemble member Tracy Letts.

From on-location filming with Rainn Wilson to handmade 3D puppets brought to life, these are Tracy Letts plays like you’ve never seen them before. We are excited to share these gripping pieces by a Tony & Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright directly to your home.

About The Plays

Night Safari
A monologue filmed in a studio location written by ensemble member Tracy Letts. Directed by Patrick Zakem. Featuring Rainn Wilson.Run time: 13:40 minutes

The nocturnal habits of the Panamanian Night Monkey, the life cycle of the Paradoxical Frog, and the mating rituals of middle-aged male homo sapiens. This wry monologue poses the question: are we so distant from the whims of our biology? Enjoy your tour, and please remember—do not feed the animals.

Director of Photography Robert Benavides - Editor Allen Cordell - Sound Design Sarah D. Espinoza - Artistic Producer Leelai Demoz - Production Manager Elise Hausken Casting Director J.C. Clementz, CSA - Production Stage Manager Laura D. Glenn.

The Old Country
A filmed vignette, inhabited by puppets written by ensemble member Tracy Letts, Directed by Patrick Zakem. Featuring ensemble members William Petersen and Karen Rodriguez with Mike Nussbaum. Run time: 9:21 minutes.

Two men in a diner drain the last drops of their coffees and think about ordering dessert. In the denouement of their (physical, intellectual, and sexual) lives, they wax nostalgic and try to communicate across a wide divide.

Puppet and Production Designer Grace Needlman - Director of Photography Christopher Rejano - Editor Allen Cordell - Sound Designer & Original Music Pornchanok Kanchanabanca - Artistic Producer Leelai Demoz - Production Manager Elise Hausken - Casting Director J.C. Clementz, CSA - Production Stage Manager Laura D. Glenn - Puppeteer (Landy) Felix Mayes - Puppeteer (Ted) Mike Oleon - Assistant Puppeteers Grace Needlman & Sarah Hahm.

The Stretch
A monologue filmed in a studio location written by ensemble member Tracy Letts. Directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro. Featuring ensemble member Tracy Letts. Run time: 15:55 minutes.

And they’re off, for the 108th running of the El Dorado Stakes! But this race is long-distance... and maybe not what it first seems…

Director of Photography Camrin Petramale - Editor & Sound Designer Allen Cordell - Artistic Producer Leelai Demoz - Production Manager Elise Hausken - Casting Director J.C. Clementz, CSA - Production Stage Manager Laura D. Glenn.

Director of Photography Camrin Petramale - Editor & Sound Designer Allen Cordell - Artistic Producer Leelai Demoz - Production Manager Elise Hausken - Casting Director J.C. Clementz, CSA - Production Stage Manager Laura D. Glenn.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

FIELD OF DREAMS MOVIE SITE

Field Of Dreams Movie. Photo: IMDB

in Dyersville, Iowa has been sold to Gp the Distance Baseball, LLC headed by Hall of Famer Frank Thomas. In a news release, Go the Distance Baseball said terms of the sale were not being made public.

“Thomas will serve as chief executive officer and Dan Evans will serve as chief operating officer. Evans, a former general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has previously served as a consultant to Go the Distance Baseball," the company said in the news release.

Earlier this month, the Field of Dreams won a national award. The Major League Baseball Stadium in Dyersville was named “Ballpark of the Year” by BaseballParks.com. Thomas and his group will participate in everything Field of Dreams-related. That includes continued talks on future MLB games beyond 2022, while also advancing the longstanding plan of adding youth baseball and softball fields adjacent to the movie site.

The popularity of the site convinced MLB to construct a specially built park beside the movie diamond, where the first Major League Baseball game played in Iowa - Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees - took place on August 12, 2021 in front of 8,000 fans.

Broadcast by FOX Sports, it was the most-watched regular season baseball game in 16 years, with 5.9 million viewers.

The night began theatrically with the movie's star Kevin Costner, followed by the ballplayers, emerged from the corn field to walk on the new diamond.

The 1989 sports fantasy film is about an Iowa farmer who plows over his corn and builds a baseball field for Joe Jackson and other members of the banished 1919 White Sox to play on. Especially during the summer, a steady stream of vehicles arrives most days to unload baseball and movie fans of all ages who run the bases, and stage their own quick games.

Attracting all ages to Dyersville was central to Denise Stillman’s vision for the site before the former Go the Distance owner passed away from liver cancer in 2018.

Iowa's most famous baseball field, the iconic Field of Dreams Movie Site has announced that a second game - this one between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs will take place August 11, 2022.

RESEARCH GRANTS AWARDED The Princeton University Art Museum has just awarded this year’s Minor White research grants. The recipients are Jon Davies, a Canadian curator, writer, and PhD candidate in art history at Stanford University; and Gary Van Zante, the curator responsible for photography collections at the MIT Museum. Davies’s research will focus on White’s San Francisco photographs of graffiti and of young men—typically White’s friends and students—looking for traces of what White learned from a city where homosexuality was becoming increasingly visible. Van Zante’s project is an exhibition and publication on Minor White’s teaching, curating, and collecting at MIT when he was director of the MIT Creative Photography Laboratory, from 1965 to 1974.

Each year the Minor White Project Committee may award short-term research grants to promote scholarly use of the Minor White Archive.

These research grants, which have a value of up to $5,000, are intended to help defray expenses incurred in traveling to and residing in Princeton during the tenure of the grant. The length of the grant will depend on the applicant’s research proposal but is ordinarily between one week and one month. Minor White Archive Research Grants must be fulfilled between late May and late August.

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LOVE AND OTHER ACTS OF VIOLENCE by Cordelia Lynn.

Directed by Elayce Ismail.

Lead cast members Richard Katz, Tom Mothersdale and Abigail Weinstock with younger cast : Alexander Fitzgerald, Finley Glasgow, Daniel Lawson and Charlie Tumbridge.

Set over ten years, Love and Other Acts of Violence is a subversive, intimate love story following a young Jewish physicist and an activist poet who meet at a party and fall in love. As society splinters around them, the couple's struggle to survive erupts into violence.

Begins on October 7 at the Donmar Warehouse in London.

HIT YOUR MARK, DIE BEAUTIFUL by Peter Oliver.

Directed by Sara Fellini.

Atom, Skip, Cass, Rick, Juliana, and Annie are in a bad play. Everybody knows it's bad, but nobody is willing to say it. It's the night before opening, everything is going wrong, and someone gets beaten half to death. Now they must decide if the show must really go on.

Billed as "a darkly funny love letter to independent theater."

The cast features Giselle Elise, Kyra Jackson, Peter Oliver, Laura Sisskin, Nicholas Thomas, Morgan Zipf-Meister.

Set design is by Florence Flacassier. Costume design is by Claire Daly.

Performances are evenings, October 8th through 24th at New Ohio Theatre in New York City.

SHUTTER SISTERS by Mansa Ra.

Directed by Donya K. Washington.

A Globe-commissioned world premiere that was developed in the 2020 Powers New Voices Festival. Shutter Sisters tells the story of two women living parallel lives on the hardest days of their lives. A White woman named Michael attends her adopted mother’s funeral, while a Black woman named Mykal kicks her adult daughter out of her home. It’s a heartfelt and surprising journey through womanhood, identity, and what it means to belong.

Starring Shana Wride and Terry Burrell.

The creatives are: Wilson Chin (Scenic Design) - Kara Harmon (Costume Design) - Zach Murphy (Lighting Design) - Chris Lane (Sound Design) - Caparelliotis Casting (Casting) - Marie Jahelka (Production Stage Manager).

Open Caption Performance: Saturday, November 6 at 2:00 p.m.

October 7 – November 7, 2021 at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre Conrad Prebys Theatre Center of The Old Globe in San Diego, CA.

AUTUMN ROYAL 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 north-side of Cork city is about life and death, love and hate, jealousy, rage, horror, and homicidal notions – just a normal play about a family.

October 8 - November 21, 2021 on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage of the Irish Rep in New York City.

LIMINAL by Le Gateau Chocolat billed as a " new mouthwatering operatic mixtape" is at the King's Head in London through October 23, 2021.

lim·i·nal - 1. relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process.
2. occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.

Each night, a specially curated operatic song cycle will offer a meditation on where do we go and who do we become when we lose our anchor?

For years, in a small room at the back of a pub, audiences have seen the greatest operas reworked, reimagined, and updated. But what happens when Tosca takes her taxi home at the end of the night? When Figaro has a zoom meeting at 11.00am?

King’s Head favorites and some exciting new voices explore the space between the persona and the person in a new honest and emotional response to the world away from the glamour.

Cast & Creatives:

Performed by Grace Nyandoro, Dan D’Souza, Honey Rouhani & Robert Barbaro. Created by Le Gateau Chocolat. Based on the original production Raw Cacao. Written and devised by Le Gateau Chocolat. Co-written and narrated by Tommy Bradson. Lighting Designer and Production Manager Connor Lovejoy. Set Designer Isabella Van Braeckel. Musical Director Debbi Lindley. Movement Consultant Ingrid Mackinnon. Assistant Director Amber Sinclair-Case. Stage Manager Chloe Wilson. Originally produced by Something To Aim For.

JIMMY BUFFET'S ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE with a book by Emmy Award-winner Greg Garcia and Emmy-Award nominee Mike O’Malley.

Based on the original direction by Tony Award-winner Christopher Ashley, this production is under the helm of Amy Anders Corcoran.

This hilarious and heartwarming musical tells a fascinating story of love and discovery and has the most unforgettable songs from one of music’s greatest storytellers. Escape To Margaritaville is the musical comedy getaway featuring both original songs and your most-loved Jimmy Buffett classics, including Fins; Volcano; Cheeseburger in Paradise, and many more.

Starring Chris Clark as Tully, Sarah Hinrichsen as Rachel, Emily Qualman as Tammy, Peter Michael Jordan as Brick, Rachel Lyn Fobbs as Marley, Patrick Cogan as J.D., and Matthew James Sherrod as Jamal/Ted.

The company also features DeVon Buchanan, Anthony Cataldo, Lauren Celentano, Fabi Gallmeister, Julia Grondin, Rachel Kay, Georgia Monroe, Gabriela E. Moreno, Ernesto Olivias, Jake Pederson, Kyle Southern, Emma Stricker, Jade Turner, Bryce Colby Vaewsorn, and Chad Vaught.

The creatives are: Choreography is by Tony Award nominee Kelly Devine, with associate choreography by Andrew Turteltaub; scenic design by Walt Spangler; costume design by Paul Tazewel; lighting design by Howell Binkley and Amanda Zieve; sound design by Brian Ronan and Craig Cassidy; and wig, hair and makeup design by Leah J. Loukas . Orchestrations are by Michael Utley, with dance music arrangements by Gary Adler. Music supervision and arrangements and additional orchestrations are by Christopher Jahnke, with music direction by Matthew Smedal. Casting is by Binder Casting/Chad Eric Murnane, CSA.

Five performances October 8-10 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO . . .

FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER who celebrated his 97th birthday on October 1, 2021.

The 39th President spent the day at his home in Plains, Georgia with the public invited to send the birthday boy virtual birthday messages.

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FINAL OVATION

BOBBY ZAREM famed publicist who created the “I Love New York” campaign died of cancer in his hometownof Savannah, Georgia on September 26, 2021, five days before his 85th birthday.

It was in Savannah that Zarem knew songwriter Johnny Mercer and CNN founder Ted Turner, who grew up in the house behind Zarem’s, and where he helped launch Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.

Zarem is also responsible for making Arnold Schwarzenegger famous with his promotion of Pumping Iron by scheduling a meeting between Schwarzenegger and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Schwarzenegger later had Zarem, who had already launched Hard Rock Cafe, rep Planet Hollywood in which he was a big investor. His clients have included Dustin Hoffman, Cher, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Michael Douglas, Michael Caine, Sophia Loren, Ann-Margret, and Alan Alda, among others.

In 1974, Zarem started his own agency: Zarem, Inc. He promoted Tommy which premiered in the West 57th Street subway station in front of hundreds of prominent New York socialites.

By 2000, Zarem's fees were among the highest in the industry, estimated to be upwards of $10,000 a month per client.

MELISSA SMITH an actress who spent over 25 years with American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco died September 7th in her home in San Francisco from colon cancer. She was 64.

During her time at ACT she redesigned, invigorated and maintained the Master of Fine Arts Program at the highest level. Internationally recognized it was consistently ranked among the top graduate training programs in the United States, graduating exceptional artists. She often promoted the program, once taking a class to Moscow where she was interviewed on Russian television. At ACT she produced, directed, taught, guided and mentored hundreds of students. Melissa indeed entered Yale and graduated with a BA in 1979 with Distinction in Major (English/ Theater). She then enrolled in the Acting Program at the Yale School of Drama. In her first week there she met a fellow acting student, David Keith, who six years later became her husband.

She will be remembered for her performance of Sonya in Uncle Vanya at the Yale Repertory Theater with Glenn Close and as Marie in Wallace Shawn's, Marie and Bruce at the Yale Cabaret.

In 1995 Melissa accepted the position of Conservatory Director at ACT and that summer moved with her husband, David and their 18 month old son, Owen.

During Melissa's tenure at ACT, she also continued to act: Continental Divide for Berkely Rep then in Birmingham, England and also at the Barbican Center, London; Harold Pinter's Celebration at ACT and Blithe Spirit at California Shakespeare Theater. Summers allowed her to teach at NYU's La Pietra Campus in Florence, Italy and at the Primo del Teatro in San Miniato, Italy. Only in December, 2020 did declining health force her to step away from the job she had loved for so long, but not before her final entrance in the Oscar winning film Nomadland. Her sister in that movie is played by Frances McDormand, her classmate and longtime friend from the Yale School of Drama.

In addition to her husband and son, Melissa is survived by numerous family members and a host of former acting students.

American Conservatory Theatre is planning a celebration of her life at a later date.

TOMMY KIRK known for his role as Travis Coates in the 1957 film Old Yeller was found dead in his Las Vegas home on Tuesday, September 28, 2021. He was 79.

Kirk also appeared in Disney classics such as The Shaggy Dog; Swiss Family Robinson; The Absent Minded Professor and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones. He began his career as a child actor and was discovered in 1954 at 13.

The Kentucky native was reportedly fired from Disney when he was 21 after allegations of homosexuality became public.

He owned a successful carpet cleaning business.

Next Column: October 10, 2021
Copyright: October 3 , 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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