Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: September 15, 2024
By: Laura Deni
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PARALYMPIANS ARE COURAGEOUS AND INSPIRATIONAL: A TRIBUTE TO ONE IN SOMEONE IS SENDING A MESSAGE

Nick Springer. Photo: courtesy Gary Springer

The Paralympics began as a small gathering of British World War II veterans in 1948. The 1960 Games in Rome drew 400 athletes with disabilities from 23 countries, as proposed by doctor Antonio Maglio. Currently it is one of the largest international sporting events: the 2020 Summer Paralympics featured 4,520 athletes from 163 National Paralympic Committees. Since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, the Paralympics have been held shortly after the corresponding Olympic Games.

Given the wide variety of disabilities of Para athletes, the allowable disabilities are divided into ten eligible impairment types: impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. These categories are further divided into various subcategories.

It's the one sport no parent hopes their child will one day be qualified to enter.

Take the case of Nick Springer, grandson of famed publicist, the late John Springer, who represented Broadway shows, films and legendary figures for over 40 years and son of Gary Springer who began as an actor segueing into a top entertainment publicist representing film, theatre and events.

A storied background may provide you with an elevated lifestyle but it doesn't protect you from life.

While away at a Massachusetts summer camp in 1999, 14-year old Nick Springer contracted a rare, but potentially deadly infection called meningococcal disease. Although he survived, he endured the amputation of his hands and his legs below the knees. He also lost hearing in his left ear as a result of the disease. Nick was put into a drug-induced coma that would last for nearly two months.

Courageous beyond his years he turned to wheelchair sports. To no-one's surprise, he excelled.

Nick played sled hockey in 2003. Nick refused to wear prosthetics or use an electric wheelchair. He became obsessed with playing wheelchair rugby. His ability in that sport with the USA Paralympics team won a gold medal at the Beijing Paralympics.

But the victory in China was bitter sweet. Nick's mother, Nancy (Ford) Springer, died of cancer while her husband and their daughter, Olivia, were at the Paralympics.

When his mother first learned she had cancer, in January 2008, Springer offered to stop playing wheelchair rugby and move home.

"'She looked me in the eye and said, ‘It would crush me if you don’t go to the Olympics,'" he said, recalling her conversation to The Journal News, a newspaper based in White Plains, N.Y., in 2008. "And she said, 'The one thing you have to promise is that you won’t let this keep you from winning the gold medal.'"

Nick obey his mother and even helped in the rehabilitation process for those with new injuries and taught children in wheelchairs.

Nick was an American Paralympic wheelchair rugby player and a four-time national champion, and gold medalist from New York, New York. In 2006 and 2010, he was awarded a gold medal for his participation at the World championships and in 2008 he won Canada Cup and got another gold that way. The same year Springer won a silver medal for his participation at the North American Cup and won a gold medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. In 2012 he won his first bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. Besides rugby, he played hockey for 14 years. He was also an avid traveler and enjoyed outdoor activities and scuba diving. He died suddenly on April 14, 2021 at the age of 35 while swimming at a friend's house.

Now comes a staged reading of Someone Is Sending a Message based on the extraordinary life story and death of Nick Springer.

Written by Susan Charlotte and directed by Antony Marsellis, the reading stars Drama Desk Nominee & Drama League Winner Roberta Wallach, Tony Nominee Penny Fuller and two-time Tony Winner James Naughton.

Someone Is Sending A Message is a staged reading based on a true story. A story that deals with persistence in the face of adversity and hope. A story that revolves around a courageous young man named Nick. It’s also the story of an artist named Sheila, a friend of Nick's who is at a crossroads with her art and her life. Suddenly she receives a phone call, "Nick! What do you mean Nick is dead?" This was the same Nick she spoke to two weeks ago; who she had known since he was 13; who had contracted Meningitis when he was in camp; and despite quadruple amputations, became a Paralympic Gold Medalist, an international advocate for life, survival, vaccination and everyone’s hero. Nick did not let any obstacle get in his way. Until now…. while swimming in a friend’s pool his heart gave out.

Sheila turns to Facebook to learn more about what happened to Nick. Hundreds of people have been posting messages. Every time she tries to post one of her own, the following text is typed on her computer - ?"Someone Is Sending A Message." A realistic story turns into a surrealistic journey.

She is so affected by his extraordinary life and his unexpected death at 35, that she begins to face the obstacles in her own life and to come to terms with the story of her brother, who also died in his 30's. Perhaps there is a message for her. As she stares at the screen more feelings from her past appear alongside the texts from Nick’s friends. The two worlds overlapping as Sheila tries to make sense of her life with all its twists and turns. And suddenly she sees a message from Nick, "Life Goes On," a message that encourages her to move forward.

The reading takes place Thursday, September 26th at the Ethical Culture Society in New York City.

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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

UN-HIDE: REFRAMING LUXURY

Modular by Mensah. Photo: V&A South Kensington.

is an interactive seating series by Modular by Mensah redefining leather's evolving role in contemporary design.

Shifting conventional connotations of a luxury material, leather is re-positioned as a medium for fostering social connections and sharing practices.

Drawing parallels between human skin's memory and leather's natural features, the project explores leather's lifecycle and its potential as a sustainable material. Natural features are celebrated through design, materiality and craftsmanship.

Modular by Mensah is founded by British Ghanaian designer Kusheda Mensah. It creates objects and spaces to enhance connections between people.

Part of London Design Festival at the V&A. On display until Sunday, October 13, 2024 at V&A South Kensington, London.

GLENN D. LOWRY has announced that he will retire as director of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 2025. His contract ends in June. He became the sixth director of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1995. He has overseen the physical transformation of the Museum's campus through two major campaigns for the renovation, expansion, and endowment of the museum. He has lectured and written extensively in support of contemporary art and artists and the role of museums in society, among other topics.

Lowry guided MoMA's 2004 expansion and accompanying capital campaign—raising $450 million for the new building and over $450 million for the endowment and other related expenses. In 2018, Lowry and the MoMA board agreed to an extension of his role as the David Rockefeller Director of the Museum of Modern Art through 2025, which will make him the longest-serving director since the museum opened in 1929.

New York City born, he received a B.A. degree (1976), magna cum laude, from Williams College. He also obtained M.A. (1978) and Ph.D. (1982) degrees in the history of art from Harvard University, as well as honorary degrees from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (2000), the College of William and Mary (2009), and Florida Southern College (2017).

Lowry is a board member of the Clark Art Institute, New Art Trust, the Creative Arts Council at Brown University, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and is a former board member of Judd Foundation and Williams College. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the American Philosophical Society, and serves on the advisory council of the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. In 2005, the French government honored Lowry with the title of Chevalier dans l'Ordre national du Merité.

Lowry is married to Montreal-born landscape architect Susan Chambers, with whom he has three children. His daughter, Alexis Lowry, is a curator for the Dia Art Foundation. His son, Willy Lowry, is a correspondent at The National News.

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SWEET CHARITY

WALKING THE BEAT teens and cops unite for Fountain Theatre’s new partnership with Design for Sharing, CAP UCLA’s K-12 arts education program.

The Fountain Theatre joins forces with Design for Sharing, CAP UCLA’s K-12 arts education program, to showcase the culminating performance of Walking the Beat, the Fountain’s transformative community-building program that sees cops and teens working together to create theater. One public performance of In the Crossfire, a new multimedia work created by 15 teens and eight police officers, will take place on Sunday, Sept. 22 at the UCLA Nimoy Theater. Admission is free, but reservations are required. A free student matinee will follow on Monday, September 23, allowing 250 students from across Los Angeles County to experience the finished work and talk with the cast and creators.

Written by Fountain Theatre arts education manager Nathan James, In the Crossfire was devised by students and police officers based on their own writings, conversations and improvisations about the effects of gun violence on them, personally, and within their communities.

Students this year represent five local high schools, including Hollywood High School, Valley Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School, Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts and Hawthorne High School.

Now in its fifth year at the Fountain, Walking the Beat provides a life-changing experience for underserved youth. Founded by the Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble and led by executive and artistic director Theo Perkins, participants in the hands-on program are guided by facilitator and director Angela Kariotis and teaching artists ReSheda Terry and Alex Ubokedom.

Walking the Beat supporters include The Araxia and Vladimir Buckhantz Foundation, Mary Jo and David Volk, The Audrey and Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation, Maggi Phillips, Jennifer Simchowitz, Anne-Marie Spataru, Jason Zelin and Allison Stein and the L.A. County Department of Probation.

The UCLA Nimoy Theater is located in Los Angeles, CA.

SPREADING THE WORD

PRINCESS CATHERINE or Kate as Americans call her - announcing she has completed grueling chemotherapy and is now cancer free. May she always stay that way.

PAN AM READING SERIES takes place Thursday, September 19, 2024 at ART-New York Bruce Mitchell Room in New York City.

Enjoy readings of classic Asian American plays and tomorrow's instant classics today. The September 19th reading: Cacalligraphy by Velina Hasu Houston will be directed by Kalina Ko.

Two cousins and their mothers confront changes generated by the past and the passing of time. In Los Angeles, one cousin faces her immigrant mother’s dementia while, in Tokyo, the other is challenged by her mother’s physical decline. Family history of the immigrant mother having married an African American and left Japan behind complicates all of their lives. The cousins are determined to reunite their mothers before it’s too late.

F1 LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIZ FAN ZONE MUSICAL HEADLINERS have been announced.

British EDM group Snakehips, rapper Big Boi and Vandelux will headline the Heineken Silver State in the East Harmon fan zone.

Ticketholders for Wynn Grid Club, Papi Steak Garage, Ramsay’s Garage, Paddock Club, Skybox, Turn 3 Club and the Heineken Silver Main Grandstand will have access to the East Harmon zone. It is expected at additional headliners will be announced.

The race takes place November 21-23, 2024 in Las Vegas.

KENDRICK LAMAR will headline the Super Bowl half-time show. The Grammy-award winning musician said he wants to remind the world why rap music is the "most impactful genre to date".

COUTURE CRAFTED FROM COMPOST: VIN + OMI AND KING CHARLES

Center picture of King Charles with Vin and Omi. The bordering pictures are exquisite examples of their creations. Photo: VIN + OMI

The hoity toity fashion industry has long been the bane of environmentalists.

Textile production is estimated to be responsible for about 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and finishing products. The fashion industry is estimated to be responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

For decades various fashion houses have paid lip service to going green.

Enter V I N + O M I fashion house and King Charles who are making a difference.

London Fashion Week, considered one of the Big Five global fashion weeks alongside Milan, Paris, New York, and Tokyo, opened last Friday, September 13, and has models strutting through Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

The trailblazing fashion house VIN + OMI, which considers LFW too commercial, is staging their own star-studded catwalk independent from the British Fashion Council (BFC), as a statement for sustainabily and smaller labels. Their runway featured a "sexed up" restaurateur and Great British Bake Off judge, 86-year-old Dame Prue Leith and Playboy model and American TV personality Josie Stevens.

VIN + OMI is celebrating their 20th anniversary and titled their show "Moxie", means courage and perseverance.

King Charles has always had a sense of fashion. He demonstrated how pastels in vests, ties and shirts can be incorporated into a man's wardrobe creating a touch of dignified spice rather than outrageous flamboyancy.

His support for VIN + OMI seems a perfect match.

This year VIN + OMI unveiled a pioneering exhibition inside Sandringham House.

A collection of 26 innovative garments and accessories, using plant waste taken from Royal Gardens including Highgrove and Sandringham have been brought together for the first time.

The exhibition showcasing the range of sustainable fashion marks the ongoing collaboration between VIN + OMI and His Majesty The King. VIN + OMI’s initial experiments with plant waste from the gardens at Sandringham, produced a dress made from Butterbu’; a prolific spreading plant found growing on the side of the lakes. VIN + OMI managed to extract usable fibers from the Butterbur plant leaves to produce a few meters of a golden silk like fabric – the first of its kind to be achieved. This world first dress is on display as part of the exhibition Royal Garden Waste to Fashion’s Future.

In another creation, Vin + Omi used horsehair clippings from Highgrove Estate to create a dress that was honored at the National Museum of Scotland. Made from about 2.6 lbs. of discarded royal horsehair and 4.4 lbs. of nettles, both sourced from King Charles and Queen Camilla's Highgrove Estate.

In addition to foraged nettles and horsehair clippings from the royal residences, the designers have used hydrangea heads, willow, and bog cotton to create entire outfits.

They also used wood chippings from King Charles’ Sandringham estate. "Inside wood is cellulose, which we turn into this fabric," explained Vin to the press. "Celluslose extraction is incredibly toxic so we’ve done it in a non-toxic process. It ends up with a very similar product but it will biodegrade quicker than normal – it would take about three years – so our legacy will be in the ground. At least that’s the aim!"

Although horsehair in women's garments was used in the 16th and 17th century for restrictive corsets, VIN + OMI broke the stays and set about designing fashion that acknowledged women hold powerful jobs and run countries.

The dress in question was first showcased at The National Museum of Scotland as part of their "Beyond the Little Black Dress" exhibit, before being transferred to the Museum's permanent collection.

King Charles is not a newby to the cause. As the Prince of Wales he proselytized environmentalism to the point of becoming the laughing stock among many circles. In many cases he was characterized to be demented for exposing beliefs and programs which are today considered to be the go-to standard.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that the royal fit right in with VIN +OMI.

They appreciate his thoughts, sense of humor, and non-dictatorial approach. VIN + OMI and King Charles enjoy mutual respect. They value his "great suggestions."

One of Charles’ ideas was to harvest over 3,000 nettles from Highgrove in 2019 and arranged for his personal gardeners to help with the massive task. The result was a "light and airy" 10-piece collection, three looks of which now permanently reside at the iconic Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

In an interview they conducted with the V&A VIN said:

"We started with latex from Malaysia. We went to look at the plantations and they were terrible. The workers weren’t being looked after and there were no educational programs for the villages. We thought, ‘we can do better than this’. We got some investment and put it into a plantation. The people needed to be treated right. The trees needed to be treated right. It was also about shipping the latex with other things to reduce the carbon footprint. Through that first project we learned a lot; that was 23 years ago."

"We never set out to be in the fashion industry," added OMI. "It was blue-sky thinking, and a crazy idea of where sustainable design could go. In design, there is the frivolous idea that you can manufacture anything you want without thinking about the impact on the planet. We wanted to counter this attitude, so we started a manifesto. At the start, we were very naïve; we thought we could change the world."

Prince Charles, the then heir to the kingdom, was the same.

The designers, who go by their first names, began their careers working with ocean waste plastic, turning it into a fabric to benefit local communities. The team happened to meet then-Prince Charles at a fashion event in 2018 where they had the opportunity to engage in a conversation about their work. The royal offered to help. Vin and Omi now have the King's gardeners on their cell phones, and regularly receive personal letters of encouragement from the sovereign.

"We spend a lot of time in his compost heap! It’s really fun and I like to think he’s amused when he hears that we’ve been round again, rummaging through his rubbish!" the designers first told People. "We joke with him about taking his waste and making something from it and then giving it back to him and whether he likes it or not... tough! We always have a good laugh with him. He’s super quick and funny and he happens to be the King of England, too. It’s very humbling seeing someone in his position still interested about a plant growing in the garden."

VIN +OMI are previous recipients of a NESTA award for their innovation in design, research and their unique business model.

A large part of their work is focused on social impact projects, eco innovation, environmental impact and R & D. This work ties in to our textile and product development work and underpins our consultancy work. With sustainability at the core, their work focuses on providing positive approaches to help save our planet particularly in Fashion. Influencing their aims through social impact projects, education, and eco innovation as well as design, the VIN + OMI Foundation currently has 28 clean up schemes running globally.

Sandringham has also been collecting large quantities of milk cartons to support one of the VIN + OMI Foundation clean up schemes. The One-to-One offset clean-up program removes one plastic bottle from the ocean for every milk bottle collected as well as supporting other social impact projects.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

TAXING THE TOURISTS Greece is the latest country to jump on the we're getting too many tourists bandwagon. Greek officials are planning to impose a tax for cruise ship visitors during the peak summer season, according to Reuters who first reported the press conference.

The tax would be 20 euros ($22) for visitors cruising to Santorini or Mykonos.

Last year, 209,300 Americans visited Greece, according to the Bank of Greece.

"Greece does not have a structural overtourism problem. . . Some of its destinations have a significant issue during certain weeks or months of the year, which we need to deal with," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis clarified during a press conference. "Cruise shipping has burdened Santorini and Mykonos and this is why we are proceeding with interventions," Mitsotakis added. The government could also limit the number of cruise ships that arrive at certain destinations.

THE FOSTER FESTIVAL IN ONTARIO, CANADA has received a $40,000 contribution from the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) making it possible to stage Time and Tide, by Nova Scotia playwright Jody Stevens McCluskey.

It will star Donna Belleville, Raquel Duffy, Rahul Gandhi, Stephen Guy-McGrath and Evelyn Wiebe; directed by Jamie Williams.

"Time & Tide explores the push and pull of love and the challenge of finding your place with and without family. All told through the keen lens of the beloved Newfoundland sense of humor."

Time & Tide runs October 4-14 at the Mandeville Theatre.

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THE NEW YORK CITY OPERA BOARD has announced the appointment of four time Grammy nominated conductor Constantine Orbelian as the organization's new Executive Director & Music Director, succeeding General Director Michael Capasso.

San Francisco born Orbelian has toured and recorded with some of the world’s greatest singers, such as American stars Renee Fleming, Sondra Radvanovsky and Lawrence Brownlee, Stephen Costello and Charles Castronovo, and with the great Dmitri Hvorostovsky and other renowned Russian singers in European, North American, Russian and Asian music centers.

His accomplishments include being Music Director of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia of Russia, founder of the annual Palaces of St. Petersburg International Music Festival, Chief Conductor of the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra in Lithuania, and Artistic Director of the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Yerevan, Armenia. Among his concert and televised appearances are collaborations with Hvorostovsky, Renée Fleming, Anna Netrebko and Van Cliburn, including the legendary pianist’s farewell performance.



OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY IN FIGHT WITH RUDOLPH POLICE CALLED written by Jeff Daniels.

Directed by Jeff Daniels.

An office Christmas party goes wrong when two employees dressed as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer disagree over where to clap along on "Silent Night". When a video of this non-brawl goes viral, the Internet offers our two non-violent co-workers $100,000 to stage a live stream Winner Take All Rematch between these two beloved Christmas characters.

Featuring: Juliana Berry, Ryan Carlson, Ruth Crawford, Henrí Franklin, Paul Stroili

Performances September 26 - December 22, 2024 at Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan.

JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK by Sean O'Casey.

Directed by Tony and Olivier award winner Matthew Warchus.

Starring Mark Rylance as ‘Captain’ Jack Boyle, Tony nominated J Smith-Cameron will play Juno Boyle. Irish stage star Ingrid Craigie is also featured as well as Aisling Kearns.

'What can Gof do against the stupidity of man?' Set in Dublin in 1922, where the Irish Civil War is tearing the nation apart, O’Casey’s drama is centered around the cauldron of the Boyle family’s tiny tenement flat.

There Juno Boyle, a beleaguered matriarch, struggles to make ends meet and keep the family together.

Dublin, 1922, the Irish Civil War is tearing the nation apart. In the cauldron of the family’s tiny tenement flat, Juno Boyle, a beleaguered matriarch whose sharp wit is a survival tool, struggles to make ends meet and keep the family together. Her husband, ‘Captain’ Jack Boyle, fancies himself a ship's commander but sails no further than the pub. When providence comes knocking with news of a great inheritance, could the family’s troubles finally fade away?

Poetic, poignant, and hilarious,Juno and the Paycock "is a big-hearted, black-humoured, tragi-comic triumph that reflects on a mother’s resilience in the midst of life’s most trying moments."

Juno and The Paycock runs at London’s Gielgud Theatre in London from September 21 to November 23.

HELLO, ARE YOU STILL THERE? a new work presented by Milk Crate Theatre Collaborative Artists and Shopfront Arts Co-op Harness Ensemble.

Directed by Margot Politis and Natalie Rose.

Some of us have grown up never knowing a life without the internet. Others have had technology invade their adult lives.

"Hello, Are you Still There?" explores the impact of technology on the lives of an intergenerational ensemble of artists - asking how do we consider our own relevance in a digital world? Are humans bound to suffer the similar fate of the Sony walkman - no longer useful but considered very cute in a retrospective way? How do we rise above and resist becoming obsolete and what is it to be seen in a world where 'views' are everything?

September 19 - 22 at Shopfront Arts Co-op in Carlton NSW, Australia.

"Milk Crate Theatre provides opportunities for people whose voices are under-represented to engage in artistic practice to build confidence, skills and connections; and shares bold and resonant stories to build empathy and break down barriers.

"We are the leading arts organization in Australia working in the unique intersection of the arts, homelessness, mental health, and disability, providing professional development pathways and opportunities for collaborative artists to engage in creative practices as both performers and theatre and film creators of works."

THE CHINESE LADY by Lloyd Suh.

Directed by Jess McLeod.

Inspired by the true story of the first Chinese woman to step foot in America, Lloyd Suh’s critically-acclaimed play, The Chinese Lady, is a unique portrait of the United States as seen through the eyes of an idealistic Chinese migrant.

In 1834, 14-year-old Afong Moy sailed into New York Harbor and was immediately put on display for a paying public who gawked as she brewed tea, ate with chopsticks, and walked around the room on her tiny bound feet. As audiences follow Moy’s travels through America as a living exhibit for decades, The Chinese Lady shares her impressions of a young country struggling with its identity and role in the world. The Chinese Lady serves as an examination of the ongoing struggle for empathy and understanding across cultural divides.
Starring Keiko Agena as Afong Moy and Rex Lee as Atung. Understudies are Akasha Grace and Terence Lee.

The creatives are: Lighting design by Lee Fiskness. Se Hyun Oh scene design. Costume Designer and Cultural Consultant Hahnji Jang. Megumi Katayama sound design. Fan Zhang composer. Myah Harper stage management production assistant. Xiaonan (Chloe) Liu stage manager

September 18- October 13, 2024 on The Alliance Theatre's Hertz Stage which is a modern, 200-seat Black Box theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

On September 28 a post show Beyond the Curtain: A Community Conversation with Atlanta's civic and business leaders in the AAPI community immediately following the performance. Conversation will be moderated by celebrated author and entrepreneur, Natalie Keng.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN Carrie’s TOUCH, led by Rev. Tammie Denyse, PhD, presents a new production of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic.

Directed by James Ellison III.

First debuting on Broadway in 1959, this play continues to resonate with audiences worldwide for its authentic portrayal of Black family life.

This production honors the original while offering a fresh, healing perspective. Audiences can participate in Sunday "Talk Back" sessions to discuss the play’s relevance and its impact on mental health. This initiative aligns with Carrie’s TOUCH mission to foster community healing and understanding.

Featuring Donald Lacy as Walter Lee Younger, Tammie Denyse as Lena Younger, Lina Justine Ramirez as Ruth Younger, Maasai Mack as Travis Younger, Camden Arnold as Travis Younger, Jasmine Washington as Beneatha Younger, Raheem Muhammad-Terrell as Joseph Asagai, Javon Young as George Murchison, Howie Bryant as Bobo, Elaine Douglas as Mrs. Johnson, and Ted Ridgway as Karl Lindner.

The play dives into the struggles of a Black family in 1950s Chicago, addressing racial injustice and generational conflict. It explores systemic oppression, encouraging crucial conversations and healing.

Thanks to the unrelenting heat this area has been experiencing, the rehearsals had to cope with their own oppression. The cast had been rehearsing daily for their new production -- but the AC clocked out -- pushing opening date to Sunday, September 15, 2024.

"This situation has been nerve racking to say the least," posted the production.

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun will be performed at the West Sacramento Black Box Theater Community Center in Sacramento, California September 15-29, 2024.

Rev. Tammie Denyse, a nearly 20-year breast cancer survivor, reflects on how A Raisin in the Sun has helped her heal. After a ten-year hiatus from theater, she returned to the stage as Lena Younger in 2023, finding solace and connection in the role. Lorraine Hansberry, the play’s author, was not only a playwright but also a civil rights advocate. Her own battle with cancer mirrors the struggles faced by many Black women supported by Carrie’s TOUCH. This production pays tribute to Hansberry’s spirit and amplifies the fight against breast cancer.

The production is supported by Dr. Annette Stanton, renowned psychologist and professor at UCLA; James Ellison III, Artistic Director at Celebration Arts Theatre in Sacramento; Niyah Moore, accomplished writer and playwright; and Helen Terry-Stallworth, seasoned stage manager.

Carrie’s TOUCH is dedicated to empowering women of color and families through education, support, and resources on breast cancer awareness and health. As the organization approaches its 18th year, it continues to address the 41% mortality gap between Black women in breast cancer outcomes, fostering resilience and healing in the community.

BUYER & CELLAR written by Jonathan Tolins.

Directed by Kirk Jameson.

Meet Alex, an out-of-work actor who finds himself working beneath Barbra Streisand’s Malibu home in her legendary basement shopping mall. Buyer & Cellar is an outrageous comedy about the price of fame, the cost of things, and the oddest of odd jobs.

Ten years after the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production closed, this hilarious one-person show returns to London with the magnificent Rob Madge starring as Alex.

Buyer & Cellar won the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Solo Show and was named "Best Unique Theatrical Experience" by the Off-Broadway Alliance during its record-breaking run at the Barrow Street Theatre.

The creatives are: Scenographer | Ingrid Hu -- Lighting Designer | Jack Weir -- Composer & Sound Designer | Emily Rose Simons -- Vocal Coach | Caitlin Stegemoller -- Wig Designer | Craig Forrest-Thomas -- Costume Supervisor | Catherine Ruddick -- Production Manager | New Wolf Productions -- Stage Manager | Rosie Morgan -- Marketing | MakeANoise -- Press | About Grace PR -- Social Media Management | JMF Communications -- Artwork Design | Christopher D. Clegg -- General Management | New Frame Productions -- Presented by Ryan Hugh Mackey Productions and New Frame Productions With Theatre Royal Plymouth, Joly Black, Parker & Newes Productions and JMF Communications -- Production Insurance | Israel, Gordon & Co Ltd.

September 18 - October 19, 2024 at King's Head Theatre in London.

E-Book

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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.

FINAL OVATION

JAMES EARL JONES famed actor died September 9, 2024 at his home in Pawling, New York. He was 93.

He was one of the few performers to achieve the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony). He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1985, and was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2011.

In 2022, the Cort Theatre was renamed after James Earl Jones, becoming the second Broadway venue named after a Black theatrical artist, the first being the August Wilson Theatre named after the playwright August Wilson. The Cort Theatre was the same stage on which Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958.

Jones began his acting career at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan. In 1953, he was a stage carpenter, and between 1955 and 1957, he acted and was a stage manager. In his first acting season at the Ramsdell, he portrayed Othello. His early career also included an appearance in the ABC radio anthology series Theatre-Five In 1957, he made his Broadway debut as understudy to Lloyd Richards in the short-lived play, The Egghead, by Molly Kazan. The play ran only 21 performances, but three months later, in January 1958, Jones created the featured role of Edward the butler in Dore Schary's Sunrise at Campobello at the Cort Theatre.

He then gained prominence for acting in numerous productions with Shakespeare in the Park including Othello, Hamlet, Coriolanus, and King Lear. In December 1967, Jones starred alongside Jane Alexander in Howard Sackler's play, The Great White Hope, at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Jones took the role of the talented but troubled boxer "Jack Jefferson", who is based on the real champion Jack Johnson. The play was a huge success when it moved to Broadway on October 3, 1968. The play was well received, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Jones himself won the 1969 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, and the Drama Desk Award for his performance.

He reprised in the 1970 film adaptation, earning him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

In 1973, Jones played Hickey on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theater in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh and starred in the title role of William Shakespeare's King Lear opposite Paul Sorvino, René Auberjonois, and Raul Julia at the New York City Shakespeare Festival in Central Park, which was recorded and broadcast in the PBS Great Performances series the following year. In 1974, Jones played Lennie on Broadway in the 1974 Brooks Atkinson Theatre production of the adaptation of John Steinbeck's novella, Of Mice and Men, with Kevin Conway as George and Pamela Blair as Curley's wife.

Jones won his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a working class father in August Wilson's Fences (1987). He was a Tony award nominee for his roles as the husband in Ernest Thompson's On Golden Pond (2005) about an aging couple, and as a former president in the Gore Vidal play The Best Man (2012). His other Broadway performances included Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008), Driving Miss Daisy (2010–2011), You Can't Take It with You (2014), and The Gin Game (2015–2016). He received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.

His body of work included an esteemed motion picture and television career.

In 1977, Jones made his debut in his iconic voice-over role as Darth Vader in George Lucas's space opera blockbuster film Star Wars: A New Hope, which he would reprise for the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).

In 1977, Jones also received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Great American Documents.

In 1968, Jones married actress and singer Julienne Marie, whom he met while performing as Othello in 1964. They had no children and divorced in 1972. In 1982, he married actress Cecilia Hart, with whom he had a son, Flynn. Hart died from ovarian cancer on October 16, 2016.

Both respected and liked, he is survived by his son Flynn Earl Jones who inherited his father's voice and has narrated multiple audiobooks.

WILL JENNINGS a three time Academy Award winning lyricist died September 6, 2024 in his Tyler, Texas home , He was 80.

Will Jennings, the co-writer of smash hits such as Steve Winwood’s Higher Love and Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On, has died at the age of 80, according to multiple US media reports. In a career spanning five decades, Jennings began his Hollywood career in 1976, and in 1977 teamed up with composer Richard Kerr to write Barry Manilow’s Looks Like We Made It. The pair reunited for the artist’s top 10 hit, Somewhere in the Night, two years later. They also wrote I'll Never Love This Way Again for Dionne Warwick.

Jennings wrote for a variety of artists, including Steve Winwood, Whitney Houston, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Joe Sample, Rodney Crowell, Mariah Carey, Jimmy Buffett, and Roy Orbison.

With Steve Winwood, Jennings wrote a series of albums including Arc of a Diver, Talking Back to the Night and Back in the High Life, an album that contained the hits "Higher Love", "The Finer Things", and "Back in the High Life Again". Winwood won the Record Of The Year and Outstanding Male Vocal Performance. Both Jennings and Winwood were nominated for the Song of the Year award for "Higher Love."

With Joe Sample, Jennings wrote "Street Life" (a world-wide hit for the Crusaders with singer Randy Crawford) and several songs for various albums by the Crusaders for guest vocalists, including Joe Cocker ("I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today"), and Bill Withers ("Soul Shadows"). Jennings and Sample also wrote the better part of three albums for B.B. King, Midnight Believer in 1978, Take It Home in 1979, and There Is Always One More Time in 1991.

During his career, Jennings collaborated on a range of songs for film soundtracks, earning him three Oscars.

It was in 1983 that Jennings won his first Academy Award for the song "Up Where We Belong," written for Taylor Hackford’s An Officer and a Gentleman. The song not only won an Academy Award but the BAFTA (British Academy Award) in the United Kingdom and was a number one hit for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes. In 1997, Jennings wrote the world-wide number one Céline Dion hit "My Heart Will Go On" for the film Titanic with his collaborator James Horner. The song ended up becoming one of the most successful songs of all time. They won the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture. They also won Record of the year, Song of the year and Best song written for a motion picture at the 41st Grammy Awards. Jennings won a Grammy Award, as well as a Golden Globe nomination, for writing the lyrics to Eric Clapton’s "Tears in Heaven" for the film Rush. He received a 1980 Academy Award for writing the song "People Alone" for the motion picture The Competition.

In Nashville, Jennings wrote hits with Rodney Crowell, including "Many a Long & Lonesome Highway", "What Kind of Love" and "Please Remember Me", a number one country hit for Tim McGraw. Jennings also wrote "Tears in Heaven" with Eric Clapton, which won song of the Year and also won the Ivor Novello award for best song from a film. Teaming with James Horner and Mariah Carey, Jennings wrote the lyrics for the central song in How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, "Where Are You Christmas?", sung by a character within the film and by Faith Hill at the end of the film. In 2002, Horner and Jennings contributed a song for the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind.

He was nominated for a total of six Grammy Awards and took home three. In 2006, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his wife Carolyn and two sisters.

HERBIE FLOWERS famed bassist died September 5, 2024 in England. He was 86.

He specialized in bass guitar, double bass and tuba. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician.

Flowers contributed to recordings by Elton John, Camel, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Roy Harper, Melanie, Roy Harper, David Essex, Al Kooper, Bryan Ferry, Harry Nilsson, Cat Stevens, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. He also played bass on Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds and Lou Reed's Transformer, including the two prominent basslines of "Walk on the Wild Side".

By the end of the 1970s, Flowers had played bass on an estimated 500 hit recordings.

GARY SELESNER retired Regional President of Caesars Entertainment in Las Vegas, died September 9, 2024. He was 71.

He is credited with playing "a pivotal role in shaping one of the world's most iconic resorts, leaving an indelible mark on the hospitality and gaming industry in Las Vegas."

At Caesars Entertainment he served in various leadership roles before becoming President of Caesars Palace in 2005.

During his nearly two-decade tenure as president, Gary built upon Caesars Palace legacy, overseeing significant expansions and renovations. He was instrumental in the creation of new luxury suites, the opening of world-class restaurants, and the introduction of high-profile entertainment acts, ensuring that Caesars Palace remained at the forefront of the ever-evolving Las Vegas experience. Caesars Entertainment acknowledged his exceptional skills and experiences for the industry and appointed him to the position of Regional President in Las Vegas in 2018.

He is survived by his wife Peggy, his children Lisa (Daniel), Leigh (Eryc) and Jeremy (Sarah), and his grandchildren Raven and August.

Next Column: September 22, 2024
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Laura Deni