Don Walker News

The Seeing Place Theater will present Clifford Odet's WAITING FOR LEFTY at ATA's Sargent Theater June 9 through 26, 2010.

The Seeing Place Theater will present Clifford Odet's WAITING FOR LEFTY at ATA's Sargent Theater June 9 through 26, 2010.

The Seeing Place Theater will present WAITING FOR LEFTY June 9 - 26 at ATA's Sargent Theater. Inspired by the 1934 Taxi Strike, this powerfully moving classic has become one of the most important plays of the modern American theater. Set in the Depression era and dealing with the cynical exploitation of the working classes, Lefty Costello (Joseph Mancuso) leads a group of disgruntled cabbies to fight for the rights they deserve.

The Music Division of the Library of Congress will present the 1934 Harold Arlen/Ira Gershwin/Yip Harburg musical revue 'Life Begins at 8:40' in concert, its first live performance in 75 years, in the Library's Coolidge Auditorium at 10 First St., S.E., Washington, D.C., on Monday, March 22, 2010, at 8 p.m. Aaron Gandy will conduct the cast of 25 and the 24-piece orchestra.

The Music Division of the Library of Congress will present the 1934 Harold Arlen/Ira Gershwin/Yip Harburg musical revue 'Life Begins at 8:40' in concert, its first live performance in 75 years, in the Library's Coolidge Auditorium at 10 First St., S.E., Washington, D.C., on Monday, March 22, 2010, at 8 p.m. Aaron Gandy will conduct the cast of 25 and the 24-piece orchestra.

Exploring the current state of our nation, The Seeing Place Theatre will present two new socially and politically relevant plays this February at the American Theatre of Actors, tackling two very hot-button topics: the economic recession and the flawed American healthcare system.

The PS Classics cast recording of the Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow was released in stores Tuesday, February 2. To celebrate the CD release, Finian's Rainbow stars Kate Baldwin, Cheyenne Jackson, Christopher Fitzgerald, Jim Norton, Brian Reddy, Terri White and Guy Davis hosted a CD signing for fans. The event featured special, encore performances by Cheyenne Jackson, Kate Baldwin, and Christopher Fitzgerald. BroadwayWorld was there to capture it all.

The PS Classics cast recording of the critically-acclaimed Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow will be in stores Tuesday, February 2.

The PS Classics cast recording of the critically-acclaimed Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow will be in stores Tuesday, February 2.

On Monday January 17th, Barnes and Noble offered the public a chance to listen in on a free discussion session with famed New York Times theater writer Frank Rich, and renowned composer Stephen Sondheim.

Exploring the current state of our nation, The Seeing Place Theatre will present two new socially and politically relevant plays this February at the American Theatre of Actors, tackling two very hot-button topics: the economic recession and the flawed American healthcare system.

Penned by a pair of downtown revue writers (Betty Comden and Adolph Green), composed by a wunderkind New York Philharmonic conductor (Leonard Bernstein), choreographed by a Ballet Theatre soloist (Jerome Robbins) and originally directed by musical comedy master George Abbott, there's never been a musical on Broadway that mixes highbrow and lowbrow with such a wondrous cacophonous clash as On The Town.

Perched above the stage in their private bleacher section, just beyond an outfield fence graffitied with the musical's title, conductor Rob Berman and his 25 piece Encores! Summer Stars orchestra might be mistaken for the conservatory cousins of Brooklyn's legendary Dodger Sym-Phony. But instead of serenading umpires from the Ebbet's Field grandstands with double forte arrangements of 'Three Blind Mice,' the musicians of director John Rando's cracker-jack production of Damn Yankees - a 1955 musical that opened in the early weeks of the baseball season that saw Brooklyn beat the Yankees for the borough's only World Series championship - treats 21st Century audiences to that thrilling sound of a Broadway Golden Age orchestra. The detailed movements and textures contained within Don Walker's orchestrations, whether giving comic accents to the pepper-upper 'Heart,' setting a satirical mood for the pseudo-vamp 'Whatever Lola Wants' or lifting a slow ballad like 'A Man Doesn't Know' with phrases that search the mind of the singing character, help bring majestic touches of artistry to this rousing vaudeville disguised as a book musical.

The Summer Play Festival (SPF) announces casting for the eagerly anticipated 2009 Festival in New York City. Casts include stage and screen actress Ally Sheedy; Ari Graynor, recently seen in NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLST; Maulik Pancholy, regular on the Showtime hit WEEDS and NBC's 30 ROCK; Katherine Waterston, who broke out in THE BABYSITTERS; Aya Cash, recently seen in Manhattan Theater Club's FROM UP HERE; and Eddie Kay Thomas, from the AMERICAN PIE movie series.

The Summer Play Festival (SPF) announces casting for the eagerly anticipated 2009 Festival in New York City. Casts include stage and screen actress Ally Sheedy; Ari Graynor, recently seen in NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLST; Maulik Pancholy, regular on the Showtime hit WEEDS and NBC's 30 ROCK; Katherine Waterston, who broke out in THE BABYSITTERS; Aya Cash, recently seen in Manhattan Theater Club's FROM UP HERE; and Eddie Kay Thomas, from the AMERICAN PIE movie series.

Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans announce the Chicago Premiere of Mauritius by Theresa Rebeck, directed by Rick Snyder. The production, featuring Anne Adams, Lance Baker, Gary Houston, Dan Kuhlman and Suzanne Lang runs February 25- April 5, 2009 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. The press performance is Thursday, March 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.

Kritzerland will present the first ever CD release of the Original Cast Recording of Anya, with a score by Robert Wright and George Forrest (based on themes by Sergei Rachmaninoff).

Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans announce the Chicago Premiere of Mauritius by Theresa Rebeck, directed by Rick Snyder. The production, featuring Anne Adams, Lance Baker, Gary Houston, Dan Kuhlman and Suzanne Lang runs February 25- April 5, 2009 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. The press performance is Thursday, March 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.

Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans announce the Chicago Premiere of Mauritius by Theresa Rebeck, directed by Rick Snyder. The production, featuring Anne Adams, Lance Baker, Gary Houston, Dan Kuhlman and Suzanne Lang runs February 25- April 5, 2009 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. The press performance is Thursday, March 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. The stakes are high when half-sisters inherit a book of rare stamps that may include the 'crown jewel' of the stamp-collecting world. The battle for possession takes a dangerous turn when three rival collectors enter the sisters' world, willing to go to any lengths to stake their claim on the find. Named one of Time Magazine's 'Top Ten Plays of 2007,' Mauritius is a gripping blend of sharp comedy and heart-pounding drama that combines the best aspects of Hitchcock, Chandler and Mamet. Mauritius was written by the Pulitzer Prize nominated author of Omnium Gatherum and The Scene.

Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans announce the Chicago Premiere of Mauritius by Theresa Rebeck, directed by Rick Snyder. The production, featuring Anne Adams, Lance Baker, Gary Houston, Dan Kuhlman and Suzanne Lang runs February 25- April 5, 2009 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. The press performance is Thursday, March 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. The stakes are high when half-sisters inherit a book of rare stamps that may include the 'crown jewel' of the stamp-collecting world. The battle for possession takes a dangerous turn when three rival collectors enter the sisters' world, willing to go to any lengths to stake their claim on the find. Named one of Time Magazine's 'Top Ten Plays of 2007,' Mauritius is a gripping blend of sharp comedy and heart-pounding drama that combines the best aspects of Hitchcock, Chandler and Mamet. Mauritius was written by the Pulitzer Prize nominated author of Omnium Gatherum and The Scene.