Stage Holding News

Vassar & New York Stage and Film have announced a few of the projects tapped for the upcoming 32nd Powerhouse Season, the annual summer season which stages full productions of new plays, workshop presentations of new plays and musicals, and readings of other works in progress, among other developmental programming.

Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal star in the national tour of LOVE LETTERS, celebrated playwright A.R. Gurney's enduring romance about first loves and second chances.  LOVE LETTERS, a special theatrical tour made its official tour launch at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on October 13.  For a complete tour schedule and more information, visit: http://www.lovelettersontour.com/tickets-and-tour-schedule

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Washington, DC., Denver, Los Angeles and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include Signature's CAKE OFF, SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM in Denver, and CARRIE THE KILLER MUSICAL in L.A., just to name a few.

The undeniable chemistry between Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal is on full display again in Love Letters, a special theatrical tour that officially launched this week at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. From the moment these two entered the stage holding hands, the audience was totally ready to be swept away into a very different yet in so many way similar tale of two lovers doing their best to just love and be honest with each other throughout their lives even though most of it was spent apart. And we were not disappointed.

Dentro de la temporada teatral estival, coinciden esta semana en la cartelera madrileña dos de las obras más representativas de los dos compositores más importantes de Teatro Musical, 'The Lord' and 'The Master', Andrew Lloyd Webber y Stephen Sondheim. 

A line from the play best describes Black Pearl Sings when Susannah Mullally says, "Pearl is a pearl." Black Pearl Sings opened on Saturday March 7 at the Just Off Broadway Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. The production marks two firsts for Spinning Tree Theatre, the production of a local playwright and the first time the company utilized a director outside the organization.

Remember the anti-folk scene, born in the mid-1980s, when songwriters with guitars took the stage at little clubs and sang songs that at first seemed like folk songs, but actually turned folk on it's head, trading trademark earnestness for darker, more ironic tales? Thus was created a new direction in acoustic songwriting, giving rise to such talented acts as Bongwater and Regina Spektor. I mention this because I think I may have recently witnessed the beginning of a nascent anti-cabaret movement at Don't Tell Mama with Meg Flather's new show, Meg and John.

I watch YouTube videos of the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet before bed, so when I had the opportunity to see the company in the flesh at BAM, I jumped at the opportunity. Needless to say, I had high expectations from the versatile contemporary powerhouse that were mostly upheld.

Feats of magic are at an end, resolutions have been made and Ferdinand and Miranda are bound for a world far braver and newer than what they've experienced on this magical island. That's when Jeffrey King, as Antonio, turns to face his brother Prospero whose Dukedom Antonio usurped lo those many years ago. Prospero has forgiven him, and what does Antonio do?

The spotlight today falls upon Darryl Deason-mild-mannered Murfreesboro dentist-by-day; high-flying, widely respected director/producer/actor-by-night-who shares the spotlight today with Katherine Sandoval Taylor, who opens tonight as Guenevere in The Arts Center of Cannon County's production of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot (playing through March 23; curtain's at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees) which is, interestingly enough, produced by Darryl Deason himself. Ah! Syncronicity (ya gotta love a good calendar application!).

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER by Mark Twain and adapted for the stage by Laura Eason is currently delighting audiences at the Denver Center until December 18th. This classic follows Tom Sawyer and his parter in crime Huckleberry Finn as they live out their childhood adventures together.

'Jerry and Molly Schiff are the only non celebrities in their Malibu neighborhood; in fact, their shabby beachfront ranch is next to Barbra Streisand's mansion.

'Jerry and Molly Schiff are the only non celebrities in their Malibu neighborhood; in fact, their shabby beachfront ranch is next to Barbra Streisand's mansion.

Hartford Stage Artistic Director Michael Wilson feted in star-studded farewell performance June 20th.

The star-studded performer line-up gets even hotter for the 2011 CMT MUSIC AWARDS with the addition of Big & Rich, Toby Keith, Zac Brown Band and Luke Bryan. Recently announced host Kid Rock, who returns for a second year, performs with Sheryl Crow; and hot on the heels of his win on 'Celebrity Apprentice,' John Rich reunites with Big & Rich for the duo's first television performance in over three years and their first performance on the CMT MUSIC AWARDS since 2005.

The music of the night will begin playing again in Atlanta soon, for what could be the last time at the Fabulous Fox. The Phantom of the Opera, the smash hit, mega-musical that has become a worldwide phenomenon and a piece of musical theatre history will make its last stop at Atlanta's Fox Theatre June 30 - July 18 before closing this November. I had the pleasure to talk about the tour and this beautiful show straight from the mouth of the Phantom himself, Tim Martin Gleason.

Der Sender Hamburg 1 Fernsehen ehrte gestern in einer TV Gala Menschen und Organisationen, die sich in besonderer Weise um die Hansstadt Hamburg verdient gemacht haben.

The Pittsburgh International Children's Festival, a division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, will present the 23rd annual festival May 13-17, 2009, in various venues throughout the city's university district of Oakland. The Festival is currently one of only four international theater festivals for children in the United States. Featured Children's Festival performance sites include Charity Randall Theatre, Studio Theatre, Bellefield Hall Auditorium, Synod Hall and Carnegie Lecture Hall. The Festival grounds, free to the public, will complement the featured performances with hands-on cultural and educational activities, roving artists, booths, and exhibitors. The Target Community Stage returns this year as the center of outdoor Festival activities. The stage features a lively mix of professional artists and regional performance groups.

The Pittsburgh International Children's Festival, a division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, will present the 23rd annual festival May 13-17, 2009, in various venues throughout the city's university district of Oakland. The Festival is currently one of only four international theater festivals for children in the United States. Featured Children's Festival performance sites include Charity Randall Theatre, Studio Theatre, Bellefield Hall Auditorium, Synod Hall and Carnegie Lecture Hall. The Festival grounds, free to the public, will complement the featured performances with hands-on cultural and educational activities, roving artists, booths, and exhibitors. The Target Community Stage returns this year as the center of outdoor Festival activities. The stage features a lively mix of professional artists and regional performance groups.

Tony Adams, the veteran film and stage producer whose credits include Blake Edwards' Pink Panther hits, S.O.B. '10,' and the film and stage versions of Victor/Victoria died Saturday, October 22nd, of a stroke at Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan. He was surrounded by family and friends. He was 52 years old.