The Score - Articles Page 9

“I love you like Mary Shelley loved her monster.” Being in the right place at the right time can change your life. So, when young producer Marcia Jeffries stumbles upon a drunken Larry Rhodes while she’s recording a radio segment somewhere in the southern States, it seems like it’s fate. A gifted singer songwriter with a charming bluntness to him, Rhodes is immediately offered a slot on her show and his rise to stardom begins. Based on the 1957 film that launched Andy Griffith’s career, A Face in the Crowd is now only a creaky musical with an attractive cast. Written by Elvis Costello and Sara Ruhl, it’s Kwame Kwei-Armah’s swansong as Artistic Director of the Young Vic.

It was only a matter of time before someone put the story of that secret apartment on stage. You know the one, from back in the aughts, when a group of local artists built a hidden room in the Providence Place Mall and lived in it for four years. Well, another local arts collective, The Harpies, have written an interesting musical which takes that apartment as the core, and builds a story around it.

San Francisco Ballet has announced the principal casting for SWAN LAKE at Madrid's Teatro Real from October 15-22, featuring performances by renowned dancers.

Carnegie Hall announced the American Composers Orchestra will perform The New Virtuoso: Borders on October 30, featuring works by contemporary composers exploring themes of cultural and musical boundaries.

Simone Dinnerstein and Awadagin Pratt will perform works for solo piano, two pianos, and piano for four hands at Miller Theatre at Columbia University. Dinnerstein and Pratt share a long time friendship and appreciation for collaborative performance. You can watch them perform this October. Learn how to purchase tickets.

The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY), one of New York's leading cultural venues, will present Australian Chamber Orchestra: The Ottoman Four Seasons with Richard Tognetti, artistic director and violin; Joseph Tawadros, oud; James Tawadros, riq on Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 2pm on the David Geffen Stage at Kaufmann Concert Hall.

Forte Theatre Company is kicking off its main stage season with the classic musical She Loves Me, running October 4–13.

City Theatre Austin’s production of Into the Woods is a captivating exploration of fairy tales and human desires. Weaving well-known fairy tale characters, the musical delves into the complexities of choice and consequence but also explores Sondheim’s idea that we can find strength in our community, that no one is alone. #ATXTheatre #musicals

In this video, watch as Nicole Scherzinger and the company of Sunset Boulevard gets ready for their close-ups at Starchild at Civilian.  

Jukebox musicals are a polarizing topic in the world of musical theatre. For fans of an artist or group whose music is used as the score of a musical, these can often be favorites due to the familiarity and affinity one might have for the songbook. For musical purists, however, jukebox musicals often feel like one is being cheated out of a new, original score, not to mention the fact that many times these types of shows employ very thinly constructed books (e.g., ALL SHOOK UP) or stories that verge on the truly absurd (e.g., ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE). But there are a rare few of these productions that get the mix right – making them enjoyable for both sides of the theatrical aisle and can often be the recipe for a megahit. Such is the case with JERSEY BOYS, the 2005 Tony Award winning musical which tells the story of the formation, success, and breakup of the hit Rock and Roll group, The Four Seasons including lead singer, Frankie Valli. This high energy, audience favorite opens the 64th season for Osceola Arts in Kissimmee and is a highly entertaining and solid production – one that is sure to please fans of the show and newcomers alike.

Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel's new solo program, ETUDES/QUIETUDES, celebrates the acoustic guitar with 11 concert etudes and pieces honoring Bill Evans, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Paul Motian.

The Bold Tendencies Communion season came to an end last night, and it didn't go quietly. With 119 musicians of the Philharmonia Orchestra, 100 members of the Philharmonia Chorus and two soloists sopranos, conductor Nefeli Chadouli led the vast troupe in Gustav Mahler's Symphony No 2 'Resurrection’.

The Buffalo theatre season is back in full swing and it's off to a great start, if the fine production of DISNEY'S NEWSIES THE MUSICAL is an indication. Playing at Shea's 710 Theatre alongside co presenter The D'Youville Kavinoky Theatre, the creative talent assembled showcases the best of Western New York's talent.

From the writers of SIX, comes a brand-new British musical where the lonely little lives of two BFFs are transformed into an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza about dates, mates, and celebrating love in all its forms.

ESTHER thrilled the audience at the George, who gave it a rousing standing ovation. I suspect A.D. PLAYERS knows its audience, and they have given them a show that dazzles people who have come in the right context. It was not shown if the struggle of scripture versus spectacle was an issue for them as it was for me. If you love exquisite dancing and good singing. If you admire a company that does all of this in service of an Old Testament heroine, then ESTHER is a sure bet.

It is on the wings of wit and pleasantly wacky characterizations that the operative message of tolerance is delivered, in one case with the revival meeting fervor of “Love Thy Neighbor,” led by the fun and funny antics of Michael Valinoti as genially goofy Trent Oliver. 

“What angel wakes me from my flowery bed?” More often than not, when Shakespeare is adapted into different formats, the text is largely lost but the story remains - not so in this case. Benjamin Britten and his partner Peter Pears opted to go without a librettist, instead taking Shakespeare’s words and shuffling parts of the play about a bit. It certainly makes sense that work from such a lyrical playwright could be directly transformed into song, and by and large it feels like quite a natural transition.

Beloved Christmas romcom The Holiday (2006) is to be presented live in concert this festive season, on a 16-date UK-wide tour, which will see the films score played live-to-film with a complete concert orchestra. The announcement comes after a sell-out tour in 2023.

New Jersey Symphony is calling on New Jersey-based composers of all backgrounds, ages and ability levels to submit their own solo piano arrangement of the Korean folk song “Arirang.”

English National Opera will present Britten’s chilling chamber opera The Turn of the Screw, based on Henry James’ dark and twisted gothic novella. This ENO production is directed and designed by award-winning Isabella Bywater.

FRIGID New York will present the Days of the Dead Festival at UNDER St. Marks. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.

Magik Theatre in San Antonio will present the world premiere of LYRIC & THE KEYS. Learn how to purchase tickets.

The WILD ABOUT YOU Deluxe Edition, featuring music and lyrics by Chilina Kennedy, will be released in September.

Brian Cox in THE SCORE and Tamsin Greig in THE DEEP BLUE SEA Will Transfer to Theatre Royal Haymarket. Learn more about the shows here!

The eagerly anticipated reimagining for the stage will begin performances at London’s Trafalgar Theatre on 15 February 2025.