From Above 1998 - Articles Page 5

Alan Paul directs and demonstrates the power of live theater.

Disney Theatrical Productions and Broadway Grand Rapids are thrilled to announce that tickets for the long-awaited premiere engagement of Disney's The Lion King go on sale to the public Thursday, September 5. The Lion King will leap onto DeVos Hall's stage on Wednesday, November 20 for a two-week engagement through Sunday, December 1.

Celebrate the start of cooler fall weather at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. There are plenty of performances for everyone from rockin' concerts and classical evenings to laugh-out-loud comedy shows and intimate cabaret-style dance performances.

There's no doubt that dark times are ahead for the people of Berlin in this faithful recreation of the tawdry 1998 Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of CABARET. Using the original Broadway sets by Robert Brill and costumes by William Ivey Long, this Ogunquit Playhouse version, running now through August 10, is rough, tough and gritty, taking the implied decadence and hedonism of pre-World War II Germany and attaching it blatantly to every denizen of the speakeasy known as the Kit Kat Klub.

Stagecrafters presents Ragtime, onstage at the Baldwin Theatre from Friday, September 13, through Sunday, October 6, 2019.

Stagecrafters proudly presents Ragtime, onstage at the Baldwin Theatre from Friday, September 13, through Sunday, October 6, 2019.

"In a story, someone had a dream. In that Dream, someone told a story." A Dream Like a Dream is one of the most celebrated Chinese theatrical masterworks of the 21st century. It was conceived and created by Stan Lai, who recently became the first Chinese theatre professional inducted into the Sibiu Walk of Fame at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Romania's pre-eminent performing arts event. In 2002, the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre was the first professional company to mount A Dream Like a Dream, winning Best Overall Performance, Best Costume Design and Best Supporting Actor (TragedyDrama) at the 12th Hong Kong Drama Awards. After a hiatus of 17 years, the HKRep produces this work anew, co-directed by Stan Lai and HKRep Assistant Artistic Director Fung Wai Hang, with special guests Louisa So, three-time Hong Kong Drama Award Best Actor Poon Chan Leung and ViuTV series star Cecilia Choi from My Very Short Marriage leading a 30-member cast of HKRep company members and other outstanding local actors. The production runs from July 28th to September 8th at The Box, Freespace, Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District. On July 11th, a limited number of tickets will be available for sale for the preview performance (July 27th) and the production run from URBTIX outlets and the West Kowloon Cultural District.

The French Institute Alliance Fran aise (FIAF), New York's premier French cultural and language center, today announced the 2019 Crossing the Line Festival, featuring 11 performances and a gallery exhibition from a geographically, generationally, and artistically diverse group of artists whose work transcends genres and boundaries. All performances are world, US, or New York premieres; they are united by their convention-breaking fearlessness as they confront topics from social injustice to personal demons. Many of the performances pay homage to legendary artists of our time and previous eras, while the theme of migration and its transformational effects on identity informs several others. The festival runs from September 12 to October 12. Ticket are available at crossingtheline.org.

The fun of an evening such as this week's 'Michael Kahn & Friends, Off the Record: The Lansburgh Years, 1992-2007' derives from the relaxed, unscripted content provided by those who usually offer scripts to an audience. The three actors and one former administrative colleague who joined Kahn at the Harman Wednesday to visit memory lane required little prompting by moderator Tom Story to recall and reminisce about their work with the Shakespeare Theatre Company during the Lansburgh Years. Once Story asked each to remember his/her first meeting with Michael Kahn, a series of photos of past productions drove the evening of anecdotes.

Cabaret is one of the most successful, popular and influential musicals ever written. You can call it's Kander and Ebb's masterpiece or a defining triumph for Hal Prince or Bob Fosse and in any case, you'll be right on the money. So it's no wonder I have so many damn recordings of the score. The good news is they are all available for streaming on various platforms and so I can throw out all these CDs without having to do any uploading.

The guest lineups for the upcoming episodes of Live from Here with Chris Thile in Dallas onApril 6, New York on April 13 & 20 and Nashville on April 27 are set, featuring The Head and The Heart, Sara Bareilles, The Milk Carton Kids, Josh Ritter, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Esperanza Spalding, Del McCoury Band and more. See below for full details on this season's schedule.

Multiple Grammy and Oscar winning artist, musician and producer T Bone Burnett gave a thought provoking keynote speech at SXSW today, warning of the current dangers of the dominance of digital monopolies like Google and Facebook, while championing the value of the independence of artists. See below for the full text of the speech.

At the elegant Soroya Theatre in Northridge, CA, Martha Graham's Dance Company, under Artistic Director Janet Eilber's seasoned guidance, performed a most incredible group of works.  Some were originally created approximately 80 years ago, by Martha Graham, a true icon in the Dance world.  The EVE Project, as this evening, March 2nd, 2019 was entitled, gave us a wide variety of themes within a theme, that being Women and their significance, their power, their passion and their strength.  It was polished to perfection, and each piece carried many meanings and concepts and was just so beautifully performed and articulated. The Martha Graham Dance Company is the oldest contemporary dance company in the United States, founded in 1926.  Since it's inception it has explored and encompassed political and humanitarian issues, as well as affairs of the heart and human interactions, while creating a prolific dance technique that is unequaled in it's scope.  Graham created a total of 181 ballets during her long career, and is recognized as a primal artistic force of the 20th century, being named in 1998 as 'Dancer of the Century' in Time magazine, and labeled one of the female 'Icons of the Century' by People Magazine.

Following the announcement of his new album, In the Shape of a Storm out on Mama Bird Recording Co. April 12th, and the first new song 'South', Damien Jurado today shares the opening track from his new album unearthing a two decade-old track, “Lincoln”, which had been slated for his third record. Jurado shares the genesis of the track saying '“Lincoln”, written in 1998, was originally slated for my third album not yet titled, Ghost of David. I had 13 songs recorded for the album onto a newly purchased digital 8-track machine. And, when the day came to mix the finished album, an error done on my part was made, erasing everything. Now under a deadline with the label to turn in a new album, I came up with the bright idea to scrap every song I had written for the album, and start a new. All original material was written, and then recorded in a period of less than a week for Ghost of David.  Years later, I would come across the only recorded demo I had made for the original album on a cassette. This song was “Lincoln”. Over the years I considered “Lincoln” for many of my albums, but the song just couldn't find the proper place to land. That was until I went in to record my latest album, In the Shape of a Storm. It felt not only fitting to put it on the record, but to have it be the opening song.'

The Colorado Music Festival today announced the appointment of conductor Peter Oundjian as its next Music Director. He is the fourth person to hold this title in the 42-year history of the festival, which is held for six weeks each year at the Colorado Chautauqua, a National Historic Landmark at the foot of the rugged Flatirons. Mr. Oundjian led the 2018 festival as Artistic Advisor, and his appointment as Music Director was announced along with the festival's 2019 season, which runs from June 27 to August 3 and explores the legacy of Beethoven.

Disney Theatrical Productions and Playhouse Square are thrilled to announce that tickets for the long-awaited return engagement of Disney's THE LION KING go on sale to the public on February 11, 2019.  Disney's THE LION KING will leap onto the KeyBank State Theatre stage on August 7 for a limited four-week engagement through September 1, 2019, appearing as a Huntington Featured Performance.

2018 was an amazing year for theatre in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and if the proposed seasons for area theatres are any indication, 2019 is going to be a great one, too. From classic plays to super contemporary ones, and of course, a decent amount of musicals, this year has a lot for theatregoers to look forward to. Here are some productions I'm particularly excited about in the coming months.

Thanks to the aggressive Aquaman marketing campaign, chances are good that your significant other has been immersed in images of hunky Jason Momoa over the past few weeks.  That means you better up your Valentine's game.  You've got a lot of romance novel wet-hair flips and the chiseled mega-chest abs to drown out, and Bird Box on Netflix and delivery pizza ain't gonna cut it.  Luckily, we've recognized the problem early, and we've compiled a list of upcoming Atlanta shows to help you to plan the perfect Valentine's Day theatre date.   Because a date night spent at the theatre is always upping your game.

Current Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee Todd Rundgren will be embarking on the world's first hybrid concert/book tour this spring, highlighting both his hits as well as "deep tracks" spanning his 50-year career.

On November 3rd and 4th, Sarasota Youth Opera will present a revival of their acclaimed production of Benjamin Britten's charming opera The Little Sweep, last seen in 2013. The Opera will be preceded by a prologue created especially for Sarasota Youth Opera by conductor and Youth Opera Music Director Jesse Martins and stage director Martha Collins (Rootabaga Country, The Secret World of Og).

The Newark Downtown District is the vibrant setting for a free community concert celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Newark Downtown District (NDD) on Tuesday, Oct. 16. Presented in partnership with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), this special event features live music by The Commodores and Eric Benet, soul and R&B hits with DJ Felix Hernandez, and appearances by radio personalities Shaila Scott (WBLS 107.5 FM) and DJ Wallah (HOT 97) as co-hosts.'What better way to celebrate 20 years in Downtown Newark than to jam out with the entire community?" said Anthony McMillan, Chief Executive Officer of the Newark Downtown District. "We can't wait to enjoy a night to commemorate what's been done and to cheer what's to come!"

The Newark Downtown District is the vibrant setting for a free community concert celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Newark Downtown District (NDD) on Tuesday, Oct. 16. Presented in partnership with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), this special event features live music by The Commodores and Eric Benet, soul and R&B hits with DJ Felix Hernandez, and appearances by radio personalities Shaila Scott (WBLS 107.5 FM) and DJ Wallah (HOT 97) as co-hosts.

With Spamilton: An American Parody currently running at the theatre, the Menier Chocolate Factory today announces full casting for their major revival of Hugh Whitemore's Pack of Lies. Hannah Chissick directs Jasper Britton as (Stewart), Sia Dauda (Sally), Alasdair Harvey (Peter Kroger), Chris Larkin (Bob Jackson), Macy Nyman (Julie Jackson), Tracy-Ann Oberman (Helen Kroger), Natalie Walter (Thelma) and Finty Williams (Barbara Jackson). The production opens on 1 October, with previews from 20 September, and runs until 17 November.

Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center, in collaboration with violinist/composer Mari Kimura, will inaugurate a new concert series, 'New AIR Festival,' September 14 and 15 at Tenri Cultural Center, 43 West 13th Street, Manhattan (West Village).  The event features outstanding artists from the music and technology residencies at Harvestworks in New York City. 

Casting has been announced for the Indianapolis return of Disney's THE LION KING, which will leap onto the stage at Old National Centre from September 12 for a limited three week engagement through September 29.