On Wednesday August 9th, the Nuyorican Cafe and SummerStage teamed up to give the East River Amphitheater a free night of poetry readings from a trio of reputable New York-based artists. It was an evening of soul, politicized anger, and raw emotion, and shined a tiny beacon of hope for our world in this most uncertain time. [Read more…] about Nuyorican Poets Cafe & SummerStage: An Evening of Fury and Joy
ARTS
Lincoln Center Festival’s “Chronicle of an Assassination”
To lose a spouse is devastating. To lose a spouse to assassination is grief beyond words. Perhaps this is why Director/Writer Amos Gitai joined forces with co-writer Marie-Jose Sanselme to incorporate music into Leah Rabin’s story. Songs often reach the soul in ways that mere words cannot. The result of this collaboration is Yitzhak Rabin: Chronicle of an Assassination. The 90 minute play, featuring music by J.S. Bach, Jurg Frey, Louis Lewandowski, and Luigi Nono made its North American premiere last Wednesday night at Alice Tully Hall. It is part of the Lincoln Center Festival, currently running through July 30th. [Read more…] about Lincoln Center Festival’s “Chronicle of an Assassination”
Winning Play$ Event Highlights Black Women, Feminism and More!
Winning Play$: Black Women, Feminism, & Empowerment took place this past Monday night at The Paley Center for Media. Winning Play$, which is run by Award-winning Financial Journalist & Author Stacey Tisdale, brought together an array of phenomenal women from all different backgrounds who came together for a fantastic panel that discussed everything from financial literacy, feminism, the strength of black women, and so much more that made for quite the delightful evening. [Read more…] about Winning Play$ Event Highlights Black Women, Feminism and More!
Dame Angela Lansbury Headlines One Night Benefit Reading of “The Chalk Garden”
Dame Angela Lansbury is back on the boards! The star of stage, screen, and film will return this Monday night, June 19th @ 7PM for a one night only reading of the British drama, The Chalk Garden at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (68th street between Park and Lexington). The performance will be followed by a dinner with the cast at the historic Union Club. [Read more…] about Dame Angela Lansbury Headlines One Night Benefit Reading of “The Chalk Garden”
Theater Review: Kirsten Childs’ Bella: An American Tall Tale
Wild West stories are a dime a dozen, but I can guarantee that you’ve never seen anything fresher or more completely original as Kirsten Childs’ Bella: An American Tall Tale. Childs, who provided the book, music, and lyrics, has turned the traditional tale of Cowboys and Native Americans completely on its head. Our leading player in the Playwrights Horizons production is not a Gary Cooper, Clint Eastwood, or John Wayne type. Instead, it is a beautiful and buxom African-American named Bella (Ashley D. Kelley). Her real last name is “Patterson” but after a tangle with Bonny Jonny Rakehill (Kevin Massey) she boards a train, changes her surname to “Johnson”, and attempts to escape her past. [Read more…] about Theater Review: Kirsten Childs’ Bella: An American Tall Tale
Tony Winner Jayne Houdyshell Dishes on “A Dolls House, Part 2”
Jayne Houdyshell’s (pronounced HOWDYshell) name hangs in the marquee window of Broadway’s John Golden Theatre, where she is currently starring in the most Tony-nominated play of the season, A Doll’s House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath. Just yesterday, it was announced that the originally slated 16 week hit will extend into 2018. [Read more…] about Tony Winner Jayne Houdyshell Dishes on “A Dolls House, Part 2”
Designing for Divas: An Interview with “War Paint” Tony Nominee Catherine Zuber
Catherine Zuber is one of the busiest costume designers working in entertainment that even her vacations are work. She’s currently at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theater for the world premiere of Roman Holiday: The Cole Porter Musical. It began previews on May 23rd and is slated to open this fall on Broadway. [Read more…] about Designing for Divas: An Interview with “War Paint” Tony Nominee Catherine Zuber
Sky Pony Rocks Brooklyn as Part of NYFOS Next Series
New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) is not typically known for concerts involving rainbow colored colonial wigs, pink patent leather pumps, and animal masks, but its founders, Michael Barrett and Steven Blier took a walk on the wilder side last Wednesday night at the hip Brooklyn venue, National Sawdust. [Read more…] about Sky Pony Rocks Brooklyn as Part of NYFOS Next Series
New York Pops Orchestra Winds Down 34th Season with Broadway Star Power
The New York Pops ended their 34th season in the Isaac Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall with two concerts, both of which were packed with gusto and glee. On Friday April 21st, music director and conductor Steven Reineke led the orchestra in night entitled, You’ve Got a Friend: A Celebration of Singers and Songwriters. The program was a virtual jukebox of popular American songs that have become a ubiquitous part of our culture. [Read more…] about New York Pops Orchestra Winds Down 34th Season with Broadway Star Power
Tony! Tony! Tony! An Interview with “Amelie” Star Tony Sheldon
Tony Sheldon is such a good actor that he’s able to convince people of his shyness. The self-described “homebody” received a Tony nomination in 2011 for his role as Bernadette, an aging, former star with whip-smart sass who rides a “budget Barbie camper” cross country in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. He was with the show for over 5 years in various countries and played 1,200 performances. Now, he’s traded his Revlon for a Renoir in the new Broadway musical, Amelie where he portrays two characters: Dufayel, a neighbor of the leading lady who suffers from brittle bone disease (which Sheldon extensively researched). Dufayel is also obsessed with re-visiting and re-painting Renoir’s “Luncheon at the Boating Party” and encourages Amelie to step out of her comfort zone to find love. Amelie, a young Parisian (played by Hamilton’s Phillipa Soo), is painfully timid and conjures a great deal of imagery in her mind’s eye. Sheldon also plays Collignon, a rather cantankerous grocer. [Read more…] about Tony! Tony! Tony! An Interview with “Amelie” Star Tony Sheldon