From the Second City 1961 - Articles Page 19

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) in association with Long Wharf Theatre presents Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie, directed by Gordon Edelstein with Patch Darragh (Tom Wingfield), two-time Tony® Award winner Judith Ivey (Amanda Wingfield), Keira Keeley (Laura Wingfield).

McCarter Theatre Center has announced that George C. Wolfe, one of the most acclaimed directors in the American theater, has been awarded the inaugural Sallie Goodman Prize.

The Tony Administration Committee revealed the names of a quartet of honorees who are to be recognized in the four non-competitive Tony categories. Composer/lyricist Jerry Herman, Virginia's Signature Theatre, and longtime press agent Shirley Herz will be honored at the 63rd annual Tony Awards ceremony on June 7. Actress/writer Phyllis Newman will receive the newest Tony Award for her volunteer work as an advocate for women's health.

Broadway legend Barbara Cook will return to the New York Philharmonic - Saturday, May 30 at 8:00 p.m. - with the Philharmonic conducted by her acclaimed music director, Lee Musiker

Sean Mathias is to direct Anna Friel as Holly Golightly and Joseph Cross as William ?Fred' Parsons in Samuel Adamson's new stage adaptation of Truman Capote's classic novella Breakfast at Tiffany's, currently in its 50th anniversary year.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announces the final show of its 2008-09 season: Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo, staged by acclaimed director Rebecca Bayla Taichman (world premieres of Theresa Rebeck's The Scene and Mauritius and Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone). This new spellbinder by the master playwright who also penned Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and A.C.T.'s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, is a meticulously calibrated and dangerously brutal look at relationships intimate and unexpected. The story opens with Peter, a tweedy book editor, and his wife, Ann, whose everyday conversation takes an unexpected turn into dangerously personal territory. It's the kind of conversation that can drive a husband out for a walk-to Central Park, where Jerry, a desperate outcast, awaits. An unforgettable pairing of Albee's original The Zoo Story with a freshly penned prequel, At Home at the Zoo (formerly titled Peter and Jerry) bares its teeth to threaten the delicately balanced world its characters inhabit. Artistic Director Carey Perloff has put together an all-star artistic team on this production, featuring Tony Award-nominated actor Manoel Felciano (Ragtime at The Kennedy Center, A.C.T.'s Rock 'n' Roll, and Sweeney Todd on Broadway) as Jerry and scenic designer Robert Brill, who received a Tony Award nomination last week for his work on Guys and Dolls on Broadway. Hailed by critics as 'a thoroughly satisfying package of jagged-edged provocation' (Newsday) and 'an essential and heartening experience' (The New York Times), Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo plays at A.C.T. June 5-July 5, 2009. Opening night is Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at 8 p.m. Tickets-starting at $14-are available by calling A.C.T. Ticket Services at 415.749.2228, or at www.act-sf.org.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance today announced its Harris Theater Presents 2009-2010 season. The schedule of Harris Theater Presents events features nine programs, a remarkable thirteen Chicago premieres and includes an impressive and diverse selection of music, dance and conversation by internationally acclaimed artists and ensembles. Highlights of the Harris Theater Presents 2009-2010 season include a rare opportunity to see Mikhail Baryshnikov in a solo dance performance, an evening of insight with the 'Master of the Musical,' Stephen Sondheim, the Harris debut of Lang Lang under the baton of his mentor Maestro Christoph Eschenbach, the Chicago premiere of Orquestra de São Paulo with virtuoso percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, Kathleen Battle's unusual program of holiday spirituals, and much more.

After a 48 year absence, Bye Bye Birdie will return to Broadway this fall presented by Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) in a production starring John Stamos (Albert Peterson), Gina Gershon (Rose Alvarez), Bill Irwin (Mr. Harry MacAfee) and Jayne Houdyshell (Mrs. Mae Peterson). Directed & choreographed by Robert Longbottom, Bye Bye Birdie has a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. Roundabout is proud to welcome back three artists who have previously worked at the theatrical institution: John Stamos, Gina Gershon and Bill Irwin.

In his New York Post column today Friday, April 24th, Michael Riedel writes that the new Stephen Sondheim show 'iSondheim' may have been saved from the 'never been' bin by the Roundabout Theatre Company.

Broadway legend Barbara Cook will return to the New York Philharmonic for two evenings - Saturday, May 30, and Tuesday, June 2, 2009, both at 8:00 p.m. - with the Philharmonic conducted by her acclaimed music director, Lee Musiker. Ms. Cook's appearances follow the success of her three sold-out 80th-birthday concerts with the Philharmonic in the 2007-08 season.

Celebrated jazz vocalist Diane Schuur joins Grammy Award-winning pianist/conductor Peter Nero and the Philly Pops for an extraordinary concert program entitled 88 Keys, a Big Band, and a Voice. These performances mark Ms. Schuur's debut with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. Between them, Peter and Diane have four Grammy awards and recording careers that combined span more than five decades. Now, take all of that brilliant talent and imagine it together on stage at Verizon Hall!

Celebrated jazz vocalist Diane Schuur joins Grammy Award-winning pianist/conductor Peter Nero and the Philly Pops for an extraordinary concert program entitled 88 Keys, a Big Band, and a Voice. These performances mark Ms. Schuur's debut with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. Between them, Peter and Diane have four Grammy awards and recording careers that combined span more than five decades. Now, take all of that brilliant talent and imagine it together on stage at Verizon Hall!

The Glass Menagerie is a timeless, contemporary American classic. Williams' beautifully crafted, semi-autobiographical play portrays the transformation of Tom Wingfield from a St. Louis warehouse worker during the depression who can only dream of adventure, to a merchant seaman who wanders the world. Tom's freedom comes at acost: he must escape his overbearing mother and his adoring, childlike sister, Laura, who is onlyfree to express herself with the animals in her glass menagerie. When Tom's attempt to provideLaura with a gentleman caller ends in disaster, he is forced to abandon his sister in order to save himself.Anyone who has ever loved their family, but needed to go on their own journey of discovery, will laugh and perhaps cry at this tender portrayal of an artist's life in a glass menagerie.

Winner of the 1967 Pulitzer Prize, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance comes to Arena Stage in a contemporary and provocative new staging under the direction of experienced Albee collaborator Pam MacKinnon. Featuring Broadway stars Kathleen Chalfant (Wit, Angels in America), Terry Beaver (Henry IV, The Last Night of Ballyhoo), Ellen McLaughlin (Angels in America) and Carla Harting (Eurydice),joined by Helen Hedman and James Slaughter, A Delicate Balance runs February 6-March 15, 2009 at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The press opening performance is Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. 'Albee is fearless about writing stories that get us in the solar plexus, and he does so with his brilliant wit, dynamic storytelling and rigorous use of language,' shares Artistic Director Molly Smith. 'His work draws the best artists, and with this production audiences are fortunate to have an enormously strong cast and creative team-approved by Albee himself.' A frequent director of Albee plays, MacKinnon has directed The Play About the Baby, the world premieres of Peter and Jerry: Homelife and The Zoo Story (now titled At Home at the Zoo) and Occupant, as well as the U.S. regional and European premieres of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

Directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom, Bye Bye Birdie will begin performances in the fall of 2009. After 48 years, Bye Bye Birdie returns to Broadway in a new production at Roundabout Theatre Company. The good news of 'Birdie's' return has brought up the usual discussions of casting Conrad Birdie himself, Newsday reached out to the original Broadway 'Birdie', Dick Gautier, who was a 1961 Tony nominee for his hip-swiveling to see what his thoughts on the subject were.

Winner of the 1967 Pulitzer Prize, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance comes to Arena Stage in a contemporary and provocative new staging under the direction of experienced Albee collaborator Pam MacKinnon. Featuring Broadway stars Kathleen Chalfant (Wit, Angels in America), Terry Beaver (Henry IV, The Last Night of Ballyhoo), Ellen McLaughlin (Angels in America) and Carla Harting (Eurydice),joined by Helen Hedman and James Slaughter, A Delicate Balance runs February 6-March 15, 2009 at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The press opening performance is Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. 'Albee is fearless about writing stories that get us in the solar plexus, and he does so with his brilliant wit, dynamic storytelling and rigorous use of language,' shares Artistic Director Molly Smith. 'His work draws the best artists, and with this production audiences are fortunate to have an enormously strong cast and creative team-approved by Albee himself.' A frequent director of Albee plays, MacKinnon has directed The Play About the Baby, the world premieres of Peter and Jerry: Homelife and The Zoo Story (now titled At Home at the Zoo) and Occupant, as well as the U.S. regional and European premieres of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

AQUILA THEATRE (Peter Meineck, Artistic Director) is proud to announce for complete cast for the World Premiere of the stage adaptation of Joseph Heller's Catch 22, adapted and directed by Peter Meineck: joining the previously announced John Lavelle (The Graduate on Broadway) will be Mark Alhadeff (currently appearing in Bedroom Farce; prior to that, Power of Darkness at the Mint), David Bishins (whose numerous NY credits include A Mother, a Daughter and a Gun with Olympia Dukakis; Sympathetic Magic at Second Stage; Boys in the Band), Chip Brookes (making his Off-Broadway debut), Christina Pumariega (last seen in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Hartford Stage, directed by Lisa Peterson and All Eyes And Ears at INTAR, directed by Eduardo Machado), Craig Wroe (seen in Miss Evers' Boys in the West End and Off Broadway at Barrow Street in An Oak Tree), and Richard Willis (more than a dozen Aquila productions including Julius Caesar, The Tempest, The Importance of Being Earnest, Hamlet, The Man Who Would Be King, and others).

AQUILA THEATRE (Peter Meineck, Artistic Director) is proud to announce the complete cast for the World Premiere of the stage adaptation of Joseph Heller's Catch 22, adapted and directed by Peter Meineck.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops open its 30th anniversary season with the sensational annual hit series known as Broadway Showstoppers! Once again, Peter Nero combines Broadway's most exceptional talent with the magic of The POPS by inviting three of New York's top talents to share the stage for these performances. Broadway star Anne Runolfsson (James Joyce's The Dead, Victor/Victoria), Julia Murney (Wicked, The Wild Party) and POPS veteran Gary Mauer (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables), perform Broadway's biggest hits together with 'the best orchestra of its kind in the entire cosmos' in one absolutely unforgettable performance!

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) is pleased to announce the full company joining 3-Time Tony Award Winner Frank Langella as 'Sir Thomas More' in a new Broadway production of Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons, directed by Tony Award Winner Doug Hughes.

For the first time ever, the legendary recordings of the exuberant, tune-filled musicals of Broadway composer-lyricist Jerry Herman are available in a new digital-only collection from Masterworks Broadway.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), now in its fourth year, is a three-week event in NYC that has premiered over 90 musicals in its first three years, becoming the largest musical theatre event in America. Tickets for NYMF productions are available at www.nymf.org or by calling 212-352-3101. This year's Festival will run from September 17 through October 7 with the following schedule of events...

The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, a new musical comedy from the creative team of the 12-time Tony Award winning smash The Producers, will open on Broadway November 8th 2007 at the Hilton Theatre (213 W 42nd St). Previews begin October 11th 2007. The production stars Roger Bart (Dr. Frederick Frankenstein), Megan Mullally (Elizabeth), Sutton Foster (Inga), Shuler Hensley (The Monster), Fred Applegate (Kemp) and Christopher Fitzgerald (Igor).

The area is bursting with theater companies--with both classics, and premieres of new works.