Putting It Together Revival 1998 - Articles Page 7

On December 12 singer Frank Sinatra Jr. will perform a 100th Birthday Celebration of his father Frank Sinatra's music at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills at 9 pm. In our talk he describes the concert in detail. He also talks about his mentors and what music he prefers to listen to nowadays. When and how did this celebration concert come about? When Frank Sinatra died back in 1998 I engineered a celebrational show which I intended to run for eighteen months to two years, to celebrate his life and his career. The show at that time was called Sinatra Sings Sinatra. As it turned out, the audiences and the people who hired our program wanted very much to keep Sinatra Sings Sinatra going long after two years had passed. By now we were getting close to going into the 21st century, and it has been so ever since. Now we come to December the 12th forthcoming here which will have been his 100th birthday. OK! Two years ago I discussed with my family and the people that we work with the importance of organizing a special series of events to commemorate his 100th year. I was wondering whether or not  this was a little bit of overkill at the time, but I have been told such things happen for people like Duke Wayne, Bing Crosby and people of that situation that they have these big festivals, recapitulations, tributes, you name it. In 2013 I started writing a show for the end of 2015. That show debuted in May this year.

The new St. Ann's Warehouse was unveiled in a ceremony this morning! The $31.6 million, 25,000 sf. theater, at the breathtaking site of the pre-Civil War Tobacco Warehouse under the Brooklyn Bridge, will make Brooklyn Bridge Park a home for culture for future generations.

The New Group has announced complete casting for the world premiere of STEVE, a new play by Mark Gerrard.  Directed by Cynthia Nixon, this production features Ashlie Atkinson and Francisco Pryor Garat, and as announced, Mario Cantone, Jerry Dixon, Malcolm Gets and Matt McGrath. A limited Off-Broadway engagement plays November 3 - December 27 at The Pershing Square Signature Center (The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre, 480 West 42nd Street), with Official Opening Night set for Wednesday, November 18.

Have you ever seen a movie that you thought was so bad, that it was actually good? That's what happened on the road from turning laughably ridiculous 1936 anti-drug propaganda film REEFER MADNESS into a hit Off-Broadway musical. Despite continually being repurposed and repackaged throughout the 30s, 40s, and 50s, AMC considers the original REEFER MADNESS to be 'one of the worst movies ever made.' So, when Dan Studney (music) and Kevin Murphy (book and lyrics) brought the movie to the stage in 1998, it was with tongue firmly implanted in cheek. The musical, playing at Rollins College's Annie Russell Theatre through October 3rd, is a hilarious look at the paranoid fear-mongering that is often the default response to anything new. Having seen the 2005 star-studded film adaptation (and having recently interviewed original star Lori Alan), going in, my expectations for the Rollins' production were extremely 'high' (pun completely intended). However, as is standard for shows at the Annie, the REEFER MADNESS cast is exceptionally strong and, under the direction of Missy Barnes, manages to create the perfectly manic tone for this laugh-out-loud musical.

NeekOn will feature Live Music, Dance (including a Persian Folklore Dance Flash Mob), Visual Arts, and Food from multiple cultures around the world. (Neek means kindness.)

A pair of Brooklyn 12-year-old girls become unlikely gaming moguls when their school project becomes the biggest mobile game of the year in Nickelodeon's new live-action comedy series, Game Shakers, premiering tonight, Sept. 12, at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

A pair of Brooklyn 12-year-old girls become unlikely gaming moguls when their school project becomes the biggest mobile game of the year in Nickelodeon's new live-action comedy series, Game Shakers, premiering Saturday, Sept. 12, at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

NeekOn will feature Live Music, Dance (including a Persian Folklore Dance Flash Mob), Visual Arts, and Food from multiple cultures around the world. (Neek means kindness.)

Joe's Pub at The Public has announced its upcoming nightly performances, running August 19-30. Visit www.joespub.com for a complete list of shows or scroll down for details!

Joe's Pub at The Public has announced its upcoming performances, tonight, July 29 - August 9, 2015. Scroll down for details!

Joe's Pub at The Public has announced its upcoming performances, July 29 - August 9, 2015. Scroll down for details!

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to announce CREATORS, COCKTAILS, & CONVERSATIONS series, presented by Bay Street Theater and Hamptons magazine. The series begins with 'Novel Ideas' today, June 5. Enjoy a glass of wine and join six authors as they dish on their latest books. 

St. Ann's Warehouse, which for 36 years has enlivened New Yorkers with new works by the world's most vital music- and theater-makers, is about to open its first permanent home, a 25,000-sf theater at the breathtaking site of the Tobacco Warehouse, on the waterfront in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The organization will inaugurate its new building by presenting a 2015-16 season that epitomizes St. Ann's indispensable contribution to the global cultural landscape -- a series of international productions in which world-class artists reconfigure flexible, open space to realize their creative visions.

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of Heisenberg, the new play by two-time Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Punk Rock), directed by Drama Desk Award winner Mark Brokaw (The Lyons, How I Learned to Drive) starring Denis Arndt (The Night Alive at Geffen Playhouse, 'The Practice') and Tony and Emmy Award winner Mary-Louise Parker (Proof, 'Weeds') opens tonight, June 3, as part of MTC's 2014-2015 season of The Studio at Stage II -- Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series at New York City Center -- Stage II (131 West 55th Street).

Joe's Pub at The Public has announced its upcoming performances, June 3 - 14, 2015. Scroll down or visit www.joespub.com for a complete list of shows.

Arden Theatre Company hosts its Master Storyteller Award ceremony and concert tonight, June 1, 2015. The award will be bestowed upon Composer and Lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who will accept the award at a ticketed ceremony and concert, which is a fundraising benefit for the Arden's extensive educational and outreach programs. Composer and Lyricist Jason Robert Brown will present Mr. Sondheim with the award.

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to announce CREATORS, COCKTAILS, & CONVERSATIONS series, presented by Bay Street Theater and Hamptons magazine. The series begins with "Novel Ideas" on June 5. Enjoy a glass of wine and join six authors as they dish on their latest books. 

Arden Theatre Company announces a final list of performers for the Master Storyteller Award ceremony and concert on Monday, June 1, 2015. The award will be bestowed upon Composer and Lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who will accept the award at a ticketed ceremony and concert, which is a fundraising benefit for the Arden's extensive educational and outreach programs. Composer and Lyricist Jason Robert Brown will present Mr. Sondheim with the award.

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of HEISENBERG, the new play by two-time Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Punk Rock), directed by Drama Desk Award winner Mark Brokaw (The Lyons, How I Learned to Drive), starring Denis Arndt (The Night Alive at Geffen Playhouse, 'The Practice') and Tony & Emmy Award winner Mary-Louise Parker (Proof, 'Weeds'), will play a strictly limited 6-week engagement beginning tonight, May 19, and opening Wednesday, June 3 as part of MTC's 2014-2015 season of The Studio at Stage II -- Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series at New York City Center.

James Snyder discusses his long run in IF/THEN, his upcoming role in EVER AFTER and his concert at Birdland

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of Heisenberg, the new play by two-time Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Punk Rock), directed by Drama Desk Award winner Mark Brokaw (The Lyons, How I Learned to Drive) starring Denis Arndt (The Night Alive at Geffen Playhouse, "The Practice") and Tony and Emmy Award winner Mary-Louise Parker (Proof, "Weeds") begins rehearsals Thursday.

The Fugard Theatre's production of CABARET begins with a perfectly realised moment of theatre. Before long, the magic of that moment wears off, and this production of the classic John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe Masteroff musical begins to flounder in Matthew Wild's directionless staging of the piece.

Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its nightly performances, April 1-12, 2015. Details below!

In this article I will not be reviewing the work I saw nor will I be critiquing, I will simply be putting my experience into words. For those of you who could not I attend I hope that you can live vicariously though me, and for those of you who were lucky enough to be in the house that night I hope that I can in some way put all of the emotions you felt into words since I know it is surprisingly difficult to explain what we experienced that evening.