Beau Higgins - Page 59

Johnny Mercer is one of the foremost figures of The Great American Songbook. For nearly five decades, Mercer had a prolific career, writing 1,400 songs, nominated for 18 Academy Awards, and was one of the founders of Capitol Records. Johnny Mercer's poetic genius reflects the romantic yearnings, the wit, the energy, and the personality that is our America dream.

The 39 Steps combines Hitchcock with hilarious, and is a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre. The New York Times called it 'Absurdly Enjoyable! Theater at its finest!' In 2008, it took Broadway by storm with six Tony nominations, two wins, and became an instant sensation in New York and across the country, running for a remarkable 1,135 performances.

The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts will host the world premiere of the new public TV documentary STEVEN CARAS: SEE THEM DANCE on February 24. Presented by Arizona PBS, the film concerns the life and work of Mr. Caras, a former New York City Ballet dancer, who transformed his career to become one of the world's most renowned dance photographers. Currently a resident of West Palm Beach, Caras is also a published author, guest lecturer, ballet master and founding chairman of the Randolph A. Frank Prize for the Performing Arts in Palm Beach. For more information, please visit www.stevencaras.com.

Now celebrating its Fifth Anniversary Season, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County proudly presents Black History Month 2011. The Adrienne Arsht Center is preparing to host a variety of activities and performances celebrating the African Diaspora throughout the month of February. These include the gospel musical CROWNS, FESTEJO: PERU NEGRO & EVA AYLLON, RHAW/RENNIE HARRIS AWE-INSPIRING WORKS, FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS WITH KURT CARR, ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER, and JAZZ ROOTS: CELEBRATING MILES.

NAT has set up a complete series of cabaret shows and adjusted the remainder of their mainstage season. They postponed the show 'A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline', originally set to open this weekend, to February 2012. Their next mainstage production, Songs for a New World, has moved up in the line up. The final two shows of the mainstage season have not been announced, as NAT is in the process of securing the rights to these productions. The biggest change is that all shows, cabaret and mainstage, will be presented at their BayWalk location (previously the Ann Taylor store).

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is once again partnering with producer James Drayton to present the annual African-American Film Festival at 7 p.m. on three successive Tuesday evenings, March 29, April 5, 12. The theme for the 2011 African-American Film Festival is Films That You May Rather Forget.

Two of Miami's most respected performing arts organizations are collaborating to bring the gospel musical CROWNS to South Florida audiences during Black History Month 2011. The M Ensemble Company opens its 2010-2011 season with its debut performance at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County with the gospel musical CROWNS by Regina Taylor. Adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry, CROWNS runs from February 2-6, 2011 in the Adrienne Arsht Center's Carnival Studio Theater.

For over 50 years Ann Landers dished out direct, insightful, and honest advice to millions of Americans. From lovelorn teens to housewives in distress, no topic was off limits for the no-nonsense Ann Landers, but now, with a deadline looming, she finds herself facing a new kind of heartbreak. Her own.

Set in Cuba in 1953, 'A Bearded Lover' is a dark and heartwarming play about three eccentric sisters who are preparing for a long journey into the sea. Love and loyalty are tested; even the bond of sisterhood is challenged, pushed to the limit, and changed forever.

Highlights Include the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Natalie Cole, Michael Feinstein, Dudu Fisher, Kathy Griffin, Shirley MacLaine, Jackie Mason, Peking Acrobats, Itzhak Perlman, The Temptations & The Four Tops, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, Spring Awakening, Tango Inferno, West Side Story & the World Premiere Screening of Steven Caras: See Them Dance

The Boca Raton Theatre Guild will continue its extremely successful season with John Kander and Fred Ebb's classic musical, Cabaret. The Guild's recent production of Neil Simon's Broadway Bound consistently filled the Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park to capacity throughout its run. Cabaret will run from February 25th through March 13th.

New Theatre's landed acclaimed stage and film actress Angelica Torn to star in the World Premiere of The Radiant by Tony-nominated playwright Shirley Lauro, running March 25 - April 17, 2011. The Radiant is about the tempestuous love-torn life of Marie Curie, one of the world's first recognized woman scientists, whose discovery and isolation of radium earned her two Nobel Prizes and revolutionized science forever, as she ushered in 'The Atomic Age' and the first cure for cancer.

ALL TICKETS FREE! Miami City Ballet's internationally and critically acclaimed company of 50 dancers will be joined by Miami City Ballet School students to present the second Ballet for Young People program at the Adrienne Arsht Center Ziff Ballet Opera House on Saturday, February 12, 2011, 2pm-3pm. The school students open the program with Harlequin and Columbine, based on George Balanchine's Harlequinade, followed by the company dancers in Balanchine's Scotch Symphony.

Florida Repertory Theatre announced that its nationally celebrated production of Sylvia, recently praised by The Wall Street Journal, will be performed at Sanibel Island's BIG ARTS this Thursday, Feb. 3, at 8pm. During its January run, acclaimed drama critic and best-selling author, Terry Teachout, called the production 'both clever and cute in all the right ways.'

The Andrews Living Arts Studio (ALA) is proud to present its third theatrical production, the critically acclaimed drama, The Laramie Project. Written by Moises Kaufman and members of his collective, the New York-based Tectonic Theater Project, this compelling piece is based on the slaughter of Matthew Shepard, a student at the University of Wyoming, who was a victim of a hate crime fueled by homophobia. The play draws on hundreds of interviews conducted by the theatre company with town citizens, company members' own journal entries and published news reports. It is divided into three acts, and an ensemble portrays more than sixty characters in a series of short scenes.

The 39 Steps combines Hitchcock with hilarious, and is a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre. The New York Times called it 'Absurdly Enjoyable! Theater at its finest!' In 2008, it took Broadway by storm with six Tony nominations, two wins, and became an instant sensation in New York and across the country, running for a remarkable 1,135 performances.

The tour of the current smash hit Broadway production of WEST SIDE STORY is coming to Fort Lauderdale. WEST SIDE STORY will open at Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday February 15 for a two-week run through Sunday, February 27. Tony Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents' Broadway direction has been recreated for the tour by David Saint, the Associate Director on Broadway. The original Jerome Robbins choreography is reproduced by Tony Award nominee Joey McKneely (The Boy from Oz, The Life).

While Gulfshore Playhouse generally casts professional actors from New York, the cast of Unnecessary Farce consists of several professional actors from Florida led by Naples resident Zolan Henderson playing Officer Eric. Gulfshore Playhouse audiences may remember Zolan as Dr. Bob in last year's successful run of Beau Jest. Terry Wells, who hails from the St. Petersburg area, will be playing Mayor Meekley, and another Florida resident, Elizabeth Dimon, from Boca Raton, will be playing Mrs. Meekley, the Mayor's wife. Christopher Swan, known for various productions in the Florida area, will make his Gulfshore Playhouse debut as Agent Frank, the Mayor's nefarious security guard. Wendy Bergamini, playing accountant Karen Brown, just finished playing Miss Olsen in the Broadway revival of Promises, Promises, starring Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes. Rounding out the cast are Justin Holcomb as Todd, the mysterious Scottish hit man and Katrina Foy as Officer Billie. Gulfshore Playhouse audiences will remember Katy as Marianne in Tartuffe.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of the world's favorite dance companies, returns to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County February 17-20, as part of a 24-city U.S. Tour celebrating 50 years of Alvin Ailey's timeless masterpiece, Revelations. Ailey's acclaimed dancers, including Miami natives Amos J. Machanic, Jr. and Jamar Roberts, will move audiences with exciting premieres, dramatic new productions, repertory favorites and classic Revelations.

MIAMI CITY BALLET continues its 25th Anniversary Season in South Florida with Program III and the Company Premiere of Paul Taylor's powerful Promethean Fire. Program III also features these audience favorites: George Balanchine's enthralling Scotch Symphony and Twyla Tharp's popular Nine Sinatra Songs. The Opus One Orchestra will play, under the baton of maestro Gary Sheldon, 42 to 56 musicians strong, supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Arts Challenge.