Beau Higgins - Page 76

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County proudly announced the special engagement of BABALU, a loving tribute celebrating the musical legacy of Desi Arnaz. Created, directed, and hosted by Lucie Arnaz, BABALU's engagement at the Adrienne Arsht Center will feature multiple Tony Award-nominee and Miami native Raúl Esparza, Broadway's Tony-nominated diva of dance Valarie Pettiford and in a rare, special guest appearance, Desi Arnaz, Jr. playing percussion on his father's classic hits.

BABALU was a fine night at the theater. I am not positive yet if it is a revue, a nightclub act, or a Broadway musical trying to find its way. Filled with the music of Desi Arnaz, and a few others, this show is a love letter from Lucie Arnaz to her much adored father, Desi. She talks a lot about her father, sings and dances to music from his career and spends the performance as a charming host. Lucie looks beautiful, and her singing is wonderful. She appears to be having a fine time, and certainly wants the audience to have a great time.

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County proudly announced the special engagement of BABALU, a loving tribute celebrating the musical legacy of Desi Arnaz. Created, directed, and hosted by Lucie Arnaz, BABALU's engagement at the Adrienne Arsht Center will feature multiple Tony Award-nominee and Miami native Raúl Esparza, Broadway's Tony-nominated diva of dance Valarie Pettiford and in a rare, special guest appearance, Desi Arnaz, Jr. playing percussion on his father's classic hits.

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami Dade County proudly announced the special engagement of BABALU, a loving tribute celebrating the musical legacy of Desi Arnaz. Created, directed, and hosted by Lucie Arnaz, BABALU's engagement at the Adrienne Arsht Center will feature multiple Tony Award-nominee and Miami native Raúl Esparza, Broadway's Tony-nominated diva of dance Valarie Pettiford and in a rare, special guest appearance, Desi Arnaz, Jr. playing percussion on his father's classic hits.

After the universal acclaim that accompanied Caldwell Theatre's 2009 Summer season, (Vices: A Love Story, The Whipping Man) Artistic Director Clive Cholerton, has chosen again to counter program against traditional summer fare, and will produce a World premiere in Joel Gross's highly emotional romantic drama, The Comfort of Darkness, preceded by the Southeastern premiere of Bob Clyman's successful comedic thriller, Secret Order.

'The upcoming season will be one of our most adventuresome ever,' said Mark Danni, founder of TheatreZone, the nonprofit professional theatre group in residence at the G&L Theatre on The Community School of Naples campus. 'We have an exciting mix of classic, tap dancing, powerful and nostalgic Broadways hits,' he adds.

The 2010 2011 Kravis On Broadway season boasts a powerful line up which includes The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein and straight from the great white way, a revival of West Side Story. Add to this, NETworks Presents Disney's Beauty & The Beast, Dreamgirls and The Color Purple, all making their West Palm Beach debut at the Kravis Center. 'The upcoming Kravis On Broadway season promises a world of excitement and escape for our audience,' said Lee Bell, the Kravis Center's Senior Director of Programming.

Ramon Del Barrio has been in show business for some forty years. At the age of seven he became a Billy The Kid clothing model, officially entering this business we call show. Joining us as we travel through Ramon's life will be such names as JERSEY BOYS, GUYS & DOLLS, CHITA RIVERA, DONNA McKECHNIE, FRED ASTAIRE, GENE KELLY, BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL, DESI ARNAZ, JOSE FERRER, JUDITH JAMISON, DES McANUFF, BOB FOSSE, MICHAEL BENNETT, LUCIE ARNAZ, and a few others.

Lea DeLaria will be presenting two nights of comedy and song at the Manor Epic Showroom Friday, July 30th and July 31st at 7:30 p.m. for the benefit of Rising Action Theatre. This is the first partnership between Rising Action Theatre and The Manor Complex. 'We anticipate this will be a great success, and we plan to do more of these events in the future,' says David Goldyn, Rising Action's Producing Artistic Director. Sponsors of the event are Hot Spots Magazine, Mark Magazine, and the South Florida Gay News.

In a two-for-one theater event, Rising Action Theatre is hosting the one-act plays 'Mr. Charles, currently of Palm Beach' by Paul Rudnick and 'Mexico City' by David Leddick. Both plays will star Mr. Leddick, Merry Jo Cortada and Stefan Pinto. Funny and sad, sexy and sinister, the two plays promise an exhilarating emotional experience for the audience.

Asolo Rep announced the selection of Steven Drukman's new play 'The Innocents' for a fully staged world premiere in 2011. Chosen from five plays developed during Asolo Rep's 2010 UNPLUGGED new play festival, 'The Innocents' will open in April 2011 as part of the repertory season and in conjunction with the 2011 UNPLUGGED festival of new plays.

Producers Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher announced full casting for the Fort Lauderdale engagement of MARY POPPINS. Fort Lauderdale's most eagerly anticipated stage production will begin performances at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, June 9th for a limited engagement of 3 weeks through Sunday, June 27th. The opening night is Friday, June 11 at 8:00pm.

Donna Roll will present the final OperaFest performance at the Waterfront Playhouse on Saturday June 26 at 8 pm. The evening will feature the brilliantly talented young performers who are part of the Young Artist Program, currently taking place in Key West. Ms. Roll is the artistic director of the program, as well as a celebrated dramatic soprano, director, vocal coach and faculty member of the Longy School of Music in Boston. The students are part of the OperaFest performance training workshop and are chosen through a rigorous audition process from all over the world. Tickets to the Waterfront concert are $25 and may be purchased at the door the evening of the performance.

The show, which is not built on a traditional plot, utilizes clowning, pantomime, charades, acrobatics, and vaudeville to tell the story of Christ. A pageant that moves from moment to moment, GODSPELL features ten performers who are dressed as clowns. Jesus is played by local talent, Patrick Watkins; Judas is Josh Oliveras. The ensemble includes: Karen Reid, Rheanna Salazar, Ashlee Madhukar, Darnell Blake, Claudette Farquharson, Jonathan Yepez, Colin Healy and Dominuque Farquharson.

A Grammy-nominated saxophonist, composer, filmmaker, actor, model and activist, Leo has long ago surpassed the boundary of accomplished musician. He is as comfortable incorporating Latin and Middle Eastern melodies into his music as he is performing in his well known, sultry smooth jazz style.

I spoke with Lucie while she was in her ‘tiny' Manhattan apartment, as she put it. She was waiting for the delivery of her new mattress. She had recently returned from a wonderfully, luxurious cruise and was getting back to business. Her New York apartment was where she needed to be as opposed to the home in Connecticut she shares with her husband of about 30 years, the fine actor Laurence Luckinbill. Lucie and I spoke briefly the day before the interview and set 10:30 am as the time for me to call her the following day. The morning of the interview arrived and the phone rang at 10am, and it was Lucie, ready to go.

Grammy Nominee, Melba Moore, will perform live in concert in AN EVENING WITH THE LEGENDARY MELBA MOORE and Spoken Word Artist Daniel Beaty, will perform in EMERGENCY. The three- day performing arts festival will be held at the Stage Aurora Performance Hall inside of Gateway Town Center located at 5188 Norwood Avenue.

Opening the mainstage season is 'Tuesdays With Morrie' by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom, based on the book by Mitch Albom, playing October 29th - November 21st, 2010, with a preview performance on October 28th. This theatrical incarnation of the beloved bestseller is the heartwarming autobiographical story of Mitch Albom, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor. Sixteen years after graduation, Mitch happens to catch Morrie's appearance on a television news program and learns that his old professor is battling Lou Gehrig's Disease. Mitch is reunited with Morrie, and what starts as a simple visit turns into a weekly pilgrimage and a last class in the meaning of life. Wayne LeGette, who played Cleante in their production of 'Tartuffe' will star as Mitch.

The Lake Worth Playhouse continues its reputation of offering vibrant summer musical selections with Jonathan Larson's RENT. This Pulitzer prize winning Broadway musical based loosely on Puccini's opera, La Bohème, tells the story of eight friends living the disappearing Bohemian lifestyle in New York's East Village. The show runs July 9 through July 31 at the Playhouse, located at 713 Lake Avenue in downtown Lake Worth.

The Colony Hotel - which The Palm Beach Post has hailed as 'probably the best place for cabaret on the planet' - continues its summer cabaret season in its Royal Room Supper Club with the hunky twin singing sensations Will & Anthony Nunziata, whose grandparents live in the Palm Beach area.