Christine Swerczek - Page 10

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS is coming to Omaha! This winner of multiple Tony Awards, based on the 1951 Academy Award winning film of the same name and adapted for stage by Christopher Wheeldon, will run February 13-18 at Omaha's Orpheum Theatre.

Gordon Cantiello along with Rick Brayshaw has brought another fine evening of entertainment to Omaha with I LEFT MY HEART: A SALUTE TO THE MUSIC OF TONY BENNETT at the Performing Artists Repertory Theatre in Crossroads. This delightful two act tribute showcases 34 songs made popular by Tony Bennett.

The Omaha Community Playhouse once again takes on a serious subject. PARADE, the Tony Award-winning musical based on the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man falsely accused of the rape and murder of a 13 year old girl in Marietta, Georgia, opens tonight and runs through March 11.

THE KING AND I is bringing more than a great show to Omaha. Jose Llana, who stars as the King of Siam, says, 'I think it's healthy to have conversation, especially in this political climate, when the country is so divided to tell a story about a world leader extending a hand of friendship to a person from another country. That's the story we're telling and the message that we're trying to convey.'

With music by 6 time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles, book by Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and direction by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (FINDING NEVERLAND, PIPPIN) the national tour of WAITRESS will serve you a slice of awesome at the Orpheum Theatre from December 12 through the 17th.

Singing the greats of Ole' Blue Eyes, this cadre of four veteran vocalists, Matthias Jeske, Jodi Vaccaro, Wendy Eaton, and Bob Goding, brought an opening night jam-packed house back to the days of smooth tunes, sophisticated dress, and Jack Daniels. Songs, jokes, stories...all combined for an intimate evening with warm holiday spirit.

YESTERDAY & TODAY, an interactive Beatles experience, returns to the Omaha Community Playhouse for the 10th year. This popular show starring Billy McGuigan and his two brothers, Ryan and Matthew, is a musical tribute to their late father who started them on this path as children. Having memorized more than 200 Beatles songs, the McGuigans personalize each show by taking requests from the audience.

This is not just a raunchy peek into bedrooms of the teens. It is a sober look into the hearts and minds of these kids on the cusp of adulthood as they navigate their turbulent lives. It is a moving, heartfelt story that reaches beyond the centuries.

VAN GOGH & ME gives new meaning to the words 'performing arts.' This is art leaping to life on stage at the hands of playwright Matthew Gutshick and director John Hardy. Based on true accounts of the last months of Vincent van Gogh's life, VAN GOGH & ME pictures how the Dutch post-impressionist painter may have appeared through the eyes of a child.

What would it be like to live under the sea? Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID gives us a fantasy glimpse into the world of King Triton and his mermaid daughters along with their friends in this color-drenched, bubbly musical now showing at the Orpheum Theatre in Omaha from November 7-12.

Sarah Gibson, Mallory Vallier, and Ashley Laverty created a new one-night cabaret featuring favorite show tunes with a twist... or should I say a 'bend?' MISTER AND MISSCAST: A GENDER BENDING MUSICAL THEATRE CABARET, a clever name for a clever show, featured the genders mixing it up. Men performed songs typically sung by women and vice versa. The result was a colorful concoction that was fresh and fun.

We all need a little RESPECT. That's why educator and child psychologist Dr. Patricia Newman founded a not for profit organization with a mission to build healthy relationships using theatre and community collaboration. Theatre gets their attention.

'The title of the play is STUPID F*ING BIRD.' 'That'll sell some tickets!' So goes the dialogue in the newest play showing in the Howard Drew Theatre at the Omaha Community Playhouse. If you can get past the profane and impious language, here is what should sell tickets to Aaron Posner's modern take on Anton Chekhov's 1865 play, 'The Seagull.'

Bill Berloni has been in the animal training business for more than 40 years. Having trained such iconic animals as Sandy in ANNIE, and Elle's petite Chihuahua, Bruiser, in LEGALLY BLONDE, Berloni's currently working canine actors are appearing in the national tour of FINDING NEVERLAND which is coming to Omaha's Orpheum Theatre October 11-15.

Written by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe, this one hour, one act production directed by Susan Clement-Toberer focuses on the serious subject of suicide. It adds humor, so it's fun, but there is always the underlying current of sadness. Death and its resulting pain for loved ones make for the 'saddest happiest' conversation of all.

This has been an unusual weekend for me. I had the privilege of attending two compelling plays written by African Americans about African Americans and performed by African Americans. Both shows are moving presentations that made me laugh. They made me cry. And they made me view the lives of families very different from my own with a new sense of understanding.

This show is one that you will hold close to your heart. Children will love it. Adults will smile and appreciate the layers of meaning, but will also enjoy the sheer frivolity of it all. If I may say so, 'ewe' will love this Grand Challenge. It's a winner.

Directed by Amy Lane, this cast is stellar. They aren't even acting. They flawlessly embody the MacLeods and lawyers living out their drama. There will be awards…lots of awards…for Laura Leininger-Campbell's production, EMINENT DOMAIN.

Make your way to MY WAY: A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA at the Performing Arts Repertory Theatre in the Crossroads Mall.

With so much theater happening in Omaha, it's difficult to garner a sold out crowd on a weekend night. But for those who want a mindless jaunt to the Roman Forum, this is your trip. It's quaint. It's charming. (It's filled with Ebkes.) And it's a funny thing.