Harmony Wheeler - Page 42

April 14th, for one night only, The Grove Theatre presents The Perfect Gentlemen, whose harmonies and humor go back to the days of Vaudeville. The group recreates the close harmonies of such groups as The Ink Spots and the Pied Pipers. The Perfect Gentlemen shift between vocal styles, singing a cappella, accompanied by guitar or ukulele, or playing the antique Deagan Organ Chimes. The group's signature piece, Salute to the 20th Century, is a humorous take on the de-evolution of music over the last century, illustrated by singing the same song in the style of Barbershop, Dixieland, Blues, Big Band, Doo-Wop, Bluegrass, Disco, Techno Punk, and Rap, complete with visuals.

What happens when a handsome prince is betrothed to a beautiful princess but falls in love with her bridesmaid? An all new Desert Star comedy! The Princess Bridesmaid opens March 29th at Desert Star Playhouse and creates a musical parody of one of Hollywood's classic films.

On May 2, Merit School of Music will host its "Merit Makes Music Happen" Gala 2012, a cocktail-attire affair at the Four Seasons Hotel, 120 East Delaware Pl. in Chicago, to generate proceeds to directly benefit students enrolling in the 2012-2013 program year. Merit's annual Gala is its largest fundraiser, and its generous donors helped provide $2.5million in financial support given last year.

Go Comedy! Improv Theater announces the return of the BITS Tournament. Beginning Wednesday, April 25 and running through Wednesday August 15, Go Comedy! will host the third annual Bailout Improv Tournament Spectacular (BITS). Sixteen improv teams from across metro Detroit will compete every Wednesday night at 8pm in a single elimination tournament for a $1002 cash prize. Each week, two teams will face off on the Go Comedy! stage with just 22 minutes to impress the audience with their skills. At the end of the hour, the audience will choose by secret ballot the winning team which will continue in the tournament. The audience favorite will be announced each week during the 9pm show that evening.

Burning Coal Theatre Company presents BUSINESS SPEAK - How Business People Can Use the Tools of an Actor's Trade, a four week class that presents the non-actor with the fundamental tools of the actor's trade: confidence, articulation, improvisation, and how to concisely convey ideas, using your voice and your body. Burning Coal Theatre Company's Artistic Director, Jerome Davis, and Education Director Ian Finley will teach this class on the art of public speaking. Dates and times are May 7- May 28, 2012, Mondays from 6:30-9:30 pm. The class costs $120, due at the first class. Classes will take place at the Murphey School, 224 Polk Street, Raleigh, NC. For further information, visit www.burningcoal.org. To register, call 919-834-4001.

On Tuesday, April 24 at 7:00pm, New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) presents the final offering of this season's two-part contemporary music mini-series NYFOS Next with RUSSELL PLATT & FRIENDS at Mary Flagler Cary Hall in the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Award-winning composer and writer Platt hosts and curates an hour of music showcasing the work of multi-dimensional artists and composers, including Harold Meltzer, Lisa Bielawa, Carla Kihlstedt, Gilda Lyons, and Colin Jacobsen, as well as his own.

Lookingglass Theatre Company announces its 25th Anniversary Season, kicking off with the return of Metamorphoses written and directed by Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Broadway run. The season continues with the Chicago premiere of the Tony award-nominated Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist, written by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Heidi Stillman. Ensemble Member Christine Mary Dunford will direct the world premiere of her adaptation of the bestselling novel Still Alice. In the final show of Lookingglass' 25th Season, David Schwimmer will direct the world premiere of Big Lake Big City by Keith Huff, the award-winning playwright of the Broadway cop drama A Steady Rain.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's epic voyage, The 5th Avenue Theatre is presenting Titanic: The Concert. With music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and book by Peter Stone, Titanic: The Concert is a unique way to celebrate the centennial of one of the most memorable events of the last century. Actors will sing with the support of a 25-piece orchestra and the 80 voices of the award-winning Pacific Lutheran University Choral Union. The story of the Titanic will come to life through music on The 5th Avenue stage on nights that coincide exactly with the ship's historic journey and tragic end.

Two special 'Spring Break' performances of the Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences production of 'Locomotion' at the Gallo Center for the Arts have just been made available to the public. Originally only offered to students through the arts education program, the Center opened the 11:00AM and 4:00PM shows on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 to the community to accommodate others interested in attending the play, including children and their families who may be on spring break vacation at that time.

To some, Barry Livingston is best known for his decade long and iconic role of Ernie on the hit series My Three Sons, while others remember him for more recent endevors such as his roles on Mad Men, Two and Half Men, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Monk, Crossing Jordan, Will and Grace, the West Wing, or the Academy nominated The Social Network, as well as his work on the Broadway stage in productions such as 'The Skin of Our Teeth.' As witnessed in his recent book, 'The Importance of Being Ernie,' Barry Livingston has wisely managed to re-invent himself over the years to become one of Hollywood's most respected, working actors and the quintessential family man.

Laughter and tears, gossip and home-grown advice are as prevalent as hair rollers in Truvy's Beauty Salon, the setting of the heartwarming comedy-drama Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, playing at Bristol Riverside Theatre on March 20-April 8. Susan D. Atkinson directs an ensemble cast of BRT favorites including Jennie Eisenhower, Diane Findlay,Laura C. Giknis, Barbara McCulloh, Susan Moses, and Jo Twiss.

A literary masterpiece comes to life this spring when TheatreWorks of Silicon Valley presents OF MICE AND MEN. Crafted for the stage by Steinbeck himself, this portrait immortalizes the strength of friendship and the depth of the American dream. OF MICE AND MEN plays April 4-29, 2012 (press opening April 7) at TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets ($19-$69) and information the public may call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

Before the 2:30 p.m. matinee performance on Sunday, April 8, all children ages 12 and under are invited to participate in GODSPELL's first-ever Easter Egg Hunt inside the Circle in the Square Theatre.

Shreve & Co., the Bay Area's premier luxury retail jeweler, will display several historic pieces of Shreve craftsmanship, courtesy of the Petra and Greg Martin Collection, for limited time only. The Martins, proprietors of Martin Estate Winery, have generously lent several significant items from their personal collection for display at Shreve's San Francisco store. The display will only be available during the VIP reception this Wednesday, March 21st, from 6:30-8:30 PM, in honor of Shreve's 160th anniversary celebration.

The Broadway play Red comes to Berkeley Repertory Theatre in March, staged as a valedictory by Obie Award-winner Les Waters as he departs the Bay Area to take the reins at Actors Theatre of Louisville. John Logan, the Oscar-nominated author of Aviator and Gladiator, won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for this feverish 90-minute drama. Now Waters and two exceptional actors bring this powerful play to local audiences. Red begins previews on the intimate Thrust Stage on March 16, opens March 22, and runs through April 29.

The Merce Cunningham Trust today announced that former Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC) members Susana Hayman-Chaffey, Rashaun Mitchell, Sandra Neels, and Susan Quinn are the first recipients of the Cunningham Fellowship, a new program to support the teaching, revival, and performance of Cunningham works. Supervised by former MCDC Director of Choreography and Merce Cunningham Trustee Robert Swinston, each Fellow will conduct a multi-week repertory workshop to restage a Cunningham dance for pre-professional students. The Trust has also announced that it has named dance writer and Mondays with Merce producer Nancy Dalva Scholar-in-Residence, to help facilitate the ongoing study of Merce Cunningham and his work.

Jason Robert Brown's Off-Broadway show The Last Five Years takes the stage at Crossroads Theatre Company, April 12-29. The Last Five Years is a contemporary musical about the five-year relationship between two young New Yorkers: Jamie Wellerstein, a Jewish novelist whose career is rising at lightning speed, and Cathy Hiatt, an actress with integrity struggling to make it in a cut-throat business. The couple earnestly navigates the tumultuous waters of love, while their career successes and hardships tear them apart. Crossroads' production casts Cathy as an African-American, adding an interracial dimension to the show.

Singer, songwriter and activist Gavin Creel's newest solo album, Get Out, is now available on iTunes and Amazon.com. Last night, Creel previewed songs from the album at two sold-out concerts at Joe's Pub, streamed on LiveStream for fans across the country (http://new.livestream.com/joespub/gavincreel).

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) announces the publication of Mojo and Other Plays, a new collection of plays by the author of the Tony Award-nominated Jerusalem. One of Britain's compelling and original playwrights, Butterworth follows up the publication of that critically acclaimed play with this collection of six early works. The volume includes the Olivier Award-winning Mojo, as well as an interview between the playwright and Nick Hern, founder of Nick Hern Books.

The San Francisco Symphony and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas will be making their presence known in New York City this month with four concerts March 27-30 at Carnegie Hall as part of the American Mavericks celebration, a co-presentation by the Symphony and Carnegie Hall. While they are in New York, WNET's THIRTEEN will screen two PBS Great Performances programs on March 29 & 30 of concert events led by Michael Tilson Thomas: The Thomashefskys: Music & Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater, and San Francisco Symphony at 100, including the Symphony's Centennial Season gala concert featuring Itzhak Perlman and Lang Lang.