Jeff Dennhardt - Page 28

Swoosie Kurtz, Broadway star of FROZEN and HEARTBREAK HOUSE and star 'Dangerous Liaisons' and the television show 'Pushing Daisies,' has recently landed a guest role on the NBC comedy, 'Chuck.' Kurtz's episode is expected to premiere late in the season, sometime in Spring, 2010.

Singer/songwriter Billy Bragg will look at English identity and loyalty in the new drama PRESSURE DROP, premiering in late Spring at Wellcome Collection in the UK. 'Pressure Drop' is the latest work from On Theatre and Mick Gordon. Bragg has written songs for the piece that is part play, part gig, part art installation.

Jerry Lewis has announced to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that his upcoming show, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, is aiming to open on Broadway in October or November of 2010. Lewis will make his theatrical directorial debut on Broadway with the new musical, 'THE NUTTY PROFESSOR', based on the 1963 film that he starred in and co-wrote. With music by Academy Award, Emmy Award, Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Marvin Hamlisch and a book and lyrics by multiple Tony Award winner and Grammy Nominee Rupert Holmes, the musical is aiming for a bow on Broadway in the 2010/2011 season and is being produced by Loud Watch Productions, LLC.

Artist Robert Rodriguez has designed logos for several big name companies over the years. Most notably, he gave the famed Quaker Oats man a makeover to make him more appealing to the health-conscious masses. Most recently, Rodriguez was tapped to design the artwork for the upcoming Broadway production of LEND ME A TENOR, starring Tony Shalhoub and Anthony LaPaglia and directed by Stanley Tucci.

Michael Friedman, composer of GONE MISSING and BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, is a very versatile composer. His musical influences range from pop-gospel to literal transcriptions of emails. His interesting composition style is the feature of a New York Times feature, which takes a look at Friedman's inspiration and ability to manipulate unlikely sources into full compositions.

The American Theatre Wing has announced the recipients of the 2010 Jonathan Larson® Grants. The grants, given annually to honor emerging composers, lyricists and book writers, help to continue Tony Award®-winning composer Jonathan Larson's dream of infusing musical theatre with a contemporary, joyful, urban vitality. After considering 165 applications, Peter Lerman, Daniel Mate, and songwriting team Michael Kooman (music) and Christopher Dimond (book & lyrics) were selected to receive the prestigious grants, totaling $10,000. They will be honored at a presentation on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at Touch (240 W52 St.) in New York City.

In celebration of Black History Month, Actors Equity Association's Equal Employment Opportunity Committee (EEO) will present a free solo performance by popular Cabaret chanteuse Julia Breanetta Simpson. HARLEM ON MY MIND will be presented on Monday, February 8, 2010 at New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, New York City. Open to the public, the free event will have a reception from 6 p.m. to 7p.m. and the performance will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Dinosaurs once again roam the earth in a spectacular theatrical arena show, WALKING WITH DINOSAURS - The Arena Spectacular, based on the award-winning BBC Television Series. WALKING WITH DINOSAURS - The Arena Spectacular is now on tour in North America and will perform 12 performances at Madison Square Garden in New York. More than 3.1 million Americans have already seen the production since it opened in July 2007.

Famed director/designer Isaac Mizrahi will direct the upcoming production of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Opera Theatre in St. Louis. The production will run June 6th through 19th at the Opera Theatre and will feature conductor Stephen Lord. NIGHT MUSIC was written by Hugh Wheeler and features a score by Stephen Sondheim.

New York University professor and professor of performance studies in the department of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts Richard Schechner has been awarded the 2010 Thalia Award. The award is presented annually by the International Association of Theatre Critics and will be given to Schechner at a ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia June 16th to 20th.

LEGALLY BLONDE, The Musical is currently playing at the Savoy Theatre in London. Opening night was held Wednesday, January 13th and the show is currently set to run through May 23rd. They have just released their first get of production photos.

Mail Online is reporting stage and screen star John Barrowman had landed a guest role as the villain on the hit television series 'Desperate Housewives.' Barrowman is said to have a recurring role for several episodes on the upcoming season. Barrowman is set to begin filming in Los Angeles in early March alongside Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Eva Longoria Parker.

Sarah Ruhl has been awarded the Will Glickman Award for her new play, IN THE NEXT ROOM. The award is given out each year to the best new work to hold its world premiere in the San Francisco Bay area.

Television and film star Zach Quinto is expected to star in the upcoming George Gershwin biopic, produced by DreamWorks and Steven Speilberg, according to published reports. Quinto, star of television's 'Heroes' and the recent JJ Abrams Star Trek remake, will play the famed composer who, during his short life, wrote many vocal and theatrical works, including more than a dozen Broadway shows.

Rosario Dawson has agreed to direct a star-studded reading of Eve Ensler's new book, 'I Am an Emotional Creature.' The reading will take place as a benefit for V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. The cast for the benefit will include ennifer and Peter Buffett, Eve Ensler, Cynthia Nixon, Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon, and David Stone and V-Board members Rosario Dawson, Beth Dozoretz, Donna Karan, Katherine McFate, Pat Mitchell, Cari Ross, and Kerry Washington.

LaMaMa e.t.c. presents Alfred Preisser and Randy Weiner's CALIGULA MAXIMUS, a project with Hammerstein & Weiner, LLC, Christopher McElroen, Alfred Preisser and Kingsize, USA, at La MaMa's newly renamed Ellen Stewart Theatre in March 2010.

TrueNorth Cultural Arts has announced the cast for their upcoming production of the updated version of the Maltby and Shire musical, BABY. The cast stars Michael Dempsey as Alan, Natalie Green as Lizzie, Bernadette Hisey as Arlene, David Robeano as Nick Shane Joseph Siniscalchi as Danny, and Maggie Stahl-Floriano as Pam. The musical opens at TrueNorth March 5th and runs through March 21st.

The Alliance Theatre will present two days of readings from the finalists of the Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Awards. The readings, taking place February 1st and 2nd, will feature two plays a day and will be free to the public. The event will feature plays by Virginia Grise, Paul David Young, Emily Schwend, and Dana Lynn Formby.

Palestine. 1939. A dying revolution. An Arab family trapped: divided between rebellion and hope for a stable future. True events inspire this compelling story about Arab revolt against British occupation as two nations fight for their stake to land during a period of momentous global change. Emerging playwright Ismail Khalidi lends a bold, contemporary voice to the Israeli/Palestinian history in Tennis in Nablus, the sixth winner of the nationally recognized Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition. Off-beat humor abounds in this 'tragipoliticomedy' about allegiance, struggle and crisis, where events and people are not what they seem. Sacramento Theatre Company Artistic Director Peggy Shannon directs this groundbreaking new work on the intimate Hertz Stage. Opening Night is Wed, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m.

Composer and Lyricist Scott Alan will return to London's West End on Saturday, March 13th, 2010, as he takes to the stage of the Prince of Wales Theatre's Delfont Room. This intimate concert will feature Scott Alan at the piano playing some of his most beloved songs from his CD's 'Dreaming Wide Awake,' and 'Keys,' as well as songs from his upcoming CD, 'What I Wanna Be When I Grow Up,' which he is currently in the studio recording with some of today's brightest Broadway and West End performers.