Jessica Lewis - Page 214

It is hard to imagine that at this point in her career Liza Minnelli would be making her 'premiere' anywhere. But, on Sunday, November 15, the stage legend will in fact be making her HDNet debut, when the channel broadcasts Liza's At The Palace...! This will be the first high def televised broadcast of the show, which played Broadway's Palace Theatre from December 3, 2008 - January 4, 2009.

As part of an international celebration of what would be Johnny Mercer's 100th birthday next week, Larry Blank will be conducting a Johnny Mercer Tribute for the BBC's long running Friday Night Is Music Night programme at 7:30 PM London Time, 2:30 PM EST. The concert, which will be broadcast live on the internet in real time, features an overture written by Blank in addition to Johnny Mercer standards such as Moon River and Days of Wine and Roses with the BBC Concert orchestra and singers, Ruthie Henshall, Sally Ann Triplett, Nigel Harman and Curtis Stigers.

Charles Conrad, a distinguished acting coach who has trained some of theater and film's most celebrated performers including Susan Sarandon, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Dennis Quaid, Michelle Pfiedder, Diana Ross and Robert Duvall, died from kidney failure on October 29 in Port Townsend, Washington. He was 84.

The 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Morgan Freeman with the Career Achievement Award for Acting. Presented by Cartier, the Awards Gala will kick off the 2010 awards season on Tuesday, January 5 at the Palm Springs Convention Center and will be hosted by 'Entertainment Tonight's' Mary Hart. The Festival runs January 5-18.

Variety reports that Warren Beatty has been named the recipient of the The Art Directors Guild's Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award. Not undeserving of the nod, only Beatty and Orson Welles have received Academy Award nominations as an actor, director, writer and producer on the same film, an achievement Beatty did with Heaven Can Wait and Reds. Beatty will be presented with the prize on February 13 at the Beverly Hilton.

This weekend, beginning Saturday, November 14, L.A. Theatre Works will air Pack of Lies by Hugh Whitemore, starring Julian Sands, David Selby, Roxanne Hart, Rosalind Ayres and Martin Jarvis. The broadcast can be heard locally in Southern California on Saturday from 10 pm to midnight on KPCC 89.3 FM, and can also be streamed on demand at http://www.latw.org/.

As previously reported, the off-Broadway production of Tony N' Tina's Wedding became plagued with drama several weeks ago, after Local 802 - the union representing professional musicians - filed suit with the National Labor Relations Board against the producers of the production, claiming that they breached their contract with the union by shutting out their members from the show since October 17th, replacing them with a musical track.

Stage vet and former Murphy Brown, Candice Bergen, will be among those inducted into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame in the 19th annual induction ceremony.

In case you haven't yet heard the news, Bay Street Theatre has announced a major fundraising campaign aimed at righting its financial ship, which has been hit hard by the economic recession. But the first potential life preserver has been cast, by an anonymous donor who has put forth a $250,000 challenge grant.

Gary Cole will lead Seattle Repertory Theatre's upcoming production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross as Ricky Roma. The production will run from February 5 - February 28 in the Bagley Wright Theatre. Wilson Milam directs (The Seafarer).

According to reports from Carnegie Hall, Tony nominee and Avenue Q alum John Tartaglia will narrate the holiday children's classic The Polar Express in concert with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall this season. The production will take place in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage on Saturday, December 19 at 2pm. The concert features a score by Alan Silvestri, who also wrote the music for the 2004 feature film adaptation of the event.

Charitybuzz has once again teamed up with Rosie O'Donnell for The 2009 Rosie's Broadway Kids Online Charity Auction, which launched today, November 10.

The Town Hall, Broadway's landmark concert venue, has announced its 2010 season lineup. Headliners include Grammy Award-winning folk icon Judy Collins, Grammy Award-winning Afro-funk singer Angélique Kidjo, Tony Award-winning Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, jazz singer Lizz Wright with Grammy-nominated jazz bassist Richard Bona and world music sensations Tito Paris and Lura. Also appearing are stars from ABC's Dancing with the Stars and PBS' America's Ballroom Challenge for Champions of the Dance, Richard Nader's Doo Wop Party, the acclaimed, singing political satirists Capitol Steps and the 10th anniversary season of the popular hit series Broadway by the Year, called 'an annual event that is treasured by Broadway babies' by Stephen Holden of The New York Times.

To celebrate The Second City's 50th Anniversary, the legendary comedy theatre will host a weekend of performances, panel discussions and screenings at its intimate theatres on Wells Street and in The Piper's Alley Complex in Chicago on Friday, December 11th through Sunday, December 13th. See below for a complete list of events for the weekend.

The People's Choice Awards, presented annually to entertainers in the categories of music, film and television, are unique in that unlike its Oscar and Golden Globe counterparts, the nominees and winners are selected by the viewing and voting public, as opposed to a panel of industry peers.

Actor Joe Maross, whose career as a performer spanned over forty years beginning with early live television, died this weekend on November 7 of natural causes in Barnsboro Pennsylvania. He was 86.

International stage and screen superstar Natalie Portman will star alongside Mila Kunis in the Darren Aronovsky-helmed Black Swan. The film is a psychological thriller that centers on ballerina who competes against a rival dancer who may or may not be another version of herself. The film is penned by Mark Heyman, who revised an original script by John McLaughlin.

In the great tradition of multitalented stars, Broadway's newest diva Ashley Brown makes her solo record debut with her jazz vocal album, 'Speak Low.' Speak Low will be released nationwide on January 12, 2010 via Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records and Sony distribution. The album gets its digital release via online outlets today, November 10.

Producer John Breglio and the Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc. will bring Broadway uptown for four weeks only with Dreamgirls at the Apollo Theater, prior to the national tour of the new production of the groundbreaking musical. The national tour of Dreamgirls will kick-off at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater (253 West 125 Street) beginning previews Saturday, November 7, 2009, and opening Sunday, November 22, 2009, for 4 weeks only, through Sunday December, 6, 2009.

It has been a good, anti-violence filled week for Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner. This past Sunday, November 8, Kushner was presented with the 2009 Chicago Tribune Literary Prize at the Symphony Center. As part of the event, presented by the Chicago Humanities Festival, Kushner engaged with Chicago theater critic Chris Jones in a special Q & A. on politics and violence. The next day, on Monday November 9, Kushner was honored by the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) during their 13th annual Courage Awards at the W New York Ballroom.