Lauren Wolman - Page 47

Aurora Theatre Funny Fridays continues its 5th season of club comedy performances on the square in downtown Lawrenceville by welcoming an Atlanta comedy legend. Jerry Farber and Johnny Porrazzo take to the Funny Fridays Stage for with 2 shows on August 19 at 7:15 and 9:15 PM.

Fountain Hills Theater is proud to announce the opening of the hilariously funny, delightfully romantic musical, The Drowsy Chaperone.

Runway Theatre will present THE MIRACLE WORKER by William Gibson from September 30-October 16, 2011. The production will be directed by Kenny Green.

It looks like all of America -- is rockin' to Elvis: The Great Performances as it debuts at the top spot - #1 - on Billboard's Top Music Video Sales chart this week. Released August 2, 2011, Elvis: The Great Performances 2 DVD Set (Hip-O/SOFA Entertainment) captures the talent, mesmerizing stage presence and charisma of the man known throughout the world as the 'King' of Rock ‘N' Roll. This collection follows Elvis' career from his first televised appearance that shocked America and had everyone talking about his hip-shaking performance, to a sold-out concert a few weeks before his death on August 16, 1977. With over 2-hours of re-mastered footage, new packaging, and never-before-seen interviews, Elvis: The Great Performances 2 DVD set offers a glimpse into the world of one of America's most beloved icons.

The Sunshine Workshop announced today the winners of the 'Broadway Bound' International Songwriting Contest: Patty Shukla, Emily Whitcomb, Gianvita Bonaduce and Ron Viens. Scheduled for release in fall of 2012, the musical is be based on the children's book, 'The Thanksgiving Coat,' written by Elizabeth Hoadley and illustrated by 5-Year Old Kailee of The Sunshine Workshop.

Filming has begun in Toronto on the 12-part action series TRANSPORTER, starring Chris Vance ('Burn Notice,' 'Prison Break') in the title role. Shooting through this November, the series will debut on CINEMAX in 2012.

NBC has joined with national retailer Bloomingdale's to create a unique and engaging partnership in September that invites consumers to 'look the part and be the part,' spotlighting several new fall series and the Bloomingdale's fashion brands. The venture involves NBC's new shows and talent inclusion in Bloomingdale's glossy fall catalogs for women, men and home, an in-store interactive digital experience that allows shoppers to walk the red carpet and, using cutting edge technology, download and be photographed with NBC new series stars.

The Hollywood Bowl proudly presents Joni's Jazz, a concert featuring special guests performing works from the jazz-based recordings of the iconic singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell.* Artists include Herbie Hancock, Kurt Elling, Glen Hansard, Aimee Mann, Chaka Khan, Wayne Shorter and Cassandra Wilson. Backed by an all-star ensemble with arrangements by drummer Brian Blade and pianist Jon Cowherd, Joni's Jazz takes place on Wednesday, August 17 at 8 PM and includes a complete performance of her 1975 masterpiece The Hissing of Summer Lawns.

Spottiswoode & His Enemies have released their first song collection since the 2008 double release that marked their tenth anniversary. Wild Goosechase Expedition is the band's most shamelessly eclectic recording since their very first eponymous CD over a decade ago. It's a mad scramble of songs that mirrors the madness of life on the road. 'It's our Magical Mystery Tour,' says Spott. 'As a bandleader, I often feel like a general leading his troops on one doomed tour after another. This is a surreal trip through a warring world.'

Anyone connected to, or familiar with, 'country' music has probably heard the name Stanley. Probably lots of folks have been exposed to the Stanley name, especially the Stanley Brothers, preservationists of mountain music, or as they liked to call it, 'old timey country.' The brothers are being inducted into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame this year. Ralph Stanley, the surviving Stanley Brother, was a huge hit in the movie 'O Brother Where Art Thou.' His brother Carter, the smooth vocalist and songwriter for the duo, passed away in 1966 from cirrhosis of the liver. He was only 41 years old. Ralph has carried on the musical tradition of the Stanley Brothers, mostly with his band the Clinch Mountain Boys. This 'tradition' is vitally important to fans of country music, when it was actually 'country.' Today, most country music leans heavily on rock-and-roll, and even rap, in an attempt to attract a young audience. But in the doing, perhaps major labels have tossed the baby out with the bath water, when it comes to actually projecting a true 'country' image in the music they produce.'

'When I was 9 years old and first heard Elvis Presley, that was a defining moment for me,' ‘Professor' Doug Bell says, reminiscing about his four-decade long career of singing and songwriting. Bell, founder of the 20 year-old retro-swing band Bellevue Cadillac (www.bellevuecadillac.com ) and nominated for 9 Grammys since 2007, just returned from Italy where he recorded a CD with another legendary ‘Professor': Professor Louie of the Crowmatix, who co-produced, engineered and performed on Bob Dylan and The Band's last recordings in 1974.

Mandi and Meg are doing fine until Mandi asks about her father. Meg has kept the story secret for 15 years and is not about to tell her daughter now. Meg and Mandy are forced to face the truth about the past, themselves and each other. Asking Questions is about a woman coming to terms with her shame, lies and loneliness, a daughter longing for the father she never knew existed, and a guy acknowledging that he's been a creep.

On Tuesday, August 9, at Seattle Opera's Annual Meeting at McCaw Hall, the company announced that it achieved a balanced budget (unaudited) for the 2010/11 season, which included productions of Tristan und Isolde, Lucia di Lammermoor, The Barber of Seville, Don Quichotte, and The Magic Flute. The original budget for the season totaled more than $23 million; the total expense budget for the season, unaudited, is projected to be just less than $21.5 million.

THE WHARF SESSIONS will present a free performance by Sydney's electronic four-piece band Ghoul on Friday August 19, 2011 at 10 PM.

Elizabeth Maupin, a longtime theatre writer and critic in central Florida let the readership of her theatre blog, Elizabeth Maupin on Theater, on Aug. 8 that she is done with criticism.

here! TV will air a new one-hour documentary special titled, 'Heart of Broadway: The Ensemble Behind Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' on September 9, 2011.The program will be available on demand for four weeks afterward its premiere.

Multi-award winning Rogue Machine is extending the performance schedule for David Harrower's critically acclaimed play, Blackbird (CRITIC'S CHOICE-LA Times; GO - LA Weekly, CRITIC'S PICK-Backstage, Ovation RECOMMENDED), staged in Los Angeles for the first time. The company's recently extended run of Small Engine Repair (CRITIC'S CHOICE-LA Times; GO - LA Weekly, CRITIC'S PICK-Backstage, Ovation RECOMMENDED) runs through August 27th (moved to the Beverly Hills Playhouse).

You'll quickly forget the moppet-haired urchins of musical fame when Joel Sass designs and directs the Midwest premiere of an inventive new adaptation of OLIVER TWIST at Park Square. This theatrical adventure is told by a chameleon cast of 13, who combine Dickens' original text with Victorian music hall tunes. 'So much of the story hinges on our hopes and fears for little Oliver as he voyages through the exciting but highly dangerous world of Victorian London,' Sass explains. 'It's a grown-up world, even for streetwise ruffians-so placing one lone boy among a cast of grown-ups who are playing all the other parts instantly helps us feel the immensity of the challenge Oliver is facing.'

Starring real-life couple Matthew Ashford (of NBC's 'Days of Our Lives') and Christina Saffran Ashford, I Do! I Do! opens at Sacramento Music Circus August 16-21. With book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt (the team behind The Fantasticks), I Do! I Do! will delight audience members of all ages.

A Hilarious Two-Man Tour-de-Force THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP, by Charles Ludlam, opens at CRT on August 19, 2011 at 7:30 PM.