Reynard Loki - Page 53

The final screenplay from Pulitzer prize and Oscar winner Horton Foote, ?Main Street,? went before the cameras in Durham, North Carolina on April 6th with a blue chip cast and crew including Colin Firth, Ellen Burstyn, Patricia Clarkson, Amber Tamblyn and Orlando Bloom set to star with Andrew McCarthy, Tom Wopat and Victoria Clark also in featured roles. Broadway Tony winning director John Doyle (?Sweeney Todd,? ?Company?) makes his feature film debut, with Oscar nominee Don McAlpine (?Moulin Rouge,? ?X-Men Origins: Wolverine?) behind the camera as director of photography. The other members of the creative team include production designer Christopher Nowak (?Before the Devil Knows You?re Dead?) and costume designer Gary Jones (?Spider Man 2,? ?Definitely, Maybe?).

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is proud to announce that A.C.T.?s 2008?09 season gala, Illuminate the Night, raised $715,000 to benefit A.C.T?s acclaimed conservatory programs. The elegant gala event, co-chaired by Carla Crane and Chandra Geiger Gordon, was attended by over 300 of San Francisco?s cultural, corporate, and philanthropic communities, as well as alumni of A.C.T.?s Master of Fine Arts Program such as Tony Award?winning actor Anika Noni Rose. The black tie event took place Sunday, April 19, 2009, at San Francisco?s Four Seasons Hotel and featured an exclusive performance by Judy Kaye, Tony Award?winning star of A.C.T.?s Sweeney Todd and Souvenir. Students from A.C.T.?s own Master of Fine Arts Program and Young Conservatory also performed in musical numbers directed by John Carrafa, the Tony Award?nominated choreographer of Urinetown, the Musical. Along with a cocktail hour and elegant dinner, Illuminate the Night featured a live auction, a paddle raise, and a special raffle drawing for a Smart Car with an exclusive parking spot in front of the American Conservatory Theater all year long.

Next weekend KVPAC will raise the proverbial bar a little higher when Company presents Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Directed by newcomer Claudia McCotter and Assistant Directed by Jill Manser, this comedic tale is the first play by William Shakespeare to be produced by KVPAC. 'This particular play is actually one of the best and most commonly used plays to introduce young actors to the works of Shakespeare,' says Ms. McCotter. 'Although it has a complex comedic plot, the subtext behind the language isn't as mature in nature or as difficult to grasp as the language of some of his other works. It also provides a setting and characters that really appeal to children and teenagers: an enchanted forest, feuding fairies, a troupe of bumbling actors, star-crossed lovers, and a royal court.' Ms. McCotter also noted, 'At first my students were very unsure of themselves as they began performing Shakespeare for the first time. This has been an exciting journey for all of us, and the kids are learning to decipher the language, understand the characters' needs, and are having a great time!'

Kandis Chappell and Melanie Lora take on the celebrated roles of Professor Ruth Steiner and Lisa Morrison in Donald Margulies? Collected Stories at South Coast Repertory. Margulies? Pulitzer Prize-nominated play about two women writers at opposite stages of their careers is one of SCR?s best-known commissions and has achieved worldwide success. Directed by Artistic Director Martin Benson, Collected Stories will run from May 15 through June 14, 2009 on the Segerstrom Stage. Low-priced previews are available from May 15 through May 21. Opening night is May 22. Press night is Saturday, May 23 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to Collected Stories may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.

In conjunction with its current production of August Wilson's Joe Tuner's Come And Gone, directed by Bartlett Sher at the Belasco Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater will host a free symposium titled 'August Wilson's Century: From the World of Joe Turner to the Age of Obama' at 7:30pm at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street). The discussion will feature New York Times op-ed columnist Bob Herbert, the award winning author John Edgar Wideman and the critically acclaimed playwright Tracey Scott Wilson and will be moderated by noted African-American scholar Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

This fall, from September 10 ? 27, Signature Theatre will continue its exploration of the music of the great songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb with a new concert performance of some of the illustrious duo?s most popular songs. Following up Signature?s highly praised 2008 Kander & Ebb Celebration, ?First You Dream? The Kander & Ebb Concert will highlight the breadth of their songbook?from their early musical Flora, the Red Menace through hits like Cabaret and Chicago to their most recent show, The Visit, one of Signature?s recent hits. The Kander & Ebb Concert will feature some of Signature and Broadway?s favorite singers accompanied by Broadway-sized 18-piece onstage orchestra in The Max Theatre.

New Village Arts, Carlsbad?s award-winning, professional theatre will be unveiling their ninth season of theatre on Saturday, May 9th from 5-10 PM at the unforgettable home of Julie & Peder Norby on the Agua Hedionda Lagoon in Carlsbad. The Norby?s home, named ?Herons? House? is a zero energy home made with about 98% recycled material and surrounded by native low water plants and a fully operational vineyard. It has been honored with the 2008 Sandee Award as well as the 2008 S.D. County 3rd District Supervisor Pam Slater-Price Sustainability Award. As a special incentive, guests will be invited to taste the first wine ever grown from seed and bottled in the City of Carlsbad.

The hit, online television series THE BATTERY'S DOWN, presented an evening of musical comedy at Joe's Pub entitled: SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE: musical comedy... rethought. April 19th. The evening was directed by Connor Gallagher with musical direction by Adam Laird and was produced by Jake Wilson and Jason Knight.

Amidst the disturbing world of the self-help industry shines a bright new star: Beau Tyler is on the comeback trail with a new self help system that will challenge the existing gurus of spin ? and rock your world! A huge success already (from Invercargill to Keri Keri, with successful seasons at the Nelson Arts Festival, the Cabaret Festival in Christchurch and the Fuel Festival in Hamilton) this funny and thought provoking theatrical satire proves that just one hour can change your life! Beau Tyler stars as part of the 2009 NZ International Comedy Festival at Downstage from 8 ? 23 May.

This gem of a play from master playwright Arthur Miller tells the powerful and profound story of Eddie Carbone, a hard-working Italian-American longshoreman. When Eddie opens his crowded Brooklyn apartment to his wife?s Sicilian cousins, trouble slips through, too. Soon Eddie is confronted by feelings he fiercely denies and makes choices that shatter everyone he loves and reverberate throughout the community. A story of a man who holds family and honor above all else?and yet betrays them both. This show is directed by Cris Cassell.

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) is thrilled to welcome Tony Award-nominee Marion McClinton and Carlyle Brown, one of this country?s most prolific playwrights, to 59E59 Theaters and Americas Off Broadway. The NYC premiere of Mr. Brown?s playPure Confidence, directed by Mr. McClinton and from Minneapolis? Mixed Blood Theatre, begins previews on Friday, May 22 for a limited engagement through Friday, July 3. Opening Night is Wednesday, May 27 at 8 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday at 7:00 PM, Wednesday ? Friday at 8:00 PM; Saturday at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM; Sunday at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM. There is an added matinee performance on Wednesday, July 1 at 2 PM. The regular ticket price is $45 ($31.50 for 59E59 Members). A 5-StarCard (one ticket to each show in the festival) is available for $100 ($85 for 59E59 Members). Tickets are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com. For more information visit www.59E59.org.

Eating Their Words, reinventing the concept of ?dinner theater? by wedding a seasoned chef with prominent playwrights for an integrated evening of new cuisine and new plays, announces its upcoming June 14th collaboration with Chef David Bouley. A culinary treat, a cultural fix, and a supper-club social, the events offer attendees the World Premiere of three new plays written explicitly for their evening, coupled with the inherent theatricality of a one-of-a-kind meal inspired by the writers' work. The Sunday, June 14th event will feature the company?s second collaboration with the acclaimed Striking Viking Story Pirates. For this family event Chef Bouley creates a menu inspired by plays written by kids, and performed by adults who wish they still were. This unique performance and Chef Bouley?s original menu will satiate all ages. Tickets are available through The Story Pirates? website at www.storypirates.org under the ?Tickets? link. The Sunday, June 14th event begins at 1pm, in Bouley?s private dining room (163 Duane Street).

South Coast Repertory?s Teen Players will present Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, adapted by Stephen Jeffreys, directed by Hisa Takakuwa in the Nicholas Studio May 23-24 and 29-31.

Art House Productions is full of excitement and beaming with joy as the announce the world premiere of their new play, Heavy Craft/Soft Landing, opening in just one week at their performance space on the top floor of Hamilton Square.

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents The Arabian Nights, adapted and directed by Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman. This Lookingglass Original completes its tour in Chicago following sold-out runs at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Kansas City Repertory Theatre. The production is scheduled to run May 20 ? July 12, 2009, at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago?s historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson.

Much like the character Javert spends almost the entire show searching for prisoner Jean Valjean, producers of Imagination Players, a production class for teens at KD Studio Actors Conservatory, are beginning a city-wide search for an actor to portray the character Jean Valjean in their upcoming production of ?Les Miserables? (school Edition).

Beyond the Mirror began in the Afghan refugee camps in northern Pakistan in 2002. Members of Bond Street Theatre, performing for children in the refugee schools, met a dauntless group of Afghan actors who dared to present live theatre despite the restrictions of the times. This group was Exile Theatre.

A. Tappan Wilder, nephew of famed playwright Thornton Wilder and literary executor, Obie award-winner David Cromer and cast members of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production of? Thornton Wilder?s Our Town will appear at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Center (1972 Broadway) on Friday afternoon, April 17th at 4:00 p.m. in celebration of the playwright?s 112th birthday. Messrs. Wilder, Cromer and cast members will read selected letters written by Wilder and scenes from Our Town followed by a ?Q&A? and book signing.

Uptown Express ushers in an era of hope with a ?soup to nuts? tour of great pop music, from the 2008 Jason Mraz hit ?I?m Yours? to the 1938 ?Sing For Your Supper.? In between, they will lift you up with music from The Temptations, Erasure, Dusty Springfield, The Crew Cuts, Madonna, The Beatles and much more. This all-new show promises to raise your spirits with the optimistic sounds of a Brand New Day!

An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Ridinghood? A Prince Charming with a roving eye? A Witch...who raps? They're all among the cockeyed characters in James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's fractured fairy tale opening at Lakewood Theatre Company on Friday May 8, 2009.