Photo Flash: First Look - SMASH's 'The Fringe,' Airing 3/12
On SMASH's upcoming episode, titled 'The Fringe, 'Derek (Jack Davenport) and Karen (Katharine McPhee) find themselves at a surprising crossroads, forcing one of them to make a difficult choice. 'The Fringe' airs March 12 at 10 p.m. on NBC.
'GOD OF CARNAGE' IS HIT AND MISS
Boston premiere of 2010 Tony Award-winning play GOD OF CARNAGE at the Huntington Theatre is full of laughs but short on deeper satisfactions
Wesley Taylor's New Play Gets Developmental Reading; Features Mike Wartella, Matthew Gumley et al.
Led by Max Von Essen (HELLO AGAIN!), Mike Wartella (RENT), and Matthew Gumley (ELF), 'What's So Funny?' a new play by Broadway actor Wesley Taylor will get developmental reading, also including the talents of Christy Pusz (TALK RADIO), Alexandra Socha (SPRING AWAKENING), Logan Rowland (THE ADDAMS FAMILY), Don Stevenson (THE PRODUCERS), Rachel de Benedet (CATCH ME IF YOU CAN), Merwin Foard (THE LITTLER MERMAID), and Valerie Fagan (THE ADDAMS FAMILY).
Review - Julie Wilson at The Metropolitan Room & The New Century
Though Julie Wilson was certainly not the first and by all means not the last great singer to have her heart stomped upon by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's 'Surabaya Johnny,' there is no one I can name more deserving to claim it as their signature song. (Okay, maybe Lotte Lenya, but you know that's a special case.) Though for many years now the 83-year-old beloved cabaret star has been singing songs less and less and speaking them more and more, there are few who can match her for painting vivid word pictures and bringing complex dramatic subtext to a lyric. With pianist Christopher Denny doing a marvelous job of softly supporting her many pauses and tempo changes, Wilson's crushing performance of Marc Blitzstein's translation, played to a pin-drop silent crowd on opening night of her new show at The Metropolitan Room, is an emotionally striking portrayal of a woman who can explode with anger at the mistreatment she endures from her faithless lover while moments later barely control a sob at the admission that she still loves him. Through the years I've seen Julie Wilson sing 'Surabaya Johnny' many times but her performance that night was the best I've ever seen or heard from anyone. (And as is typical of her modesty, she actually introduced the song by complimenting Donna Murphy's performance of it on Broadway in LoveMusik.) She follows it with a devilishly humored 'Mack the Knife' (also Blitzstein's translation) that builds so slowly and precisely that she goes through the entire song twice in order to hit the climax. I heard no complaints.
Photo Coverage: The New Century - Opening Night Party
Currently in previews, THE NEW CENTURY, plays by Paul Rudnick, directed by Nicholas Martin, opens on Monday, April 14 at 6:45 PM at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65 Street.
THE NEW CENTURY is a series of four short plays, which feature everyone from a concerned Long Island mother of at least three gay children (Linda Lavin), to an accomplished Midwestern craftswoman (Jayne Houdyshell), to one of Mr. Rudnick's favorites, Mr. Charles, a flamboyant resident of Palm Beach (Peter Barlett). Ultimately, all of these delicious and distraught people collide under surprising and comic circumstances, and we discover just where our new century might be heading.
The cast of five also features Mike Doyle and Christy Pusz. The production has sets by Allen Moyer, costumes by William Ivey Long, lighting by Kenneth Posner and original music and sound design by Mark Bennett.
THE NEW CENTURY is performed Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8pm, with matinees Wednesday and Saturdays at 2pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets priced at $70 and $75, are available at the Lincoln Center Theater Box Office, at Tele-charge.com (212-239-6200) or by visiting www.lct.org.
Rudnick's 'The New Century' Plays Open 4/14
Currently in previews, THE NEW CENTURY, plays by Paul Rudnick, directed by Nicholas Martin, opens on Monday, April 14 at 6:45 PM at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65 Street.
Doyle and Pusz Join Cast of 'The New Century'
Mike Doyle and Christy Pusz round out the cast which includes Peter Bartlett, Jayne Houdyshell, and Linda Lavin in Lincoln Center Theater's production of Paul Rudnick's The New Century, a group of four one-act plays, to begin performances on March 20 at the Mitzi Newhouse Theater. The production, which will open officially on April 14, and is directed by Nicholas Martin.
Al Sharpton and Michael Musto Set for Talk Radio Talkbacks
Talk Radio, recently nominated by the Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and Drama Desk for Outstanding Revival of a Play, will continue its acclaimed and controversial series of post-show talkbacks when the Rev. Al Sharpton and The Village Voice's Michael Musto appears onstage at the Longacre Theater along with members of the cast following the 8pm shows on May 15th and 16th respectively.
