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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

    [ P ]  Sondheim & Weidman's Bounce Is Now Called Road Show; Cast Announced

    Road Show is the new title of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's new musical - once known as Bounce - The Public Theater announced Aug. 12. The fall Off-Broadway production, directed by John Doyle, will star Michael Cerveris and Alexander Gemignani as the Mizner brothers.

    [ P ]  Exclusive! Sondheim Explains Evolution from Bounce to Road Show

    When Bounce bounces back into the theatrical arena Oct. 28-Dec. 28 at The Public Theater, it will be wearing a brand-new title - its fourth. The show first known as Wise Guys, fleetingly known as Gold! and now formerly known as Bounce is called Road Show.

    [ TM ]  Masterworks Broadway to Release Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far on September 30

    [ P ]  Little House Musical Will Hit the Road in 2009

    [ TM ]  Chris Calloway Dies at 62

    Chris Calloway, who starred as Minnie Fay in the Broadway production of Hello, Dolly opposite her father Cab Calloway, died in New Mexico on August 7 of cancer.

    Features:

    [ USA ]  'Shrek' role turns stage actor into an ogre By Elysa Gardner

    Actor Brian d'Arcy James figures it took him about 2 hours and 15 minutes to make his first transformation into the title character of Shrek: The Musical.

    Thanks to rdt3 on All That Chat for the link.

    [ TM ]  A Stratford State of Mind By: Dan Bacalzo

    Stratford Shakespeare Festival's artistic director Des McAnuff discusses his production of Caesar and Cleopatra, starring Christopher Plummer and Nikki M. James.

    The Fringe Fest:

    [ TM ]  FringeNYC 2008: Roundup 2
    Reviewed by: Patrick Lee, Andy Propst, and David Finkle

    Reports on Perez Hilton Saves The Universe (Or At Least The Greater Los Angeles Area), The Alice Complex, and Woodhull: A Play About the First Woman to Run for President.

    [ BS ]  The Alice Complex reviewed by MARK PEIKERT

    Playwright Peter Barr Nickowitz has bitten off a lot with his new play The Alice Complex - and shockingly managed to make it all work.

    [ BS ]  Perez Hilton Saves The Universe (Or At Least The Greater Los Angeles Area): The MusicalReviewed by LEONARD JACOBS

    A harmless piffle on celebrity culture with an overly loud orchestra.

    [ BS ]  Woodhull: A Play About the First Woman to Run for President reviewed by ROBERT WINDELER

    The first woman to run for president of the United States is certainly worthy of lengthy biographical treatment, but the stage may not be its most felicitous home.

    [ BS ]  Velvet Scratch: Voyage of No Return reviewed by A.J. MELL

    Produced by a London-based troupe composed mostly of Greek expatriates, Velvet Scratch: Voyage of No Return suggests the fanciful dream of a young woman smitten with 19th-century romanticism, particularly the Gothic variety and its latter-day descendents.

    [ BS ]  The Naked Dead Elephant in the Middle of the Room reviewed by LEONARD JACOBS

    Playwright-director Larson Rose may never forgive the creators of [title of show] for first getting the idea of a play acted on stage as it's being written. But he needn't worry: With The Naked Dead Elephant in the Middle of the Room, he shows that naked men on stage always win your heart.

    [ BS ]  Ascencion reviewed by ANDY PROPST

    Four terrifically committed performances grace Cynthia G. Robinson's Ascension, an intelligent drama set on an antebellum plantation in central Alabama.

    [ BS ]  The Vayjayjay Monologues reviewed by LEONARD JACOBS

    Lindsay Burns' The Vajayjay Monologues is a wonderfully dry riposte to Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.

    [ BS ]  China: The Whole Enchilada reviewed by LEONARD JACOBS

    An insanely funny parody musical attempts to tell all of Chinese history.

    [ BS ]  Ariel View reviewed by IRENE BACKALENICK

    A moving piece about the poet Sylvia Plath, weaves a dreamlike tale, nonlinear and surreal in form, to explore her life and work.

    [ BS ]  Krapp, 39 reviewed by PAUL MENARD

    Michael Laurence attempts to tackle too many ideas in this solo piece.

    [ BS ]  Love Is Dead: A Necromantic Musical Comedy reviewed by A.J. MELL

    A tuneful camp fest in Little Shop of Horrors tradition, the Annoyance Theatre's Love Is Dead: A NecRomantic Musical Comedy is silly, uneven, and ragged around the edges - but as musical comedies about necrophiliac morticians go, it has its points

    [ BS ]  Pieces on the Board reviewed by A.J. MELL

    This gangster-themed snoozathon boasts what are surely the gabbiest hit men this side of Quentin Tarantino.

    [ BS ]  The Seven Little Foys reviewed by ROBERT WINDELER

    Like James Cagney did in the 1955 Bob Hope movie version of this story, Ryan Foy as the legendary song-and-dance composer-performer is giving the more memorable performance.

    [ BS ]  Zombie reviewed by ROBERT WINDELER

    This world-premiere, hourlong solo piece about a serial killer understandably will have a limited audience, but it's hard to quibble about its execution.

    [ BS ]  Bound in a Nutshell reviewed by ANDY PROPST

    A clever gimmick rapidly becomes tiresome in Gregory Sherman and Gregory Wolfe's Bound in a Nutshell, which uses text from Shakespeare's Hamlet to deliver an alternative take on the tragedy.

    [ BS ]  Boots reviewed by DAVID A. ROSENBERG

    Its heart is in the right place, but Giacondo Trevellini's Boots is an enervating evening about the destructive effects of war.

    [ BS ]  Behold, the Bowery! reviewed by DAVID A. ROSENBERG

    Bowery is an uneasy alliance of music and drama, with the latter taking precedence.

    [ BS ]  Blanche Survives Katrina in a FEMA Trailer Named Desire reviewed by DAVID SHEWARD

    Mark Sam Rosenthal evokes Tennessee Williams' faded Southern belle in a loving tribute and searing political cartoon.

    [ BS ]  Gem! A Truly Outrageous Parody! Reviewed by PAUL MENARD

    Amanda Allen giddily goofs on a beloved cartoon TV show.

    [ BS ]  Operation Adelmo reviewed by HARRY FORBES

    If there's a prize for performing under intolerable circumstances, Adelmo Guidarelli, a good legit baritone, gets it.

    News:

    [ B ]  Hunter Parrish Begins Spring Awakening Run a Week Early

    [ P ]  "Weeds" Star Parrish Makes Early Entrance in Broadway's Spring Awakening

    [ TM ]  Hunter Parrish Joins Spring Awakening on August 11

    [ B ]  Taylor Hackford to Direct Feature Film Bio of Tennessee Williams

    [ P ]  Leap of Faith's Hackford to Direct Film About Life of Tennessee Williams

    [ P ]  Shogun Macbeth Makes Pan Asian Rep Return, 20 Years Later, Nov. 4-Dec. 7

    [ TM ]  Full Cast, Creative Team Set for Pan Asian Rep's Shogun Macbeth

    [ P ]  O'Connell, Wright, O'Dwyer and Gero Cast in Centerstage's The Matchmaker

    [ TM ]  Full Cast, Creative Team Set for Centerstage's The Matchmaker

    [ P ]  Stratford Picks West Side Story and Forum for 2009; Griffin, McAnuff to Direct

    [ P ]  Avenue Q's D'Abruzzo Will Appear in The Guys Benefit Sept. 13

    [ TM ]  Lainie Kazan to Receive Provincetown Theatre Lifetime Achievement Award

    [ TM ]  Belcon, Champlin, Cooper, Larsen, Strickland, Walsh et al. Cast in 2008 NYMF Shows

    [ P ]  South Pacific Star to Head to the Chatterbox Aug. 14

    [ P ]  Lyrics, By Don Black - with Webb, Friedman, Mead and Rawle - to Be Broadcast

    [ P ]  Rep of St. Louis Will Stage Frost/Nixon's Regional Premiere Sept. 3-28

    [ P ]  LAST CHANCE: A Chorus Line and Thurgood

    [ P ]  Rent's Espinosa and Thoms and Blonde's Banks to Sing at Aug. 14 "Broadway in Bryant Park"

    [ P ]  Gypsy and Jersey Boys to Offer Special Actors Fund Performances

    [ P ]  LA Sunset Strips to Benefit Actors Fund and AIDS Project Los Angeles

    [ P ]  Extra Shows Added to Joan Rivers' Sold-Out Fringe Run

    [ TM ]  Irish Rep to Open Season with The Master Builder

    [ TM ]  British Stage Star Terence Rigby Dies at 71

    [ B ]  Tony-Winning Librettist and Actor George Furth Dies at 75

    [ P ]  Beddow, Carman, Coyle, Daniel, Lopez, Henry and More Cast in Johnny on a Spot

  • Posted by Tim Dunleavy at 5:27 PM | Item Link


      • [ LAT ]  George Furth, 75; playwright won a Tony Award for 'Company' By Dennis McLellan

      [ NYT ]  George Furth, an Actor and Playwright, Dies at 75 By BRUCE WEBER

      [ P ]  George Furth, Librettist for Company, Dies at 75

      [ TM ]  George Furth Dies at 75

      [ IBDB ]  George Furth's Broadway Credits

      [ P ]  Terrence Rigby, Stage Actor of Sinister Stillness, Dies at 71

      [ V ]  Hollywood remembers Bernie Brillstein By CYNTHIA LITTLETON

      Belushi, Aykroyd perform tribute as Blues Bros.

      [ AA ]  The Biz Salutes Bernie by Army Archerd

      [ NYP ]  ORBACH 'EX' FACTOR By ALEX GINSBERG and MICHAEL RIEDEL

      The first wife of the late "Law and Order" star Jerry Orbach yesterday defended her son's poison-pen letter to his stepmother - the actor's second wife - and took her own shot at the woman, calling her dimwitted and controlling.

      [ FOX ]  FOX411 By Roger Friedman

      It looks all but certain that Debra Winger is going to make her Broadway debut this fall in a new production of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?"

      [ P ]  Mary-Louise Parker Will Return to Broadway in Hedda Gabler Revival

      [ TM ]  Mary-Louise Parker to Star in Roundabout's Hedda Gabler

      [ B ]  Mary-Louise Parker to Headline Broadway Revival of Hedda Gabler

      [ NYT ]  A New 'Hedda Gabler'
      Compiled by JULIE BLOOM

      [ V ]  Status quo for Broadway box office

      'Chorus,' 'Rent' benefit from last-minute sales

      [ B ]  Broadway Grosses: Xanadu Still Climbing; Mamma Mia! Strong

      [ P ]  Broadway Grosses: Aug. 4-10

      [ P ]  New Musical White Noise Is Aiming for Broadway Following New Orleans Run

      [ TM ]  Tyne Daly and Delroy Lindo to Star in Getty Villa's Agamemnon

      [ P ]  Adding Machine, August and Yellow Face Among 2007-2008's Best Plays

      [ TM ]  Best Plays of 2007-2008 Are Announced

      [ V ]  ABC brewing 'Witches of Eastwick'

      Maggie Friedman to pen supernatural series

      [ NYP ]  PAGE SIX

      "HAIRSPRAY" star Nikki Blonsky's parents returned to New York last night for the first time since their airport brawl with "America's Next Top Model" reject Bianca Golden.

      [ NYT ]  Corrections

      A listing of credits on April 28, 1960, with a theater review of "West Side Story" on its return to the Winter Garden theater, misstated the surname of the actor who played Action. He is George Liker, not Johnson. (Mr. Liker, who hopes to audition for a role in a Broadway revival of the show planned for February, brought the error to The Times's attention last month. )

      Features:

      [ P ]  ONSTAGE & BACKSTAGE: Seth and the City By Seth Rudetsky

      [ B ]  Q & A: Norm Lewis

      [ P ]  PLAYBILL.COM'S CUE & A: Tracie Thoms

      [ CT ]  Michael McKean's L.A. home is filled with singing, dancing and music By Nina Metz

      [ P ]  Two Leslies

      Leslie Uggams stars in a revival of Leslie Lee's The First Breeze of Summer.

      [ MH ]  'Hello, Dolly!' composer Jerry Herman digs digital age BY STEVE ROTHAUS

      Thanks to American Theater Web for the link.

      [ DN ]  Blue Man Group holds tryouts BY ERIN DURKIN

      [ CT ]  Why 'Wicked' is closing by Chris Jones

      [ BG ]  Charles Strouse recalls his B'way journey By Michael Kuchwara, AP Drama Writer

      [ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Evita, with Murney, Kunze and Blanks, at Sacramento's Music Circus

      [ B ]  PHOTO OP: American Idol Finalist Elliot Yamin Drops in on Grease

      [ B ]  PHOTO OP: Allison Janney Does Some Backstage Bonding at [title of show]

      "Buffalo Gal":

      [ NYT ]  Stage Role Close to Home for a Former TV Star By PATRICIA COHEN

      Susan Sullivan, most familiar to viewers from her roles on television, has also put in time on the stage, including A. R. Gurney's new play, "Buffalo Gal."

      [ B ]  VIDEO: Opening Night: Buffalo Gal

      [ AMNY ]  'Buffalo Gal' is just fine By Matt Windman (***)

      Other Reviews:

      [ NYT ]  Man on a Ledge, Interrupted by Neighboring Oddballs By NEIL GENZLINGER

      The young actors of the Strain Theater Company are giving a nicely executed account of Morris Panych's play "7 Stories."

      [ TM ]  Summer Shorts 2: Series B
      Reviewed by: David Finkle

      The last two pieces in this one-act grouping are definitely worth savoring.

      [ NYP ]  ONE-ACT SHORTS FIT NICELY IN SUMMER HEAT By FRANK SCHECK (***)

      [ TM ]  FringeNYC 2008: Roundup 1
      Reviewed by: Dan Bacalzo and Sandy MacDonald

      Reports on The Umbrella Plays, See How Beautiful I Am: The Return of Jackie Susann, and The Legislative Process.

      [ TB ]  Becoming Britney and Perez Hilton Saves the Universe
      FringeNYC Reviews by Matthew Murray

      [ NYP ]  FRINGE DARTS TARGET TART By FRANK SCHECK (***)

      [ TE ]  Review: THE BOY IN THE BASEMENT by OSCAR E MOORE

      Would be thief becomes basement sex slave in live action romance novel

      [ BS ]  Too Much Memory - Reviewed by GWEN OREL

      Keith Reddin was one of the hottest playwrights of the 1990s, and it's a treat to find a world premiere play of his at the Fringe.

      [ BS ]  Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising - Reviewed by RONNI REICH

      Both dramatically and socially compelling, the 1993 Lucasville prison uprising is an ideal subject for activist drama.

      [ BS ]  George the Fourth - Reviewed by MARK PEIKERT

      Michael T. Middleton's new play George the Fourth feels like a fifth-rate version of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

      [ BS ]  Hot Cripple - Reviewed by TOM PENKETH

      In "Hot Cripple," Hogan Gorman details how, in one tragic moment, she lost everything.

      [ V ]  The Goatwoman of Corvis County
      Review By CHRIS NEWBOUND

      First-timer Christine Whitley's "The Goatwoman of Corvis County" never quite finds its voice in this world premiere, which also inaugurates Shakespeare & Company's second stage, the Elayne P. Bernstein Theater.

      [ CU ]  The Goatwoman of Corvis County

      [ V ]  Rooms: A Rock Romance
      Review By PAUL HARRIS

      A decade in the making including a workshop at the 2005 New York Musical Theater Festival, show offers an imaginative score and earnest performances from its two-person cast, Natascia Diaz and Doug Kreeger.

      [ V ]  Not Waving
      Review By FRANK RIZZO

      If the end result is less than a tempest, the writing, performances and helming in the Williamstown Theater Festival world preem still add up to an engaging contemporary character study of people searching for their own safe haven. Future productions are likely for this intimate exchange of personal coastal disturbances.

      [ V ]  Private Lives
      Review By ROBERT L. DANIELS

      Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey's summer offering is a delectable revival of Noel Coward's durable farce, "Private Lives."

      [ CU ]  Private Lives at New Jersey Shakespeare Company

      [ CU ]  Private Lives at Barrington Stage

      [ ND ]  'Ain't Misbehavin' ' at Bay Street BY STEVE PARKS

      [ NYT ]  Singing the Praises of Greed and Naked Capitalism By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

      The eager and accomplished cast of "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny," at the Tanglewood Music Center, was appealing over all.

      [ BE ]  Even God can't help By Andrew L. Pincus

      The Tanglewood Music Center production, which opened Saturday afternoon (with repeats scheduled last night and tonight), doesn't quite hit the bull's-eye, but it comes close enough.

      "Hair":

      [ P ]  Hair Extension: Shakespeare in the Park Production Will Now Play Through Sept. 7

      [ NYT ]  'Hair' Gets an Extension
      Compiled by JULIE BLOOM

      [ TNO ]  HAIR EXTENSIONS

      [ B ]  Hair Extends an Extra Week in Central Park

      [ TM ]  Public Extends Hair Through September 7

      [ B ]  PHOTO OP: Hair Gets Groovy During Packed Opening Night in Central Park

      "Spring Awakening":

      [ P ]  Altomare, Reed, Stram and More to Join Riabko and Bashoff in Spring Awakening Tour

      [ TM ]  Full Cast Announced for Spring Awakening National Tour

      [ B ]  Complete Cast Announced for Spring Awakening National Tour

      [ B ]  PHOTO OP: Bruce Springsteen Trades Jersey for Broadway at Spring Awakening

      [ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Duncan Sheik and Spring Awakening Cast Members Perform at Apple Store

      [ B ]  VIDEO: In Rehearsal: Weeds' Hunter Parrish, the New Star of Spring Awakening

      Other News:

      [ TM ]  MTC's Biltmore Will Be Renamed Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on September 4

      [ B ]  MTC Sets Date for Renaming Biltmore Theatre for Samuel J. Friedman

      [ P ]  Biltmore Will Be Renamed the Friedman in September; Lobby Named for Herz and Ullman

      [ P ]  Jacoby, Hoty, Elder and More Star in Walnut Street's State Fair

      [ TM ]  Elder, Hoty, Jacoby, et al. Set for Walnut Street's State Fair

      [ P ]  Johnson Replaces Grindley As Director of London's Rain Man

      [ TM ]  Terry Johnson to Direct Josh Hartnett in West End Rain Man

      [ P ]  Cuccioli to Star in White Plains' Camelot, Sept. 26-Oct. 5

      [ TM ]  Robert Cuccioli to Star in WPPAC's Camelot

      [ P ]  Lynch, Nostrand and Iglewski Cast in Guthrie's A View from the Bridge

      [ TM ]  Full Cast, Creative Team Set for A View from the Bridge at The Guthrie

      [ P ]  Ziemba, Mayes, Ackerman and Wintersteller Will Be Part of Broadway Close Up Series

      [ TM ]  Ackerman, Callaway, Mayes, Wintersteller, Ziemba to Appear at Kaufman Center

      [ P ]  LaBute's Fat Pig to Transfer to the West End; Bishop and Burns Will Join Cast

      [ TM ]  Bishop, Burns to Join Page and Smith in West End Fat Pig

      [ TM ]  Espinosa, Goldsberry, Hanks, Keeling, Spencer, Sullivan, Thoms, et al. Set for Broadway in Bryant Park

      [ P ]  Ehlshlager Is Delaware Theatre Company's New Managing Director

      [ TM ]  Full Cast Announced for Babel's A Great Place to Be From

      [ TM ]  Full Cast Announced for Peccadillo's Johnny On a Spot

      [ P ]  Kelly, Frye, Lindley, Durning and Mulopulos to Join Butler for Chicago's Caroline

      [ P ]  Made-for-TV Musical, "The American Mall," Debuts on MTV Aug. 11

      [ P ]  Wild Dogs Will Get World Premiere in Toronto Oct. 4-Nov. 8

      [ P ]  Cleage's A Song for Coretta Will Get Midwest Premiere by Chicago's Eclipse

      [ P ]  Healy's Futuristic What Once We Felt to Premiere at Chicago's About Face

      [ P ]  D'Jae, Farrar, Mendez, Peck and More Set for Black Belt Reading

      [ P ]  "Mamma Mia!" Nears $300 Million in Worldwide Box Office Take

      [ P ]  Meaney, Mosher, Perry, Franklin and Umphress Featured at Aug. 11 Broadway at the Beach

      [ P ]  Babalu-cy!, with Purnhagen, to Play the Actors Temple Theatre

      [ P ]  Fugard's Coming Home Will Premiere at Long Wharf Theatre

      [ P ]  Today in Theatre History: AUGUST 12

      [ P ]  Damn Yankees, with Richard Kind, Begins Casa Mañana Run Aug. 12

      [ P ]  Noël Coward in Two Keys Unlocked at Berkshire Theatre Festival Aug. 12

      [ P ]  Braxton Returns to Broadway's Chicago Aug. 12

      [ P ]  Spelling Bee, with Baysic, Mastro and Wilfert, Begins North Shore Run Aug. 12

      [ P ]  "Rainbow High": Murney Is Evita for Sacramento Music Circus Beginning Aug. 12

      [ P ]  Forever Plaid, with David Hyde Pierce, Daniel Reichard and More, Filmed for Cinematic Release

      [ B ]  Theatrical Ad Agency SpotCo Will Partner Globally with Dewynters

      [ P ]  Theatrical Ad Giants SpotCo and DeWynters Will Join Forces

      [ P ]  Peter Kass, Influential Acting Teacher, Is Dead at 85

    • Posted by Tim Dunleavy at 9:22 AM | Item Link


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