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Friday, December 4, 2009

    Features:

    [ NYT ]  Send in the Song-and-Dance Gal By CHARLES McGRATH

    Catherine Zeta-Jones is making her Broadway debut in the revival of "A Little Night Music."

    [ P ]  Sex, Commitment and Loaded Questions, From Both Sides

    Reviews:

    [ NYP ]  Wishy-washy 'Heart' by Elisabeth Vincentelli (** 1/2)

    [ BS ]  The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter - Reviewed by ERIK HAAGENSEN

    Though respectful and thoughtful, Rebecca Gilman's dramatization of Carson McCullers' breathtaking debut novel fails to set the heart of this "Hunter" fully beating.

    [ BS ]  Sister's Christmas Catechism - Reviewed by PAUL MENARD

    One might suspect that any grown adult who would willfully subject himself to the authoritarianism of a parochial-school classroom is earning points toward saintly martyrdom.

    [ BS ]  Sex Crimes Cabaret - Reviewed by ADAM R. PERLMAN

    L. Gabrielle Penabaz manages what so many teachers and artists before her have failed to do: make sex education fun and funny, smart and scary, even a little bit sexy.

    News:

    [ TM ]  Oscar Nominee Richard Todd Dies at 90

    [ TM ]  Million Dollar Quartet to Open April 11 at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre

    [ B ]  Million Dollar Quartet Sets Broadway Opening Date

    [ P ]  Tix for Broadway's Million Dollar Quartet Now On Sale; Opening Night Date Announced

    [ P ]  Sessions, with "Guiding Light" Star Newman, to Close in January 2010

    [ TM ]  Jonathan Moscone Wins Stage Directors and Choreographers' Zelda Fichandler Award

    [ P ]  Director Moscone Is Winner of First Fichandler Award

    [ TM ]  Susan Blackwell to Offer Die Vampire, Die! Workshop at Vineyard January 2

    [ TM ]  David Strathairn, Theodore Bikel, Kathleen Chalfant, et al. Set for Reading of Studs Terkel's Will the Circle Be Unbroken

    [ TM ]  Hank Azaria Wins Artivist Award

    [ TM ]  LaChanze, J. Robert Spencer to Perform from Handel's Messiah Rocks at Barnes & Noble December 15

    [ TM ]  Angela Bassett, Lawrence Pressman, Theresa Rebeck, et al. Set for Hothouse at the Playhouse Series

    [ P ]  PLAYBILL.COM'S THEATRE WEEK IN REVIEW, Nov. 28-Dec. 4: Early Closing Blues

    [ P ]  R&H Theatricals Will License In the Heights

    [ B ]  New Primary Stages Season to Feature New Works by A.R. Gurney and Jonathan Tolins

    [ B ]  Good God! Long-Running Off-Broadway Hit Altar Boyz to End Run January 10

    [ NYT ]  ArtsBeat
    'Altar Boyz,' Long-Lived Off Broadway Show, Will Close By DAVE ITZKOFF

  • Posted by Tim Dunleavy at 3:52 PM | Item Link


      • [ NYP ]  Light up the 'Night' by Michael Riedel

      Sondheim revival finds its way out of the dark

      [ P ]  Altar Boyz to End Off-Broadway Run in January 2010

      [ P ]  Primary Stages Will Present Comedies by Gurney and Tolins, Plus a New Musical, in 2010-11

      [ TM ]  A.R. Gurney, Jonathan Tolins, et al. Set for Primary Stages Season

      [ B ]  The Lady with All the Answers to Close Earlier Than Expected

      [ TM ]  Lady With All the Answers, Starring Judith Ivey, to Now Close December 6

      [ P ]  Lady with All the Answers to Close Dec. 6

      [ P ]  Weeks Added to NYC's Circumcise Me, Now to Feb. 28, 2010

      [ TM ]  Jude Law, Helen Mirren, Rachel Weisz, et al. Nominated for Whatsonstage Awards

      [ V ]  Imagem gets 'Heights' rights

      RHO to rep show for worldwide, amateur productions

      [ P ]  Avery Brooks Joins Cast of Centerstage's Let There Be Love

      [ TM ]  Avery Brooks to Star in Let There Be Love at CENTERSTAGE

      [ TM ]  Howl, Jack Goes Boating, The Extra Man, et al. Set for Sundance Film Festival

      [ P ]  Portman, Schreiber, Strathairn and Parker Featured in 2010 Sundance Film Fest Offerings

      [ P ]  Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Elects Officers, Ratifies Contracts

      [ NYP ]  PAGE SIX: Jude and Sienna back together?

      [ B ]  Idina Menzel 'Would Love' to Play Lea Michele's Mom in Glee

      Obituaries:

      [ NYT ]  Eric Woolfson, Co-Founder of Alan Parsons Project, Dies at 64 By WILLIAM GRIMES

      Mr. Woolfson's musical "Edgar Allan Poe" is now playing in Berlin.

      [ INQ ]  Nat Wright, 82, radio broadcaster By Sally A. Downey

      In the 1970s, the music promoter and publisher Kal Rudman heard Judy Collins' recording of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns" on Dawn Patrol. Impressed, he asked Mr. Wright to play the song frequently, and lobbied Collins' record company to issue the song as a single.

      Features:

      [ TM ]  Peter Filichia's Diary: Our Children

      [ P ]  DIVA TALK: Chatting with Memphis' Montego Glover

      [ P ]  THE LEADING MEN: Burstein and Barrett

      [ DCTS ]  August Osage County's Estelle Parsons

      Estelle Parsons is straight out honest, comfortable with who she is, and has a crackling wit. She talks with Joel Markowitz about all the road she's traveled in life, with stops to debut in an Ethel Merman show, be the first woman newscaster on the Today Show in the 50s, work in films and TV, and always return to the stage for plum roles such as Violet in August:Osage County.

      [ B ]  First Person: Judith Ivey on Channeling Ann Landers in The Lady with All the Answers

      [ JSTGY ]  Quick Q&A: Michael Cyril Creighton by Patrick Lee

      His box office day job inspires the web series "Jack In A Box"

      [ TM ]  Onward Kristen Johnston By: Brian Scott Lipton

      The Emmy Award-winning actress returns to the stage as a demanding diva in the Mint Theatre Company's So Help Me God!

      [ NY1 ]  Cabaret Classics Live On At The Algonquin By: Tara Lynn Wagner

      In celebration of the Johhny Mercer centennial, the Marcovicci singers are taking to the stage with some familiar yet timeless tunes.

      [ V ]  Teens score Tony as 'Billy' By GORDON COX

      Young actors master demanding role

      [ LAT ]  Culture Monster
      Old Globe Theatre shows off new additions by Anne Marie Welsh

      [ P ]  PHOTO CALL: The 2009 Wasserstein Prize

      [ B ]  Photo Op: Maks and Kym Feel the Burn in a Hot New Serendipity Sundae

      "12 Men of Christmas":

      [ B ]  What's Up, Kristin Chenoweth? Dishing About Love, Wicked, Glee and More

      [ NYT ]  Not Quite Holiday Films for Not Quite Happy Times By ALESSANDRA STANLEY

      Made-for-television holiday movies usually put modern-day twists on Christmas classics, but many of this year's holiday offerings bypass the canon entirely.

      [ TM ]  Kristin Chenoweth to Star in Lifetime's 12 Men of Christmas

      "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter":

      [ P ]  PHOTO CALL: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter at New York Theatre Workshop

      [ V ]  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
      Review By MARILYN STASIO

      It was brave of Rebecca Gilman to return to the original source material for this stunning stage treatment (first mounted in 2005 by the Acting Company, in association with Atlanta's Alliance Theater) of "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter."

      [ BR ]  Review: "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," new off-Broadway play BY ROBERT FELDBERG

      "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," Rebecca Gilman's empathic adaptation of Carson McCullers' 1940 debut novel, which opened Thursday at the New York Theatre Workshop, is a lovely evening of theater.

      [ TE ]  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Review by OSCAR E. MOORE

      Beautifully acted by the ensemble cast of ten the play itself is episodic and problematic.

      [ CU ]  The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

      Thirteen-year-old, cigarette smoking, music loving Mick Kelly is one of the central and most endearing characters in Carson McCullers' novel, My Heart Is a Lonely Hunter That hasn't changed in Rebecca Gilman's stage adaption.

      [ NYT ]  Carson McCullers's Wounded Souls, Quietly Holding in Yearnings By CHARLES ISHERWOOD

      Little of the feeling that consumes Carson McCullers's characters has made its way into the respectful but lifeless stage version of her novel "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter."

      [ TM ]  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
      Reviewed by: David Finkle

      Rebecca Gilman's play fails to do justice to Carson McCullers' brilliant novel.

      [ TB ]  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
      Review by Matthew Murray

      Gilman and her director, Doug Hughes, have tried to make a nice play and a nice production out of a story that probably shouldn't be nice at all - and isn't whenever it strays too far from the figure at its center. Which, unfortunately, it does much more often than it should.

      [ AP ]  Heavy-handed version of 'Heart Is a Lonely Hunter' finds way to off-B'way By Jennifer Farrar

      "This":

      [ NYT ]  Audio Slide Show: The Opposite of Talk

      Melissa James Gibson narrates a look at her play "This."

      [ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Gibson's This Opens at Playwrights Horizons

      [ B ]  Photo Op: This Is It! Playwrights Horizons Celebrates Latest Opening

      [ NYT ]  Does Adultery Make You an Adult? By CHARLES ISHERWOOD

      Melissa James Gibson's tart, melancholy comedy is the best new play to open Off Broadway this fall.

      [ TM ]  This
      Reviewed by: Brian Scott Lipton

      Melissa James Gibson's thoroughly involving and beautifully written play focuses on four friends facing some difficult daily struggles.

      [ NYP ]  There's lots to enjoy in 'This' By Elisabeth Vincentelli (***)

      [ NYP ]  "This" is all that By Elisabeth Vincentelli

      While "A Streetcar Named Desire" got all the attention, another show opened last night, and I'm going to throw more love its way.

      [ EW ]  This
      Reviewed by Tanner Stransky (B+)

      [ BN ]  Pretentious Blather, Wordplay Mix in Gibson's 'This': Review by John Simon (*)

      "A Streetcar Named Desire":

      [ TM ]  Liv Ullmann to Discuss A Streetcar Named Desire at Paley Center

      [ DN ]  Cate Blanchett shines in stellar 'Streetcar' by Joe Dziemianowicz (****)

      [ EW ]  A Streetcar Named Desire
      Reviewed by Melissa Rose Bernardo (B+)

      [ NY1 ]  Review: "A Streetcar Named Desire" By: Roma Torre

      At three hours plus, this is a streetcar that takes its time, making the journey from simple desire to delusion to abject cruelty. And hopeless as it all may seem, Ms. Ullman and company have us riveted to our seats.

      [ TIMES ]  A Streetcar Named Desire at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York by Claire Prentice (****)

      [ NYP ]  A Blanchett named Desire By Elisabeth Vincentelli

      [ WSJ ]  The Middle of the Track

      Cate Blanchett is the least of the reasons to see an otherwise solid production of "A Streetcar Named Desire," says Terry Teachout.

      Plus "Biography."

      [ ND ]  Blanchett rides a clunky 'Streetcar Named Desire' By LINDA WINER

      "Banana Shpeel":

      [ CST ]  'Banana Shpeel' slips up BY HEDY WEISS

      Lame script, unfunny clowns don't help flashy show on way to N.Y.

      [ CT ]  Cirque du Soleil's 'Banana Shpeel': This is one tough banana by Chris Jones (* 1/2)

      [ V ]  Banana Shpeel
      Review By STEVEN OXMAN

      Cirque takes a real slip with this frantic, vaudeville-inspired show.

      "Sweet Charity":

      [ V ]  Sweet Charity
      Review By DAVID BENEDICT

      Matthew White's revival of "Sweet Charity" is the most thrillingly complete piece of work at the Menier Chocolate Factory since the venue's 2005 triumph with "Sunday in the Park With George."

      [ WOS ]  Sweet Charity - Review by Michael Coveney (*****)

      [ ES ]  Tamzin Outhwaite's sweet act of charity By Fiona Mountford (****)

      The magic Menier musicals machine is at it again.

      [ MAIL ]  There's life in the Outhwaite yet By Quentin Letts (*****)

      [ G ]  Sweet Charity - Review by Michael Billington (****)

      Under Nigel Lilley's musical supervision, a half-forgotten 1960s show is dusted down and given a captivating vitality and freshness.

      [ T ]  Sweet Charity at the Menier Chocolate Factory, review By Charles Spencer (***)

      Sweet Charity at the Menier Chocolate Factory is great fun, but is let down by Tamzin Outhwaite in the lead role.

      [ STAGE ]  Sweet Charity - Review by Lisa Martland

      What is lacking though is the wow factor so evident in recent Menier musical productions.

      [ TIMES ]  Sweet Charity at Menier, SE1 by Benedict Nightingale (****)

      The former Eastenders actress Tamzin Outwaite takes the title role with charm and energy - if a little toothily

      [ STAGE ]  There's gotta be something better than this.... By Mark Shenton

      No, that headline isn't my review for the wonderful new production of Sweet Charity that opened at the Menier Chocolate Factory last night.

      David Hyde Pierce and Michael Feinstein:

      [ P ]  PHOTO CALL: David Hyde Pierce Joins Michael Feinstein For Holiday Show

      [ V ]  Michael Feinstein and David Hyde Pierce
      Review By STEVEN SUSKIN

      The two make an especially jolly pair.

      Other Reviews:

      [ V ]  Have You Seen Us?
      Review By FRANK RIZZO

      Fugard finds absolution in a coffee shop in a struggling mini-mall, presumably around the San Diego area the 77-year-old playwright now calls home. He also finds it with an exceptional cast led by Sam Waterston, and in a sterling production, helmed by Gordon Edelstein, who also staged the premiere of Fugard's last work, "Coming Home," at Long Wharf.

      [ HC ]  'Have You Seen Us' Has Compelling Moral Conscience By SUSAN HOOD

      [ TM ]  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
      Reviewed by: Natasha Tripney

      James Earl Jones and Adrian Lester's excellent performances lift Debbie Allen's staging of Tennessee Williams' play about a dysfunctional Southern family.

      [ BN ]  James Earl Jones Moves From Darth Vader to Big Daddy: Review by Warwick Thompson (***)

      [ MAIL ]  Cat On A Hot Tin Roof: Speak up, Darth, we can't hear! By Quentin Letts (***)

      [ TM ]  Orpheus X
      Reviewed by: Andy Propst

      Rinde Eckert's intoxicating update of the famed Greek myth is both pointedly jarring and sublimely lyrical.

      [ TB ]  Sister's Christmas Catechism
      Review by Matthew Murray

      Lightning-fast on her feet, and in sufficient command of her material to extrapolate and expand on doctrine when necessary, Donovan alone puts on a heaven of a show. It's only when she broadens her scope that things weaken.

      [ EW ]  The 101 Dalmatians Musical
      Reviewed by Karen Valby (B-)

      [ EW ]  The Brother/Sister Plays
      Reviewed by Melissa Rose Bernardo (A)

      [ TB ]  The Browning Version and Love in Bloom
      Los Angeles Reviews by Sharon Perlmutter

      [ TB ]  Shakespeare's R&J
      Connecticut Review by Fred Sokol

      News:

      [ P ]  Birdland to Present The Girl From Oz: An Evening With Caroline O'Connor in 2010

      [ TM ]  Caroline O'Connor's The Girl From Oz to Play Birdland

      [ TM ]  Nikki Blonsky, Shoshana Bean, et al. Set for Broadway in South Africa Holiday Party

      [ P ]  Broadway in South Africa Holiday Party to Feature Bean, Blonsky, D'Abruzzo, Kennedy, Rudetsky

      [ TM ]  Alison Cimmet, Christopher Graves, Amy Justman, et al. Set for The Taxi Cabaret Benefit Concerts

      [ P ]  Playblog: Amy Morton Goes "Up in the Air"

      [ P ]  Mauzey, Burnham, Graae, Whitaker and More Will Sing for Toys for Tots Foundation

      [ TM ]  Maurice Hines to Offer Tappin' Through Life Benefit on March 1

    • Posted by Tim Dunleavy at 11:08 AM | Item Link


        • News:

        [ P ]  Talk Show Watch: Kristin Chenoweth on "Today," Catherine Zeta-Jones on "Regis"

        [ P ]  Off-Broadway's Groovaloo Will Appear on TV's "So You Think You Can Dance"

        [ TM ]  Groovaloo Freestyle to Perform on December 16 Finale of FOX's So You Think You Can Dance

        [ P ]  Foster, Creel, Ripley, Benanti, Baldwin and More Will Be "Making It on Broadway"

        [ B ]  New Broadway Classroom Workshop to Feature Rae Mahon, Sean McKnight and Luis Salgado

        [ V ]  Elvis songwriter Aaron Schroeder dies

        17 songs for Presley included 'It's Now or Never'

        [ IBDB ]  Aaron Schroeder's Broadway Credits

        [ HC ]  New Haven's Shubert Celebrates Its 95th Anniversary. Free Events! By Frank Rizzo

        [ TM ]  Brooke Bloom, Jeremy Bobb, Danielle Skraastad, et al. To Star in Wilma Theatre's Becky Shaw

        [ TM ]  Hector Lugo, Isaac Calpito, John Arthur Greene, et al. Set for La Contessa's Christmas Carol Benefit at LGBT Center

        [ TM ]  Maria Friedman, Stephen Managan, Denise Van Outen, et al. Set for Sandi Toksvig's Christmas Cracker

        [ TM ]  Alison Arngrim to Present Confessions of a Prairie Bitch at Magic Castle in January

        [ TM ]  Nine to Open Dubai Film Festival on December 9

        [ TM ]  Lynn Cohen to Star in Cape May Stage's Happy Days

        [ P ]  Case, Wetherhead, Balan and More Added to Scott Alan's Birdland Concert

        [ P ]  Jayne Houdyshell Is Oswald's Mother in New Group's Mama's Boy Reading

        [ P ]  Nielsen, Blaemire and Walters Complete Cast of Long Wharf's Lil's 90th

        [ P ]  New York City Christmas Concert at Joe's Pub Will Include Sherie Rene Scott and Raul Esparza

        [ P ]  Alfred Molina Stars in Donmar Warehouse's Premiere of John Logan's Red, Starting Dec. 3

        [ P ]  Broadway-Aimed A Christmas Story, The Musical Extends Kansas City Run

        [ P ]  Brent Barrett Will Sing on TV and at Birdland

        [ P ]  Second Part of Foote's Orphans' Home Cycle Begins Off-Broadway

        [ TM ]  Alec Baldwin, Morgan Freeman, Carey Mulligan, Meryl Streep, et al. Win National Board of Review Awards

        [ TM ]  Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, Tyler Perry, et al. Among Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009

        [ TM ]  Susan Sarandon, Frankie Valli, et al. Inducted into New Jersey Hall of Fame

        [ P ]  Today In Theatre History: DECEMBER 4

        [ P ]  Night Devine: An Audience with Loretta Devine Plays Upright Cabaret Dec. 4-6

        [ P ]  Misalliance, With Stark, Daily, Brown, Boyer and Rolfsrud, Begins Off-Broadway Dec. 4

        [ P ]  Rated RSO, With Hilty, Kazee, Margherita and Weiss, Plays L.A. Dec. 4-5

        [ P ]  The Accidental Pervert Will Reveal Himself Off-Broadway Dec. 4

        [ P ]  Carvajal to Sing Goodman Songs in I Am A Ham Dec. 7

        [ P ]  Henshall to Reprise Roxie Hart in London's Chicago; Langford Will Also Return

        [ B ]  Listen to This! American Idiot Cast Joins Green Day on '21 Guns'

        [ P ]  Sutton Foster to Play Joe's Pub in January 2010

        [ P ]  Madden May Direct "My Fair Lady"; Roles of Eliza and Higgins Still Open

        [ P ]  Barry Manilow to Play Two-Year Stint at Paris Las Vegas

        [ NYT ]  Theater Listings: Dec. 4 - 10

        Selective listings from theater critics of The New York Times.

      • Posted by Tim Dunleavy at 9:05 AM | Item Link


      • « December 3, 2009 | Main Index | Archives | December 5, 2009 »

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