Results tagged “UK” from Blogway Baby

Road trip to London! Yeah, baby!

BIBA THE MUSICAL sounds ultra cool, I wish I could go to the London Showcase on October 25!

BIBA THE MUSICAL was written by Anthony Barry, David Foster-Smith and John Renoir, with set design and styling by Andrea Dunne.

Here's the 411 on the show from the website:

It’s the story of a fantasy that became a fantastic reality. It’s the story of fashion, of the Swinging Sixties, of beautiful people, of a musical and cultural coming of age. London 1964. Biba started as a tiny boutique in a Kensington sidestreet and grew to become a huge department store – unlike any that had been seen before or ever will again. Biba’s ethos was to be affordable but chic, to be so very very cool it almost hurt. All who were so very cool hung out there, from Brigitte Bardot to the Rolling Stones. Flamingoes strutted their stuff on the Roof Garden, while the louche and glamorous sipped exotic and often illegal cocktails in the Rainbow Room.

By the mid-seventies, Biba, by now an icon in its own time, found itself struggling to survive in a world that had turned cold and grey, a world of strikes, power cuts and recession. Glam was gone, and the angry voice of punk was on the streets. Suddenly it was all over, almost as suddenly as it had started. But the memories lingered in the minds of the tens of thousands who had been touched by the style, the music, the hedonism and the beautiful decadence that was Biba.

Wake Up and Smell the Bacon in Missouri! Or is that show me the bacon....

I am please to announce the production of THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND at the State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Missouri! Yes, this November 2009 will see the return of Pigling Bland, Aunt Pettitoes and the whole crazy gang! This will be the third production of the musical that I (I being me, Suzy Conn) wrote (book/lyrics) with Mitchell Kitz (music), following a debut in Toronto (at the Toronto Fringe Festival), and a second production in Chicago at Theatre Building Chicago last summer.

THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND, based on the book by Beatrix Potter (no relation to Harry Potter), tells the story of the adventures of a young pig (Pigling Bland) who sets off to market with his younger brother, is interrogated by a policeman, pignapped by a farmer, teased and tormented by a cat and dog and eventually falls in love with a beautiful female pig . The two escape and....well... I can't give away the ending, now can I?

THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND will be directed by Eric Yazell, and is scheduled to run from November 16 to November 21, 2009 at the Stauffacher Center for the Fine Arts in Sedalia, MO!

And here's a bit of trivia -- turns out Sedalia, MO hosts the annual Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival!

More posts to come... oink!

Someone bring me my smelling salts -- I just fainted!

Okay, maybe I am a little disappointed that Hugh Jackman isn't returning to Broadway in a musical, but this will do!

From an article on Playbill.com :

Two major Hollywood box-office draws will join forces in the fall for a new Broadway play.

The New York Post reports that Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Daniel Craig (James Bond) will co-star in Keith Huff's A Steady Rain.

No official announcement about the production has been made; however, should it come to pass the drama will likely be the hottest ticket of the fall season.

Barbara Broccoli, who was a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang producer, will produce the Broadway outing.

A Steady Rain tells of two seasoned cops whose lifelong friendship is severely tested when a seemingly routine domestic disturbance call results in the death of a young boy. When the horrific truth of the situation is revealed, one of the two must take the blame for the fatal mistake.

A Steady Rain would mark Craig's Broadway debut. His film credits include "Defiance," "Quantum of Solace," "Flashbacks of a Fool," "The Golden Compass," "The Invasion," "Casino Royale," "Infamous" and "Renaissance," among others.

Jackman, who was recently seen on screen in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," earned a Tony Award for his work in the Broadway musical The Boy From Oz.He is also known for his film roles in the "X-Men" trilogy, "Someone Like You," "Swordfish," "Kate and Leopold," "Van Helsing" and the recent "The Fountain" and "Happy Feet" (in voice). His stage credits also include Trevor Nunn's staging of Oklahoma! at Britian's National Theatre and award-winning work in productions of Sunset Boulevard and Beauty and the Beast in his homeland.

A Steady Rain played a six-week sold-out engagement at Chicago Dramatists in fall 2007. The cast and artistic team, headed by director Russ Tutterow, remained intact for the 2008 run at Chicago's Royal George Theater.

Playwright Keith Huff is the recipient of a Drama-Logue Award, the Cunningham Prize, the John Gassner Award, the Berrilla Kerr Award, and three Illinois Arts Council Playwriting Fellowships. He has developed plays at American Repertory Theater, The O'Neill Theatre Center National Playwrights Conference, Steppenwolf, New York Theatre Workshop, New York Stage and Film, and The Public Theater. His plays have been produced nationally and Off-Broadway.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE at The 5^th Avenue  Theatre

Putting It Together (and by “it” I mean a fabulous show!)

I was lucky enough to attend opening night of The 5^th Avenue Theatre's production of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (April 21 – May 10). Written by Stephen Sondheim (Music and Lyrics) and James Lapine (Book), directed by Sam Buntrock with musical direction by the 5th Avenue's resident musical genius Ian Eisendrath, this is a not-to-be-missed, only-in-three-cities-ever (London, New York, Seattle), stuffed-to-the-celing-with-talent-cast event!

From the 5^th Avenue Theatre website:

Only three cities in the world will experience this exciting new production of Stephen Sondheim's musical masterpiece Sunday in the Park with George. Developed in London and transferred to Broadway, this Pulitzer Prize-winning love story (inspired by the life and work of impressionist painter Georges Seurat) comes to Seattle April 21-May 10. Featuring revolutionary state-of-the-art scenic design the New York Post hailed "Unmissable! One of the most visually amazing shows ever!" this moving story answers the question: What does it take to create a masterpiece? Everything you have.

In a Parisian park on a Sunday afternoon in 1884, artist Georges Seurat does a study of his model and mistress Dot. He is obsessed with how the eye translates points of individual color into different hues, but his work is decried by critics and other artists as having "no life." For her part, Dot is obsessed with Georges, and frustrated that he's more connected to his studies of people in the park—a nurse, a servant, a fellow artist—than her. The scene shifts to Georges' apartment, where Dot powders her face for a trip to the Follies, and Georges paints her, enraptured by her beauty. But she's shocked when he announces he can't go out: he has to finish his painting. She leaves, and the scene returns to the park, where Georges does other studies: a boatman, a pair of soldiers, some dogs. Dot arrives with her new boyfriend Louie, hoping to make Georges jealous, but he ignores them and continues with his painting. Still later, Dot comes to Georges at his studio, pregnant with his child. She again entreats him to tell her not to go, but he won't, and she announces that she and Louie are emigrating to America. Later in the park, the dramas and conflicts of the people George has been sketching come to a head, with arguments and recriminations flying. Then Georges' mantra is repeated: "Order. Design. Tension. Balance. Harmony." With that, the artist moves each of the figures into position—the masterpiece is complete, and before us is "Sunday in the Park of La Grande Jatte."

As the second act begins, a century has passed, and we see the painting on the wall of a museum, where the figures are caught in a perfect moment forever. Georges' great-grandson, also an artist named George, presents his multimedia sound and light art piece, "Chromalune #7." At the cocktail party afterwards, George engages in the real "art of making art:" high-powered cocktail schmoozing. As the crowd leave, George's grandmother Marie reminds him that the true legacies in life are children and art. Weeks later, George is in Paris in the Park of La Grande Jatte, commissioned to create another art piece. But his heart's not in it; Marie has died, and in the dark lonely park, he feels no inspiration. A woman approaches as he sits reading his great-grandmother's notebook—a woman wearing a distinctive and familiar dress...

The cast includes Hugh Panaro as George and Billie Wildrick as Dot. They were absolutely magnificent! The supporting cast is phenomenal and includes (to name a few) such Seattle luminaries as Carol Swarbrick, Rich Gray, Anne Allgood, Chad Jennings, Allen Fitzpatrick, Patti Cohenour, and Keaton Whittaker.

The set really is stunning. Watching the show unfold with moving animation behind, and around it, is thrilling. You literally have to see it to believe it! And if you are a high school student, that means you can see it for ten dollars!

I also had the pleasure to participate in the “connect the dots” cross promotion with local galleries! The opening night gallery was SAM Gallery, located at the corner of 3rd and University. The reception started at 5:30pm and I had a chance to meet the artists who had been commissioned to create new works based on Seurat's "Sunday in the Park of La Grande Jatte", see other new work, and drink wine and eat cheese catered by Le Pichet. It doesn’t get much better than that. Each night has a different gallery reception, so check the website!

Here's a companion to my post on Maximum Broadway Radio: There's a UK version. I like this service because it feeds directly into my iTunes application.

I got an email for Nathan Matthews, the producer of TheatreRadio in the UK so I thought I'd share this really cool site with you.

Nathan describes TheatreRadio as follows:

With a range of theatre classics and more contemporary tracks, TheatreRadio provides a unique blend of music and is accessible to everyone wanting to listen to musical theatre. You can now listen to music absolutely free of charge, anywhere, be it at work or at home. Simply visit www.theatreradio.co.uk and click "Listen". As well as providing great music, the website has loads of information on musicals playing in London's West End as well as those on tour across the UK.

TheatreRadio also does a chat show, which sounds really interesting:

TheatreRadio is proud to present Tim McArthur as its inaugural chat show host. Each week on TheatreRadio, Tim is joined by a star of the stage, and discusses their career to date, their current project, and their future plans. During the show, Tim plays tracks from each guest's favourite musicals, as well as giving away fantastic prizes in the weekly competition.

To date, Tim's guests have included Ellen Greene (Little Shop Of Horrors), Lesley Joseph (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Stiles & Drewe (Mary Poppins), Caroline O'Connor (On The Town), Adam Garcia (On The Town), Rosemary Ashe (Mary Poppins), Janie Dee (My One And Only), Josefina Gabrielle (Oklahoma), Rebecca Thornhill (Witches Of Eastwick), Ramin Karimloo (Les Miserables), Robert Irons (Jekyll & Hyde), Mark Hutchinson (Blood Brothers), and Tom Solomon (Voice Of Musical Theatre).

An experienced cabaret artist, Tim has appeared at Don't Tell Mama New York and across London at the Purcell Room, Pizza on the Park (where he was Critics' Choice in The Times), Jermyn Street Theatre, Lauderdale House and the Savoy. He also broadcasts regularly for BBC Radio London with Sadie Nine and LBC Radio with Sandy Toksvig.

Tim McArthur Interviews: Live On TheatreRadio Sundays at 5pm / Repeated daily at 2pm and 10pm.

If you have any questions for Nathan, you can contact him at nathan@theatreradio.co.uk