Review Roundups - Page 95

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim's new book 'Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes' was released on October 26, 2010. The book, which debuted at #11 on the New York Times Book Review Bestseller list, has now made the paper's 100 Notable Books of 2010 list. They write 'Sondheim's analysis of his songs and those of others is both stinging and insightful.'

[title of show] is a musical comedy for anyone who has followed a dream. When two struggling writers make a commitment to write something new in three weeks, they quickly find that writing a comedy about the process of writing was more interesting than anything else they could write!

The Invisible Man opened on 24 November and is booking until 13 February 2011. Illusions are by Paul Kieve, with set designs by Paul Farnsworth, costume designs by Matthew Wright, lighting by Jason Taylor, music by Steve Edis, sound by Gareth Owen and choreography by Sam Spencer-Lane.

The Break of Noon is Neil LaBute's seventh collaboration with MCC Theater as Playwright-in-Residence, following the 2009 Tony Award-nominated Best Play, Reasons to be Pretty. Renowned for his darkly-comic morality plays (The Shape of Things, In a Dark Dark House), he teams up again with longtime collaborator, director Jo Bonney (Some Girl(s), Fat Pig), for this exploration of the daunting, sometimes harrowing process of 'finding religion.' David Duchovny ('Californication,' 'The X-Files') stars as John Smith, a man who, amidst the chaos and horror of the worst office shooting in American history, sees the face of God. His modern-day revelation creates a maelstrom of disbelief among everyone he knows. A newcomer to faith, John urgently searches for a modern response to the age-old question: at what cost salvation?

Asolo Repertory Theatre's production of Bonnie & Clyde opened on November 19. Bonnie and Clyde is a thrilling new musical with book by Ivan Menchell (The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang); music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel); lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance); Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations by John McDaniel; and direction and musical staging by Tony Award- winner Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!).

Brendan Fraser and Denis O'Hare star in ELLING on Broadway with Jennifer Coolidge in ELLING, new comedy from London, directed by Tony Award-winner Doug Hughes. ELLING began performances Tuesday, November 2, opened Sunday, November 21 on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre 243 West 47th Street and will play a strictly limited engagement through March 20, 2011. ELLING is based on the popular original novels by Ingvar Ambjørnsen and adapted for the Oscar nominated film and the stage by Axel Hellstenius and Petter Næss, in a new English adaptation by critically hailed writer Simon Bent. ELLING played the West End and was nominated for the Lawrence Olivier Award for Comedy of the Year.

Encores! presents Bells Are Ringing through November 20 at New York City Center. Bells Are Ringing is directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall with music direction by Rob Berman, has music by Jule Styne and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and stars Kelli O'Hara and Will Chase.

The Lincoln Center Theater production of John Guare's new play, A FREE MAN OF COLOR, directed by George C. Wolfe, opened tonight (Thursday, November 18) at 6:45pm at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. The cast features Yao Ababio, Peter Bartlett, Nicole Beharie, Arnie Burton, Rosal Colón, Veanne Cox, Paul Dano, Sara Gettelfinger, Derric Harris, Justina Machado, Joseph Marcell, John McMartin, Nick Mennell, Mos, Teyonnah Parris, Postell Pringle, Esau Pritchett, Brian Reddy, Reg Rogers, Triney Sandoval, Robert Stanton, Wendy Rich Stetson, Jerome Stigler, Senfaub Stoney, David Emerson Toney and Jeffrey Wright.

Directed and choreographed by Tony®Award-winner Bill T. Jones, FELA! opened in LonDon Starring Sahr Ngaujah, who originated the role and currently appears in the Broadway production. Kevin Mambo, who shares the role with Mr. Ngaujah in NYC, will also join the otherwise all-British cast for a limited run. The Broadway production will continue its open-ended run.

ELF opened on Sunday, November 14th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street). ELF is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Buddy is raised unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa's permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list and his step-brother doesn't even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. This modern day Christmas classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner ELF!

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE is one of Shakespeare's most thrilling and controversial plays, rich with love and betrayal, forgiveness and revenge. The Jewish moneylender Shylock makes a loan to Antonio, a Christian merchant. Their loan contract, steeped in prejudice and centered on the play's infamous 'pound of flesh,' sweeps the two men and everyone in their worlds into chaos. Only the insightful Portia can imagine a way forward, but for her and those she loves, even 'the quality of mercy' has its limits. Al Pacino (Shylock), Lily Rabe (Portia), Byron Jennings (Antonio), Jesse L. Martin (Gratiano), Gerry Bamman (Duke of Venice), Heather Lind (Jessica), Matthew Rauch (Solanio), and Richard Topol (Tubal) reprise their roles in this acclaimed production. New cast members who have joined the Broadway company include Marsha Stephanie Blake (Nerissa), Christopher Fitzgerald (Launcelot Gobbo), David Harbour (Bassanio), Peter Francis James (Salerio), Isaiah Johnson (Prince of Morocco), Charles Kimbrough (Prince of Arragon), and Seth Numrich (Lorenzo).

Based on Reubens' 1981 cult classic stage production, The Pee-Wee Herman Show, with new elements from the ground-breaking CBS show 'Pee-wee's Playhouse' added generously, this new production is written by Paul Reubens and Bill Steinkellner, with additional material by John Paragon. Directed by Alex Timbers (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson), The Pee-Wee Herman Show will feature music by Jay Cotton and the work of renowned puppetry artist Basil Twist. Direct from its acclaimed, sold-out run in Los Angeles, The Pee-Wee Herman Show began its 48-performance limited run on Tuesday, October 26, 2010 and officially opened on Thursday, November 11 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd street). The engagement will run through January 2.

Former 'Saturday Night Live' and Comedy Central star Colin Quinn moves his one-man show Colin Quinn Long Story Short, directed by Jerry Seinfeld, to Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre for an 11-week limited engagement. Preview performances began on Friday, October 22nd and will officially open on Tuesday, November 9th. The production will play through Saturday, January 8th. Colin Quinn Long Story Short proves that throughout human history, the joke has always been on us.??The New York Post says of this summer's critically acclaimed Bleecker Street Theatre production that it's 'historical and hysterical. While he dutifully traces his saga from the caveman era to the present, Quinn happens to be very, very funny. Clearly benefited from Seinfeld's influence, with tight pacing and a procession of hilarious one-liners,' while NY1 says, 'The humor is infused with plenty of witty insights...even wisdom.

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim's new book 'Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes' was released today, October 26, 2010. The book debuted at #11 on the New York Times Book Review Bestseller list this week.

Based on Pedro Almodóvar's internationally acclaimed 1988 film, WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN is set in late 20th-century Madrid and tells the story of the intertwining lives of a group of women whose relationships with men lead to a tumultuous 48 hours of love, confusion and passion and now it's come to Broadway!

THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, the exhilarating new Kander & Ebb musical, opens Sunday, October 31 at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street). THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS is the final collaboration by musical theatre giants John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret). Based on the notorious 'Scottsboro' case in the 1930s (in which nine African-American men were unjustly accused of a terrible crime) this musical explores a fascinating chapter in American history. This production is directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers) and features a book by David Thompson (who adapted the script for Chicago's record-breaking revival).

Signature Theatre Company presents the first New York revival of Tony Kushner's ANGELS IN AMERICA: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, directed by Michael Greif. ANGELS IN AMERICA opens Thursday, October 28 at the Peter Norton Space (555 West 42nd Street). The play began previews on September 14. Millennium Approaches and Perestroika, the two parts of ANGELS IN AMERICA, alternate in repertory.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert began previews on October 12th in Toronto, and officially opened in Toronto last night on the 26th. BWW has been on hand to bring you photos, videos and interviews with the cast and crew as they prepare to launch the North American Premiere of this world-wide smash (with lots more coverage to come!)

RAIN performs the full range of The Beatles' discography live onstage, including the most complex and challenging songs that The Beatles themselves recorded in the studio but never performed for an audience. From the early days of their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 through Sgt. Pepper and on to the Abbey Road years, RAIN performs it all. The multi-media concert recaptures the era through all phases of The Beatles astounding musical career including Shea Stadium, the psychedelic late 60s and the long-haired hippie, hard-rocking rooftop days. A fusion of historical footage and hilarious television commercials lights up video screens and live cameras zoom in for close-ups.

It's an opportunity to see acting legends James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave together on stage when they star in one of the most beloved and celebrated American stories of the late twentieth century, Driving Miss Daisy, which will have its Broadway premiere this fall. Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play (later adapted into an Oscar-winning film) is a timeless, searing, funny, and ultimately hopeful meditation on race relations in America, told through the complex relationship between Daisy Werthan (Redgrave) and her driver Hoke Colburn (Jones), two of popular culture's most enduring characters.