The Cultural Cabaret: South Florida performing arts, theater and show business | Sun-Sentinel Blogstag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog/1812008-05-29T23:23:52ZThe Cultural Cabaret, a blog about the performing arts and show business, written by the Sun-Sentinel's Jack Zink.Movable Type 3.36Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival dates are intag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1047162008-05-29T23:24:31Z2008-05-29T23:23:52Z Some information, finally, is beginning to trickle in about what's in store musically for summer 2008 in South Florida, including such anchors as the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival. Programming and, thus, special guests haven't been announced yet but...Jack Zink
Some information, finally, is beginning to trickle in about what's in store musically for summer 2008 in South Florida, including such anchors as the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival. Programming and, thus, special guests haven't been announced yet but the festival is most definitely back on in its classic formation, four weekends beginning July 11 through August 3. The ensemble's core remains founders Karen Dixon, flute (left), bassoonist Michael Ellert (center) and clarinetist Michael Forte (right) in the accompanying pbcmf photo.
The venue rotation remains the same, with each weekend's opening performance Fridays 8 p.m. at Palm Beach Atlantic University's Persson Recital Hall in downtown West Palm Beach, 8 p.m. Saturdays at the Eissey Campus Theatre in Palm Beach Gardens, and 2 p.m. Sundays at the Crest Theatre at Old School Square in Delray Beach. Tickets were planned to go on sale about now, so the final announcement should come at any time.
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Mountain times: Barbara Bradshaw at Flat Rocktag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1045062008-05-29T04:44:43Z2008-06-11T19:33:51ZHurricane season begins this weekend, so it’s time for the Gold Coast’s mountain birds to decamp for the Carolinas for the summer. Some of our actors are already waiting for you. Renowned South Florida leading lady Barbara Bradshaw is starring...Jack Zink
Renowned South Florida leading lady Barbara Bradshaw is starring in “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks” at the Flat Rock Playhouse, about a half-hour’s drive south of Asheville, through June 7 (in a Flat Rock photo, at right). The Asheville Citizen’s Tim Reid, acknowledging Bradshaw as a regular up there as well, is impressed: “Six Dance Lessons” is the perfect showcase for Bradshaw, who can convey volumes in just an expression or tone of voice,” he wrote.
Further to the north, the Blowing Rock Stage Company, run by former South Floridian Ken Kaye, has begun its summer season with a musical revue called “8 Track” featuring our locals Lisa Manuli and Christopher A. Kent. Next up on the Blowing Rock agenda June 13-22 is the musical version of “The Immigrant.” No cast is announced, but it’d be perfect for Bradshaw who’s done the play version masterfully.]]>
On the road: An end to "Perfect," and a beginning for "Les Miserables"tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1045042008-05-29T04:35:05Z2008-06-11T19:34:25ZBenchmarks are on tap for the London/Broadway musical smash “Les Miserables” and the off-Broadway musical phenom “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.” Over 20 years since its debut, rights for “Les Miz” were recently released to a handful of...Jack Zink
The Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables, which will produce the show next spring.
But the lease comes with a caveat – not to reproduce all the signature turntable scenic effects, but to use new staging ideas. What that means began to materialize this week in Philadelphia, whose Walnut Theatre is among the first regionals to mount its own production last week. And as for "Perfect," the show has been hit by the economic downturn and will close July 27 -- after 12 years and $200 million.
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Of the Walnut's "Les Miz," Philadelphia Inquirer critic David Patrick Stearns wrote: “The Walnut crew confronted a challenge that was greater, actually, than it looked: To triumph, in this case, is to give a business-as-usual impression. And that they do.
“The new production looks and feels very much like the old, with eroding building exteriors that lend themselves to the show's numerous downtrodden locales, with more specific scenery arriving from the stage wings via double-decker wagons. The turntable versions of Les Miz had the action gravitating toward the center of the stage. At the Walnut, though there is less visual variety than in the original, director Mark Clements utilizes Todd Edward Ivins' design to send the action spilling out into the aisles in more functional moments, but also has it inhabiting the sides of the stage for worthy purposes.”
The show runs through Aug. 3 if you’re in that area. Or you can wait to see what TAP artistic director David Arisco finds up his own sleeve.
“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” is the second-longest running off-Broadway show in history, behind the seemingly unbeatable champ “The Fantasticks.”
A nice chunk of the $200 million came from tours and independent productions including South Florida, where the show set some local records in engagements at various theaters in Miami-Dade, Broward and the Palm Beaches, picking up some regional Carbonell Award honors along the way. Although New York will soon be off the books, it's still viable on the road and the kitty should keep growing for author Joe DiPietro.
On the road: “Wicked” to resume in Fort Myerstag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1045032008-05-29T04:30:46Z2008-05-29T04:34:51ZThe Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall at Edison College in Fort Myers has been popping up lately as what appears to be becoming a favored launching pad for shows on national tour, and/or to break in new casts for...Jack Zink
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall at Edison College in Fort Myers has been popping up lately as what appears to be becoming a favored launching pad for shows on national tour, and/or to break in new casts for shows in transition.
The latest word, this week, is that Mann will be the startup point for the second national tour of the musical “Wicked” when it cranks up for three weeks there, March 7-29, 2009.
The first national tour, now winding down in Rochester, NY, has played Florida’s east coast several times and won’t be back next season. The new company will move north from Fort Myers to Birmingham and Jacksonville en route to the northeast and Midwest next spring.
The three-week Fort Myers engagement indicates the still-growing southwest coast is becoming an important locale on the touring circuit – yet out of the spotlight enough to serve as the break-in points that Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa once served.
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Summer Shorts: Broward gets the short end, for nowtag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1045022008-05-29T04:25:29Z2008-05-29T04:29:59ZYou can grab a preview Thursday (May 29) or Friday of either half of City Theatre’s always-anticipated Summer Shorts program at the Arsht Center’s Studio Theatre in downtown Miami. But after more than a dozen years of experience, there’s no...Jack Zink
City Theatre, Arsht Center or Broward Center websites.
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Theater By The Book, and Actors Playhouse readingstag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1044992008-05-29T04:20:00Z2008-05-29T22:49:32ZPlay readings are among the most important building blocks in theater, where plays are spoken and in many cases acted for the first time. But they can also be showcases for existing works that might rarely, if ever, get the...Jack Zink
“The Book of Ruth” for the recently-founded Theater By The Book program, at the Alper JCC, 11115 SW 112th Ave., Miami. On June 7, The Actors’ Playhouse at The Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables will present readings of its recent From Page to Stage competition, new plays by Carbonell winning dramatist Michael McKeever – “Unreasonable Doubt” at 3 p.m. – and “When the Sun Shone Brighter” by Christopher Demos-Brown at 7 p.m.
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Theater By The Book
Theater By The Book was founded by former New Theatre founder-director Rafael de Acha earlier this season, and has shifted venues a bit in recent months while looking for a regular venue. The program’s mission is to present classic plays – contemporary or vintage – in de Acha’s engaging multicultural world view.
Diament’s “The Book of Ruth” was produced by de Acha before he retired from the New Theatre, and it remains perhaps his favorite. Sunday’s reading includes Carbonell Award-winners Barbara Sloan and Jessica Peterson, with Sally Levin, Ramon Gonzalez-Cuevas, Marta Velasco, Margerie Lowe, Jonathan Angress and Larry Jurrist.
Following Sunday’s performance at the Alper JCC, the next readings will be July 6 and 7. The 6th, at 2 and 6 p.m., will be an adaptation of Alfred de Musset's 1833 play "Lorenzaccio" at the Alliance Francaise de Miami, 618 SW 8th St., Miami. The 7th will be de Acha’s own English adaptation/translation of Pedro Calderon de la Barca’s “Life’s Dreaming” (La Vida es Sueno), at 2 and 6 p.m. at Centro Cultural Espanol de Miami, at 800 Douglas Road (Suite 170), also in the Gables.
For more information, visit the Theater By The Book website.
From Page to Stage
The Actors’ Playhouse got funding from the Funding Arts Network to help sponsor its recent From Page to Stage playwriting competition. The readings announced this week for June 7 are envisioned as the first step in a possible “Second Stage” series of new works.
The Second Stage concept is not a certainty, but would fill an important void in the company’s legacy that’s been a persistent complaint among theater cognoscenti – TAP’s programming has been almost exclusively mainstream commercial throughout its two-decade history, a few award-winning high-profile musicals notwithstanding (such as “Violet” and “Floyd Collins”). A playreading series development toward fully-staged new works would join the important developmental work being carried out by the aforementioned and some other local houses.
TAP artistic director David Arisco will direct both June 7 reading presentations. There will be discussions with the audience led by a panel of theater pros after each reading, with enough time for a dinner break between at restaurants ranging from fast food to fine dining within walking distance.
For more information, check out the Actors’ Playhouse website or call 305-444-9293.
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Broadway notebook: A seasonal diptag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1045012008-05-29T04:19:14Z2008-05-29T04:22:09ZThe Broadway theater season officially ended Sunday (May 25), with last fall’s 19-day Stagehands strike blamed for a “slight decline in both paid attendance and grosses,” according to the Broadway League. The number of new shows continues at pace level...Jack Zink
Broadway League.
The number of new shows continues at pace level with recent years. A total of 36 new productions opened with 11 new plays (same as last season), eight musicals, one return engagement and 16 revivals. This year as last season, the number of new plays and important play revivals blunts the criticisms first expressed a decade ago that Broadway is becoming an exclusive musical row.
The box office numbers weren’t bad, either, with attendance of 12.27 million down just 0.2 percent, and box office receipts down from $938.5 million to $937.5 million.
“While we are disappointed that we didn't exceed last year's record-breaking season, we are confident that in the coming season, with such big name shows on the horizon as “Billy Elliot,” “Shrek,”“West Side Story” and “Equus,” to only name a few, that we will have the best season in recorded history," the League’s executive director Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement.]]>
Hispanic Theatre Festival lineup announcedtag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1037332008-05-23T22:17:00Z2008-05-23T22:20:11ZFollowing through on its theme to pay tribute to Spain, the International Hispanic Theatre Festival will bring four productions from that country to anchor its 23rd festival July 9-27 in Miami. Another four are expected to arrive from Argentina, Brazil,...Jack Zink
International Hispanic Theatre Festival will bring four productions from that country to anchor its 23rd festival July 9-27 in Miami. Another four are expected to arrive from Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Slovenia.
They will be joined by the fest's host company, founder and festival director Mario Ernesto Sanchez' (photo at right) Teatro Avante in Coral Gables, plus Miami-Dade College's Prometeo Theatre and a pair of Miami area children's troupes, Gira-Sol and Cuenteros. Various performances will be in Spanish or English, Slovenian and some with supertitles.
The opening attraction will be "El Llanto" (Event) by Federico Garcia Lorca and Enric Granados, performed by Barcelona, Spain's Octubre Teatral, July 9-11 at the Arsht Center's Studio Theatre. Other venues include Miami-Dade College's Wolfson (300 NE 2 Ave.) and InterAmerican (627 S.W. 27 Ave.) campuses, plus the Key Biscayne Community Center and Spanish Cultural Center.
Information is available at the Teatro Avante website, by phone 305-445-8877 and the Arsht Center.
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Additional festival events include a day-long forum July 26 at the Spanish Cultural Center under the title "Current Trends in Latino and Latin American Performing
Arts", and a Lifetime Achievement Award presentation at 7 p.m. July 27 at the Arsht Studio to Madrid, Spain-based playwright and director Jose Sanchis Sinisterra,
plus forums after performances, and opening-closing receptions.
HISPANIC FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE PROGRAM
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, July 9, 10 & 11 – 8:30 P.M.
OCTUBRE TEATRAL, Barcelona, SPAIN
El LLANTO (Lament), by Federico García Lorca & Enric Granados
Created and directed by Jaume Villanueva.
Like poetry, Lament is, more than a plot, a mixture of feelings evoked by images of great beauty and content, feelings that slyly seep in through the pores to move us
deeply.
Adrienne Arsht Center – Carnival Studio Theater, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
Tickets: 305. 949-6722 / 1. 866. 949. 6722 (Toll free) – www.arshtcenter.org – information: 305. 445-8877
(dance-theatre)
Thursday & Friday, July 10 & 11 – 8:30 P.M.
PROMETEO THEATRE, Miami-Dade College - Wolfson Campus, Miami, UNITED STATES
LOS INTERESES CREADOS (The Bonds of Interest)
By Don Jacinto Benavente. Directed by Joann María Yarrow.
Crispín, the hero of the story, is a crafty servant who manipulates a group of people by way of invisible strings. He dupes the respectable citizens of a sixteenth-century
city into believing that his impecunious master is a fabulously rich nobleman traveling incognito on a secret diplomatic mission.
Prometeo Theatre, Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. 2nd Ave., Miami
Tickets & Information: 305. 237-3262
(In Spanish with English supertitles)
Saturday, Julio 12 – 8:30 P.M.
Sunday, Julio 13 – 5:00 P.M.
ALQUIBLA TEATRO, Murcia, SPAIN
EL DÍA MÁS FELIZ DE NUESTRA VIDA (The Happiest Day of our Lives)
By Laila Ripoll. Directed by Antonio Saura.
In the 1960s, on the eve of their First Communion, the triplets stay up through the night awaiting the happiest day of their lives. Twenty years later, on the eve of their
joint wedding, the triplets replay their conversations, full of humor and not entirely devoid of clichés.
Adrienne Arsht Center – Carnival Studio Theater, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
Tickets: 305. 949-6722 / 1. 866. 949. 6722 (Toll free) – www.arshtcenter.org – Information: 305. 445-8877
(In Spanish)
Saturday, July 12 – Key Biscayne
Sunday, July 13 – Miami Dade College, InterAmerican Campus
INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY - 3:00 – 6:00 P.M.
GIRA-SOL, Miami, UNITED STATES
LA CUCARACHITA MARTINA LLEGÓ A MIAMI (Martina the Cockroach Comes To Miami)
Written and directed by Ibetti Pérez.
This is the story of a gluttonous mouse and other animals up to their usual tricks, and one in which minstrels interact with children. In the end, they all own up to their
faults and promise to stop lying and blaming their friends.
(Bilingual)
CUENTEROS, Miami, UNITED STATES
FABLES, A CHILDREN’S PLAY (Fábulas, Una Obra Infantil), based on Aesop’s fables.
Directed by Marilyn Romero.
An interactive, educational and entertaining show full of magic, beauty and morals, presented through the magic of theatre. Each fable serves as a teaching tool of
positive principles, where actors help kids discover them, with a beautiful original score and colorful and highly creative costumes.
(Bilingual)
PÉ DE VENTO TEATRO, Florianópolis, BRAZIL
BOM APETITE, written and directed by Pepe Ñúñez.
A frank and footloose clown invites the audience take an active part in the show, sharing the ridiculous and naive sides of human beings. On the menu there’s music,
magic, juggling, group games and, of course, much humor.
(Bilingual)
Key Biscayne Community Center, 10 Village Green Way, Key Biscayne
Reservations: 305. 365-8900 Information: 305. 445-8877
In collaboration with the Key Biscayne Community Center
Co-sponsored by the Key Biscayne Community Foundation and the Village of Key Biscayne
Miami Dade College – InterAmerican Campus, 627 S.W. 27 Ave., Miami
Reservations: 305. 237-6186 Information: 305. 445-8877
In collaboration with Miami Dade College – InterAmerican Campus
Co-sponsored by Miami Dade College.
Thursday & Friday, July 17 & 18 – 8:30 P.M.
CÍA. de PEDRO MARÍA SÁNCHEZ, Madrid, SPAIN
AMAR Y SER AMADO, o LA DIVINA FILOTEA (To Love and Be Loved, or the Divine Philothea)
By Calderón de la Barca.Directed by Pedro María Sánchez.
The Divine Philothea poses a battle, opposing forces, a dialectical, philosophical struggle between the soul, the world, the flesh and the devil. Here, soul, world and
flesh are enemies, opponents. This approach enables us to engage in a live theatrical game, not subordinated to doctrine, that each audience member may evaluate in all
its aspects.
Adrienne Arsht Center – Carnival Studio Theater, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
Tickets: 305. 949-6722 / 1. 866. 949. 6722 (Toll free) – www.arshtcenter.org – Information: 305. 445-8877
(In Spanish)
Friday & Saturday, July 18 & 19 – 8:30 P.M.
LJUBLJANA CITY THEATRE, Ljubljana, SLOVENIA
AY, CARMELA, by Jose Sanchis Sinisterra. Directed by Mare Bulc.
Two varieté artists, Paulino and Carmela, survive the maelstrom of the Civil War by putting on cabaret performances in the Spanish countryside. In a dialectic of the
sublime and the ridiculous, a tragicomedy of deathly fear and fearless courage, the author offers an insight into this turbulent period of Spain’s history.
Prometeo Theatre, Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. 2nd Ave., Miami.
Tickets & Information: 305. 237-3262
(In Slovenian with supertitles in English)
Saturday, July 19 – 8:30 P.M. & Sunday, July 20 – 5:00 P.M.
METAMORFOSIS PRODUCCIONES TEATRALES, Madrid, SPAIN
ÑAQUE o DE PIOJOS y ACTORES (Thespians, or Of Lice and Actors), by José Sanchis Sinisterra.
Directed by José Sanchis Sinisterra & Carlos Martín.
Ríos and Solano, two actors from 17th century Castille, arrive in the here and now fresh from a long sojourn through space and time, dragging behind them an ancient
chest that contains all their theatrical props.
Adrienne Arsht Center – Carnival Studio Theater, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
Tickets: 305. 949-6722 / 1. 866. 949. 6722 (Toll free) – www.arshtcenter.org – Information: 305. 445-8877
(In Spanish)
Wednesday & Thursday, July 23 & 24 – 8:30 P.M.
KOMILFO TEATRO, Lima, PERU
LA IMPORTANCIA DEL ABRAZO (The Importance of Embracing)
Written and directed by Pilar Núñez & Jaime Lema.
A story of two actors, their beginnings and their 20 years together, a history that we uncover over the course of a performance in which they face off and surrender so
as to create new common space, new time.
Teatro Prometeo, Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. 2nd Ave., Miami
Tickets & Information: 305. 237-3262 - (In Spanish)
Friday & Saturday, July 25 & 26 – 8:30 P.M.
THE CABRERA’S COMPANY, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA
EL SISTEMA DE LA VÍCTIMA (The Victim’s System), written, directed & performed by Mónica Cabrera.
A meditation accompanied by humor and tangos on a malady that afflicts us: the sense that we are victims of injustice, puppets that ill fortune impels toward failure.
Written at a time in our history when it seemed the country was going under.
Teatro Prometeo, Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. 2nd Ave., Miami
Tickets & Information: 305. 237-3262
(In Spanish)
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, July 24, 25 & 26 – 8:30 P.M.
Sunday, July 27 – 5:00 P.M.
TEATRO AVANTE, Miami, UNITED STATES.
LA CELESTINA, by Fernando de Rojas. Adapted by Raquel Carrió. Directed by Lilliam Vega.
What truly grips us about La Celestina, who could be anyone, is the way in which old age pulls the strings of the age of innocence. At the end of the performance, we
are left with a question. That uneasiness, which has lingered for more than five centuries, is the secret thread that connects us through time.
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts – Carnival Studio Theater, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
Tickets: 305. 949-6722 / 1. 866. 949. 6722 (Toll free) – www.arshtcenter.org – Information: 305. 445-8877
(In Spanish with English supertitles)
TICKETS:
GENERAL ADMISSION: $25
Senior citizens, students, physically challenged: $20
INFORMATION: 305.445-8877 * FESTIVAL FAX: 305.445-1301
TeAvante@aol.com * www.teatroavante.com
Adrienne Arsht Center – Carnival Studio Theatre - 305. 949-6722
July 9-27
EL LLANTO (LAMENT)
EL DIA MAS FELIZ DE NUESTRA VIDA (THE HAPPIEST DAY OF OUR LIVES)
AMAR Y SER AMADO, o LA DIVINA FILOTEA
(TO LOVE AND BE LOVED, or the DIVINE PHILOTHEA)
ÑAQUE o DE PIOJOS y ACTORES (THESPIANS, or OF LICE AND ACTORS)
LA CELESTINA
Prometeo Theatre at Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, Miami - 305. 237-3262
July 10-26
LOS INTERESES CREADOS (THE BONDS OF INTEREST)
AY, CARMELA
LA IMPORTANCIA DEL ABRAZO (THE IMPORTANCE OF EMBRACING)
EL SISTEMA DE LA VÍCTIMA (THE VICTIM’S SYSTEM)
"Jesus, Christ"! It's Ted Neeley (Again)tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1037272008-05-23T20:19:55Z2008-05-23T21:31:25ZIs he back, or did he ever leave? Ted Neeley is still doing the honors in the title role of "Jesus Christ, Superstar" for the Andrew Lloyd-Webber/Tim Rice musical's appearance June 13-18 at the Broward Center. Neeley has been doing...Jack Zink
Ted Neeley is still doing the honors in the title role of "Jesus Christ, Superstar" for the Andrew Lloyd-Webber/Tim Rice musical's appearance June 13-18 at the Broward Center. Neeley has been doing this particular gig since the fall of 2006 (when it played the Kravis Center) in what has been billed as the Farewell Tour.
Neeley understudied the role in the original Broadway production (opened Sept. 29, 1971), then moved into the lead for the 1973 motion picture (pictured at left), which cemented the association. Though he's never been "billed" in the title role on Broadway (which hosted two revivals with others in the lead), he's been the "Superstar" of the road with just a few exceptions. And though Troika Entertainment, the current tour's production company, bills this as the Farewell Tour, Neeley (64) has repeated throughout the trip that he plans to keep playing the role as long as anyone will let him.
Corey Glover, of the band Living Colour, is making his theatrical stage debut in the role of Judas. Tickets and info are available at the Broward Center and Ticketmaster.]]>
California dreamin' -- Master Chorale swaps artistic directorstag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1029072008-05-20T23:15:48Z2008-05-23T20:09:39Z The Master Chorale of South Florida waited just long enough for the dust to settle over longtime Artistic Director Jo-Michael Sheibe's departure to announce his replacement, Dr. Joshua Habermann (pictured at left), who was recently named director of Choral...Jack ZinkThe Master Chorale of South Florida waited just long enough for the dust to settle over longtime Artistic Director Jo-Michael Sheibe's departure to announce his replacement, Dr. Joshua Habermann (pictured at left), who was recently named director of Choral Studies at the University of Miami.
In addition to timing, there's more serendipity in the announcement. As Sheibe heads for the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Habermann is relocating from San Francisco State University, where he was Director of Choral Activities, and off-campus Assistant Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus for the past 12 years.
The announcement was made late Tuesday by Master Chorale president Mark W. Glickman, who in a statement gushed to be "absolutely delighted" to land the man who was the "unanimous first choice of our chorus members" from among four finalists (and 33 applicants, total). He'll make his debut here Nov. 14 conducting Mendelssohn's "Elijah." Click on the link below for additional information from the official announcement.
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The Master Chorale announcement:
The search for a successor to Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe began shortly after Dr. Scheibe announced he would be leaving Florida at the end of the 2007-2008 school year to assume the position of Chair of Choral and Sacred Music at the University of Southern California (USC) Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles.
Thirty-three highly skilled applicants from throughout the U.S. applied for the Master Chorale position by submitting their curricula vitae and conducting DVDs. These were reviewed by the Master Chorale search committee, which pared the list to a group of semifinalists. All semifinalists were interviewed in person or by telephone. Four candidates were selected as finalists and invited to audition by conducting rehearsals on April 21 and 28, 2008.
“With so many truly stellar applicants, it was a very difficult task to narrow down the field. However, we chose the four candidates we felt would be the best match for our group,” says Nancy Gates-Lee, who chaired the search committee.
“Ultimately, all four finalists were rated highly by the chorus members, but Dr. Joshua Habermann was the clear choice, and he was eager to lead our group,” she says.
A professional tenor as well as conductor, Habermann performs regularly with the Oregon Bach Festival (Eugene) and Conspirare (Austin, Texas). He is fluent in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Portuguese, and is a seasoned coach of Latin, Russian and Finnish.
In his position as Assistant Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, he has prepared the ensemble for performances with world-class guest conductors in both standard and contemporary choral/orchestral literature. Upon Vance George’s retirement in 2006, he served as Interim Chorus Director, preparing programs for Michael Tilson Thomas and Charles Dutoit.
His accomplishments as a teacher are equally impressive. His San Francisco State University choirs were invited to appear at the California Music Educator’s Association Conference in 1999 (Sacramento) and 2001 (Pasadena), and have undertaken tours to China (2000), Cuba (2002) and Germany and the Czech Republic (2004). In 2003 The SFSU Chamber Choir was a featured guest at the Waging Peace Choral Festival at the University of Oregon, and in 2006 they collaborated with the Orchestre des Jeunes de Provence in performances of Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem throughout France. They were recognized by the International Federation of Choral Music as the only American choir to be invited to perform at the América Cantat choral conference in Havana, Cuba, in April 2007. This year, they performed at the American Choral Directors Association convention in Anaheim, California.
Dr. Habermann is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University (1990), and obtained his graduate education in choral conducting at the University of Texas at Austin, receiving an MM in 1995 and DMA in 1997.
His concert debut as Artistic Director for the Master Chorale of South Florida will take place November 14-16, 2008, in performances of Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties.
Hollywood Playhouse freebie offertag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1028432008-05-20T19:40:11Z2008-05-23T20:09:15ZThe tickets are free but you've got to be quick, and use the phone - not the web. The Hollywood Playhouse is offering up to 200 free tickets (100 pairs) for tomorrow's (Wednesday, May 21) matinee performance of "Makeover" starting...Jack Zink
The Hollywood Playhouse is offering up to 200 free tickets (100 pairs) for tomorrow's (Wednesday, May 21) matinee performance of "Makeover" starting at 2 p.m. Call the box ofice at 954-922-0404. The show written by Mark Poncy is in the midst of its world premiere engagement, is described as "a classic story of the struggle between good and evil, cloaked in a contemporary theme of plastic surgery gone awry." Sun-Sentinel contributor Mary Damiano's review indicated the story is slight and cliched, but added that Poncy's strongest suit is composing lilting songs reminiscent of 1940s standards - such as "Now and Then" and "Old Fashion Love" - that move the story along but can also stand alone."
For more on the show and the playhouse schedule, visit the theater's website here. But remember - for those free tickets, make a phone call.
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'Working' in Sarasota with Broadway coattailstag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1025652008-05-19T20:56:43Z2008-05-23T20:10:59ZSarasota's Asolo Repertory Theatre finds itself centerstage in American theater this week, with positive reviews now in for its new production of Stephen Schwartz's 1978 musical, "Working." Schwartz adapted his work from Stud Terkel's oral history on the subject, inviting...Jack Zink
Asolo Repertory Theatre finds itself centerstage in American theater this week, with positive reviews now in for its new production of Stephen Schwartz's 1978 musical, "Working."
Schwartz adapted his work from Stud Terkel's oral history on the subject, inviting other songwriters to join in. For this production, some of those songs have been updated, and two new ones have been added by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony Award-nominated star and creator of "In The Heights," the musical that leads this year's Tony nominations.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune theater critic Jay Handelman, a good friend, calls the Asolo staging "invigorating" and writes that it "has the power to rejuvenate your appreciation of your own job, or at least make you realize that you don't have it so bad." Click here for the complete review. The show runs through June 8, a four-hour jaunt on I-75 across Alligator Alley and up to Sarasota (shave an hour from the central/northern Palm Beaches, via the Beeline/SR 70). Details are on the Asolo website.
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Lavender Footlights Festival honors Tony nomineetag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1025632008-05-19T20:53:28Z2008-05-23T20:10:11ZMiami's Sixth Annual Lavender Footlights Festival, a two-day event May 31-June 1 at the Miami Science Museum, has tagged onto some good timing with the selection of playwright Douglas Carter Beane as the inaugural recipient of its new achievement award,...Jack Zink
Lavender Footlights Festival, a two-day event May 31-June 1 at the Miami Science Museum, has tagged onto some good timing with the selection of playwright Douglas Carter Beane as the inaugural recipient of its new achievement award, the Ovation Award. Last week, Beane was nominated for a Tony Award for the second year in a row, this time for the book for the new Broadway musical "Xanadu" (last year was for the play "The Little Dog Laughed").
Beane will participate in a discussion of his work at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 1 with Miami Herald theater critic Christine Dolen, followed by the award presentation, reception and reading of a portion of his newest play, "The Nance."
The Lavender Festival is designed to promote, in its mission statement, "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer plays and supporting the work of emerging playwrights, directors and actors." The one-weekend event finds itself in competition this year with the opening weekend of City Theatre's 13th Annual Summer Shorts Festival, one of those unfortunate but common conflicts on the region's cultural calendar. Summer Shorts fans have a month of alternative dates to pick from; The Lavender program kicks off May 31 with a full-length play reading, reception, and its own shorts program, called Briefs, a collection of eight short plays. Details are on the Lavender fest website.
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Broadway notebook: Tony nominations - South Florida connectionstag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1013282008-05-13T20:32:34Z2008-05-23T20:11:13ZAmong the 2008 Tony Award nominees are a trio with South Florida connections. Riding the top of the wave at the moment is Adam Epstein, native Miamian and the lead producer of the musical "Cry-Baby," based on the 1990 John...Jack Zink
Tony Award nominees are a trio with South Florida connections.
Riding the top of the wave at the moment is Adam Epstein, native Miamian and the lead producer of the musical "Cry-Baby," based on the 1990 John Waters movie. Epstein already has a Tony on the shelf in his office across the street from where "Hairspray" is playing - he won it in 2004 when he was coproducer behind mentor Margo Lion. Epstein, 34, was uncertain the day before the nominations were announced whether his show would edge into the top races. It has a total of four nominations.
Former Miamian Raul Esparza picked up his third nomination of the decade, for the recently-closed revival of Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming," which has a total of three. Esparza is up for Best Featured Actor in a Play, leading lady Eve Best is nominated as Best
Actress, and the show is a contender as Best Revival of a Play. Esparza has been nominated previously for "Taboo" and last season's revival of "Company."
New to the process is Miami's New World School of the Arts grad Alex Lacamoire, nominated along with collaborator Bill Sherman for the orchestrations for "In the Heights," which leads this year's nominations with a total of 13. Lacamoire was previously assistant musical director on "Wicked."
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Broadway notebook: Tony Award nominations - the musicalstag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/features/arts/theater/blog//181.1013092008-05-13T19:56:11Z2008-05-23T20:11:47ZNEW YORK - Among the big questions going in to the Tony Award nominations Tuesday morning was whether Harvey Fierstein's "A Catered Affair," based on a Paddy Chayefsky teleplay and 1953 movie would crack the list for Best Musical. It...Jack Zink
Tony Award nominations Tuesday morning was whether Harvey Fierstein's "A Catered Affair," based on a Paddy Chayefsky teleplay and 1953 movie would crack the list for Best Musical.
It didn't, and what's unspoken so far is that the result appears to be the first-ever sweep of pop-rock and its ethnic genres over Broadway's musical awards.
The four Best Musical nominees span just about the whole spectrum of the kind of music once alien to musical theater. The top contender is "In The Heights," a somewhat bittersweet Latino musical about life in the barrio that mixes pop with hip-hop, salsa, merengue.
It's the one musical that nods slightly toward the traditional show tune but as The New York Times review noted at its transfer from off-Broadway to the Richard Rodgers Theatre, it's full of "sounds that are an ear-tickling novelty on Broadway."
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"Passing Strange," a brew of rap, hip-hop, blues and straightforward rock that tells the story a young African-American man from Los Angeles searching for his identity, and a muse.
The other two, either one of which is responsible for kicking "A Catered Affair" out of the top running, are "Cry-Baby" and "Xanadu," stage remakes that plow nostalgic mainstream pop-rock. "Cry- Baby" is based on the 1990 John Waters movie, to me not so much a "Hairspray" followup as a "Grease" with edge. "Xanadu," whose national tour is already in the making, is a tongue-in-cheeck knockoff of the equally silly 1980 Olivia Newton-John movie about a Greek muse and a modern-day roller disco.
Neither "Cry-Baby" nor "Xanadu" have much of a chance in any of the top categories, but their presence on the Best Musical list lends Broadway credibility - known as "cred" on other, hipper streets. This appears to be the belated tipping point of R&R's presence as part of the institution known as American Musical Theater.
Not that traditional musicals have been left out. The showdown between the revivals of "Gypsy" and "South Pacific" amounts to a battle of the titans, with "Sunday in the Park with George" a sturdy third. "Grease" is nominated, basically, because the category has a maximum of four slots.
THE NOMINEES
For the complete list of nominees and special awards, click here.]]>
They will be joined by the fest's host company, founder and festival director Mario Ernesto Sanchez' (photo at right) Teatro Avante in Coral Gables, plus Miami-Dade College's Prometeo Theatre and a pair of Miami area children's troupes, Gira-Sol and Cuenteros. Various performances will be in Spanish or English, Slovenian and some with supertitles.
The opening attraction will be "El Llanto" (Event) by Federico Garcia Lorca and Enric Granados, performed by Barcelona, Spain's Octubre Teatral, July 9-11 at the Arsht Center's Studio Theatre. Other venues include Miami-Dade College's Wolfson (300 NE 2 Ave.) and InterAmerican (627 S.W. 27 Ave.) campuses, plus the Key Biscayne Community Center and Spanish Cultural Center.
Information is available at the Teatro Avante website, by phone 305-445-8877 and the Arsht Center.
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Additional festival events include a day-long forum July 26 at the Spanish Cultural Center under the title "Current Trends in Latino and Latin American Performing
Arts", and a Lifetime Achievement Award presentation at 7 p.m. July 27 at the Arsht Studio to Madrid, Spain-based playwright and director Jose Sanchis Sinisterra,
plus forums after performances, and opening-closing receptions.
HISPANIC FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE PROGRAM
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, July 9, 10 & 11 – 8:30 P.M.
OCTUBRE TEATRAL, Barcelona, SPAIN
El LLANTO (Lament), by Federico García Lorca & Enric Granados
Created and directed by Jaume Villanueva.
Like poetry, Lament is, more than a plot, a mixture of feelings evoked by images of great beauty and content, feelings that slyly seep in through the pores to move us
deeply.
Adrienne Arsht Center – Carnival Studio Theater, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
Tickets: 305. 949-6722 / 1. 866. 949. 6722 (Toll free) – www.arshtcenter.org – information: 305. 445-8877
(dance-theatre)
Thursday & Friday, July 10 & 11 – 8:30 P.M.
PROMETEO THEATRE, Miami-Dade College - Wolfson Campus, Miami, UNITED STATES
LOS INTERESES CREADOS (The Bonds of Interest)
By Don Jacinto Benavente. Directed by Joann María Yarrow.
Crispín, the hero of the story, is a crafty servant who manipulates a group of people by way of invisible strings. He dupes the respectable citizens of a sixteenth-century
city into believing that his impecunious master is a fabulously rich nobleman traveling incognito on a secret diplomatic mission.
Prometeo Theatre, Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. 2nd Ave., Miami
Tickets & Information: 305. 237-3262
(In Spanish with English supertitles)
Saturday, Julio 12 – 8:30 P.M.
Sunday, Julio 13 – 5:00 P.M.
ALQUIBLA TEATRO, Murcia, SPAIN
EL DÍA MÁS FELIZ DE NUESTRA VIDA (The Happiest Day of our Lives)
By Laila Ripoll. Directed by Antonio Saura.
In the 1960s, on the eve of their First Communion, the triplets stay up through the night awaiting the happiest day of their lives. Twenty years later, on the eve of their
joint wedding, the triplets replay their conversations, full of humor and not entirely devoid of clichés.
Adrienne Arsht Center – Carnival Studio Theater, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
Tickets: 305. 949-6722 / 1. 866. 949. 6722 (Toll free) – www.arshtcenter.org – Information: 305. 445-8877
(In Spanish)
Saturday, July 12 – Key Biscayne
Sunday, July 13 – Miami Dade College, InterAmerican Campus
INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY - 3:00 – 6:00 P.M.
GIRA-SOL, Miami, UNITED STATES
LA CUCARACHITA MARTINA LLEGÓ A MIAMI (Martina the Cockroach Comes To Miami)
Written and directed by Ibetti Pérez.
This is the story of a gluttonous mouse and other animals up to their usual tricks, and one in which minstrels interact with children. In the end, they all own up to their
faults and promise to stop lying and blaming their friends.
(Bilingual)
CUENTEROS, Miami, UNITED STATES
FABLES, A CHILDREN’S PLAY (Fábulas, Una Obra Infantil), based on Aesop’s fables.
Directed by Marilyn Romero.
An interactive, educational and entertaining show full of magic, beauty and morals, presented through the magic of theatre. Each fable serves as a teaching tool of
positive principles, where actors help kids discover them, with a beautiful original score and colorful and highly creative costumes.
(Bilingual)
PÉ DE VENTO TEATRO, Florianópolis, BRAZIL
BOM APETITE, written and directed by Pepe Ñúñez.
A frank and footloose clown invites the audience take an active part in the show, sharing the ridiculous and naive sides of human beings. On the menu there’s music,
magic, juggling, group games and, of course, much humor.
(Bilingual)
Key Biscayne Community Center, 10 Village Green Way, Key Biscayne
Reservations: 305. 365-8900 Information: 305. 445-8877
In collaboration with the Key Biscayne Community Center
Co-sponsored by the Key Biscayne Community Foundation and the Village of Key Biscayne
Miami Dade College – InterAmerican Campus, 627 S.W. 27 Ave., Miami
Reservations: 305. 237-6186 Information: 305. 445-8877
In collaboration with Miami Dade College – InterAmerican Campus
Co-sponsored by Miami Dade College.
Thursday & Friday, July 17 & 18 – 8:30 P.M.
CÍA. de PEDRO MARÍA SÁNCHEZ, Madrid, SPAIN
AMAR Y SER AMADO, o LA DIVINA FILOTEA (To Love and Be Loved, or the Divine Philothea)
By Calderón de la Barca.Directed by Pedro María Sánchez.
The Divine Philothea poses a battle, opposing forces, a dialectical, philosophical struggle between the soul, the world, the flesh and the devil. Here, soul, world and
flesh are enemies, opponents. This approach enables us to engage in a live theatrical game, not subordinated to doctrine, that each audience member may evaluate in all
its aspects.
Adrienne Arsht Center – Carnival Studio Theater, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
Tickets: 305. 949-6722 / 1. 866. 949. 6722 (Toll free) – www.arshtcenter.org – Information: 305. 445-8877
(In Spanish)
Friday & Saturday, July 18 & 19 – 8:30 P.M.
LJUBLJANA CITY THEATRE, Ljubljana, SLOVENIA
AY, CARMELA, by Jose Sanchis Sinisterra. Directed by Mare Bulc.
Two varieté artists, Paulino and Carmela, survive the maelstrom of the Civil War by putting on cabaret performances in the Spanish countryside. In a dialectic of the
sublime and the ridiculous, a tragicomedy of deathly fear and fearless courage, the author offers an insight into this turbulent period of Spain’s history.
Prometeo Theatre, Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. 2nd Ave., Miami.
Tickets & Information: 305. 237-3262
(In Slovenian with supertitles in English)
Saturday, July 19 – 8:30 P.M. & Sunday, July 20 – 5:00 P.M.
METAMORFOSIS PRODUCCIONES TEATRALES, Madrid, SPAIN
ÑAQUE o DE PIOJOS y ACTORES (Thespians, or Of Lice and Actors), by José Sanchis Sinisterra.
Directed by José Sanchis Sinisterra & Carlos Martín.
Ríos and Solano, two actors from 17th century Castille, arrive in the here and now fresh from a long sojourn through space and time, dragging behind them an ancient
chest that contains all their theatrical props.
Adrienne Arsht Center – Carnival Studio Theater, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
Tickets: 305. 949-6722 / 1. 866. 949. 6722 (Toll free) – www.arshtcenter.org – Information: 305. 445-8877
(In Spanish)
Wednesday & Thursday, July 23 & 24 – 8:30 P.M.
KOMILFO TEATRO, Lima, PERU
LA IMPORTANCIA DEL ABRAZO (The Importance of Embracing)
Written and directed by Pilar Núñez & Jaime Lema.
A story of two actors, their beginnings and their 20 years together, a history that we uncover over the course of a performance in which they face off and surrender so
as to create new common space, new time.
Teatro Prometeo, Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. 2nd Ave., Miami
Tickets & Information: 305. 237-3262 - (In Spanish)
Friday & Saturday, July 25 & 26 – 8:30 P.M.
THE CABRERA’S COMPANY, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA
EL SISTEMA DE LA VÍCTIMA (The Victim’s System), written, directed & performed by Mónica Cabrera.
A meditation accompanied by humor and tangos on a malady that afflicts us: the sense that we are victims of injustice, puppets that ill fortune impels toward failure.
Written at a time in our history when it seemed the country was going under.
Teatro Prometeo, Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. 2nd Ave., Miami
Tickets & Information: 305. 237-3262
(In Spanish)
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, July 24, 25 & 26 – 8:30 P.M.
Sunday, July 27 – 5:00 P.M.
TEATRO AVANTE, Miami, UNITED STATES.
LA CELESTINA, by Fernando de Rojas. Adapted by Raquel Carrió. Directed by Lilliam Vega.
What truly grips us about La Celestina, who could be anyone, is the way in which old age pulls the strings of the age of innocence. At the end of the performance, we
are left with a question. That uneasiness, which has lingered for more than five centuries, is the secret thread that connects us through time.
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts – Carnival Studio Theater, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
Tickets: 305. 949-6722 / 1. 866. 949. 6722 (Toll free) – www.arshtcenter.org – Information: 305. 445-8877
(In Spanish with English supertitles)
TICKETS:
GENERAL ADMISSION: $25
Senior citizens, students, physically challenged: $20
INFORMATION: 305.445-8877 * FESTIVAL FAX: 305.445-1301
TeAvante@aol.com * www.teatroavante.com
Adrienne Arsht Center – Carnival Studio Theatre - 305. 949-6722
July 9-27
EL LLANTO (LAMENT)
EL DIA MAS FELIZ DE NUESTRA VIDA (THE HAPPIEST DAY OF OUR LIVES)
AMAR Y SER AMADO, o LA DIVINA FILOTEA
(TO LOVE AND BE LOVED, or the DIVINE PHILOTHEA)
ÑAQUE o DE PIOJOS y ACTORES (THESPIANS, or OF LICE AND ACTORS)
LA CELESTINA
Prometeo Theatre at Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus, Miami - 305. 237-3262
July 10-26
LOS INTERESES CREADOS (THE BONDS OF INTEREST)
AY, CARMELA
LA IMPORTANCIA DEL ABRAZO (THE IMPORTANCE OF EMBRACING)
EL SISTEMA DE LA VÍCTIMA (THE VICTIM’S SYSTEM)
Neeley understudied the role in the original Broadway production (opened Sept. 29, 1971), then moved into the lead for the 1973 motion picture (pictured at left), which cemented the association. Though he's never been "billed" in the title role on Broadway (which hosted two revivals with others in the lead), he's been the "Superstar" of the road with just a few exceptions. And though Troika Entertainment, the current tour's production company, bills this as the Farewell Tour, Neeley (64) has repeated throughout the trip that he plans to keep playing the role as long as anyone will let him.
Corey Glover, of the band Living Colour, is making his theatrical stage debut in the role of Judas. Tickets and info are available at the Broward Center and Ticketmaster.]]>