Thursday, November 30, 2006

"West Side Story" Dancer speaking locally

Tony Award-nominated dancer/choreographer Donald McKayle, who
performed in the original production of "West Side Story,''
will discuss dance and his career on Monday at 7 p.m. in the
new Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater of Kenyon Hall at
Vassar College.

McKayle appeared in a number of Broadway productions and
choreographed dance sequences for film and television,
including "The Bill Cosby Special,'' "The Motown Special,''
"The Great White Hope,'' "Bedknobs and Broomsticks,'' "The
49th Annual Academy Awards'' and "The Jazz Singer.'' He
directed the first few episodes of "Good Times'' in 1974.
Part of McKayle's weeklong residency at the college, the
talk is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.vassar.edu.

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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

On Stage this weekend in the Mid Hudson Valley December 1-3

This weekend there are a couple of choices of things to see! Several of my friends are involved in Best of Broadway, and another of my friends is in Joseph. I'm sure no matter what you go to see, it will be a great time.

The Best of Broadway: A Night at the Tonys
Sparkling revue of Tony Award-Winning musicals, featuring songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Lerner & Loewe, Irving Berlin, Jerry Herman, Stephen Sondheim, and Kander & Ebb.
December 1, 2 at 8:00 PM
December 3 at 3:00 PM

Up In One Productions
The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Route 308
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
December 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16 at 08:00 PM
December 10 at 2:00 PM

County Players Falls Theatre
2681 W. Main St
Wappingers Falls, NY
Call: (845) 298-1491

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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

More on Copyright and Theater

In the continuing saga between who gets copyright protection for contributions to a show (Choreography as an example) There seems to be a dispute over a Chicago production of Urinetown. The problem is keeping between staying true to the original and not "ripping off" every detail. Chicago Tribute Story

So what does that mean for regional, community and school productions? It means that depending on how the courts rule it may become more expensive to produce shows with additional royalties for the direction, costume design or other creative. It may also become more difficult to produce a production without additional liability. And then there is the audience expectations - does that really fit into this picture as well?

Taken to an extreme, should every set of creative for a show be copyrighted? What would that mean to community and non profit theater?

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Friday, November 24, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving

The only connection my Thanksgiving had to theater was that I managed to catch some of the Broadway performances that were in the Macy's Parade. I saw the Chorus Line, Grinch, Color Purple and Spamalot numbers.

Then I was off to the Kitchen to organize dinner. I hosted this year, and it was a lovely day with family. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Cirque planning Winter Show for Madison Sq Garden

Cirque du Soleil is planning on presenting a new annual show with a winter theme at the Theater at Madison Square Garden starting next year!

This family show, is being created especially for the Garden, and is going to run for 10 weeks each holiday season for at least the next four years. This will be a first resident show in New York for the Montreal based Cirque du Soleil. Cirque currently has six permanent shows, with five in Las Vegas and one in Orlando, Fla., and seven touring productions, including six big-top shows. The title and details of the new show are to be announced in the spring.

I recently saw a touring Cirque show Corteo on Randal's Island in June.

[Added by request] My review of he show is here:

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On Stage this Weekend November 24 - 26

This weekend on Stage in the Mid Hudson Valley We have Musicals, Magic and Music! Avoid the Shopping, see a show instead!

Kiss Me, Kate
November 24, 25 at 7:30 PM
November 25 at 2:00 PM

Coleman High School
Kingston, NY
Call: (845) 338-2750 or Tickets are available at the Door

The Mikado
November 24, 25 at 8:00 PM

G&S Musical Theater Company
Bardavon Opera House
35 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY
Box Office: (845) 473-2072

Magic Palooza
Featuring Carlo DeBlasio, Derrin Berger and Frank Monaco, Celebrating acts of Magic, Mystery and Mayhem! Longest-running Hudson Valley magic show.
November 25 at 8:00 PM

The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck

Route 308
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

Peter Muir and The Diamond Jubilators - piano jazz, blues & rags
November 26 at 3:00 PM
The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Route 308
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

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Bardavon and UPAC is awarded a Grant

It's always nice to hear of grants being awarded to local arts venues, even better when they are to promote children's programs.

The Bardavon (Earlier this year the Bardavon and UPAC merged) Has been awarded a $6,500 grant from Bank of America for its children's programs at the Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston.

The latest grant is in addition to a $5,000 donation the bank made to support the Bardavon-produced Hudson River Arts Festival and another $5,000 donation to support the theater's in-school residency programs in Poughkeepsie.

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Sunday, November 19, 2006

Theater and YouTube?

The NY Times had an interesting piece on YouTube and Theater (Dance and Opera). Why might you ask? Well, there seems to be a fair number of clips of shows, everything from your local school productions to Broadway commercials. Here's the article

Here's some examples:







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Happy Birthday Mid Hudson Valley Theater Blog

It's been a year since I started blogging about the Theater in the Mid Hudson Valley. Hard to believe that it's been that long. Looking back we've covered a lot - local productions to Broadway and everything from production to copyright issues.

Happy Birthday Blog!

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Thursday, November 16, 2006

Hudson Valley On stage this Weekend November 16-19

On Stage this weekend in the Hudson Valley, we have several options all musicals two community and one high school production. Mikado was featured in the Poughkeepsie Journal here:

Baker's Wife
November 17, 18 at 8:00 PM
November 19 at 2:00 PM

The Fourth Wall Productions
Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center
12 Vassar Street
Poughkeepsie, NY
Call: (845) 486 - 4571

The Mikado
November 17, 18 at 8:00 PM
November 19 at 3:00 PM
November 18* at 11:00 AM *Special Shortened Children's Show

G&S Musical Theater Company
The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Route 308
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

Kiss Me, Kate
November 17, 18, 24, 25 at 7:30 PM
November 19 at 3:00 PM

November 25 at 2:00 PM

Coleman High School
Kingston, NY
Call: (845) 338-2750 or Tickets are available at the Door

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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Happy 10th Anniversary Chicago

The Tony-winning revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb's Chicago celebrates its 10th anniversary on Broadway tonight.

The event started at 6:30 and features an amazing number of talented performers among them - Kevin Richardson, Ashlee Simpson, P.J. Benjamin, John O'Hurley, Obba Babatunde, Sharon Lawrence, Lynda Carter, Paige Davis, Bianca Marroquin, Chuck Cooper, Christopher MacDonald, Destan Owens, Tom Wopat, Ron Raines, Gerry McIntyre, Raymond Bokhour, Kevin Carolan, Tom McGowan, Ron Orbach, Bruce Winant Charlotte d'Amboise, Caroline O'Connor, Chita Rivera, Brent Barrett, Rob Bartlett, Melanie Griffith, Brooke Shields, Wayne Brady, Marilu Henner, Huey Lewis, Gregory Harrison and Rita Wilson as well as original cast members Ann Reinking, Bebe Neuwirth, James Naughton, Joel Grey, D. Sabella and Marcia Lewis.

The performance and post-show gala will benefit Safe Horizon, "a victim assistance agency that provides support, prevents violence, and promotes justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families and their communities." Visit www.safehorizon.org for more information.

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Monday, November 13, 2006

The Holidays in NYC

Remember your first visit to see the Rockettes? I was 8 and I went on a bus trip - I think with the Girl Scouts - to see the Christmas Spectacular. All I remember is how impressive the theater looked and how the show left me breathless. The lights dimmed and then it was just pure magic for the next 90 minutes.

It sounds like this seasons offering will be more of the same. They have a new director/choreographer Linda Haberman who has tweaked the favorites and added a new number to the show. Added to the Spectacular is a LED screen, new costumes and all the pageantry associated with the season.

"Fog may come in on little cat feet, but when the spirit of Christmas arrives in New York it tap, tap, taps into Radio City Music Hall on the flying feet of 36 Rockettes, the rumbling of mighty Wurlitzers, the carols and hymns of a 40-piece orchestra and the hearty laughter of Kriss Kringle himself." more from the Times

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Saturday, November 11, 2006

Retelling of Nutcracker comes to Bard

"The Hard Nut" a Mark Morris production, will be playing at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College in Annandale - December 15, 16 and 17th.

Morris sets the classic ``Nutcracker'' tale as a 1970s suburban holiday party. It showcases Tchaikovsky's beautiful music and dancing with costumes and stylized sets inspired by the work of comic book artist and illustrator Charles Burns.

For more information and tickets, you can call the box office at 845-758-7900 or visit www.bard.edu/fishercenter.

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Happy Veterans Day

Today merits a special thank you to all those who have served our country and those who continue to serve her today.

My Grandfather and several of my Great-Uncles all served in WW II. Grandpa in the Pacific and my uncles in Europe. My Great-Grandfather served in WW I.

Armistice Day Becomes Veterans Day

World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The actual fighting between the Allies and Germany, however, had ended seven months earlier with the armistice, which went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.

In 1968, new legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.
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Thursday, November 09, 2006

Grinch Roundup

So the Grinch opened on Broadway ... and the opinions are in: Lukewarm ...

Clive Barnes for the New York Post gives the show one and a half stars out of four and writes that "Still, the show's intermissionless 80 minutes should prove easy on a child's attention span, and harmless, with a book and lyrics by Timothy Mason that are only a little worse than that seductively magical Seuss doggerel verse. The performances of the happy Who inhabitants from Whoville, from whom the long-fingered, small-hearted Grinch intended to steal Christmas, are all adequately charming or charmingly adequate."

For Newsday, Linda Winer writes that ""Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - The Musical" - yes, that's the graceless title - began its first Broadway holiday engagement at the roomy Hilton Theatre last night. One cannot imagine that New Yorkers and tourists will be clamoring to make this an annual holiday ritual."

Joe Dziemianowicz for the NY Daily News writes that "The production's chief asset is its design, inspired by the book's illustrations, which were done only in shades of black, white and red. Robert Morgan's eye-popping white, pink and red costumes are pure whimsy, head to toe. (If some curlicues on Whowear look like bull's-eyes, it may have to do with the show's sponsor - Target. Who knows?) John Lee Beatty's sets of Who homes, the Grinch's lair and Whoville from a distance are just as ingenious. The show's most high-flying effect creates the Grinch's late-night sleigh ride with reluctant "reindeer" Max. Such a fun, theatrical moment makes the show a real Whoot."

For the Associated Press, Michael Kuchwara writes that "The green meanie has all the fun, but then he is the most entertaining thing about the show with an impossibly long title: "Dr. Seuss- How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - The Musical." The production is brief, less than 90 minutes, and appetizing to look at since set designer John Lee Beatty's wonderful Who-ville houses resemble gigantic ice-cream sundaes. But because of some ho-hum new songs, it's also a bit bland except when the Grinch, a deliciously dyspeptic fellow with green fur, is front and center."

For Variety, Mark Blankenship writes that "Considering that the Hilton Theater lobby is bursting with tie-in merchandise, it's ironic that "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical" retains the book's moral that Christmas isn't about presents at all. However, this is hardly the first show to profit from the idea that materialism is wrong, and as mixed messages go, it's entertaining. Buoyed by gorgeous design and a saucy star turn from Patrick Page, "The Grinch" likely will satisfy family crowds in search of holiday spectacle."

For the New York Times, Charles Isherwood writes that "At about 90 minutes the stage version suffers from a milder case of bloat. A tale that fit neatly into 26 televised minutes - to say nothing of a couple hundred lines of rhymed verse - inevitably feels protracted at thrice the length. It is considerably more faithful to the spirit and letter of the original material than the movie was, however, and so more pleasing."

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Tuesday, November 07, 2006

On Stage in the Mid Hudson Valley November 10 - 13

On stage this weekend, in the Mid Hudson Valley! Three, yes Three Musicals to choose from. Bells are Ringing a story of a telephone operator who falls in love, Baker's Wife, the story of well, a baker and the trouble he has with his wife, and The Mikado a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta that is one of the most popular they ever wrote.

Bells Are Ringing
November 10, 11 at 8:00 PM
November 12, at 2:00 PM

Coach House Players
Coach House
12 Augusta Street
Kingston, NY
Call: (845) 331-2476

Baker's Wife
November 10, 11, 17, 18 at 8:00 PM
November 12, 19 at 2:00 PM

The Fourth Wall Productions
Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center
12 Vassar Street
Poughkeepsie, NY
Call: (845) 486 - 4571

The Mikado
November 10, 11, 17, 18 at 8:00 PM
November 12, 19 at 3:00 PM
November 18* at 11:00 AM *Special Shortened Children's Show

G&S Musical Theater Company
The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Route 308
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

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Review of Hamlet at the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck

To be or not to be ... that is the question. I got a chance to take in the production of Hamlet at The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck on October 29th. It was a wonderful production, showing how Shakespeare is so timeless .. it was modern yet not so.

Lou Trapani directed and also had a small role. He did an excellent job with both. The show was edited down to a reasonable 2:15 running time but left the story with a exciting pace. The costumes and lighting was great, the set minimal yet so effective. The actors were all wonderful - a pleasure to watch in dialog or monologue.

It was a tragedy, of course, but had some beautiful moments. A production very well done.

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Mid Hudson Valley Theater Blog

Community Theater in the Mid Hudson Valley of New York. Information on shows, auditions, and our general adventures onstage, backstage and in the audience.