BroadwayWorld.com Boston Stories

THE PENNY JIVE, MORTIFIED and More Set for A.R.T.'s OBERON, June 2013

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:12:46 PST

OBERON, the American Repertory Theater's Second Stage and club theater venue, continues its mission to bring exciting and original programming. A destination for theater and nightlife on the fringe of Harvard Square, OBERON is the home of the A.R.T.'s hit productions of Pirates of Penzance, The Lily's Revenge, Futurity, The Donkey Show, Cabaret, and Prometheus Bound and Ryan Landry's Rocky Horror Show, OBERON is also a thriving incubator for local and visiting talent.

OBERON will end the month of May with a fundraiser:

KICK-ASS Art Party: ART FOR THE ONE FUND

Presented by OBERON, GEEK WEEK Comedy, Bent Wit Cabaret and DSI Productions

Tuesday, May 28th at 7:30pm

Tickets $10

A night of kick-ass performance and art by artists coming together to raise money for people who need it featuring the best in Boston's burlesque, comedy, spoken word, film, dance and art. All proceeds will benefit the One Fund.

The following productions will be the highlights of our offerings during the month of

JUNE 2013:

OBERON NEW WORKS SERIES: THE PENNY JIVE

Presented by OBERON

Monday, June 3rd at 8:00pm

FREE ADMISSION

Clouded by glamour, glory and glitter is the Penny Jive.... where the electro-swing plays on and on until you forget your days at the bottom of the barrel and the bottom of the bottle. Where lust, murder, marriage & betrayal are mere party favors of another droll evening strolling the jack-knife's edge of life. Find yourself swept up into the world of Mac the Knife in an entirely new re-telling of a penny dreadful story older than bath-tub distilleries, combining burlesque, dance, circus and a live ElectroSwing score.

Neil Gaiman AND Chip Kidd DISCUSS "MAKE GOOD ART"

Presented by the Boston Book Festival

Wednesday, June 5th at 6:30pm

Tickets $15-25

Literary legend Neil Gaiman, in his 2012 commencement address at the University of the Arts in Pennsylvania, encouraged graduates to do one thing, even in the worst of times: Make Good Art. Gaiman and Chip Kidd, who designed the innovative cover and interior for the published book based on the speech, convene at the Oberon to discuss Gaiman's unconventional career path and prodigious output and the bravery and creativity that goes into making good art. This special, intimate evening is presented by the Boston Book Festival. Table Seat tickets include a copy of Make Good Art with a book signing to follow the conversation.

ALL THE KINGS MEN

Sunday, June 9th at 7:00pm

Tickets $20-25

Thrilling audiences to their feet from Los Angeles to London for the past eleven years, ATKM return home to OBERON to entertain your faces off! "One of Boston's most entertaining acts" (Bay Windows), ATKM use pop-cultural satire, gender-bending comedic sketches, burlesque, dance and a host of alter egos to address and upend gender expectations in performances that range from the hilarious to the heartbreaking. Winners of a 2012 GO NYC Nightlife award and named one of ten nationwide winners of Curve Magazine's "Best Lesbian Theatre" award, this unique troupe plays between 35-50 characters per performance in a show that truly defines definition.

THE BIG QUIZ THING

Presented by OBERON and The Big Quiz Thing

Monday, June 17th at 8:00pm

FREE ADMISSION

Step up, geeks: The Big Quiz Thing, the major-league game show that you get to play, is live at OBERON every month! Quizmaster Noah Tarnow presents five big rounds of the world's greatest multimedia quiz excitement, including video puzzles, audio clues, the Lightning Round, the buzzer-tastic Three-Way Finale, and the best, smartest quiz questions anywhere! Plus, there's hope for dummies: Smart-Ass Points for wrong but funny answers. Best of all, the $200 cash grand prize,along with show tickets books, DVDs, CDs, baked goods, and more excellent goodies. FREE ADMISSION! Learn more at bigquizthing.com.

THE MOTH

Tuesday, June 18th at 8:00pm

Tickets $8-16

The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Through its ongoing programs - The Moth Mainstage, The Moth StorySLAMs, MothSHOP Corporate and MothSHOP Community Education Program- The Moth has presented more than three thousand stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded more than one million times a month, and the sixth season of the Peabody Award-winning The Moth Radio Hour, produced by Jay Allison and presented by PRX, The Public Radio Exchange, will air this fall on radio stations nationwide. www.themoth.org

The Moth StorySLAMs are steadily spreading all over the map, gathering people and stories from all over the country. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit/Ann Arbor have multiple shows each month. Louisville and Pittsburgh, added last year, are thriving. And this fall we're thrilled to add Boston, Milwaukee, Portland and Seattle! The shows are open to anyone with a five-minute story to share on the night's posted theme. The brave of heart, or those with stories they're aching to tell, prepare personal, true tales. When the doors open, storyteller hopefuls put their names in The Moth hat. A half hour later, names are picked, and one by one, storytellers take the stage. Each person has just five minutes! Teams of judges selected from the audience score the ten-featured stories. Each StorySLAM generates a StorySLAM winner. After ten SLAMs, the winners face off in our GrandSLAM Championships. Come sign up to tell a story, or just enjoy the show!

MORTIFIED

Friday, June 21st at 8:00pm

Tickets: $15

Hailed as a "cultural phenomenon" by NewsWeek and celebrated for years by the likes of This American Life, The Today Show, The Onion AV Club, & Entertainment Weekly, Mortified is a comic excavation of teen angst artifacts (journals, poems, letters, lyrics, home movies, schoolwork) as shared by their original authors -- in front of total strangers.

Where else can you hear grown men and women confront their past with firsthand tales of their first kiss, first puff, worst prom, fights with mom, life at bible camp, worst hand job, best mall job, and reasons they deserved to marry Bon Jovi?Submissions come from a wide range of participants, from professional performers to total amateurs. All in the noble pursuit of self-degradation.Share the shame.

OBERON is located at 2 Arrow Street at the corner of Mass Ave. in Harvard Square. For more info and tickets visit www.cluboberon.com.

MASTER CLASS Opens Shakespeare & Company's 36th Season Today

Fri, 24 May 2013 00:30:00 PST

Artistic Director Tony Simotes and Shakespeare & Company will present celebrated playwright Terrence McNally's powerful Master Class, officially kicking off its 36th Performance Season. This riveting production directed by Daniel Gidron stars Elliot Norton and IRNE award-winning actress Annette Miller as Maria Callas. Master Class runs from today, May 24th through August 18th in S&Co.'s Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.

Tickets to Master Class are $15-$50, and S&Co. offers a wide range of discount options, including discounts for groups, students, senior citizens, military, teachers and our very popular 40% Berkshire Resident Discount. To view a complete schedule, receive a brochure, or inquire about discounts, please call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353 or visit www.shakespeare.org. For customized group visits - which may include artist talkbacks, tours, weddings, parties and catered events - contact the Group Sales office at (413) 637-1199, ext. 132. The Bernstein Theatre is hearing aid assisted and wheelchair accessible.

A Tony winner for Best Play, McNally's Master Class takes us inside Callas' infamous sessions, which she conducted late in her career. It's a riveting portrait of the opera diva told through her recollections of the glories, triumphs, and tragedies of her own life and career.

Callas' voice is gone, her lover is long departed, and her sanity could possibly be next. All she has is a lonely itinerary of master classes and luggage packed full of the memories that are her only travel companion. Her students are the hapless targets of her sharp tongue, while she remains the picture of innocent aristocracy. Master Classshows that while the actress may have left the stage, she will never give up her audience.

"I remember distinctly the first time I heard Maria Callas singing," says Gidron. "I was a freshman in high school in Tel Aviv, and an American girl lent me a record of Callas singing Puccini arias. Even though I was a classical music lover I had never heard anything like it. The pain, the joy, the power, the vulnerability of those Puccini ladies were jumping at me from the LP grooves. I was hooked. I started listening to everything of Callas I could get a hold of, and saving money to buy those treasured albums. I could not believe that the soprano singing Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Tosca in Tosca, or Rosina in The Barber of Seville was one and the same woman, yet it was clear that the sensibility, musical judgment, and acting power were all Callas'."

In a true tour de force performance, audience favorite Annette Miller embodies the iconic opera diva Maria Callas as she continues to thrill Berkshire audiences with her performances of both classical and contemporary characters. Ms. Miller, an Elliot Norton and IRNE Award-winner (Golda's Balcony) and star of last summer's hit comedy, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife once again teams up with director Daniel Gidron. Gidron previously direcTed Miller in Golda's Balcony (2002 and 2009), and in Full Gallop in 2003. In addition to his work with S&Co., Gidron's directing credits include productions with the Lyric Stage Company, Gloucester Stage Company, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre, among many others. He is the Associate Director of the Nora Theatre Company in Cambridge, MA.

The cast also includes Company members Deborah Grausman (Broadway in the Berkshires 2011 and 2013 producer and performer) as Sharon, Luke Reed (A Midsummer Night's Dream 2013, Tartuffe The Imposter 2012), as Manny, and Josie Wilson (The Merry Wives of Windsor 2006, Macbeth-New England Tour 2008), and new-comers Alec Donaldson as Tony and Nora Menkin, as Sophie.

McNally has earned a total of four Tony Awards (Ragtime, Master Class, Love! Valour! Compassion!, and Kiss of the Spider Woman) and written other great theater hits fromThe Full Monty to Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune -- clearly securing his place among the great modern playwrights.

"I have spent a lifetime admiring the art and craft of Maria Callas," adds Gidron. "So when Tony Simotes called me to see if I would be interested in directing Master Classwith Annette Miller I was ecstatic. Reuniting with Annette at Shakespeare & Company is wonderful. I directed her amazing performance in Golda's Balcony and the experience was so joyful and rewarding. The prospect of working with her on inhabiting another icon of the twentieth century, Maria Callas, fills me with anticipation and delight. I can't wait for the audience to share in our journey."

Creative team:

COSTUME DESIGNER: Govane Lohbauer
WARDROBE: Josie Wilson
STAGE MANAGER: Maria Gray
SET DESIGNER: Patrick Brennan
LIGHTING DESIGNER: James Bilnoski
SOUND DESIGNER: Michael Pfeiffer
SOUND BOARD OPERATOR: Iain Fisher then Carmen Mandley

THE RASCALS: ONCE UPON A DREAM Launches North American Tour Today

Fri, 24 May 2013 00:30:00 PST

Producers Steven Van Zandt and Maureen Van Zandt, Marc Brickman, Larry Magid and Base Entertainment have announced that the sold-out Broadway engagement The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream will embark on a tour to play venues across North America. The tour kicks off today, May 24, 2013 at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Tickets for the Hard Rock engagement playing from May 24-27, 2013 range from $54 to $84 and are on sale at Ticketmaster.com (1.800.745.3000).

The following dates are confirmed:

Friday - Monday, May 24-27 - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (Hollywood, FL)
Thursday, May 30 - Ruth Eckerd Hall (Clearwater, FL)
Friday, May 31 - Moran Theater (Jacksonville, FL)
Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, June 5, 6 and 8 - Academy of Music (Philadelphia, PA)
Wednesday, June 12 - Merriweather Post Pavilion (Columbia, MD)
Friday, June 14 - Koka Booth Amphitheatre (Cary, NC)
Saturday, June 15 - North Charleston Performing Arts Center (North Charleston, NC)
Monday, June 17 - Ovens Auditorium (Charlotte, NC)
Wednesday - Saturday, June 19-22 - Cobb Energy Center (Atlanta, GA)
Tuesday - Sunday, June 25-30 - Boston Opera House (Boston, MA)
Friday, July 5 - Jones Beach (Wantagh, NY)
Saturday, July 6 - PNC Bank Arts Center (Holmdel, NJ)

THE RASCALS: ONCE UPON A DREAM, premiered on Broadway to critical acclaim this spring selling out 15 performances. The show is directed by Steven Van Zandt and Marc Brickman, with music by Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati. The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream has stage, video and lighting design by Brickman and has music production and is written by legendary guitarist Van Zandt. Performances began Monday, April 15th at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 West 46th Street), and play through Sunday, May 5th. Opening night was Tuesday, April 16th.

A hybrid of a rock 'n' roll concert and a Broadway show, The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream marks the first time The Rascals, America's classic blue-eyed soul band, have played together since 1970. Original band members Felix Cavaliere (keyboard & vocals), Eddie Brigati (vocals), Dino Danelli (drums) and Gene Cornish (guitar) will present a complete concert performance including songs that captured the spirit of America in the 1960's, such as their smash hits "Good Lovin'," "Lonely Too Long," "It's a Beautiful Morning," "How Can I Be Sure" and "Groovin'." The production will also feature the history of the iconic group told through archival footage, narration, and dramatic film segments viewed on the latest LED screen technology. The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream made its debut at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. Originally scheduled to play three performances in December 2012, an additional three shows had to be added to accommodate the demand for this unique concert experience.

Tickets for The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream on Broadway are on sale now and prices range from $27-137 (including a $2 facility fee) and can be purchased by visiting www.Ticketmaster.com, or calling 877-250-2929. A special ticket package with an opportunity for a meet and greet with the band will be available for $300. Packages are strictly limited.

The performance schedule for the Broadway engagement is: Tuesday at 7pm Wednesday at 7pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 5pm.

Audra McDonald Performs Berkshire Solo Concert at The Colonial Theatre, 6/15

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:18:25 PST

Audra McDonald will perform her only Berkshire solo performance on June 15 at 8pm at The Colonial Theatre accompanied by pianist Andy Einhorn.

Tickets to Audra McDonald are $50-$125. Contact the Colonial Ticket Office at 111 South Street, Pittsfield by calling 413-997-4444. Tickets can also be bought online atwww.berkshiretheatregroup.org. The Ticket Office is open Monday-Friday 10am-5pm, Saturdays 10am-2pm or on any performance day from 10am until curtain.

Audra McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a singer and an actress. With five Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and a long list of other accolades to her name, she is among today's most highly regarded performers. Blessed with a luminous soprano and an incomparable gift for dramatic truth-telling, she is equally at home on Broadway and opera stages as in roles on film and television. In addition to her theatrical work, she maintains a major career as a concert and recording artist, regularly appearing on the great stages of the world.

In the summer of 2011, after four seasons playing Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC's hit television series Private Practice, Audra McDonald turned her attention back to live performances, making her debut as the title character in a sold-out new production of the The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In December the production transferred to the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City, where McDonald was awarded the Tony for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical," placing her in the illustrious company of Broadway legends Julie Harris and Angela Lansbury as the only performers in Tony history to win five acting awards.

Between the runs in Cambridge and New York of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, McDonald embarked on a twenty-city concert tour across North America, presenting her trademark mix of show tunes, classic songs from movies, and pieces written expressly for her by leading contemporary composers. Performing with a wide range of ensembles, from solo piano to full orchestra, tour highlights include season-opening concerts at the KimMel Center in Philadelphia and the Celebrity Series in Boston, as well as performances at Washington, DC's Kennedy Center and New York's Carnegie Hall.

Born into a musical family, McDonald grew up in Fresno, California and received her classical vocal training at the Juilliard School. One year after graduating, she won her first Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Carousel at Lincoln Center Theater, directed by Nicholas Hytner. She received two additional Tony Awards in the Featured Actress category over the next four years for her performances in the Broadway premieres of Terrence McNally's play Master Class (1996) and his musical Ragtime (1998), earning her an unprecedented three Tony Awards before turning 30. In 2004 she won her fourth Tony, starring with Sean "Diddy" Combs in A Raisin in the Sun. Her other theater credits include The Secret Garden (1993), Marie Christine (1999), Henry IV (2004), 110 in the Shade (2007), and, recently, her Public Theater "Shakespeare in the Park" debut in Twelfth Nightalongside Anne Hathaway and Raúl Esparza (2009).

McDonald made her opera debut in 2006 at Houston Grand Opera, which featured her in a double-bill of Poulenc's monodrama La voix humaine and the world premiere of Send, a companion-piece to the Poulenc written by one of her frequent collaborators, composer Michael John LaChiusa. She made her Los Angeles Opera debut in 2007 starring with Patti LuPone in John Doyle's production of Kurt Weill'sRise and Fall of the City of Mahogany. The resulting recording won McDonald two Grammy Awards, for Best Opera Recording and Best Classical Album.

On the concert stage, she has premiered music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams and sung with virtually every major American orchestra - including the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony - and under such conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Leonard Slatkin. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1998 with the San Francisco Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas in a season-opening concert that was broadcast live on PBS. Internationally, she is a returning guest at the BBC Proms in London (where she was only the second American in more than 100 years to solo on the famed "Last Night of the Proms" at the Royal Albert Hall) and at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, as well as with the London Symphony Orchestra and Berlin Philharmonic.

It was the Peabody Award-winning CBS program Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years that first introduced McDonald to television audiences as a dramatic actress. She went on to costar with Kathy Bates and Victor Garber in the lauded 1999 Disney/ABC television remake of Annie, and in 2000 she had a recurring role on NBC's hit series Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. After receiving her first Emmy nomination for her performance in the HBO film version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Wit, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Emma Thompson, McDonald returned to network television in 2003 in the political dramaMister Sterling, produced by Emmy Award-winner Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr. (The West Wing) and starring Josh Brolin. In early 2006 she joined the cast of the WB'sThe Bedford Diaries, and over the next season she had a recurring role on NBC's television series Kidnapped. In 2008 she reprised her Tony-winning role in A Raisin in the Sun in a made-for-television movie adaption, earning her a second Emmy Award nomination.

A familiar face on PBS, McDonald has headlined telecasts including an American Songbook season opening concert, a presentation of Sondheim's Passion, a tribute concert to Rodgers and Hammerstein titled Something Wonderful, and three galas with the New York Philharmonic: a New Year Eve's performance in 2006, a concert celebrating Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday, and most recently, Carnegie Hall's 120th Anniversary Concert. She was also featured in the PBS television special A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House, singing at the request of President Obama and the First Lady. McDonald has appeared twice on the Kennedy Center Honors, been profiled by 60 Minutes and the Today Show, been a guest on the Megan Mullally Show, the Rosie O'Donnell Show, and Tavis Smiley, and has guest co-hosted on The View with Barbara Walters.

McDonald's film career began with her role in Seven Servants in 1996, and her list of credits has since grown to include The Object of My Affection (1998), Cradle Will Rock (1999), It Runs in the Family (2003), and The Best Thief in the World (2004), and She Got Problems (2009), a mockumentary movie musical written, starring, and directed by her sister, Alison McDonald. Audra McDonald appears in the upcoming film Rampart, starring Woody Harrelson.

As an exclusive Nonesuch recording artist, McDonald has released four solo albums on the label, interpreting songs from the classic (Gershwin, Arlen, and Bernstein) to the contemporary (Michael John LaChiusa, Adam Guettel, and Ricky Ian Gordon). On May 21, 2013, McDonald released her first solo record in seven years, Go Back Home. Many of the selections on Go Back Home are by composers with whom McDonald has long been associated (Guettel, LaChiusa, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Sondheim, among others), while some songs, including the Kander and Ebb title track, are by names that are relatively new to her repertoire. In addition, McDonald continues her tradition of championing works by an emerging generation of composers, represented on Go Back Home by Adam Gwon, Heisler and Goldrich, and Will Reynolds. Her first Nonesuch album, 1998's Way Back to Paradise, was named Adult Record of the Year by The New York Times. Following the best-sellingHow Glory Goes in 2000 and Happy Songs in 2002, she released the 2006 albumBuild a Bridge, which saw the singer stretch her repertoire to include songs by the likes of Randy Newman, Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach, Rufus Wainwright, and Nellie McKay. Her ensemble recordings include the acclaimed EMI version of Bernstein's Wonderful Town conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, the New York Philharmonic release of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, and Dreamgirls in Concert, as well as the first recording of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro and Broadway cast albums of Carousel, Ragtime, Marie Christine, and 110 in the Shade. She is also featured on a number of audiovisual recordings available on DVD and Blu-ray, including Sondheim! The Birthday Concert, Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square, Weill - Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Bernstein - Wonderful Town, Audra McDonald - Live at the Donmar, London, and My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies.

McDonald's other accolades include three Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards, four NAACP Image Awards nominations, an Ovation Award, and a Theatre World Award. Besides her four Tony wins, she received nominations for her performances in Marie Christine and 110 in the Shade. In addition to her professional obligations, Audra McDonald is an ardent proponent of marriage equality and sits on the advisory board of the advocacy organization Broadway Impact. Of all her many roles, her favorite is that of mother to her daughter, Zoe Madeline.

Audra McDonald is sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. James W. Giddens.

For more information about the performance, please visit our website atwww.BerkshireTheatreGroup.org

Merrimack Repertory Theatre Hires New Executive Director

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:12:17 PST

Merrimack Repertory Theatre Board President Debra Grossman announced today that the company had concluded a six month national search for MRT's new Executive Director and have engaged Elizabeth Kegley, currently Managing Director of Dallas' highly-regarded Kitchen Dog Theatre, to fill the position.

Working with search firm AlbertHall & Associates, a national leader in executive placement for arts professionals, MRT's Search Committee, chaired by Stephen Irish, interviewed five candidates from Aspen, Dallas, Jacksonville, Louisville, and New York City before selecting Ms. Kegley. At their May meeting, MRT's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept the Search Committee's recommendation to engage Ms. Kegley on a three-year contract. She is replacing previous Executive Director Steven Leon who had to leave the company in November due to health issues.

As is true In most non-profit cultural organizations, MRT's Artistic Director and the Executive Director are equal partners, both reporting directly to the Board of Trustees. Elizabeth Kegley now joins Artistic Director Charles Towers in leading MRT as it enters its 35th Season as Greater Lowell's award-winning professional theatre company.

When asked for a comment, Board President Debra Grossman said: "The entire Board of Trustees joins me in welcoming Elizabeth to Merrimack Repertory Theatre and to the City of Lowell. We are thrilled by the opportunity her addition to the MRT family offers. We are confident that Elizabeth is prepared to lead our artistically acclaimed regional theatre toward continued growth and excellence, adding to all we have achieved over the past 34 years."

Search Committee Chair Stephen Irish added: "Based on the exceptionally strong slate of candidates presented to us by AlbertHall & Associates, the Search Committee quickly became confident of finding a highly qualified individual to fill this critically important position. Elizabeth is truly the best-of-the-best and has the right combination of skills and experience that is required for the position of Executive Director at MRT. We look forward to her joining the MRT family and the leadership she will bring to the company."

Artistic Director Charles Towers said: "Everyone who has met Elizabeth has been impressed by her crisp intelligence, her obvious passion, and her engaging manner. I look forward to working with her to build on MRT's accomplishments to date, so that the company can grow to fulfill its enormous potential, both on stage and off."

Elizabeth Kegley added: "I am thrilled and honored to join Merrimack Repertory Theatre and the greater Lowell community. In visiting Lowell and meeting with the Search Committee, the Board of Trustees, and the staff, I have found a committed group of people whose enthusiasm for Merrimack Repertory Theatre and the company's high-caliber artistic work is inspiring."

She elaborated: "Merrimack Repertory Theatre is on the precipice of an exciting new phase, with the newly renovated theater and significant achievements in financial and institutional stability. The opportunities for the future of MRT are compelling and I look forward to working with Charles, the Board of Trustees, and the staff to develop a new strategic plan for the organization, as well as explore new avenues for audience development and community engagement. I am delighted to join the MRT family at this exciting time in the company's history."

Ms. Kegley will begin her work on July 1, 2013. However the community will have the opportunity to meet her at MRT's Annual Meeting on Tuesday June 25. The meeting is open to the public and starts at 5:45 at MRT's Nancy L. Donahue Theatre and includes a reception with refreshments. Complementary tickets must be reserved in advance by June 18 to attend the meeting. To reserve tickets visit MRT.org and click on the "Annual Meeting" link. For more information visit MRT.org or call 978-654-4678

TICKETS: Single tickets to all productions in the 2013-2014 Season will go on in sale August. Tickets begin at $20. Tickets may be purchased online at MRT.org or by calling the Box Office at 978-654-4MRT (4678). Merrimack Repertory Theatre's Box Office is located at 50 E. Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA.

DISCOUNTS: Senior discount 10% off adult ticket price. Student tickets $15. Group discounts are available for groups of six or more by calling 978-654-7561. Half-Price Rush Tickets - Stop by or call the box office (978-654-4678) after 5pm on any Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Sunday evening and get 50% off remaining seats for that night's performance.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Don't miss a single show! Subscription packages are now on sale for MRT's 2013-2014 Season. All subscriptions include exclusive subscriber-only benefits, including free parking, restaurant and theatre discounts, lost ticket insurance and free, unlimited ticket exchanges. For season or subscription information, call 978-654-4678 or visit MRT.org.

Anita Walker Will Host 'El Sistema Greater Boston' Spring Showcase

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:28:37 PST

Eight revolutionary music programs will join forces for The First Annual El Sistema Greater Boston Showcase on June 1st at the Franklin Institute in the South End. Anita Walker, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education, and diversity in the arts, will host the afternoon portion of this monumental performance for the blossoming El Sistema movement. The event, sponsored in part by the Free For All Concert Fund, will begin with an afternoon "performathon" of musical offerings from each of the eight programs. It will culminate in an evening Gala Concert featuring the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, led by maestro Benjamin Zander and Conservatory Lab Charter School's advanced Dudamel Orchestra, under the baton of Adrian Anantawan. The event is organized by Conservatory Lab Charter School and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

Three years ago, Conservatory Lab Charter School became the first program in Boston to offer 2.5 hours of daily El Sistema music instruction to all of its 146 elementary school students, incorporated into the regular school day. Since then, seven more programs have taken hold in the Greater Boston Area, offering free, excellence-driven, daily music instruction in underserved communities. These programs, also featured in the June 1st event, include Bridge Boston El Sistema, El Sistema Somerville, Josiah Quincy School Orchestra Program, Margarit Muñiz Academy El Sistema Program, The Roxbury Youth Orchestra, Youth and Family Enrichment Services, and Kids4Hamony of Pittsfield, MA.

The El Sistema movement came to Boston from Venezuela, initially through the efforts of Mark Churchill, founder and director of El Sistema USA. For 38 years the Venezuelan network of youth orchestras has offered intensive, ensemble-based music education to that country's underserved children. Playing together in orchestra fosters cooperation, self-confidence, and perseverance, transforming youth culture and promoting higher graduation rates. In recent years El Sistema has spread throughout the world, transforming the lives of untold numbers of children and young people. El Sistema is the leading expression of the international "social action through music" movement.

While the Venezualan youth orchestras have become famous for rousing renditions of Leonard Bernstein's "Mambo" and the passionate conducting of alumnus Gustavo Dudamel, the chief aim of El Sistema is not to produce professional musicians but to change lives through the power of music.

Seven master teachers from El Sistema in Venezuela will be in residence during the week prior to June 1. They will assist in the preparation of the concert, visiting all of the programs, and give open workshops and presentations in the El Sistema approach to teaching music and nurturing young people.

The El Sistema Greater Boston Showcase marks the culmination of a two-month exchange program between the BPYO andConservatory Lab Charter School that includes mentoring, teaching assistance, and attendance at concerts and rehearsals.

The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra's motto is "Shaping future leaders through music." An artistic institution of the 21st century, the BPYO provides an environment for musical excellence and leadership development that strengthens communication and deepens the human experience for 120 outstanding young musicians, ages 12 to 21. The BPYO recently concluded an enormously successful Boston season and will embark on a major five concert tour to the Netherlands this coming June.

THE BOSTON ABOLITIONISTS PROJECT Will Conclude ART's 2012-13 Season

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:54:25 PST

The American Repertory Theater/ Moscow Art Theater School Institute for Advanced Theater Training ends its 2012-13 Season with The Boston Abolitionists Project, devised by the Class of 2013 and Steven Bogart, and directed by Bogart. The production runs May 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, and 31 at 7:30pm at the Experimental Theater in the Loeb Drama Center Harvard Square, Cambridge.

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 passes and sends panic through the North Slope of Beacon Hill. Slave Catchers are on the hunt in northern cities like Boston. Thousands of free African Americans are fleeing the country. Abolitionists are challenging The Constitution of the

United States. Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin has become a national literary phenomenon. Anthony Burns, a former slave living freely in Boston is arrested. People in Boston and as far away as Worcester are rallying to save Burns from a return to slavery, as the country heads toward the Civil War.

Director Steven Bogart is a playwright, stage director, teacher, and visual artist. He directed Cabaret for the A.R.T., Legally Dead for Boston Playwrights' Theater, and has collaborated on projects including projects with Neil Galman, James Carroll, Kate Snodgrass, and Amanda Palmer. He leads workshops in collaborative playwriting around the state of Massachusetts and has createdover 50 workshop theatre pieces. His plays have been performed at Boston Theater Works, Boston Theater Marathon, in New York and Chicago. Bogart was a 2009 Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant recipient in playwriting, is an Artist-in-Residence in theater at Southern NewHampshire University, and has taught acting for Emerson College.

Developed as part of The National Civil War Project, The Boston Abolitionists Project is a devised theater piecethat explores the turmoil surrounding the people of Massachusetts during the mid-eighteen fifties leading up to the dawn of the Civil War.

Admission is free. Tickets should be reserved by calling the A.R.T. Box Office at (617) 547-8300; or online at http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org

The Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard was established in 1987 by the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) as a training ground for the professional American theater. Its programs are fully integrated with the activities of the A.R.T. In the summer of 1998, the Institute commenced a historic joint program with the Moscow Art Theater (MXAT) School. Students engage with two invaluable resources: the work of the A.R.T. and that of the MXAT, as well as their affiliated schools. Together, this exclusive partnership offers students opportunities for training and growth unmatched by any program in the country. The core program features a rigorous two-year, five-semester period of training in acting, dramaturgy, or voice pedagogy, during which students work closely with the professionals at the A.R.T. and the MXAT as well as with the best master teachers from the United States and Russia. At the end of the program, students receive a Certificate of Achievement from the faculty of the American Repertory Theater and an M.F.A. Degree from the faculty of the Moscow Art Theater School. Further information about this program can be obtained by calling the Institute at (617) 495-2668 or online athttp://www.harvardtheatertraining.org.

Audra McDonald Performs Berkshire Solo Concert at The Colonial Theatre, 6/15

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:51:31 PST

Audra McDonald is sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. James W. Giddens.

For more information about the performance, please visit our website atwww.BerkshireTheatreGroup.org

Stoneham Theatre Presents THESE SHINING LIVES, 6/6-6/22

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:02:23 PST

In the 1920s and early 1930s, female factory workers, later known as radium girls, contracted radium poisoning from painting watch dials with glow-in-the-dark paint at the United States Radium Factory in Ottawa, Illinois. The women, who had been told the paint was harmless, ingested deadly amounts of radium by licking their paintbrushes to give them a fine point. Five of the workers challenged their employer in a landmark case that travelled to the US Supreme Court and established the right of individuals who contracted "occupational diseases" to sue their employers.

Now, Stoneham Theatre is proud to bring this important story to the stage with These Shining Lives, a new play directed by Caitlin Lowans. "Even though these events took place ninety years ago, it's important when doing a historical piece to connect it to who we are as a society today and what practices we ought to be questioning," Lowans shared with her cast during their first rehearsal. "My mind immediately goes to what risks we're taking now that we are unaware of." But Lowans also remarked, "I love how the script never reduces the women to victims. We want to ensure that they are fully realized, human beings...ordinary girls, as the text says."

In the past ten years, several films, plays, books, and poems have been dedicated to telling the story of the radium girls. These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich is the latest. These Shining Lives stars Boston favorite McCaela Donovan* as Catherine, Melis Aker (Double Indemnity) as Pearl, Kathryn Lynch* as Charlotte, Allan Mayo*(Strangers on a Train) as Mr. Reed, Dakota Shepard as Frances and Joe Short* as Tom.

These Shining Lives opens Thursday, June 6, 2013 and runs through Saturday, June 22, 2013. To purchase tickets, call the Stoneham Theatre Box Office at (781) 279-2200, or visit www.stonehamtheatre.org.

Show dates: June 6 - June 22, 2013
Show Times: Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm & 8pm, Sundays at 2pm; June 6, 2013 - June 16, 2013. Friday, June 21, 2013 at 8pm, Saturday, June 22, 2013 at 8pm, and Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 2pm
Ticket Prices: Orchestra Premium $48; Standard Orchestra $44; Seniors $42 & $40
Pay What You Can Night: Thursday, June 6th @ 7:30pm
Box Office: (781) 279-2200
Box Office Hours: Mondays - Fridays, 11am to 6pm; Saturdays, 1pm to 6pm
Website: www.stonehamtheatre.org
Flagship Season Sponsors: StonehamBank and Stoneham Savings Bank

Giovanna Sardelli to Direct Barrington Stage's World Premiere of MUCKRAKERS, 6/13-7/6

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:16:43 PST

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director TriStan Wilson, presents the world premiere production of Muckrakers, a new play by Zayd Dohrn, directed by Giovanna Sardelli (BSC's The North Pool and Lord of the Flies). Muckrakers begins previews Thursday, June 13, opens Wednesday, June 19 and will run through Saturday, July 6 at the St. Germain Stage, at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden Street, Pittsfield.

Muckrakers, starring Kate Rogal and Kahan James in their BSC debuts, centers around a young female activist who brings an older man - a famous political hacker/journalist - home to her Brooklyn apartment to spend the night. But as they start to expose each other's secrets, personal and political desires collide, testing the limits of privacy in the modern world.

Muckrakers has sets by Brian Prather, costumes by Amy Clark, lighting by Scott Pinkney, and sound by James Kluger. Paul Vella is production stage manager. Shakina Nayfack is associate producer.

Kate Rogal (Mira) Stage: Arok of Java at Exit Pursued by a Bear, Cherry Smoke at Clockwork Theater Company, and Boygirlboygirl at the Roy Arias Theater. Film: Concussion, Safe, Coming up Roses, Date Night, The Narrows. Television: Psych, Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Law and Order CI, Crash, As the World Turns, Cashmere Mafia, The Kill Point, All My Children, Guiding Light, The Sopranos. Kate is a graduate of the Drama Department at Carnegie Mellon University.

Kahan James (Stephen) TV and Film: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Unforgettable, Gossip Girl, White Collar, Royal Pains, Running Wilde, Damages, Standoff, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, Law & Order, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, As The World Turns, All My Children, Guiding Light, Shadows & Lies, Choose, Every Day, Hitch. New York: The Habitation of Dragons (HB Playwrights), Seven Rabbits On A Pole (Urban Stages). Regional: Luv (Guild Hall, dir. Lonny Price), Pentecost (Old Globe Theater, dir. Mark Lamos), The Red Wagon Poesy (BackStage West Critic's Choice).

Playwright Zayd Dohrn was born and reared in New York City. His other full-length plays include Outside People (The Vineyard Theatre/Naked Angels), Want (Steppenwolf First Look), Sick (Berkshire Theatre Festival), and Reborning (The Public/SPF), all published by Samuel French. He has written screenplays for The American Film Company, Bedlam Productions, and Vox3 Films, as well as a pilot for HBO. He received his MFA from NYU, and was a Lila Acheson Wallace Fellow at Juilliard, where he twice won Lincoln Center's Lecomte du Nouy Prize. He teaches playwriting and screenwriting at Northwestern University. www.zayddohrn.com.

Giovanna Sardelli (Director) At BSC: Lord of the Flies; The North Pool by Rajiv Joseph. Also with Rajiv: world premieres of The North Pool(TheatreWorks), Animals Out of Paper (Joe A. Callaway Award, Outstanding Director), All This Intimacy (both for Second Stage), The Leopard and The Fox (Alter Ego), Huck & Holden (Cherry Lane). Recent world premieres: Finks by Joe Gilford (EST); Theresa Rebeck's Dead Accounts (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park); Somewhere by Matthew Lopez (Old Globe) and the West Coast Premiere of his play The Whipping Man (Old Globe, NAACP nomination Best Director). She received her MFA from the Grad Acting program at NYU and is a graduate of their Director's Lab.

There will be a post-show discussion of Muckrakers on Thursday, June 20 following the 7:30pm performance.

Muckrakers was developed as part of Chautauqua Theater Company's New Play Workshop Series, 2012.

Muckrakers will be presented at the St. Germain Stage at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden Street, Pittsfield. Performances ofMuckrakers are Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 4pm, Sunday at 3pm. Additional matinees on Thursday, June 27 and July 4 at 4pm. There is no 7:30pm performance on July 4. Press Opening: Wednesday, June 19 at 7:30pm. Tickets start at $40. Seniors: $32 all matinees. Low priced previews June 13 & 14 are $15. Muckrakers is for mature audiences; contains sexual situations and mature language. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the Barrington Stage Box Office at 413-236-8888 or visit www.barringtonstageco.org. The Box Office is located at 30 Union Street, Pittsfield.

Barrington Stage Company, a professional award-winning Equity regional theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA, was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd. Barrington Stage's mission is three-fold: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways to bringing new audiences into the theatre-especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention in 2004 when it workshopped, and premiered William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin's musical hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which later transferred to Broadway, where it won two Tony Awards. In 2009/2010 Barrington Stage produced the world premiere of Mark St. Germain's Freud's Last Session, which later moved Off-Broadway and played for two years. Barrington Stage was voted "Best Live Theatre" by The Berkshire Eagle readers in 2011 and 2012 and was named "Best Theatre Company" in Metroland's Best of the Capital Region 2009-2012.