Fame or Famine

Two nights of erotically themed performance art will be accompanying the Art Space festival in Baltimore this Friday and Saturday. The Baltimore Erotic Arts Festival, the brainchild of Suzannah Gerber (aka Klawdya Rothschild in the burlesque world) takes place on Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th.
All Around the Edge
Friday night’s theme is “Before the Edge”,  with art and performances with sexual themes that are playful and teasing, such as a Atomic Cheesecake Pinup Pageant and performers such as

Eliza Charming
ShortStaxx
Lee Luscious/Lee Harrington
Coco Mource
Dix Washington

and other art and performances on the site. The headliner is the famous sex educator, performance artist, …read more

Comments Off

I wrote a while back about the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s version of Willy Wonka. Thankfully not anything like the Tim Burton version, this one not only borrows from the 1971 Gene Wilder oeuvre but also draws from the books by Roald Dahl himself for inspiration – which makes it a darker, more intense experience.
While the staging looks minimal, I suspect that the lighting and other designers will have made the entire theatre into a magical candyland before the night is out. I’d especially love to see how they shrink Mike Teevee on the stage. Click past the cut for a …read more

Comments Off

It’s only a preview, but it’s a breath of great things to come: the review of the premiere of “Another Evening: Serenade/The Proposition,” by Bill T. Jones seems to hint at a magnificent work to come. Commissioned to create a work celebrating the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, it’s a pretty tall order for anyone but Mr. Jones.
He assembled, along with his usual fantastically talented company, an amazing creative team: Janet Wong on video, singer Lisa Komara, score by Jerome Begin and Christopher Antonio William Lancaster, Liz Prince’s amazing costume design and a set consisting of moveable columns by …read more

Comments Off

I’m very excited to read that the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is going to host the premiere of the new musical Little House on the Prairie. Directed by Francesca Zambello, it’s a re-telling of the classic 70’s television show.
Melissa Gilbert: Typecasting or Resource?
I find myself questioning the casting of Melissa Gilbert in the role of “Ma Ingalls” – not because I doubt her abilities as an actress, but more because there is quite a difference between acting – even on a stage – and performing in a musical. She has more than enough cred with “straight plays”: A Shayna Maidel …read more

Comments Off

“I just saw the production; it premiered tonight after being postponed due to the recent hostilities in the county. My sister plays Sharpay Evans and it was thrilling to be able to watch it in the midst of such an ugly national crisis – very emotional.” That’s the comment that Milia Ayache, from Lebanon, left in answer to my entry about a “Multi-cultural High School Musical.”
Milia also directed me to the event profile on Facebook, which I have happily added to my profile (though I don’t think I’ll be able to make it, sorry). Theatre de Mazitou, the production house …read more

Comments Off

Image details: Opening Of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Woman in White” – After Party served by picapp.com

Trevor Nunn (director of Les Mis, among others) has set his sights on the American Civil War and a musical adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. With an ensemble cast including veterans of Chicago and Guys & Dolls and a slew of other Broadway hits, it really seems destined for a fantastic opening tonight at the New London Theatre. No word yet as to when it will travel across the waves, but my girlfriend is going to the UK for a wedding …read more

Comments Off

Just a note of admiration: in spite of what must have been crushing news (their founder, Gus Giordano, died on Sunday) the Giordano Dance troupe got rave reviews from Hedy Weiss in the Chicago Sun-Times. It’s a tribute to the professionalism of the performers and the ethics he instilled in them that they kick off a five week tour of Hawaii with such a stellar performance. Even the one sour note in the review, Davis Robertson’s premiere of “Moanin Low” didn’t change her opinion: “…the company is in high-flying form.”
Incidentally, for those So You Think You Can Dance fans: number …read more

Comments Off

PULP, a musical spoofing 1950s novels stereotyping lesbian romance, 3/7-29, Bartell Theatre, showing at 7:30 pm Thursdays ($10) and 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays ($15). 661-9696 ext. 3
When: 03/07/08
Cost: $15/$10
Call: 661-9696
Email: pulp@stageq.com
More Information:
Singing Lesbians to set up Camp in March
Musical satire of 1950s Pulp Romance Novels opens March 7th
StageQ, Inc, the local not-for-profit LGBTQ Theater Company announces the musical comedy “Pulp” to run March 7 – March 29, 2008 at the Bartell Theater, 113 E. Mifflin Street in Madison.
“Pulp,” is a “comedy with music” spoofing the lurid 1950s novels of over-the-top stereotypes of lesbian romance. Everything from …read more

Comments Off