http://www.PlatinumTheMusical.com
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
UnsungMusicalsCo. Inc. presents
a developmental production as part of the 2010
New York International Fringe Festival.

An electrifying story of ambition and survival, Platinum stars Donna Bullock (Ragtime, City of Angels, A Class Act) as Lila Halliday, a dazzling Hollywood legend trying to make a comeback in the explosive music industry of the 1970s. Determined to reignite her career, she turns to rock star Dan Riley and finds herself falling for him as they both fight to stay in the game.

Written by Emmy Award winner Bruce Vilanch (Hairspray, “Hollywood Squares”) and Tony Award nominees Will Holt and Gary William Friedman (The Me Nobody Knows), this new version features revisions and direction by Ben West (How Now, Dow Jones). The musical is choreographed by Rommy Sandhu (How Now, Dow Jones, Mary Poppins) with musical arrangements by Mr. Friedman (“The Electric Company”), musical direction by Fran Minarik (Sessions, The J.A.P. Show), costume design by Janine Marie McCabe (Waiting for the Moon) and lighting design by Joe Hodge (Perfect Crime).

The original Broadway production opened November 12, 1978 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre starring Alexis Smith under the direction of Joe Layton. The musical played 33 performances and received two Tony nominations for Smith and co-star Richard Cox.

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL
The eclectic festival mounts nearly two hundred works in two weeks at twenty venues across downtown Manhattan. Highlights include the musical “Platinum,” with a book by Will Holt and Bruce Vilanch, music by Gary William Friedman, and lyrics by Holt; Stephen Padilla’s “Picking Palin”; Mary Dimino’s solo comedy “Scared Skinny”; “Monetizing Emma,” by Felipe Ossa; Bert Hana’s comedy “Daddy Day”; and “South Pathetic,” a comedy by Jim David. For a full schedule, visit fringenyc.org. Opens Aug. 13. (Various locations. 866-468-7619.)

NAKED BOYS SINGING! Celebrates 11th Anniversary 7/24
by BWW News Desk

NAKED BOYS SINGING!, the fifteen-song celebration of the male form will hit yet another milestone: it will begin its twelfth year on Saturday July 24th. The Naked Boys are appearing on New World Stages – Stage 4, located at 340 West 50th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues. Naked Boys plays Fridays at 10pm and Saturday evenings at 8pm.

Still drawing both equally gay and straight crowds, NAKED BOYS has become a New York mainstay, while the London production, which opened to critical acclaim in the West End, begins its second year. Other productions are currently running in Las Vegas, which just announced its one-year anniversary, and the annual Provincetown summer production, with more opening within the next year, including anticipated productions in Korea and New Zealand.

Naked Boys Singing! is produced by Jamie Cesa, Carl D. White, Hugh Hayes, and Tom Smedes. It is directed and was conceived by Robert Schrock, and choreographed by Jeffry Denman. Schrock and a team of 12 writers — Stephen Bates, Marie Cain, Perry Hart, Shelly Markham, Jim Morgan, David Pevsner, Rayme Sciaroni, Mark Savage, Ben Schaechter, Trance Thompson, Mark Winkler and two-time Emmy Award winning Bruce Vilanch — have written a bouncy (pun intended) and fabulous musical revue that reminds us that clothes alone do not make the man. The show opened Off-Broadway at The Actors’ Playhouse in July 1999. The film version was released in 2008 by TLA Releasing and remains one of their top sellers on DVD.

Ticket prices are $69.50, which includes $1.50 facility fee. Tickets for Naked Boys Singing! are available through Telecharge.com at 212-239-6200 or at the New World Stages Box Office. For Group Sales, call 212-302-4848, ext 18.

The show runs at a lean, hard 70 minutes, without an intermission.

For more information, visit http://www.NakedBoysSinging.com

Theater News
Florence Henderson, Bruce Vilanch Set for An Evening With Friends at Guild Hall
By: Dan Bacalzo · Jul 19, 2010 · Long Island

Stage and screen star Florence Henderson will team up with two-time Emmy Award winner and Oscar writer Bruce Vilanch for An Evening With Friends, at Guild Hall in East Hampton on Saturday, July 24, at 8pm.

In the piece, Henderson takes the audience on a journey through all her lives: daughter, mother, musical theater star, TV star and product spokesperson. Musical numbers includes songs from her stage roles in Fanny, South Pacific, and others and includes a no-holds barred Q&A segment.

In addition to Vilanch writing special material for the show, he previously wrote many of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour TV shows which debuted a few years after the sitcom was cancelled.

For more information, visit www.guildhall.org.

Playbill

Naked Boys Singing! Censorship Lawsuit Settled in Milwaukee
By Thomas Peter

July 15, 2010

A censorship lawsuit that resulted from the premature closing of a Milwaukee production of Naked Boys Singing! has been settled.

The Milwaukee Gay Arts Center received a $20,000 check from the City of Milwaukee July 14 as part of the settlement. The lawsuit had been filed on the Center’s behalf by the ACLU of Wisconsin.

The Center’s production of the Naked Boys revue, an Off-Broadway hit celebrating male nudity and featuring gay content, was closed down by city police in August 2005 after complaints about its content and disputes over whether the theatre’s license had been properly paid. A local ordinance required the theatre to obtain the license that needed to be approved by the Common Council of Milwaukee, who were not meeting until September 2005, after the production was scheduled to close.

The recent settlement found the Center exempt from the license requirements because of its status as a non-profit. The city has now changed its licensing forms to make clear that non-profits are not required to obtain a theatre license, although for-profit theatres must still obtain one. No time limit has been placed on the Common Council’s approval of license applications from for-profit theatres.

Regarding the disputes over the show’s content, Milwaukee Gay Arts Center executive director Paul Masterson said in a statement, “Good theater sometimes challenges convention. The police should not shut down a play because some people find it offensive.”

Regarding the licensing disputes, ACLU of Wisconsin legal director Larry Dupuis stated, “Requiring any theater to get a license before putting on a play comes dangerously close to the kind of ‘prior restraint’ on speech the First Amendment was designed to prohibit. We are pleased that the City has clarified the process so that non-profits will know they are not required to get a license. However, we continue to believe that the City should amend its ordinance to limit the time the City has to issue any theater license. It’s too easy for the authorities to just delay giving the permit to performances they don’t like.”

The Milwaukee production was the fourth production — including previous ones in Provincetown, MA; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Atlanta, GA — of the musical shut down by local police forces.

Naked Boys Singing!‘s original 16-song score includes such numbers as “Fight the Urge,” “The Bliss of a Bris,” “Muscle Addiction,” “Nothing But the Radio On,” “Members Only” and “Window to Window.” The musical comedy revue opened in New York July 22, 1999, after a successful run at the Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles. The show’s contributing writers are Stephen Bates, Marie Cain, Shelly Markham, Jim Morgan, David Pevsner, Rayme Sciaroni, Mark Savage, Ben Schaechter, Robert Schrock, Mark Winkler and Bruce Vilanch. Schrock directed with choreography by Jeffry Denman (The Producers) and musical direction by Stephen Bates, who died in 2003.

The musical revue currently plays in New York at New World Stages at 340 West 50th Street.

San Francisco event Monday night: Young Frankenstein and Wicked cast at Club Fugazi, 7:30 PM
More at Zennie62.com
July12, 2008

San Francisco’s Club Fugazi, which hosts Beach Blanket Babylon, has an exciting event tonight, Monday night only at 7:30 PM featuring Young Frankenstein and Wicked cast members!

It is the Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF) presentation of “Wicked fun with Young Frankenstein.”

REAF’s “One Night Only” benefit cabaret series are always great fun featuring cast members from hit Broadway shows in original cabaret performances in intimate theaters. Each show takes on it’s own character based on the the make up of the touring cast for each show.

The cast of “Wicked” has participated in three of REAF’s “One Night Only” benefit cabarets over the past year and they always put together fun and exciting numbers for these benefits.

Add cast members from the hit show, “Young Frankenstein,” which is opening this week at the Golden Gate Theatre, plus special guest MC, comic Bruce Vilanch, and you’ve got a recipe for a wild and crazy evening of theatre.

Tickets start at $25 and are available by calling the Beach Blanket Babylon Box Office – 78 Green Street, San Francisco, CA 91433 – at 415-421-4222. Click here for more information.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail??blogid=95&entry_id=67635#ixzz0tSYxvODN

Broadway Bares Announces Special Guests
Posted on June 14, 2010 by bbbblogger

BROADWAY BARES XX
“STRIP-OPOLY”
ANNOUNCES SPECIAL GUESTS
OVER 200 OF BROADWAY’S HOTTEST DANCERS TO BE JOINED BY…
CHARLES BUSCH, KEVIN CHAMBERLIN, KRISTIN CHENOWETH,
ALAN CUMMING, DIANA DEGARMO, LEA DELARIA,
KATIE FINNERAN, BARRETT FOA, DEBBIE GRAVITTE,
JULIE HALSTON, JACKIE HOFFMAN, JANE KRAKOWSKI,
REICHEN LEHMKUHL, NORM LEWIS, LUCY LIU,
EUAN MORTON, JULIA MURNEY, CHRISTOPHER SIEBER,
BRUCE VILANCH, LILLIAS WHITE, VANESSA WILLIAMS,
AND MANY MORE
PRODUCED BY BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER JERRY MITCHELL
BENEFITING BC/EFA
PRESENTED BY M·A·C VIVA GLAM
ROSELAND BALLROOM
(239 West 52nd Street)

BROADWAY BARES XX: “STRIP-OPOLY” is pleased to announce a few of the special guest stars who will join over 200 of New York’s sexiest dancers at Broadway’s hottest night in an event produced by and benefitting Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS.BROADWAY BARES will be held Sunday, June 20 with two performances only (9:30 PM & Midnight) at Roseland Ballroom (239 West 52nd Street). BROADWAY BARES XX: “STRIP-OPOLY” is produced by and benefits Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS.

This year’s BARES will feature stars spanning BARES’ 19 previous editions and some new faces to the Roseland stage. Notable names scheduled to appear include: Nick Adams (La Cage Aux Folles), Kevin Burrows (Spamalot on Tour), Charles Busch (The Divine Sister), Kevin Chamberlin (The Addams Family), Tony and Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth (Promises, Promises),Jennifer Cody (Shrek The Musical), Tony Award winner Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”), Diana DeGarmo (Hair), Lea DeLaria(The Rock Horror Show), Felicia Finley (The Wedding Singer), Tony Award winner Katie Finneran (Promises, Promises), Barrett Foa (Avenue Q), Tony Award winner Debbie Gravitte (Jerome Robbins’ Broadway), Julie Halston (The Divine Sister), Jackie Hoffman (The Addams Family), Denis Jones (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Tony Award winner Jane Krakowski (“30 Rock”),Sebastian LaCause (The Rocky Horror Show), reality television star Reichen Lehmkuhl (“The Amazing Race”), Norm Lewis(Sondheim on Sondheim), Lucy Liu (God of Carnage), Julia Murney (Wicked), Christopher Sieber (Shrek The Musical), Rachelle Rak (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Andrew Rannells (Jersey Boys) Bruce Vilanch (Hairspray), Tony Award winner Lillias White(Fela), Vanessa Williams (Sondheim on Sondheim), and more.

This year’s opening number is entitled “The Best Game in Town,” and is written by David Nehls (The Great American Trailer Park Musical). The number will be performed by Euan Morton (Sondheim on Sondheim).

Grab your favorite piece (Dog? Ship? Boot? Thimble?), roll the dice, and get ready to put money into the community chest to helpBROADWAY BARES XX: “STRIP-OPOLY” reach their $1 million fundraising goal to benefit BC/EFA. This year’s BROADWAY BARES will bring a whole new definition to the phrase “game night” when over 200 of Broadway’s sexiest dancers come together for the hottest burlesque show this side of Park Place.

BROADWAY BARES XX: “STRIP-OPOLY” is produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Executive Produced by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell (Love Never Dies, Catch Me If You Can, Legally Blonde), and will be directed by Josh Rhodes (The Drowsy Chaperone, Fosse).

The first Broadway Bares in 1992 featured seven dancers stripping on a bar and raised over $8,000. Since then, the 19 subsequent editions of BROADWAY BARES have collectively raised over $6 million to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and grown to a full-fledged production featuring over 200 of Broadway’s sexiest dancers.
TICKETING INFORMATION FOR BROADWAY BARES XX: “STRIP-OPOLY”:

Tickets can be purchased online at www.BroadwayCares.org or by calling (212) 840-0770 x 268.

9:30 PM SHOW: $650 Benefactor – includes reserved seat at a cocktail table and open bar before the show; $250 VIP – includes non-reserved standing ticket in VIP area closest to stage or VIP Mezzanine with open bar before the show; $100 Priority – includes non-reserved standing ticket in Priority Viewing area close to the stage; $55 General Admission -non-reserved standing ticket.
MIDNIGHT SHOW: $650 Benefactor – includes reserved seat at a cocktail table and open bar before the show; $250 VIP – includes non-reserved standing ticket in VIP mezzanine with open bar before the show; $55 General Admission – non-reserved standing ticket.

BC/EFA is pleased to announce the return of the “VIP BACKSTAGE PASS” PACKAGE ($10,000). You and a guest will be escorted into Roseland for a sneak peek of the dress rehearsal, and meet Jerry Mitchell and a guest celebrity. Enjoy dinner and drinks at a private cocktail party with Jerry and Broadway stars. Come back to Roseland and join the entire company backstage for a short visit before you are escorted to your table in the VIP lounge and stay for both shows. After the Midnight show, you will join the cast as VIP guests at the post-show cast-party. This package is extremely limited in availability.

BROADWAY BARES is the hotly anticipated annual event combining the naughtiness of burlesque and the razzle-dazzle of Broadway and has been a smashing success since its inception in 1992. The event features the hottest male and female dancers on Broadway and has become one of Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS’ signature events. The 2010 edition, BROADWAY BARES XX: “STRIP-OPOLY” will be held at Roseland Ballroom (239 West 52nd Street) on Sunday, June 20 with performances at 9:30 PM and midnight. For tickets, information, and merchandise, visit www.BroadwayBares.com.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised over $175 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

BC/EFA is the major supporter of seven programs at The Actors’ Fund – including The AIDS Initiative, The Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative, The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic, The Dancers’ Resource and three supportive housing residences. BC/EFA also awards annual grants to over 400 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide.
For more information, please visit the BC/EFA website at www.broadwaycares.org.

PLATINUM To Debut at FRINGE NYC, Tix On Sale 7/23
Back to the Article
by BWW News Desk

A new developmental production of Platinum (www.PlatinumTheMusical.com) starring Tony Award nominee Liz Larsen (The Most Happy Fella, A New Brain) and Sarah Litzsinger (Beauty and the Beast, Amour) will be presented by UnsungMusicalsCo. Inc. as part of the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival. With book by Tony Award nominee Will Holt and Emmy Award winner Bruce Vilanch, music by Tony Award nominee Gary William Friedman and lyrics by Mr. Holt, this new version features revisions and direction by Ben West (How Now, Dow Jones).

An electrifying story of ambition and survival, Platinum follows Lila Halliday (Larsen), a dazzling Hollywood legend trying to make a comeback in the explosive music industry of the 1970s. Determined to reignite her career, she turns to rock star Dan Riley and finds herself falling for him as they both fight to stay in the game.

This new one-act version of Platinum will be performed by a cast of five and feature two new songs (“This One’s for Me”, “Moments”), with four other musical numbers and eight characters having been eliminated. The production is choreographed by Rommy Sandhu (How Now, Dow Jones, Mary Poppins) with musical arrangements by Mr. Friedman (“The Electric Company”) and musical direction by Fran Minarik (Sessions, The J.A.P. Show).

Said director Ben West: “Platinum is an extraordinary project on which I began working four years ago. In addition to focusing the story, we have redefined the musical language of the show by eliminating four songs and adding two new numbers, one which was cut prior to and another which was written after the original run. The time has also shifted to 1976, the year in which the Recording Industry began issuing platinum certifications. With its unique concept and its exhilarating original material, I am thrilled to be further developing this project as part of the New York International Fringe Festival and look forward to returning Platinum to the stage.”

Theatre, dates and additional casting for this FringeNYC developmental production will be announced shortly. Tickets are available starting July 23 by visiting www.FringeNYC.org or calling 866-468-7619. For more information, visit: www.PlatinumTheMusical.com. FringeNYC 2010 runs August 13 – 29.

The original Broadway production of Platinum opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on November 12, 1978 starring Alexis Smith under the direction of Joe Layton. The production played 33 performances and received two Tony Award nominations for Smith and co-star Richard Cox. It has not been seen since. An earlier version titled Sunset was directed and choreographed by Tommy Tune at the Studio Arena Theatre in 1977. The authors, Holt and Friedman, revisited their original Sunset in 1983 at the Village Gate. The cabaret production starred Tammy Grimes.

LIZ LARSEN Broadway: Hairspray, The Rocky Horror Show, The Smell of the Kill, The Most Happy Fella (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle noms; LA Drama Logue Award), Damn Yankees, A Little Night Music, Starmites, Fiddler on the Roof, Blues in the Night, Annie. Other NY: Such Good Friends (NYMF – Outstanding Performance Award), A New Brain, Bingo, Him and Her (FringeNYC Excellence Award), Newyorkers, Loman Family Picnic, Personals, Little By Little. Regional: Sunday in the Park with George (Helen Hayes Award), Baby (Helen Hayes nomination), Falsettos, Guys and Dolls, The Value of Names. TV: “My Guys” (series regular), “Law & Order“, “Law & Order: SVU“, “Third Watch”.

SARAH LITZSINGER is Broadway’s longest running Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Other Broadway credits include Marilyn: An American Fable, Oliver!, Les Miserables and Amour. Sarah also played Eva Peron in the 25th anniversary tour of Evita and starred as the Narrator opposite Donny Osmond in Joseph…. Some of her other favorite roles are: Cathy in The Last 5 Years, Susan in Tick, Tick…Boom! and Cordelia in Falsettos (George Street Playhouse). Sarah is also the recipient of the 2007 Breakout Award at the HBO Aspen comedy Festival (for her comedy act she wrote and starred in with partner, Kate Reinders). She also performed this act at the TBS Comedy Festival at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in 2008.

WILL HOLT Broadway: Come Summer (Agnes de Mille, Ray Bolger), The Me Nobody Knows (Gary William Friedman; Tony nomination, Drama Desk and Obie Awards), Over Here! (The Andrews Sisters; Tony nomination, Best Musical), Me and Bessie (Linda Hopkins), Music Is (George Abbott), Platinum (Alexis Smith). Off-Broadway: Taking My Turn (Outer Critics’ Circle Award; PBS Great Performances Series), Signs Along the Cynic Route, That Five A.M. Jazz, A Kurt Weill Cabaret. Other work: A Walk on the Wild Side (L.A. Dramalogue Award), Jack (Goodspeed Theater). Mr. Holt is a member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild.

BRUCE VILANCH has written for the Oscars, the Emmys, the Tonys and the Grammys, winning six Emmy Awards in the process. He has starred on Broadway in Hairspray and has graced the cover of his book, Bruce! My Adventures in the Skin Trade and Other Essays, and his documentary, Get Bruce! He is also appeared on “Hollywood Squares” for four seasons and in his one-man show as well as “It Nearly Wasn’t Christmas”, “The Morning After”, “Bosom Buddies”, “The Ice Pirates” and “Call Me Claus”. He devotes endless hours working with such charitable organizations as the Anti-Defamation League, National Foundation for Jewish Culture and numerous AIDS organizations.

GARY WILLIAM FRIEDMAN is the composer of the Tony nominated, Obie Award winning musical The Me Nobody Knows. Other musical theater credits include the Outer Critics’ Circle Award winning musical Taking My Turn (presented on PBS Television’s Great Performances Series). Friedman’s symphonic works have been commissioned and performed by orchestras and festivals nationwide. Colloquy, a debut CD of his classical works, was released last fall. Friedman’s music also spans the genres of film scoring and television, where he served as Music Director for T.V.’s “The Electric Company”, writing many songs including the popular “Spider Man Theme Song”. He has written the arrangements for, and co-produced several critically-acclaimed jazz recordings by vocalist Stevie Holland.

BEN WEST NY Int’l Fringe Festival: How Now, Dow Jones, Minetta Lane Theatre (FringeNYC Excellence Award). Readings: Trav’lin, York Theatre Company. Other NY: Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter, Triad Theatre. Broadway: Old Acquaintance, assistant director and dramaturg; August: Osage County and The Homecoming, assistant producer. Assistant directing credits include the Ravinia Festival production of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone, Gunmetal Blues starring Alison Fraser and the premieres of David Grimm’s Chick: The Great Osram, Neil Sedaka’s Breaking Up is Hard to Do and Mary Pat Gleason’s Stopping Traffic. He is the artistic director of UnsungMusicalsCo. Inc.

ROMMY SANDHU has been choreographing and performing across the country for over 15 years. Recent choreography: How Now, Dow Jones (FringeNYC), Encores! Applause (Assoc. to K. Marshall), …Tom Sawyer (Assoc. to D. Marquez), The Ark (Assoc. to R. Roderick), Breaking Up is Hard to Do (Assoc. to L. Shriver), Ragtime, The Pajama Game, NYC 2012 (Asst. to K. Marshall), Fascinatin’ Rhythm (Assoc. to D. Marquez), Maury Yeston’s Hans Christian Anderson (Assoc. to G. Thacher); pre-Broadway workshops: Thoroughly Modern Millie and The Billy Joel Songbook Musical. Performing: Dance Captain for S. Stroman, K. Marshall and M. Bourne appearing on Broadway in Mary Poppins, Bombay Dreams, Oklahoma!, among others.

FRAN MINARIK has appeared on-stage accompanying Jackie Hoffman in The J.A.P. Show. His music has recently been heard in the documentaries The Making of “The Boys in the Band” and When Ocean Meets Sky and in the short film The Rub. His recent Musical Direction/Conducting credits include the Broadway production of In My Life (Associate Conductor), How Now, Dow Jones, Sessions, My Way and Smokey Joe’s Cafe at the Lyric Theatre and 1776 at Ford’s Theatre. He orchestrated the opening for Broadway Bares XII: A Comic Strip and appeared with Susan Lucci on “All My Children”.

UNSUNGMUSICALSCO. INC. (Ben West, Artistic Director) is a not-for-profit production company dedicated to the preservation of musical theatre through the presentation of infrequently performed works. Focusing primarily on overlooked projects from the Golden Age, both hits and substantive misses, UMC treats each property as a new musical thereby providing a unique collaboration between the artists of today and those of the past. Current projects include new productions of Platinum, Lend an Ear and the critically acclaimed How Now, Dow Jones, the new version of which is available for licensing through Samuel French, Inc.

Playbill
FringeNYC 2010 Season Will Feature Nearly 200 Theatre Companies
By Thomas Peter
June 5, 2010

The 14th Annual New York International Fringe Festival has announced its 2010 season lineup, which will feature 197 international theatre companies in Lower Manhattan and nationally.

Many famous personalities will be skewered in several of the Festival plays. MacChin: The Lamentable Tragedy of Jay Leno, written and directed by Zachary Stewart, will cast the benighted late-night television host in a spin on Shakespeare’s infamous “Scottish play.” Eric Zambrano’s fantasy piece Marilyn Monroe: Wouldn’t It Be Tomorrow has the movie goddess and one-time husband Joe DiMaggio pursuing imagined lovers.

Just in Time: The Judy Holliday Story, written and directed by Bob Sloan, will feature “appearances” by Orson Welles, Katharine Hepburn, Gloria Swanson, and other theatre and film stars in the life of Holliday, the comic singing actress of Bells Are Ringing, Born Yesterday, and many films. Writer Patricia Loughrey and composer Thomas Hodges examine the late gay politician and activist Harvey Milk in Dear Harvey.

The widely diverse array of artistic offerings will include shows inspired by the Muslim experience, Shakespeare and LGBT issues, as well as plenty of musicals and other unique performance pieces. The festival will run August 13-29.

Emma Barash, Marshall Pailet, Bryce Norbitz and Steve Wargo will offer Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical, a re-envisioning of the popular film from the dinosaurs’ perspectives, directed by Pailet. Platinum, a revival of the 1978 Bruce Vilanch-William Holt-Gary William Friedman musical about a former screen star who makes a comeback with a rock band, will also appear in the festival, directed by Ben West and choreographed by Rommy Sandhu.

Divya Palat’s A Personal War: Stories of the Mumbai Terror Attacks (which Palat will also direct) will theatricalize the stories of survivors from the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, India. Norwiegan-Muslim comedienne Shabana Rehman will talk about her immigration experiences in For Kingdom and Fatherland.

Matt Salderelli’s Getting Even with Shakespeare, directed by Laura Konsin, will pit five of Shakespeare’s great tragic heroes against each other in a bar. Julius Caesar: The Death of a Dictator, from the Gangbusters Theatre Company, will reimagine Orson Welles’ staging of Shakespeare’s political drama with Metallica music.

Singapore’s transsexual activist Leona Lo will tell her story in Ah Kua Show, directed by Richard Chua. Steven Fales (Confessions of a Mormon Boy) will discuss the gay Mormon experience again in Missionary Position, based on his work as a missionary in Portugal. Historic homophobic incidents will be explored in Stan Richardson’s Veritas (directed by Ryan J. Davis), about the Harvard “Secret Court” anti-gay witch hunt; and The Twentieth-Century Way (written by Tom Jacobson and directed by Michael Michetti).

For the complete list of productions, more information on them and to order tickets (beginning July 23), visit fringenyc.org. Tickets may also be ordered at (866) 468-7619.

Photo: Ryan Miller

Writer Bruce Vilanch poses during the arrivals for the opening night performance of “South Pacific” at the Center Theatre Group‘s Ahmanson Theatre on June 2, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. Premiere Of “South Pacific” At The Ahmanson Theatre

Los Angeles Times
A ‘South Pacific’ reunion at the Ahmanson
June 3, 2010 | 4:20 pm

The opening night of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” at the Ahmanson Theatre proved to be an enchanted evening for old-school musical buffs and teen and twentysomething “Glee” fans alike.

Wednesday’s celebrity guests included stars of the 1958 movie — Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr and France Nuyen — as well as Shirley Jones and other members of the original Broadway production, which opened in 1949.

Outside the Ahmanson, an eclectic assortment of names passed before the cameras including Adrian Grenier, Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter, Eva Marie Saint, Jane Kaczmarek, Eric Idle and Bruce Vilanch.

The most-anticipated arrival, however, was “Glee” heartthrob Matthew Morrison — Will Schuester, who leads the William McKinley High School show choir. Morrison originated the role of Lt. Joe Cable in the 2008 Lincoln Center Theater revival of “South Pacific,” which launched the current national tour.

Gleeks waving cellphone cameras rushed forward as soon as he appeared. Sporting a big grin and one of the orchid leis given to each VIP, Morrison signed autographs even as he was hustled inside when the overture began.

Culture Monster caught up with Gaynor, resplendent in blue sequins, at intermission. “This night is so emotional for me,” the film’s Nellie Forbush said, dabbing away tears. “The whole idea of having been a part of this is so beautiful.”

Backstage, Gaynor joined the current show’s director, Bartlett Sher, and stars including Carmen Cusack (Nellie), Rod Gilfry (Emile) and Anderson Davis (Joe Cable) as well as cast members and friends from 60 years of “South Pacific.”.