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This weekend’s highlights:
Friday, March 4
* Little Miss Sunshine opens at La Jolla Playhouse.
* Prometheus Bound, starring Gavin Creel and Lea DeLaria, opens at Cambridge’s A.R.T.
* reasons to be pretty opens at Boston’s Speakeasy Stage.
* The Legend of Buster Neal opens at Brooklyn's Billie Holiday Theatre.
* Starry Hello, Again begins performances at the Transport Group.
* Flare Path, starring Sienna Miller, begins previews at London's Theatre Royal, Haymarket.
* Hello Out There reading, starring Andrew Keenan Bolger and Ann Harada, at 2 PM at Playwrights Horizons. Industry only: HelloReadingMarch@gmail.com
* PaleyFest2011 begins at Beverly Hills Saban Theatre.
Saturday, March 5
* Treasure Island, starring Tom Hewitt, opens at Brooklyn's Irondale Center.
* God of Carnage begins previews at the Goodman Theatre.
* Ordinary Days closes at West End's Trafalgar 2 Studios.
Sunday, March 6
* That Championship Season opens on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
* Broadway Bares XIV at 6 PM at BB Kings.
* The 25th anniversary concert of Les Miz airs at 7 PM on PBS (check local listings).
* 33 Variations, starring Jane Fonda, closes at the Ahmanson.
* Avenue Q closes at the Pantages.
* Jane Austen's Emma, a romantic musical comedy, closes at The Old Globe.
* A Perfect Future closes at the Cherry Lane Theatre.
* Amadeus closes at Walnut Street Theatre.
* Carapace, directed by Judth Ivey, closes at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre.
* Mary closes at the Goodman.
* Moonlight and Magnolias closes at Burbank's Colony Theatre.
* She Loves Me closes at Civic Light Opera South Bay Cities.
* Cymbeline closes at DC's Shakespeare Theatre.
* Master Harold and the Boys closes at Ventura's Rubicon Theatre.
* Mlle. God closes at Ensemble Studio Theatre LA.
* My Scandalous Life closes at Irish Rep.
* The Catholic Girl's Guide to Losing Your Virginity closes at Burbank’s Falcon Theatre.
* The Subject Was Roses closes at George St. Playhouse.
* Thinner Than Water closes at the LABrynth Theatre.
* Three Sisters closes at Classic Stage.
* Break of Noon closes at the Geffen.
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The Old Globe has announced the presentation of a developmental workshop of Allegiance – A New American Musical. Created by Jay Kuo (music, lyrics and book) and Lorenzo Thione (book), the original musical tells the story of a Japanese American family forced into an internment camp during World War II.
Directed by Stafford Arima (Altar Boyz, West End premiere of Ragtime) with musical direction and arrangements by Lynne Shankel (Cry-Baby, Company) and choreography by Christopher Gattelli (South Pacific, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), the industry-only workshop will take place in New York City on July 27 and 28. allegiancemusical.com/
Lea Salonga, George Takei and Telly Leung are expected to recreate their roles.
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Adam Rapp’s The Hallway Trilogy has extended at Rattlestick Theater, now through March 27.
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Angela Lansbury and Friends, an all-star salute to Terrence McNally that will benefit The Acting Company, will be presented March 28 at the Longacre Theatre at 7 PM. The evening will be written and directed by John Doyle. Mary-Mitchell Campell serves as musical director.
Audra McDonald, Alan Cumming, Tyne Daly, Edie Falco, Roger Rees and Raul Esparza will sing, share memories and re-create scenes from dozens of McNally hits. John Glover, Marin Mazzie, Joyce DiDonato, Malcolm Gets, Emily Skinner, Alexandra Silber, Bobby Steggert, Jason Danieley and Stephen Bogardus will round out the evening.
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On March 16, Manhattan's Apollo Theater will host the first-ever Amateur Night: Broadway!
The Lion King Tony nominee Tsidii Le Loka and The Color Purple's Chaz Shepherd will co-host the amateur singing competition, which will begin at 7:30 PM. Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk's Jason Samuels Smith will be the evening's special guest performer.
"Aspiring singers, dancers and actors will hit the legendary Apollo stage attempting to impress the notoriously tough Amateur Night audience with their version of Broadway classics," according to press notes.
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Video: Kristin Chenoweth, Chita Rivera, Max von Essen, Barrett Foa guest star on Episode 4 of "Submissions Only": http://bit.ly/g2cu94
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Kevin Spacey will star in and executive produce the drama pilot "House of Cards.” The pilot is based on the novel and British miniseries of the same name, which depict political intrigue on Wall Street. No network is attached to the pilot, which will be executive-produced by Spacey, Eric Roth, Josh Donen and Dana Brunetti.
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Twyla Tharp will be presented with the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's Spotlight Award June 2. The Movin' Out and Come Fly Away creator will also conceive a new piece for the company's 2011-2012 season.
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The world premiere of Charles Smith's The Gospel According to James will star Broadway's André De Shields in the title role at Indiana Rep, March 22-April 10. Chuck Smith will direct the production.
The cast will also feature Kelsey Brennan (Mary), Keith Gallagher (Claude), Marcus Hendricks (Tommy), Linda Kimbrough (Marie), Diane Kondrat (Bea), Christopher Jon Martin (Hoot), Anthony Peeples (Apples) and Tyler Jacob Rollinson (Abe).
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Video: Highlights from The Cripple of Inishman, coming to the Ahmanson April 5 : http://bit.ly/eUbsWA
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Jason Alexander and Gina Hecht will star in the El Portal’s production of The Prisoner of Second Avenue April 21-May 15 (opening night is set for April 23). Directed by Glenn Casale.
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Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas will climb into his family tree for the staged concert The Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater, with the New York Philharmonic April 5-6 at 7 PM at Avery Fisher Hall. Broadway's Judy Blazer and Shuler Hensley will appear as stage stars Bessie and Boris Thomashefsky, Tilson Thomas' grandparents.
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Lesser America, a new theatre company formed by Daniel Abeles, Jonathan Blitstein, Nate Miller and Laura Ramadei, has been granted a residency by Theater For the New City. The residency, the first of its kind at the theatre, will afford the burgeoning company three full-scale productions in its inaugural year.
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Video: Highlights from A.R.T’s Prometheus Bound, starring Gavin Creel: http://bit.ly/eDP2RA
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The U.S. premiere of Scottish playwright Douglas Maxwell’s The Promise, about a troubled retired teacher who finds a connection with an unlikely pupil, will be staged at 59E59 Theaters, starring Joanna Tope. The comedic thriller toured to acclaim and will make its American debut March 29 for a limited run through April 17 under the direction of Johnny McKnight. An official opening has been set for April 3.
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Lonette McKee, who portrayed Julie in both the 1983 and 1994 Broadway revivals of Show Boat, will go it solo at the Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room April 5-30, directed by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Show times will be Tuesday-Thursday at 8:30 PM and Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30 PM and 11 PM. (212) 419-9331
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Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn will be among the participants Good Housekeeping's Shine On benefit, to be presented at Radio City Music Hall, on Tuesday, April 12. Rebecca Romijn will host.
This original 90-minute show will benefit the National Women's History Museum in Washington, D.C., which is dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the diverse historic contributions of women.
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Rock of Ages will begin previews at the West End's Shaftesbury Theatre on Aug. 31. An opening date as well as casting for the production will be announced in the near future.
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Video: Nick Adam’s Priscilla blog: http://bit.ly/h3bHPi
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Robert Newman will sleuth out some show tunes in the Theatre Under the Stars production of the Kander and Ebb musical Curtains in Houston this spring.
Known for his role on "Guiding Light," Newman will star as Lieutenant Frank Cioffi opposite fellow "Guiding Light" veteran and Emmy winner Kim Zimmer as producer Carmen Bernstein. Mark S. Hoebee will direct the valentine to Broadway that will run March 29-April 10 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.
The cast will also include Ed Dixon, Amanda Rose, Kevin Kern, Helen Anker, David Elder and Broadway Daniel Marcus, along with Aaron Galligan-Stierle, Rye Mullis, Anne Horak, Monique Alhaddad, Ashley Arcemont, Joshua James Campbell, Lauren DeCierdo, Mathew DeGuzman, Taurean Everett, Becca Kloha, Mary Ann Lamb, Ian Liberto, Patrick O’Neill, Happy McPartlin, Alex Michael Stoll, Molly Tynes, Kyle Vaughn and Dana Winkle.
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Unsubstantiated: Daniel Radcliffe is in talks for a How to Succeed film. The Daily Mail says "He mentioned in passing that there has been talk between him and producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron about doing a big-screen version of How To Succeed."
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Also unsubstantiated: Might Kelsey Grammer return to La Cage, replacing Christopher Sieber, before Seiber opens?
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Video: Hannah Waddington sings "Red Shoes Blues," a new song from The Wizard of Oz: http://bit.ly/fAV3Td
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Stephen Sondheim will be the recipient of the Olivier Special Award at this year's Laurence Olivier Awards ceremony, to be held March 13 at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The ceremony, to be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 with additional live on-demand coverage on BBC TV, will include a tribute to the composer with a cast that includes Adrian Lester, who played Bobby in the last West End revival of Company that transferred to the Albery Theatre (now the Coward) from the Donmar Warehouse. More information here.
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The Ladies of D.I.V.A., Incorporated, The Society for Women in the Arts present a staged reading of Katori Hall's Saturday Night/Sunday Morning March 4 at 7:30 PM at the Riverside Church in Washington, DC. (212) 569-4618
"Set in a Memphis beauty shop/boarding house during the final days of WWII," Saturday Night/Sunday Morning, according to press notes, "tells the story of a group of African-American women struggling with the heartbreak of losing their men to the war and with the uncertainty of what the future may hold when, and if, their soldiers return."
A fundraiser for The Howard University Department of Theatre Arts, the reading is directed by Lynda Gravatt. The cast features Gravatt (Miss Mary), Harriett D. Foy (Dot), Gavin Lawrence (Buzz), Araba Brown (Gladys), Candace Hale (Taffy), Jabari A.K. Holder (Bobby), Lydia John (Mabel), Jamil Jude (Radio Announcer/Stage Directions), Chantal Nchako (Leanne), Carla Faye Pardo (Jackie) and Zurin Villanueva (Curlin' Curlin').
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A private reading of the new play Mother Justice by Michael Dice, Jr. will be presented March 4 at the Shepard Studio in Hollywood. Directed by Brian Nitzkin, the cast includes Melinda Augustina, Donnie Smith, Enrico Natale, Peter DeLuca, Max Bogner, Jonathan Salisbury, Mike Disch, Alan Aymie, Evan Cuthbert, Tania Verafield, Leslie Connelly, and Damian Pelliccione.
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