The David Desk Awards

By: David Sheward

June 7, 2020: Today normally would have been one of the best days of the year, Tony Award Day! But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway theaters have been shut down since March 12 and are not likely to reopen until January 2021 at the earliest. In a May 25 interview with Tim Teeman of the Daily Beast, Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin was cautiously optimistic about the Main Stem lights being relit. But she stressed social distancing and playing to half-empty housing would not fit with the Broadway economic model which requires packing in as many bodies as possible for maximum profit. A few shows such as Plaza Suite, MJ: The Michael Jackson Musical and 1776 have announced opening dates for the spring of 2021, but those may be aspirational like Trump saying he wanted packed churches on Easter.

Drama Desk

Announcement

April 8, 2020: New York theater is caught in a moment of exceptional uncertainty. In the face of this, the mission of the Drama Desk Awards – recognizing the thousands of artists and craftspeople who make up our community – has never been more urgent. Our organization is committed to honoring the outstanding work of this season as best we can, with safety the highest priority. The Drama Desk Awards nominating committee will regard Wednesday, March 11, 2020, as the conclusion of the 2019-20 theater season, and move forward with determination of award nominees. The nominations will be announced on April 21.

Jamie deRoy & friends

Jamie deRoy

Jamie deRoy & friends returns to Birdland benefitting The Actors Fund: Jamie deRoy & friends Cabaret Intitiative

February 17, 2020: Photos: Maryann Lopinto
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L.O.V.E.R. ***1/2

Lois Robbins

By: Isa Goldberg

October 2, 2019: What woman doesn’t dream of having her own washing machine? Usually, however, it isn’t a momentous issue – at least not in the way Lois Robbins’ claims it to be in her solo show, L.O.V.E.R.

Chita Rivera Awards 2019

Chita Rivera and The Radio City Rockettes

Hadestown, Alice By Heart, & King Kong are Winners at Chita Rivera Awards, Honoring Choreography

May 20, 2019: Last night, Tony Award winners, Ann Reinking and Ben Vereen, co-hosted the third annual Chita Rivera Awards, honoring dance and choreography. Broadway’s Hadestown and the Off-Broadway production of Alice by Heart, took home the outstanding choreography awards in Theater.

Gay Pride & The 21st Century

Suzanne Poli’s Iconic Photographs 1969-2019
Only One Woman in the World Has Documented 50 Years of the LGBT Civil Rights movement … and it all started from her window on Christopher Street

May 12, 2019: Norwood is honored to present member Suzanne Poli’s iconic photographs as a special Pride exhibit as we celebrate 50 years of Stonewall, Gay Pride and this remarkable body of work from 1969-2019. Please join us for the grand opening reception.

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia Predicts Breathtaking Color, Characters, Acrobats, and Lots of Rain – All Under the Big Top

By: Ellis Nassour

May 8, 2019: Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia: A Walking Dream of Mexico, under the white and gold big top adjacent to Citi Field in Queens through at least June 9, is the company’s 38^th original production since 1984, and its 17^th show presented under the tent. Luzia is a bold, lively, and stunningly visual escape to an imaginary Mexico – a surrealistic journey through a world suspended between dreams and reality. Luz is Spanish for light.

White Noise ****

Thomas Sadoski, Daveed Diggs, Zoë Winters, Sheria Irving

World premiere of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks provocative White Noise directed by Oskar Eustis.

By: Patrick Christiano

April 25, 2019: The prolific Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (“Topdog/Underdog,” “In The Blood”) demands to be heard in her return to The Public with the world premiere of her compelling tale, White Noise, about race and friendship. Oskar Eustis’s crisp, realistic staging with four excellent actors gives the play a naturalism and urgency that allows you to, almost, suspend disbelief when the playwright puts forth a bizarre premise.

Easter Bonnet Competition

Broadway Care/Equity Fights AIDS’ 33rd Annual Easter Bonnet Competition Monday and Tuesday at the Minskoff Theatre

By: Ellis Nassour

April 23, 2019: The Red Bucket Brigade (#redbuckets) has completed their Spring end-of-theater mission. Volunteers across 22 Broadway and Off Broadway shows and also touring companies, their casts, and crews have lobbied tirelessly for the last six weeks to benefit the multitude of programs Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS supports. Their efforts culminate and will be honored at the 33rd Annual Easter Bonnet Competition(#BroadwayBonnets)at the Minskoff Theatre, home of Disney’s The Lion King.There are two performances: Monday at 4:30 P.M., Tuesday at 2 P.M.

Maestro **1/2

John Noble

By: David Sheward

February 7, 2019: The life of Arturo Toscanini, perhaps the greatest conductor of the 20th century, would make a fascinating drama. In addition to collaborating with all the top names of the music world in his decades-long career, he bravely took a stance against fascism in his native Italy and in Nazi Germany, leaving Europe in the late 1930s to lead the NBC Orchestra and bring the classics into millions of American homes over the radiowaves. Plus a recent discovery of a cache of letters offers a glimpse into his intimate life, particularly a long-term affair with the pianist Ada Colleone Mainardi. Unfortunately, Maestro, a strange combination of solo show and concert presented by Ensemble for the Romantic Century, is not that work.

Drama Desk News

64^th Annual DD Awards Show will be presented by Broadway Brands

January 28, 2019: Broadway Brands, publisher of Broadway News and Broadway Briefing, and the Drama Desk jointly announced today that Broadway Brands will present the Drama Desk Awards (www.DramaDeskAwards.com) beginning with the upcoming 2019 ceremony. The 64th annual event will take place on June 2, 2019 at 8:00p.m. at The Town Hall. The cut-off for nominations will be April 24, 2019, and nominations will be announced April 25, 2019.

2018 Hamptons International Film Festival Winners

Congratulations to the 2018 Hamptons International Film Festival.
And The Winners Are:

Ille Arts @ Elizabeth Dow Home

Photograh by Robin Rice in Paris 1997 “Cafe de Flore”

Sara De Luca curates a two-photographer exhibition.

August 26, 2018: On Saturday August 25th Elizabeth Dow Home, 14 Gingerbread Lane, in East Hampton hosted the opening reception for a two-photographer exhibition featuring works by Robin Rice and John Smith, curated by Sara De Luca, Director of Ille Arts Gallery.

The Originalist ****

Edward Gero, Tracy Ifeachor

MONSTER ON THE BENCH: THE ORIGINALIST

By: Samuel L. Leiter

July 19, 2018: Who would have thought a play about an ultra-conservative Supreme Court justice, especially one as reviled by liberals as the late Antonin Scalia (1936-2016), could rivet a New York audience for an intermissionless hour and 50 minutes and even snare the self-righteous Solon some sympathy? But, despite its flaws, that’s what John Strand’s The Originalist actually does, no small share of the credit going to Edward Gero for a performance that captures Scalia’s bulky appearance and oversize personality with startling authenticity.

Frost/Nixon @ Bay Street

Harris Yulin stars in Frost/Nixon, a smart revival of Peter Morgan’s powerful face-off between Richard Nixon and TV personality, David Frost.

July 2, 2018: The standing ovation at the opening night performance of Peter Morgan’s powerful face-off between former President Richard M. Nixon and TV personality, David Frost at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor was a strong sign of approval for the smart revival. Harris Yulin stars as the former president in the entertaining play directed by Sarna Lapine.