Baltimore21201.Com - The Blog

Very Special Video: "You Can't Take it With You" - from Baltimore's Everyman Theatre

Fireworks, police raids, and a xylophone are just the tip of the iceberg in this zany Kaufman and Hart comedy classic. It's a comedy that's often listed in the madcap category because it is, it really is. If there was a magnificent category it would be listed there, also.

Meet the Sycamore family, politically independent with healthy distrust of government. They open their New York City home to all sorts of free spirits. When their daughter Alice, decides to invite her conservative boyfriend’s family to dinner, they promise to be on their best behavior. However…!

 

This extraordinary production stars an all-star Everyman cast. This production ends June 17th and it you only see one show at Everyman this season, please make it this one. I've posted a few highlights from some of the reviews of this production below. I'll add mine here.

"BRANDHAGEN PLAYS XYLOPHONE!
SMOKE, SETS, LOVE, AND LAUGHTER!
The best ticket in town; the finest set you've ever seen."
-Stephen Brockelman, Baltimore 21201

The Cast:         

Megan Anderson* — Essie
Clinton Brandhagen* — Ed
Chinai Hardy — Rheba
Deborah Hazlett* — Mrs. Kirby
Brianna Letourneau —  Alice Sycamore
Wil Love* — Mr. De Pinna
Bruce Randolph Nelson* — Kohlenkov
Caitlin O'Connell — Penny Sycamore
Jon Odom — Donald
Barbara Pinolini — Gay Wellington
Steve Sawicki —  Henderson
Kimberly Schraf — Olga
Matthew Schleigh — Tony Kirby
Carl Schurr* — Mr. Kirby
Stan Weiman* — Martin Vanderhof
Tom Weyburn — Paul Sycamore
and
Michael Leicht
Evan Moritz
Kyle Jackson  — Three Men
*Everyman company member

“COMIC DYNAMITE!
DELICIOUSLY RADICAL!”
-Tim Smith, The Baltimore Sun

“FIVE STARS!
NOT TO BE MISSSED!”
-DC Metro Theater Arts

“TERRIFIC!
HILARIOUS!
I definitely recommend. You’ll laugh throughout.”
-Eddie Applefeld, WCBM 680 AM

“UPLIFTING! DELIGHTFUL! LIVELY!
‘You Can’t Take it With You’ has Everyman favorites in roles that they seem born to play!”
-Mike Giuliano, Patuxent Papers

“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!”
-DC Theatre Scene

“Leaves you hankering for a place at the family's dining room table!"
-Judy Rousuck, WYPR Maryland Morning

“Thoroughly enjoyable...a really fun evening at the theater. Buy tickets now because it's likely to sell out very quickly!"
-MD Theatre Guide

Tickets. Get your tickets here.

See It in Baltimore - Beautiful Women Dancing with Giant Bananas, and More

You see a lot of wonderful things on Charles Street. But, this is going to be really special. (Read on, you'll thank me, later.)

The Gang's All Here, 1943

This 20th Century-Fox, Technicolor extravaganza features Carmen Miranda, Alice Faye, and James Ellison in a story about a singer and a soldier. The Gang's All Here is a film that one reviewer noted was, "like a male hairdresser's acid trip."

I've seen this Busby Berkeley choreographed movie twice and it's actually a fun, tuneful, and totally garish trip. You'll enjoy it—if not love it—and, you'll never forget it. Did I mention that Benny Goodman and his Orchestra are on stage to provide some extraordinary big band scenes and serious music? 

The Gang's All Here, 1943

Details? I know you want details. Here you go:

BUSBY BERKELEY’S

THE GANG’S ALL HERE

FEATURING CARMEN MIRANDA in a RESTORED 35MM PRINT

Berkeley’s own special brand of kaleidoscopic fantasy, turned into psychedelic surrealism by the electric red and greens of 20th Century-Fox’s color processing. Those who consider Berkeley a master consider this his masterpiece. It is his maddest film: chorus girls dissolve into artichokes; there’s a banana xylophone; and Carmen Miranda appears in platform wedgies on an avenue of giant strawberries.
    -Pauline Kael

SHOW TIMES
SATURDAY, MAY 26 11:30 AM
MONDAY, MAY 28 7 PM
THURSDAY, MAY 31 9 PM.

1943 Dir. Busby Berkeley. Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Edward Everett Horton, Phil Baker, Benny Goodman. Technicolor. Newly restored print! 103 min.

INFINITELY DELIGHTFUL, EFFORTLESSLY INVENTIVE! IT IS SOMETHING TO BEHOLD!
    – Dave Kehr, The New York Times

UTTERLY DERANGED!
A kaleidoscope of garish costumes, eye-popping color, psychedelic musical numbers, and some I-can't-believe-the-censors-let-them-get-away-with-that choreography.
    – New York magazine

Time and again, you can’t believe what you’re witnessing: Berkeley’s camera swoops and soars at seemingly impossible trajectories through crowds of extras; Miranda models an expansive fruit headdress... But nothing can prepare you for the literally kaleidoscopic finale, which includes a gaggle of synchronized showgirls and contains eye-searing imagery that anticipates everything from The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T to Tron.
    – Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York

TICKETS
MATINEES $7.50
EVENINGS $9.50
SR. CIT. $8.50

The Gang's All Here, 1943

Here's my personal suggestion: Before you see this brilliant piece of joyous cinematography, have a cocktail or two. Leave all of your preconceived notions of major studio motion pictures at home and have a great time. Revel in the color, the movement, the music, the rhythm, and a little love story. Enjoy.

[A final piece of film trivia. This movie could not be shown in Carmen Miranda's home country of Portugal because of the suggestive nature of the banana dance, Alice Faye was pregnant during much of the filming and the U.S. censors mandated that the dancers must hold the end of the bananas at waist-level, not hip level.]

Check The Charles Theatre's venue for tickets.

An Artist and Three Books Worth Noting

I first wrote about artist, Carol Marine in October of 2011. Read the post and enjoy her books.

 

100 SMALL PAINTINGS - by Carol Marine

100 SMALL PAINTINGS v3 - by Carol Marine

100 SMALL PAINTINGS v2 - by Carol Marine

You may order Carol Marine's books here. They are beautiful, engaging, and wonderful reference pieces for those interested in space, design, and composition.

Enjoy.

Chaplin's 'A Woman of Paris' at the Charles

CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S
A WOMAN OF PARIS
REVIVAL SERIES

Directed by Charlie Chaplin, A Woman of Paris contains no slapstick comedy and Chaplin appears only briefly in a cameo. Noteworthy for the sophistication of its narrative, it was enthusiastically received by critics upon its release. Edna Purviance stars as a village girl who becomes the mistress of a rich and philandering Adolphe Menjou in a provocative precursor to Lubitsch.

SHOW TIMES
SATURDAY, MAY 12 11:30 AM;
MONDAY, MAY 14 7 PM;
THURSDAY, MAY 17 9 PM.

(1923 Charlie Chaplin) 35mm. 82 min. bw.

“The first elegantly stylish comedy of manners in the American cinema, reflecting Jazz Age interest in the rich and decadent...became a powerful influence on Ernst Lubitsch.”
—John Wakeman

”I was absolutely knocked by it....Suddenly, here was a grown-up film, with people behaving as they do in life, and scenes treated with an enormous sophistication.”
—Michael Powell

“A landmark in sophisticated sexual screen drama.”
—Elliot Stein

CHARLES THEATRE
1711 N. CHARLES STREET
BALTIMORE 20101

This Week from the Peabody: Strings, Percussion, Brass, and More! Much More.

On Wednesday, May 2, at 1:00 pm, C Street Brass, a quintet founded by Conservatory students, will perform baroque, tango, and jazz crossover works at a free concert presented by WBJC in the Fine Arts Theater at Baltimore City Community College, 2901 Liberty Heights Avenue.

Faculty artist Joe Burgstaller, trumpet, will present Change Your Mind, Change Your Playing, a performance master class for all instruments, on Thursday, May 3, at 7:00 pm in Room LH414 (Leakin Hall). The class will include mock juries and other jury prep.

Courtney Orlando, violin and voice, who teaches ear training at the Conservatory, will give benefit performances for Mount Vernon Music Space, 1015 North Charles Street, on Friday, May 4, at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 6, at 3:30 pm. On the program are works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Astor Piazzolla, Caleb Burhans, and Michael Rickelton (MM ’10, Composition). Percussionist Terry Sweeny, a junior, will also perform. For more information, visit mountvernonmusicspace.com.

Soprano Jennifer Holbrook (MM ’09, Voice; GPD ’11, Opera), tenor and countertenor Peter Lee (BM ’06, MM ’08, Voice), and baritone Kevin Wetzel (MM ’06, GPD ’08, Voice) will perform with the Peabody Concert Orchestra, Concert Artists of Baltimore Orchestra and Symphonic Chorale, Peabody-Hopkins Chorus, Peabody Singers, and Peabody Children's Chorus at the Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric, 140 West Mount Royal Avenue, on Saturday, May 5, at 8:00 pm. Edward Polochick, artistic director of Concert Artists of Baltimore and a Peabody faculty member, will conduct the collaborative performances of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Tickets are $28 and $38 and may be purchased by visiting lyricoperahouse.com or calling 410-900-1150. Student rush tickets may be purchased for $10 each at the Lyric Box Office starting one hour prior to the performance.

                         Brian Ganz, Peabody Faculty Artist

Faculty artist Brian Ganz, piano, will perform Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra with the National Philharmonic Orchestra as part of an all-Debussy program on Saturday, May 5, at 8:00 pm. The concert will take place at The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. For tickets, visit nationalphilharmonic.org.

The Peabody Children's Chorus, directed by Doreen Falby, will present The Poet Sings, a program of music set to the words of Shakespeare, Blake, Dickens, Dickinson, and other great poets, on Sunday, May 6, at 3:00 pm in Peabody's Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall. Tickets are $5. To purchase tickets, call the Peabody Box Office at 410-234-4800. Also that day at 3:00 pm, an ensemble from the Peabody Children's Chorus will appear in a performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah by the Baltimore Choral Arts Society in the Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson. For tickets, visit baltimorechoralarts.org.

Free noon recitals
At this week's free Thursday Noon recital in Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall, Brassivity—trumpeters Yanbin Chen and Tristan Clarke, hornist Joel Watts, trombonist Emily Joseph, and tubist Scott Miller—will perform Bach's Fugue in G minor, Michael Kamen's Quintet, and the Allegro Vivo movement from Eugene Bozza's Sonatine for Brass; violinist Szu-Yun Chiu, cellist Young Eun Lee, and pianist Sejoon Park will perform Schubert's Trio No. 1 in B-flat major; and violinist Erica Richardson, cellist Antoinette Gan, and pianist Choo Choo Hu will perform Dvorák's Trio No. 1 in B-flat major.

On Friday, May 4, at noon, there will be a free performance by Conservatory harp students in the Peabody on the Court series at the Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street.

Enjoy!

We Purchased a 1973 Harold Krisel Original - the Artwork Arrived Damaged

My first thought was, "Well, what a depressing beginning to our weekend."

I paused, looked at the beat-up shipping case, opened it, photographed the damage, and silently cursed UPS. That didn't accomplish much. I thought again, and realized that the shipping misfortune was an opportunity to share Harold Krisel with you.

Jacob and I have—after discovering an intuitively handsome, wonderfully executed body of work—fallen in love with the work of artist, Harold Krisel.

             Untitled, Harold Krisel - McCormick Gallery, Chicago

While the name Harold Krisel is not bantered about like the names of other American-modern, abstract artists; Jacob and I believe that will change over the next decade or so. Krisel's work has a direct, strong, empirical voice that seems to speak louder with the passing of time. Learn more:

Krisel (1920 - 1995) is represented in the collections of numerous museums including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, The Guggenheim Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Houston Museum of Art, British Museum in England, Bibliotheque National in Paris, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Krisel also completed numerous public commissions and installations, including a nationally recognized mural for the Greenville / Spartanburg Airport in South Carolina.

               Dark and Light Forms, Harold Krisel 1962 

Harold Krisel was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1920. He studied architecture at the New Bauhaus from 1946-1949 on the G.I. Bill after his discharge from the Army. Twenty-six at the time, Krisel had been interested in art since the 1930s when he arrived in New York—with Carl Holty and Harry Holtzman. He became a member of American Abstract Artists in 1946, and retained that membership for life.

Krisel completed his graduate studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1952.

He worked as an architect at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill until 1966, when he joined the faculty of the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan where he taught architecture until his retirement in 1981.

In 1955 Harold Krisel met his primary patron, Roger Milliken, of Milliken and Company. Krisel was commissioned to design a 26,000 square foot aeration pond for Milliken's headquarters.

Once he retired, Krisel—in his studio in Bridgehampton, New York—pursued his life-long dream of dedicating himself full time to his vision of art and graphics. In Bridgehampton he began by designing his own house and studio. There he befriended artists Ibram lassaw and Perle Fine and he showed at the storied Elaine Benson Gallery.

Harold Krisel died in 1995 of Alzheimer's disease.

On the damage front, we have a received a different piece and when our latest acquisition is properly framed and on the wall, I'll share it with you here. It's titled Jagged Form and it's a powerful expression of perpendicular, parallel form juxtaposed by a single wandering, unknown black form that seems to have a destination in mind. Or, without sign-posts, is it lost? Jagged Form is—with its yellows, from the brightest, most saturated lemon to the palest lemonade, to the solid coal-black of the form—a romp in color and contrasts. Jagged Form is a mystery of intent; a puzzle never to be solved. It is a treat for the eye and a singular hint at the vision of the artist, Harold Krisel.

One more thing makes this piece of art so special for us: We acquired it from two of Harold Krisel's family members.

9 Jobs and Opportunities in Baltimore's Arts Community — Much is Happening

Just in from Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance. Jobs, internships, and more.

                   Jamie L Howe, Executive Director, GBCA

For the week beginning March 26th 2012:

Creative Alliance seeks Part Time Box Office Assistant
Previous Box Office experience preferred but not required

Maryland Art Place (MAP) announces Call for Submissions – Exhibit on Relationship Between People and Their Bicycles
Submit by May 1

Maryland Art place (MAP) announces Call for Curators to Participate in Curators’ Incubator Exhibition Competition
Proposals due May 12

Wide Angle Youth Media announces Call for Submissions: 7th Annual Youth Media Festival
Submissions due April 15

Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts announces Free “Money Matters” Morning Symposium
Friday, April 20, 9am - noon

CENTERSTAGE seeking Interns in Areas of Audience Relations, Digital Media, Graphics and Audio

CENTERSTAGE offering Executive Fellowship
Exposed to all aspects of the administrative side of the theater as well as the administrative interface with artistic and production

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra seeks Group Sales Assistant
Successful candidate will have previous phone sales, theater venue or other hospitality related experience

Soledad Salamé announces Solar Etching and Monoprint Workshops
For artists who have prior print knowledge

Good luck with your submissions and check back here often. It's looking like a very busy season is just beginning for folks looking to work in the arts in Baltimore.

About GBCA:
GBCA was born out of a series of conversations between 1998 and 2001, when the cultural community identified a need for a more unified and connected arts and cultural sector. In December 2001, founder Nancy Haragan incorporated Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance. Nancy Haragan stepped down as director in December 2009. J. Buck Jabaily served as executive director from January 2010 to January 2012, when he was succeeded by Jeannie L. Howe.

Since its launch, GBCA has served as both a catalyst and an incubator for various programs and initiatives in the region. GBCA promotes within and for the cultural community with BatlimoreFunGuide.com, Weekly FunSaver Emails, JobsPlus, and our weekly community newsletter. GBCA has sponsored and co-sponsored bothy symposia and the annual Mayor’s Town Hall Meeting, and offered a number of community convenings. GBCA has helped coordinate sector-wide participation in ambitious citywide festivals, such as VIVAT! (2003), Tour de Clay (2005), Free Fall Baltimore (2006, 2007, 2008), and The Maps Festival (2008), and completed several important sector-wide studies, including a Collaborative Arts Marketing Study. Other significant initiatives were GBCA serving as licensee for the Maryland Cultural Data Project (2007-2011), hosting RadarRedux.com (2008-2011), the Wealth Analysis (2007), and since 2008,  our ongoing administration of the Baker Artists Awards on behalf of the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund. For more on current GBCA programs, click here.

A Letter to Baltimore Arts Organizations

Here's an important letter from the Peabody Institute via Margaret Bell.

Vintage Postcard of the Peabody on North Charles Street

Dear Fellow Baltimore-Area Arts Organizations:

As you know, this year the Peabody Institute will produce its first summer issue of Arts Alive. This is a reminder that we are currently looking for your performing arts events, from June 1 to Sept. 15, for inclusion in the Arts Alive.

The deadline for those submissions is Thursday, March 15. (If you need more time, please let me know.) These listings are free of charge. This third annual issue will be a stand-alone publication, distributed in the same quantities as the fall and spring Peabody Magazine inserts.

Peabody continues to work with the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance and the BaltimoreFunGuide.com to provide a comprehensive listing of music, dance, and theatre events in the Baltimore/Washington region.

Concerts & Event Listings
Deadline for Event Information:
Thursday, March 15

Since your organization is located in Baltimore City or the five contiguous counties (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard) your event information will be pulled directly from the BaltimoreFunGuide.com.

Your events must be listed on this site to be included. Many of you are currently working with the GBCA and have a user name and password to enter events through the BaltimoreFunGuide Content Management tool, but if you do not, please contact GBCA at gbca@baltimoreculture.org or 410-230-0200 to learn more about accessing the system.

Arts Alive is a special tear-out section in Peabody Magazine published twice a year and a guide to arts around the region. Arts Alive is distributed free of charge to cultural institutions in Mount Vernon, Downtown Baltimore, the Baltimore Visitors Center, and DC. Please let me know if you’d like to receive copies at your venue.

Advertising Information – Deadlines for Advertising
Spring Issue:
Space reservation, March 31; Art due April 5

The Gazelle Group, Inc. is the advertising representative for the Peabody Magazine and Arts Alive.   The Gazelle Group currently represents the Johns Hopkins Gazette and other local publications. Questions regarding advertising should be directed to Julie Wittelsberger at the Gazelle Group, Inc., (443) 275-2687 or gazellegrp@comcast.net

The Best Venue to Watch the Season 5 Premiere of AMC's 'Mad Men'?

Where to watch, you ask? I have the empirical answer: Mid-town Manhattan near New York's famed Madison Avenue, of course. And, you can be there for all the mid-century, Makers Mark-based cocktails, and for all of the fun, and for a great viewing party with some distinguished hosts.

You will be surrounded by some swanky New Yorker's who are fans of the show. But, hey you're from Baltimore, right? You can out-swank them. (If you're not sure how to get your big-city-swanky-game-on, check with Roswell Encina at the Enoch Pratt Library. The man knows fashion. And, he knows flashy socks, too.)

Here's the information:

Mad Men Season Premiere Viewing Party
Sunday, March 25, 2012
8:00 pm ET, New York

This viewing party is hosted by TV Guide Magazine's Matt Roush (Senior TV Critic) and Carol Dittbrenner (Features Director)
Doors open at 8:00 pm.

Enjoy a swanky cocktail party and some witty repartee before the season 5 premiere screening.

Come dressed in your best retro-styled finery and receive a Season 5 Mad Men poster, courtesy of AMC.

There will be a Mad Men trivia contest, with some tough questions from Basket of Kisses' Roberta & Deborah Lipp. Following will be the screening of the Mad Men 5th season premiere LIVE from 9:00 to 11:00 pm.

From The Paley Center:

Oh how we have missed Mad Men…the style, the cigarettes and alcohol, and, above all else, the mesmerizing personal and professional machinations of conflicted ad man Don Draper. The Paley Center is delighted to host a live presentation of Mad Men’s fifth season premiere on the big screen—all the better to soak up that gorgeous period detail.

Adding to the ambience will be era-appropriate cocktails and a selection of “retro-mercials” (actual ads from the early sixties) screened during the program’s breaks—look for familiar Sterling Cooper clients including London Fog and Lucky Strike. Best of all, you are encouraged to attend in your finest vintage or retro-styled finery! Let’s turn back the clock to more stylish times and break out the sharp suits, pocket squares, and kicky frocks to make the Paley Center New York’s most fashionable location on this special occasion.

Countdown to Mad Men Trivia

Starting March 15: Follow The Paley Center on Twitter @paleycenter.org for a trivia question-a-day.

Tickets for the viewing party on sale to Members now!
On sale to the general public:
Monday, March 12 at noon.

Members: $20
General Public: $30

ClancyWorks in Concert: 10 Years in the Making | at Baltimore Theatre Project

In Chorus Line it was Dance 10, looks 3. In these performances it's Dance 10, looks 10.

ClancyWorks Dance Company presents an evening of original choreography on Saturday, April 28th at 8:00pm and Sunday, April 29th at 3:00pm at Baltimore Theater Project.

                                           Love Strings

The Washington Post has described Adrienne Clancy, as a “wizard of invention,” and her choreography as “a tour de force of unpredictable partnering.”

This evening-length concert, part of the 10th anniversary season of ClancyWorks, is a clear continuation of the mission of the company. It will feature students from residencies at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology and Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, a performance by The Collective, a Baltimore-based dance company, and some of Clancy’s original works that span the 10-year existence of the company.

This performance manifests the major role that both physical and metaphorical partnering play in Clancy’s work. Specific to Clancy’s creative process is an exploration of architecturally informed partnering work that uses dance to further pedagogical practices by promoting tolerance, teamwork, community activism, and individual empowerment.

                                         Wall Dance

Partnering is not only the artistic strength of the company, but also the baseline of their organizational work! From the partnering of physical objects, to the partnering of ideas, ClancyWorks: 10 Years in the Making features diverse dance works that embody Clancy’s use of partnering work not only as an aesthetic statement, but also as a symbol of trust and support.

Spinning Webs explores the wondrous, whirling, win some, lose some, web of relationships. The plots of Cupid and Aphrodite are transformed into the mythic Spider Grandmother—who, according to Native American emergence tales, spun the world into creation. Clancy’s choreography builds upon Spider Grandmother emergence tales and asks: how do we maneuver through our own webs of life, and how do we cultivate a web of relationships? Spinning Webs is part four in Clancy’s exploration of the Spider Grandmother dances.

Drift, showcases Adrienne Clancy and Sandra Lacy in a dynamic duet not to be missed! Prior to founding ClancyWorks Dance Company, Clancy was a member of the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company and the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, where she held leadership roles as Rehearsal Director, Community Arts Project Director and a lead performer. Lacy previously performed with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Together, these alpha forces have created a collaboration that examines philosophical questions of pathways and explores who walks with us along these paths.

The Collective, named Baltimore’s Best Dance Company in 2008/2009, will present Sisters choreographed by Adrienne Clancy. As a hub for professional dance in Baltimore, the sixteen-member company will present a dynamic Clancy work based on female relationships.

The concert will also feature students from ClancyWorks’ Arts in Education residencies, where they will be showcased alongside the professional company. These programs include high school students from Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts and George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology from Baltimore County. Working together, these students and ClancyWorks Company members have created pieces that demonstrate working as a team yields greater results than an individual could achieve by him or herself.

What:
ClancyWorks Dance Company
When:
Saturday, April 28 at 8:00pm
Sunday, April 29 at 3:00pm
Where:
Baltimore Theater Project
45 West Preston Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

Tickets: $20 General Admission; $15 Seniors, Teachers, Artists; $10 Students
To purchase tickets visit www.theatreproject.org or call (410) 752-8558.

Washington DC's Hirshhorn Museum: The Building is Going to be Transformed!

                 Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC - "Song 1"

Jacob and I have this installation on our must-see list:

Doug Aitken: SONG 1

March 22, 2012 to May 13, 2012

Internationally renowned artist Doug Aitken (b. California, 1968; lives and works in Los Angeles and New York) will transform the Hirshhorn’s iconic circular building into “liquid architecture.”

Using nearly a dozen high-definition projectors, Aitken will seamlessly blend imagery to envelop the entire façade of the Gordon Bunshaft–designed structure with a 360-degree panorama that will make the Museum recede into cinematic space—rotating, rising, and evolving into new forms.

                                      Artist, Doug Aitken

Exploding film conventions, the work cannot be viewed from any single perspective or at any single moment in time. Visitors must walk the perimeter of the building in order to experience the work more fully.

                Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC - "Song 1"

This site-specific commission will remain on view each evening for nearly two months. More than a temporary artwork, this truly original piece will also become part of the Hirshhorn’s permanent collection, enhancing its ever-expanding holdings of cutting-edge time-based media.

Visit the Hirshhorn Museum online to learn more.

When Actors Win an Oscar They Head Here

You've seen the photos and videos of Academy Award winners in the Press Room for the Oscars.

                                      Photo courtesy AMPAS

Have you ever seen the press room itself?

                  Press Room for the 2012 Academy Awards

And here is a link to the room in all of its 360-degree glory. 

News from Baltimore's Theatre Project

 

Visual theatre returns to Theatre Project for two weeks in March with dynamic performances by Baltimore based Nana Projects and Miwa Matreyek, a multi-media artist from L.A.

In conjunction with QuestFest 2012, Quest Visual Theatre's biennial premier international visual theatre festival, Theatre Project will present Nana Project's Alonzo's Lullaby March 9 - 11, and Miwa Matreyek's Myth and Infrastructure and Dreaming of lucid Living March 16 - 18. Talk-backs with the artists will be held following each performance. 

In Alonzo's Lullaby, gorgeous hand manipulated cut outs tell a tale of madness, passion and intrigue. Inspired by the Hagenback-Wallace Circus train wreck of 1918, this work is performed by three puppeteers (aka lanterneers) who project 2-dimensional images made of plastic and acrylic gels onto a screen with three overhead projectors. Relying on inventive tricks including scrolls of plastic, masking illusions, and faders allow the puppeteers to manipulate the pieces of plastic with a fluidity that is often mistaken for animation.

Alonzo's Lullaby is a luminous, richly-hued, shadow puppet play for adults, with original score performed by singer/songwriter ellen cherry. Funded by the Jim Henson Foundation, Alonzo's Lullaby received the prestigious Union Internationale de la Marionette citation of excellence in puppetry. 

Miwa Matreyek's Myth and Infrastructure and Dreaming of Lucid Living are live performances with projected animation. As the artist walks behind the screen, her shadow becomes an integral part of the animated world - she crosses from domestic/home spaces of kitchens and dining room tables to oceanscapes and cityscapes in a fantastical journey.

Matreyek's performances can be viewed as a cinematic experiences taking place on a screen. What is seen on the screen is a collapsed product of multiple layers of animation, objects and body. Her work exists in a juxtaposition of illusion and non-illusion. 

Showtimes

Alonzo's Lullaby

Friday, March 9 @ 7:00pm
Saturday March 10 @ 3:00pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, March 11 @ 3:00pm 

Myth and Infrastructure and Dreaming of Lucid Living

Friday, March 16 @ 7:00pm
Saturday March 17 @ 3:00pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, March 18 @ 3:00pm                            

Tickets for all shows

General Admission ~ $20
Seniors/Artists/Military ~ $15
Students ~ $10 

** ASL sign language interpreters will be provided for the March 9 & 11 performances of Alonzo's Lullaby and the March 16 & 18 performances of Myth and Infrastructure and Dreaming of Lucid Living. **

Tickets are available through Theatre Project's website and Tixato. 

For more information call 410-752-8558. 

Alonzo's Lullaby, Myth and Infrastructure, and Dreaming of Lucid Living are being presented as part of QuestFest, a two-week international visual theatre festival. QuestFest features groundbreaking work from exceptional performers and companies dedicated to the use of movement, gesture, and digital media to tell stories. By stripping away the artifice of language, QuestFest builds bridges between disparate communities and cultures. 

QuestFest is funded in part by the United States Department of Education, the Herbert Bearman Foundation, the John J. Leidy Foundation, VSA/MetLife Foundation, and Target.

Baltimore Gets a Year of Charlie Chaplin

                Charlie Chaplin, photo via Creative Commons

The Charles Theatre in Baltimore is presenting a treasure-trove of Chaplin's films with new 35mm prints.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN SERIES A year-long retrospective of Charlie Chaplin’s films begins this Saturday as part of the Charles Theatre’s Revival Series. Janus Films has produced seventeen new 35mm prints spanning the years 1918-1958. The Revival Series will show one Chaplin program each month through January 2013. Each film will be presented with a musical soundtrack. Kids Welcome.  FIRST PROGRAM: FEBRUARY 11, 13, 16 A DOG’S LIFE (1918) Thanks to a dog he finds, Charlie ends up in possession of some stolen loot. But the wrongdoers want their ill-gotten gains back. 33m. SHOULDER ARMS (1918) Enlisted during the First World War, Charlie discovers the hard life of the trenches and the dangers of combat. 37m.  SUNNYSIDE (1919) Charlie is a farm laborer who’ll try anything to win over his pretty neighbor, but ends up spending a lot of time in dreamland. 30m.•  SHOWTIMES: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11 NOON; MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13  7PM; THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16  9PM. UPCOMING: MARCH 10, 12, 15     A DAY’S PLEASURE,     THE KID APRIL     THE IDLE CLASS,     PAYDAY,     THE PILGRIM MAY     A WOMAN OF PARIS                                  A Woman of Paris JUNE     THE CIRCUS JULY     CITY LIGHTS AUGUST     MODERN TIMES SEPTEMBER     THE GREAT DICTATOR OCTOBER     THE GOLD RUSH NOVEMBER     MONSIEUR VERDOUX DECEMBER     LIMELIGHT JANUARY 2013     A KING IN NEW YORK •Synosis WB and MK2

You Know You Want to Know More About 'The Artist,' the Movie and the Actors!

              'The Artist' production still courtesy Warner Bros

Conversations - LIVE STREAMED

A Screen Actors Guild Foundation Q&A with the cast of
THE ARTIST

 Q&A with Jean Dujardin, James Cromwell and Missi Pyle
TONIGHT- Friday, January 13th9:15pm (Pacific)
To watch the Q&A go to:
  http://www.sagfoundation.org/videogallery/livestream

The Q&A will be streamed live from Los Angeles after a screening of the film.
To watch the Q&A you DO NOT have to log into The SAG website.
Just go to http://www.sagfoundation.org/videogallery/livestream .
Please note: only the Q&A will be live streamed and will begin at approximately 9:15pm Pacific.

Email questions to LiveStream@sagfoundation.org or tweet to #SAGF. Please feel free to pass along this invite to others that may be interested in viewing the Q&A.

It's Been a Warm Winter in Baltimore, but The Iceman Cometh

Opens Friday at Fells Point Corner Theatre!

The Iceman Cometh is Eugene O'Neill’s iconic look at our potential to really possess our dreams and relations in life. Set in the back room of a Skid Row saloon in 1912 - a political year of social questions relevant to us even today – the strength of hope and change is on trial.

Within this room, peopled with colorful characters, the play charms and reveals the best of intentions with perhaps the worst of deeds. Dreams and lies struggle to transcend this shabby life…  If only Hickey arrives then good times can be expected as surely as the next round of drinks will be served. 

The Iceman Cometh stars Ian Bonds, Rodney Bonds, Tony Colavito, Daniel Collins, Tim Evans, John Hurley, Deirdre McCallister, David Morey, Mike Papa, Michael Robinson, Mark Scharf, Anne Shoemaker, David Shoemaker, Whitney St. Ours, Rick Stover, Frank Vince, and William Walker.

Come and celebrate the first production of The Iceman Cometh in Baltimore in over 20 years, staged in the 100th anniversary of its original setting, 1912!

Opening Reception

Join us for our bar-themed, 1912-style opening reception.  Along with favorite pub grub, we will be serving foods which were introduced in 1912.  Come and find out what these little tidbits might be! And as always, the opening night champagne will be flowing.

$12 all shows opening weekend!
$17 Friday and Saturday Nights;
$15 Sunday Matinees
Thursday Night, Feb. 9, Only $10!

Fells Point Corner Theatre
251 South Ann Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21231-2501 

Battle of Sexes and Battle of Wits to Explode in Baltimore. Don't Miss the Bang!

The Strand Theater Company marks the midpoint of its fourth season with Sheila Callaghan’s antic revenge story, That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play.

Blending fantasy, feminism, and satire with gonzo bouts of sex and violence, this dark, dark, dark comedy will shake audiences out of their theatrical doldrums and leave them talking well into the night, debating how the media portrays “dangerous women.”

         Pretty, Pretty - Coming to Baltimore's Strand Theatre

VALERIE:
You make an ass of yourself when you stand on a buffet table. You make like you have no self-respect. That is tedious and it's UGLY.
AGNES:
Just because I don't have a blog doesn't mean I don't have something to say.

The script of Pretty, Pretty just gets better and better. Here is the complete update from Baltimore's Strand Theatre:

Baltimore, MD—The Strand Theater Company marks the midpoint of its fourth season with Sheila Callaghan’s antic revenge story, That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play. Blending fantasy, feminism, and satire with gonzo bouts of sex and violence, this dark, dark, dark comedy will shake audiences out of their theatrical doldrums and leave them talking well into the night, debating how the media portrays “dangerous women.”

In That Pretty Pretty…, radical feminist ex-strippers Agnes and Valerie scour the country on a murderous rampage, offing douchey dudes in seedy hotel rooms and blogging their exploits in gruesome detail. Meanwhile, scruffy screenwriter Owen tries to bang out his magnum opus in another seedy hotel room, while his buddy Rodney indulges some baser instincts.

When Owen decides Agnes and Valerie are the cure for his writer’s block and weaves the “dangerous women” into his script, reality unravels. Can Jane Fonda—yes, that Jane Fonda—prevent complete chaos?

The Strand’s Founding Artistic Director, Jayme Kilburn, brings this acerbic acid trip to startling life in what will be her final production with the company...

"It was not an easy decision to leave the Strand, particularly when every season has marked an evolution in scope and quality. This year especially I have been particularly challenged with two great plays: first Anna Bella Eema and now That Pretty Pretty…. Sheila’s material is really jarring for the artists and will be the same for audiences. I sit in rehearsals sometimes disgusted at what we are creating; the characters’ behavior and the physical staging are both so extreme. But this is precisely the kind of challenge I embrace as a director and producer.”

Due to the highly graphic nature of the play, the production is suitable for adult audiences only. Sheila Callaghan's plays include Scab, Crawl Fade to White, Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), We Are Not These Hands, Dead City, Lascivious Something, Kate Crackernuts, and Fever/Dream. Her work has been produced and developed by companies throughout the country, including Woolly Mammoth and Rorschach in DC, Soho Rep and Playwrights Horizons in New York, California’s South Coast Repertory, and Actor's Theatre of Louisville.

Sheila is the recipient of many awards and fellowships, including the Princess Grace Award for emerging artists. She has taught playwriting at Columbia University, The University of Rochester, The College of New Jersey, Florida State University, and Spalding University. Named one of Variety’s “10 Screenwriters to Watch” in 2010, she was one of the staff writers for the Emmy-winning Showtime series, The United States of Tara.

Performance Schedule
Thursday, February 2nd at 8pm (Pay-What-You-Can Dress Rehearsal)
Friday, February 3rd at 8pm (Opening Night: pre-show reception and post-show Q&A)
Saturday, February 4th at 8pm
Friday, February 10th at 8pm
Saturday, February 11th at 8pm
Wednesday, February 15 at 7pm (School Night: students and teachers $3 with ID)
Friday, February 17th at 8pm
Saturday, February 18th at 8pm

Ticket Prices
Adult: $20, Senior (65+): $15, Student: $10, Opening Night: $25

The Strand Theater Company is a community theater dedicated to providing opportunities for women artists, writers, designers, and directors. With a focus on producing works new to Baltimore, the Strand hopes to foster a love of theater for a new generation of patrons. Since launching in 2008, the Strand has presented 14 full-length plays, including six world premieres; offered 75% of the artistic positions on its productions—as playwrights, directors, designers, stage managers, and actors—to women; provided affordable theater space to many organizations and independent artists; and played an integral role in the revitalization of the Station North Arts & Entertainment District

In August 2011, the Strand was honored as one of Baltimore magazine’s “Top 5 Baltimore Theaters,” along with CENTERSTAGE, Everyman, the Hippodrome, and Single Carrot. The Strand is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.  To learn more about the Strand Theater Company, visit strand-theater.org.

Carol Channing Film Gets Release Dates

Just a couple of weeks ago I wrote about the death of Carol Channing's husband, Harry Kullijian.
That news made me sad.

This news makes me happy.
The documentary, Carol Channing: Larger than Life, took the Tribeca Film Festival by storm. Reviews came in as raves. The film is now being released. The movie poster is shown below.

 

This documentary seems like a wonderful fit for Baltimore's Charles Theatre (I'm thinking of John Waters as a speaker). Let's hope Baltimore books this gem. Here's the release from Entertainment One:

Entertainment One US will release CAROL CHANNING: LARGER THAN LIFE in New York and Los Angeles on January 20, 2012, with additional markets to follow.

The film, directed by Dori Berinstein (ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway, Some Assembly Required, Gotta Dance), examines the life and career of Tony Award-winning Broadway legend, Carol Channing – her extraordinary stage life, her offstage struggles and survival and the extraordinary storybook romance that found her reunited with her junior high school sweetheart after over 70 years.

Carol Channing's life is as colorful as the lipstick on her big, bright smile. In CAROL CHANNING: LARGER THAN LIFE, director Berinstein and co-writer and editor Adam Zucker capture the magic and vivacity of the 90-year-old icon – both onstage and off, past and present. The film is both an intimate love story and a rarefied journey inside Broadway's most glamorous era. It is, above all, a look at an inspiring, incomparable and always entertaining American legend.

 

“My first Broadway show was Hello, Dolly! at the age of five,” commented producer and director Berinstein. “I adored her astonishing brilliance on stage, screen and television, but it is Carol’s life behind-the-curtain that had me completely convinced that hers is a life that must be told.”

Carol Channing has been a Broadway star since stopping the show in the 1948 Broadway revue, Lend an Ear. The following year, she landed on the cover of Time Magazine and won international acclaim her riotous performance as Lorelei Lee in the musical, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Her Broadway appearances included Show Girl, The Vamp, Wonderful Town, The Millionairess and Four on a Garden.

In 1964, she created the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly!, winning a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She would play the role of Dolly over 5,000 times throughout the world, without missing a performance. Channing also received a Special Tony Award in 1968 and a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 1995.

Channing received an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Muzzy in Thoroughly Modern Millie. Her other films include Paid in Full, The First Traveling Saleslady, Skidoo, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Her TV specials include “Broadway at the Hollywood Bowl,” “Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey on Broadway” and the White Queen in “Alice Through the Looking Glass”. Other credits include appearances on “What’s My Line?” “I’ve Got a Secret,” “Password,” “Hollywood Squares”; variety shows, including “The Dean Martin Show,” “The Red Skelton Show,” “The Milton Berle Show,” “Rowen & Martin’s Laugh-In,” “The Carol Burnett Show,” “The Muppet Show,” as well as episodes of Playhouse 90, “The Love Boat,” “Magnum P.I.” “The Nanny,” “Touched By an Angel,” “The Drew Carey Show” and “Family Guy”.

Channing made headlines in 2003 when she married her junior high school sweetheart, businessman Harry Kulijian after a 70 year separation. She also released her best selling memoirs, Just Lucky I Guess and has been touring in her one woman show, The First Eighty Years are the Hardest. She released a new CD, For Heaven Sake in 2010, included many of the songs she loved as a child, as well as spirituals taught to her by her father.

Dori Berinstein is a three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway producer and an award-winning directed and producer of film and television. Documentary features directed and produced by Dori include Gotta Dance (2008), which won the Audience Award at the Palm Beach International Film Festival; Some Assembly Required (2007), which won Best Feature Documentary at the International Family Film Festival and ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway (2007), which won Best Feature Documentary from the Florida Film Festival and was one of the International Documentary Association’s Top 5 Films of 2007.

As a Broadway producer, her credits include Legally Blonde (Best Musical Olivier Award), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Best Musical Tony Award), The Crucible, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Best Revival of a Play Tony Award), Fool Moon (Special Tony Award), Flower Drum Song, Enchanted April and Golden Child.

In addition to Channing and Kulijian, the film includes interviews with Jerry Herman, Lily Tomlin, Chita Rivera, Barbara Walters, Tommy Tune, Tyne Daly, Debbie Reynolds, Phyllis Diller, Loni Anderson, JoAnne Worley and Bruce Vilanch.

CAROL CHANNING: LARGER THAN LIFE is written and edited by Adam Zucker. Director of Photography is Rob Vanalkemade and music is by Craig Sharmat. The film was co-produced by B. Harlan Boll.

There's Gumbo! in Baltimore this Weekend

            Gumbo graphic courtesy Theatre Project, Baltimore

Hot Gumbo!

Don't forget! Generous Company and Theatre Project are serving up Gumbo this weekend; theatre, music, visual art, and food to warm your insides and chase away the winter blues:

We're kicking off with Baltimore resident David M. White's Last Chance, a series of plays by about life in the Ozarks. Be a part of the development of this new work. Stick around following each performance to discuss the plays with the playwright and performers. Refreshments and Gumbo will be served. (Provided by Mike Vandercook and Soups On) 

January 6 & 7 @ 7pm
January 8 @ 4pm
Tickets are free for all shows.

Join us for an opening night reception at 6pm on January 6 in our gallery. On display will be the works of Ozark photographer, Bob White. Bob is a very talented artist who also happens to be legally blind, and will be on hand to discuss his work.

—The January 6 performance is also a "Pass the Hat" Fundraiser for the recovery effort of Joplin High School's Drama Program in Joplin, Missouri. On hand to perform will be local bluegrass artists, The Bald Mountain Band—

Here's your link to the festivities: Gumbo, Theatre Project - Baltimore

Baltimore City Paper has a wonderful story about Gumbo and Theatre Project: Theatre Project Celebrates 40 Years of Flouting Convention.

Maryland Lawyers for the Arts Has a New Name, Logo and Website for 2012

Here's the news:

Maryland Lawyers for the Arts begins the New Year with a new name, a new web site, a new logo, and new offices, the organization announced Jan. 5.

Now in its 26th year of providing pro bono legal referrals and legal education to Maryland artists, the nonprofit will immediately begin operating under the name Maryland VOLUNTEER Lawyers for the Arts (MdVLA).

The change is meant to clarify the volunteer nature of the organization's mission. Despite the fact that MdVLA has been helping Maryland artists since 1985, some people remained unclear about its purpose and questions like "Is it a group of lawyers who like art?" were common.

While the organization's volunteer attorneys do in fact like art, the key point is that they like it so much they're willing to volunteer their time, energies, and expertise to help artists. While artists pay a small administrative fee to help support the organization's activities, they don't have to pay their volunteer attorneys a single red cent.

MdVLA couldn't function without our volunteer lawyers and we wanted to make that clear. So we added the word to our name-hence, Maryland VOLUNTEER Lawyers for the Arts.

That change led us to our new acronym and logo — Md|VLA — which in turn led to the need for a new and improved web site, www.mdvla.org. The new, more user-friendly site, expertly designed and built by Steven Seebode, spotlights just a few of the artists helped by MdVLA volunteer attorneys.

The new virtual address also coincides with MdVLA's real-world move to a new office in the amazing new community of nonprofits at Union Mill,

1500 Union Ave
Suite 1330
Baltimore, MD 21211
410.752.1633.

The new space opens up a world of possibilities for MdVLA, with space for events and workshops, as well as collaborations with the other nonprofit tenants. Please visit us at our new online home and bookmark it to stay up with workshops and events. Our phone number stays the same at 410.752.1633, but the email is now info@mdvla.org. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@MarylandVLA).

My thanks to your organization for all of your good work. Maryland's arts community wouldn't be the same without your help and assistance!