|
Bristol Hippodrome
The Bristol Hippodrome () is a theatre located in The Centre, Bristol, England, United Kingdom with seating on three levels giving a capacity of 1,951. It frequently features shows from London's West End when they tour the UK, as well as regular visits by Welsh National Opera and an annual pantomime. History The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham for Oswald Stoll, and opened on 16 December 1912. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building. An important feature of the theatre when it opened was a huge water tank at the front of the stage, which could be filled with 100,000 gallons (450,000 litres) of water. Along with the tank was a large protective glass screen which could be raised in order to protect the orchestra and those in the stalls. It also has a dome, which can be opened when necessary; however since air conditioning has been installed it is rarely opened. The theatre survived World War II, but less than three years after it ended, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in South West England. The wider Bristol Built-up Area is the eleventh most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. Iron Age hillforts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon. Around the beginning of the 11th century, the settlement was known as (Old English: 'the place at the bridge'). Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became a county corporate. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities, after London, in tax receipts. A major port, Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. On a ship out of Bristol in 1497, John Cabot, a Venetia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miss Saigon
''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover. The setting of the plot is relocated to 1970s Saigon during the Vietnam War, and ''Madame Butterfly''s story of marriage between an American lieutenant and a geisha is replaced by a romance between a United States Marine and a seventeen-year-old South Vietnamese bargirl. The musical premièred at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, on 20 September 1989, closing after 4,092 performances on 30 October 1999. It opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on April 11, 1991 with a record advance of over $39 million, and was later staged in many other cities and embarked on tours. Prior to the opening of the 2014 London revival, it was said that ''Miss Saigon'' had set a world rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Music Man
''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naïve Midwestern townsfolk, promising to train the members of the new band. Harold is no musician, however, and plans to skip town without giving any music lessons. Prim librarian and piano teacher Marian sees through him, but when Harold helps her younger brother overcome his lisp and social awkwardness, Marian begins to fall in love with him. He risks being caught to win her heart. In 1957, the show became a hit on Broadway, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and running for 1,375 performances. The cast album won the first Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and spent 245 weeks on the Billboard charts. The show's success led to Broadway and West End revivals, a popular 1962 film adaptation and a 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Levene
Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was a Russian Empire-born American Broadway, film, radio, and television actor and director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over 50 comedy and drama theatrical stage productions and acted in over 50 films across the United States and abroad. Early life Levene was born as Scholem Lewin in Russia, the youngest of five children by a dozen years. He immigrated to the United States when he was two years old. He grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan on Avenue D and 8th Street and attended Public School 64. Levene, who would have been a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in 1923, dropped out. He also failed to qualify for the school's dramatic society. Since he had been in the class of Broadway for over five decades, the illustrious dropout was given a special award, his Stuyvesant High School diploma, in a 1976 ceremony held at the New York's Princeton Club. Levene's father, who an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vivian Blaine
Vivian Blaine (born Vivian Stapleton; November 21, 1921 – December 9, 1995) was an American actress and singer, best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production of ''Guys and Dolls'', as well as appearing in the subsequent film version, in which she co-starred with Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Frank Sinatra. Early years Blaine was born in Newark, New Jersey to Leo Stapleton, an insurance agent, and Wilhelmina Tepley. The cherry-blonde-haired Blaine appeared on local stages as early as 1934 and she started touring after graduating from South Side High School. Personal appearances Blaine was a touring singer with dance bands starting in 1937. At one point in the 1940s, she was the top-billed act at New York's Copacabana nightclub. In his book, ''Dean and Me: (A Love Story)'', Jerry Lewis wrote about appearing at the club when Blaine was on the same bill: "We ewis and Dean Martin, as the double act Martin and Lewis">Dean_Marti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guys And Dolls (musical)
''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, such as "Pick the Winner". The show premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine. ''Guys and Dolls'' was selected as the winner of the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. However, because of writer Abe Burrows' communist sympathies as exposed by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), the Trustees of Columbia University vetoed the selection, and no Pulitzer for Drama was awarded that year. In 1998, Vivian Blaine, Sam Levene, Robert Alda and Isab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winnie The Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character was the book ''Winnie-the-Pooh (book), Winnie-the-Pooh'' (1926), and this was followed by ''The House at Pooh Corner'' (1928). Milne also included a poem about the bear in the children's verse book ''When We Were Very Young'' (1924) and many more in ''Now We Are Six'' (1927). All four volumes were illustrated by E. H. Shepard. The Pooh stories have been translated into many languages, including Alexander Lenard's Latin translation, , which was first published in 1958, and, in 1960, became the only Latin book ever to have been featured on The New York Times Best Seller list, ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. In 1961, The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Productions licensed certain film and other rights of Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Mack
Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom ''Not Going Out'', being a team captain on the BBC One comedy panel show '' Would I Lie to You?'', hosting the Sky One panel show ''Duck Quacks Don't Echo'', presenting the panel show ''They Think It's All Over'', and hosting ''Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof'' (2022–) alongside Holly Willoughby. He has also been a guest host on '' Have I Got News for You'' and ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'', a guest captain on ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'', and a guest panellist on '' QI''. In 2021, he made his debut on the BBC Radio 4 panel game ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''. In 2022, he began hosting the ITV game-show, ''The 1% Club''. Early life Mack was born on 4 August 1968 in Southport, now a part of Merseyside. He lived above a pub until he was 12, when his parents separated. He went to Bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricky Tomlinson
Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in ''Brookside'', DCI Charlie Wise in '' Cracker'' and Jim Royle in ''The Royle Family'', and playing the titular character in the film '' Mike Bassett: England Manager'' (2001). Early life Eric Tomlinson was born on 26 September 1939 at Burleigh House in Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, and has lived in Liverpool nearly all his life. His father was a baker and he was born in Bispham, near Blackpool, because, just after the outbreak of World War II, his mother Peggy was evacuated there over concerns that Liverpool would be bombed. He attended Walton Technical College in Walton, after passing an exam when he was 13. His favourite subject was English. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Tomlinson played banjo in bands known as the Guitanjos, Hobo Rick & The City Slickers, and Hobo Rick and the Hi-Free Three. For a time, the band's pianist was John "Duff" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankie Boyle
Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. He is known for his cynical, surreal, graphic and often controversial sense of humour. A stand-up comedian since 1995, Boyle first gained widespread recognition as a regular panellist on the comedy show ''Mock the Week'' from its beginning in June 2005 until his departure in September 2009. After he left ''Mock the Week'', Boyle created and starred in the Channel 4 sketch show ''Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights'' (2010). Currently, he presents the BBC Two chat show ''Frankie Boyle's New World Order'' (2017–present). In 2020, he presented a four-part series on BBC Two, ''Frankie Boyle's Tour of Scotland''. He has embarked on a number of tours, releasing several stand-up specials. Early life Boyle was born and raised in Pollokshaws, Glasgow, to Irish Catholic parents from Crolly in County Donegal. He attended St Conval's Primary and Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow. After leaving school, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russell Howard
Russell Joseph Howard (born 23 March 1980) is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter, and actor. He was known for his television show ''Russell Howard's Good News'' and is currently doing ''The Russell Howard Hour'', and his appearances on the topical panel TV show ''Mock the Week''. He won "Best Compère" at the 2006 Chortle Awards and was nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award for his 2006 Aberdeen Festival Fringe show. Howard has cited comedians Lee Evans, Richard Pryor, and Frank Skinner as influences. Early life Howard was born in Bath to Dave and Ninette Howard. He has two younger siblings, twins Kerry and Daniel (born 1982). Daniel has epilepsy, to which Howard sometimes refers during his act. Howard attended Bedford Modern School, Perins School in New Alresford and Alton College. He later studied economics at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Career TV and radio work In 2004 he was commissioned by BBC Radio 1 to write, sing a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Of Mice And Men (play)
''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in the United States. Steinbeck based the novella on his own experiences working alongside migrant farm workers as a teenager in the 1910s (before the arrival of the Okies that he would describe in ''The Grapes of Wrath''). The title is taken from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse", which reads: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley". (The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry.) While it is a book taught in many schools, ''Of Mice and Men'' has been a frequent target of censors for vulgarity, and what some consider offensive and racist language; consequently, it appears on the American Library Association's list of the ''Most Challenged Books of the 21st Century''. Plot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
