Carnival In Flanders (musical)
''Carnival in Flanders'' is a musical with a book by Preston Sturges, lyrics by Johnny Burke, and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. Based on the 1934 French comedy film '' La Kermesse Héroïque'', it is set in 1616 in the small Flemish village of Flackenburg, where a Spanish duke and his entourage descend upon the community. The mayor plays dead, hoping that his ruse will force the visitors to depart, but the duke sets his sights on the man's "widow" and begins to woo her. The musical had a brief run on Broadway in 1953. The musical is the source of the song "Here's That Rainy Day", which has become a standard. Background Harold Arlen was approached to write the score, but the task ultimately fell to Van Heusen and Burke. Bing Crosby was providing much of the financing for the production and had great faith in the songwriting team, [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jimmy Van Heusen
James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and career Born in Syracuse, New York, Van Heusen began writing music while at high school. He renamed himself at age 16, after the shirt makers Phillips-Van Heusen, to use as his on-air name during local shows. His close friends called him "Chet".Coppula, C. (2014). ''Jimmy Van Heusen: Swinging on a Star''. Nashville: Twin Creek Books. Jimmy was raised Methodist. Studying at Cazenovia Seminary and Syracuse University, he became friends with Jerry Arlen, the younger brother of Harold Arlen. With the elder Arlen's help, Van Heusen wrote songs for the Cotton Club revue, including "Harlem Hospitality". He then became a staff pianist for some of the Tin Pan Alley publishers, and wrote "It's the Dreamer in Me" (1938) with lyrics by Jimmy Dorsey. Colla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Oppenheimer
George Seligman Oppenheimer (February 7, 1900 in New York City – August 14, 1977) was an American screenwriter, playwright, and journalist. Career In 1925, Oppenheimer cofounded The Viking Press, but becoming more interested in writing than publishing, he began a career as a screenwriter in Hollywood in 1933, hired to complete the screenplay of Samuel Goldwyn's comedy ''Roman Scandals'' (1933). For the rest of the 1930s he was employed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, primarily as a script doctor, rewriting, editing or polishing existing scripts. Oppenheimer was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his work on ''The War Against Mrs. Hadley'' at the 15th Academy Awards of 1942. His contributions to theater criticism are recognized by the Newsday George Oppenheimer Award, which was awarded annually from 1979 to 2007 to the best New York debut production by an American playwright for a non-musical play. Oppenheimer graduated from Williams College and studied ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lucinda Ballard
Lucinda Ballard (April 3, 1906 – August 19, 1993) was an American costume designer who worked primarily in Broadway theatre. Born Lucinda Davis Goldsborough in New Orleans, Louisiana, Ballard studied at the Art Students League in New York City. Her first professional credits was as the scenic and costume designer for a 1937 production of ''As You Like It''. In 1945, she won the Donaldson Award for the costumes she designed for '' I Remember Mama''. Two years later she was the first person to win the Tony Award for Best Costume Design, an acknowledgement of her contributions to ''Another Part of the Forest'', '' Street Scene'', and ''The Chocolate Soldier'', among others. Her second Tony was for the 1961 musical ''The Gay Life''. Additional theatre credits include '' Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Allegro'', ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', ''Flahooley'', ''The Fourposter'', '' Carnival in Flanders'', ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'', ''Orpheus Descending'', and ''The Sound of Music''. Ballard de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oliver Smith (designer)
Oliver Smith (February 13, 1918 – January 23, 1994) was an American scenic designer and interior designer. Biography Born in Waupun, Wisconsin, Smith attended Penn State, after which he moved to New York City and began to form friendships that blossomed into working relationships with such talents as Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Carson McCullers, and Agnes de Mille. In his early 20s, he lived at February House in Brooklyn with a coterie of famous people centered on George Davis and W. H. Auden. He tended the furnace, washed the dishes, and soothed the tempers of both residents and visitors. His career was launched with his designs for Léonide Massine's ballet ''Saratoga'' in 1941 and de Mille's '' Rodeo'' in 1942. Smith designed dozens of Broadway musicals, films (''Guys and Dolls'', ''The Band Wagon'', ''Oklahoma!'', ''Porgy and Bess''), and operas ('' La Traviata''). His association with the American Ballet Theatre began in 1944, when he collaborated with Robbins a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roy Roberts
Roy Roberts (born Roy Barnes Jones, March 19, 1906 – May 28, 1975) was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen. Life and career Born in Tampa, Florida, Roberts began his acting career on stage with a stock company there. He left the Tampa company after a year to perform in touring stock theater for five years. He first appeared on Broadway in May 1931 before making his motion picture debut in '' Gold Bricks'', a 1936 two-reel comedy short released by 20th Century-Fox. He appeared in numerous films in secondary parts and returned to perform on Broadway in such productions as ''Twentieth Century'', ''My Sister Eileen'', and '' Carnival in Flanders'' until he began making guest appearances on television series. After appearing on Gale Storm's ''My Little Margie'' in 1956, he became part of several television series. In a show that was the precursor to ''The Love Boat'', Roberts p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dolores Gray
Dolores Gray (born Sylvia Dolores Finkelstein; June 7, 1924 – June 26, 2002) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical twice, winning once. Early life She was born as Sylvia Dolores Finkelstein (but known by Sylvia Dolores Vernon growing up) to Barbara Marguerite Gray (born Marguerite Gray) and Harry Vernon Finkelstein. Both her mother and father were vaudeville actors, which is how they met. Gray's parents divorced when she was a young child. She had an older brother, Richard Gray (born Richard Vernon), who also had a career in Hollywood. While attending Polytechnic High School she was in the Girls' Glee Club. She was discovered by Rudy Vallee, who gave her a guest spot on his nationwide radio show. Career Her career commenced as a cabaret artist in restaurants and supper clubs in San Francisco, and in Reno, Nevada.''Who's Who in the Theatre'' (1981) Gale, ''Gale Biography In Context'' In 1945 she appea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Raitt
John Emmet Raitt (; January 29, 1917 – February 20, 2005) was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theatre. Early years Raitt was born in Santa Ana, California, United States. He got his start in theatre as a high school student at Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California. While there, he played in several drama productions in Plummer Auditorium. Raitt sang in the chorus of ''The Desert Song''. (A few years before he died, Raitt again came back to the Plummer to see a rehearsal, visit students and recollect his beginnings.) He is on the school's "Wall of Fame" for his accomplishments. In 1935, Raitt won the "football throw" at the California State High School Track and Field Championship; his mark of 220 feet remains the state record in that short-lived event. He was named "Athlete of the Meet" after that accomplishment. He graduated from the University of Redlands in 1939. After graduating, he was initially inclined toward a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Century Theatre
The New Century Theatre was a Broadway theater in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at 205–207 West 58th Street and 926–932 Seventh Avenue. Opened on October 6, 1921, as Jolson's 59th Street Theatre, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp on the site of the Central Park Riding Academy. It was built for the Shubert brothers, who named the house after Al Jolson. In 1920, the Shuberts announced plans to convert the Central Park Riding Academy into a theater, hiring Krapp to renovate the old structure. The Shuberts went bankrupt in 1931 and sold off Jolson's 59th Street Theatre, in part because of the venue's remoteness from Times Square. The venue was then leased as a film house called the Central Park Theatre. It was then renamed five more times before assuming the "New Century" name in 1944. The theater was converted to an NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio net ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Helen Tamiris
Helen Tamiris (born Helen Becker; April 24, 1905 – August 4, 1966) was an American choreographer, modern dancer, and teacher. Biography Tamiris was born in New York City on April 23, 1902. She adopted Tamiris, her stage name, from a fragment of a Persian poem: "Thou art Tamiris, the ruthless queen who banishes all obstacles," a mantra of her career. She was a choreographer known for American themed works. Tamiris originally trained in ballet and musical theater/comedy. She spent time studying free movement at the Henry Street Settlement. She danced for three seasons with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and the Bracale Opera Company before studying briefly with Michel Fokine and with a disciple of Isadora Duncan. In 1927, she made her premiere as a solo modern dancer and two years later formed her own school and company. Not only was she concerned with establishing modern dance as a viable art form, she also wanted to bring dance to a wider audience. Tamiris was married to mode ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jack Cole (choreographer)
Jack Cole (April 27, 1911 – February 17, 1974) was an American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director known as "the Father of Theatrical Jazz Dance". Early life Jack Cole made his professional dance debut with Denishawn at Lewisohn Stadium in New York City in August 1930. He began his training as a modern dancer only six weeks prior, studying with Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. He was entranced by the Asian influences their dance school utilized in its choreography and costuming. He also performed briefly with Humphrey-Weidman, and was influenced by the pioneering modernists Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman."Jack Cole biography" filmreference.com, retrieved April 6, 2010 Eager to make a living as a dancer during the Depression, he soon left the [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Choreography
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who creates choreographies by practising the art of choreography, a process known as choreographing. It most commonly refers to dance choreography. In dance, ''choreography'' may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. Dance choreography is sometimes called ''dance composition''. Aspects of dance choreography include the compositional use of organic unity, rhythmic or non-rhythmic articulation, theme and variation, and repetition. The choreographic process may employ improvisation for the purpose of developing innovative movement ideas. In general, choreography is used to design dances that are intended to be performed as concert dance. The art of choreograph ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bretaigne Windust
Ernest Bretaigne Windust (January 20, 1906 – March 19, 1960) was a United States-based French-born theater, film, and television director. Early life He was born in Paris, the son of English violin virtuoso Ernest Joseph Windust and singer Elizabeth Amory Day from New York City. The family escaped to London during World War I, and it was there that he developed an interest in theater. They returned to Paris following the war, but Windust's parents divorced in 1920, and he and his mother moved to the United States. He attended Columbia University and then Princeton, where he became a member and later president of the Theatre Intime players. Career Planning to become an actor, Windust co-founded with Charles Leatherbee the University Players in 1928 on Cape Cod in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The company lasted five years and included later luminaries Joshua Logan, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, Mildred Natwick, Eleanor Phelps, Barbara O'Neil, Myron McCormick, K ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |