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Drat! The Cat!
''Drat! The Cat!'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Ira Levin and music by Milton Schafer. Originally called ''Cat and Mouse'', this spoof of late- Victorian melodrama has at its core Alice Van Guilder, who wants to be a career girl at a time when nice young ladies marry well instead of having careers. Frustrated by the obstacles standing in her way, she becomes a cat burglar and plunders the homes of Manhattan's high society in the 1890s. After an out-of-town try-out at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia in September, 1965, and 11 previews, the Broadway production, presented by Jerry Adler and Norman Rosemont, directed and choreographed by Joe Layton, opened on October 10, 1965 at the Martin Beck Theatre, where it ran for only eight performances. The cast included Lesley Ann Warren, Elliott Gould, Charles Durning, Jane Connell, and Beth Howland. Conductor Herbert Grossman served as Music Director and Clare Grundman wrote the orchestra score. Warren won the Theatre World Aw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milton Schafer
Milton Schafer (September 24, 1920 – April 12, 2020 ''Broadway World''. Retrieved May 12, 2020.) was an American composer and pianist. After being a runner-up for first prize in the Texas-based national guild of piano teachers competition, Schafer continued his studies for a year in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. He returned to the U.S. to give his Town Hall début as a pianist in 1950, receiving very favorable reviews and performed there again in 1954. He worked as musical assistant (accompanist and adviser) to Bob Merrill ("(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?") for two years and after a stint at MGM in Hollywood, Vernon Duke signed him as a composer with Frank Loesser's publishing company, Frank Music. His first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Durning
Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless roles''" The Washington Post, p. B4 Durning's best-known films include ''The Sting'' (1973), ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''The Muppet Movie'' (1979), '' True Confessions'' (1981), ''Tootsie'' (1982), ''Dick Tracy'' (1990), and ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for both ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1982) and ''To Be or Not to Be'' (1983). Prior to his acting career, Durning served in World War II and was decorated for valor in combat. Early life Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York. He was the son of Louise (née Leonard; 1894–1982), a laundress at West Point, and James E. Durning (1883 – c. 1935). His parents were of German, Irish and Englis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jason Graae
Jason Graae (pronounced "grah" or "graw", but not "gray") (born 15 May 1958) is an American musical theater actor, best known for his musical theater performances but with a varied career spanning Broadway, opera, television and film. He has won four Bistro Awards, two Ovation Awards, two New York Nightlife Awards, the Theatre Bay Area Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Joel Hirschhorn Award for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Theatre. Early life Though he was born in Chicago, Graae was educated in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at Edison Preparatory School where he played the oboe, acted in plays, and sang in the chorus. He appeared in a production of the musical ''George M!'' in the seventh grade. Following his passion for music, Graae went to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, hoping to become a concert oboist, but did not like his instructor's approach. He transferred to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music only to have his previous ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susan Egan
Susan Farrell Egan (born February 18, 1970) is an American actress, singer and dancer, known for her work on the Broadway stage. She is best known for originating the role of Belle in the Broadway musical adaptation of ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1994), as well as for providing the voices of Megara "Meg" in ''Hercules'' (1997), Madame Gina in ''Porco Rosso'' (2005), Rose Quartz on ''Steven Universe'', and Lin in ''Spirited Away''. Early life Egan was born in Seal Beach, California on February 18, 1970. She attended Los Alamitos High School and the co-located Orange County High School of the Arts and UCLA. She is also a credited alumna of the Young Americans College. Career Stage and other work Having long desired to become a performer, Egan spent most of her time taking dancing, concentrating on ballet, and singing lessons as a child, and trained as a competitive figure skater from ages five to ten. While attending Los Alamitos High School, the Orange County High School of the Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract. The label's name was derived from combining French-born composer Edgard Varèse's last name with the musical term sarabande, a slow Spanish dance. As of February 2018, Varèse operates as a division of Concord Music Group's Craft Recordings label. History Varèse Sarabande's roots trace back to 1972, with the introduction of a predecessor imprint called Varèse International. The first LP release was "Lumiere" by Dub Taylor. Varèse International Records was originally conceived as an avant garde classical label. In the years that followed, under the management of the founder–owners, Dub Taylor and Chris Kuchler, the label expanded its catalogue to include jazz, classical and other genre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet storm and rock influence. Adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of pop/rock music. Adult contemporary tends to have lush, soothing and highly polished qualities where emphasis on melody and harmonies is accentuated. It is usually melodic enough to get a listener's attention, and is inoffensive and pleasurable enough to work well as background music. Like most of pop music, its songs tend to be written in a basic format employing a verse–chorus structure. The format is heavy on romantic sentimental ballads which mostly use acoustic instruments (though bass guitar is usually used) such as aco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List of people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards, awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). Streisand began her career by performing in nightclubs and Broadway theaters in the early 1960s. Following her guest appearances on various television shows, she signed to Columbia Records, insisting that she retain full artistic control, and accepting lower pay in exchange, an arrangement that continued throughout her career, and released her debut ''The Barbra Streisand Album'' (1963), which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Throughout her recording career, Streisand has topped the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 11 albums—a record for a woman—including ''People (Barbra Streisand album), People'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cast Album
A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast. A cast recording featuring the first cast to perform a musical in a particular venue is known, for example, as an "original Broadway cast recording" (OBCR) or an "original London cast recording" (OLCR). Cast recordings are (usually) studio recordings rather than live recordings. The recorded song lyrics and orchestrations are nonetheless identical (or very similar) to those of the songs as performed in the theatre. Like any studio performance, the recording is an idealized rendering, more glossily perfect than any live performance could be, and without audible audience reaction. Nevertheless, the listener who has attended the live show expects it to be an accurate souvenir of the experience. History The British were the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Pear Records
Blue Pear Records was a semi-fictitious record label based in Longwood, Florida, which is best known for re-issuing rare cast recordings of obscure Broadway and off-Broadway musicals in the mid-1980s. The lack of production credits and other helpful identifying information on the LP sleeves has generally led to the assumption that they are bootleg recordings. Origins The first LP to be released by Blue Pear Records, dating back to 1975, was not actually a theatre-related recording but, rather, an anthology of audio bloopers from the third season of ''Star Trek''. Between the cancellation of the TV series in 1969 and the release of the first motion picture adaptation in 1979, there was a huge groundswell of interest in ''Star Trek'', and a consequent demand for related media. Outtakes and bloopers, which had survived from the annual 'gag reels' prepared for the amusement of the original cast and crew, became popular when they were screened at fan conventions in the early 1970s by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Midtown Manhattan. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances. One is also given for regional theatre. Several discretionary non-competitive awards are given as well, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award. The awards were founded by theatre producer and director Brock Pemberton and are named after Antoinette "Tony" Perry, an actress, producer and theatre director who was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing. The trophy consists of a spinnable medallion, with faces portraying an adaptation of the comedy and tragedy masks, mounted on a black base with a pewter swivel. The rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre season. History In 1944, the Theatre World Awards were founded by Daniel Blum, Norman McDonald, and John Willis, recognizing "Promising Personalities", actors and actresses, in debut performances, in Broadway or Off-Broadway productions. In the first year Blum presented the awards in his apartment, at a cocktail party, to Betty Comden, Judy Holliday and John Raitt, and the second year to Barbara Bel Geddes, Marlon Brando, and Burt Lancaster. At Blum's 1949 party, Carol Channing won. The ''Theatre World'' editorial staff administered the Awards, under the supervision of Daniel Blum. In 1964, after Daniel Blum's death, John A. Willis, John Willis supervised the Awards. In 1969, the award was renamed the ''Theatre World Award ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clare Grundman
Clare (Ewing) Grundman (May 11, 1913 in Cleveland, Ohio – June 15, 1996 in South Salem, New York) was an American composer and arranger.Raoul F. Camus, ''Grove online'' Biography He was born in Cleveland and graduated from Shaw High School in East Cleveland in 1930. He then attended Ohio State University, where he received a bachelor's degree in Music Education in 1934. For a few years he taught instrumental music in Ohio and Kentucky public schools, but returned to Ohio State in 1937, where he taught orchestration, applied lessons in woodwind instruments, and conducted the band. He received his MA degree in 1940. After finishing his degree he moved to New York. He then studied composition with Paul Hindemith at the Berkshire Music Center, and served as a military musician in the United States Coast Guard from 1942 to 1945.Bruce Gbur, ''The Sinfonian'', December 2013, p. 13 Among his many awards were an Honorary Membership in the Women Band Directors International (1974) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
