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James Valcq
James Valcq (born 1963 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and librettist, as well as an actor and arts administrator. He contributed to various theatrical works. Education Valcq holds a BFA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with an applied voice major and an MFA from NYU’s Musical Theatre Writing Program. Career Valcq's professional career began as a boy soprano singing in Alban Berg's ''Wozzeck'' with the Skylight Comic Opera and '' Amahl and the Night Visitors'' with the Milwaukee Opera Company. For the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, he sang George Crumb's ''Ancient Voices of Children'' under conductor Arthur Weisberg and Kenneth Schermerhorn for Pro Musica Nova. He also played roles in summer stock, appearing with John Raitt, Karen Morrow, Margaret Whiting, and Dave Madden. Valcq had begun composing while still being in college and eventually abandoned performing to concentrate on composing and conducting. In addition ...
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The Spitfire Grill (musical)
''The Spitfire Grill'' is an American musical with music and book by James Valcq and lyrics and book by Fred Alley, based on the 1996 film of the same name by Lee David Zlotoff. The off-Broadway production by Playwrights Horizons began previews at the Duke Theatre on 42nd Street on September 7, 2001, and concluded its scheduled run on October 14, 2001. It won the Richard Rodgers Production Award, administered by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The musical depicts the journey of a young woman just released from prison, who decides to start her life anew in a rural town in Wisconsin. She participates in a journey within the town toward its own tenuous reawakening. History Authors James Valcq and Fred Alley had been friends since high-school music camp in 1980, but they did not collaborate until 1994 on ''The Passage'' for Alley's American Folklore Theatre in Wisconsin. New York-based Valcq was seeking a follow-up project for the pair after his '' Zombies from ...
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Summer Stock
In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock theaters frequently take advantage of seasonal weather by having their productions outdoors or under tents set up temporarily for their use. Some smaller theaters still continue this tradition, and a few summer stock theaters have become highly regarded by both patrons as well as performers and designers. Often viewed as a starting point for professional actors, stock casts are typically young, just out of high school or still in college. Elitch Theatre Summer stock started in Denver, Colorado, at the Elitch Theatre (part of Elitch Gardens). A 1937 article in Time magazine reported: "Elitch's Gardens is the great-grandfather of all U. S. summer stock companies... and nearly every personage in U. S. show business, from General & Mrs. Tom Th ...
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York Theatre
York Theatre is an off-Broadway theatre company based in East Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In its 50th year, York Theatre is dedicated to the production of new musicals and concert productions of forgotten musicals from the past. Each season consists of three or four mainstage productions, six or more concert presentations and dozens of developmental readings. It has had several transfers of its work to larger off-Broadway theatres and to Broadway. The company was awarded a special Drama Desk Award in 1996 to its artistic director Janet Hayes Walker and in 2006 for its "vital contributions to theater by developing and presenting new musicals". The York also received a Special Achievement Outer Critics Circle Award for 50 years of producing new and classic musicals. After Walker's death in 1997, the company has been run by James Morgan. From 1993 to 2020, the company performed at St. Peter's Church in the Citigroup Center at 619 Lexington Avenue at the corner of East 54th ...
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Zombies From The Beyond
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in which a ''zombie'' is a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magic like voodoo. Modern media depictions of the reanimation of the dead often do not involve magic but rather science fictional methods such as carriers, radiation, mental diseases, vectors, pathogens, parasites, scientific accidents, etc. The English word "zombie" was first recorded in 1819, in a history of Brazil by the poet Robert Southey, in the form of "zombi"."Zombie"
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Drama Desk
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Following the 1964 renaming as the Drama Desk Awards, Broadway productions were included beginning with the 1968–69 award season. The awards are considered a significant American theater distinction. History The Drama Desk organization was formed in 1949 by a group of New York theater critics, editors, reporters and publishers, in order to make the public aware of the vital issues concerning the theatrical industry. They debuted the presentations of the ''Vernon Rice Awards''. The name honors the ''New York Post'' critic Vernon Rice, who had pioneered Off-Broadway coverage in the New York press. The name was changed for the 1963–1964 awards season to the ''Drama Desk Awards''. In 1974, the Drama Desk became incorporated as a not-for-pr ...
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Drama League Award
The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards are presented by The Drama League at the Annual Awards Luncheon with performers, directors, producers, and Drama League members in attendance. The Drama League membership comprises the entire theater community, including award-winning actors, designers, directors, playwrights, producers, industry veterans, critics and theater-going audiences from across the U.S. The Drama League Awards are the oldest awards honoring theater in North America. The awards were established in 1922, and formalized in 1935. Katharine Cornell was the recipient of the first award in 1935, for Distinguished Performance. Seven competitive awards are presented: Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Out ...
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Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspapers, digital and national publications, and other media beyond Broadway. The awards were first presented during the 1949–50 theater season, celebrating their 70th anniversary in 2020. David Gordon, Senior Features Reporter at TheaterMania.com, currently serves as president. History The Outer Critics Circle was founded as the Outer Circle during the Broadway season of 1949–50 by an assortment of theater critics led by John Gassner, a reviewer, essayist, dramaturg, and professor of theater. These critics were writing for academic publications, special interest journals, monthlies, quarterlies, and weekly publications outside the New York metro area, and were looking for a forum where they could discuss the theater in general, particular ...
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American Academy Of Arts And Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headquarters is in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It shares Audubon Terrace, a Beaux Arts/ American Renaissance complex on Broadway between West 155th and 156th Streets, with the Hispanic Society of America and Boricua College. The academy's galleries are open to the public on a published schedule. Exhibits include an annual exhibition of paintings, sculptures, photographs and works on paper by contemporary artists nominated by its members, and an annual exhibition of works by newly elected members and recipients of honors and awards. A permanent exhibit of the recreated studio of composer Charles Ives was opened in 2014. The auditorium is sought out by musicians and engineers wishing to record live, as ...
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Fred Alley
Fred Alley (1962–2001) was an American musical theatre lyricist and librettist who died unexpectedly just as his work gained national recognition. His collaboration on the musical ''The Spitfire Grill'' with composer James Valcq won the American Academy of Arts and Letters' prestigious Richard Rodgers Production Award for 2001. Premiered at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey and produced Off-Broadway by Playwrights Horizons, it received Best Musical nominations from the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League, as well as two Drama Desk nominations. The cast album was released on Triangle Road Records. ''The Spitfire Grill'' has become one of the most frequently performed recent musicals with more than 600 productions to date, not only in every major American city but in Canada, Germany, South Korea, and Japan as well. In 2008 the show had its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Alley was the co-founder and artist-in-Residence at American Folklore Theatre (AFT) ...
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Zombies From The Beyond
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in which a ''zombie'' is a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magic like voodoo. Modern media depictions of the reanimation of the dead often do not involve magic but rather science fictional methods such as carriers, radiation, mental diseases, vectors, pathogens, parasites, scientific accidents, etc. The English word "zombie" was first recorded in 1819, in a history of Brazil by the poet Robert Southey, in the form of "zombi"."Zombie"
in

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Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer than 100. An "off-Broadway production" is a production of a play, musical, or revue that appears in such a venue and adheres to related trade union and other contracts. Some shows that premiere off-Broadway are subsequently produced on Broadway. History The term originally referred to any venue, and its productions, on a street intersecting Broadway in Midtown Manhattan's Theater District, the hub of the American theatre industry. It later became defined by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers as a professional venue in Manhattan with a seating capacity of at least 100, but not more than 499, or a production that appears in such a venue and adheres to related trade union and other contracts. Previously, regardless of the size ...
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Dave Madden
David Joseph Madden (December 17, 1931 – January 16, 2014) was a Canadian-born American actor. His most famous role came on the 1970s sitcom ''The Partridge Family'', in which he played the group's manager, Reuben Kincaid, opposite Shirley Jones' character. Madden later had a recurring role as diner customer Earl Hicks on the mid-1970s to mid-1980s sitcom '' Alice''. Early life Madden was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, to Verna (née Burleigh) and Roger Madden. He had three older siblings: Sister Mary Roger (1919–), a practicing nun at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in Indiana; Richard (1921–?); and Jack (1926–1948). He spent his early childhood in Port Huron, Michigan, and in 1939 was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, Bess and Frank Hoff, in Terre Haute, Indiana, after his father's death and his mother's job keeping her on the road. At age 13, a serious bicycle accident left him immobilized. Madden spent months recuperating, a time during which he took an interest in mag ...
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