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Jeff Weiss
Jeffrey Weiss (April 30, 1940 – September 18, 2022) was an American playwright, impresario, and actor, both on Broadway and a theater he ran with partner Ricardo Martinez in the East Village, Manhattan. Early life and education Weiss grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with his parents, two brothers, and one sister. His father was a salesman for Pennsylvania cement companies. His brother, Stephen Weiss, currently lives in Florida. His nephew (Stephen's son) is actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Career Weiss became involved in theatre, both writing and acting in plays. In New York City, his work was often presented at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and Caffe Cino. His first performance at La MaMa was in Robert Sealy's ''Waiting Boy'', followed by Sealy's ''Prevarications'', both in 1964. In 1966, Weiss performed in his own play, ''A Funny Walk Home'', at Caffe Cino, read for the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers in Louis Mofsie's ''Three Mask Dances'' at La MaMa, and performe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Impresario
An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. History The term originated in the social and economic world of Italian opera, in which from the mid-18th century to the 1830s, the impresario was the key figure in the organization of a lyric season. The owners of the theatre, usually amateurs from the nobility, charged the impresario with hiring a composer (until the 1850s operas were expected to be new) and the orchestra, singers, costumes and sets, all while assuming considerable financial risk. In 1786 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart satirized the stress and emotional mayhem in a single-act farce ''Der Schauspieldirektor'' (''The Impresario''). Antonio Vivaldi was unusual in acting as both impresario and composer; in 1714 he managed seasons at Teatro San Angelo in Venice, where his opera ''Orla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the American Theatre Wing. As the Tony Awards cover Broadway productions, the Obie Awards cover off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions. Background The Obie Awards were initiated by Edwin (Ed) Fancher, publisher of ''The Village Voice,'' who handled the financing and business side of the project. They were first given in 1956 under the direction of theater critic Jerry Tallmer. Initially, only off-Broadway productions were eligible; in 1964, off-off-Broadway productions were made eligible. The first Obie Awards ceremony was held at Helen Gee's cafe.Aletti, Vince"Helen Gee 1919–2004" ''Village Voice'' (New York City), 12 October 2004, accessed on 21 November 2013 With the exception of the Lifetime Achievement and Best New American Pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carousel (musical)
''Carousel'' is the second musical by the team of Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics). The 1945 work was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play ''Liliom'', transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline. The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He participates in a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child; after it goes tragically wrong, he is given a chance to make things right. A secondary plot line deals with millworker Carrie Pipperidge and her romance with ambitious fisherman Enoch Snow. The show includes the well-known songs "If I Loved You", "June Is Bustin' Out All Over" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". Richard Rodgers later wrote that ''Carousel'' was his favorite of all his musicals. Following the spectacular success of the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, ''Oklahoma!'' (1943), the pair sought to collaborate on anot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Face Value (play)
''Face Value'' was a 1993 play by American playwright David Henry Hwang. It was to be the second Broadway production of the playwright's work, but it closed in previews on March 14, 1993. The production was scheduled to open at the Cort Theatre. It was directed by Jerry Zaks, with B. D. Wong, Jane Krakowski, Mark Linn-Baker, Mia Korf, and Gina Torres in the cast. The play cost $2 million and was one of the biggest lossmakers on Broadway for a play at the time. Its critical failure provided the inspiration for David Henry Hwang's Obie Award-winning play '' Yellow Face'', which premiered in 2007 at the Mark Taper Forum and moved Off-Broadway to the Joseph Papp Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ....http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2007/novdec/fea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Real Inspector Hound
''The Real Inspector Hound'' is a short, one-act play by Tom Stoppard. The plot follows two theatre critics named Moon and Birdboot who are watching a ludicrous setup of a country house murder mystery, in the style of a whodunit. By chance, they become involved in the action causing a series of events that parallel the play they are watching. The play was written between 1961 and 1962, drawing on Stoppard's experiences as a Bristol theatre critic. It was initially named ''The Stand-ins'' and later, ''The Critics''. It is a parody of the stereotypical parlour mystery in the style of Agatha Christie's ''The Mousetrap'', as well as of the critics watching the play, with their personal desires and obsessions interwoven into their bombastic and pompous reviews. The title is a direct reference to the ending of ''The Mousetrap'', a play well known for guarding the secrecy of its twist ending, although the producers of Agatha Christie's play could not publicly object without drawing ev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mastergate
''Mastergate'' is a play by Larry Gelbart, which he describes as "A Play On Words". The title refers to a fictional political scandal enacted on "Master Pictures Studios", a fictional movie company that is actually a cover for arms trading. The title of the play also references other real-life political scandals, such as Watergate and others subsequently given the suffix -gate. Plot summary The play is set in the Sherman Adams Room at the John Mitchell Building in Washington, D.C. The "Select Joint Congressional Committee Investigating Alleged Covert Arms Assistance to Alleged Other Americas" investigates the CIA's attempt to divert arms to Central American guerrillas through a motion picture company's high-budget action film, entitled "Tet." (a reference to the Tet Offensive) ''Mastergate'' is a satire on congressional investigative committee hearings that took place during the McCarthy Era, on the Watergate investigation, and on the Iran-Contra affair. In his opening address ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Our Town
''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens. Throughout, Wilder uses metatheatrical devices, setting the play in the actual theatre where it is being performed. The main character is the stage manager of the theatre who directly addresses the audience, brings in guest lecturers, fields questions from the audience, and fills in playing some of the roles. The play is performed without a set on a mostly bare stage. With a few exceptions, the actors mime actions without the use of props. ''Our Town'' was first performed at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1938. It later went on to success on Broadway and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", the play remains popular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award nomination―making him the only Canadian recipient of the "Triple Crown of Acting" to also acquire a Grammy nomination. He made his Broadway debut in 1954 and continued to act in leading roles on stage, playing Cyrano de Bergerac in ''Cyrano'' (1974), Iago in ''Othello'', as well as playing the titular roles in ''Hamlet at Elsinore'' (1964), ''Macbeth'', ''King Lear'', and '' Barrymore''. Plummer performed in stage productions, including '' J.B.'', ''No Man's Land'', and '' Inherit the Wind''. Plummer was born in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in Senneville, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal. After appearing on stage, he made his film debut in '' Stage Struc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson (born 9 May 1936) is an English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP). She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice: for her role as Gudrun Brangwen in the romantic drama ''Women in Love'' (1970); and again for her role as Vickie Allessio in the romantic comedy '' A Touch of Class'' (1973). She received praise for her performances as Alex Greville in the drama film ''Sunday Bloody Sunday'' (1971) and Elizabeth I in the BBC television serial '' Elizabeth R'' (1971), winning two Primetime Emmy Awards for the latter. In 2018, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role in a revival of Edward Albee's ''Three Tall Women'', becoming one of the few performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting in the US. Jackson took a hiatus from acting to take on a career in politics from 1992 to 2015, and was elected as the Labour Party MP for Hampstead and Highgate in the 1992 general election. She served as a junior transport minister f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, ''Macbeth'' most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Thomas (actor)
Richard Earl Thomas (born June 13, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role as budding author John-Boy Walton in the CBS drama series ''The Waltons'' for which he won an Emmy Award. He also received another Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations, for that role. Thomas later starred in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic horror novel '' It'', and played Special Agent Frank Gaad on FX's spy thriller series ''The Americans''. More recently, he appeared in Netflix's '' Ozark'' and is touring with ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' as Atticus Finch. Early life and education Thomas was born on June 13, 1951 in Manhattan, New York, the son of Barbara Fallis and Richard S. Thomas. His parents were dancers with the New York City Ballet and owned the New York School of Ballet. Thomas has a nevus on his left cheek. He has stated that this led to his being turned down for a role in a television commercial in his youth. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Tony Awards. He has also received nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and four Grammy Awards. Lithgow has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 1973 Lithgow made his Broadway debut in ''The Changing Room'' for which he received his first Tony Award. In 1976 Lithgow acted alongside Meryl Streep in the plays ''27 Wagons Full of Cotton'', ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' and ''Secret Service'' at The Public Theatre. He received Tony Award nominations for ''Requiem for a Heavyweight'' (1985), ''M. Butterfly'' (1988), and '' Dirty Rotten Scoundre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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