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Roza (musical)
''Roza'' is a 1987 musical based on the novel '' The Life Before Us'' by Romain Gary with music by Gilbert Bécaud and lyrics and book by Julian More. Background Bécaud had seen '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' and was inspired to work with Harold Prince, who directed the 1979 Stephen Sondheim musical. He wanted to adapt the novel '' The Life Before Us'' by Romain Gary into a musical, which was also made into a movie ''Madame Rosa'' starring Simone Signoret (1977), but Prince declined. Prince stated that he hated the movie and thought it was "sentimental and negative". Becaud was determined to convince Prince, and Prince eventually agreed on one condition: that he be able to choose the librettist who would also write the lyrics. Prince ended up choosing Julian More. Prince suggested to More that the setting of the show jump between past and present, but it was "...clear that it was pretentious." They decided to tell the story in the present. Before going to B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gilbert Bécaud
Gilbert Bécaud (, 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as " What Now My Love". He remained a popular artist for nearly fifty years, identifiable in his dark blue suits, with a white shirt and "lucky tie"; blue with white polka dots. When asked to explain his gift he said, "A flower doesn't understand botany." His favourite venue was the Paris Olympia under the management of Bruno Coquatrix. He debuted there in 1954 and headlined in 1955, attracting 6,000 on his first night, three times the capacity. On 13 November 1997, Bécaud was present for the re-opening of the venue after its reconstruction. Biography Born François Gilbert Léopold Silly in Toulon, France, Bécaud learned to play the piano at a young age, and then went to the Conservatoire de Nice. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florence Klotz
Florence Klotz (October 28, 1920 – November 1, 2006) was an American costume designer on Broadway and on film. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, she graduated from Parsons School of Design, and went to work painting fabrics for Brooks Costumes. Originally named as Kathrina Klotz, she later changed her name to "Florence" and was often nicknamed "Flossie". Klotz began her career in 1951 as an assistant to Irene Sharaff, who designed the costumes for Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's ''The King and I'' It was there she met her companion for the next half century Ruth Mitchell who later would co-produce Broadway shows with Hal Prince. She worked with Jerome Robbins, designing costumes for '' Madama Butterfly'' for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the film version of ''A Little Night Music''. She became friendly with actress Elizabeth Taylor on the set of this last venture, for which Klotz was nominated for an Academy Award — Taylor asked Klotz to design the lav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramon Del Barrio
Ramon Del Barrio (born Ramon G. del Barrio, May 9, 1964 in New York) is an American performer, choreographer, dancer and singer. He is sometimes credited as Raymond Del Barrio. Career He has worked as director and choreographer for boy-band O-Town (J Records) on ABC’s primetime hit ''Making the Band.'' He has performed in Chita Rivera’s ''A Legendary Celebration on Broadway'' for BC/EFA, creating the role of Damon Runyon in the Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls. He also performed in the Las Vegas production of Jersey Boys. Among his tours are Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life and the 30th anniversary tour of West Side Story, in which he played Chino and Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...’s Moment of Truth World Tour. His film and televisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thuli Dumakude
Thuli Daisy Dumakude is a South African-born singer-songwriter and Broadway actress. She is best known for having originated the title role in 1983's ''Poppie Nongena'', for which she received the Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play in 1984. Theater life Dumakude was born in Lamontville. Before moving to Broadway, she was an actress in South Africa. She performed as KaMadonsela (Lady Macbeth) in a Zulu adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'', a show that also took her to Chicago. She moved to Broadway in the early 1980s, when she was cast as the title character in Elsa Joubert's ''Poppie Nongena'', an English translation of her book ''Die swerfjare van Poppie Nongena''. As Poppie, Dumakude traveled to London, Toronto, Australia and Chicago. She moved to America in 1979 with her husband, Welcome Msomi, where they formed the Izulu Dance Theater. In 1988, Dumakude was part of the cast of Julie Taymor's '' Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass''. In 1992, sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandla Msomi
Mandla David Msomi (born 25 December 1950) is a South African politician and businessman. He represented the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2004, and during that time he chaired the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises from 1994 to 1999. Legislative career: 1994–2004 Msomi was first elected to the National Assembly in the 1994 general election. He was narrowly re-elected to a second term in the National Assembly in 1999, serving the KwaZulu-Natal constituency. During the first democratic Parliament from 1994 to 1999, Msomi chaired Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, and he remained an ordinary member of the committee during his second term. He also chaired the Durban-based Empowerment Trust during his time in Parliament, until it was liquidated. Dato Samsudin In January 2001, the ''Mail & Guardian'' reported that Msomi, while chair of the public enterprises committee, had leaked confidential government inform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcia Lewis
Marcia Lewis (August 18, 1938 – December 21, 2010) was an American character actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical (''Chicago'' and '' Grease'') and twice for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (''Chicago'' and ''Rags''). Life and career Lewis was born in Melrose, Massachusetts and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio.Official website marcialewis.com, retrieved January 25, 2010 She was a registered nurse at the University of Cincinnati Hospital and and received her RN from the Jewish Hospital School of Nursing in Cincinnati in 1959. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Paez
Alex Paez (born July 25, 1963) is an American actor, musician and restaurateur. Career Paez began his career in 1971 appearing in various TV commercials. In 1979, he received a Best Actor Emmy Award for his performances in ''Unicorn Tales'', a series of mini-musicals for NBC. The following year brought a second nomination in the same category for the NBC ''Special Treat'' presentation: “NYC Too Far From Tampa Blues.” In 1980 he was cast as Prince Choi Amid Sin Du in the Garry Marshall pilot “Kat Mandu” starring Vicki Lawrence, Alice Ghostly and Victor Buono, and he played a young mugger in CBSʼ “Stone Pillow” opposite Lucille Ball. In 1987 he made his Broadway debut as Momo (''Mohammed'') at the Royale Theater in Hal Princeʼs musical ''Roza''. The show played to mixed reviews in both Baltimore and Los Angeles, but closed shortly after opening in New York. In 1991 he took over the role of Ritchie Valens in the national tour of ''Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Gunton
Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama ''The Shawshank Redemption'', Chief George Earle in 1993's '' Demolition Man'', Dr. Walcott, the domineering dean of Virginia Medical School in ''Patch Adams,'' and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in ''Argo''. He also played Leland Owlsley in the '' Daredevil'' television series, Secretary of Defense Ethan Kanin in '' 24,'' and Noah Taylor in ''Desperate Housewives.'' In addition to his film and television careers, Gunton is a prolific theatre actor. He originated the role of Juan Perón in the Broadway premiere of ''Evita'' and the titular character in the 1989 revival of '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', roles for which he received Tony Award nominations. He has received a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, and a Clarence Derwent Award. Early lif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georgia Brown (English Singer)
Georgia Brown (21 October 1933 – 5 July 1992) was an English singer and actress. Early life Georgia Brown, born Lilian Claire Klot,Barron, James"Georgia Brown, An Actress, 57; Was in 'Oliver!'"''The New York Times'', 6 July 1992 was born and raised in the East End of London. The daughter of Mark and Annie (née Kirshenbaum) Klot, Brown grew up in a large, extended Jewish family of Russian descent. Her father worked in a textile factory and as a bookmaker. Brown attended the Central Foundation Grammar School. During the London Blitz, she was evacuated to the mining village of Six Bells, Abertillery, Monmouthshire, Wales. Career During an initial performing career as a nightclub singer, she adopted the professional name Georgia Brown with reference to two of her favourite repertoire items: "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Georgia on My Mind". At the age of 17, she appeared at the Embassy Club in London in April 1951 to mixed reviews and she then went into a number of stage present ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Nash (saxophonist, Born 1960)
Ted Nash (born December 28, 1960) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer. Born into a musical family, his uncle was saxophonist Ted Nash and his father is trombonist Dick Nash, both prominent jazz soloists and first call Hollywood studio musicians. Nash is a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra directed by Wynton Marsalis. He is one of the founders of the Jazz Composers Collective. Music career Nash grew up in Los Angeles. His father is trombonist Dick Nash and his uncle was saxophonist Ted Nash. Both were big band veterans, jazz soloists and session musicians who worked regularly with Henry Mancini and Les Brown. The younger Nash began his career on piano when he was seven, clarinet when he was 12, and alto saxophone at 13. When he was 16, he played for one week with Lionel Hampton and the following year was playing saxophone with Quincy Jones, Louis Bellson, and Don Ellis. When he was 18, he moved to New York City and became a member of the Gerry Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamey Haddad
Jamey George Haddad (born July 2, 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American percussionist who works primarily in the fields of jazz and world music and specializes in hand drums. Biography Haddad is of Lebanese ancestry. From the age of four, he began playing Lebanese percussion instruments, such as the goblet drum. He later studied music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He lived in New York City for over 20 years. In 2002, he and his family moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio. He teaches at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio. He is also artistic director of the Friday's at 7 series at Cleveland's Severance Hall. This series features the Cleveland Orchestra and a secondary performance of folk artists from around the world. Music career For five years, Haddad studied Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music, with Ramnad Raghavan. He received a Fulbright Fellowship, which allowed him to study South Indian Carnatic music, including the mri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Sperling
Ted Sperling is a musical director, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, stage director and musician, primarily for the stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Orchestrations, for his work in '' The Light in the Piazza'' in 2005. He is the Artistic Director oMasterVoices formerly the Collegiate Chorale. Career Sperling was born in Manhattan and started taking violin lessons at age 5, studied at Juilliard School starting at age 16, and graduated from Yale University, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude at the age of 21."Theater:Ted Sperling" citypaper.net, August 15–21, 2002 Sperling has been the musical director, conductor, stage director and/or arranger for such |
