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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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011) was an American playwright, theatre director, film producer and screenwriter. After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S. Army during World War II, Laurents turned to writing for Broadway, producing a body of work that includes ''West Side Story'' (1957), ''Gypsy'' (1959), and ''Hallelujah, Baby!'' (1967), and directing some of his own shows and other Broadway productions. His film scripts include ''Rope'' (1948) for Alfred Hitchcock, followed by '' Anastasia'' (1956), '' Bonjour Tristesse'' (1958), ''The Way We Were'' (1973), and '' The Turning Point'' (1977). Early life Born Arthur Levine, Laurents was the son of middle-class Jewish parents, his father a lawyer and his mother a schoolteacher, who gave up her career when she married. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steven Pasquale
Steven Pasquale (pronounced ; born November 18, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the New York City Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician Sean Garrity in the series '' Rescue Me''. He made his television debut on the HBO series '' Six Feet Under'', playing a love interest for David. He has also starred in the film '' Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem'', and as Scott in '' American Son'', on both stage and screen. Life and career Pasquale was born in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He attended Bishop McDevitt High School, a Roman Catholic school in Harrisburg, PA. He attended the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University as a theatre major for one semester before moving to New York, where he starred in numerous theatre productions. He originated the role of Fabrizio in the Seattle cast of '' The Light in the Piazza.'' However, scheduling conflicts with '' Rescue Me'' prevented him from reprising the role on Broadway, a disappointment he described as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liz Callaway
Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya/Anastasia in ''Anastasia'', Odette in ''The Swan Princess'', Jasmine in the ''Aladdin'' sequels ''The Return of Jafar'' and '' Aladdin and the King of Thieves'', adult Kiara in '' The Lion King II: Simba's Pride'', and a dancing napkin ring in ''Beauty and the Beast''. She was also the original Ellen in the Broadway production of ''Miss Saigon''. Early life, family, and education Callaway was born in Chicago, Illinois to Shirley Callaway, a singer, pianist, and vocal coach, and John Callaway, a journalist. Her sister is actress, composer, and singer Ann Hampton Callaway, with whom she sang the theme song for the Fran Drescher comedy series ''The Nanny'', which Hampton Callaway also composed. Both sisters attended New Trier High School (New Trier East) in Winnetka, Illinois. Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phyllis Somerville
Phyllis Jeanne Somerville (December 12, 1943 – July 16, 2020) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She is best known for her roles in '' Little Children'' (2006), '' The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'' (2008), ''Surviving Family'' (2012), '' The Big C'' (2010–2013), and ''Outsiders'' (2016–2017). Personal life Somerville was born in Iowa City, Iowa, to Lefa Mary (née Pash; 1918–2011) and the Rev. Paul Somerville (1919-1995), who moved the family around as he preached at different churches, until settling in Traer, and eventually Cresco, Iowa. There, her mother worked as a librarian, and Phyllis attended high school, where she was involved with cheerleading, drama, and music, including playing clarinet in the All-State band. She had three brothers: Paul, (Clinical social worker MBA) (1947–2005), and Stephen, (Naval officer, Forensic pathologist.) And Bruce (Artist) She attended Morningside College and then transferred to the University of Northern Iow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Ward (composer)
Robert Eugene Ward (September 13, 1917 – April 3, 2013) was an American composer who is best remembered for his opera ''The Crucible'' (1961) after the 1953 play of the same name by Arthur Miller. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music for that opera in 1962. Early work and education Ward was born in Cleveland, Ohio, one of five children of the owner of a moving and storage company. He sang in church choirs and local opera theaters when he was a boy. His earliest extant compositions date to 1934, at a time he was attending John Adams High School, from which he graduated in 1935. After that, Ward attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where his composition teachers were Bernard Rogers, Howard Hanson and Edward Royce. Ward received a fellowship and attended the Juilliard School of Music in New York from 1939 to 1942, where he studied composition with Frederick Jacobi, orchestration with Bernard Wagenaar, and conducting with Albert Stoessel and Edgar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Maltby Jr
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong in rule'. Nicknames include "Richie", "Dick", "Dickon", " Dickie", "Rich", "Rick", "Rico", "Ricky", and more. Richard is a common English, German and French male name. It's also used in many more languages, particularly Germanic, such as Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Dutch, as well as other languages including Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Finnish. Richard is cognate with variants of the name in other European languages, such as the Swedish "Rickard", the Catalan "Ricard" and the Italian "Riccardo", among others (see comprehensive variant list below). People named Richard Multiple people with the same name * Richard Andersen (other) * Richard Anderson (other) * Richard Cartwright (other) * Ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Mayer Harnick (born April 30, 1924) is an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as ''Fiorello!'' and ''Fiddler on the Roof''. Early life Sheldon Mayer Harnick was born to American Jewish parents and grew up in the Chicago neighborhood of Portage Park. Musical career Harnick began writing music while still in Carl Schurz High School in Chicago. After his Army service, he graduated from the Northwestern University School of Music (1946–1949) with a Bachelor of Music degree, and worked with various orchestras in the Chicago area. He then moved to New York City and wrote for many musicals and revues. He was friends with Charlotte Rae from college, and he went to see her one night at the Village Vanguard where she was singing a revue. Yip Harburg, who was one of Harnick's idols, heard she was singing a song of his and decided to come. He told Harnick that he enjoyed his writing, and urged him to continu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Guare
John Guare ( ;; born February 5, 1938) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known as the author of ''The House of Blue Leaves'' and ''Six Degrees of Separation''. Early life He was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens.Druckman, Stephen"THEATER; In Guare's Art, Zero Degrees of Separation"''The New York Times'', April 11, 1999 In 1949 his father suffered a heart attack and subsequently moved the family to Ellenville, New York while he recovered. His father's relatives lived there, making it an idyllic experience for him. Guare did not regularly attend school in Ellenville because the school's daily practices were not in keeping with the recommendations of the Catholic Church, causing his father to suspect the school had communist leanings. Instead of attending school, Guare was assigned home study and took exams intermittently, which allowed him time to go to the movies and see all the hits of the time. This had a lasting influence on Guare and his career. He atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
