Advocates celebrate creativity at ArtsDay 2014

Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:00:00 -0700

Advocates celebrate creativity at ArtsDay 2014

An estimated 500 plus advocates participated in ArtsDay 2014, an "annual opportunity for Angelenos to celebrate the contributions of arts and culture to the community and to talk with their elected officials about why the arts are important to us."

The day began with a continental breakfast in the City Hall rotunda, where Mayor Eric Garcetti welcomed the crowd with a speech about the indispensable role of the arts in our city.

Advocates donned bright red T-shirts (pictured right) designed by artist Stephen Walker, reinforcing Los Angeles' status as the world's "Creative Capital" and serving as a visual symbol of the power of L.A.'s creative community.

As the day's City Council meeting began, ArtsDay participants flooded the chambers in a show of solidarity for the arts. A variety of speakers described how the arts had positively affected their lives.

"This was my third time at Arts Day LA," said Camille Schenkkan, Center Theatre Group's manager for emerging artists and arts professionals programs. "It's exciting to see the growth of the event and how, each year, more local legislators sign on to support ArtsDay LA.

It's a reflection of the work done by thousands of passionate arts advocates to hear an elected official talk about the economic and cultural value of Los Angeles' rich arts ecology."

Delegations from each City Council district met with their elected officials to "thank them for their investments in arts and culture ... and [to] ask them to keep their pledges to foster healthy, vibrant, and prosperous communities that include the arts."

ArtsDay 2014 was organized by Arts For LA, an organization dedicated to "foster[ing] a healthy environment in which arts and culture may thrive and be accessible to all in Los Angeles County."

"I was excited to participate in ArtsDay LA for the first time," said Traci Cho Kwon, CTG's director of school partnerships, "and was thrilled to join the hundreds of other arts advocates in presenting a clear and visible message in our red T-shirts on the need for continued investment in arts and culture in our communities."

Broadway’s buzzing about Tony Award nominations

Mon, 14 Apr 2014 00:00:00 -0700

Broadway’s buzzing about Tony Award nominations

As announcement day for the 2014 Tony Award nominations approaches (April 29, live via TonyAwards.com with actors Jonathan Groff and Lucy Liu), Broadway is abuzz with predictions. The Tony Awards website released a full list of nomination-eligible shows earlier this month, and many of them are still running in New York. If you’re headed to the Big Apple for a spring or summer vacation, be sure to catch one or more of these buzzworthy productions! Then tune in to CBS on June 8 for the ceremony, hosted by theatre superstar Hugh Jackman.

BEST PLAY:

All the Way

The Golden Globe and three-time Emmy Award-winning star of _Breaking Bad_, Bryan Cranston, makes his Broadway debut in an electrifying portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson. A new play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, All the Way depicts the life of the controversial president and has been drawing fans from all over the country — even Capitol Hill.

Mothers and Sons

Written by four-time Tony Award-winner Terrence McNally, Mothers and Sons portrays a woman who pays an unexpected visit to the New York apartment of her late son's partner, who is now married to another man and has a young son. Starring Tony and six-time Emmy Award-winner Tyne Daly (Gypsy, Master Class), audience members have connected with this poignant story about how our understanding of family has changed over the years.

BEST MUSICAL:

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

Time Out New York called it “the new, undisputed king of musical comedy” (Time Out New York), so don’t miss out on A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder on Broadway! This hilarious new musical centers on Monty Navarro (played by Bryce Pinkham), who has just found out he could become the next Earl of Highhurst. He only has to eliminate eight minor roadblocks — the relatives who precede him in line for the title.

If/Then

Written by the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning creators of Next to Normal, If/Then is a new musical starring Tony Award-winner Idina Menzel (Wicked) that follows two distinct storylines in the life of Elizabeth, a city planner who moves back to New York to restart her life in this city of infinite possibilities. When her carefully designed plans collide with the whims of fate, Elizabeth's life splits into two parallel paths.

Go inside the recording studio with the cast in the complete photo coverage of their recording session below!

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY:

A Raisin in the Sun

Starring two-time Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington, Lorraine Hansberry’s beloved play A Raisin in the Sun has returned to Broadway for a run critics are already calling “the must-see event of this Broadway season” (New York Post).

Of Mice and Men

This revival of John Steinbeck’s adaptation of his own classic novel stars Golden Globe-winner and Academy Award-nominee James Franco and Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, “Girls”). It’s the story of George (Franco) and Lennie (O'Dowd), an unlikely pair of friends drifting from job to job across the farms and fields of California, holding fast to their dream of one day having an acre of land they can call their own.

Watch an interview with the stars here!

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL:

Cabaret

Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) reprises his Tony-winning performance as the Emcee in Cabaret, a musical that takes place in pre-WWII Germany, when people come to the infamous Kit Kat Klub to leave their troubles behind. Three-time Academy Award-nominee Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn, Brokeback Mountain) also stars, making her Broadway debut as Sally Bowles in a production that is sure to leave you breathless.

Les Misérables

Everyone is buzzing about the new cast of the Broadway revival of Les Misérables. With a cast led by critically acclaimed actor and Olivier Award-nominee Ramin Karimloo (The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies), Drama Desk and Tony Award-nominee Will Swenson (Hair, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert), and Tony Award-winner Nikki M. James (Book of Mormon), this spectacular reimagined production will blow you away.

Read an interview with Nikki. M. James on her journey from Book of Mormon to playing Éponine in Les Miz!

CATEGORY TO BE DETERMINED:

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill

Five-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald stars as Billie Holiday in an intimate, heart-stopping show about the end of the jazz singer’s life. Set in Emerson’s Bar & Grill in North Philadelphia, where Billie Holiday played one of her last club dates in 1959, this bio-musical has enthralled audiences in regional theatres all over the country, but has never starred powerhouse lead McDonald until now.

Center Theatre Group News & Blogs

Advocates celebrate creativity at ArtsDay 2014

Advocates celebrate creativity at ArtsDay 2014

It's a reflection of the work done by thousands of passionate arts advocates to hear an elected official talk about the economic and cultural value of Los Angeles' rich arts ecology."

Broadway’s buzzing about Tony Award nominations

Broadway’s buzzing about Tony Award nominations