...either to become a real character-this is a real event, after all-or hit the cutting-room floor. No one will need this thing to become Tom Stoppard's " Rock 'N' Roll. " This is a show with dynamite musical performances from masterful showmen...

In this article: Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Phillips, Levi Kreis, Lance Guest, Carl Perkins, and Chicago

By Tracy Letts. Directed by Anna D. Shapiro. Until Nov. 15 at the Canon Theatre, 244 Victoria St. 416-872-1212 Anyone looking for a master class in great acting ought to rush down to the Canon Theatre, where Estelle Parsons opened Thursday...

In this article: August: Osage County, Tracy Letts, Estelle Parsons, Anna D. Shapiro, and Zingers

...performers at the top of their game. Of such thrills, Broadway is made. Shubert Theatre, 225 W. 44th St.; 212-239-6200. " OLEANNA ": *** David Mamet's two-hander isn't a fun ride, but it certainly makes an impression: Think of it as Mamet 's...

In this article: David Mamet, Memphis, Schmaltz, Miss Julie, Hamlet, August: Osage County, After Miss Julie, Oleanna, God of Carnage, and American Airlines

...and Performance. " Jay , of course, is a magician, actor, and raconteur well known for his collaboration with David Mamet. In fact, Mamet 's name appears on the playbill as one of the creative forces behind the show. But Mamet is also debuting...

In this article: Ricky Jay, David Mamet, Broadway, Chicago, Jackie Hoffman, Second City, New York, Nathan Lane, The Addams Family, and Amy Morton

...personal essays on Westminster Abbey. This fact reminds me of the shrewd remark made by a descendant of Oscar Wilde who averred that it was fitting that Oscar had been honoured by a window rather than a monument because a window was "neither...

In this article: Alan Bennett, WH Auden, Benjamin Britten, The History Boys, Andrew Motion, Ian McKellen, Kafka's Dick, National Theatre, and Philip Larkin

...Thursday, November 5, 2009 Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. That old adage takes on a new sparkle in " Six Feet Under " creator Alan Ball's " Five Women Wearing the Same Dress ," the entirety of which takes place in a family bedroom where...

In this article: Alan Ball, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, and Six Feet Under

...up under the immeasurable weirdness of Mr. Stoppard 's art - the "un-, sub-, supernatural forces" that swarm through this wild discourse on Shakespeare , Beckett , theatre in general, and mankind in particular. Photo credit: Gili Getz

In this article: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Hamlet, New York City, Tom Stoppard, Guildenstern, Derivative, Ophelia, and Gertrude

...for Con O'Neill's performance, the box office sales have not been sufficient to keep the show going It tells the story of playwright Joe Orton and his lover Keith Halliwell. Lucas had been playing Halliwell in the production, which is...

In this article: Con O'Neill, Joe Orton, Matt Lucas, Prick Up Your Ears, Telstar, and John Lahr

... Martin has recently taken roles that played upon an almost psychotic sense of calm. And Baldwin has never been afraid to do anything, be it David Mamet , " The Cat in the Hat " or " Nip/Tuck." Even if what surrounds him tanks, he remains a...

In this article: Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Academy Awards, David Mamet, Jon Stewart, Trademark, Silver, Los Angeles Times, and Ricky Gervais

...Fangs'. Naturally, it has been assumed that the vampires in True Blood are a metaphor for the gay community. However, series creator Alan Ball says vampires can represent whatever minority you care to think of -- "pretty much any group...

In this article: Alan Ball, Twilight, True Blood, Stephenie Meyer, Cirque Du Freak, Charlaine Harris, Neil Gaiman, Edward Cullen, and DVD

... Geoffrey Rush , Susan Sarandon and John Leguizamo all appeared in shows that didn't earn back their production costs. And this season, David Mamet's " Oleanna " appears to be underperforming at the box office despite the presence of Julia...

In this article: Broadway, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Nederlander Organization, Neil Simon, Broadway Bound, David Mamet, Finian's Rainbow, and Abigail Breslin

...matriarch in ' August: Osage County ,' which opens Nov. 5. LETTS HOPES FOR A BETTER TORONTO WELCOME The last time actor/playwright Tracy Letts was in Toronto was at the height of the SARS crisis in 2003. Chicago 's famed Steppenwolf...

In this article: Estelle Parsons, Tracy Letts, August: Osage County, Toronto, Roseanne Barr, Wolfeboro, N.H, Oscar, Dyslexia, and TV Movie

...are my children,' was not an option.' And he tells Details magazine that a comment playwright Tom Stoppard made shortly after he 'came out' as a gay man at the age of 49 has stuck with him ever since. He recalls, '( Stoppard said), 'I...

In this article: Tom Stoppard, Details magazine, and Britain

Sir Ian , who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy , further recalled what playwright Tom Stoppard said to him shortly after he ''came out'' as a gay man at the age of 49. He added: "( Stoppard said), ''I feel so sorry for...

In this article: Ian McKellen, Tom Stoppard, Details magazine, Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Gandalf, Washington, and Britain

Investigative theatre can produce invigorating drama. But plays such as David Hare 's The Power of Yes don't tell us anything we don't know already Simon Williams and Anthony Calf in The Power of Yes at the Lyttelton theatre. Photograph:...

In this article: David Hare, The Permanent Way, Stuff Happens, Tony Blair, George Bush, Derivative, Black Watch, Iraq War, and JavaScript

...within half an hour. After Smith presented a performance for Yale faculty and students, she couldn't stay away from the topic. Smith estimates that she 's interviewed more than 300 people on three different continents to come up with the 21...

In this article: Anna Deavere Smith, Lance Armstrong, Nurse Jackie, Rachel Getting Married, Tour de France, Cancer, AIDS, and Rigor

Oleanna , David Mamet's tense two-hander about student-professor gender politics and power dynamics, was arriving in theaters only three years after Anita Hill testified against Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court. And it was...

In this article: Oleanna, Anna Deavere Smith, David Mamet, Clarence Thomas, Rosemary Harris, Jan Maxwell, and Coke

...examines the finite nature of life and how people cope with illness, is a joyous celebration of human perseverance. Over the years, Smith has built a sterling stage reputation with such documentary-style works as " Fires in the Mirror " and...

In this article: Anna Deavere Smith, Peter Gomes, Texas, Hurricane Katrina, Cancer, Fires in the Mirror, Harvard University, Lance Armstrong, and Ann Richards