I started this blog with one daughter, kept it up with the other, to spend time together doing something we enjoyed.
However, things change and people evolve. My daughters are older, busier, and not as interested in writing.
From now on this blog will be mostly mom with occasional contributions from my daughters and maybe even my husband.
Nothing else will change. We'll still focus on sharing fun places to go, fun things to do, and more, and we would  still love to hear your views too

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Sunday Scoop Week of 10/20/19 - What's Happening This Week or Coming up Soon

In This Week's Scoop

1) Upcoming at Lincoln Center
    Nest, White Light Festival: En Masse, Melanie Charles, White Light Festival: Journey to the East
2) Upcoming at Merkin Hall
     PREFormance with Allison Charney, Ecstatic Music:Natahalie Joachim & Spektral Quartet
     New York Philharmoniv Ensembles, Masters & Music: David Kim, violin
3) Upcoming at iPlay America
    American Red Cross Blood Drive, World of Dance Live Tour Season 3
4) Upcoming at Kelsey Theatre
     Catch Me If You Can
5) Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration: Music and Dance to China
6) Halloween Offerings at National Geographic Encounter
7) Upcoming at Broadway Workshop
    Musical Theatre Master Classes with Jessie Mueller and Sierra Boggess
8) Upcoming at Symphony Space
     National Dance Institute: The Celebration Team "Voices of Change"
9) Upcoming On Stage at Kingsborough
     Peter Pan

PR Firm Roundup

10) News from Andrea Alton PR
      10A) Experimental Bitches Presents Workshop Production in Assocation with Access Theater
      10B) Upcoming at United Solo Festival
11) News from DDPR
      The Wake of Dick Johnson October 27 -31
12) News from DLC/O&M
      12A) McKittrick Hotel Announces Mic Drop With Murray Hill
      12B) McKitttrick Hotel Announces A Hitchcock Halloween Party
13) News from JT Public Relations
     13A) Bars and Measures Begins Performance
     13B) NAMT Kicks-Off Festival of New Musicals with the 46th Minute
     13C) NAMT Festtival of New Musicals October 24 -35 at New World Stage
14) News from Michelle Tabnick PR
    14A) NY Shakespeare Exchange Freestyle Lab Tuesday October 22
    14B) TRU October Discussion
15) News from Pascal Nadon Communications
      15A) Upcoming for  the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
      15B) Upcoming for The Orchestra Now

1) Upcoming at Lincoln Center

Nest, White Light Festival: En Masse, Melanie Charles, 
White Light Festival: Journey to the East

Wednesday, October 23 – Sunday, October 27 at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm 
LC Kids 
Nest
Akin Theatre (England) 
Unfolding in a custom-built performance tent, this multisensory experience takes audiences on a delightful journey through the seasons. Using playful poetry, music, movement, puppetry, and tactile play, Nest will awaken curiosity in babies and remind grownups of the wonder of being in the world for the first time. To note: This intimate performance is set in a tent, in which babies and caregivers are seated in a circle. Seating is general admission, and the Front of House team will guide audience members to their seats on the floor. Recommended for Ages 0-14 months. 
Clark Studio Theater, 165 West 65th Street. 
TICKETS start at $24 (Member Price $18) and are available by visiting Kids.LincolnCenter.org

Wednesday, October 23 – Friday, October 25 at 7:30 pm 
White Light Festival 
En Masse
 Australia’s Circa ensemble embodies electrifying explosions of physicality and power in this work that blurs the boundaries of dance, theater, music, and circus arts. Under the visionary direction of Yaron Lifschitz, the troupe melds circus acrobatics with contemporary dance in the tender and savage En Masse, featuring ten acrobats and three musicians performing to music by Swedish composer Klara Lewis interspersed with selections from Schubert’s haunting Winterreise and Schwanengesang. A two-piano arrangement of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring yields the anarchic energy of acrobats caught in a life-and-death struggle. Circa appeared in the U.S. premiere of How Like an Angel in the 2014 White Light Festival. There will be a post-performance discussion with Libby McDonnell and Elizabeth Streb on Thursday, October 24. Endowment support for the White Light Festival presentation of En Masse is provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation Fund for Dance.
Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 524 W. 59th Street. 
TICKETS start at $45 and are available by calling 212.721.6500, or visiting LincolnCenter.org/White-LightFestival

*FREE Thursday, October 24 at 7:30 pm 
David Rubenstein Atrium 
Atrium 360°: Melanie Charles’s Make Jazz Trill Again Project 
Trained as an opera singer before turning to jazz, Brooklyn-based artist Melanie Charles has been making waves with her voice and versatility. Deemed “one of the most dynamic vocal pipes ever witnessed” by KariJazz, Charles can channel Nina Simone and Nancy Wilson as well her Haitian roots in one rousing and unequivocally unique concert. She has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center and on Saturday Night Live and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and collaborated with artists such as SZA, Jean Grae, and the Gorillaz. Tonight, Charles showcases her jazz-rooted, lo-fi multi-media experience in this captivating performance at the Atrium. Commissioned by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts 
David Rubenstein Atrium, Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets. 
FREE Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For questions about accessibility or to request an accommodation, please contact access@lincolncenter.org or 212.875.5375. For more information, please visit LincolnCenter.org/Atrium.

Thursday, October 24 at 7:30 pm 
White Light Festival 
Journey to the East 
Journey to the East links two unique figures across the centuries: acclaimed early-music interpreter Jordi Savall and St. Francis Xavier, the 16th-century Jesuit missionary who traveled from the court of Lisbon to Mozambique, India, Malaysia, Japan, and China. In this epic musical journey, narrated by John Douglas Thompson, Savall directs Hespèrion XXI, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, and guest musicians as they trace the rich array of percussion, melodic instruments, and vocal styles Francis Xavier would have encountered on his route. Journey to the East is based on Savall’s 2008 album Francis Xavier: The Route to the Orient, created from a program marking the 500th anniversary of Xavier’s birth. Savall returns to the White Light Festival following presentations of The Cycles of Life: A Musical Exploration of the Balkans in 2013 and The Routes of Slavery, also narrated by Thompson, in 2017. There will be a pre-concert discussion with Jordi Savall and Ara Guzelimian at 6:15 pm. 
Alice Tully Hall, 1941 Broadway. 
TICKETS start at $75 and are available by calling 212.721.6500, or visiting LincolnCenter.org/White-LightFestival
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2) Upcoming at Merkin Hall
129 W. 67th St.
New York, NY

 PREFormance with Allison Charney, 
Ecstatic Music:Natahalie Joachim & Spektral Quartet
     New York Philharmoniv Ensembles,
 Masters & Music: David Kim, violin

Thursday October 24, 7:30 PM
PREformance with Alison Charney

Preview the world’s premier classical music performed by today’s celebrated musicians. Featuring violinists Kelly Hall-Tompkins and Eriko Sato, and pianists Donna Weng Friedman and David Oei. 


Saturday October 26, 7:30 PM
Ecstatic Music: Nathalie Joachim& Spektral Quartet

"Fanm d'Ayiti" ("Women of Haiti")
Joachim's evening-length work for voice, flute, string quartet and electronics celebrates some of Haiti’s most iconic female artists and explores her Haitian heritage.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit 

Sunday October 27, 3:00 PM
New York Philharmonic Ensembles

Up close and personal.
An Ensembles concert provides an intimate connection between musician and audience. Works by Prokofiev, Mendelssohn and Beethoven.


For more information or to purchase tickets, visit 
Sunday October 27, 7:30 PM
Masters & Music: David Kim, Violin

Philadelphia Orchestra Concertmaster David Kim inaugurates an exciting new series of in-depth conversations and masterclasses with world-renowned musicians presented by Orpheus Rising.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit 
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3) Upcoming at iPlay America
110 Schank Rd.
Freehold, NJ

 American Red Cross Blood Drive, 
World of Dance Live Tour Season 3

Thursday October 24 American Red Cross Blood Drive

The blood drive will start at 2:00 PM and end at 7:00 PM on October 24th. For more information or to schedule your appointment online, visit www.iPlayAmerica.com/BloodDrive.

Appointments to donate are preferred; however, walk-ins are always welcome. Those who are interested in donating blood during this event, can call Maureen at 732-616-2193 or send an e-mail to maureen.fasano@gmail.com.

In addition, iPlay America will host a fundraiser the day of at their in house restaurant Game Time Bar & Grill to raise proceeds for the cause. If anyone visiting the park on October 24th mentions the blood drive to their server, 20% of the customer’s food bill will go back to the American Red Cross.
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4) Upcoming at Kelsey Theatre
1200 Old Trenton Rd.
West Windsor, NJ

Fridays, Oct. 25 & Nov. 1 at 8pm
Saturdays, Oct. 26 & Nov. 2 at 8pm
Sundays, Oct. 27 & Nov. 3 at 2pm

Based on the hit film and incredible true story, The Pennington Players present this high-flying musical comedy about chasing your dreams and not getting caught. Frank Abagnale Jr. runs away from home and with nothing more than his boyish charm, a big imagination, and millions of dollars in forged checks, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, with FBI agent Carl Hanratty hot on his trail. With a book by Terrence McNally and a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, it’s an evening of high-energy entertainment! 

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://kelsey.mccc.edu/shows_current.shtml#4
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5)Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration:
Music and Dance to China
Kumble Theater
Long Island University
1 University Plaza
Brooklyn, NY

Friday October 25, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

On October 25th, InterSchool Orchestras of New York’s Concert Orchestra will partner with the New York Chinese Cultural Center to present an exciting combination of Chinese music and dance. The orchestra, consisting of middle school students and conducted by Joseph Meyers, will premier Huang Ruo’s “3 Stanzas of Plum Blossoms” alongside other works by Wang, Curnow, Thomas, Short, and Osentowski. As part of this Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, young performers will present  traditional Chinese dances in costume. The concerts will take place at Long Island University’s Kumble Theater at 6:30 and 8:30 pm.

Tickets can be purchased at http://isorch.org/ for $25 until October 20th; then admission increases to $35.
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6) Halloween Offerings at National Geographic Encounter
226 W. 44th St.
New York, NY

Friday October 25 to Thursday October 31

National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey in Times Square will offer any child who comes dressed in a sea-themed costume FREE entry, along with an adult ticket from Friday, October 25 to Thursday, October 31.

National Geographic Encounter is an entertaining and immersive adventure across the ocean from the South Pacific to the coast of California.  Instead of taking animals out of their homes, Encounter’s groundbreaking technology transports you to theirs, using stunning photo-realistic animation that gives you access to rarely witnessed moments in nature.
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7) Upcoming at Broadway Workshop
Ripley Grier Studios
520 Eighth Ave.
New York, NY

 Musical Theater Master Classes with 
Jessie Mueller and Sierra Boggess

Saturday October 26, 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Musical Theater Master Class with Jesse Mueller
Ages 13-19

Jessie will work with each student on audition technique and song interpretation in this special one-day Musical Theatre Master Class. The class will focus on giving actors the opportunity to bring their audition and performance skills to the next level and how to better connect to their audition material. Students will break down their song material with one on one coaching in a class setting. Students will also have the opportunity to be part of a Q&A with Ms. Mueller and the Broadway Workshop team.

For more information and to register, visit

Saturday November 2, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Musical Theater Master Class with Sierra Boggess

Sierra will work with each student on audition technique and song interpretation in this special one-day Musical Theatre Master Class. The class will focus on giving actors the opportunity to bring their audition and performance skills to the next level and how to better connect to their audition material. Students will break down their song material with one on one coaching in a class setting. Students will also have the opportunity to be part of a Q&A with Ms. Boggess and the Broadway Workshop team.
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8) Upcoming at Symphony Space
2537 Broadway
New York, NY

October 26, 2:00 PM National Dance Institute: The Celebration Team
"Voices of Change"

Dancers ages 9 to 15 will be performing for kids in Just Kidding’s annual high-energy show, featuring original choreography and live music. This year’s performance of “Voices of Change" honors individuals and communities that have used their voices to affect positive change in the world. Through dance and music, NDI's exuberant dancers will highlight the countless possibilities of artistic expression and activism to inspire, empower, and mobilize the voices of tomorrow.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit  Symphonyspace.org
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9) Upcoming On Stage at Kingsborough
Leon M. Goldstein Performing Arts Center
2001 Oriental Blvd.
Brooklyn, NY

Peter Pan

October 27, 2:00 PM

Adapted by Tony Award winners John Caird and Trevor Nunn (Les Misérables, and Nicholas Nickleby), this charming production celebrates childhood and the magic of the imagination as the Darling family transforms their nursery into Neverland by turning pillows into clouds, long-johns into shadows, an ironing board into a ship’s plank, and antique snowshoes into a crocodile's snapping jaws.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit 
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PR Firm Roundup

10) News from Andrea Alton

10A) Experimental Bitch Presents workshop production in association with Access Theater

Experimental Bitch Presents (EBP) is thrilled to announce their upcoming workshop production of In the Kitchen this October. The production will inaugurate EBP’s Full Access Residency at the historic Access Theater for the 2019-2020 season. Performances will take place on October 25th, 26th and 27th in The Gallery. 

In the Kitchen is a community-based performance that uses live cooking, oral story-telling, movement and music to explore Arab-Jewish womanhood by bringing women’s stories and cultural labor to the public sphere. The piece focuses on themes of domesticity, femininity, and the stereotype of being “in the kitchen.”

Created by Hannah Goldman, In the Kitchen is inundated with questions of diaspora - what does it mean to bring there — here? Where do the words “Arab” and “Jewish” meet? The piece addresses the violence of colonial erasure while offering healing through the power of food, which knows no borders and wins the hearts, minds, and bellies of all who consume it. The audience is invited to listen to a tapestry of testimonies, watch live performance, eat and drink traditional dishes, and talk to each other in a communal setting.
 
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit 

**
10B) Upcoming at United Solo Festival 
Theatre Row 
410 W. 42nd St.
New York, NY

Tuesday October 22, 9:00 PM
Blindsided

Born to a nun and a monk in the small town of Alachua, Florida, Jeannette was always a standout kid...and also one who stood alone. Until she met her best friend Katie, who, tragically, at the age of 16, took her own life. Blindsided is a raw personal journey filled with humor and insight that focuses on how Rizzi – at the age of 17 -- sees her life dive into a tailspin after the suicide of her best friend. Rizzi struggles to find her spiritual and emotional compass, while facing off against her debilitating anxiety and depression. Thus, began Jeannette’s battle to sink or swim, or – in her case – live or die.

For tickets and more info, please go to www.unitedsolo.org/us/2019-blindsided

Friday October 25, 7:00 PM
Don Carlos: Prince of Asturias

Set at the peak of the Spanish Inquisition, Don Carlos: Prince of Asturias takes us to 16th Century Madrid: a world led by misogynistic patriarchy in which the one-sided view of religion and state ruled the world with fear tactics in
attempts to cleanse the population. Don Carlos was future king of Spain after the most powerful king of Spain, King Phillip II, but his physical
deformities and personality anomalies deemed him unfit to rule in a Patriotic and Puritan Spaniard’s eye. Among the deformities, were weak hands, a light step, outrageous temper, and sexual deviancy. Don Carlos was seen as
different and therefore immoral, thus the Royal Court would stop at nothing to ensure that Don Carlos never ruled the mighty, clean, and pure kingdom of Spain. Even his father, King Phillip II, would go to extremes including
marrying Carlos’ promised wife-to-be, Isabel of Valois. Will Don Carlos fight for his right to live, or succumb to erasure?

Don Carlos: Prince of Asturias will have its World Premiere on October 25th, 2019 at 7:30pm at Theatre Row / Studio Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St. New York, NY 10036. Subways A/C/E to 42nd St. Tickets are $40 and are available at www.unitedsolo.org/us/2019-doncarlos/ or by calling Ticketmaster at 212-239-6200.
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11) News from DDPR

THE GRIM REALITIES WE ALL FACE IN THE AFTERLIFE 
WILL BE FULLY EXPLAINED IN
THE LIMITED ENGAGEMENT PRE-OFF BROADWAY RUN OF 
THE WAKE OF DICK JOHNSON
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY LUKE WALKER

ONE WEEK ONLY!
AND FEATURING LIVE ORIGINAL MUSIC BY OKAPI

OCTOBER 27th– OCTOBER 31st
AT 122CC – 2ndFLOOR THEATER

THE PITCH BLACK PRODUCTION SAVAGELY CHALLENGES AN AUDIENCE’S THRESHOLD FOR TABOO LANGUAGE, GRAPHIC IMAGERY, AND MORBID THEMES, WHILE BEING CONFINED TO THE INTIMATE, IMMERSIVE, SETTING OF AN AUTHENTIC WAKE.

For one week only this Halloween season, New York audiences will delve deep into the pitch black dark as writer and director Luke Walker presents the limited engagement, pre Off-Broadway run of THE WAKE OF DICK JOHNSON, an immersive, intimate setting of an authentic wake where the deceased returns to the living to explain the grim realities we all encounter in the after-life. The production will run for one week only – during Halloween - October 27th through October 31st at 122CC, 150 First Avenue, 2nd floor. Charlotte, North Carolina’s QC Nerve describes the immersive show as “an eloquent and upsetting rumination on a meaningless universe where even death will not relieve the pain of the living.” Following this special one week only run, the production is scheduled to return to New York for a four week run in the Spring of 2020. 

THE WAKE OF DICK JOHNSON savagely challenges an audience’s threshold for taboo language, graphic imagery, and morbid themes, while being confined to the intimate, immersive, setting of an authentic wake. 

The spirit of Dick Johnson lives on after his death, and at his wake, Dick returns from the other side for one last bottle of his beloved hooch, and to enlighten attendees about grim realities we all face in the afterlife. According to Dick, the afterlife is a grim, eternal, and inescapable astral plane where the misdeeds of all mankind, throughout all ages, replays on an eternal loop in the 4th-dimension. 

Performances are on October 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 at 8PM.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at https://wakeofdickjohnson.brownpapertickets.com/
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12) News from DKC/O&M

12A) THE McKITTRICK HOTEL, HOME OF SLEEP NO MORE

PRESENTS

MIC DROP WITH MURRAY HILL

LEGENDARY LIP SYNC BATTLES EVERY MONTH IN 

MANDERLEY BAR

The McKittrick Hotel (530 West 27th Street, NYC), home of Sleep No More, announces Mic Drop with Murray Hill, a new party on select Thursdays in Manderley Bar. Upcoming dates are October 24, and November 21.

The McKittrick’s velvet-draped cocktail lounge is home to a new monthly series of lip sync battles. Mic Drop, hosted by “Mr. Showbiz” himself Murray Hill, challenges audiences to duel live on stage for outrageous prizes and competitive glory. Guests compete for the chance to be crowned “Lip-Sync Champ of The Night,” while resident DJ A-Ball spins dance and pop music hits.

Murray Hill is a NYC legend, comedian, host, and international entertainer. Dubbed “The King of Comedy” (Time Out), he is one of the most sought-after hosts in the biz. He currently also stars in The McKittrick’s Bartschland Follies, a weekly burlesque cabaret hosted by NYC icon Susanne Bartsch, and has toured extensively with Dita Von Teese and alt-cabaret provocateur Bridget Everett.

Doors open after Sleep No More concludes for the night at 10pm. Tickets are required for entry and there is a full bar available.

General Admission tickets are $10 per guest. To purchase tickets, visit https://mckittrickhotel.com/events/mic-drop and select event date. A full calendar of live performances and tickets is available at https://mckittrickhotel.com/calendar.

**
12B) THE McKITTRICK HOTEL, HOME OF SLEEP NO MORE,

ANNOUNCES

A HITCHCOCK HALLOWEEN PARTY

THREE NIGHTS OF COSTUMED REVELRY

CELEBRATING THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD 

OCTOBER 25, 26 & 31


The McKittrick Hotel (530 West 27th Street, NYC), home of Sleep No More and New York’s most epic bacchanalias, announces A Hitchcock Halloween Party - suspenseful soirées inspired by Hollywood's Golden Age and iconic filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock.

On Friday 10/25, Saturday 10/26, and Halloween, Thursday 10/31, The McKittrick Hotel will open its doors for three late-night dance parties with all the glitz and glamour of a Golden Age movie premiere.

A Hitchcock Halloween Party features dazzling, one-of-a-kind theatrics inspired by the mysterious world of the legendary hotel and Master of Suspense himself. The entire hotel will be transformed into a cinema-scape filled with surreal surprises and costumed revelry.

Show-stopping live performances, breath-taking scenic installations, surprise guests, and an epic dance party with open bar will abound from 10:15 PM to 4 AM (9:15 PM to 3 AM on Halloween).


Packages are available to attend Sleep No More or an elegant dinner banquet in The Club Car before the party begins. For the ultimate Halloween celebration, opt for all three.

Champagne Table and Maximilian’s List upgrades are also offered to enhance the experience with expedited entry and exclusive access to Max's Boudoir for the evening. All guests must be at least 21 to enter.

For schedule, tickets and additional information, please visit www.mckittrickhotel.com.
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13) News from JT Public Relations


13A) The Green Room 42 Presents the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s
The 46th Minute 

A kick-off celebration of the 
31st Annual Festival of New Musicals 

Hosted by 
LIISI LAFONTAINE

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre is thrilled to kick-off this year’s Festival of New Musicals at The Green Room 42 (at the Yotel, 570 10th Ave) with The 46th Minute concert on Wednesday, October 23 at 7 PM.  This concert is open to the public and tickets starting at $22, can be purchased by visiting TheGreenRoom42.poptix.com

With eight groundbreaking new full-length musicals condensed to 45 minutes for the Festival, there are bound to be terrific songs left on the cutting room floor. Featuring some of this year’s composers’ favorite songs, The 46th Minute is the future of musical theatre in one hour.

The 46th Minute will features songs from Hi, My Name is Ben (Book & Lyrics by Scott Gilmour, Music by Claire McKenzie), Interstate (Book, Lyrics & Music by Melissa Li, Book & Lyrics by Kit Yan), IRON JOHN: An American Ghost Story (Music & Book by Jacinth Greywoode, Lyrics & Book by Rebecca Hart), Lautrec at the St. James (Music by Julianne Wick Davis, Book & Lyrics by John Dietrich), One Way (Music by Ben Bonnema, Lyrics by Christopher Staskel, Book by Ben Bonnema & Christopher Staskel), SeaWife (Music & Lyrics by The Lobbyists, Book by Seth Moore, Directed & Developed by Liz Carlson), Simon & Jorge Pay Their Student Loans (Book, Music & Lyrics by Jesse Gage), Teeth (Book by Michael R. Jackson & Anna K. Jacobs, Music by Anna K. Jacobs, Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson). 

Rounding out the evening will be performances from shows funded by NAMT’s Frank Young Fund for New Musicals. In addition to the Festival shows, the concert will feature songs from A Strange Loop by Michael R. Jackson (Production Grant at Playwrights Horizons, 2019-2020) and Southern Comfort by Julianne Wick Davis and Dan Collins (Production Grant, Barrington Stage Company 2013-2014; Project Development Grant, CAP 21, 2011-2012; Writers Residency Grant, Playwrights Horizons, 2010-2011). 

Tickets can be purchased at www.TheGreenRoom42.com

**
13B) Urban Stages 
to Present the New York Premiere 
IDRIS GOODWIN’s play
BARS AND MEASURES
Directed by KRISTAN SEEMEL
Original Music Composed by JUSTIN ELLINGTON
Starring 
SHABAZZ GREEN, RODERICK LAWRENCE, ABRAHAM MAKANY, 
 SALMA SHAW
Opening Night Set for October 23, 2019

Urban Stages (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director), will open its’ season with the New York Premiere of Idris Goodwin’s Bars and Measures, directed by Kristan Seemel.  This limited engagement at Urban Stages (259 West 30th Street) opening on Wednesday, October 23 and will run through Sunday, November 10, 2019.  Tickets for the show are $40 ($25 during previews; $50 on opening and $15 student rush) and may be purchased via OvationTix at www.urbanstages.org or by phone at 1.866.811.4111.

Inspired by a true story, Bars and Measures tells the story of two African American brothers. One a classical pianist, concert performer, educator.  The other a jazz bass player/composer. One a Christian. The other a Muslim. One living in freedom. The other in jail.  Separated by bars, the brothers try to reconcile their differences through the language they know best. Music!!! A journey through faith, family, melody and time.

Performance Schedule:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday at 7 PM. Saturday 8 PM 
Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 3 PM
ADDED PERFORMANCE: Sunday, October 20 at 7:30 PM 

Tickets are $40 ($25 during previews, October 18 thru October 21)
Opening Night tickets are $50 (includes the performance and a Champagne reception 

Tickets for Urban Stages Patrons’ Night on Mon., October 28th are $160
(6:30PM Cocktails / 7PM Show / 8:30 PM Dinner)

Student Rush tickets are available for $15 (with valid ID, subject to availability).
All tickets may be purchased at www.urbanstages.org or by phone at 1.866.811.4111

For more information about Urban Stages, please visit www.urbanstages.org

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13C) National Alliance for Musical Theatre   
FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS 

31st Annual Festival takes place at New World Stages
On October 24-25, 2019

National Alliance for Musical Theatre 31st Annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS will take place on Thursday, October 24 and Friday, October 25, 2019 at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). The Festival events will kick off on Wednesday, October 23, with the return of The 46th Minute Concert at The Green Room 42.

Festival registration for industry members is free and now open at www.namt.org/festival, with a $20 registration late fee. The public can also receive passes to the Festival through a donation to NAMT. There is also a day-of standby line for the general public for free admission (based on availability). Tickets are available for The 46th Minute at www.namt.org/events/the-46th-minute-2019.

The Festival has introduced musical theatre producers to 260 musicals and 491 writers from around the world. As a direct result of the FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS, more than 85% of the musicals presented have gone on to subsequent readings, workshops, productions, tours, been licensed, and/or recorded on cast albums. Some past Festival shows include The Ballad of Klook and Vinette, Benny & Joon, Come From Away, Darling Grenadine, The Drowsy Chaperone, Gun & Powder, It Shoulda Been You, Lempicka, Ordinary Days, Striking 12 and Thoroughly Modern Millie, among many others.

This year, a committee of 17 theatre professionals selected eight new musicals out of 219 blind submissions. The musicals they chose for the 31st Annual Festival are: 

Hi, My Name is Ben, book & lyrics by Scott Gilmour, music by Claire McKenzie
Director: Hunter Bird (NY: The Laodamiad)
Music Director: Wiley DeWeese (Broadway: The Lightning Thief)

Cast includes Jennifer Damiano (Broadway: American Psycho), Dayna Jarae Dantzler (Broadway: Waitress), Richard Henry (Encores! Fiorello, Public’s Two Gentlemen of Verona: The Musical), Carlos Lopez (Broadway: Man of LaMancha), Joel Rooks (Broadway: Larry David’s Fish in the Dark), Conor Ryan (Broadway: Cinderella. NYC: Desperate Measures), Mamie Parris (Broadway: Cats, School of Rock), CJ Pawlikowski (NY: Jersey Boy), Sonya Venugopal (Regional: Annie) and Michael Winther (National Tour: Fun Home)

“Hi, my name is Ben. I can’t talk, but I can hear.”
A true, New York story of how one man changed the lives of those around him, without ever speaking a word. Using just his notepad, pen, and open heart, Ben turned a neighborhood of strangers into a community of friends, before finally encountering a miracle of his own.


Interstate, book, lyrics & music by Melissa Li, book & lyrics by Kit Yan
Director: Jesca Prudencio (NY: Hoax; Regional: Man of God)
Musical Director: Anessa Marie (NY: Lysistrata Jones, City of Lights) 

Cast includes Emy Coligado (Broadway: Miss Saigon), Marc de la Cruz (Broadway: Hamilton, If/Then), Jin Ha (Broadway: M. Butterfly; Chicago: Hamilton), Danny Harris Kornfeld (Rent 20th Anniversary Tour), Diana Oh (NY: Georgia Mertching Is Dead), Sushma Saha (NY: Interstate), Diamond Essence White (Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen) and Gianna Yanelli (Broadway: Mean Girls).

Interstate is an Asian-American road trip musical about Dash, a transgender spoken word performer who embarks on his first national tour with his best friend Adrian, a lesbian singer-songwriter. Their political and personal music inspires Henry, a trans teenage blogger living in a small town in Kentucky, to make a series of life-changing decisions. A parallel story about two trans people at different stages of their lives, the musical explores love, family, and masculinity in the age of social media.


IRON JOHN: An American Ghost Story, 
Music & book by Jacinth Greywoode, lyrics & book by Rebecca Hart
Director: Jonathan McCrory (NY: Dead and Breathing)
Music Director: Andrea Grody (Broadway: Tootsie, The Band’s Visit)

Cast includes Kyle Decker (Broadway: Come From Away), Nicolas Dromard (Broadway: Mary Poppins NY: Jersey Boys), Grace Field (NY: Hercules), Deon'te Goodman (Regional: 25th Annual…Spelling Bee), Andrew Humann (National Tour: American Idiot), Chiké Johnson (Broadway: A Time to Kill), Julia Murney (Broadway: Lennon, Wicked), Veronica Otim (Regional: Hair), Christian Thompson (Broadway: Ain’t Too Proud) and Cathryn Wake (Broadway: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Welcome to the little Southern town of Good, Alabama. It’s wild, woodsy, down-home...and very, very haunted. One hundred years ago, a love triangle ended in an act of racist violence that seems to repeat in every generation—until now. This dark and lyrical tale pits good old-fashioned American denial against the redemptive power of facing your truth.

Lautrec at the St. James, music by Julianne Wick Davis, book & lyrics by John DietrichDirector: Sarna Lapine (Broadway: Sunday in the Park with George)Musical Director: Charity Wicks (Broadway: Billy Elliott, Spring Awakening)

Cast includes Gabrielle Carrubba (Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen), Erika Henningsen (Broadway: Mean Girls), MaryAnn Hu (Broadway: Frozen, Sunday in the Park with George), David Hughey (Broadway: Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess), Kristolyn Lloyd (Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen; Public’s Hamilton), Wade McCollum (Broadway: Wicked), Bronson Norris Murphy (National Tour: Love Never Dies), Ben Roseberry (1st National Tour: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder), Jason Pintar (NY: Stage Fright) and Erica Spyres (Broadway: Carousel; National Tour: Once).

March 1899 – French artist, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, passes out in a gutter and is kidnapped. He awakes in the Chateau St. James, an asylum. Triggered by his imagination and a need to understand his downfall, the St. James continuously transforms around Lautrec into an intoxicating and provocative world—one that inspires yet may destroy him.


One Way, music & book by Ben Bonnema, lyrics & book by Christopher Staskel 
Director: Arpita Mukherjee (NY: Eh Dah? Questions for My Father, Elements of Change)
Musical Director: Simone Allen (Broadway: The Cher Show, music assistant; NY: Octet at Signature) 
Cast includes Alan Ariano (Broadway: The King and I), Jenn Colella (Broadway: Come from Away), Ellen Harvey (Broadway: Present Laughter), Liisi LaFontaine (West End: Dream Girls), Charlie Oh (Nation Tour: The King and I), Amanda Savan (Ars Nova’s Wind-Up Girl) and Dustin Sullivan (NY: Heathers: The Musical).

When Naomi becomes a finalist for the first one-way mission to Mars, she must choose: pursue her ambition or stay on Earth with the woman she loves. With a soaring, contemporary score, One Way is a moving portrait of how our choices affect those closest to us.

SeaWife, music & lyrics by The Lobbyists, book by Seth Moore, directed & developed by Liz Carlson
Director: Liz Carlson (NY: SeaWife, Drama Desk Nom) 
Musical Director: Tommy Crawford (NY: SeaWife, Drama Desk Nom.) 

Cast includes Tommy Crawford (NY: Only Yesterday, SeaWife), Laura Dadap (NY: Voca People), Eloise Eonnet (NY: SeaWife), Alex Grubbs (NY: SeaWife, These Seven Sicknesses), Will Turner (NY: SeaWife, After the Gold Rush), Tony Vo (NY: SeaWife; Regional: King of the Yees) and Douglas Waterbury-Tieman (Roundabout’s The Robber Bridegroom). 

SeaWife is a haunted tale of the high seas. Both historical and pointedly modern, the sumptuous and energetic music of The Lobbyists guides us through Seth Moore’s world of whale hunts, ghosts, and adventure to ask: “Can humanity save itself from its own devouring?”


Simon & Jorge Pay Their Student Loans, book, music & lyrics by Jesse Gage
Director: Amy Corcoran (NY: Unexpected Joy; National Tour: Escape to Margaritaville)
Music Director: Benji Goldsmith & Danny Ursetti
Cast includes Jerry Gallagher (Regional: Crazy For You), Alan H. Green (Broadway: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Jorrel Javier (Broadway: The Lightning Thief), Celeste Rose (NY: We Are The Tigers), Cody Jamison Strand (Broadway: The Book of Mormon), Alet Taylor (Regional: Freaky Friday), Natalie Toro (Broadway: A Tale of Two Cities), Alan Wiggins (Broadway: Pretty Woman), Jason SweetTooth Williams (Broadway: Be More Chill) and Nick Wyman (Broadway: Network, Catch Me If You Can).
In life, we face many seemingly unanswerable questions. Why are we here? How does WIFI work? Why has there never been a stoner bromance rock musical about the impending student loan crisis and ever-growing income inequality gap? Well, ask no more. Behold: Simon & Jorge Pay Their Student Loans.  

Teeth, book & lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, book & music Anna K. Jacobs 
Director: Portia Krieger (NY: The Tomb of King Tot; Regional: Be Here Now)
Music Director: Vadim Feichtner (Broadway: Falsettos)

Cast includes Jason Gotay (Broadway: Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, Bring It On: The Musical), Alyse Alan Louis (Broadway: Amélie, A New Musical, Disaster), Jared Loftin (NY: Gigantic), Melody Madarasz (NY: Mad Libs Live; Regional: Disney’s Little Mermaid), Elexis Morton (Regional: Little Shop of Horrors), Samantha Rhea Parrish (Feinstein’s/54 Below: Teeth), Robert Petkoff (Broadway: All The Way), Johnny Shea (Regional: Deathless), Madeline Trumble (National Tour: The King and I; NY: Fifty Million Frenchmen) and Sumi Yu (Encores! Call Me Madam). 

Adapted from the 2007 Sundance Award-winning indie horror film by Mitchell Lichtenstein, Teeth tells the story of Dawn O’Keefe, an evangelical Christian teen with a powerful secret: she has teeth in her vagina. When the men in Dawn’s life try to exploit her, she is forced to choose between survival or destruction. 
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14) News from Michelle Tabnick PR

14A) New York Shakespeare Exchange
announces the next
Freestyle Lab:
To Undreamed Shores:
Shakespeare and Immigrant Voices in Conversation
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 7pm
at the 53rd Street Library

New York Shakespeare Exchange announces the next Freestyle Lab:To Undreamed Shores: Shakespeare and Immigrant Voices in Conversation on Tuesday, October 22,2019 at 7pm at the 53rd Street Library Theater (18 W. 53rd Street, NYC). This event is free, but reservations are requested at www.NYSX.org.

The October lab features an ensemble of immigrant and first-generation actors presenting excerpts from Shakespeare and contemporary poets, playwrights, essayists, and politicians - all with the focus on themes of immigration. The performance will be followed by a lively town hall conversation during which we will expand on topics like family separation, treatment of refugees, cultural stereotyping, assimilation, how languages figure in to the immigrant experience, and the code-switching and loaded expectations that often come with being a first-generation citizen. The evening is curated by Jennifer Curfman, .
Aysha Salam, and Associate Artistic Director Cristina Lundy.
The evening will be moderated by Bridget Crawford, the Legal Director for Immigration Equality:

Immigration Equality is the nation's leading LGBTQ immigrant rights organization.

FEATURING THE WRITINGS OF:
Claudia Cortese, Denice Frohman, Ananda Lima, Carvens Lissaint, Ankita Raturi, William Shakespeare, Divya Victor, and others to be determined

PERFORMANCES BY:
Clemmie Evans, Katie Fanning, Niki Hatzidis, Anaseini Katoa, Aida Leguizamón, Salome Mergia, Hyojin Park, Krushika Patankar, and Marcus Xavier Stewart

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14B) Theater Resources Unlimited
October Panel Discussion
Theater in a Changing World: 
Time to Get Off the Blocks?
Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents the October Panel, Theater in a Changing World: Time to Get Off the Blocks?, on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 7:30pm at Polaris North Theater, 245 W. 29th Street. Email TRUStaff1@gmail.com or register online at https://truonline.org/events/off-the-blocks/.

Is theater hamstrung by tradition, or is it evolving and keeping up with the changes in our culture? Speakers from the commercial, regional and indie worlds will consider the need to stay relevant in this age of technology ... how to attract young audiences as well as diverse audiences ... the trend to rethink classics for new audiences and how far we should go with revisionism rather than create new works ... other trends, healthy or un- ... the degree to which theater can be a force for change ... the need for greater diversity within the business itself. And a look at the shifting emphases in press and marketing.

Doors open at 7pm for networking and refreshments, roundtable introductions of everyone in the room will start at 7:30pm - come prepared with your best half-minute summary of who you are, and what you need. Free for TRU members; $13 for non-members ($16 at the door). Please use the bright red reservation box at https://truonline.org/events/off-the-blocks/, or call at least a day in advance (or much sooner) for reservations: 833-506-5550, or e-mail TRUStaff1@gmail.com 
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15) News from Pascal Nadon Communications

15A) Upcoming for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

ALICE TULLY HALL 

1828: Schubert’s Cello Quintet - Sunday 10/27/19, 5 PM
Mozart:           Quintet in B-flat major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, K. 174 (1773)
Adolphe:          Are there not a thousand forms of sorrow for Two Violins, Viola, and Two Cellos
(2017) (CMS Co-Commission, New York premiere)*
Schubert:        Quintet in C major for Two Violins, Viola, and Two Cellos, D. 956, Op. 163 (1828)
* Pre-concert chat with composer Bruce Adolphe at 4 PM in the Rose Studio; free for ticket holders.
Sean Lee, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Mark Holloway, Matthew Lipman, viola; Clive Greensmith, David Requiro, cello


ROSE STUDIO
Rose Studio Series and Late Night Rose - Thursday 10/24/19, 6:30 & 9 PM
Penderecki:   Sextet for Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano (2000)
Dohnányi:       Sextet in C major for Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano, Op. 37 (1935)

Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Francisco Fullana, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; David Shifrin, clarinet; Eric Reed, horn


Inside Chamber Music with Bruce Adolphe
This popular series combines entertaining lectures full of insight into a featured masterwork with short live performance excerpts played live by CMS artists. For the first time, these programs will be presented close to the mainstage concert date on which the featured works are included. All lectures take place on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM.


10/23/19 (work featured in Alice Tully Hall concert on 10/27/19)
Schubert: Quintet in C major for Two Violins, Viola, and Two Cellos, D. 956, Op. 163 (1828)

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15B) Upcoming for The Orchestra Now

SIGHT & SOUND SERIES AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
 The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

Conductor and music historian Leon Botstein explores the parallels between orchestral music and the visual arts in TŌN’s popular Sight & Sound series at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This season the series will present three programs from October 27, 2019 through February 23, 2020. Each presentation offers a discussion accompanied by musical excerpts performed by The Orchestra Now with on-screen artworks, followed by a full performance and audience 
Q&A.

Strauss’ Don Quixote & The Last Knight
Sun, Oct 27, 2019 at 2 PM
Emperor Maximilian I of Austria, often referred to as “the last knight,” was passionate about the exploration of chivalry and armor. There is no more influential tale of knighthood than Cervantes’ Don Quixote, which inspired Strauss’ “Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character,” the composer’s moving musical realization of Quixote’s chivalric journey.
Leon Botstein, conductor
Lucas Button, cello
Leonardo Vásquez Chacón, viola
R. Strauss: Don Quixote
Artwork about Chivalry

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Last Knight: The Art, Armor, and Ambition of Maximillian I, on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art October 7, 2019–January 5, 2020

FREE CONCERTS SERIES
TŌN continues its series of free concerts at venues in New York City and beyond, providing families with an opportunity to attend their first orchestral performance and introduce a new generation to classical music. TŌN’s performances this season will include four performances of audience favorites ranging from Mozart and Mendelssohn to Ravel and Debussy with TŌN conductors Zachary Schwartzman and James Bagwell.

Ravel, Mozart & Midsummer
Sun, Nov 24, 2019 at 3 PM
Hudson Hall, Hudson, NY
Zachary Schwartzman, conductor
Mendelssohn: Selections from A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin
Mozart: Symphony No. 39

Tickets: These concerts are FREE, no tickets necessary, advance RSVP suggested. For concerts at Symphony Space, RSVP at symphonyspace.org. For concerts at Hudson Hall, RSVP at hudsonhall.org.
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And that's the scoop. Tune in tomorrow for another Talking Topic.

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