Klaus Zehelein

Klaus Zehelein (born September 5, 1940) is a German dramaturge. He was president of the Munich Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding. Zehelein is also president of the association of German theatres, Deutscher Bühnenverein. For fifteen years, from 1991 until 2006, Zehelein was artistic director of the Staatsoper Stuttgart. Critic Gerhard Rohde, summing up Zehelein's theatre work at the Stuttgart opera, says "Zehelein does not view opera as a culinary phenomenon. For him opera is an extremely complex matter, where all arts – as well as social, philosophical, historic, utopic and other aspects – unite. This complexity of opera merits being perceived, being seen, being experienced; thus all works that end up performed on stage, are rigorously analyzed beforehand. He who says this results in thinned-out, merely sophisticated opera performances, missed out substantially in the Zehelein-Era in Stuttgart."
Education and professional activity.
Zehelein studied German literature, musicology and philosophy in the Goethe University Frankfurt. Among his teachers were the philosophers Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno. Although not a composer himself, Zehelein participated in the Darmstädter Ferienkurse from 1959 to 1966. Here he met composers Luigi Nono and Karlheinz Stockhausen, which would influence Zehelein's future artistic development. Zehelein began his professional activity at the theater in Kiel in 1967, then became chief dramaturge in Oldenburg.
From 1977 to 1987 he worked at the Frankfurt Opera, starting as chief dramaturge and becoming opera director. In Frankfurt Zehelein developed a practical but intellectually supported manner of interpreting and staging opera. He worked with the stage director Hans Neuenfels on Busoni's "Doktor Faust" and Neuenfels' production of Verdi's "Aida" – known as "Aida as cleaning-lady production". With director Ruth Berghaus and her designer Axel Manthey, he worked on "Parsifal" and Wagner's "Ring". Zehelein moved to Hamburg in 1989 as artistic director of the Thalia Theater before being offered the position of artistic director at the Stuttgart opera.
Stuttgart Opera 1991–2006.
During Klaus Zehelein’s directorship, the Opernwelt magazine awarded the title Opera House of the Year to the Stuttgart Opera. Six awards were given, in the years 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 und 2006. Zehelein's era in Stuttgart is documented in the book "Anders, ein Arbeitsbericht".
Zehelein brought in Pamela Rosenberg as co-opera Intendant between 1991 and 2000 and Eytan Pessen as casting director from 2001 to 2006. His Chief dramaturge was Juliane Votteler.
Zehelein worked with stage directors Ruth Berghaus, Martin Kušej, Nicolas Brieger, Christof Nel, Neuenfels, Peter Konwitchny, Joachim Schlömer, Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito.
Under Zehelein's direction the Stuttgart Opera was an ensemble based opera company. The sopranos Catherine Naglestad and Eva-Maria Westbroek were members of his permanent ensemble, tenor Jonas Kaufmann a frequent guest artist. Music directors were Gabriele Ferro and Lothar Zagrosek. The conductor Nicola Luisotti conducted frequently during Zehelein's era.
In his fifteen years Zehelein explored most of the 20th century's opera standard repertoire, such as Berg's "Wozzeck" and "Lulu", Shostakovich's "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk", Schreker's "Die Gezeichneten", Busoni's "Doktor Faust", and Nono's "Al gran sole carico d'amore" and "Intolleranza 1960". The work was performed over numerous seasons in a total of 29 performances. Zehelein performed works of the composers Lachenmann, Jungy Pagh Pan, Hans Zender and Rolf Rihm.
Zehelein argued that as Richard Wagner wrote the four music-dramas of the "Ring" over many years, changing dramatugical ideas in the process, each opera could be treated as a stand-alone work. Zehelein invited four directors for his ring, thus giving each opera dramatic independence. The resulting "Stuttgarter Ring" brought much discussion and recognition to the Stuttgart Opera.
Zehelein created the Forum Neues Musiktheater, an institute attached to the Stuttgart Opera. "Here new compositions were not only studied and presented," sayd the critic Gerhard Rohde, "but more important was the work-nature of the institute: a laboratory, in which young, and not so young composers develop their ideas, and together with musicians, singers, dancers, and new media realize these ideas into a scenic reality" Zehelein also founded the "Junge Oper" (an institute dedicated to performing opera for young audiences).
Numerous CD and DVD productions document Zehelein's interest in modern works and new staging concepts. Stuttgart CD productions include Nono's "Intolleranza 1960"(1995) and "Al Gran Sole Carico D'Amore" (2001), as well as Lachenmann's "Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern" (2003); Zehelein's productions on DVD: Handel's "Alcina" (1999), Hartmann's "Simplicius Simplicissimus" (2005), Mozart's "La finta giardiniera" [2006) and Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen",(2003).
Teaching.
Zehelein taught Sociomusicology at the Oldenburg university. He was also guest professor at the Minnesota state university, the Collège international de philosophie in Paris, the Institute for Theater arts at the University of Giessen and from 1986 to 1992 in the University of Applied Arts Vienna. As of 2006 he directs the dramaturgy division of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Bavarian academy of Theatre in Munich. His ideas about music theater dramaturgy are published in the book "Music theater today"
Current activity.
As of May 2003, Zehelein is president of the association of German theatres (Deutscher Bühnenverein). His political and moral influence is crucial in times of heavy cuts in public financing of the arts.
As of August 2006 Zehelein is also president of the Munich Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding (Bavarian theatre academy) located in the Prinzregententheater. The Theaterakademie is a university level academy offering BA and MA courses in directing, acting, musical theatre, singing, opera, make up, dramaturgy, theatre- film- and television criticism, set and costume design.
Awards.
Zehelein received the German critics prize for his dramaturgical work at the Frankfurt opera in 1983. He also received the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg in 2001, for his work in the state. The first class Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany was granted him in the summer of 2006. In 2007 he became a member of the Bavarian Academy of Arts (Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste) .


We all live in a yellow submarine


Taylor Stanley

Taylor G. Stanley (born May 30, 1991) is an American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.
Early life.
Stanley was born in Philadelphia to a mixed-race family, and was raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania. At age 3, he started learning ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop at The Rock School for Dance Education. Initially he thought he would pursue a career in commercial dance, but his parents and teachers encouraged him to focus on ballet. At age 15, Stanley attended a summer course at the Miami City Ballet School. Two years later, Stanley attended a summer intensive at the School of American Ballet in New York City, then was asked there and to train full time for a year. At the workshop performance of SAB, he performed George Balanchine's "Stars and Stripes". He also received the Mae L. Wien Awards for Outstanding Promise that year.
Career.
Stanley became an apprentice at the New York City Ballet in 2009, and joined the corps de ballet the following year. While he was still in the corps, he danced Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet". Stanley received the Janice Levin Dancer Award in 2011–12, which is given to promising corps dancers of NYCB.
He was promoted to soloist in 2013 and principal dancer in 2016. He had dance lead roles in George Balanchine's and Jerome Robbins' works. For his debut as the title role of "Apollo", Stanley was coached by Craig Hall, the first African-American dancer in the company to dance that role. He had also originated roles with choreographers such as Justin Peck, Lauren Lovette and Kyle Abraham. In 2019, Stanley won a Bessie Awards for Abraham's "The Runaway".
Outside of New York City Ballet, Stanley danced with his colleague Troy Schumacher's side project, BalletCollective. He also took classes at Nederlands Dans Theater and studied Gaga at Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv.
Personal life.
Stanley is openly gay.
As of 2015, Stanley is pursuing a bachelor of arts degree through St. Mary's College of California's LEAP program.
Selected repertoire.
Stanley's repertoire with the New York City ballet includes:


FTLOG


Jeremy Sheffield

Jeremy Sheffield (born 17 March 1966) is a British actor and former professional ballet dancer from Chelmsford, England. He is most noted for his roles in "Holby City", "Murder in Suburbia" and "Hollyoaks" on television, as well as in the films "Creep" and "The Wedding Date".
Life and career.
Sheffield was born in Chelmsford, Essex. The second son of Brenda (née Dare) and Barry Sheffield, Sheffield trained as a ballet dancer at the Royal Ballet School, graduating into the Royal Ballet, and also dancing with Northern Ballet Theatre. Roles with the Royal Ballet included Aria in "The Spirit of Fugue", Paris in "Romeo and Juliet", Benno in "Swan Lake", He in "My Brother, My Sisters", Wilfred in "Giselle", Rakitin in "A Month in the Country" and Mouse King in "The Nutcracker".
He appeared as a dancer in Queen's music video for "I Want to Break Free" in 1984, performing in a pastiche of the ballet "L'après-midi d'un faune". However, his ballet career ended at the age of 27 due to a broken toe and torn ligament. He had a prominent (non-dancing) music video role several years later when he played the male lead in the video for Natalie Imbruglia's debut single "Torn" in 1997.
Since then, Sheffield has been in the BBC medical drama series "Holby City" where he played Alex Adams from 2000 to 2003, as well as Lancelot in the 1998 television drama "Merlin". He had a supporting role in the 2005 film "The Wedding Date" alongside Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney. Subsequently, he made a cameo appearance in the final episode of "Green Wing", playing a character that Sue White (played by Michelle Gomez) was dating.
In 2005, he appeared in the British and Irish Renault Clio advert "France vs. Britain" directed by Ridley Scott's daughter Jordan Scott who also directed the 2007 follow up spot "More Va Va Voom" again starring Sheffield as Ben and French actress Annelise Hesme as Sophie. He regularly featured on the BBC's "Holiday" programme in which he visited Mexico, Egypt, Sichuan, South Africa and Bermuda. In 2006 travelled to South Africa where eight celebrities competed to become rangers in a South African reserve, for the 2007 series of BBC2's "Safari School". In the final, Sheffield came second to singing coach Carrie Grant.
In 2007, Sheffield made an appearance in "New Tricks". 2008 was a busier year for him with a role in "Hotel Babylon" and movies "Miss Conception", "The Children" and "Last Chance Harvey".
In January 2010, he took part in ITV show "Dancing on Ice" alongside professional skater Susie Lipanova. He was the third person to be voted off (therefore finishing the contest in 12th place) after losing in the skate-off.
In October 2011, it was announced that Sheffield would be joining "Coronation Street" and would portray Danny Stratton. Sheffield's "Coronation Street" stay was only short as he was part of a storyline that saw Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly) depart.
In October 2012, it was announced that he would be joining the cast of "Hollyoaks" to portray Patrick Blake, the biological father of twins Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) and Dodger Savage (Danny Mac). Sheffield left the cast in 2015, with Patrick's exit scenes airing in January 2016.
Personal life.
Jeremy Sheffield is gay, but rarely gives interviews on the subject as he feels it's irrelevant to his career, stating: "I don’t feel anybody should have to wear their sexuality on their sleeve, but 99% of the time people make a projection onto me that I’m straight, and I feel that if I just allow them to run with that projection, then it’s sort of as if I’m lying. It’s a strange position to be in, because I shouldn’t have to say anything, but I often do feel like I have to get it into the conversation. It’s a shame, but that’s how it is".


Skeleton Crew (band)

Skeleton Crew was a United States experimental rock and jazz group from 1982 to 1986, comprising core members Fred Frith and Tom Cora, with Zeena Parkins joining later. Best known for their live improvisation performances where they played various instruments simultaneously, they also recorded two studio albums "Learn to Talk" (1984) and "The Country of Blinds" (1986).
Writing in the "Santa Cruz Sentinel", Lee Sherman described Skeleton Crew's sound as "unique and eclectic". The group drew on music and themes from a number of sources, including world music, left-wing politics and pre-recorded tapes.
History.
Skeleton Crew originally began in 1982 as an unnamed quartet, but before their first performance, two of the band members (Fred Maher and Tim Schellenbaum) suffered collapsed lungs within two weeks of each other, leaving ex-Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith and improvisational cellist Tom Cora from Curlew with the choice of continuing or abandoning the project. They chose to continue, agreeing to play all the instruments on stage themselves. Frith played guitar, violin, keyboards, bass drum and hi-hat while Cora played cello, bass guitar, homemade drums and other contraptions enabling him to play instruments with his feet.
Performing like this was a challenge for them and made the resulting music unpredictable, but as an improvising duo, this pleased them. It gave rise to a rhythmic tension not present in a group with just one drummer. Frith said in a 1983 interview, "rhythmically, it throws up ways of playing that one person behind the drums just wouldn't be able to do, just in terms of coordination." He told "DownBeat" magazine in 1982:
In 1982, they performed extensively in Europe, North America and Japan, refining their double one-man band act with each new concert. Later that year Dave Newhouse of The Muffins helped out for a while playing saxophone and part of a drum kit. Two limited edition cassette tape recordings of some of the trio's live performances in 1982 were released in 1982 and 1984. After Newhouse left, they continued touring as a duo again. In October 1983 they joined Duck and Cover, a commission from the Berlin Jazz Festival, for a performance in West Berlin, followed by another in February 1984 in East Berlin. In December 1983 Skeleton Crew performed at the 1st Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada.
Later in 1984, Skeleton Crew began work on their first studio album "Learn to Talk" in Switzerland. The LP (with sides named "Side Free" and "Side Dirt") featured music that was both sparse and raw and consisted of cynical and humorous "songs" interspaced with cello, guitar and violin instrumental fragments. It conveyed the energy of their live performances. Tapes also featured throughout the album: Ronald Reagan saying "We're still free in America", cut-ups of Sousa's "Washington Post" and TV ad clips. Tapes had also become a part of their live act.
By now, Skeleton Crew had become "quite competent" with their one-man-band act. Later in 1984 Zeena Parkins, playing electric harp and keyboards, joined the band and remained until the end. As a trio, they made their second studio album "The Country of Blinds" in 1986 (again in Switzerland and produced by ex-Henry Cow member Tim Hodgkinson). Here the music was richer and more rhythmical than their first album. The songs were more developed but the cynical edge of the first album remained. Soon after the recording sessions the group decided to split up. Frith explained why:
Frith and Cora re-united again as Skeleton Crew in 1995 in the Netherlands at the Koeinverhuurbdrijf Studio, Purmerland to record a CD-ROM "Etymology", a sound sample library of sonic sounds and wire manipulations.


LTTR

LTTR is a feminist genderqueer collective with a flexible project oriented practice. LTTR was founded in 2001 by Ginger Brooks Takahashi, K8 Hardy and Emily Roysdon. LTTR produces a performance series, events, screenings and collaborations. It also released five issues of an annual independent art journal between 2002 and 2006.
Philosophy & Practice.
The collective is rooted in community and collaborative processes without hierarchy. LTTR is a shifting acronym; it started in 2001 as “Lesbians to the Rescue" and has since stood for phrases ranging from “Lacan Teaches to Repeat” to “Let’s Take the Role.” LTTR is dedicated to highlighting the work of radical communities whose goals are sustainable change, queer pleasure, and critical feminist productivity. It contrast to more dogmatic approaches to identity it takes a more fluid and questioning approach to identity and authorship. It seeks to create and build a context for a culture of critical thinkers whose work not only speaks in dialogue with one another, but consistently challenges its own form by shifting shape and design to best respond to contemporary concerns. According to Holland Cotter of "The New York Times", "The idea of moving art out of the control of the professional art world underlies the thinking of many of the individuals and collectives associated with LTTR." LTTR’s members have also used their bands, poster projects, workshops and sit-ins as media for exploring the political possibilities of feminist pop-cultural influence.
LTTR Journal.
LTTR Journal has a zine aesthetic and contains a curated selection of theory, essays, and images including photography, drawings and prints. The inaugural issue of the collective's art journal was entitled “Lesbians to the Rescue,” followed by “Listen Translate Translate Record,” “Practice More Failure,” “Do You Wish to Direct Me?,” and finally "Positively Nasty."
It is produced collectively by many young gay and lesbian artists and feminists. The editorial debates of LTTR and decision making surrounding the printed journal were based on the idea of making a significant contribution to contemporary feminist genderqueer concerns. It was edited by consensus in long-process editorial sessions. Each issue was initiated with an international open call and through interpersonal relationships from within their communities. Each submission was considered independently and in regards to the working themes of the journal. Each issue included handmade artists’ multiples and was published in a print run of 1000 copies. Ulrike Müller joined LTTR in 2005 and Lanka Tattersal was an editor and collaborator for issue 4.
As their project expanded, LTTR exhibited the journal at venues including Artists Space in New York City, the Generali Foundation in Vienna, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany.


Johannes Radebe

Johannes Radebe (born 27 April 1987) is a South African dancer and choreographer.
Career.
Radebe has won the Professional South African Latin championships twice and has been the Amateur Latin South African champion three times.
Radebe was a professional dancer on South Africa's version of "Strictly Come Dancing" in 2014 on SABC 3 and "Dancing with the Stars" in 2018 on M-Net. In 2018, the BBC announced that Radebe would join the cast of professional dancers on the British Strictly Come Dancing, although he was not allocated a partner in his first season.
Performances with Catherine Tyldesley.
For his first competitive appearance in this show, in the seventeenth season series, he was partnered with actress Catherine Tyldesley. The couple were eliminated in week 6, placing them in 11th place, with an overall average score of 25.5.
Performances with Caroline Quentin.
For series 18, he was partnered with actress, Caroline Quentin.
Personal life.
Radebe is gay, and has spoken out about homophobic bullying he received as a child.


Pineapple Dance Studios (TV series)

Pineapple Dance Studios is a docusoap which aired on Sky1 during 2010. The show gave viewers an insight into the world of Pineapple Dance Studios, a London dance complex, and introduced several employees including Louie Spence and Andrew Stone plus Pineapple Dance Studio regular Tricia Walsh-Smith. The show was first broadcast on 14 February 2010 on Sky1, with narration by ex-BBC newsreader Michael Buerk, it was presented in a documentary style that included impromptu dancing and the promotional tag-line: "Pineapple Dance Studios: bitching is fabulous!". It was sponsored by Just Dance. It was sold around the world and is currently showing on the US network Ovation. The first episode was broadcast on 28 September 2014.
Name change and ending.
After initially indicating that a second series would be produced, Sky1 reverted this decision due to failing to come to terms with studio owner Debbie Moore.
Sky Magazine announced in its December 2010 issue that there would be a 2010 Christmas special on 20 December at 9.30pm on Sky1. Andrew Stone would also get his own one-off TV programme called "Andrew Stone's Meaning of Christmas" on Sky1. It was also announced that Louie Spence would make an "Alternative Queen's speech". Louie dressed in royal robes and spoke on how his year had been while introducing some of the people who had made it special. Tricia Walsh-Smith shot a Christmas music video and there was a final national anthem with some dance included.
The second series of Pineapple Dance Studios was renamed "Louie Spence's Showbusiness" because of Sky's inability to come to an agreement with company CEO Debbie Moore.
The Pineapple Dance crew.
The crew includes Louie Spence, Tricia Walsh-Smith, Debbie Moore, choreographer Mark Battershall and dance teacher Andrew Stone.


A Diamond is Forever


Freda Stark

Freda Beatrice Stark (27 March 1910 – 19 March 1999) was a New Zealand dancer. In 1935 she was a prosecution witness at two trials where Eric Mareo was convicted of the murder of his wife Thelma Mareo who was also Stark's lover. During the Second World War, she was a famed exotic dancer at Auckland's Wintergarden cabaret and nightclub, and a favourite of American troops stationed there, where she earned the title "Fever of the Fleet."
Early life.
Born in Kaeo in 1910, Stark was the daughter of James Stark, a shopkeeper, and Isabella Bramley. She attended St Benedict's School and Epsom Girls Grammar School after her parents shifted to Auckland shortly after her birth. Her father encouraged her to learn dance, and she began to do so at nine years of age.
After leaving school, Stark worked as a clerical worker by day, and danced as "L'Etoile" during the evenings, and her repertoire included tap, high kicks, tumbles and hula. During the 1930s, she also learned classical ballet, as steps toward an advanced examination certificate at New Zealand's Academy of Dance, which she acquired in the late thirties.
Mareo murder trials.
In 1933, Stark joined Ernest Rolls' revue, and met a young dancer named Thelma Trott, and the two women fell in love. In 1934, Stark was in the chorus of the "Duchess of Danitz", while Trott starred. At this time, Trott married Eric Mareo, their conductor. The relationship was cut short in 1935 when Trott took a fatal overdose of the prescription drug Veronal in unexplained circumstances, leading to Mareo being charged with her murder.
Mareo was tried twice for the murder of Trott, was twice found guilty, and was twice sentenced to death by hanging (later commuted to 12 years in prison).
Stark was a prosecution witness at both trials and had to endure being outed as a lesbian, and constant subsequent accusations that she had given either mistaken or selective testimony while under oath which were never proven either way. Nude photographs of Stark were reproduced during the trial, but Stark remained unperturbed, and was later described as a model Crown witness.
"Fever of the Fleet".
During the Second World War, Stark was a clerical worker at the Colonial Ammunition Company during the day. At night, she entertained New Zealand and American troops at the Wintergarden cabaret and nightclub. At times, she was clad only in a feather headdress, a G-string and gold bodypaint. The appreciative American Expeditionary troops bestowed the title "Fever of the Fleet" on Stark, and often booked out the Wintergarden specifically to attend her performances, hiring an accompanying band and floorshow at the same time.
Postwar career.
After the Second World War, Stark relocated to London, where she met and married Harold Robinson, a New Zealand-born dancer (and himself a gay man) at Sadler's Wells. The duo starred together in New Zealand-born Robert Steele's art film, "Curves and Contrasts" (1947), before their marriage ended by mutual consent. They did not divorce until 1973 and remained close friends. Although based in the United Kingdom, Stark frequently revisited New Zealand, before she returned permanently in 1970, and became a secretary at the University of Auckland.
During the 1990s there was renewed interest in her days as a dancer, and her life was celebrated in a biography "Freda Stark: Her Extraordinary Life" and in Peter Wells and Stewart Mains' documentary, "The Mighty Civic" (1989). Stark died in the Abbey Heights Rest Home in Massey, Auckland, in March 1999. She is buried alongside Thelma Mareo (1906 – April 15, 1935) at Waikumete Cemetery, Glen Eden, Auckland, New Zealand.


Memoricide

Memoricide is the destruction of the memory, extermination of the past of targeted people. It also refers to destruction of the traces (religious buildings, schools...) that might recall former presence of those considered undesirable.
Memoricide is used in support of ethnic cleansing. Since the memoricide refers to intentional attempts to erase human memory about something, it is usually performed as destruction of its physical property. The term was coined by Croatian doctor Mirko Grmek in the text published in Le Figaro on 19 December 1991.
Allegations for memoricide.
According to some accounts the memoricide was employed by Greece toward Macedonians of Slavic origin.
The dissident historian Ilan Pappe deployed the concept of cultural memoricide as systematic attempt of post-1948 Israel in relation to Palestine.
Grmek used the term to describe activities of the rebel Serb forces in Croatia during the first year of the Croatian independence war.


Die-Nasty

Die-Nasty is a live improvised soap opera, running weekly in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada since 1991. "Die-Nasty"'s improv comedy format features a continuing storyline and recurring characters, live music, and a director who sets up scenes for the audience (and performers) in voiceover.
The current cast of "Die-Nasty" features Matt Alden, Delia Barnett, Shannon Blanchet, Peter Brown, Belinda Cornish, Tom Edwards, Vincent Forcier, Jeff Haslam, Jesse Gervais, Kristi Hansen, Jason Hardwick, Wayne Jones, Mark Meer, Sheri Somerville, and Stephanie Wolfe, of which Stephanie Wolfe and Jeff Haslam are founding members. Previous cast members include Dana Andersen, Leona Brausen, Chris Craddock, Kory Mathewson, Cathleen Rootsaert, Davina Stewart and Donovan Workun. Notable former cast members include Josh Dean, Nathan Fillion, Ron Pederson and Patti Stiles. In the course of its twenty-eight-season run, "Die-Nasty" has welcomed many prominent guest stars, including Joe Flaherty, Mump and Smoot, Robin Duke, Mark McKinney, Alan Tudyk and Mike Myers.
Since 1993, "Die-Nasty"'s home has been the Varscona Theatre, a busy live theatre and improv comedy hotspot in Edmonton's historic Old Strathcona district. The regular season show runs on Monday nights at 7:30pm, from mid-October until late May. The "Die-Nasty" company have also performed an annual mini-series at the world-renowned Edmonton International Fringe Festival every August since 1997.
Every September, "Die-Nasty" hosts the annual Soap-A-Thon — currently a 50-hour marathon of continuous improv, which features many performers, technical crew and volunteers going the entire weekend without sleep. The first Soap-A-Thon was held in 1993, originally at 48-hours, and was the company's first production in the Varscona. Each subsequent year, the running time increased until it topped out at 53-hours where it stayed for several years until the decision in 2010 to round the event to 50-hours. The current record holders for most performance hours at the Soap-A-Thon are core cast members Mark Meer and Patti Stiles. In 2005, then-director Dana Andersen exported the company's annual Soap-A-Thon to England, working with legendary British theatre artist Ken Campbell to produce a 36-hour-long soap opera in London. Several members of Campbell's company made the pilgrimage to Canada in the years 2006-2010 to take part in the original 53-hour-long event. Andersen paid further visits to London (along with several members of the Die-Nasty troupe) to direct 50-hour Improvathons (in 2008 and 2009 at the People Show Studios in 2010 at Hoxton Hall).
The following February, Andersen and company returned for another 50 hour Improvathon in the same venue, produced by The Sticking Place in conjunction with Die-Nasty. In 2011, Mark Meer, Belinda Cornish, and Donovan Workun appeared in the London Improvathon at Hoxton Hall, directed by Adam Meggido.
"Die-Nasty" has been honoured with a special Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Excellence in Theatre, and has also been nominated for several Canadian Comedy Awards. Their nomination in 2006 won "Die-Nasty" the Canadian Comedy Award for best improv troupe in the country. On February 12, 2007, the troupe received special recognition from the government of Alberta upon reaching the milestone 500th episode of "Die-Nasty".


Drink Coca-Cola


Texas Triangle

The Texas Triangle (also known as Texaplex) is a region of Texas which contains the state's five largest cities and is home to the majority of the state's population. The Texas Triangle is formed by the state's four main urban centers, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin, connected by Interstate 45, Interstate 10, and Interstate 35. In 2020, the population of the Texas Triangle reached nearly 21 million following rapid growth across much of Texas. The Texas Triangle is one of eleven megaregions in the United States, clusters of urban areas which share economic and cultural ties.
In 2004, the Texas Triangle contained five of the 20 largest cities in the U.S., and was home to more than 70% of all Texans, with a population of 13.8 million. In the next 40 years, the population of the Texas Triangle has been projected to grow more than 65%, or an additional 10 million people, leading to 78% of Texans living and working within the Texas Triangle. From a resident's perspective, the Triangle is gradually becoming synonymous with Texas.
Additional metropolitan areas in the region include Bryan-College Station, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, and Waco. Twelve micropolitan statistical areas are within the Triangle, which includes 66 counties. Beaumont, located east of Houston, has been considered part of the Texas Triangle by numerous studies dating from 2000. Burleson County is the center of the Texas Triangle.
Sizable metro areas in Texas outside the Triangle are Corpus Christi, El Paso, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, Abilene, San Angelo, Laredo, Amarillo, Tyler, Longview, Wichita Falls, and the Rio Grande Valley.
Geography.
The megaregion is defined in work by America 2050 and others. Dr. Robert Lang of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech characterized Dallas–Fort Worth as one of the earliest recognized megapolitans. Although each city is distinct, Dallas and Fort Worth developed closely enough to form the urban area widely known as the Metroplex. A conference about the future of the Texas Triangle was held by Houston Tomorrow and America 2050 on September 24–25, 2009 in Houston.
The region contains most of the state's largest cities and metropolitan areas, and in 2008 had a total of 17 million people and by 2020 had grown to nearly 21 million, nearly 75% of Texas's total population. The region is comparable to Florida in population and comparable to Georgia in area, but the Texas Triangle comprises less than a quarter of Texas's total land area.
According to the University of Texas at Austin Center for Sustainable Development, "the Texas Triangle has three sides measuring 271, 198, and 241 miles in ground distance."
Triangle counties.
Sixty-seven counties are within the Texas Triangle. They are: Atascosa, Austin, Bandera,
Bastrop,
Bell,
Bexar,
Brazoria,
Brazos,
Burleson,
Caldwell,
Chambers,
Collin,
Colorado,
Comal,
Cooke,
Coryell,
Dallas,
Delta,
Denton,
Ellis,
Falls,
Fayette,
Fort Bend,
Freestone,
Galveston,
Gonzales,
Grayson,
Grimes,
Guadalupe,
Hardin,
Harris,
Hays,
Henderson,
Hill,
Hood,
Houston,
Hunt,
Jefferson,
Johnson,
Kaufman,
Kendall,
Lavaca,
Lee,
Leon,
Liberty,
Limestone,
Madison,
McLennan,
Medina,
Milam,
Montgomery,
Navarro,
Orange,
Parker,
Rockwall,
Robertson,
San Jacinto,
Somervell,
Tarrant,
Travis,
Walker,
Waller,
Washington,
Wharton,
Williamson,
Wilson, and
Wise.


Sandy MacPherson

Roderick Hallowell "Sandy" MacPherson (3 March 1897 – 3 March 1975) was a Canadian-born theatre organist in Britain. As the second official BBC Theatre Organist, in succession to Reginald Foort, he achieved considerable broadcasting time during and after World War II.
Early life and career.
MacPherson was born in Paris, Ontario, Canada. He worked in the United States before travelling to England with his wife in 1928.
From 1928 to 1938 MacPherson was the resident organist at the Empire, Leicester Square. He was appointed BBC Theatre Organist in 1938, in succession to Reginald Foort, the first holder of that position. During the war years, Macpherson instituted parents speaking to their evacuee children in America live on the radio. He ran a number of request programmes, for instance 'From My Postbag' and 'At Your Request', and on a Sunday evening 'The Twilight Hour'. He also put out programmes with other artistes, for instance, Robinson Cleaver and his wife Molly (who played organ and grand piano), Stephane Grappelli, Oscar Grasso, Gladys Ripley and Isobel Bailey. He even auditioned a young Julie Andrews.
During the Second World War.
When the BBC briefly switched to broadcasting only light music in September 1939, MacPherson played up to twelve hours per day, also filling in with announcements and programme-notes whilst the organisation hastily evacuated its staff from London to various locations around the British Isles. Pressure from listeners and the press, who quickly tired of this seemingly unending diet of theatre organ day after day, soon caused the BBC to resume broadcasting a wider range of music. In the dark days of late 1939 - early 1940, MacPherson's original signature tune, "Happy Days Are Here Again" was decidedly inappropriate to the times and he replaced it with his own composition, "I'll Play To You", a slow waltz which he used throughout the rest of his career (written with Harry S Pepper, a BBC producer). He played the opening music to the radio programme called London After Dark, on the theatre organ in St. George's Hall, London, broadcast 24 August 1940. In 1942, his habits of playing on the theatre organ and tiring the British public were mocked by Tommy Handley in an episode of "It's That Man Again", in which Handley said: "You'll see many a worse 'un Sandy MacPherson!"
Initially during the war MacPherson regularly broadcast on the BBC from the original BBC Theatre Organ (a 4-manual 23-rank Compton) in St. George's Hall until that instrument was destroyed in the blitz on 10 May 1941. MacPherson himself was then evacuated and continued to broadcast on a Hammond organ until Reginald Foort lent the BBC his travelling Moller pipe-organ, which was installed in Bangor, Wales, close to Macpherson's then home of Llandudno. At the end of the war, the BBC purchased the Moller from Foort and moved it to the Jubilee Chapel, Hoxton, East London, where it remained until 1963.
After the war.
In the early 1950s, he was best known for his regular programme of light-religious music 'The Chapel in the Valley'. MacPherson introduced the programme, whilst "Mr Drewett" played the organ. "Mr Drewett" was actually Charles Drewett Smart, another theatre organist from the early days. MacPherson also had a request programme running at the same time which concentrated on slightly lighter music and was very popular with the older generation. After the war, MacPherson also periodically gave recitals on parish church organs in England and Wales. He retired from the position of BBC Theatre Organist in 1963 and the BBC sold the 5-manual 27-rank Moller organ, it being assumed that the days of theatre-organ music were over, with audience numbers for this genre fast declining. The instrument is now installed in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, having spent periods in Hilversum, Holland, and in a pizza parlour in San Diego, California, US. After retirement, MacPherson continued to broadcast from time to time, usually on the 4-manual 16-rank Wurlitzer in the Gaumont State Cinema, Kilburn, North London.
His biography, "Sandy Presents", was published in 1950. He was the subject of "This Is Your Life" in November 1961 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.
Death.
He died in Ealing, Middlesex, on his 78th birthday, 3 March 1975.


Vera San Payo de Lemos

Vera San Payo de Lemos (born 1951) is a Portuguese professor. She has translated many notable works from German into Portuguese and her awards include the Goethe Medal in 2006. Her works have appeared on the stage and on television.
Life.
She was born in 1951. Her first degree was in German studies which she obtained from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon. For her master's degree she again studied in Lisbon but this time in the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
In 1980 she began her collaboration with João Lourenço which resulted in the staging of many plays which they worked on together. Their work has included the plays of Bertolt Brecht, German Tankred Dorst, American Sam Shepard the Irish playwright Conor McPherson, Austrian Werner Schwab, Botho Strauss, American Eugene O'Neill, British playwright Shelagh Delaney, Canadian Carole Fréchette and William Shakespeare. For her work in translating the difficult works of Werner Schwab she was awarded the Austrian Prize for Literary Translation in 1998 and 2002.
Her plays with Lourenco have been staged at Teatro Aberto, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos and Teatro Nacional D. Maria II. Her work was staged on television in 1980s and 1990s and she has made personal TV appearances and interviews.
In 2003 she was awarded the Critics Prize from the Portuguese Association of Theater Critics and in 2006 she received the Goethe Medal. The German award was made on 22 March which is Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's date of Death.


Prem Dhawan

Prem Dhawan (1923–2001) was an Indian lyricist, music composer, choreographer and actor of Bollywood known for his patriotic songs, especially for the lyrics and compositions for the 1965 Manoj Kumar starrer, "Shaheed". He was a winner of the National Film Award for Best Lyrics in 1971 and was honoured by the Government of India in 1970 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
Biography.
Prem Dhawan was born on 13 June 1923 at Ambala in the present day Haryana state of India to a Jail Superintendent working for the British government. He did his college studies in Lahore during which period he was involved with the activities of the Communist party of India. He started his career in Lahore in 1946 as Assistant of Composer Khwaja Khurshid Anwar in Khwaja Ahmad Abbas's film "Aaj Aur Kal". He later moved to Mumbai to join the Indian People's Theatre Association. His association with the Indian People's Theatre Association helped him to learn classical music under the renowned classical musician, Ravi Shankar. In 1946, he debuted as a lyricist with the movie, "Dharti Ke Lal", the first of the several till his last film, the Hindi version of "Apoorva Sagodharargal", in 1989. In between, he wrote lyrics for a string of films such as "Aaram", "Tarana", "Aasman", "Shola Aur Shabnam", "Kabuliwala", "Ek Phool Do Mali" and "Purab Aur Pachhim". He also composed music for several films like "Shaheed", which was reported to have enhanced the status of Dhawan and the lead actor of the film, Manoj Kumar. The film featured some of the hits of the time in "Ae Watan Ae Watan" and "Mera Rang De Basanti Chola".
Dhawan, apart from his career as a lyricist and composer, acted in two films, "Lajawab" (1950) and "Goonj Uthi Shehnai" (1959). He also worked as a choreographer for seven films ("Vachan" was the first film as choreographer and lyricist), though not with much success. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1970. He won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics in 1971 for the film, "Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar". His career faded towards the eighties and did not have any notable contribution except for the 1989 dubbed movie, "Apoorva Sagodharargal". He died on 7 May 2001, at the age of 78, following a cardiac arrest.


Freedom in Fragments

Freedom in Fragments is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It was composed by Frith in 1993 as "a suite of 23 pieces for saxophone quartet", and was performed by the Rova Saxophone Quartet between February 1999 and January 2000 in San Francisco. The album was released on Tzadik Records' Composer Series in 2002. Frith does not perform on this album.
The "Freedom in Fragments" suite was also recorded in January 2008 by the ARTE Quartett, and released by Intakt Records (Switzerland) in January 2009 on a CD entitled "The Big Picture" by Fred Frith and ARTE Quartett. One of the tracks from the suite, "Freedom Is Your Friends II" was performed by the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet on their 1997 album "Ayaya Moses".
Background.
"Freedom in Fragments" was commissioned by the San Francisco-based Rova Saxophone Quartet and was composed by Frith specifically for them while he was living at Big Sur, California. He wrote it as a suite of 23 short pieces, or "stories", that can be played as a whole, or in part, and in any given sequence. Frith wanted a composition "which could reach their narrative potential by a force of accumulation ... small stories that, when heard together, become big stories."
Frith also composed the suite in a way that the music could be improvised: "The determining factor was the understanding that Rova wanted material which they could transform through improvisation. Most of the stories, therefore, involve some question about what might constitute musical freedom." One reviewer of the album stated that "[t]he suite's greatest strength is the way it lets Rova crawl around their instruments, from the melodic ballads to noisy skronk."
The "story" sequence performed here by Rova was created by Frith, although it is just one configuration of the work, and only 16 of the 23 pieces appear on the album. The entire work was dedicated to the memory of Charles Mingus, with certain pieces inspired by Frank Zappa, Jimmy Giuffre and Ikue Mori.
Track listing.
All tracks written by Fred Frith.


Upright Citizens Brigade

The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, Horatio Sanz and Drew Franklin. Other early members included Neil Flynn, Armando Diaz, Ali Farahnakian and Rich Fulcher.
In 2013, Besser, Roberts and Walsh wrote "The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual".
History.
The Upright Citizens Brigade began performing improv and sketch comedy at Kill the Poet in Chicago. Their first show was called "Virtual Reality". The group followed with shows titled "UCBTV", "Conference on the Future of Happiness", "Thunderball", "Bucket of Truth", "Big Dirty Hands", "The Real Real World", and "Punch Your Friend in the Face".
In 1993, the Upright Citizens Brigade (Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Amy Poehler, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, and Horatio Sanz) were regular guests on stage at the New Variety produced and hosted by Richard O'Donnell at the Chicago Improv comedy club, 504 N. Wells.
In 1996, the Upright Citizens Brigade relocated to New York and began performing shows and offering improv training at Solo Arts Group. These shows and classes were so popular that the UCB were able to open their own theater, The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, at 161 W. 22nd Street in Chelsea on February 4, 1999, in a former nude dance club. On April 1, 2003, they moved to a new space at 307 W. 26th Street. On November 30, 2017, they moved again to 555 West 42nd Street in Hell's Kitchen. In July 2005, the UCB opened at the Tamarind Theatre in Los Angeles at 5919 Franklin Avenue (between Tamarind & North Bronson Avenue). In 2011, UCB opened a second New York City theater and bar space in the East Village, UCB East, which ran smaller-scale shows for $10 or less. The UCB East permanently closed on February 9, 2019. In its stead, the group now offers three nights of programming per week in the nearby SubCulture theatre on Bleecker Street. The Upright Citizens Brigade has been a featured performance in the Comedy Tent at the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, for the past three years.
Screen ventures.
The original group, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts, and Amy Poehler have had two TV shows—"Upright Citizens Brigade" and "The UCB Show"—and their show "ASSSSCAT" has been televised twice. In addition to this they had a TV movie called "Escape From It's a Wonderful Life" and appeared weekly on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" in the 90s.
In the way of film, in 2002 they created and starred in the film "Martin & Orloff", and made another movie in 2007 titled "Wild Girls Gone". Neither film was particularly successful or well received.
The group has participated in web series including the ongoing series "UCB Comedy Originals", created in 2008, which occasionally shows sketches, and "I Hate Being Single", created in 2012.
In 2016, Universal Cable Productions announced signing Upright Citizens Brigade to a first-look production deal.
Notable alumni.
Since its inception in the 90s, UCB has produced numerous notable comedians.
"The Chris Gethard Show" with Chris Gethard and "Broad City" with Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson are examples of successful TV shows that started as UCB experiments.
"Saturday Night Live" has been known for seeking top talent in improv theatre.
Other famous alumni include comedians Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, Seth Morris, Aubrey Plaza, Zach Woods, Ellie Kemper, Andrew Daly, Jason Mantzoukas, D'Arcy Carden, and Ben Schwartz, as well as writer-director Kay Cannon, internet personalities Ninja Sex Party and Travis McElroy, and multi-hyphenate comedian/writer/actor/musician Donald Glover.


Bob Sherman (actor)

Robert "Bob" Sherman (November 16, 1940 in Redwood City, California – August 30, 2004 in England) was an American-born dramaturge, playwright, and film and television actor, best remembered for his role as CIA agent Jeff Ross in the British television series "The Sandbaggers".


Nicco Annan

Nicco Annan is an American actor, dancer, and choreographer. He is best known for his portrayal of Uncle Clifford on the Starz drama series "P-Valley", an adaptation of the Katori Hall play "Pussy Valley", in which Annan originated the role.
Early life and education.
Annan was raised in the NorthTown area of Detroit, Michigan. His mother is African American and was raised in the south, and his father is Ghanaian. He wanted to pursue acting from a young age and studied improv and theater from youth. When he was 17 he joined a dance troupe. Annan received his diploma from Cass Technical High School and studied musical theater at State University of New York-Purchase, where he received his bachelor of fine art degree.
Career.
After college, Annan was hired as the choreographer in residence at the Yale School of Drama. He also performed in theater productions on and off-Broadway. He moved to Los Angeles in 2014 to pursue television acting. Annan has appeared in "Claws", "Shameless", "This is Us", and "Snowfall". He is also the choreographer for the series "All American".
In 2009, Annan's friend recommended him for a role in "Pussy Valley," a play by Katori Hall centered on a strip club in the Mississippi Delta. Annan auditioned for and was cast as Uncle Clifford, the club's non-binary owner. He developed a detailed backstory for the character and portrayed the role in several smaller runs as well as the full production at Mixed Blood Theatre in 2015.
When the play was ordered for a television adaptation by Starz, Annan again auditioned for the role of Uncle Clifford and was re-cast. The series, "P-Valley", premiered in 2020 and Annan received critical acclaim for his season one portrayal. He was named to "THR"'s list of Best TV Performances of 2020.
Annan played a lead role in Hall's play "The Hot Wing King", which premiered March 2020 off-Broadway.
Nicco Annan has been a guest judge in season 2 of "Legendary".


Pamela (name)

Pamela is a feminine given name. Pamela is often abbreviated to Pam. Pamela is infrequently used as a surname.
History.
Sir Philip Sidney invented the name Pamela for a pivotal character in his epic prose work, "The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia", written in the late 16th century and published posthumously. The name is widely taken to mean "all sweetness", formed on the Greek words πᾶν "pan" ("all") and μέλι "meli" ("honey"), but there is no evidence regarding what meaning, if any, Sidney intended for it.
The Samuel Richardson novel "Pamela" in 1740 or 1741 inaugurated the use of Pamela as a given name but it was not in common usage until the 20th century. A rare early bearer of the name, Lady Edward FitzGerald (c. 1773 – 1831), although known by the first name Pamela, was born Stephanie Caroline Anne Syms.
The name's popularity may have been hindered by the tendency to pronounce it which was not fully superseded by the now-standard until the start of the 20th century when the name finally entered general usage. Pamela was very popular in Great Britain from the 1930s through the 1950s with the tallies of the most popular names for British newborn girls for the respective years 1934, 1944 and 1954 ranking Pamela at respectively #20, #17 and #24. Evidently less popular from the 1960s—being ranked on the respective 1964 tally at #67—the name Pamela has grown increasingly unfashionable, with a reported total of eleven newborn girls in Britain given the name in 2009.
Given name.
People with the name or its variants include:


Twentieth Century (film)

Twentieth Century is a 1934 American pre-Code screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Barrymore and Carole Lombard. Much of the film is set on the "20th Century Limited" train as it travels from Chicago to New York City. Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur adapted their 1932 Broadway play of the same name – itself based on the unproduced play "Napoleon of Broadway" by Charles Bruce Millholland – with uncredited contributions from Gene Fowler and Preston Sturges.
Along with Frank Capra's "It Happened One Night", also released in 1934 (which coincidentally has the same music over the opening titles), "Twentieth Century" is considered to be a prototype for the screwball comedy. "Howard Hawks' rapid-fire romantic comedy established the essential ingredients of the "screwball" – a dizzy dame, a charming, but befuddled, hero, dazzling dialogue, and a dash of slapstick." Its success propelled Lombard into the front ranks of film comediennes. The film was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2011.
Plot.
Ebullient Broadway impresario Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) takes an unknown lingerie model named Mildred Plotka (Carole Lombard) and makes her the star of his latest play, despite the grave misgivings of everyone else, including his two long-suffering assistants, accountant Oliver Webb (Walter Connolly) and the consistently tipsy Owen O'Malley (Roscoe Karns). Through intensive training, Oscar transforms his protégée into the actress "Lily Garland", and both she and the play are resounding successes. Over the next three years, their partnership spawns three more smash hits, and Lily is recognized as a transcendent talent.
Then Lily tries to break off their professional and personal relationship, fed up with Oscar's overpossesiveness and control of every aspect of her life. Oscar talks her out of it, promising to be more trusting and less controlling in the future. Instead, he secretly hires a private detective agency run by McGonigle to watch her every move, even to the point of tapping her telephone. When she finds out, it is the last straw; she leaves for Hollywood and soon becomes a big movie star.
Without Lily, Oscar produces flop after flop. After one such disappointment, to avoid being imprisoned for his debts, he is forced to disguise himself to board the luxurious "Twentieth Century Limited" train travelling from Chicago to New York City's Grand Central Terminal. By chance, Lily Garland boards the train at a later stop with her boyfriend George Smith (Ralph Forbes). After prevaricating, Oscar sees a chance to restore his fortunes and salvage his relationship with Lily.
Oscar schemes to get her to sign a contract with him. However, Lily wants nothing more to do with him. She is on her way to see Oscar's rival (and former employee), Max Jacobs (Charles Lane), to star in "his" play. However, Oscar manages to get George to break up with her. Knowing that Lily offers him one last chance at professional success he tells her of his wish for her to play Mary Magdalene in his new play; "sensual, heartless, but beautiful – running the gamut from the gutter, to glory – can you see her Lily? – the little wanton ending up in tears at the foot of the cross. I'm going to have Judas strangle himself with her hair." Then Oliver thinks he has found somebody to finance Oscar's project, fellow passenger Mathew J. Clark (Etienne Girardot), not realizing that Clark is a harmless escapee from a mental asylum. When Oscar is slightly wounded in a scuffle with Clark, he pretends to be dying and gets a distraught Lily to sign his contract. The film ends with their first rehearsal, where Oscar reverts to his usual self, domineering a desperate Lily.
Production.
The genesis of "Twentieth Century" was "Napoleon of Broadway", a play by Charles Bruce Millholland about his experiences in working for the legendary and eccentric Broadway producer David Belasco.
His play was not produced, but it became the basis for the Hecht-MacArthur comedy, which lasted for 152 performances on Broadway, beginning on December 29, 1932, and which they later adapted for the big screen. Howard Hawks was not the first choice; Roy Del Ruth and Lewis Milestone had been set to direct before Hawks got the job. Columbia tried to get William Frawley from the Broadway cast, but instead borrowed Roscoe Karns from Paramount.
Before Lombard was cast, Columbia boss Harry Cohn negotiated with Eugenie Leontovich, who had played the part on Broadway, and then considered Gloria Swanson and Miriam Hopkins. Other reports say that Cohn also approached Ina Claire, Tallulah Bankhead, Ruth Chatterton, Constance Bennett, Ann Harding, Kay Francis and Joan Crawford. However, Hawks believed that Lombard was a brilliant actress who had yet to be unleashed on film. He convinced a reluctant Columbia to borrow her from Paramount Studios.
During Barrymore's initial reading with her, he looked to Hawks with an expression that showed he did not believe in Hawks' intuition. The rest of the production went dryly, with Lombard staggering through one scene after another and playing the same stoic characters that she had been taught to portray. Hawks took her aside and asked her what she was being paid for the film. Lombard told him and Hawks asked her what she would do if a man said "something" about her, coming up with an example from the back of his mind. Lombard said, "I would kick him in the balls." Hawks said, "Well, Barrymore said that, so why don't you kick him?" Of course Barrymore had said nothing of the sort, but the plan worked and after Lombard yelped a few profanities, she continued through the shoot with an unforgettable vigor. For the remainder of her career—until her tragic death in an airplane crash in 1942 at age 33—before beginning a film, Lombard would always send a telegram to Hawks saying, "I'm going to kick him!"
Lombard and Barrymore became friends during filming. When Barrymore's career was declining, Lombard raised hell to get him to work on her film "True Confession" (1937).
Preston Sturges was hired to write the screenplay around late November 1933, but was removed from the project a week later because he had not made sufficient progress. Columbia then tried to get Herman Mankiewicz to write it, with Felix Young to produce.
"Twentieth Century" – a title which Columbia considered changing because they feared that many westerners would not be familiar with the name of the train – was in production February 22–March 24, 1934.
During the filming, there were some problems with the censors at the Hays Office, who were concerned about the religious angle in the comedy of the film, and requested that it be toned down. Joseph Breen, who ran the Office, worried that "there will be serious difficulty in inducing an anti-Semitic public to accept a [motion picture] play produced by an industry believed to be Jewish in which the Passion Play is used for comedy purposes." The Office ultimately asked that one line be removed, which it was. They also requested that it be made less clear where Oscar jabs Lily with a pin.
"Twentieth Century" was premiered in New York at Radio City Music Hall on May 3, 1934, and went into general release on May 11.
Reception.
In his "The New York Times" review of "Twentieth Century", Mordaunt Hall wrote, "John Barrymore is in fine fettle in Twentieth Century" and "acts with such imagination and zest that he never fails to keep the picture thoroughly alive." All of the principal actors - Lombard ("gives an able portrayal"), Connolly ("excellent") and Karns ("adds bright flashes"), as well as Girardot ("an asset") - were also praised. However, Hall was less enthused about the comedy style, stating, "it seems a pity that they [Hecht and MacArthur] were tempted to stray occasionally too far from the realm of restrained comedy and indulge their fancy for boisterous humor."
"Twentieth Century"s box office performance was described as "dismal". It was a box office disappointment.
"Time" magazine said "Twentieth Century is good fun, slick, wild and improbable."
In December 2011, "Twentieth Century" was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In its induction, the Registry said that the "sophisticated farce about the tempestuous romance of an egocentric impresario and the star he creates did not fare well on its release, but has come to be recognized as one of the era's finest film comedies, one that gave John Barrymore his last great film role and Carole Lombard her first."
Adaptations.
"On the Twentieth Century".
In 1978, Cy Coleman (music), Betty Comden and Adolph Green (book and lyrics) created the stage musical, "On the Twentieth Century", based on the film, the original Hecht and MacArthur play and the unpublished play by Millholland. It ran on Broadway for 460 performances, and was revived for a special benefit performance in 2005. Its first full-scale Broadway revival began in February 2015, with Peter Gallagher and Kristin Chenoweth in the lead roles.
Radio.
"Twentieth Century" was presented on "Star Playhouse" November 22, 1953. The adaptation starred Lilli Palmer and Rex Harrison, who were married in real life.


Swanee Shuffle


TCB (TV program)

TCB is a 1968 television special produced by Motown Productions and George Schlatter–Ed Friendly Productions of "Laugh-In" fame. The special is a musical revue starring Motown's two most popular groups at the time, Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations. Containing a combination of showtunes, specially prepared numbers, and popular Motown hits, the special was taped before a live studio audience in September 1968 and originally broadcast December 9, 1968 on NBC, sponsored by the Timex watch corporation. The title of the program uses a then-popular acronym, "TCB", which stands for "Taking Care of Business".
Among the program's highlights were Diana Ross' "Afro Vogue" solo spot, Paul Williams' emotionally charged rendition of "For Once in My Life," a cover by both groups of the Aretha Franklin version of Otis Redding's "Respect," and then-new Temptations lead singer Dennis Edwards' lead performance on "(I Know) I'm Losing You," a song considered a signature for his predecessor, David Ruffin.
Pre-empting "Laugh-In" on Monday night, "TCB" was the first musical TV special of the rock era to air on American broadcast television. It exceeded all performance expectations, winning its timeslot in the ratings and becoming the top-rated variety show of 1968. A soundtrack album, "TCB – The Original Cast Soundtrack" was released a week before the special aired on December 9 and reached No. 1 on the U.S. "Billboard" Top 200 albums chart. It also became the third #1 album for Diana Ross and The Supremes. The first #1 was "The Supremes A Go Go" in 1966 by The Supremes And the second was Diana Ross and the Supremes Greatest Hits in 1967.
As of June 2016, the show has not been officially released on home video. Various clips are available for viewing online by streaming media, including YouTube.
The vinyl LP soundtrack album has been remastered and reissued on CD.
Song list for "TCB" soundtrack album.
"Lead vocalists on each track are identified by superscripts: (a) Diana Ross, (b) Dennis Edwards, (c) Eddie Kendricks, (d) Paul Williams, (e) Temptations ensemble"
Awards for TV special.
The show received an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Electronic Production.


Googlezon


IGhost


Chihuly Over Venice