LIZA MINNELLI, LA MIRANDA THEATRE, THE BARN THEATRE...AND MORE!

Caroline Rhea Hosts PFLAG Gala Honoring Liza Minnelli, TOMORROW, May 1
(SOURCE: BWW News Desk)
Caroline Rhea will host the Straight for Equality Awards Gala honoring Liza Minnelli on May 1.

The second annual awards ceremony will be held at the New York Marriott Marquis. Liza Minnelli will be presented with the 2010 Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award.

This honor recognizes Liza's lifelong role as a Straight Ally of the LGBT community.
Also being honored at the ceremony will be NFL Super Bowl XLIV star Scott Fujita, for Straight for Equality in Sports.

Tickets to this event are $300 for a general admission ticket or $400 for a VIP ticket.

Liza Minnelli was born on March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California to the actress/songwriter Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli. She began her career at a very early age, co-starring with her mother in the movie "In the Good Old Summertime" in 1949.

At the age of 10, Liza hosted the first-ever TV broadcast of "The Wizard of Oz", reaching a viewing audience of about 45 million people.
By the time she was 19, she had landed the lead role in "Flora, the Red Menace". This Broadway performance won her a Tony for the Best Actress in a Musical.
In 1972, her movie career peaked when she played Sally Bowles in "Cabaret." The film won eight Oscars, including the Best Actress for Liza.
The role also earned her a Golden Globe and a British Film Academy Award. The unqualified success of "Cabaret" put Liza on the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week.
Liza also starred in the first concert ever filmed for live television in 1972. Liza went on to appear opposite Robert DeNiro in the musical "New York, New York," directed by Martin Scorsese, in 1977.
In 1981, she co-starred with Dudley Moore in the movie "Arthur", going on to make the sequel "Arthur 2" in 1998.

Liza added a second Golden Globe to her already impressive list of awards in 1985 wither her performance in "A Time to Live", a made-for-TV movie.
Liza returned to the state in December 1999 to pay tribute to her father in a show called "Minnelli on Minnelli" at New York's Palace Theater. In 2008 Liza returned to Broadway with "Liza's at the Palace..." which went on to win the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event, marking her four Tony Award.

She recreated the show at the MGM Grand where her performance was filmed for a public television special and a DVD.
The show's cast recording was nominated for a Grammy Award. Liza continues her extraordinary music career with ongoing concert tours in the U.S. and Europe, as well as recording a new album. Liza has also won a special Tony Award in 1974 for "adding lustre to the Broadway Season." For more information on this cause visit http://www.straightforequality.org/.

Straight for Equality is a project of PFLAG National that was launched in 2007 to invite, educate, and empower straight allies to demonstrate their support for their LGBT friends and family. The Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award was designed to honor a performer and/or artist who has a history of advocating for equality for LGBT people.
The first award was presented in 2009 to actress Sigourney Weaver.

Maripat Donovan, Mitzi Gaynor, Marilu Henner Set

(Maripat Donovan, pictured)for La Mirada Theatre's 2010-2011 Season
(SOURCE: Andy Propst)

The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts has announced its 2010-2011 season, which will open with a revival of Charles Busch's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, to run October 1-17. Jeff Maynard will direct the production, which will feature stage and television star Marilu Henner.

The La Mirada season will also include Paul Gordon and John Caird's new musical Daddy Long Legs (November 5-21); 'Til Death Do Us Part - Late Night Catechism 3 (January 28 - February 13), starring Maripat Donovan; Little Shop of Horrors (April 15-May 1); and Roger Bean's The Marvelous Wonderettes (June 3-19).

In addition to these productions, the theater will offer two performances of Mitzi Gaynor's one-woman show Razzle Dazzle! My Life Behind the Sequins on May 14, 2011.

For further information, visit: www.lamiradatheatre.com.
The Barn Theatre presents
"The Producers"
by Mel Brooks and Thomas Sheehan
Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks

Directed by Cheryl Marocco Hartley
Musical Direction by Regan Ryzuk

Choreography by Megan Ferentinos

Performances:

May 21, 22, 28, 29, June 4, 5 at 8pm
May 23, 30, June 5 at 2pm

To reserve tickets call: 973-334-9320
When the down-and-out King of Broadway, Max Bialystock, and his timid accountant, Leo Bloom, discover they can make more money with a flop, they set out to produce the worst Broadway show imaginable. Winner of a record 12 Tony® Awards, The Producers ranks as one of the funniest and biggest musicals in Broadway history. Join us at The Barn Theatre for a springtime you will never forget!

With: Geraldine Baillod, Brendan Bartlett, Bridget Burke Weiss, Michael Campbell, Dave Conley, Tim Daniels, Brittany Dunn, Michal Efron, Jen Hanselman, Scott Hart, Samantha Kaplan,
Emily Krueger, Fran Leonardis, James Lopez, Brendan Maly, Sarah Mendenhall, Brian Merrill,
Lisa Poggi, Jo Rosa Rio, Paul Salvatoriello, Tom Schopper, Ericka Traugh, and Tom Wright.

The Barn Theatre is located at 32 Skyline Drive in Montville, NJ, just minutes off Route 287, Exit 47.
For more information or directions, call (973) 334-9320, or visit www.barntheatre.org.
The Producers is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International.

No New Neighbors for Hollywood Sign
(SOURCE: TAMARA AUDI)

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES—Keeping the Hollywood sign uncluttered fell to local celebrities, and the Playboy Bunny sealed the deal.

A last-minute $900,000 contribution from Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner closed the gap in a $12.5 million fund-raising drive to buy 138 acres adjacent to the sign that had been slated for residential development. The mountain-top parcel is to be donated to the city of Los Angeles.

Neighbors and preservationists felt that building homes above the world-famous sign would ruin the view and rob the public of access to the peak.

"Today we have the Hollywood ending we hoped for," said Will Rogers, president of the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit preservation group that spearheaded the effort to buy the land for the city.

In 1978, Hugh Hefner helped raise money to rebuild it when it was dilapidated.

"My childhood dreams and fantasies came from the movies, and the images created in Hollywood had a major influence on my life and Playboy," Mr. Hefner said in a statement released Monday. "As I've said before, the Hollywood sign is Hollywood's Eiffel Tower and I am pleased to help preserve such an important cultural landmark."

The campaign to acquire the land, called the Cahuenga Peak, attracted Hollywood heavyweights and longtime residents. Celebrities including Tom Hanks to Steven Spielberg donated money, while residents who live below the sign organized bake sales and community events to raise money.
The real estate around the sign was once owned by billionaire Howard Hughes, who intended to build a mansion on the peak for his girlfriend at the time, Ginger Rogers.
But Ms. Rogers, according to local lore, balked at living on the isolated hilltop. Their romance fizzled and the home was never built.

Write to Tamara Audi at tammy.audi@wsj.com

Shelly Goldstein
One Fine Day: The Groovy Girls of the '60s
Magic Castle
Hollywood, CA
Shelly Goldstein is a lot of women in one body, as she demonstrates skillfully in her look back at female singers of the 1960s, including Carole King, Petula Clark, Lulu, Mama Cass, Laura Nyro and Carly Simon.

Rather than try to imitate any of the “groovy” girl singers of the past, she honors their spirit with respect and a sense of history, sharing a bit of biography about each one along the way before singing some of the songs they made famous.
Her most compelling moment came in her tender reading of Pete Townshend’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” which she described as more of a hymn than a rock anthem and which she sang beautifully as a powerful ballad. Plus, there was an effective medley of Petula Clark hits by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent.
To demonstrate how attitudes toward women and marriage have become more complex over the years, Goldstein did a medley that combined Laura Nyro’s “Wedding Bell Blues” with Carly Simon and Jacob Brackman’s “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” plus a word-perfect version of Stephen Sondheim’s “Getting Married Today.”

And of course, there was Goldstein’s YouTube hit, sung to the tune of the Sherman brothers’s “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” called “Stupid Callous Homophobic Hateful Legislation” about efforts to quash gay marriage.
Goldstein was ably abetted by accompanist Scott Harlan, who sang harmony on a couple of songs and stepped away from the piano after donning a blond wig, headband and peace button to join an Afro-wigged Goldstein in “Black Boys/White Boys” from Hair.
Goldstein closed the show saying she favors the optimism of the 1960s over the cynicism of today — and an audience certainly leaves her show feeling upbeat and positive, just like the groovy guys and girls of the 1960s.
Elliot Zwiebach, Cabaret Scenes

www.cabaretscenes.org

Bickford Theatre Announces Their 16th Season, Kicks Off 9/23
(SOURCE: BWW News Desk)

Eric Hafen, Artistic Director of the Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road in Morristown, NJ, is proud to unveil the Bickford Theatre's 2010-2011 Season

"Of "Stage & Screen," featuring four thrillingly-exciting works that explore and celebrate the magical worlds of Broadway and Hollywood.

The Bickford's 16th Season opens September 23 with the wildly beloved yet rarely seen musical Mack & Mabel.
"To begin this season of ‘Stage and Screen,' what is there left to say about the great film maker Mack Sennett and his daffy heroine, movie star Mabel Normand, coupled with Jerry Herman's favorite score? Lights, camera, action!" said Eric Hafen, Bickford's Artistic Director.
"We continue our movie theme with a sequel (of sorts!) with Moonlight and Magnolias, the untold but disputed conflagration of three movie geniuses struggling to work together to bring to the screen one of the greatest films ever made," said Hafen. "We welcome 2011 with The Little Dog Laughed, one of the best written plays I have ever read, and a Tony winner to boot, and we close our Season with I Hate Hamlet, an honest and wildly hilarious look at someone who really, truly hates the Bard. No matter which you prefer, the Great White Way or the Silver Screen, there's something for everyone this Season at the Bickford!"

From the Tony Award-winning composer of Hello, Dolly! and La Cage Aux Folles comes the 8-time, Tony-nominatEd Mack & Mabel, running Sept. 23 through Oct. 17, 2010, a rollicking and romantic musical about legendary silent movie director Mack Sennett's pie-in-the face, Keystone Kops, and Bathing Beauties Hollywood--and Mack's even wilder love affair with his greatest leading lady, comedienne Mabel Normand

. Mack & Mabel will take you on a musically-thrilling roller coaster ride through Jerry Herman's best score including such blockbuster classics as "Tap Your Troubles Away," "I Wanna Make the World Laugh," "Movies Were Movies," "I Won't Send Roses," and "Time Heals Everything."
We promise you a toe-tapping good time-and a happy ending!

The Bickford Theatre continues its Season with Moonlight and Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson, running November 11 through December 5, 2010, a wildly funny and illuminating behind-the-scenes tale of the business of movie making during the golden age of Hollywood.

1939 Hollywood is abuzz! Legendary producer David O. Selznick has shut down the filming of his newest epic, Gone with the Wind, just three weeks into production. The screenplay, you see, just isn't working. So what's an all-powerful movie mogul to do? Fire the director, pull Victor Fleming off The Wizard of Oz, and lock himself, Fleming, and script doctor Ben Hecht in his office for five days until they have a screenplay. Subsisting on a diet of bananas and peanuts, they spend five days working through and acting out Margaret Mitchell's bestseller and in the process make movie history by fashioning a screenplay for one of the most successful and beloved films of all time.

The Bickford rings in the New Year with Douglas Carter Beane's Tony Award-nominated hit, The Little Dog Laughed

, running January 20 through February 13, 2011. Rising film star, Mitchell Green, is every girl's fantasy and soon to become a household name, thanks to his devilish agent Diane.
With Mitchell on the brink of superstardom, Diane encounters one teensy weensy obstacle - -she can't seem to stop her leading man from coming out of the closet!
With Mitchell spending days and nights with his new "friend" Alex, and Alex's beautiful girlfriend Ellen causing a drama of her own, what lengths will Mitchell go to play the part? Douglas Carter Beane's Tony award-nominated comedy hilariously satirizes the superficial world of show-business and the game-playing of the movie industry.

The Season comes to a swash-buckling end with Paul Rudnick's hit comedy, I Hate Hamlet, running April 28 through May 22, 2011.
Actor Andrew Rally seems to have it all: fame from his starring role in a hit TV series; a rich, beautiful girlfriend; the perfect New York apartment; and the chance to play the greatest role of all time: Hamlet in Central Park!
There are, however, a couple of glitches in paradise: Andrew's series has been cancelled, his 29-year-old girlfriend is clinging to her virginity; and he absolutely HATES Hamlet!

A botched séance produces the ghost of the greatest of all Hamlets--John Barrymore. Fortified by champagne, ego, and a cod piece, he tries to convince Andrew to accept the part and fulfill his actor's destiny. The laughs come fast and furious as Andrew wrestles with his conscience, Barrymore, his sword, and his own codpiece in this Drama Desk and Tony Award-nominated screwball comedy, full of big laughs, romantic entanglements and even a duel!
In addition, the Bickford Theatre will once again be offering its popular "A La Carte Series" of concerts and variety performances. This Season's exciting line-up opens Sunday, March 6 with three-time MAC Award-winner Richard Skipper

starring in Carol Channing in Concert, followed on Sunday, March 13, by The David Leonhardt Jazz Group and the Shelly Oliver Tap Dancers returning to the Bickford in A Tribute to Gershwin, and ending Sunday, March 20, with the fascinating Before the Crash: America in the 1920's, brought to you by the collaborators of the Bickford's wildly-successful A La Carte Series presentation After The Ball, director Daniel P. Quinn and choreographer Heather Johdos.

Main Stage Series performances are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m, with select Thursday Matinees at 2 p.m. Subscriptions are now on sale. Individual tickets go on sale September 1, 2010. The Bickford Theatre is conveniently located within the Morris Museum and offers free parking and full accessibility. To purchase a Bickford subscription or for further information, please contact the Box Office at 973.971.3706 or visit us 24/7 at www.bickfordtheatre.org.

"Lena(Inspired by the LIFE OF LENA HORNE)"

For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE
Contact Person: Nickolas Long, III
Josiah Theatre Works /Lafayette Grill 54 Franklin Street NY NY 10013
Phone: (347) 291 6289
April 25th 2010

Josiah Theatre Works, in association with Lafayette Grill presents WORLD PREMIER CABARET theatre Production, "Lena(Inspired by the LIFE OF LENA HORNE)" Written and Directed by Nickolas Long, III with Musical Direction by Karl Jackson.

The mission of Josiah Theatre Works is to present the WORLD PREMIERS with Fine Dining in the heart of TRIBECA NYC.

We are eagerly anticipating this production as a TRIBUTE to the Living Legend, Ms. Lena Horne. Her contributions to the arts and her people of African descent , remains a treasure to the World. We hope you can attend this WORLD PREMIER.

Previews begin SUNDAY MAY 16TH 3PM & 7PM , Sunday May 23rd 7:00pm and we open OFFICIALLY on Sunday June 6th 2010 3:00pm & 7:00pm. This Production features some of New York City's most Promising talents of stage and screen , and chronicles the Life of Lena Horne from 1933 to Present. With Original Music lyrics by Nickolas Long, III and musical arranging by Karl Jackson, you will also be pleased with the Fine dining that comes along with the Production.

"Lena (Inspired by the LIFE OF LENA HORNE)" is a World Premier DRAMA with music and dance.Offering a dramatic interpretation of the life of Lena Horne instead of through a MUSICAL production.

Please see the ATTACHMENT FLYER. Press and Industry people can order they tickets through Nickolas Long, III. 347 291 6289

www.smarttix.com - "LENA(Inspired by the LIFE OF LENA HORNE)"
OPEN RUN Previews May 16th 3pm & 7pm , May 23rd 7pm -
Every 1ST SUNDAY Premiers JUNE 6TH - 3:00PM & 7:00PM SHOWTIMES
*Excludes SUNDAY JULY 4TH 2010 . Special SHOW - Sunday 7/18/2010 3:00PM & 7:00PM
Tickets : General $50 V.I.P $60-$65 Includes Show and Fine Dining. TIPS AND DRINKS ARE ADDITIONAL

*THERE ARE NO SPECIAL OFFERS FOR PREVIEWS. RUSH ADVANCE TICKETS GENERAL $40 V.I.P $50
Group SALES CONTACT 347 291 6289*

Sincerely,
Nickolas Long, III -Artistic Director/ Playwright -At-Large
Josiah Theatre Works /Lafayette Grill
"THEATRE WITH FINE DINING"
347 291 6289

Minnelli Talks 'Rock and Roll' Cameo in 'Sex And The City 2'

(SOURCE: BROADWAY WORLD)

As previously reported, stage and screen legend Liza Minnelli will be appearing in Sex And The City 2, in addition to being on the film's soundtrack. In the film, Minnelli will perform at the wedding of Stanford Blatch, the gay character and ladies' confidante played by Willie Garson.

Of the cameo, Minnelli said: "It's a wonderful number. We had a blast...It's rock and roll. Everything is moving! And I just got a whole new knee, so I can promise you everything is moving."

Sex and the City 2 will hit screens in the same date slot that Sex and the City did in 2008.

The big screen adapation of the hit HBO series was a runaway box office hit, opening to $57 million on its way to hitting $152.6 million domestically. Sex made an even stronger showing overseas, grossing $260 million at the international box office for a worldwide total of $412.6 million.

The ladies of Sex And The City- Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis, all agreed earlier in the the year to take part in a sequel film to Sex and the City: The Movie.

For more information visit, www.hbo.com.

Support THE ARTS! LIVE THEATRE! Go see a show this week!

Send me your reviews and suggestions and I will put them in my next blog coming out May 5th CINCO DE MAYO! Here's to an ARTS-filled May! Don't forget to contribute to the DR. CAROL CHANNING & HARRY KULLIJIAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS: http://www.carolchanning.org/Foundation.htm

With grateful XOXOXs for your support!

Richard Skipper

Follow me on Twitter @RichardSkipper

HERE IS WHAT AUDIENCES ARE SAYING ABOUT MY WORK:
It was so great to work with Richard Skipper at the LGBT comedy vent in Nyack. You are fabulous, hilarious and a classic entertainer.
Kelli Dunham, http://www.kellidunham.com

Wednesday night at the Iguana (4/28/10) was so much fun!!! Thank you for celebrating Don and Peggy's birthdays. We all had a ball and have been talking about the show all day today. You and Dana are the best! Love you both! XOXO Pamela Palmieri, http://www.pamelapalmieri.com

Sandee and I love Richard and Dana, We always have a good time at Iguana. The food is good and reasonable. Richard and Dana are the best host and Hostess in town. The talent is top notch, the jokes can make you laugh, and one can get home at a decent hour... Michael Janin, Long Beach New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NYC Now a night out in NY to see a show at a VERY AFFORDABLE price!
Dana Lorge and I have put our OWN spin on the variety show format and are now hosting every Wednesday night in NYC at The Iguana VIP Lounge (http://www.iguananyc.com) in the heart of NYC (240 West 54th Street 8-11PM/with an intermission).

Cover: $12 - no food or drink minimums – but remember – the food is great!
NOMINATED FOR TWO 2010 MANHATTAN ASSOCIATION OF CABARETS AND CLUBS AWARDS (MAC) FOR OUTSTANDING VARIETY SHOW AND OUTSTANDING HOSTS!

or more info, please call 845-365-0720 or visit _www.RichardSkipper.com_
RESERVATIONS A MUST!!!!!!!!
212-765-5454.
No one admitted before 7:00.

May 6
8pm

IGUANA VIP LOUNGE, 240 West 54th Street, NYC
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE IGUANA ON THURSDAY
Bill Zeffiro on keyboard & Saadi Zain on bass.
Because of Cinco de Mayo, please note this week's show will take place on Thursday. Tonight's guests include: Meg Flather, Jillian Laurain, Diana LeBlanc

, Kevin McMullen, George Stella, Anton W. Vander Merwe ...
...and a few other surprises as well! $12.00 Music Charge/No food or drink minimum!
Reservations a must (212) 765-5454

MAY 12th: Pamela Palmieri & Tod Hall