Publisher: Elizabeth Hurd

2019

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Amahl and the Night Visitors from Painted Sky Opera is Beautiful Christmas Message

Amahl and the Night Visitors

The Three Kings of Amahl and the Night Visitors.

By: Elizabeth Hurd


 

On Christmas Eve, 1951, NBC premiered the first opera written for television. It was called Amahl and the Night Visitors and it became a Christmas Eve tradition for 15 years.   Gian Carlo Menotti, noted Italian-born American composer, based the opera on The Adoration of the Magi by Hieronymus Bosch.   Many families gathered in front of their television sets to view the opera and Amahl’s beautiful story. However, things change and in 1966 NBC decided to update their programming, but the story of… Continue reading

“Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” Provides Excellence in Theatre and Soul

Don Taylor (standing at right) as Jacob Marley arriving at the counting-house where David Mays as the Recordkeeper explains things. Photo courtesy of Christine Lanning

In 1994 noted performer and novelist Tom Mula released a slightly different take on the classic we all know and love by Charles Dickens called “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol”.  Now on stage, this story is being produced by the 3rd Act Theatre as a ‘Bonus’ production for Christmas.  Doug Van Liew directs a cast of four on a very minimalist set, creating Mula’s version of “A Christmas Carol” from Marley’s viewpoint and… Continue reading

“Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker” at Shakespeare on Paseo is a Fun and Fanciful Tribute to Austen

Cassandra Austen played by Lindsey Rollins and Jane Austen played by Jodianne Loyd. Photo Courtesy of David Bricquet

Jane Austen loved to write and she wrote well, publishing her novels anonymously and gaining a measure of respect.  She wrote about life as she knew it and the importance of attending the right balls and garden parties.  She gave us a glimpse of what behavioral ‘dance’ young couples had to perform in attempting to find a place in their future.  Her novels are beloved by many, and although women today have fewer difficulties in creating a future, everyone… Continue reading

UCO’s Snow Business is Simply Divine!

Libby McCormack and the Elves

Libby McCormack and the Elves and Elfettes in UCO’s There’s No Business Like Snow Business.

UCO’s Musical Theatre Christmas concert is a lovely holiday revue featuring Christmas numbers from a variety of stage musicals. There’s No Business Like Snow Business is a gloriously festive night at the UCO Jazz Lab. The show opens with the full cast performing “We Need a Little Christmas” and then breaking into smaller ensembles and solos. There are performances from several well-known Broadway shows, and they’re sung professionally by the UCO Musical Theatre students. The titles are helpfully displayed onscreen above the stage, and… Continue reading

“Arcadia” An Important Masterpiece from Oklahoma City University

Zachary Scott Prall as Septimus

Zachary Scott Prall as Septimus in Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” directed by Hal Kohlman, OKCU. Photo courtesy of Bryan Cardinale-Powell

It is a delightful and never-ending source of amazement to find the artistic level of talent in the heartland of Oklahoma.  We have a number of great theatre groups producing outstanding productions to rival Broadway.  This, of course, begins with the inspiration and education found in universities such as Oklahoma City University (OKCU) with outstanding music, theatre, art, and dance departments.  The Oklahoma City University Theatre Department is presenting Tom Stoppard’s brilliant play “Arcadia” from December 5 through… Continue reading

“It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” Lavish with Talent, Heart and Soul

Joshua McGowen as Jake Laurents

Joshua McGowen as Jake Laurents and Kara Chapman as Sally Applewhite playing George and Mary Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Photo courtesy of Jared Blount, The Pollard Theatre

The brightest age of entertainment may well have been in the days of radio, with great shows, like “The Shadow” and “Topper,” all full of wit, humor and the listener’s imagination.  Each show had a sound effects man to recreate the sounds seen during the live presentation.  Jack Donovan Foley refined many of these sounds and they are used extensively in Joe Landry’s “It’s a… Continue reading

OCU’s School of Theatre presents the Intriguing Drama Arcadia

OCU's production of Arcadia

OCU’s production of Arcadia runs December 5th-8th at the Burg Theatre.

Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia is an intriguing and complex drama about the influences of science, nature, truth, time, and sex on our lives. The play is set in two time periods and centers on a grand English estate. In 1809, a young girl and her tutor are delving into deep issues, of the romantic and intellectual variety. In present day, two scholars seek to unlock the mysteries of the house and the secrets of those who lived there. Oklahoma City University’s production of Arcadia promises to be mysterious, deeply intricate… Continue reading

Lyric Theatre’s A Christmas Carol Honors the Holiday Season

Dirk and Charlie

Dirk Lumbard and Charlie Monnot in Lyric’s A Christmas Carol. Photo by K. Talley Photography.

A central theme of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella A Christmas Carol is honoring Christmas. Not just during the holiday season, but year-round. Shortly after the publication of the famous novella, it was adapted for the stage and began its first production run in 1844. The Victorian Era story of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and the transformation he undergoes one fateful Christmas Eve is ubiquitous during the holiday season. Lyric Theatre’s adaptation by Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron is now in its ninth consecutive year, and it’s… Continue reading

It’s a Wonderful Life is a Unique Holiday Experience at The Pollard

Joshua McGowen, Kara Chapman, and Jared Blount (Foley artist) in It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play

Christmas is a busy time for theatres. Everyone seems to get into a Dickens-y spirit this time of year, with ghosts and Humbugs in every theatrical production you can find. A welcome break from tired traditions is It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. This production heralds back to the days of yesteryear, before iPads and streaming services flooded our airwaves, and brainwaves, at a constant, break-neck pace. Radio plays featured casts reading scripts over the air, breaking for commercials… Continue reading

UCO Presents the Musical Revue There’s No Business Like Snow Business

snow biz

From Left: Shafer Wilkerson, Hagen Wano, and Sierra Sikes star in the upcoming There’s No Business Like Snow Business at the UCO Jazz Lab.

It’s finally here! The holiday season hits hard and fast this week, with Christmas lights going up everywhere and early shopping already starting. Always in the holiday spirit, UCO’s musical theatre department presents another fun night of music with their latest themed revue. There’s No Business Like Snow Business features holiday songs, fun costumes, and a cheery, wintery show at the UCO Jazz Lab. Like their annual Halloween revue Macabret, Snow Business puts a Christmas… Continue reading

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