Group mulls appeal as bid to halt HBOS takeover fails Dec 11, 2008
Like many vaudeville cohorts, he was a human cartoon, but he outlasted them all. Marx's maternal family was theatrical and included famed vaudeville star Al Shean ... Groucho got his start with Gus Edwards' kiddie review around 1904, and with his brothers (along with various relatives and hired help) worked in turn-of-the-century vaudeville with such acts as "The Four Nightingales" and "The Six Musical Mascots" and in sketches written by Al Shean like "Fun in Hi Skool" (1911) and "Home Again"... (Scotsman)
Work in progress Dec 11, 2008
From vaudeville to visual arts. What is now Galerie Hertz was built about 1911 as a vaudeville theater. (Louisville Business First, KY)
Spiegeltent set to match tennis for amusement Dec 8, 2008
"In terms of what we do, it is entertaining because the picture changes every three or four minutes. Even if you don't like one particular act, you can enjoy it. It really draws on those variety roots. "Cirque du Soleil and Circus Oz have popularised human form circus, and we add a bit of burlesque and a touch of vaudeville. It's a fun night. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Minnelli's broadway show gets rave reviews Dec 8, 2008
In this undated image released by Cromarty Liza Minnelli performs in the show "Liza's at the Palace," at the historic vaudeville theater in Times Square in New York, through Dec. 28 ... Even one as big and as historic as the Palace Theatre, that shrine to vaudeville on the corner of Broadway and 47th Street on the edge of Times Square. (Erie Times-News, PA)
Cheech and Chong continue their long, strange trip Dec 7, 2008
Their act can be traced back to vaudeville comedy teams and early improv theater - two guys willing to do whatever it took to get a laugh, whether singing a song or wearing a silly costume. Fifteen years later, after many gold records and much box office success, they got sick of each other and called it quits. (Boston Globe)
Workers rush to finish DeLand theater Dec 6, 2008
The restored Athens is shaping up to be a testament to its vaudeville days and modern engineering. Within the building's old bricks are modern conveniences for all, including wheelchair lifts no one would have thought about in 1922. (Daytona Beach News Journal)
More of this story Dec 6, 2008
The Orpheum Theatre: This Broadway landmark, with its ornate marquee, orchestra seating and restored marble lobby, still smacks of its vaudeville past. It has gone through many incarnations since then, however, emerging in the 1960s as one of Downtown's premiere rock 'n' roll venues, a distinction it still carries. (Los Angeles Downtown News, CA)
Liza Minnelli lights up Broadway's Palace Theatre Dec 5, 2008
Even one as big and as historic as the Palace Theatre, that shrine to vaudeville on the corner of Broadway and 47th Street on the edge of Times Square. Despite years of various ailments, infirmities and assorted marital disappointments, Liza Minnelli has sunny star-wattage to spare, a never-say-die attitude that is astonishing to watch. (DeKalb Daily Chronicle, IL)
CVCA hosting holiday fun at a fair price Dec 5, 2008
Those of you who attended the March Vaudeville on the Hill show may remember this Twin Cities trio that nearly blew the house down. They are returning to Chippewa Falls to give a performance that is packed with all the best of the season. (Chippewa Falls Chippewa Herald, WI)
Feel The Beat Nov 30, 2008
"Both are passed now. But they saw what I was doing and said it's kind of like the hambone they did in vaudeville, but it moved in a different way, and I was doing different kinds of rhythms, but they really encouraged me to pursue it. So I took their advice, and I'm still pursuing it.". Terry, naturally enough, also is a historian of body music and is prone to diving into dissertations on various styles such as palmas, saman, sasa, gumboot. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
A new home for the arts? Nov 30, 2008
An opulent vaudeville and motion picture house dating to the late 1920s, local leaders raised more than 10 million to restore the Orpheum as a performing arts center eight years ago. As part of the artist apartment project, LeGrand envisions establishing art galleries on the skywalk level fronting Pierce Street. (Sioux City Journal, IO)
Wake up to a winner Nov 30, 2008
Nora McLellan and David Marr are wonderful to watch as an old vaudeville duo who now portray rich Mrs. Tottendale and Underling, her butler, with exaggerated mannerisms and pun-packed dialogue. Neil Minor and Shawn Macdonald are another hilarious pair, playing gangsters disguised as pastry chefs and equally prone to groaningly bad puns. (Vancouver Sun)
American Artist Everett Shinn Nov 29, 2008
Paintings such as The Hippodrome, London and The Vaudeville Act show Shinn s fascination with actresses and actors, costumes, lighting and staging, along with the crowds who filled the theater and music hall seats. Shinn s 1900 trip to Europe further broadened his perspective and palette, and marked a shift from his predominant use of pastels to oil paint. (Suite101.com)
Aurlia Thierre brings her circus-inspired show to the ART Nov 28, 2008
Instead of animal acts, flashy clothes, and the traditional three rings, the couple opted for illusion and whimsy - a place where jesters, jongleurs, troubadours, and others performed a sort of vaudeville for dreamers, one in which dogs walked people and people were flown by kites. The phenomenon was called cirque nouveau, and it became the inspiration for other such stylized circus performances, including the multimillion-dollar powerhouse Cirque du Soleil. (Boston Globe)
What was she thinking? Nov 28, 2008
and Alanis Morissette (unintelligible I couldnt understand a word she was singing) and weird unknown vaudeville-type acts ... Back in vaudeville, a hook would yank the performer off the stage. (The Drudge Report)
NBC's live Rosie O'Donnell variety show flops; lowest ratings of night... Nov 28, 2008
NBC's Rosie ODonnell variety show disappoints--The Live Feed. NBC's Rosie ODonnell variety show disappoints. (The Drudge Report)
Kim Cattrall poses nude with La Clique for Diana and Actaeon Nov 25, 2008
This late-night vaudeville show combines everything from singing puppets to bathtub acrobatics - get inspired as The Daily Telegraph gives you a sneak peek behind the curtain. Produced by Rebecca Sleeman. (Daily Telegraph)
Odd look into offbeat world Nov 25, 2008
Legoland, Jacob Richmond's bright and quirky Fringe festival hit with Victoria's Atomic Vaudeville theatre company, is a satire that shuts its eyes and lashes out in all directions at once. Its freewheeling Weltschmerz hits hippies and capitalists, boy bands and rappers, McDonald's and people who too quickly dismiss the simple pleasures of a Happy Meal. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Book review: 'Ziegfeld' and 'The Eleventh Man' Nov 24, 2008
Drawing on already popular forms - burlesque, vaudeville, the topical 0revues of Paris - Ziegfeld recombined elements of each to give a racing new pulse to the variety format. The resulting product "essentialized the musical's past while creating its future," Mordden writes. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Irving Brecher, 94; wrote 2 comedies for Marx Brothers Nov 23, 2008
When he found he could make money selling lines to vaudeville comedians, he and a friend - fledgling comedy writer Al Schwartz - ran a small ad in Variety offering their gag-writing services. Mr. Brecher said in an interview for Jordan Young's 1999 book "The Laugh Crafters" that at the time, a brash comedian named Milton Berle had a self-promoted reputation for stealing other people's material. (Boston Globe)
PuSh ups the ante with new club Nov 22, 2008
The nightly program will feature short performances from operetta, to comedy to vaudeville to New York drag artist Taylor Mac, interspersed with intervals designed to allow people to drink and mingle. As the night progresses, there will be live music and DJ sets. (Globe and Mail)
Metromix Brevard the place for find fun Nov 20, 2008
" Find out what's good, and bad, about 'Twilight'; plus, Disney's 'Bolt' Ten TV characters we'd rather spend the holidays with CELEBRITY NEWS GOMA, Congo (AP) _ Ben Affleck is trying to draw more attention to the conflict in eastern Congo, where some 250,000 people have been displaced by violence.The actor visited the Central African... NEW YORK (AP) _ The opening date and Broadway theater have been set for the world premiere of "Impressionism," a play by Michael Jacobs starring Jeremy Irons and... (Florida Today)
The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes, Wilton's Music Hall, London Nov 20, 2008
By this stage you just settle for any sign of animation, really, while muttering quietly to yourself Dryden's derision of Shadwell in Mac Flecknoe: "All arguments, but most his plays, persuade/ That for anointed dullness he was made." As far as Shaplin is concerned, there's far too much Adriano and not enough "Sharlie", if you ask me, and it's no compensation at all that this beautiful venue still resonates with the spirit of vaudeville. The RSC has built up an elaborately scaffolded new stage... (Independent)
Obituaries in the news Nov 20, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Irving Brecher, who wrote vaudeville one-liners for Milton Berle and scripted Marx Brothers movies, the TV and radio hit "The Life of Riley," and the Oscar-nominated musical "Meet Me in St. Louis," died Monday. He was 94. (Anchorage Daily News)
Wobbler you can't tie down Nov 19, 2008
And so the discussion unfolds, peppered always with plenty of old-fashioned Vaudeville and a good touch of the absurd. Harris happily explains the deepest Tennessee, Depression roots of that rhythmic musical breathing thing he does, the eefing and eyffing, and pants loudly "like a dog" to demonstrate the breathing technique needed, briefly alarming a New Zealand couple at the next table. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
'Gethsemane': Putting white heat on politics Nov 19, 2008
" "Gethsemane," to be sure, is never dull, and it's extremely funny when Pip Carter takes command, playing Otto Fallon's faintly epicene 20-something sidekick, Frank. But for all that Hare is renowned for having his finger on the pulse, the specifics already seem dated: a comment from Otto about the health of the economy met with the odd smirk on opening night. Presumably, Lori represents the untrammeled imagination - an interest in "things beyond sense" - that finds no place in the hardscrabble... (International Herald Tribune)
Wiggles shtick does the trick Nov 17, 2008
"A lot of what we've done over the years is tapping into vaudeville, pantomime and schtick from the centuries . . . the most successful bit of schtick the Wiggles have is the "Wake up Jeff" routine. It engages the audience, it's not a passive experience. "If you've ever seen kids at home or at a Wiggles concert, they just scream it out. They love it. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
A Star is Born Nov 16, 2008
The story is told through song and includes a mosaic of music and characters: Vaudeville tap, swing and Elvis, country western and even go-go dancers. Lisa Lindsay, right, rehearses a dance with cast member Sally Sperling during a dress rehearsal for "Joseph and the Amazing Technocolor Dreamcoat." (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel). (Lodi News Sentinel, CA)
A carnival of sorts Nov 14, 2008
It's not often you see clarinettists perform daredevil acts with fire but then the Kush Cabaret is an odd mix of vaudeville, circus and dance. The performers (there are four core members) dress up in various guises, such as tango dancers, gypsies or belly dancers, while playing instruments such as the violin and, on occasion, walking on stilts. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
WALL.E Blu-ray Nov 13, 2008
"Trinkets and Treasures" is a self-described "vaudeville" routine with WALL;E essentially just stumbling around and being adorable for five minutes ; no story, no set-up, just pure entertainment. For the adult animation fans out there, the disc provides two very insightful and hugely entertaining commentaries. (IGN FilmForce)
NOTHING BUMPY ABOUT THIS NIGHT Nov 13, 2008
" Mankiewicz, the cinema maestro, created a screenplay in the Fifties about, of all things, New York theater. In those days, theater was formidable, sometimes intellectual, one of the last bastions of America culture. It is perhaps still our best dying art, as a leading character describes it as " a flea circus, vaudeville, movies, jugglers - anything to enthrall and transport. " Theater today, much more perversely commercial, non-intellectual, and revival crazy, still remains a glamorous arena... (New York Post -- Gossip)
Humour and elegance in equal measure Nov 10, 2008
Oddly, the overture was played again before the final vaudeville, as an excuse for additional ballet. Justifiable or not, this is easy enough to accomplish in a singspiel which is made up of separate numbers divided by dialogue. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Critics' picks - pop music Nov 9, 2008
What do you get when you revive jug-band music with jazz, vaudeville, blues, gospel, and ragtime ... HOKUM'S HEROES What do you get when you revive jug-band music with jazz, vaudeville, blues, gospel, and ragtime. (Boston Globe)
Volunteering Nov 9, 2008
It was not until weeks into our sessions, however, that Arthur sang a few words in a high-pitched, shaky voice and mentioned that he had been a vaudeville performer. Arthur had traveled the world, lived next to Walt Disney, and said that once upon a time, he had shaken hands with Hitler (then told him he was a bastard). (Boston Globe)
Are Games Art? Nov 9, 2008
In the 1920s, critic Gilbert Seldes put forth the thesis that the popular arts of his time were worthy of being termed as Art with a capital "A." Comic strips, movies, musical comedy, vaudeville, radio, popular music, and dance were what he defined as the Seven Lively Arts of modern culture, relating them to opera, ballet, drama, and classical music. It's time then, to add video games and video game graphics themselves. (IGN PC Games)
Future Doctors Behaving Badly Nov 8, 2008
He traces the roots of medical school shows to the tradition of vaudeville, in which satirical skits and musical selections poke fun at others ... As in vaudeville, while the skits are often based on reality, the bad behavior shown is (for the most part) exaggerated. (Slate)
Sole sensation Nov 7, 2008
King Rastus Brown was an early tap icon who performed on the vaudeville circuit, but was not well-known outside the tap world since fame at the time was enhanced by dancing for white audiences and he never did. Bill Bojangles Robinson didnt do that until he was 50, and its a shame that he is mostly remembered as the stereotypical genial black servant in many Shirley Temple films. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Hope tribute Nov 7, 2008
What: The Bob Hope: Shanks for the Memory exhibit is the largest collection of Hope memorabilia placed in public display, detailing his achievements in vaudeville, radio, television, movies, stand-up and the USO Tours. The exhibit runs through 2009. (USA Today -- Sports)
CNN adds holograms to election coverage Nov 7, 2008
"It was almost trotted out as kind of a vaudeville act," Thompson said. Deborah Potter, a former CBS News reporter and executive director of the TV news think tank Newslab, said she found it strange that CNN would want to send a reporter to a location filled with people celebrating Obama's election and then make it appear as if she was not there. (International Herald Tribune)
CNN Beams in Guests With New Hologram Technology Nov 7, 2008
"It was almost trotted out as kind of a vaudeville act," Thompson said. Deborah Potter, a former CBS News reporter and executive director of the TV news think tank Newslab, said she found it strange that CNN would want to send a reporter to a location filled with people celebrating Obama's election and then make it appear as if she wasn't there. (Newsmax)
A 'Wicked' man returns to Oz Nov 7, 2008
the ideal lion, and the kind of sad, sacked, out of work, vaudeville performer in lion pajamas that we see when Dorothy actually runs into the lion on the Yellow Brick Road. In other words, there's a huge disconnect between the image we project of ourselves -- the best we might ever hope to possibly be -- and the way we feel about ourselves at our absolute worst -- when we're the most down in the dumps. (CNN -- Showbiz)
CNN holograms puzzle Election Night critics Nov 6, 2008
"It was almost trotted out as kind of a vaudeville act," Thompson said. Other optical illusions were on displayDeborah Potter, a former CBS News reporter and executive director of the TV news think tank Newslab, said she found it strange that CNN would want to send a reporter to a location filled with people celebrating Obama's election and then make it appear as if she wasn't there. (MSNBC -- News)
Bart Cummings is cooking up a baker's dozen Nov 5, 2008
Asked about their relationship, Dato Tan broke into a toast the pair have rehearsed like a Vaudeville routine. "Here's to the health of your blood, the blood of your health," he began. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Sport)
OBU Production In Regional Competition Nov 5, 2008
Irene Ryan (1902-1973) was an Emmy- and Tony Award-nominated actress who found success in vaudeville, radio, film, television and Broadway. She is most widely known for her portrayal of "Granny" on the long-running TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies." Having no surviving relatives, Ryan began the Irene Ryan Foundation for aspiring actors. (County-Wide News, Inc., OK)
Studs Turkel: A working man till the end Nov 3, 2008
" Terkel replied. Schiffrin persisted. In 1990, Schiffrin was ousted from Pantheon by Newhouse, its corporate owners at the time. Terkel loyally followed him to The New Press, an experiment in non-profit publishing. Terkel's Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession was The New Press' first book in 1992. Terkel's My American Century, published in 1997, was its 200th. His adventure with words and music began as a child at vaudeville shows, watching nine acts from the... (USA Today)
Ostler: Bottom line on Singletary's halftime hijinks Nov 2, 2008
Also on the plus side, Singletary's halftime speech should put to rest the nasty rumor that vaudeville is dead. On the negative side, I am re-thinking the wisdom of having gone trick-or-treating dressed as Singletary. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
A fight at the Opera Oct 28, 2008
But the grand old Victorian venue, once a powerhouse of Vaudeville and regional music hall is set to become the northern outpost of Britain's premier purveyor of the high arts when the Royal Opera and its sister company the Royal Ballet announce plans to open a permanent base in the city later this week. The decision follows months of speculation over the future direction of the Royal Opera House chief executive Tony Hall's much-praised mission to bring Mozart to the masses. (Independent)
School Notes 10-21 Oct 28, 2008
Horlick Drama is combining with the Vocal Music department for the first time to take the audience through the world of freak shows, vaudeville, fame and family ties. Based on the real life story of Daisy and Violet Hilton, Side Show is a story of two Siamese twins and their journey of life, love and acceptance. (Racine Journal Times, WI)
Gotta love the guy - even caught in traffic eccentric Rees islooking triffic Oct 27, 2008
Paul Keating brought vaudeville back to Parliament. Even when you thought he seemed arrogant, paranoid, and obsessive, you couldn't take your eyes off him. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Voodoo Experience: Two steps back, five steps forward Oct 27, 2008
Show, which features a vaudeville and burlesque act along with Maedgen s scratchy voice and tunes, to secure a stage: the New Orleans Bingo ... Show s act, which draws from old vaudeville acts to complement vocalist/keyboardist Maedgan s scratchy voice. (WWLTV.com, LA)
Nila Mack: Writer of Radio's "Let's... Oct 26, 2008
In 1927 Roy Briant died in December while still in California and Nila then moved to New York City where she became a vaudeville performer. In 1929 she became an actress with the Columbia Broadcasting System where she acted in Radio Guild productions. (Suite101.com)
Putting the 'Brr' in burlesque Oct 26, 2008
Then came the vaudeville-style humor of the Dirty Little Comics, the brainchild of Derry's college classmate Rodney Lamb ... Around the same time, the bosses of the top vaudeville circuits attempted to make their acts more family-friendly. (Anchorage Daily News)
Nothing more invigorating than waking up in morgue Oct 25, 2008
There are still some touches from Norman Baker's time, when the former vaudeville performer turned the hotel into a den of false hope for cancer patients. Baker's autopsy table is still in the room, as is the former cooler where Baker stored corpses and body parts he used in experiments. (Yahoo News)
Acadian park will be rebuilt: director Oct 25, 2008
The end is near for the Pantages Theatre, Vancouver's oldest theatre and one of the few remaining vaudeville theatres built by Alexander Pantages. Steven Soderbergh wants Catherine Zeta-Jones to star in his next project a rock and roll musical about Cleopatra. (CBC.ca)
Breeders' cup at Santa Anita Local trio now duo for racing's big show Oct 24, 2008
Breeders' cup at Santa Anita / Local trio now duo for racing's big show. Article:Breeders' cup at Santa Anita / Local trio now duo for r:/c/a/2008/10/23/SPI913MC3H.DTL Article:Breeders' cup at Santa Anita / Local trio now duo for r:/c/a/2008/10/23/SPI913MC3H.DTL. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Gregory Maguire tackles Cowardly Lion in book Oct 22, 2008
In "The Wizard of Oz," Bert Lahr played the Cowardly Lion like a vaudeville comic. It's a delightful, delicious performance, even if it's filled with baggy-pants shtick and has everything to do with Lahr and little to do with the character created by L. Frank Baum. (San Francisco Chronicle)
A '60s time capsule in the re-release of 'The Prisoner' Oct 22, 2008
On June 1 audiences accustomed to the corny vaudeville of "The Jackie Gleason Show" on CBS stumbled upon an utterly baffling summer replacement: "The Prisoner," recently released on DVD in a 10-disc anniversary set. The premise seemed simple enough. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Liza Minnelli plays Broadway's Palace in December Oct 21, 2008
Minnelli will play the legendary vaudeville house Dec. 3-14, producer John Scher announced Sunday. She will be accompanied by pianist-musical supervisor Billy Stritch, a 12-piece orchestra and four dancer-singers. (USA Today -- Life)
Palin a hit on 'SNL' Oct 20, 2008
Local Search Site Search. THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING. (Boston Globe)
Time to set the Springbok free Oct 20, 2008
All this over a herbivorous antelope that cavorts and leaps about like a Vaudeville dancer. I mean, it's hard to understand how it became the South African national emblem in the first place, given the wealth of options available. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Sport)
Violin-piano duo in Anaconda show Oct 17, 2008
During college, he paid his way by performing on television, working as a recording and dance studio pianist accompanying ballet, tap, jazz, modern, vaudeville and singing. He taught at the University of Denver, and Western State College in Gunnison, Colo. (Montana Standard, MT)
Does Temperament Matter? Oct 16, 2008
"We've taken temperament and turned it," warns presidential historian Richard Norton Smith of George Mason University, into "vaudeville.". So at this crucial moment, what do we make of the two men before us, the passionate Maverick and the cool-handed Hopemonger, Mr. Fire and Mr. Ice. (Yahoo News)
Entertainment, food featured at festival Oct 16, 2008
The Last Vaudeville Train will be performed several times during Music in the Streets on Oct. 24 ... The show is about a troupe of Vaudeville performers who board a train in Norfolk, Va. (Washington Daily News, NC)
'America's Best Dance Crew Live' in Oakland Oct 14, 2008
As entertaining as all the crews are in this vaudeville show for a new millennium, JabbaWockeeZ - named after Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" - is the crew with superstar charisma. Outfitted in their spooky Michael Myers-like masks, white gloves and sharp costumes, the six men of the crew move with a fluid elegance that separates them from the pack. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Historic Meridian tackles ambitious restoration Oct 14, 2008
Vaudeville shows and silent movies played at the Temple Theater. A grand opera house in the center of town could seat 1,800. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
