As Peter Pan, Cathy Rigby is soaring at 60

The former Olympian is playing her signature role again in a tour that will stop at the Pantages Theatre this month.

Cathy Rigby flies across the Pantages Theatre stage from Jan. 15 through 27 in J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan," reprising her signature role, which earned her a 1991 Tony nomination. At age 60, the San Diego native still fits into the costume she wore for her 1974 debut as the boy who never grows up; theater producers had recruited her to parlay her fame as an Olympic gymnast into box-office gold.

Rigby lives in La Habra Heights with her husband, Tom McCoy, who is also her partner in their theatrical production company, McCoy Rigby Entertainment, which produced her latest "Peter Pan" tour as well as productions of other American musicals.

You said farewell in your 2005 "Peter Pan" tour. So what inspired this one?

I missed it. Some regional theaters had asked me to do it again, and I thought, "If I can do the show on a last tour again, only do it better ... if I can bring something new to the role, then I ..." just because I missed it and I loved it. So I did, and we started out about 15 months ago and it has probably been one of the most amazing tours so far. Plus the show itself is, I think, just much better.

Read more here: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-0108-cathy-rigby-20130108,0,5220860.story?track=rss

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The Phantom of the Opera to celebrate 25 years on Broadway

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical opened at New York's Majestic theatre in January 1988, two years after West End debut

Not giving up the ghost … Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman in the original 1986 UK run of The Phantom of the Opera. Photograph: Donald Cooper/Rex Features

The Phantom of the Opera will become the first show to celebrate its 25th anniversary on Broadway in January.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical opened in New York on 26 January 1998, two years after its West End world premiere, and has been at the Majestic theatre ever since, making it the longest-running Broadway production by some margin. Last February it marked its 10,000th performance there, and it is currently 2,858 up on the second-longest runner, Cats (also by Lloyd Webber), which closed in 2000 after 18 years.

The silver jubilee with be marked with a one-off, invite-only gala performance, exact details of which have not been revealed. Producers Cameron Mackintosh and Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Company have launched a sweepstake for 100 pairs of tickets to the event through social media. Two entrants will also win passes to the post-show party, along with hotel accommodation and air travel for the weekend.

In November 2011, the London production, which is housed at Her Majesty's theatre, celebrated its own 25th anniversary with a one-off concert performance at the Royal Albert Hall, which featured guest appearances from original cast members Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman as well as a performance of Music of the Night by five Phantoms past, present and future: Ramin Karimloo, Peter Jöback, John Owen-Jones, Anthony Warlow and Colm Wilkinson.

By its 10,000th performance, the Broadway production had grossed $835m at the box office, a sliver of the musical's estimated $5.6bn (£3.5bn) takings worldwide across 27 different countries. The show has been seen by more than 130 million people. It has spawned a 2004 film starring Gerard Butler as the Phantom, a $75m Las Vegas spectacular – the most expensive stage show ever until Spider-Man: The Musical went over-budget – and a sequel, Love Never Dies, which launched in the West End last year.

Last year, an usher on the Broadway production claimed to have sat through the musical more than 9,000 times.

Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/dec/17/phantom-of-the-opera-broadway

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Local dancer turns Radio City Rockette

Inspired by movement, driven by dreams, Rockettes rehearse six days a week, six hours a day to get ready for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. As professional athletes, the dancers are expected to perfect their challenging routines with 35 other dancers. 

That means being in tip-top shape before hitting the stage. Abigail Gatlin, has been preparing her entire life for the opportunity to blend fitness, fashion and love of dance into an extraordinary dance performance that can only be realized in the stylized choreography of a Rockette. The Cleveland High School honor student began to study dance with Paula Duff Dance Studio during the summers. 

She studied at Ballet Magnificat in Jackson, Miss., at North Carolina School of the Arts and the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. As a junior in high school Gatlin spent a week of training at a Rockette Summer Intensive in Houston for aspiring dancers. 

Acceptance into the training program is a crucial step in becoming a Rockette. Since the inception of the Summer Intensive in 2001, less than 60 dancers have gone through the program and gone on to become world-famous Rockettes.

Read more: Cleveland Daily Banner - Local dancer turns Radio City Rockette 

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S.F. Ballet Reigns With Nutcracker

Tchaikovsky, rats, swords, tutus and all manner of fantasy regalia, onstage and off, reigned supreme last weekend as Nutcracker season began at the San Francisco Ballet and San Jose Ballet. San Francisco Ballet had a fine opening night Friday in this eighth season of Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson’s version, set in 1915 San Francisco, of the holiday classic. The cast was uniformly accomplished and generally enthusiastic. Frances Chung was a particular standout, however. Beautifully partnered by Davit Karapetyan in the Grand Pas de Deux, Chung, one of the company’s more recently anointed ballerinas, performed with a new confidence that showed in the warmth of her demeanor. Her speedy fouettes, as well as her willingness to risk everything in the climactic fish dive (it sounds better in French: temps de poisson) delighted the crowd.

But before all that, there’s the scene-setting, where you can almost smell the wintry chill in the streets, dispelled by the glowing houses on the hills, wherein party the well-mannered one per cent in all their holiday finery. At least at the Stahlbaums’ manse, there’s an old clockmaker, Uncle Drosselmeier (played by Damien Smith with pleasing craft and a twinkling eye), to shake things up a bit during the holiday rituals of socializing, flirting, dancing, and gift-giving. Thanks to Drosselmeier, dolls in Christmas boxes come to life (Lonnie Weeks, the clown; Clara Blanco, the soubrette; and Hansuke Yamamoto, the soldier).

Read more: http://www.sfcv.org/reviews/san-francisco-ballet/sf-ballet-reigns-with-nutcracker

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NYC Ballet forges the art form's future

The following script is from "The New York City Ballet" which aired on Nov. 25, 2012. Lesley Stahl is the correspondent. Ruth Streeter and Terry Manning, producers.

The New York City Ballet is America's largest and, some would say, finest ballet company in the world. The dancers are like the New York Yankees in tutus and tights.

They are artists and athletes at the same time and it is a marvel to see them up close, as you will tonight. Most of them are home grown in the U.S.A.

Full disclosure: I am a big fan and even served on the board of the New York City Ballet, which was founded in 1948 by the great choreographer George Balanchine. He revolutionized classical dance and ushered in a golden age as ballet master of the company.

Now, at a time when many cultural institutions are under stress, we went behind the scenes to see how this company is keeping this elegant art form alive.

The dancers at the New York City Ballet epitomize the beauty, athleticism, the seeming effortlessness and the grace of classical ballet. Saving it from becoming a dying art form has fallen on the shoulders of this man, Peter Martins, ballet master in chief of the NYC Ballet since 1983.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57552076/nyc-ballet-forges-the-art-forms-future/

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A Pinch-Hitting Tenor and a Soprano’s Debut on a Trip to Old Egypt ‘Aida’ at Metropolitan Opera

For any opera house, scheduling Verdi’s “Aida” is a safe enough bet. The real danger lies in the casting. At the season premiere of Sonja Frisell’s handsome 1988 production for the Metropolitan Opera on Friday evening the company fielded a trio of soloists of impressive vocal power and stamina. For Liudmyla Monastyrska, who brought her voluptuous soprano to the title role, it was a triumphant house debut. For Carl Tanner, stepping in at the last minute for the ailing tenor Marco Berti, it was a felicitous return after his appearance in Puccini’s “Fanciulla del West” two years ago.

Ms. Frisell’s production, in use for almost a quarter century, is like a large, well-built but rudderless ship. While the absence of dramatic direction made for some static ensemble scenes, the combined fervor of Olga Borodina as Amneris and Fabio Luisi at the helm of a fired-up orchestra nevertheless made for an electrically charged and energetic performance.

From his demanding opening aria, “Celeste Aida,” Mr. Tanner left no doubt about his prowess, singing with a firm, generously sized voice and producing clarion top notes. His phrasing sometimes bordered on the formulaic, but his final duet with Ms. Monastyrska was tenderly delivered.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/arts/music/aida-at-metropolitan-opera.html?ref=metropolitanopera

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BOSTON — The costumes are lighter and leaner to showcase new choreography, Herr Drosselmeyer has been sexied up with a silk corduroy tailcoat and shag ’do and there is a fresco of the Sun King in Act II’s Palace of Sweets.

Thanks to skillful work by designer Robert Perdziola, Boston Ballet’s new $3 million version of “Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker” has brought a fresh delicacy and sophistication to the Christmas classic while preserving every ounce of the tradition.

Perdziola’s new sets and costumes, which will make their debut Friday at the Boston Opera House, demonstrate a masterful use of lush detail and a keen understanding of the drama that can be conveyed by an ascot tied a certain way. In fact Perdziola, whose credits span from The Metropolitan Opera to Hollywood, knows his way around an ascot: “Interview witha Vampire” and “The Age of Innocence” are two of his big screen credits.

“We needed to serve the goddess of dance in a new way,” says artistic director Nissinen, describing his goal of eliminating the sugary fizz of the previous production, which premiered in 1995. He asked Perdziola for a more controlled, urbane color palette and sleeker costumes to better reveal the dancers’ bodies, but insisted the final result remain recognizable to the ballet’s considerable fan base.

“When I look at all the ‘Nutcrackers’ that are taking place today, so many productions are about ‘new on new on new’ —almost at the expense of what ‘The Nutcracker’ is about,” Nissinen reflects. “We’ve tried to get back to the heart and roots of why it has survived all these years. I don’t look at this as a revolutionary version, but more like a very well-detailed and researched version.”

Read more: http://www.bostonballet.org/News/Sugar_with_Spice.html

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