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Grand Hotel (musical)
''Grand Hotel'' is a musical in two acts with a book by Luther Davis, music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, and additional music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. Based on Vicki Baum's 1929 novel, its eponymous spin-off play, ''Menschen im Hotel'' (People in a Hotel), and the subsequent 1932 MGM feature film, the musical focuses on events taking place over the course of a weekend in an elegant hotel in 1928 Berlin and the intersecting stories of the eccentric guests of the hotel, including a fading prima ballerina; a fatally ill Jewish bookkeeper, who wants to spend his final days living in luxury; a young, handsome, but destitute Baron; a cynical doctor; an honest businessman gone bad, and a typist dreaming of Hollywood success. The show's 1989 Broadway production garnered 12 Tony Award nominations, winning five, including best direction and choreography for Tommy Tune. Big-name cast replacements, including Cyd Charisse and Zina Bethune, helped the show b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Wright (writer)
Robert Craig Wright (September 25, 1914 – July 27, 2005) was an American composer-lyricist for Hollywood and the musical theatre, best known for the Broadway musical and musical film '' Kismet'', for which he and his professional partner George Forrest adapted themes by Alexander Borodin and added lyrics. ''Kismet'' was one of several Wright and Forrest creations that was commissioned by impresario Edwin Lester for the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. '' Song of Norway'', ''Gypsy Lady'', '' Magdalena'', and their adaptation of '' The Great Waltz'' were also commissioned by Lester for the LACLO. The LACLO passed most of these productions to Broadway. Wright was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Wright and Forrest had an affinity for adapting classical music themes and adding lyrics to these themes for Hollywood and the Broadway musical stage. Wright said that the music was usually a 50-50 "collaboration" between Wright and Forrest and the composer. While both men w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hollywood (film Industry)
The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century. Classical Hollywood cinema, a filmmaking style developed in the 1910s, continues to shape many American films today. While French filmmakers Auguste and Louis Lumière are often credited with modern cinema's origins, American filmmaking quickly rose to global dominance. As of 2017, more than 600 :English-language films, English-language films were released annually in the U.S., making it the fourth-largest producer of films, trailing only Cinema of India, India, Cinema of Japan, Japan, and Cinema of China, China. Although the Cinema of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, Cinema of Canada, Canada, Cinema of Australia, Australia, and Cinema of New Zealand, New Zealand also produce English-language films, they are not directly part of the Hollywood system. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Marre
Albert Marre (September 20, 1924 – September 4, 2012) was an American stage director and producer. He directed the stage musical '' Man of La Mancha'' in 1965, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical. Biography Early life He was born in New York City as Albert Elliot Moshinsky. He received a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College. He enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve where he was initially held the rank of Seaman Apprentice. He attended the Naval Oriental Language School in Boulder, Colorado and then deployed to Berlin. After service in the Navy, he attended Harvard Law School. He joined a drama group at Harvard, where he met his first wife, actress Jan Farrand.Nelson, Valerie J"Albert Marre dies at 87; director of 'Man of La Mancha'"''Los Angeles Times'', September 18, 2012. Career Marre made his Broadway debut as an actor and associate director of the 1950 revival of John Vanbrugh's Restoration comedy '' The Relapse''. He directed a producti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Diener
Joan Diener (February 24, 1930 – May 13, 2006) was an American theatre actress and singer with a three-and-a-half-octave range. As her obituary in ''The New York Times'' summed it up, Diener's "lush beauty, showstopping stage presence and operatic voice made her a favorite in musicals, especially in the original 1965 '' Man of La Mancha''." Early life Born in Columbus, Ohio, Diener majored in psychology at Sarah Lawrence College and moonlighted as an actress while still a student. Career She made her Broadway debut in the 1948 revue ''Small Wonder'', directed by Burt Shevelove and choreographed by Gower Champion and co-starring Tom Ewell, Alice Pearce and Jack Cassidy. She appeared in the 1950 comedy '' Season in the Sun'', written by ''The New Yorker'' magazine's theatre critic, Wolcott Gibbs. Diener met her future husband, theatre director Albert Marre, in 1953, when she won the role of Lalume, the seductive wife of the Wazir, in '' Kismet'', winning a Theatre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Callas
Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel canto'' technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical ''opera seria'' to the ''bel canto'' operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini, and further to the works of Verdi and Puccini, and in her early career to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as ''La Divina'' ("The Divine One"). Born in Manhattan and raised in Astoria, Queens, New York City, to Greek immigrant parents, she was raised by an overbearing mother who had wanted a son. Maria received her musical education in Greece at age 13 and later established her career in Italy. Forced to deal with the exigencies of 1940s wartime poverty and with near-sightedness that left her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretto, librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, Theatrical scenery, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conducting, conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of Western culture#Music, Western classical music, and Italian tradition in particular. Originally understood as an sung-through, entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include :Opera genres, numerous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2,746,984 residents in , Rome is the list of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, with a population of 4,223,885 residents, is the most populous metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in Italy. Rome metropolitan area, Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber Valley. Vatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See) is an independent country inside the city boun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her roles, Crawford launched a publicity campaign and built an image as a nationally known flapper by the end of the 1920s. By the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking, young women who find romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well received by Great Depression, Depression-era audiences and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money. By the end of the 1930s, she was labeled "Box Office Pois ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Barrymore
John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly attempted a career as an artist, but appeared on stage together with his father Maurice in 1900, and then his sister Ethel the following year. He began his career in 1903 and first gained attention as a stage actor in light comedy, then high drama, culminating in productions of ''Justice'' (1916), ''Richard III'' (1920), and ''Hamlet'' (1922); his portrayal of Hamlet led to him being called the "greatest living American tragedian". After a success as ''Hamlet'' in London in 1925, Barrymore left the stage for 14 years and instead focused entirely on films. In the silent film era, he was well received in such pictures as ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1920), ''Sherlock Holmes'' (1922) and '' The Sea Beast'' (1926). During this period, he gain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time, she was known for her melancholic and somber screen persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, tragic characters, and her subtle and understated performances. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on its list of the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Garbo launched her career with a secondary role in the 1924 Swedish film ''The Saga of Gosta Berling, The Saga of Gösta Berling''. Her performance caught the attention of Louis B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), who brought her to Hollywood in 1925. She stirred interest with her first American silent film, ''Torrent (1926 film), Torrent'' (1926). Garbo's performance in ''Fle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Oscars are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film industry. The major award categories, known as the Academy Awards of Merit, are presented during a live-televised Hollywood ceremony in February or March. It is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony. The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929. The second ceremony, in 1930, was the first one broadcast by radio. The 1953 ceremony was the first one televised. It is the oldest of the four major annual American entertainment awards. Its counterparts—the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music—are modeled after the Academy Aw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big River (musical)
''Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Roger Miller, and a book by William Hauptman. Based on Mark Twain's classic 1884 novel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', it features music in the bluegrass music, bluegrass and country music, country styles in keeping with the setting of the novel. The 1985 Broadway theatre, Broadway production ran for more than 1,000 performances and it remained one of the few very successful American musicals in the mid-1980s among the emerging successes coming from Great Britain. ''Big River'' won 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Productions The first productions were staged by the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in February 1984 and at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California, from June through July 1984. The Broadway theatre, Broadway production, directed by Des McAnuff and choreographed by Janet Watson, opened on April 25, 1985 at the Eugene O'Nei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
