English Theater

When Ian Buruma arrived in Tokyo in 1975, Japan was little more than an idea in his mind, a fantasy of a distant land. A sensitive misfit in the world of his upper middle class youth, what he longed for wasn't so much the exotic as the raw, unfiltered humanity he had experienced in Japanese theater performances and films, witnessed in Amsterdam and Paris.

Shep Carson is recovering at home and he takes Cody deeper into the BDSM lifestyle. Meanwhile, they're getting ready for the Christmas show. There's a mix up with two very important Christmas gifts and a proposal is in the air. The question is, who is proposing to who?

A photo of his father as a younger man holding a little girl when no sister that he knew existed. Anamolies about his father's separation papers from WWII. Inconsistencies in what his father told them about his experiences in the China, Burma, and India theater, and other effects from that time. Who was his father, really? What happened in Burma in WWII that would explain all this, and why was it pointing to treason in high places?

Christopher Lee: A One-Person Play by Michael B. Druxman (Lee’s one-time publicist), joins the actor in 1976, as he is about to depart his home in England for the United States. It is his hope that, in America, he will be able to abandon the horror genre, and find a greater variety of roles.

For these two wounded hearts, it will take a great leap of faith to overcome past hurts and give love a chance to grow. False accusations from the past haunt Rachel Clark, the new director of the Northcoast Christian Youth Theater. Seeking to make a fresh start in Fairhaven, Washington, she rents space for her group from an artists’ cooperative led by handsome frame shop owner, Cameron McKenna. To keep his financially strapped co-op afloat, Cam reluctantly agrees to include Rachel’s drama program, but he’s not sure he can trust the attractive director or tolerate all those kids in his...

Max Moran reluctantly attends a Halloween party at the Congressional Hotel. When he has too much to drink - which is only a couple of glasses of champagne for Max - he goes off to the hotel library, where he promptly falls asleep. He is awakened by a woman dressed as a gypsy who insists on telling his fortune. She catches his undivided attention when she tells him that his lifeline may be about to run out. She also warns him that a mysterious man will soon come into his life, and he should be particularly respectful of this individual. When just such a strange man shows up that night but ...

In Wendy and the Lost Boys best-selling author Julie Salamon explores the life of playwright Wendy Wasserstein's most expertly crafted character: herself. The first woman playwright to win a Tony Award, Wendy Wasserstein was a Broadway titan. But with her high- pitched giggle and unkempt curls, she projected an image of warmth and familiarity. Everyone knew Wendy Wasserstein. Or thought they did.

Johnny is a Spanish guitar player with a mysterious past. At a party, he meets the beautiful songstress Aphrodite who is enthralled with his flamenco guitar skills. Later, she learns they have a connection, a particular song they both appear to know. Aphrodite discovers the connection, and through dreams, the two fall in love. The question is whether they will ever be together.

Few people in recent memory have dedicated themselves as devotedly to the story of twentieth-century American music as Rob Kapilow, the composer, conductor, and host of the hit NPR music radio program, What Makes It Great? Now, in Listening for America, he turns his keen ear to the Great American Songbook, bringing many of our favorite classics to life.

Why Shakespeare? What explains our continued fascination with his poems and plays? In Living with Shakespeare, Susannah Carson invites 40 actors, directors, scholars, and writers to reflect on why his work is still such a vital part of our culture.

Laurence Olivier was the most famous actor of his century and one of the greatest of all time. His looks made him a matinee idol; his talent made him world renowned as an actor, director, and producer. From his stage roles as Hamlet and Archie Rice to his screen roles as Heathcliff and Henry V, his range was unparalleled. But beneath the glamorous image, Olivier was often lonely, confused, and plagued by self-doubts.

After overcoming the assault in Eternal Dominion by Abysses End's members, Alex/Xeal and his friend have shown that they can stand firm. Now they must navigate Abysses End's advances in reality without isolating themselves from the entirety of the VR gamming workshop community. While the nobles of Nium have begun to take a vested interest in Alex's/Xeal's progress. Will Alex/Xeal and his friends be able to navigate these diplomatic situations or will they find themselves dancing to the tune of others.

Theatrical gender-bending, also called drag, is a popular form of entertainment and a subject of scholarly study. However, most drag studies do not question the standard words and ideas used to convey this performance genre. Drawing on a rich body of archival and ethnographic research, Meredith Heller illuminates diverse examples of theatrical gender-bending.

When Margaret Thursday lands a role as a child actress at a well-known London theatre, becoming famous almost overnight, news of her success reaches her bitter enemy, the matron of her old orphanage. Margaret knows that Matron is set on revenge, but she keeps her head held high, focusing on the play. But Matron’s evil plans are well prepared and Margaret is going to need her wits about her – and the help of her friends – if she is to escape unharmed.

Out in the Spotlight: Broadway Musicals and the LGBTQ+ Community Broadway has always been a stage for transformation, but for the LGBTQ+ community, it has been a sanctuary for self-expression, a space to challenge societal norms, and a platform for voices that were often silenced. Out in the Spotlight delves deep into the evolution of LGBTQ+ representation in musical theater, from subtle subtext and coded messages to the bold, unapologetic stories we see today. Written by a lifelong theater lover and accomplished musician, this book offers an insider’s look at the intersection of Broadway...

Carl thought his life was on track until disaster struck. Now he looks like a 35-year-old and is out of points, so he needs to scramble to change the situation before anyone finds out the truth. The question is, what should he do next? Buy more businesses, or focus on his love life? And always in the background is his family, wondering what happened to their father and grandfather and if he will ever talk to them again. Follow Carl as he discovers new ways of living when he is nearing the end of his own life.

The St. Charles Players present multi-cast dramatizations of some of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest works, including The Black Cat, The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether, The Purloined Letter, and The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

When a story resonates with audiences generation after generation, it reaches “classic” status. Francis Ford Coppola saw that potential in S. E. Hinton’s novel about two rival groups in 1960s Tulsa and knew it was meant for the silver screen. Now, in this definitive oral history, we’re given a rare glimpse into the filmmaking process: How Coppola’s team recruited unknown actors destined to become household names. How a film that could have easily been shot in a Hollywood studio was instead produced on location where the original novel was set.

Alex/Xeal tried to let things come to him and in doing so things escalated quickly almost ending in disaster for him. Now it’s time for him to make his will known and assert himself on those who wish to assert themselves on him. As forces from both reality and Eternal Dominion try to manipulate Alex/Xeal for their own designs, will he succeed, or will he find himself overwhelmed and bogged down by the plans of others?

IN A CHARMING TOWN WHERE SECRETS LURK BEHIND EVERY CURTAIN, A MURDER ROCKS THE STAGE. In the quaint town of Arbordale, Isla Reed is more than the owner of the historic local theater and its mischievous resident cat—she's a beacon of enthusiasm and, unfortunately, a magnet for mayhem. When tragedy strikes with the murder of a star actress in her theater's dressing room, Isla’s best friend is quickly spotlighted as the lead suspect. Refusing to let the tunnel-visioned detective set the stage for her friend’s downfall, Isla decides it's time to step into the detective’s shoes herself. ...