Elaine Paige in rare U.S. stage foray with "Follies"

birou notarial

By Robert Windeler

Sun May 29, 2011 9:49pm EDT

NEW YORK (Back Stage) - In 1964, 16-year-old Elaine Bickerstaff auditioned for her first professional musical straight from drama school, and she didn't get the part.

Her teacher was so sure that Elaine was right for the show -- "The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd," on its pre-Broadway British tour -- that she urged a name change and a stealthy second audition.

Desperate for a marquee-worthy name, Elaine leafed through the telephone book. She decided that the pages themselves were more interesting than any name printed on them, added the "i" for extra flair, and an unrecognized Elaine Paige was cast in the show.

Paige has sung onstage for a living ever since and is currently appearing in the star-studded Kennedy Center revival of "Follies" in Washington, D.C. She made her West End debut in "Hair" in 1968. In 1972, she was in the chorus of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar" and became a star as the pair's "Evita" in 1978. She introduced "Memory" in Lloyd Webber's "Cats" and has been the first lady of British musical theater to this day. Lloyd Webber says "She has a 'belt' voice in areas where no self-respecting angel will ever dare to tread and she has the heart to use this God-given voice in a way that imbues it with true emotion."

Surprisingly, Paige has done relatively little work in America until recently. She attributes this to being so closely identified as "an Andrew Lloyd Webber girl, so involved in his work." (She did finally make her one and only Broadway appearance as a Norma Desmond replacement in the composer's "Sunset Boulevard" in 1996.) In 2004, she sang 18 performances as Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd," for the New York City Opera.

WEARING TWO HATS

After seeing the 1987 Lincoln Center revival of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," starring Patti LuPone and directed by Jerry Zaks, Paige decided to buy this quintessential American musical for herself to take to London. "I remember coming out of the theater beaming from ear to ear and the feeling of being uplifted by this wonderful, wonderful musical," she says. "I knew that I wanted to play the part of Reno Sweeny in London. I also knew that the only way to do that was to produce it myself. If you wait around for others to offer you roles, you could wait around forever."

She took director Zaks with her to London, but found the experience "quite difficult, wearing two hats at one time, just exhausting, and probably not something I would ever do again. I remember having internal fights with myself about creative things as the artist and with the producer's hat on worrying about costs. I found that to be quite taxing." The production was a success, however, and the Queen Mother, a Porter fan, paid a visit.

Paige came to New York just last summer to make a duets album, "Elaine Paige and Friends," with producer Phil Ramone. While she was making the recording, Paige's agents brought up "the possibility of my working in the theater again, which was not something I was seeking particularly at this point in my life. Now I'm involved with my concert tours, traveling the world at my own speed and booking them about a year in advance. All the stage shows I did ran and ran, and committing to eight performances a week for years on end now seems daunting."

But then Paige was offered the role of Carlotta Campion in "Follies." "As a cameo in a short run, it really interested me," she explains. "Getting to sing 'I'm Still Here,' one of the great classics in musical theater, was the clincher."

RESEARCH IS FUN

Paige began her preparations by "Googling the song's references that we Brits wouldn't be quite au fait with: 'Abie's Irish Rose,' 'Five Dionne Babies,' 'Beebe's Bathysphere,' and several more. Obviously J. Edgar Hoover is fine, and commie, pinko tool ... stinko by my pool' we understand. As an actor I immerse myself in the era we're in, which here is America from the 1930s to 1972, to create a backstory for my character. That's part of the fun of being an actor, that you get to do all that research."

While still at home in London, Paige reunited with dialect coach Joan Washington to get just the right American dialect for Carlotta's limited dialogue and one song. Thanks to her weekly radio program, "Elaine Paige on Sunday," now in its sixth year on BBC Radio 2 (and available and archived online), "I have a rather large listenership in America," she says.

So far that hasn't translated to playing large halls in the U.S. "I'd love to do some concert work here, but it seems tricky to put that into place -- quite why, I'm not sure. I have been offered cabaret, but that's not really what I do, I don't really know about it, and I'm not used to small rooms."

So after "Follies" ends its run June 17, Paige is off to big venues in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and perhaps New Zealand, a circuit she plies "every couple of years, interspersed with concerts in Scandinavia and elsewhere. One circles the Earth, follows the sun, that's the idea."

At 63, Paige is "just trying to find the time to get everything in and still have a life. Every now and again I get a little world-weary and look forward to being in one place, being still, working on one thing. You get to a place where you do need some down time, to get inspired again, but you also can't stop and just do nothing. You have to crank yourself up and start again. Home is always home, but I also love to travel, so I've got the perfect job, really."

Birou Notarial Bucuresti

Baloane

By Robert Windeler

Sun May 29, 2011 9:49pm EDT

NEW YORK (Back Stage) - In 1964, 16-year-old Elaine Bickerstaff auditioned for her first professional musical straight from drama school, and she didn't get the part.

Her teacher was so sure that Elaine was right for the show -- "The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd," on its pre-Broadway British tour -- that she urged a name change and a stealthy second audition.

Desperate for a marquee-worthy name, Elaine leafed through the telephone book. She decided that the pages themselves were more interesting than any name printed on them, added the "i" for extra flair, and an unrecognized Elaine Paige was cast in the show.

Paige has sung onstage for a living ever since and is currently appearing in the star-studded Kennedy Center revival of "Follies" in Washington, D.C. She made her West End debut in "Hair" in 1968. In 1972, she was in the chorus of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar" and became a star as the pair's "Evita" in 1978. She introduced "Memory" in Lloyd Webber's "Cats" and has been the first lady of British musical theater to this day. Lloyd Webber says "She has a 'belt' voice in areas where no self-respecting angel will ever dare to tread and she has the heart to use this God-given voice in a way that imbues it with true emotion."

Surprisingly, Paige has done relatively little work in America until recently. She attributes this to being so closely identified as "an Andrew Lloyd Webber girl, so involved in his work." (She did finally make her one and only Broadway appearance as a Norma Desmond replacement in the composer's "Sunset Boulevard" in 1996.) In 2004, she sang 18 performances as Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd," for the New York City Opera.

WEARING TWO HATS

After seeing the 1987 Lincoln Center revival of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," starring Patti LuPone and directed by Jerry Zaks, Paige decided to buy this quintessential American musical for herself to take to London. "I remember coming out of the theater beaming from ear to ear and the feeling of being uplifted by this wonderful, wonderful musical," she says. "I knew that I wanted to play the part of Reno Sweeny in London. I also knew that the only way to do that was to produce it myself. If you wait around for others to offer you roles, you could wait around forever."

She took director Zaks with her to London, but found the experience "quite difficult, wearing two hats at one time, just exhausting, and probably not something I would ever do again. I remember having internal fights with myself about creative things as the artist and with the producer's hat on worrying about costs. I found that to be quite taxing." The production was a success, however, and the Queen Mother, a Porter fan, paid a visit.

Paige came to New York just last summer to make a duets album, "Elaine Paige and Friends," with producer Phil Ramone. While she was making the recording, Paige's agents brought up "the possibility of my working in the theater again, which was not something I was seeking particularly at this point in my life. Now I'm involved with my concert tours, traveling the world at my own speed and booking them about a year in advance. All the stage shows I did ran and ran, and committing to eight performances a week for years on end now seems daunting."

But then Paige was offered the role of Carlotta Campion in "Follies." "As a cameo in a short run, it really interested me," she explains. "Getting to sing 'I'm Still Here,' one of the great classics in musical theater, was the clincher."

RESEARCH IS FUN

Paige began her preparations by "Googling the song's references that we Brits wouldn't be quite au fait with: 'Abie's Irish Rose,' 'Five Dionne Babies,' 'Beebe's Bathysphere,' and several more. Obviously J. Edgar Hoover is fine, and commie, pinko tool ... stinko by my pool' we understand. As an actor I immerse myself in the era we're in, which here is America from the 1930s to 1972, to create a backstory for my character. That's part of the fun of being an actor, that you get to do all that research."

While still at home in London, Paige reunited with dialect coach Joan Washington to get just the right American dialect for Carlotta's limited dialogue and one song. Thanks to her weekly radio program, "Elaine Paige on Sunday," now in its sixth year on BBC Radio 2 (and available and archived online), "I have a rather large listenership in America," she says.

So far that hasn't translated to playing large halls in the U.S. "I'd love to do some concert work here, but it seems tricky to put that into place -- quite why, I'm not sure. I have been offered cabaret, but that's not really what I do, I don't really know about it, and I'm not used to small rooms."

So after "Follies" ends its run June 17, Paige is off to big venues in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and perhaps New Zealand, a circuit she plies "every couple of years, interspersed with concerts in Scandinavia and elsewhere. One circles the Earth, follows the sun, that's the idea."

At 63, Paige is "just trying to find the time to get everything in and still have a life. Every now and again I get a little world-weary and look forward to being in one place, being still, working on one thing. You get to a place where you do need some down time, to get inspired again, but you also can't stop and just do nothing. You have to crank yourself up and start again. Home is always home, but I also love to travel, so I've got the perfect job, really."

Baloane

Cost aparat dentar

By Robert Windeler

Sun May 29, 2011 9:49pm EDT

NEW YORK (Back Stage) - In 1964, 16-year-old Elaine Bickerstaff auditioned for her first professional musical straight from drama school, and she didn't get the part.

Her teacher was so sure that Elaine was right for the show -- "The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd," on its pre-Broadway British tour -- that she urged a name change and a stealthy second audition.

Desperate for a marquee-worthy name, Elaine leafed through the telephone book. She decided that the pages themselves were more interesting than any name printed on them, added the "i" for extra flair, and an unrecognized Elaine Paige was cast in the show.

Paige has sung onstage for a living ever since and is currently appearing in the star-studded Kennedy Center revival of "Follies" in Washington, D.C. She made her West End debut in "Hair" in 1968. In 1972, she was in the chorus of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar" and became a star as the pair's "Evita" in 1978. She introduced "Memory" in Lloyd Webber's "Cats" and has been the first lady of British musical theater to this day. Lloyd Webber says "She has a 'belt' voice in areas where no self-respecting angel will ever dare to tread and she has the heart to use this God-given voice in a way that imbues it with true emotion."

Surprisingly, Paige has done relatively little work in America until recently. She attributes this to being so closely identified as "an Andrew Lloyd Webber girl, so involved in his work." (She did finally make her one and only Broadway appearance as a Norma Desmond replacement in the composer's "Sunset Boulevard" in 1996.) In 2004, she sang 18 performances as Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd," for the New York City Opera.

WEARING TWO HATS

After seeing the 1987 Lincoln Center revival of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," starring Patti LuPone and directed by Jerry Zaks, Paige decided to buy this quintessential American musical for herself to take to London. "I remember coming out of the theater beaming from ear to ear and the feeling of being uplifted by this wonderful, wonderful musical," she says. "I knew that I wanted to play the part of Reno Sweeny in London. I also knew that the only way to do that was to produce it myself. If you wait around for others to offer you roles, you could wait around forever."

She took director Zaks with her to London, but found the experience "quite difficult, wearing two hats at one time, just exhausting, and probably not something I would ever do again. I remember having internal fights with myself about creative things as the artist and with the producer's hat on worrying about costs. I found that to be quite taxing." The production was a success, however, and the Queen Mother, a Porter fan, paid a visit.

Paige came to New York just last summer to make a duets album, "Elaine Paige and Friends," with producer Phil Ramone. While she was making the recording, Paige's agents brought up "the possibility of my working in the theater again, which was not something I was seeking particularly at this point in my life. Now I'm involved with my concert tours, traveling the world at my own speed and booking them about a year in advance. All the stage shows I did ran and ran, and committing to eight performances a week for years on end now seems daunting."

But then Paige was offered the role of Carlotta Campion in "Follies." "As a cameo in a short run, it really interested me," she explains. "Getting to sing 'I'm Still Here,' one of the great classics in musical theater, was the clincher."

RESEARCH IS FUN

Paige began her preparations by "Googling the song's references that we Brits wouldn't be quite au fait with: 'Abie's Irish Rose,' 'Five Dionne Babies,' 'Beebe's Bathysphere,' and several more. Obviously J. Edgar Hoover is fine, and commie, pinko tool ... stinko by my pool' we understand. As an actor I immerse myself in the era we're in, which here is America from the 1930s to 1972, to create a backstory for my character. That's part of the fun of being an actor, that you get to do all that research."

While still at home in London, Paige reunited with dialect coach Joan Washington to get just the right American dialect for Carlotta's limited dialogue and one song. Thanks to her weekly radio program, "Elaine Paige on Sunday," now in its sixth year on BBC Radio 2 (and available and archived online), "I have a rather large listenership in America," she says.

So far that hasn't translated to playing large halls in the U.S. "I'd love to do some concert work here, but it seems tricky to put that into place -- quite why, I'm not sure. I have been offered cabaret, but that's not really what I do, I don't really know about it, and I'm not used to small rooms."

So after "Follies" ends its run June 17, Paige is off to big venues in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and perhaps New Zealand, a circuit she plies "every couple of years, interspersed with concerts in Scandinavia and elsewhere. One circles the Earth, follows the sun, that's the idea."

At 63, Paige is "just trying to find the time to get everything in and still have a life. Every now and again I get a little world-weary and look forward to being in one place, being still, working on one thing. You get to a place where you do need some down time, to get inspired again, but you also can't stop and just do nothing. You have to crank yourself up and start again. Home is always home, but I also love to travel, so I've got the perfect job, really."

Cost aparat dentar

Spoleto Festival USA plans vibrant run despite funding cut

birou notarial

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, South Carolina | Fri May 27, 2011 5:30pm EDT

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Spoleto Festival USA, an annual burst of opera, chamber music, jazz, theater and dance, opened in historic Charleston, South Carolina on Friday, even though state funding was axed for the second year.

The $7.6 million budget for the 17-day festival dips into the organization's reserves, said General Director Nigel Redden, who also directs the summer Lincoln Center Festival in New York City.

"I think this year will be a struggle," Redden said. "The budget is a big increase over last year even in spite of cutbacks. God knows the state of South Carolina is not in great shape financially, and I certainly understand."

After getting as much as $560,000 from the state in 1999, the festival received no financial help this year or last year, said festival spokeswoman Paula Edwards.

Those cuts have come despite the fact that the Spoleto Festival brings between $55 million and $70 million to South Carolina each year, Redden said.

The festival draws 25,000 to 35,000 people to the coastal city, and they buy 73,000 performance tickets and spend money on hotels, food, merchandise and tourist attractions, he said.

Last year, the festival drew visitors from 48 states and a dozen foreign countries, said Spoleto board chairwoman Martha Rivers Ingram.

"What has happened to many festivals is that they've turned to more popular offerings," he said. "We decided proactively that we were going to have a very full festival this year to see if box office would make up for some of the shortfall."

Spoleto Festival USA was founded 35 years ago by the late Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti as a twin to an arts festival in Spoleto, Italy. The two festivals shared some programing during their early years.

Opera is always included in Charleston, but this is the first year since 2007 that the festival will stage three operas -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Magic Flute," Menotti's "The Medium," and the American premiere of "Emilie" by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho.

Spoleto also is presenting Chinese, Cambodian and Spanish dance companies; an Australian circus; jazz musicians from Brazil, Argentina, Norway and New Orleans; Cornwall's Kneehigh Theater; and Ireland's Druid Theater, along with performance art, chamber music and symphony.

Local officials and festival-goers gathered on Friday for the opening ceremonies outside the historic City Hall. Many in the crowd of about 200 wore straw and fancy hats.

Cannons fired confetti and two dancers from Spain's Corella Ballet, which opens Friday, performed a pas de deux.

Mount Pleasant resident Tony Martin, who regularly attends Spoleto events, said the recession wouldn't prevent him from doing the same this year.

"You've got to buy something," he said. "You might as well buy tickets."

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)

Birou Notarial Bucuresti

Baloane

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, South Carolina | Fri May 27, 2011 5:30pm EDT

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Spoleto Festival USA, an annual burst of opera, chamber music, jazz, theater and dance, opened in historic Charleston, South Carolina on Friday, even though state funding was axed for the second year.

The $7.6 million budget for the 17-day festival dips into the organization's reserves, said General Director Nigel Redden, who also directs the summer Lincoln Center Festival in New York City.

"I think this year will be a struggle," Redden said. "The budget is a big increase over last year even in spite of cutbacks. God knows the state of South Carolina is not in great shape financially, and I certainly understand."

After getting as much as $560,000 from the state in 1999, the festival received no financial help this year or last year, said festival spokeswoman Paula Edwards.

Those cuts have come despite the fact that the Spoleto Festival brings between $55 million and $70 million to South Carolina each year, Redden said.

The festival draws 25,000 to 35,000 people to the coastal city, and they buy 73,000 performance tickets and spend money on hotels, food, merchandise and tourist attractions, he said.

Last year, the festival drew visitors from 48 states and a dozen foreign countries, said Spoleto board chairwoman Martha Rivers Ingram.

"What has happened to many festivals is that they've turned to more popular offerings," he said. "We decided proactively that we were going to have a very full festival this year to see if box office would make up for some of the shortfall."

Spoleto Festival USA was founded 35 years ago by the late Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti as a twin to an arts festival in Spoleto, Italy. The two festivals shared some programing during their early years.

Opera is always included in Charleston, but this is the first year since 2007 that the festival will stage three operas -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Magic Flute," Menotti's "The Medium," and the American premiere of "Emilie" by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho.

Spoleto also is presenting Chinese, Cambodian and Spanish dance companies; an Australian circus; jazz musicians from Brazil, Argentina, Norway and New Orleans; Cornwall's Kneehigh Theater; and Ireland's Druid Theater, along with performance art, chamber music and symphony.

Local officials and festival-goers gathered on Friday for the opening ceremonies outside the historic City Hall. Many in the crowd of about 200 wore straw and fancy hats.

Cannons fired confetti and two dancers from Spain's Corella Ballet, which opens Friday, performed a pas de deux.

Mount Pleasant resident Tony Martin, who regularly attends Spoleto events, said the recession wouldn't prevent him from doing the same this year.

"You've got to buy something," he said. "You might as well buy tickets."

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)

Baloane

Cost aparat dentar

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, South Carolina | Fri May 27, 2011 5:30pm EDT

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Spoleto Festival USA, an annual burst of opera, chamber music, jazz, theater and dance, opened in historic Charleston, South Carolina on Friday, even though state funding was axed for the second year.

The $7.6 million budget for the 17-day festival dips into the organization's reserves, said General Director Nigel Redden, who also directs the summer Lincoln Center Festival in New York City.

"I think this year will be a struggle," Redden said. "The budget is a big increase over last year even in spite of cutbacks. God knows the state of South Carolina is not in great shape financially, and I certainly understand."

After getting as much as $560,000 from the state in 1999, the festival received no financial help this year or last year, said festival spokeswoman Paula Edwards.

Those cuts have come despite the fact that the Spoleto Festival brings between $55 million and $70 million to South Carolina each year, Redden said.

The festival draws 25,000 to 35,000 people to the coastal city, and they buy 73,000 performance tickets and spend money on hotels, food, merchandise and tourist attractions, he said.

Last year, the festival drew visitors from 48 states and a dozen foreign countries, said Spoleto board chairwoman Martha Rivers Ingram.

"What has happened to many festivals is that they've turned to more popular offerings," he said. "We decided proactively that we were going to have a very full festival this year to see if box office would make up for some of the shortfall."

Spoleto Festival USA was founded 35 years ago by the late Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti as a twin to an arts festival in Spoleto, Italy. The two festivals shared some programing during their early years.

Opera is always included in Charleston, but this is the first year since 2007 that the festival will stage three operas -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Magic Flute," Menotti's "The Medium," and the American premiere of "Emilie" by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho.

Spoleto also is presenting Chinese, Cambodian and Spanish dance companies; an Australian circus; jazz musicians from Brazil, Argentina, Norway and New Orleans; Cornwall's Kneehigh Theater; and Ireland's Druid Theater, along with performance art, chamber music and symphony.

Local officials and festival-goers gathered on Friday for the opening ceremonies outside the historic City Hall. Many in the crowd of about 200 wore straw and fancy hats.

Cannons fired confetti and two dancers from Spain's Corella Ballet, which opens Friday, performed a pas de deux.

Mount Pleasant resident Tony Martin, who regularly attends Spoleto events, said the recession wouldn't prevent him from doing the same this year.

"You've got to buy something," he said. "You might as well buy tickets."

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)

Cost aparat dentar

Hepburn, Garland, Monroe movie costumes up for auction

birou notarial

The ruby red slippers worn by actress Judy Garland in the film ''The Wizard of Oz'' are shown in this undated publicity photograph May 26, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Profiles in History/Handout

By Zorianna Kit

LOS ANGELES | Fri May 27, 2011 4:42pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Iconic movie costumes worn by Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe will go up for sale in June from a collection belonging to fellow actress Debbie Reynolds, California auction house Profiles in History said on Thursday.

Monroe's subway dress from "The Seven Year Itch," Judy Garland's blue cotton dress from "The Wizard of Oz" and one of the pairs of ruby red slippers made for the movie, as well as Charlie Chaplin's "Tramp" bowler hat are among the 3,500 items up for auction in Beverly Hills on June 18.

Barbra Streisand's sleeveless gold velvet, jeweled gown from "Hello, Dolly" -- said to be the most expensive dress ever made for a film -- will also be up for sale as will Audrey Hepburn's Ascot dress from "My Fair Lady" and Julie Andrews' costumes from "The Sound of Music."

The collection will be on view to the public at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills in early June before the auction on June 18.

Reynolds, 79, who starred in such films as "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," has been collecting film memorabilia for more than 50 years.

Her ultimate dream was to house the collection in a planned museum, but the most recent attempt fell through. Now Reynolds has decided to sell her collection rather try to find another partner.

HEART-BROKEN REYNOLDS

"I've reached such a difficult time with the economic situation," Reynolds told Reuters. "I became exhausted trying to get this done. I'm 79 now and would like a little peace and quiet."

Reynolds conceded that the June 18th auction date will be "tough" for her.

"I'm heart-broken," she said. "I don't want to see the collection broken up. It should stay intact. It's a real shame but that's the way it's going to be."

Always a collector of memorabilia, Reynolds got more serious about it when in 1970, Hollywood movie studio MGM announced it was going to auction off everything except its real estate. Reynolds, who had been under contract at MGM, purchased many items and continued to save as many pieces as she could over the years.

"I couldn't believe (MGM) was doing that because they had never loaned anything to anyone, ever," said Reynolds. "But all of a sudden they changed owners and decided they weren't interested in anything but the real estate. I couldn't believe they were selling all these costumes. My heart became overwhelmed in wanting to save them and save our history."

In the collection are 11 Monroe dresses, costumes from the films "Cleopatra" and "National Velvet" worn by her one-time rival Elizabeth Taylor, as well as costumes worn by Marlon Brando, Rock Hudson, Rudolph Valentino, Grace Kelly and Greta Garbo among others.

"To keep them stored another 50 years didn't make sense," said Reynolds. "I hope in the end they all find happy homes, that they will be shown, and that they might even land in museums."

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Birou Notarial Bucuresti

Baloane

The ruby red slippers worn by actress Judy Garland in the film ''The Wizard of Oz'' are shown in this undated publicity photograph May 26, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Profiles in History/Handout

By Zorianna Kit

LOS ANGELES | Fri May 27, 2011 4:42pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Iconic movie costumes worn by Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe will go up for sale in June from a collection belonging to fellow actress Debbie Reynolds, California auction house Profiles in History said on Thursday.

Monroe's subway dress from "The Seven Year Itch," Judy Garland's blue cotton dress from "The Wizard of Oz" and one of the pairs of ruby red slippers made for the movie, as well as Charlie Chaplin's "Tramp" bowler hat are among the 3,500 items up for auction in Beverly Hills on June 18.

Barbra Streisand's sleeveless gold velvet, jeweled gown from "Hello, Dolly" -- said to be the most expensive dress ever made for a film -- will also be up for sale as will Audrey Hepburn's Ascot dress from "My Fair Lady" and Julie Andrews' costumes from "The Sound of Music."

The collection will be on view to the public at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills in early June before the auction on June 18.

Reynolds, 79, who starred in such films as "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," has been collecting film memorabilia for more than 50 years.

Her ultimate dream was to house the collection in a planned museum, but the most recent attempt fell through. Now Reynolds has decided to sell her collection rather try to find another partner.

HEART-BROKEN REYNOLDS

"I've reached such a difficult time with the economic situation," Reynolds told Reuters. "I became exhausted trying to get this done. I'm 79 now and would like a little peace and quiet."

Reynolds conceded that the June 18th auction date will be "tough" for her.

"I'm heart-broken," she said. "I don't want to see the collection broken up. It should stay intact. It's a real shame but that's the way it's going to be."

Always a collector of memorabilia, Reynolds got more serious about it when in 1970, Hollywood movie studio MGM announced it was going to auction off everything except its real estate. Reynolds, who had been under contract at MGM, purchased many items and continued to save as many pieces as she could over the years.

"I couldn't believe (MGM) was doing that because they had never loaned anything to anyone, ever," said Reynolds. "But all of a sudden they changed owners and decided they weren't interested in anything but the real estate. I couldn't believe they were selling all these costumes. My heart became overwhelmed in wanting to save them and save our history."

In the collection are 11 Monroe dresses, costumes from the films "Cleopatra" and "National Velvet" worn by her one-time rival Elizabeth Taylor, as well as costumes worn by Marlon Brando, Rock Hudson, Rudolph Valentino, Grace Kelly and Greta Garbo among others.

"To keep them stored another 50 years didn't make sense," said Reynolds. "I hope in the end they all find happy homes, that they will be shown, and that they might even land in museums."

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Baloane

Cost aparat dentar

The ruby red slippers worn by actress Judy Garland in the film ''The Wizard of Oz'' are shown in this undated publicity photograph May 26, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Profiles in History/Handout

By Zorianna Kit

LOS ANGELES | Fri May 27, 2011 4:42pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Iconic movie costumes worn by Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe will go up for sale in June from a collection belonging to fellow actress Debbie Reynolds, California auction house Profiles in History said on Thursday.

Monroe's subway dress from "The Seven Year Itch," Judy Garland's blue cotton dress from "The Wizard of Oz" and one of the pairs of ruby red slippers made for the movie, as well as Charlie Chaplin's "Tramp" bowler hat are among the 3,500 items up for auction in Beverly Hills on June 18.

Barbra Streisand's sleeveless gold velvet, jeweled gown from "Hello, Dolly" -- said to be the most expensive dress ever made for a film -- will also be up for sale as will Audrey Hepburn's Ascot dress from "My Fair Lady" and Julie Andrews' costumes from "The Sound of Music."

The collection will be on view to the public at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills in early June before the auction on June 18.

Reynolds, 79, who starred in such films as "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," has been collecting film memorabilia for more than 50 years.

Her ultimate dream was to house the collection in a planned museum, but the most recent attempt fell through. Now Reynolds has decided to sell her collection rather try to find another partner.

HEART-BROKEN REYNOLDS

"I've reached such a difficult time with the economic situation," Reynolds told Reuters. "I became exhausted trying to get this done. I'm 79 now and would like a little peace and quiet."

Reynolds conceded that the June 18th auction date will be "tough" for her.

"I'm heart-broken," she said. "I don't want to see the collection broken up. It should stay intact. It's a real shame but that's the way it's going to be."

Always a collector of memorabilia, Reynolds got more serious about it when in 1970, Hollywood movie studio MGM announced it was going to auction off everything except its real estate. Reynolds, who had been under contract at MGM, purchased many items and continued to save as many pieces as she could over the years.

"I couldn't believe (MGM) was doing that because they had never loaned anything to anyone, ever," said Reynolds. "But all of a sudden they changed owners and decided they weren't interested in anything but the real estate. I couldn't believe they were selling all these costumes. My heart became overwhelmed in wanting to save them and save our history."

In the collection are 11 Monroe dresses, costumes from the films "Cleopatra" and "National Velvet" worn by her one-time rival Elizabeth Taylor, as well as costumes worn by Marlon Brando, Rock Hudson, Rudolph Valentino, Grace Kelly and Greta Garbo among others.

"To keep them stored another 50 years didn't make sense," said Reynolds. "I hope in the end they all find happy homes, that they will be shown, and that they might even land in museums."

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Cost aparat dentar

Hollywood stars at center of Broadway backlash

birou notarial

Actress Scarlett Johansson poses with her Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her work in ''A View from the Bridge'' at the American Theatre Wing's 64th annual Tony Awards ceremony in New York, June 13, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson

By Suzy Evans

Mon May 30, 2011 9:26am EDT

NEW YORK (Back Stage) - Every year, Hollywood celebrities head to Broadway where they get plenty of attention for their headlining efforts.

The Tony Awards, being presented on June 12, are the ultimate judge of the skills of any stage actor, famous or not, and many lesser-known performers worry that the value of the award diminishes as film stars continue to take them home.

Last year's star-studded broadcast disheartened many New York actors, including Hunter Foster, who started the Facebook group Give the Tonys Back to Broadway!! in an effort to combat the Tinseltown effect. With the now almost 9,000-member group, Foster hopes to restore the ceremony as a beacon of hope for the next generation of stage performers.

Whether stage actors like his sister, Sutton Foster -- nominated this year for her performance in "Anything Goes" -- will disappear from Broadway's future if the Tonys continue to focus on Hollywood stars is debatable. Many actors appearing on Broadway -- including Al Pacino, a nominee this year for "The Merchant of Venice" -- began their careers on stage, but their mass appeal comes from their films.

"I have worked my ass off to get to where I am, so I understand that struggle," Scarlett Johansson -- who was one of four Hollywood actors to win a Tony in 2010 -- told BroadwayWorld.com last year. "If somebody is cast because they are a name but they're not right for the job, well, it's very frustrating."

Experts and actors agree, however, that celebrities are necessary for some producers to bankroll productions, and a famous headliner brings more stable jobs for New York actors.

This year's list of nominees lacks many of the Broadway season's big names -- including Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Ben Stiller, and Daniel Radcliffe. David Sheward, executive editor of Back Stage and a Tony voter, blogged about how the dearth of well-known nominees could be a response by the nominating committee to last year's backlash.

However, Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the Broadway League, which presents the awards with the American Theater Wing, said there is no correlation between last year's response and this year's nominees.

"If you look at the shows, most of the people who got good reviews are nominated," said St. Martin, who is also on the awards' administration committee, which oversees the nominating process. "People whose reviews were not as good, either for the show or the individual, perhaps are not."

A star can be an economic necessity for a Broadway show, and Michael Riedel, New York Post theater columnist and host of PBS's "Theater Talk," does not think Hollywood stars take jobs away from New York actors. "If you didn't have these celebrities, a lot of these shows wouldn't be produced," he said. "All of these shows have people in them who are not movie stars and they're all working."

CRUSADERS

A Tony represents the Holy Grail for a stage actor and can significantly boost a performer's career, whereas film and television actors are already honored with awards like Oscars and Emmys. Having widely recognized actors swoop in and secure a Tony nomination can be upsetting to some, said Garrett Eisler of the blog The Playgoer, as there are limited spots.

According to Eisler, stars have driven Broadway ticket sales throughout history, but "what changed is the definition of who is a star." In the 1950s and '60s, the box office names were Robert Preston, Rex Harrison, and Zero Mostel, who had some fame from film but whose main medium was the stage. "A Broadway star could really be a star," Eisler said, recognizing that Patti LuPone is one of the few who fits this bill today. "Now you can't be a star unless you're a Hollywood star."

The Internet democratizes entertainment, and a stage performer will never receive the same size audience for a Broadway show that another actor will receive for a film or a television series.

"There's been a generational shift," Eisler explained, noting that today's generation of young people is the first to come of age with the Internet. "Certain stars can't become household names without appearing on multiple platforms."

Tony winner and New York stage veteran Victoria Clark acknowledged her win for "The Light in the Piazza" in 2005 helped launch her career and turned her into more of a "known quantity." Her role as Mother Superior in this year's "Sister Act," for which she is nominated, came to her in part because of her name and the connections she made through her past work.

"Jerry Zaks could have gone after anybody between the ages of 45 and 80 for this part," she said, referring to the show's director. "There's a message to our directors: Support the people that supported you when you first started your career and go back to those people and give them a shot."

Celebrities coming to Broadway take work away from New York theater actors, according to Clark, but she also says the industry should not separate actors into film, TV, and stage categories. "It's our culture that segregates us," she argued. "If we were actors in any other country, we'd all be doing everything, no questions asked."

Birou Notarial Bucuresti

Baloane

Actress Scarlett Johansson poses with her Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her work in ''A View from the Bridge'' at the American Theatre Wing's 64th annual Tony Awards ceremony in New York, June 13, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson

By Suzy Evans

Mon May 30, 2011 9:26am EDT

NEW YORK (Back Stage) - Every year, Hollywood celebrities head to Broadway where they get plenty of attention for their headlining efforts.

The Tony Awards, being presented on June 12, are the ultimate judge of the skills of any stage actor, famous or not, and many lesser-known performers worry that the value of the award diminishes as film stars continue to take them home.

Last year's star-studded broadcast disheartened many New York actors, including Hunter Foster, who started the Facebook group Give the Tonys Back to Broadway!! in an effort to combat the Tinseltown effect. With the now almost 9,000-member group, Foster hopes to restore the ceremony as a beacon of hope for the next generation of stage performers.

Whether stage actors like his sister, Sutton Foster -- nominated this year for her performance in "Anything Goes" -- will disappear from Broadway's future if the Tonys continue to focus on Hollywood stars is debatable. Many actors appearing on Broadway -- including Al Pacino, a nominee this year for "The Merchant of Venice" -- began their careers on stage, but their mass appeal comes from their films.

"I have worked my ass off to get to where I am, so I understand that struggle," Scarlett Johansson -- who was one of four Hollywood actors to win a Tony in 2010 -- told BroadwayWorld.com last year. "If somebody is cast because they are a name but they're not right for the job, well, it's very frustrating."

Experts and actors agree, however, that celebrities are necessary for some producers to bankroll productions, and a famous headliner brings more stable jobs for New York actors.

This year's list of nominees lacks many of the Broadway season's big names -- including Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Ben Stiller, and Daniel Radcliffe. David Sheward, executive editor of Back Stage and a Tony voter, blogged about how the dearth of well-known nominees could be a response by the nominating committee to last year's backlash.

However, Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the Broadway League, which presents the awards with the American Theater Wing, said there is no correlation between last year's response and this year's nominees.

"If you look at the shows, most of the people who got good reviews are nominated," said St. Martin, who is also on the awards' administration committee, which oversees the nominating process. "People whose reviews were not as good, either for the show or the individual, perhaps are not."

A star can be an economic necessity for a Broadway show, and Michael Riedel, New York Post theater columnist and host of PBS's "Theater Talk," does not think Hollywood stars take jobs away from New York actors. "If you didn't have these celebrities, a lot of these shows wouldn't be produced," he said. "All of these shows have people in them who are not movie stars and they're all working."

CRUSADERS

A Tony represents the Holy Grail for a stage actor and can significantly boost a performer's career, whereas film and television actors are already honored with awards like Oscars and Emmys. Having widely recognized actors swoop in and secure a Tony nomination can be upsetting to some, said Garrett Eisler of the blog The Playgoer, as there are limited spots.

According to Eisler, stars have driven Broadway ticket sales throughout history, but "what changed is the definition of who is a star." In the 1950s and '60s, the box office names were Robert Preston, Rex Harrison, and Zero Mostel, who had some fame from film but whose main medium was the stage. "A Broadway star could really be a star," Eisler said, recognizing that Patti LuPone is one of the few who fits this bill today. "Now you can't be a star unless you're a Hollywood star."

The Internet democratizes entertainment, and a stage performer will never receive the same size audience for a Broadway show that another actor will receive for a film or a television series.

"There's been a generational shift," Eisler explained, noting that today's generation of young people is the first to come of age with the Internet. "Certain stars can't become household names without appearing on multiple platforms."

Tony winner and New York stage veteran Victoria Clark acknowledged her win for "The Light in the Piazza" in 2005 helped launch her career and turned her into more of a "known quantity." Her role as Mother Superior in this year's "Sister Act," for which she is nominated, came to her in part because of her name and the connections she made through her past work.

"Jerry Zaks could have gone after anybody between the ages of 45 and 80 for this part," she said, referring to the show's director. "There's a message to our directors: Support the people that supported you when you first started your career and go back to those people and give them a shot."

Celebrities coming to Broadway take work away from New York theater actors, according to Clark, but she also says the industry should not separate actors into film, TV, and stage categories. "It's our culture that segregates us," she argued. "If we were actors in any other country, we'd all be doing everything, no questions asked."

Baloane

Cost aparat dentar

Actress Scarlett Johansson poses with her Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her work in ''A View from the Bridge'' at the American Theatre Wing's 64th annual Tony Awards ceremony in New York, June 13, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson

By Suzy Evans

Mon May 30, 2011 9:26am EDT

NEW YORK (Back Stage) - Every year, Hollywood celebrities head to Broadway where they get plenty of attention for their headlining efforts.

The Tony Awards, being presented on June 12, are the ultimate judge of the skills of any stage actor, famous or not, and many lesser-known performers worry that the value of the award diminishes as film stars continue to take them home.

Last year's star-studded broadcast disheartened many New York actors, including Hunter Foster, who started the Facebook group Give the Tonys Back to Broadway!! in an effort to combat the Tinseltown effect. With the now almost 9,000-member group, Foster hopes to restore the ceremony as a beacon of hope for the next generation of stage performers.

Whether stage actors like his sister, Sutton Foster -- nominated this year for her performance in "Anything Goes" -- will disappear from Broadway's future if the Tonys continue to focus on Hollywood stars is debatable. Many actors appearing on Broadway -- including Al Pacino, a nominee this year for "The Merchant of Venice" -- began their careers on stage, but their mass appeal comes from their films.

"I have worked my ass off to get to where I am, so I understand that struggle," Scarlett Johansson -- who was one of four Hollywood actors to win a Tony in 2010 -- told BroadwayWorld.com last year. "If somebody is cast because they are a name but they're not right for the job, well, it's very frustrating."

Experts and actors agree, however, that celebrities are necessary for some producers to bankroll productions, and a famous headliner brings more stable jobs for New York actors.

This year's list of nominees lacks many of the Broadway season's big names -- including Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Ben Stiller, and Daniel Radcliffe. David Sheward, executive editor of Back Stage and a Tony voter, blogged about how the dearth of well-known nominees could be a response by the nominating committee to last year's backlash.

However, Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the Broadway League, which presents the awards with the American Theater Wing, said there is no correlation between last year's response and this year's nominees.

"If you look at the shows, most of the people who got good reviews are nominated," said St. Martin, who is also on the awards' administration committee, which oversees the nominating process. "People whose reviews were not as good, either for the show or the individual, perhaps are not."

A star can be an economic necessity for a Broadway show, and Michael Riedel, New York Post theater columnist and host of PBS's "Theater Talk," does not think Hollywood stars take jobs away from New York actors. "If you didn't have these celebrities, a lot of these shows wouldn't be produced," he said. "All of these shows have people in them who are not movie stars and they're all working."

CRUSADERS

A Tony represents the Holy Grail for a stage actor and can significantly boost a performer's career, whereas film and television actors are already honored with awards like Oscars and Emmys. Having widely recognized actors swoop in and secure a Tony nomination can be upsetting to some, said Garrett Eisler of the blog The Playgoer, as there are limited spots.

According to Eisler, stars have driven Broadway ticket sales throughout history, but "what changed is the definition of who is a star." In the 1950s and '60s, the box office names were Robert Preston, Rex Harrison, and Zero Mostel, who had some fame from film but whose main medium was the stage. "A Broadway star could really be a star," Eisler said, recognizing that Patti LuPone is one of the few who fits this bill today. "Now you can't be a star unless you're a Hollywood star."

The Internet democratizes entertainment, and a stage performer will never receive the same size audience for a Broadway show that another actor will receive for a film or a television series.

"There's been a generational shift," Eisler explained, noting that today's generation of young people is the first to come of age with the Internet. "Certain stars can't become household names without appearing on multiple platforms."

Tony winner and New York stage veteran Victoria Clark acknowledged her win for "The Light in the Piazza" in 2005 helped launch her career and turned her into more of a "known quantity." Her role as Mother Superior in this year's "Sister Act," for which she is nominated, came to her in part because of her name and the connections she made through her past work.

"Jerry Zaks could have gone after anybody between the ages of 45 and 80 for this part," she said, referring to the show's director. "There's a message to our directors: Support the people that supported you when you first started your career and go back to those people and give them a shot."

Celebrities coming to Broadway take work away from New York theater actors, according to Clark, but she also says the industry should not separate actors into film, TV, and stage categories. "It's our culture that segregates us," she argued. "If we were actors in any other country, we'd all be doing everything, no questions asked."

Cost aparat dentar

The show will go on, Bono promises of troubled "Spider-man"

birou notarial

By Shirley Halperin and Kimberly Nordyke

Fri May 27, 2011 6:02pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Despite all the technical glitches, cast injuries and opening-night delays, Bono said the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" is still a firm go for a June 14 opening.

The U2 frontman -- who composed the production's music with bandmate the Edge -- told reporters Wednesday night that the show will most definitely go on.

"We're opening Spider-Man on the 14th," he said after the "American Idol" finale, during which he and the Edge performed "Rise Above," a song from the production. "I promise it's not been canceled, and we're very excited about it. It's almost there -- it will be there by opening night."

The $70 million production -- the most expense Broadway musical ever -- had undergone a revamp that saw director and chief creative force Julie Taymor exit, replaced by "The Boy From Oz" director Philip McKinley.

"He came in to fill impossible shoes -- Julie Taymor -- she's a genius and I miss her so much," Bono said.

As for "Rise Above," the song performed on "Idol," "There's another version of it in the play, and it was this beautiful hook about trying to transcend your circumstances. This song is one of the first songs that jumped out at us."

Meanwhile, Bono also said it was "exciting" to perform on "Idol," which he likened to "being at the center of pop culture."

"This show is really like I remember as kids growing up and hearing about 'The Ed Sullivan Show' Elvis would be on, and the Beatles. Since then television is so fragmented and everybody watches something different. This is probably the only show that every one watches so it's a very interesting thing."

The singer also addressed his year-ago back surgery, which was successfully performed by a doctor in Germany. The emergency operation was the result of an injury he suffered during rehearsals for the band's 360 tour.

"I've now got 'Made in Germany' tattooed on my ass," he quipped.

Joked the Edge: "He's also an inch and a half taller."

U2's 360 tour has now become the highest-grossing tour of all time. On Sunday night the band accepted the Touring Award -- for both the biggest tour of the year and of all-time -- at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards.

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

Birou Notarial Bucuresti

Baloane

By Shirley Halperin and Kimberly Nordyke

Fri May 27, 2011 6:02pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Despite all the technical glitches, cast injuries and opening-night delays, Bono said the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" is still a firm go for a June 14 opening.

The U2 frontman -- who composed the production's music with bandmate the Edge -- told reporters Wednesday night that the show will most definitely go on.

"We're opening Spider-Man on the 14th," he said after the "American Idol" finale, during which he and the Edge performed "Rise Above," a song from the production. "I promise it's not been canceled, and we're very excited about it. It's almost there -- it will be there by opening night."

The $70 million production -- the most expense Broadway musical ever -- had undergone a revamp that saw director and chief creative force Julie Taymor exit, replaced by "The Boy From Oz" director Philip McKinley.

"He came in to fill impossible shoes -- Julie Taymor -- she's a genius and I miss her so much," Bono said.

As for "Rise Above," the song performed on "Idol," "There's another version of it in the play, and it was this beautiful hook about trying to transcend your circumstances. This song is one of the first songs that jumped out at us."

Meanwhile, Bono also said it was "exciting" to perform on "Idol," which he likened to "being at the center of pop culture."

"This show is really like I remember as kids growing up and hearing about 'The Ed Sullivan Show' Elvis would be on, and the Beatles. Since then television is so fragmented and everybody watches something different. This is probably the only show that every one watches so it's a very interesting thing."

The singer also addressed his year-ago back surgery, which was successfully performed by a doctor in Germany. The emergency operation was the result of an injury he suffered during rehearsals for the band's 360 tour.

"I've now got 'Made in Germany' tattooed on my ass," he quipped.

Joked the Edge: "He's also an inch and a half taller."

U2's 360 tour has now become the highest-grossing tour of all time. On Sunday night the band accepted the Touring Award -- for both the biggest tour of the year and of all-time -- at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards.

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

Baloane

Cost aparat dentar

By Shirley Halperin and Kimberly Nordyke

Fri May 27, 2011 6:02pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Despite all the technical glitches, cast injuries and opening-night delays, Bono said the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" is still a firm go for a June 14 opening.

The U2 frontman -- who composed the production's music with bandmate the Edge -- told reporters Wednesday night that the show will most definitely go on.

"We're opening Spider-Man on the 14th," he said after the "American Idol" finale, during which he and the Edge performed "Rise Above," a song from the production. "I promise it's not been canceled, and we're very excited about it. It's almost there -- it will be there by opening night."

The $70 million production -- the most expense Broadway musical ever -- had undergone a revamp that saw director and chief creative force Julie Taymor exit, replaced by "The Boy From Oz" director Philip McKinley.

"He came in to fill impossible shoes -- Julie Taymor -- she's a genius and I miss her so much," Bono said.

As for "Rise Above," the song performed on "Idol," "There's another version of it in the play, and it was this beautiful hook about trying to transcend your circumstances. This song is one of the first songs that jumped out at us."

Meanwhile, Bono also said it was "exciting" to perform on "Idol," which he likened to "being at the center of pop culture."

"This show is really like I remember as kids growing up and hearing about 'The Ed Sullivan Show' Elvis would be on, and the Beatles. Since then television is so fragmented and everybody watches something different. This is probably the only show that every one watches so it's a very interesting thing."

The singer also addressed his year-ago back surgery, which was successfully performed by a doctor in Germany. The emergency operation was the result of an injury he suffered during rehearsals for the band's 360 tour.

"I've now got 'Made in Germany' tattooed on my ass," he quipped.

Joked the Edge: "He's also an inch and a half taller."

U2's 360 tour has now become the highest-grossing tour of all time. On Sunday night the band accepted the Touring Award -- for both the biggest tour of the year and of all-time -- at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards.

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

Cost aparat dentar

Cuban ballet to start U.S. tour next week

birou notarial

By Jeff Franks

HAVANA | Fri May 27, 2011 6:54pm EDT

HAVANA (Reuters) - The Cuban National Ballet heads to the United States next week for a month-long tour that director and ballet legend Alicia Alonso hopes will bring happiness to U.S.-Cuba relations that have been unhappy for half a century.

The tour is the latest in a series of cultural exchanges that began after U.S. President Barack Obama took office as the longtime ideological foes seek common ground they have been unable to find politically since Cuba's 1959 revolution.

The Cuban troupe will perform on Tuesday in Washington then go to New York and Costa Mesa, California before wrapping up in Los Angeles on June 26.

The New York-based American Ballet Theater and members of the New York City Ballet performed before ecstatic audiences in Havana in November, creating good vibes that Alonso said on Friday she hopes to duplicate.

"All the people were very happy, so it was a very different change," she said of the performances by the U.S. companies.

"I hope this time we're going there and it's going to be exactly the same -- happiness (for) all of us," she told Reuters after presiding over a rigorous rehearsal by the Cuban troupe at its Havana headquarters.

Alonso, who is 90 and nearly blind, danced in the American Ballet Theater in the 1940s and 1950s, but returned to Cuba after the revolution and took over the Cuban National Ballet.

She has groomed dancers who now perform in ballet companies around the world and taken the Cuban company to the United States several times, the last coming in 2003.

She said this latest trip was not about politics, but art, which transcends national boundaries and disputes.

"Actually, dancers belong to the world. The artist is the best thing for humanity; he has no frontier. He has only one (goal) -- happiness of the people," Alonso said.

MODEST WARMING

Obama has said he wanted to "recast" U.S.-Cuba relations, but they have warmed only modestly under his administration.

They took a blow in March when Cuba sentenced U.S. aid contractor Alan Gross to 15 years in prison for bringing Internet equipment to Cubans under a secretive U.S. program to promote democracy on the communist island.

But cultural exchanges have blossomed as Obama took steps to encourage "people-to-people" contact between the countries.

Last year, jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis led a Cuba trip by the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra and pop group Kool and The Gang played a Havana concert, while Cuban musicians including Silvio Rodriguez, Chucho Valdes and Omara Portuondo performed in the United States.

Singer-songwriter Carlos Varela is set for a U.S. tour in June.

"It has been wonderful. I think it has been marvelous," Alonso said of the cultural events.

But, she said, "Government, that's another thing."

The Cuban company will perform "The Magic of Dance," which includes passages from ballet classics such as "Giselle," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake," and "Don Quixote."

A stern taskmaster, Alonso put the dancers through their paces at Friday's rehearsal, at times shouting from her chair for them to stop talking and at others giving dance tips as they whirled about the studio.

"The company is ready, but I am never satisfied -- never, never. I always ask more and more and more," said Alonso, who will accompany the ballet company on the full tour.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Birou Notarial Bucuresti

Baloane

By Jeff Franks

HAVANA | Fri May 27, 2011 6:54pm EDT

HAVANA (Reuters) - The Cuban National Ballet heads to the United States next week for a month-long tour that director and ballet legend Alicia Alonso hopes will bring happiness to U.S.-Cuba relations that have been unhappy for half a century.

The tour is the latest in a series of cultural exchanges that began after U.S. President Barack Obama took office as the longtime ideological foes seek common ground they have been unable to find politically since Cuba's 1959 revolution.

The Cuban troupe will perform on Tuesday in Washington then go to New York and Costa Mesa, California before wrapping up in Los Angeles on June 26.

The New York-based American Ballet Theater and members of the New York City Ballet performed before ecstatic audiences in Havana in November, creating good vibes that Alonso said on Friday she hopes to duplicate.

"All the people were very happy, so it was a very different change," she said of the performances by the U.S. companies.

"I hope this time we're going there and it's going to be exactly the same -- happiness (for) all of us," she told Reuters after presiding over a rigorous rehearsal by the Cuban troupe at its Havana headquarters.

Alonso, who is 90 and nearly blind, danced in the American Ballet Theater in the 1940s and 1950s, but returned to Cuba after the revolution and took over the Cuban National Ballet.

She has groomed dancers who now perform in ballet companies around the world and taken the Cuban company to the United States several times, the last coming in 2003.

She said this latest trip was not about politics, but art, which transcends national boundaries and disputes.

"Actually, dancers belong to the world. The artist is the best thing for humanity; he has no frontier. He has only one (goal) -- happiness of the people," Alonso said.

MODEST WARMING

Obama has said he wanted to "recast" U.S.-Cuba relations, but they have warmed only modestly under his administration.

They took a blow in March when Cuba sentenced U.S. aid contractor Alan Gross to 15 years in prison for bringing Internet equipment to Cubans under a secretive U.S. program to promote democracy on the communist island.

But cultural exchanges have blossomed as Obama took steps to encourage "people-to-people" contact between the countries.

Last year, jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis led a Cuba trip by the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra and pop group Kool and The Gang played a Havana concert, while Cuban musicians including Silvio Rodriguez, Chucho Valdes and Omara Portuondo performed in the United States.

Singer-songwriter Carlos Varela is set for a U.S. tour in June.

"It has been wonderful. I think it has been marvelous," Alonso said of the cultural events.

But, she said, "Government, that's another thing."

The Cuban company will perform "The Magic of Dance," which includes passages from ballet classics such as "Giselle," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake," and "Don Quixote."

A stern taskmaster, Alonso put the dancers through their paces at Friday's rehearsal, at times shouting from her chair for them to stop talking and at others giving dance tips as they whirled about the studio.

"The company is ready, but I am never satisfied -- never, never. I always ask more and more and more," said Alonso, who will accompany the ballet company on the full tour.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Baloane

Cost aparat dentar

By Jeff Franks

HAVANA | Fri May 27, 2011 6:54pm EDT

HAVANA (Reuters) - The Cuban National Ballet heads to the United States next week for a month-long tour that director and ballet legend Alicia Alonso hopes will bring happiness to U.S.-Cuba relations that have been unhappy for half a century.

The tour is the latest in a series of cultural exchanges that began after U.S. President Barack Obama took office as the longtime ideological foes seek common ground they have been unable to find politically since Cuba's 1959 revolution.

The Cuban troupe will perform on Tuesday in Washington then go to New York and Costa Mesa, California before wrapping up in Los Angeles on June 26.

The New York-based American Ballet Theater and members of the New York City Ballet performed before ecstatic audiences in Havana in November, creating good vibes that Alonso said on Friday she hopes to duplicate.

"All the people were very happy, so it was a very different change," she said of the performances by the U.S. companies.

"I hope this time we're going there and it's going to be exactly the same -- happiness (for) all of us," she told Reuters after presiding over a rigorous rehearsal by the Cuban troupe at its Havana headquarters.

Alonso, who is 90 and nearly blind, danced in the American Ballet Theater in the 1940s and 1950s, but returned to Cuba after the revolution and took over the Cuban National Ballet.

She has groomed dancers who now perform in ballet companies around the world and taken the Cuban company to the United States several times, the last coming in 2003.

She said this latest trip was not about politics, but art, which transcends national boundaries and disputes.

"Actually, dancers belong to the world. The artist is the best thing for humanity; he has no frontier. He has only one (goal) -- happiness of the people," Alonso said.

MODEST WARMING

Obama has said he wanted to "recast" U.S.-Cuba relations, but they have warmed only modestly under his administration.

They took a blow in March when Cuba sentenced U.S. aid contractor Alan Gross to 15 years in prison for bringing Internet equipment to Cubans under a secretive U.S. program to promote democracy on the communist island.

But cultural exchanges have blossomed as Obama took steps to encourage "people-to-people" contact between the countries.

Last year, jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis led a Cuba trip by the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra and pop group Kool and The Gang played a Havana concert, while Cuban musicians including Silvio Rodriguez, Chucho Valdes and Omara Portuondo performed in the United States.

Singer-songwriter Carlos Varela is set for a U.S. tour in June.

"It has been wonderful. I think it has been marvelous," Alonso said of the cultural events.

But, she said, "Government, that's another thing."

The Cuban company will perform "The Magic of Dance," which includes passages from ballet classics such as "Giselle," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake," and "Don Quixote."

A stern taskmaster, Alonso put the dancers through their paces at Friday's rehearsal, at times shouting from her chair for them to stop talking and at others giving dance tips as they whirled about the studio.

"The company is ready, but I am never satisfied -- never, never. I always ask more and more and more," said Alonso, who will accompany the ballet company on the full tour.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Cost aparat dentar

Cuban ballet to start U.S. tour next week

birou notarial

By Jeff Franks

HAVANA | Fri May 27, 2011 6:54pm EDT

HAVANA (Reuters) - The Cuban National Ballet heads to the United States next week for a month-long tour that director and ballet legend Alicia Alonso hopes will bring happiness to U.S.-Cuba relations that have been unhappy for half a century.

The tour is the latest in a series of cultural exchanges that began after U.S. President Barack Obama took office as the longtime ideological foes seek common ground they have been unable to find politically since Cuba's 1959 revolution.

The Cuban troupe will perform on Tuesday in Washington then go to New York and Costa Mesa, California before wrapping up in Los Angeles on June 26.

The New York-based American Ballet Theater and members of the New York City Ballet performed before ecstatic audiences in Havana in November, creating good vibes that Alonso said on Friday she hopes to duplicate.

"All the people were very happy, so it was a very different change," she said of the performances by the U.S. companies.

"I hope this time we're going there and it's going to be exactly the same -- happiness (for) all of us," she told Reuters after presiding over a rigorous rehearsal by the Cuban troupe at its Havana headquarters.

Alonso, who is 90 and nearly blind, danced in the American Ballet Theater in the 1940s and 1950s, but returned to Cuba after the revolution and took over the Cuban National Ballet.

She has groomed dancers who now perform in ballet companies around the world and taken the Cuban company to the United States several times, the last coming in 2003.

She said this latest trip was not about politics, but art, which transcends national boundaries and disputes.

"Actually, dancers belong to the world. The artist is the best thing for humanity; he has no frontier. He has only one (goal) -- happiness of the people," Alonso said.

MODEST WARMING

Obama has said he wanted to "recast" U.S.-Cuba relations, but they have warmed only modestly under his administration.

They took a blow in March when Cuba sentenced U.S. aid contractor Alan Gross to 15 years in prison for bringing Internet equipment to Cubans under a secretive U.S. program to promote democracy on the communist island.

But cultural exchanges have blossomed as Obama took steps to encourage "people-to-people" contact between the countries.

Last year, jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis led a Cuba trip by the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra and pop group Kool and The Gang played a Havana concert, while Cuban musicians including Silvio Rodriguez, Chucho Valdes and Omara Portuondo performed in the United States.

Singer-songwriter Carlos Varela is set for a U.S. tour in June.

"It has been wonderful. I think it has been marvelous," Alonso said of the cultural events.

But, she said, "Government, that's another thing."

The Cuban company will perform "The Magic of Dance," which includes passages from ballet classics such as "Giselle," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake," and "Don Quixote."

A stern taskmaster, Alonso put the dancers through their paces at Friday's rehearsal, at times shouting from her chair for them to stop talking and at others giving dance tips as they whirled about the studio.

"The company is ready, but I am never satisfied -- never, never. I always ask more and more and more," said Alonso, who will accompany the ballet company on the full tour.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Birou Notarial Bucuresti

Baloane

By Jeff Franks

HAVANA | Fri May 27, 2011 6:54pm EDT

HAVANA (Reuters) - The Cuban National Ballet heads to the United States next week for a month-long tour that director and ballet legend Alicia Alonso hopes will bring happiness to U.S.-Cuba relations that have been unhappy for half a century.

The tour is the latest in a series of cultural exchanges that began after U.S. President Barack Obama took office as the longtime ideological foes seek common ground they have been unable to find politically since Cuba's 1959 revolution.

The Cuban troupe will perform on Tuesday in Washington then go to New York and Costa Mesa, California before wrapping up in Los Angeles on June 26.

The New York-based American Ballet Theater and members of the New York City Ballet performed before ecstatic audiences in Havana in November, creating good vibes that Alonso said on Friday she hopes to duplicate.

"All the people were very happy, so it was a very different change," she said of the performances by the U.S. companies.

"I hope this time we're going there and it's going to be exactly the same -- happiness (for) all of us," she told Reuters after presiding over a rigorous rehearsal by the Cuban troupe at its Havana headquarters.

Alonso, who is 90 and nearly blind, danced in the American Ballet Theater in the 1940s and 1950s, but returned to Cuba after the revolution and took over the Cuban National Ballet.

She has groomed dancers who now perform in ballet companies around the world and taken the Cuban company to the United States several times, the last coming in 2003.

She said this latest trip was not about politics, but art, which transcends national boundaries and disputes.

"Actually, dancers belong to the world. The artist is the best thing for humanity; he has no frontier. He has only one (goal) -- happiness of the people," Alonso said.

MODEST WARMING

Obama has said he wanted to "recast" U.S.-Cuba relations, but they have warmed only modestly under his administration.

They took a blow in March when Cuba sentenced U.S. aid contractor Alan Gross to 15 years in prison for bringing Internet equipment to Cubans under a secretive U.S. program to promote democracy on the communist island.

But cultural exchanges have blossomed as Obama took steps to encourage "people-to-people" contact between the countries.

Last year, jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis led a Cuba trip by the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra and pop group Kool and The Gang played a Havana concert, while Cuban musicians including Silvio Rodriguez, Chucho Valdes and Omara Portuondo performed in the United States.

Singer-songwriter Carlos Varela is set for a U.S. tour in June.

"It has been wonderful. I think it has been marvelous," Alonso said of the cultural events.

But, she said, "Government, that's another thing."

The Cuban company will perform "The Magic of Dance," which includes passages from ballet classics such as "Giselle," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake," and "Don Quixote."

A stern taskmaster, Alonso put the dancers through their paces at Friday's rehearsal, at times shouting from her chair for them to stop talking and at others giving dance tips as they whirled about the studio.

"The company is ready, but I am never satisfied -- never, never. I always ask more and more and more," said Alonso, who will accompany the ballet company on the full tour.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Baloane

Cost aparat dentar

By Jeff Franks

HAVANA | Fri May 27, 2011 6:54pm EDT

HAVANA (Reuters) - The Cuban National Ballet heads to the United States next week for a month-long tour that director and ballet legend Alicia Alonso hopes will bring happiness to U.S.-Cuba relations that have been unhappy for half a century.

The tour is the latest in a series of cultural exchanges that began after U.S. President Barack Obama took office as the longtime ideological foes seek common ground they have been unable to find politically since Cuba's 1959 revolution.

The Cuban troupe will perform on Tuesday in Washington then go to New York and Costa Mesa, California before wrapping up in Los Angeles on June 26.

The New York-based American Ballet Theater and members of the New York City Ballet performed before ecstatic audiences in Havana in November, creating good vibes that Alonso said on Friday she hopes to duplicate.

"All the people were very happy, so it was a very different change," she said of the performances by the U.S. companies.

"I hope this time we're going there and it's going to be exactly the same -- happiness (for) all of us," she told Reuters after presiding over a rigorous rehearsal by the Cuban troupe at its Havana headquarters.

Alonso, who is 90 and nearly blind, danced in the American Ballet Theater in the 1940s and 1950s, but returned to Cuba after the revolution and took over the Cuban National Ballet.

She has groomed dancers who now perform in ballet companies around the world and taken the Cuban company to the United States several times, the last coming in 2003.

She said this latest trip was not about politics, but art, which transcends national boundaries and disputes.

"Actually, dancers belong to the world. The artist is the best thing for humanity; he has no frontier. He has only one (goal) -- happiness of the people," Alonso said.

MODEST WARMING

Obama has said he wanted to "recast" U.S.-Cuba relations, but they have warmed only modestly under his administration.

They took a blow in March when Cuba sentenced U.S. aid contractor Alan Gross to 15 years in prison for bringing Internet equipment to Cubans under a secretive U.S. program to promote democracy on the communist island.

But cultural exchanges have blossomed as Obama took steps to encourage "people-to-people" contact between the countries.

Last year, jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis led a Cuba trip by the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra and pop group Kool and The Gang played a Havana concert, while Cuban musicians including Silvio Rodriguez, Chucho Valdes and Omara Portuondo performed in the United States.

Singer-songwriter Carlos Varela is set for a U.S. tour in June.

"It has been wonderful. I think it has been marvelous," Alonso said of the cultural events.

But, she said, "Government, that's another thing."

The Cuban company will perform "The Magic of Dance," which includes passages from ballet classics such as "Giselle," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake," and "Don Quixote."

A stern taskmaster, Alonso put the dancers through their paces at Friday's rehearsal, at times shouting from her chair for them to stop talking and at others giving dance tips as they whirled about the studio.

"The company is ready, but I am never satisfied -- never, never. I always ask more and more and more," said Alonso, who will accompany the ballet company on the full tour.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Cost aparat dentar

Bali, Andes paintings soar in Latam art auction

birou notarial

Photo shows, Mexican Miguel Covarrubias' 1932 oil on canvas ''Offering of Fruits for the Temple.'' Painted in Bali, the work fetched $1.02 million in Christie's Latin American sale on Thursday evening, setting a record for the artist at auction.

Credit: Reuters/Christie's/Handout

By Walker Simon

NEW YORK | Fri May 27, 2011 3:59pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - A sensuous scene in Bali and Andean-inspired landscapes scored artist records at Christie's Latin American sale but demand was weak for works by Fernando Botero while prices soared for lesser-known artists.

Painted in Bali, Mexican Miguel Covarrubias' 1932 "Offering of Fruits for the Temple" fetched $1.02 million in Thursday evening's $16.64 million sale.

He was one of nine artists setting new records, some going for several times previous highs.

"We are very excited at some of the prices achieved by very important Latin American artists who haven't had the market recognition at that level," said Virgilio Garza, Christie's Latin American art chief.

Created during Covarrubias' honeymoon in Bali, the painting shows topless young women in crimson and lime green skirts. Atop their heads are triangular baskets of green fruit.

"This particular work really appeals to a very national audience and Covarrubias is known for those pictures there," said Garza, adding bids came from Indonesia.

"There is whimsy to it, a sense of humor, a joy of life."

During his life, Covarrubias won fame for caricatures of celebrities and politicians in 1930s Vanity Fair, which still sells pricey reproductions of his Greta Garbo cover.

Cuban-born Julio Larraz's 1996 painting "Bingham at Noon" set a record for the artist at auction, going for $326,500. It evokes a movie-like scene set in a desert, with a solitary figure in a dark gray suit and hat surveying a stark landscape, standing aside a light brown tent.

Record prices for South American works stemmed from the brisk bidding by Chilean, Argentine and Brazilian buyers.

Ecuadorean Oswaldo Guayasamin's 1960s oil on wood "Quito en Rojo" went for $314,500. Dominated by a pair of volcanoes, the sweeping view of Ecuador's capital is a palette of lava red, flame orange, mahogany, tea green and saffron yellow.

Peruvian Fernando de Szyszlo's "Paclla Pampa (Campo Desolado)," an abstract landscape featuring red and black, sold for $182,500.

Mexico's Rufino Tamayo, whose artist auction record for a mural tops $7 million, set a sculpture record for "Figura sideral" at $494,500.

Records included an untitled painting by Mexican Ricardo Martinez which sold for $146,500. Uruguayan Julio Alpuy's oil on canvas "Paisaje constructivista de Montevideo" fetched$110,500.

Several Botero pieces failed to sell, including "Colombian Landscape," valued by Christie's at up to $1.2 million. Bids fell short of the $800,000 low estimate.

In contrast, Sotheby's sold nearly $7.5 million of Botero's work Wednesday evening, drawing bids worldwide.

"This spring, there are a lot of Boteros out there." he said. "Even though the market for Boteros is super healthy, it can only absorb so much."

Birou Notarial Bucuresti

Baloane

Photo shows, Mexican Miguel Covarrubias' 1932 oil on canvas ''Offering of Fruits for the Temple.'' Painted in Bali, the work fetched $1.02 million in Christie's Latin American sale on Thursday evening, setting a record for the artist at auction.

Credit: Reuters/Christie's/Handout

By Walker Simon

NEW YORK | Fri May 27, 2011 3:59pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - A sensuous scene in Bali and Andean-inspired landscapes scored artist records at Christie's Latin American sale but demand was weak for works by Fernando Botero while prices soared for lesser-known artists.

Painted in Bali, Mexican Miguel Covarrubias' 1932 "Offering of Fruits for the Temple" fetched $1.02 million in Thursday evening's $16.64 million sale.

He was one of nine artists setting new records, some going for several times previous highs.

"We are very excited at some of the prices achieved by very important Latin American artists who haven't had the market recognition at that level," said Virgilio Garza, Christie's Latin American art chief.

Created during Covarrubias' honeymoon in Bali, the painting shows topless young women in crimson and lime green skirts. Atop their heads are triangular baskets of green fruit.

"This particular work really appeals to a very national audience and Covarrubias is known for those pictures there," said Garza, adding bids came from Indonesia.

"There is whimsy to it, a sense of humor, a joy of life."

During his life, Covarrubias won fame for caricatures of celebrities and politicians in 1930s Vanity Fair, which still sells pricey reproductions of his Greta Garbo cover.

Cuban-born Julio Larraz's 1996 painting "Bingham at Noon" set a record for the artist at auction, going for $326,500. It evokes a movie-like scene set in a desert, with a solitary figure in a dark gray suit and hat surveying a stark landscape, standing aside a light brown tent.

Record prices for South American works stemmed from the brisk bidding by Chilean, Argentine and Brazilian buyers.

Ecuadorean Oswaldo Guayasamin's 1960s oil on wood "Quito en Rojo" went for $314,500. Dominated by a pair of volcanoes, the sweeping view of Ecuador's capital is a palette of lava red, flame orange, mahogany, tea green and saffron yellow.

Peruvian Fernando de Szyszlo's "Paclla Pampa (Campo Desolado)," an abstract landscape featuring red and black, sold for $182,500.

Mexico's Rufino Tamayo, whose artist auction record for a mural tops $7 million, set a sculpture record for "Figura sideral" at $494,500.

Records included an untitled painting by Mexican Ricardo Martinez which sold for $146,500. Uruguayan Julio Alpuy's oil on canvas "Paisaje constructivista de Montevideo" fetched$110,500.

Several Botero pieces failed to sell, including "Colombian Landscape," valued by Christie's at up to $1.2 million. Bids fell short of the $800,000 low estimate.

In contrast, Sotheby's sold nearly $7.5 million of Botero's work Wednesday evening, drawing bids worldwide.

"This spring, there are a lot of Boteros out there." he said. "Even though the market for Boteros is super healthy, it can only absorb so much."

Baloane

Cost aparat dentar

Photo shows, Mexican Miguel Covarrubias' 1932 oil on canvas ''Offering of Fruits for the Temple.'' Painted in Bali, the work fetched $1.02 million in Christie's Latin American sale on Thursday evening, setting a record for the artist at auction.

Credit: Reuters/Christie's/Handout

By Walker Simon

NEW YORK | Fri May 27, 2011 3:59pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - A sensuous scene in Bali and Andean-inspired landscapes scored artist records at Christie's Latin American sale but demand was weak for works by Fernando Botero while prices soared for lesser-known artists.

Painted in Bali, Mexican Miguel Covarrubias' 1932 "Offering of Fruits for the Temple" fetched $1.02 million in Thursday evening's $16.64 million sale.

He was one of nine artists setting new records, some going for several times previous highs.

"We are very excited at some of the prices achieved by very important Latin American artists who haven't had the market recognition at that level," said Virgilio Garza, Christie's Latin American art chief.

Created during Covarrubias' honeymoon in Bali, the painting shows topless young women in crimson and lime green skirts. Atop their heads are triangular baskets of green fruit.

"This particular work really appeals to a very national audience and Covarrubias is known for those pictures there," said Garza, adding bids came from Indonesia.

"There is whimsy to it, a sense of humor, a joy of life."

During his life, Covarrubias won fame for caricatures of celebrities and politicians in 1930s Vanity Fair, which still sells pricey reproductions of his Greta Garbo cover.

Cuban-born Julio Larraz's 1996 painting "Bingham at Noon" set a record for the artist at auction, going for $326,500. It evokes a movie-like scene set in a desert, with a solitary figure in a dark gray suit and hat surveying a stark landscape, standing aside a light brown tent.

Record prices for South American works stemmed from the brisk bidding by Chilean, Argentine and Brazilian buyers.

Ecuadorean Oswaldo Guayasamin's 1960s oil on wood "Quito en Rojo" went for $314,500. Dominated by a pair of volcanoes, the sweeping view of Ecuador's capital is a palette of lava red, flame orange, mahogany, tea green and saffron yellow.

Peruvian Fernando de Szyszlo's "Paclla Pampa (Campo Desolado)," an abstract landscape featuring red and black, sold for $182,500.

Mexico's Rufino Tamayo, whose artist auction record for a mural tops $7 million, set a sculpture record for "Figura sideral" at $494,500.

Records included an untitled painting by Mexican Ricardo Martinez which sold for $146,500. Uruguayan Julio Alpuy's oil on canvas "Paisaje constructivista de Montevideo" fetched$110,500.

Several Botero pieces failed to sell, including "Colombian Landscape," valued by Christie's at up to $1.2 million. Bids fell short of the $800,000 low estimate.

In contrast, Sotheby's sold nearly $7.5 million of Botero's work Wednesday evening, drawing bids worldwide.

"This spring, there are a lot of Boteros out there." he said. "Even though the market for Boteros is super healthy, it can only absorb so much."

Cost aparat dentar

Old friends Stoller, Butler make new Broadway musical

birou notarial

By Frank Scheck

NEW YORK | Thu May 26, 2011 5:29pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It took more than half a century, but composers Mike Stoller and Artie Butler have finally managed to cross the street.

W. 54th Street in Manhattan, to be exact. That's where the duo first met, at a recording studio where Stoller and his songwriting partner Jerry Leiber -- responsible for such 1950S classics as "Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock," "Yakety Yak," "Poison Ivy" and countless others -- were producing a record. Butler was working there as a lowly "button pusher" who started the tape machines rolling.

Now they've collaborated on the music for a new Broadway musical, "The People in the Picture," playing at Studio 54, located just diagonally across the street.

It stars Donna Murphy, a two-time Tony Award winner for "Passion," and "The King & I", who won nominations again for her role a Jewish grandmother who is struggling to share her legacy.

The veteran songwriting duo began their friendship in the 1960s when a piano player couldn't manage a particular passage during a session.

Butler, then just 17 years-old, piped up that he could play it, much to the annoyance of his employer who berated him for talking to the clients. But Leiber and Stoller were intrigued enough to give the brash kid a shot, and when he pulled it off they immediately offered him a job as a session musician.

Stoller and Butler have different recollections as to which artist they were recording. Stoller says Johnny Maestro; Butler insists it was Jay Black and the Americans. But they agree that it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

"It was my college degree," recalls Butler. "It was the Leiber/Stoller magic show, and every day I got to watch! I learned by osmosis."

Eventually, Butler went off on his own, becoming a leading producer, arranger and composer responsible for over 40 gold and platinum records. Among his songwriting credits is "Here's to Life," a modern classic that has been recorded by such artists as Shirley Horn and Barbra Streisand.

Stoller's music has been heard on Broadway in "Smokey Joe's Cafe," the hit musical revue of classic Leiber and Stoller songs.

But he had never composed directly for the musical theater until he was approached by novelist Iris Rainer Dart, the author of "Beaches," who asked him to work on a show she had written about a Jewish grandmother and her days as a Yiddish theater star in 1930s Warsaw.

Stoller invited Dart to his home, where she read the script aloud to him. "By the time she finished I had tears running down my face," he recalls. "It's such a moving story."

Dart then began looking for an arranger for the demo recordings necessary to attract backers. Someone recommended Butler, so she contacted Stoller to ask if he knew him, and if so, did he like him?

"Yes, I know him," Stoller replied. "And I don't like him. I love him!"

The two composers wound up collaborating on the score, with Dart writing the lyrics. Although the show opened to mixed reviews, all three received Drama Desk Award nominations for their efforts.

For Butler, it's the fulfillment of a lifelong goal.

"All my life I've chased my dreams," he says. This is one of the biggest dreams I've ever had. I don't understand why people take drugs. They should write a Broadway show and get it on. Because nothing gets you more high."

"The People in the Picture" runs at Studio 54 until June 19.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Birou Notarial Bucuresti

Baloane

By Frank Scheck

NEW YORK | Thu May 26, 2011 5:29pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It took more than half a century, but composers Mike Stoller and Artie Butler have finally managed to cross the street.

W. 54th Street in Manhattan, to be exact. That's where the duo first met, at a recording studio where Stoller and his songwriting partner Jerry Leiber -- responsible for such 1950S classics as "Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock," "Yakety Yak," "Poison Ivy" and countless others -- were producing a record. Butler was working there as a lowly "button pusher" who started the tape machines rolling.

Now they've collaborated on the music for a new Broadway musical, "The People in the Picture," playing at Studio 54, located just diagonally across the street.

It stars Donna Murphy, a two-time Tony Award winner for "Passion," and "The King & I", who won nominations again for her role a Jewish grandmother who is struggling to share her legacy.

The veteran songwriting duo began their friendship in the 1960s when a piano player couldn't manage a particular passage during a session.

Butler, then just 17 years-old, piped up that he could play it, much to the annoyance of his employer who berated him for talking to the clients. But Leiber and Stoller were intrigued enough to give the brash kid a shot, and when he pulled it off they immediately offered him a job as a session musician.

Stoller and Butler have different recollections as to which artist they were recording. Stoller says Johnny Maestro; Butler insists it was Jay Black and the Americans. But they agree that it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

"It was my college degree," recalls Butler. "It was the Leiber/Stoller magic show, and every day I got to watch! I learned by osmosis."

Eventually, Butler went off on his own, becoming a leading producer, arranger and composer responsible for over 40 gold and platinum records. Among his songwriting credits is "Here's to Life," a modern classic that has been recorded by such artists as Shirley Horn and Barbra Streisand.

Stoller's music has been heard on Broadway in "Smokey Joe's Cafe," the hit musical revue of classic Leiber and Stoller songs.

But he had never composed directly for the musical theater until he was approached by novelist Iris Rainer Dart, the author of "Beaches," who asked him to work on a show she had written about a Jewish grandmother and her days as a Yiddish theater star in 1930s Warsaw.

Stoller invited Dart to his home, where she read the script aloud to him. "By the time she finished I had tears running down my face," he recalls. "It's such a moving story."

Dart then began looking for an arranger for the demo recordings necessary to attract backers. Someone recommended Butler, so she contacted Stoller to ask if he knew him, and if so, did he like him?

"Yes, I know him," Stoller replied. "And I don't like him. I love him!"

The two composers wound up collaborating on the score, with Dart writing the lyrics. Although the show opened to mixed reviews, all three received Drama Desk Award nominations for their efforts.

For Butler, it's the fulfillment of a lifelong goal.

"All my life I've chased my dreams," he says. This is one of the biggest dreams I've ever had. I don't understand why people take drugs. They should write a Broadway show and get it on. Because nothing gets you more high."

"The People in the Picture" runs at Studio 54 until June 19.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Baloane

Cost aparat dentar

By Frank Scheck

NEW YORK | Thu May 26, 2011 5:29pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It took more than half a century, but composers Mike Stoller and Artie Butler have finally managed to cross the street.

W. 54th Street in Manhattan, to be exact. That's where the duo first met, at a recording studio where Stoller and his songwriting partner Jerry Leiber -- responsible for such 1950S classics as "Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock," "Yakety Yak," "Poison Ivy" and countless others -- were producing a record. Butler was working there as a lowly "button pusher" who started the tape machines rolling.

Now they've collaborated on the music for a new Broadway musical, "The People in the Picture," playing at Studio 54, located just diagonally across the street.

It stars Donna Murphy, a two-time Tony Award winner for "Passion," and "The King & I", who won nominations again for her role a Jewish grandmother who is struggling to share her legacy.

The veteran songwriting duo began their friendship in the 1960s when a piano player couldn't manage a particular passage during a session.

Butler, then just 17 years-old, piped up that he could play it, much to the annoyance of his employer who berated him for talking to the clients. But Leiber and Stoller were intrigued enough to give the brash kid a shot, and when he pulled it off they immediately offered him a job as a session musician.

Stoller and Butler have different recollections as to which artist they were recording. Stoller says Johnny Maestro; Butler insists it was Jay Black and the Americans. But they agree that it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

"It was my college degree," recalls Butler. "It was the Leiber/Stoller magic show, and every day I got to watch! I learned by osmosis."

Eventually, Butler went off on his own, becoming a leading producer, arranger and composer responsible for over 40 gold and platinum records. Among his songwriting credits is "Here's to Life," a modern classic that has been recorded by such artists as Shirley Horn and Barbra Streisand.

Stoller's music has been heard on Broadway in "Smokey Joe's Cafe," the hit musical revue of classic Leiber and Stoller songs.

But he had never composed directly for the musical theater until he was approached by novelist Iris Rainer Dart, the author of "Beaches," who asked him to work on a show she had written about a Jewish grandmother and her days as a Yiddish theater star in 1930s Warsaw.

Stoller invited Dart to his home, where she read the script aloud to him. "By the time she finished I had tears running down my face," he recalls. "It's such a moving story."

Dart then began looking for an arranger for the demo recordings necessary to attract backers. Someone recommended Butler, so she contacted Stoller to ask if he knew him, and if so, did he like him?

"Yes, I know him," Stoller replied. "And I don't like him. I love him!"

The two composers wound up collaborating on the score, with Dart writing the lyrics. Although the show opened to mixed reviews, all three received Drama Desk Award nominations for their efforts.

For Butler, it's the fulfillment of a lifelong goal.

"All my life I've chased my dreams," he says. This is one of the biggest dreams I've ever had. I don't understand why people take drugs. They should write a Broadway show and get it on. Because nothing gets you more high."

"The People in the Picture" runs at Studio 54 until June 19.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Cost aparat dentar