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Sorry that I don't know much about the current company Kiki. I danced the Sugar Plum Pas de Deux with CBT director Patti Cantwell many years ago. I enjoyed rehearsing and performing with her. She was magical. Charleston is a great town too!

Chicago Shakespeare A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC December 23, 2003 - February 15, 2004 Music and lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM Book by HUGH WHEELER Directed by GARY GRIFFIN (Associate Artistic Director of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre) Music Direction THOMAS MURRAY Scenic Design DANIEL OSTLING Costume Design MARA BLUMENFELD Lighting Design KEN BILLINGTON Wig and Make-up Design MELISSA VEAL Sound Design JAMES SAVAGE Properties Design PAMELA L. PARKER Casting BOB MASON Production Stage Manager JENNIFER MATHESON COLLINS CAST: Mr. Linquist JAMES BANK Mrs. Nordstom JODI JEAN AMBLE Mrs. Anderson CAROL KUYKENDALL Mr. Erlanson JOHN CLONTS Mrs. Segstron KATHRYN KAMP Fredrika Armfeldt MATTIE HAWKINSON Madame Armfeldt HELEN RYAN Frid, her butler KEVIN ASSELIN Henrick Egerman PAUL GUDAHL Anne Egerman JULIE RUTH Fredrik Egerman KEVIN GUNDAHL Petra JENNY POWERS Desiree Armfeldt BARBARA ROBERTSON Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm MICHAEL CERVERIS Countess Charlotte Malcolm SAMANTHA SPIRO Malia ALYSSA NICOLE LARSON Osa ROBIN CHILDRESS Bertrand TONY LEWIS Servants MATTHEW CALLAHAN, ERIN PATRICIA WAGNER ORCHESTRA: Piano/Conductor THOMAS MURRAY Harp STEPHEN HARTMAN Violin (Concert Master) THOMAS YANG Violin JEFF YANG Violin ANDREA TOLZMANN Violin CHUCK BONTRAGER Viola BEN WEDGE Viola CLARA TAKARABE Cello (Principle) STEVEN HOUSER Cello JILL KAEDING Bass JACQUE HARPER Flutes/Clarinet DOMINIC TRUMFIO Oboe/English Horn DEBORAH STEVENSON French Horn KAREN SUAREZ FLINT French Horn SANDRA DONATELLE Though I am devoted to the New York City Opera production, I am happy to have found a new and different version that is almost perfect. The gorgeous Shakespeare Theatre on Navy Pier is intimate yet not too small, allowing this production to be elegant and less broad than others I've seen. Barbara Robertson who appears in Robert Altman's THE COMPANY as Harriet reinvents Desiree as a down to earth woman who on stage transforms into a statuesque star of peerless beauty and grace and who is irresistible at all times. There is an abundance of talent and physical beauty in the cast. I could gush about each member but must single out dashing Kevin Gundahl who has a voice quality reminiscent of Len Cariou. Director Gary Griffin whose successful production of PACIFIC OVERTURES (which also went to London) has made magic again. I can only disagree with one choice in some music hummed by Carl-Magnus. This choice which would virtually go unnoticed by most will take Sondheim aficionados out of the moment, but on the whole this production did for me what no ballet has, in a very long time.

THE COMPANY More information from my producer friend at Sandcastle. Cities in which the film is booked: 12/25/03 Chicago, Highland Park Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks West Hills New York City 1/16/04 Boston - Brookline, Cambridge, Portsmouth, West Newton Dallas, Houston Denver Miami Beach, Jacksonville, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Ft. Lauderdale Los Angeles-Rolling Hills Estates. San Diego, Santa Barbara Minneapolis New Heaven, Bethel, Norwalk New York-Huntington, Kew Gardens, Malverne, Manhasset, Montclair, Red Bank, Philadelphia-, Voorhees Phoenix, Scottsdale San Francisco, Albany, Campbell, Mountain View, Sausalito Portland (OR), Seattle, Vancouver (WA) Saint Louis, Frontenac Washington, DC, Arlington, Bethesda, Fairfax 1/23/04 Albany, Ithaca, Rochester, Syracuse, Williamsville, Woostock Champaign Dallas, Ft. Worth Albuquerque, Santa Fe Tucson Sacramento 1/30/04 Atlanta Birmingham, Huntsville Knoxville, Nashville North Falmouth Charlotte, Cary, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Raleigh South Bend Austin, San Antonio Indianapolis, Evansville, Terre Haute Ft. Meyers, Bonita Springs, Boynton Beach, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tampa Kansas City Honolulu San Luis Obispo Little Rock Milwaukee Philadelphia-Doylestown Las Vegas Salt Lake City Reno Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa Anchorage Eugene, Corvallis Annapolis Richmond 02/06/04 Montgomery Newburyport Fayetteville Cincinnati, Columbus Lexington Cleveland Heights Memphis Madison Baton Rouge Tulsa Pittsburgh, East Stroudsburg, Harrisburg 2/13/04 Great Barrington, Waterville South Pines Detroit Louisville Lawrence Santa Monica Missoula Baltimore Charlottesville 2/20/04 Charlotte Bloomfield Hills Bellingham, Tacoma 3/12/04 Gainesville, Tallahassee Des Moines 3/18/04 Boise

Loved Kirkland and Makarova as Kitri. Saw Gelsey at the premiere and Natasha soon after the birth of her child. They were both very wonderful.

My information is from Sandcastle Films. (Altman's company).

I wish I could have seen Ruiz in ROPES and PAS DES DEESSES. I hear she was wonderful in those roles as well.

THE COMPANY will open in Boston, Miami, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle and Philadelphia on January 16, 2004. More cities will follow and I will pass along any information I receive.

Rhodes and Calzada guest performed with Thomas Armour's (nonprofessional) Miami Ballet. Jean Paul Comelin who had a special relationship with The Miami Ballet, staged his DAUGHTERS OF MOURNING and Mr. Armour had the sets and costumes built. The rest of the cast was comprised of Miami Ballet dancers. Thomas Armour's Miami Ballet also performed Comelin's FAREWELL starring Victoria Leigh.

Oh dirac, I think you are correct.

From an email sent to me by one of the movie's producers: THE COMPANY will open in Boston, Miami, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle, and Philadelphia starting 1/16/04. More cities will have openings at a later time.

When I was quite young I saw Lawrence Rhodes and Alba Calzada in DAUGHTERS OF MOURNING by Jean-Paul Comelin. I was immediately enthralled by the harsh, sad story, THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA by Frederico Garcia Lorca. I believe Glenn Tetley choreographed LAS HERMANAS for ABT and Alvin Ailey choreographed FEAST OF ASHES for Joffrey, again based on the Garcia Lorca play. Do any BA members have recollections of these ballets that they would not mind sharing?

Glad you enjoyed THE COMPANY CarmelCapehart2! I liked it too! The variation in question is the Fanny Cerrito solo - Pas de Six from "La Vivandiere".

It might be the Fanny Cerrito variation from the "La Vivandiere" Pas de Six. Anne Hutchinson Guest set the pas de six on Joffrey II in 1976 and it went in to the main Joffrey company's repertoire soon after. Kevin Mackenzie danced the role of Arthur Saint-Leon. Because A. H. Guest had not yet finished all of her research at the time she staged the ballet for Joffrey, it was performed and to this day is performed in a white tutu similar to the costume for "Konservatoriet. In "The Company" Suzanne Lopez Prisco and Julianne Kepley perform the Fanny Cerrito Variation

See Murphy!

I only know of NY/LA/Chicago for Christmas day openings. I will post any further information the minute I receive it. There is a lot of dancing in "The Company" and it is filmed beautifully, but don't expect to see Joffrey full lengths such as "Romeo and Juliet", "Taming of the Shrew" and "La Fille Mal Gardee", or even "The Nutcracker." Though the film looks high budget, it is not. Mr. Altman did not want "The Company" to be anything like "The Turning Point" or "Center Stage." As with all Altman films the artistry is not obvious. Thank you Alexandra for posting the links to rottentomatoes. I recommend reading the reviews before viewing The Company."

Thank you Carbro, Victoria, Treefrog and Mel! I have enjoyed reading your posts on "Candide".

I love listening to my original broadway cast recording CD of "Candide". Have any of you ever seen a production of this devastatingly beautiful Leonard Bernstein musical?

Thanks Alexandra and Mel. My friend said he has already found "a great deal of information from various dance encyclopedias in the NYU reference library and that she seems like a cool lady."

I have a friend who is involved in a dance project. He specifically needs to know if a chronology has been done on Laura Foreman and her company- Laura Foreman Dance Theatre. Any information would be appreciated.

The Shariff, Christie, Chaplin version is gorgeous. What a film! Once again - they don't make them like that anymore. The new one was so harsh and real. It was painful.

Michael Roberts who used to play for Stanley Holden has a new website for his class CDs. He is quite wonderful. www.balletclassmusic.com

Yes, gladiators. Did anyone catch the new version of "Dr. Zhivago"?

I've copied the following information from the internet and I know she is a Prima Ballerina with the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. Has anyone actually seen Egle Spokaite dance live? Personal data Egle Spokaite, born: 15 January 1971, Vilnius, Lithuania, height: 175 cm Education Vilnius Ballet School, graduated 1989 Ballet Companies Principal Artist with Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre Guest Principal Artist with Georgian Opera and Ballet Theatre Guest Principal Artist with Latvian National Opera and Ballet Theatre Repertoire: Swanilda in "Coppelia", Giselle in "Giselle", Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty", Odette-Odile in "Swan Lake", Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet", Carmen in "Carmen", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Yellow Tango", "Bolero", "Zorba the Greek", "The rite of Spring" (Le Sacre du Printemps), "The Silver Veil", Desdemona in "Othello" (acting in a drama produced by Eimuntas Nekrosius) Awards 1st Prize and Special Prize for the best pas-de deux at the Open Russian Ballet Theatre Competition in (Perm, Rusia, 1994); 3rd Prize at the International Ballet competition "Maya 94" (St. Petersburg, Rusia, 1994); Best Dancer of the Year in Lithuania, 1994 and 1995; 1st prize at the International Ballet Competition in Helsinki,(Finland, 1995); 1st Prize at the International Ballet Competition in Nagoya, (Japan, 1996); Order of Gediminas, level 4, Lithuania, 1996; Lithuanian National Prize, 1997 Lithuanian Government Prize, 1997 Tours abroad: Germany, Netherlands, France, USA, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Georgia, Latvia, England with Gidon Kremer quartet, Italy, Japan, Egypt, Greece, Spain.

Yes, Livia is the best. Her pep talk to the Olympic athletes ("You're all scum and you know it.") and her deathbed confession to Claudius are two priceless scenes. They just don't write them like that anymore. Caligulas Bette Davis/Baby Jane impression is funny too.

With last night off and cable on the fritz, I decided to watch my videos of "I Claudius". It's been at least a year (or two) since I last viewed these thirteen episodes. What fun! Television does not entertain like this any more. There are terrific performances by Derek Jacobi (Claudius), Sian Phillips (wicked, wicked Livia), Brian Blessed (ignorant Augustus), Margaret Tyzack (noble and intrepid Antonia), George Baker (frustrated and finally insane Tiberius), John Hurt (Caligula), Patrick Stewart (corrupt Sejanus). If you like to watch but are bored with tv, rent "I Claudius" for superb entertainment.