Saturday, August 25, 2012

NYC’S HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY LAUNCHES FORMAL ALLIANCE

Coalition to Serve as Powerful Government Advocate for Restaurants, Nightlife & Hotels; First Time Ever that NYC’s Hospitality Industry Joins Forces

NEW YORK, June 19, 2012 – For the first time in history, New York City’s hospitality industry – made up of restaurants, nightlife establishments, destination hotels and industry suppliers – has joined forces to create a formal alliance that will advocate on behalf of its members at all levels of government.
Called the New York City Hospitality Alliance, the group will comprise small businesses as well as some of the biggest names in the respective industries from all five boroughs. In addition to government advocacy, The Alliance will serve as a one-stop resource for its members, offering education and training, access to top industry consultants, and opportunities to collaborate and exchange ideas.

The Alliance is led by Executive Director Andrew Rigie, former executive vice president of the New York State Restaurant Association’s New York City chapter. Rob Bookman, a thirty-year veteran of City politics who was the co-founder and counsel for the New York Nightlife Association (NYNA), and former NYC legislative counsel for the NYS Restaurant Association, will serve as counsel for The Alliance. (The New York Nightlife Association has formally joined The Alliance.)

An abbreviated list of initial members of The New York City Hospitality Alliance includes:

•B.R. Guest Hospitality, Stephen Hanson - Includes Blue Water Grill, Dos Caminos, Isabella’s
Dallas BBQ and Tony’s DiNapoli, Herb Wetanson

•Hampshire Hotels - Includes Dream New York, Night, Stay, Time, Chatwal

•The Alicart Restaurant Group, Jeffrey Bank - Includes Carmine’s, Virgil’s

•BLT Restaurants, Jimmy Haber - Includes Casa Nonna, Go Burger

•EMM Group, Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm - Includes Abe & Arthur’s, Tenjune, Catch

•NYC Best Bars, Mitch Banchick - Includes Jake’s Dilemma, Gin Mill, Down the Hatch

•Chef Driven Group, Tour De France and Five Napkin Burger, Simon Oren -Includes Nice Matin, French Roast, Marseille

•Pax Ventures, Alexander Xenopoulos

•Café Metro, Steve and George Tenedios

•Empire Merchants, E. Lloyd Sobel

•Derossi Global, Ravi Derossi - Includes The Bourgeois Pig, Death & Co.

•Helios Hospitality, Paul Seres, President, New York Nightlife Association -Includes The DL

•Anheuser Busch-Inbev

•Rosa Mexicano, Doug Griebel, Past President, NYC Chapter of NY State Restaurant Association

•Myriad Restaurant Group

•Super Linda, Smith and Mills, Matt Abramcyk

•Sugar Bun Bake Shop, Andrea Kay

•David Rabin, Former President, New York Nightlife Association; Founder, Meatpacking District Improvement Association

•Diner, Marlow & Sons, Roman’s, Reynards, Andrew Tarlow

“This organization will ensure New York City strengthens its status as a vibrant, global center of hospitality with the best restaurants, hotels, bars and clubs anywhere on earth,” said Andrew Rigie. The New York City Hospitality Alliance has already enlisted a who’s who of the restaurant, nightlife and hotel worlds, and we will continue to grow and expand in the coming months.”





“The hospitality industry is a major economic engine in New York City and needs a strong and united voice in the halls of government and beyond,” said Robert Bookman. ““The ongoing success of this industry is sustainable only with the support of a strong advocate like The Alliance.”





As part of its initial policy agenda, The Alliance will pursue the following:





•The creation of an Office of Hospitality Affairs in the City of New York, which will serve as a dedicated ombudsman for the industry

•A more responsive and flexible Health Department within the City of New York

•A collaborative relationship between the government and hospitality industry that ensures public safety while reducing financial penalties and regulatory burdens

•Additional government education and an approach that emphasizes correction and improvement over penalties



“New York City is built, in part, on the diversity and quality of its restaurants, from small, family-owned cafes to four star restaurants,” said Jimmy Haber, managing partner of BLT Restaurants. “Even though I have a number of prominent restaurants in Manhattan, I see the urgent need for a five-borough association that will offer the mom-and-pops a voice in this industry. The Alliance will be that voice for all of us.”







“The New York Nightlife Association is thrilled to announce that we are merging into this unprecedented citywide Alliance,” said NYNA president Paul Seres. “Our 150 members will be proud to be part of an industry that speaks with one voice for us all."







"Empire Merchants is pleased to be a founding member of this exciting new organization,” said E. Lloyd Sobel, president and CEO of the largest NYC-based spirits and wine distributor. “The hospitality sector is critical to the economic well being of our City, and it is past time that suppliers and our accounts are all are united under one organization to support and promote our industry."







The Alliance’s full-time professional staff, headed by Rigie, will work closely with an all-star team of world-class industry professionals, including Bookman and his law firm Pesetsky and Bookman, widely recognized liquor law experts; Carolyn Richmond, Esq., a labor employment attorney from Fox Rothschild LLP, a national law firm representing the hospitality industry; Myles Share, from Myles Share & Associates, a premier insurance brokerage for the hospitality industry; and The Marino Organization, a top New York City public relations firm that will lead strategic communications efforts.



Throughout the summer months, The Alliance will continue its development, before holding a formal launch event in September. For more information on the New York City Hospitality Alliance visit www.theNYCalliance.org.









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New York - Pops 2012-2013 Season

The Live@365 2012-2013 Season


From Epic Poems to Sultry Songs: Live@365 Brings Vintage Grooves, Age-Old Roots, and Fresh Collaborations to the Acousticly Rich Elebash Recital Hall

In the heart of Manhattan is a striking space of acoustic intimacy and brilliance. Where musicians adore the sound and where audiences can experience global music—from powerful voices to delicate jaw harp—with a sonic intensity difficult to find in large halls or clubs designed for amplification.

It’s the Elebash Recital Hall, the 180-seat home of Live@365 (liveat365.org), a world music series presented by the CUNY Graduate Center and curated by Isabel Soffer/Live Sounds. Now in its second season, the series embraces the intersection of deep tradition and contemporary innovation, welcoming veteran performers and crafting new collaborations from across the planet.



The Live@365 2012-2013 season:



September 20: Crossing Boundaries with the jazz-inflected Bulgarian traditional song of Vlada Tomova, the lush vocals of Haitian songstress Emeline Michel, and Martha Redbone’s stirring, Native American-influenced neo-soul.



October 24: Bachata Legends Unplugged with the cornerstone of the Dominican Republic’s racy, witty acoustic tradition, Edilio Pareles and special guests.



November 27: West African Griot Summit. An extraordinary chance to hear more than a dozen traditional storytellers, musicians, and oral historians from seven countries finding common ground and trading licks.



March 12: Ancient Persia: Songs and Stories (U.S. debut). Celebrate the Persian New Year with masters of the ancient, living art of Naqqali storytelling and striking Zoorkhaneh percussion, both rarely heard outside Iran. Artists will recite from the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), Iran’s most beloved 11th-century epic story.



April 9: Budapest Bar (U.S. debut). A new project by Hungarian Gypsy music darlings, the four-member band invokes the spirit of Budapest’s golden age of cabaret, the 1920s-1950s. The wildly popular band will team up with local cabaret singers, swinging between the sultry and the rollicking.



May 7: Hypnotic Chinese Jaw Harp. Wang Li transformed the local jaw harp traditions of his native region in China into a powerful meditation on silence and breath. Though flowing from his years as a contemplative in a French monastery, Wang Li’s music instantly engages with its profound focus and stunning variety.



All performances held at 7 PM at Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center, at 365 5th Ave (at 34th Street). For tickets, see smartix.com or call 212-868-4444.



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“You can hear every nuance of a voice, every stroke of an instrument,” enthuses Live@365 curator Isabel Soffer, describing the Elebash Recital Hall. “It’s a distinctive atmosphere for performers and audience; listeners are engaged with the artists on the stage. My mission is to create shows that work in this particular environment.”



That powerful unifying thread—the unparalleled sound, the intimate experience—allows the series to present diverse artists with multifaceted visions, from different geographical and musical backgrounds—while retaining a strong curatorial vision. Many of this season’s performances—the gathering of New York’s many West African bards on a single stage, the magical performance of sung Persian poetry, the fresh and contemplative jaw harp of Wang Li—are dream concerts for Soffer, who had been longing for an intimate but acoustically superior place to present performers.



Such small concerts with such high-level international artists would have been difficult without the instigation and ongoing support of CUNY Graduate Center Public Programs department, the organization that developed and launched the series. Hoping to bring a wider variety to its unique Midtown venue, the Graduate Center approached Soffer to create a series that would bring global sounds to the Elebash. The collaboration resulted in a series unlike any other in the city: sounds that thrived in the Hall’s rich acoustics, responsive artists, committed audiences.



It fit The Graduate Center’s mission and vision perfectly. “Our combination of great diversity and public education is unique, and that spirit—as well as the spirit of our academic programs via our Music Department—shows in the series,” explains Andrea Jeyaveeran, The Center’s Director of Public Programs.



“Live@365 suits the theater and the audience,” Soffer reflects. “And it also suits these remarkable artists in a way that no other theater in New York does. It results in very intimate experiences for everyone.”



The Graduate Center is the primary doctorate-granting institution of the City University of New York (CUNY). As a cultural and academic hub for music lovers, it offers a wide array of performances, lectures, master classes, and symposia. Home to a distinguished D.M.A program, as well as a world-class ethnomusicology department, it also houses the Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation.



The Graduate Center offers more than 30 doctoral programs across the arts and sciences, and a number of master's programs. It accommodates 33 interdisciplinary research centers and institutes, and provides an extensive array of public lectures, exhibitions, and theatrical events. Further information on the Graduate Center may be found at www.gc.cuny.edu.



Friday, August 24, 2012

FINAL EIGHT WEEKS BEGIN FOR

FINAL EIGHT WEEKS BEGIN FOR


ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY’S



Tony Award® Winning



ANYTHING GOES



Starring

Stephanie J. Block and Joel Grey



Directed & Choreographed by

2011 Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall



Now through August 5, 2012

at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Broadway



The 2012-2013 National Tour announces stops in

Los Angeles, Memphis, Pittsburgh, St. Paul, Dallas, D.C. and many more!



The final eight weeks of performances begin today for Roundabout Theatre Company’s (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) Tony Award winning production of Anything Goes. The original limited engagement subscription run opened on April 7, 2011 and was scheduled to run for 19 weeks. It went on to be extended three times through August 5, 2012 and this week, Anything Goes will celebrate its 500th performance on Broadway. This acclaimed production marks the second longest Broadway run in Roundabout’s history, following its beloved revival of Cabaret.



Roundabout Theatre Company’s national tour of Anything Goes, starring Rachel York, begins in October 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio and will continue on to over 20 additional cities in 2012-2013.



Anything Goes won three 2011 Tony® Awards including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Choreography (Kathleen Marshall); five Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Revival of a Musical and Outstanding Choreographer of a Musical (Kathleen Marshall); four Outer Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding Revival of a Musical and Outstanding Choreographer of a Musical (Kathleen Marshall) and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Revival of a Musical.



The production currently stars Stephanie J. Block as “Reno Sweeney” and Tony and Academy® Award winner Joel Grey as “Moonface Martin.”



Directed & choreographed by 2011 Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes is playing on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd Street) through August 5, 2012.



Critics have called Anything Goes “a zesty new revival with knockout numbers & white-hot dancing” (New York Times); “musical-comedy bliss!” (Daily News) and “For any lover of live musical theater, Anything Goes sends meteoric thrills streaking across our field of vision for days to come” (New York Magazine). Vogue has said “Roundabout Theater Company’s buoyant production of Anything Goes has a lot going for it: indelible Cole Porter standards, whose gleaming melodies and perfectly wrought, effortlessly urbane lyrics are still the top and Kathleen Marshall’s Busby Berkeley /Fred and Ginger–era dance numbers” and Vanity Fair has said “I can’t imagine there’s a better show in New York right now than the revival of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes.”



Anything Goes features music & lyrics by Cole Porter, an original book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse and a new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman.



The creative team includes Bill Elliott (Additional Orchestrations), Rob Fisher (Musical Director) and David Chase (Dance Arranger). The design team includes Derek McLane (Sets), Martin Pakledinaz (Costumes), Peter Kaczorowski (Lights) and Brian Ronan (Sound).



Roundabout thanks Bank of America, the sponsor of the entire run, and the members of the Musical Theatre Production Fun whose lead gifts helped make this production possible.



In October 2012,the national tour of Anything Goes will set sail at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square in October 2012. Following its opening in Cleveland, Roundabout Theatre Company’s ANYTHING GOES will cruise into more than 25 other cities during the 2012/2013 season including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Additional casting will be announced soon. For more information, please visit www.anythinggoesonbroadway.com.



The Grammy nominated cast album is available now through Ghostlight Records.



The cast also features John McMartin as “Elisha Whitney”, Julie Halston as “Evangeline Harcourt,” Bill English as “Billy Crocker”, Erin Mackey as “Hope Harcourt,” Robert Petkoff as “Lord Evelyn Oakleigh,” Jessica Stone as “Erma,” Ed Dixon as “Captain,” Robert Creighton as “Purser,” Andrew Cao as“Luke,”and Raymond J. Lee as “John.”Additional cast members include



Lawrence Alexander, Leslie Becker, Brandon Bieber, Ward Billeison, Janine DiVita, Daniel J. Edwards, Justin Greer, Derek Hanson, Michelle Loucadoux, Brittany Marcin, Kaitlin Mesh, Shina Ann Morris, Kevin Munhall, Mary Michael Patterson, Brandon Rubendall, William Ryall, Jennifer Savelli, Kiira Schmidt, Vanessa Sonon.



ALL ABOARD for this saucy and splendid new production of Cole Porter’s musical romp across the Atlantic. When the S.S. American heads out to sea, etiquette and convention head out the portholes as two unlikely pairs set off on the course to true love… proving that sometimes destiny needs a little help from a crew of singing sailors, an exotic disguise and some good old-fashioned blackmail. Peppering this hilariously bumpy ride are some of musical theater’s most memorable standards, including “You're the Top,” “Blow, Gabriel, Blow,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “I Get A Kick Out of You,” and “Anything Goes.”



TICKET INFORMATION:



Tickets are available by calling Telecharge.com at (212)239-6200 / (800)432-7250 or online at www.Telecharge.com/AG. Ticket prices range from $87-$147. Tickets can also be purchased at



The Stephen Sondheim Theatre Box Office (124 W. 43rd St).



Roundabout Subscribers save up to 50% off of ticket prices and have access to special in-theatre events and perks. To become a Roundabout Subscriber, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org/joinnow or call Roundabout Ticket Services (212)719-1300 today.



PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:



Anything Goes plays Tuesday evenings at 7:00PM, Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00PM with a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2:00PM.



Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2011-2012 season features Marc Camoletti’s Don’t Dress For Dinner starring Ben Daniels, Adam James, Patricia Kalember and Jennifer Tilly, adapted by Robin Hawdon, directed by John Tillinger; Simon Gray’s The Common Pursuit,directed by Moisés Kaufman; Mary Chase’s Harvey starring Jim Parsons, Jessica Hecht & Charles Kimbrough, directed by Scott Ellis. Roundabout’sTony Award winning production of Anything Goes starring Stephanie J. Block & Joel Grey, directed & choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, is currently playing at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. The 2011 Tony® Award winning Anything Goeswill set sail on a National Tourat Cleveland’s Playhouse Square in October 2012. Following its opening in Cleveland, Anything Goes will cruise into more than 25 other cities during the 2012/2013 season.



Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2012-2013 season features Rupert Holmes’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood starring Chita Rivera, directed by Scott Ellis; Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac,with a translation by Ranjit Bolt, starring Douglas Hodge, directed by Jamie Lloyd; William Inge’s Picnic directed by Sam Gold; Nick Payne’s If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet directed by Michael Longhurst, with Jake Gyllenhaal; Clifford Odets’ The Big Knife starring Bobby Cannavale, directed by Doug Hughes; Steven Levenson’s The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin directed by Scott Ellis.



Joshua Elias Harmon’s Bad Jews directed by Daniel Aukin is a world premiere production that launches the sixth season of Roundabout Underground following five critically acclaimed seasons of world-premiere productions since its premiere in 2007.



www.anythinggoesonbroadway.com

www.roundabouttheatre.org



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