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MULTI-TALENTED LATIN STAR MODESTO LACÉN GETS ACE AWARDS NOD FOR BEST ACTOR

New York, NY, January 2008 - Puerto Rico native and star of the Off Broadway musical Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz, Modesto Lacén has been nominated as “Mejor Actor” (Best Actor) by the Asociación de Cronistas de Espectáculos de Nueva York (ACE). A highly regarded acknowledgement within the Latino entertainment community, an ACE award nomination is a prestigious honor and a wonderful achievement for any Latin star.

Modesto, a performing and producing jack-of-all-trades, is established in a number of entertainment arenas and his talents are not limited to acting; he is also a director, producer, dancer and choreographer. In 1998 he founded Nueva Escena, his own theatre company, in his homeland of San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the organization served as an artistic outlet for local playwrights and actors within the San Juan area.

More than deserving of this esteemed nomination, Modesto has previously won various awards for his acting and producing abilities. Since his relocation from San Juan to the United States in 2005, this Latin sensation has stormed the entertainment world with his varied talents. From featured roles in Off Broadway plays such as …Gardel, To Shakespeare With Love and the current Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz, to his roles in the major motion pictures The Animal (with Terrence Howard) and Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights, Modesto is assuredly staking his claim to the title of America’s premier “multi-threat” talent.

For more information visit Celia the Muscial

Joanna Gleason Headed Off-Broadway in 'Something You Did'

Joanna Gleason will star in Primary Stages' upcoming production of  Willy Holtzman's Something You Did, the final play of the off-Broadway company's 2007-08 season. Something You Did begins previews on March 18 at 59E59 Theaters and will open on April 1, directed by Carolyn Cantor. The limited engagement is scheduled to continue through April 26.

Holtzman's play centers on a famous anti-war radical who becomes eligible for parole after being incarcerated for 30 years for her involvement in the accidental death of a police offers during an explosive war protest. Gleason will be joined by Jordon Charney, who plays her character's lawyer. Primary Stages produced Holtzman's Sabina in 2005.

Gleason won a Tony Award for her performance in the original production of Into the Woods and was nominated for Tonys for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Joe Egg. Other Broadway credits include Nick & Nora, Social Security, The Real Thing and I Love My Wife. Her off-Broadway credits include The Normal Heart, A Letter from Ethel Kennedy, Eleemosynary, Love Letters, It's Only a Play and A Hell of a Town. On television, Gleason played recurring roles in The West Wing and Bette.

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Friedman, Steggert and Anderson Cast in Off-Broadway Musical The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island

           

Bobby Steggert

Peter Friedman will star in the upcoming Off-Broadway run of the new Mark Mulcahy-Ben Katchor musical, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island (or the Friends of Dr. Rushower) at the Vineyard Theatre.

Bob McGrath directs and John Carrafa choreographs the work, which begins previews Jan. 25 at the downtown Manhattan stage. The show will open Feb. 12 for a run currently slated through March 2.

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Photo Flash: Elaine Paige Visits 'Forbidden Broadway'

Elaine Paige, known as the "First Lady of British Musical Theatre," recently visited the off-Broadway long-running hit revue, Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening.

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Richard Easton Stars in `New Jerusalem'

Richard Easton is never away from the stage for very long.

Last season, the veteran, Tony Award-winning actor appeared for much of the year in Tom Stoppard's trilogy "The Coast of Utopia" at Lincoln Center.

This season, Easton is going off-Broadway for "New Jerusalem," David Ives' look at the 17th-century interrogation of philosopher Baruch De Spinoza by the Jewish community in Amsterdam.

Also in the cast for the Classic Stage Company production are Jeremy Strong, David Garrison and Fyvush Finkel. The director is Walter Bobbie.

"New Jerusalem" opens Jan. 13 at CSC's theater at 136 E. 13th St. Preview performances begin Dec. 28. For tickets and more information, visit the Web site, www.classicstage.org.

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Cast Complete for Upcoming Off-Broadway Musical Next to Normal

The complete cast has been announced for the new Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey musical Next to Normal — starring Alice Ripley and Brian d'Arcy James — which will play Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre.

Michael Greif (Grey Gardens, Rent) will direct the production that is scheduled to begin previews Jan. 16, 2008, and open Feb. 13 for a run through March 9.

Adam Chanler-Berat (Les Miserables), Jennifer Damiano (Spring Awakening), Asa Somers (Grey Gardens, Tabo) and Aaron Tveit (Hairspray) will join the previously announced stars Ripley and James.

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Frank Langella in "Starting Out in the Evening"

By his own reckoning, Frank Langella simply wasn't rigged to play normal people. Physiognomy, he says, is destiny: "My face doesn't suit that. It is best suited to the kind of roles I play."

Those would include Richard Nixon, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Clare Quilty in "Lolita." The man has been a major presence on and off Broadway for four decades and a notable figure in film. Other roles have included the evil White House chief of staff in "Dave," William Paley in "Good Night, and Good Luck," and Perry White in "Superman Returns."

Langella, 69, is at it again, this time as Leonard Schiller in "Starting Out in the Evening," a shoestring indie shot in 18 days for $500,000 that opens here Friday. It tells the story of a writer, now 74, who generated literary eclat early in his career but has been emotionally and professionally occluded for decades.

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Photo Flash: 'Carols for a Cure' In-Studio

"Broadway's Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure, Volume 9," holiday music from the Broadway stars of the 2007 season, is on sale now!

Featuring  performers from virtually every show from the 2007 Broadway season, the two-disc set offers 30 original and traditional holiday songs recorded especially for this benefit CD.  Notable performers include Tony Award winners David Hyde Pierce, Shuler Hensley, Christian Hoff, and Karen Ziemba; plus Ashley Brown, Mara Davi, Edward Hibbert, Andy Karl, Michael Longoria, Orfeh, Laura Osnes and Max Crumm, Daniel Reichard, J. Robert Spencer, Max von Essen, Kerry Butler, Howard McGillin, Julia Murney, and many others. 

Click here to view photos in the recording studio.