Gordon Porterfield is an American playwright, novelist, poet and teacher, whose work has been produced for the stage in Baltimore, New York and London. [1]
Gordon Porterfield was the key playwright in residence at Baltimore's Corner Theatre ETC, which was founded in 1968 by Ellen Stewart and Leslie Irons as an experimental theatre whose principal goal was the production of new plays. Porterfield's output was impressive by any standard, creating literally dozens of works both short and full-length. Authors and the apocalyptic The Earth Is Dead - an evening of one-acts under the collective title Ratsfeet, were the first Porterfield plays offered by the theatre, followed in very short order with a full-length play Universal Nigger (1969), which told the story of a modern-day African-American Christ, following his movements through the stations of the cross. The production was highly controversial and drew large crowds. [2] [3] The following year, Brooklyn's Chelsea Theater Center acquired the rights to Universal Nigger and produced it in their own space for New York City audiences, under the direction of Robert Kalfin. Gnomes, a collection of thirteen short one-act plays, was presented the following year. Director Michael Makarovich subsequently staged two Gordon Porterfield one-acts at Corner: The Catcher Was A Fag and I And Silence Some Strange Race; [4] [5] as well as an original teleplay entitled Tigers.
In 1972, Corner Theatre presented what many considered Porterfield's defining work for that time, a scatological romp down the Yellow Brick Road entitled whatisoneholycatholicapostalicbrownandstinksuptheuniverse. 1973 saw the production of another evening of one-acts, entitled Wolves. [6] [7] Chancre, a hallucinatory tour de force, was Porterfield's final offering at the Corner Theatre.
In 1987 The Yippie Book, Porterfield's instructional work for educators, was published by Perfection Form Co. [8] Twelve years later, Porterfield came out of theatrical retirement with the critically acclaimed play Snow, which was performed at the completely reformed version of his old stomping grounds, the Fells Point Corner Theatre. [9]
Harris Glenn Milstead, better known by his stage name Divine, was an American actor, singer, and drag queen. Closely associated with independent filmmaker John Waters, Divine was a character actor, usually performing female roles in cinematic and theatrical productions, and adopted a female drag persona for his music career.
Hairspray is an American musical with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, with a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Waters's 1988 film of the same name. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the production follows teenage Tracy Turnblad's dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, leading to social change as Tracy campaigns for the show's integration.
The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California, in 1934. It became part of Teledyne in 1969, and of Northrop Grumman when the latter company purchased Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and technically significant aircraft, including four innovative V/STOL designs, but its most successful production aircraft was the Ryan Firebee line of unmanned drones used as target drones and unmanned air vehicles.
Yentl is a play by Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer.
Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book by the same title.
Terri Sue "Tovah" Feldshuh is an American actress, singer, and playwright. She has been a Broadway star for more than four decades, earning four Tony Award nominations. She has also received two Emmy Award nominations for Holocaust and Law & Order, and appeared in such films as A Walk on the Moon, She's Funny That Way, and Kissing Jessica Stein. In 2015–2016, she played the role of Deanna Monroe on AMC's television adaptation of The Walking Dead.
CIBC Theatre is a theater located at 18 West Monroe Street in the Loop area of downtown Chicago. It is operated by Broadway In Chicago, part of the Nederlander Organization. Opened in 1906 as the Majestic Theatre, it currently seats 1,800 and for many years has presented Broadway shows. In its early years, the theater presented vaudeville celebrity acts.
Steve Yeager is an independent filmmaker from Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. He is best known for his film on the indie filmmaking of fellow director John Waters, titled Divine Trash, which won the Filmmakers Trophy for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998.
The Little Prince and the Aviator is a musical with a book by Hugh Wheeler, lyrics by Don Black, and music by John Barry.
Robert Zangwill Kalfin is an American stage director and producer who has worked on and off Broadway and at regional theaters throughout the country. He is a former artistic director of the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and the founder/artistic director of The Chelsea Theater Center.
Rex Partington was an actor, director and producer. Partington worked in the professional theater in the United States for over fifty years as an actor, production stage manager, director, producer, artistic director and producing director and was active on Broadway as well as professional regional theater. He was instrumental in the establishment of the League of Resident Theatres and played a vital role in the development of regional theater.
Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung is a Chinese-American new media artist who lives and works in New York. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Arts degree from San Francisco State University. Hung's works are digital collages of popular culture and current events. His media includes hi-definition video animation, video games, net.art, digital graphics and mixed-media installations. Hung has been called the "John Heartfield of Digital Era". He loans 5 percent of his art earnings to low-income entrepreneurs listed on Kiva Microfunds.
Corner Theatre E.T.C. was an experimental theater located in Baltimore, Maryland, existing from 1968 to 1987 as a nonprofit cultural organization.
Linda Chambers is an American playwright, screenwriter, actress and college instructor living and working in Baltimore, Maryland.
Stanley Keyes is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor.
Leonard Melfi was an American playwright and actor whose work has been widely produced on the American stage.
The Baltimore Theatre Project is a performing arts center located at 45 West Preston Street in Baltimore, Maryland.
Daddy Long Legs is a stage musical with a book by John Caird, and music and lyrics by Paul Gordon. It is based on the 1912 novel of the same name by Jean Webster. Set in turn-of-the-century New England, the musical tells the story of orphan Jerusha Abbott of the John Grier Home and her mysterious benefactor who agrees to send her to college, who she dubs "Daddy Long Legs" after seeing his elongated shadow. Under the conditions of her benefactor, Jerusha sends him a letter once a month, describing her new-found experiences with life outside the orphanage.
The Purple Rose Theatre Company is a Michigan not-for-profit theatre company founded in 1991 by Jeff Daniels in an old pizza parlor/garage in Chelsea. Its name comes from the 1985 film The Purple Rose of Cairo, which starred Daniels and for which he earned his first Golden Globe nomination.
Club 82, also known as the 82 Club, was a nightclub in Manhattan, New York City that employed female impersonators as entertainers. The nightclub had a second life as a music venue, but was eventually closed.
