Broadway Babies

New TOP Concerts series gets up close and personal at ZACH Theatre

The ever-innovative ZACH Theatre has announced a new addition: TOP Concerts, which have been added for the 2013-2014 season.TOP Concerts brings a new and exciting musical series featuring top Broadway, film and television stars up close and personal in the intimate Topfer Theatre.

This season's concerts will feature five separate performances. The performance series will run in conjunction with the 2013-14 season, starting this summer and continuing through April 2014. Each concert in the series will have two performances: 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. All concerts can be added to a season subscription (subscribers will get priority seating) or purchased individually.

The series begins June 18 and closes next spring with Brat Pack ringleader Molly Ringwald. The lineup is as follows:

Megan Hilty: June 18, 2013
The hot bombshell star of NBC's hit television show Smash kicks off TOP Concerts with Megan Sings the Blondes!Hilty starred on Broadway as Glinda in Wicked, in the Dolly Parton role in 9 to 5, and in the recent concert musical Gentleman Prefer Blondes. This vocal powerhouse just released her debut album, It Happens All The Time.

Bryan Batt: September 10, 2013
New Orleans native and star of the hit television show Mad Men, Bryan Batt brings his hilarious show Batt On A Hot Tin Roof. This handsome Broadway star of La Cage, Beauty and The Beast, Sunset Boulevard, Cats and Starlight Express will light up your night with his personable wit and leading man song styling.

Sandra Bernhard: October 22, 2013
Outrageous humor, keen satire and rollicking stage shows are Bernhard's signature. The star of hit television comedy Roseanne and numerous films such as The King of Comedy, Bernhard is “funny, foxy, super smart, and slightly mad” (WCBS).

Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal: February 18, 2014
The Tony-nominated, original stars of Broadway's Rent, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp join forces to perform their fresh take on classic Broadway shows, their own rock originals, hits by rock bands including REM and Radiohead, and the music they originated in Rent, in a dynamic and intimate must-see concert.

Molly Ringwald: April 22, 2014
America's preeminent teenager in the films Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, Ringwald went on to star in Broadway's Cabaret and Sweet Charity, and ABC's The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Ringwald's sultry concert features music from her new debut jazz album Except Sometimes in a personal evening of song and storytelling.

ZACH's 2013-14 season will prove to be a stunning season that will captivate, provoke and thrill the theatre's growing audience. For more details on all the performances scheduled this season, visit the 2013-14 Season page on the ZACH website.

Anthony Rapp will perform hits from Rent.

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New

Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

The Elisabet Ney Museum will close at the end of 2024 and reopen in mid-2026.

Every building needs some maintenance here or there, and the historic Elisabet Ney Museum needs some extra-special care. Formerly the art studio and residence of its namesake, it's been standing since 1892. It'll spend 2025 in relative solitude, as it undergoes renovation for a year and a half with no visitors allowed.

The museum will close to the public December 30, 2024, and open again in the summer of 2026 if all goes according to plan, a news release from the City of Austin shares. It'll be a quiet period compared to the 21,000 people visiting from around the world each year.

According to a museum overview on the city's website, Elisabet Ney, a European portrait sculptor, bought the property and called her new studio Formosa. She worked on sculptures depicting important Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, and collected works of European contemporaries.

The building at 304 East 44th St. includes 3,700 square feet of museum space, which was converted by Ney's friends after her death in 1907. It retains its unique look that juxtaposes a Neo-Classical main studio from 1892 with a later addition from 1902 including a tower for her husband, Edmund, to write in. It is also on 2.5 acres of land, which has largely been restored to its natural state with native species.

A press release lists these tasks (verbatim) within the scope of the new work, referred to as the Capital Improvement Project (CIP):

Restoration of original exterior wood doors and windows
Upgrades and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
Replacement of the exhibit and general lighting systems
Repairs to the roof, masonry, plumbing, and interior finishes.

There will also be work to do outside of the building. Workers will replace the pedestrian bridge across Waller Creek, stabilize a 20,000-square-foot portion of the bank, and make the grounds more accessible by adding new pathways.

Funding comes from several sources, according to a release: "the 2012 Bond, Proposition 14, the Parkland Dedication Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, Partners in Preservation through the National Trust, and contributions from the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum."

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