SHADOWGRAM NEWS UPDATE # 348
February 27, 2015
Hello, Dark Shadows Fan,
ShadowGram (SG), The Official Newsletter & News Source for Dark Shadows (DS), announces the following key breaking news in this Official Dark Shadows News Online Update "bulletin."
*** MARIE WALLACE’S “UNUSUAL” CHARACTER IN SHORT ONLINE FILM
*** DAVID SELBY’S NEW NOVEL: KINDLE DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE NOW
*** DONNA McKECHNIE RETURNS TO BROADWAY AS A “STAR STANDBY”
*** BIG FINISH DS AUDIO DRAMAS: 2015 RELEASE SCHEDULE
**** MARIE WALLACE IN AN ONLINE COMMERCIAL COMPANY FILM
Marie (Eve, Jenny Collins, Megan Todd, Danielle Roget) recently told SG she did an industrial film for the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, an organization that represents the interests of American companies that specialize in commercial production. Her film runs just over a minute and she says it should be on the internet for a year.
Marie is seen wearing a long, straight, graying wig and a business-like dress, seated in a professional office setting (though there’s an unusual decoration on her desk). An off-camera voice asks her for advice on “the future of advertising.” Her reply seems rather odd – and then the words “Tiffany Rolfe-35 years from now” appear. Marie’s seen again in the same setting. She mentions a couple of advertising accomplishments that “set a high standard for my career.” So she “developed a process called Brand Magic” that clearly “worked” for her. With a sly smile, she reveals exactly what actually will bring “brand awareness, consumer loyalty.”
SG won’t spoil this “process” and its foundation – but there’s a DS-ian twist. The final taglines are for AICP: “Craft Your Legacy. We’ll Protect It.”
Marie says fans can see the film now on the AICP website AICP.com and then “look in the Video Library for “Tiffany Rolfe-35 Years From Now.”
It's also on the AICP Facebook page and she says fans can click "like it if you like it.”
It's also on YouTube at
http://youtu.be/RU-V8DAfiXg or
https://www.youtube.com/watc?v=RU-V8DAfiXg&feature=youtu.be **** DAVID SELBY “PROMISES OF LOVE” IN DOWNLOAD & PRINT
David’s (Quentin) new novel about a family is “Promises of Love.” His wife Chip tells ShadowGram it’s now available as a Kindle download e-book on amazon.com
There is a special reduced price of $.99 per download for a very limited time. The paperback book (“estimated 299 pages”) is due for release in March and will be $15.12 on amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TZFEE4E The pictured book cover has the tagline: “Small town drama with powerful characters you will never forget!”
________________________________________
--- Book Description:
“A product of usually beautiful but sometimes cruel southern Appalachia, Daniel Friend overcomes poverty, abuse, and personal tragedy to establish an identity. Inspired by the strength and love of his older sister, he realizes the power of education to lead him to a life he has imagined for himself— the pinnacle of his ambition is to graduate from Harvard University. That he does not get this opportunity, devastating as it is to his life plan, does not prevent him from becoming a beloved doctor, loving husband and father. Although well-meaning, he stumbles in his relationship with his two children as he tries to interject his own preferences into their lives. A deeply felt story of love, the novel examines the boundaries of a family, of its secrets, of the complex web family relationships can weave. Finally, the novel examines the damage that abandonment, poverty, and childhood neglect can do to a human personality, damage that sometimes cannot be overcome.”
--- About the Author
“David Selby was born and educated in West Virginia. A veteran of stage, screen, and television, including such popular series as Dark Shadows and Falcon Crest, the actor and author pens his newest novel, Promises of Love. In 1989, he was honored as a distinguished alumnus of West Virginia University and was given the first Life Achievement Award from the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts. He received the distinguished West Virginian Award from the state in 2002. In 2004, he received an honorary doctorate from West Virginia University. He and his wife fund a guest artist series at West Virginia University, and he has made many guest appearances around the state. David is a member of the Cleveland Playhouse Hall of Fame, and in May 1992, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Communications and Fine Arts at Southern Illinois University, where he had earlier earned a PhD. In 1999 he received the Millennium Recognition Award from the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC. He lives with his family in California. For more information, visit DavidSelby.com
Product Details
File Size: 981 KB
Print Length: 299 pages
Publisher: Headline Books (February 24, 2015)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00TZFEE4E
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
**** DONNA McKECHNIE ON BROADWAY AS “STANDBY” FOR CHITA RIVERA
Theater media announced 2-26 that Donna (Amanda, Olivia) will be “standby” for Chita Rivera in the new musical THE VISIT at Broadway’s Lyceum Theater. Previews begin 3-26 and the opening date is 4-23.
Donna is a multi-faceted dancer/singer/actress who won the 1975 Tony Award as “Cassie” in A CHORUS LINE – a character based on her own personal life and performing experiences. She’s won Drama Desk and other awards for productions in the US and England. She’s created her ever-evolving autobiographical one-woman musical showcase that candidly explores her life and career through her own commentary with selected songs and dances.
Chita Rivera also is an acclaimed dancer/singer/actress who’s performed in many classic stage musicals, including special programs like “Chita & All That Jazz” and “Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life.” She is the first Hispanic woman and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honors Award (2002). She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
Playbill 2-26: “Donna McKechnie Makes Killer Plans for Rare Broadway VISIT.” She’s “been announced as standby for another legend, Chita Rivera, in the upcoming Broadway musical THE VISIT…. Producer Tom Kirdahy: "Who else could go on for a Broadway legend like Ms. Rivera but another Broadway legend? The tradition of an actor standing by, should the star not be able to perform, though unlikely in Ms. Rivera's case, has been turned on its ear by this news. We are ecstatic that Donna is joining our company.”
Donna, 72, “has worked steadily in theatre around the U.S. and London in the 40 years since ACL premiered.” Her most recent Broadway role was STATE FAIR in 1996. “She will stand by for the 82-year-old Rivera, who plays Claire Zachanassian, a wealthy courtesan who returns to the small village where she grew up in order to destroy the man who robbed her of her virtue when she was a girl. It’s based on the 1958 drama of the same title by Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt.
Early publicity: “Based on the satirical play” created from the novel, it’s “about greed, love, and one woman’s carefully plotted revenge. The oft-widowed Claire…richest woman in the world, returns to the hardship-stricken town of her birth. The locals pray that her wealth will bring them a new lease on life, but her arrival carries a dreadful price…. Sardonic and morally complex, (it) asks ‘What can your heart afford?’” Kirdahy: It “is a master work. Fascinating, visceral, and haunting, (it) entertains and challenges in ways that can only be described as thrilling.”
http://thevisitmusical.com/ Lyceum Theatre, 149 W. 45th St., NYC, NY 10036. (Between 6th Ave. and Broadway)
Box Office Hours: Mon - Sat: 10am - 8pm | Sun: Noon - 6pm
--- NOTE: As “standby,” Donna is not starring in specific performances. She rehearses with the cast/crew/orchestra and knows the play, but would be called upon to take over the role should Ms. Rivera be unable to perform. Contact the theater for more information.
**** BIG FINISH PRODUCTIONS:
2015 DS AUDIO DRAMAS RELEASE SCHEDULE
SG Published Newsletters and Online News Updates have announced and detailed these original DS audio dramas on CD since they premiered at the 2006 DS Festival.
Each audio drama is a new story set within the 1966-71 DS “universe” – its characters, their relationships, time periods – and the years and centuries not actually shown on the daytime series. Many original series’ cast members reprise their TV characters and/or portray new ones. The dramas are professionally recorded with sound effects and music to help create the atmosphere and encourage listeners to “see” what they are hearing.
SG now shares the release schedule through the first half of 2015.
January 2015 - Bloodlust Episodes 1-6
February 2015 - Bloodlust Episodes 7-13
--- NOTE: BLOODLUST is presented like a daily “soap opera,” in episodes progressing the way the DS TV episodes carried a plot forward day by day. See recent SG Online Updates for details on BLOODLUST, previous, and these new BFP audio dramas.
May 2015 - #45 - Panic - with David Selby & Susan Sullivan
June 2015 - #46 - The Curse of Shurafa - Barnabas and Julia storyline
July 2015 - #47 - And Red All Over - Mitchell Ryan & Kathryn Leigh Scott
August 2015 - story #48 - to be announced
September 2015 - #49 - to be announced
October 2015 - #50 - to be announced
--- NOTE: These are the first DS audio dramas starring MITCH (Burke Devlin) and SUSAN (Ghost).
The Dark Shadows Festival has available a variety of the audio dramas autographed by the DS stars, all exclusively by mail-order. Please send check or money order only. Sorry, credit cards and PayPal can not be accepted.
Dark Shadows Festival
P.O. Box 92
Maplewood, NJ 07040
www.darkshadowsfestival.com The audio dramas are also available from
http://www.bigfinish.com/hubs/v/dark-shadows and amazon.com.
