'Bonnie & Clyde' musical: watch the trailer

COURTESY OF ASOLO/FRANK ATURA Bonnie (Laura Osnes) and Clyde (Jeremy Jordan)

Check out the new trailer (posted below) for the "Bonnie & Clyde" musical playing now through December 19 at the Asolo Repertory in Sarasota.  The production will then open on Broadway in September.

CLICK TO READ MY REVIEW OF "BONNIE & CLYDE"

Not sure when the performance was shot but the interviews were definitely taped during the Nov. 19 opening night gala I attended. In addition to stars Laura Osnes (Bonnie) and Jeremy Jordan (Clyde) there are interviews with members of the first-rate creative team that includes famed composer Frank Wildhorn and legendary lyricist Don Black.

Official "Bonnie & Clyde" trailer courtesy of Asolo

'Slap shot' book details greatest hockey movie ever made

I grew up with minor league hockey in Hershey, Pa.

The Hershey Bears, currently the top affiliate for the Washington Capitals, are the oldest and most successful team in American Hockey League history.  The Bears also ranked as one of the league's best when they were aligned with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1980s.

That was a time when bench-clearing brawls still took place at old Hersheypark Arena where the Bears played from 1936-2002. I don't recall attending a game where punches weren't exchanged.  Yes, this is when the old saying "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out" almost rang true.

The Bears players hung out at my family's former restaurant, Lucy's Cafe, on Chocolate Avenue in Hershey.

They also came over to our house.

Dad and I visited the team's locker room to deliver meatball sandwiches after the games.

I played youth hockey with the Bears' fiberglass sticks, which Dad cut down to size for me.

I also watched a notorious homemade VHS tape of brutal NHL fights compiled by the Bears' most famous goon, Steve Martinson, who still holds the record for most penalty minutes in a single season: a staggering 432. He accomplished that during the 1985-86 season. I was in second grade and attended most games with my pops.

Around this same time, my dad made sure Mom wasn't around and we watched "Slap Shot."

The 1977 movie starring Paul Newman, about a struggling minor leage hockey team, was partially filmed in nearby Johnstown, Pa. It captures everything I witnessed first-hand or had been told about the sport. To this day, it ranks of one of my all-time favorite films.

In Sunday's Herald, we ran a story about the new book "The Making of Slap Shot: Behind the Scenes of the Greatest Hockey Movie Ever Made" by Jonathon Jackson.  Turns out the woman who wrote the "Slap Shot" script, Nancy Dowd (who won a best screenplay Oscar for 1978's "Coming Home"), did extensive research via her brother, Ned Dowd, who played for the Johnstown Jets of the North American Hockey League.

The author "interviewed virtually everyone involved in the movie, including the private Newman, who answered questions submitted by Jackson via fax and e-mail." 

Sounds like this book could be the perfect present for the "Slap Shot" fan in your life.

CLICK TO READ "CAPTURING THE SPIRIT OF THE THING: 'MAKING OF SLAP SHOT' GETS INSIDE MAKING OF BEST HOCKEY MOVIE EVER"

Happy birthday, Little Richard

PUBLIC DOMAIN Little Richard performing at the University of Texas Forty Acres Festival in 2007.

Little Richard gave me one of my all-time greatest journalistic thrills when he sang part of "Tutti-Frutti" during an interview.

Right before the phoner ended the rock 'n' roll great said: "God bless you. God bless you and your family."

So, I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Richard turned 78 today.

CLICK TO READ MY SUNDAY COLUMN "LONG LIVE LITTLE RICHARD"

Little Richard performing "Tutti-Frutti" in the 1956 Alan Freed film "Don't Knock the Rock."

Hitchcock's 'The 39 Steps' on stage at Florida Studio Theatre

PHOTO PROVIDED Sheffield Chastain, Curran Connor, Letitia Lange and Michael Frederic in Florida Studio Theatre’s production of “The 39 Steps.”

Patrick Barlow's stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchock's "The 39 Steps" features 150 characters, 30 locations and a mere four actors.

As you might imagine, it's a tough play to pull off.

"The 39 Steps" opens at Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota on Dec. 8 (previews) 10 (opening night).

I recently spoke with director Eric Hissom, who starred in the national tour of the play, and actor Curran Connor about the difficulties of transforming the Hitchcock thriller into a laugh-out-loud stage farce.

CLICK TO READ "HITCHCOCK THRILLER '39 STEPS' COMES TO STAGE."

REVIEW: Manatee Players' 'Oliver!' maximizes local talent

The success of any “Oliver!” production greatly depends on the talents and training of the young men who dominate the large cast.

The tiny title character must be able to instantly make the audience adore him.

So when the ever-popular Lionel Bart musical — based on the classic Charles Dickens novel — opened Thursday at the Manatee Players' Riverfront Theatre in Bradenton all eyes were on Stevie Romero.

CLICK TO CONTINUE READING REVIEW OF "OLIVER!"

'Nutcracker' at Neel a Bradenton tradition thanks to Allison Norton

Photo courtesy of BradentonNutcracker.com

Acclaimed dancer, instructor and Dance Theatre of Bradenton Artistic Director Allison Norton has made the "Nutcracker" at the Neel Performing Arts Center a Bradenton tradition dating back to 1994.

CLICK TO READ 'NUTCRACKER AT NEEL IS A BRADENTON TRADITION'

'Bonnie & Clyde' offers taste of Broadway for Bradenton student

CLIFF ROLES/Special to the Herald 

Holly Rizzo as Young Bonnie

Holmes Beach teen Holly Rizzo has been seen numerous times on local stages.

For instance the Manatee Players' season opener "South Pacific" featured her as Bloody Mary's beautiful daughter Liat.

But nothing could quite prepare Rizzo for playing Young Bonnie in the Broadway-bound musical "Bonnie & Clyde" currently playing at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota.

She will make her final appearance today and Saturday at 8 p.m.

CLICK TO READ 'BONNIE ROLE IS TASTE OF BIG TIME'