Last updated Feb. 16,  2008

• Musical Conversations at the York Theatre
• JK's Books
• JK on DVD

MUSICAL CONVERSATIONS AT THE YORK THEATRE - MGM AND MARGE CHAMPION TOO!
John Kenrick's popular series of FREE Musical Conversations at the York Theatre enters its third year with three talks focusing on MGM and the Golden Age of Hollywood Musicals -- including a special interview with Marge Champion. All of these events are on Tuesdays at 7:30 PM at The York Theatre (54th St. just off Lexington Ave.) 

• March 4 - MGM’s Freed Unit: The Musical Makers
  MGM Studio was the undisputed artistic and commercial leader of Hollywood’s so-called “Golden Age,” and when it came to musicals, no one could beat the unit headed by songwriter Arthur Freed. This will be a revealing look at the studio that boasted “more stars than there are in heaven.”

• March 18 - The Wizard of Oz: Production #1060
  This now-beloved screen classic was not exactly a blockbuster when it premiered in 1939! But Oz eventually found its audience, and it marked the birth of the Freed Unit, which would create many of the best screen musicals of all time. 

• April 1 - In Person With Marge Champion
  Gifted dancer Marge Champion appeared in such screen musicals as Show Boat and Lovely to Look At, but did you know that she was Walt Disney’s model for Snow White — and the dancing hippo in Fantasia? This legendary talent shares her memories of MGM, the Freed Unit and her life with the late Gower Champion. 

Admission is free, but we pass the hat to help cover costs, so please give what you can. Reservations are suggested -- call 212-935-5824 x. 21.

By Subway:
E or V Train to Lexington Ave @ 53rd Street
6 Train to 51st Street

"I COULD WRITE A BOOK"
John's first book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amateur Theatricals (Penguin/Alpha) is now available from all major booksellers. Inspired by Musicals101.com's popular feature How to Put On a Musical, this new addition to the Complete Idiot's Guide series includes over 300 pages of advice on how to successfully present amateur events in your community.

MUSICAL THEATRE: A HISTORY GOES TO PRESS
John latest book, Musical Theatre: A History. is set for publication by Continuum Press this Spring. Inspired by the essays that form the heart of Musicals101.com, this volume will take a new and more extensive look at the rich history of the musical stage, from ancient times to the present.

ON DVD
John can be seen in DVD documentaries accompanying the newly released Busby Berkeley Collection (42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Dames and Gold Diggers of 1933 and 1935), as well as three MGM classics - Three Little Words, Till the Clouds Roll By and It's Always Fair Weather. He will soon appear in a new documentary about Hollywood musicals, currently in production for public television.

Questions? Send John an e-mail.

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