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Pianist, tap dancer, comedian and vocalist extraordinaire Mark Nadler is one of New York’s premier cabaret entertainers. He will make a special one-show-only appearance Saturday, September 28, performing his tribute to American songwriter Cole Porter, at Oglebay Institute’s Stifel Fine Arts Center in Wheeling.

Nadler’s exhilarating “Cole Porter After Dark” show captures the essence of Porter’s witty and urbane scores with vibrant arrangements. Nadler’s perceptive, sensitive, touching and even haunting interpretations also serve as a narrative for Porter’s life with an uncanny sense of artistry and showmanship.

About Mark Nadler

Nadler received the 2015 Broadway World Editor’s Choice Award for Entertainer of the Year. He has performed at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra and has been a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Oregon Symphony, National Arts Centre Symphony in Ottawa and others. At Philadelphia’s 14,000-seat Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Nadler did a solo two-act evening with the New York Pops, as well as “Three Singular Sensations” with Marvin Hamlisch and Martin Short.

He has played New York City’s Town Hall and in almost every significant nightclub in New York City and Los Angeles, notably, four seasons at Sardi’s, where a caricature of him hangs among the other famous faces. Abroad, Nadler has performed in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Israel and Australia.

Nadler is multi-award-winning performer. His off-Broadway hit, “I’m a Stranger Here Myself,” received a Nightlife Award and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and two Broadway World Awards. He has also received numerous awards from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC) including Outstanding Musical Revue and Outstanding Comedy Performer. His one-man show, “Crazy 1961,” was aired on the New York PBS Television series, “66th & Broadway.”

His Broadway credits include “Dame Edna: The Royal Tour” and “The Sheik Of Avenue ‘B’.” At Lincoln Center, Mark co-wrote, directed and starred in “Schnozzola,” a tribute to Jimmy Durante for the “Reel to Real” series. Academy Award-nominated documentary maker Ray Errol Fox has created “Mark Nadler’s Broadway Hootenanny, Live from Sardi’s,” which is available on DVD.

A Tribute to Joseph Holloway

Nadler’s performance is a tribute to Wheeling-born Joseph Holloway, a professional dancer and Nadler’s late partner who passed away in 1999. Proceeds will launch the Joseph B. Holloway Memorial Scholarship Fund, which will provide area children financial assistance to attend Oglebay Institute’s School of Dance.

Holloway was a modern dancer, choreographer and revered teacher. He was also a highly successful director and producer of theater, producing musical theater both on and off-Broadway and was a founding member of New Directions Theatre.

Holloway was part of a lost generation of American modern dance and theatrical choreographers whose work was cut short by the AIDS epidemic.

“The Miracle of the Rose”

In addition to Nadler’s performance, the September 28 event will feature a presentation of one of Holloway’s finest works “The Miracle of the Rose,” danced by Jennie Begley.

Begley was a featured dancer on the hit television show “So You Think You Can Dance” and then made her move to New York City when she received a contract with the world renowned Complexions Contemporary Ballet. She has danced on some of the most popular stages around the world including Russian, Latvia, Israel and many more. During her second season with Complexions she was asked to go to South Africa to be the guest artist at the Artscape opera house in Cape Town and was also invited to teach and coach students all over South Africa.

Get Tickets

Seating for “Cole Porter After Dark” is limited. Tickets are $75. Reservations are required. Purchase tickets online or call 304-242-7700. Cocktail hour is 7pm and the show begins at 8pm.

 

Oglebay Institute’s Towngate Theatre opens its 51st season of community theater with Paul Zindel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.” A story of perseverance and hope, many critics consider it one of the most significant and affecting contemporary American plays.

It will be staged for two weekends–September 20, 21 & 22 and September 27 & 28.

“Gamma Rays” tells the story of Beatrice, a bitter and domineering mother, and her two teenaged daughters, the studious Tillie and the emotional Ruth.

Life with the abusive Beatrice resembles a hell more than a home, but shy Tillie may have found a light beyond her bleak home life. Encouraged by her teacher, she undertakes a gamma ray experiment with marigolds for the school science fair. The project–which provides the play’s title–helps her to begin to bloom. As Tillie’s science experiment proves, something beautiful and full of promise can emerge from even the most barren, afflicted soil.

Stellar Cast

Dave Henderson directs they play and has assembled a stellar cast of local actors. Dee Gregg plays narcissistic, acid-tongued Beatrice. Carter Bauer plays the quiet and introverted Tillie. Grace Thompson has the role of Tillie’s older sister Ruth. Rachel Thompson plays Nana, an elderly boarder. Taylor Andrews plays Janice Vickery, Tillie’s rival at the science fair.

More About the Play

“The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds” is Paul Zindel’s best-known play. It is an autobiographical drama. Zindel loosely based it on his experiences growing up and modeled Beatrice, the main character, on his mother.

The play opened off-Broadway in 1970 and in 1971 made a brief jump to Broadway. Overall, the play enjoyed a very successful New York run of 819 performances. Zindel’s portrayal of the painful side of family life struck a chord with audiences who found they could easily relate to the themes of loneliness and shattered dreams. The play was critically acclaimed and earned several awards, including an Obie Award for best play of the season (1970), the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best American play of the year (1970) and the Pulitzer Prize for drama (1971). It was so popular that in 1972 Twentieth Century-Fox released a film version starring Joanne Woodward.

Towngate’s 51st Season

This is the first play in Towngate’s 51st season, which is sponsored by Unified Bank. Other upcoming main stage shows include: “The Littlest Angel” December 6, 7, 8, 13 and 14; “Brighton Beach Memoirs” March 20, 21, 22, 27, 28 and “The Book of Will” May 8, 9, 10, 15 & 16.

About Towngate

Towngate is the premiere venue for community theater in Wheeling, providing an intimate theater experience with talented local actors performing in a variety of though-provoking, heartwarming, comedic and historically significant works from renowned playwrights and talented newcomers.

A church-turned-theater, Towngate is located in Wheeling’s historic Centre Market District and serves as an entertainment destination for residents of Wheeling, the Upper Ohio Valley and beyond. At Towngate, you can also see poetry and spoken word performances. Attend a ballet. Or take the kids to a children’s theater production. You can enjoy improvisational comedy and live music, too! Towngate is also a single screen cinema. Changing art exhibitions can be viewed in The Gallery at Towngate. Theater classes are also offered year-round.

Get Tickets

Evening performances of “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds” take place at 8 p.m. September 20, 21, 27 and 28. A matinee performance takes place at 3 p.m. Sunday, September 22.

Purchase tickets online in advance or call 304-242-7700. You can also purchase at the door, if available. Box office opens one hour prior to curtain.