Bernard Shaw (born May 22, 1940) is a retired American journalist and former lead news anchor for CNN from 1980 until his retirement in March 2001.

Shaw was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1963 to 1968. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps, including stints in Hawaii and at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina, where in 1962 he was a "Message Center" specialist, achieving the rank of Corporal, E-4. He exhibited a passionate interest in the print media, clipping articles from newspapers, and often traveled on weekends to Washington, D.C. He cultivated an acquaintance with Walter Cronkite and had an interest in baseball.[1][2]

Shaw began his broadcasting career as an anchor and reporter for WNUS in Chicago. He then worked as a reporter for the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company in Chicago, moving later to Washington as the White House correspondent. He worked as a correspondent in the Washington Bureau of CBS News from 1971 to 1977. In 1977, he moved to ABC News as Latin American correspondent and bureau chief before becoming the Capitol Hill Senior Correspondent. He left ABC in 1980 to move to CNN as co-anchor of its PrimeNews broadcast, anchoring from Washington, D.C..

Shaw is widely known for the question he posed to Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Michael Dukakis at his second Presidential debate with George H. W. Bush during the 1988 election, which Shaw was moderating. Knowing that Dukakis opposed the death penalty, Shaw asked him if he would support an irrevocable death penalty for a man who hypothetically raped and murdered Dukakis's wife. Dukakis responded that he would not; critics felt he framed his response too legalistically and logically, and did not address it sufficiently on a personal level. Kitty Dukakis, among other public figures, found the question inflammatory and unwarranted at a presidential debate. Several journalists also on the panel with Shaw, including Ann Compton, Andrea Mitchell, and Margaret Garrard Warner, expressed an interest in leaving Dukakis's name out of the question.[3]

He is also remembered for his reporting on the 1991 Gulf War.[4] Reporting with CNN correspondents John Holliman and Peter Arnett from the Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad, he found shelter under a desk as he reported cruise missiles flying past his window. He also made frequent trips back and forth from the hotel's bomb shelter. While describing the situation in Baghdad, he famously stated "Clearly I've never been there, but this feels like we're in the center of hell."

He moderated the October 2000 vice-presidential debate between Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman.

Shaw co-anchored CNN's Inside Politics from 1992 until he retired from CNN in 2001. He has still occasionally appeared on CNN, including in May 2005 when a plane flew into restricted air space in Washington, D.C. He also co-anchored Judy Woodruff's last broadcast on CNN in June 2005. Shaw noted that after 41 years in the business, given what he missed in his personal life, the cost was not worth it.[5]

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Bernard Shaw (journalist) - Wikipedia

Bernard L. Shaw, a former San Francisco police officer who became the bodyguard and husband of Patricia Hearst, the heiress who was abducted in 1974 by a leftist guerrilla organization and then imprisoned for crimes she was accused of committing on its behalf, died on Dec. 17 at his home in Garrison, N.Y. He was 68.

The Hearst Corporation said he died after a long illness but did not specify the cause.

Mr. Shaw gained a kind of reflected celebrity through his association with Ms. Hearst, which the news media saw as an unlikely union of the upper and working classes.

They met in 1976 after she was released on bail pending an appeal of her conviction in a bank robbery, which was carried out with her help, prosecutors said by a radical group that called itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. Mr. Shaw was one of about 20 bodyguards hired by the Hearst family.

Ms. Hearst was 19 when she was kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley, Calif., on Feb. 4, 1974. She said in a tape recording that April that she had willingly adopted their cause, but her lawyers later said her captors had physically and sexually abused her and brainwashed her into joining them.

Ms. Hearst was also accused of spraying a Los Angeles street with gunfire to help one of her kidnappers escape after he had robbed a sporting goods store. She was taken into custody more than a year after six Symbionese Liberation Army members were killed in a shootout with the Los Angeles police.

After the United States Supreme Court refused to hear her appeal, she was returned to prison, where Mr. Shaw visited her four times a week. His first marriage was dissolved in 1977. President Jimmy Carter commuted Ms. Hearsts sentence in 1979, and she and Mr. Shaw married in a brief but well-publicized Episcopal ceremony at a naval base in San Francisco Bay.

Bernard Lee Shaw was born in San Francisco on Sept. 3, 1945. He attended the University of San Francisco and served in the Army. He began working for the Hearst Corporation in 1983 and was Hearsts vice president for corporate security at his death.

Ms. Hearst, now Patricia Hearst Shaw, survives him, as do their two daughters, Gillian Hearst Simonds and Lydia Hearst-Shaw; two children from his previous marriage, Thomas and Heather Shaw; a sister, Joan Carmignani; and a granddaughter.

Ms. Hearst Shaw said her family had been pessimistic about her long-term chances of staying with Mr. Shaw. My parents gave us a Sears vacuum cleaner as a wedding present, she told Conan OBrien in 1996. They thought it wouldnt last.

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Bernard Shaw, Husband and Bodyguard of Patty Hearst, Dies ...

Pygmalion, romance in five acts by George Bernard Shaw, produced in German in 1913 in Vienna. It was performed in England in 1914, with Mrs. Patrick Campbell as Eliza Doolittle. The play is a humane comedy about love and the English class system.

Henry Higgins, a phonetician, accepts a bet that simply by changing the speech of a Cockney flower seller he will be able, in six months, to pass her off as a duchess. Eliza undergoes grueling training. When she successfully passes in high societyhaving in the process become a lovely young woman of sensitivity and tasteHiggins dismisses her abruptly as a successfully completed experiment. Eliza, who now belongs neither to the upper class, whose mannerisms and speech she has learned, nor to the lower class, from which she came, rejects his dehumanizing attitude.

The play became famous as a motion picture in 1938 and later as the stage musical My Fair Lady (1956), with a musical score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. A 1964 film version of the musical featured Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn.

George Bernard Shaw: International importance

and most popular play, is Pygmalion (performed 1913). It was claimed by Shaw to be a didactic drama about phonetics, and its antiheroic hero, Henry Higgins, is a phonetician, but the play is a humane comedy about love and the English class system. The play is about the training Higgins

Henry Higgins

>Pygmalion (performed 1913). The story was filmed in 1938, starring Leslie Howard as Henry Higgins, and was adapted as the stage musical My Fair Lady in 1956 (filmed 1964), with Rex Harrison as the professor (on both stage and screen).

Eliza Doolittle

>Pygmalion (performed 1913; filmed 1938; adapted as the stage musical My Fair Lady, 1956; filmed 1964).

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Pygmalion | Summary, Characters, & Facts | Britannica

The official notices were clear: the workers themselves would have to pay for the tickets home, plus a surcharge. As we know, as soon as Congress president Sonia Gandhi offered to pay for all travel, all hell broke loose and the Centre took a days silence to then pretend that it had meant to pay all along, with some small amount to be borne by state governments.

To date, that lie has been proved over and over as travellers claimed that they have paid for their rail tickets. Karnataka meanwhile said it was banning labourers from leaving for their home states because the builders lobby needed labourers. It was only after public outrage that trains were permitted.

And do not ever forget that at the same time, hundreds and millions of rupees were spent to get the Indian Air Force to drop flowers on hospitals even as the long walks of desperation continued. So lets get back to Shaw. Even as the government robbed Peter, there were huge appeals from Paul like the builders lobby in Karnataka that government handouts be given to them. As a favour, the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh decided to do away with most labour laws. Peter once more was to be sacrificed for Paul.

In essence, while some rubbed their hands with glee, the rights done away with included toilet facilities, ventilation, somewhere to sit, protective gear, first aid, canteens, lighting, 8-hour shifts, weekly holidays and more. This in effect means that the worker is now a slave, at the mercy of his or her employer. You can rest assured that wages will also be similarly reduced. The Indian economy is at its lowest point ever now, between the Modi governments own severe mishandling and lack of policy and now thanks to SARS-Cov-2, as the virus has been renamed. And because of the lockdown, Indias most vulnerable are even more at risk.

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Why this Govt reminds you of George Bernard Shaw at every step - National Herald

The Trinity College community recently celebrated the graduates of the Class of 2020 through two online events. With their Commencement ceremony on campus postponed until spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, members of this years graduating class were honored with a virtual Baccalaureate program and a special tribute video, both of which they could view remotely with their families from anywhere around the world.

The virtual Baccalaureate 2020 program invited reflection, offered thanksgiving, and included wisdom, prayer, and music from many traditionsin addition to sweeping aerial views of campus and the familiar sounds of the Trinity College Chapels pipe organ and carillon bells. The video was shared online on Saturday, May 16, the date which marked the 197th anniversary of the colleges founding.

The program featured guest speaker and honorary doctor of divinity degree recipient The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. The Rev. Allison Read, college chaplain and dean of spiritual and religious life, welcomed the Trinity community to the unique virtual gathering before presenting Currywhom Read noted is perhaps most well-known for presiding over the wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markleto Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney for the honorary degree.

In his Baccalaureate Address, Curry noted that he spent some time in conversation with Trinity students via Zoom and he was asked what gives him hope in difficult times. Recalling volunteering for the late Robert F. Kennedys Senate campaign when he was in high school, Curry said, One of the often-repeated quotes that Sen. Kennedy said was quoting George Bernard Shaw Some men see things as they are and ask, Why?; I dream things that never were and ask, Why not?

The truth is, those who have made a difference, however large or small, are people who have dared to be Why not? people, who have not settled for the way things are, Curry said. My dear friends, Class of 2020 do not settle for the why of this world. Be strong and courageous; dare to dream and to make a dream reality and ask, Why not?

To watch the video of Currys conversation with members of the Trinity community, click here.

Read more about all of this years honorary degree recipients here.

Todays activities are in no way intended to replace a traditional Commencement ceremony, but we couldnt let today pass without marking the completion of the academic year and celebrating you, our graduating students, Berger-Sweeney said at the start of A Tribute to the Graduating Students of the Class of 2020 on Sunday, May 17, the original date of Commencement. The video included the conferral of degrees to candidates for bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and master of arts degrees, in addition to short videos submitted by graduating students who shared some of their favorite memories of their time at Trinity.

In a lemonade toast to the class that bookended the Lemon Squeezer tradition the graduates learned about at their Convocation ceremony four years ago, Berger-Sweeney said, Please, raise your glasses and join me in celebrating you and your accomplishments as official graduates of Trinity College. Your liberal arts education has prepared you for uncertainty and challenge. Today, you join the ranks of alumni of Trinity College. You will emerge out of this crisis stronger and embark on a new chapter in your lives, more resilient and determined than ever.

Cornelia Thornburgh 80, chair of the Trinity College Board of Trustees, recognized the recipients of this years Trustee Awards for Excellence, whom she said exemplify Trinitys highest standards and bring distinction to the institution. The Trustee Awards for Student Excellence went to Rahuljeet Chadha 20 and Hamna Tariq 20. Professor of Physics and Environmental Science Christoph Geiss and Jonathan Gourley, principal lecturer and laboratory coordinator in the Environmental Science Program, received the Trustee Awards for Faculty Excellence. Director of Campus Safety Brian Heavren received the Trustee Award for Staff Excellence.

Secretary of the Faculty Mark Stater, associate professor of economics, remarked on the determination of the graduates to complete their Trinity education even under exceptional circumstances this semester. Rest assured that your class will never be forgotten, he said. Be strong, courageous, and blessed with good fortune as you go forth into the world.

Eric Estes 91, president of the Trinity College Alumni Association, encouraged the graduates to keep in touch with their professors and with fellow alumni. One of Trinitys greatest strengths is its tremendous alumni network, and we welcome you with open arms, Estes said.

Demonstrating the ability of this network to pull together, alumni were invited this spring to share messages of encouragement with the graduating students as they worked hard to finish their final classes remotely and prepared to join the alumni community. One such note said, in part, Trinity is a special place. while [alumni] are all different, we all share a passion for the college, a love of learning for the sake of learning, a commitment to service, and a willingness to make our mark in the world at large. Rest assured, as you blaze a trail and make your mark in that world, that Trinity will be there every step of the way.

Both video presentations concluded with Trinitys alma mater, Neath the Elms, performed for the tribute to the Class of 2020 by the a cappella groups The Trinitones and The Pipes; and for the Baccalaureate program by The Chapel Singers.

To watch Baccalaureate 2020, click here.

To watch A Tribute to the Graduating Students of the Class of 2020, click here.

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Celebrating the Trinity College Class of 2020 - Trinity College

Watford City, ND Breaking from its tradition, Dakota West awarded $500 to every student who submitted an application for its 2020 Dakota West Credit Union Annual Scholarships. Originally planning to award four scholarships, current high school seniors and enrolled college and trade school students submitted essays focusing on the Dakota West Value of Communication.

The unconventional circumstances for most students right now made the final months of this school year an exercise in self-discipline. Any students who made the effort to speak to their viewpoint on the importance of Communication in this time of social distancing deserves to be recognized for his or her dedication, Juliet Jones, Dakota West Marketing Coordinator, explained of the change in the number of recipients.

Taylalyn Kaczmar, Dakota Wests Watford City branch member, plans to pursue studies in Biological Sciences at North Dakota State University. Kaczmar wrote of the importance of Communication, Once in the medical field, discussion with providers and patients will be critical for the best and efficient care to be provided. I recognize that having effective communication in the workplace can determine and impact how well my relationships with my superiors, coworkers, and patients will be.

Charles Eriksmoen, a current student at Bismarck State College, is finishing his first year as a farm and ranch management major. Eriksmoen paused in his online studies to write, Communication will impact my life heavily in the future years to come and it is a large part of my life and will always be a big part of my life to continue to communicate with breeders, friends, family, and anyone that is willing to help me succeed.

A member of the Watford City branch of Dakota West, Ethan Kobosplans plans to study cyber security this fall at the University of North Dakota. His application pointed to the importance of Communication when he penned, In current times, student engagement with teachers has been greatly diminished. And due to this, it has become important for students to develop the ability to briefly, yet professionally, communicate with teachers regarding their classroom questions.

Gracey Russell from Washburn hopes to begin classes in the fall at Bismarck State College. Regardless of the change of in the current online class environment, Russell recognized the role of Communication in her future, Communication also goes in hand with the career I want to pursue in the future. I want to get my nursing degree and become a nurse. Communication is vital in this field because if people do not communicate with each other, then others could potentially be at risk.

One of the first applicants, prior to his school being closed in March, Clayton Ledahl intends to stay close to home when he enrolls at Williston State College in the fall. After I graduate college I plan to open and run my own business. If I do open up my own business, I would have to do interviews with potential workers. In order to do this Id be communicating with people Im interviewing. This could well include people in Ledahls hometown of Grenora.

Morgan Reiser, finishing her first year at Dakota College of Bottineau, took time to elaborate on the role of Communication in the current world scenario, Right now, in these trying times, I do not think communication could be more crucial. With Blackboard Collaborate, Zoom, and email I am able to stay in daily contact with my professors to discuss all of my assignments and any questions I may have. Not only has communication been a huge part of my life, especially in these special circumstances, but it will continue to be a huge part of life in my future. Reiser studies Nursing from her home in Turtle Lake.

A two-time Dakota West Scholarship recipient, Hannah Johnson quoted George Bernard Shaw in her take on Communication, The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. Johnson continues, The importance of good communication cannot be overlooked and is needed on a daily basis. Dakota Wests Grenora branch is proud to have Johnson as one of its members.

These seven students received news of their receipt of these scholarships on Dakota Wests Facebook page (www.facebook.com/DakotaWestCredit Union) on Friday, May 15.

Dakota West expresses its congratulations and gratitude to all the student members who belong to the non-profit credit union headquartered in Watford City. Established in 1941, each of its branches and its members and employees help grow the Dakota West family with exceptional commitment to building relationships and strengthening communities.

Dedicated to exhibiting its values of Responsibility, Positive Attitude, Respectfulness, and Communication throughout west and central North Dakota, including branches in Grenora and Watford City, Dakota West Credit Union is instilling its young members with skills to maintain personal financial responsibility throughout their education. Dakota West supports that all its members grow with comprehensive, competitive financial products partnered with personal, professional service. To learn more about its services and communities, visit http://www.dakotawestcu.com/member-services/.

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Dakota West Credit Union Awards Additional Scholarships To Support Its Members - The Roundup

The Philadelphia Story, The Thirteenth Chair, and works by A.A. Milne set for the coming weeks

Langleys Theatre in the Country (TIC) might not be able to physically bring productions to the stage because of COVID-19, but online is a much different story.

Artistic director Reg Parks said TIC has been streaming plays for the past four weeks and plans do it right through August until they can safely re-open the theatre space.

The idea came from being in a Zoom meeting at the school I teach at and joking around with colleagues. I realized it was engaging and interesting to be so close to the faces, Parks said. It gave me the idea that doing theatre this way would allows the audience to get a close up perspective that they dont normally get.

Parks felt the opportunity was a great way to keep his company of actors engaged and patrons entertained. Currently, TIC has 45 actors signed up to take turns to perform in online shows.

Because of the technological opportunities, actors are performing from all over the country including Ontario, Prince George, Princeton, North Vancouver, and Langley.

So far, Zoom productions have ranged from An Ideal husband by Oscar Wilde to Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

TIC is using a Pay-What-You-Can method online which allows patrons to select how much they want to pay from $5 to $50 the recommended donation being $15 a person.

Certainly, the fact that we still have rent to pay, and other standing expenses factors in, but beyond that we have a community that loves to create and loves to tell stories. We also love a challenge, and when we started discussing it everyone was very game and energetic, Parks explained.

He said this has given actors an outlet to perform and patrons a much needed to break from the news and concerns of the day.

I have been shocked about how many people have thanked for simply making the effort, for offering some form of interactive entertainment, he added. They have been very gracious as we have gotten things started, and as we fine tune the experience for everyone involved.

Upcoming shows include:

May 22 & 23 The Philadelphia Story a comedy by Phillip Barry that became the musical High Society with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.

June 5 & 6 Molieres Tartuffe A new prose translation of the original french verse play, and the translator David Nicholson will be joining live from Toronto for the shows and the talk backs afterwards.

June 12 & 13 Two Curtain Raisers Box and Cox by John Maddison Morton about a landlady who rents the same room to two men without them knowing and How He Lied To Her Husband by George Bernard Shaw.

June 19 & 20 Two one-act plays by A.A. Milne

June 26 & 27 The Thirteenth Chair by Bayard Veiller a classic British Locked Room murder.

We are currently looking for shows for July and August, and plan to run them until we can re-open the theatre space, Parks noted.

READ MORE: VIDEO: Langley Community Chorus sings Shenandoah

People can find out more about the upcoming performances at https://theatreinthecountry.com.

Theatre is a great way to have a truly shared experience, and doing it online has in some ways made it even more intimate because we are performing right in people homes, Parks said. Since everything we do is live its a case they see us, and we see them. Its very bonding.

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VIDEO: Theatre in the Country offering weekly performances through Zoom - Aldergrove Star

The current crisis has had a devastating effect on the performing arts. Broadwayhas shut down, and the ban on gatherings in New Yorkextends to all other performance spaces as well. So the show must go onlineand, luckily, streaming video makes that possible. Here are some of the best theater, opera, dance and cabaret performances you can watch today without leaving home, many of which will help you support the artists involved.

Events that go live today are at the top of the list; be sure to scroll down past the daily listings to find major events that you can still stream for alimited time and, below that, a bonus section of videos that have no expiration date. We update this page every day, so please feel free to bookmark it and check back. (Refresh the bookmark every week or so for optimal use.)

Past casts of Hairspray sing You Cant Stop The BeatNowIf youve been feeling less than your best, watch this four-minute video of one of the great Broadway feel-good songs of all time: You Cant Stop the Beat, the triumphantly peppy and defiant finale of Hairspray. The video is a massive undertaking, with more than 150 actors, dancers and musicians contributing from homestarting with Tracy originators Ricki Lake and Marissa Jaret Winokur and eventually including (among many others) Harvey Fierstein, Michael Ball, Matthew Morrison, Darlene Love, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Jackie Hoffman, Billy Eichner, Randy Rainbow, Andrew Rannells, Kerry Butler, Laura Bell Bundy, Sean Hayes, Kristin Chenoweth, Teri Hatcher, Bruce Vilanch, Garrett Clayton, Ephraim Sykes, Keala Settle, Alex Newell, Maddie Baillio, Nikki Blonsky,choreographer Jerry Douglas and songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. It pulls out all the stops, and it's unbeatable.

Harvey Fierstein in Hairspray | Photograph: Paul Kolnik

Plays in the House: Candida2pm EDT / 7pm BST (available for four days)Twice a week, the invaluable Stars in the House series, which usually features interviews and musical interludes (see 8pm below), presents live performances of plays in their entirety. Previous efforts, including The Heidi Chronicles, The Tale of the Allergists Wife and Fuddy Meers, have come off smashingly. Now the series welcomes Gingold Theatrical Group's supremely cultivated David Staller, who specializes in works by George Bernard Shaw, for a reading of the Bearded Ones 1894 comedy about a marriage threatened by a dishy young poet. The starry cast, directed by Staller, is led by Rene Elise Goldsberry, Santino Fontana and Andrew Keenan-Bolger as the sides of the main romantic triangle; they are joined by Andra Burns, Jay O. Sanders and Michael Benjamin Washington. (Unlike other Stars in the House offerings, this will only be available for four days after the live broadcast.)

Rene Elise Goldsberry | Photograph: Courtesy of the artist

English National Ballet: Nora2pm EDT / 7pm BST (available for 48 hours)This weeks free ENB offering, choreographed by the companys Stina Quagebeur, is a ballet inspired by Henrik Ibsens 1879 protfeminist social drama, A Dolls House, in which a bourgeois Norwegian woman walks out on her family with a decisive (and once divisive) slam of the door. Crystal Costa plays Nora and Jeffrey Cirio is her husband, Torvald; the music is by Philip Glass. The piece premiered in 2019 as part of She Persisted, a triple bill of works by women.

Nora | Photograph: Laurent Liotardo

How to Survive the End of the World2pm EDT / 7pm BSTEllaRose Chary and Brandon James Gwinns original musical short, created in quarantine, concerns a young woman who obsessively rewatches old video messages from her dead brother, and whose interactions even with the living now take place only in a virtual space. The cast comprises Hannah Cruz, Dylan Hartwell, Greg Sullivan and Ellen Winter, who recorded their parts from their homes.

Dylan Hartwell | Photograph: Jeff Mills

Martha Graham Dance Company: Letter to the World2:30pm EDT / 7:30pm BST (live only)The queen of modern dance's legacy lives on. In this edition of its Martha Matinee series on YouTube, the company that bears her name takes a deep dive into Grahams 1940 Letter to the World (immortalized in Barbara Grahams iconic photograph), which explores the inner life of the American poet, recluse and dash enthusiast Emily Dickinson. The company is showing the first half of the piece this week, and will air the second next week; both installments include footage of the original cast with Graham, Erick Hawkins and Merce Cunningham and a 1972 revival with Pearl Lang. Artistic director Janet Eilber is on hand for live Q&A during the group watch, joined by Graham archivist Oliver Tobin and other guests. (The program will be screened again on Saturday at 2:30pm, with a new live discussion.)

Martha Graham in Letter to the World | Photograph: Barbara Morgan

Linda Lavin with Billy Stritch3pm EDT / 8pm BSTMost recently seen on Broadway in 2016s Our Mother's Brief Affair, stage actor extraordinaire Lavin is perhaps still best known to general audiences as the title character of the 1970s sitcom Alice. In this weekly at-home set, the 82-year-old performer returns to her musical-theater roots, with her regular musical director, the accomplished Billy Stritch, at her actual piano. (As luck would have it, they live in the same building.)

Linda Lavin | Photograph: Cliff Lipson

Maries Crisis Virtual Piano Bar4pm9:30pm EDT / 9pm-2:30am BSTThe beloved West Village institution keeps the show tunes rolling merrily along every night of the week. Read all about it here. Join the Maries Group page on Facebook to watch from home, and dont forget to tip the pianist and staff through Venmo. Tonights scheduled pianists are Drew Wutke (@DrewWutke) and Kenney Green (@KenneyGreenMusic).

The Builders Association: Ten Stories: A Decameron from the Builders5pm EDT / 10pm BST (live only)Director Marianne Weemss company, the Builders Association (House/Divided), has foregrounded technology since it launched in 1994, so it should adjust to the new reality of live theater performance like a fish to an online streaming platform. In this inventive new series, inspired by Boccaccios 14th-century plague-story anthology, the troupe offers five original half-hour playletsthis is the third; the others are tomorrow and Fridaythat are structured as storytelling conversations; viewers who watch it on two devices at once can access visual extras. Performers Moe Angelos and David Pence anchor each episode, joined by two guest artists each time. The performances can only be viewed live, but all five will be released on June 1 if you miss any.

Moe Angelos | Photograph: Stephanie Warren

The Metropolitan Opera: Hansel and Gretel5pm EDT / 10pm BST (available for 48 hours)In addition to its nightly gift of filmed productions (see 7:30pm), the Met offers an additional free opera from its Live in HD series every Wednesday through its Free Student Streams program. The videos stay live for 48 hours, and supplemental materials help newcomers unpack each offering. This week's study subject is Engelbert Humperdincks 1893 fairy-tale opera Hansel and Gretel, a Grimm story ofchildren who murder an old woman after trying to eat her house. This fantastical 2008 performance, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, stars Alice Coote and Christine Schfer as the hungry, hungry kiddos and the late English tenor Philip Langridge as the Witch.

Hansel and Gretel | Photograph: Ken Howard

MCC Live Labs: The Sentinels5:30pm EDT / 10:30pm BST (available through May 23)MCC continues its new weekly series of free one-act plays, each under 45 minutes long. In The Sentinels, by Matthew Lopez (The Inheritance), a group of women meet every year to reminisce about the husbands they lost on 9/11. Rebecca Taichman directs a boffo cast that comprises Jane Alexander, Priscilla Lopez, Katrina Lenk and Dene Benton.

Katrina Lenk | Photograph: Guerin Blask

The Howard Ashman Celebration6pm EDT / 11am BST (available through May 31) Writer-lyricist and director Howard Ashman, in his collaborations with composer Alan Menkenwhich include Little Shop of Horrors and the Disney-renaissance animated films The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdinarguably did more than anyone to return musical theater from its mass-culture exile in the late 20th century. One can only imagine what else he might have done had he not died of AIDS in 1991, when he was 40 years old. In honor what would have been his 70th birthday, Rainbow Sun Productions has created this collection of songs and stories aboutAshman's life and legacy. Participants include John Tartaglia, Christy Carlson Romano, Bradley Pierce and the original voice of Ariel, Jodi Benson; all proceeds benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

John Tartaglia | Photograph: Courtesy of the artist

54 Below at Home: 54 Does 54: The Feinsteins/54 Below Staff Show6:30pm EDT / 11:30pm BSTThe citys top supper club, Feinsteins/54 Below, offers shows from its archives, streamed live on YouTube for one night only, in its ongoing series #54BelowatHome. Tonights selection is a 2018 group show by members of the venues staffincluding servers, managers and cookshosted by Dylan Bustamante and Kevin Ferguson. In honor of their talents, consider contributing tothe GuFundMe campaign for the dozens of F/54 staffers who are currently laid off.

The Homebound Project7pm EDT / 12am BSTAn extremely impressive roster of 50 actors and writers lend their talents to this online initiative to raise money for No Kid Hungry, which helps feed children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Founded by playwright Catya McMullen and director Jenna Worsham, each of the Homebound Projects three editions features 10 new short dramatic works, directed by professionals; you can watch them in return for a donation of $10 or more. (The videos drop every second Wednesday, and stay live for four days only.) The actors in tonights second installment include Mary-Louise Parker, Taylor Schilling, Uzo Aduba, Betty Gilpin and Zachary Quinto; the writers include Anne Washburn, Will Arbery, Sarah DeLappe, Adam Bock and Bryna Turner.

Mary-Louise Parker | Photograph: Courtesy of the artist

Ballet Hispnico: El Beso7pm EDT / 12am BSTThe venerable Latino company, which was to celebrate its 50th birthday with a two-week run at the Joyce in April, continues its virtual program, B Unidos. Most of its offerings are on Instagram Live, but its weekly watch parties of archival favorites are the exception. Todays offering is Gustavo Ramrez Sansanos 2014 El Beso, which pays more than lip service to the intricacies of a kiss. The piece is set to zarzuela music and features costumes by Venezuelan fashionisto Angel Sanchez. A live Q&A follows with Sansano and BH artistic director Eduardo Vilaro.

El Beso | Photograph: Paula Lobo

HERE: The Pigeoning7pm EDT / 12am BSTEvery Wednesday night, the vital downtown arts complex HERE screens a new recording of one of its past successes in a Facebook watch party. This weeks selection is Robin Frohardts puppet-theater portrait of an uptight 1980s office drone who suspects that park birds are conspiring to disrupt his orderly existence. The titular pigeons in Robin Frohardts eerie, hilarious, apocalyptic puppet fable have a weird preknowledge of the end-time to come, wrote Helen Shaw in her 2013 Time Out review. But the most chilling element of this beautifully realized, not-for-kids (but adorable) nightmare is its evocation of nine-to-five office mindlessness."

The Pigeoning | Photograph: Richard Termine

New Works Series: Mary and Max and Second Line7pm EDT / 12am BSTIn this free, 40-minute live-streamed show, New York Theatre Barn's development series Zooms in on two musicals-in-progress. Lauren Elder and Tony winner Shuler Hensley (Oklahoma!) perform two songs from Bobby Conin and Crystal Skillmans Mary and Max, adapted from the bittersweet 2009 Claymation film about an unusual pair of pen pals; and Austin Scott and Lagoona Bloo sing two songs from Sam Carner and Derek Gregors Second Line, about a New Orleans woman in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Lauren Elder | Photograph: Summer LaLande

Marty Thomas and Rachel Potter: Quarantine Cabaret7pm EDT / 12am BSTPower singer and human spangle Marty Thomas (Xanadu) teams up every Wednesday with his talented pal Rachel Potter (who sang the big suitcase song in the most recent Broadway revival of Evita). Their scheduled guests this week are the husband-and-wife team of Kristine Reese and Billy Tighe and the high-flying tenor Michael Longoria (Jersey Boys).

Marty Thomas and Rachel Potter | Photograph: Courtesy Snack Entertainment

The Metropolitan Opera: Un Ballo in Maschera7:30pm EDT / 12:30am BST (available for 23 hours)The Met continues its immensely popular rollout of past performances, recorded in HD and viewable for free. A different archival production goes live at 7:30pm each night and remains online for the next 23 hours. Tonight the series continues its tenth week with Verdis opera about the assassination of Swedens Gustovo III at a ball. Marcelo lvarez, Sondra Radvanovsky and Dmitri Hvorostovsky star in this 2012 performance, which is staged in film noir style by David Alden and conducted by Fabio Luisi. Stephanie Blythe and Kathleen Kim have colorful supporting roles.

Un Ballo in Maschera | Photograph: Ken Howard

Bombshell in Concert8pm EDT / 1am BSTWhether you loved it, hated it, loved to hate it, hated to love it or maintained a studious feigned indifference to it, the behind-the-Broadway-scenes NBC series Smash was the talk of the theater world for its two stormy seasons in 2012 and 2013. What everyone agrees about is that the musical numbers that Hairsprays Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote for its show-within-a-show, the Marilyn Monroe biomusical-in-progress Bombshell, were consistently pretty great. In 2015, Smashs cast gathered at the Minskoff Theatre to perform those songs in a sold-out concert co-directed by Wittman and choreographer Joshua Bergasse; everything clicked, the audience went wild and the Actors Fund raised $800,000. Now People tries to add to the tally by streaming a recording of that magical night as an Actors Fund benefit. Rene Zellweger introduces the program, and at intermission the acerbic Julie Klausner hosts a live virtual reunion with cast members Megan Hilty, Katharine McPhee, Debra Messing, Christian Borle, Leslie Odom Jr., Jeremy Jordan, Andy Mientus, Jack Davenport, Jaime Cepero, Will Chase, Brian dArcy James, Ann Harada, Krysta Rodriguez and Wesley Taylor. Tune in and get Smashed. (Needless to say: Team Ivy forever.)

Smash | Photograph: Merk Seliger/NBC

30th Plaidiversary Reunion Special10pm EDT / 3am BST (available for 72 hours)Musical Theatre West presents a 30th-anniversary celebration of writer-director Stuart Rosss popular retro revue Forever Plaid, an affectionate spoof of 1950s male singing quartets that ran for years in New York and across the country. Along with the cast of the original 1990 Off Broadway production at what is now the Triad TheaterDavid Engel, Stan Chandler, Guy Stroman and the impish Jason Graaethe reunion includes Ross and longtime Plaid performer David Raben (who was in the 2008 film version). Expects stories, performance clips and perfect harmony.

Jason Graae | Photograph: Rick Bernstein

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The Best Live Theater to Stream Online Today - Time Out

123, Bettmann; Everett Collection; Turner Pictures/Everett Collection; HBO

Since her death in 1796, the Russian Empress Catherine the Great has been a fascination of not only historians but also some of our greatest actresses. The role has captivated stars from Marlene Dietrich to Catherine Zeta-Jones and, most recently, Elle Fanning. Even Mae West brought a version of her storycalled Catherine Was Greatto the Broadway stage in 1943. But who's played the legendary monarch on screen? Here's a look at the actresses who've portrayed Catherine's power, smarts, and style on film.

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Pola Negri

In the 1924 silent film Forbidden Paradise (based on the Broadway play The Czarina), Pola Negri played Catherine, the monarch of a European country who's saved from a coup by a soldier who becomes her love interestat least for a little while.

Marlene Dietrich

Dietrich played the role of the Catherine the Great in the 1934 drama The Scarlet Empress. While many film buffs still hold the film in high regard, historians have knocked itand its suggestive storylinesfor being more fantasy than reality.

Elisabeth Bergner

Escape Me Never star Bergner appeared opposite Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in 1934's The Rise of Catherine the Great, which came out the same year as its direct competitor, The Scarlett Empress.

Tallulah Bankhead

Ernst Lubitsch, who directed the silent Forbidden Paradise, teamed with director Otto Preminger to film the 1945 "talkie" remake A Royal Scandal starring Bankhead, Donald Douglas, and Charles Coburn.

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Jeanne Moreau

The 1968 comedy Great Catherine, based on a short story by George Bernard Shaw, features Moreau as Catherine the Great, and c0starred Peter O'Toole and Zero Mostel.

Julia Ormond

The 1991 miniseries Young Catherinewhich filmed in Russia and actually shot scenes at the Winter Palace, where Russian royals once livedstarred Ormond as the young royal finding her way in Russia and Vanessa Redgrave as Empress Elizabeth.

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Catherine Zeta-Jones

Catherine the Great, the 1995 TV movie, featured another Catherine (Zeta-Jones) in the title role. Jeanne Moreau, who played that role back in 1968, shows up here as Empress Elizabeth.

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Helen Mirren

The Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning Mirren played Catherine in the Great in a 2019 HBO limited series. It gave her a unique perspective on the character; She knew she had to control the male aristocrats around her," Mirren told the New York Times. "And she did. She did by outsmarting them.

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Elle Fanning

In 2020's darkly comic The Great, Fanning plays Catherine opposite Nicholas Hoult's Petergiving the character another breath of new life almost 100 years after she first appeared on screen.

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All the Actresses Who Have Played Catherine the Great - TownandCountrymag.com

Well-crafted analogies and metaphors1 help our audiences remember the key ideas we present in our demos. Some examples are very effective, others could be improved Lets explore!

Beyond Facts

If you simply present your capability (a fact), typical audiences dont retain it (unless it addresses something really key). Facts by themselves are flat and lack luster, they dont stand out. They are unremarkable and are correspondingly difficult to remember.

Analogies and metaphors often build visual representations of ideas that are sticky they form memories that last longer and are easier to recall than facts.

Here are some examples Ive heard fact first, then the analogy or metaphor. First specimen:

We have a broad range of reports.

Nothing particularly remarkable here, is there? A different vendor offered:

You can choose from a broad range of reports. Its like having a supermarket of reports, ranging from fresh meats and fish, arrays of vegetables, rice and pasta, eggs and dairy, exotic canned goods, chips and cookies if you need it, your desired report is likely here Bring your shopping list!

a supermarket of reports Much more memorable!

Another example:

You can set search filters to find exactly what you need.

Meh. This next variation I heard is quite a bit more, um, pointed:

People talk about how hard it is to find a needle in a haystack. Well, this search capability is like a powerful magnet precisely extracting that iron needle in a fraction of a second! Haystack? No problem!

a powerful magnet I want one of those!

Another example, for software that automates various workflows:

We automate your manual processes

ZZzzzzzzz. Heres an alternative I heard a nicely crafted description!

Its like the difference between a team of workers laboring with hand tools slowly building cabinets and fixtures vs. equipping your team with state-of-the-art computer design driving integrated power tools not only producing beautiful works in a fraction of the time but also improving the craftsmanship and quality!

state-of-the-art computer design driving integrated power tools Wow.

Finally, an example from my distant past, with respect to applying combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening to pharma and materials science research we used to say (while holding up a 384-well micro-titer plate),

Its like doing a years research in the palm of your hand!

[For those who are familiar with this industry, no explanation is necessary; for those who are unfamiliar, no explanation will suffice!]

Facts are boring and unappetizing. Spice up your demos with a generous seasoning of analogies and metaphors. Make it a memorable meal!

Regional vs. International Issues Be Aware!

A while ago I was delivering a Great Demo! Workshop in Europe to an international audience and during our first break, a woman came up to me and asked me to:

1. Slow down a bit and

2. Be a bit more careful with my choice of words.

This was a great reminder and humbling, personally. I work hard to slow down my delivery and try to choose more internationally-understood English words and phrases (and to avoid U.S.-specific colloquialisms), when presenting to non-native English speakers and I believe I generally do a good job. However, it was clear I could do better!

It is difficult for non-native-English audiences to spend a day or two working in English it can be confusing, at minimum, and very tiring overall! Accordingly, U.S. folks presenting to international audiences need to be aware of their word and phrase choices.

Here are some examples that I have heard (along with possible non-U.S. interpretations):

Hit it out of the park [What are you hitting, and why?]

Out of left field [Which field?]

Thats the minor leagues [Is this a music reference or perhaps a follow-on movie to The Justice League?]

The cats out of the bag [Why was the cat in the bag? What did she do?]

That dog dont hunt [Whose dog doesnt do what? And why?]

It was wicked [Wicked is that evil or good, or a reference to the musical?]

Piece of cake [Ahh, it must be time for dessert or our next coffee break, yes?]

Thats just putting lipstick on a pig [Um, why and what did the pig do to you?]

Break a leg [Sounds painful]

Monday morning quarterback [Do they play American football on Monday mornings?]

The whole nine yards [What happened to the 10th yard? And how many meters is that? (8.23)]

Go Dutch [Is that like, Go AFC!?]

It fell through the cracks [Are there cracks in our software?]

We threw him under the bus [Now thats going to leave a mark!]

Off kilter [Im totally lost on this one]

Out of whack [Too bad, no more whacks in your bag, huh perhaps the cat has more whacks in her bag]

How does this apply to demos? Directly!

Contemplate the challenges faced by your customers when they are listening to demos presented using phrases and language that are U.S.-specific and delivered at rapid-fire pace.

One of our top priorities in presenting demos is clarity of communication so we should take the guidance from my Workshop participant and

1. Slow down

2. Choose words and word phrases that are as international-English as possible!

Interestingly, it cuts both ways. Just as U.S.-based phrases can be confusing to non-U.S. audiences, other international regionalisms can be equally puzzling. Here are some UK-based examples followed by a rough U.S. translation):

Lets table that (The U.S. translates this as the opposite of what other English-speaking countries mean!)

Cover off? (Completed)

Football (Soccer, the beautiful game)

Thongs (Flip flops, zories, clam diggers)

Entre (Appetizer)

Chips and crisps (French fries and chips)

Rubber (Eraser)

Storey (Floor)

First floor (Second floor)

Winston Churchill (or George Bernard Shaw or Oscar Wilde) famously remarked about the U.S. and the UK that England and America are two countries separated by a common language.

Even within the confines of the U.S. meanings change. For example:

Wicked as noted above

Sugar, as in Give me some sugar!

Pasty pale or delicious?

Dressing vs. stuffing

Fix repair vs. about to

Dope dont even get me started on this!

Pop vs. soda

Shopping card vs. carriage vs buggy (vs. trolley in the UK)

Puppy chow (U.S. Midwest)

Ugly unpleasant looking vs. rude or unkind

Awesome can mean absolutely anything, it appears!

The moral? Think about your words before you use them. Be as clear as possible and practice using International English when appropriate.

Beware the Morass of Mixed Metaphors

Metaphors and analogies are terrific but can be risky if applied haphazardly. Mixed metaphors can be more amusing than useful particularly if your audience focuses on trying the decode the metaphor as opposed to getting the point directly.

Here are a few sad examples of mixed metaphors for your inspection vote for the worst or best, depending on how you view this! Note that these are all real, captured from various demo recordings, blogs and articles:

All too often we relegate the demo to the been there, done that corner, content to put into practice all of the tired, tried and possibly true techniques that will get us in the door but see us coming up short when it comes down to closing with confidence and power. Today well examine some of the practices that can be tossed out with tomorrows trash, and look at ways to pump up our demo game.

This mixed metaphorical mlange starts in a corner, moves to the door, then gets tossed and finally pumped. A busy afternoon!

Next?

While it may seem like good sense to cover all your bases, throwing too much at your prospect actually weakens your message. Even a short diversion from focus can confuse the issue and cause your prospect to tune out during an otherwise stellar case. You make your prospect do all the work of picking out and remembering the most relevant pieces.

Love it: Cover bases, throw too much (OK, so far so good), but then the baseball analogy gets rained out with focus, tune out, stellar case, picking out pieces.

How about:

With these ideas in your back pocket, you can break through to the toughest of clients and keep your organization firing on all cylinders no matter how much of a time crunch you are in.

Short but packed! Back pocket, break through, fire on all cylinders, time crunch. I think this is the winner so far. And I really want to see someone breaking through, leading with their back pocket while firing on all cylinders!

And:

And like the U.N. Security Council Members, it only takes one veto to kill an entire deal. Because of the proliferation of stakeholders needed to approve a deal to get it off the ground, a sure thing can become dead in the water long after the sales cycle seems over.

Better have the Security Council equipped with both wings and fins

More:

Our reps use our platform which provides the toolset they need to spread your compelling sales message and get those who buy in the wiggle room they need for others to sign off on their decision.

This one mixes a bad case of rampaging pronouns with toolsets and wiggle rooms!

But wait theres more:

Modern decision-makers have a million things to take care of, so even a small objection or a momentary scheduling snag can threaten to eject them out of your funnel as their plate fills up with other priorities.

Wow breathtaking!

The moral? Once again, choose your words carefully and build your metaphors thoughtfully!

Manufacturing Metaphors and Accumulating Analogies

Some people can generate effective analogies and metaphors as needed on the fly. Other folks may want to have a handful of prebuilt (and tested) examples to draw from.

Here are a few suggestions for those of us in the second group:

Collecting:

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Using Analogies and Metaphors (and More) in Demos - Customer Think