It’s fitting that Guild Hall will kick off a summer full of music, plays, and comedy with “Sensaciones,” an evening of Flamenco-infused live music and dancing, “Call Her Barbra!” — a celebration of songs made popular by Ms. Streisand — and a free workshop production of “Ball of Redemption,” a new dark family comedy by the actress Ellen Dolan.
Whether by design or coincidence, Ms. Dolan, who starred for 20 years on the television drama “As the World Turns,” will not only appear in “Ball of Redemption” but will also narrate the Streisand program, which is set for Sunday evening at 7.
Friday's Organización Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island and Guild Hall presention of “Sensaciones” will feature the Fox Brothers, a Spanish guitar duo from Miami, and Sonia Olla, a Flamenco dancer who choreographed Ricky Martin and Madonna’s Rebel Heart World Tour. The show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $20 and rise to $60 for V.I.P. seating and a reception before the show.
“Call Her Barbra!” tells the story of Ms. Streisand’s journey from Brooklyn to Broadway to Hollywood in part through songs from “Funny Girl,” “A Star Is Born,” and “Yentl,” and will include such hits as “People,” “Evergreen,” “The Way We Were,” “My Man,” and many more, all performed by three musical theater and cabaret veterans.
Edwardyne Cowan appeared as Eliza Doolittle on Broadway and in the European touring productions of “My Fair Lady” with Richard Chamberlain, as Christina in “Phantom of the Opera,” and in the U.S. national tour of “Ragtime.”
Valerie diLorenzo recently originated the roles of Elizabeth and Madame Berlin in the reading of the new musical “Unlikely Allies” with Ms. Cowan and Mr. Chamberlain. She has performed at such New York cabarets as the Metropolitan Room, the Triad Theatre, and Don’t Tell Mama.
Doreen Montalvo recently played Gloria Fajardo on the first national tour of “On Your Feet,” a musical about the singer Gloria Estefan, and performed in the world premiere of “American Mariachi” at the Old Globe in San Diego and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
Musical direction is by Steven Silverstein. Tickets are $20 to $45, $18 to $40 for members.
“Ball of Redemption,” which will be performed next Thursday at 7 p.m., is the story of a family reunion at which three siblings must confront issues that have plagued them since childhood, while they are trapped indoors with a mysterious stranger and Hurricane Sandy rages outside.
In addition to her extensive television credits, which also include five years on “Guiding Light,” Ms. Dolan has appeared onstage in “Mother Courage,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” and “Steel Magnolias” at various regional theaters.
The cast also includes Josh Gladstone, who has served as the artistic director of the John Drew Theater since 2000, Kate Mueth, an actress-director-choreographer and founder of the Neo-Political Cowgirls theater company, Trevor Vaughn, an actor who was worked with both Ms. Mueth and Mr. Gladstone, and Charlie Westfal, a Brooklyn-based performance artist and actor. Tina Jones directs the production.
Among other highlights of Guild Hall’s summer schedule is the three-day Guitar Masters Festival, which will feature the blues icon Buddy Guy, the Allman Betts Band, and Roseanne Cash and Band. And speaking of guitar masters, G.E. Smith will return with his Portraits series, which will bring Dawes, Loudon Wainwright III, John Wesley Harding, Amy Helm, and Tommy Emmanuel to Guild Hall.
Tickets to David Sedaris’s Aug. 2 reading and book signing are already selling fast, as are those for “Stan the Man,” a new comedy by Eugene Pack that will have two staged readings in July with Alec Baldwin, Chris Bauer, and Rob Morrow.
The composer Philip Glass will present two different “Works for Piano” programs, each with recent compositions and new arrangements of his classic compositions. “A Thousand Thoughts,” a new “live documentary” of the Kronos Quartet by Sam Green, will combine archival footage, recorded interviews, live narration, and live accompaniment by the quartet.
There’s much, much more on tap, all of it accessible on Guild Hall’s website.
