September 1st, 2008 admin
Between the years 1973 and 1985, I had the honor to have been the co-founder of the restoration and rejuvenation of the historic Paramount Theatre for the Performing Arts in Austin, Texas. The theatre, built in 1915, was in danger of being demolished for a Holiday Inn. Located a few blocks south of the Capitol building, the Paramount has long been an anchor business in the heart of the inner city. An official Texas Landmark, listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in Washington, D.C., the Paramount has had a major impact on the cultural diversity of Austin for 93 years combining Broadway plays, music, comedy, variety classic films, ballet, classical music, opera world film premiers, a SWSW venue and more.
In the early years, the theatre played host to legendary performers including Houdini, Helen Hayes, Enrico Caruso, Sally Rand, the Marx Brothers, Cab Calloway, Sarah Bernhardt to name a few. In 1930, the theatre was upgraded with air conditioning at the same time that the public’s appetite for motion pictures was reaching a fevered pitch. Little by little, over the next three decades, motion pictures became more and more typical while touring live plays and variety acts began to wane. The Paramount reached a low point becoming a venue for kung fu films and exploitation product in the late 1960’s and mid 1970’s. ABC Interstate Theatres – the operator of the theatres all throughout the Southwest – had turned its back on all of its downtown theatres allowing them to deteriorate and to be shuttered or demolished in many cases in favor of more profitable suburban multi screen movie theatres..
During the first phase of the Paramount’s reincarnation (1973-1985), the theatre was a major venue for music and comedy concerts via major touring stars and Broadway shows. Over 200 big music and comedy headliners were presented covering the disciplines of jazz, reggae, rock and roll, R&B, classic rock, folk and more co-produced with Art Squires and Michael Dunham of the then Southwest Concerts. Billy Joel made his debut at the Paramount among dozens of other touring acts. Some of these concerts included Little Feat, B.B. King, Iggy Pop, Al Jarreau, Dave Brubeck, Rush, Al Stewart, Randy Newman, Cheech and Chong, Rodney Dangerfield, Toots and the Maytals, Peter Tosh, the Pointer Sisters and dozens more.
The Paramount began this active concert phase overlapping the famed Armadillo World Headquarters. Owing to the significant difference in the two venues, there were plenty of acts available that fit the aesthetic of both facilities. Even prior to these music powerhouses, the Vulcan Gas Company was actually Austin’s first rock venue in the psychedelic era in the mid 1960’s featuring Johnny Winter, Steve Miller Band, Jimmy Reed and Big Mama Thornton.
Today, the Paramount continues to hold the torch high along with the Austin City Limits Musical Festival, the Backyard, Stubb’s Barbeque, Austin City Limits television show on PBS, the Music Hall, the Long Center, Bass concert hall on the UT campus and innumerable clubs making Austin, truly, the Music Capital of the World. The theatre is also a favorite for film premieres including work by Ron Howard, Robert Rodriquez, Richard Linklater and others.
Paramount Theatre link:
http://www.austintheatre.org/site/PageServer?pagename=paramounttheatre_history
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August 29th, 2008 admin
One of the most unusual entertainment bookings of my career involved the world renowned violinist maestro Itzhak Perlman.
Many years ago, I set up a subscription series for a cultural arts presenter in McAllen, Texas. Additionally, I was responsible for booking the artists and all production. One year, a board member said, “We’d like to have Itzhak Perlman”. At the time I thought to myself, it would be easier to get Moses.
McAllen is located in what Texans called the “Valley” which includes Harlingen, Brownsville and South Padre Island. The population of McAllen in those days was around 90,000. Let’s just say the Valley was not on the touring schedule of any name entertainers. Moreover, the chances that Itzhak Perlman would entertain such a date were zero and none.
It is not in my nature to dodge a challenge. I set about writing an impassioned letter to Itzhak’s manager in New York. My basic pitch was this: Itzhak Perlman has sold out every major venue in every major city in the world multiple times. Why not perform someplace totally different wherein it would affect the lives of people there for a very long span of time. I then went in to detail about the Valley, its uniqueness to Texas, the cultural heritage of the Hispanic society there and so on. I gave it both barrels.
To my amazement, Itzhak bit. the only caveat was that we had to provide a private jet from Dallas to McAllen. That was no problem. Many prominent businessmen and banks were on that board of directors. We made the deal of the century in my view. Itzhak Perlman comes to the Valley. I thought I should have received a Grammy for Booker of the Year for that one.
The day finally arrived and off the plane came Itzhak which was a major chore for him. Once I got him settled at his hotel - the La Quinta of lore and then he said, “John, I’m hungry”. I asked him if had ever had Tex Mex. He had never heard of it. The chef of the hotel whipped up a dozen different dishes of Tex Mex - enchiladas, empanadas, tapas, burritos, chilli relenjo, chalupa, flan and more. The hotel really outdid themselves. Itzhak woofed it down and loved every minute of it. It was a bit surreal to be sitting across from Itzhak Perlman in McAllen eating Tex Mex. But it seemed incredibly natural and he was having a ball with this new food group which Texans are addicted to from an early age.
There’s more. Backstage at the International Civic Center in McAllen (2000 seats), he and I are talking about this and that. What most people don’t know about Itzhak is that he is funny as hell and a totally down to earth guy for being a musical legend worldwide. He then picked up his violin from it’s case and said, “Do you know what this is?” I was pretty sure it was a Stradavarius ($1 million even at that time. He had six in a vault in New York). One’s natural inclination in such a situation is to reach for the item. He then said, “Don’t touch it”. He was half playing with me and half serious.
The show was a solo recital - only Itzhak on stage. It was one of the most electrifying and satisfying performances I had seen anywhere in my three decades as a booker and producer. It was the classical version of that famous line in the movie “Field of Dreams” wherein James Earl Jones says “Shoeless Joe Jackson comes to Iowa”. But in our case, it was Itzhak Perlman comes to the Texas Valley.
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August 9th, 2008 admin
Over the last several years, John has conducted extensive research for a proposed Broadway musical based on the life of Hollywood musical director Busby Berkeley. The show entitled “The Berkeley Girl” is based on a man’s obsession with finding the perfect woman.
A Busby Berkeley film was distinctive for several reasons. He auditioned as many as 3000 women for 150 roles in his musical numbers during the Great Depression. His unbridled use of the camera, movement and special effects was legend. And, it is no exaggeration to say that Busby Berkeley literally created the Hollywood musical form.
Busby had been a choreographer/dance director on Broadway for several years when Sam Goldwyn called him to direct the dance sequences of a film entitled “Whoopee”. Not long after Busby came to the notice of Hollywood studios, he was signed to a seven year contract with Warner Brothers where he created fantastical almost surreal musical extravaganzas including “42nd Street”, “Dames”, “Goldiggers” of 1935, 1937 and 1939. These early musicals in the 1930’s and 1940’s were to performance art on film what Cirque du Soleil is to performance art on stage.
Berkeley went on to another seven year contract with MGM producing several movies with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. His work with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland in “For Me and My Gal” showed his development in to more serious work involving more emphasis on story and less emphasis on production numbers. Many of you may remember the outlandish “The Gang’s All Here” starring Carmen Miranda with the infamous dancing bananas scene. He is also the director who created the incredible water movies like “Million Dollar Mermaid” starring world famous swimmer Esther Williams.
John felt that Busby’s unique style made for a perfect vehicle for a Broadway musical. The show is not all fluff though. Busby had a tumultuous life including seven marriages, alcoholism and was charged with second degree murder in the death of an individual when he was driving to Pacific Palisades one night. Warner Brothers paid $100,000 in legal fees to get him acquitted. On the sound stage, Busby was surrounded by a fantasy world where he thrived. Outside the sound stage, he seemed to be a fish out of water.
The reasons the show is entitled “The Berkeley Girl” is due to Busby’s obsession with finding women who “matched like a string of pearls”. He even went so far as to design a mannequin of the perfect Berkeley girl including height, waist size, figure, bust size, hair color, eye color and so on. During auditions, hopeful starlet’s had to stand next to the inanimate mannequin to see how they stacked up.
“The Berkeley Girl” was optioned by Radio City Music Hall to be a permanent addition to its long running shows like The Radio City Christmas Extravaganza”. Due to a purge of some of the producers on staff, the optioned lapsed.
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July 23rd, 2008 admin
The world of comedy is no stranger to John Bernardoni and vice versa. The story begins in the 1st grade of an all girls Catholic School in San Antonio. In fact, there were about 100 young boys in a school predominantly occupied by young girls and ladies that ran from Grade 1 to Grade 12. During one of the classes, the nun took a prolonged breath and John finished the sentence. The class laughed. John then met Mr. Pointer. He never knew when something was going to pop out of his mouth until it had already left his lips. Thus, the interconnection between pleasure (laughter) and pain (the pointer) were inextricably intertwined.
The dye was cast for what would become an odyssey through the foundation of comedy in its many forms - on stage or off. Over the years, in his formative years, John would perform various comedy sketches courtesy of Bill Cosby learning from the master about comic timing, the use of silence to punctuate the punch line and the milking of the gag. He worked in musical comedies as a character actor which was usually the comic foil in the play. Ultimately, his work in comedy lead him to The Improvisation in New York.
The crowning moment in this voyage came together when John created a one man show on the life of legendary comic, Lenny Bruce. Lenny paved the way for comedians like Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, George Carlin and other comics whose stage performances were steeped in colorful language and imagery to put it diplomatically. Lenny Bruce was doing bits in the 1950’s and 1960’s on homosexuality, communism, racism, Jackie Kennedy, the Lone Ranger as a poof in “Thank You Masked Man” and more for which he was arrested 280 times, mostly for language banned by obscenity laws in most cities.
Fast forward to today. The next foray in to unholy ground is in the developmental stages for a wicked new show called:
“The Arc Angel: Kicking ass and taking names for God”. The premise of the character and the show is based on the Arc Angel’s take on life in today’s world on earth covering every topic on the planet. God is pissed at the woeful state of affairs down below and he’s sent his main agent to deliver the message that what’s coming next will make the 10 Commandments look like Snow White if his children don’t change their evil ways.
John is writing the piece and will perform as The Arc Angel in live venues and for possible television sitcom.
Stay tuned for more.
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June 18th, 2008 admin
In a constant effort to provide cutting edge production technology for the entertainment events we produce on behalf of corporate America, the John Bernardoni Production Group is about to utilize one of the most mind boggling and sensational digital projection system – Pandora’s Box - at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. The Kodak Theatre is the home of the Academy Awards.
The corporate event for 3400 people will feature Jay Leno and Foreigner who JBPG will produce. However, the primary use of the Pandora’s Box technology will be used during the 90 minute Foreigner set only. The digital projection system offers an infinite variety of special effects including “warping” images to fit any surface – flat or curved. Pandora’s Box also can project 360 degrees on a sphere as well as creating 3D images. And that is just the beginning of the range of its abilities.
Our veteran programmers will create a palette of images featuring Foreigner, the client’s corporate logo and a scintillating cornucopia of images that will blow the audience out of their seats. The system allows for the maximum creative input to customize a show that eclipses hard sets for a Broadway show. The great thing about a digital projection system of this quality is that we can change “the set” anytime we want rather than being tied to a hard set. A hard set ages quickly, requires a great deal of labor to build and move on stage, must be warehoused and touched up and can become obsolete and irrelevant very quickly as a corporate client’s branding changes.
Here’s more information on Pandora’s Box.
TECHNOLOGY
Modern entertainment and communication systems have to integrate and control media distribution, projection, lighting and sound and more.
Furthermore, media integration demands remote control of all involved elements and their interaction with the environment, no matter if it is a moving set tracked by video projection or a visitor in a museum initiating a series of events by proximity sensors as they move about a space.
The Pandora’s Box Media Playback System renders in real-time, so any changes concerning the content, the design or data from external files, applications or controlling systems will be executed immediately and thereby are directly visible.
Watch changes to every effect’s parameter or switch between several sources, clips or effects and do not waste precious time waiting for images to be re-rendered.
Fore more information check out: http://www.coolux.de
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June 17th, 2008 admin
Some years ago, we worked with the then Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua Invitational in Maui, Hawaii. The tournament is now the Mercedes Invitational. Our firm acted as the official producer of record for such major concert touring stars as Vince Gill, the Four Tops, Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, a stand in by Steven Stills and Hootie and the Blowfish.
At the time, there were a number of newspaper articles and media queries about where the band got the name “Hootie and the Blowfish”. Most fans and the media thought lead singer Darius Rucker was “Hootie”. The band apparently got a big kick out of this and they just let it lie. Finally, the truth came out. “Hootie” turns out to be a friend of the band from Columbus, South Carolina and has nothing to do with the band itself other than friendship.
One of my staff hatched the idea of creating some tee shirts to make a gag of the whole “Who is Hootie” phenomenon.We put a great big blowfish on the back in fabulous colors. On the front of the tee shirt it said, “I’m not Hootie”. Prior to sound check at the show, we handed them out to the band and their crew. It was very cool to see their reaction to what had become an inside, running gag.
FYI – Joe Pesci – who regularly plays the pro am at the Mercedes Invitational - is an avid golfer besides being an incredible actor in films like the “Lethal Weapon” series, “Casino”, “Good Fellas”, “My Cousin Vinnie” and many more. What most people don’t know is that Joe was in the 1950’s band Joey and the Starlighters for many years in his early show business days. We groveled but we couldn’t get him to do a tune. A score of musicians have moved on to become fine actors on Broadway, television and film like Reba McIntyre. Even Jon Bon Jovi did a stint in a television series and was extremely effective.
Whether it’s an entertainment concert touring star, a celebrity, a sports icon, a world renowned speaker and more, we can help you realize your vision with panache and theatrical punch. We challenge all meeting planners, event planners, incentive planners, association planners, sporting event planners and trade show planners to raise the bar with a powerful entertainment package to create a climactic and spine tingling “finis” to your events.
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June 12th, 2008 admin
Throughout the last twenty years of booking and producing major concert touring stars from the entertainment industry for corporate events, we have had the distinct honor to have worked with the finest incentive planners, event planners, meeting planners, trade show managers, convention planners, association planners, fund raising planners and corporate event planners. These consummate professionals must juggle an immense amount of work and moving parts to stage large conferences around the world. As such, they depend on us to provide a turnkey service as an entertainment production company so that we lighten the load allowing them to focus on myriad details.
Part and parcel of their world, they belong to the top meeting planner trade associations including Meeting Planners International, American Society of Association Executives, Society of Incentive Travel Executives, Professional Convention Managers Association, Financial and Insurance Conference Planners, the Motivation Show, International Special Events Society, Association of Fund Raising Professionals, the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour, the LPGA Tour, International Association of Association Management Companies, National Association of Exposition Managers, Incentive Travel Managers Exposition, National Trade and Professional Associations, Pharmaceutical Research/Manufacturers.
Everyone at The John Bernardoni Production Group applauds these planners and their trade associations.
www.site-intl.org
www.afpnet.org
www.asaecenter.org
www.iaamc.org
www.iaem.org
www.ises.com
www.motivationshow.com
www.lpgatsa.org
www.mpiweb.org
www.phrma.org
www.ficpnet.com
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June 12th, 2008 admin
Presidential candidate, Senator Hillary Clinton, recently bowed out of the race for the White House at the historic National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The building is stunning with eight Doric columns in what, is essence, one giant room.
The National Building Museum was originally built during the Civil War to house the cavalry. You may have also have seen this majestic building during the annual “Christmas in Washington” television special which features many major entertainment stars, the President and members of Congress.
Our firm had the pleasure of producing Natalie Cole in the National Building Museum on behalf of the LPGA Championship and Mazda – the title sponsor of the tournament at that time. The event, chaired by Barbara Bush, was attended by many legends from the LPGA including Betsy Rawls. As the show was about to begin, the entire lighting board did a memory dump losing all cues painstakingly generated during the show set up. Our lighting engineer didn’t miss a beat as he ran the show manually which is unbelievably difficult with that many lighting cues. Natalie and the audience never knew what had happened and the show was a huge success. Glitches and unknowns are common in live entertainment events. Our professional stage crews and the on site producer are veteran professionals who can turn a potential nightmare in to victory.
Additionally, we produced Marvin Hamlisch in the National Building Museum on behalf of Kemper Insurance and the previous Kemper Open PGA Tournament in the Washington, D.C. area. Marvin was the composer and lyricist for such mega hits as “A Chorus Line”, “The Way We Were” and “The Sting” among many others.
The John Bernardoni Production Group, an international booking and production company, has produced over 400 major entertainment concert touring stars for three decades throughout the U.S. and abroad. Stars as diverse as Hootie and the Blowfish, Itzhak Perlman, Vince Gill, Denise Graves, Kool and the Gang and Rita Rudner are just a few of the entertainment stars available for your event through our firm.
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June 12th, 2008 admin
One of the most spectacular performing arts venues in the world is the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo. We had the honor of producing Gordie Brown - the top musical impressionist in North America - on behalf of a Fortune 500 insurance company for 500 of its attendees.
The Monte Carlo Sporting Club was built by Prince Rainier, the monarch of Monaco and husband to former actress Grace Kelly who passed many years ago in an auto accident among the twisting roads in the mountains overlooking Monte Carlo.
The venue is a technological wonder, both in terms of staging and the facility itself. Once the show had begun, the entire ceiling opened and the gigantic glass walls literally disappeared in to the floor. All eyes turned to Monaco which looked like a floating fairyland high above the ocean
Past stars have included George Benson with Natalie Cole, Andrea Bocelli, The Beach Boys, Diana Krall, Lionel Richie and Julio Iglesias, among many others. Diana Ross and Carlos Santana will be performing during an upcoming festival at the Monte Carlo Sporting Club.
The John Bernardoni Production Group has booked and produced major entertainment concert stars in venues around the globe including stadiums, arenas, performing arts centers including the upcoming Kodak Theatre and home of the Academy Awards, convention center’s like the Moscone in San Francisco and The Monte Carlo Sporting Club.
www.sportingmontecarlo.com
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June 11th, 2008 admin
A few years ago, we were hired to produce Roy Firestone as the headliner entertainment for a gala benefiting the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Women and Children in Orlando, Florida. We actually ended up reprising our role as producer for Mr. Palmer three years running. But that’s not the story.
I had just arrived at the Orlando Airport and picked up my rent car to drive to Bay Hill Country Club – Arnold’s home course and the current location of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I was to play golf that day with my main contact with the event – a lifelong friend of Mr. Palmer’s. Somehow, I got turned around going the opposite direction from Bay Hill. I was winging my way down the highway for 30 minutes before I realized I was headed for the Kennedy Space Center. There were no exits as it is a type of toll road.
Finally, I found a small store, stopped and used the pay phone. I had left my cell phone in Austin by mistake. I called the golf shop at Bay Hill to tell them of my mistake and that I would be a little late for our golf round. The pro at Bay Hill said, “Well, don’t kill yourself getting here but you’re playing golf with Arnold Palmer today”. I almost passed out. I jumped in the car, raced down the highway the right way, screeched in to the parking lot at Bay Hill, jumped in a golf cart, threw on my golf shoes and was taken to the 2nd hole. The group had already played the 1st hole.
Arnold and the others had already hit their tee shots to a difficult and long, uphill par 3. I went to the tee and they all watched. I did not hit one warm up ball. I remember saying out loud…”I’m at Bay Hill about to tee off in front of Arnold Palmer with no practice and my hair is on fire”. Then, I had an out of body experience. Floating above my person, I saw myself take the 3 iron back, eyes rolling over in my sockets, forgetting 30 years of golf lessons and hit the ball. It felt like I hit a rock. By some miracle, though, I was the only person to hit the green. Mr. Palmer said, “Nice shot John”. Can you spell “Heaven”? It gets better.
Mr. Palmer has a habit of walking right down the fairway after he hits his next shot even though there are players behind him ready to hit their next shot. I don’t think he does it on purpose. I believe he can’t fathom any one with a golf game so rotten that they might hit him in the back or head. Now, I had hit a few bladed shots that day being nervous and all. As I stood over the ball – with Arnold Palmer in front of me some 50 yards – I thought to myself…”I am going to kill Arnold Palmer. Every golfer in the world will hunt me down. I will be the pariah of golf for generations”.
Now, I did have my “go to” shot which was a fade. So, I decided to play a really BIG fade taking the ball well to the left of Mr. Palmer and watching it come back well in front of the legend. All this worked well even though I was hyperventilating after each shot. Ultimately, though, I came upon my ball in the sand trap next to the green. It was a deep trap with virtually no green to work with. Mr. Palmer was standing right next to the pin. Those who know me know full well that I am not the greatest sand player. When I miss the shot, it is a bladed rocket coming out at warp speed. This was not a shot I could bull my way through. So, I said to Mr. Palmer…”This isn’t my best shot. You may want to back up a bit”. Arnold moon walked in the opposite direction of the pin. Yet another miracle occurred when I hit a lovely flop shot right next to the pin.
Roy Firestone whom I was to produce that night, is a fabulous guy. He is multi talented as a singer, informal comic and impressionist beyond his legendary sports broadcast career. Being a huge Arnold Palmer fan, Roy produced an unbelievable video of Arnold’s highlights for the show that night. You could hear a pin drop followed by a lot of sobbing followed by an uproar of shouting and clapping.
Not only did I produce a great headliner – I got to play golf with and around Arnold Palmer. It doesn’t get any better than that.
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