All That Chat - THEATRE NEWS FOR SAN FRANCISCO BAY

HOME ALL THAT CHAT ATC WEST COAST SHOPPIN' RUSH BOARD FAQS

LOGIN REGISTER SEARCH FLAT MODE

not logged in

THEATRE NEWS FOR SAN FRANCISCO BAY

Posted by:	Richard Connema 06:12 pm EDT 06/15/14

Marin Shakespeare Company presents... "As You Like It" By William Shakespeare Directed by Robert Currier Marin Shakespeare kicks off its 25th Silver Season with a classic production of "As You Like It," Shakespeare's exuberant comedy set in the Forest of Arden. After being wrongfully forced into exile, Rosalind disguises herself as a man in this timeless, gender-bending romantic comedy. Featuring Elena Wright as Rosalind and Teddy Spencer as Orlando. "Pay As You Like It" admission for all performances of "As You Like It." Thanks to a special 25th Silver Season gift from an anonymous donor, when audiences attend any performance of “As You Like It" this summer, all tickets are "Pay As You Like It.” Donations of any amount will be accepted at the door for all performances July 5 to Aug. 10, 2014, including the Silver Season Celebration on Saturday, July 12, 2014. The July 12 pre-show, opening night event at 6:30 p.m. will include a dessert buffet, champagne toasts and special entertainment, music and festivities. Performances are presented in repertory Fridays, Saturday and Sundays from July 5 to Aug. 10, 2014. Check for specific performances dates and times at the Marin Shakespeare website. The amphitheater opens one hour prior to show time for picnicking. Audiences are encouraged to bring picnics or purchase snacks at the Theatre Cafe. Warm clothing, jackets and blankets are recommended for evening performances. Parking is free. WHEN: July 5 - Aug. 10, 2014 Performances are presented in repertory Fridays, Saturday and Sundays. Check for specific performances dates and times at the Marin Shakespeare website. Preview performances: July 5, July 6 and July 11, 2014 Opening: Saturday, July 12. Opening night includes a pre-show 25th Silver Season celebration at 6:30 p.m. with dessert buffet, champagne toasts and special entertainment, music and festivities. COST: “Pay As You Like It” - Admission donations of any amount will be accepted at the door for this production. TICKETS: Order tickets online at: http://www.marinshakespeare.org/pages/ticketorder.php WHERE: Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, 890 Belle Avenue, Dominican University of California, San Rafael, Calif. 94901. PHONE: 415-499-4488 WEBSITE: www.marinshakespeare.org ########################################## The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF) presents a special One Night Only Benefit Cabaret With Company Members from the National Touring Cast Of the Tony Award-winning show “ONCE” and Special Guest Stars David Burnham (“Wicked” “Light in the Piazza) star Sharon McNight (Tony nominee “Starmites”) Spencer Day (Star Search finalist, jazz star) Monday, June 30, 2014 - 7:30 pm Club Fugazi - 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd. SF CA 94133 home of Beach Blanket Babylon Philanthropy and stellar entertainment take center stage as the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation presents a special one-night-only benefit cabaret to raise funds for The Richmond /Ermet AIDS Foundation and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Songs from Once will not be performed.The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation has worked with over 40 touring casts to date to produce "One Night Only Cabaret" events. To date, REAF has distributed over $3 million to AIDS service agencies. Tickets for this "One Night Only Cabaret" are:$100 – Magnin Box $75 – Side Boxes $50 – Front Cabaret $35 – Rear Cabaret/Front Balcony $25 –Rear Balcony Tickets are available by phone by calling Beach Blanket Babylon Box Office at 415-421-4222 A limited number of tickets are also available for the dessert party with the cast following the show for an additional $25/person. ONCE plays the Curran Theatre in SF – June 17 – July 13, 2014 ######################## CO-CONSPIRATORS STEPHEN KING, JOHN MELLENCAMP, AND T-BONE BURNETT PRESENT: GHOST BROTHERS OF DARKLAND COUNTY “A pretty awesome spectacle.” – Bert Osbourne, Atlanta Journal –Constitution – AEG along with SHN present the southern gothic, supernatural musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, coming to the SHN Curran Theatre on Friday, Dec. 5, at 8pm. Written by best-selling author Stephen King, with music by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Mellencamp, and musical direction by Grammy Award-winning T-Bone Burnett, tickets for this special engagement go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 20, at 10am. This extraordinary collaboration 16 years in the making is a haunting tale of fraternal love, lust, jealousy and revenge, performed by an ensemble cast of 15 actors and a four-piece live band, comprised of members of John Mellencamp’s band. The staging of Ghost Brothers is an amalgam of different styles – both old fashioned, resembling an old-style radio show, and yet, modern and unique in its interactive use of storytelling, music and singing to move the macabre Ghost Brothers story forward. The story goes that Joe McCandless saw his two older brothers battle over a girl which ended in the unfortunate deaths of all three. Now with Joe as an adult and two boys of his own, he’s watching an all too familiar scenario play out before his eyes. As the story continues, a malevolent Shape circles the stage, singing about heaven and hell. Joe McCandless lingers in the dream-land café, remembering the events of his life, and is urged to action by the friendly bartender. In 2007, he goes to his family cabin in Darkland County, Mississippi, where his brothers died in 1967, to tell his own sons Frank and Drake his tale of brotherly love gone sour. With his sons at each other’s throats, Joe’s story will either save or destroy the McCandless family. Will Joe bring himself to tell the truth in time to save his own sons? Find out whether the ghosts left behind will help him—or tear the McCandless family apart forever. After Mellencamp brought the story idea to King and the musical developed, it became clear to the collaborators that Ghost Brothers had taken them into unfamiliar territory — and they liked it that way. "John can make rock & roll records and I can write books for the rest of our lives," says King, "but that’s the safe way to do it, and that’s no way to live if you want to stay creative. We were willing to be educated, and at our age, that’s an accomplishment." Eventually they enlisted T-Bone Burnett, who has produced Mellencamp’s last two albums, as well as Grammy-winning albums like “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and the Robert Plant-Alison Krauss collaboration “Raising Sand”, to bring his signature shadowy ambience to the music. Throughout the production, the eerie blues ‘n’ roots music reveals the inner workings of the characters as opposed to just propelling the play’s narrative, with the only a few songs directly advancing the plot. Acclaimed director Susan Booth, the Jennings Hertz Artistic Director, who calls the musical a “a kind of new age travelling medicine show” explains, “I want the emphasis to be on this fantastic score and our great singers and how the story advances us from song to song. In most musicals, the songs advance the narrative. With Ghost Brothers, the story will advance the songs.”For more information, please visit http://www.ghostbrothersofdarklandcounty.com/. ###################################### SUSAN BOYLE IN CONCERT SINGING SENSATION SUSAN BOYLE EMBARKS ON HER FIRST AMERICAN TOUR October 11th SHN Orpheum Theatre TICKETS ON SALE Monday, June 16th at 10am - Grammy® nominated singing sensation Susan Boyle is embarking on her first US tour and will be performing at the SHN Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, October 11, 2014, at 8pm. Presented by AEG Live and SHN, tickets for this special engagement go on sale Monday, June 16, at 10am. For the very first time in her phenomenally successful career, Susan will be holding her own on American stages performing a sensational and contemporary repertoire of iconic album tracks and never-heard-before classics that will captivate and enthrall her audiences. Susan Boyle earned rave reviews for her sell-out Scottish and UK Tours in 2013 and 2014, and begins the first part of her world tour in the USA. To date, the list of Susan’s successes is in itself compelling reading. 650 Million YouTube hits and the most watched clip of 2009. Two Grammy nominations, over 22 million albums sold, number 1 albums in over 40 countries, and more platinum album certifications than can be counted. Boyle is the first and only person ever to enter the Billboard 200 at number one with a debut album and spend six consecutive weeks at the top, with five albums and a sixth on its way in five years. Susan performed to half a billion people on the final of China’s Got Talent, in addition to headline grabbing performances on the biggest TV shows around the globe. Susan she has sung for the Pope, the Queen, ticked off her wish list of meeting musical and screen idols, and smashed musical records previously held by the Beatles that had remained unchanged since the 1960’s, by achieving two simultaneous number one albums in the US and the UK in 12 months. In 2011 she became the first female artist in 65 years of the UK charts to have three albums go straight to number one in succession. Coupled with a successful autobiography, a musical about her life story, and a sellout UK tour, Susan is an unstoppable force. Boyle’s accolades in the USA are immense. Signed to Syco/Columbia since 2009, she is the first and only person over 50 to debut at number one with their first album and the first solo act and only female artist to have two albums, I Dreamed A Dream and The Gift at number one in both the UK and USA within one year, a record previously held by The Beatles. Boyle also holds the record for the most pre-release orders ever in Amazon history, with four consecutive albums reaching number one on the top four “Best Sellers Charts,” worldwide. ################################## AUDITIONS FOR THE ADDAMS FAMILY A new musical Directed and choreographed by Alex Perez Music direction by Michael Wiles AUDITIONS Thursday, July 24, 7:30-10pm Saturday, July 26, 12-5pm CALLBACKS Sunday, July 27, 12-5pm LOCATION Contra Costa Civic Theatre 951 Pomona Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530 NEEDED 10 men, ages 18-65 1 boy, to appear 12 9 women, ages 18-65 CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS Available at http://www.ccct.org/participate-audition.html PREPARATION Please bring headshot and resume. Prep song from a published musical, no longer than 90 seconds; bring sheet music in your key; accompanist provided. All actors need to attend the dance call. Actors of color encouraged to audition. Show dates 9/19 - 10/19. Travel stipend. TO SCHEDULE AN AUDITION Audition appointments at auditions@ccct.org; please put ADDAMS AUDITIONS in the subject header. ################################################ – The Pear Avenue Theatre is proud to announce our 13th season, highlighted by plays that feature transformation, evolution, and journeys through time, looking both to the past and forward into the future. AND we are also revealing that the company will be moving to a new location in the summer of 2015-- As yet unable to disclose the exact address, we can say that it is near our present location, but will afford us major growth opportunities in both physical space and program expansion. We will more than double our theatre size, and acquire rehearsal and workshop space as well as a larger dressing room and additional restroom facilities. As soon as we are able, we will be announcing our new address and more detail regarding our move and new venu Knowing about our impending move fueled our choices for this season-- leading us to plays about transformation, about honoring the past and looking forward to an exciting future. In a day when many arts organizations come and go, the award-winning Pear Avenue Theatre has not only lasted, but has established itself as a venue of quality theatre productions designed to please and provoke. Our mission from the start has been to provide intimate, startling, and outstanding theatrical experience to a discerning audience, and to create opportunity for talented theatre artists to exercise their gifts. Our 40-seat theatre has been home to many bold and daring projects that defy the small space, dreaming large and epic in scope, while honoring and making excellent use of our intimate setting. This season's line-up of shows continues that boldness, pursuing ambitious projects and a heady mix of classic, contemporary, and new works. We proudly present our 2014-2015 season: HOUSE and GARDEN by Alan Ayckbourn September 12 – October 5 A theatrical event not to be missed: two interlocking comedies that take place simultaneously, with one cast performing both shows in two different theaters at the same time. Teddy and Trish Platt are hosting the annual May Fete for the village. Friends, family, lovers, politicians, a French movie star-- and, will it rain? Each play alone offers a hilarious romp around English manners, but together they add up to a theatrical experience unlike any other. While the actors race from House (the Pear) to Garden (Pear Two, two units away!), the audience stays put, seeing each production one at a time, in either order. Both plays abound with Ayckbourn’s famous wit and creativity. “An audacious, crazy, altogether brilliant achievement” – Time A Regional Premiere KIMBERLY AKIMBO by David Lindsay-Abaire October 31 – November 23 A hilarious and heartrending play about a teenager with a rare condition causing her body to age faster than it should. When she and her family flee Secaucus, NJ (under dubious circumstances), Kimberly is forced to reevaluate her life while contending with a hypochondriac mother, a rarely sober father, a scam-artist aunt, her own mortality and, most terrifying, the possibility of first love. "A shrewd satire, a black comedy and a heartbreaking study of how time wounds everyone." —NY Times SUPER VILLAIN! by James Kopp December 5 - December 21 Written and directed by the Pear's own James Kopp-- who brings you the antidote to holiday sugar with an irreverent spin on superhero sagas set in the comic book world. Our Super Villain (The Remote) finds himself all alone after his Super Hero nemesis is dispatched, and in the process learns something about soulmates, identity, and yes, love-- even if you're the bad guy. Age 13 and up; adult language. BETRAYAL by Harold Pinter January 30 – February 22 Pinter's 1978 masterpiece illuminates different instances of betrayal spanning a seven-year affair, but witnessed in reverse chronological order. As the complexity of relationships peels away like layers of an onion, the truth shifts and eludes us, amid deception and desire. "A world where pain and loss are explored with poetic precision." -- Guardian PEAR SLICES 2015 March 13 – April 5 For your viewing pleasure, a freshly minted assortment of short new plays from the Pear Playwrights, who charm and surprise us each year with their infinite variety. These delightful and always-original plays have become a beloved Pear tradition. BIRDS OF A FEATHER by Paul Braverman May 1– May 24 The third chapter in Braverman's "stage noir" trilogy featuring the gin-soaked private eye, Frankie Payne, finds us rooting for something that has long eluded Frankie as she solves mysteries of crime: the mystery of love. But, in harm's way once again, will she solve the mystery in time? ,Diane Tasca reprises her role as the irascible and indomitable Frankie. ARCADIA by Tom Stoppard June 19 – July 12 We end the season with a revival of a beloved contemporary classic, wherein the actions of two scholars and current residents of an English estate are juxtaposed with those who lived there 180 years prior. Mysteries & mathematics, romance & murder collide to illuminate the immortality-- and elusive enigma-- of love. "The depth, breadth and scope of the play are exhilarating," --Financial Times We hope you will join us in our celebration of the Pear's success, ambition, and new ventures. For interviews or more information, please call 650-254-1148 or email press@thepear.org.Tickets for all shows range from $10 to $35, with discounts available for seniors, students, and groups. Additional information and online ticketing are available by calling 650-254-1148 or going to www.thepear.org. Press photos from past productions can be found at www.thepear.org/media.htm ############################################## Innovating the Theater Scene The New Stage® Presents… PATTERNS — For Some Reason, It Really Tickled Me Dennis Gallagher Arts Pavilion, 66 Page St, San Francisco July 16 - August 16, 2014 Info & trailer: www.TheNewStage.com … A new Bay Area-based theater company, The New Stage®, presents the premiere of PATTERNS, a breathtaking new comedy-drama that features a series of magical vignettes which flow from one to the next, each raising questions about love that young adults find themselves wondering about today: how a first love affects a person's outlook on life, how the pressure of love's weight is felt, and how love can change one's awareness of time and space. PATTERNS shifts the paradigm of the one-woman show to that of a networked performance, using The New Stage®'s trademarked wall-size video projections to surround the audience with an awe-inspiring panoramic view of love in life. This solo performance showcases the company's vision for the future of theatrical space. Performance artist and The New Stage founder, Amy Munz, uses a passionate combination of live performance and video installation art to not only tell a story but to also explore a wider poetic, emotional landscape. Munz's work is framed by a larger movement of artists who are currently responding to computer network structures and to the new dominant way of searching that has been fostered by the internet. PATTERNS is an exciting contribution to this fresh genre that explores a dendritic way of thinking and imagining. Three large video projections surround the stage and audience to reveal the fluid networked worlds that shape each character. Munz performs on stage while video projections of faces and memories from the past, places and actions of the present enter as if in a dialogue with her. Sometimes the video installation runs on its own to play with issues of space, distance, and time - carrying along the pulse of the performance and adding a refreshing new layer of exploration. The three separate channels of video and the performance on stage are independent sources of story and emotion, playing on different levels. It is the mind of the spectator that houses all those levels. The result is a very personal and moving experience created by Munz, who wrote PATTERNS, created the video content, and is producing the show, under her theater company, The New Stage, Inc. In her professional debut, Munz performs the role of Amot as well as five other characters (including Adela, a passionate adolescent who just kissed the love of her life and Abigail, a quirky, imaginative young woman who loves her dog Ruby and the natural landscape that surrounds her). Munz switches sharply from role to role, spinning a string of emotional moments like a stream of consciousness. Through these personae, Munz explores patterns of attraction, attachment, loneliness, and intimacy. Moments of dance-theater fuel this investigation of the body and of emotions. The video installation, also created by Munz, echoes the physical spark on stage out into spaces of various scales, beyond the walls of the theater: A butcher shop’s unusual beauty (thanks to local artisanal charcuterie, Fatted Calf, the show’s sponsor) unexpectedly transitions into the grand sweeping landscapes of Northern California. There are two stand-alone parts to each evening of PATTERNS: The first part, “For Some Reason,” tells the story of a butcher’s daughter, Amot, who falls in love. Her experiences are echoed in the stories of Abigail and Ava, inspiring the audience to explore how romantic relationships are formed. In the second part, “It Really Tickled Me,” Amot faces a stroke, which shifts how she feels what it is like to be in a relationship. The stroke causes a rupture in Amot's sense of continuity, and it drives both her and the spectator to examine what it means to understand and live with another person. Amelia’s voice, vintage footage, and scenes shot in Munz’s studio complement the audiovisual worlds of the three main characters, Amot, Abigail and Ava, bridging connections and amplifying the emotions that move us all. This is the second piece Munz has created which combines live performance with a multi-channel video installation. The first was BEING ANTIGONE, for which Munz received a grant from Northwestern University Theatre Interpretation Center’s Struble Lab. BEING ANTIGONE helped shape Munz's new artistic form, using the actor and each of the three video channels as equal bodies in performance: Each element releases a story, branching out from the central topic and developing parallel paths of exploration. ############################## San Jose Stage Company to Honor Unused Tickets from The Rep --- It was announced today by San Jose Stage Company, that in light of recent events in the South Bay arts community and the loss of one of its colleague theatre groups, that unused Rep tickets will be honored to be redeemed for Bonnie & Clyde, now running through July 27. “This is very sad news about our friends at The Rep (SJRT),” said Randall King, Artistic Director of The Stage (SJSC). “As the only remaining Actors’ Equity Association theatre venue in the south bay, The Stage would like to keep theatre-goers accustomed to seeing excellent productions and professional talent at live theatre.” The Stage will honor any of the unused tickets to The Rep’s Landscape with Weapons to be redeemed for the current production of Bonnie & Clyde, running through July 27th. The Regional Premiere of Bonnie & Clyde presented at San Jose Stage Company is the explosive new musical composed by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde) with lyrics by Oscar-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard), The Stage puts its high-velocity spin on the regional premiere of Bonnie & Clyde, the Tony-nominated musical of a love too passionate laced in crime and fueled by desperate times. There are also plans to honor unused season tickets from San Jose Repertory Theatre patrons for the upcoming season at The Stage. “We will welcome Rep subscribers at The Stage,” said Cathleen King, Executive Director of SJSC. “Arts patrons deserve to be rewarded for their patronage.” About Bonnie & Clyde: At the height of the Great Depression, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow went from two small-time nobodies in West Texas to America’s most renowned folk heroes. Bonnie & Clyde – A New Musical is San Jose Stage Company’s regional premiere of the musical. It is their electrifying story of love, adventure and crime captured the excited attention of an entire country. Bonnie & Clyde originally premiered in November 2009 in La Jolla, and in 2012 opened on Broadway earning two Tony Award nominations, including best score. Wildhorn described the musical genre is a “nontraditional score, combining rockabilly, blues and gospel music.” Tickets range from $25 – $50 and are available at www.thestage.org or by calling the box office at 408.283.7142. Visa and MasterCard are accepted, and discounts are available for groups, students and seniors. The theatre is handicapped accessible. The Stage is located at 490 South First Street at William Street in downtown San Jose’s South First (SoFA) area. ########################################### THEATREWORKS OFFERS HELPING HAND TO SAN JOSE REP -- TheatreWorks of Silicon Valley has stepped forward to offer its condolences and support for San Jose Repertory Theatre, which announced yesterday that it will cease operations. In hopes of easing some of the burden, TheatreWorks has offered to accept San Jose Rep tickets. Ticket holders to San Jose Rep's Landscape with Weapon can exchange those tickets for TheatreWorks' production of Marry Me a Little, running now through June 29. Ticket holders should contact TheatreWorks box office at 650-463-1960 or email boxoffice@theatreworks.org. TheatreWorks will work with San Jose Rep’s 2014-2015 subscribers to honor as many tickets as possible for TheatreWorks 2014-2015 season, based on availability. Subscribers should contact TheatreWorks box office at 650-463-1960 or email boxoffice@theatreworks.org for more information. Said TheatreWorks Managing Director Phil Santora, "We are deeply saddened at the loss of this vibrant and important theatre company, and would like to express our deep sadness to our colleagues at the Rep. We also hope to honor their work, and the support of their patrons, with this gesture." ############################## FREE New Play Reading Series: The Year of the Rooster Marin Theatre Company Eric Dufault, winner of MTC's 2013 David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright Prize WHEN Monday, June 30, at 7:00 p.m. WHERE Marin Theatre Company \| 397 Miller Avenue \| Mill Valley, CA 94941 WHAT Five Little Monkeys WHO Marin Theatre Company presents a Bay Area Children’s Theatre World Premiere as part of MTC’s Theater Series for Young Audiences By Ernie Nolan \| Based on the books by Eileen Christelow Directed by Karen Altree Piemme WHEN August 30 – September 7, 2014 Performance Days Sat, 8/30, at 10:30am, 12:30pm & 3pm Sun, 8/31, at 10:30am, 12:30pm, 5pm Sat, 9/6, at 10:30am, 12:30pm & 5pm Sun, 9/7, at 10:30am & 12:30pm WHERE Marin Theatre Company \| 397 Miller Avenue \| Mill Valley, CA 94941 ####################################

reply \|

Previous:	SD: La Jolla Playhouse season is now complete - BillEadie 07:30 pm EDT 06/15/14
Next:	WHAT'S OPENING, PLAYING & CLOSING IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY THEATRES - Richard Connema 05:58 pm EDT 06/15/14

Thread:

All That Chat is intended for the discussion of theatre news and opinion
subject to the terms and conditions of the Terms of Service. (Please take all off-topic discussion to private email.)