She Loves Me

Only one more weekend left for this tooth-achingly sweet musical. The play was written by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.

You may have seen the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan film, You've Got Mail, or the James Stewart/Margaret Sullivan film The Shop Around The Corner, well this musical is based off the same play Parfumerie by Miklos Laszlo

The show is centered around perfume shop employees Georg Nowack and Amalia Balash who are constantly at odds with each other. Each has a pen pal they had been writing to that they found in a Lonely-Hearts Ad, and have been slowly falling in love with one another, little do they know that they are each others pen pal.
Visit Musical Theatre International's website for more information.

This show is absolutely adorable, and very funny. My advice: Be prepared to smile!
The final show dates are:
Thursday Dec. 16 at 7:30pm
Friday & Saturday Dec. 17 & 18 at 8:00pm
Sunday Dec 19 at 2:30pm
View the Hickory Community Theatre's website for ticket prices and availability.

The King and I

What a show!! And, with two actors sick!! The King and I, first show of The Green Room's season performed at their brand new space, The Old Post Office Playhouse, was a huge success!

New and familiar faces alike graced the stage on this final weekend of The King and I. Actors from the Newton-Conover area, Lincolnton and even Boone came out to perform for audiences in this great show.

Having such a large cast, it was amazing how well the costumes went together and did not clash or make anyone stand out from another when it was not intended. They meshed together really well creating a great ensemble atmosphere amongst the children and the wives as well as the rest of the cast.

As a person who does a lot of theatre myself, I noticed quite a few things that many audience members would not have regarded as out of the ordinary. Though, none of these findings of mine were too distracting that I could not focus on the show itself.

The character of Anna, played by Gina McWhirter, was sick and had lost her singing voice. Though that might have stopped some people, this cast decided to make a quick decision and let Sara Scronce, who coreographed the show, sing Anna's parts from offstage. Though at first it was a little distracting to see someone onstage mouthing the words and doing the motions with a voice that wasn't a perfect fit to her coming through the speakers, eventually it was not so distracting and I could appreciate it. Along with Gina being ill, Victoria Whetzel was also sick, but she was home in bed. Again, Sara to the rescue!! Victoria usually played the part of Eliza, a non-speaking more dance-like role, and Sara stepped up to help again by filling in for Victoria as well!

Had Sara not been able to do those two essential parts of this show tonight, I do not know how well it would have gone. I do not think I would have enjoyed it as well as I did if they had not had Sara's help.

My only complaint would have been the super-long transitions. Now, I understand that moving scenery and getting that many people on stage for the next scene can take some time, but making the audience sit in the dark, in silence for the lengthy transitions was almost too much. One of the shorter ones, I clocked at taking 25 seconds. Now, I know that does not sound like a long time, but sitting in the quiet theatre with nothing to look at, it feels much longer.

I would have to say that the girl who played Tuptim, Addi Berry, stole the show for me. For a sixteen year old, she has phenomenal voice. I found myself looking forward to each time she opened her mouth, hoping she would start singing again! That girl needs to be on Broadway, in my opinion. Favorite part of the whole show, her songs.

Overall, it was a fantastic show!! I would definitely recommend anyone going to see it on it's final performance! Tomorrow (Sunday) at 3pm!

View The Green Room's website for ticket prices and availability.
Also, check out the new performance space, The Old Post Office Playhouse.

Livin' de Life

How often do you get to see a professor wiggle their butt in the air? More than likely it is not often. In the upcoming theatre production of Livin’ de Life by Ed Graczyk you will be able to see one of Lenoir-Rhyne’s own communication professors Nico Zaunbrecher, performing as Brer Fox, get “whomped” repeatedly throughout the show.

Sitting outside of the rehearsal room on the second floor of the PE Monroe auditorium there are some very strange sounds you could hear coming through the walls; squawks, squeals, growls as well as some child-like insults like “pea-brained feather-head”. Though these are unusual sounds to any passerby, these are frequent noises you would hear at a typical Livin’ de Life or “LDL” rehearsal.
If you walk into room 215 of the auditorium between the hours of 7 and 10pm you might want to watch out, you might get run over! Prankin’ and caperin’ aren’t the only goings-on in this rehearsal room, there is a ton of running, jumping, chasing, hiding and scheming too. “For me a typical rehearsal is exhausting! I try to bring that hyper rabbit energy, but after classes all day I get worn out halfway through,” said Charity Simmons who is playing Brer Rabbit.

In LDL each character is an animal and to get into character for this show, actors must fully embody their animal. Character work starts from the toes and goes all the way to the up to the ‘top hairs of your head’. Through the course of the show you will meet two rabbits, a fox, a bear, a mouse, a buzzard, a turtle and a goose. “It's really fun playing a rabbit! Usually when I think of a rabbit I think of it being really fast, and I am always hyper and running around so I definitely feel the energy!” said Simmons in regards to her character. “Being a turtle has forced me to slow down because I’m usually really fast, moving and talking. It’s helped me focus on the performance and it has really made me connect with my character,” said Kelsey Perry, who is playing Brer Terrypin.

In embodying the character each actor has to create a “character body”, or taking their normal self and adding a few animal-like traits. For example, Brer Fox’s nose leads him across the stage, just like a fox, smelling his way across a field. “It’s a little hard not to slip out of rabbit character and be Charity sometimes,” Simmons commented about her character body. Along with the character bodies, the actors use oversized and exaggerated gestures, not only because it is on stage, but also because the show is for younger audiences and the bigger movements help keep the attention trained on the actor that is speaking. Also, animated facial expressions help keep the audiences tuned in on the speaker.

If you are from the north or have a hard time understanding the southern drawl, you might have some difficulty with this show. Each character has its own dialect and specific way of speaking, but the one constant is the thick southern sound dripping from every word. Dropping the ending “g” on words like “heading” or “pranking” helps to give the show a super-southern feel. Also, usual words that begin in “th” are almost always said with a “d” instead. For example, “that rabbit over there caught a bad case of the Mopes” would actually be said like, “dat rabbit over dere caught a bad case of de Mopes”. Language is a major part of this play, so being specific in how things are said is very important.

It is very important that a cast works as one, especially for a show for younger audiences. It is important because the more like a well oiled machine you work, the easier the flow is and the easier it gets to keep an audience focused on what you’re doing. “The cast seems to work as a team very naturally and easily,” said Nico Zaunbrencher, Brer Fox. “Everyone is very encouraging towards each other,” said Amanda Cotto who is playing Miss Meadows, the mouse. “We are always laughing at each other's funny scenes and lines, we feed off of each others energy and it just gets better and better,” said Charity Simmons. With a cast of eight actors, and three hands-on technicians it is easy to bond and become a close-knit team, and that is exactly what has happened with this cast and crew.

Livin’ de Life opens on September 31st and runs through October 2nd. Do not miss out on this show that will keep you ‘whoopin’ and hollerin’” the whole way through!

View Lenor-Rhyne University Theatre's website for ticket prices and availability.

Cabaret

Are you ready for the sexy and scandalous musical sensation known as Cabaret? If so, you'll get your chance at the Hickory Community Theatre. Only one weekend left.

The first two weekends of this FANTASTIC show were a huge success, almost a packed house the first two nights. Everyone is giving this cast great reviews, "He was better than John Stamos who played the Emcee on Broadway!" said a theatre-goer after the first Saturday performance about Andrew Turnbull. "I have never worked with a group of more talented people," said Cody Watson who is playing Ernst in this production.

Opening for the first time on Broadway in 1966, Cabaret ran for 1,165 performances. There were two Broadway revivals, the first in 1987 and the second in 1998 which won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

I would have to say, the best part of this show was the relationships between the characters. They were so believable and easy to follow that it made the show just that much better. The cast as an ensemble were just phenomenal. Another great part was seconds before the intermission, Ernst does the "Hail Hitler" salute and a speech by Hitler starts playing, it took the audience literally 35 seconds before they started clapping; whether it be from shock, or disgust at the close of the scene.

Now I'm not going to spoil all the surprises for you but I will tell you that you will laugh, scream, and feel rather disturbed by many things in this show, which is which though, you'll have to find out for yourself.

The final weekend of this show will be:
Thursday September 23rd at 7:30pm
Friday and Saturday September 24th and 25th 8:00pm
Sunday September 26th at 2:30pm
View Hickory Community Theatre's website for ticket prices and availability.

Leading Ladies

Only one more weekend to see the HYSTERICAL cross-dressing even that is Leading Ladies. The Hickory Community Theatre is presenting this comedy by Ken Ludwig.

Summary
A story of two Shakespearean actors are out of work when they discover a newspaper article on an elder lady who was dying that was missing her 'Max' and 'Steve' from England, her daughters children that she wanted to include in her inhertitance. That's when they decided to become her missing 'Max' and 'Steve' only to get there and discover 'Max' and 'Steve' are really Maxine and Stephanie. So, their whole plan is spoiled until they decide to continue their charade in drag! This leads them to a whole lot of unexpected adventures including falling for two women close to the elderly lady amongst other things. Will the two men be found out? Will the get the girls? Will they be rich? You'll have to check it out to find the answers!

Show Dates
The remaining dates for this show are:
May 27th at 7:30pm
May 28th & 29th at 8pm
May 30th at 2:30pm
View Hickory Community Theatre's website for ticket prices and availability.

South Pacific

Running for one more weekend at The Green Room in Newton, NC is the musical South Pacific. Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Richard Rodgers.


Summary
This musical takes place during World War II on an island in, where else, the South Pacific ocean. In the story, there are a set of parallel love stories that are entangled in prejudice, and the war. I hate that I can't go into more detail otherwise I'll give things away, but you'll just have to see for yourself what has been called one of the greatest musicals in history.

History
The story is based off the 1948 Pulitzer Prize winning novel Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener.

There have been MANY productions of this show including a recent revival in 2008 on Broadway that received five desk drama awards.

Not only did it have it's run on Broadway, but it also toured in the US twice, the UK, was performed at Carnegie Hall and produced in London at the West End.

Show Dates
I hate that I didn't catch this sooner, but the remaining dates are as follows:
May 28th & 29th at 8pm
May 30th at 3pm
Visit The Green Room's website for ticket prices and availabilities.

From This Day Forward

So, I know it's been a while since I last posted, but what can you do...

Well, my next project is From This Day Forward. It's a historical outdoor drama in Valdese, NC. I'm actually playing the role of Anna!

The story is about the Waldenses that came from the France/Italy area to settle in North Carolina. The play opens in the Cottian Alps with the Waldenses being threatened by the rulers that they could not worship God in the way they were. If they did, they would be killed. Later, they decided to go to America for freedom from their oppressors. The second Act focuses on the families once they are in Valdese and how they cope with their new ways of life.
To read more visit Old Colony Players' website.

From This Day Forward was written by a Valdese native named Fred Cranford and is produced by the Old Colony Players at the Old Colony Players Ampitheatre. This will be the 43rd year of this show's run, although many adaptations of the original have been produced.

The season runs every Friday and Saturday from July 9th until August 13th. Since it is an outdoor show, there may be cancellations due to rain or otherwise weather-related circumstances.
View the schedule and ticket information here.

SETC - Day 3

Today we got there and I headed to the Expo again to look through the 1-act plays. If we are going to do a 1-act play festival next year I wanted to have at least some ideas. I ended up buying 3 plays and I really want to do Dancing Solo. It sounds really complicated but I really want do direct it.

Then we went to Starbucks and sat around for a while before heading to The University of Kentucky's campus to see Rock Hill Community Theatre in South Carolina's production of Private Lives. It was entertaining but I don't think I'd ever want to do it. Amber really wanted me to see if it was something I'd be interested in doing it with her. It's a 2 woman show about women. It opened with 2 angels deciding the future of the people on Earth. There were lots of set/costume changes that took too long, in my opinion. The story dragged on too long and I was just ready for it to be over too quickly.

After that we waited over an hour for the shuttle to come, and it didn't. So we walked back in the chilly weather to catch up with Mia and go to a late lunch/early dinner with some people she knew from school at Desha's. That was the entirety of our last day of SETC. We'll head back home tomorrow.

SETC - Day 2

So we arrived around 9am so we missed our first workshop. So, I camped out right outside of the Warmup Room for the actors and singers. I don't think I laughed so much before! It was hilarious, watching them talk and sing to walls. Not only that but some of them were awful!!

From there I headed to my first workshop of the day, "Michael Checkhov's Imaginary Body". I was sort of hesitant at first because I wasn't sure what it was about or anything but as soon as I got there I was instantly glad I went. We started out doing a very fast but effective warm up. "Form the banana, peel the banana, go bananas, etc." Then we were instructed to do milling & seething until we came into a place in the floor and sit. We were then told to visualize a little 5 year old girl, with green shoes, green overalls, a pink flower, red pigtails, etc. Then we were told to examine her, touch her, smell her, use all our senses. After we had done that, we were told to "unzip" her back and step inside. We then were told to walk around in this persona, aka character, and then we were given scenarios that we were to respond to in this character. We then were told to unzip our backs and step out. Then "hang it on a hanger and put it in our "character closet"". After that we were instructed to create an 80's prom person and a zombie and do the same things with both that we did with the little girl. He compared how we moved to the Wizard of Oz. Linear-Brain-Thinking-Scarecrow (straw, patches etc), Rounded-Chest-Feeling-Tin Man (rounded belly, tin cans etc), Tension-Legs-Willing-Lion (downward energy). It helped to think of characters I've played as these three types and diagnose which felt right with each.

Then we headed to lunch and then to see Lone Star by Shelby High School from Shelby, NC. (woot!) It was about 2 brothers in Lonestar Texas, one, Roy, wanting to get things back to the way they were before he went to Vietnam, and the other, Ray, wants things to move on. Their differences and similiarities were highlighted in this show, especially contrasted to the "dorky" "Cletus". It was better this time around (I saw it the first time at NCTC) In my opinion. Last time I saw it, Cletus was a little less connected to his character and it looked like he had worked on it because he seemed as though he lived that character this time.

We also watched Wiley and the Hairy Man by Woodmont High School in South Carolina. It was about a boy, Wiley, and a fable about the hairy man, a creature that lived in the woods and how Wiley outsmarted him so he left him alone. It was pretty good, the ensemble work was awesome, and the costumes were amazing. The ensemble created the forest, the trees, the insect noises and even the set almost. It was a GREAT display of all of the elements combined into the acting. I loved that with the costumes (that the students created by the way) hid the instruments that they used.

Next we went back to the Expo and I got all the information from all the schools with graduate programs in design and theatre management. After that I headed to the Alpha Psi Omega meeting. I learned a LOT and can't wait to get back and implement the things I learned. (Can't really talk about it though ;) Haha)

After that, we went to dinner then we headed back to the High School shows to see Huntsville High School from Alabama perform Joseph and the Amazing Techni-Color Dream Coat. It was really good, and I thought the student's voices were very good, especially for the level they are performing at. I'd never seen the show before, and it was done in SUCH a great way. The set was just 3 pyramids in the background with lights built in for a cyc feel. The ensemble created the feel for the show. The dances were something that EVERYONE did. There were tons of wigs and costume changes and they were done smoothly and efficiently. I really enjoyed the show.

We then headed back to the Hyatt and waited for Mia.

That concluded our day 2 of SETC.

SETC - Day 1

The first day of the 61st Annual SETC events (for me at least--3/4/10) was extremely fun. Arriving at the conference center at 12:45pm we got checked in then headed straight to the High School Play Competition just in time to see Pinecrest High School in Pinecrest, North Carolina perform At the Bottom of Lake Missoula.

After a tornado hits her house, Pam loses her entire family, her life only spared because she decided to leave a day early for college. The 30, or so, minute play follows Pam through her grief and overcoming that hardship. This particular performance was especially innovative. They used flashlights in such a way as to make it more industrial. Using them as spotlights, or for special effects, I'd give them an A+ for creativity. This was actually the second time I had seen this show performed by this group, the first time being at the North Carolina Theatre Conference (NCTC).

After that show we headed to the Commercial Exhibits and Education Expo. After talking with a man who was extremely touchy and personal at a lighting design booth and exploring the rest of the exhibits we headed to our first workshop of the day.

Walking into the "Movement for the Actor" workshop we instantly felt out of place. Seeing everyone in workout clothing and doing some extreme stretches we decided it wasn't for us, and left.

A quick dinner led us to our next workshop, "Linklater Voice: Body, Breath, Vibration". It was a very nice and a great learning experience. Though we had done a lot of the exercises before, it was still a great workshop to start with. We began with a milling and seething exercise and that lead to a breathing task then added our voice. It was fun but not very challenging as far as learning new things.

Shortly after the workshop ended we were at the next High School show Bake Off by Musselman High School in West Virginia. This extremely short (18 minutes) show was enhanced by projections and the use of a Pillsbury Dough Boy costume! The show opened with a display of the setting up of a Pillsbury baking contest. We soon met the two competitors that the show focused on, shortly after that we learn that the woman (#16) has a hatred for men in the competition (mainly #15) and takes out her anger on the Dough Boy. Needless to say the show ended abruptly with #16 getting banned from the competition. I wasn't a big fan of the show. There was more "spice" than acting.

The next show was Jadem das Seine performed by Spain Park High School in Alabama. This show was both written and directed by Jesse Tilton. Before really knowing what this show was about I was handed a very odd looking program. IT was shaped like a folder and when you looked inside it was laid out like a profile for a criminal or something. It had a mug shot picture, and a few pages stapled in as background info. This story was told from a Nazi scientist/doctor's perspective and was based on the events of the Buchenwald concentration camp. I got goosebumps as the German's herded the prisoners into the camp when they were all screaming and crying. They used a lot of fog and some stage guns with blanks as special effects. They had an amazing use of the stage and their set. I was so impressed with this show. It's the only one I gave a standing ovation, so far.

The last show of the night was a Brief version of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by Gulf Breeze High School in Florida. This cute little musical left you with a happy feeling. Though, I've never seen this show performed before I was informed that they had to cut quite a bit out to fit into the 45 minute time-limit. The vocals were all performed really well and their use of costume was really good. These High Schoolers really looked like elementary school kids. I was impressed with the vocal range of these guys.

So that was a summary of my first day of SETC. Tomorrow's schedule looks even more packed than today was starting at 9am with a workshop on improvisation. Get excited!!

Don't Dress for Dinner

Running for two extra performances is the sexy comical number called Don't Dress for Dinner at Foothills Performing Arts in Hudson, NC. Secrets, mistaken identities, hilarious violence, twisted affairs, and girls in lingerie! What more could you want?!

Photo Credit: Christy R. Branch

The Story
Don't Dress for Dinner is a comedy with plot twists around every corner written by Marc Camoletti.

At the start you meet Bernard and Jacqueline, a married couple. Jacqueline is going off to spend a weekend with her mother until she hears that her husband's best friend is coming to town. Not only is Robert her husband's best friend, but also her lover. So, she quickly cancels her plans and decides to stay at home. This news sends her husband into a frenzy because after learning of his wife's out of town weekend, he invited his mistress over for a nice weekend alone, using Robert as his alibi. Quickly he informs Robert that he'd have to claim "Suzy" was his girlfriend and Robert agrees. Soon after, Suzette arrives and Robert announces her as his girlfriend, only to horrify his best friend. Apparently, Suzette was hired as the caterer for the weekend for Bernard and SUZANNE, his mistress. So, Robert claims the wrong "Suzy" as his significant other.

This mistake sends the entire crew into panic. Jacqueline because she thought she was Robert's only mistress. Suzanne because she is not addressed as the cook. Robert because he's claiming his niece as his girlfriend. Suzette because she's trusting her cooking to another person. And, Bernard because he created the mess.

Needless to say things begin to boil over and secrets are revealed, maybe even a few you wouldn't expect! You'll just have to come out and see if your guesses are right.
Read more at Answers.com (Don't Dress for Dinner)

Show Dates
Come see this frenzied show on
March 5th & 6th at 8pm
Visit Foothills Performing Arts website for ticket prices and availabilities.

I Do! I Do!

I Do! I Do! - - A Musical About Marriage.
In the mood for a cutesy musical about marriage? If so, head on over to the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University. This properly titled show opened yesterday and will run through Sunday.

Summary of the Show
I Do! I Do!'s script and lyrics were written by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt. It was based on the Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter. Through 50 years of marriage you'll follow Michael and Agnes. You'll witness their marriage vows, their first night together, their first child, and second child, their heartbreaks, their makeups, their children's weddings, and even them getting old. They'll make you laugh, make you cry, and even make you angry. In this couple you'll see bits of yourself and others you know. There are some songs you may recognize too, like My Cup Runneth Over, Flaming Agnes, I Love My Wife, and Where Are The Snows.
For more information visit Broadwayworld.com

History
This sweet story opened on Broadway on December 5, 1966. It starred Mary Martin as Agnes and Robert Preston as Michael. The show in it's entirety ran for 560 performances. Later, Carol Burnett and Rock Hudson took the show on a national tour.

In 1969 this musical was adapted for film and was to star Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke but after several failed movie musicals the project was dropped.

A television version was aired in 1982 starring Lee Remick and Hal Linden.
For more information visit IBDB.com
For more information visit I Do! I Do!-Wiki

Show Dates
If you'd like to witness the unity along with the trials and tribluations of this couple the days are:
February 25, 26 & 27 at 7:30pm
February 28 at 2:30pm
Visit Lenoir-Rhyne University's theatre website for ticket prices and availabilities.