NATIONAL PASTIME, a musical by Tony Sportiello and Al Tapper, Austin Theatre Project at Center Stage, September 19 - October 6, 2013

[






Austin Theatre Project, performing at Center Stage Texas, 2826 Real Street, south of Manor Rd. - CLICK FOR MAP]
 
presents

National Pastime

book by Tony Sportiello, music and lyrics by Al Tapper

directed by Barbara Schuler with music direction by David Blackburn

September 19 - October 6, 2013

Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m.

Center Stage Texas, 2826 Real Street, south of Manor Rd. - click for map 

NATIONAL PASTIME takes place in Baker City, Iowa in 1933. As the country is coming out of the Great Depression, about the only business in Baker City that seems to be holding on (barely) is the radio station WZBQ. The last time they had made any kind of profit was before the Depression... when the team was home to the minor league baseball team, the Baker City Cougars. In order to save the station, the owners decide to broadcast Cougar baseball again... only there's no team to broadcast!

What do you do when decide to broadcast baseball without a team? Broadcast fake games of course! Incredibly, the entire scheme works and the station is rolling in the profits once again. All is well until a reporter from Life Magazine arrives to do a story on the incredible Iowa baseball team.
 
NATIONAL PASTIME features some of the best and brightest talent Austin has to offer. In the role of Barry, the station owner is Jim Lindsay ("Baby," "Blood Brothers," "Singin' in the Rain"). Haley Smith ("Baby," "I Love You Because") plays Karen, the Chicago attorney who arrives in Baker City to sell the station, but ends up fully immersed in the zany plot. Cast in the roles of station employees are Brandon Myers ("Blood Brothers," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"), Derek Smootz ("The Fantasticks", "Princess Ida"), Rachel Hoovler ("Avenue Q," "Rocky Horror Picture Show"), and Suzanne Orzech ("Baby," "Thoroughly Modern Millie"). In the roles of the bumbling mobster misfits are Erik Freisinger ("South Pacific", "A Few Good Men") and Matt Gauk ("Baby," "A Few Good Men"). Rounding out the exceptional cast is the jingle singing trio consisting of Kate Clark ("Princess Ida"), Wendy Jo Cox ("Baby", "South Pacific"), and Heather Anne Howes (making her Austin theatrical debut).
 
NATIONAL PASTIME features a book by Tony Sportiello and music & lyrics by Al Tapper. Back in March, Austin Theatre Project had a very special guest in the audience of the musical Edges. New York playwright Tony Sportiello had just spent the day with ATP founders Barbara Schuler and David Blackburn and was taking in the critically acclaimed show. As soon as the show finished, Sportiello pulled Schuler and Blackburn aside and raved about the talent on the stage and caliber of the production. He then offered ATP the first preview production of his musical NATIONAL PASTIME which is expected to open on Broadway in 2014.

The musical is being directed by Barbara Schuler with music direction by David Blackburn. Choreography is by Meg Steiner. The set is designed by David Blackburn with Sound and Lighting design by Joel Mercado-See and Dustin Downing. Technical director for the production is Jim Schuler.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

She Loves Me, Wimberley Players, November 18 - December 11

by Michael Meigs

The Wimberley Players' production of She Loves Me directed by Dawn Youngs delivers a serene and intricately musical vision of a 1930s fairy tale. Preserved as if in one of those snow globes awaiting a gentle shake to send the flakes whirling, a perfume shop in Budapest is a holiday setting where affairs of the heart predominate. The elegant ladies of the city come seeking their creams, perfumes and philtres; the clerks of the shop, good earnest working folk, do their best to please. Love will not be lured by artifice, of course, but it does thrive on mystery.

This gentle musical comedy uses one of the oldest comic plot devices in the book: the anonymous love letter. The audience's fun is doubled as it watches as both participants in this courtship by mail just happen to become employees of the shop and quickly become annoyed rivals.

Ann Pittman is new arrival Amalia Balash who won't take 'no' for an answer, brashly outdoing shop manager Georg Nowack (Jim Lindsay), gaining a job and causing Nowack to lose a wager with the boss. Pittman and Lindsay have paired before, as Juan and Evita Perón in the Georgetown Palace's Evita last February, where each demonstrated stature and dignity along with fine singing voices.

In She Loves Me you can enjoy a different take: they're lively, self-assured and assertive in their in-store rivalry but vulnerable and sentimental in the imaginings of their correspondence, each writing letters to the anonymous 'Dear Friend.'

Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Fantasticks, Silver Spur Theatre, Salado, May 13 - 14

Received directly:

presents

The Fantasticks

7:30 p.m., May 13 & 14

Silver Spur Theater, 108 Royal St., Salado (click for map)

Admissions are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12. No matinee. Group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456.

This romantic musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones, has deep Texas roots and a UT-Austin connection before becoming the longest running musical in New York at more than 50 years. It's a moving tale of young lovers schemingly pushed together by parents. The couple becomes disillusioned, only to discover a more mature and meaningful relationship. The show is punctuated by a bountiful series of catchy, memorable songs, like "Try To Remember." For directions or more play info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com.

Barbara Schuler Productions (BSP) of Cedar Park, TX, will reprise its 2010 anniversary production of the popular musical with two performances only at 7:30 p.m. on May 13 and 14 at the Silver Spur Theater, (108 Royal St.) in historic Downtown Salado. Video clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK8Q4lZEqVs.

“BSP brought the revival of this romantic-but-bittersweet charmer to the Spur in mid-January and we’re glad to have them back,” said Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Silver Spur Theater, a seven-year-old professional theater.

Theatre-goers who’ve seen this show before will enjoy it again, and those patrons who’ve never seen it will discover the magic that has made it a worldwide success,” Esch said. “At the heart of ‘The Fantasticks’ are breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication, a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers.”

Admissions are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12. There will be no Saturday matinee. Group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more play info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com.

The Silver Spur Theater serves wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices at evening shows (only) at The Spuradical Social Club in its lobby. http://www.spuradicalsocialclub.net/ Membership is achieved by swiping your driver’s license before purchasing.

“We’ve got a great cast and a brilliant music director” (David Blackburn),” said Barbara Schuler, a professional actress and director of the show. “We are all thrilled to have a chance to work together again in this revival of our March production.”

Upcoming: The Fantasticks, Silver Spur Theatre, Salado, January 14 - 15

Received directly:

The Fantasticks

50-year-old Show Still Going Strong;

Two Shows Only at Salado Silver Spur, Jan. 14-15

Admissions are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12. Group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more play info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com.

When the “Fantasticks” opened at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in New York City in the spring of 1960, little did anyone know that 50 years and 11,000 productions (Not just shows!) later, it would be America’s longest-running musical.

Barbara Schuler Productions of Cedar Park, TX, will reprise its 2010 anniversary production of the popular musical with two performances only at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 and 15 at the Silver Spur Theater, (108 Royal St.) in historic Downtown Salado.

“We hope theatre-goers who’ve seen this romantic but bittersweet charmer before will enjoy it again, and those patrons who’ve never seen it will discover the magic that has made it a worldwide success,” said Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Silver Spur Theater, a seven-year-old professional theater.

“Don’t expect a glitzy Broadway musical,” Esch noted. “At the heart of ‘The Fantasticks’” breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers.” Video clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK8Q4lZEqVs.

The Silver Spur Theater serves wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices at evening shows (only) at The Spuradical Social Club in its lobby. http://www.spuradicalsocialclub.net/ Membership is achieved by swiping your driver’s license before purchasing.

“We’ve got a great cast and a brilliant music director” (David Blackburn), said Barbara Schuler, a professional actress and director of the show. “We are all thrilled to have a chance to work together again in this revival of our March production.”

Click to view images and more information at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Ongoing: The Fantasticks, Way Off Broadway Community Players, Leander, March 26 - April 11

UPDATE: Lisa Schepps of KOOP-FM interviews Musical Director David Blackburn and some of the cast: Derek Smootz (El Gallo), Eve Alonzo (The Girl), Matt Boehm (the Boy), Rebecca Stokinger (Bellemy) and Kirk Kelso (Huckleby) and they sing numbers from the show. "Off Stage and On the AIr," April 5

Found on-line:




present

The Fantasticks

by Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt
directed by Barbara Schuler
musical direction by David Blackburn
March 26 - April 11, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Matinee on Sunday, April 11 at 3 p.m.
Click Here to make Reservations
Crystal Falls Playhouse, 10960 E. Crystal Falls Parkway, Leander

"Try To Remember" a time when this romantic charmer wasn't enchanting audiences around , the world. The Fantasticks is the longest-running production of any kind in the world, and with good reason: at the heart of its breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers. Its moving tale of young lovers who become disillusioned, only to discover a more mature, meaningful love is punctuated by a bountiful series of catchy, memorable songs, many of which have become standards.

Featuring Derek Smootz, Eve G. Alonzo, Matt Boehm, Kirk Kelso, Rebecca Stokinger, Michelle Stuckey, Fred Bothwell, and Mark Butler

View video of scene with the two actors, Henry and Mortimer (6min. 20 sec.) at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

1940s Radio Hour, Wimberley Players, February 12 - March 7

Can there by anyone who doesn't appreciate the warm sepia glow of old time radio broadcasts? Of course, many favorite films from the 1930s and 1940s provide a similar feeling of nostalgia, but their images make a different experience. An old-time radio broadcast was magic because it came right into your home and into your head. Millions of Americans shared the experience of being, literally, "the radio audience" -- from audire, Latin, "to listen."

Those recordings and films remain enshrined in American memory, in part because of the portrayal of a simpler America -- one where folks were decent, did their duty, and agreed that America was headed for a brighter day, no matter how difficult the present circumstances. One proof of that mythic permanence in the American consciousness: this happy little warm kaleidoscope of a musical play evokes Christmastime in 1942 at a rundown radio studio in New York City. The play premiered in late 1979 -- 28 years ago.

Director Jennifer McKenna and the Wimberley Players do a fine job of creating the story, which starts slowly as the radio players arrive, chat, bicker and joke. This is a big cast -- 13 players and seven musicians -- and most of them are onstage throughout. That requires a lot of blocking and a lot of concentration, helped out by the superbly designed and finished set. The theatre audience becomes the studio audience, responding appropriately to the applause signs. They get involved in all those secondary stories and relationships unfolding behind the folks currently talking into the big old clunky microphones down front.

Read more and view images at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The 1940s Radio Hour, Wimberley Players, February 12 - March 7

Update: Click for ALT review, March 1




Received directly:



present


The 1940s Radio Hour
by Walton Jones
Feb. 12 - March 7, 2010

It is December 1942, and our troops overseas are listening to the radio for news and entertainment from back home. The 1940’s Radio Hour, written by Walton Jones, is opening at the Wimberley Playhouse February 12, is a nostalgic musical about a radio broadcast – but this time you, the playgoers, are the actual audience.

Reminiscent of the setting of the recent film, A Prairie Home Companion, the play shows how a radio broadcast is put together. Only this time the music is not country, but favorite old ballads from the 40’s – “Kalamazoo,” “Blue Moon, “Ain’t She Sweet?” “Blues in the Night,” “You Go to My Head,” “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” and many others. The music will be presented onstage by a small orchestra consisting of bass (Guy Ben Moshe), trumpet (Sean Palmer), trombone (Tom Van Tassel), drums (John King), piano (Robert FitzGerald), saxophone (Robert Eaton) and tenor sax (Donna Heath).

The 1940’s Radio Hour is directed by Jennifer McKenna, new to the Wimberley Playhouse but known in Austin theatre (Crimes of the Heart at City Theatre and The Diaries of Adam and Eve at the Baker Theatre).

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, Gaslight Baker Theatre, Lockhart, December 4 - 19

Ebenezer Scrooge is everywhere around Austin this Christmastide.

At his fictional debut in London in 1843 the fictional old curmudgeon endured a long, long Christmas Eve but came through transformed and redeemed, much to the reading public early in Victoria's reign. Dickens intended the novella as an uplifting scold and a humanitarian lesson --and a money-maker. He didn't make much from it, particularly once unscrupulous publishers started churning out unauthorized editions. Within a year there were eight theatrical versions of the Christmas Carol in London, only one of them authorized, with another two in New York.

Dickens did establish an enduring set of characters and he was influential in shaping Anglo-Saxon celebration of the holiday. Some assert that the greeting "Merry Christmas" stems from the mouth of Scrooge's nephew Fred and others maintain that our celebratory, family-oriented rituals of the holiday are urbanized versions of 18th-century manorial customs admired by Dickens and emulated in this story.

Scrooge lives again for us this year in Austin and nearby, with -- count 'em -- seven straightforward versions (two conventional theatre pieces, two one-actor presentations, a version for children and a version by children, and a musical) and five spoofs (including Inspecting Carol, now underway both in Wimberley and in San Antonio). Pretty good for a 166-year-old.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

New Images for Upcoming: The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, Gaslight Baker Theatre, Lockhart, December 4 - 19

UPDATE: Click for ALT review, December 10

Director Stephen Reynolds has shared images of the production, made by Eric Marsh and by Reynolds himself. The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge is set a year after the miraculous events described by Dickens in A Christmas Carol. The comedy examines whether Scrooge kept his promises from that fateful Christmas Eve.

Right: Derek Smootz, Jay Young getting strangled, with Carl Galante as the judge, looking on.

Upcoming: The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, Gasllight Baker Theatre, Lockhart, December 4-

UPDATE: Click for ALT review, December 10

UPDATE: GACA "A-Team" review by (uncredited), December 7

UPDATE: Click for additional images provided by Gaslight Baker Theatre

Received directly:

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge

In December, The Gaslight Baker Theatre in downtown Lockhart Texas will treat the community to a festive comedic twist on a holiday classic: The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge. This family-friendly holiday play by American playwright Mark Brown will run from December 4 to 19 for a total of 8 performances.

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with 2 p.m. Saturday matinees on December 12 and 19

A year after his miraculous transformation, Ebenezer Scrooge is back to his old ways, suing Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas for breaking and entering, kidnapping, slander, pain and suffering, attempted murder, and the intentional infliction of emotional distress. As the trial of the century progresses, hilarity ensues.

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge features the great acting talents of Jennifer Davis, Arthur DiBianca, Jason Foreman, Carl Galante, Angela Irving, Lydia Kettle, Dana Peschke, Perry Redden, Derek Smootz, Katherine Wiggins, Jay Young and Gary Yowell. Directed by Stephen Reynolds, assisted by Beverly Galante, this holiday romp is sure to be fun for the whole family!

Be sure to check out our schedule and reserve your tickets today at www.gaslightbakertheatre.org or call (512) 376-5653. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors. Discounts are available for groups of ten or more.

Upcoming: Love, Labour and Loss, a holiday musicale, Gilbert and Sullivan Society at Genesis Presybterian Church, December 6

Received directly:

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin proudly presents a holiday musical look at relationships.

Love Labour, and Loss

It's an evening of performances of Gilbert & Sullivan favorites along with operatic classics and Broadway musical theatre hits - all concerning love and the travails of romance.

Several selections from The Yeomen of the Guard will be performed, along with other Gilbert & Sullivan tunes from Patience and The Grand Duke. The program also includes grand opera selections by Mozart, Pablo Sorozabal, and Federico Moreno Torroba along with Broadway hits from Guys and Dolls and The Fantasticks.

The program will include performances by audience favorites from past G&S shows - Meredith Ruduski, Arthur DiBianca, Rebecca Stokinger, Andy Fleming, Ariel Rios, Katherine Wiggins and Derek Smootz. Martha Dudgeon's pianistic stylings will accompany the singers.

Genesis Presbyterian Church
1507 Wilshire Blvd Map

FREE ! Please Bring Munchies !

SEE YOU THERE!

Iolanthe, Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin, June 11 - 21

What a sensation Gilbert & Sullilvan must have been back then, the 19th century London equivalent of our Capitol Steps and Second City rolled into one! In fine satirical style, in their best known works they took on the Empire, the peerage, exotic Asia and the Royal Navy.

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin in its 34th year brings us with Iolanthe their mockery of Parliament itself, pairing the pompous velvet-clad peers of the House of Lords with diaphanous fairies operating by quite a different set of social rules.

Gilbert and Sullivan provided my very first initiation into musical theatre. I was about 12 years old when my father took my brother and me to see The Mikado, all unprepared, in the distinctly unexotic setting of a high school in northern Alabama. We were enraptured by the music, the style, the color and the wit, and we have probably not recovered even yet. I took my wife, equally unexposed to G&S, to see this production of Iolanthe. I was cheered to see on her face, throughout the two acts, the same very attentive little smile that must have marked my own, way back then.

Their light opera is brainy stuff, pretty far removed from your standard American broadway musical. Recognizing that Austin's G&S society has put a lot of effort into teaching and outreach. Artistic director Ralph MacPhail Jr. and musical director Jeffrey Jones-Ragona worked the talk shows with Dianne Donovan at classical station KMFA and with John Aielli at KUT-FM. Their website includes streaming video both on the front page and on the page providing a history of the organization, with photo and video galleries reporting the last five years of productions. Since Gilbert and Sullivan is music, song and promenading-cum-dancing, that visual approach is effective.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .