SING, MUSE, Vortex Repertory, August 23 - September 14, 2013

(Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd.) 

presents

Sing Muse

Conceived and directed by Rudy Ramirez | devised by the Ensemble
Aug.23 - Sep.14, 2013, Thursdays-Sundays 8pm

Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd. -- click for map 
Tickets: $30 Priority Seating, $20 General Admission, $10 Artists/Students
Limited seating. Advance Reservations available. 

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Sing Muse - an original a cappella musical - returns to The VORTEX with an all-new production where music and dance, comedy and tragedy, poetry and science come together to retell an ancient story of human love touched by divine inspiration. The VORTEX transforms into the Theatre of Dionysus--in beautiful downtown Athens!

Few remember Thamyris, the once-legendary poet of Ancient Greece who was the first man to fall in love with another man. But the Muses remember. Thamyris claimed he could make art superior to the Muses’ and failed. After defeating him, they sentenced him to an eternity in Hell. However, eternity is a long time, and now The Muses give Thamyris one last chance to redeem himself.

This production of Sing Muse is the next phase of its artistic development. Devised last year, Sing Muse received a workshop production in August 2012. This new Sing Muse combines the best of the first production with new songs, dances, and poetry to reach divine heights.

The ensemble cast features Jonathan Itchon, Chelsea Manasseri, Melissa Vogt-Patterson, Hayley Armstrong, Laura Ray, Karen Rodriguez, Nikki Zook, Leslie Hollingsworth, Michelle Alexander, and Aisha Melhem.

Directed by Rudy Ramirez, Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon, Lighting Design by Patrick Anthony, Choreography by M’bewe Escobar. Music by Chelsea Manasseri, Rudy Ramirez, and Melissa Vogt-Patterson. Musical Arrangements by Chelsea Manasseri. 

Musical Direction by Chelsea Manserri and Jennifer Coy.

The Cast:

• Hayley Armstrong: Urania, Muse of Astronomy
• Nikki Zook: Polyhymnia, Muse of Hymns and Religious Poetry
• Aisha Melhem\: Terpsichore, Muse of Dance
• Michelle Alexander: Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry
• Chelsea Manasseri: Euterpe, Muse of Music
• Leslie Hollingsworth: Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy
• Laura Ray: Clio, Muse of History
• Karen Rodriguez: Thalia, Muse of Comedy
• Melissa Vogt-Patterson: Erato, Muse of Love Poetry
• Jonathan Itchon: Thamyris, a poet

Sing Muse is funded and supported in part by VORTEX Repertory Company, a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, and by the City of Austin through the Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office/Cultural Arts Division, believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin's future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Video by Andy Graham of Creative Fund preview of Austin Is A Place, Theatre en Bloc, April 18 - May 12, 2013

video by Andy Graham at the preview for the

by

of

AUSTIN IS A PLACE (YOU ARE HERE)

directed by Derek Kolluri, Jenny Lavery, Tyler King and Jessica Hughes and featuring a seven person cast with original music by Blake Addyson

April 18 - May 12, 2013, Thursday through Sunday, at 8 p.m.

at Mexitas and Lucky Lady Bingo located at 1107 N IH35, between 11th & 12 Street (click for map)

Click to purchase tickets on-line at buyplaytix

Press:

Feature by Dan Solomon in the Austin Chronicle, April 18

Feature by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin for the Statesman's www.Austin360.com Seeing Things blog, April 18

Can Can, A 1940's Style Floor Show, The Exchange Artists at Palm Door, November 13 and 15

by Dr. David Glen Robinson

I picked my way through the new development and blocked streets of downtown Austin to find this new bar I’d never heard of, the Palm Door. After hiking blocks, I saw it—it was the building formerly occupied by City Grille, once the best seafood restaurant in Austin. The address is 401 Sabine Street, immediately across the street east of the convention center. I want everyone to find it more easily than I did because the Exchange Artists’ performance there is well worth it.

The show is Can Can: A 1940s Floor Show. It's a composite of 1940s musical theatre and movie song and dance routines, finished with Romulus Linney’s exquisite one-act play Can Can. The play is a history of two relationships right after VE day.
The evening of performance is the second in a series of plays in bars mounted by Exchange Artists, one of the most creative groups in the Austin theatre community. They recently staged The Man Who Planted Trees in Sparky Park in central Austin. Surely one of their most notable traits is their seemingly unflagging ability to produce laudable productions in non-traditional performance spaces. And they do it in very short turnaround time—in this case within two months.

The lead producer this time was Bridget Farr, and Katie Richter directed the show. There I was, sitting in a room that looked like an old 1940s barracks with its open ceiling, expecting light entertainment, and suddenly I received a knock-down, lights-out stage dance performance by triple-threat performers Michelle Keffer, Bridget Farr, Cassie Stewart and Will Brittain. They were led by the terrific Jonathan Itchon, a recent B. Iden Payne nominee. Sing (like the Andrews Sisters), dance, act—this group can do it all.

And guiding us through it all was Emcee Noel Gaulin, with his two-day turnaround from Paper Chairs’ Boom for Real (likewise Michelle Keffer). Gaulin’s surprise was a stand-up routine that was a knock-off of 70s comic Andy Kaufman. Gaulin gave us a very close approach to Kaufman, and it gave the audience that queasy, I-don’t-know-if-I-like-this feeling and several icky question marks in the mind about the performer’s mental health. Pay special attention to the punch line “I got vaccinated.”

If all this wasn’t enough, the Tapestry, Too dance troupe performed classic period tap dance numbers. They are the adult student company of Tapestry Dance. They gave us the virtuoso performance of continuing to perform well when the soundtrack music unexpectedly quit. They did well, but paid in performance stress for the inevitable quirks and kinks presented by a non-traditional venue.

Exchange Artists remains true to its huge creative energies, and everything it produces offers beautiful gifts to its audiences. Performers Bridget Farr, Michelle Keffer, Noel Gaulin and Jonathan Itchon seem to hone their talents continually, and they certainly deserve greater attention and higher paychecks. I’ve singled out these few, but all the performers lit up from within when they hit the stage. It is satisfying to see people following their bliss.

Promoting and building the performance communities in Austin is one of my commitments, as it is for AustinLiveTheatre.com. And Exchange Artists is one of about a half-dozen small companies I follow that are exceptionally deserving of growth and greater attention within the community. Much of their work is of short duration and in venues somewhat harder to find than the average theatre. But their ticket prices, for their greater effort in production and your greater effort in finding them, are no higher than anybody else’s. A percentage of their ticket revenue always goes to charity. For slightly more than the price of a movie ticket you can receive much more in art and entertainment. Exchange Artists—remember the name, seek them out; the rewards are huge.

Upcoming: Marvelous Things by Lindsey Greer Sikes and Paul Marbach, Blue Theatre, October 6 - 23

Received directly:

Lindsey Greer Sikes presents a new story for the stage:

script by Lindsey Greer Sikes, original music by Paul Marbech

directed by Lindsey Greer Sikes October 6 – 23, Thursdays - Saturdays at 7 p.m., Sundays at 5 p.m.

at the Blue Theater, 916 Springdale (click for map)

Tickets $12-$20, reservations via marveloustickets@gmail.com

Click to view FaceBook Event Page

In a theatre, who's to say what's real and what's imagined?

Coming this October to the Blue Theater is a new work by Austin Playwright and Director Lindsey Greer Sikes. Inspired by native-Texas indie-rock band Eisley’s “Room Noises”, Marvelous Things is a theatrical event which aims to challenge the traditional form of the play as well as the role of the audience, who are not only spectators but participants in the creation of a false reality—or as we more commonly call it, the theater.

We invite you to meet Winnie: a young woman full of life and always in awe of it. But as her wedding day approaches she becomes unable to distinguish the world in which she is living from the marvelous things she imagines. And as the consequences of lives around her quickly unravel, so the creatures of her mind come alive from within the world of the audience and take to the stage. Presumably, Winnie remains safe in the delusions of her imagination, until a spine-tingling series of final events forces her to confront delusion, reality and ultimately: theatrical reality.

Marvelous Things will be presented at the BLUE Theater on Thursday/Saturday at 7 PM and Sundays at 5 PM from October 6^th – 23^rd. Tickets can be reserved by emailing marveloustickets@gmail.com and purchased at the door on a sliding scale from $12-$20. For a truly Austin experience, be sure to arrive early and grab some dinner with our hot-off-the-grill BBQ, fresh pie, and featured specialty drinks including a spiked Southern Iced Tea! Cash only.

Written and Directed by Lindsey Greer Sikes. Orginal Music Composed by Paul Marbach. Featuring Rachel Weise, Nathan Brockett, Sara Harless, Stephen Mercantel, Emily Kennedy, Brett Hamman, Bastion Carboni, Heather Diamond, Jonathon Itchon, Vanessa Marie, Solveij Praxis and Georgia Young.

Upcoming: Broadway at Bacchus benefit, Bacchus Conservatory, April 9 & 10

Found on-line:

presents a fundraiser:

Broadway at Bachus

April 9 and 10, 7:30 p.m.

Bacchus Center for the Performing Arts

8000 Anderson Square, Suite 112 (click for map)

Tickets $15. Reservations at (512) 45G-CLEF ( 454-2533) or visit www.BachusConservatory.com.

Twelve of Austin's top musical theatre performers will perform music from more than twenty Broadway musicals in Broadway at Bachus, benefiting the music education programs at the Bachus Center. Conceived by - and under the musical direction of - David Blackburn, with stage direction by Barbara Schuler and musical staging by Michelle Stuckey, a two-night revue will play April 9th and 10th at the Bachus Center for the Performing Arts.

Hosted by Robert Josef Cross, Broadway at Bachus features the music of Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Jason Robert Brown and other award-winning composers - performed by Eve Alonzo, Kylie Baker, Matthew Charles Burnett, Ashley Edwards, Jonathan Itchon, Stephen Jack, Becky Knox, Joel Mercado-See, Alejandro Rodriguez, Cathie Sheridan and Ryan Smith. The cast and musicians of the production have performed at nearly every theatre venue in the Austin area, as well as major cities across the United States and national touring companies.

Broadway at Bachus benefits the Bachus Center, a new non-profit organization that funds programs and scholarships to bring the arts to Central Texans who have limited or no access to instruments, lessons, and performance opportunities. Event organizers say the Bachus Center programs have become even more vital to the education of Austin's youth as many fine arts programs are being scaled back or even eliminated in the public schools.

Seating is limited, and the program contains some material that may not be appropriate for children.

Click to view full poster at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Sleeping Beauty, Vortex Repertory, April 2 - May 9

The Vortex's Sleeping Beauty is a riot of costumes and color, music and dance. Bonnie Cullum and composer-librettist Content Love Knowles keep that cast of 20 swirling in the vortex around the spiral staircase at stage center, animated by Knowles and three other musicians perched high above stage right. Many of the players play double roles. Costumes by Pam Fletcher Friday and Griffon Ramsey are inventive, playful and brilliantly colored, with the witty use of found fabrics and objects, as if the players had discovered a treasure trove of dress-up clothes in grandma's attic.

Jennifer Coy as the Fool deserves the lead image for this musical. In good fool tradition, she is the only real adult in this happy ensemble of gifted adult-sized characters and artists. Coy has a brash, raucous side to her, a knowing wink at this nonsense, and she winds it up with a solo epilogue addressing the audience, making sure that they enjoyed the spectacle and crowing, "And now let's all have a drink!"

Playtime at the Vortex gives us a sprightly retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story full of incident and relatively bereft of deeper meaning. The first act establishes the court, the statuesque Queen (Betsy McCann) yearning for a child, some Disneyesque jumpin' jive in the castle, a long funny number as the Queen is offstage in labor, celebration, and a long, long naming song that saddles the kid with about fifteen names.

And then there's the extended business of fairies bringing gifts. Because the heedless top-hatted King (Adam Smith) neglected to invite her, the impressively salamander-like fairy Ixlamere (Suzanne Balling) curses the newborn with the prediction that she'll prick her finger on a spindle and die.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Sleeping Beauty, Vortex Repertory, April 2 - May 9

UPDATE: The Vortex has extended Sleeping Beauty to May 9

Click for ALT review, April 11

UPDATE: Review by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, Austin Statesman's "Seeing Things" blog, April 8

UPDATE: Jeanne Claire van Ryzin interviews Bonnie Cullum about Sleeping Beauty, April 1

UPDATE: Lisa Schepps on KOOP-FM interviews leading singer-actors Jonathan Itchon and Julia Lorenz, as well as creators Bonnie Cullum and Content Love Knowles on her program "Off Stage and On the Air," March 29

Received directly:

Vortex Repertory Company
presents

Sleeping Beauty

A new musical faery tale
by Bonnie Cullum and Content Love Knowles
April 2 - May 9 Thursdays-Sundays 8 p.m.
ASL-Interpreted Saturday, May 10, 2010
Audio Description Saturday, May 17, 2010
Faery Masque Ball on Saturday, May 1
The Vortex, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin 78722. Free Parking. Bus Route. Lovely café.

Tickets: $30-$10 Available at 512-478-LAVA (5282) or www.vortexrep.org
$30-$25 Priority Seating, $20-$15 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists. Thursdays and Sundays 2-for-1 admission with donation of 2 non-perishable food items. Limited seating.

VORTEX Repertory Company proudly presents Sleeping Beauty, a magical new musical by Bonnie Cullum and Content Love Knowles. Loosely based on the Grimm Brothers’ faery tale, this dynamic production joins the musical theatre cannon with a feminist, revisionist re-telling of a well-beloved faery tale. While this production is not designed for children (scary faeries), we welcome audiences of all ages (PG-13 with no nudity or foul language). This is not your mama’s faery tale.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Romeo and Juliet, Austin Shakespeare in Zilker Park, May 7 - June 7

UPDATE: ALT review of May 10




Posted by Austin Shakespeare on April 26:

Romeo and Juliet

For the 24th year, Austin Shakespeare brings FREE Shakespeare to Zilker Park. From May 7 to June 7 we present Shakespeare’s most popular play with a new twist: Romeo & Juliet features Shakespeare’s own text, including some Spanish language!

Set in Central Texas in the 1940’s, this production boasts a Central Texas setting with a Mexican-American flavor. This is the timeless story of two young people who fall in love, but whose families have hated one another for so long that they no longer remember the reason.

"This new approach to Romeo and Juliet relishes the beautiful story, exciting characters and thrilling language framed within the Mexican-American culture of South Central Texas," said Artistic Director Ann Ciccolella, who is staging the outdoor production. "We have a cast filled with actors who are dynamic, funny and make Shakespeare totally understandable--even in Spanish."

WHEN: May 7 - June 7, Thursday - Sunday at 8:00PM; special Mother's Day matinee at 2PM (no evening performance); special preview Wednesday May 6.
WHERE: The Sheffield Hillside Theatre at Zilker Park (across the parking lot from Barton Springs pool)

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