(*) Profile of Playhouse San Antonio and 'Ragtime' by Leezia Dahlain, The Rivard Report, August 9, 2013

 
For The San Pedro Playhouse, The Show Must Go On

Posted on August 9th, 2013
By Leezia Dhalla

(Photo: Gregg Eckhardt)

In San Antonio, theater is thriving. With more than a dozen venues dedicated to the performing arts, the city is steadily becoming known as one of Texas’s most colorful havens for the premier theatrical experience.

Responsibility for boosting the local arts reputation belongs in part to The San Pedro Playhouse, the oldest municipally built theater in the United States.

Situated in picturesque San Pedro Springs Park, The Playhouse opened its doors just 90 days after the 1929 crash of the stock market with a performance of Ferenc Molnar’s “The Swan.” It continues to be an important piece of the performing arts puzzle in San Antonio more than 90 years later, with a slew of educational programs that offer hands-on internships and on-site training classes in auditioning, stage combat, choreography and improv, among others.

The theater has grown to serve more than 50,000 people through various educational outreach programs, performances, events and classes.

In her first year as president and CEO, Asia Ciaravino has breathed new life into the venue. In addition to updating the theater’s social media and branding efforts, Ciaravino retooled the education programming into the likes of a conservatory, where students can learn the practicalities of equity, contracts and cattle-call auditions as professional actors in the working world.

The Playhouse also continues to donate production tickets to thousands of students each year, especially at schools where theater programs are being eliminated due to budget constraints.

“Our thrust is in building communities and education. I feel like we’re at the point of exploding because there’s so much happening and so many good things going on in the community,” Ciaravino said. “(I’m glad) we’re able to do so much outreach. On a community level we really impact children and adults, and that’s what theater, in my mind, is supposed to do.”

Read more at The Rivard Report . . . .

(*) Ragtime Cast Offers Student Talk-back, Playhouse San Antonio, July 28, 2013

Following the Playhouse San Antonio performance on Sunday afternoon, July 28:

Click image for more information and tickets

Playhouse San Antonio Shifts 'Ragtime' to Empire Theatre, July 26 - August 18, 2013

Received July 12 from Playhouse San Antonio:

As you may know, our beautiful, historic Russell Hill Rogers Theater sustained considerable damage during the storms and floods of late May, forcing us to cancel several performances of Spring Awakening. The City of San Antonio took action immediately, engaging architects and engineers to assess the building and provide us with a game plan for continuing with our mission to provide our community with high quality, live theatre - without interruption.

This week, we began the process of repairing our beloved building and have found it necessary to close the Russell Hill Rogers Theater temporarily. While this is unfortunate news, we are delighted at the promise of a brand new roof and ceiling! Thanks to the support of the City of San Antonio, our Summer Feature: Ragtime, will continue as scheduled, but will be presented at The Charline McCombs Empire Theatre (226 N St Mary's St, San Antonio, Texas 78205). We will be contacting each individual who has made a reservation to provide further information and update seating. If you have not yet purchased tickets, we encourage you to do so and join us for this beautiful story of hope in the face of change.

We are grateful to the City of San Antonio, especially the City Manager's Office, Parks and Recreation Department, and Department of Culture and Creative Development, for their continued support and for facilitating both the repair process and the move to The Empire. We are also grateful to The Charline McCombs Empire Theatre for welcoming our team into their venue. We are especially thankful for your patience and understanding as we move forward. We trust that you, our loyal patrons, know that each decision our team makes is for your benefit and the benefit of live arts entertainment in our community.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call us at 210-733-7258.

We look forward to seeing you at the theater soon!

Summer Feature: Ragtime
	Friday July 26, 2013 to Sunday August 18, 2013 Ragtime musically weaves together the stories of three extraordinary families, who confront history's timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair and what it means to live in America.

(*) RAGTIME, musical, Playhouse San Antonio, July 26 - August 18, 2013

(Playhouse San Antonio, 800 West Ashby at San Pedro Avenue, San Antonio)

presents

(poster: Playhouse San Antonio)

Ragtime musically weaves together the stories of three extraordinary families, who confront history's timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair and what it means to live in America.
Click to purchase tickets online

CAST

Mother    Stephanie Bumgarner
Coalhouse Walker, Jr.    Edward Burkley
Tateh   David Nanny-Isban
Father   Jason Mosher
Younger Brother   Trevor Chauvin
Sarah   Regina Burpo
Emma Goldman    Rebecca Trinidad
Evelyn Nesbit   Sara Brookes
Willie Conklin    Rob Shaver
Sarah's Friend   Rebekah Williams
Grandfather   Michael Duggan
Henry Ford   Mark Hicks
Houdini  Rick Sanchez
Immigrants  Anthony Castro, Daniel Quintero, Irene Miller, Sarah Munroe, Allison Newsom
People of New Rochelle   Matthew Cook, Renee Garvens, Sarah L. Hedrick, Chris L. Johnson, Chris Miller, Thad S. Payne, Sharon Newhardt
People of Harlem    Michele Crowder. Lindsay Nicole Ewell, Danielle King, Kenny Patterson, Angela Patterson

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

(*) Auditions in San Antonio for Ragtime and for Les Misérables, Playhouse San Antonio, February 25 and 26, 2013

Auditions February 25 and 26, 2013 for Ragtime and for Les Misérables


Ragtime - Book by Terrence McNally, Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Directed by Molly Cox. Performances July 26-August 18, 2013
All roles available. Click here to enter the MTI website for character, casting, and show details.
Ragtime musically weaves together the stories of three extraordinary families, who confront history's timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair and what it means to live in America.


Les Misérables - Book by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer
Directed by Tim Hedgepeth
All roles available. Performances October 3 - November 2, 2013 (tentative)
Click here to enter the MTI website for character, casting, and show details.
Victor Hugo’s epic tale of redemption is masterfully told through the robust and moving score of one of the world’s most notorious musicals.


Auditions BY APPOINTMENT ONLY at the Russell Hill Rogers Theater, 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. For appointment: call 210-733-7258 or email auditions@theplayhousesa.org. Arrive 15 minutes prior to appointment to check in. Provide headshot and resume.
Please prepare:

• 16-32 bars of a dramatic, expressive ballad from a post-1980 musical, something that shows range (Please do not prepare songs from Les Miserables or Ragtime)

• A one-minute monologue of actor's choice

Additional ALT Review: Ragtime, Zach Theatre, October 17 - November 18

by Ed Penn


Grand: My best description of experiencing Ragtime at Zach.


I had a grand time last Sunday afternoon; walking in on the sunny afternoon and exiting into a sunset framed nicely by the floor to ceiling windows. Even with a full house, parking was available in their two dedicated lots. Grand entrance: walking up the promenade steps to the new Topfer building; passing a two-horned fantastical speaker resembling something out of a Dr. Seuss tale that was playing period music. Walking through the spacious lobby and the 'sound airlock' to enter the auditorium, I was greeted by the rustling of packed house eager for the show.


The seats were steeply angled, guaranteeing everyone an unobstructed view. My seat was on the left wing. While unable to see upstage-left, I'm certain that only chorus members would be out of view.


The stage was named after Karen Kuykendall in memory of an actress who graced the boards at Zach. It deserves recognition for the inclusion of every bit of theatrical hardware usually seen in the more lavish touring productions. A height variance granted from the city allowed the large box in which all the curtains and 'flies' reside. Anything could be 'flown in' to set an intimate scene on this wide-open stage framed by a two-level white wicker set: a backdrop grid to transform the outside air into Grand Central Station, globe lights for a piano hall,a projection screen for an image of the Statue of Liberty, and even a flying man. 

Read more and view additional images by Kirk R. Tuck at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Ragtime, Zach Theatre, October 17 - November 18

by Michael Meigs

The Zach's Ragtime is a huge -- I mean HUGE -- and lavish production, inaugurating its state-of-the-art 425-seat Topfer theatre. The flair, finish and finesse of this production are simply breath-taking.


Ragtime is a fable of a faraway America, one that existed at the very opening of the twentieth century. In his 1975 novel E.L. Doctorow imagined a tangled story involving a prosperous bourgeois family in New Rochelle, an unmarried African-American couple and their child, and an impoverished Jewish immigrant peddler and his young daughter in the New York slums.


The story is told in an amusing faux-historical narrative with cameos by real figures notable and notorious, ranging from escape artist Harry Houdini to Henry Ford to polar explorer Robert Peary to Evelyn Nesbit, infamous in the love triangle that led to the murder of architect Stanford White.


Miloš Forman turned Ragtime into a 1981 film featuring Randy Newman's clever and gently nostalgic score. Although the story is set principally in a small town upstate and in New York City, somewhat ironically the 1996 musical was underwritten by Canadian empresario Garth Drabinsky and first produced in Toronto. The music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens sweep the audience away.


Ragtime is a dream epic, a late twentieth-century imagining of how it should have been possible to overcome the differences between races and ethnic groups. It's imbued with an optimism of America's possibilities, even as it depicts setbacks.


While the wealthy owner of a fireworks factory is away on a polar expedition, his wife discovers an abandoned black newborn child in the garden. She takes it in along with Sarah, its despondent mother; professional musician Coalhouse Walker, Jr., drives up from Harlem every week, trying to speak to Sarah, and the family accepts him. The courteous and well-dressed outsider even becomes a music tutor to Edgar, the son. In an unfortunate encounter, white thugs beat Coalhouse and trash his automobile. Police and courts deny him justice; police brutality causes a death; Coalhouse and his armed followers occupy the J.P. Morgan library in New York City. Conflicts are sharp; dilemmas are insoluble. The New Rochelle family becomes involved and members learn different, difficult lessons.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Video: 'On the Wheels of a Dream' from Ragtime, Zach Theatre, October 17 - November 18

Posted by the Zach Theatre on October 9, 2012:

Kia Fulton and Kyle Scatliffe sing RAGTIME's "Wheels of a Dream" accompanied by the full chorus during a rehearsal session. Visit ZACH's website at http://www.zachtheatre.org/show/ragtime for more information about ZACH Theatre's inaugural production in the new Topfer Theatre in Austin, TX. The musical RAGTIME plays October 17-November 18, 2012.

Upcoming: Ragtime, the musical, Zach Theatre, October 17 - November 18

Austin’s Theatre and Texas’ longest running theatre, in the first ever production on the Karen Kuykendall Stage in its new Topfer Theatre, presents the premiere Austin production of

Book by TERRENCE McNALLY
Lyrics by LYNN AHRENS and Music by STEPHEN FLAHERTY
Based on the novel by E. L. DOCTOROW
Directed by DAVE STEAKLEY
Music Direction by ALLEN ROBERTSON
Musical Staging by NICK DEMOS

ZACH’s new Topfer Theatre, 202 South Lamar Blvd., (corner of Riverside Drive and South Lamar Blvd.)
Wednesdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

RAGTIME Previews Oct. 17-24

Champagne Opening and Press Night is Thursday, Oct. 25, followed by a reception with the stars of show
GLBT Wilde Party pre-show mixer is Thursday, Oct. 18; performances continue through November 18, 2012

To order tickets call 512-476-0541 ext. 1 or visit www.zachtheatre.org. Tickets range from $35-$65. Student Rush Tickets: $18 one hour before showtime (with valid ID). ZACH’s new, full bar opens one hour before showtime and remains open for one hour post-show.

ZACH’s production of RAGTIME features an all-star cast including: Jill Blackwood, Jamie Goodwin, Andrew Cannata, Kia Dawn Fulton, David Jarrott, Meredith McCall, Roderick Sanford, Jennifer Young, & Janis Stinson, with New York guest artists Andrew Foote as Tateh and Kyle Scatliffe as Coalhouse Walker, Jr.

(image: Kirk R. Tuck)

ZACH welcomes a new era with the opening of the Topfer Theatre, and no production is better suited to showcase the deep and inspired talents of ZACH’s full company and new performance space than the uplifting Tony Award-winning musical RAGTIME. More than 50 of Austin’s finest actors, supported by a glorious orchestra, tell the story of how we forged a nation that all people could call home. Bold anthems, Harlem ragtime, and delicate waltzes lift our aspirations for all that we can and will be. RAGTIME will set a new standard for musicals in Austin, so intimate and immediate, that discerning patrons will rejoice at the power of the experience.


ZACH’s Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley says: “In planning the first season at the new Topfer Theatre, I focused on plays and musicals which involve dreams of some kind—chasing the American dream, dreams to which one aspires, literal dreams while sleeping, and the theatre as a place where dreams are realized. I selected RAGTIME to inaugurate the theatre because it is of an epic scale befitting our grand opening, it allows us to use all the new technology we have invested in, it will involve large segments of our community with a cast of 50 actors, it has never been produced locally, it was written by native Texan Terrence McNally, it creates the opportunity to have a full orchestra for the first time in our history, it has roles for youth to perform, it has a multi-racial cast, and thematically it has much to say about this time in ZACH’s life and in our lives as Americans, as some characters welcome and embrace change, while others struggle with it.”


In support of its landmark production of RAGTIME, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded ZACH a $70,000 grant, making this ZACH’s sixth consecutive year of funding from NEA with awards totaling $240,000. ZACH’s grant was one of only three Art Works grants awarded in Texas in the theatre category this year. Additional support for RAGTIME was provided by Gary and Karen Goldstein, and Eric and Maria Groten.

For real-time updates on ZACH Theatre news, events and happenings, visit http://www.zachtheatre.org/blog, be a fan of ZACH Theatre on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/zachtheatre, and follow ZACH on Twitter @zachtheatre http://www.twitter.com/zachtheatre.

About ZACH Theatre   ZACH Theatre is Austin’s leading professional producing theatre, employing more than 600 actors, musicians, and designers annually. Founded in 1932, ZACH is the longest running theatre company in Texas, serving 95,000 adults and youth annually. ZACH creates its own nationally recognized plays and musicals that ignite the imagination, lift the spirit, and engage the community under the proven leadership of Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley and Managing Director Elisbeth Challener. Launching its 80th season in 2012, ZACH continues to expand and engage with Austin, adding the new 420-seat, 32,000-square-foot Topfer Theatre to its performing arts campus, nearly doubling ZACH’s capacity while retaining its hallmark intimate theatre-going experience. Visit www.zachtheatre.org for more information.
 
ZACH Theatre is sponsored in part, by Applied Materials, Austin Catering, Four Hands Home, Holiday Inn-Lady Bird Lake, Kirk Tuck Photography, Marquee Event Group, OnRamp, Austin American-Statesman, KXAN TV 36, and Time Warner Cable; and by grants from Junior League of Austin, The Shubert Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division, which believes 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)