THE JUNGLE BOOK and ALL SHOOK UP Set for Winter 2014 at TexARTS

After a record-breaking 2013, TexARTS is gearing up for a phenomenal new year. This winter’s Musical Theatre Academy shows will include the youth production of Disney’s “The Jungle Book” and the teen production of the Elvis Presley inspired “All Shook Up.” These family friendly shows are sure to be audience pleasers.

CLICK IMAGE to buy tickets

TexARTS Winter Shows:


Jan. 11 - 12 and 18 - 19 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The Jungle Book
Youth Musical Theatre

Join Mowgli, Baloo, King Louie and the gang as they swing their way through madcap adventures and thwart the ferocious tiger, Shere Khan. Adapted from the beloved Disney film, this musical includes all your favorite tunes, like “The Bare Necessities,” and “I Wan’na Be Like You.” Directed by Natalia Luna, Choreographed by Cassie Eckerman and Music Directed by Jamie Shaw. Jan. 11-12 & 18-19 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.





Feb. 1 – 2 and 8 - 9 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.

All Shook Up

CLICK IMAGE to buy tickets

Teen Musical Theatre

A new musical comedy inspired by Twelfth Night and other Shakespearean comedies, built around a number of songs made famous by Elvis Presley. It takes place in 1955, somewhere in middle America, where one girl's dream and a surprise visit from a mysterious leather-jacketed, guitar-playing stranger help a small town to discover the magic of romance and the power of rock & roll. Among the 24 songs featured in the score are classics like "Heartbreak Hotel," "Love Me Tender," "Don't Be Cruel," "Can't Help Falling in Love," and of course the title tune. Directed by Keenah Armitage, Choreographed by Kiira Schmidt and Music Directed by Nissa Kahle. Feb. 1-2 & 8-9 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.



All performances will be held at the Kam & James Morris Theatre at TexARTS (2300 Lohman's Spur, Suite #160, Lakeway, TX - click for map). For all ages are welcome. Tickets: $15. For more information visit www.tex-arts.org or call 512-852-9079 x101

TexARTS Swings into the Holidays with 'A Cool Yule,' December 20 and 21, 2013

The TexARTS Cabaret Series will offer the original holiday-themed revue “A Cool Yule” Dec. 20 and 21 at 7:00 p.m at the Kam and James Morris Theatre.

The evening will feature Broadway's Keenah Armitage (On The Town, Jesus Christ Superstar) and Robert M. Armitage (Aida, Thoroughly Modern Millie); chanteuse Jane Dean; Natalia Luna (Joseph, Bye, Bye Birdie); Jarret Mallon (Hairspray, Will Rogers Follies); Brian Ridley (Passing Strange) and members of the TexARTS Broadway Company.

With music direction by Susan Finnigan, this cast, of Broadway vets and Austin's best singers, promises to deliver a wonderland of rousing holiday classics. This joyous evening of music will warm your heart with the songs of Andy Williams, Sinatra, Harry Connick, Jr., Stevie Wonder, Peggy Lee and more! “A Cool Yule” will remind you how special the holidays - and TexARTS - really are.

The TexARTS Kam and James Morris Theatre is located at 2300 Lohman’s Spur. The lounge opens one hour prior to curtain. Single tickets and cocktail table seating are available. For tickets and information call the TexARTS Box Office at 512-852-9079 x101 or visit www.tex-arts.org.
TexARTS is a nonprofit organization that offers year-round classes in acting, voice, ballet and dance as well as completely staged youth and professional productions. TexARTS is recognized throughout the region for its professional theatre and educational programs.

TexARTS Youth Ballet presents The Nutcracker, December 14 and 15, 2013

The Nutcracker

Dec. 14 & 15, 2013


at St. Michael's Academy - Gloria Delgado Theatre
3000 Barton Creek Blvd. 
Austin, TX 78735 - click for map

TexARTS Youth Ballet Theatre presents the classic story of The Nutcracker! Bring the whole family and be swept off your feet as this holiday favorite comes to life on stage! Come join a festive party and watch in wonder as the Sugar Plum Fairy hosts a dazzling array of dances! Special guest stars include members of the Lakeway community and students from Texas State University and UT at Austin. 

Directed and choreographed by Darren Gibson. December 14 at 2pm and 6pm, December 15 at 2pm. Cost: $15.00. Tickets available at tex-arts.org or by calling the box office at 512-852-9079 x101

TexARTS presents Holiday Extravaganza, Dec. 7 & 8, 2013

Holiday Extravaganza

The TexARTS Broadway Company stars in this holiday revue that features Rockette-style numbers, your favorite holiday hits, and a special appearance by Santa Claus! This perfectly wonderful showcase is sure to put the SPARKLE in your holidays!

Directed/Choreographed by Keenah Armitage & Darren Gibson. December 7 & 8 at 2pm and 6pm. Cost: $15.00. For tickets visit: tex-arts.org

or call the box office at 512-852-9079 x101

Kam and James Morris Theatre at TexARTS

2300 Lohmans Spur, Suite 160
 Austin, TX 78734 (clck for map)

Auditions for TexARTS Youth Ballet Theatre Production of "The Nutcracker"

From Tex-Arts, Lakeway:

Register Here

TexARTS Youth Ballet Theatre presents the classic story of The Nutcracker! Bring the whole family and be swept off your feet as this holiday favorite comes to life on stage! Come join a festive party, fight off the Mouse King, see the Land of Snow and watch in wonder as the Sugar Plum Fairy hosts a dazzling array of dances! Don't miss out on this once-a-year opportunity. It's the perfect holiday treat!

Rehearsal Begins September 7, 2013
Rehearsal will be every Saturday from 1:30am-4:30pm
Tech and Dress Rehearsal will be December 11-13, 2013
Performances will be December 14-15, 2013

TexARTS Video and August 17 Open House Spotlight Arts Education Programs

Announcement and 2011 video from

TexARTS Open House
Saturday, August 17, 2013, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
2300 Lohman's Spur, Ste 160, Austin, TX 78734 -- click for map

TexARTS Association for the Performing and Visual Arts welcomes the community to an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 17, 2013. The celebration will kick off the 2013-2014 Academy year.
In addition to getting first chance at registering for the upcoming fall classes, attendees can also participate in free dance and visual arts classes; meet the TexARTS instructors - many of whom are Broadway veterans and serve on the faculty of nationally recognized Texas State University musical theatre program; watch selected performances from recent TexARTS productions; enjoy refreshments; and win tickets to upcoming shows.

TexARTS upcoming season includes: “Holiday Extravaganza” (Dec. 7-8), “The Nutcracker” (Dec. 14-15), Disney’s “The Jungle Book” (Jan. 11-19) and the Elvis Presley jukebox musical “All Shook Up” (Feb. 1-9).


TexARTS is a nonprofit organization that offers year-round classes in acting, voice, dance and the visual arts as well as completely staged youth and professional productions. TexARTS’ mission is to cultivate a thriving arts community by exposing all people to the visual and performing arts.

For more information or to register for TexARTS’ upcoming after school and weekend arts education programs, please visit tex-arts.org or call 512-852-9079.

Broadway Stars Set for TexARTS' Summer Programs, June 10 - August 16, 2013

Darcie Roberts, who played the title role in the U.S. first national tour of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," will serve as one of the professional guest teaching artists for the TexARTS summer musical theatre intensive, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (June 10 – 30). Students enrolled in this three-week, production-based intensive will rehearse while receiving instruction in acting, dance and voice from a team of professional instructors and special Broadway guests. Rehearsals culminate in a public performance on June 29-30.

A legitimate triple-threat, Roberts made her Broadway debut at the age of 19 in "Crazy for You." Since then she has appeared in such Broadway hits as "Aida," "Dream," and "Curtains." Roberts joins Chris Freeman (Broadway’s “The Lion King,” “La Cage Aux Folles,” “The Boy from Oz,” and “Swan Lake”), Keenah Armitage (Broadway's "On The Town"), Darren Gibson (Broadway's "Movin' Out) and previously announced guest teaching artist Robby Armitage. Armitage, who is an eight-time Broadway veteran, performed in the Broadway production of “Millie.” Armitage currently serves as the TexARTS producing artistic director.

Darcie Roberts

“Arts education has proven to have such a positive impact on the development of a child. These programs help to build self-esteem and confidence in young people,” said Armitage. “For area young people this is a terrific opportunity to learn new skills, meet new friends, and train with professional theater artists.”

TexARTS' popular series of youth summer performing arts camps will offer a variety of programming for children and teens of all levels. This year’s lineup includes “Great Shakes,” a Shakespeare acting intensive, a youth ballet intensive and a dance technique intensive. 

Students may also enroll in full-day or half-day camps that focus on such popular titles as “Wicked,” “Grease” and “Glee.” These week-long camps are under the guidance of experienced professionals and will focus on basic vocal technique, acting skills, dance and musical theatre. 

In addition, Kelleen Adams will lead the visual arts camps for students ages 5-12. For students ages 2 – 5, TexARTS will host mini camps. Each session has a theme with crafts and an informal presentation for family and friends.

Camps begin June 10 and run through August 16. Camps will be held at TexARTS in the Erin Doherty Studios (2300 Lohmans Spur, Suite #160, Lakeway, TX). For more information or to register for TexARTS upcoming performing and visual arts summer camps, please visit www.tex-arts.org or call 512-852-9079 x104.

TexARTS is a nonprofit organization that also offers year-round classes in acting, voice, ballet and dance as well as completely staged youth and professional productions. TexARTS’ mission is to cultivate a thriving arts community by exposing all people to the visual and performing arts. The TexARTS faculty, who has earned 21 Broadway credits among them, strives to prepare and promote exceptional young talent. TexARTS is recognized throughout the region for its professional theatre and educational programs.

TexARTS Make Me A Cake FundraiserMandola's Italian Market in Bee Caves, April 21, 2013

 
Make Me A Cake Fundraiser for TexARTS


Mandola's Italian Market - Bee Caves

April 21, 2013, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.

You’re invited to the most delicious fundraiser of the year! Mandola’s Italian Market is hosting a fun-filled afternoon of culinary delights to benefit TexARTS. Bakers of all ages are welcome!

$50 Tickets Include:

• A delicious lunch catered by Mandola’s Italian Market,
• a cake decorating lesson, led by the Mandola’s pastry chefs,
• your own cake to decorate and take home and
• a chance to meet Damian Mandola, celebrity chef and a guest judge on TLC’s Next Great Baker.

Proceeds benefit TexARTS Association, a nonprofit performing and visual arts organization that cultivates a thriving arts community. Only 75 tickets are available for this scrumptious fundraiser. Mandola’s Italian Market (12815 Shops Pkwy. Ste 400, Bee Cave, TX). For all ages. 

Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.tex-arts.org/cake.html or via

I'M NOT AFRAID, an evening with Michelle Cheney - The TexARTS Cabaret Series, April 12-13, 2013

 presents

I'm Not Afraid
an evening with Michelle Cheney

April 12 and 13, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
Tex-Arts Studios, Kam and James Morris Theatre, 2300 Loehmann's Spur at 620, Lakeway- click for map

 








 Singer, actress and comedienne Michelle Cheney brings her comedic and heartwarming show, I'm Not Afraid, to the intimate TexARTS Cabaret Series. This evening of parody and humor will feature timeless songs from some of Broadway's greatest composers including Kander and Ebb, Jason Robert Brown, Amanda McBroom and many more. David Blackburn music directs. April 12-13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kam and James Morris Theatre at TexARTS (2300 Lohman's Spur, Suite #160, Lakeway, TX). For all ages. Tickets: $20.00 - $30.00. http://www.tex-arts.org/michellecheney.html. Box Office: 512-852-9079 x101

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Tex-Arts' Robin Lewis To Teach Part-Time at Texas State

From the San Marcos Mercury, May 26:

Broadway Veteran Robin Lewis Joins Musical Theatre program
Submitted by Brad Rollins on Tuesday, 26 May 2009
FROM TEXAS STATE NEWS SERVICE/JAYME BLASCHKE

Broadway veteran Robin Lewis will join the Musical Theatre Program at Texas State University as a per-course faculty member teaching musical theatre dance.

Lewis joins recent faculty additions Kailtin Hopkins and Jim Price in bolstering the Musical Theatre Program.

“In assembling the musical theatre faculty, I think Robin is the perfect complement to Kaitlin and Jim,” said Texas State Department of Theatre and Dance Chair John Fleming. “As a dancer and dance captain, Robin has worked with some of Broadway’s most acclaimed directors and choreographers (Susan Stroman, Ann Reinking). The addition of Robin to our program means that our students will receive top-level musical theatre dance training.”

Lewis is a veteran of several Broadway stage productions including Disney’s Beauty & the Beast (dance captain), A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden (dance captain) and Fosse (including the film version) with Ben Vereen and Ann Reinking. Additional credits include the Off-Broadway production of The Green Heart as well as the first national Broadway touring production of Mel Brooks’ The Producers starring Jason Alexander and Martin Short.

[ . . . . ] In addition to his time on the boards, Lewis has choreographed for the Oklahoma Lyric Opera, Zachary Scott Theater Center (for which he’s received multiple B. Iden Payne and Austin Critics’ Circle Awards), Zilker Productions and TexARTS (Critics Circle Award-winner). Lewis was also voted “Best in Austin” for his choreography and “Keeper of the Fosse Flame” by the Austin Chronicle.

Click for full text at SanMarcosMercury.com . . . .

Upcoming: Golf, the Musical, Tex-Arts Lakeway, April 23 - May 10

Review by Joey Seiler in the Statesman's "Seeing Things" blog, April 28

Received from TexARTS, Lakeway:


GOLF the Musical: A Comedy Revue


TexARTS
April 23-May 10, 2009




GOLF, The Musical! wraps up TexARTS' critically-acclaimed and audience-pleasing professional Off-Broadway Series 08-09. The show is a hilarious send-up of all the quirks, quips and quotes of the game of golf, with a sharp, mature wit (think Saturday Night Live) that will have golfers and non-golfers alike laughing out loud. A hit Off Broadway and in L.A., TexARTS hits a hole in one for you!

GOLF, the Musical! Is an adult-witty, hilarious musical that exhausts every quirky term, unique cliche and double entendre that you could possibly think of relating to Golf, life, Golf, love, Golf, sex, Golf, marriage, Golf, politics - well, really, when it comes right down to it - GOLF, PERIOD!

GOLF WILL RUN APRIL 23, 2009 THRU MAY 10 2009.



Read More at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Much Ado About Nothing, TexArts Great Shakes, April 3 - 5

Received from Tex-Arts, Lakeway:

"Great Shakes" Teen Youth Theatre
does Much Ado About Nothing
April 3, 4 at 7:30 p.m.
April 5 at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m.

Review: I'll Be Seeing You, Tex-Arts, December 5 - 21

From Barry Pineo's review in the Austin Chronicle of December 12:

". . . the show is about the music, not the narrative, and in this, the production almost always excels. Leslie Hollingsworth, Kelly Khun, and Selena Rosanbalm take the roof off right at the beginning, performing multiple Andrews Sisters songs, and each contributes worthy solos later on. And Andrew Cannata sings "I'll Be Home for Christmas" as if it were written just for him. But as impressive as the music is, the single most impressive part of the show is when four couples dance to "In the Mood" on the tiny stage of the Kam and James Morris Theatre. Swooping and twirling and tossing each other with abandon, Lewis and Alison Spell create as thrilling and entertaining a dance as I've ever seen in a theatre."

Click for full review.

Click for Tex-Arts' ticket form (tickets are $22 - $48)

Upcoming: I'll Be Seeing You, TexArts Lakeway, December 5 - 13

Received on October 13:

"I'LL BE SEEING YOU... A 1940's Christmas Musical Revue" will delight audiences by intertwining actual letters to & from the homefront during WWII with popular holiday and other tunes of the era, sparkley dance numbers & songs including "Santa Baby;" "I'll Be Home for Christmas;" "White Christmas;" "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and more.

A show that will warm the heart this holiday season! Don't miss this all singing all dancing production. Featuring Selena Rosanbalm from TexARTS' production of Always... Patsy Cline and Robin Lewis from Broadway's Fosse and The Producers.

Great fun for the whole family - sure to become a new family tradition!

"I'll Be Seeing You" comes to TexARTS' new Kam and James Morris Theater at TexARTS Keller Williams Studios - 2300 Lohman's Spur.

Choreography from Broadway professional Robin Lewis, professional direction, musical direction and performances, as well as participation by TexARTS youth add to the holiday warmth and wonder of this wonderful, heartwarming show!

Always, Patsy Cline, TexArts, Lakeway September 26 - October 12

Selena Rosanbalm is a great big bundle of vocal talent.

She delivered again and again in the TexArts’ production of Always, Patsy Cline, blending with our memories of Patsy’s joy, melancholy, honky-tonk and hokum from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

That was the time when that plucky little singer with the vibrant voice traveled from town to dusty town, earning her coins with a different band every night instead of staying in Nashville and watching the royalties roll in.

I recognized almost every one of the 27 numbers done by Rosanbalm in this two-hour compendium. They were part of the sound track of growing up in the South at that time. Patsy and Loretta and Brenda Lee and, soon after, Dolly came through the WGN/Nashville/Grand Ole Opery circuit and their catchy melodies and simple lyrics of their hits were anthems of a simpler time. That happy nostalgia is part of the reason this show works so well.

Tex-Arts co-founder Todd Dellinger was visibly delighted last Thursday night to see that positive reviews and word-of-mouth had filled the house. The show was closing its three-weekend run on Sunday; the Friday performance was already sold out. Few tickets were left for the last performances.

So if you missed it, well, you missed it. But now at least we know that TexArts is for real and this is homegrown talent. Both Selena Rosanbalm as Patsy and Edie Elkjer as the star-bedazzled Louise are from Austin, as are the sidemen, most of whom have been working in Austin music for 20 to 30 years.

I had delayed on this one because TexArts had labeled it as the first of the “TexARTS Off Broadway Series.” I’d thought that meant a touring company, come to perch out in Lakeway before moving on.


The mostly middle-aged crowd had a terrific time and gave themselves entirely to the calculated crowd-pleasing antics of country music. We clapped along in time to the lively numbers and admired Patsy’s cowgirl schtik and her glitter dress. We reached out to her in her pink cotton two-piece traveling suit and smiled when she put an apron over it to hang out late night in Louise’s kitchen. We giggled when hoedown-loving Louise pulled senior gentlemen out into the playing space to accompany her in awkward or accomplished Western swing. And we ate it up when they teased us at the curtain call, to spin out another rousing farewell encore.

That’s the message: I really enjoyed this entertainment. I would happily go again to hear Selena Rosanbalm front the fictitious “Bodacious Bobs.” I would go to see Edie Elkjer charm the bourgeois again with her energetically hokey dumb-country-broad-with-a-heart-of-gold number.

But what an odd structure this entertainment had. It is based, however tenuously, on a real relationship.

Cornpone Louise in this show is an embellished version of Mississippi native Louise Seger, who met Cline in Houston in 1961. She tells us about hearing Cline on Arthur Godfrey’s televised talent competition and falling so hard for that voice and music that her daily, even hourly requests to the local radio station for Cline music made her a familiar pest. When Cline comes to Houston for one night of singing at a honky tonk, brazen Louise drags hubby and boss to the locale hours ahead of time, befriends the unpretentious Patsy and has the equivalent of a one-night-stand that becomes a long-running correspondence.

In all innocence and with not a bit of sexuality – but the story presented here is part romantic attachment, part hagiography.

As we all know – or if not, learn in the second act – Patsy Cline died in the 1963 crash near Nashville of a small plane.

Always, Patsy Cline is not a biography. That’s not for lack of material. Cline was a spunky, feisty pioneer in country music and cross-over pop, as is made clear by the lengthy biography at Wikipedia.

She had romances, infidelities and broken hearts; she had two near-fatal accidents and premonitions of death. At first she absolutely hated Willy Nelson’s “Crazy,” which in a modified version became her breakthrough and huge cross-over hit.

She called her friends “hoss” and referred to herself as “the Cline.” She battled with promoters and won. She was generous to a fault (her friend and honky tonk accompanist Del Wood commented, "Even when she didn't have it, she'd spend it — and not always on herself. She'd give anyone the skirt off her backside if they needed it.").

Patsy Cline broke the mold for country stardom and her career was slowed up only temporarily by her death. She was the first woman singer inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (in 1973); post-mortem releases and recompilations of her music over decades were highly successful. In 1992 she appeared on a U.S. postage stamp. She got her own star on Hollywood Boulevard in 1998. Every poll or survey puts her among the top country singers of all time.

But we get very little of that, other than a passing reference to her rural Virginia origins and her desire to get back to her young children.

Instead, playwright Ted Swindley weaves two very different strands for this presentation. The manic Louise provides the narrative and the jokes. She is a clown of little insight, one who evokes hilarity by making fun of herself, her hubby, and her boss, but never of Patsy. Edie Elkjer has great fun with the role.

And Patsy sings. She walks through a few scenes, interacting minimally with Louise, and during her number she carries on patter with her public or the band.

Rosanbalm is perky, confident and attractive, but doesn’t really have to act.

After all, who would require an angel to act?

Jeanne Claire van Ryzin's review in the Statesman, October 1

Barry Pineo's review in the Austin Chronicle, October 10

Robert Faires’ backgrounder on TexArts, Austin Chronicle of September 28


PATSY CLINE ON YOUTUBE

Walking After Midnight (bw from TV, Patsy in spotlight)


Walking After Midnight (with slideshow)

Crazy (bw from TV)

Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray, intro by Red Foley, bw from TV in a studio set for a café

k.d. lang doing Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray, bootleg video, June 2007

Reviews: Always. . . Patsy Cline, TexArts, Lakeway, September 26 - October 12

From Jeanne Claire van Ryzin's review, published October 1 on-line and October 4 in the Austin Statesman:

"There’s really only one surprise to Tex-Arts’ current production of ‘Always… Patsy Cline.’ And that’s that such a tight and polished show is squeezed into the back of a storefront space in a nondescript strip mall in suburban Lakeway."

Click for full review by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin.

Click for Austin Live Theatre review, October 11

Click for review by Barry Pineo published in the Austin Chronicle on October 9