A Free Show Tonight in Charleston!

My pal Ryan Hardiman sends along this news about a free show for New Year's Eve (which is, like, tonight). He writes:

I've been insane busy and I didn't have time to get this to you until now, but if you readers are looking for something family-oriented to do on New Years Eve, and don't want to be out too late, here's the FREE ticket! I'm performing two 45-minute mini-concerts as part of Charleston's GoodNight 2008 New Year's Eve arts celebration tonight.

There are performers all over the city at different venues doing shows running at 6, 7, 8, and 9 p.m. I've put together a collection of songs (most of which I've never performed before), focusing on appreciating the ones you love and living each moment to the fullest. I want it to be a positive, inspiring experience to ring in 2009!

Here's the info:

Cost: FREE
Times: 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Venue: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1600 Kanawha Boulevard East
Easy directions: If you take the Virginia Street exit from I-64, turn right onto Virginia St, Take the next right to Kanawha Blvd and turn left on Kanawha Blvd. Follow Kanawha to Elizabeth St. Trinity Lutheran is at the corner of Kanawha Blvd and Elizabeth St. (2 blocks fom the State Capitol)

Here's the setlist:

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
Someone To Watch Over Me
Always On My Mind
Wind Beneath My Wings / You Raise Me Up / The Rose (Medley)
Out There (from Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Corner Of The Sky (from Pippin)
A Bit of Earth (from The Secret Garden)
In Whatever Time We Have (from Children of Eden)
I'll Be Seeing You

For more information on GoodNight 2008, including the full schedule, call 346-2494 or 346-7832.

Thanks, and Happy New Year!

More About Broadway's Woes

Talking about Broadway's recent rash of shows closing, my pal marshallmark said in a comment posted earlier today:

I think Gypsy probably has just run its course, and Hairspray announced its closing before the economy tanked so Spring Awakening and 13 might be the only ones that can be attributed to the lack of pocket money.

I don't know about Spring Awakening, but it appears that the audiences just weren't interested in 13. Playbill lists the percentage of tickets sold and 13 routinely hovered around the 50 percent mark. No show is going to stick around with that record.

Harvey Firestein noted in an article I read today in USA Today that the tickets to Broadway shows are overpriced. He pointed to the popularity of Hairspray's discounted tickets and, when you see that 13's tickets STARTED at $111 each, its easy to see why audiences are starting to slide.

I think your comments are right on the money here, Mark. With a few exceptions (Mamma Mia, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Jersey Boys), shows have a limited life span, and it could be that those shows had either run their course (Spring Awakening, Hairspray, Spamalot), never built up the kind of following it needed (Young Frankenstein) or just never caught on in the first place (13).

The high cost of tickets is probably directly responsible for the low ticket sales many shows are experiencing, but it's a two-edged sword. To provide the kind of high-end theatre experience with amazing sets, costumes and top talent, the producers must spend a lot of money. The only way to recoup that is for the show to have a long, popular run and charge a high price for the tickets.

Sometimes audiences are willing to pony up the money for a theatre spectacle (The Lion King is a good example), but I think audiences are being more selective these days, and that makes it tough on new, untested shows. The new Shrek musical, for example, may be facing some rough times.

It'll be interesting to see which shows survive this downturn, and which will continue to thrive.

A Rough Month Ahead for Broadway

There will be quite a few tears shed on Broadway next month as a number of shows shut down in January, including long-running hits like Hairspray, Gypsy and Spring Awakening, along with shows that barely got off the ground, like 13, which starred a cast of teenagers.

Here's the latest on that closing from Broadway.com:

Jason Robert Brown’s 13 has set a closing date.

The new musical, directed by Jeremy Sams, will play its final performance on January 4, 2009 after 22 preview and 105 regular performances at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

On the up side, that show may return as a touring show, and in the near future it should be available for community theatre groups.

The post-holiday season is always a tough one for Broadway shows, but the economic problems hitting the country seem to be adding to the problem, forcing quite a few shows to close their doors. But there are lots of other shows in the works, so don't expect Broadway to go out of business anytime soon.

That's What I Call Dedication

For our final holiday video (we'll be back tomorrow with regular community theatre news type stuff), we have an amazing display of house lights set to music.

This family is obviously way into the holiday season, and they've synchronized their lights to "play along" with the song "Wizards in Winter" by the Trans Siberian Orchestra.

Hats off to this display - it's awesome!

Kristin Sings "I'll Be Home For Christmas"

Continuing our holiday video selection (while yours truly enjoys his Christmas break), here's one that actually has ties to theatre.

Kristin Chenoweth is one of Broadway's biggest stars and a heckuva terrific singer. Here's a clip from a recent appearance on the (very funny) Craig Ferguson show, singing a popular holiday song.

More Christmas Animated Clips

We're still enjoying the holidays here at your Tri-State Theatre blog (and we hope you're doing the same), but that doesn't mean you won't get your daily posting!

Here's another holiday video clip - it's a short animated film about "Hardrock, Coco and Joe," and it was a long-running holiday tradition in Chicago.

It's fun, cute, and as my lovely wife points out, a little creepy. Check it out:

Have a Merry Christmas and a Cool Yule!

Merry Christmas! For your holiday enjoyment, here's a short animated video of The Drifters singing "White Christmas," with Bill Pinkney on lead bass and Clyde McPhatter on tenor. The cartoon is by Joshua Held.

I ope you enjoy your animated Christmas Card, and have a wonderful Holiday!

If It's Christmas, Where's Charlie Brown?

I've never understood why there are two stage shows based on the Peanuts comic strip - You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Snoopy - but one hasn't been made yet based on the perennial holiday classic.

It's not Christmas without taking the time to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas - but just in case you missed it this time around, here's a look at the opening to the show, courtesy of YouTube (just think of it as an early Christmas present from me to you):

When Theatre Goes Wrong

The other day we talked about a single scene in the touring production of The Wizard of Oz that came to a brief halt because of a technical glitch, but there are lots of stories about shows where more than one thing went wrong, and the actors had to deal with it.

I just read the story of such a show, a production of A Christmas Carol out in Los Angeles. The story is being told by Mark Evanier, a professional writer who writes an excellent blog called News from ME.

It's a terrific story, and you can read the entry right here. Here's a snippet:

Opening night of A Christmas Carol at the Kodak (Theater), so many things went wrong that the audience couldn't keep from laughing and ultimately, neither could the actors.

Our first inkling that things would be far from perfect came when we sat down in the theater and opened our program books. Out tumbled one of those little slips that told you there'd be a cast substitution. This one was unusually chatty...

It's a funny story, and one to chill the blood of anyone who's involved in theatre. Of course, this is exactly why live theatre is so much fun - anything can happen!

It's a real challenge for actors to overcome unexpected problems and keep the show moving along - though sometimes it's an impossible task.

The Symphony Orchestra Sells Out

It's great to hear that this week's performance of the Huntington Symphony Orchestra was a huge success - a little too successful, actually, since the show was sold out.

You can read the story right here from the Herald-Dispatch's Taylor Kuykendall (the photo below is by Mark Webb). Here's an excerpt:

A Saturday concert featuring a special blend of traditional holiday favorites sold out the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center, leaving a few unfortunate customers at the door.

The show was hosted by the Huntington Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra played selections from "12 Days of Christmas" to "Deck the Halls." The concert was sold out before the event opened it's doors at 7 p.m.

"I would really like to thank the Tri-State for coming out and supporting the arts and helping me sell out my first show," said executive director T. Hogan Haas. "I am thrilled to be in my new position and to sell out my first show."

People who came late tried everything from requesting to stand during the show to trying to buy from ticketholders. The show, nearly two hours long, was filled with guest appearances and numerous holiday selections.

"If anybody can sit through the whole show and not leave in the holiday spirit, they must be some kind of Grinch," Haas said. "It's just an all-American holiday concert."

Review of "Mamma Mia!" (the movie)

My pal John Gillispie writes about movies for the Herald-Dispatch every Thursday, and he recently wrote about the DVD release of a film that has its origins in pop music and a popular stage show.

I'm talking about Mamma Mia, of course. You can read my comments when the film was originally released right here, and you can read John's review right here.

Here's an excerpt from his take:

Movies & More reviewer John Gillispie thinks Mamma Mia, which is rated PG-13 and stars Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan, is a humorous version of the musical that weaves the words of hit ABBA tunes into its plot.

Many, many years ago, I memorized all the words to all the songs on an eight-track tape featuring the chart hits of the Swedish group ABBA. When I was forced to clean and straighten my room as a kid, the music of ABBA seemed to help pass the time.

There really must be something special about the group's music since here we are, all these years later, and ABBA's music is at the center of a great new musical, which was released on DVD earlier this week.

Mamma Mia has already taken the stage by storm, and this summer, Meryl Streep and her co-stars scored a box office smash with the film version of the musical. Last week, the film was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy category.

The Last Show of 2008?

It runs tonight - the classic Charles Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol, being staged by the Kanawha Players at the Charleston Civic Center Little Theater at 8 p.m.

So what will we talk about in the space for the rest of the year and into January, which is also mighty lean when it comes to community theatre?

Oh, we'll think of something...

First Stage Announces New Spring 2009 Season

Finally, the decisions have been made, the contracts signed, and here's the press release announcing the two shows First Stage will be presenting in Spring 2009 (note that the auditions for both shows will be held together on the second weekend in January):

The First Stage Theatre Company has a new lineup of performances for its Spring 2009 season, which wraps up the 19th season for the area children’s theater. Two shows will be staged in March 2009: Charlotte’s Web and Alexander, Who’s Not Not Not Not Not Not Going to Move. Auditions for actors for both plays will take place in January.

Charlotte’s Web is based on the popular children’s book by E.B. White. The show will be presented at the Renaissance Theatre in Huntington, W.Va., March 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15, 2009. The non-musical play tells the story of a girl named Fern who saves a runt pig named Wilbur, and how his life in turn is saved by a clever spider named Charlotte. The play will feature a cast of about 35 young performers and will be directed by Amy Browning and produced by Jeanette Bills.

Alexander, Who’s Not Not Not Not Not Not Going to Move is a musical comedy based on the popular book by Judith Viorst with music by Shelly Markham, and is the sequel to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It tells the story of a young boy and how he reacts when his parents tell him the family has to move to a new town. The show will be presented at the Jeslyn Performing Arts Center in Huntington, W.Va., March 20, 21, 22, 27, 28 and 29, 2009. The musical will feature a cast of about 15 performers. The directing team is: director Chuck Minsker, producer Jeanette Rowsey, music director Mark Smith, choreographer Melissa McGuffin, and assistant director Eric Newfeld.

Auditions for both shows will take place at the Pea Ridge United Methodist Church at 5747 E. Pea Ridge Road in Huntington on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 11 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Auditions are open to performers ages 10 to seniors in high school. Those auditioning for both shows will be provided scripts to read aloud. Those auditioning for “Alexander” should be prepared to sing a 30-second song selection. There will be a pianist, but you may use an accompaniment tape or CD (with no vocals). Wear comfortable clothes for dance.

The First Stage Theatre Company is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing an educational, developmental experience for young people through the performing arts. Its website is www.firststagetheatre.org.

The Importance of Safety on Stage

A tragic story today brings home the importance of being safe on the stage:

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A spokeswoman at a Cincinnati mega-church says a Christmas pageant actor who fell about 25 feet during the show's opening night performance has died.

Crossroads Community Church says 23-year-old Keri Shryock died Thursday morning at University Hospital. A church spokeswoman says Shryock was a graduate student at Xavier University.

Shryock was playing the role of a wise man in a contemporary Nativity story and was suspended by an overhead cable when she fell Wednesday night. A spokeswoman for the church says it's not clear how the accident happened.

The church says it has canceled the 10 remaining performance of the Christmas show.

That's a story that sends a chill through anyone who's worked in theatre, and our hearts go out to the families who lost a loved one in this accident.

That's why we all work hard and must stay vigilant to make the experience a safe one for the actors and tech crew.

Coming Up This Weekend - The Year's Last Show

Yep, as the holiday draws near the pickin's get more slim (as they used to say on all my favorite Westerns).

In fact, there's just one show taking the stage this weekend - and it's the last show for the year. It's the classic Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol, being staged by the Kanawha Players at the Charleston Civic Center Little Theater on Dec. 19 and 20 at 8 p.m.

The sad news is, January's not much better - there's only one show in that month, too (as far as I know) - but more on that later.

And we'll have other things to talk about in the weeks ahead, like auditions and rehearsals and the usual community theatre news!

A Mystery Solved!

Hey, I mentioned back in this post that the cast of the touring show The Wizard of Oz obviously had a problem in one scene near the end, as they had to kill time while waiting for the Wicked Witch to make her entrance.

I didn't know what had caused the delay - but now the mystery is solved, thanks to my pal, Dr. Elaine Young, who sent this note:

I heard from the cast of Oz that when the Witch had a delayed entrance, what happened was this: she normally stepped up on the platform to go through the door onto the stage, and then someone handed her the broom - but in Huntington she was handed the broom and tried to make the long step up, but she didn't have a free hand to pick up her skirt. As she stepped up, she stepped on the long skirt and pulled it off! Tech had to help her get her skirt back on - she said that had never happened in all her years in the theatre!

Thanks for clearing that up for us, Elaine!

That's the great thing about live theatre - anything can happen, and you never know when you're going to have to cover up a problem like that!

First Stage's Spring Shows

As I've mentioned before, First Stage Theatre Company had the rights pulled to the two shows it was planning to present in the Spring.

So with Junie B. Jones and the Monkey Business and A Year With Frog and Toad taken away, the First Stage board has scrambled to find two replacement shows.

One has been chosen, and an announcement should be coming soon about the second show. Replacing "Junie" is Charlotte's Web, a non-musical play based on the popular book.

It's a great show, one First Stage tackled 12 years ago (my youngest son played one of the Young Spiders in the show). The director is Amy Browning, and the producer is Jeanette Bills.

Auditions are scheduled for the second weekend in January 2009.

The other show (if we can get the details worked out) will be directed by me - hopefully we'll have an answer later this week. Stay tuned!

Two Great Shows in One Day!

It was a busy Sunday today! I caught the final performance of The 1940s Radio Hour at the Renaissance Theater in Huntington, and then I had to race to catch a performance of The Messiah at Pea Ridge United Methodist Church (my wonderful wife and her sister were singing in the chorus)!

I hope you all got to see "1940s" - what a terrific show! I've long been a fan of the Big Band sound, and it was brought to life on stage by a group of the area's top performers!

I'll write up a full review in the next day or two, but kudos to everyone involved!

The Messiah was awesome, too - so it was a very entertaining day!

Interview With The Actors - "The 1940s Radio Hour" #5

Here's the last of our e-interview with the cast from The 1940s Radio Hour, which wraps up this afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Renaissance Theatre in Huntington.

Our question for this entry: Why would you recommend this show to our readers?

Linda Reynolds: Theatre is designed to give you an experience you wouldn’t normally have. Come down and get in our little time machine and we will take you back, just for a little while, to a time and place that most of us have only read about in books or seen in old movies. There is great music, incredible dancing, a cast of characters that make up a funny family, a little pathos and a lot of heart. Great fun!

Joshua Jannotta: It has a little bit of history, a little bit of fun, and some great historic musical pieces that will live throughout the ages!

Stephen Vance: If someone is looking for a walk down memory lane, or even just to have a good time, I think The 1940s Radio Hour is the perfect show for them. The whole gang has had a blast getting this show together. We have had fun just putting this show on stage, and we trust that will translate to the audience. To be honest, if I weren't in this show, I would still be rushing to get in the door. The music and comedy are timeless. The cast is second to none and there really is an underlying tone of respect and honor for our veterans. What better way to kick off the holidays?

David Vickers: I believe that everyone can relate to a character in the show. It's the tale of how working class people with talent did their best to help bring joy and hope to the citizens and soldiers of America. The songs are fun and familiar. There's singing and dancing and a real sound effects table for a radio play. You'll look at your watch at the end and say, wow, that was the fastest two hours I've ever spent. If I weren't in it, I'd see it at least twice!

Amy Knell: I would recommend this show because it really is a sweet, funny, heartwarming piece of theater that will put you in the Christmas spirit, make you proud and thankful to be an American and it is just full of great music that you don't hear anymore. I promise you will leave the theater tapping your feet with a "warm fuzzy" feeling in your heart.

Bil Neal: This play is one of the best directed plays that I've ever been in. The choreography (by Gene & Coni Anthony) even makes an old fat guy like me look like he's got moves worth seeing. The lighting (Lang Reynolds and staff) sets mood and tone like I haven't seen in community theatre in a while. Some of my best friends are playing characters that are honest and endearing. People I had never gotten to meet or work for the first time are better than I heard they were.

If you've served our country, please be our guest (admission is free to any Veteran).

You'll want to meet these people. You'll end up really loving most of them. You'll snicker, maybe groan, and probably tear up. For one evening you may even remember.

Interview With The Actors - "The 1940s Radio Hour" #4

Our e-interviews continue with the cast from The 1940s Radio Hour, which wraps up this afternoon at the Renaissance Theatre in Huntington.

Our question for this entry: Is the music challenging or just plain fun?


David Vickers: The music is incredible. It's passionate, fun and very recognizable. I believe everyone will be singing along! I remember my mom singing some of these songs when I was a kid. Because it's so fun, you work through the challenge. The whole cast and the featured vocalists are very good. I watch them while I'm on stage and think, I can't believe I'm surrounded by such great talent! It's very humbling.

Joshua Jannotta: The music is plain fun, although living up to Frank Sinatra's standards has been a little tough.

Linda Reynolds: The music is fun and challenging but I love the familiarity of it. These are songs you hear in old movies, romantic or just plain fun movies made when the country was truly united in fighting for freedom and the very survival of the American way of life. This was the music of my parents’ generation, the greatest generation. I feel quite privileged to be able to help take theatre goers back to such an important time in our history.

Amy Knell: Both, I think it is some of the most fun music ever made, but there are differences in the style as compared to music made today and that can be difficult at first.

Stephen Vance: For me, the music is just plain fun. The first show I ever saw was Guys and Dolls, so I have a soft spot for any music in that era. Bruce Rous has done a great job teaching us the style and the sound of the era. Gene and Coni Anthony have taught us some wonderful dances that blend so well with the story and song. Whether a big band aficionado or not, I think the audiences will be surprised how many of these songs they remember or have heard.

Bil Neal: The music just about killed me. Now, I'm no stranger to four or even eight-part harmony. There are times when (especially the back-up singers) seemed to just sing notes on top of each other. This has been some of the most challenging stuff since I sang with the Janice Gold as a member of Renaissance. Bruce Rous has done an amazing job with the cast as well as getting 12 wonderful instrumentalists from Marshall to serve up the big band sound. That alone is worth the price of admission in my book. John Galloway is our lead trombone and does a beautiful job in what I think is also his first on-stage role. The stuff he does as an actor is as fine as the sound coming from his trombone. Heck, these kids all impress me.

The soloists? Really great. Mary Olson belting "Old Black Magic." Josh Jannotta crooning "I'll Never Smile Again," - just lovely. Our good friend Stephen Vance is hysterical as the comic who ends up with "Blue Moon." My dear friend Amy Knell tears out my heart each night with "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good." Scott Burner has grown so much over the years that you and I've known him - he really sells "You Go To My Head." And don't even get me started talking about Sarah Hayes as Cute Little Connie Miller singing "Daddy" in pig-Latin and tap-dancing. She's a doll.

The music is familiar, yes, but deceptively tough. The right people make it look oh, so easy.