Enough about me, though.  Guess what was in my home email box when I got off work from my day job just now…the following exciting press release from Kelley R. Young, my contact for news about the Indiana Repertory Theatre!  It is the announcement of their 2010-2011 season.

It looks like a good one, don’t you think?

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The IRT Unveils the Drama of its 2010-11 Season 

(April 27 – Indianapolis) – With two world premieres, an award-winning book and hit movie, a Tony Award-winning play, a traditional holiday favorite and the return of the critically acclaimed Going Solo Festival, the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) unveils its 39^th Season – a season filled with drama, comedy, mystery and history.  

Highlights of the IRT’s 2010-11 OneAmerica Season include: 

• The award-winning book and hit movie, Holes (season opener)
• The literary landmark of one young woman’s personal journal, The Diary of Anne Frank
• The return of the IRT’s holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol
• The return of the Going Solo Festival, three different works in repertory,featuring a sequel and a world premiere.
• A Tony Award-winning play that is a take on a Hitchcock classic, The 39 Steps

About the Season
Holes, by Louis Sachar

Sept. 25 – Nov. 6

A lost treasure. A multi-generational curse. Racial injustice. And a bizarre correctional facility where kids serve time digging holes in the desert. Found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit, Stanley discovers more than dirt as he digs – in this quirky comedy, he also finds new friends, the power of perseverance and the truth about his family’s past. What will he find at the bottom of the next hole? 

Mary’s Wedding, by Stephen Massicotte

Nov. 3 – Dec. 4

The night before her wedding, Mary wakes from a recurring dream about a childhood love – and takes the audience through a dreamscape of love, heartache, passion and heroism. Set against the backdrop of World War I, Mary’s Wedding presents lives and hearts caught in a time of stunning change. Dreams and life collide in an intimate and powerful work that asks, do we see the truth in our sleep, or after we awake? 

The Diary of Anne Frank, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, newly adapted by Wendy Kesserlman

Jan. 18 – Feb. 24

The Diary of Anne Frank is such a literary landmark that it’s easy to forget how it started out: as the personal journal of a young girl striving to become a woman. Written while she and her family hid from Nazis in Amsterdam, Anne Frank’s diary stands as a tribute to the human spirit. 

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, adapted by Tom Haas

Nov. 26 – Dec. 26

The classic story of greed and redemption comes to life when Scrooge is taught the true meaning of Christmas by a trio of ghosts who show him his past, present and future.  
 

Going Solo

A festival of intimate stories brought to life by three actors, three scripts, three shows in repertory.

• Neat, by Charlayne Woodard: the story of Charlayne’s brain damaged aunt, Neat, and the profound change she brought to Charlayne with her enormous love, energy, simplicity and magnificent clarity. (a sequel to last year’s Pretty Fire)
  • Feb. 10 – Mar. 6
• Fire in the Garden, by Ken Weitzman: a father ponders the changes he undergoes during his wife’s pregnancy while gaining understanding about what it means to be a father for the first time.
  • Feb. 12 – 27
• In Acting Shakespeare, by James DeVita: a Shakespearean actor takes a humorous look at his life with the Bard.
  • Feb. 19 – Mar. 13

The Gospel According to James, by Charles Smith

Mar. 22 – Apr. 10

In 1930, James Cameron and Mary Ball emerged as the sole survivors of racial crimes in Marion, Indiana. Teenagers when the crimes occurred, they look back on those events and their lives in this World Premiere work commissioned by the IRT with support from the Joyce Foundation. As their past and present lives intermingle, Cameron and Ball discover that their remembrances of that day differ even if their experiences were the same.  

The 39 Steps, Alfred Hitchcock

Apr. 20 – May 14

This Tony Award-winning play has been called “a Hitchcock masterpiece … with a dash of Monty Python.” Four actors play multiple characters, contend with outrageous special effects and, along the way, pay homage to some of Alfred Hitchcock’s most iconic movie moments … all while delivering a somewhat faithful, totally tongue-in-cheek rendering of a classic Hitchcock movie. The 39 Steps in IRT’s 39^th season! 

Performance and ticket information is available at www.irtlive.com or by calling the IRT Ticket Office at 317.635.5252.  
 

About the IRT

Since the Indiana Repertory Theatre was founded in 1972, it has grown into one of the leading regional theatres in the country, as well as one of the top-flight cultural institutions in the city and state. The IRT has made the historic Indiana Theatre, 140 W. Washington Street, its home for nearly 30 years. Led by Artistic Director, Janet Allen and Managing Director, Steven Stolen, the theatre serves a diverse audience in public performances and student matinee presentations of the plays, serving students, teachers and schools in 2/3 of Indiana’s counties. The IRT celebrates its 39^th season. 

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I actually have several other exciting items in my mailbox, but first I am going to work on the three or four reviews I have in the pipe. 

‘See you at the theatres…

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com

Follow @IndyTheatre on Twitter.com, too.

P.S. – I admit that professional journalists would probably never just post a press release as is.  They would add value in the form of their own commentary, which in turn would be based on their own previous experience of, and knowledge about, these shows.  That is one of the things I love and admire about them.

But still… my very first scoop!  I am claiming and embracing the moment anyway.   (Thanks, IRT.  Thank you, stars in alignment.)

Last Thursday night I attended the preview night of Dance Kaleidoscope’s “Love Is…” program at the Indiana Repertory Theatre in downtown Indianapolis.  It was a wonderfully cathartic evening, artistically admirable in and of itself, but also coincidentally a perfect fit for my euphoric, spring-time mood and my emotional and aesthetic needs at the time.  I left feeling washed and ready.

The next day I still felt physically and emotionally uplifted by the experience.  I think this was because the program had incorporated not only strong, graceful dancing and other visuals but also spoken words, sung words, and explicit, well-communicated storytelling in the movements of the dancers (as opposed to abstract emotions.)  Most of it was easy for me to relate to, and yet there was also content that stretched and inspired me. 

The program included four pieces, all of which were new to me.

“Love Letter”

The first piece, choreographed by Cynthia Pratt and first performed in 2001, was called “Love Letter.”  It was actually several short pieces tied together, a bundle of spoken and danced poems detailing various aspects of romantic love – things like jealousy and boundary-setting and self-esteem and desire and pleasure and stalking and yearning and more – through specific people’s experiences.  The dancers unexpectedly and humorously (!) enriched and interpreted the letter-poems that Sam Shepard had written and Diane Timmerman had skillfully read aloud for a recording.  There was also pre-recorded music by Thomas Newman, Christopher Young, Ennio Morricone, and Chas Smith. 

Some of the letters were performed by couples, or triads, or groups of couples…but not all.  One of my favorites, in fact, was performed by a tiny blond woman (Melanie Schreiber?  I’m sorry: I don’t know any of the dancers in person and of course I didn’t take time while the dancing was going on to try to match the people on the stage with the headshots in the paper program*)  who danced all by herself.  I don’t remember there being any words to the first part of her dance, but she was clearly dancing about being in love with life even though she was not partnered up. 

“Ah, good,” I thought.  “This is me now.”  I had been relating to the other letters based on past experiences, but just as I was beginning to feel wistful and left out, along came this delightful segment.

In the second part of her dance, the accompanying poem-letter was about how she had changed everything about herself to fit her partner…whom she had not met yet!  The poem was hilarious; the dancer made it even more so.

*Update: The dancer was actually Jillian Godwin.  Thanks, David Hochoy, for the info! 

All ten members of the Company – Brandon Comer, Jillian Godwin, Mariel Greenlee, Liberty Harris, Timothy June, Kenoth Shane Patton, George Salinas, Caitlin Swihart, Melanie Schreiber, and Noah Trulock – deftly and deliciously helped to bring this collection of love letters to life. 

The dancers all wore some combination of purple and lavender, velvety textured and filmy, fabric.  Their costumes taken all together reminded me of the ribbons that people (me!) used to use to tie paper love letters together.  (Costumes by Cheryl Sparks.)

The lighting design, by Laura Glover, included some crinkly texture and lots of candy box red – a perfect, affectionate accompaniment.

“For Jose’”

After a pause, the curtain came up again for a second piece, performed by just two athletic men, Timothy June and Noah Trulock.  “For Jose’” was choreographed by David Hochoy and first performed in 2001 but the performance I saw was the Indiana premiere.

No costumer was given for this piece in my program.  The two men wore simple white trousers.  Lighting designer Laura Glover dappled ruddy-orange light over their bare chests at first and later bathed them in Grecian blue and white while they sensuously danced first the ups and downs of their friendship and then their love for each other. 

Yes, their love.  They actually kissed only at the end, and even then it was a sweet farewell kiss rather than a passionate one, but throughout the dance they looked at each other and moved with each other and took turns lifting each other in ways that suggested volumes about their shared intimacy and trust.

I hadn’t been expecting this at all, and I confess that at first this piece made me feel lonely and left out, even a little betrayed.

But then I thought that maybe that is how a gay person feels every time he is expected to relate to mainstream, heterosexual love stories.

And then, as I kept watching the beautiful dancing and listening to the heart-wrenching voice of Barbara Cook singing “This Nearly Was Mine” (music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II), I remembered that love is love and, as Rita Mae Brown says, love multiplies.   

At the end, when the two lovers were forced to separate, I felt that the loss of love through death has got to be one of the most universally painful experiences there is.  I realized I had stopped feeling jealous and “just” felt sympathy. 

“Love Key”

After another pause (and lots of whispering in the audience), the curtain rose a third time for the world premiere of a piece choreographed by Nicholas Owens, called “Love Key.”  Nick said later, during the intermission question-and-answer period, that this piece was inspired by Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

I understood the R&J inspiration from the dancers’ visual storytelling, but what I loved about this new piece was that its storytelling was (for me, anyway) more about (or at least also about) the right and left side of a person’s brain, and how important it is to appreciate and integrate both sides, i.e. - to  love one’s whole self.  In the dance, one side was not better than the other.  They were just different.  One group of dancers moved in very round, twirling, individualized ways.  The other group moved in very angular, matched formations.  At first, they did not get along at all, but when one from each group fell in love with each other, the others eventually  got over the fact that they were different, and started appreciating each other’s strengths. Eventually everyone (except the one guy who just would not give up his need to control and conform and therefore ended up banished and lonely) could dance together in harmony.

The right-brain-left-brain-integration theme was reflected in Cheryl Sparks’ costume design and Laura Glover’s lighting design as well.  Some of the dancers wore silky, flowing garb, while the others wore stiff, military-esque uniforms, but all of them shared the same cerebral blue palette and danced in the same airy-liquidy light.

The piece incorporates music by Stewart Copeland and James Newton Howard, and Music from the Vatican.  The dancers for this performance were Brandon Comer, Mariel Greenlee, Noah Trulock, Jillian Godwin, Liberty Harris, Timothy June, George Salinas, Caitlin Swihart, and Melanie Schreiber.

“Love Songs”

The fourth and final piece was a collection of “Love Songs” sung by tenor Steven Stolen, accompanied by Catherine Bringerud on the piano, and choreographed by David Hochoy. 

This piece was first in performed in 1995.  During the intermission, someone asked David how he and the dancers go about reviving a piece.  David said that they watch the videos that they have of their earlier performances but no video captures all of the details.  For those they rely on the dancers’ and choreographer’s memories, which is what everyone had to do for everything before there were videos.  Dancers and choreographers passed dances down in person (like stories in the oral tradition!  I love this!)  Sometimes even with videos, the dancers’ memories differ, in which case the dancers have spirited discussions in the studio.

“Love Songs” includes music & lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Loesser, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, George and Ira Gershwin, and Harold Arlen, with arrangements by Rick Walters.  Here are the names of the songs with their dancers:

• “I Have Dreamed” – Liberty Harris, Kenoth Shane Patton
• “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” – Kenoth Shane Patton, Mariel Greenlee
• “If I Fell” – Mariel Greenlee, Jillian Godwin, Timothy June
• “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”  – Jillian Godwin, George Salinas
• “Over the Rainbow” – George Salinas, Melanie Schreiber

Steven and the pianist were in full view at the back of the stage.  I always feel rich any time I get to hear Steven Stolen sing live.  Hearing him interpret songs live while the DK dancers added still more layers of live interpretation in the same space was a chakra-tuning experience.  I cried in a cleansing way all the way through it, even when I was laughing at the funny parts.

The singing and piano playing were quiet enough that I could hear the squeak of the dancers’ bare feet as they twisted and leaped across the stage.  I could hear the dancers breathing, too.  At first this was distracting, but then it added yet another layer of meaning to the already powerful piece:  love is gorgeous, but it is also real and it takes effort.

The last song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” has always struck me as a very lonely song, but part of it was danced here with infectious joy over the arrival at that “place that I heard of once in a lullaby.” 

At the end of the song, the female dancer danced alone, and the final look on her face – well, drat: I am crying again, remembering.  The look on her face at the end of the dance (and of her life?) was a powerful, and yes, healing blend of fear, hope, and strength.

I loved this show.

New Season

Dance Kaleidoscope announced its 2010/2011 season at “Love Is…”  This will be artistic director David Hochoy’s 20^th season with the company. He said at intermission that he never expected to be in Indiana this long.  I’m glad he stayed!

Here is the new season:

• Fall 2010: “The Body Electric”
• January 2011: “The Elvis Project”
• March 2011:  “Passionate Puccini”
• Spring 2011: “Mad for Musicals”

The 2010 Summer performance and venue are still to be announced, but before that is “Pictures at an Exhibition,” which will run May 20-23, 2010 at the Indiana Repertory Theatre.

For more information about the above shows and other Kaleidoscope events, please visit www.dancekal.org.

Conversations with David

Also of interest from my “Love Is…” program: a world premiere performance of Israel’s Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company 2 will take place here in Indianapolis at the Arthur M. Glick JCC (6701 Hoover Road) from 7-8:30pm on Thursday, March 18, 2010.  This event is free and but to guarantee a seat, RSVP to 317-726-5450 or IsraelPartnership@JFGI.org.

Dance Kaleidoscope’s artistic director, David Hochoy, will interview members of the Israeli company on Wednesday, March 17 from 6-7:30 pm at the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s Cabaret (3^rd floor.)  There will be complimentary refreshments.  Please RSVP for this ”Conversations with David” event to lynnw@dancekal.org or 317-940-8459.

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‘See you at the theatres!

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com

Also follow @IndyTheatre on Twitter.com for brief, day-of-show observations.

Ulrike Steinert, Director of Marketing for the Indianapolis Civic Theatre, emailed me the following press release on August 10, 2009.  I am ashamed to say that I put it away in a folder and forgot about it.  I am posting it now (with the introductory message and media contact info removed), even though some of the shows are already over, for two reasons:

a)   The librarian in me wants it here on Indy Theatre Habit so that when someone looks in the “Seasons Previews” category it will be there, and when someone puts this theatre’s name or any of these show names in the Search box, they will come up.

b)   You might not have already heard about the Indy Civic’s 2009-2010 season.

As always, I recommend that when you get ready to actually go see one of these shows, you call the theatre or visit the theatre’s own website to confirm dates, times, and other details.

By the way, the photo above is from a group of photos that Ulrike sent me last year with her press release about Civic’s 2008 production of “The Wizard of Oz.”  (Thanks, Ulrike!)  Mark Fishbeck was the Lion, Rick Shinkle was the Tin Man, and Rory D. Shivers was the Scarecrow in that production.  I am sorry that I did not have time to see it.

At a party not too long ago, someone connected with this year’s production said, “It’s going to be gayer than ever.”

“Good!” I said.  I didn’t ask if by “gayer” he meant more stylish, more campy, or more light-hearted.  I just made a mental note to put this year’s production on my calendar as soon as I got home.  As you’ll see from the press release below, this year’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” opens at the Indianapolis Civic Theatre on Friday, December 11, 2009.

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INDIANAPOLIS CIVIC THEATRE – 2009-2010 SEASON (AT A GLANCE)

(please use for calendar listings & quick reference)

EVITA (musical)

Winner of 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, this Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice masterpiece tells the story of the legendary Eva Perón and her amazing rise from poverty to becoming the most powerful woman her country and, indeed, Latin America had ever seen. “Saint to the working-class, reviled by the aristocracy and mistrusted by the military” Argentina’s controversial First Lady, who died at the age of 33, was destined to leave a fascinating political legacy unique in the 20th century. Told through a compelling score that fuses haunting chorales with exuberant Latin, pop and jazz influences, the show creates an arresting theatrical portrait as complex as the woman herself. “A stunning, exhilarating theatrical experience.” – New York Post

SHOW DATES:             September 11 – September 27, 2009

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. 7pm, Fri. & Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $25 (Thu.) and $32 (Fri.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

CAMELOT (musical concert)

This celebrated musical and Tony Award winner by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederic Loewe, following their smash-hit My Fair Lady, is based on the King Arthur legend and his Knights of the Round Table as adapted from the T.H. White tetralogy novel “The Once and the Future King”. Featuring a superb score, the story centers on the affair between Arthur’s wife, Guenevere, and his great friend, Sir Lancelot, beautifully captured in numbers as “If Ever I Would Leave You” and “I Loved You Once in Silence.” The title song subsequently joined Arthurian legend with American political mythology. “Musically rich, legend-based classic.” – New York Times

SHOW DATES:             October 2 – October 4, 2009

SHOW TIMES:              Fri. & Sat. 7pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $24, group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

THE ELEPHANT MAN (drama)

This award-winning drama by Bernard Pomerance chronicles the final years in the life of Joseph Carey Merrick (1862-1890), a remarkably sensitive and intelligent man, who was afflicted with an extremely rare hereditary disorder. Known only as “The Elephant Man” because of his monstrously deformed body, Merrick scrapes a living as a carnival attraction until an ambitions young doctor provides him with a home at the London Hospital in Whitechapel where his presence is shrewdly used by Victorian society to raise funds. Merrick befriends an actress who tries to ease his loneliness but her efforts are thwarted by hypocrisy. Even those who love him can’t help him. “Unforgettable, engrossing and moving.” – New York Daily News

SHOW DATES:             October 30 – November 15, 2009

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. 7pm, Fri. & Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $21 (Thu.) and $28 (Fri.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

THE WIZARD OF OZ (holiday musical)

This Civic Theatre signature holiday extravaganza returns more spectacular than ever, bringing MGM’s popular movie to life on stage. Little Dorothy Gale of Kansas, like so many girls her age, dreams of what lies over the rainbow. One day a twister hits her farm and whisks her, and her little dog too, far away to the marvelous Land of Oz. She tries to get back home with the help of the Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Follow the yellow brick road with Dorothy, Toto and their three faithful friends as they travel the universe of their imagination in search of the great and powerful Wizard. There are witches, good and wicked, and plenty of adventures along the way. Due to popular demand, there will be an Audience Sing-A-Long on January 1 at 7pm. “It’s over the rainbow time, kids.” – Newark Star Ledger

SHOW DATES:             December 11, 2009 – January 3, 2010

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. & Fri. 7pm, Sat. 2pm & 7pm, Sun. 2pm (no show 12/24 & 12/25, Sun. 12/27 at 2pm & 7pm)

TICKETS:                     $34 (Thu.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

BUS STOP (comedy/drama)

A lot can happen in a single night. A tawdry nightclub singer can discover domesticity, a brash rancher can soften his touch, a drunken lecher can regain his dignity and even the most solitary and forlorn can find romance in a tiny, Midwestern roadside diner populated with weary travelers in the middle of a blizzard. While exuberant and comical on the surface, this enduring play by Pulitzer Price-winning American playwright William Inge is a tenderhearted tale of love and loneliness that examines the hunger for companionship and understanding which resides in us all. The 1956 movie version of the same name starred Marilyn Monroe as the young lounge singer. “An uproarious comedy that never strays from the truth.” – New York Times

SHOW DATES:             January 22 – February 7, 2010

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. 7pm, Fri. & Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $21 (Thu.) and $28 (Fri.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

MY FAIR LADY (musical concert)

One of Broadway’s most beloved musicals by the talented duo of Loewe and Lerner based upon George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a coarse little flower girl in 1910 London and her transformation from a cockney ‘guttersnipe’ into an upper class lady. She falls under the wing of Henry Higgins, a phonetics professor who makes a bet that if he could get her to speak the English language properly, he could pass her off as a duchess in a matter of months. Hit tunes include “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Wouldn’t It Be Lovely” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” “Sterling songs that elevate the spirits.” – Variety

SHOW DATES:             February 12 – February 14, 2010

SHOW TIMES:              Fri. & Sat. 7pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $24, group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

CAROUSEL (musical)

Lauded by Time Magazine as “best musical of the 20th century”, this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic won 5 Tony Awards for its 1994 Broadway revival. Set in a Maine coastal village toward the end of the 19th century, carnival barker Billy captivates and marries naïve millworker Julie. Desperate for money when he learns he will soon be a father, Billy is coerced into being an accomplice to a robbery. Caught and facing the certainty of prison, he takes his own life and is sent “up there”. Billy is allowed to return to earth for one day fifteen years later to make amends to the daughter he left behind. The show is a dramatic testament to the power of love and redemption. “Beautiful, bountiful, beguiling.” – New York Daily Mirror

SHOW DATES:             March 12 – March 28, 2010

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. 7pm, Fri. & Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $25 (Thu.) and $32 (Fri.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

A FLEA IN HER EAR (comedy)

When a wife becomes suspicious of her husband, she and her conniving best friend hatch a plan that upsets their world and everyone in their path. Raymonde suspects her husband, Victor Emmanuel, of infidelity and she turns to her best friend, Lucienne, to help her gain proof. They concoct a plot – based on a perfumed letter – to trap him at the Hotel Coq d’Or in Montretout. Of course, there are complications. In true French farce fashion, the scheme misfires when everyone shows up at the hotel, complicated by confused identities, revolving beds, a great many doors and unbridled passions in this George Feydeau classic, superbly translated by Sir John Mortimer. “A veritable thunderstorm of merriment.”  – New York Times

SHOW DATES:             May 7 – May 23, 2010

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. 7pm, Fri. & Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $21 (Thu.) and $28 (Fri.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

ABOUT THE THEATRE:

Indianapolis Civic Theatre, founded in 1915, is the state’s largest professionally managed community theatre and one of the ten largest community theatres in the country, providing high quality live theatrical entertainment for a broad-based audience. The Theatre produces six shows during its mainstage season, featuring both large-scale musicals and popular plays, in addition to two concert musicals and annual youth productions. Civic represents a unique blend of avocational actors, technicians and professional staff, and offers a wide variety of educational and community outreach programs.

LOCATION:INDIANAPOLIS CIVIC THEATRE, 3200 Cold Spring Rd, Indianapolis IN 46222, located on the campus of Marian University.

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‘See you at the theatres!

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com and @IndyTheatre on Twitter.com.

Below is a press release that I received from Executive Artistic Director Ron Spencer on September 2, 2009 about Theatre on the Square’s upcoming season.  I am ashamed to say that I put it in a folder and forgot about it.  I am posting it now (with some bolding added by me and some of the media contact info removed), even though one of the shows is already over, for two reasons:

a)   The librarian in me wants it here on Indy Theatre Habit so that when someone looks in the “Season Previews” category it will be there, and when someone puts this theatre’s name or any of these show names in the Search box, they will come up.

b)   You might not have already heard about TOTS’ 2009-2010 season.

As always, I recommend that when you get ready to actually go see one of these shows, you call the theatre or visit the theatre’s own website to confirm dates, times, and other details.

By the way, the photo accompanying this post is from the show that is currently running at TOTS:  “In Bed With Chuck and Lois.” Ron sent me some photos from that show when he sent me the press release for that show.  (Thanks, Ron!)  I am looking forward to seeing this show tomorrow afternoon.

Anyway, here is what is going on at TOTS this season:

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* Theatre on the Square

**627 Massachusetts Avenue**

**Indianapolis**, **IN** **46204-1606**

Tel: 317-685-(TOTS) 8687

* *

*EVENT:* *Theatre on the Square’s 21st Season*

* COMING OF AGE*

*WHEN: Beginning **Friday, September 18, 2009** through **June 26, 2010***

*LOCATION: **627 Massachusetts Avenue**, **Indianapolis**, **IN** **46204-1606***

* *

*Theatre on the Square opens its 2009/2010 season with a Midwestern premiere of* */Ug! The Caveman Musical /a tuneful, hilarious comedy of the origin of theatre. It will feature Dane Rogers, Erin Cohenour, Evan Wesselman, Sarah Hoffman, Thomas Turner, Doug Messinger, Ian Cruz and William Andrews. Staged by Artistic Director Ron Spencer, with vocal and musical direction by Roger Smith, set design by Jim Trofatter and costumes and properties by Therese Burns and Jeff Hamilton, the show’s upbeat score features musical styles ranging from Boogie Woogie to Elvis and beyond. THIS SHOW IS FAMILY FRIENDLY…WITH PG CONTENT. *

*Next up, Stage 2, beginning Friday, November 6th is*/ *In Bed with Chuck and Lois*/* by Joni Hilton author of last season’s most successful show /Does This Show Make My Butt Look Fat? /Coming home from a party, Chuck is hoping for some action; Lois, his wife, just wants to go to sleep. We hear both their conversation and have the added benefit of hearing their true thoughts as relayed by their alter egos who are present. But neither one of them get their way because chaos ensues when Lois’ dead beat brother, Gary, smashes his trailer into their house. Directed by Thomas Turner, the show features TOTS’ regulars Cindy Phillips, Darren Gowan, Juli Inskeep and talented newcomers Anthony Dalton and Paul Sullivan.*

*For Christmas, and through the first weekend of the New Year, we offer Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson’s /Jewtopia, /a smash hit both in **L.A.** where the show originated and Off-Broadway in **New York** where it ran for over four consecutive years. /Jewtopia/ tells the story of Chris, a gentile, wants to marry a Jewish girl so he’ll never have to make another decision and Adam, a Jew, wants to marry a Jewish girl to please his family, but can’t get a date to save his life. Stereotypes collide, cultures clash and chaos ensues!*

*January 8th through the 30^th is My First Time by Ken Davenport which he based on the true accounts of first time encounters as written anonymously on the revolutionary My First Time website. The premise is basically: If you did it, you probably remember it. And now you can hear about everyone else’s! See it with your friends or significant other, because this show will have you laughing and reminiscing about your own first time…and thinking about your next time!*

*/The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife/** is our February 5th through March 6th show. This is the latest work from the pen of our favorite author,* *Del Shores, who wrote several of our biggest hits /Southern Baptist Sissies/, /Sordid Lives, Daughters of the Lone Star State/ and /Daddy’s Dyin’ Who’s Got the Will/? The story: Willi’s abusive husband won’t let her get a job. Her best and only friend, a large black woman who lives next door, worries about her constantly, always concerned that Willi’s husband will end up killing her. A new woman comes to live in the trailer park and ends up having an affair* *with Willi’s husband. A blues singer weaves songs into the action, commenting upon Willi’s situation and urging her toward decisive action.*

*In March and April,/ Avow/ by Andrew Gans tells the saga of Brian and Tom who ask their liberal and forward-thinking parish priest, Father Raymond, to witness and bless their vows to each other. Although Father Raymond understands their affection for each other, he holds that they must live a celibate life if they wish to be part of the Church. Brian is outraged! His sister, Irene, is pregnant out of wedlock and he has convinces her to have the baby, which he and Tom will adopt. Irene, desiring nothing more than her brother’s happiness and security, tries to mediate between Brian, Tom, and Father Raymond. Tom’s and Brian’s catalytic request creates five separate and linked spiritual journeys, each seeking to balance passion and faith. *

*Think Bill Gates meets Elle Woods. In Jenny Lyn Bader’s romantic comedy,* */None of the Above, /Jamie, 17, a sophisticated New York City private school student, answers the door one day expecting her drug dealer—and instead finds her SAT tutor. Things degenerate from there. First Jamie tries to get out of being tutored and then she tries to cut a deal with the tutor, Clark. He doesn’t have much sympathy for her plight. They clash right away and seem to have very different values and priorities. But as the play progresses, Jamie and Clark negotiate an unusual pact. The romance begins April 30th and continues through May 22nd .*

*And last, but certainly not least, a revival of the best selling musical in Theatre on the Square history*, */The /**/Great/**/ /**/American/**/ /**/Trailer Park/**/ Musical. /* *Complete with the sensational original cast, twirling trailers and raucous live band! There’s a new tenant at Armadillo Acres—and she’s wreaking havoc all over **Florida**’s most exclusive trailer park. When Pippi, the stripper on the run, comes between the Dr. Phil–loving, agoraphobic Jeannie Garstecki and her tollbooth collector husband—the storms begin to brew. *

*Season Flex Passes, which can be used for a single admission or any combination of admissions up to a total of eight, are on sale now at deeply discounted prices! For information and tickets to any our performances call our box office at 317-685-8687 or go online to www.tots./org <http://www.tots./org> and clicking on Tickets Online or Current Season.*

********** 

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com and @IndyTheatre on Twitter.com.

The Twilight of the Golds

by Jonathan Tolins

Auditions: Jan. 17 & 18, 2010

Performances: March 12-27, 2010

If your parents knew everything about you before you were born, would you be here? That is the question posed in this entertaining drama. All is well when Suzanne Gold and her close New York family discover that she is pregnant, until a prenatal test reveals that the baby will most likely be homosexual. The news forces the entire Gold family to confront issues of bigotry, evolution and the limits of love.

Needed are:

 Two men stage age 20’s to mid 30’s

One man stage age 50’s-60’s

One woman stage age 20’s to mid 30’s

One woman stage age 50’s to 60’s

Proof

by David Auburn

Auditions: April 18 & 19, 2010

Performances: June 11-26, 2010

On the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness—or genius—will she inherit?

Needed are:

One woman stage age 20’s

One woman stage age 30’s

One man stage age 20’s

One man stage age 50’s to 60’s

Death and the Maiden

by Ariel Dorfman

 Auditions: Sept. 12 & 13, 2010

Performances: Nov. 5-20, 2010

Tony award winning Glenn Close, Richard Dreyfuss and Gene Hackman starred on Broadway in this political thriller. Set in an unnamed country that is, like the author’s native Chile, emerging from a totalitarian dictatorship, the play explores the after effects of repression on hearts and souls. Paulina Escobar’s husband Gerardo is to head an investigation into past human rights abuses. A Dr. Miranda stops at Escobars’ to congratulate Gerardo. Paulina overhears them speaking and is convinced that Miranda supervised her prison torture sessions. She ties him to a chair and conducts her own interrogation, gun in hand. Escobar doesn’t know whether to believe his distraught wife or his persuasive new friend. This white knuckle thriller is a riveting intellectual and emotional tug of war.

Needed are:

One woman stage age late 30’s to 40’s

One man stage age late 30’s to 40’s

One man stage age 40’s to 50’s

__________________

 Click on the theater link at www.thechurchwithin.org

 Reminder:  I will post any theatre’s season announcement if someone from the theatre will email it to me in a simple (easy to cut-and-paste) email before the season begins.  My email is: amarylliswriter at gmail dot com.  I don’t usually post audition announcements, but since they were mixed in with this season announcement, I just left them in.

Always check with a theatre’s website to confirm dates and times.

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com and @IndyTheatre

Last night when I sat down at a table at the 2009 Indy Fringe Festival Preview Party, the man sitting diagonally across from me said, “Hey, are you the one that writes that theatre blog?”  I think he had seen me handing my blog card to someone.

Anyway, I admitted to it and he said he enjoyed reading it.  Yay!

Just as he and I and his girlfriend started to chat, I remembered my new video project.  I asked if I could video them.  They said yes, and so now I have video #3 in my Fringe video journal.  (See above.)  Thanks again, Patrick and Jessica!

In the video, Jessica mentions wanting to do a little more research before she decides which shows she wants to see.  I need to do that, too. 

Have I mentioned that I have a media pass to the whole 2009 Indy Fringe Festival?   There is nothing like the thrill of having a media pass, of knowing that someone takes you seriously as a writer and observer, especially when the pass is to a festival that is overflowing with exciting theatrical possibilities.

However, it also presents a dilemma: how do I decide which shows to see and write about?

If I didn’t have the responsibility and financial freedom that comes with a media pass, I would just put a small handful of ten dollar bills plus three singles in my pocket, drive to Massachusettes Avenue in downtown Indianapolis, and go where the spirit led me in terms of seeing and writing about shows.  Each of the Fringe shows costs $10, cash only.  At whatever show you go to first, you have to pay an additional, one-time-only fee of $3, cash, to get your Fringe Backer Button, which you keep and wear from show to show.

But since I do have a media pass for the Fringe, I need to do a little planning and decision-making up front.

There are 40 regular shows this year and 12 FringeNext (youth theatre) shows.  I am not available to see shows on Monday or Thursday this year and I won’t be able to see anything in the 1:30 slot on the first Saturday or the first two slots on the second Saturday.

This means that even if I see a show in every possible slot, barring no obstacles such as story overload or physical exhaustion or desire to take in a sampling of the multitude of other Fringe events, attractions, parties, exhibits, and impromptu conversations, I will, at most, only be able to see 39 shows.

But that’s not figuring in writing time.

So really, I need to pare down my choices to around 15 shows. 

IMPOSSIBLE!

Well, let’s not worry about that right now. For now, let’s just go down the list in the program booklet and consider each show again based on what I saw and heard at the Fringe Preview Party last night.

55 Minutes of Sex, Drugs and Audience Participation – This is a must-see for me because I have known and admired storyteller Loren Niemi a long time.  His storytelling partner, Howard Lieberman, is equally intense and provocative.  They are storytellers who are about as far removed from little kid “storytime” as it possible to get. 

At the Preview Party last night, they said their show this year would have audience participation.  I believe that pure storytelling, if it is good, is completely participatory even when it appears as if the audience is just sitting still and listening; the participation is going on in their minds.  However, I am also intrigued by what Loren and Howard said last night: They said that this year they would be asking audience members to draw something from a fish bowl which would then give the audience member the opportunity to either physically become part of the story or to ask the tellers a question to influence where the story will go next.  If I am chosen to go up on stage with them, I wonder which option I will choose.  Which would you choose?

7 (x1) Samurai – David Gaines’s preview snippet from his solo piece was hilarious.  He incorporates costume pieces, mimed movements, and vocalizations to re-tell the whole classic story of the “Seven Samurai” in under an hour.  This is on my “try very hard to see” list.

America’s Next Top Bottom – This show did not do a preview at the party last night but they have had, I think, a very successful run leading up to the Fringe at the Theatre on the Square (TOTS).  It is a take-off on the TV show, “America’s Next Top Model.”   I admire the creative risk-taking of the artists at TOTS,  but I am not particularly drawn to this show because I don’t watch TV any more and even when I did, I did not get the appeal of “reality” shows.  However, I will look forward to reading what the citizen reviewers on SmallerIndiana.com write about this show.

Andrea Merlyn’s Greatest Hits (and missus!) – Magician Taylor Martin said he was just off the plane from a trip to Los Angeles where he got to work with Penn and Teller.  For the Fringe preview, therefore, he was not dressed up in a glamorous drag gown the way he usually is.  However, he did have a leprechaun and another interesting-looking man performing card tricks behind him while he talked about his new Fringe show. 

His wife happened to sit down next to me during this part.  I asked her if she was in the show again this year because she is Taylor’s “missus” but she said no, that the “missus” refers to the many different female characters that Taylor embodies during his show.  Then Taylor mentioned that there were four costume changes in his Fringe show this year. 

Taylor has performed at the Indy Fringe for each of the five years that it has been in existence.  His wacky drag magic shows are unique.  If I don’t get to his Fringe show this year, it will only be because I know I can see him at his monthly magic show at Theatre on the Square during the year and I have to make some hard choices.  If you have never seen one of Taylor’s Andrea Merlin shows, though, you should definitely consider it.

Another Classic of Western Literature – Oh, my.  During this show’s preview, director Michael Shelton came on stage dressed like…an FBI guy?  All black and severe.  A few moments later, playwright Matthew Roland came on dressed as a giant (I mean GIANT) hand giving us the finger. Now I want to see this show simply for its costumes!

I’m afraid the content of this show might go over my head because it is about the “current ****ing Econolypse” and I haven’t checked the current events articles in my Google reader in months, but this is on my “must-see” list because it is a production of the Heartland Actors Repertory Theatre and I have always been glad whenever I have attended a HART show.

The Attack of the Big Angry Booty – Storyteller/stand-up comedian Les Kurkendaal is back in Indy from his home in Los Angeles.  I enjoyed his show in last year’s Indy Fringe and I was delighted to see him in person again at the Preview Party.  I like him a lot.  The thing is, his show this year seems to be about weight gain and weight loss and dieting and a bunch of other subjects that have zero interest for me.  If I didn’t already know Les, I wouldn’t even have to think about not going to this show because it just bores me to tears to hear people talking about their weight.  I guess I also hate it when people look at me and assume they know anything about me just because they can see that I’m fat.  However, I know I am in the minority for this in America, so I bet Les will get lots of people in his audiences this year.  I hope so!  I wish him well for this year’s Fringe.  And I will look forward to reading what my reviewer colleagues on SmallerIndiana.com and other places have to say about his show.

Blunder Construction – It is easy to recommend Brent McCoy’s show to anyone.  I mean, anyone.  He is sexy in a non-threatening way, so adults who would normally never be caught dead at a clown show are drawn to him.  He is hilarious on many levels and infectiously joyful, so again, adults are drawn to him but so are little kids and families.  He has a finely-honed, almost psychic ability to read and respond to an audience and just go with the flow of whatever happens, which is a treat for the audience but which also draws other performance artists to him to see what they can learn from him.

AND he is a master juggler. 

I may not treat myself to this show until later in the week, but it is definitely on my “must see” list.

Broken Fragile Mind – Hmm.  I don’t remember seeing a preview of this piece at the party last night, but several of the shows were only announced by their number rather than their title, which was unfortunate.  However, my program says that this piece is produced by the Motus Dance Theatre.  I have admired their work in past Fringes, so this is on my “try to see” list.  If I am not able to catch their 2009 Fringe show, I will still look forward to seeing their work in the new space they are opening in the Fountain Square area of Indianapolis.

The Cast of Amontillado – I don’t remember a preview of this last night, either, but this is on my “try to see” list because it’s opera.  I have never seen a Fringe opera show before.

Cool Table – These guys were not at the Preview Party last night either, but I have caught their comedy improv shows at the last two Indy Fringes. They are based in Chicago, and last year I got the feeling that they thought they were slumming by coming down here to Indianapolis.  Their show was very, very short and rushed.  On the other hand, the year before they offered a show filled with a wide variety of funny comedy sketches, so maybe I just caught them on an off night last year.  I probably won’t see them this year because there are so many other shows I want to see more, but if you like sketch comedy, you will probably enjoy this group’s work.

Crossing the Bridge – This is at the Earth House, where all of the dance shows are this year.  I happened to tell the man that handed me a card from this group that I didn’t think I would be able to see many of the dance shows this year because I focus on the theatre shows.  He said that their show is “theatre dance fusion.”  I laughed out loud at that particular “f” word: it always immediately makes me think of Los Angeles for some reason and that’s where this group is from.  I mean, I know New Yorkers use the word “fusion” and so do Hoosiers, for that matter, but it shouts “west coast” to me.  That is neither here nor there, however.  I enjoyed their preview – and it was, indeed, a mixture of dance and comic theatre, about being in a doctor’s office, of all things – so this is on my “try very hard to see” list.

A Cynic Tells Love Stories – I don’t know Katherine Glover’s work.  The program says she is a storyteller out of Minnesota.  Her preview was a part of a story about a time in her life when she enjoyed being called a slut, even though she had only slept with one woman.  (I may have that wrong; it was hard for me to hear.)  You know me: I’m a sucker for storytellers, so this is on my “try to see” list.

An Evening of Stories and Song with Kevin Kling and Simone Perrin – This storytelling duo was not at the Preview Party but they are a “try very hard to see” for me because I love Kevin Kling’s storytelling, both live and on NPR.

Gone, Gone, Gone – This dance duo out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was on my “try to see” list anyway but their preview piece pushed them over on to my “must see” list.  Monica Rodero prefaced their preview by saying something like, “Since this is a tiny stage, this is a tiny dance piece.”  She and her partner, Daniel Schuchart, started out at opposite corners holding a long piece of masking tape.  When the music started, they sort of rolled together and tied themselves together through their movements.  But then, for almost the rest of the piece, they stayed put and communicated volumes through movements of just their heads, necks, shoulders and toes.  Towards the end, they danced apart a bit, breaking the tape that held them together, but coming back together anyway, and continuing their partnered dance by choice.

It was delightful and profound wordless statement about relationships.  I want to see more.

Groundwork Suites – Kenyatta’ Dance Company makes me weep almost every time I see them, so this is a “must-see” for me.  I could only catch glimpses of their preview because of where I was sitting, so my eyes stayed dry, but from what I could see, choreographer Nick Owens and the dancers have created another core-shaker.

The Hefner Monologues – This solo performer out of Washington, D.C. with an apparently burdensome name (John Hefner) is on my “try very hard to see” list because his preview snippet last night about what it was like to do his first nude role on stage was hilarious, full of energy and timed well.  Plus, he’s cute.  Maybe he will take his clothes off for real when there are no kids in the audience.

Humanature – Hmm.  Was this the belly dancer in blue jeans at the Preview Party?  She was hypnotic.  I mean, drool-producing trance hypnotic.  My program says that the “(Re)Collective Company had the “#2 show at the Indy Fringe 2008,” but I don’t remember them at all.  Oh!  Unless they were the people who did the piece called “Moved” last year.  I somehow missed them completely, but I learned later that several of their performances sold out.  Okay, I ‘d better put this on my “try very hard to see” list.

(Update 8/23/09: Actually, the belly dancer was not from Humanature.  Please see Indy Fringe administrator Justin Brady’s comment, which I also inserted into the blog post under New Vaudeville.)

Hypothetically Stupid – From the program notes, this did not sound like my kind of show at all but at Preview Night, two guys got up on stage to riff about a mustache and I thought, “Hey!  I know these guys from Three Dollar Bill Comedy Company!  I love these guys!”  So now John Patrick Coan’s and Matt Kramer’s show is on my “try to see” list.

I Do, I Do in Delhi Or How to Survive an Indian Wedding – This storyteller out of New York City is on my “try to see” list because she said in her preview that she has the audience doing yoga wiggles as she tells.  After sitting for a few hours in other shows, yoga wiggles may be just what I need.

Love Me Tender – This Fringe performer, Randy Strand, was not at the Preview Party and even though the program says he is based in Indianapolis, I don’t think I know him.  I really only know a fraction of the vocalists in this town, though, so that doesn’t mean anything.  His program description says that he sings “sappy love songs…plenty of cuddle tunes” and that he is “not responsible for what happens after.”  I’ve had my heart broken at the last two Fringes.  I’m not really up for sitting in a romantic show by myself this year, surrounded by cuddling lovers.  ‘Sorry, Randy.  But if my single status changes suddenly, I’ll put this on my “try to see” list.  I do like Elvis songs.

Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach – This show about a man “judged too gay for New York” sounds funny but the main reason it is on my “try very hard to see” list is because it stars Theatre on the Square artistic director Ron Spencer.   I admire Ron’s acting ability very much, and I don’t get the chance to see it nearly enough.

murder, hope – This tiny solo performer out of New York City, Becky Poole, had us all singing “Rainbow Connection” with her as she played it on her musical saw while wearing a BatMan mask and cape.   This promises to be a quintessential Fringe show.  I’m there.

New Vaudeville – I don’t remember this show being at the Preview Party, either.  I have heard good things about the Blue Monkey Show, though, and the MC for this show is also the MC for that.  This is on my “maybe” list.

Update 8/22/09 – Fringe administrator Justin Brady left a clarifying comment which I’d like to insert here, too, with a “see also” for Humanature, above (am I librarian in my day job or what!):

Sorry for the lack of clarity on who was performing at the Opening. The belly dancer was New Vaudeville not Humannature. The others you guessed were correct. It was a hectic night and we were trying to keep things moving.

In actuality the numbers matched the nos in the program schedule at a glance, and we planned to hand out copies of this to everyone so you could mark the nos you liked. Sadly between coordinating the parade, the mayor and Paul Poteet this somehow got overlooked!

But man were there some great shows. Hope to see you around!

Phi Alpha Gamma – This solo piece about how a fraternity reacts to an accusation of gay-bashing is on my “must-see” list because the performer, Dan Bernitt, told me when he was at the Indy Fringe two years ago that he was working on it.  It sounded good then, and I am delighted that he completed it.   This is not a world premiere, but that’s okay, too, because it means that other audiences have already helped him hone it for us.

Phil the Void: the Great Brain Robbery – I learned last night that Phil is the only other performer besides Taylor Martin, the magician, who has had a show for all five years that the Indy Fringe has been in existence.  Phil’s stand-up cerebral comedy show is always a “must-see” for me.

The Rise of General Arthur – This solo performer from Minnesota was not at the Preview Party and I don’t know anything about his work except what I have already shared here on my blog, but even if I didn’t find his show intriguing on its own I would have it on my “must-see” list because he is the first ever, I think, Fringe performer to send me a full-fledged press release out of the blue, based solely on the fact that he had read my blog.  Press releases make me feel almost as important as media passes do.

Sex/Death – As far as I know, the Bloomington Playwrights Project was not at the Preview Party, but if I can, I would like to catch their showcase of short new plays.  I loved the variety in it last year.

Sex, Dreams and Self Control – This is the guy that got up on stage last night, looked at the number of children sitting with their parents, and said something like, “My show is too x-rated for this audience, and I’m not just saying that to be provocative, so I’m giving out free t-shirts from my band instead. Oh, and would anyone like a vinyl record?”  I still don’t know much about his show, but he made me laugh, so his show is on my “try to see” list.

Simple Joys - I thought I could skip this one based on the program description, but there was creativity in the sweetness of this couple’s preview, so this is now on my “try to see” list.

Selections from the Spoon River Anthology - I don’t remember this Bloomington company being at Preview Night, but there were a couple of dramatic excerpts that I could not hear very well and, as I mentioned earlier, the MCs unfortunately usually only called out the acts’ numbers instead of their names.  Hmm.  I’ll have to see what else I can find out about this one.  They asked to be my friend on Facebook, but I haven’t had a chance to read their profile, or even respond to the invitation.

The Stetson Manifesto – I couldn’t hear this preview at all, either, since there was only one microphone, but it will be much easier to hear all of the shows when they are in indoor theatre spaces.  I have already shared with you almost everything I know about this show earlier on my blog.  I’ll just add that I have seen at least one of the actors, Bill Becker, in two or three non-Fringe shows before and admired his work every time.

Thurgoode – Hmm.  I don’t think this show was at the Preview Party either.  I’ll have to see what else I can find out about it before I make a decision.

Tortillo! – This comedy is on my “see with Adrienne on the 29^th” list.  She wants to see it because she has friends in the cast.  I like a lot of the cast, too, but the main reason I want to see it is because the playwright, Casey Ross, wrote the first Indy Fringe show I ever saw – a piece called “Gallery” in the 2007 Indy Fringe. 

The Tragical Ballad of Black Bonnet – This show was not at the Preview Party and I have to confess that I am not, as a rule, drawn to puppet shows.  But c’mon: a puppet operetta.  For adults. From New Orleans.  I have to at least put this on my “try to see” list.

True Identity – Was this the woman dancing in a yellow dress at the Preview Party?  Again, I’m wishing that the MCs at the Preview Party were just a teeny bit more concerned with announcing the shows rather than whipping up the crowd to call out the next number.  Ah, well.  I’ll see what else I can find out about this show.

Waiting with M’Godot – This comedy is also on my “see with Adrienne on the 29^th” list.  One of the actors, Kurt Owens, is a very good friend of hers.  I don’t know him that well personally, but he has been riveting every time I’ve seen him on stage in non-Fringe shows.

Wanda & Rhonda’s Bitchin’ Bingo Bash!- Actors Tony McDonald and Adam O. Crowe came on stage as themselves and pretended to be looking for Wanda and Rhonda who were, they said, just running late in getting there.  I’m looking forward to seeing them in drag.

Welcome to Blanksville: An Improvised Tribute to Choose Your Own Adventure – This comedy improv show was not at the Preview Party but it is on my “must-see” list because I like road trip stories and I like the idea of doing a live choose-your-own-adventure.

The Worst Show in the Fringe – This show’s preview included a guest appearance by Indianapolis Business Journal arts editor Lou Harry. I couldn’t resist filming the whole thing on my iPhone but I was too far away for you to be able to really see anything.  Lou played the reviewer who had trashed someone’s Fringe show, causing that performer to snap mentally.  The now deranged performer kidnaps the reviewer and ties him to a chair.  I think he is preparing to torture and kill him, but somehow it’s funny.  Even if you’re a reviewer.  Lou, you are a good sport for letting them tie you up! 

I am almost out of writing time, so I’ll just add that several of the FringeNext shows looked very interesting, too. 

In fact, the one 5-minute preview that actually made me cry, suddenly and unexpectedly, was the slam poetry piece by FringeNext performer Mat Davis.  His show is called “Ready for the Future.”  At first I was just enjoying his word choices and his presentation skills, and then I was half-admiring him and half-judging him for balancing just on the edge between arrogance and confidence.

And then, suddenly, his poem that I had thought was all about him was all about me, too, and I was fighting back tears.

If I don’t make it to his FringeNext show, I am definitely making time to get to one of the open mike events that he said he hosts every Friday night at the Earth House.

But so what am I going to see TONIGHT?!  I still don’t know.  Maybe I’ll just take it time slot by time slot and when I see a show that is on my “must-see” list, I’ll see it, and if there’s nothing on my “must-see” list during that time slot, I’ll just go wherever else the spirit of the Fringe leads me to see.

Some of my “must-see” reasons are as much personal as artistic, so you should, as always, figure out your own list and go to whatever calls to you, no matter what I think.  I will always love to hear your comments on whatever you see (as long as you, you know, share them in a civilized way.)

But if you’re curious, now I have figured out my “Must See” list:

• 55 Minutes of Sex, Drugs and Audience Participation
• Another Classic of Western Literature
• Blunder Construction
• Gone, Gone, Gone
• Groundwork Suites
• murder, hope
• Phi Alpha Gamma
• Phil the Void
• The Rise of General Arthur
• Tortillo!
• Waiting for M’Godot
• Wanda and Rhonda…
• Welcome to Blanksville
• The Worst Show in the Fringe

Hope Baugh

www.IndyTheatreHabit.com and @IndyTheatre on Twitter.com and IndyTheatreHabit on YouTube.com.

The Phoenix Theatre today announced its 2009-2010 season AND a change (decrease!)  in its ticket prices.  I really appreciate that Lori Raffel, the marketing and media relations director for the Phoenix, included Indy Theatre Habit in her e-mailing of the press release to local media.  I am including almost the whole press release at the bottom of this post so that you can read it for yourself.

There is a lot of interesting stuff in the press release.  It’s going to be an exciting year at the Phoenix!

For example, I am delighted to see that Neil LaBute’s newest play, “Reasons to Be Pretty,” is in the line-up.   The Phoenix’s production of LaBute’s “Fat Pig” in the summer of 2007 is what got me started writing publicly about theatre (pre-blog, as Amaryllis Jones on IndianaAuditions.com.)   I saw it seven times, an all-time record for me.  In 2007 I also reviewed LaBute’s “Bash: Latterday Plays” for IA.  This year, LaBute’s “In a Dark, Dark House” as produced by the Heartland Actors’ Repertory Theatre, interested me so much I saw it twice.  LaBute’s often dark, often ambigous outlook on life is not for everyone, I guess, but he is definitely one of my “don’t miss” playwrights.

“Fat Pig” was also my introduction to director Dale McFadden.  Earlier this year, he directed “Mauritius” for the Phoenix, a show I “only” saw once, but enjoyed nonetheless.  In 2010 for the Phoenix he is directing a special performance of something called “Terre Haute,” written by Edmund White.  It sounds thought-provoking.

I am also delighted to see a new and original solo piece by Ricardo Melendez.  I loved his work in “Octopus” this year at the Phoenix and “Some Men” last year.  And you know me: I am always up for a one-person show.  Tell me a story!

I am intrigued to see a new mystery play by Steven Dietz.  I saw two plays by him here in Indy last fall:  He adapted the “Sherlock Holmes” piece that I saw at the Indiana Repertory Theatre and adapted the “Dracula” piece that I saw in Greenwood presented by ArtBox Productions.

I am glad to see another rolling world premiere in cooperation with the National New Play Network, and I agree with the press release writer that it wouldn’t be the holidays without the annual “A Very Phoenix Xmas” show.  I’m not sure I will be able to attend the one-weekend-only new piece by Dos Fallopia, but they were a hoot when I saw them at the Phoenix in 2007.

Some of the other pieces in the new season don’t ring any bells with me right now, but I will do my best to fit them into my schedule, simply because I am attracted to the Phoenix as a theatre in general.

Anyway, read the press release below and see what you think.

By the way, the photo above of the Phoenix Theatre is one I found through Google images on AroundIndy.com.  It was taken by Around Indy’s devoted creator/manager, Bob Burchfield and used with his permission.  Thanks, Bob!

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com  – follow IndyTheatre on Twitter, too.

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FOR RELEASE AUGUST 3, 2009

 The Phoenix Theatre was founded in 1983 by a group of Indianapolis theatre artists who wanted to produce contemporary plays as well as to pay the theatre’s artists, a goal that was achieved a few years down the road. In 1983, the Phoenix fulfilled a unique niche in the city’s theatre environment: producing exclusively current plays. The theatre’s mission has not changed since 1983, and Bryan Fonseca, the theatre’s Producing Director, retains his original position. The Phoenix mission statement reads: “The Phoenix Theatre entertains by presenting the best of professional, contemporary theatre in an intimate setting. Engaging our community, patrons and staff with issue-oriented plays, the Phoenix enlightens audiences about social concerns while challenging them to re-examine their roles in society.” Since 1988, the Phoenix has been housed in the Mass Ave Theatre and Gallery District in a 1907 former church building. The theatre’s two venues are the proscenium 130-seat Mainstage and the cabaret-style 75-seat Frank & Katrina Basile (buh-SEAL) Theatre.

Special Presentations

In addition to the eight plays on the Mainstage, the Phoenix Theatre will also be hosting three Special Presentations in the Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre. These presentations will include Dos Fallopia in October, Call Me BORICUA in February and Terre Haute in August.  For the fourth year in a row, we will be reaching out to the Latino community by presenting at least one performance of Call Me BORICUA in Spanish. (See details below)

Ticket Prices

For more information about any Phoenix programs or to purchase tickets, call the Phoenix Theatre box office at 317.635.PLAY(7529). The theatre’s website is www.phoenixtheatre.org.

Information on each of the 2009-2010 productions:

The Most Damaging Wound, by Blair Singer

September 3-September 26, 2009

Midwest Premiere

Mainstage

Five college buddies reunite with the intention of getting very drunk and burning a box of memorabilia from their glory days. Kenny, the organizer, has just become a father and is terrified that he’s not ready for the job. His best friend Alan, who is married with a kid, brings his girlfriend to the festivities. Rounding out the quintet is GG, the up-tight outcast who owns the still-under-construction restaurant they meet in; Dicky, who never truly grew up; and his rock star friend Bo, who is struggling to get sober. The evening doesn’t go as planned, and the friends are left wondering if the past is ever as glorious as we remember.

Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As told by himself)

by Donald Margulies

October 16-November 15, 2009

Midwest Premiere

Mainstage – sponsored by Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Be ready to be astonished! Louis de Rougemont is looking for his 15 minutes of fame. Gaining notoriety at the turn of the century for his fantastical tale of being shipwrecked on an exotic island, learning to ride sea turtles, and holding court with the Queen of England, Louis is finding his audience increasingly skeptical. Could his entire adventure be discredited as a hoax? De Rougemont’s fervent desire to justify his life’s purpose provides the emotional current that transforms a ripping good yarn into a touching character study. After all, who doesn’t need his “dabbing a little spot of color on the drab canvas of life”?

A Very Phoenix Xmas – Our Stockings Are Stuffed, by playwrights to be announced

November 27-December 20, 2009

World Premiere

Mainstage

This wonderful holiday tradition is back with all-new material and a few returning chestnuts for your seasonal enjoyment. As always, there will be music (both traditional and I-can’t-believe-they-did-that), dance, and original sketches. Nothing and no one is sacred in this grab bag of theatrical vaudeville and television variety show with all the irreverence of Monty Python. Sort of Saturday Night Live meets Donny and Marie on crack. It wouldn’t be December without us!

The Housewives of Mannheim, by Alan Brody

January 14-February 6, 2010

Midwest Premiere

Mainstage

It’s spring 1944 in May Black’s middle-class Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, where she dishes the dirt with her two long-time friends. Wisecracking and streetwise Billie Friedhoff buys and sells on the black market, while Alice Cohen is a judgmental, self-appointed, moralist busybody. Into their lives comes Sophie. Worldly and sophisticated, she helps each woman discover something about themselves that their husbands never could. Out of necessity, the women flourish and are able to contemplate the freedoms that would only truly be available to generations of women yet to come.

Sunlight, by Sharr White

February 25-March 20, 2010

Mainstage

Presented as a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere with InterAct Theatre (Philapelphia, PA)) and Marin Theatre Company (Mill Valley, CA)

Matthew Gibbon, liberal lion and university president, may have finally gone too far in his battle against the conservative dean of the law school-his son-in-law and former protégé. Why would this respected academic leader, so close to retirement, tarnish his otherwise brilliant career by breaking the very laws that he has spent a lifetime defining? What begins as a political debate turns fiercely personal, potentially pitting his family against his legacy. What price is too high to pay for loyalty and power?

Yankee Tavern by Steven Dietz

April 8-May 1, 2010

Midwest Premiere

Mainstage

Alfred Hitchcock meets Oliver Stone in this fascinating and funny new play set in a dusty old New York City bar. Here, a charismatically cantankerous regular argues conspiracy theories with anyone who will listen. The young owner behind the bar just wants to pour beer, marry his fiancée, and live happily ever after. Then a stranger walks in and orders a drink for himself and his invisible buddy, setting off a thriller that grips you until the very last word. When the young man disappears, everyone gets caught up in “what if” and tries to solve the mystery. Is it just cold feet or only the tip of a deadly iceberg?

Speech and Debate, by Steven Karam

May 20-June 12, 2010

Indiana Premiere

Mainstage

Sex. Secrets. Performance-art video blogs with a George Michael beat. Just another typical day when you’re a teenage outcast in Salem, Oregon. Solomon, Diwata, and Howie have never met, but when a shocking scandal involving one of their teachers brings them together through an unexpected chain of events, they realize three voices are stronger than one. Maybe starting their school’s first speech and debate squad will be their chance to be heard at last-by the school and even by the world. In the process, each loner learns the value and power of being a friend.

Reasons To Be Pretty by Neil LaBute

July 8-July 31, 2010

Midwest Premiere

Mainstage

Do we ever really know what our partner thinks of us? Reasons To Be Pretty confronts America’s obsession with physical beauty headlong when Greg, a working-class guy in a long-term relationship, inadvertently remarks to a friend that, compared to a pretty coworker, his girlfriend is “regular.” This inarticulate, off-hand statement changes everything. He loves her, but can she still love him? Their relationship cannot survive the monumental and unexpected fallout from this innocent slip of the tongue, and all four characters begin to experience insecurities in their own lives. Is anyone ever totally comfortable in their own skin?

Information on each of the 2009-2010 Special Performances:

Dos Fallopia: Deja Poo: (dé·jà poo:  The undeniably eerie feeling that you’ve seen this crap before…)

October 1-4, 2009

Four nights of classic Dos Fallopia, jam-packed with Lisa Koch and Peggy Platt’s favorite sketches, satire, and patently warped characters.

Call Me BORICUA by Ricardo Melendez

February 11-21, 2010

World Premiere

Written by and starring Ricardo Melendez and presented by The Workshop Group, Call Me BORICUA is Ricardo’s story of his travels from Puerto Rico to America in 14,600 days.  Equally hilarious and touching, this production allows Ricardo to shine as a storyteller and actor.

Terre Haute by Edmund White

August 5-8, 2010

The Crossroads Repertory Theatre and the Phoenix Theatre co-present Terre Haute, directed by Dale McFadden. Described as a “beautifully written, fluidly paced play” by the Sunday Telegraph, Terre Haute depicts a series of engaging prison interviews conducted by a character based on novelist Gore Vidal of a death-row inmate based on Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

This production is supported in part by a generous grant from the Indiana Arts Commission through one of its regional offices, Arts Illiana, based in Terre Haute

ABOUT THE PHOENIX THEATRE
“The Phoenix Theatre has cornered the market on hip new works.”

Yay! Today Gabe Gloden, Managing Director for  The Bloomington Playwrights Project, emailed me (amarylliswriter at gmail dot com) a press release with info about their upcoming season.  I love it when theatres do this!  So far, BPP is the only theatre in Indiana to do so this year.  Thanks very much, Gabe and BPP!  You can be sure I will be road-tripping south for as many of your shows as I can from now on.

Even if I weren’t trying to reward behavior that makes me feel taken seriously as a theatre reviews blogger, I would be planning trips to Bloomington based on the shows themselves.  Doesn’t this line-up look interesting:

(between the asterisks below is the press release Gabe sent me)

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Announcing the BPP’s 2009/2010 Season

Celebrating 30 Years

The Bloomington Playwrights Project is proud to announce its 2009/2010 Season featuring five great new Mainstage shows, three Dark Alley productions and a bevy of special events celebrating the theatre’s 30 year commitment to high impact theatre. 

The BPP will kick off its Pearl season this September with a special production of Lanford Wilson’s cherished romantic comedy, Talley’s Folly, which captured the Pulitizer Prize in 1980, the year of the BPP’s genesis. 

The Mainstage Series opens in October with the production of the 09/10 Season’s winner of the coveted Reva Shiner Full-Length Play Competition, Naked in the Kitchen by Lynda Martens.  The play examines the marital difficulties that arise after a couple’s only son Michael leaves home for University, laying bare the emotional residue from the husband’s recent battle with a disruptive medical condition.  Naked in the Kitchen is a warm hearted and respectful exploration of contemporary family relationships that will move and touch all audiences.

In November, the BPP offers up Donald C. Drake’s Candide Does America, a modern-day update of the original Voltaire classic.  Drake’s insightful satire invites the audience on Candide’s journey throughout the United States, Iraq and Antarctica as he attempts to answer the question: Is this the best of all possible countries?

In January, the BPP produces Cadillac by Bill Jepsen, an exploration of ethics and morality that erupts in the most unlikely of places: a used car lot. Howard Austin treats every customer at Lindy Motors as if they’re special-not at all the stereotypical used car salesman. Valuing loyalty and service, he has built his career on principles, in an industry mired with sharks and hucksters. But as the hours tick away on the last selling day of the month, those principles are challenged and he must choose between his own career and a customer’s life-long dream.

In April, the BPP will celebrate the 80s — the decade of its coming of age — with a specal production called 80s Shorts.  Ten favorite playwright alums have been commissioned to pen ten-minute plays depicting an 80s event.  The BPP invites audiences to revisit the era of Pac Man, Michael Jackson, the War on Drugs, Rubik’s Cubes, New Wave music, Live Aid, Reaganomics and more. 

The BPP concludes its 30th Anniversary Season with a celebration of new Hoosier plays, the 2010 BloomingPlays Festival.  Each play began as a seedling script, undergoing extensive revision and workshopping as part of the BloomingPlays Development Series at the BPP, blossoming into fully-formed works on our Mainstage theatre.  The BloomingPlays Festival is a co-production with the Indiana Theatre Association.

Subscribers to the BPP’s 30th Season will receive an 09/10 FlexPass for 7 tickets for the price of 4 (more on this below).  FlexPasses are $72 General, $60 Students and Seniors.  FlexPasses may be purchased at the Buskirk Chumley Box Office (formerly Sunrise Box Office) on Kirkwood or online at www.buskirkchumley.org.  Or call 812.323.3020 or email tickets@buskirkchumley.org for more information.

To thank them for their support and to increase the value of their FlexPasses, the BPP is offering subscribers exclusive discounts to several popular local eateries.  Participating restaurants are offering 10% off a subscriber’s table’s meal once during each Mainstage play’s production run.  Season subscribers can once again choose to use their FlexPasses this season to attend designated Special Event Fundraisers including The Blizzard, The PlayOffs and or David Baker’s special performance of Dodging Bullets. In addition, as a season subscriber, your FlexPass entitles you to a Festival Pass to the BloomingPlays Festival in May featuring 3 unique productions of new theatre (thus, you have an opportunity to see 7 Mainstage productions for the cost of only 4 regular tickets).

For a full schedule, visit www.newplays.org. 

The 2009/2010 Season is sponsored by World Arts Printing, the Indiana Arts Commission, Oliver Winery and WFHB.

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Congratulations, Bloomington Playwrights Project, on celebrating 30 years of “high impact theatre.”  Here’s wishing you 30 more!

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit

Email: amarylliswriter at gmail dot com

Twitter: IndyTheatre

There are several items on this year’s schedule that sounded like fun just by looking at the ISO press release, but then when I read Lou Harry’s picks on his April 9, 2009 A&E blog post for the Indianapolis Business Journal, and when I read Tom Aldridge’s picks in the April 8, 2009 edition of Nuvo, and when I read my favorite Indy classical music blogger’s excitement in her April 10, 2009 post about the ISO’s inclusion of Mahler, I became even more intrigued.

So I’m sharing the ISO press release here on my theatre blog in order to have it handy.  I rarely have a free night that isn’t already committed to seeing theatre, but as I say, the ISO is a treat worth making time for.

Also I love having new items to put in my blog’s “Season Announcements” category.  The press release said that photos are available on request.  I will request one and add it to this post.  I resisted adding photos to my blog at first, but now I am addicted to them.

By the way, there is even more information about the ISO’s 2009-2010 season on the ISO website, www.indianapolissymphany.org. 

Here is the press release:

INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES 2009-2010 SEASON

Season Highlights Include Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Violinist Joshua Bell and Pianist Garrick Ohlsson; Pop Music Icon Maureen McGovern, the First Joint Appearance by Shirley Jones and Florence Henderson, and The Music of Pink Floyd Among Signature Special Events

New six-concert Symphonic Hits Series Features Popular Masterpieces

Subscription Prices Remain Same as Last Year; Renewing Current Subscribers May Request Optional 15 Percent “Loyalty Discount,” and New First-Time Subscribers Receive 30 Percent Discount

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra announced today its 2009-2010 season of classical, pops, family and special events that will feature some of the great classical artists of our time, including violin sensation and Bloomington native Joshua Bell, a one-night only appearance by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, renowned Chopin interpreter Garrick Ohlsson and outstanding violinists Christian Tetzlaff, Vadim Gluzman (in his ISO debut) and Leila Josefowicz.  The ISO’s diverse pops lineup includes pop music icon Maureen McGovern, the first joint appearance by legendary stage and screen stars Shirley Jones and Florence Henderson, and pianist and songwriter Tony DeSare, plus a special Thanksgiving holiday appearance by renowned jazz trumpeter Chris Botti and The Music of Pink Floyd in March among the many highlights in the lineup at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.

“We are very excited about the extraordinary variety of programs in our 2009-2010 season,” said Simon Crookall, President and CEO of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.  “Our audiences will be able to hear some of the world’s most popular music with some outstanding artists, performed by one of America’s great symphony orchestras.  Truly a world-class experience here in Indiana!”

LILLY CLASSICAL SERIES & SYMPHONIC HITS POWERED BY LILLY SERIES FEATURE MANY POPULAR ORCHESTRAL MASTERPIECES

          Music Director Mario Venzago, who will be on the podium for 10 of the 20 Lilly Classical Series programs, will celebrate his eighth season in Indianapolis with a mix of timeless masterpieces that span more than 200 years in classical music history, with particular emphasis on Russian masters such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Stravinsky.  Among the highlights this season will be performances of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”), Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 (“The Organ Symphony”), Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 (“Italian”) and Symphony No. 5 (“Reformation”) as part of a 200th anniversary celebration of the composer’s birth, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 (“Jupiter”), selections from Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, Antonin Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 (From the New World”), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and Igor Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird, to name a few.

           The season also will spotlight numerous crown jewels in the concerto repertoire.  Piano masterpieces will include performances of Frédéric Chopin’s Concerto No. 2, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3 and his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Mozart’s Concerto No. 23, Franz Liszt’s Concerto No. 2, Maurice Ravel’s Concerto in G Major and George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. 

           The season’s violin showpieces will feature Ravel’s Tzigane, Jules Massenet’s “Meditation” from Thaïs, and Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy performed by the incomparable Joshua Bell, Johannes Brahms’ Concerto with world renowned Christian Tetzlaff, Mendelssohn’s Concerto with ISO Principal Guest Concertmaster Alex Kerr, and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto featuring Ukrainian-born virtuoso Vadim Gluzman.

           These popular works will be offered as part of a new six-concert Symphonic Hits Powered by Lilly series within the classical season that may be purchased on subscription via the flexible Your Season Your Way option or Symphony on Demand voucher packet, while the remaining 14 classical programs will be available through traditional seven-concert or 14-concert subscription packages (See Season Calendar for Symphonic Hits Programs).  Symphonic Hits concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. instead of the usual 8 p.m. start time.

 JAMES BECKEL WORLD PREMIERE & OTHER CONTEMPORARY WORKS

          As part of the Indianapolis Symphony’s continued commitment to creating new works and celebrating the music of living composers, the ISO has commissioned a new piece by noted composer and ISO Principal Trombonist James Beckel – In The Mind’s Eye – Images for Horns and Orchestra – that will showcase the superb artistry of his five peers in the ISO’s horn section:  Principal Robert Danforth, Assistant Principal Richard Graef, Jerry Montgomery, Julie Beckel and Jill Boaz.  Other works by living composers will include John Williams’ new Air and Simple Gifts, which was premiered at President Barack Obama’s Inauguration, Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Chancellor of Composition Claude Baker’s Schubert-inspired Aus Schwanengesang, Latino composer Osvaldo Golijov’s Mariel, and prolific American composer Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3, written for the trio Time for Three that features ISO Concertmaster Zach De Pue.

 RETURNING VIRTUOSOS AND ANTICIPATED ISO DEBUTS

           In addition to superstars Bell, Ma, Ohlsson, Josefowicz and Tetzlaff, other artists who return to center stage with the Orchestra this season will include pianists Gabriela Montero (in the Opening Weekend and Gala concerts), Indianapolis audience favorite Stephen Hough, Stewart Goodyear, Terrence Wilson, Yuja Wang and Dejan Lazic. The violin repertoire will be presented by returning artists such as 2006 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) Gold Medalist Augustin Hadelich, ISO Concertmaster Zach De Pue and noted IU alum Corey Cerovsek.  Joining the ISO for return visits as soloists will be the string trio Time for Three, baritone Hugh Russell, soprano Karen Gauvin and mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer.  Renowned Maestros who will come back the Hilbert Circle Theatre podium are Andrew Litton, newly named Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra Cornelius Meister, dynamic young Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu, renowned British conductor Mark Wigglesworth, James Gaffigan, Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Larry Rachleff.

          Making their Indianapolis Symphony Lilly Classical Series debuts will be Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham (who portrayed composer Antonio Salieri in the film Amadeus), Isaac Stern protégé violinist Vadim Gluzman, 2006 IVCI Laureate and 2007 Michael Hill International Violin Competition winner Bella Hristova, 1991 Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Artists champion cellist Daniel Mueller-Schott, seven-time Grammy Award nominee pianist Marc-André Hamelin, BBC National Orchestra of Wales Principal Conductor Thierry Fischer, and in his American and ISO debut, 2007 Prague International Conducting Competition winner Krystof Urbanski.  ISO Associate Conductor Sean Newhouse also will make his Lilly Classical Series debut.

 CLASSICAL SERIES OPENING WEEKEND & GALA – SALUTE TO AMERICA!

          For the Orchestra’s Gala and opening weekend of the Lilly Classical Series, Maestro Venzago will conduct an American composer showcase titled Salute to America! that will feature Samuel Barber’s Symphony No. 1, Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait with narration by F. Murray Abraham, Leonard Bernstein’s Divertimento for Orchestra, John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine, John Williams’ Air and Simple Gifts with pianist Gabriela Montero and ISO principal musicians Alexander Kerr (violin), David Bellman (clarinet), and Perry Scott (cello), with Montero performing George Gershwin’s popular Rhapsody in Blue to round out the program.

JACK EVERLY’S DIVERSE PRINTING PARTNERS POPS SERIES SEASON

           A North American leader in innovative pops series programming, Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly will conduct five of the eight exciting Printing Partners Pops Series programs he has created that will feature a broad spectrum of artists and musical styles.  Among the many highlights will be the first-ever on-stage joint appearances of legendary stage and screen actresses Shirley Jones and Florence Henderson, the return of pop music star Maureen McGovern, popular pianist, singer and songwriter Tony DeSare for Valentine’s weekend programs, and the world premiere of Maestro Everly’s newest Symphonic Pops Consortium program, titled Mysterioso.

           The season opens in September with Maureen McGovern (who will return in December to host Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration) performing many songs from her newest compact disc, A Long and Winding Road, that features her renditions of timeless classics such as Bob Dylan’s “The Times, They Are a Changin,’” Simon and Garfunkel’s “59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy),” James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,” and the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road,” among others.

           Academy Award-winning actress Shirley Jones and Indiana’s own Florence Henderson will sing many Broadway hits and pops favorites from their distinguished days on the musical stage and the silver screen and will share stories about their stellar careers in November.  Maestro Everly will unveil his newest Symphonic Pops Consortium creation on Halloween weekend that will meld the worlds of symphonic music with magic, illusion and comedy. Titled Mysterioso, the program will feature the “David Copperfield of Canada,” James Dimmarre, comedic magic by Les Arnold and Dazzle, quick change artists David and Dania, versatile young vocalist Christina Bianco and Theremin player Charles Richard Lester.

           Renowned singer, pianist and composer Tony DeSare will join the ISO on Valentine’s weekend to celebrate the best in pop music through his own unique style that features refreshing and jazzy interpretations of classic tunes across the American music spectrum, from Harold Arlen to Chuck Berry to Prince.  Other Printing Partners Pops Series highlights will include the return of an Indianapolis audience favorite, legendary award-winning composer, conductor and pianist Marvin Hamlisch in January, a full screening of the classic The Wizard of Oz with the Orchestra performing the music from the Harold Arlen score to accompany the film in March, and a program of popular classical symphonic works that have been featured in the soundtracks on major Hollywood films titled Classically Cinematic in April.

             The Pops Series season will close with the world premiere of Generations of Rock with Michael Cavanaugh  in June.  Back by popular demand following his ISO debut in performances of Billy Joel’s music in April 2008 to capacity crowds, Cavanaugh will return to the Hilbert Circle Theatre to present Rock ‘n’ Roll hits from the ’50s, ’60s, and 70’s, including the music of Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John, Billy Joel and Queen, among others.

MAUREEN McGOVERN HOSTS DUKE ENERGY YULETIDE CELEBRATION

           Under the musical direction of Maestro Everly, the Indianapolis Symphony’s 24th annual production of its holiday spectacular, Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration, will be hosted by Maureen McGovern.  An Indiana holiday tradition, Yuletide Celebration features a talented cast of singers and dancers, larger-than-life puppetry and the traditional “Tap-Dancing Santas” in a massive Broadway-style holiday presentation that attracts more than 40,000 people each year to the Hilbert Circle Theatre each December.  McGovern’s career spans 37 years of award-winning recordings, concerts, the Broadway stage, film, television, radio and songwriting.  Best known for her top selling hits “The Morning After,” “We May Never Love Like This Again,” “Wherever Love Takes Me,” and “Can You Read My Mind,” she earned a Grammy Award in 2005 for the children’s compact disc Songs from the Neighborhood:  The Music of Mister Rogers, and Grammy nominations for “Best New Artist” (1973) and “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance” (1998), plus Drama Desk Award nomination  for her portrayal of “Marmee” in Little Women, The Musical in 2005.

 SPECIAL EVENTS – YO-YO MA, CHRIS BOTTI, THE MUSIC OF PINK FLOYD AMONG HIGHLIGHTS

           Headlining the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s 2009-2010 Season of special event concerts will be the highly anticipated return of one of the great classical artists of our time – cellist Yo-Yo Ma – who will visit the Hilbert Circle Theatre stage on October 1 for the first time in 13 years following his sold-out appearance in the 1996 Opening Night Gala.  The venerable cellist and musical goodwill ambassador to the world will perform Dvorák’s colorful and expressive Cello Concerto, which will be complemented by the Orchestra’s presentations of Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks under the baton of Maestro Venzago.

          Also back by popular demand will be jazz trumpet sensation Chris Botti, who performed his eclectic blend of pops, jazz and classical genres before capacity crowds in his ISO debut, to join Maestro Everly for a one-night-only concert during Thanksgiving week on November 24.  A graduate of the IU Jacobs School of Music where he studied under jazz legend David Baker, Botti has sold more than 3 million albums worldwide, including his top-selling compact discs When I Fall In Love and To Love Again, The Duets, which topped the Billboard jazz album charts in 2004 and 2005, and Chris Botti Live with Orchestra and Special Guests, which reached the second spot on Billboard. 

           Holiday special events will include the Orchestra’s collaboration with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir to perform George Frideric Handel’s popular liturgical oratorio masterpiece, Messiah, December 19 at Clowes Memorial Hall, and ISO Conductor Laureate Raymond Leppard and the ISO will welcome tenor Richard Croft, the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, and the Apollo’s Voice Chamber Chorus for presentations of Franz Joseph Haydn’s St. Nicholas Mass and Benjamin Britten’s St. Nicholas in the 11th annual Classical Christmas concert on December 12.  The orchestra will collaborate with Dance Kaleidoscope to ring in the New Year with a variety of choreographed Viennese waltzes in one New Year’s Eve in Vienna concert on December 31.

Other special presentations will feature the ISO’s 25th annual Celebration of Black History concert in February (date to be announced), and a one-night-only performance of The Music of Pink Floyd that will include many of the group’s hits, such as ‘The Wall,” “Dark Side of the Moon” and “Wish You Were here” on March 20. 

ST.VINCENT FAMILY SERIES SERVES YOUNG AUDIENCES

          Since 1984, a key element of the Orchestra’s mission is its programming for young audiences through the St.Vincent Family Series concerts.  This series features thematic programs of shorter classical and popular works performed in concerts that are one-hour long and designed especially for young listeners.   ISO Associate Conductor Sean Newhouse has created an exciting and engaging lineup of Family Series programs to enlighten and entertain audiences of all ages.  As an added treat, before each concert audiences are invited to go on a “Music Explorer” journey to many hands-on activities located in the lobby, and after the performance, guest artists meet informally with the audience near the stage for “Family Chat” discussions about the program.  This year, Family Series concerts will be performed on Sunday afternoons at 2:30 p.m.

           The St.Vincent Family Series kicks off October 25 with Everyone’s a Composer, a program which delves into the mind of the composer through works by living composers such as Mr. Smith’s Composition by Gregory Smith, selections from Gabriela Lena Frank’s Peregrinos (Pilgrims) that was premiered by the ISO last February and Lucas Richman’s Be a Composer, which will provide concertgoers the opportunity to compose music themselves.  On February 28, Magic Circle Mime Company will join Maestro Newhouse and the ISO on stage to present The Listener that will utilize pantomime and actors to bring the art of listening to life, and a new multimedia version of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf will be accented by state-of-the-art stop-motion model animation of the story from the Oscar-winning team at Break Thru Films International. The classic tale will be told through music and video that will be projected onto a large screen above the musicians on April 18.  The series also includes the December 6, 6 p.m. performance of Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration starring Maureen McGovern.

 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

           The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s subscription prices will remain the same as last year for the upcoming 2009-2010 season.  To attract new audiences and subscribers to ISO concerts, new first-time subscribers will receive a 30 percent discount off the full subscription price.  Current subscribers who renew their subscriptions by telephone or in person only may exercise the option to take a 15 percent “Loyalty Discount” to reward their longtime support. This discount does not apply to online or mail order renewals.

            The public may renew current subscriptions or become a new subscriber beginning Monday, April 13, by visiting the ISO’s website at www.IndianapolisSymphony.org, by phone at (317) 236-2040, by fax at (317) 236-2038, by mail or in person at the Hilbert Circle Theatre Box Office.  The deadline for subscription renewals is June 12.

 All Special Event tickets will be on sale to subscribers and donors beginning April 13 and will go on sale along with other single tickets to the general public on August 24.  For more information about all Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra presentations, call the Hilbert Circle Theatre Box Office at (317) 639-4300.  Outside Indianapolis call toll free (800) 366-8457.

 ABOUT THE INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

 Founded in 1930, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is the largest professional performing arts organization in Indiana, is one of only 17 full-time year-rounds orchestras in North America, and performs 200 concerts each year for more than 350,000 people.  Renowned for its 79-year legacy of acclaimed recordings, nationwide radio broadcasts and service to the community, the ISO serves a broad spectrum of audiences via classical, pops, family, holiday, educational and free community outreach concert programs.  A key part of the Orchestra’s mission is education, and its diverse programs earned the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Education from the City of Indianapolis.  ISO musicians and staff have created 20 different pioneering learning opportunities that serve nearly 100,000 Hoosiers annually comprising audiences of all ages that are inspired by the power of music.

 Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com

I saw thirty regular shows at the 2008 Indianapolis Fringe Festival (five of them twice), plus one Fringe Next show.  It took me a while, but I wrote about each of them here on my blog.

It has been a very rewarding, very enjoyable two weeks.

Mind you, one Fringe artist threatened to sue me if I did not revise my review of her work to her specifications.  Of course I did not change a word.  I felt sympathy for her pain – some of the professional reviewers had problems with her show, too – but I refuse to be bullied.

On the other hand, another artist asked if I would add the names of his director and stage manager to my review.  He was grateful for their help, and sorry he hadn’t been able to thank them in a printed program.  Of course I agreed.  I welcome suggestions for correcting factual mistakes or omissions.

Even though I saw so many shows, there were still other intriguing shows that I missed.   I don’t know if it is even possible to schedule a visit to all 48 Fringe shows.  It was impossible for me due to other commitments during the Fringe week. 

In any case, I am glad there were so many people writing about the Fringe this year, either in professional media sources or in the blogs of ordinary people.  Any reviewer’s opinion is only that: one opinion.   It is good for a community to have many opinions, many people thinking and talking about art.

Here is what I saw, in traditional alphabetical order:

• Adventures in Mating
• Alone and Testifying
• And He Ran Screaming
• And I Am Not Making This Up
• Andrea Merlyn’s Magic Show: Glamour Redux
• Assholes and Aureoles
• Best of the Blizzard, The
• Birdmann, The
• Caverns, The
• Christmas in Bakersfield
• Clown at Work
• Common Humanity
• Cool Table, The
• Honeymoon Suite, The
• Improscaping
• In Rehearsal
• Jealous Sky
• Magic of Jared Sherlock, The
• Meet the Rock!
• Monkey Poet: The Big Brown Number Two
• My Friend Hitler
• On the Rag: Heavy Flow
• Phil the Void: Comedy Over Quality
• Potpourri Potluck Kitchen Sink Meatloaf
• Squashamole! The True Cost of Things
• Stinky Flowers and the Bad Banana
• Stripped
• Tastes Funny
• Time Machine, The
• Wicked Dreams Plesant Nightmares

I also saw and wrote about one FringeNext show: Speaking Without Words (Kenyetta Dance Company.)

I talked with a LOT of people during the Fringe, but I wrote about my conversation with Fringe technician Chris Strange as a separate post.

And finally, I accepted IndyFringe.org webmaster Bob Burchfield’s invitation to make a brief podcast one night on Mass Ave.  It made me realize that I do not have a coherent answer ready for when people ask me why I love live theatre so much, but it was also a lot of fun.  (Thanks again, Bob!)  If you would like to listen to it, here is a link to its location in the forums on the IndyFringe website.  It is just about two minutes long.  My laptop will not play it, for some reason, but I was able to listen to it on someone else’s computer.

Oh, my goodness, what a wonderful Fringe this has been!   Thanks very much for reading.

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com