Thursday, May 23, 2013
HAVE A GOOD LAUGH AT THE JERSEY SHORE WITH ReVISION THEATRE
After last year at the Jersey Shore, you deserve a good laugh. Well? Here's your chance. Go ahead. LAUGH! Oh wait! You need a ticket first...
FORBIDDEN BROADWAY
WHEN: Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 7:00 PM
WHERE: The Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, 1401 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park, NJ
TICKETS: from only $25
ON SALE NOW ONLINE AT: http://revisiontheatre.tix.com
For more information call 732.455.3059 or e-mail info@revisiontheatre.org
After a historic and hysterical 30 year run in NYC, Forbidden Broadway is coming to Asbury Park for a one night performance to support ReVision Theatre!
Come and see this all-star cast of past NYC performers pay "tribute" to your favorite Broadway shows. You'll laugh till you cry and then laugh that you're crying.
"Gleeful, Malicious and Hilarious...murderous good fun!" —Associated Press
"Gut-bustingly funny!"—New York Post
"Consistently riotous!"—NY Times
"This is the best edition of 'Forbidden Broadway' we've ever seen…Skip all those Broadway shows, and go see F.B. instead!"—Gannett
"It’s fabulous!"—Village Voice
ReVision Theatre is a professional regional theatre company dedicated to producing invigorating theatre with a fresh new perspective reaching the diverse community of Asbury Park, Monmouth County and beyond.
ReVision Theatre produces reinventions of previously produced classics, overlooked or forgotten work in a new way, and new work with a fresh voice. The company serves as a nurturing home for local artists and writers. ReVision Theatre produces readings, workshops, cabarets, concerts, and fully staged productions.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
SPY THRILLER FARCE OPENS @ CIRCLE PLAYERS JUNE 7
THE 39 STEPS
By Patrick Barlow
directed by John Dowgin
WHEN: June 7 - 23, 2013
WHERE: The Circle Players, 416 Victoria Ave., Piscataway (Directions)
TICKETS: Adults $18; Seniors and Students $17
PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE HERE or call 732.968.7555
Combining a spy thriller with farcical comedy and ingenious theatrical invention, The 39 Steps is an engaging, fast-paced whodunit that celebrates the magic of theater. Closely following the storyline of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film, the play features more than 150 characters brought to life by a cast of just four actors.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
STNJ’S FIRST PRODUCTION OPENS MAY 29!
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of my favorite places to see/experience theater. They have an exciting season planned—and not all of it by Shakespeare! Their first offering opens May 29:
Ireland’s great playwright and poet, J.M. Synge, has penned a grand adventure — part tall-tale, part outrageous comedy and part bittersweet parable. A young country lad’s transformation from beaten-down weakling to celebrated “playboy” captures the poetic heart of the wild Irish imagination in magnificent, lyrical style.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS (Link on graphic will not work)
Monday, May 20, 2013
WORLD PREMIERE OPENS @ NJ REP ON MAY 30
| HAPPY |
| A New Play by Robert Caisley |
WHEN: May 30 – June 30, Thursdays; Fridays at 8 PM; Saturdays 3 PM & 8 PM; Sundays at 2 PM*
WHERE: New Jersey Repertory Company, 179 Broadway, Long Branch
TICKETS: $40 for adults; Previews are $35; Opening night with reception is $50.
Discounts are available to seniors 65+, full time students ages 13-25, and groups of 10 or more.
Extra performances can be added for groups of 40 or more. For tickets, contact 732.229.3166 or visit www.njrep.org to reserve online.
*Previews are Thursday, Friday, May 30, 31 at 2 PM & 8 PM; Saturday, June 1 at 3 PM. Opening night with reception is Saturday, June 1 at 8 PM.
Alfred is happy with his life, happy with his job, happy with his 14-year marriage to Melinda. But when his best friend Eduardo invites him to dinner to meet the new woman in his life, Eva, a sexy 22-year-old artist with a dark soul, it becomes clear that misery loves company. Truths get twisted, secrets get revealed, and what starts out as a sophisticated dinner party among friends, becomes an evening that spins wildly out of control. This is a dinner party not to be missed!
NJ Rep Artistic Director SuzAnne Barabas directs this sleek production that stars Mark Light-Orr as Eduardo, Susan Maris as Eva, Wendy Peace as Melinda, and Michael Irvin Pollard as Alfred.
Playwright Robert Caisley is Associate Professor of Theatre & Film, and Head of the Dramatic Writing Program at the University of Idaho. He was named the 2011 Blaine Quarnstrom Visiting Playwright at the University of Southern Mississippi. Happy, presented at the 2011 National New Play Network Annual Showcase of New Plays, was a Finalist for both the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s New Play Conference and the Woodward/Newman Award for Drama. Happy began its Rolling World Premiere at Montana Rep, followed by performances at New Theatre 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa, California.
SCHOLA CANTORUM ON HUDSON PRAISED MOTHER EARTH ON SONG AND HARMONY
By Ruth Ross
I don't know enough about music to write a review, but I want to tell you about an extraordinary musical experience I had on Sunday at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Montclair.
Schola Cantorum on Hudson (full disclosure: a college friend is a member of the ensemble) presented a program entitled Spirit Earth that featured melodies infused with Native American rhythms and lyrics (and even animal and insect sounds of the prairie) taken from writings by such notables as Chief Seattle, Sitting Bull, the Sioux Najinyanupi and poet Arthur O'Shaughnessy, among others.
In a series of pieces that make the term Mother Earth more than an advertising slogan, the concert focused on humankind's interaction with and dependence upon the Earth. The first section extolled the Earth as Sacred with a four-part cantata by Jackson Berkey. Accompanied by a Native American flute played by Darius Kaufmann, the Schola Cantorum choir captured "the spacious eternity that is nature" (as written in the program notes) and gave the listeners the feeling of being caught in a prairie fire. The text even admonished us for our pollution, "I have seen [Mother Earth] stricken with a curse/Of fools, who build their lodges up so high/They lose their mother, and the father sky/Is hidden in the darkness that they build."
The second section, "The Earth Is Tired," was exceptionally stirring, although the only thing sung was syllables and sounds. The Choir repeated the phrase "Kasar mie la Gaji (The Earth Is Tired)" to various rhythms and handclaps; listening to them was an experience more felt than understood. And the New Jersey Youth Chorus imitated monkey chatter as Balinese warriors charged onto the battlefield; these unintelligible sounds (tjak! tjak!) dramatically represented the sounds of Earth under extreme stress. It was very moving.
Part II connected the Earth to Humanity with a prayer, "Give Us This Day," with music composed by Ward Swingle (of the Swingle Family Singers popular in the 1960s and still giving concerts) and words by Tony Vincent Isaacs. The images of the Earth's beauty were especially inspiring and magnificent ("Budding clouds of crimson blush" and "Dragonfly, neon's treasure,/Strafes the pool in summer's hush" were just two that really touched me), and the refrain repeated four times reminded us to "cherish the earth before it dies." What a way to inspire us to conservation and environmentalism!
A group of young singers called the Schola Phoenix Singers joined the larger adult choir to offer a Sioux Prayer that illustrated the strong connection felt by our Native American brothers and sisters with Mother Earth, Father Sky and the Spirits of the North, South, East and West, and a selection from Sunrise Mass composed by Ola Gjello.
The two pieces that especially affected me were "We Are..." by Yasaye M. Barnwell (who sang as a member of Sweet Honey in the Rock group). The profound message of this song—"We are One"—was reinforced in the final selection, "We Are the Music Makers," from an ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy. The soaring melody and harmonies praised the healing power of music and its eternal gifts to humankind.
The adult's, teenagers' and youngsters' voices that filled the church (which has wonderful acoustics) Sunday evening lifted up everyone in the audience. As I looked around, I saw faces young and old, beaming as they took it all in. It was a remarkable experience. I plan to attend more Schola Cantorum concerts the next time they sing in Montclair. Look for notices on the blog so you can be sure to experience the wonder at the power of music and the human voice as I did.
HAUNTING, REFLECTIVE MUSIC SUNG BY MONMOUTH CIVIC CHORUS MAY 31 IN RED BANK
REQUIEM
By Maurice Duruflé
TRIPTYCH
By Tarik O’Regan
WHEN: Friday, May 31, 7:30 PM
WHERE: First Presbyterian Church, 255 Harding Road (Tower Hill), Red Bank
TICKETS: $25 regular; $22 seniors; $5 students; $20 groups (10 or more)
Tickets and information: 732.933.9333 or www.monmouthcivicchorus.org
Guest Artists: Soprano Felicia Moore, Baritone Jesse Blumberg and Organist Karin Gargone.
The Monmouth Civic Chorus has been called "close to perfect" (Asbury Park Press), "alive and evocative" (The Star-Ledger) and "exceptional" (Red Bank Green). The Chorus is the proud recipient of the 2008 ASCAP/Chorus America Alice Parker Award, and the 2010 Spinnaker Award for Arts and Culture from the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce.
Soprano Felicia Moore is quickly establishing herself as an exciting up-and-coming young dramatic voice. In 2013, Ms. Moore was a National Semi-Finalist in the Metropolitan National Council Auditions, and a winner of the George London Foundation Award. She recently made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall with Dr. Mark Shapiro and The Cecilia Chorus of New York. Her past operatic engagements include Mannes College the New School for Music in New York City, Nevada Opera in Reno, and the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina. This summer, Ms. Moore will be participating in the Crested Butte Music Festival in Colorado as a Marcello Giordani Young Artist.
Baritone Jesse Blumberg has performed with the Boston Early Music Festival, London’s Royal Festival Hall, and the New York Festival of Song. He has performed roles at Minnesota Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera, and made concert appearances with American Bach Soloists, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Charlotte Symphony, Apollo’s Fire, and the Vail Valley Music Festival. He was awarded Third Prize at the 2008 International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau, becoming its first American prizewinner in over thirty years. In 2007 he took first prizes in the International Hilde Zadek Singing Competition in Vienna and the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition.
Organist Karin Gargone is Instructor of Music at Ocean County College in Toms River, and Music Associate of the Presbyterian Church of Toms River. As organist and director of music ministries, she has served several churches in Monmouth County, Indiana, California, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. For twenty years she was Principal Accompanist for the Monmouth Civic Chorus. She has served the Educational Testing Service in Princeton six times as an Advanced Placement Music Theory Exam reader. She also serves on the Advisory Council of the Red Bank Chamber Music Society, Red Bank, NJ, and is a member of the Monmouth and Ocean County Chapters of the American Guild of Organists.
Artistic Director Ryan Brandau holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the Yale School of Music, an MPhil in historical musicology from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), and a BA in Music from Princeton University. He returned to the New York/New Jersey area from California, where he was the Artistic Director of the Santa Clara Chorale and the Director of Choral Activities and faculty member at Santa Clara University. Dr. Brandau is Artistic Director of Princeton Pro Musica and works with the Symphonic Choir at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
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