Stage Left is done

Stage Left - In an email sent August 16, 2009, Josh Beadle officially ended Stage Left's five year run as a theatre dedicated to providing the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City cultural corridor with quality productions of contemporary theatre. A lot of talented and passionate people worked with Stage Left and I'm sure we'll see them in other venues. They created a lot of theatre in that short period of time. The one that stands out in my mind was their production of Caryl Churchill's A Number from last March. Good wishes to all involved in Stage Left.

Acting Opportunity

KGAN TV (Channel 2) need actors to play paparazzi at a preview party for the fall season.

The details: September 9th, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Cedar Rapids Arts Museum. No pay, but they will feed you!

They need 30 to 50 people.

Contact Shaun Hynes at shynes@sbgnet.com or 319-395-9060.

ICCT's Dispute in the park

ICCT - What if four children, two boys and two girls, were raised in complete isolation since birth? What would happen when they first meet each other? How would these young lovers, reared in a secluded garden, respond to the first words, the first kisses, and the first lies of others? Which sex would be the first to be unfaithful? With brilliant lightness and wit, Marivaux's The Dispute takes a comedic look at the origins of love and betrayal.

Performed at the Festival Stage in Lower City Park, join ICCT for a unique theatre experience Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday at 7 PM. Go here for more information. The show is directed by Kathleen Hession. Cast members include: Kelsey Carder, Ari Scott, Alicia Maxwell, Jack Sharkey, Nelson Gurll, Paula Grady, Emma Palermo, Andrew Mehegan, Kehry Anson Lane, and Rachel Korach Howell.

Check it out!

City Circle - Check out Rent at the Englert tonight. Looks like those kids are working hard to create a great show.

Rent at the Englert

City Circle - The 2009-10 City Circle season begins with an ambitious undertaking as present Rent: School Edition at the Englert Theatre Friday and Saturday, August 7 and 8, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, August 9, 2 p.m.

This rock musical is a specially-adapted version for high school students, omitting the song “Contact” and eliminates some of the coarse language. City Circle is the first local theater to produce the student edition of this ground-breaking musical.

Rent, considered by many to be the most exuberant and original American musical to come along in many years, reinvigorated Broadway and took the country by storm. Sweeping all major theater awards, including the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent was hailed as capturing the heart and spirit of a generation.

Based on Puccini’s opera La Boheme, Rent tells the story of impoverished young artists struggling to survive in New York’s Lower East Side under the shadow of AIDS. The production closed on Broadway in 2008 after a 12-year run, making it one of the longest running shows.

Though the subject matter remains challenging for the cast and audience, the story captures a major theme of coming together as a community and living each day to the fullest.

Set designer and director Michael Stokes has created a presentational and theatrical production, striving to break down the forth wall between the actors and audience. A chorus is used much like one in classical Greek theatre where they observe, direct, enhance, and participate in the action of the show.

Stokes explains the challenges that the production presents to the student cast, from the score to the subject matter to the relationships they portray. He comments, “These young people are truly amazing. The energy, effort, and enthusiasm they bring to rehearsal each day is well beyond their years.”

Music direction is by Judy Duncan, lighting design by Will Brown, and sound design by Harrison Burke.

Tickets are $23 for adults and $18 for students, seniors, and youth and are available by calling the Englert Box Office at 688-2653 between the hours of 1 and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, or online at www.englert.org.

For more information or questions, please contact director Michael Stokes at michael@citycircle.org.

Zombie Prom auditions!

ICCT - Auditions are Monday August 3 and Wednesday August 5th at 6pm in room A at the Iowa City Rec Center. Please prepare a 30 second segment from a musical theatre song. An accompanist will be provided.

This girl loves ghoul rock and roll Off Broadway musical is set in the atomic 1950s at Enrico Fermi High, where the law is laid down by a zany, tyrannical principal. Pretty senior Toffee has fallen for the class bad boy. Family pressure forces her to end the romance, and he charges off on his motorcycle to the nuclear waste dump. He returns glowing and determined to reclaim Toffee's heart. He still wants to graduate, but most of all he wants to take Toffee to the prom. The principal orders him to drop dead while a scandal reporter seizes on him as the freak du jour. History comes to his rescue while a tuneful selection of original songs in the style of 50s hits keeps the action rocking across the stage.

Production dates are October 16-18, 23-25, 30-31. All performances will take place at the Iowa City Community Theatre building at the Johnson County 4-H Fairgrounds.

Questions? Please contact the director, Jeff Shields, at jeffery-shields@uiowa.edu or 319.688.5087.

I'm All Ears

Old Creamery - The music of Disney comes to life August 6 when The Old Creamery Theatre Company opens I’m All Ears: Songs of Disney, at 3 p.m. on the main stage in Amana. With over 60 years of music to choose from, this celebration of the best of Disney’s music is sure to be a hit with all age groups.

From old favorites such as “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” from the 1946 Disney production Song of the South; “Whistle While You Work,” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; and “When You Wish Upon A Star,” from Pinocchio; to newer classics like “Be Our Guest,” from Beauty and the Beast; and “Under the Sea,” from The Little Mermaid, I’m All Ears will keep the audience humming along from the first song to the last.

The cast includes Old Creamery favorites, Sean McCall and Deborah Kennedy, along with TJ Besler of Manchester, Jeff Haffner, of Cleveland, Ohio; Amber Snyder of Memphis, Tenn.; and Molly Laurel of Whittier, Calif. Under the musical direction of Paul Dieke, I’m All Ears: Songs of Disney, is a true family event.

During the run of I’m All Ears: Songs of Disney, The Old Creamery Theatre will be collecting school supplies to donate to area schools for children in need. Patrons who bring back-to-school items will receive a discount coupon for $5 off one adult ticket to an upcoming Old Creamery production.

The show runs through August 30 and is rated G. Tickets are $26.50 for adults and $17.50 for those under age 30. Tickets for I’m All Ears: Songs of Disney are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the box office at 800-35-AMANA or 319-622-6194. Show times are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.

The Old Creamery Theatre Company is a not-for-profit professional theatre founded in 1971 in Garrison, Iowa. The company is celebrating 38 years of bringing live, professional theatre to the people of Iowa and the Midwest.