Tony Party to Benefit Summer Stages
The 4th Annual Tony Awards Party to benefit Summer Stages of New Orleans will be held Sun., June 6, beginning at 7pm at Tara's Ultimate New Orleans Cafe, 3636 St. Charles Ave.
The guest who picks the most winners from the Tony nominees prior to the TV broadcast will win a year of fine dining for two at twelve of New Orleans finest restaurants.
Entertainment will be provided by local talent with food and beverages courtesy of Standard Coffee Company, Coca Cola, Budweiser, Bologna Bros., Heritage House Wines, and Tara's, to name a few.
Summer Stages' provides affordable performing arts training to the young people of greater New Orleans, nurturing emerging talent. Founded in 1993 by Julie Condy to provide a forum for young people interested in performing, it has grown to 2 summer productions featuring casts of up to 30 young people. The 1999 seaon features two new musicals, Toy Camp and Broadway Cafe.
For more information call 504.897.3636.
NOBA Announces 99/2000 Season of Dance
The New Orleans Ballet Association will leap into the new century with a hot mix of cutting edge dance, beautiful ballet, foot stomping folk and fanciful fun in seven dance companies that will perform at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the Performing Arts. NOBA also announced a "build your own" subscription package, offering flexibility, great savings and the best seats in the house.
The season begins Oct. 23 with The Parsons Dance Company's acclaimed modern ballet called Fill the Woods with Light set to a live score performed by the Grammy Award-winning Phil Woods Little Big Band. New Orleans' favorite dance-illusionists, MOMIX, returns after a three year absence with two nights of "Best of MOMIX," Fri., Dec. 3 and Sat., Dec. 4. This company pushes the envelope with their other-worldly imagery, playful humor and ingenious use of props, light, shadow and the human body.
The new century will begin for modern dance aficionados on Jan. 22, 2000 when the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company brings its twelve dancers to New Orleans with a mixed program featuring Children of the Passage, a spirited celebration of cultural rituals danced to the music of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, which one critic proclaimed to be "almost as good as a ticket to heaven." Canada's take on contemporary dance will follow the DCDC on Sat., Feb. 12 when O Vertigo, one of two companies from Montreal, performs En Dedans, meaning "into the inward," a physical and sensuous movement paired with an original montage of music by Arvo Part, Gavin Bryars, Peter Appleton and Ensemble Bash.
Balletomanes will get their yearly fix of tutus and toe shoes on Apr. 1 when another Montreal company, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens hits the boards, making their New Orleans debut with Jose Limon's The Moor's Pavane, Kurt Jooss' The Green Table, Anthony Tudor's Lilac Garden and George Balanchine's Valse Fantaisie.
The season ends May 13, 2000 with a visit by Chicago's Trinity Irish Dance Company. Founded in 1990 and credited as the originator of progressive Irish Dance, their program will showcase the extraordinary grace and explosive movement of 20 pairs of feet flashing and clacking in perfect unison to the authentic live music of guitar, uilleann pipes and bodhran.
By choosing five or more performances, subscribers can save 20% over regular ticket prices or pick three or four performances and save 15%. Season subscription prices range from $53 -$375. Single ticket prices range from $20.50 - $66.50 with student, senior or group discounts available.
For more information, or to request a free season brochure, call 504.522.0996.
Pensacola Little Theatre's
3 New Seasons
Pensacola Little Theatre, which presents its plays and musicals at the Pensacola Cultural Center, 400 S. Jefferson St., will present a total of 13 theatrical events in its three new seasons, recently announced for its Mainstage Theatre, Chamber Theatre and Treehouse Theatre.
The Mainstage season will consist of the Burrows, Swirling, Loesser musical comedy Guys & Dolls, Sept.10 - 19; Beth Henley's The Miss Firecracker Contest, Oct. 8 - 17; three one-acts by Woody Allen, David Mamet and Elaine May called Death Defying Acts, Jan. 14 - 23; Quilters, a musical about pioneer women, Mar. 3 -12; Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution, May 5 - 14; and, Damn Yankees by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, June 16 -25. These shows play Fri. & Sat. at 8pm and Sun. at 2:30pm.
As lagniappe Paul Rudnick's tres Gay play Jeffrey will be presented as a special non-subscription production May 25, 26, 27 & 28, 2000.
Edgier fare will be presented in three-performance runs by the Chamber Theatre which will present Paula Vogel's Baltimore Waltz, Sept. 30, Oct. 1 & 2; James McClure's Laundry & Bourbon, Nov. 18, 19 & 20; The Most Massive Woman Wins, an all woman comedy that takes place a liposuction ward by Madeleine George; and, Sam Shepard's anti-war States of Shock, Apr. 13, 14 & 15. All shows are at 8pm.
The (children's) Treehouse Theatre will present Schoolhouse Rock Live! this summer and The Velveteen Rabbit next summer. Schoolhouse Rock Live!'s director Mario D. Cieri and musical director Doug Holsworth will be holding auditions for this musical based on the popular Sat. morning cartoon shorts of the same name June 4 & 5 at 10am at Lew Taylor Rehearsal Hall on the second floor of the Pensacola Cultural Center, 400 S. Jefferson St. They're looking for actors and actresses ages 13-18 as well as anyone interested in technical or administrative positions. The show will be presented July 23 - Aug. 1.
Auditions are also announced for the new season's opening musical Guys & Dolls. Director Billy Buff and musical director Rosemary Ramsey-Pearce are looking for 8 men ages 17 - 55, for women, 17 -60, 8 female dancers, 17-35 and a large chorus of all ages. Those auditioning should be prepared to sing and dance either Sat., June 26, 9am - noon; 1pm - 3pm; or, Sun., Jun. 27, 1pm - 3pm at the Lew Taylor Rehearsal Hall, 2nd fl., Pensacola Cultural Center, 400 S. Jefferson. The show will be presented Sept. 10 - 19.
For more information, call 850.434.0257.
Ending the current season is Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate, which runs June 18 - 27.
Pensacola Historical Murder Mystery
W.H.E.N., old time radio, returns to the air/stage for the first in a series of historical Pensacola Mysteries by renowned local author and historian John Appleyard. Following the success of The Spanish-French Confrontation, Appleyard returns to the 1930s radio drama format with The Case of the English Gold featuring many familiar faces including Joe Tomko, Bob Lamar, Judge Ed Nickinson, Judge Roger Vinson and a dozen more. The production also boasts period music and sound effects courtesy of Marilyn Riegle.
The Case of the English Gold takes place in 1880's Pensacola, at the height of the lumbering era. As Detective Henry Coburger and his friend, patrolman John Yelverton, pursue their duties, a series of strange events unfold. Someone has begun digging into the depths of the old Ft. George. Ultimately, murder ensues, followed by a dramatic chase across Pensacola Bay.
The radio drama, June 10 & 11, 8pm, is being staged in the M.C. Blanchard Courtroom at the Pensacola Cultural Center, 400 S. Jefferson St.
Call 850.432.2042 for ticket information.
