On Stage Dayton

Moby Dick by Zoot Theatre Co.

April 22, 2010 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Zoot Theatre Co. present "Moby Dick" April 23-25

Zoot Theatre Co. presents "Moby Dick" April 23-25

Hey everyone! April and May are really great months to catch great LIVE theater in the city. And there seems be something for everyone right now.

If you are the “blockbuster musical” type, the Broadway revival of A CHORUS LINE rolls into the Schuster next week or catch Maury Yeston’s PHANTOM which is still running at La Commedia.

(editor’s note–La Comedia IS NOT presenting the Andrew Lloyd Weber version of “Phantom of the Opera”…yet some believe this to be the better of the two shows–you be the judge & go see them both! The ALW version will be in town soon!)

If “The Bard” is more your style, then check out Springfield Stage Works’ THE TAMING OF THE SHREW which opens this weekend in the historic State Theater.
Looking for something a little lighter? Both Playhouse South’s AND NEVER BEEN KISSED and Beavercreek Community Theatre’s THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ (children’s theater production) open this weekend.
Hate musicals? Like your drama pretty heavy? Definitely get over and see INDEPENDENCE at the Dayton Theatre Guild. You think your family has issues? Check out this play by Lee Blessing and you’ll feel much better!
But if, like me, your tastes tend to run toward the edges, I have my PICK OF THE WEEK:

Zoot Theatre Company have made a name for themselves by using mask and puppetry in innovative and exciting ways. (If you saw their haunting re-telling of HANSEL & GRETL last season, you know what I mean).

Zoot Theatre Co. presents "Moby Dick" April 23-25

Opening Friday, Zoot re-imagines Herman Melville’s American classic MOBY DICK in The Mathile Theatre (that’s the small blackbox theatre inside the Schuster Center).

A couple of things make this even MORE intriguing. Allegedly, the adaptation is by local theatre legend Bruce Cromer and the piece is being directed by John Lavarnway. If neither of those names ring a bell to you, you’ll just have to trust us here at onStageDayton – those are two VERY good signs.

I highly recommend catching MOBY DICK. Zoot Theatre Company is definitely poised to be a major mover and shaker.

(this week’s ridiculously cheesy sign-off:)

“Towards thee I roll…thou damned whale! Thus I give up the spear…and my Friday night to view thine puppets and masks at the Schuster Center…”

Have a good weekend – and see something LIVE!

onStageDayton…with Shane & Dave

D.B.

Zoot Theatre Co. presents "Moby Dick" April 23-25

More info & tickets:

MOBY DICK (April 23-25 – ONLY THIS WEEKEND) & A CHORUS LINE (April 27-May 2) visit http://www.ticketcenterstage.com

AND NEVER BEEN KISSED (April 23 – May 1) visit http://www.playhousesouth.org

THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ (April 23-May 1) visit http://www.bctheatre.org

PHANTOM (through May 2) http://www.lacomedia.com

INDEPENDENCE (through April 25 – CLOSING THIS WEEKEND) http://www.daytontheatreguild.org

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (April 22 – May 1) http://www.springfieldstageworks.org

onStageDayton ...with Shane & Dave

Shane Anderson & David Brush work with locally based Encore Theater Company. ETC recently moved into the new arts collective space in the Oregon District, along with Zoot Theatre Co. & Rhythm in Shoes. Anderson, Brush & ETC are currently preparing for their upcoming Summer season of new musicals in downtown Dayton: Johnathan Larson’s RENT, [title of show] & Next Thing You Know (a developmental production of a new musical by NYC-based writing team of Salzman & Cunningham)

onStageDayton…DMM’s online hub for all things theater!

April 18, 2010 By Dayton Most Metro 4 Comments

onStageDayton...with Shane & Dave

Introducing the latest addition to the DaytonMostMetro.com line-up of contributers: “onStageDayton…with Shane & Dave”

onStageDayton will serve as your online hub for all things theater in Dayton & the Miami Valley. Check back often to find out about:

productions opening & closing soon
how to get tix for great theater in Dayton
upcoming auditions for local theater organizations
interesting stories about local theater organizations, premieres, outreach projects, workshops/classes & the all of the terrific people involved in local theater-making it happen.

If you work with a local theater organization, please add us to your Press Release list, so we can get all the info into our blog here at DMM! In addition, please be sure to add your events to the DMM Calendar!

Send all of your updates to us via email: [email protected]

(this week’s ridiculously cheesy sign-off:)

While we are waiting for the Overture to begin and the cast to take the stage…why not head on over to the DaytonMostMetro Forum and start up a conversation in the Theater thread…

S.A.

HBO Def Poetry Jam Performer, Musicians, More Kick Off Third Season of Creative Arts Showcase “The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show”

April 11, 2010 By Lisa Grigsby 1 Comment

Oral Funk Poetry Productions is launching its third season of “The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show” in style. The performance will be held from 9 to 11 p.m. Friday, April 16, at the Schuster Performing Arts Center, 1 W. Second St. Tickets cost $15 and are available at www.ticketcenterstage.com or by calling 937-228-3830.

This vibrant monthly showcase features local and national poets, musicians, actors, vocalists, dancers and visual artists. The April 16 show, “Poetic Illusion,” will be headlined by Dana Gilmore, who has shared the stage of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, a spoken word series hosted by Russell Simmons, with the likes of Mos Def, Kanye West and Smokey Robinson. True to her Missouri “Show-Me-State” roots, Gilmore’s writing is intended to inspire and provoke action. She speaks passionately, yet practically, about life’s adversities and alternatives for dealing with them. Today, Gilmore spends her time traveling across the United States performing at universities and other venues while working on songs, stage plays and screenplays.

Joining Gilmore will be El Coats and the Funk Point, which will perform a melting pot of rhythm and blues with a neo-soul twist. Jazz vocalist Shakera Jones will perform and host the event. In addition, a variety of local poets and singers will perform, and comedian I.Q. will make a special appearance ― along with a surprise celebrity guest.

Michael’s Dining and Jazz, 40 N. Main St. in the Kettering Tower lobby, will offer 15 percent off the dinner menu on Thursday, April 15, and Friday, April 16, to Signature ticket holders.

During its first two seasons, “The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show” featured numerous forms of self-expression, including poetry, visual art, drama, dance and such music as jazz, blues, reggae, neo-soul and hip hop ― often to sold-out crowds. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/thesignatureofpp.

Dayton Theatre Guild presents ‘Kimberly Akimbo’

March 5, 2010 By Dayton937 Leave a Comment

Looking for something to do this weekend? Then check out Dayton Theatre Guild’s latest production, Kimberly Akimbo. The play, directed by Saul Caplan, runs now through March 14th at the Dayton Theatre Guild’s new location in the Oregon District (430 Wayne Avenue). Showtimes are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m.

This dark comedy follows the story of Kimberly (played by Ellen Finch), a teenager with a rare condition that causes her body to age four times faster than it should. Finch is joined by Troy Lindsey and Teresa Connair as Kimberly’s dysfunctional parents, Megan Cooper as her scam artist aunt, and Jeff McCracken as her gawky classmate. Due to strong language, this play is most appropriate for adult audiences only. Tickets are $17 for adults, $10 for students; visit http://daytontheatreguild.org or call 937-278-5993.

Need even more of a reason to escape cabin fever and spend a night in the Oregon District? Then check out the great deal being offered by JumpstART, a new group from Culture Works dedicated to connecting young professionals to great arts events across the region. Their first event will be held on Friday, March 12. The evening starts at Coco’s Bistro, followed by Kimberly Akimbo, and concludes at the Trolley Stop for some post-show fun. As part of the deal, Coco’s (515 Wayne Avenue) is offering $10 off two entrees; make a reservation by calling 228-COCO and mention the JumpstART deal. After the show, join the cast and crew at the Trolley Stop (530 E. Fifth Street); bring your ticket stub and skip the cover charge! For more information about this event, call Culture Works at (937) 222-2787. (Please note: participants are responsible for their own dinner reservations and tickets to the show.)

Photo from http://www.daytontheatreguild.org

Gem City Ballet presents The Sleeping Beauty

February 9, 2010 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Good versus Evil, a beautiful Princess, a fearless Prince, fairies, roses and incredible dancing… What more could you ask for?

Gem City Ballet (GCB), Dayton’s premiere pre-professional ballet company, will bring all this and more to the Victoria Theater on March 6th and 7th in The Sleeping Beauty, a full length classical ballet.

With gorgeous costumes, an imaginative set designed and built by GCB Production Stage Manager David Shough and painted by Master Scenic Designer Chris Harmon, and, of course, brilliant dancing by the talented young members of Gem City Ballet, this promises to be a fantastic weekend of dance. Topping it off are Kristi Capps, principal ballerina of the Cincinnati Ballet, and her real life fiancé Dmitri Trubchanov of Colorado Ballet, performing the leading roles of Princess Aurora and Prince Desiree.

The beloved fairy tale opens with the christening of the baby Aurora. Six fairies offer the gifts of beauty, energy, grace, song, precision and wisdom. Then the evil fairy Carabosse, angry at not being invited to the celebration, offers a curse: on her sixteenth birthday, Aurora will prick her finger on a spindle and die. The Lilac Fairy, the most powerful fairy in the world, offers hope, promising that Aurora will not die, but will sleep until awakened by the kiss of a handsome prince.

Aurora’s sixteenth birthday arrives, and the Princess tests the devotion of four suitors in the virtuosic and famous “Rose Adagio.” Then tragedy strikes as Carabosse tricks Aurora into pricking her finger, and she collapses. The Lilac Fairy is true to her word, though, and Aurora only sleeps, as the castle is engulfed in vines to protect her until her Prince appears.

One hundred years later, Prince Desiree comes to the forest and the Lilac Fairy shows him a vision of the beautiful Aurora. Determined to find her, Desiree battles the evil Carabosse, discovers the hidden castle, ascends the staircase and, with a kiss, brings Aurora back to life.

Aurora’s wedding is attended by many of the fairy tale characters from long ago, Puss ‘n Boots and the White Cat, Princess Florine and the Blue Bird, Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, and Cinderella and her Prince. Capps and Trubchanov end the evening with a stately and loving pas de deux, a special dance for the wedding couple.

There will be two chances for you to see The Sleeping Beauty. On Saturday night, March 6, the evening gala performance at 8 p.m. will be an especially festive night as GCB premieres this fantastic ballet. The Sunday, March 7, afternoon matinee at 2 p.m. will be family-friendly with reduced children’s tickets and a chance to meet the Act Three wedding characters in the lobby of the Victoria following the performance. Bring the entire family; it will be a magical weekend! Tickets are available at Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or ticketcenterstage.com and from Gem City Ballet at (937) 222-6880.

Also, be sure not to miss the Sleeping Beauty Birthday Bash, a family fundraising party, on February 27th at the Dayton Women’s Club. AND if parents call the studio to order tickets by February 18th, they will pay $30 per child and only $20 per adult (for Birthday Bash). Call Gem City Ballet for more details.

Dayton Theatre Guild presents “Precious Heart”

January 27, 2010 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Dayton Theatre Guild presents “Precious Heart“, a one-woman play about Fleeta Mae Bryte, a 60-something country southerner living in a small town in southwest Texas.

This simple, yet engaging, performance has a bit of a twist: In the tradition of Tyler Perry’s Madea character, the role of Bryte will be played by a man.

Guild veteran Greg Smith portrays the lovable, funny and endearing Fleeta Mae Bryte to life for this wonderful play, a part of the guild’s “Very Special Performance” Series.

Tickets for the Feb. 5 through Feb. 7 performances are on sale now, priced at $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for students with valid identification.

For additional information, please call (937) 278-5993.

Holiday Cheer Comes to the Dayton Dirt Collective

December 16, 2009 By Juliet Fromholt Leave a Comment

BillyWilly This year the Dayton Dirt Collective has become a home to many of Dayton’s aspiring comedians, and this Thursday, they’ll put a holiday spin on the laughs. Friendly, West Virginia’s Billy Willy will headline an evening of music, comedy and good cheer at the Dayton Dirt Collective on Thursday, December 17th. The show is called Billy Willy’s Miracle on Third Street will feature the songs and stories of Billy Willy and local comedians Michelle Metzner and I Que. Local musician Akillis Green will perform live music at this Toys for Tots benefit show.

The show starts at 8pm, and the evening’s cost is a new, unwrapped toy or a $5 donation that’ll go to Toys for Tots.

Billy Willy, Akillis Green and show organizer, Shelly Hulce will be appearing on Kaleidoscope on WYSO on Wednesday, December 16th to talk about the show. Kaleidoscope airs 8-11pm on 91.3FM or wyso.org.

Nativity The Pop Opera

December 10, 2009 By Lisa Grigsby Leave a Comment

n193061993632_9226 It’s a light-hearted original musical written and composed by Dayton resident J. Todd Anderson. If that name sounds familiar, J Todd may be better known as a story board artist who often works with the Coen brothers or for his radio show, Filmically Perfect, heard on WYSO-FM Fridays at 12:30PM.

Nativity The Pop Opera commemorates the birth of Christ as seen through the eyes of the angels and is meant to be performed during the Christmas season. The music and the lyrics are contemporary, witty and entertaining and will appeal to audiences of all ages. All actors and musicians have volunteered their time and talent to this production.

Nativity The Pop Opera is performed as a benefit for The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton. 100% of ticket sales will be donated to the “Needy Patient Fund”. The fund provides financial support to in-need patients and families who cannot afford the basic necessities of life. It is a “last resort” after all other community resources and options have been exhausted and families have no other alternatives.

Attend an evening of fun while supporting a good cause:

VENUE
Miamisburg Christian Church
1146 E. Central Avenue
Miamisburg, OH 45342

TICKETS / BOX OFFICE – $10 each or group option-6 tix for $30
Monday – Friday, 10 am – 4 pm
Saturday, Noon – 2 pm
937-866-4893

PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE
Order 24 hours a day, seven days a week with your credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express & Discover are accepted), at exploremcc.org.

Tickets will not be mailed. The number of tickets and the name of the person who purchased tickets via Pay Pal will be held at the door.

Please print a copy of your PayPal receipt as proof of tickets purchased.

DIRECTIONS
I-75 to EXIT 44 (SR-725)
TURN WEST towards Miamisburg
GO approximately 2.1 miles
TURN LEFT into parking lot at MCC marquis (1/2 block after Shell gas station.)

Dayton Theatre Guild – Open Auditions For Shining City

November 29, 2009 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Attention aspiring thespians! Dayton Theatre Guild will be holding auditions for the play Shining City from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1.

Directed by Ralph Dennler, the production opens Jan. 15 and will run for three weeks.

A recent review of the play:

In contemporary Dublin, Ireland, a man claiming to have seen the ghost of his recently deceased wife seeks help from a therapist. What begins as an unusual encounter becomes a struggle between the living and the dead in a game that will define both men for the rest of their lives. I was blown away…Conor McPherson’s new play is haunting, inspired and absolutely glorious.” Ben Brantley, The New York Times.

The production is looking for actors for these parts:

John – 50’s – Haunted by his dead wife, struggling to get back to his normal life.
Ian – 40’s – A novice therapist trying to help others while dealing with his own demons.
Neasa – 30’s – Blue collar woman trying desperately to save a relationship and protect her new child.
Laurance – 20’s – A male prostitute.

Four week, evening rehearsals are required, with a break for the holidays. Be prepared to give readings from the script.

Interested parties should contact Ralph Dennler at [email protected].

Traveling Light & Corpus Christi

November 22, 2009 By Dayton Most Metro 1 Comment

I started Katrina Kittle’s first novel, Traveling Light on Friday and stayed up travelinglight to finish it on Saturday evening. Katrina Kittle is a Dayton native who continues to live in the region, working on her fourth novel and recently acting in several local theatre productions. I ran across her books while surfing Amazon for a good read, not even realizing she is a local author. I went to the library with the intention of borrowing Two Truths and a Lie but it was not on the shelf and thus I picked up Traveling Light. It felt as though I was supposed to be reading that book this weekend.

On Saturday night we went to the Dayton Playhouse to see Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi, a controversial passion play that depicts Jesus and the apostles as gay men. There were several parallels between the two works and it was an amazing opportunity to experience them intertwined. Both the book and the play are significantly about the prejudices that exist against homosexuals and the concept that love can be pure in any form. Both works explore issues of acceptance and have heroes that teach of unconditional love. There are even parallel scenes in the book and play where passages from the bible are used to both condemn and defend homosexuality, highlighting the propensity to pick and choose bible verses to support a point of view.

As we walked toward the theatre on Saturday evening, we were greeted warmly by two members of the Dayton Playhouse. Just behind the greeters stood several protestors… who really were not protesting as much as holding signs that quoted the bible. It was actually very peaceful and the chair of the Dayton Playhouse summed it up well by saying that the protestors had as much right to be there as they did in putting on the play. It made me very proud of my city that the cast and crew had the courage to put on such a controversial play… and that the protestors were not hateful or cruel in their demonstrations.

Tolerance is generally the first step of the journey that leads to acceptance and respect. In Kittle’s novel, that theme is told through several characters. One young character is full of hate but has a life changing experience that teaches him tolerance. The matriarchal figure loved her gay grandson but barely tolerated his lifestyle and partner; in the end she came to respect and accept them as a couple, recognizing the persecution of gays as being as tragic as the persecution of Jews during WWII. Last night at the show, there was tolerance between the protestors and the theatre. The play itself was a testament depicting the journey of persecution, tolerance, love and acceptance.

The parallels that could be made between the main characters of the play and the hero in the novel are amazing. Joshua (Jesus) in the play is teaching unconditional love, while Todd and Jacob epitomize unconditional love in the book. Both Joshua and Todd see the beauty in their persecutors and suffer immensely at death, while never losing their faith in humanity. Todd is revered by his family as virtually without fault, as is Joshua by the disciples.

Some of the novel’s critics saw Todd’s character as a caricature and attributed the sparse character development to the fact that is was Kittle’s first novel. I wonder if perhaps Todd and Jacob are intended to represent characters we all know well within our culture and that is why further development wasn’t necessary. I am also curious if Kittle was at all influenced by Terrance McNally’s script or if the similarities are merely a result of my interpretation. Regardless, I look forward to reading more work from this very compelling author, and possibly seeking her out at the Word’s Worth Writing Center where she is currently teaching seminars.