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The Stinky Cheese Man And Other Fairly Stupid Tales

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Based on the award-winning book by author Jon Scieszka, THE STINKY CHEESE MAN AND OTHER FAIRLY STUPID TALES comes to life on the Victoria Theatre stage and features hilarious adventures of well-known characters from tales such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Chicken Little, Princess and the Pea, Little Red Riding Hood and many more. Scieszka’s humorous fairytale parodies create a fun and educational afternoon for children and adults of all ages, and introduce the twists and turns in the lives of character counterparts such as The Stinky Cheese Man (The Gingerbread Man), Chicken Licken (Chicken Little) and The Really Ugly Duckling (The Ugly Duckling).

With the honor of receiving the Caldecott Award from the American Library Association and Best Illustrated Book (illustrator, Lane Smith) from the New York Times, THE STINKY CHEESE MAN AND OTHER FAIRLY STUPID TALES celebrates the book’s 20th anniversary of publication in 2012 by coming to life on stage and captivating audiences through humor and enjoyment.

Tickets for The Stinky Cheese Man are priced at a family-friendly $18 for adults and $16 for children (ages 12 and under).  Tickets are on sale now through Ticket Center Stage, and may be purchased at the Schuster Center box office in downtown Dayton or by phone, at (937) 228-3630 or toll free (888) 228-3630. Ticket Center Stage hours are Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday, noon – 4 p.m., and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

Support for Victoria Theatre Association’s Family Advocacy Program through the PNC Family Series is provided by SoBran, Inc. The official candy of Victoria Theatre Association’s PNC Family Series is Esther Price Candies Corporation. Think TV is the official Media Partner for the PNC Family Series.

For more information about the 2011-2012 PNC Family Series, visit: http://www.victoriatheatre.com/series/2011-2012-family/.

Ticket Contest

We have a family ticket four-pack to give away for this show on Saturday Feb. 4 at 1pm, courtesy of Victoria Theatre Association!  Just fill out the form below and we’ll pick a random winner on Thursday Feb. 2 at noon… Good Luck!

CONTEST CLOSED

Congratulations to Rebecca Monce – her name was randomly drawn… enjoy the show!

Two Twenty-Somethings Revitalize 78-Year Musical Tradition

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DPO presents Concertmaster’s Choice at site of Orchestra’s birth

To paraphrase Daphne du Maurier, “Last night I dreamt I went to Viterbo again.”

Viterbo is a little town among the hills forty miles north of Rome. It’s the site of a five-sided villa built in the Renaissance for the use of Cardinal Alexander Farnese. And, while I’ve never actually been to Viterbo, I have been to a building that very much resembles the Cardinal’s villa – the Dayton Art Institute.

Standing sentinel over the Miami River at the intersection of Belmont and Riverview Avenues, the 92-year-old Dayton Art Institute – or DAI – is a classical example of the Italian Renaissance architectural style that echoes the romance and beauty of the villa in Viterbo.

And the DAI is also the home of a time machine…of sorts – the Renaissance Auditorium. To attend a concert there is to step back in time to an era when grace and civility were hallmarks of a society that treasured its music and its musical heritage. And the trip begins at the entrance to the DAI.

Whether you enter from the parking lot on the Forest Avenue side or through the magnificent main entrance atop a set of two Italianate balustraded steps, you get the feeling that you are about to experience something special. Walking through either of the two high, entablature-topped, carved walnut doors to the Renaissance Auditorium, you’re suddenly transported back to 16th-century Italy.

Three tapestries adorn the Auditorium’s composite limestone brick walls, the base of which is green marble. In an opera setting for 500 concertgoers, a sloping floor makes the entire room feel smaller and considerably more intimate than its size would suggest.

The room is done in the Italian manor, with a painted ceiling of twenty alternating octagonal and rectangular Italian walnut coffers (ornamental sunken panels) with carved step molding. The four corners of the ceiling contain octagonal panels that echo the building’s design and represent the Arts of Sculpture, Painting, Music, and Literature. The ceiling’s center panel contains a dramatically lit sky scene, and the proscenium arch that surrounds the stage appears to be marble, but is actually painted walnut.

And, acoustically, there’s not a bad seat in the house.

Stand at stage center and talk in a normal tone of voice, and you can be heard clearly from the furthest points in the room. That’s the Auditorium’s finest feature. It was specifically designed for music, plays, and non-political lectures.

And the classical music heard here, totally unenhanced electronically, is the way the composers expected it to sound, the way you would have heard it had you been alive at the time of its composition. That includes not only small ensembles and chamber music groups, but full symphony orchestras as well.

In fact in 1933, two years before it formally incorporated, founder Paul Katz (then only 26) and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO) used the Auditorium to practice before performing two concerts there in June. After moving to Memorial Hall, the DPO continued to use the Auditorium as a rehearsal site until the 1960s.

On Thursday­, January 26 at 8pm, the DPO will perform in the Renaissance Auditorium once more in Concertmaster’s Choice, represented solely by DPO Concertmaster Jessica Hung accompanied on piano by Zsolt Bognár (his first name is pronounced “Zholt”; the Zs sounds like the “s” in pleasure). Like Paul Katz when he first performed there, both these musicians are in their twenties.

But Jessica’s performed there before. “I performed in the Renaissance Auditorium at the Dayton Art Institute for my recital last season,” she states, “and it is a very special place.”

And she has performed in enough places to make an accurate comparison. Violinist Jessica Hung is Concertmaster of not only the DPO, but she also serves as Concertmaster of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and previously held the same position in the Chicago Civic, Northwestern University, Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), and Ashland Symphony Orchestras. She was also Assistant Concertmaster with the Akron Symphony Orchestra.

“As a relatively new member of Dayton’s artistic community, it is an honor to be part of the city’s rich cultural history and to perform live right in the footsteps of my predecessors, surrounded by great works of both traditional and modern art.”

Zsolt Bognár joins Jessica for this engagement, adding his sensitive accompanist’s skills to four works for violin and piano by Beethoven, Franck, Prokofiev, and Gershwin.

­Born in Urbana, Illinois, in 1982, Zsolt carries triple citizenship in the United States, the European Union/Hungary, and the Philippines. In 2007 he was the recipient of a Distinguished Fellowship Award to the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, where he worked with Jerome Lowenthal and won the Carlisle Medal from the Wideman Competition the same year.

“I first performed with Zsolt before I actually met him,” Jessica remembers. “He is a few years older than I and had won the CIM Concerto Competition, and I happened to be in the orchestra that was accompanying him on Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major.  I thought his playing was phenomenal – technically superb, but most importantly characterized by real emotional depth, which I value in any musician. I was so spellbound by his cadenza (long solo section) at the concert that I almost forgot to come in afterwards!  Later, we met through a mutual friend and simply became good friends.”

“This is thankfully not the first time that I have worked with another soloist in a duo-recital setting,” Zsolt remarks. “Musical friendships are the most rewarding aspect of a performing artist’s activities, and a number of my musical partnerships from student days were not only rewarding, but several of my musical friends went on to hold major orchestral positions.”

Zolt has  known Jessica through school for about five years, and they met through friends. “Performing on stage with friends is my favorite way to make music – it becomes about sharing,” he states, “It’s a back-and-forth between the performers and the audience. Musical phrases and ideas take on a new meaning and authenticity when heartfelt, which is so much easier to sense when on stage with a close friend and musical colleague.”

Especially in the warm, resonant ambiance of the Dayton Art Institute’s Renaissance Auditorium…

Concertmaster’s Choice

Thursday­, January 26, 2012
6:30 pm, Dayton Art Institute Renaissance Auditorium ­

BEETHOVEN Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 4 in A minor NOTES
FRANCK Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major NOTES
PROKOFIEV Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in F minor NOTES
GERSHWIN (arr. HEIFETZ) Three Preludes for Violin and Piano NOTES

JESSICA HUNG concertmaster WEBSITE
ZSOLT BOGNAR piano WEBSITE 
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Follow the Yellow Brick Road

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MUSE MACHINE Wizard of OZMunchkins are gleefully rejoicing, Dorothy’s ruby pumps sparkle and Toto is behaving like a pro. The magical journey to Oz is taking shape as the Muse Machine, Dayton’s premier arts education organization celebrating its 30th anniversary, puts the finishing touches on its highly anticipated presentation of L. Frank Baum, Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg’s “The Wizard of Oz,” the Muse’s 28th annual student musical slated for January 12-15 at the Victoria Theatre.

Blessed with such beloved tunes as “Over the Rainbow,” “If I Were King of the Forest,” “Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead!” and “If I Only Had a Brain, “Oz” will be comprised of over 100 Muse students from across the Miami Valley on stage, backstage, and in the orchestra pit. Eighty additional youngsters from Dayton Public Schools will be assembled as citizens of Munchkinland. Principals include Madeline Shelton as Dorothy Gale, Dan Baugn as Hunk/Scarecrow, Davis Sullivan as Hickory/ Tin Man, Jeremiah Plessinger as Zeke/Cowardly Lion, Hayley Penchoff as Glinda, Odette Gutierrez del Arroyo as Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West, and Cameron Elliott as Professor Marvel, the Gatekeeper and the title role.

The large scale production, which uses John Kane’s familiar Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation of the iconic 1939 film, notably marks the directorial return of Drama Desk Award nominee Rufus Bonds, Jr. (“The Color Purple,” “The Lion King,” “Parade,” “Rent”) alongside New Orleans-based veteran Muse choreographer Lula Elzy. Muse Machine alum Timothy Olt, who has provided musical arrangements for the Muse summer concerts since 2009, serves as musical director, replacing longtime Muse musical director David Dusing.

With opening night practically within reach, the artistic team meticulously fine-tuned various elements at a recent rehearsal, fueling the Muse’s reputation for producing professional-caliber results. Bonds cautioned Baugn and Shelton to be mindful of the pace when the Scarecrow introduces himself to Dorothy. Following Shelton’s beautifully sincere rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” Olt advised her to use her instincts as a vocalist. During repeated run-throughs of “The Merry Old Land of Oz,” which incorporates twirls, firm arm movements, sharp hand gestures, and Elliott’s skillful tap dancing, Elzy encouraged the ensemble to remember the overall goal. “We’re striving for perfection,” she said. “You’re not performing for the audience, you’re in a scene. You’re having a conversation within the dance.”

Unlike his bold, reimagined approach to “Into the Woods” that startled Sondheim purists last year, Bonds says he purposefully strayed from conceptually tinkering with “Oz.” He approved inserting the jazzy if obscure “Jitterbug,” famously cut from the film yet retained in the score, but assures audiences the show is fundamentally based on the film’s roots and universal message.

“I kept the show as true as I could to the movie,” he said. “It’s what we know. It’s what we love. I didn’t want to put my own spin on it. I want the show to stay true to the integrity of the piece. The show is about possibilities, finding happiness. And happiness leads to finding a home, which is the foundation of your joy.”

Olt, a 1985 graduate of Kettering Fairmont High School and adjunct music professor at Miami University and Ohio Northern University, particularly finds enjoyment in the cast’s openness to discover “Oz” beyond the surface. In fact, he believes the show’s underlying themes continue to resonate with great meaning.

“’The Wizard of Oz’ has always been a part of my life, but when you’re young you don’t catch everything,” he said. “So I saw the movie again not too long ago and noticed issues such as segregation, slavery and discrimination. There really is a lot going on. And it’s great that the cast recognizes this show is more than just a musical.”

Muse memorably presented “Oz” in 1996 featuring a cast that included Tyler Maynard (currently appearing on Broadway in “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever”), Jill Paice (who recently appeared in “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” at New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse) and Tory Ross (who returns to Dayton next month starring as Rosemary Clooney in the Human Race Theatre Company’s production of the musical “Tenderly”). According to producer Douglas Merk, the organization had not planned to stage the show again, but ultimately felt it was the best option artistically and financially for 2012.

“’The Wizard of Oz’ has a positive message, is perfect for families and seemed to be the most viable for us in these difficult economic times,” he said. “A lot of theaters are struggling right now, but the reaction so far has been great. Many people are thrilled that we are doing it.”

Although the excitement of unveiling “Oz” is apparent for all involved, the fun and solidarity established during the rehearsal process has proven equally gratifying. Fittingly, the joy that will be evident on the Victoria stage will be a genuine reflection of the friendships within the cast.

“The Muse Machine offers the best of both worlds,” said understudy Steven Hix. “It’s about more than just the show. It’s a chance to meet so many special people.”

“The Wizard of Oz” will be presented Jan. 12-15 at the Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St. Performances are Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25-$59. For tickets or more information, call Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or visit www.ticketcenterstage.com

 

‘RED’ to Color the Loft Stage

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PAINTING by Richard Coatney

The New York Times calls RED “intense” and “exciting.”  The Chicago Tribune says it’s “stunning,” “compelling,” and “brilliant.”

The production of RED by The Human Race, Dayton’s own professional theatre company, will add at least one more adjective to the descriptions – “intimate.”  As highly-regarded as the big-stage productions have been, bringing famed artist Mark Rothko’s studio to life in the 219-seat Loft Theatre will make it an even more meaningful and personal event for theatergoers.

“What do you see?” asks Rothko in the opening line, and that line is the running theme of the play – what artists see, how they see it, how they hope viewers of their work will see it. RED manages both to be a look deep into the meaning of art and creation, and a scintillating study of Rothko, his relationship with his (fictional) assistant, Ken, and his conflicted views on commercialism.

What the audience will see involves a lot of painting, including preparation of a Rothko-sized canvas.

“It’s a glorious play,” says Human Race Resident Artist Michael Kenwood Lippert, who plays Rothko. “Rothko’s such an interesting character…he wanted people to use as much care looking at his art as he used in creating it.”

“It blew me away,” says Will Allan, who plays Ken. “Rothko’s larger than life, but Ken gives him another insight, while Ken gets invaluable lessons from Rothko.”

Michael Kenwood Lippert

Lippert is a very familiar figure through the Miami Valley, both from his performances with The Human Race, which go back to the company’s original production, Count Dracula, in 1986 and include such hits asOrphans, The Elephant Man, The Speed of Darkness and The Drawer Boy, and from his many years working in area schools for Muse Machine. He was a 2011 Governor’s Award for the Arts winner.

Allan is a local product, a 2005 graduate of Oakwood High School who now works out of Chicago, where he has been in two Jeff Award-winning Best Plays in the past three years (The History Boys and The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?). He recently became an Artistic Associate at Timeline, which the Wall Street Journal calls the Best Theatre Company in America, and was one of the Chicago Tribune’s 2011 Hot New Faces in Chicago Theatre.

“Michael and Will together are just combustible,” says director and Human Race Resident Artist Richard E. Hess, Chair of Drama at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, “It’s fantastic.” Hess knows fantastic – the most recent of his many contributions at The Loft were Doubt, A Parable and I Am My Own Wife.

Mark Rothko

“On its surface, RED is a play about Mark Rothko, and it’s immense enjoyment to see a man like that come to life.” Says Hess. “Below that is the story of a man struggling deeply with immortality, with what one leaves behind. It’s gut-wrenching to watch an artist paved with such humanity.”

RED will include a collaboration with the Dayton Art Institute. During the run, the DAI will have a loaned Rothko work on display, and the institute’s gift shop is offering a 10% discount in January to buyers who show a RED ticket or stub.

Heather Jackson is Stage Manager for RED.  Mark Halpin designed the set, Lacee Rae Hart the costumes, Resident Artist John Rensel the lighting and Rich Dionne the sound, with Heather Powell is the Properties Master.

RED will have a Preview Night at The Loft Theatre January 19, with official Opening Night January 20 and performances through February 5. Tickets are available via www.humanracetheatre.org , by calling Ticket center Stage at (937) 228-3630, or at the Schuster Center Box Office. Student tickets are half price for all performances, and 25 seats at each end of The Loft are being sold for just $25 as part of The Human Race’s 25th Anniversary Season.

(from Human Race Theatre)

Playhouse Welcomes 2012 with Rodgers & Hammerstein Favorites

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(from Dayton Playhouse)

A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING will delight audiences at the Dayton Playhouse from January 5 through January 15.  In addition to the normal Friday through Sunday performances, this presentation will also include special Thursday performances.

Veteran Playhouse artist, Richard Croskey, is directing and choreographing the play.  The cast features talented vocalists Matthew Bone, Carol Chatfield, Kathy Clark, Patricia Dipasquale Drul and Tom Lehmann. 

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING is an evening of music and romance. The musical review explores the broad spectrum of romantic relationships by way of more than thirty Rodgers & Hammerstein songs. Each of the team’s musicals is represented. The songs have all been placed in fresh theatrical settings, strung together so that the review “grows up” emotionally. The show is constructed as an emotional journey beginning with young infatuation and the awakening of real love, through the touching and funny complexities of commitment and marriage, the joys of parenthood, and finally, the power of enduring love. 

The book for A Grand Night for Singing was written by Walter Bobbie with music by Rodgers, lyrics by Hammerstein and musical arrangements by Fred Wells.

Performances will be Thursday through Sunday, January 5-15.  All performances are at 8:00 p.m. except Sundays, which are at 2:00 p.m.  Tickets are $15 for adults, $14 for seniors and $10 for students.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.daytonplayhouse.com, or through the box office, 937-424-8477, which is staffed Monday, Wednesday and Friday 2:00pm-5:00pm.  Messages may be left for the box office at anytime. The Dayton Playhouse is located at 1301 East Siebenthaler Ave, Dayton, OH 45414.

The Dayton Playhouse is a community theatre providing outstanding theatrical productions to Miami Valley audiences of all ages for more than fifty years. The Playhouse is nationally recognized for FutureFest, a festival of new plays.

For These Phantoms, Three Is Not a Crowd

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DPO presents Three Phantoms in Concert with tenor alumni of the leading Phantom of the Opera tours

If you have ever seen a live production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Phantom of the Opera, there is a better-than-even chance that you might have seen and heard at least one of the three Broadway stars who will share the stage of the Schuster Center on Friday, January 13 & Saturday, January 14 at 8pm with conductor Patrick Reynolds and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra in Three Phantoms in Concert.

Why? Because all three have played either the Phantom or Raoul or both on Broadway or in touring productions. In fact, they each have either played the lead, or appeared, in Cyrano, the Musical; Fiddler on the Roof; Anything Goes; Les Misérables; The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber; Show Boat; Jesus Christ Superstar; Sweeney Todd; Pirates of Penzance; Jekyll & Hyde; Evita; Fiddler On The Roof; and The Secret Garden.

The best Broadway leading men – Ciarán Sheehan, Gary Mauer, and Craig Schulman – will perform (in solo, duo and trio combinations) the best of the Broadway tunes written for tenor from Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, The Phantom Of The Opera, Guys and Dolls, Company, Kiss Me Kate, Most Happy Fella, The Secret Garden, Nine, Damn Yankees, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Sweeney Todd, and more.

Ciarán Sheehan has played the Phantom on Broadway and in Toronto for more than 1,000 performances. He has also appeared on Broadway in Les Miserables and as Raoul in Phantom for more than two years. Gary Mauer most recently starred in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera, playing Raoul. Craig Schulman is the only actor in the United States to have portrayed the Phantom; Jean Valjean in Les Misérables; and the title roles in Jekyll & Hyde.

Craig and Gary have both played in Les Mis, and all three have played in Phantom. Since all three are tenors, it begs the question, do they ever switch roles/song assignments from one show to the next? If so, what are some of the reasons they might do so?

“I try to keep the program the same, and everyone sings a standardized track in the concert,” Craig Schulman states. “I need to maintain pacing of the program and make sure that we’re all singing the same number of songs. We each, however, tell a story about the show in which we got our “big break” in show business, and then sing a song from that show. So the program changes slightly,” from tenor to tenor.

The bulk of the shows all three tenors have appeared in involve romance (Sweeney Todd, Secret Garden, etc. excepted). The songs in those shows, however, don’t always involve romance or romantic topics. I asked Craig which type of songs he prefers and which particular titles (especially of those he’ll be doing with the DPO) he prefers singing?.

“Personally, I always look for the 11 o’clock number,” Craig remarks, “so I sing Bring Him Home from Les Mis, This Is The Moment from Jekyll & Hyde, and of course, Music Of The Night from Phantom (the big three). Sometimes I switch with Gary; he may sing This Is The Moment, and I’ll take The Impossible Dream just for giggles.”

All three keep a strenuous concert schedule. I asked Craig what he likes/dislikes about life on the concert road. “I like the fact that the trips are short,” Craig notes, “as opposed to being on an extended tour. I don’t like being away from my wife and kids for too long. Dislikes? FLYING. Used to love it, but it sure ain’t no fun no more. Also, among my colleagues, my career has become almost exclusively concert performances,” he points out. “I love the concert performing, but it’s rather a solitary pursuit, and I miss the community of performers that are involved in a show.”

Which goes to show that, at least for this Phantom, three is definitely not a crowd.

Dayton Philharmonic Presents Three Phantoms in Concert

January 13 & 14 – 8pm

Schuster Performing Arts Center

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Telling American Stories in Pictures…with Music

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DPO presents Musical Gallery, honoring the life’s work of iconic American painter/illustrator Norman Rockwell

“I love to tell stories in pictures. The story is the first thing and the last thing.”

With those words Norman Rockwell summed up his modus operandi for a lifetime of artistic achievement. For forty-plus years, his illustrations of the covers of The Saturday Evening Post magazine became an integral part of American popular culture. The Willie Gillis and Four Freedoms series, Rosie the Riveter, and my personal favorite, Saying Grace, captured the essence of the beauty, joy, seriousness, and camaraderie of everyday American life.

Picture this: a small-town café peopled by working-class people. Two big, burly, cigarette-smoking truck drivers share a table with a small, red-headed boy and an older woman (ostensibly his grandmother). One trucker reads a menu; the other holds a cup of coffee and stares inquisitively at the woman and boy, both of whom have their heads bowed, their eyes closed, and their hands folded in prayer and saying grace.

That juxtaposition of characters, that slice-of-life realism was how Norman Rockwell told pictures in stories.

Organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum, American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell (At the Dayton Art Institute November 12, 2011 – February 5, 2012) is an exhibition spanning 56 years of his work (1914 – 1970) that traces his artistic contributions and the impact of his images on American popular culture.

Concurrently, on Fri­day, Ja­nu­ary 6 and Saturday, January 7, at 8 pm in the Schuster Center, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will present Musical Gallery, a concert program that features a Debussy prelude, the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by American pianist William Wolfram, and Rockwell Reflections, a study in Americana  by national and international award-winning composer Stella Sung.

For Rockwell Reflections, Stella Sung chose five seminal paintings by Norman Rockwell to use as points of departure for her compositions. Like Rockwell’s paintings, these compositions have a strong narrative quality. During the performance of Rockwell Reflections, the DPO will project imagery of these five of Rockwell’s most famous paintings on a screen above the DPO in the Mead Theater:

"Artist Facing Blank Canvas"

Artist Facing Blank Canvas, 1938

This painting is an unusual self-portrait. Rockwell does not show us his likeness; instead, the artist lets us look over his shoulder at a dilemma that ruled his working life. With clarity and wit he communicates his exasperation through such telling details as the head scratch, the splayed shirt collar, the upside-down horseshoe, and the rejected sketches piled on the floor.

The Stay at Homes, 1927

In this charming scene a boy and his grandfather seem to be lost in a reverie as they gaze out at a schooner leaving the harbor for open water. For the child such journeys are yet to come; for the grandfather the journeys are memories to be savored. Rockwell elaborates his theme with a swirl of gulls above the two figures. Birds in flight are an age-old metaphor for flights of imagination and spirit.

"Checkers"

Checkers, 1928

Rockwell’s painting illustrates a key moment in a short story about a circus clown named Pokey Joe. Pokey Joe has been suffering from self-doubt about his ability to perform. His friends and fellow performers organize a little deception to cheer him up, letting him win an important game of checkers. The painting captures Pokey Joe’s delight in his moment of triumph. Also apparent is Rockwell’s delight in painting the brilliantly colored circus setting.

In this musical composition, the DPO playing in the background represents the circus, while the individual players of the strings represent the five figures in the foreground of the painting. The concertmaster is the checkers player on the left and the principal cellist is the clown on the right. The dog that is quite content to continue sleeping is played by the viola that never changes pitch!

"Murder in Mississippi"

Murder in Mississippi, 1965

In the 1960s Rockwell began to do assignments for Look Magazine, which addressed important current events. The most dramatic painting of this period was Murder in Mississippi. Rockwell was horrified by the murder of three young, dedicated civil rights workers near Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964.  Klansmen stopped the three men at night on a deserted road, took them to a remote location, and shot them. Rockwell’s painting of their last moments is not a documentary. Instead, the artist created his work in the style of a formal heroic composition. It honors the courage and sacrifice of these three young men.

The Peace Corp, JFK’s Bold Legacy, 1966

Rockwell was deeply affected by the turmoil of the 1960s, the racial conflicts, assassinations, Vietnam War, and nuclear threat. Rockwell, though, always found a reason for optimism in young people. The Peace Corp represents this optimism in a group of profile portraits of young men and women looking up and outward toward a bright vision beyond the confines of the picture. The profile portrait composition is a reprise of his famous 1942 painting Freedom of Worship. Here, though, the faith that Rockwell celebrates is the spirit of the next generation to make the world a better place.

Exasperation. Reverie. Delight. Courage. Optimism. Those are the emotions, sentiments, and character traits that Norman Rockwell set down on canvas for us all to look at and see reflections of ourselves as people.

And as Americans.

Dayton Philharmonic Presents “Musical Gallery”

Ja­nu­ary 6 and January 7 at 8 pm

Schuster Performing Arts Center

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Dayton Ballet presents The Nutcracker

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Kettering Health Network and Vectren present Dayton Ballet’s 18th annual holiday production, The Nutcracker, December 9-11 and 16-18, 2011. Dayton Ballet has sculpted this classic winter gem to sparkle with Dayton shine, replacing traditional characters with historical Dayton figures, including Virginia Weiffenbach Kettering and Dayton Ballet founders, Josephine and Hermene Schwarz. Dayton Ballet’s professional and pre-professional companies will appear in nine magical performances over two weekends at the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.ticketcenterstage.com or by calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or (888) 228-3630.

Over 100 children from the Dayton Ballet School and 13 other area dance schools will take the stage in the Miami Valley’s only professional production of The Nutcracker, showcasing the critically acclaimed and nationally recognized Dayton Ballet Company, plus the Dayton Ballet II Senior and Junior Companies and students from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Ohio University dance departments.

Performances of Dayton Ballet’s The Nutcracker will play Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 11 at 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 18 at 2:30 p.m.

Celebrity Mother Ginger’s!

Mother Ginger is one of the most colorful and spirited characters in Dayton Ballet’s The Nutcracker. This year, several local celebrities have volunteered to appear on stage as Mother Ginger.  

  • Ryan Phillips , On-Air Personality and Promotions Director, from 94.5 Lite FM appears Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 PM.
  • Kim Faris, On Air Personality at 94.5 Lite FM, is a frequentMotherGinger guest, appearing for the fourth year in a row on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2:30 PM.
  • Neal Gittleman, Music Director for the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will make his debut appearance on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:30 PM.
  • Rachel Murray, news anchor from WHIO AM/FM and weekend announcer, a.k.a.RoxyReynolds, from K99 will debut on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 1:00 PM.
  • Dave Alexander from the Mix FM 107.7 morning show makes his second appearance on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2:30 p.m.
  • Mike Hartsock, from WHIO TV, News Center 7 Sports, will once again appear on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 2:30 p.m.

Don’t miss your chance to see Daytoncelebrities as Mother Ginger in Dayton Ballet’s The Nutcracker.

Have Tea with the Sugar Plum Fairy!

Enjoy an English Tea inspired luncheon at the SchusterCenteron Saturday, Dec. 10 from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Your ticket for the Sugar Plum Tea will include: desserts from the “Land of Sweets,” Sugar Plum Fairy crafts, listening to The Nutcracker story read by a special guest, pictures with a ballet dancer in costume and the opportunity to participate in a silent auction. You can purchase tickets to the Sugar Plum Tea from Ticket Center Stage. Discounted tickets to The Nutcracker may be purchased in conjunction with tickets to the Tea.

Enter The Nutcracker Coloring Contest!

Enter to win four tickets to Dayton Ballet’s The Nutcracker, four tickets to Behind the Magic Backstage Tour and autographed keepsakes from the Sugar Plum Fairy. In order to win, children must send Dayton Ballet their coloring page, which can be downloaded at the Dayton Ballet website.  Children may also send original artwork inspired by The Nutcracker. Only one entry per child will be considered; children must be between the ages of four and ten and every entry must include the child’s name, age, address, city, state, zip code, parent or guardian’s name, phone number and email on the back of the coloring page. The deadline for all entries is Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Entries must be mailed or delivered in person to Dayton Ballet 140 N. Main St. Dayton, OH, 45402.

“Behind the Magic” Backstage Tour

The Nutcracker at theSchusterCenter offers excitement and beauty as well as a fun learning experience. Following the Saturday matinee performances, Dayton Ballet will offer “Behind the Magic” BackstageTours (approximately 4:30 p.m.). For $10 patrons can take a backstage tour of theSchusterCenter, meet Dayton Ballet dancers and enjoy refreshments. Simply tell the ticket agent at Ticket Center Stage that you would like the Backstage Tour when you purchase your ticket.

Shop at Dayton Ballet.

If you and those on your holiday shopping list love all things ballet, visit the Ballet Boutique for all of your holiday shopping needs. You can purchase nutcrackers of all shapes and sizes, ballet trinkets and Dayton Ballet apparel to sport around town.

Get a Deal on Nutcracker Tickets.

Visit the Entertainment Book Online and check the Dayton Ballet website at, www.daytonballet.org, for a list of discount opportunities.

For tickets to Dayton Ballet’s The Nutcracker, the “Behind the Magic” Backstage Tour or the Sugar Plum Tea, call Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or (888) 228-3630 or visit online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.  Ticket Center Stage hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday Noon-4 p.m. and two hours prior to each performance.

Dayton Ballet’s season sponsor is Kettering Health Network. The Nutcracker is presented by producing sponsors Kettering Health Network and Vectren.  Performance sponsor is: The Soin Family; Dayton Ballet Media Sponsors include: WHIO TV, 94.5 Lite FM and Dayton Daily News. Additional funding is provided by Culture Works, Ohio Arts Council, Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District and Downtown Dayton Partnership.

We have tickets to give away!

CONGRATULATIONS Bethany Locklear – she won tickets for the 12/10 show!  BUT WAIT…  we have FOUR MORE PAIRS of tickets to give away for the remaining shows from 12/16-12/19 !  We’ll give away one pair for every ten “likes” we get on this article (we have 14 at the time of this update) – so be sure to hit the “like” button when you fill out the form.   We’ll announce the remaining winners on Tuesday 12/13 at 2pm – GOOD LUCK!

Contest Closed

Congratulations to our winners!

Janie Hummel
Andrea Hubler
Amy Price
Pam Elswick

Music on the Orient Express – DPO’s New Year’s Celebration

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DPO presents a New Year’s Eve musical journey from Paris to Vienna

There once was a long-distance passenger train that ran from Paris to Istanbul, crossing many international borders en route. It was just a train, nothing more. Perhaps the exotic locations it connected lent it an air of mystique. Perhaps it was something much more….

In 1883, the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits initiated railway service on a train it named the Orient Express. Its purpose was to carry passengers in relative style and comfort and provide an enjoyable travel experience.

It was, to say the least, an overachiever.

Imagine for a second what a trip from Paris to Vienna must have been like in 1883. In Paris, the City of Light, you would board the train at Gare de Strasbourg station for a 6:30 pm departure, and a mere 28 hours and 50 minutes later you would arrive in Vienna, Austria, the City of Waltzes. And while, admittedly, that is a very long time by today’s travel standards, the employees of Wagons-Lits did everything possible to make your trip optimally enjoyable.

It started with the train itself. In addition to the locomotive and other support cars, the Orient Express consisted of a baggage car, four sleeping coaches with a total of 58 beds, and a restaurant car.

And when Wagons-Lits said restaurant car, they meant restaurant car. A typical menu might include oysters, soup with Italian pasta, turbot with green sauce, chicken à la chasseur, fillet of beef with château potatoes, chaud-froid of game animals, lettuce, chocolate pudding, and a buffet of desserts.
Sort of like C’est Tout or Rue Dumaine, only on wheels.

Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra presents Paris to Vienna: A New Year’s Celebration on Saturday, December 31 at 8pm at the Schuster Center

At first Express d’Orient as the French called it ran only as far as Vienna and back; eventually it expanded its service as far as Istanbul. Regardless of its name and the frontiers it crossed, the Orient Express was as French as French gets. The various stations in the countries along its route lent the train an air of intrigue, and its method of operation and attention to style and personal comfort made it a world standard for luxury travel.
In her novel Murder on the Orient Express, prolific English mystery writer Agatha Christie immortalized the train. And, when he wrote the score for the 1974 film of the same name, Richard Rodney Bennett captured the spirit of the experience of riding the fabled train with a main theme written, fittingly, in the style of a luxurious romantic waltz. The song mimicked the movement of the train itself, starting haltingly (short wheel spins), slowly building tempo (gaining steam), and finally waltzing with abandon (running at top speed).

In 2009, the Orient Express ceased operation, shot in the operational heart by a bullet train, the 186-mile-per-hour TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse), and bombed out of the market by cut-rate airlines.

But its musical spirit lives on.

This New Year’s Eve, Saturday, December 31 at 8pm in the ­Schuster Center, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra presents Paris to Vienna: A New Year’s Celebration. It can be your ticket to a musical ride on the Orient Express.

Your journey starts in Paris, where the music of Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saëns, Jacques Offenbach, Emmanuel Chabrier, and Maurice Ravel gets your evening off and running at full speed.

Your musical train stops only once en route. And not for water. New Year’s Eve Intermission at the DPO features complimentary champagne!

Back on board, the musical program of light classics, opera arias, and festive favorites continues. Vienna is just around the next bend; the music of Johann Strauss, Jr., the Waltz King – overtures, marches, polkas, and (of course) waltzes – completes the journey.

And a balloon drop in the Mead Theater celebrates your arrival.

Bonne Année! A guads Neichs Johr olle mitanand!

Happy New Year!

TICKET CONTEST

We’ve partnered with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra to give away TWO PAIRS of tickets to Paris to Vienna: A New Year’s Celebration!  Simply fill out the form below for a chance to win – we’ll draw winners on Friday, December 9 at 2pm.  Check back here or on our Facebook page to find out if you are a winner… GOOD LUCK!

(Contest Closed)

Congratulations to our two random winners:

Vince Bryant

Julie Westwood

Happy New Year!

VTA presents Traces

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Victoria Theatre Association is bringing the exciting production “Traces” to Dayton starting December 6 through December 18.  From the Traces website:

Traces takes place in a make-shift shelter, an unknown catastrophe waiting outside the doors of tarp and gaffer tape. The seven characters constructed this clubhouse to live to the fullest what they believe could be their last moments, hoping to leave nothing unsaid or undone. In the face of this impending disaster they have determined that creation is the only antidote to destruction, and their brand of creation is the fleeting impulses and desires that extend through their bodies and unfurl onto stage – the story is told through music, song, dance, speech, illustration, and high-risk acrobatics. The characters use every mode of expression available to them, hoping to leave a lasting mark… to leave their traces as best they can.

As they tell the stories of their past and share their various personal strengths and weaknesses, the audience gets to know these seven performers from every possible angle. The familiarity grows, and the acrobatics – a seemingly “inhuman” element – takes on a startlingly human nature. At its heart, Traces celebrates seven individuals, their particular bond and their particular talents; their risk-taking; the ultimate affirmation of life; and their unbridled energy, proof of a collective pounding pulse.

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Traces is a production of the Montreal troupe Les 7 doigts de la main  which translates to “the 7 fingers of the hand” – representing the seven founding directors of the company and a twist on a French idiom (“the five fingers of the hand”) used to describe distinct parts united tightly, moving in coordination towards one common goal.  7 Fingers was founded in 2002 with a simple mission – bring circus to a human scale.  Traces, one of several shows under the 7 Fingers belt, is “a circus that lets its freak flag fly” (NYT).  Unlike mega-productions like Cirque du Soleil (where the founders of 7 Fingers came from), the performers in Traces share their own personal stories in an intimate setting as they combine acrobatics with contemporary dance and urban elements like basketball and skateboarding.

DaytonMostMetro.com is proud to be a media sponsor for Traces, starting at the Victoria Theatre on December 6th.  Tickets are on sale at TicketCenterStage.com.

TICKET CONTEST

We’re giving away THREE PAIRS OF TICKETS to see Traces!  Just fill out the form below for a chance to win – we have one pair of tickets for each of the following shows: 12/6, 12/7 and 12/8.  Winners will be announced on Friday December 2 at 2pm.  Good luck!

(contest closed)

Congratulations to our following winners!

Amy Forsthoefel

Trang Lickliter

Sarah Muench

Golden Dragon Acrobats – Family Fun at the Victoria Theatre

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Victoria Theatre Association announces the 2011-2012 PNC Family Series presentation of Golden Dragon Acrobats December 3 & 4 at 1pm and 3:30pm in the historic Victoria Theatre. Tickets are on sale now at the Ticket Center Stage Box Office, via phone 937.228.3630 or online.
Bring the whole family to Victoria Theatre for an amazing experience with the Golden Dragon Acrobats! From contortionists to an eight-person bicycle balancing act to breath-taking acrobatic ballet, Golden Dragon Acrobats will “wow” the audience with their amazing skills.  And while you’re there, check out the Wintergarden Wonderland for holiday fun!
Direct from China world-renowned impresario Danny Chang, choreographer Angela Chang and their Golden Dragon Acrobats combine award-winning acrobatics, traditional Chinese dance, spectacular costumes, ancient and contemporary music and theatrical techniques to present a show of breathtaking skill and spellbinding beauty. The award-winning Golden Dragon Acrobats center their show on 25 centuries of honored Asian skills and traditions. Their dazzling performances received standing ovations and critical acclaim on Broadway as well as two New York Drama Desk nominations for Unique Theatrical Experience and Best Choreography.
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The PNC Family Series is the largest and oldest performing arts series for children in the Miami Valley. For over 25 years, Victoria Theatre Association has presented quality, entertaining programs for families and friends of all ages. Don’t miss out on fun craft activities beginning one hour before each performance on both Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets for Golden Dragon Acrobats are priced at a family-friendly $20 for adults and $18 for children (ages 12 and under). Tickets are on sale now through Ticket Center Stage, and may be purchased at the Schuster Center box office in downtown Dayton or by phone, at (937) 228-3630 or toll free (888) 228-3630. Ticket Center Stage hours are Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday, noon – 4 p.m., and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

DMM Ticket Contest

We have a family four-pack to give away for the show on December 3, 2011 at 1pm courtesy of Victoria Theatre Association!  Simply fill out the form below to be entered for a chance to win.  We’ll announce winners here and on our On Stage Dayton Facebook page on Wednesday November 30 at 2pm – good luck!

(contest closed)

Congratulations to Heather Dabbs – she is our random winner!

Dayton Playhouse Presents “Scrooge!”

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Emily Cypher (Tiny Tim), Shannon Eastman (Kathy Cratchit) and Scrooge (David Shough)

The Dayton Playhouse is proud to bring the holiday musical “Scrooge!” to the stage December 9 – 18.  The play is being directed byJennifer Lockwood, with musical director Ron Kindell, and choreographer Debra Strauss.

Renowned writer-composer-lyricist Leslie Bricusse has adapted the classic Charles Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol, into the hit musical “Scrooge!”  The musical closely follows the classic story with the miserly Ebenezer undergoing a profound experience of redemption over the course of a Christmas Eve night, after being visited by the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.  Lockwood has assembled a talented cast to perform this beautiful adaptation.

In conjunction with the production of “Scrooge!”, the Playhouse will host a toy/collectibles raffle.  One of the toys is a reproduction of a toy automobile, which was made inDaytonin 1902.  The original toy was made by DP Clark Toy Company.  The reproduction was made and donated by Dick Cummings and Burt Saidel, both of Oakwood.  Cummings and Saidel are active volunteers atCarillonParkand have worked on many of the restorations at the park.  Cummings and his wife Dorothy have donated 190Daytonantique toys toCarillonPark.   Other items in the raffle will include a Breyer’s Winter Belle – 2011 Holiday Horse collectible donated by Dan Hall and a Victorian doll donated by Blue Turtle Toys.

Dayton Playhouse Cast of "Scrooge!"

Performances of “Scrooge!” will take place at the Dayton Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave, Dayton, OH45414.  Friday and Saturday performances are at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday performances are at 2:00 p.m.  Tickets are $10 for students, $14 for seniors and $15 for adults.  Tickets can be purchased at www.daytonplayhouse.org, or by calling the Playhouse box office 937-424-8477.  The box office is staffed by volunteers Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2-5 p.m.

(from Dayton Playhouse)

 

Victoria Theatre Association Presents: Les Miserables

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(Read our On Stage Dayton review of Les Misérables by Russell Florence, Jr.)

Victoria Theatre Association announces the cast for Cameron Mackintosh’s new 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables premiere Dayton engagement at the Benjamin & Marian Schuster  Performing Arts Center, November 22-27, 2011. The all new production of Les Misérables features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo.  To purchase tickets, visit www.ticketcenterstage.com, call 937-228-3630, or visit Ticket Center Stage Box Office, located in the Wintergarden of the Schuster Center. Ticket prices start at $40.00.  For more information on the production, engagement dates, and locations please visit www.LesMis.com. For a video sneak peek of the New 25th Anniversary Production of Les Misérables, please visit www.LesMis.com/watch.

J. Mark McVey portrays the fugitive Jean Valjean.  He is joined by Andrew Varela as Javert, Richard Vida as Thénardier, Shawna M. Hamic as Madame Thénardier, Betsy Morgan as Fantine, Jeremy Hays as Enjolras, Chasten Harmon as Éponine, Max Quinlan as Marius and Jenny Latimer as Cosette.  Maya Jade Frank and Juliana Simone alternate in the role of Little Cosette/Young Éponine.  Anthony Pierini and Sam Poon alternate in the role of Gavroche.

The New York Times calls Les Misérables “an unquestionably spectacular production from start to finish.” The London Times hails the new show “a five star hit, astonishingly powerful and as good as the original.”  The Star-Ledger says “a dynamically re-imagined hit.  This Les Misérables has improved with age” and NY1-TV proclaims “this new production actually exceeds the original. The storytelling is clearer, the perspective grittier and the motivations more honest. Musical theatre fans can rejoice: Les Miz is born again.”

“I’m delighted that 25 years after Les Miz originally opened in London the audience for this marvelous show is bigger and younger than ever before,” said producer Cameron Mackintosh. “Over the years I have seen many successful but visually different productions, so it has been exciting to draw inspiration from the brilliant drawings and paintings of Victor Hugo himself, integrated with spectacular projections.  The new Les Miz is a magnificent mix of dazzling images and epic staging, driving one of the greatest musical stories ever told.”

Based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Misérables is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit.  The magnificent score of Les Misérables includes the classic songs “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars,” “Bring Him Home,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?,” “One Day More,” “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” “Master Of The House” and many more.

Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s Les Misérables has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer from the original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, additional material by James Fenton and original adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. The original Les Misérables orchestrations are by John Cameron with new orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke and additional orchestrations by Stephen Metcalfe and Stephen Brooker.  The production is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, designed by Matt Kinley inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo with costumes by Andreane Neofitou and additional costumes by Christine Rowlands, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter, musical staging by Michael Ashcroft and projections by Fifty-Nine Productions.

Les Misérables originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on October 8, 1985, transferred to the Palace Theatre on December 4, 1985 and moved to its current home at the Queen’s Theatre on April 3, 2004 where it continues to play to packed houses. When Les Misérables celebrated its 21st London birthday on October 8, 2006, it became the World’s Longest-Running Musical, surpassing the record previously held by Cats in London’s West End.

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In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the legendary musical Les Misérables made theatrical history with an international first – three different productions in London at the same time. The Original Production (still playing to packed houses at the Queen’s Theatre), the acclaimed New 25th Anniversary Production at the Barbican (where the show originally premiered) and a celebratory concert at The O2 Arena.  The O2 Concert was presented in over 500 cinemas throughout the United States on November 17, 2010 and is now available on Blu-ray DVD through Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

The Broadway production of Les Misérables originally opened at the Broadway Theatre on March 12, 1987 and transferred to the Imperial Theatre on October 17, 1990 running for 6,680 performances.  The US National Tour began in November 1987 and visited over 150 cities before closing in St. Louis, MO in 2006.  Broadway audiences welcomed Les Miz back to New York on November 9, 2006 where the show played the Broadhurst Theatre until its final performance on January 6, 2008. To date, Les Misérables remains the 3rd longest-running Broadway production of all time.

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Seen by nearly 60 million people worldwide in 42 countries and in 21 languages, Les Misérables is undisputedly one of the world’s most popular musicals ever written, with new productions continually opening around the globe, with seven more currently scheduled. There have been 36 cast recordings of Les Misérables, including the multi-platinum London cast recording, the Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast and complete symphonic albums and the soon to be released live recording of the New 25th Anniversary Production. The video of the 10th Anniversary Royal Albert Hall Gala Concert has sold millions of copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling musical videos ever in the UK. There are over 2,500 productions of the Les Misérables School’s Edition scheduled or being performed by over 125,000 school children in the UK, US and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools. Cameron Mackintosh is currently developing a film of Les Misérables with Working Title and Universal.

Les Misérables is welcomed by Victoria Theatre Association, with the help of Leadership Sponsors WHIO-TV and the WinWholesale and The Win Group of Companies; and, Performance Sponsors WHIO AM/FM and K 99.1.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhg3hYA4_dY’]

TICKET CONTEST

We have a pair of tickets to see Les Misérables on November 23, courtesy of Victoria Theatre Association!  Just fill out the form below and you’ll be entered to win in our drawing on Friday November 18th.  Check back here on the 18th to see if you’ve won – GOOD LUCK!

Contest Closed

Congratulations to Amanda Barhorst, she is our winner!

Between a Rock and an Eternally Hard Place

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DPO presents a musical metaphor for our technology-dependent world

When I was a kid, it wasn’t all that unusual for one kid to call down his or her wrath on another. If you were really P-O’d at Bobby or Suzy, you might say something like, “I hope you fall down a deep well full of spiders that crawl in your ears and up your nose and suck your brains right out of your skull.”

Talk about spite.

And before you think such curses are child’s play, consider this: folklore is crammed with stories of people who actually did things as bad as that…and worse. For example….

In Greek mythology, there was a god named Prometheus, who committed an unpardonable crime – he brought fire to the world. For his crime, he was bound to a rock, where a giant bird picked away at his vitals in perpetuity. (They were eternally renewed and eternally destroyed each day.) Yeeeech!

After all, what was there for the gods to be so upset about? It was fire, for Pete’s sake. It heats homes, cooks food, melts metal. All good things. But obviously the gods had a different take on it.

And a brilliant American musical composer had a different take on it as well. He saw fire as representing technology, technology that has expanded for the last 500 years and drastically changed our society. Need an example?

Not quite 50 years ago, most businesses hired top- and middle-management personnel (mostly men) and supplied each with a secretary (mostly women), who performed all the clerical duties for the manager. Then technology, in the form of room-sized computers with all their support machinery (keypunch machines, optical character readers) changed the nature of the secretaries’ clerical duties to mostly those of a data entry clerk.

Not long after, managers found computer terminals on their desks replete with word processing and spreadsheet software. And looked up to see their secretaries were no longer there. An entire segment of the country’s workforce had disappeared; the company retained one secretary in each department, gave her the title of Administrative Assistant, and tasked her with hassling the various managers’ travel itineraries. In a short while, even she would disappear.

And the managers, both male and female now and armed with the new technology, became quasi-secretaries. As time passed and computer technology became infinitely smaller and more powerful it became all too prevalent for companies to dismiss large portions of their managerial staff and double the workload of those remaining. Why? To save money and increase profits.

And because they could.

Their managerial staff each had computers of their own so small that, if the managers couldn’t get all their work done in the 60-80 hours they spent in the office each week, they could simply take their computers (and their smart phones and tablets) home with them and do their work there. On their “free” time.

The American composer to whom I referred earlier is William Bolcom, a professor of composition at the University of Michigan. And his musical portrayal of the story of Prometheus follows in the footsteps of such other brilliant composers as Ludwig von Beethoven and Franz Liszt. But with a decidedly 21-st Century twist.

“We in the West have brought ourselves to a level of technical sophistication unknown to any other era,” Bolcom wrote in 2010. “We’ve wedged our way into almost-divine capability, unlike Prometheus who as a god was born with it – but at a price. We are now all Prometheus, chained to our rock of technological dependency; there is no question that our unprecedented advance has given the world enormous benefits we have no desire of relinquishing – nor should we – but we are enjoined to see the dark side of this bounty.”

And Bolcom’s Prometheus is a dark, and challenging, work.

Its musical materials are twisted, dissonant, uneven. The pianist represents Prometheus, and the chorus sings the text of Lord Byron’s poem of the same name. The orchestra is frenzied and explosive. The music gradually becomes more poetic, a salute to the spirit of mankind. Colorful. Peaceful.

Hopeful.

Promethean Exploits
 11/18 & 11/19 at 8 pm
 Schuster Center
Click For Tickets

On Friday and Saturday, November 18 and 19 at 8pm in the Schuster Center, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra presents Promethean Exploits, a program that features Beethoven’s Prometheus Overture, Bolcom’s Prometheus, Liszt’s Prometheus Symphonic Poem, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8. Guest pianist Jeffrey Biegel and the 120-plus members of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus, selected from singers from all over the Miami Valley, join Music Director Neal Gittleman and the DPO.

“When I was requested to write the present work for the same forces as Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy,” Bolcom writes, “I felt the piano part would be ideal in portraying Prometheus’ eternal agony; my Prometheus is perhaps the antithesis of the joyous mood of the Beethoven but is not devoid of hope, particularly if it points us to begin to understand our situation. This piece is dedicated to that hope.”

Dayton Playhouse’s “Master Harold… and the boys”

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L to R – Robert-Wayne Waldron as Willie; Ray Zupp as Hally; and Franklin Johnson as Sam

(from Dayton Playhouse)

You’re invited to share a wonderful evening of theatre and support the Dayton Playhouse.  Director Matthew Smith and his experienced cast will present the play Master Harold… and the boys as a Playhouse fundraiser.  The Play is written by Athol Fugard and is published by Samuel French.  This dedicated cast and crew have mounted the play on their own, in support of the Playhouse.

According to Brian Sharp, chairman of the Dayton Playhouse board, “We couldn’t be more excited about seeing this talented cast on our stage and we really appreciate their efforts in supporting the Playhouse.  This is a wonderfully moving play that everyone should see.   Our thanks go to Matt Smith and everyone who helped with this production.”

The story: Sam and Willie, two middle-aged African men have always been a part of seventeen-year-old Hally’s life, bonding despite the color barrier that could have easily separated them. With Hally’s tyrannical father on his way home after a stay at hospital, tension runs high and actions are regretted. A story about loyalty, acceptance and the pain involved with breaking the cycle of racism and violence.  Master Harold… and the Boys is a poignant drama highlighting important issues that still exist in today’s global society.

Smith has cast Franklin Johnson, of Dayton, in the role of Sam.  Robert-Wayne Waldron, also of Dayton, will play Willie, and Ray Zupp, of Vandalia, plays Hally.

The production is one weekend, November 4-6.  Friday and Saturday performances are at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.  The play will be presented at the Dayton Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave, Dayton, OH 45414.  Tickets are $10 general admission and may be reserved online at www.daytonplayhouse.org, or by calling the Dayton Playhouse box office 937-424-8477.  Box office hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2:00 -5:00 p.m. This show is not recommended for children under the age of 17 due to adult themes.  All proceeds from this non-season show will benefit the Dayton Playhouse.

WIN FREE TICKETS

DaytonMostMetro.com and Dayton Playhouse are giving away SIX PAIRS of tickets to see Master Harold… and the boys! Simply fill out the form below and we’ll draw two winners for each show.  GOOD LUCK!

Congratulations to our winners!

Friday 11/4
Cynthia Pauwels
Bethany Locklear

Saturday 11/5
Kristen Allen
Ria Megnin

Sunday 11/6
Patrick Santucci
Theresa Larson


Animal Heat That Lasts And Lasts And…

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DPO presents Three Dog Night in season kick-off of Rockin’ Orchestra Series

Exactly how does someone go about starting a rock band?

The most common approach involves amateurs with a burning desire to get into the music business, who meet at someone’s garage or rec room, set up their equipment, and begin by practicing cover songs, popular hits that most know by ear and for which few ever see any written music. Somewhere in the process, one or more of these aspiring rock stars will compose a song or two, and the group will practice performing its new, original music.

I don’t have access to the actual statistics, but I’m willing to bet that the overwhelming majority of these ventures end in years of mutually fond memories and little else. The music business is a hard taskmaster (this said from the perspective of personal experience).

Does it help if those involved in the startup of a rock band have some actual music industry experience? Definitely. A caveat here: there’s music industry experience, and then there’s music industry experience. Here’s a case in point….

It was the ‘60s. A young vocalist named Cory Wells was touring with Sonny and Cher, (music industry experience) when he met Danny Hutton, who had been loading and unloading records at the Disney studio (music industry experience, sort of…) before recording as a solo artist (music industry experience). See my point?

In 1968, they decide to pool their money and their talent and start a rock band of their own. But what to call the group? Hutton and Wells? Wells and Hutton? In the ‘60s, the conventional naming technique of referring to a group’s principal talent in its name had all but disappeared. While such groups as Loggins and Messina; Emerson, Lake and Palmer; and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young still followed the convention, the practice began to revert to one of picking highly unusual and often extremely esoteric names for rock bands, e.g., Buffalo Springfield, Jefferson Airplane, Crystal Harp, Steely Dan.

Not to be outdone, Hutton and Wells came up with a name that – while suitably cryptic to comply with the governing fashion – actually had a basis in conventional usage. Well, sort of…. It’s reputed that, on cold nights, Australian aborigines in the outback sleep with their dogs for warmth. The coldest evenings are known as three-dog nights….

Armed with a name that could stand toe-to-toe with the most enigmatic of band names, Three Dog Night went about ensuring that its name would not only be suitably mysterious, but it would also become a hallmark in the world of rock music for outstanding harmonies and arrangements. Virtually unknown itself, Three Dog Night threw in its lot with new and mostly undiscovered songwriters, recording music to the words and melodies of Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Elton John, Laura Nyro, Paul Williams, and Hoyt Axton.

And, man, did the evenings ever get warm.

Not to date myself, but I can remember water skiing at Lake Cumberland and Lake Herrington during summer days and joining my Ski Club buddies at night in our campground or in the lodge to enjoy a variety of refreshing liquid beverages and dance to the music of Three Dog Night. I found it amazing how upwards of sixty men and women could dance and – at one and the exact same time, with little or no direction – sing Jeremiah was a bullfrog; he was a good friend of mine completely in tune! Hey, this is my flashback; I can remember it the way I want, right?

Three Dog Night: Live with Orchestra at The Schuster Performing Arts Center
Saturday 11/12/2011 8pm
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Joy to the World wasn’t the only one of Three Dog Night’s hits we and the rest of the world danced and sang to. After all, the group has had twenty-one consecutive Top 40 hits and twelve straight gold LPs, selling nearly 50 million records by the mid-‘70s. And the group continues to top the list of artists with the best Billboard Top 100 Chart average.

Still as good as ever, the 2011 version of Three Dog Night appears to be tireless. Beside founding members Cory Wells and Danny Hutton on lead vocals and original keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon, the group now includes guitarist Michael Allsup, with Paul Kingery on bass and vocals and Pat Bautz on drums.

Their concert schedule is, to say the very least, formidable. In the last 25 years, the group has performed over 2,000 shows, including two Super Bowls. They were so busy, in fact, that it wasn’t until 2009 that the group released its first single in all that time, Heart Of Blues backed by the ballad Prayer of the Children. Face it; you rest, you rust.

43 years after it started, Three Dog Night looks back on a career that resulted in a body of work with 21 songs that became Top 40 hits. Reading the names of some of those titles, I can hear the music in my head: Mama Told Me, Joy to The World, Black And White, Shambala, Easy To Be Hard, An Old Fashioned Love Song, One, Eli’s Coming, and Celebrate.

If you want to hear them again, go to the Schuster Center on Saturday, Nov­ember 12 at 8 pm for Three Dog Night: Live with Orchestra. Experience Three Dog Night, backed by Music Director Neal Gittleman and the DPO. It might be cold outside, but don’t worry.

They’ve got the dogs to keep you warm.