Noel Coward is one of the finest exemplars of the axiom, “With words we rule men”. There are so many of Aisle Say's own personal enemies out there – some even reading this column – about whom I could say “You'll never die....(unfortunately) you're not the dying sort.”
There is great skill attached to reciting dialog from such a prolific, urbane, clever and down right funny word smith. One's diction must be rapier precise; one's timing must be naturally born and one's eyebrows must be forever arched in devil-may-care insouciance.
While from my seat I could not see the angle of the actors' collective eyebrows, otherwise the acting ensemble at DE Theater Company achieved all the elements in performance of a Coward script.
Director Domenec Scudera assembled the most skilled actors in this DTC season. There were multiple attempts at physical humor early on with klutzy maid Edith (Sarah Doherty) that had no basis in the real world as Aisle Say (and dear sister Liz) perceives it. The pratfalls were both a stretch and an eye rolling strain to credulity. Otherwise the pace was swift and the acting confidant.
A full house on opening night was greeted by a set (Designer John Raley) clever by two for a Coward play. The audience sitting center and left saw a dining room through double doors and a foyer. A very inventive conceit by Raley.
Husband / wife team of Dr. Bradman (Peter DeLaurier) and Mrs. Bradman (Ceal Phelan), two-thirds of the founding team of DTC in 1973 – along with Cleveland Morris – returned to their own 'haunts'...(this IS “Blithe Spirit, you know)! Phelan has played both Ruth and Elvira in past productions of her storied and enviable career.
Act II was the most fun. The characters had been introduced in the bit longish and drawn out first. But now the energy level rose and the story went a pretty pace.
Charles (James Michael Reilly) maintained a calm demeanor on the exterior with a more or less evil one inside. (I surmise wishing one's wife dead would be categorized that way. However, it's all in the execution, is it not?)
Ruth (Christie Parker) expressed love for her husband, disbelief at this blithe spirit taking over their home and a wonderful justification in her vengeance.
Beth Hylton (Elvira) took over the audience upon her first entrance. Great theatre is about surprise. Coward knew that. That's why, in 1941, with the dread of the German bombing of London he wrote the show in 6 days. Elvira surprised us with her bouncy exuberance from her entrance and we were hooked.
The comedic star of the show was Madame Arcadi (Meghan Colleen Moroney). Never without a witty, compelling and jaw dropping repartee to her inquisitors, she was a delight. We were convulsed as she walked about the sitting room surveying for fairies, apparitions or whatever blithe spirits she was divining for.
Through March 20. DelawareTheatre.org 594.1100
Showing posts with label delaware theatre company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label delaware theatre company. Show all posts
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
BestofBroadwayProductions.com and other ruminations
In the early weeks of January, Aisle Say has little to do but thirst for the second part of the theatre season. His idle mind causes him to ruminate on a veritable devils' playground of national issues.
My editor may arch his eyebrow over this diversion below, but I suggest that arts columnists – who witness the ills of society play-acted on stage - have world perspectives. One might say that, but then again, one might be stretching the argument. In any case, I pontificate on two ingrained problems in America, certainly neither one original with me:
1. Flat Tax Income Tax: A statement from a national taxpayer advocate multiplied the IRS' own estimates of how much time individuals and businesses spend complying with the code. 6 million hours annually. That's the equivalent of 3 million workers toiling full time for a year. This adds to US productivity?
2.Congressional Term Limits: Of the 27 Amendments to the Constitution, seven took 1 year or less to become the law of the land. Why? The people demanded it. They were fed up. There is a grass roots movement afoot for Congressional Term Limits: 12 years max! Either two 6 year Senate terms and six 2 year House terms. The Congressman has no tenure and no pension. No self-voted pay raises. Current Congress health care plan is abolished. They pay like everyone else.(There's a concept!) Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. One would consider this amendment would greatly reduce the inflammatory posturing and vitriol of the past 4 years.
Okay, Editors, now back to my day job....Thankfully! A preview of the upcoming months of local groups
1.New Candelight Theatre is staging two shows never before produced in the state. “Cats” runs from 28 Jan to 20 March. Producing Artistic Director Chris Alberts, who designs lights, should be lit up with this challenge. “The Full Monty”, opening 8 April, centers on four down and out steel workers from Buffalo NY who are desperate for cash. They turn to stripping to earn an income. The show is rated R for language and nudity. No one under 17 even allowed. That's a long way from the recent “Suessical”. NCTStage.org 302.475.2313
2.The Resident Ensemble Players (REP) of the U of D open 2011 with the Tennessee Williams' classic, “The Glass Menagerie”. Two of my favorite REP actors, Carine Montbertrand and Michael Gotch are lead characters. Both play 'distracted', 'obsessed', 'unhinged','psychotic' so exceedingly well. (The 'why' of it will be left for a future column.) Following in quick succession is “All The King's Men” on 17 Feb. This is the compelling drama of The Kingfish, Mississippi's Huey Long. Long was a power broker and supreme wheeler dealer in the LBJ matrix. Vietnam brought LBJ to his knees. With Long it was greed and hubris – the middle name of most politicians. His fall from grace was both extraordinary and tragic. I would imagine that Sandy Robbins chose this show to engage the audience with thoughts of current political shenanigans. Pttp.udel.edu 302.831.2204
3.Wilmington Drama League. Choreographer Jody Anderson returns for “Five Guys Named Moe” opening 21 Jan. The difficult to watch but absorbing “The Elephant Man' opens 18 March. The cast has not been publicized but for the lead character, here is an opportunity for a tour de force. WilmingtonDramaLeague.org 302.764.1172
4.Delaware Theatre Company opens with “Lucy” on 19 Jan. Vivian, a brilliant scientist, is called to take care of her estranged daughter, 13 year old Lucy. The child is autistic. One would think mother/daughter dynamics are played out and perhaps some answers and insights about this dreadful and challenging condition. DelawareTheatre.org 302.594.1100
5.Best of Broadway Productions. Join my newly revamped singing Ensemble at Bella Vita at The Cavalier's Country Club. Four outrageously talented singers and Broadway tunes. A grand and sumptuous buffet from former 3 Bakers chef John Obykhan. 17 Feb at 11:30am and 18 Feb . at 8pm. BellaVitaccc.net 302.731.5600
My editor may arch his eyebrow over this diversion below, but I suggest that arts columnists – who witness the ills of society play-acted on stage - have world perspectives. One might say that, but then again, one might be stretching the argument. In any case, I pontificate on two ingrained problems in America, certainly neither one original with me:
1. Flat Tax Income Tax: A statement from a national taxpayer advocate multiplied the IRS' own estimates of how much time individuals and businesses spend complying with the code. 6 million hours annually. That's the equivalent of 3 million workers toiling full time for a year. This adds to US productivity?
2.Congressional Term Limits: Of the 27 Amendments to the Constitution, seven took 1 year or less to become the law of the land. Why? The people demanded it. They were fed up. There is a grass roots movement afoot for Congressional Term Limits: 12 years max! Either two 6 year Senate terms and six 2 year House terms. The Congressman has no tenure and no pension. No self-voted pay raises. Current Congress health care plan is abolished. They pay like everyone else.(There's a concept!) Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. One would consider this amendment would greatly reduce the inflammatory posturing and vitriol of the past 4 years.
Okay, Editors, now back to my day job....Thankfully! A preview of the upcoming months of local groups
1.New Candelight Theatre is staging two shows never before produced in the state. “Cats” runs from 28 Jan to 20 March. Producing Artistic Director Chris Alberts, who designs lights, should be lit up with this challenge. “The Full Monty”, opening 8 April, centers on four down and out steel workers from Buffalo NY who are desperate for cash. They turn to stripping to earn an income. The show is rated R for language and nudity. No one under 17 even allowed. That's a long way from the recent “Suessical”. NCTStage.org 302.475.2313
2.The Resident Ensemble Players (REP) of the U of D open 2011 with the Tennessee Williams' classic, “The Glass Menagerie”. Two of my favorite REP actors, Carine Montbertrand and Michael Gotch are lead characters. Both play 'distracted', 'obsessed', 'unhinged','psychotic' so exceedingly well. (The 'why' of it will be left for a future column.) Following in quick succession is “All The King's Men” on 17 Feb. This is the compelling drama of The Kingfish, Mississippi's Huey Long. Long was a power broker and supreme wheeler dealer in the LBJ matrix. Vietnam brought LBJ to his knees. With Long it was greed and hubris – the middle name of most politicians. His fall from grace was both extraordinary and tragic. I would imagine that Sandy Robbins chose this show to engage the audience with thoughts of current political shenanigans. Pttp.udel.edu 302.831.2204
3.Wilmington Drama League. Choreographer Jody Anderson returns for “Five Guys Named Moe” opening 21 Jan. The difficult to watch but absorbing “The Elephant Man' opens 18 March. The cast has not been publicized but for the lead character, here is an opportunity for a tour de force. WilmingtonDramaLeague.org 302.764.1172
4.Delaware Theatre Company opens with “Lucy” on 19 Jan. Vivian, a brilliant scientist, is called to take care of her estranged daughter, 13 year old Lucy. The child is autistic. One would think mother/daughter dynamics are played out and perhaps some answers and insights about this dreadful and challenging condition. DelawareTheatre.org 302.594.1100
5.Best of Broadway Productions. Join my newly revamped singing Ensemble at Bella Vita at The Cavalier's Country Club. Four outrageously talented singers and Broadway tunes. A grand and sumptuous buffet from former 3 Bakers chef John Obykhan. 17 Feb at 11:30am and 18 Feb . at 8pm. BellaVitaccc.net 302.731.5600
Friday, January 7, 2011
DE Theatre Co paddling upstream
There are few First Staters who have on their theatrical resume being part of the opening night audience of Delaware Theatre Company 32 years ago. Aisle Say was there.
The venue was a converted firehouse. The visionary producer/director was Cleveland Morris. Within a short period Morris had convinced various influential arts advocates to create Wilmington's first professional theatre at the Riverfront, a hodgepodge of scarred and abandoned buildings left over from WWII ship building days.
Morris' brand of 'pioneering' was of the Major John Wesley Powell mold. In 1869 Powell , a one-armed Civil War veteran embarked with ten men and four wooden boats through the unchartered depths of The Grand Canyon. Their 1000 mile trip would take 3 months and only 5 men survived. The journey changed the face of the West. There are analogies to Cleveland Morris' accomplishments.
While not a season subscriber, I witnessed many of the productions in the ensuing decades. The opportunities with The Community News and Aisle Say has required I chat about most of their offerings in the last three years.
Presently they are through two of the five productions for this season.
I have come to the conclusion: Why? Why do they exist in their present form and what are they accomplishing.
The stated mission is to provide theatre of the highest quality in Delaware and enrich the vitality of the area through artistic programming, education and community service. All good and noble. With all but the first they meet these standards.
After the messy public firing of Artistic Director Anne Marie Cammarado, the managing staff at the theatre had to reconfigure this season. They brought back 'Sylvia' by A.R.Gurney. It was promoted as an 'audience favorite'. More likely it fit the financial pre-conditions listed below. On the opening night I was in attendance and counted the audience at 50%. Seats were less than half at 'Around the World in 80 Days' two months later.
I may be wrong, but I can't believe that their next show, 'Lucy', that no one has heard of is going to have queues reaching to Harry's Riverfront. The subject matter involves a mother who now must take care of her estranged autistic daughter.
Certainly not every production must be reminiscent of “I Love Lucy”, but most people wish to simply be entertained, case closed. Aisle Say does not believe our market is that sizable to embrace such a subject with respectable attendance numbers.
Next up comes Noel Coward's 'Blithe Spirit', not at his wittiest. (See 'Private Lives' for that). DTC promotion material states that 'Blithe Spirit' is British humor at its wittiest. (See Oscar Wilde for that).
The overriding issue I imagine is money. A few times during his adventure Major Powell was caught in a 'whirlpool'; a depression of the water surging around the boat keeping it swirling and swirling around in a endless circle. The only way out is to get pulled out by a rescuer on land. DTC does not have a Tatiana Copeland at the ready to throw a lifeline.
The fiscal constraints mean their choices must follow these requisites: small cast, bargain basement royalties, unit set, lean costuming and no high tech production values.
I wish no one to lose their job. In fact, DTC's various outreach programs for kids, including “Totally Awesome Kids” is just that, totally awesome and essential. Leader Charlie Conway has created a rich legacy in the community.
Here is Aisle Say's suggestion for 2011. Reach out to Sandy Robbins, Producing Artistic Director of the U of D REP Ensemble. This production company is far and away the greatest professional theatre in the state. (If any readers of my reviews on the REP know, I gush over them like Danny over Sandy in “Grease'.) They are heavily subsidized by the university. Their ticket prices are $10.00 less than DTC and the productions are many times better...in every theatrical aspect.
I saw Robbins at 'Sylvia'. In fact, the REP had an ad in the program. Begin conversations to have The REP aid in various artistic decisions; even interning. The venue could even become a UD satellite. All jobs could be saved and everyone in the community benefits. I will send this column to Robbins and see what he thinks. DTC has done great stuff. In this economy, Aisle Say does not see them being rescued from their dizzying whirlpool on their own.
The venue was a converted firehouse. The visionary producer/director was Cleveland Morris. Within a short period Morris had convinced various influential arts advocates to create Wilmington's first professional theatre at the Riverfront, a hodgepodge of scarred and abandoned buildings left over from WWII ship building days.
Morris' brand of 'pioneering' was of the Major John Wesley Powell mold. In 1869 Powell , a one-armed Civil War veteran embarked with ten men and four wooden boats through the unchartered depths of The Grand Canyon. Their 1000 mile trip would take 3 months and only 5 men survived. The journey changed the face of the West. There are analogies to Cleveland Morris' accomplishments.
While not a season subscriber, I witnessed many of the productions in the ensuing decades. The opportunities with The Community News and Aisle Say has required I chat about most of their offerings in the last three years.
Presently they are through two of the five productions for this season.
I have come to the conclusion: Why? Why do they exist in their present form and what are they accomplishing.
The stated mission is to provide theatre of the highest quality in Delaware and enrich the vitality of the area through artistic programming, education and community service. All good and noble. With all but the first they meet these standards.
After the messy public firing of Artistic Director Anne Marie Cammarado, the managing staff at the theatre had to reconfigure this season. They brought back 'Sylvia' by A.R.Gurney. It was promoted as an 'audience favorite'. More likely it fit the financial pre-conditions listed below. On the opening night I was in attendance and counted the audience at 50%. Seats were less than half at 'Around the World in 80 Days' two months later.
I may be wrong, but I can't believe that their next show, 'Lucy', that no one has heard of is going to have queues reaching to Harry's Riverfront. The subject matter involves a mother who now must take care of her estranged autistic daughter.
Certainly not every production must be reminiscent of “I Love Lucy”, but most people wish to simply be entertained, case closed. Aisle Say does not believe our market is that sizable to embrace such a subject with respectable attendance numbers.
Next up comes Noel Coward's 'Blithe Spirit', not at his wittiest. (See 'Private Lives' for that). DTC promotion material states that 'Blithe Spirit' is British humor at its wittiest. (See Oscar Wilde for that).
The overriding issue I imagine is money. A few times during his adventure Major Powell was caught in a 'whirlpool'; a depression of the water surging around the boat keeping it swirling and swirling around in a endless circle. The only way out is to get pulled out by a rescuer on land. DTC does not have a Tatiana Copeland at the ready to throw a lifeline.
The fiscal constraints mean their choices must follow these requisites: small cast, bargain basement royalties, unit set, lean costuming and no high tech production values.
I wish no one to lose their job. In fact, DTC's various outreach programs for kids, including “Totally Awesome Kids” is just that, totally awesome and essential. Leader Charlie Conway has created a rich legacy in the community.
Here is Aisle Say's suggestion for 2011. Reach out to Sandy Robbins, Producing Artistic Director of the U of D REP Ensemble. This production company is far and away the greatest professional theatre in the state. (If any readers of my reviews on the REP know, I gush over them like Danny over Sandy in “Grease'.) They are heavily subsidized by the university. Their ticket prices are $10.00 less than DTC and the productions are many times better...in every theatrical aspect.
I saw Robbins at 'Sylvia'. In fact, the REP had an ad in the program. Begin conversations to have The REP aid in various artistic decisions; even interning. The venue could even become a UD satellite. All jobs could be saved and everyone in the community benefits. I will send this column to Robbins and see what he thinks. DTC has done great stuff. In this economy, Aisle Say does not see them being rescued from their dizzying whirlpool on their own.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
"Sylvia" a HOWL at DE Theatre Co
Man's love of his four footed pooch knows no boundaries, at least in the mind of renown playwright A. R. Gurney. Greg (Kurt Zischke) and wife Kate (Hollis McCarthy) are empty nesters. Greg is suffering through an insufferable mid-life crisis. He encounters a stray dog Sylvia (Maggie Lakis) in the park and the bond the two acquire is a Gordian knot that the pragmatic Kate cannot sever.
It's a comedy that explains in human terms just what and how your dog would be responding to you if the mutt could do more than whimper and bark and lick and growl. In the first act, when Greg brings Sylvia to the NYC apartment, he asks her, “Did you just pee on the rug?” Sylvia says, “Greg, I won't dignify that with an answer!”
Greg is totally mesmerized by this cuddly lap dog and sighs, “Oh, Sylvia, I would just love to know about your former owner.” Replies a droll Sylvia, “Oh, come on, all present owners want to know that!”
Exclaimed an animated Delaware Theatre patron at intermission, “Yes, that's exactly what (insert name of his dog) would say to me. I know it!. My dog is just like Sylvia!”
Director David Stradley keeps action and movement at a pretty pace. Employing a unit set, he and Lighting Designer Shelley Hicklin devise a creative way to change scenes through the apartment windows.
Lakis plays a cuddly and charismatic canine. We have no reason to believe she is anything but a dog. Her physical action; cavorting around the apartment, lifting her leg between the legs of an embarrassed guest, scratching, etc, was just enough to give us the impression of doggie behavior.
At times we thought Zischke's Greg so shallow and excruciatingly self centered. Choosing a dog over his wife? At other times we heard him as as The Everyman of mid life depression. Zischke reached down in his soul and got through to us.
Aisle Say hoped that McCarthy's Kate would simply go off the deep end and grab and shake her husband. Gurney did not write it that way. Through her eyes we saw her rage and her pain and perhaps that was sufficient.
The comic award goes to multi-talented and cross-dressed David Jadico. Aisle Say has previously enjoyed his mayhem in Philadelphia theatre. Playing three roles, his scene as Phyllis boosted the energy of Act I. One could not take their eyes off his over the top drag queen mannerisms.
The actors are better than the script. The play was disjunctive, the playwright stuffing incongruous bits of dialogue that did not progress the action. Why the Cole Porter tune sung as a threesome? Why the Shakespearean tidbits from Kate said directly to the audience? (The only time in the production where the fourth veil was pierced). And even Stevie Wonder could see the final resolution coming a mile away...and it was too doggoned schmaltzy.
“Sylvia” was a promising beginning to DTC's 32nd season. The production was done several years ago. It's finally time to consider euthanasia. Next up is “Around the World in 80 Days”.
Through November 7. 302.594.1100. DelawareTheatre.org
NOISES OFF at Cab Calloway
Coming on the heels of one of Cab Calloway's teachers being named DE Teacher of the Year, Cab's theatre-minded students are staging what is arguably the funniest farce ever written, “Noises Off”. An ambitious director and his troupe of exceedingly mediocre players are rehearsing a titanic flop entitled “Nothing's On”. The actors forget lines, hysterically forget their characters and prat fall all over the place. There are too many slamming doors to count. In fact, when Aisle Say visited a rehearsal this week, 9 doors were counted in this gargantuan set designed and built by undeniably the most energetic and overworked tech department of any high school in the state.
Running Thursday, Friday and Saturday November 4-6 @ 7pm. Tickets at $10.00.
302.651.2700 CabCallowaySchool.org
It's a comedy that explains in human terms just what and how your dog would be responding to you if the mutt could do more than whimper and bark and lick and growl. In the first act, when Greg brings Sylvia to the NYC apartment, he asks her, “Did you just pee on the rug?” Sylvia says, “Greg, I won't dignify that with an answer!”
Greg is totally mesmerized by this cuddly lap dog and sighs, “Oh, Sylvia, I would just love to know about your former owner.” Replies a droll Sylvia, “Oh, come on, all present owners want to know that!”
Exclaimed an animated Delaware Theatre patron at intermission, “Yes, that's exactly what (insert name of his dog) would say to me. I know it!. My dog is just like Sylvia!”
Director David Stradley keeps action and movement at a pretty pace. Employing a unit set, he and Lighting Designer Shelley Hicklin devise a creative way to change scenes through the apartment windows.
Lakis plays a cuddly and charismatic canine. We have no reason to believe she is anything but a dog. Her physical action; cavorting around the apartment, lifting her leg between the legs of an embarrassed guest, scratching, etc, was just enough to give us the impression of doggie behavior.
At times we thought Zischke's Greg so shallow and excruciatingly self centered. Choosing a dog over his wife? At other times we heard him as as The Everyman of mid life depression. Zischke reached down in his soul and got through to us.
Aisle Say hoped that McCarthy's Kate would simply go off the deep end and grab and shake her husband. Gurney did not write it that way. Through her eyes we saw her rage and her pain and perhaps that was sufficient.
The comic award goes to multi-talented and cross-dressed David Jadico. Aisle Say has previously enjoyed his mayhem in Philadelphia theatre. Playing three roles, his scene as Phyllis boosted the energy of Act I. One could not take their eyes off his over the top drag queen mannerisms.
The actors are better than the script. The play was disjunctive, the playwright stuffing incongruous bits of dialogue that did not progress the action. Why the Cole Porter tune sung as a threesome? Why the Shakespearean tidbits from Kate said directly to the audience? (The only time in the production where the fourth veil was pierced). And even Stevie Wonder could see the final resolution coming a mile away...and it was too doggoned schmaltzy.
“Sylvia” was a promising beginning to DTC's 32nd season. The production was done several years ago. It's finally time to consider euthanasia. Next up is “Around the World in 80 Days”.
Through November 7. 302.594.1100. DelawareTheatre.org
NOISES OFF at Cab Calloway
Coming on the heels of one of Cab Calloway's teachers being named DE Teacher of the Year, Cab's theatre-minded students are staging what is arguably the funniest farce ever written, “Noises Off”. An ambitious director and his troupe of exceedingly mediocre players are rehearsing a titanic flop entitled “Nothing's On”. The actors forget lines, hysterically forget their characters and prat fall all over the place. There are too many slamming doors to count. In fact, when Aisle Say visited a rehearsal this week, 9 doors were counted in this gargantuan set designed and built by undeniably the most energetic and overworked tech department of any high school in the state.
Running Thursday, Friday and Saturday November 4-6 @ 7pm. Tickets at $10.00.
302.651.2700 CabCallowaySchool.org
Friday, August 27, 2010
Upcoming Theatre Season in DE
Aisle Say recently commented on the upcoming seasons of The REP Ensemble of the UD and The Media Theatre. Local houses have some entertaining surprises.
WILMINGTON DRAMA LEAGUE
Wilmington Drama League opens September 17 with a classic penned by Lillian Hellman's “The Children's Hour”. The drama is set at an all girls boarding school. An angry student runs away and to prevent being returned fabricates a lie about the two headmistresses and a lesbian affair; destroying the women's careers, their relationship and their lives.
Following in October is one of the great dance musicals of all time, “Chicago”. Original Broadway Director/Choreographer Bob Fosse created – next to Russian ballet legend Petipa - the most celebrated and imitated dance movements of all time. New Candlelight Theatre co-founder Jody Anderson, an extremely talented choreo, is on board. One can expect multitudinous thrusting of pelvises.
764.1172 WilmingtonDramaLeague.org
NEW CANDLELIGHT DINNER THEATRE
New Candlelight commences the fall with “Little Shop of Horrors”, certainly one of the quirkiest plots of any successful Broadway show in history. It's a rock musical, but the rock is from the '60's with Motown and doo wop. A nebbish florist shop employee, Seymour, raises a man eating plant. Aisle Say suggested to the stage Director that his first wife could play the plant. Little Shop opens September 11. The show has some great tunes. 'Suddenly Seymour' is a classic.
Dr. Suess's immortal characters are front and center beginning November 6 with “Suessical The Musical”. The plot follows the adventures of Horton the elephant. Playing until December 22, this would be great family holiday entertainment.
475.2313 NewCandlelightTheatre.org
DELAWARE THEATRE COMPANY
Delaware Theatre Company starts a bit late this season with the opening of “Sylvia” on October 20. Last season DTC staged at least one show if not two with actors playing multiple parts. (saves money!) This plan is revisited with their second production, “Around The World In Eighty Days”, wherein 5 actors portray 39 characters. The pressure is on to have a boffo season.
594.1100 DelawareTheatre.org
GRAND OPERA HOUSE
In this relatively small environment, Aisle Say consistently preaches performing arts collaboration. The 2010 Annual Grand Gala on Saturday, December 4, 2010 will feature a sizzling performance by legendary progressive rock band Procol Harum and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra.
From the first time I heard the ethereal “Whiter Shade of Pale” in 1967, I considered it simply otherworldly. It transcended the hard rock of that era brought to us by Led Zepplin, The Who or The Stones. It provoked me, as a 20 year old, to find out just what a 'vestal virgin' was....and equally challenging, in this year of sexual revolution...to find one.
The tune has been judged the most played recording in UK history.
On November 18, 1971, Procol Harum created a seminal moment in pop-rock history by performing with The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Da Camera Singers at Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Widely credited as the first band to bridge the gap between modern pop-rock and the classical music world, the recording of that concert went on to sell millions of albums and opened the door for the marriage of pop music to symphony programs all over the world.
Steve Bailey, Executive Director of The Grand says “both The Grand and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra (DSO) have been seeking to present a joint event of this magnitude for the past few years. When you have the region’s best and biggest house band, you naturally want to show them off, and there could be no better vehicle than the re-creation of the music from that legendary concert by Procol Harum and The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.”
The after party at The Gold Ball Room will return local favorite Club Phred, an 8 member '60's-'70's cover band whose great show last year made the feature act, The Brian Setzer Band, appear robotic in comparison. Setzer dialed that one in. Club Phred takes no prisoners.
Call Ivy Lane for tickets, 658.7897 or ilane@grandopera.org TheGrandWilmington.org/Grand_Gala
WILMINGTON DRAMA LEAGUE
Wilmington Drama League opens September 17 with a classic penned by Lillian Hellman's “The Children's Hour”. The drama is set at an all girls boarding school. An angry student runs away and to prevent being returned fabricates a lie about the two headmistresses and a lesbian affair; destroying the women's careers, their relationship and their lives.
Following in October is one of the great dance musicals of all time, “Chicago”. Original Broadway Director/Choreographer Bob Fosse created – next to Russian ballet legend Petipa - the most celebrated and imitated dance movements of all time. New Candlelight Theatre co-founder Jody Anderson, an extremely talented choreo, is on board. One can expect multitudinous thrusting of pelvises.
764.1172 WilmingtonDramaLeague.org
NEW CANDLELIGHT DINNER THEATRE
New Candlelight commences the fall with “Little Shop of Horrors”, certainly one of the quirkiest plots of any successful Broadway show in history. It's a rock musical, but the rock is from the '60's with Motown and doo wop. A nebbish florist shop employee, Seymour, raises a man eating plant. Aisle Say suggested to the stage Director that his first wife could play the plant. Little Shop opens September 11. The show has some great tunes. 'Suddenly Seymour' is a classic.
Dr. Suess's immortal characters are front and center beginning November 6 with “Suessical The Musical”. The plot follows the adventures of Horton the elephant. Playing until December 22, this would be great family holiday entertainment.
475.2313 NewCandlelightTheatre.org
DELAWARE THEATRE COMPANY
Delaware Theatre Company starts a bit late this season with the opening of “Sylvia” on October 20. Last season DTC staged at least one show if not two with actors playing multiple parts. (saves money!) This plan is revisited with their second production, “Around The World In Eighty Days”, wherein 5 actors portray 39 characters. The pressure is on to have a boffo season.
594.1100 DelawareTheatre.org
GRAND OPERA HOUSE
In this relatively small environment, Aisle Say consistently preaches performing arts collaboration. The 2010 Annual Grand Gala on Saturday, December 4, 2010 will feature a sizzling performance by legendary progressive rock band Procol Harum and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra.
From the first time I heard the ethereal “Whiter Shade of Pale” in 1967, I considered it simply otherworldly. It transcended the hard rock of that era brought to us by Led Zepplin, The Who or The Stones. It provoked me, as a 20 year old, to find out just what a 'vestal virgin' was....and equally challenging, in this year of sexual revolution...to find one.
The tune has been judged the most played recording in UK history.
On November 18, 1971, Procol Harum created a seminal moment in pop-rock history by performing with The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Da Camera Singers at Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Widely credited as the first band to bridge the gap between modern pop-rock and the classical music world, the recording of that concert went on to sell millions of albums and opened the door for the marriage of pop music to symphony programs all over the world.
Steve Bailey, Executive Director of The Grand says “both The Grand and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra (DSO) have been seeking to present a joint event of this magnitude for the past few years. When you have the region’s best and biggest house band, you naturally want to show them off, and there could be no better vehicle than the re-creation of the music from that legendary concert by Procol Harum and The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.”
The after party at The Gold Ball Room will return local favorite Club Phred, an 8 member '60's-'70's cover band whose great show last year made the feature act, The Brian Setzer Band, appear robotic in comparison. Setzer dialed that one in. Club Phred takes no prisoners.
Call Ivy Lane for tickets, 658.7897 or ilane@grandopera.org TheGrandWilmington.org/Grand_Gala
Thursday, August 19, 2010
WHYY, DE Division of Arts grants, DE Theatre Co
Aisle Say has the August Dog Day blues...the doublewide blues. No theatre to report on the one hand and on the other some wins and losses for Delawareans. But, as Lady Macbeth urged, I will 'screw my courage to the sticking place' and have at it.
WHYY
At least three dozen Delawareans woke up and took notice several months ago when their televised nightly sleeping pill, Channel 12's “Delaware Tonight” ceased operation. Scintillating reportage it was not. But it was OUR bland reporting! Yes, they were the quintessential talking heads. But they were OUR talking heads. But, in June of 2009, after obtaining millions in grants from the state for the refurbishing of their Wilmington studio and construction of their Dover studio, HYY slinked off in the night as stealthily as Mr. Irsay's Baltimore Colts to Indiana many moons ago.
After protestations from Senator Kaufman and Mayor Baker, Delaware's “coverage” was replaced by an alleged news magazine “First” for an hour each Friday night. “WHYY is not adequately serving the community needs of its city of license, which is Wilmington”, bellowed Mr. Mayor.
Your intrepid Aisle Say investigative reporter tuned in last Friday to determine how “First” was serving tax payers. (Even with this indecent behavior they still received $100,000.00 from the Joint Finance Committee this fiscal year). Last Friday's “news” story featured Balinese dancing. “The sport carries you where you want”, chanted the Balinese dance guru. The aged man covered the dance floor slowly, very slowly. “We would dance if nobody showed up to see us”, he exclaimed. Yup, that says it all.
The second segment was even more compelling: 15 minutes on dehydrating vegetables. “But wait,” exclaimed the dehydrator, “we also do macaroons. Wednesday is macaroon day!”
The FCC denied Wilmington's challenge to WHYY for license renewal. They win. We lose.
DELAWARE DIVISION OF ARTS 2011 GRANTS
Eighty-six organizations throughout the state received 104 grants from $1000.00 to $110,000.00 totaling $1.4 million. (Last year it was $1.47 million to 84 groups). The funding comes from both the Delaware General Assembly and the National Endowment For The Arts.
Last year Aisle Say took to task some of the perceived imbalance of the grants. It appears more reasonable in FY 2011. The way I define this imbalance is 1) number of people employed in the organization 2) number of guests they serve and 3) the positive economic ripple effect it has on the community ( eg. overnight stays, busy restaurants and visits to other venues).
New Candlelight Theatre justifiably was awarded $25K. Their quality and their integrity is high and they are the ONLY surviving dinner theatre in the state...and they are the best theatrical value. On the down side their profit margin has all the profile of a flounder snoozing on the bottom of the bay.
The Grand received $101K; DE Art Museum, $110K; Opera Delaware, $62K; DE Symphony, $101K; - that's all good. The DE Center for the Contemporary Arts – arguably a pioneer on the Riverfront – attracts nowhere near the traffic of The Grand or even New Candlelight, and they received $93K! DE Theatre Company received $101K. (more on that below)
In relation to guests served and economic ripple, it is, however, very difficult to swallow the $43K given to the Yorklyn Center for The Creative Arts. At least that is down from an outrageous $68K in last year's grants!
For the second year running, the Aisle Say Golden Fleece Award goes to DE Dance Company on Elkton Rd. These pre-teens are impossibly cute in their tutus I'll say, but $32K (down from $40K) for a group that is only witnessed by their doting parents and grandparents? We've got to get their lobbyist and send him to DC. That dude has the suave to bring millions in earmarks to Delaware!
DELAWARE THEATRE COMPANY
Still no news about their schedule. Aisle Say was told by their Marketing Manager that the revised schedule was to be out in 1 week. That was 6 weeks ago. Email and a call to Mary Ann Ehlshager, the Managing Director, was not returned.
POSTSCRIPT
Aisle Say commented a few months back that Tim Geithner, US Secretary of the Treasury reminded him of Robert Stack when he played Eliot Ness on “The Untouchables”. Well, dear reader, we have another one. I was watching the evening news with my dear sister Liz. Thad Allen, the Coast Guard Commandant in charge of the oil spill was before the podium. Tell me he is not Oliver Hardy reincarnated!
WHYY
At least three dozen Delawareans woke up and took notice several months ago when their televised nightly sleeping pill, Channel 12's “Delaware Tonight” ceased operation. Scintillating reportage it was not. But it was OUR bland reporting! Yes, they were the quintessential talking heads. But they were OUR talking heads. But, in June of 2009, after obtaining millions in grants from the state for the refurbishing of their Wilmington studio and construction of their Dover studio, HYY slinked off in the night as stealthily as Mr. Irsay's Baltimore Colts to Indiana many moons ago.
After protestations from Senator Kaufman and Mayor Baker, Delaware's “coverage” was replaced by an alleged news magazine “First” for an hour each Friday night. “WHYY is not adequately serving the community needs of its city of license, which is Wilmington”, bellowed Mr. Mayor.
Your intrepid Aisle Say investigative reporter tuned in last Friday to determine how “First” was serving tax payers. (Even with this indecent behavior they still received $100,000.00 from the Joint Finance Committee this fiscal year). Last Friday's “news” story featured Balinese dancing. “The sport carries you where you want”, chanted the Balinese dance guru. The aged man covered the dance floor slowly, very slowly. “We would dance if nobody showed up to see us”, he exclaimed. Yup, that says it all.
The second segment was even more compelling: 15 minutes on dehydrating vegetables. “But wait,” exclaimed the dehydrator, “we also do macaroons. Wednesday is macaroon day!”
The FCC denied Wilmington's challenge to WHYY for license renewal. They win. We lose.
DELAWARE DIVISION OF ARTS 2011 GRANTS
Eighty-six organizations throughout the state received 104 grants from $1000.00 to $110,000.00 totaling $1.4 million. (Last year it was $1.47 million to 84 groups). The funding comes from both the Delaware General Assembly and the National Endowment For The Arts.
Last year Aisle Say took to task some of the perceived imbalance of the grants. It appears more reasonable in FY 2011. The way I define this imbalance is 1) number of people employed in the organization 2) number of guests they serve and 3) the positive economic ripple effect it has on the community ( eg. overnight stays, busy restaurants and visits to other venues).
New Candlelight Theatre justifiably was awarded $25K. Their quality and their integrity is high and they are the ONLY surviving dinner theatre in the state...and they are the best theatrical value. On the down side their profit margin has all the profile of a flounder snoozing on the bottom of the bay.
The Grand received $101K; DE Art Museum, $110K; Opera Delaware, $62K; DE Symphony, $101K; - that's all good. The DE Center for the Contemporary Arts – arguably a pioneer on the Riverfront – attracts nowhere near the traffic of The Grand or even New Candlelight, and they received $93K! DE Theatre Company received $101K. (more on that below)
In relation to guests served and economic ripple, it is, however, very difficult to swallow the $43K given to the Yorklyn Center for The Creative Arts. At least that is down from an outrageous $68K in last year's grants!
For the second year running, the Aisle Say Golden Fleece Award goes to DE Dance Company on Elkton Rd. These pre-teens are impossibly cute in their tutus I'll say, but $32K (down from $40K) for a group that is only witnessed by their doting parents and grandparents? We've got to get their lobbyist and send him to DC. That dude has the suave to bring millions in earmarks to Delaware!
DELAWARE THEATRE COMPANY
Still no news about their schedule. Aisle Say was told by their Marketing Manager that the revised schedule was to be out in 1 week. That was 6 weeks ago. Email and a call to Mary Ann Ehlshager, the Managing Director, was not returned.
POSTSCRIPT
Aisle Say commented a few months back that Tim Geithner, US Secretary of the Treasury reminded him of Robert Stack when he played Eliot Ness on “The Untouchables”. Well, dear reader, we have another one. I was watching the evening news with my dear sister Liz. Thad Allen, the Coast Guard Commandant in charge of the oil spill was before the podium. Tell me he is not Oliver Hardy reincarnated!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Delaware Division of Arts Grants for 2009
Brandywine Hundred, Del. —
Our state's creativity fills our museums, our libraries, concert halls and community theatres, cinemas and retail shops. These works help to sculpt and define who we are. We must nourish creative thinking.
Arts education is not about creating creative individuals--the First State is awash with them. It is about creating more productive individuals. The benefits in doing so are clear. It's no secret that math is linked to music, that fine art is linked to critical thinking, that acting builds self-confidence.
Yet over the last 15 years, the National Endowment of the Arts' budget has been cut from $175 million to $125 million. Many state and local agencies receive direct funding from NEA. The outgoing President speaks of the importance of his signature educational program, No Child Left Behind. However, one of its unintended consequences was a decline in arts education in schools. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have pledged to turn this around.
On a local level, Gov. Elect Jack Markell will introduce legislation for a Delaware Arts Trust, modeled after the highly successful Arts Stabilization Fund. The latter aims to buttress facilities and maintenance of institutions; the former will be for programming.
Outgoing Gov. Minner used a meat cleaver with across-the-board agency cuts to achieve a balanced budget. Markell, who argues that some departments are run more efficiently than others and are not deserving of wholesale and arbitrary reductions, is likely to employ a more delicate and judicious slicing. The Delaware Division of the Arts might not have received the unkind $120,000 cut (5 percent) for Fiscal Year 2009 under Markell's scenario.
Its been a shrinking pie, and further, one that's not been cut justly. An examination of who got what in the Division of Arts Grants 2009 grants shows a disproportionate amount of monies to a few non-profits like Wilmington's Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts (DCCA), the Schwartz Center in Dover, and Yorklyn's Center for Creative Arts (CCArts), who attract few guests and have a relatively negligible impact on the cultural landscape. I think the money could have been better served elsewhere.
Eighty-eight organizations received 118 grants -- the vast majority were small and garden variety at $3,000 - $8,000. The largest grants were given to Delaware's large, recognizable institutions: OperaDelaware, Delaware Art Museum, Delaware Symphony and The Grand – ranging from $83,000 to $107,000.
But the DCCA, which averages 10 guests on an Oklahoma land rush type of day, also received $107,000? They do have an outreach education program, but to receive as much as the Grand? Compare that with venues where people actually attend: Delaware Children's Theatre received $2,500. New Candlelight Dinner Theatre received a paltry $5,000.
Then, CCArts got $68,000? That group reports to serve 10,000 in a year, but it is a limited market in a high per capita income locale.
Other inequalities: the Newark based Delaware Dance Company received $40,000.00, while the First State Ballet Theatre, which travels statewide and has a much higher level of training and personnel, received one-half of that.
The most egregious handout, reminiscent of Treasury Secretary Paulson's bailout to Wall Street execs for their severance packages, is the $62,000 hijacked by the Schwartz Center for the Arts in Dover. Renovated in 2001, the Center is billed as the premiere performing arts center in central Delaware. The Schwartz has been a white elephant since the day it opened after its renovation. It does not have sufficient seats to draw even third tier national talent. Listed on its web site presently are a whopping eight performances for 2009; six of which are one-nighters. The Schwartz board should turn over the center to either Wesley or Delaware State for $1, accept reality and be done with the misery. It will never, ever be a success. It's size and location mitigate against it. Aisle Say's olfactory meter smells a political earmark worthy of Senator Ted Stevens' Bridge to Nowhere.
This is the Aisle Say column of the year. I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to comment on the arts.
One last plug...former News Journal reporter Nancy Lynch's “Vietnam Mailbag” has been reported extensively by Community News and elsewhere. The coffee table book compiles letters home from Delawareans as they served in Nam. The quote below, dated Dec. 23,1972, was never published in Lynch's newspaper column but made her book. Navy Seaman Ed Cycyk, a P.S. duPont High grad of 1971, was channeling George Santayana with this comment: “I know this is the season to be jolly, but how can I be happy with all the hatred and discontent in the world. I'm just praying everything will come out alright.” Mr. Cycyk, this letter could very well be postmarked Dec. 23, 2008...from another foreign land with the same plea for peace. Www.VietnamMailbag.com.
Our state's creativity fills our museums, our libraries, concert halls and community theatres, cinemas and retail shops. These works help to sculpt and define who we are. We must nourish creative thinking.
Arts education is not about creating creative individuals--the First State is awash with them. It is about creating more productive individuals. The benefits in doing so are clear. It's no secret that math is linked to music, that fine art is linked to critical thinking, that acting builds self-confidence.
Yet over the last 15 years, the National Endowment of the Arts' budget has been cut from $175 million to $125 million. Many state and local agencies receive direct funding from NEA. The outgoing President speaks of the importance of his signature educational program, No Child Left Behind. However, one of its unintended consequences was a decline in arts education in schools. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have pledged to turn this around.
On a local level, Gov. Elect Jack Markell will introduce legislation for a Delaware Arts Trust, modeled after the highly successful Arts Stabilization Fund. The latter aims to buttress facilities and maintenance of institutions; the former will be for programming.
Outgoing Gov. Minner used a meat cleaver with across-the-board agency cuts to achieve a balanced budget. Markell, who argues that some departments are run more efficiently than others and are not deserving of wholesale and arbitrary reductions, is likely to employ a more delicate and judicious slicing. The Delaware Division of the Arts might not have received the unkind $120,000 cut (5 percent) for Fiscal Year 2009 under Markell's scenario.
Its been a shrinking pie, and further, one that's not been cut justly. An examination of who got what in the Division of Arts Grants 2009 grants shows a disproportionate amount of monies to a few non-profits like Wilmington's Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts (DCCA), the Schwartz Center in Dover, and Yorklyn's Center for Creative Arts (CCArts), who attract few guests and have a relatively negligible impact on the cultural landscape. I think the money could have been better served elsewhere.
Eighty-eight organizations received 118 grants -- the vast majority were small and garden variety at $3,000 - $8,000. The largest grants were given to Delaware's large, recognizable institutions: OperaDelaware, Delaware Art Museum, Delaware Symphony and The Grand – ranging from $83,000 to $107,000.
But the DCCA, which averages 10 guests on an Oklahoma land rush type of day, also received $107,000? They do have an outreach education program, but to receive as much as the Grand? Compare that with venues where people actually attend: Delaware Children's Theatre received $2,500. New Candlelight Dinner Theatre received a paltry $5,000.
Then, CCArts got $68,000? That group reports to serve 10,000 in a year, but it is a limited market in a high per capita income locale.
Other inequalities: the Newark based Delaware Dance Company received $40,000.00, while the First State Ballet Theatre, which travels statewide and has a much higher level of training and personnel, received one-half of that.
The most egregious handout, reminiscent of Treasury Secretary Paulson's bailout to Wall Street execs for their severance packages, is the $62,000 hijacked by the Schwartz Center for the Arts in Dover. Renovated in 2001, the Center is billed as the premiere performing arts center in central Delaware. The Schwartz has been a white elephant since the day it opened after its renovation. It does not have sufficient seats to draw even third tier national talent. Listed on its web site presently are a whopping eight performances for 2009; six of which are one-nighters. The Schwartz board should turn over the center to either Wesley or Delaware State for $1, accept reality and be done with the misery. It will never, ever be a success. It's size and location mitigate against it. Aisle Say's olfactory meter smells a political earmark worthy of Senator Ted Stevens' Bridge to Nowhere.
This is the Aisle Say column of the year. I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to comment on the arts.
One last plug...former News Journal reporter Nancy Lynch's “Vietnam Mailbag” has been reported extensively by Community News and elsewhere. The coffee table book compiles letters home from Delawareans as they served in Nam. The quote below, dated Dec. 23,1972, was never published in Lynch's newspaper column but made her book. Navy Seaman Ed Cycyk, a P.S. duPont High grad of 1971, was channeling George Santayana with this comment: “I know this is the season to be jolly, but how can I be happy with all the hatred and discontent in the world. I'm just praying everything will come out alright.” Mr. Cycyk, this letter could very well be postmarked Dec. 23, 2008...from another foreign land with the same plea for peace. Www.VietnamMailbag.com.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Community News - First State Children's Theatre
If one thinks there are those more passionate about their craft than Michael Boudewyns, artistic director and co-founder of First State Children's Theatre, that person has yet to be unearthed.
Boudewyns' garrulous and engaging delivery conveys such an enthusiasm that one would consider oneself crazy for absenting oneself from his productions.
“When people go to live theatre, they want a great experience, a great meal, as it were. They want to be touched, to be moved, to be inspired. The shows we produce are family theatre geared for children. But this isn't fast food. We prepare a banquet for our guests.”
Michael, 43, and his wife Sara Valentine, 33, founded FSCT in 2004. Both are graduates of the Masters Program of the University of Delaware Professional Theatre Training Program and continue their association with the UD through the newly created Resident Ensemble Players, theatrical lucre to be the subject of a future Aisle Say.
The mission of FSCT is to stage classic plays and adaptations of classic literature with the focus on young audiences.
First State Children's Theatre presents
A Year With Frog and Toad
November 6-16
Tickets: 595-1100, www.DelawareTheatre.org
Study guide for teachers:
www.FSCTheater.com
In 2004, the two also created a very popular Christmas tradition staged at Delaware Theatre Company. A live broadcast of Dickens's Christmas Carol aired over WVUD, the UD campus radio station.
Before Sara's immersion in the graduate program, I had the great fortune to work with her on stage at Rockwood Mansion in a Victorian-themed production. She's the Chase Utley and Elton Brand of actors, enhancing all around her. She engages both her fellow actors and the audience in her character's machinations. They see her think. They await eagerly for her next bon mot, her physical "take," or the next piece of exquisite stage business.
“Our company of professional actors are storytellers,” says Valentine. “We want to leave people with the warmth of being a better human being. And, we are playful. We all need that.”
The prospect of telling stories for a long time became brighter when the nascent group received a major push forward by being included in Delaware Theatre Company's season.
With this intent in mind - being all things to all children - Michael and Sara offer school-based theatre workshops, "beginning" Shakespeare and "Artist in Residence" programs. "A Year with Frog and Toad" tours the state as does their adaptation of "Alice In Wonderland."
The couple have a weeklong summer camp for children at DTC they call "Radio Days." Campers create, rehearse and record a classic radio drama, playing all the characters and providing their own sound effects. The pre-recorded play is then aired on WVUD. In many instances actors portray two to four different characters in the same play.
This is the third year of performing Frog and Toad. It is a story of friendship, emphasizing the important reality that people who are different can make really good friends. (Opening night invitations to Keith Obermann and Bill O'Reilly were returned unopened, acknowledging that the two deliver better theatre by not being friends.)
A four-piece combo is part of the Frog and Toad story; providing a wide diversity of genres: ragtime, dixieland and even a spontaneous hoedown.
FSCT's Web site offers a study guide for home schoolers and teachers to prepare. The guide suggests that the experience of seeing this show is a springboard for dialogue between possibly opposing parties.
Live theatre exploring interpersonal relationships has incalculable effects on young minds. Listen, if a frog and a toad can get along for a year, it should be all downhill for the rest of us!
Boudewyns' garrulous and engaging delivery conveys such an enthusiasm that one would consider oneself crazy for absenting oneself from his productions.
“When people go to live theatre, they want a great experience, a great meal, as it were. They want to be touched, to be moved, to be inspired. The shows we produce are family theatre geared for children. But this isn't fast food. We prepare a banquet for our guests.”
Michael, 43, and his wife Sara Valentine, 33, founded FSCT in 2004. Both are graduates of the Masters Program of the University of Delaware Professional Theatre Training Program and continue their association with the UD through the newly created Resident Ensemble Players, theatrical lucre to be the subject of a future Aisle Say.
The mission of FSCT is to stage classic plays and adaptations of classic literature with the focus on young audiences.
First State Children's Theatre presents
A Year With Frog and Toad
November 6-16
Tickets: 595-1100, www.DelawareTheatre.org
Study guide for teachers:
www.FSCTheater.com
In 2004, the two also created a very popular Christmas tradition staged at Delaware Theatre Company. A live broadcast of Dickens's Christmas Carol aired over WVUD, the UD campus radio station.
Before Sara's immersion in the graduate program, I had the great fortune to work with her on stage at Rockwood Mansion in a Victorian-themed production. She's the Chase Utley and Elton Brand of actors, enhancing all around her. She engages both her fellow actors and the audience in her character's machinations. They see her think. They await eagerly for her next bon mot, her physical "take," or the next piece of exquisite stage business.
“Our company of professional actors are storytellers,” says Valentine. “We want to leave people with the warmth of being a better human being. And, we are playful. We all need that.”
The prospect of telling stories for a long time became brighter when the nascent group received a major push forward by being included in Delaware Theatre Company's season.
With this intent in mind - being all things to all children - Michael and Sara offer school-based theatre workshops, "beginning" Shakespeare and "Artist in Residence" programs. "A Year with Frog and Toad" tours the state as does their adaptation of "Alice In Wonderland."
The couple have a weeklong summer camp for children at DTC they call "Radio Days." Campers create, rehearse and record a classic radio drama, playing all the characters and providing their own sound effects. The pre-recorded play is then aired on WVUD. In many instances actors portray two to four different characters in the same play.
This is the third year of performing Frog and Toad. It is a story of friendship, emphasizing the important reality that people who are different can make really good friends. (Opening night invitations to Keith Obermann and Bill O'Reilly were returned unopened, acknowledging that the two deliver better theatre by not being friends.)
A four-piece combo is part of the Frog and Toad story; providing a wide diversity of genres: ragtime, dixieland and even a spontaneous hoedown.
FSCT's Web site offers a study guide for home schoolers and teachers to prepare. The guide suggests that the experience of seeing this show is a springboard for dialogue between possibly opposing parties.
Live theatre exploring interpersonal relationships has incalculable effects on young minds. Listen, if a frog and a toad can get along for a year, it should be all downhill for the rest of us!
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