Friday, November 6, 2009

Will Call: Tips & Tidbits for the Theatrically Inclined

Posted by Chris Davis on Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 10:04 AM

The Elephant Man
  • The Elephant Man
There are some big parties this weekend like Saturday's Curtain Up: A Taste of Playhouse on the Square. It's an over the top event with lots of food, lots of beverages, too much entertainment and dancing on the stage. Or, as Playhouse's Courtney Oliver puts it, "It's kicking."

Let's all cross our fingers and hope that Theatre Memphis takes good care of itself this weekend and doesn't break a hip. This enduring organization—quite literally born in a stable— is pulling out the stops to celebrate its 90th birthday. There's a concert by Kallen Esperian on Friday evening and dancing into the late bright. Then There are kid's events on Saturday afternoon.

But what does all this shindigging mean for people who actually want to see a show? The choices are slimmer than usual to be sure, but there's still plenty to choose from.

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Thursday, November 5, 2009

Kallen Esperian saves the day: A change in plans for Theatre Memphis' birthday bash

Posted by Chris Davis on Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 9:52 AM

Kallen Esperian
  • Kallen Esperian
OH NO!

I've just heard from Theatre Memphis' communications guru Randall Hartzog that Robert Glazier, the "Steinway artist" scheduled to play TM's 90-Years Young party on Friday, November 6th has the flu and won't be able to perform. But the show must go on, as they say and in lieu of Glazier playing Memphis' very own diva Kallen Esperian will be SINGING selections from the Great American Songbook. 90-Years-Young runs from 6:30-9:30 and everybody who attends this $90 event gets a wrist band insuring complementary drinks throughout the evening. There will be dancing on Theatre Memphis' main stage until midnight dontcha know, and everybody who comes to see Kallen gets into the second event free.

“Club 90”, is Theatre Memphis' second birthday event starting at 9:30 p.m. on the Lohrey Stage. DJ Glenn Miller will spin contemporary dance tracks until the last stroke of twelve. There will be snacks and a cash bar. Admission is $25 at the door.

Theatre Memphis will also host a kids' celebration with a performance at 2 p.m. of Rikki Tikki Tavi by ShoWagon on Saturday, November 7th, along with crafts, scavenger hunt, and birthday cake. Tickets to the kids' event are $5 per person, but a family pack of six tickets can be purchased for $20. Call 682-8323 for reservations.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Dish: What's on the menu at A Taste of Playhouse

Posted by Chris Davis on Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 4:53 PM

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Curtain Up: A Taste of Playhouse goes down this Saturday night AT 7 P.M. And while I can assure you all it's a delicious concept I must confess that the event's name always raises an eyebrow. I mean, what would Playhouse on the Square actually taste like? Old costumes? Actor sweat? Elvis residue from the days when POTS was the King's favorite movie house? I mean ICK, right? Well Courtney Oliver, Playhouse on the Square's Jane-of-all-trades, told me in confidence that

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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Who wants to be the next Nixon... and other audition notices

Posted by Chris Davis on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 2:15 PM

Tricky Dick
  • Tricky Dick
Here's a cool opportunity for actors looking for meaty roles and the opportunity to play iconic historical characters. Playhouse on the Square is auditioning Peter Morgan's gripping docudrama FROST/NIXON on November 14 In the theater's new office building rehearsal room across from Playhouse on the Square behind the new Playhouse building which is currently under construction

FROST/NIXON, which was eventually developed as a film by director Ron Howard, is about a series of explosive interviews between British journalist David Frost and President Richard Nixon.

The theater is looking for 8 male actors, and 2 female actors, Ages 21 and Up. All roles are currently available. Guest director Rob Satterlee is asking for one prepared monologue of 2-minutes or less.

For more information, please contact Courtney Oliver via email at courtney@... or by phone, 901.725.0776.

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Bill Young Memorial

Posted by Chris Davis on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 1:32 PM

Tonight at Playhouse on the Square there will be a memorial service honoring the life of Memphis theater patron Mr. Bill Young. The service runs from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Food & Wine will be available.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Jim Ostrander on Facebook.

Posted by Chris Davis on Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 3:48 PM

Jim Ostrander
  • Jim Ostrander
I had the great good fortune to work and converse frequently with Jim Ostrander, the famously kind, and gifted actor for whom the Memphis theater awards are named. But no conversation was more moving than the one and only time when he and I sat down for a formal interview shortly before his life and career were cruelly abbreviated by cancer of the jaw.

"I've had 33 years of doing something that I was really good at," he said. "I was wholly realized as an artist, in full possession of my powers And I used them with full knowledge of what I was doing. You can't ask for more than that. You can't ask for that to go on forever."

Of course he was right, you can't ask for that to go on forever. But there are a lot of people who loved Jim and want his memory, not just his name, to live on. So I suppose this was inevitable. There is now a Facebook page for friends of Jim Ostrander with lots of pictures archived there for fans to pore over. So if you do the FB thing, and you loved Jim, drop by, sign up, and share what you've got.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Will Call: tips & tidbits for the theatrically inclined

Posted by Chris Davis on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 3:08 PM

forcoloredgirls.jpg
Okay folks, it's Halloween weekend so go see something spooky. Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde may be a wee bit precious, but it's laden with suspense and solid acting. And but for a few odds & ends it looks fantastic.

If you prefer tales of the undead the New Moon Theatre Company opens Look Away: A Civil War Zombie Tragedy tonight. Or if you just want something creepy, kookie, and altogether ookie you might want to check out Gorey Stories, a somewhat troubled musical based on the stories and illustrations of Edward Gorey.

Theatergoers looking for something a bit more substantial may want to wander on down to the Hattiloo theater to take in a performance of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf.

Colored Girls—a poem in 20 parts performed by seven nameless black women dressed in every color of the visible spectrum—is one of those plays I always expect to have aged badly. For having been created in 1975, at the apogee of women's liberation and “black is beautiful”— Ntozake Shange's stories of trial, triumph, and tribulation is always disconcertingly up to date.

Personally, I've always thought the characters' ultimate flight into religion was something a cop out for an author who needed to tidy up her more interesting ambiguities but on most occasions even that can't dull the edge of this groundbreaking piece of non-linear dramatic literature.

Also opening at Playhouse on the Square this Halloween weekend,: The Toymaker's Apprentice. Yes, a Christmas show. And that's all I have to say about that.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

August's Aunt: Something cool for Wilson fans

Posted by Chris Davis on Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 11:17 PM

August Wilson
  • August Wilson
Most people probably equate the name Aunt Ester with the outspoken Sanford & Son character played by the late, great LaWanda Page, queen of the filthy party record. But the name means something else entirely to August Wilson fans. Although Aunt Ester only appears as a character in Gem of the Ocean, this "washer of souls" is the most frequently mentioned character in Wilson's century-spanning Pittsburgh cycle. Now August's storied aunt—a mostly invisible character— is being given her long overdue moment in the spotlight.

The August Wilson Center for African American Culture, which opened last month in Pittsburgh, has announced its first theatrical event in the newly completed center: The Aunt Ester Cycle. The show, which runs from November 10 - 22, 2009 "explores the dramatic impact of this legendary character" through productions of Gem of the Ocean, Two Trains Running, Radio Golf and The Women of the Hill, a new work by choreographer and performance artist Ping Chong.

Zombie Alert: No, seriously ZOMBIE ALERT!!!

Posted by Chris Davis on Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 1:20 PM

Angry Zombie
  • Angry Zombie
If you happen to see a bunch of Zombies protesting The New Moon Theatre Company's production of Look Away: A Civil War Zombie Tragedy don't worry. You haven't eaten too much candy, it's really happening. You see there have been some well publicized protests in New York because a hearing actor has been cast as a deaf character in Rebecca Gilman's stage adaptation of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. That has inspired and empowered local zombies who are furious at New Moon for casting un-undead actors in Look Away. Or maybe it's all just a big publicity stunt/excuse to dress up like a zombie and lumber around the town in search of brains.

Look Away, by
Memphis playwrights Zac Cunningham and Stephen Briner, was originally brought to life in 2007. Now — like all evil creatures of the night — it’s been resurrected, and, according to director Gene Elliott, it’s “more gritty and gruesome” than ever. But the play, about a family confronting unknown terrors at the end of the Civil War, is more than an homage to the classic zombie flicks of George Romero and Dario Argento.

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Two-Faced: "Jekyll & Hyde" is Really Good and Really Bad.

Posted by Chris Davis on Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 9:30 AM

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While driving to Germantown Community Theatre to take in a rather unfortunate production of Gorey Stories my twin girls (who are seven-years-old and terribly excited about all things Halloweenish) started asking questions about Frankenstein. As my wife Charlotte and I tried to untangle their weird web of wonder and curiosity we quickly realized that we couldn't be sure if we were taking our answers from Mary Shelley's seminal book, which we've both read, or if we were drawing our conclusions from the countless plays, films, cartoons and comic books that followed. Unable to achieve any kind of narrative consistency we conceded our ignorance and just started making things up. I imagine that our pop culture dilemma isn't unique and I also imagine that many who attend Theatre Memphis' production of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde will find themselves adrift on a similar ice floe. As is the case with Shelley's un-dead abomination Robert Louis Stevenson's strange tale of a doctor who transforms himself into his own doppelganger— a creature of terrible fury and tremendous appetites— has been told and retold so many times it's difficult to keep all the versions straight. And maybe that's how it's supposed to be. Perhaps these stories never really belonged to their original authors, but to a collective consciousness that needs to play with its monsters and evolve them from time to time. That's where Theatre Memphis' production of Jekyll & Hyde, Jeffrey Hatcher's curious adaptation of Stevenson's classic tingler, comes in. Hatcher's bold abstraction of this oft told tale is suspenseful, shocking and true at least to the spirit of the original, even when it wanders off in new directions.

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Monday, October 26, 2009

NYT Reviews Former Memphian

Posted by Chris Davis on Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 1:12 PM

Dead RInger
  • Dead RInger
The New York Times may not have much love for Memphis the musical, but at least the Paper of Record had some nice things to say about U of M alum Natalie WIlder who is currently appearing in the New Jersey Rep's production of Gino DiIorio’s western noir Dead RInger.

The third character is Mary (Natalie Wilder), Ty’s sister, and it’s a great role for an actress who doesn’t want to bother with hair and makeup. That’s because Mary is barely seen, although she’s onstage from the first scene through the last.

Ty has locked poor Mary in the root cellar, permanently...

Mary is the center of the story, and she’s no shrinking violet. Ms. Wilder makes her a likable smart-aleck, and just as vibrant a character as the two men. Like her brother, she’s enthusiastically foulmouthed, so her best lines can’t be repeated here.

Wilder, a highly regarded local actor, performed on nearly every stage in Memphis before packing her bags and heading out of town. But, monster of vanity that I am, I'd like to believe that the most challenging role she's ever undertaken was playing me—that's right, your pesky critic—in an autobiographical one act play titled Over and Under that City. Sure, the part was originally intended for a teenage male but when Wilder expressed some interest in teaming up with my little theater company I re-wrote the part for her. And, as usual, she was fantastic.

Also, her best lines most certainly CAN be repeated here. So maybe I can convince Ms. W. to play a little game of three questions. Stay tuned.

Munchkin Auditions... Oh My.

Posted by Chris Davis on Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 10:41 AM

The Great and Powerful Oz
  • The Great and Powerful Oz
According to a rather emphatic press release, "THE NATIONAL TOUR OF THE WIZARD OF OZ ANNOUNCES LOCAL MUNCHKIN AUDITIONS FOR ITS ORPHEUM ENGAGEMENT."

The National Tour of THE WIZARD OF OZ , which opens at the Orpheum on Dec. 15 is looking for 12 local children to perform the roles of “munchkins.” The auditions are scheduled to take place at the Courtyard Marriott in Collierville, TN. Check-in will be at 9:30 am and auditions will begin at 10:00 am.

BUT WAIT STAGE MOMS!!! The Great and Powerful Oz doesn't want to see your gifted little Pookie. He wants 12 singers and dancers who are currently "engaged in an ongoing study of acting, music and/or dance" to perform "timeless classics such as “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.” The children "will be from an existing group." According to the release no individual kids will be allowed to audition. The selected dancers and singers "MUST" be available for all eight shows between Dec. 15-20.

Friday, October 23, 2009

The Wall Street Journal hates "Memphis"

Posted by Chris Davis on Fri, Oct 23, 2009 at 7:22 PM

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Man, Memphis the musical isn't getting a whole lot of love. First NYT critic Charles Isherwood compared it to Michael Bolton (unfavorably, Bolton fans. Sorry). Now The Wall Street Journal's Terry Teachout makes all that seem like high praise indeed.

I've seen dumber musicals than "Memphis," but not many and not by much. This noisy piece of claptrap, which has been rattling around the regional circuit for the past six years, turns the real-life story of Dewey Phillips, a Memphis disc jockey who fell in love with rhythm and blues in the '50s, into a ludicrous fantasy about a white DJ named Huey (Chad Kimball) who puts a black singer named Felicia (Montego Glover) on the radio, thereby driving the local racists crazy. Big surprise: All the black characters are noble hipsters and all the white characters (except for Huey) are redneck squares. What makes the cartoonish premise of "Memphis" sillier still is that the songs, by Joe DiPietro ("All Shook Up") and Bon Jovi's David Bryan, are slicked-up, blue-eyed pseudosoul knick-knacks that have nothing in common with the down-and-dirty 45s that Phillips spun on WHBQ's "Red, Hot and Blue" a half-century ago. Amazingly enough—or maybe not—this howlingly funny irony seems not to have occurred to anyone connected with "Memphis."

Dang. That. Is. Harsh. Oh well, at least everybody seems to like the cast.

It's always helpful to remember that as hard as we may try to be fair we critics develop rarefied tastes and tend to hate claptrap. But there's a reason it's called that. That said, even Broadway claptrap like Movin' Out the Billy Joel Musical and Abba's Mama Mia got gentler treatment.

Memphis' pre-Broadway reviews were mixed leaning favorable. And having heard the showstoppers sung live at an investor's preview at the Orpheum (click for video of the preview) I'm going to guess that Memphis has a decent run in spite of its cool critical reception. Besides, the definitive review won't be in until Wednesday when frequent Memphis Flyer contributor Bo List tells it like it is.

Will Call: tips & tidbits for the theatrically inclined

Posted by Chris Davis on Fri, Oct 23, 2009 at 3:21 PM

Wizard of Oz at POTS
  • Wizard of Oz at POTS
Before we look at this week's shows I've got an important question to ask...

So who doesn't have a Halloween costume yet? On Saturday, October 23 from 9-6 Playhouse on the Square will be hosting its annual costume rental at Circuit Playhouse on Poplar Ave. in Midtown. Prices start at $20 and "large portions" of the Playhouse on the Square Costume stock is available for rental. The Costume Shop at Circuit will be open from 9am-6pm on Saturday, October 24. Now, on with the shows...

CORRECTION: The POTS/Circuit Playhouse Costume rental is actually taking place in THE NEW COSTUME SHOP on Union Avenue behind the new Playhouse on the Square building, which is still under construction. The new costume shop is on the third floor. My bad... There's a whole lotta new at Playhouse and old, old habits are awfully hard to break.

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Telling Tales: Voices of the South stage new works

Posted by Chris Davis on Fri, Oct 23, 2009 at 1:12 PM

Voices Ugly Duckling
  • Voices' "Ugly Duckling"
As I've pointed out on this blog several times in the recent past, Voices of the South—which opens a new original work this weekend— has got it going on. They've got a brand new theater space, one of their original creations will open Off Broadway next summer, their signature children's show The Ugly Duckling just celebrated its 10th anniversary, and now the company's Artistic Director Jerry Dye has been nominated for a Southern Writer's Federation award for Cicada, a years-in-the-making performance that sold out much of its summer run at TheatreWorks.

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