On Stage in the Hudson Valley March 2-5

Plenty to see this weekend on stage in the Hudson Valley's myriad venues. First, go grab a Friend, then go see a show!

Shows

Private Lives
Mar 3, 4, 10, 11 8PM
Mar 5 2PM
Stormy Weather Players
Storm King School
314 Mountain Road
Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY
Call: (845) 298-8734

Hip Hop Recording Artist Theory
March 4th at 9PM
The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

Magic Show with Andy Weintraub
March 5th at 3PM
The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

Masquers' Guild, Dutchess Community College
SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, by Jason Robert Brown
March 3rd,4th, at 8 PM,
March 5th at 2 PM
Dutchess Hall Theater
57 Pendell Road,
Poughkeepsie, NY
Contact: (845-505-1439),
No ticket reserve, Adults $10 at the Door, DCC Students Free
Liz Gerbi, Musical Director

A wonderful show that borders between musical and song cycle. The audience is transported from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship to a ledge 57 stories above Fifth Avenue to meet a startling array of characters ranging from a young man who has determined that basketball is his ticket out of the ghetto to a woman whose dream of marrying rich nabs her the man of her dreams and a soulless marriage. These are the stories and characters of today, the songs for a new world.http://www.masquersguild.shadykady.com/ For more information

To Kill a Mockingbird Review

I Ushered today at Rhinebeck. CenterStage Productions put on "To Kill a Mockingbird" It was a sold out performance, with a number of people being turned away at the door. To say ushering was crazy today would be an understatement. The curtain went up 15 minutes late since so many people arrived late. Some people even had to be seated at intermission, since they couldn't be seated during the performance.

The performance was good, much preferable to having to read the book in school. The acting for the most part was good, although there were a few performers who spoke too softly and several southern accents (show takes place in Alabama, circa 1930) that were a little unreliable. Staging was excellent. The set was simple but effective, a row of houses with a simple set of stairs forming stoops and porches. The courtroom scene was just the stairs, which worked well. Costumes were unremarkable, but that is what one expects of a play set in rural Alabama. They fit the time frame and characters perfectly.

Technorati tags: Hudson valley theater Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

On Stage this week in the Hudson Valley Feb 23-26

On Stage in the Hudson Valley this weekend February 23 - 26th 2006.

Shows

Hamlet
February 25 at 8PM
February 26 at 3 PM
Daytop Preparatory Academy
The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

Over the River and Through the Woods
February 24 & 25 at 7:30PM
St. Andrew’s Church
26 Prospect St., Brewster, NY
Call: (845) 598-1621 or make online reservations

Auditions

Brighton Beach Memoirs
February 21st & 23rd 7PM
Coach House Players
Coach House
12 Augusta Street
Kingston, NY.

A Little Night Music
February 25 from 2:30 - 5:30PM
February 26 from 7 - 10PM
Gilbert & Sullivan Musical Theater Company
First Presbyterian Church
100 Cannon Street (corner of South Hamilton)
Poughkeepsie, New York

Chicago Auditions

Today Gale and I went to Auditions for Chicago, up at the Center for performing Arts in Rhinebeck. I've been working on the song "When you're good to Mama" For about two weeks now, and Gale sang "Nowadays" There was a Huge turnout - including last weeks candidates, I believe the total who came out for the show is around 80. That's pretty competitive.

The first hour was learning part of the routine for "All that Jazz." It was a challenge, but not over the top. It's going to look really good when it's polished up for the show.

Then we sang. Or we waited to sing... Gale said she sang well, and I know I sang my best. Whether it will be good enough for a part is impossible to say. Neither of us were asked to read from the script. The odds for a part are not good to say the least, not with a turnout like that.

However, we met some really nice people, and made time to chat up some old friends. I heard DCC is doing a show March 3-5th. I'll try to dig some details up on the show, but the College's website is difficult to traverse, making things hard to find.

Grease, Copyright and Theater

NYTimes features a story about one of the creators of the musical "Grease" and his fight with some of the world's largest cruise ship companies - the accusation is of piracy, (no, not the yo ho ho and a bottle of run kind) the cruise lines are staging the musical without obtaining rights or paying royalties. The cruise line has even admitted that they have staged the show 360+ times, but since they were out in the middle of the ocean, US Copyright does not apply ... Which sounds more like the philosophical question "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a noise"

The cruise line's main argument seems to be a little weak in my opinion. If someone murders someone else in the middle of the ocean, does that mean that they can't be tried because laws don't apply? I don't see how copyright would be any different, just less violent.

One of the creators of the Broadway musical "Grease," Jim Jacobs, is accusing the world's biggest cruise lines of piracy, contending that they have been staging his play and others at sea for years without permission.

Crews of actors have entertained passengers afloat hundreds, maybe thousands, of times by donning poodle skirts and leather jackets and belting out "Summer Nights," Mr. Jacobs said. But neither he nor the estate of his collaborator, Warren Casey, who died in 1988, has received royalties, he said.

Link

Update on Heddatron

A while ago I spotted notice of this interesting play melding together two of my favorite things; technology and theater. Now running through February 25th ...

The competition is heating up for best performance by a robot in the New
York theater this season. For a while, it looked as if the automaton pretending
to be Matthew Broderick in the revival of "The Odd Couple" had a lock on the category. But
the bar has been raised by the real live — oops, skip the live — robots who are
so happily reciting the words of Henrik Ibsen in "Heddatron," the dopey and strangely moving gloss on "Hedda Gabler" by Les Freres Corbusier at the Here Arts Center in the South Village.

Link to the article (NY Times)

It may be a gimmick, but boy it's one that has my attention!

Highschool Theater Censorship

There seems to be a lot in the news lately on Highschool Theater Censorship - Are there certain shows that are inappropriate for the Highschool aged students? What should the criteria be by which the shows are judged? The NYTimes featured an article about Grease being too indecent for a small conservative town.

Okay "Grease" features smoking, drinking, dirty language, teen sex and a sleep-over party scene featuring girls in nightgowns. In comparison so does "Romeo and Juliet" minus the smoking part, but with the addition of suicide. Yet most Highschool English classes include the Shakespeare classic.

I can understand parents being concerned about what their children are learning in school, but I think censorship of the arts, generally is a bad thing. The article makes it sound like three letter writers (one who did not even SEE the show) have the ability to change school policy. That to me, is the scariest part. Fahrenheit 451 anyone?

The fact remains that these same children can see worse things on TV, in the movies and in video games. Teen pregnancy, sex, smoking, drugs and drinking are a very real part of the issues facing teens today.

On Stage in the Hudson Valley Feb 9-12

There's plenty on stage this weekend in the Hudson Valley. Celebrate Valentines Day early, have dinner and see a show!

Or you could

... grab a friend and go audition! There's a lot of shows auditioning this weekend.

Proof (Poughkeepsie Journal Review)
Feb 10, 11, 17, 18, 2006 at 08:00 PM
Feb 12, 2006 at 02:00 PM
County Players Falls Theatre
2681 W. Main St
Wappingers Falls, NY
Call: (845) 298-1491

Opening this weekend!

To Kill a Mockingbird
Feb 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 2006 at 08:00 PM
Feb 12, 19, 2006 at 03:00 PM
The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

And Auditions (all this weekend!!)

Creative Theatre-Muddy Water Players
The Playhouse at Museum Village
Route 17 M
Monroe, NY
Call: (845) 294-9465

Wait Until Dark
Feb 11, 2006 at 01:00 PM
Feb 12, 2006 at 03:00 PM

I Hate Hamlet
Feb 11, 2006 at 03:00 PM
Feb 12, 2006 at 01:00 PM

---------------------------------------

The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Rhinebeck, NY

Chicago (Up In One Productions )
Feb 11, 2006 at 01:00 PM
Feb 12, 2006 at 07:00 PM

Death of a Salesman
Feb 12, 2006 at 07:00 PM
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90 Miles Off Broadway
Reformed Church, Education Building
Huguenot Street
New Paltz, NY
Call: (845) 256-9657

Birds of Paradise
Feb 12, 2006 at 02:00 PM
Feb 13, 2006 at 07:00 PM

Into the Woods ... Again

Gale and I went to see Into the woods, Friday 2-3-2006. The show was excellent again, with the role of Jack being played by this time around by Jarek Zabcynski (last time I saw it, the role was played by Rich Hack of Honk! Fame). Again, it was a beautiful, wonderful experience. No snow made the ride home much easier, and they started on time, making the ending time significantly earlier then last time. Those who made it to see the show, I hope you had as much fun as I did - those who missed it, missed a real treat.

Robots in the Theater

Ladies and Gentlemen! Tonight's performance of "Heddatron" the role of Eliot Luvborg will performed by Hans.

The show include five robots actually, and live actors as well. Inspired by Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" it uses five robots of differing complexity. As a thespian technogeekette I thought the idea pretty cool.

Have you ever dreamed of staring in a play with a robot? Link

Mid Hudson Theater Shows Feb 2-5

Lots on stage this weekend in the Mid Hudson Valley February 2 - 5, 2006.

Opening this weekend!
Proof
Feb 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 2006 at 08:00 PM
Feb 12, 2006 at 02:00 PM
County Players Falls Theatre
2681 W. Main St
Wappingers Falls, NY
Call: (845) 298-1491

Last weekend to see a wonderful show!
Into the Woods
Feb 2, 3, 4, 2006 at 08:00 PM
Feb 5, 2006 at 03:00 PM
The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

Musical Social Commentary?

The Civilians are a five year old group that produces interesting docudrama, based on current events. I think it's a really interesting idea, connecting to the audience with a story based on things they've lived with and through. Their current show is "(I Am) Nobody's Lunch." Link

Copyright and Directing

The NYTimes ran a really interesting (and potentially scary) article about a play that was arguably very messed up to begin with - the story doesn't really touch on what happened, but gives the feel of a "he said she said" argument. Where the Director (that got fired) is suing claiming that his work on the play (staging etc.) "constitutes a copyrighted work of intellectual property, owned by him, and that the defendants must therefore pay for infringing the copyright." the other side claims they removed all of his 'influences' from the show. Link
Trial is scheduled for this April.

First there is the issue of the copyright - is the staging work a director does really copyright worthy? The US Copyright office defines copyright as "a document granting exclusive right to publish and sell literary or musical or artistic work" So first there must be some documentation to prove these ideas are the Directors 'work' and since they are based off of the play itself is it really original? Although Directors put an enormous amount of time and effort into their work, I don't believe it qualifies for a copyright.

Secondly if it is copyright worthy, does it actually supersede the rights of the playwright? Since there would be no play or musical without the playwright - I think that even in the case of the Director's work being copyright worthy, that of the playwright should take precedence.

Last of all what kind of an effect will this case have on community theater?