Posts filed under 'theater'
December 16th, 2009
Dear Real Mrs. Claus:
I’ll be impersonating you Saturday and Sunday on the stage of the grand Coronado Performing Arts Center in downtown Rockford at two Rockford Symphony Orchestra Holiday Pops concerts.
I’ve given some thought as to how you might look and act, and here’s what I’ve decided to copy and discard:
Red hat with white fur trim, in. Long, red dress with high neckline, out.
Quiet, sage advice-giver to holiday-harried husband, out. One who tells tales out of school — er, I mean, out of the North Pole workshop – in. Dry wit, out. Obvious humor from a class-clown-type, in.
Of course, my Mrs. Claus is merely a sideshow — a little comic interlude — to the real performers. The award-winning orchestra and soprano Diane Penning are the marquee leaders.
My one hope is this: Though I’m sure I can’t hold a candle to the kind of cheer you bring at the holidays, I hope to put a smile on the faces of at least a few.
By the way, how many times have you heard this joke: Where does Santa keep his presents for Mrs. Claus? In the CLAUSET. No need to answer. But If you catch the show, let me know what you thought of it.
And, of course, Merry Christmas!
November 16th, 2009
Did you learn to swim later in life? Are you in your 30s and decided to give up your job as a lawyer to make cookies for a living? What have you done after deciding it’s never too late to start something new? Post your comments here and read about Mary E. Larson of Pecatonica here. She’s an actress this weekend in her first play since high school.
November 2nd, 2009
J.R. Sullivan, who founded the now-defunct New American Theater in downtown Rockford that is informally being referred to as The Sullivan Center at 118 N. Main St., won’t make it for a variety show there that he has led for 15 years.
So Hometown Holiday will not be held this December, but is expected to return next year, according to a news release by Charlotte’s Web for the Performing Arts, which presented the show.
Sullivan is the new artistic director of the Pearl Theatre Company in New York City, and the job is keeping him busy in the Big Apple this year. “I can only say that I know this to be a one-year break, and the Hometown Holiday show will be back in 2010,” Sullivan said in the news release.
October 29th, 2009
The 2009 Murder Mystery Dinner at Cliffbreakers Riverside Resort in Rockford on Oct. 17 netted the Pec Playhouse Theatre more than $5,500, including silent auction items.
It was the fifth annual event for the Pecatonica theater, and money from “Terror in TV Land” will help fund theater programs and pay the theater’s mortgage.
October 20th, 2009
J.R. Sullivan, founder of the now-defunct New American Theater in Rockford, was featured Saturday in the New York Times.
He’s the new chief of the Pearl Theater in New York. The story mentions his ties to Rockford.
Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times
J. R. Sullivan, the Pearl Theater’s artistic director, outside Stage II at City Center, where the company has started its new season.
October 5th, 2009
Artists’ Ensemble Theatre is looking for a young male actor to play the role of 10-year-old Jason in “Might Have Gone Fishing.”
The story is about Jason, a young boy who desperately wants to go fishing with his father. Instead his parents divorce. Time passes but not his desire to reconnect with his father. Jason is haunted by his own child voice crying out for that lost fishing trip.
Auditions will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, in Cheek Theatre at Rockford College. For more information, call 815-394-5004.
“Might Have Gone Fishing” begins rehearsals Feb. 8 and performs March 12 to 28. Rehearsals are weekday evenings and weekend afternoons.
June 4th, 2009
J.R. Sullivan starts a new job Aug. 1 as artistic director of The Pearl Theatre Company in New York, an organization Variety magazine calls the “premier Off-Broadway classical rep(ertoire) group.”
(Register Star photo of Sullivan introducing actress Marin Mazzie during the evening performance of the Lights On Concert at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford in 2001.)
Sullivan founded New American Theater in Rockford in 1972 and served as producing artistic director until 1994. The theater closed in 2006. He also produces and stars in the annual December “Hometown Holiday with J.R. Sullivan and Friends” variety show, most recently at the former NAT building in downtown Rockford.
Sullivan has directed five productions for The Pearl. The Pearl produces five shows a year. Sullivan also is an associate artistic director of the Utah Shakespearean Festival and has directed for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Another coup for Sullivan: A script he and Joseph Hanreddy wrote, an adaptation of “Pride & Prejudice,” will be featured on stage at the Oregon and Utah Shakespeare festivals in the summer of 2010.
June 3rd, 2009
Cast members of the musical “Mamma Mia!” who will perform at 7:30 p.m. shows July 21 to 23 in Rockford also will perform Sunday during the Tony Awards, which recognize theater achievements.
The three Dynamos — Michelle Dawson, Kittra Wynn Coomer and Rachel Tyler — will be featured in a special performance at the awards program, which begins at 7 p.m. Sunday on WIFR-TV (Comcast 5). The trio also will perform next month at the Coronado Performing Arts Center, 314 N. Main St.
Tickets for the productions at the Coronado cost $36.50 to $61.50 and are available at coronadopac.org and 815-968-0595.
May 26th, 2009
Two comedies, a variety show and “The Wizard of Oz” will be presented by the Byron Civic Theatre for its 15th season starting in August at the new Byron Middle School, 850 N. Colfax St., Byron:
“The Wizard of Oz,” featuring a tornado, rainbow, Dorothy and Toto, the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow, and munchkins will be Aug. 14 to 16 and Aug. 21 to 23.
“Christmas Kaleidoscope,” a variety show, will be Nov. 27 to 29 and Dec. 4 to 6. The holiday classic showcases new songs, holiday favorites, a winter wonderland set and must-see costumes.
“See How They Run,” an English comedy, will be Jan. 29 to 31 and Feb. 5 to 7. Its tense situations include vicars and mistaken identity.
“The Producers” is a comedy about two con men who try to take money from theater investors. It will be April 23, 24, 25 and 30 and May 1 and 2.
Shows are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets cost $12, $10 for seniors, $6 for children and students. Memberships cost $36, $30 for seniors. A membership entitles members to one ticket to each production, along with other benefits and are available through the close of the first show. It’s like getting one show free.
For more information, call 815-234-3000.
May 11th, 2009
Want theater in Byron?
The new Byron Middle School, which opens this fall at 850 N. Colfax St., will host all plays by Byron Civic Theatre, as well as those put on by Byron High School and middle school students.
“There are a lot of aging problems in the high school theater — broken seats, lighting and sound … and design issues — that would cost so much to deal with,” Dan Danielowski, president of the theater group, said in an e-mail. Byron Civic Theatre had put on plays at Sunderman Theatre in Byron High School since its inception in 1995. “When this opportunity came up, it seemed like a great fit,” he said.
The theater group, with 345 members, puts on four plays each year. The new season will be announced Saturday at the group’s gala at 8 p.m. at Sunderman, 696 North Colfax St., where the Byron Civic Theatre board will put on a free comedy/musical review of the past season’s productions.
(”A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” produced in 2008 by Byron Civic Theatre. Photo provided.)
The new theater is bigger and will be more technologically advanced. It has 550 seats, compared with 387 in Sunderman. Some smaller productions have smaller crowds, 220 to 250 a show, Danielowski said. But many times, the group had to set up chairs for overflow crowds, he added.
In the new theater, there is a large “scene shop” that allows the next production bo begin building prior to completion of the present production. All lighting areas will have catwalks to access the lighting. Electric winches above the stage will be used to move scenery. And the sound system is completely digital. “From a working standpoint, it will enable our technicians to do much more with much less effort,” he said.
The civic theater group has contributed about $80,000 in equipment for the new middle school theater, Danielowski said. The group is raising money for equipment purchases partly by asking for contributions in exchange for names being placed on tiles, seats and plaques. The Byron School District does not intend to charge Byron Civic Theatre rent to use the theater space but may assess some fees, said superintendent Margaret Fostiak.
“It has been a long-time, … very cooperative relationship,” Fostiak said the school district and Byron Civic Theatre working together. “We are looking forward to an ongoing relationship,” she said.
She said Sunderman Theatre may host play rehearsals, and she’s unsure yet what might become of the current middle school, part of which dates to 1939.
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