Belles of Dublin returns for 4^th engagement

at

The Red Room at Society Hill Playhouse,

home of BCKSEET Productions

A Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day tradition!

What: Belles of Dublin

Who:   Polly MacIntyre, Kim Robson, and Evangeline Williams

Where: 507 S. 8^th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

(between Lombard & South streets)

When:

Wednesday March 17, 2010 - 8 pm

Thursday March 18, 2010 – 8 pm

Friday March 19, 2010 – 8 pm

Saturday March 20, 2010 – 8pm

Sunday March 21, 2010 – 3pm

Tickets: Tickets are $20.00 and include 1 free drink.  215-923-0210 or www.societyhillplayhouse.org

About: Belles of Dublin interlaces stories of coming of age and illicit love affairs gone wrong with traditional Irish music featuring vocals, flute, and Celtic harp.

According to Tim Treanor of DC Theatre Scene, “The stories are carved and scoured with language like a cascade of diamonds. It is not simply MacIntyre’s brogue which identifies the pieces as Irish. They radiate the sort of liquid cynicism which has marked the Irish literary voice from Swift through Frank McCourt. The protagonist tells her story from the point of view of love, and the opportunity for love, long past. This could be depressing, but MacIntyre makes it sound rueful, wistful, and, with surprising frequency, funny. That’s in large part because she excerpts her content from the writing of the fine, if underappreciated, Irish writer Edna O’Brien. I do not know what O’Brien would sound like reading her stories, but if she doesn’t sound like MacIntyre, I bet she wishes she did.”

For 1/2 price tickets to see Take Me Out at Plays and Players, runs March 13 – 27 ($20/ ticket), enter promotional code “PHILACULTURATI” (all caps) when you order tickets online. Click here to purchase tickets.

Plays and Players Presents Take Me Out

Plays & Players, Center City Philadelphia’s longest continually operated theater will present the Tony Award Winning play “Take Me Out” written by Richard Greenberg and directed by Daniel Student.

Set in the world of professional baseball, “Take Me Out” looks at America’s National Pastime. How it is forever altered as Darren Lemmings, star of the New York Empires, comes out of the closet to his team, his friends, and to the public at large. As his deeply racist and homophobic teammate, Shane Mungitt, grows incensed by the news, Darren’s gay financial manager, Mason Marzac, finds a new hero, and the other players see their locker room in a whole new light, the only person who seems unaffected is Darren himself. The drama of the season unfolds on and off the field, with tragic results.

“Take Me Out” was the recipient of the Tony Award for Best Play 2003 and was nominated for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It played 383 performances on Broadway.

Featured in the show are Chuck DeLong, Bill Egan, Sam Han, Gerard Joseph, Joe Matyas, David Mason, Ted Powell, Jerry Rudasill, Dan Sanchez, Ryan Walter, and Peter Zielinski.

Performances are March 11 – 27, 2010. Showtime for Thursday-Saturdays performances are 8:00 pm. Sundays performances are at 4:00 pm. March 11th and 12th are special preview performances, and all regular priced tickets are $5 off.

Following performances on March 12, 19 and 20 audience members are invited to a new play festival “Peanuts and Cracker Jacks” which will feature baseball themed plays Tickets are $10 or free with your Take Me Out ticket stub

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door for adults, $15 student rush (one half hour before curtain), and $10 for groups of 10 or more. All performances will be given in Plays & Players Main Stage at 1714 Delancey Place (between Spruce & Pine Streets). Tickets may be purchased atwww.playsandplayers.org or by calling (800) 595-4TIX. For additional information call the theatre at (215) 735-0630.

Take Me Out contains adult language and brief nudity.

INTERACT THEATRE & MURAL ARTS
COLLABORATE TO PREMIERE NEW PLAY
ADDRESSING CRIME IN PHILADELPHIA

CITY OF NUMBERS
mixtape of a city…

Written by Sean Christopher Lewis

Directed by Matt Slaybaugh

Please Note: CITY OF NUMBERS contains adult language.

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OVERVIEW:

WHAT: CITY OF NUMBERS

mixtape of a city…

Written & Performed by Sean Christopher Lewis

Directed by Matt Slaybaugh

WHEN: January 22 – February 21, 2010

Tuesdays & Wednesdays @ 7 p.m.; Thursdays – Saturdays @ 8 p.m.; Sundays @ 2 p.m.; Saturday, January 23 @ 2 p.m.

PRICE: $16 Previews

$25 Tuesdays – Thursdays

$29 Fridays – Sundays

Discounts available for groups, seniors and students

WHERE: On the Mainstage of The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia

INFO / RESERVATIONS: InterAct Theatre Company Box Office

Phone: 215.568.8079

Online: www.InterActTheatre.org

PHOTOS from the Opening Night Reception now on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=138407&id=49107703151

WICKED Announces Lottery for $25 Seats

Performances Begin January 6 at the Academy of Music

January 4, 2010

A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of seats will be held daily for WICKED, which will be performing from January 6 – 24, 2010 at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music. Each day, 2½ hours prior to show time up to 20 people who present themselves at the Academy of Music box office (Broad St. & Locust St.) will have their names placed in a ‘witches hat’ and then 30 minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of seats at $25 each, cash only.  This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person. A limited number of regular price tickets still remain for performances of WICKED.

WICKED begins performances at the Academy of Music January 6 and runs through January 24. When WICKED played Philadelphia in 2006 and 2007, both engagements sold out in record time and broke box office house records.

BUNGEE ACROBATICS, HOLIDAY HARNESSES & MORE…

• INTRO to AERIALS WORKSHOP.  Adults (and teens starting at 16 years) can try out the rope, fabric and static trapeze with other brand new beginners.  $20 gets you off your feet.  Friday, Dec. 4, 7-8:15 pm, $20. Reservation required.

• AERIAL DANCE HARNESSES.  Led by Karen Fuhrman, an aerial dance theater pro whose GROUNDED company is known for apparatus based-movement. Get in the air and enjoy feeling the weightlessness as you learn how to run on walls, do back flips, front flips and more.  Adults. Limited by your imagination but not your level of experience.  Sat. Dec 5, 1:30-3:30 pm, $35, and Sun, Dec 6, 5:30-7:30 pm $35.  Reservation required.

• BUNGEE ACROBATICS – Intro.  Bounce with power to ridiculous heights. Learn how to do a back flip safely. Choreograph and expand your movement vocabulary on a new device.  Dynamic and fun. Max 4 students per section, on two bungee rigs.  Sat. Dec 5, 4-5:30 pm, 5:30-7 pm or 7:30-9 pm. $30. Reservation required.

• KIDS DAY at the CIRCUS (ages 3-15).  Kids can try professional circus equipment.  They’ll be separated in groups by age while they learn to climb ropes, walk on a tightwire, stand no a rolling globe and juggle. Wed. Dec. 30, 4-5:30 pm. $10.  Reservation required.

The Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, 5900 Greene Street – one mile east of Lincoln Drive.  Enter off the corner on Rittenhouse St.  Parking is free. 215 849-1991.www.phillycircus.com

11th Hour Theatre Company and Theatre Horizon present:

Little Shop of Horrors

Music by Alan Menken, Book by Howard Ashman
Directed by Megan Nicole O’Brien

11th Hour Theatre Company and Theatre Horizon are bringing audiences back to Skid Row one more time as they present the Center City run of their inventive reimagining of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s classic Little Shop of Horrors. This production debuted at Montgomery County’s Centre Theatre. Now, this fresh take on a musical gem will hit the boards at the Independence Black Box at the Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street, running from November 27-December 20, 2009. The show will open on Thursday, December 3. Tickets cost $27 – $30. There is a three dollar discount for all tickets purchased online. Tickets for preview performances cost $17 – there is no discount on preview tickets. Tickets are available at www.11thhourtheatrecompany.org or by calling the box office at 267-987-9865.

Steve Pacek as Seymour in 11th Hour’s Little Shop of Horrors

11th Hour and Theatre Horizon will take audiences downtown to Skid Row, where depression is the status quo and most people are dying to get out. Director Megan Nicole O’Brien and the artistic team have set out to create a sense of realism with the show, doing away with the typical cartoonish set, performances, and staging that have traditionally been paired with productions. On Skid Row, audiences will meet flower shop clerk Seymour who sets out to win the heart of the beautiful Audrey and escape their miserable life in the ghetto. Seymour and Audrey are co-workers at Mushnik’s Skid Row Florists. While browsing the wholesale flower district, a sudden eclipse of the sun drops a weird plant in Seymour’s way. He brings it back to the shop and names it Audrey II. Will this plant offer escape? Or will it the plant’s deadly appetite open up a new found blood lust in Seymour.

“This show is a lot grittier. We wondered what it would be like if this really was Skid Row. We looked at what these characters would be like if they really existed,” said director Megan Nicole O’Brien. “We didn’t want Seymour to be that cartoony, ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ caricature that people are used to. I really always felt that there is something lost with Audrey played as the traditional blond bombshell stereotype. I really wanted audiences to hear what she had to say. I always saw her as a gentle, sweet, and kind person. She has wisdom for other people, but not so much for herself. As we created the show, we really thought about who these people would be in real life.”

Steve Pacek, one of the founders of 11th Hour Theatre Company, appears as Seymour. Melinda Bass, who was part of 11th Hour’s Barrymore Award-winning ensemble for World Goes ‘Round, is joining the cast as Audrey. Bass replaces Maggie Lakis. Lakis has left the cast to join the New York cast of Avenue Q, reprising the roles she played on the First National Tour. Laura Giknis, Alex Keiper, and Candace Thomas are appearing as Chiffon, Ronette, and Crystal, the sassy denizens of Skid Row. Carl Clemons-Hopkins plays Audrey’s sadistic dentist boyfriend. Paul McElwee is appearing as Mushnick. M.K. Hines voices the deadly plant, Audrey II while Craig Patrick O’Brien controls and manipulates it.

11th Hour co-founder O’Brien directs the show. Noted local director and puppet designer Aaron Cromie designed the puppets that serve as Audrey II. Shelley Hicklin is setting the lights and Lauren Perigard designed the costumes. Jenn Rose choreographed the show and Mark Valenzuela designed the sound. Dan Kazemi serves as Music Director. He recently won the Barrymore Award for the musical direction of Avenue X.

“We wanted the audience to hear what these people had to say,” said O’Brien. “We wanted the show to have a voice that is relevant to this point in time.”

About 11th Hour Theatre Company
11th Hour Theatre Company is a not-for-profit company committed to expanding one of the truly great American art forms…musical theatre. As one of only two companies in the city dedicated to producing musical theatre, 11th Hour focuses on the intimate relationship that forms between artist and audience when music, theatre and dance come together to entertain, educate and inspire.

Location: Prince Music Theater
1412 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia,PA19103

Dates: November 27, 2009- December 20, 2009: Wednesday – Sunday
Saturday November 28th @ 8pm (Preview)
Sunday November 29th @ 2pm & 7pm (Previews)
Wednesday December 2nd @ 6:30pm (Preview)
Thursday December 3rd @ 7pm (Opening Night)
Friday December 4th @ 8pm
Saturday December 5th @ 8pm
Sunday December 6th @ 2pm
Wednesday December 9th @ 6:30pm
Thursday December 10th @ 6:30pm
Friday December 11th @ 8pm
Saturday December 12th @ 8pm
Sunday December 13th @ 2pm
Monday December 14th @ 7pm (Industry Night)
Thursday December 17th @ 6:30pm
Friday December 18th @ 8pm
Saturday December 19th @ 8pm (only)
Sunday December 20th @ 2pm