August: Osage County that just opened at the Ellie Calkins is 3-hours of powerful testimony to the dark-side of the upward mobility of the American Dream.
Violet and Beverly Weston married, built a home, and raised a family of 3 girls, and then spent year after year trapped in a loveless coexistence of alcoholism and drug addiction. August: Osage County is like a 12-step meeting when the family comes to grips with it's bottom.
Violet is powerless in her delusion of strength. She pushes away those who would help her, she's an isolated, lonely individual falling fall short of the great person she had the potential to be. "I can take care of it myself," alternates with "why don't you help me."
The play is powerful testimony for the need we each have for community and healthy relationships, and a graphic illustration of what happens when they are missing from our life.
We leave the theatre not whistling but thinking, the play forces us to ask, "where am I now, and what am I going to do with the rest of my life?"
Denver Post review: http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment_old/ci_12901886
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Mary and I will be at the opening tonight as the Denver Center Attractions will launch the national touring production of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY direct from its phenomenal award-winning run on Broadway.
Written by Tracy Letts, the play tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead when the alcoholic patriarch disappears.
Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with matriarch Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of this storm.
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is a rare theatrical event—a large-scale work filled with unforgettable characters, a powerful tale told with unflinching honesty and the unforgettable breakthrough of a major American playwright.
The New York Times deemed AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY “flat-out, without qualification, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years.”
Tickets start at $22
Groups (15+) submit a Group Request by using the button above or call 303.446.4829
Show advisory: Contains adult language and situations
Running time: 3 hrs 20 min with two 15 min intermissions
Closes: August 8.
To buy tickets online: http://www.denvercenter.org/
Written by Tracy Letts, the play tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead when the alcoholic patriarch disappears.
Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with matriarch Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of this storm.
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is a rare theatrical event—a large-scale work filled with unforgettable characters, a powerful tale told with unflinching honesty and the unforgettable breakthrough of a major American playwright.
The New York Times deemed AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY “flat-out, without qualification, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years.”
Tickets start at $22
Groups (15+) submit a Group Request by using the button above or call 303.446.4829
Show advisory: Contains adult language and situations
Running time: 3 hrs 20 min with two 15 min intermissions
Closes: August 8.
To buy tickets online: http://www.denvercenter.org/
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Central City Opera’s A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (2009). The clowns: Sylvia McNair (Desiree Armfeldt) and Roberth Orth (Frederik Egerman).
Photo by Mark Kiryluk
The performance, the music, the staging: Last night was extraordinary.
This is a dark story with bright sparks of hope. A man looses his wife, has an affair, finally marries a woman younger than his son and treats her like a daughter. In the end, couples renew their commitments to each other. The message: Hope is well-founded, even clowns can find happiness. God keeps offering all of us clowns another chance.
Wonderful Central City Opera production in the fantastic crown jewel of the Rockies, the Tabor House.
Denver Post Review (click here)
Judi Dench, "Send in the Clowns."
Monday, July 20, 2009
For its second offering of the 2009 Festival, Central City Opera (CCO) presents Sondheim’s homage to turn-of-the-century operetta style, A Little Night Music.
A Little Night Music continues through July 31 at the Central City Opera House in Central City, Colo. The musical will be performed in its original English.
Winner of the Tony® Award for Best Musical, Best Book and Original Score, A Little Night Music explores the humor, compassion, and irony of upper crust couples searching for the right partner in early 20th century Sweden. Confrontations occur at a country dinner party where the romantically entangled guests consist of past and present loves of the famous stage actress, Desiree, and their current lovers who are united in their resentment of the actress.
The book by Hugh Wheeler was inspired by the Ingmar Bergman comedic film, Smiles of a Summer Night. After almost a decade of directing films to mostly local and regional acclaim, Smiles of a Summer Night launched Ingmar Bergman’s international career in 1956 when it was nominated for the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or Award.
Before every performance, a free pre-performance preview, Opera Notes, allows the audience to gain further insight into each production.
To purchase tickets or for more information, call the Central City Opera Box Office at 303-292-6700; 800-851-8175 or go online to www.centralcityopera.org.
Central City Opera House Association is the nation’s fifth-oldest opera company, located just 35 miles west of Denver in one of Colorado’s official National Landmark Historic Districts.
A Little Night Music continues through July 31 at the Central City Opera House in Central City, Colo. The musical will be performed in its original English.
Winner of the Tony® Award for Best Musical, Best Book and Original Score, A Little Night Music explores the humor, compassion, and irony of upper crust couples searching for the right partner in early 20th century Sweden. Confrontations occur at a country dinner party where the romantically entangled guests consist of past and present loves of the famous stage actress, Desiree, and their current lovers who are united in their resentment of the actress.
The book by Hugh Wheeler was inspired by the Ingmar Bergman comedic film, Smiles of a Summer Night. After almost a decade of directing films to mostly local and regional acclaim, Smiles of a Summer Night launched Ingmar Bergman’s international career in 1956 when it was nominated for the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or Award.
Before every performance, a free pre-performance preview, Opera Notes, allows the audience to gain further insight into each production.
To purchase tickets or for more information, call the Central City Opera Box Office at 303-292-6700; 800-851-8175 or go online to www.centralcityopera.org.
Central City Opera House Association is the nation’s fifth-oldest opera company, located just 35 miles west of Denver in one of Colorado’s official National Landmark Historic Districts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)