April Events at the Arvada Center
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Arvada Center Picks Up 5 “Best of Denver 2013″ Westword Awards
Arvada Center recently received five awards from Denver Westword in their “Best of Denver 2013″ annual awards program.
Congratulations to all involved that made these fun awards happen!
+ Best Big Show about Colorado Art ||
Art of the State: A Juried Exhibition of Colorado
Arvada Center curator Collin Parson has redirected the venue’s visual-arts program so that it zeroes in on work made by in-state talent. The resulting exhibitions included solos dedicated to David Yust and Robert Mangold, and group shows focused on representational artists and women. His most successful effort, though, was Art of the State.
Watch this video with Eden Lane of In Focus feature “Art of the State”
+ Best Drag Performance || Steven Cole Hughes in Is He Dead? by Creede Repertory Theatre
Steven Cole Hughes played Millet in Is He Dead?, a Creede Repertory Theatre production presented at the Arvada Center, but he spent most of his time in drag as Daisy — and he did it deliciously.Despite the frilly dress and golden wig, he avoided the usual mincing walk, smeary clown lipstick and high-pitched giggle.
Watch this fun video on Facebook of Steven’s “quick change routine”. Don’t miss the part at 0:39! ——————————————————–>>
+ Best Actor In A Musical || Erick Devine in Miracle on 34th Street
Erick Devine exuded kindness and humanity as Kris Kringle in the Arvada Center’s Miracle on 34th Street. He has a big, rich baritone, and his portrayal brought so much warmth to the show that when he told little Susan he really was Santa Claus, you didn’t doubt it for a moment.
Watch Lauren Shealy and Erick Devine in their roles in Miracle on 34th Street
+ Best Actress in a Musical || Lauren Shealy in Miracle on 34th Street
Doris is a young single mother, a spunky, supposedly cynical professional who nonetheless has an easily breached heart — in other words, she’s a pretty generic musical-comedy heroine. The script is on the nondescript side, and the songs are so-so. Nonetheless, in large part due to Lauren Shealy’s fine soprano and strong performance in this Arvada Center production, the musical was one of the tastiest Christmas treats around.
+ Best Supporting Actor in a Musical || 6yr-old Nate Kissingford in
Miracle on 34th Street
Nate Kissingford is only six years old. Still, we can’t remember seeing an actor stop the action quite the way he did when little Tommy took the courtroom stand in the Arvada Center’s Miracle on 34th Street and, with devastating innocence, utterly destroyed his prosecutor father’s case against Kris Kringle. Cute kids often bring down the house, as Kissingford did. But it’s a rare child who can perform with this much poise, timing, concentration and sweet lack of self-consciousness.
Here’s Nate, with his co-star Ashlyn Faith Williams, in a “backstage-behind-the-scenes” video interview about his role in the show.
March Events at The Arvada Center
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Schubert in the Age of the Sound Bite || Keyboard Conversations® return!
Celebrated concert pianist and conductor Jeffrey Siegel returns to the Arvada Center for his 25th season with a program of great concerts that inform as well as entertain.
Next week, the Arvada Center features:
Schubert in the Age of the Sound Bite 
In this robotic, impersonal, computerized age, the glorious melodies, incandescent harmonies, and heavenly visions of Schubert’s music affect us ever more deeply.
Main Stage Theater
Wednesday, March 6, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
What Are Keyboard Conversations® …
…are concerts with lively commentary<, an innovative format that differs from my traditional recitals and appearances as piano soloist with symphony orchestras, when I do not speak a word.
… are a concert-plus – A Keyboard Conversation is primarily a concert; each work on the program is performed in its entirety. As the significant plus, I speak briefly and informally to the audience before performing each composition, illustrating with a few pertinent musical examples from the keyboard. My hope is that the remarks I share will make the music more accessible, the listening experience more focused and meaningful.
… conclude with a brisk question and answer session, when audiences delight in the opportunity to participate. All questions are welcome!
… have broad, popular appeal. They consistently attract avid music lovers, who wish to increase their understanding and enjoyment of familiar works, and also reach out to newcomers to classical music, who are engaged by the entertaining, upbeat format.
… span more than 100 different titles. Repertoire can range from well-known chestnuts, such as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata or Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, to rarer gems, such as Leonard Bernstein’s unpublished Meditation on a Wedding. Before performing a work, I invite listeners to consider such questions as, for example:
- How was the music of Robert Schumann affected by his love life?
- In Beethoven’s immortal Für Elise, who was “Elise,” and why did
Beethoven write this “love poem” for her? - How was Brahms able to compose a monumental work based on only one very short melody?
- Why didn’t Chopin publish his popular Fantasie Impromptu?
After considering a few such intriguing questions and marveling at the ingenious ways inspired composers have created their masterpieces, members of the audience hear the music with a fresh perspective at the performance that follows. They feel they are now listening on the “inside track,” experiencing a work as something more rewarding than a mere ear wash of sound.
Today, we read a great deal about the declining interest in classical music. I believe, however, that the transcendent dimension music adds to our lives is more necessary now than ever. As human beings, we need to be moved, affected and inspired – and if we lend an open ear and willing heart, great music can inspire us uniquely. The ever-expanding audiences for Keyboard Conversations throughout the United States reaffirm my conviction that this stimulating concert format makes friends for classical music and enriches listeners profoundly.
Keyboard Conversations are for anyone who loves music – or wants to love it even more. Attend a Keyboard Conversation – enrich your life with great music!
A Special Engagement: “The Foreigner” from PHAMALY
Every year, the Arvada Center offers a special engagement production for our patrons. For the last few years, we have proudly partnered with Phamaly Theatre Company (formerly known as The Physically Handicapped Actors& Musical Artists League). Phamaly produces professional scale plays and musicals year-round throughout the Denver Metro region, cast entirely of performers with disabilities across the spectrum (physical, cognitive, emotional, blindness, deafness…etc.) Phamaly was formed in 1989 when a group of former students of the Boettcher School in Denver, Colorado, grew frustrated with the lack of theatrical opportunities for people living with disabilities, and decided to create a theatre company that would provide individuals with disabilities the opportunity to perform. As a not-for-profit membership organization, Phamaly is dedicated to producing traditional theatre in nontraditional ways. [source: http://www.phamaly.org/about/]
This month we feature
PHAMALY presents
The Foreigner
By Larry Shue
Laugh along as we follow a group of mismatched characters staying at a resort-style fishing lodge where a very shy man is mistaken as a foreigner who doesn’t speak English. Like a fly on the wall, the mysterious foreigner overhears more than he should about the scandalous and damaging revelations of the resort’s inhabitants. The nonstop hilarity of the play builds to an uproariously funny climax where events go awry for the “bad guys” and the “good guys” emerge triumphant.
Main Stage Theater
February 22 – 24, 2013
Times & Pricing
Friday Feb 22 at 7:30 p.m.; $29
Saturday Feb 23 at 7:30 p.m.; $29
Sunday Feb 24 at 2 p.m.; $29
Check Out More Info from the PHAMALY blog about “The Foreigner”
One Minute [Video] With Phamaly: The Foreigner (Actors Trenton Schindele vs. Daniel Traylor)
Meet Lyndsay Palmer (Catherine from The Foreigner)
What made you want to join Phamaly?
-Jeremy Palmer mentioned Phamaly to me while we were classmates in college, and I auditioned for Guys and Doll in 2004.
Who is your character in three words?
-Spoiled, Sorority girl, controlling
What is your disability?
-I am hearing impaired, I’m completely deaf in my right ear and partially in my left.
How does your disability affect your character?
-It doesn’t affect my character as much as personally. Personally it is a challenge for me to hear my cues. I have to be aware of where sounds are coming from so I can react normally, and not like I’m reacting to lines.
How does your character relate to you?
-She is very different from me. Even though she is a spoiled, controlling person, she is still a very caring, worried person and I can relate to that. I’m always hoping that people are comfortable and they have what they need and Catherine still has that in her nature, she nurturing.
What is the play about?
-Betty Meeks owns this hunting lodge in rural Georgia, a foreigner comes to visit under obligation and he gets caught up in everyone’s drama and secret identities. Charlie keeps secrets really well.
When did you know you wanted to be an actor?
-I knew at a young age, I was ‘born on stage’. I started dancing at two years, and I just loved being on stage, so I started acting at five years.
How did you hear about Phamaly?
-I heard through Jeremy, my husband. We were doing a show in college, and he knew I was hearing impaired so he brought up Phamaly and I auditioned.
What was your first role with Phamaly?
-My first role with Phamaly was Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls.
Did you know about the Foreigner before you auditioned?
-I didn’t, I found about it when Jeremy announced their season, so I watched a video of it with Matthew Broderick as Charlie. It was amazing acting and a very well done show and I knew then for sure I wanted to audition.
How has Phamaly had an impact on you?
- Phamaly is my life, I met my husband through Phamaly, and I have certainly grown more as an actor. I’ve grown as a leader, and I’m usually dance captain for the musicals. Every show I do at Phamaly I learn more about myself and other people. You won’t find another experience anywhere else, Phamaly changes your life.
What do you love about Phamaly?
-I’ve met my best friends through Phamaly. I love that they focus on people’s abilities not disabilities, and how they help me feel comfortable with who I am. They are a unique company in many ways, and you work with many amazing people.
Why should people come see the show?
-It is a comedy, its funny, and its a great piece of theatre. I love the show, and if people have never seen a Phamaly show, this is definitely the show to see, it showcases a variety of different disabilities.
