Tag Archives: Mike Nichols

AVENUE Q at Arkansas Rep

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Avenue-QThe Arkansas Repertory Theatre closes out the 2012-2013 season with the Tony winning musical Avenue Q which begins performances this week.  Avenue Q, which won three 2004 Tony Awards including Best Musical, opens on Friday, June 7 following previews on June 5 & 6.  The production runs through June 30

Avenue Q is an adult, laugh-out-loud puppet musical that tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. There, he meets Kate (the girl next door), Christmas Eve, Trekkie Monster, Gary Coleman and other colorful types who help Princeton finally discover his purpose in life.

The cast includes Will Holly, Bailey Means, Kathleen Choe, Jimmy Kieffer, Ethan Paulini, Shaleah Adkisson, Chad Burris and Leah Monzillo.  Lauren McClendon, Henry Melhorn and Mary Katelin Ward are understudies.

The production is directed by Robert Kolby Harper.  Rick Lyon, who worked on and starred in the original production of Avenue Q is the puppet designer and puppet coach.  The other members of the design team include Christopher Pickart (scenery), Shelly Hall (costumes), Daniel Davisson (lighting), Allan Branson (sound), Lynda J. Kwallek (properties) and Mike Nichols (technical director).  Michael Rice is the music director.

Avenue Q features a Tony winning book by Jeff Whitty and a Tony winning score by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez.  It was originally directed by Fayetteville native Jason Moore (who received a Tony nomination for his direction).

GEE’S BEND at Arkansas Rep

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Quilts are not just coverings for warmth, they often tell a story.  The quilts and quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama are the focus of the play Gee’s Bend, which opened on Friday night at the Arkansas Rep and continues through February 1

Gee’s Bend was written by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder.  It follows a group of women as they turn to quilting to provide comfort and creative expression to their lives. Pieced together from discarded clothes and seasoned with laughter and tears, the women sew a patchwork of inventive abstract designs in rich, blazing colors.

The play opens in 1939, with the beginning of the era of African-American land ownership. The story then advances to 1965, in the midst of the Civil Rights movement and the historic visit to Gee’s Bend by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. The production concludes in 2002, on the eve of the unveiling of “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend” exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas.

Gee’s Bend was commissioned by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Southern Writers Project, where it received a staged reading in 2006 and premiered in January 2007. A graduate of the dramatic writing program at New York University, Wilder received the American Theatre Critics Association’s 2008 Elizabeth Osborn New Play Award for an emerging playwright.

Gee’s Bend is directed by Gilbert McCauley, who has directed several plays previously at the Rep.  The cast features Corey Jones, Nambi E. Kelley, Shannon Lamb and Monica Parks.   The design team includes Mike Nichols (scenery), Yslan Hicks (costumes), John Horner (lighting), Allan Branson (sound) and Lynda J. Kwallek (props). Robert Hupp is the Producing Artistic Director of the Arkansas Rep.

The Rep’s production of Gee’s Bend is supported and sponsored by The Design Group, Philander Smith College, Arora, Delta Airlines and the Little Rock Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.  It is also made possible in part by a grant from the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation, a component fund of the Arkansas Community Fund.

Final Weekend to go SINGIN’ ON A STAR

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Tonight at 7 and tomorrow at 2 and 7 are the final three times to catch the Arkansas Rep Young Artist production of Singin’ on a Star. The show is all about the actor’s journey from stardust to stardom, set to a toe-tapping soundtrack of modern song selections from the top pop charts and the Great White Way.

The production is directed by Nicole Capri, who is the Rep’s Resident Director and Director of Education.  Karen Q. Clark serves as Music Director.  Choreography is provided by Capri, Stacy Hawking, Marisa Kirby and Stephen K. Stone.  The design team includes Mike Nichols (sets), Shelly Hall (costumes), Dan Kimble (lighting), Lynda J. Kwallek (props) and Allan Branson (sound).

The cast is composed of of over 50 junior high and high school students who will literally fill the stage with their acting, singing and dancing.  They include: Skylar Bartlett, Cross Brandon, Matthew Carey, Calvin Chester, Cayla Christian, Jacob Clanton, Drew Clark, Andrew Curzon, Drew Dame, Spencer Davis, Anna Bliss Dean, C.J. Fowler, Jennifer Fuller, Melody Garrett, Zach Graham, Kayla Gray, Katie Greer, Christian Hickingbotham, Matthew Hugg, Sydney Ippolito, Mary Kate Jackson, Grace Jackson, Nia Jackson, Jackson James and Dalton Johnson.

Others in the cast include Riley Knight, Bailey Lamb, Julia Landfair, Maddie Lentz, Malik Marshall, Cass Martin, Annie McCurdy, Damon McKinnis, Elena McKinnis, Helen Melhorn, Henry Melhorn, Ella Moody, Angela  Morgan, Michael Myers, Annie Niswanger, Yasmin Newman, Caroline Osborn, Adrianne Owings, Cassidy Ratliff, Marina Redlich, Molly Russ, Kennedy Sample, Sterling Saul, Allie Scott, Jake Scott, Abby Shourd, Heidi Sohl, Alyssa Sowers, Sheffield Spence, Shelby Spooner, Mary Katelin Ward, Mia Waymack, Jhonika Wright and Charl Young.

For some observations from one of the summer performances of this production, click here.

Ark Rep’s Young Artists go “Singin’ on a Star” this week

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This past summer, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s Summer Musical Theatre Intensive (SMTI) presented workshops of Singin’ on a Star.  This week, the final version of Singin’ on a Star opens for a two week run on the Rep’s stage.

The show is all about the actor’s journey from stardust to stardom, set to a toe-tapping soundtrack of modern song selections from the top pop charts and the Great White Way.

The production is directed by Nicole Capri, who is the Rep’s Resident Director and Director of Education.  Karen Q. Clark serves as Music Director.  Choreography is provided by Capri, Stacy Hawking, Marisa Kirby and Stephen K. Stone.  The design team includes Mike Nichols (sets), Shelly Hall (costumes), Dan Kimble (lighting), Lynda J. Kwallek (props) and Allan Branson (sound).

The cast is composed of of over 50 junior high and high school students who will literally fill the stage with their acting, singing and dancing.

There is a preview performance on Wednesday the 24th with opening night on Friday, October 26.  Performances will continue with evening performances at 7 on Saturday, October 27 as well as November 1 – 3.  There will be 2pm matinees on October 27 and 28 as well as November 3.

For some observations from one of the summer performances of this production, click here.

 

The Band of Brothers: HENRY V at Arkansas Rep

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The Arkansas Repertory Theatre kicks off its 37th season with William Shakespeare’s Henry V.  Directed by Producing Artistic Director Robert Hupp, this production is the first of Shakespeare’s History plays to be produced at the Rep.

The production reunites Hupp with actors Avery Clark and Nikki Coble from the Rep’s widely acclaimed production of Hamlet in 2010.  The cast is an amalgam of seasoned Rep veterans and newcomers.  It includes Jason Collins, Jason Guy, Peter Leake, Joe Menino, Irungu Mutu, Richard Prioleau, Paul Romero, Mitch Tebo, Ed Lowry, DC Wright, Bill Jones, Sheila Glasscock, Fang Du, Ashton Crosby, Michael Bartholmey, Nate Washburn and Andrew Curzon.

Other members of the creative team include scenic designer Mike Nichols (beginning his 30th season at the Rep), costume designer Marianne Custer, lighting designer Michael J. Eddy, props by Lynda J. Kwallek and sound designer Jim Spencer.  Ellen Mandel returns to the Rep as composer of the show’s original score.

Henry V runs through September 23.

On September 10, the “Reel Classics with the Rep” series at Laman Library will feature the Kenneth Branagh film version of Henry V at 6pm.

The Rep will also host a Student Actor Workshop with the cast from 1pm to 4pm on September 15.  This workshop for high school and college students ages 15-22. The Student Actor Workshop will cover on-stage combat, blocking and dissecting the language of Shakespeare’s Henry V for a modern audience. The workshop will be led by professional actors Avery Clark and Nikki Coble who play the roles of Henry the Fifth and Katherine in The Rep’s production of Henry V.The workshop is free and space is limited. 

Arkansas Rep’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

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Scout, Jem, Atticus, Calpurnia and Boo Radley come to life as the Arkansas Repertory Theatre presents the stage version of Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird. This deceptively simple episodic tale of life in the South was adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel. All of the drama and humor from the novel and subsequent movie are found in the stage version as well.

Arkansas Rep’s Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp directs this production.  After previews, opening night is Friday, January 27; the production runs through February 12.

John Feltch portrays the noble Atticus Finch with Abby Shourd and Damon McKinnis as his children. Others in the cast include Spencer Davis, Laura E. Johnston, John-Patrick Driscoll, Lawrence Hamilton, Michael Jones, Sam Kitchin, Kathy McCafferty, Jason Collins, Briana Pozner, Alanna Hamill Newton, Verda Davenport, Jackie Stewart, and Tricia H. Spione.  Will Frueauff and Julia Landfair understudy the children’s roles.

The creative team for this production includes Mike Nichols (scenery), Marianne Custer (costumes), Michael J. Eddy (lighting), Matt Duvall (properties) and M. Jason Pruzin (sound).

On stage at the Rep: Christmas Spirit(s)

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The Christmas Spirit is alive and well on stage of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.  Actually three Christmas Spirits (past, present, and yet-to-be) are on stage as the Rep presents the Menken-Ahrens-Ockrent version of A Christmas Carol.

Alan Souza, director of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat returns to helm this production.  He and Bob Hupp, the Rep’s producing artistic director, have assembled a top notch creative team. Mike Nichols (scenery), Michael Bottari & Ronald Case (costumes), M. Jason Pruzin (sound), Lynda J. Kwallek (props) and Cory Pattak (lighting) are the design team.  Helen Gregory returns as music director while Marcos Santana provides choreography.

David Benoit returns to the Rep to play the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. The ghostly quartet is played by Ryan G. Dunkin (Marley), Shua Potter (Christmas Past), Dennis Stowe (Christmas Present) and Marisa Kirby (Christmas Future).  Other leading roles include Kirt Thomas (Young Scrooge), Laura Medford (Emily), Adam Hose (Bob Cratchit), Lacy J. Dunn (Mrs. Cratchit), Katie Emerson (Sally), Drew Clark (Young Ebenezer) and Johnny Stellard (Fred).  And what would A Christmas Carol be without a Tiny Tim – Price Clark essays the role here.

The production opened last Friday.  Performances resume tonight and continue through Christmas Day.  If you don’t know that date, you are even more heartless than Scrooge.