And for our final bow of 2009-2010: Steve Martin’s “The Underpants”

Tickets are on sale now for SLT’s final production of the Season:

“The Underpants “  - Comedian Steve Martin's hilarious farce!

 

In The Underpants, a housewife becomes an overnight celebrity when she accidentally loses her underpants in public, much to the dismay of her conservative bureaucrat husband. When potential boarders start showing up at the door with hopes of renting their spare room, chaos ensues in this witty comedy that explores ambition, desire, and the fleeting nature of fame.
SLT’s Executive Artistic Director Jay E. Coffman says, “Steve Martin is certainly one of the comic geniuses of our time. Many people don’t know that he’s also a talented author, screenwriter and playwright.”
A seriously funny adult comedy with some suggestive situations and mild language, The Underpants is not meant for those under high school age.
“This one’s definitely for the adults,” Coffman says. “But for those who like a furiously paced, flat out side-splittingly funny comedy, The Underpants is going to be the place to be.”
The Underpants is supported, in part, by the The Arkwright Foundation.

What they’re saying about “The Underpants”:

“A brilliant, hilarious, mad adaption of an old play.”—New York Post

“Martin’s words are sharp, funny and fast:  What’s not to love?....Bravo, Steve Martin!”—The Journal News

“Hilarious and bawdy!”—The Village Voice

“Bad funs, goofy pratfalls, intellectual name-dropping and an endless stream of hilariously daffy lines creates a momentum that rolls…”—Time Out New York

Directed by Rick Connor

Featuring:

Louise:  Alaina Steading

Theo:  Andy Croston

Versati:  Peyton Hray

Cohen:  Steven Shuler

Gertrude:  Elizabeth King

Klinglehoff:  Jim Harrison

Youth Theatre says “Fudge”

No.  It’s not what you’re thinking. 

The Spartanburg Youth Theatre just wrapped up their season with a hilarious and inventive production of the Judy Blume classic “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing”. 

Everybody remembers the antics of the little three year old terror known affectionately as FUDGE.  But getting a three year old to act can be just as terrifying….  So director Matt Giles cast the biggest high school kids as the three year olds.  Hilarious.  Even more hilarious is that someone actually thought the play dealt with a family’s struggle to raise a full grown autistic teenager.  They must have missed the part where they said he was three.

Photo courtesy of Mike Bonner  at The Spartanburg Herald Journal

Here’s a picture of the set—taken on my Blackberry:

And of course a shot of the audience—area elementary school students on their school field trip:

Congratulations Spartanburg Youth Theatre on a record breaking season!

 

Seussical: The Show that Ate Spartanburg

Every now and again, you put on a production that grows and grows and eventually eats and/or destroys everything in its path.  What starts out as a sweet little confection of a musical grows into a seething stomping behemoth intent on world domination. 

That production is called “Seussical”. 

Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret…..”Seussical” did not win a Pulitzer Prize.  It did not win any Tony’s.  It was on Broadway for like 5 minutes and then quickly disappeared onto the community theatre circuit, where it has achieved a great deal of success.  It’s a show that if done badly, can be really bad.  But if you put all your creative effort into it, assemble a great team and work every last artistic angle of every living breathing thing associated with the show, then it  can be really really good. 

So that’s what we decided to do.  And what came out of all the hard work, was something spectacular—an absolutely stunning visual treat, loaded with incomparable talent, designed beautifully and with a huge heart. 

What started out as just another show, became a community event of sorts.  It seems everyone knew someone who had seen “Seussical”.  Almost 3,000 audience members later, a library performance, a book drive, a poetry contest, story time with the characters in various elementary schools, a huge Dr. Seuss character party and a special performance for the South Carolina  School for the Deaf and the Blind, “Seussical” was finally one for the record  books.

And we loved every minute of it…Well almost every minute.

And one pic from the SCSDB show, with the Interpreter on the Left.

Thanks Altrusa International! Yours, SLT

The fine ladies from Altrusa International came by the Seussical set today to pick up the almost 2,000 children’s books the Spartanburg Little Theatre is donating as part of our Seuss Literacy project.

(Pictured are the members of Altrusa International Spartanburg, Jay E. Coffman, Executive Artistic Director of SLT and the Cat in the Hat, aka Matt Giles, Artistic Director of SYT)

For those of you who don’t know the good things Altrusa does, here’s a blurb from their website www.altrusaspartanburg.org:

Altrusa International, Inc. of Spartanburg, established in 1961, is an organization for professional women and men with a common goal to provide service to our local and global community with emphasis on the family, education, and the environment.

The organization also promotes personal and professional growth for its members.

Thanks to Altrusa and their members for the willingness to collaborate.  Can’t wait to hear where these books are donated.  Bravo!

Come see Seussical this weekend.  Shows are selling fast! www.chapmanculturalcenter.org or 542-ARTS.

Spartanburg Little Theatre announces Seussical contest winners!

In conjunction with our mammoth production of the hit Broadway musical Seussical, we held two contests promoting literacy in Spartanburg County.

Our first contest encouraged school classes to donate new or gently loved children’s books, with the winning class promised a visit and story hour by the Cat in the Hat from Seussical. 

All in all, almost 2,000 books were donated to The Spartanburg Little Theatre.  We in turn will donate these books to Altrusa International, a service club for women, who will donate them to area nonprofits and needy children.

Congratulations to Giada Parris’ class at Woodruff Primary School! (pictured above with the Cat in the Hat).  Thank you so much for your generous gift.  And many thanks to all the other schools in Spartanburg County who contributed.

Our second venture was a poetry contest.  Children were asked to submit poems in the style of Dr. Seuss with the winners receiving two free tickets to Seussical and the opportunity to read their poem to the audience at intermission.

The poems were awesome and the readings have been a lot of fun.  We’ll have three more readings at this upcoming weekend’s productions.

Congratulations to:

Shane Rice—Monarch Elementary School

Rebekah Nelson—Abner Creek Elementary School

Braeden Mull—Boiling Springs Elementary School

Iman Qatawi and Maggie Wrinkle---Berry Shoals Intermediate School

Kyle Henderson—Berry Shoals Intermediate School.

The spirit of Seuss lives on!!!!

Come see Seussical this weekend.  Tickets are going fast!  www.chapmanculturalcenter.org or 542-ARTS

2200+: Well that’s a whole lot of kids…

Almost everyone who has lived in Spartanburg for any length of time knows someone who has been to one of The Spartanburg Youth Theatre’s productions.  Always an hour long, always cast with area youth and always entertaining, these shows have been a staple field trip destination for many of Spartanburg’s school children and teachers for over 30 years.

This week it’s no different.  Wednesday and Thursday at 9:30, 11:00 and 12:30, the Chapman Cultural Center will see a steady stream of school busses dropping off and picking up eager and excited children, all anticipating SYT’s latest production:  a modern adaption of the classic fairy tale The Princess and the Pea.

Here’s how it works:

1.  The production schedule is sent out to all districts in Spartanburg, Union and Cherokee counties, as well as latchkey programs and Homeschoolers at the beginning of the year.

2.  Teachers start calling in with their reservations for one of the six performances.  Tickets are $5 per student and accompanying parents and free for teachers.

3.  Educational materials for the productions are provided online on our website at no charge.  Teachers are encouraged to use these as a preview activity or a follow up.

4.  Deposits are made, confirmations and invoices are exchanged until the day of the performances when….

5.  The production magic begins.  A cast of youth, a backstage crew of youth, and a lighting/sound/tech both staffed completely with youth.  That’s what makes us unique.

Then on the Friday and Saturday, the public is invited to see the show.  Fridays at 4:30 and 7:00 pm and Saturday at 2:00 pm.  This year the Boys and Girls Club are bringing 250+ children to every Friday 4:30 performance!

So, this week, it’s all about the Pea…and the 2200+ children, teachers and parents on fieldtrips waiting to see if that Princess is going to able to catch some zzzzZZZZZZZ’s.

You can come too:  www.chapmanculturalcenter.org or (864) 542-ARTS.  February 12 and 13.  And don’t forget the Royal Tea Party on February 13.  Call our office at 585-8278 for reservations.

I’ll be looking at the moon, but I’ll be seeing you….

Sinatra musical honors 'Ol' Blue Eyes'

GERRY PATE/gerry.pate@shj.com

SPECIAL THANKS TO LINDA CONLEY AND GERRY PATE FOR THIS GREAT WRITE UP AND THE PHOTOS IN THE SPARTANBURG HERALD JOURNAL.

By Linda Conley
linda.conley@shj.com

Fans couldn't get enough of Frank Sinatra when he was on the big screen or a stage in a Las Vegas nightclub.

He died almost 11 years ago, but love for his music and movies lives on.

The Spartanburg Little Theatre is giving Sinatra lovers a chance to hear his music and learn more about the man behind the legacy.

"My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra" comes to the stage at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday in the David Reid Theater in the Chapman Cultural Center.

The four-member cast will perform songs that became Sinatra trademarks, such as "I Get a Kick Out of You," "New York, New York" and "Strangers in the Night." During breaks in the music, the actors will talk about Sinatra's life, ranging from his relationships in the Rat Pack to his four highly publicized marriages.

"This is a tribute, so audiences aren't going to see someone trying to be Frank Sinatra," said director Debbie Craig-Archer. "There was only one Frank Sinatra. He did it his way, and I want cast members to take his music and do it their way."

Audiences won't see a typical theater stage setup for the two-hour performance. The setting will resemble a nightclub scene similar to the ones Sinatra headlined. The four featured singers will perform jazz and show tunes.

"The man (Sinatra) was a master," John Wharton says. "He made singing seem easier than it really is."

Wharton, a Chesnee High School choral director, is one of the singers. He said cast members pooled their money to buy copies of Sinatra's music so they could become more familiar with it. They said Sinatra wasn't just a crooner but a versatile singer.

"I have become a bigger fan now from doing this show," Wharton said. "I am listening to his music and realizing he was really doing something special."

Melody McClellan, a vocal performance graduate of Converse College, will attend Westminister Choir College at Princeton University in August. She said being in the show allows her to keep her music sharp.

"I am not playing a specific character, so it is difficult to remember what goes next sometimes," she said. "I like all of Frank Sinatra's music, but I didn't realize there were so many facets to him because he was an actor and performed on the stage."

Scott Waddell, administrative assistant at Security Finance Corp., said he has always been a big Sinatra fan and was familiar with his music before being cast in the show.

"I've always felt like I was born in the wrong era because I like the jazz and type of music Sinatra sang," Waddell said.

"Frank Sinatra was cool and one of a kind. I was almost hesitant about doing the show because I didn't want people to think we are trying to impersonate Sinatra. This is a tribute."

Melanie Gladstone, a music and dance teacher at S.C. School for the Deaf and the Blind, is appearing in her first production with the Little Theatre. She said she also is learning more about Sinatra.

"He gave actress Ava Gardner a six-carat diamond, and she threw it out the window," Gladstone said. "I think she was upset because she didn't think she was the only woman Sinatra was seeing."

Tickets are still available for “My Way:  A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra” for Friday January 22 and Saturday January 23 at 8 pm and the final performance Sunday January 24 at 3 pm.  Call 542-ARTS or go to www.chapmanculturalcenter.org to reserve online.

Ol’ Blue Eyes in Spartanburg?

 

“My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra” features over 50 of Sinatra’s greatest hits live!

“All of Me”, “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Chicago”, “I Get a Kick Out of You”, “New York, New York”, “Strangers in the Night” and more of Frank Sinatra’s most popular and timeless hits are featured in the Spartanburg Little Theatre’s swanky and swingin’ production of the hit revue “My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra”, hitting the Chapman Cultural Center stage January 15-17 and 22-24.

Featuring four talented singers and a professional jazz combo and set in a retro Las Vegas lounge, “My Way” is a fitting tribute to the music that etched memories into the hearts and minds of millions. ”My Way” pays homage to Sinatra’s celebrated performer’s influence on popular music. Great songs combined with witty and charming dialogue create a performance that will leave you feeling like the Chairman of the Board.

“Frank Sinatra’s music is incomparable,” says Jay Coffman, Executive Artistic Director of the Spartanburg Little Theatre, “and what could be more fun than getting to hear a collection of over 50 of his greatest hits performed live?”

Other Sinatra hits performed include “Witchcraft”, “My Funny Valentine”, “That Old Black Magic”, “The Way You Look Tonight”, “My Way”, “My Kind of Town”, and “The Lady is a Tramp”.

“This promises to be a lot of fun,” says Coffman, “Who better way to warm up those cold January nights than Ol’ Blue Eyes?”

For tickets call (864) 542-ARTS or visit www.chapmanculturalcenter.org