Impresario's open house kicks off
season ticket drive
Staff Report
accent@thenewsstar.com
Potential patrons get the chance to test drive their seats today during
Impresario's Choice's tenth anniversary open house at the Monroe Civic
Center.
The event kicks off season ticket sales for the Impresario's Choice Best of
Broadway series. Civic Center doors will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for
people to try out available seats and get the view of the stage from them.
The season, which features a blend of old and new Broadway fare, opens with
dance and percussion piece "Stomp" on Oct. 30-31. The Broadway classic
"Cats" follows Dec. 3. A new show, "Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy," comes to
town Jan. 5, featuring an international cast of aerialists, contortionists,
swingers, strong men and balancing acts.
"The Producers," which won a record 12 Tony Awards on Broadway, will arrive
March 7, and the season closes with "Forever Tango," which traces the
history of tango through music, dance and dramatic vignettes.
"Lord of the Dance" is also part of the lineup, but the date has not yet
been scheduled.
Season ticket packages range from $80 to $185 for the four-show series,
which features "Cats," "Lord of the Dance," "Forever Tango" and "The
Producers," or $99 to $230 for the five show series, which also features
"Cirque Dreams." "Stomp" is an add-on show, with tickets ranging from $19 to
$42.
Originally
published May 1, 2007
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Feline fever
'Cats' cast member Bethany Moore transforms from an everyday woman into the
flirtatious cat Bombalurina
By Fred Phillips
fphillips@thenewsstar.com
Bethany Moore stepped right out of the University of Buffalo and into her
dream job.
"It's always been this huge dream of mine to be in 'Cats' since I think I
was 12 years old," she said, her voice bubbling with excitement as she
talked about her experience. "I actually, during finals week, went to
auditions in New York, and the best thing happened, and I got it. I got the
part that I wanted, and it has just been one of the best experiences ever
because the cast is phenomenal. This is my first tour, and to be able to
start out on this show is amazing."
Moore plays Bombalurina in the Impresario's Choice presentation of "Cats,"
which comes to the Monroe Civic Center on Monday. There's a bit of freedom
for Moore in playing the "party girl" cat, though she doesn't see many
similarities between her own personality and that of her character.
"She enjoys flirting with pretty much all the male cats on the stage, and
sometimes with audience members. It's a blast to be her," Moore said. "It's
kind of like an alter ego. You can be kind of a goofball in life, and then
you get to play this sexy cat every night. It's a nice little change. I
don't think of myself personally as the Bombalurina type, but I think
everybody has little seeds of the cat in them. And when you're wearing a cat
costume, you can pretty much get away with anything."
The tour opened in mid-October, so things are still a little new and fresh
for Moore. Perhaps one of the first challenges was in makeup and costuming.
The first few times she went through makeup, it took more than 40 minutes.
After a month and a half, the time is down to just over 20 minutes.
"It's a huge ordeal every night, but once you see yourself in the mirror,
you don't recognize yourself, which is really fascinating," she said. "My
mom actually came to see the show in Toronto, and I came out in the audience
and I was right in front of her and she didn't even know I was her
daughter."
That transformation of actors into cats is also what Moore thinks is a big
part of the appeal of the show to a wide audience.
"You can go from a normal person walking down the street, and through
makeup, hair, dancing, your body posture, you become feline," she said.
"People come up to me all the time and say, 'I forgot I was watching people
on stage. I thought I was watching a cat.' With all the physicality and the
acting, the transformation is probably the thing that's most fascinating to
people."
With her own admiration of the show and the fact that "Cats" is one of the
most popular Broadway shows ever, Moore said she definitely had a case of
nerves at the beginning. But she's found that being part of the show is like
being part of a huge extended family.
"Being in this show is like a legacy — it's been going on for years and
years and years," she said. "To be part of that is to be part of the 'Cats'
family, which is what they call it. You have a special connection to the
people who were on the tour last year and people who were on the tour 20
years ago. It's like a fraternity or sorority in a way."
Moore said she would love to play Bombalurina for a while, but said she'll
have to see how her body holds up to the touring life and take it as it
comes. While she's performing the part, though, she hopes that she can reach
out to young girls that are in the same position she was at their age.
"I'm just glad that we can share this with people of the next generation,"
she said. "I know I was that little girl that had the video and watched it
religiously. Now, I go to the next step to be a part of that and hopefully
affect that little girl, and maybe she'll go into theater because of seeing
this show. To be a part of that is the most magical thing to me."
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'Cats' claws way toward sellout
Few seats remain for award-winning Broadway musical
By Chris Day
cay@thenewsstar.com
High
ticket sales are nothing to meow at.
The national tour of "Cats" comes to the Monroe Civic Center on Monday as
part of Impresario's Choice's 2007-2008 Broadway in Monroe 10th anniversary
season.
As of Thursday, there were 200 seats left. (The Civic Center's Jack Howard
Theatre holds an audience of 2,100.)
It may sell out for the fifth time in a row here.
"Cats" has continuously run sell-out Civic Center performances three in
1990, two in 1993, three in 1998 and two more in 2004.
"And we're projecting a sell-out this time," said Impresario's Choice
artistic director Raymond Poliquit.
Poliquit said the show sells well because of its family appeal.
"We're actually seeing a second generation of audiences who want to expose
their kids to it," he said.
"Cats" opened at the New London Theatre in the West End in 1981, eight years
later becoming the longest running musical in the history of British
theater.
The show opened in New York City in 1982, later becoming the longest running
Broadway musical in 1997. It ended its 18-year run on Sept. 10, 2000.
Based on T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" with
music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, "Cats" won seven 1983 Tony Awards, including
Best Musical.
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Where the wild
things are
By Fred Phillips
fphillips@thenewsstar.com
Neil Goldberg didn't dream as a child of running away from home to join the
circus, but that's exactly where he finds himself — as the creator of a
number of cirque productions, including "Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy."
Goldberg, who says he got the theater bug at the age of 6, was working as an
event producer for IBM in the late 1980s when he was commissioned to create
a European-style cirque experience. A large casino saw his work and brought
him on to do the show, and he's been doing it ever since. Though not a big
fan of American circus, he borrowed elements from it, as well as cirque and
Broadway.
"I was not a lover of circus," he said. "I found it noisy and distracting
with too many things going on. I took the American circus concept and the
European cirque concept and blended it with Broadway theatrics on a
proscenium stage where people can sit and follow the experience. You can
expect the caliber of a Broadway production, yet still have the acrobatic
audacity, the spectacle of aerialists swirling off the stage and gymnasts
doing amazing feats of strength and balance."
"Jungle Fantasy" is the 12th production for Goldberg's Cirque Productions,
and the biggest to date. The performers are gathered from all corners of the
world, and many of the artists have gone through the company's Dream Studios
training facility in Florida. The jungle setting, he thinks, is one that
people of all ages can appreciate.
"Our aerialists transform into butterflies that have 15-foot wingspans and
soar over the audience," he said. "Our contortionists transform into lizards
that twist around each other. Our trapeze artists transform into owls. There
are snakes that roll, frogs that juggle, bees that dance. There truly is
something for everyone."
The score features original music, sung by a ladybug who acts as the
narrator. He also thinks people will be wowed by the special effects
involved, as the second act brings in some surprises.
"In Act I, we wanted the audience to feel a little more in the authentic
colorations of a jungle or forest, but what we've done in Act II is
emphasize the 'Jungle Fantasy' aspect of the spectacle," he said. "Every
makeup application on each artist's face, all the threads that the costumes
were sewn out of and all the scenic elements and props were treated with
invisible ultraviolet paint that under about 20,000 watts of ultraviolet
light ignite into this middle-of-the-night, intense Technicolor experience."
Finding performers is no problem for Goldberg these days either. When his
shows began traveling back in the 1990s, he said he planted a lot of seeds.
Back then, the company's Web site would get a couple of thousand hits per
month. Today, it averages 60,000 per day, and they receive an average of 50
applications per week. He gets as many questions about how people can join
the circus as about the company's upcoming productions. He said it reflects
an increased interest in the art for Americans, and a changing definition of
what cirque is.
"I think what the word is really translating to these days is no boundaries
and limitless imagination, and it doesn't necessarily have to be an
acrobat," he said. "In 'Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy' we have this
6-foot-5-inch tall, young musician who is an electric violinist. We've given
him the role of one of the trees in the forest, and he actually emerges from
this tree and the branches really reflect the violin and strings that he
plays. It's not about being a contortionist or an aerialist or a gymnast.
It's really about having a great idea and working in an environment where we
engage people in reinventing themselves and exploring new concepts and
ideas. I think it's just about exploring the imagination."
That's an important part of it for Goldberg — working in an environment
where there are no boundaries.
"For me, it's very deep-rooted," he said. "I remember sitting in classrooms
at school throughout my entire childhood staring out the window and the
teacher always saying, 'pay attention, pay attention.' I was a daydreamer. I
would always look up at the sky and the clouds and see what I could form
them into. It's really important for me when I put these show together to be
able to engage people, not just seasoned entertainment goers that have an
opportunity to fly to Vegas or New York, but even young people to know that
it is OK to explore your imagination, it is OK to daydream, but just try to
do it so that it can manifest itself into a career. I am very fortunate to
go to work in an environment every day where dreams is what we do."
He hopes that message comes through in the show as much as the impressive
physical feats.
"I hope it really touches people in a sense of appreciating the beauty of
what the human body has the ability and the discipline to do, combined with
being surrounded by the imagination and originality and creativity of a
whole bunch of designers and creative people," he said. "There are not many
entertainment products today that a family of 4 or 6 that could span three
generations could go and see and each of those generations be equally
rewarded and take something different away from themselves while seeing the
same product."Originally
published January 3, 2008
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Impresario's Choice
scales down shows
By Stacy Temple
stemple@thenewsstar.com
After 10 years of bringing Broadway hits such as "Cats" and "The Producers"
to a Monroe stage, Impresario's Choice is scaling back shows because of
production costs.
The organization decided this year it will not be continuing a full
subscription series in Monroe but will continue to bring shows to the area.
The organization partnered with Jam Theatricals two years ago after the
organization averaged annual losses ranging from $50,000 to $120,000.
"We have been proud to work with Impresario's Choice to bring Broadway
seasons to Monroe and would like to thank our subscribers for their
encouragement," Scott Sampson, director of programming at Jam Theatricals,
said.
"Unfortunately for economic reasons, we are unable to present a full season
this year. However, we plan to continue bringing high quality entertainment
to Monroe."
Jam Theatricals puts on Broadway shows in 30 other markets.
"We have been working on Broadway in Monroe for 10 seasons now," Raymond
Poliquit, artistic director for Impresario's Choice, said. "While we are not
offering season packages this year, we are happy to still bring wonderful
shows like "Go, Diego, Go" and "Hairspray" and we know that with the support
of the community we can bring more exciting programs to Monroe."
Officials said they are "grateful" for past support and said that 2007-08
subscribers to the Tenth Anniversary Series will receive discounts to both
upcoming shows.
"Hairspray," the famous play recently made into a movie, is scheduled for
Feb. 22.
"Go, Diego, Go Live! The Great Jaguar Rescue" hits the stage at 4 p.m. and 7
p.m. June 26 at the Monroe Civic Center's Jack Howard Theatre.
Tickets go on sale May 19 at the Monroe Civic Center Box Office and all
Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 329-0001.
The show will pass out a jaguar mask to every child in the audience and
follows Dora the Explorer, her cousin Diego and his sister, Alicia, through
the jungle to rescue a baby jaguar's growl.
Originally
published
May 2, 2008
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