Sunday, June 24, 2012

Something for Everyone

Playhouse on Park's latest production, Metamorphoses does indeed have something for everyone, something everyone already loves, such as music, humor, beauty, fine physiques and a pool. Our production of Metamorphoses is a contemporary adaptation of the Greek and Roman transformation, adapted by author and playwright Mary Zimmerman from the works of the Roman poet, Ovid.

On our 32 by 32 foot stage we have constructed a pool, four feet high and 16 by 16 feet wide, surrounded on all sides by a redwood deck.  It is here that a young, attractive, talented and very physical cast of five men and five women move gracefully in and out of the water, telling these ten transformational myths that will mesmerize you and make you laugh. Each transformation is also related in many different ways to the redemptive power of love.

The pool is a part of the stage because the water constantly changes from peaceful and calm to ferocious and violent, just like the play.  The pool represents, among other things, the river Styx, a river of hate that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. It is said that the river Styx winds around the underworld nine times.

Divine lighting adds more emotion in to these already compelling  stories. For the perfect blend of lighting and humor, with a contemporary theme is the appearance of the sun god Apollo played by David Goldman. Apollo emerges with brilliant sun-like lighting, wearing a gold vest and applying suntan lotion to his face as his son Phaeton played by Harrison Greene, who is seeking guidance from his therapist played by Amelia Campbell, about some typical father/son angst. i.e. wanting to borrow the car, or in this case, his father's chariot.

The greed of King Midas, played by Troy Peckham was granted the "golden touch" everything he touched turned to gold. This reward has an unintended consequence after his daughter jumps in to his arms.

Quinn Warren's movement as the approaching and consuming "hunger" of King Erysichthon played by Eric Whitten is beautifully haunting. She clings to him as he thrashes  around the pool, attempting to satisfy his insatiable appetite.

Metamorphoses is an enthralling mix of drama and comedy, that along with the pool, the lighting, the costumes and sometimes lack of costumes are all accentuated with live music provided by musician and composer Richard Hollman. Mr. Hollman recently appeared in our production of the Mystery of Irma Vep, alongside Sean Harris, who directed  Metamorphoses.

Richard, Rich or Richie, depending on his task, opens the show, humorously taking care of theatrical housekeeping, then adding his own "touch" which you can experience with a donation to Playhouse on Park.

Ashley C. Williams, Melissa Kaufman, Jillian Rorrer, and Justin Sease round out the incredible cast.

In closing, I would like to say that if you are a fan of provocative and daring professional theater staged by a cast and crew with a fervent devotion to their craft, then you owe it to yourself to see Metamorphoses.  There is just one week left to see this amazing piece of theater.

Tickets are available at our box office.  Reserve your seat by calling us at 860-523-5900 x10. Ordering online at www.playhouseonpark.org or visiting us during business hours: Tuesday thru Friday 10:00am to 6:00pm and Saturday 10:00am to 2:00pm. We have the most affordable ticket in town to the most intimate venue in town.

Discounts are available for students, seniors and Let's Go Arts members. Students can purchase "Student Rush" tickets fifteen minutes prior to curtain for $10.00, cash only with a valid student I.D.. Everyone else can get a $10.00 ticket thanks to our "Lunch Time Special". All you have to do is visit our box office between 12:00 to 1:00pm the day of a performance and get a ticket to that night's show for only $10.00. What a deal!

Up next is the Johnny Burke Musical "Swinging on a Star". Coming soon is the announcement of our fourth season. Stay tuned to this blog for the details on that and many other things happening at Playhouse on Park.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Tickets and Televisions

In our own special way, we're all winners, that trophy you got as a child, even if you lost the game proves it.  While the people listed below didn't win a trophy, they did win some cool stuff.

Perhaps you visited us at our booth at Celebrate West Hartford.  There you'd learn everything we're doing at Playhouse on Park and boy it's a lot.  You could also enter two win two free vouchers for any of Main Stage or Young Audience shows.  Here are the lucky recipients of those vouchers from Celebrate West Hartford. All are West Hartford residents.

Anna Corvaglia
Julia Ekwall
Rena Epstein
Lily Hollertz
Linda Leimberger


If you saw our last production of Golda's Balcony, then you know that six televisions were used to help tell Golda Meir's remarkable story. We held a drawing after each performance, where patrons could enter to win one of the televisions.  Below are the lucky winners:

Melissa Cummings
Nancy Dorchester
Kevin Kickery
Dorene Sikorski
Christina Steinhauser
Fred Tilden

Congratulations to all our winners, enjoy your tickets and televisions. Next time you see us at an event, stop by and find out what's new and enter our drawings, the next winner could be you.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Summer Interns 2012

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, our present crop of interns.

Mackenzie Friedmann is a General Intern from Berlin, CT.  "I basically do many different jobs in different aspects of the theater that need to be done that specific day." she says of her duties here at the playhouse. Mackenzie is attending the University of Hartford where she is studying musical theater. This summer you'll be able to see her on stage dancing in "Swinging on a Star" A rousing musical that will wrap up season three. Her long term goals are to continue performing and making a living in the theater world.

Morgan Grambo is a literary intern from Goshen, CT. A Literary Intern reads and reviews all new submissions that arrive at the playhouse. This fall she will be a junior at Salve Regina studying theater and English Literature. In the future, she hopes to continue  her studies and pursue a career in theater, specifically in the literary/dramaturgical world.  "I am very excited to be working at Playhouse on Park and look forward to learning all the ins and outs of theater."

Chloe Wheeler is a junior at the Hartt School from Southington, CT.  She is a Development Intern, who is responsible for tracking all donations made to the playhouse and will help with fundraising. Chloe is pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Performing Arts Management with a minor in Business Administration. Apart from theater, Chloe is also interested in tour management and music production. "I wanted to intern for Playhouse on Park, because I recently became interested in theater, and one of my classmates who works here, referred me." That classmate is Dave Addis, our Company Manager.

Like all of us work at the playhouse, they'll be doing more than there prescribed tasks. When you call the playhouse for tickets, you'll probably be speaking with one of these young ladies, who will answer any questions you may have and find you the perfect seat for Metamorphoses and/or Swinging on a Star, our last two shows in our third season. 

A salute to some of the interns that have come before them:
Donnie Collins
Dan Deutsch
Maha Kemal
Helena Morris
Pennie Scesney
Ramona Sukhraj
and Naomi Bilmes (originator of this blog)

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Intern Season 2: The New Philosophy

If you're new to this blog, or you want to reread the original post, I suggest you go back to July 10, 2011.  There you will see "Intern Season" post.

OR

I could just summarize it for you right here. I'm assuming you'll go with the second option. I didn't need to be a soothsayer to foretell your choice. Kudos to me for pulling the word 'soothsayer' out of my cob web-laden cranium.

Anyway, in the first post, I opined about the infestation of wide-eyed idealistic young people converging on institutions for which they someday hope to work, but for now have only studied.  The particular bee in my bonnet was how they swooped in with their unbridled enthusiasm, ruffling the feathers of us 365ers who are practiced in the art of a gradual progression. The reason being, we have a much longer sentence and if we accomplish prescribed tasks in rapid fire succession, then said tasks would become more abundant. What would not become more abundant is our cash flow...that follows its own gradual progression.

So blah blah blah, I continued my rant against the do-gooder interns and complained about having to clean the pool. You're probably asking yourselves 'Clean the pool you say, James whatever do you mean?' It'll all make sense at the end of the 4/2011 post.

Now that you know the crux of the original post, I can introduce my new philosophy.  A philosophy born from the harsh reality of my inability to prevent the interns from dropping anchor at the playhouse. Instead of pissing and moaning about the interns, I have now decided to embrace them, figuratively speaking of course. Instead of complaining about their work ethic, I have decided to exploit it. Their naivete will play right in to my hands. Mwah ah ah.

I'll unearth every fly infested pile of crap I can, top it with whipped cream and a cherry and tell them its a hot fudge sundae. They'll smile, savoring the sweet toppings until the foul aroma of these tasks wafts its way in to their unsuspecting nostrils and cements itself in to their cerebral cortex.

Behind my serious demeanor and the professional verbiage I use to stress the importance of these menial tasks, will be the little boy in me just waiting to laugh and point at their misery. Down boy, wait until after the onslaught of guilt-ridden words I use to feign my disappointment, after sensing their inevitable repulsion for the tasks at hand. 

This is a classic case of the face betrays. I'll see the disdain on their faces and hear the churning of the wheels inside their heads as they formulate reasons to shelve the tasks. Little do they know that I'll conjure up more of the same kind of tasks, this is sure to slow down even the most willing lackey.


This is a philosophy not found in a text book or talked about in a lecture, this type of malevolence is nurtured over the course of many years, years that far exceed those of your typical intern.  It's not personal, I'm sure these junior humans are nice people, I'm a nice person.


It's because I'm such a nice person that I wouldn't even contemplate undertaking such a dastardly deed.  Such evil plots will remain relegated to my brain and the occasional blog post. Boy oh boy, it sure was fun to dream. I'll go on about my business at the playhouse, mixing it up with those lovable, newly pubescent cherubs.


We all have a lot of work to do. Two more shows in our Main Stage Series: Metamorphoses and Swinging on a Star. Not to mention fine tuning our vast assortment of live entertainment for our fourth season. 

My real new philosophy, getting you and everyone you know to come see a show at Playhouse on Park.  All of our productions have been of the utmost quality.  The level of professionalism that graces our stage will astonish you. Our fourth season will be no exception.