Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Open House and Block Party!!!
PNT will open its doors to the community for back-stage tours of the theater as well as meet & greet opportunities with PNT staff and artists. Bring the whole family for a free 5:00 p.m. storytelling program appropriate for all ages presented by the acclaimed LaRon Williams.
The afternoon festivities will also be taken outside with a Block party, held in the PNC Bank parking lot, directly adjacent to the theater. The party will feature live music and include street vendors selling alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages as well as foods perfect for summer time.
Held right here! At Performance Network: 120 E Huron, Ann Arbor, MI, across from the Washtenaw County courthouse and between 4th and Main. Events will kick-off at 2 and the day will wind up at 7, just in time for our evening performance of Woman Before a Glass. In fact, why not buy tickets and make a day of it?
Monday, July 5, 2010
Seymour and Sharky: Modern-Day Fausts in Little Shop and The Seafarer
If you saw Performance Network’s Little Shop of Horrors and have seen or are planning to see The Seafarer, you may be curious what the two shows could possibly have in common. After all, one is a black comedy about a down-on-his luck Irish man playing the poker game of his life on Christmas Eve, and the other is a musical about a man-eating plant. At face value, they would appear to have nothing to do with one another. Would it surprise you then to learn that both derive from the same origin story?
That’s right, the Faust story, or “Selling my soul to the Devil” is one of the oldest themes in English literature. The first occurrence of such a story appears in the late 16th-century. Its origins are distinctly German, and probably come from an alchemist in that country of the same name who, legend has it, sold his soul in order to discover a way to turn stones into gold.
The tale hit its peak in popularity during the English Renaissance. At that time, it was published in a booklet in Germany (1589) and soon after hit British stages with a play that immortalize the story, Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (1604). Here, Doctor Faustus has become a highly renowned scholar, possibly the most brilliant man in the world—yet he is not satisfied. He craves more knowledge, and so, makes a deal with Mephistopheles in order to gain wisdom superior to his colleagues.
The story continues to pop up through out the ages until 1806, when Goethe returns the story to its homeland. Scholars consider this to be the most important Faust work, and it is widely believed to be the best work of German literature to date. It is also notable for making the Devil out of a poodle. Here, Mephistopheles actually bets God that he can cause God’s favorite human, Faust, to stray from a righteous path (reminiscent of the trials of Job in the Bible). Mephistopheles then accepts Faust’s soul in exchange for the love and lust of Gretchen, a beautiful country girl. The second half of the play draws heavily on classical literary allusion to make its point.
Since then, Faust has been turned into everything from operas (most notably The Rake’s Progress by Stravinsky), to country songs (if you’ve never heard “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by The Charlie Daniels band, I highly recommend it). And that brings us back to PNT’s current season.
In Little Shop of Horrors, the hopeful yet somewhat hapless Seymour dreams of a life with Audrey, the object of his affection. Whilst voicing this wish, he pricks his finger on a thorn and poof! The Mephistophelian caricature of Audrey II, a “new breed” of fly-trap plant, stirs to life. The circumstances of The Seafarer, meanwhile, couldn’t be more different. With the gritty back-drop of a slum in Baldoyle, Ireland, Sharky, we’re told, can barely recall the card game he played 25 years earlier that cost him his soul. The plot synopses have little room for over-lap; however, if we dig a little deeper, we can find a rich literary history that bind Seymour and Sharky together in a pact of fate.
So if you enjoyed Little Shop’s quirky take on soul-selling, come and see The Seafarer for a comparison of another modern day Faust. The show runs through July 18th, with 8:00 PM performances Thursday through Saturday, 2:00 PM matinees on Sundays, and a 3:00 PM matinee on Saturday, July 10th.
Essay by Talia Ricci, Performance Network Apprentice
Friday, July 2, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Little Shop of Horrors EXTENDED through May 30!
smash hit Little Shop of Horrors is being extended for an additional two weeks. The musical comedy will now run through Sunday, May 30th, at which time the show must close in order to make room for the upcoming Drama, The Seafarer.
When prodded for comment, Artistic Director David Wolber said "We're thrilled that audiences have enjoyed our version of Little Shop. It's always rewarding to have a bold concept like the one that Carla Milarch, Monika Essen and Naz Edwards created for Audrey II (The Plant) met with the joy and encouragement our audiences have shown. It's great that we'll be able to share this new envisioning of the play with audiences for a few more weeks."
Don't miss the show that the Detroit News is calling "a scramble of nutty fun," while Encore Michigan's Don Calamia heralds it as an "all-time favorite!" (Yep, he really said that).
If you're interested in a little preview of the show, watch the video.
Friday, March 12, 2010
The Voice Behind the Radio
Wayne David Parker, or "Daba," as he is known to his friends, didn't begin acting until his senior year of high school, after his dreams of being a basketball player were shattered (standing at 5'4", this isn't terribly surprising).
Following one of the first ever high-school productions of Godspell and two years in a rock band, Parker has since gone on to grace the stages of Michigan's professional theatres including Williamston, Meadow Brook and the Purple Rose. (While doing an 18-month run of Escanaba in da Moonlight, Parker received three requests for an autograph during a Red Wings game, while his seat partner, Jeff Daniels, was not recognized).
With his gift for character voices, Parker's agent encouraged him to try his hand at radio and television, both of which he has found much success in. You may recognize him as the voice of Ford, Volkswagen, Goodyear, or On-Star. With this much experience, it seems fitting that Mars director Tony Caselli would cast him to play a 1930s radio actor.
Along with many Michigan artists, Parker has reaped the benefits of the state's recent film incentive. Street Boss and Stone, in which he shares the screen with Robert De Niro, are both due out this year.
After a 25 year absence from our stage, we're thrilled to have Daba back at the Network, where he's been reunited with some of his long-time friends Sandra Birch, Joseph Albright, Joe Zettelmaier and Tony Caselli.
To see the whole team in action, don't miss It Came From Mars!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
"On belay?"
Let me start off by saying that John Manfredi and James Bowen are really great. Not only is it demanding to convey the effects of being 27,000 ft up in the air (with oxygen deprivation, exhaustion, and cold) but they have to do it while actually climbing and belaying up our ice wall. And I'll let you in on a little secret, it's no easy climb to do, although John does a fantastic job of making it seem like it's something he's been doing all his life.
We all owe Chris Lemons (our rock climbing consultant from Planet Rock) our lives since he's helped us figure out how to do climbs and falls both safely and accurately from the first day on stage. I was a little frightened knowing that I was going to be belaying the guys at the top of the show when I couldn't even see them, but Chris and lots of rehearsal helped set my mind at ease. One of the greatest compliments I've heard is from actual mountain climbers saying how realistic John's portrayal is.
Building the set has also been a journey. Technical Director, Janine Woods broke her leg (sledding, not mountain climbing) but still managed with her small army of volunteers to construct the second largest mountain in the world. I sometimes wish the audience got a chance to walk backstage and see all the bracing holding the climbing wall up and the giant staircase leading to the top platform where the guys fall from at the top of the show, it really is quite a sight.
I really couldn't say enough wonderful things about everyone that's worked together to make this show possible but I don't want to get too long-winded gushing about the cast and crew. I just want to encourage everyone to see this fantastic show about friendship and the crazy dreams that we all aspire to accomplish in our lives.
"Belay on!"