Be a Witness to 'Witness'

Last night I was fortunate enough to go see the final dress rehearsal of the Flay Rock Playhouse production of Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution.  Angie's directing it and a number of familiar faces from NC Stage were gracing the stage, so I went in expecting a good show.  This was only the second Flat Rock show I've seen, but they've both been outstanding, and also in non-traditional spaces.  

 

My first FRP experience was last summer seeing 12 Angry Men in the Historic Courthouse and Witness is in their new downtown Hendersonville space on S. Main Street, or Playhouse Downtown, as it's called.  Its setup is that of theatre in the round, so there's seating on every side of the set, and really, no matter where you're seated, you have a good view of the action.  And action there's plenty.  I hadn't read or seen any Agatha Christie prior to seeing the play, I'm sorry to say, but, wow, she was a talented writer.  And speaking of talent, the ten (or was it nine? There's some double-casting) actors really made the play pop.  

Angie asked us not to reveal the ending, so I won't, but, boy, are there a LOT of plot twists.  Kind of unbelievable how intricate and detailed Christie gets... it reminded me of a story I heard on NPR about her writing and the writing of some nuns that was analyzed to study the progression of Alzheimer's.  

But I'm getting off track... go see Witness for the Prosecution at Playhouse Downtown. You won't regret it. Trust me. 

Oooo... trust is a kind of creepy word after seeing that play.

Tenth Anniversary Season Announcement!

We are excited to announce our 10th Anniversary Season to you, our audience.  We've got quite an excellent line up, if I do say so myself, so, without further ado, the NC Stage 2011-2012 Season!

Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches and Part Two: Perestroika -- in REP!

by Tony Kushner

Opening October 12, 2011 and running through November 13, 2011
"Kushner’s great work still has the power to shock, enlighten and delight." -- TimeOut NY

Love Child
by Daniel Jenkins and Robert Stanton

Opening February 15, 2012 and running through March 18, 2012
"BOTTOM LINE: It's like watching two guys with multiple personality disorder on uppers." -- Theatre is Easy

Circle Mirror Transformation

by Annie Baker

Opening March 28, 2012 and running through April 22, 2012

*a co-production with our Partner Company-in-Residence, Immediate Theatre Project!

"Everything is made clear: People know you better than you may think. Many truths are unspoken. Everything will be fine." -- NY Times

In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play

by Sarah Ruhl

Opening May 9, 2012 and running through June 10, 2012
"[A] spirited and stimulating (sorry) new comedy from one of the country’s brightest young playwrights." -- NY Times 

Special Events:

 - in August: Hedwig returns! Hedwig and the Angry Inch returns to NC Stage to kick off this celebratory season. Runs August 24 - September 25.

 - in November: Get in the holiday spirit with Live from WVL Radio Theatre: It's A Wonderful Life running November 16 - 27. 

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Are you excited yet? Itching to find your check book or credit card and give us a call or drop in to purchase your season subscription? Great! Here's the information you're looking for:

 - Just as in previous years, we have the FlexPass in two varieties: Prime Time ($98) and Thursday/Sunday ($75).   

The Flex Pass subscription model allows you to come to all Mainstage productions, but you're not "locked in" to a particular day of a run.  The Prime Time FlexPass allows you to come see a performance on whatever day of the run you so choose, while the Thursday/Sunday FlexPass now lets you choose from the Thursday evening performances or either Saturday or Sunday matinees.  Also, you get to reserve tickets anytime you like, so if you want to reserve your tickets now for a show in the Spring, feel free!  Plus, if you subscribe before September 1, you get Early Bird perks!

 - Also, new this year, our all access pass, the SUPER FlexPass! For $12 a month, you get to see anything you want, as many times as you like*.

The SUPER FlexPass is a monthly subscription (3-month minimum) to NC Stage that, while similar to the Prime Time FlexPass in that you get to choose whatever day you want to see a show, you get to see anything that goes on in the theatre*, not just our Mainstage productions.  Neat, right?  It's a pretty excellent deal. 

*You get to see each show with priority seating the first time, then each subsequent visit to the same production, rush seating (availability day-of) is enforced. This excludes fundraisers. 

 

  - For those students out there, you've got a great deal, too: the Student FlexPass for only $36! 

If you're a full-time student, you qualify to be a Student FlexPass Holder, which is most similar to our new SUPER FlexPass - you get into everything! Mainstage, Catalyst Series, Special Events... you're in.  A great thing to have on hand when money's tight during the school year.

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Fun for the kids, too!

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So what are your thoughts about the season? 

Let us know in the comments below. 

 

My View, Your View, Re View...

Alaska Reece Vance as Laura and Callan White as Amanda in The Glass Menagerie

We're headed into our final week of performances and we've heard good things, nay, great things from both patrons and reviewers alike.  Why, just last Friday the Asheville Citizen-Times published its review of the production in the Take 5 Entertainment section, saying:

  

"Director Hans Meyer's vision is clear to the end and perfectly unites Williams' grand melodrama with the intimate space at N.C. Stage. [...] Knowing that Tom carries with him much of the playwright's own baggage, both the play and this haunting production make you wonder whether Williams ever got any peaceful sleep in his life." 

And on Sunday, as folks were leaving the theatre after the curtain call, I heard one patron say to another, "I read The Glass Menagerie in high school and it was nothing like that!" To which the other responded, "This was a good show."

Charlie said this after seeing the show for the first time: "You know who sees a lot of theatre? This guy. Glass Menagerie is one of the finest productions I've seen in some time. Uniformly, superbly acted and deftly directed. Funny, heartbreaking, urgent and vital. You will do yourself a tremendous favor to see it."

So what do you have to say? If you've seen it already and are encouraging friends to see it before we close on Sunday, A) we sincerely appreciate the word-of-mouth and love you dearly, and B) what have you told them about the show? Why is it something they shouldn't miss? 

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below! 

Penny for your thoughts, Tom?

Shoe Company to City Museum: Warehouse to Funhouse

Just the other day, I was looking up some information about Tennessee Williams on Wikipedia and found a remarkable and exciting anecdote in the 'Education' section of his biography.  "Williams was seven years old in 1918 when his father was promoted to a job at the home office of the International Shoe Company in St. Louis."  If you're thinking, 'Wow, Lauren, you're really behind the times, of course Williams drew from his personal experience to write The Glass Menagerie... it's said to be semi-autobiographical,' then you've gone down the wrong lane.  I was excited by the actual name of the company his father worked for: the International Shoe Company.  

See the thing is, I grew up in central Illinois, so St. Louis has always been a nice little day trip to go see exciting/cultural/historical things in the city, and in 2005, I went to the CITY Museum for the first time with a group of friends. WOW!  It's possibly the most fun you'll ever have in any 'museum' in the world.  And... it's an old shoe factory.  The old factory building of the International She Company, in fact.  The very "warehouse" Tennessee refers to in the play that caused Tom such misery (or Missouri?) is now a destination for exploration and excitement.  I've told numerous people about it and pretty much whenever I've been in the area, I've brought out-of-town friends to explore it with me.  I've been three or four times myself and it seems like there's more to explore every time.

As far as I recall, there's no signifier letting folks know that such a big figure in American literature and theatre once worked there in its warehouse days.  However, after some searching, I found a blog mentioning it as well as a news release from the St. Louis Convention & Visitor's Commission listing sights in St. Louis connected with Tennessee Williams for this year's celebration of the 100th year of his birth.  While Tom says, "You think I'm crazy about the warehouse?," I'd argue that most people are crazy about the 'warehouse' these days with its current incarnation as a funhouse of history and adventure.  From the caves to the slides (made from old shoe chutes!), CITY Museum has so much to explore - both inside the building and out - so I highly recommend the trip when you're anywhere within five hours of it.  It boggles the mind to think that such joy comes from a place that caused Tennessee Williams to have a nervous breakdown.

I've posted a slideshow below to give you a sense of what there is available to experience at the CITY Museum.  There aren't all that many pictures in the slideshow, but if you Google 'City Museum Pictures' you're sure to see more.  Enjoy!


And if you've been to CITY Museum, please tell us your stories!  What's your favorite element of it?  Or, if you have questions, ask away!  As always, I encourage you to check out the immediate theatre project blog, too.  Since this in a co-production, we're co-blogging!