Three Performances Added for “Women of the Blues”

By FALLS CHURCH TIMES STAFF
May 21, 2012

“The critics and audiences are raving about Women of the Blues so we decided to extend the run through the Memorial Day Weekend,” said Laura Connors Hull, Producing Director for Creative Cauldron.  Three performances have been added at 7:30 pm Friday through Sunday, May 25 to 27.  “But don’t wait to buy tickets because seating is limited in the cozy little blues club we’ve created,” continued Hull.

According to Amanda Hunter, DC Metro Theater Arts critic ”This cabaret style evening is sure to entice your senses with four sensational singers bringin you the songs made famous by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Bessie Smith, Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin and more.”

Creative Cauldron at ArtSpace is located at 410 S. Maple Avenue.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.creativecauldron.org or by calling 571-239-5288.  Free parking is available in the garages at 410 and 400 S. Maple Avenue.

Through SATURDAY, 5/5: Elephant Man Opens at GMHS

The George Mason High School Theater Arts Department presents the Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, opening Thursday, May 3rd at 7:30 pm. The show runs through Saturday, May 5th.  Tickets are $8 for students and seniors and $10 for adults.

The play is directed by seniors Bryan Ward and Rebecca Thackrey and produced by Theater Arts Director Pamela Ricker.  The Play is set in London’s industrial revolution of the late 1800’s, and tells the story of Joseph Merrick, known as The Elephant Man, who had a bone disorder which caused him to develop terrible deformities.  Merrick was a side show freak until he was rescued by Treves, a surgeon at the London Hospital.  The play examines issues of people’s fear of the unknown and prejudices based on appearance as well as our intolerance of perceived imperfections of all kinds.

The play is a serious drama and will be staged with creative lighting, projections, and short animations to create the settings and communicate the themes. Technical support will be by John Ballou and the George Mason Technical Theater Crew, as well as Mr. Ballou’s classes. Starring roles include Sean Driggers as The Elephant man, Samuel Blagg as Dr. Treves, Emma Pierce as Lady Gomm, Joseph Warren as Ross and Kikki Skotte as Mrs. Kendall.  The supporting ensemble brings the size of the cast up to 40 in all.

This is a very intellectual, symbolic, and challenging script and the George Mason cast is more than up to the challenge of bringing it to life. There should be striking and impressive technical elements to the show as well, which promise to make it a memorable piece of theater.

 

 

Art-A-Lot Kicks Off FIRSTfriday Outdoor Season

By FALLS CHURCH TIMES STAFF
May 3, 2012

This Friday, May 4, begins the first of the season’s Art-A-Lot events – the outdoor venue for FIRSTfriday of Falls Church.  Outside in the parking lot at 111 Park Ave, there will be local art on display, a live music concert, and a gathering of classic cars.

Inside at Art and Frame of Falls Church, there will be a reception for Isabelle Babington’s exhibit entitled Blue Notes that she describes as “eclectic notes with a blue paintbrush following an idea, exploring new ways, keeping an open eye and an open mind in no particular order.”  Meet the artist at the opening reception from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Isabelle will give an artist talk at 7:10 pm. Read more

Through SUNDAY, 5/20: “Women of the Blues” at Creative Cauldron

Creative Cauldron presents ”Women of the Blues” an original Blues review celebrating the  music and lives of some of the greatest singers of the 20th Century. Preview performances are Thursday and Friday, May 3 and 4 at 7:30 pm at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue.  Tickets are $20 Adult/$18 Student/Senior and can be ordered in advance online at www.creativecauldron.org.  The show continues Thursday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm through May 20.

Helen Hayes Award Winner to Perform in Falls Church This Week

Helen Hayes Award® Winner Carolyn Cole will appear at ArtSpace Falls Church beginning Thursday in Women of the Blues, an original blues music review celebrating the lives and music of some of the greatest blues divas of the 20th Century.  Presented by Creative Cauldron and the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, and directed by acclaimed musical theater artist, Matt Conner, the show takes audiences on a soulful and sassy journey through some of the most memorable songs in the blues canon.  Cole is one of a powerhouse quartet of versatile female vocalists in the show, including Helen Hayes Award® nominee Ashleigh King (Hairspray Signature Theatre), musical theater diva Shayla Simmons and Indie Soul recording artist Tarina Szemzo.

Women of the Blues previews Thursday, May 3 at Creative Cauldron at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 South Maple Avenue. The show runs Thursday through Sunday nights at 7:30 pm through May 20.   Opening Night is Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $20 Adults and $18 for Students and Seniors.  Tickets can be purchased on-line at www.creativecauldron.org or by calling 571-239-5288.

Carolyn Cole was seen most recently in Signature Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of Hairspray. Last week, she received a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her portrayal of the irrepressible teenager/ dance show wannabe Tracey Turnblad.  Carolyn has also appeared locally with the No Rules Theatre Company in The Stephen Schwartz Project (Soloist) and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Lucy) and in touring  productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Donny Osmond, and Martha Speaks, (Martha). Her cabaret credits include Carolyn in the City and Monday Nights, New Voices, (at the Duplex) and An Evening with Carolyn Cole.  She has also lent her voice to recordings, television trailers, ball games and staged readings.

Ashley King was seen most recently scene as Dynamite in Signature Theatre’s production of Hairspray. She also understudied and took over the role of MotorMouth in the show during the final week of the run. Ashleigh’s other Washington, DC area credits include the Kennedy Center; Brothers of the Knight, Pearl, Pepito’s Story, Dreams, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago’s The Nutcracker; Olney Theatre: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor  Dreamcoat, Grease, Aida, White Christmas, Cats, Damn Yankees, 42nd Street, Peter Pan South Pacific, Witness for the Prosecution, and Chicago.

Shayla Simmons has appeared locally at Toby’s Dinner Theater as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls, Pinkett in Happy Days “New Musical”, Nehebka in Aida,  Stepmother in Into the Woods, Evillene in The Wiz, and in Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, and as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Tina Turner, in Beehive. For the latter, Maryland Theatre Guide praised Shayla Simmons stops the show with Natural Woman” a song made famous by Aretha Franklin.  Shayla is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.   In 2004, she received the regional NAACP ACT-SO award for Best Actress.

Tarina Szemzo is an indie soul recording artist from Washington, DC by way of Hungary, who has created her own sound, fusing a variety of musical flavors. She spent most of her childhood mixing it up between the urban R&B/Hip Hop community and the quiet, laid back Hungarian countryside.  Singing soul music finally became her passion, and she has performed at numerous DC venues including the Kennedy Center, the Old Post Office Pavilion, The Omni Shoreham Hotel and in a weekly gig at Stars.  Tarina has performed with The National Symphony Orchestra, and with Composer Marvin Hamlisch, and toured Europe with Indie musician Tibor Szemso. Tarina has had the privilege to work and record with such musical veterans as cellist Dave Eggar, guitarist Thad Debrock, pianist Daniel Minsteris, and cellist Colette Alexander.

Matt Conner has been a teaching artist with Creative Cauldron for the past 11 years. A versatile theater artist who is an accomplished composer, performer, and teacher, last fall Matt made his professional directorial debut at Creative Cauldron with a Helen Hayes Award Recommended production of Nevermore.  Nevermore, an original musical based on the writings and poems of Edgar Allan Poe, was first produced to critical acclaim at Signature Theatre in 2006.  In 2008, Matt was one of six composers to receive Signature’s American Musical Voices: The Next Generation award funded by the Shen Family Foundation.  Conner’s composition The Hollow, an adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow opened Signature’s 2011-2012 season.

Nikki Graves Henderson and The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation are collaborating on the production, providing blues history and anecdotes about the famous divas and music featured in the show.  The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to raise awareness of the contributions of African-Americans and other cultures to the development of Falls Church, Fairfax County, the United States and African descendants in the diaspora, by disseminating information and providing community services.  In 2010, Creative Cauldron joined forces with THHF to create “Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White” an original work for the stage based on the stories of Falls Church’s early civil rights pioneers.

Creative Cauldron is a non-profit arts organization whose innovative programs in the performing and visual arts embody collaboration, experimentation and community engagement.  Creative Cauldron was founded by Producing Director Laura Connors Hull in 2002.  In June of 2009, Creative Cauldron acquired a permanent home at ArtSpace Falls Church, a 3,000 square foot flexible arts space that provides a venue for year-round classes, live performances of theater, music and dance and visual art exhibits.   Programs are presented in part through grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts Council of Fairfax County and the City of Falls Church.

SATURDAY 4/28: Three for a Song at Creative Cauldron

On April 28 at 7:30 pm at Creative Cauldron, Three for a Song will perform in a concert titled “The Greatest Songs You Never Heard.” Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for students/seniors and can be purchased in advance online at www.creativecauldron.org.  Creative Cauldron is located at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue.

Pianist extraordinaire Alex Hassan recreates the styles of the Golden Age of the Tin Pan Alley 20s and 30s, joined by sublime singers Doug Bowles and Karin Paludan for a concert of the “The Greatest Songs You’ve Never Heard.” It’s a show that’s been getting standing ovations at venues such as the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage “Jazz Club,” the Coolidge Auditorium (Library of Congress), and numerous private venues, since it debuted in late 2011. You’ll hear breathtaking melodies from stage and film, with clever lyrics, bounce rhythms, hot tempos. Songs are interspersed with amusing to jaw-dropping anecdotes about the songs and songwriters, with listeners left to wonder how these melodies didn’t become standards!

SATURDAY, 4/21: JackWagon Dance and Fundraiser

On April 21 at 7:30 pm, the 7-piece JackWagon Band returns for another fun dance party benefit concert for Creative Cauldron! Located at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue, tickets are $15 each and can be purchased in advance online at www.creativecauldron.org.   Note that the band’s last concert at Creative Cauldron was a sell-out!

JackWagon performs regularly throughout the Washington DC area at clubs, parties, festivals, fundraisers and corporate events. JackWagon appeals to the over-35  crowd with an expansive repertoire that covers popular Rock, Soul, Motown, Blues, and R&B bands and artists from across 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. JackWagon consists of Gary Buzbee (Lead Vocals), Bruce Turner and Dave Walker (Guitars), Charlie Olsen (Bass), Jamie Walker (Drums) and John Butler and Marie Himel (Saxes).

FRIDAY/SATURDAY 4/13-14: AAUW Book Sale

More than 40,000 books for browsing and buying. Huge selection. Most books priced at $3 or less.  Hardbacks, Paperbacks, Fiction, Non-fiction, Biography, Childrens Books.  Bargains!

Falls Church City Community Center, 223 Little Falls Street. Near the intersection of Route 7 and Lee Highway in Falls Church.

Friday, April 13….9 am-9 pm.  Saturday, April 14….9 am-4 pm.

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