“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.

Helen Hayes Award Winner Carolyn Cole, Ashleigh King, Shayla Simmons and Tarina Szemo are "daring, talented women" who are wowing audiences in Creative Cauldron's "Women of the Blues." The show has been extended through Sunday, May 27 at ArtSpace, 410 S. Maple Avenue. PHOTO: Gary Mester

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.

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.

"Women of the Blues" opens Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 pm at Creative Cauldron at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue.

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.

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!

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).

Freegal Music is an online database that provides access to songs from Sony Music. The music files are Digital Rights Management-Free (DRM-Free) and do not expire. The files are compatible with PCs, Macs, iPods, iPads and other MP3-compatible devices.

Freegal Music contains over 500,000 songs from Sony Music artists spanning all genres, from Ke$ha to Bruce Springsteen to Dave Brubeck and more. New music is added to the collection daily.

To view, browse, and download music from Freegal, go to the Library’s homepage (www.fallschurchva.gov/library) and click on “Downloadable Collection” on the left menu.

Access to Freegal Music on the Library’s website has been made possible by the Mary Riley Styles Public Library Foundation.

For more information, call the Mary Riley Styles Public Library at 703-248-5035.

Bands performing are: Security Report (Classic Rock Covers), Lu and the Blues Crew, Elephant Pistol (Indie/Alternative), Simple Sounds (Acoustic Covers), JKL, (Piano/Vocals) and the George Mason High School Jazz Combo.

The Dirty Pints band will perform at Creative Cauldron at ArtSpace Saturday afternoon, March 3 at 2:00 pm in the final weekend of the "Passport to the World Festival."

The Passport to the World Festival of Music, Dance and Story makes its final stop in the British Isles this weekend at ArtSpace Falls Church with three different musical performances.

On Saturday, March 3 at 2 pm, The Dirty Pints will play a crowd-pleasing variety of traditional Irish music along with the occasional American classic. The Falls Church-based trio is also the favorite house band at Ireland’s Four Provinces Restaurant.  They play a range of instruments including fiddle, whistle and guitar.  Come and listen — and sing along, too.

“Pyrderi’s Pig’s” is Welsh for “Moch Pyrderi” who will perform in concert Saturday night at 7:30 pm at Creative Cauldron.

Moch Pyrderi is a six-piece Welsh American band from Fredericksburg, Virginia.  They will perform at 7:30 pm Saturday night, playing music firmly rooted in the traditional music of Wales and Brittany, occasionally interwoven with music from Ireland, Scotland, Turkey and the American Appalachians.  The group’s instrumentation includes the rare Welsh triple harp, Welsh pibgorns, and Welsh bagpipes, highland pipes, fiddle, flutes, percussion and more.  Moch Pyrderi’s vocal abilities create a distinctive sound.

Finish off  your trip to the British Isles on Sunday evening with a 7:30 pm concert of rousing Celtic reels and more from Emerald Glen Trio. The group brings flute, hammer dulcimer and violin to create a mosaic of sound that is both contemporary and timeless.

Tickets for each performance are $15 adults and $12 for students/seniors and can be purchased in advance at www.creativecauldron.org or by calling 571-239-5288.

Creative Cauldron at ArtSpace is located at 410 S. Maple Avenue in the Pearson Square building.  Free parking is available in the garages at 410 and 400 S. Maple Avenue.

"Alice in Wonderland, Jr." will be performed Thursday, Friday and Saturday (February 23 - 25) at 7 pm at MEHMS. Shown above are Tweedledee (Jacob Plata) and Tweedledum (Andrew Connelly) with "medium" Alice (Tea Abbraciamento) Photo courtesy of Carol Sly.

The show opens Thursday and runs through Saturday, February 25 in the MEHMS Cafetorium at 7pm. Tickets are $8 per person. The lobby opens at 6 pm, and the seating area opens at 6:30pm. Admission is through the front doors only. Concessions are available each night with a  variety of snacks, treats and drinks.  There is plenty of parking in front, on the side and behind the school.

On Sunday, February 26 at 2 pm, Tales from Russia and the Ukraine Story Theater will come to life with the help of large scale puppets, narration and choreographed movement. Creative Cauldron will explore folk and fairy tales from the ancient Slavic culture.  Grand tales of heroes and heroines, animals and mystical beings all play a part in these “skazki” or folktales that have been passed from generation to generation.  The interactive story theater presentation is great for the entire family.  Tickets are $10 each.

Creative Cauldron at ArtSpace Falls Church is located at 410 S. Maple Avenue in the Pearson Square building.  Free parking is available in the garages at 410 and 400 S. Maple Avenue.  For more information and to buy tickets in advance, go to www.creativecauldron.org