City Week | City Week | Tucson Weekly

City Week | City Week | Tucson Weekly
Roaring 20s

Phyro-Giants!

10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, through Dec. 12

Beowulf Alley Theatre

11 S. Sixth Ave.

882-0555,

www.beowulfalley.org

Twenty-something.

Either you're approaching your 20s, in the eye of the storm, or looking back and being thankful you survived your 20s. It is a tumultuous time—a decade of working your way into the real world, dealing with college, finding a career to fit into, making money, getting married and ... oh god ... babies.

Beowulf Alley's Late Night Theatre will be offering Phyro-Giants!, a play that finds the comedy in the 20-something. A former correspondent for The Daily Show, Michael Blieden wrote the play in 2001. UA alum and playwright Michelle Sciarrone brought it to Tucson.

'It's so creative. Throughout the whole show, we're at a table, and there are people having a conversation,' says Sciarrone. 'It's almost like you're hanging out with your friends at dinner.'

Sciarrone, who is acting this time around rather than writing, says that even though there's not a lot of action or set changes—in fact, there are no set changes—the story will keep the audience hooked.

'It has dramatic moments and little surprises, but you'll laugh,' she says.

A combination of friends and strangers tell stories and disclose personal escapades at dinner—basically, it's a dinner we've all been to before.

The director of late-night shows at Beowulf Alley, Michael Fenlason, says it's better than typical late-night comedy, which generally includes crazies running around half-naked and screaming, he says. Phyro-Giants! is a little more respectable, but it still maintains some late-night antics (read: adult themes and language).

So, get a glimpse of your future, laugh at where you're at, or go to reminisce.

Tickets are $8, cash, at the door. Call 882-0555 for reservations. —A.P."

ActingLab@the Alley presents An Evening of Scenes

Beowulf Alley Theatre’s ActingLab@the Alley Invites the Public to Enjoy

An Evening of Scenes Presented by the Acting Students

 

Beowulf Alley Theatre invited the public to An Evening of Acting Scenes by our Fall term students in the ActingLab@the Alley at the theatre, 11 South 6^th Avenue (Downtown between Broadway and Congress) on December 19^th at 7:30 p.m. A reception of light snacks and beverages precedes the event when the doors open at 6:45 p.m.

Admission for this culmination of the fall class term is pay-what-you-will. You'll have the opportunity to see a collection of the students' improvisational scenes and learn a bit about the method of teaching that is offered by Philip G. Bennett in his ActingLab@the Alley classes.

New classes are forming for the winter term in January 2010! For more information, please call (520) 622-4460 and leave a message for Philip G. Bennett on extension 3.

 

LNT presents Ho Ho Ho! by The Grendel Players

Beowulf Alley’s Late Night Theatre

Ho Ho Ho!  by The Grendel Players

The funniest Christmas show in Tucson

 

Late Night Theatre at Beowulf Alley, 11 South 6^th Avenue, Downtown between Broadway and Congress, presents Ho Ho Ho by The Grendel Players. Performances are on Thursday, Friday and Saturday December 17^th, 18^th and 19^th, 2009 and Saturday, December 26^th at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 cash at the door. Half price tickets are available for the pre-Christmas shows if you bring a quality toy for Toys for Tots. Bring your worst gift to the December 26^th performance for a chance to receive a gift card for dinner for two at one of the Tucson Originals restaurants. For additional information, please call (520) 977-5218.

 

Ho Ho Ho is a riotous sketch comedy show on all things Christmas and Hanukah. Irreverent takes on Christmas classics like Frosty the Snowman, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Christmas Carol, the Grendel Players spoof everything from Nutcrackers to Night Before Christmas. Sketches include How the Klingons Stole Christmas, The Travels of Joseph and Mary, and Tourette’s Syndrome Santa. This play has adult themes and language.

 

Ho Ho Ho was originally performed in Phoenix, Arizona, with The Unlikely Theater Company. The Arizona Republic called Ho Ho Ho, “an outrageous treat.” Max McQueen at the Tribune Papers called Ho Ho Ho “wild irreverent fun.” While the show is adult in language and theme, the tone is hardy good fun and the Grendel Players do their best to de-stress you this Christmas. The production features Evan Engle, Josh Parra, Tristyn Tucci, Aelyn Heinrichs and Meg Clifton, directed by Michael Fenlason.

IndeFliks@the Alley screening Romance at Frisky's Bar

IndeFliks@the Alley Offers a Full Feature Film In December

Romance at Frisky's Bar

 

IndeFliks@the Alley, a partnership between the Independent Film Association of Southern Arizona (www.ifasa.net) and Beowulf Alley Theatre presents Romance at Frisky's Bar at the theatre, 11 South 6^th Avenue (Downtown between Broadway and Congress) on December 13^th and 20^th at 7:00 p.m. The run time for this film, shot in Tucson with a local cast and crew is 81 minutes and, though unrated, contains mature themes. Admission is $8 cash at the door. The box office phone number is (520) 882-0555.

 

Everybody comes to Frisky's Bar looking for love -- or at least a warm body -- but since patrons rely on smooth moves, cagey schemes and outright lies, it can be tough to know if real romance ever stands a chance. But as the bartender spouts his impenetrable philosophies and frat boys encounter cougars on the prowl, one couple discovers the spark of something that may be the real deal. http://romanceatfriskysmovie.com/

 

Old Time Radio Theatre Offers Family Fun in December and January

Beowulf Alley’s Old Time Radio Theatre Offers

Family Fun (ages 6 and older) in December and January

 

Beowulf Alley Theatre’s Old Time Radio Theatre will presents a series of live presentations of old radio shows at the theatre, 11 South 6^th Avenue (Downtown between Broadway and Congress). General tickets are $8 for ages 12 and older. The first two children in each family, ages 6-12 are $5 each, additional children in a family are free. To grandparents: leave your kids at home and bring your grandkids. Or bring your kids and make them buy your ticket. This is a fun holiday treat for the family! The box office phone number is (520) 882-0555.

Many of us missed the days before television when families gathered around the radio, listening to stories - soap operas, westerns, comedies and suspenseful dramas. Closing your eyes and drifting into a fantasy world, with the kids on the floor, dad in his favorite chair and mother on the sofa with her knitting, families listened to the sounds of doors opening and closing, wind blowing, stairs creaking and other sounds crafted from Foley equipment. In December and January at Beowulf Alley, our team of actors will present live presentations of some of the finest radio shows of the 30s, 40s and 50s.

Sunday, December 13 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m, join us for Little Women and Vic and Sade's Christmas Show.

At First Night 2010, on December 31^st at 5:00 p.m., OTRT will present Pinocchio for the younger set, and the young at heart, and later that night, at 8:00 p.m., the suspenseful Three Skeleton Key. (Requires a First Night Button for admission.)

Wednesday, January 6 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. "The Bickersons-John's Operation" and "The Hitchhiker" (suspense).

 

Tuesday, January 19 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. "Vic and Sade: Mr. Dempsey and Mr. Tenney Meet in a Cigar Store" and "Sgt. Preston of the Yukon: The Break-up".

Beowulf Alley Audition "16 Hamlets & an Ophelia"

Beowulf Alley’s LNT@the Alley Holds Auditions

16 Hamlets & an Ophelia

 

(Tucson, AZ – December 2, 2009) Beowulf Alley Theatre’s Late Night Theatre, LNT@the Alley will hold open auditions for 16 Hamlets & an Ophelia on Monday, December 7th from 8:00pm to 10pm. at the theatre, 11 South 6^th Avenue (Downtown between Broadway and Congress). Please bring a headshot and resume, if you have one. The audition will consist of readings from the script. This is a paid position.

 

Rehearsals begin December 9th and will be scheduled according to the production team’s availability, occasionally after 10p weeknights with some weekend rehearsals. Performance date is 12/31/2009 at 7:00 p.m. (call time 6:15 p.m.).

 

Looking for:

Female (2) – 18-30

Male (2) – 18-30

 

Email Michael Fenlason at unlikelytheater@aol.com (please use “Hamlet” in the subject line) or call 520-977-5218 with questions or for more information.

 

16 Hamlets & an Ophelia is an ensemble comedy piece that tells the complete story of Hamlet by William Shakespeare in sixteen different ways. Parodying the modern theater’s inclination to do updated or themed performances of Shakespeare, LNT presents this piece of sixteen such styles having gone too far.

 

Arizona Youth Chamber Ensemble and Beowulf Alley Theatre present She Loves Me

She Loves Me Presented by Tucson Youth Group

 

(Tucson, AZ – November 13, 2009)  Arizona Youth Chamber Ensemble and Beowulf Alley Theatre present the romantic musical comedy, She Loves Me. Still relevant today, this old-world, nostalgic musical comedy is the fifth adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film The Shop around the Corner and the 1949 Judy Garland-Van Johnson musical version In the Good Old Summertime.  It would surface yet again in 1998 as the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan feature film You've Got Mail. This production of She Loves Me is appropriate for ages 6 years and over.

 

Performance locations, dates, and times are:

Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 South 6^th Avenue

(downtown between Broadway and Congress)

Friday, December 11, 7:30 p.m.;

Saturday, December 12, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and

ArtFare, 55 North 6^th Avenue

(downtown between Congress and Pennington)

Friday, December 18 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Ticket Prices and Purchase Outlets:

$12 General Admission, $10 Seniors & Students

Purchase through Arizona Youth Chamber Ensemble members, by cash or check made payable to Beowulf Alley Theatre Company; by phone at (520) 882-0555 using VISA, MasterCard, Discover or American Express; online with debit/credit cards via PayPal or Google at www.beowulfalley.org.

 

The plot revolves around Budapest shop employees Georg Nowack (played by Hunter Hnat) and Amalia Balash (played by Julie Sandfort). The two, despite being strongly at odds with each other at work, are unaware that each is the other's secret pen pal, having met through lonely-hearts ads.  The story ends on Christmas Eve with the endearing and uplifting sense of possibility often felt during the holiday season.

 

Directed by Steve Anderson; Music Director, Stephanie Fox; Accompanist, David Craig.  Script/Music/Lyrics: Joe Masteroff (script), Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics).

Produced by special arrangements with Music Theatre International (MTI). For more information call (520) 882-0555.

Readers Theatre presents Jean Sidden's Passing By

Beowulf Alley Theatre presents

Jean Sidden’s Passing By

 

(Tucson, AZ – December 2, 2009)  Readers Theatre will present Passing By, a collection of short adaptations by Jean Siddens, liberally based on three of Anton Chekhov's short stories. In a spirit of irony reminiscent of Chekhov's early writing the plays explore themes of love, change and moving on. Of Poetic Nature, Will 'O The Wisp and Natural Order answer the question Chekhov left to the reader's imagination: "What happened next?"

Readers Theatre is about the words. The program is designed for the public to hear the words and respond with comments and questions to help the playwright refine the script. Readers Theatre is held on the 2^nd Tuesday of each month, as scripts are available. Admission is pay-what-you-will. For more information, please call the Box Office at (520) 882-0555.

 

LNT@the Alley Presents Phyro-Giants! by Michael Blieden

Beowulf Alley’s LNT@the Alley Presents

Phyro-Giants! by Michael Blieden

 

Beowulf Alley Theatre’s Late Night Theatre, LNT@the Alley will presents Michael Blieden’s Phyro-Giants at the theatre, 11 South 6^th Avenue (Downtown between Broadway and Congress). Performance dates are Dec. 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 10:00 p.m.. Admission is $8 cash at the door. The box office phone number is (520) 882-0555.

 

Directed by Lydia Borowicz, the cast includes Lucas Gonzales, Brian Hanson. Michelle Sciarrone. Michelle Luz and Maggie Shaffer.

 

Phyro-Giants! takes on marriage, fidelity, ghosts, God, and long-distance phone services during a dizzying dinner between four friends and strangers who reveal more than they bargained for. Michael Blieden’s Phyro-Giants! explores the phenomenon of restaurant intimacy – that strange sense of comfort and honesty experienced at a dinner with acquaintances who, for one night, become a person's closest confidants. Wine flows, desserts are shared and four loosely connected individuals share their hopes, dreams, fears, fantasies and secrets in this modern day fable told in real time.

Arizona Youth Chamber Ensemble and Beowulf Alley Theatre present "She Loves Me"

Arizona Youth Chamber Ensemble and Beowulf Alley Theatre present the romantic musical comedy, She Loves Me. Still relevant today, this old-world, nostalgic musical comedy is the fifth adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film The Shop around the Corner and the 1949 Judy Garland-Van Johnson musical version In the Good Old Summertime.  It would surface yet again in 1998 as the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan feature film You've Got Mail. This production of She Loves Me is appropriate for ages 6 years and over.

 

Performance locations, dates, and times are:

Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 South 6^th Avenue

(downtown between Broadway and Congress)

Friday, December 11, 7:30 p.m.;

Saturday, December 12, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and

ArtFare, 55 North 6^th Avenue

(downtown between Congress and Pennington)

Friday, December 18 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Ticket Prices and Purchase Outlets:

$12 General Admission, $10 Seniors & Students

Purchase through Arizona Youth Chamber Ensemble members, by cash or check made payable to Beowulf Alley Theatre Company; by phone at (520) 882-0555 using VISA, MasterCard, Discover or American Express; online with debit/credit cards via PayPal or Google at www.beowulfalley.org.

 

The plot revolves around Budapest shop employees Georg Nowack (played by Hunter Hnat) and Amalia Balash (played by Julie Sandfort). The two, despite being strongly at odds with each other at work, are unaware that each is the other's secret pen pal, having met through lonely-hearts ads.  The story ends on Christmas Eve with the endearing and uplifting sense of possibility often felt during the holiday season.

 

Directed by Steve Anderson; Music Director, Stephanie Fox; Accompanist, David Craig.  Script/Music/Lyrics: Joe Masteroff (script), Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics).

Produced by special arrangements with Music Theatre International (MTI).

 

Final Weekend of Rabbit Hole & more events at Beowulf Alley Theatre

Beowulf Alley Theatre

Only 4 More Performances of This Touching and Warm Story About Renewed Joy in the Face of Tragedy.

 

Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire

Directed by Sara Falconer

Don't miss the final 4 performances of Rabbit Hole. When asked about why she wanted to direct Rabbit Hole, Falconer said, “I saw Rabbit Hole on a snowy night in February 2006. I left the theatre and was halfway to my hotel before I realized I had forgotten to retrieve my coat. I had been struck to the core with the beautiful honesty and simplicity of the story, and not just because I had recently lost seven close family members. With stunning accuracy,

Falconer says, "Rabbit Hole illustrates how each of us gets through the day, despite the pain that sears our lives, and how circumstances, mundane as well as extraordinary, enrich and fulfill our humanity. The play is bittersweet; full of despair, tragedy, sadness, yet it is the funny, gentle moments, and the smiles that allow us to keep hoping. We carry on every day, with the fervent hope that someday, somewhere the sadness and pain will end. And without hope, what else is there?"

Thursday-Saturday, November 19-21, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 22, 1:30 p.m.

Tickets $20 by phone/at door, $18 online at www.beowulfalley.org

Check out our website to read the reviews and see the photos.

 

 

Join us on Wednesday, November 18 at 12:15 p.m. for an

Out to Lunch Theatre presentation.

Beowulf Alley's Old Time Radio Theatre's Live Performance of

My Favorite Husband

Enjoy your lunchtime in a very different way.

Bring your lunch and bring a friend!

Tickets are just $6 Cash at the Door.

 

 

Final Two Performances of Athene by Michael Fenlason

Friday and Saturday, November 20 & 21, 2009, 10:30 p.m.

Tickets - $8 Cash at the Door

 

Grief takes center stage in 'Rabbit Hole' | www.azstarnet.com ®

Grief takes center stage in 'Rabbit Hole' | www.azstarnet.com ®

Accent

Grief takes center stage in 'Rabbit Hole'

By Kathleen Allen

Arizona Daily Star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.13.2009

Grief. Bone-chilling, mind-zapping, physically painful grief, is at the core of David Lindsay-Abaire’s graceful, poignant “Rabbit Hole,” which Beowulf Alley Theatre opened last weekend.

Death has visited Becca and Howie and snatched their young son away. It was an accident — he ran after his dog in front of a car driven by a teen. But no matter the cause, the loss is profound.

Howie goes to support groups; Becca doesn’t like the people there and swims deep in her solitary grief. It’s been eight months since their son’s death.

This is the household we enter as “Rabbit Hole” opens. The mercurial Becca, played with restraint by Nell Summers, is folding her son’s just-washed clothes while her ditzy sister, Izzy (Kristina Sloan, who knows how to land a line), tells her of a bar fight she got into. And, oh, by the way, she’s pregnant.

Gabriel Nagy and Nell Summers, in "Rabbit Hole," play a couple who have lost a child and are struggling to recover.
COURTESY OF BEOWULF ALLEY THEATRE

Quietly, Becca absorbs this news. Her emotions flash across her face as she tries to process that her flighty sister, who seems far from prepared for motherhood, will have what she no longer has: a child.

There is no great, cathartic blowup in this play. Only a family struggling with heartache. Becca, especially, is greedy with her grief, hugging it tightly to her.

Meanwhile, her accommodating husband (Gabriel Nagy gives the character a deeply felt sorrow) is frustrated — sex is not high on Becca’s agenda these days. Then there’s that dizzy Izzy, and Becca’s mother (Martie van der Voort), who has crazy theories and a big heart, longs for Becca to be happy again.

This cast, directed by Sara Falconer, grabs hold of the heartbreak laced with hope and allows it to simmer without boiling over.

Lindsay-Abaire’s dialogue is naturalistic, making this story all the more real.

The director kept the action moving and the actors clearly embraced the material — though, at times, they did seem to be waiting for their cue lines rather than living in the character and the moment.

But that’s an early-in-the-run problem. “Rabbit Hole” is a tear-jerker punctuated with optimism, and within a few more performances we’re willing to bet there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.

Life After Death | Review | Tucson Weekly

Life After Death | Review | Tucson Weekly

Life After Death

Parents grieve a lost child in Beowulf's harrowing 'Rabbit Hole'

by Nathan Christensen

There is a moment in the second act of David Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole, now playing at Beowulf Alley, when the characters, and the play itself, let go of their tension for a first tentative moment.

It's almost magical, because suddenly, in the audience, you can feel yourself begin to breathe freely again. It's like the beginning of healing.

* Creatista/Scott Griessel
Martie van der Voort and Nell Summers in Rabbit Hole.

Healing is elusive in Lindsay-Abaire's harrowing tale, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2007. The play centers on Becca and Howie, a couple living in a comfortable suburban home outside of New York whose world was turned upside down when their 4-year-old son was struck and killed by a teenage driver.

The accident happened some months before the beginning of the play, and the grieving parents must now figure out how to get on with their lives; they cope in separate ways.

Played by Nell Summers, Becca is an emotional porcupine, with raw, exposed nerves. (Cynthia Nixon won a Tony for her performance of Becca on the New York stage.) Brush her the wrong way (and it's hard not to), and the barbs come out. Any human closeness seems to open the wounds of her grief.

Gabriel Nagy, as Howie, comes across at first as the more emotionally balanced of the two. He is attending a support group, and he's able to carry on a conversation without it always being about his son beneath the surface. But he also compulsively watches home videos of his son after his wife is asleep, and he may or may not be seeking the intimacy he is not finding at home elsewhere. As Becca observes, Howie is not really in a better place than she is—just a different one.

Nagy paints Howie as a man who may be hurting deeply, but who doesn't spend much time in self-examination. His broad gestures and booming voice are less telling of his inner life than his overreactions to minor events, such as learning that his mother-in-law is overfeeding the family dog.

The weakest moment in an otherwise confident performance comes when Howie's defenses are broken down, revealing the train-wreck inside. Nagy doesn't handle this scene with the vulnerability needed to really open Howie's heart to the audience, but the moment passes quickly.

As Becca, Summers has the difficult task of winning empathy for a character who is not pleasant; she is only partly successful. She would have been better served had director Sara Falconer directed the proceedings with a lighter touch, allowing her character to toss out handfuls of razor blades rather than engaging in a perpetual knife fight. The problem is not that Summers isn't up to the task—her pain feels very real—but it's exhausting to watch as each trigger tears her open.

Her performance turns brilliant, however, in the second act, after the unexpected appearance of Jason, the teenage driver in the fatal accident. Played by Ian Mortensen with an endearingly loose-limbed, eager-to-please earnestness, Jason is looking for redemption as well. Or perhaps he's seeking condemnation—just some way to ease his own feelings of guilt, something to bring closure.

Unexpectedly, it is Howie who flies off the handle when Jason shows up, while Becca is open to hearing what he has to say. This marks the beginning of her healing, and Summers' transformation is understated but remarkable.

As cathartic as this whole journey is, the evening is more than just an emotional marathon due in large part to the supporting characters. Izzy is Becca's bohemian younger sister. She is exuberant, unafraid to say what she thinks and pregnant by her musician boyfriend. Nat is the mother of the two sisters, though she seems more related to Izzy than Becca. Always quick with a story or an opinion, Nat also carries within her the tragic loss of a child—a drug-addicted son who committed suicide 15 years before.

Becca and Howie are the heart of the drama, but Izzy and Nat keep it alive. Played with brio by Kristina Sloan and Martie van der Voort, they bring welcome laughs, cross boundaries and ask questions that more sensitive people might avoid. They inject life into a play about coping with death, and with Becca in the middle, they create a virtual timeline, from birth, to loss, to acceptance.

Dave Sewell's suburban-home set is almost a character unto itself. It marks the limits of Becca's world for most of the play, serving as both a shelter and a prison. It is tastefully furnished, but neat to the point of looking unlived-in. Behind the living room, where an angry painting hangs on the wall, lies the isolated, claustrophobic room of the family's lost child.

There is much pain in this play, but it is not a tragedy: Rabbit Hole is about what comes after a tragedy, and in the end, what lies through the rabbit hole is the strength to move forward, one step at a time.