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Camelot Theatre Company presents the multiple-Tony Award winning musical, "Promises, Promises." Camelot Theatre Company opens its summer musical for 2008, the multiple-Tony Award winner for 1969, "Promises, Promises." Based on Billy Wilder's Academy Award winning picture "The Apartment" (starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine), "Promises, Promises" received three Tony Awards. The book is by Neil Simon with music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David. The Neil Simon canon consists of such American classics (both on stage and in film) as "The Odd Couple," "Sweet Charity," "Plaza Suite," "The Out of Towners," "The Prisoner of Second Avenue," "The Goodbye Girl," "Chapter Two" and Simon's landmark autobiographical trilogy – "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (1983), "Biloxi Blues" (1985) and "Broadway Bound" (1986). The prolific team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David are responsible for such mega-hits as "Wives and Lovers," "They Long to be Close to You," "Don't Make Me Over," "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "Walk On By," "Make it Easy on Yourself" and "What the World Needs Now is Love," many of them made famous by Dionne Warwick. Promises, Promises" is directed by Camelot's artistic director Livia Genise. Musical direction is by Gwen Overland and choreography is by Rebecca K. Campbell. Aaron Blenkush (synthesizer) and Bryan Jeffs (drums) join Overland in the orchestra pit. Livia Genise is a former Broadway actress. She has both directed and starred in many Camelot productions, including "Do I Hear a Waltz," "Sockdology," "Meet Me in St. Louis," "Master Class," "Woody Guthrie's American Song," "Man of La Mancha," "Into the Woods," and has starred in Spotlights on Julie London, Billie Holliday, Bonnie Raitt and Patsy Cline. Gwen Overland is no stranger to the Camelot Theatre where she has both acted in and directed numerous productions over the past four years, including "The Sisters Rosensweig," "Enchanted April" and "Master Class." Rebecca K. Campbell has choreographed "A Little Night Music," "Camelot," "Children of Eden," and "Zorba" at Camelot, directed "Into the Woods" and appeared in "Spotlight on Judy Garland," "A Little Night Music," "Master Class" "Enchanted April," "Sisters Rosenweig" and "Zorba." Aaron Blenkush is a junior Piano Performance major at Southern Oregon University and has provided musical direction for theater productions including "The Great American Trailer Park Musical," "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown," "Into the Woods" and "Once Upon A Mattress." Bryan Jeffs holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance and Education from Southern Oregon and has played drums for "Meet Me in St. Louis" and "Once Upon a Mattress" at Camelot. "Promises, Promises" stars Jeremy Johnson as Chuck Baxter, Shannon McReynolds as Fran Kubelick, Don Matthews as J. D. Sheldrake and Bruce Lorange as Doc Dreyfus. Jeremy Johnson was most recently seen in Camelot's production of "Meet Me in St. Lois" as John Truitt. Other Camelot credits include "Shakespeare In Hollywood", "The Spitfire Grill", "Man of La Mancha", "Into the Woods", "Fahrenheit 451" and "1776." Shannon McReynolds' Camelot credits include the starring role of Percy in "The Spitfire Grill" as well as roles in "Into the Woods" and "Man of La Mancha." Currently the morning classical music host at Jefferson Public Radio, Don Matthews' Camelot credits include Edwin Stanton in "Sockdology," Lancelot in "Camelot," Frederick in "A Little Night Music" and Don Quixote in "Man of La Mancha." Bruce Lorange last appeared at Camelot as preacher Jim Casey in "The "Grapes of Wrath." Other productions at Camelot include "The Heidi Chronicles" and "An American Daughter". Bruce is a graduate of the Pasadena Playhouse and prior to moving here he worked in film, TV and theatre in Los Angeles for 20 years. Also appearing in "Promises, Promises" as members of the singing and dancing Greek Chorus and as various secretaries are Amanda Andersen, Mae Jeffs and Alessandra Jenkins. The womanizing executives in "Promises, Promises" are played by Sunshine Bucy, Sam Cowan, Heiland Hoff and Brandon Byron Manley. Paula Flowers appears as goodtime girl Marge McDougall, with Maja Michelle Fein and Chris Toogood rounding out the cast. The production team for "Promises, Promises" includes Camelot's resident designers: costumer Emily Ehrlich Inget; set designer, properties master and master carpenter Don Zastoupil, lighting designer Bart Grady and sound designer Brian O'Connor. Stage management is by Paul L. McCullough; assistant stage manager is Stephen Krause. "Promises, Promises" is sponsored in by Jimmie L. Smith of Edward Jones in Talent. "Promises, Promises" previews June 25 and June 26 at 8 p.m., opens June 27 and runs through July 27. All Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m. and all Sundays at 2 p.m. There is a special Pay-What-You-Can performance on Wednesday, July 2 at 8 p.m. There is no performance on the 4th of July. Reservations are recommended. June 25 is a fundraiser for the Talent Chamber of Commerce. Tickets for this performance ONLY are $20. June 26 preview tickets are $12. All other regular performances are $19 for students and seniors and $21 for Adults. Student rush tickets of $10 will be available 5 minutes before show time subject to availability. Reserved seating is available for $2/ticket. Tickets may be purchased in person, over the phone at the Camelot box office, located at the corner of Talent Ave and Main St in Talent or online at www.CamelotTheatre.org. (Please check online for any Web specials.) Box Office hours are Monday through Saturday from 1-5 p.m. and one hour before performances. To reserve tickets, call the Camelot Theatre Company Box Office at 535-5250.
Tags: Theatre Camelot Events
Camelot Theatre Company presents the 1992 Tony Award for Best Play, Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lughnasa." Camelot Theatre Company will present the third production in its 2008 season: Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lughnasa," winner of the 1992 Tony Award for Best Play. Described by Time Magazine as "The most elegant memory play since 'The Glass Menagerie,'" "Dancing at Lughnasa" is widely regarded as Brian Friel's masterpiece. A mix of fantasy, dance, comedy and drama, the play tells the story of the five unmarried Mundy sisters, one with a young son, trying to survive in a small rural village in Ireland in 1936. It is the late summer time of the festival of Lughnasa, which celebrates the Celtic god of the harvest with bonfires, drunken revelry and dancing. Uncle Jack has just returned from his missionary work in Uganda under a cloud. The sisters' only link to the romance and hope of the world at large comes from brief, colorful bursts of music from the wireless radio. Through the prisms of memory and myth, "Dancing at Lughnasa" looks at life as a series of daily choices we make and how they effect us: will we choose the mystical or the mundane, joy or just endurance, passion or despair, love or longing? How will we harvest our life before the onset of winter? And when the sisters finally dance to a wild, pagan Irish tune, they embody the core of the human spirit that cannot be vanquished by time or loss, or fully expressed in ordinary language. 
A prolific writer, playwright Brian Friel is perhaps best known for "Dancing at Lughnasa," "Molly Sweeney" and "Translations." In 1999, the Lincoln Center Festival included a trio of his plays performed by two renowned Dublin theater companies as well as two symposia on Friel and Irish theater to commemorate Friel's 70th birthday. Camelot's production is directed by its producing director and artistic associate, Doug Warner, who also appears as the narrator Michael. Richard Moeschl is assistant director and dramaturg. Formerly the producing director at Mendocino Theatre Company, Warner has extensive acting, directing and designing credits and joined Camelot's staff three years ago. At Camelot he appeared in "The Beard of Avon," "The 1940s Radio Hour" and "An American Daughter." He directed "Sockdology," "The Miracle Worker" and last season's musical, "The Spitfire Grill." Moeschl is Arts and Entertainment Editor for both the Mail Tribune and the Ashland Daily Tidings. His play, "Arthur's Dreams" won the 2006 Oregon Book Award for Drama. Camelot's production of "Dancing at Lughnasa" features Camelot veterans Priscilla Quinby as Kate Mundy, Linda Otto as Maggie Mundy, Jessica Price as Christina Mundy, Susan Dumond as Rose Mundy, Arlene Warner as Agnus Mundy, Grant Shepard as Uncle Jack and Brandon Manley as Gerry Evans. A Camelot veteran and former Broadway actress, Quinby starred as Mrs. Muzzy in "Sockdolgy," Ouiser in "Steel Magnolias" and Madge in "The Dresser" in 2007. A graduate in Theatre and Film from UCLA, Otto spent a year at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven. Locally she has appeared at OCT, Artattack and OSW as well as at Camelot Theatre, most recently as Effie in "The Spitfire Grill." Price recently moved to the Rogue Valley from New York, where she headlined at the St. James Theatre with Billy Crystal, and has worked with Gwen Verdon, Audra McDonald, and Gregory Hines. She recently appeared as Jeannie Gurley in "Sockology." DuMond received her B.A. in Theatre from Bennington College in Vermont and studied acting at HB Studio in New York. She is currently completing a memoir, "Present Tense," which tells the story of growing up in a children's home in upstate New York. This is her first performance for Camelot Theatre. Arlene Warner was previously seen at Camelot Theatre as Her Ladyship in "The Dresser" and as Dr. Judith Kaufman in "An American Daughter." Mendocino and Bay Area stage credits include Marsha in "The Decorator," Terry in "Sideman," and Germaine in "Picasso at the Lapin Agile." A former professor of cinematography, television and theater arts, Shepard has, since retiring, been active in community theaters in Ventura, CA, and in the Rogue Valley. He was seen recently at Camelot in "The Grapes of Wrath," "The Dresser" and "Fahrenheit 451." Manley has been acting since grade school with heavy involvement at the high school level. He has also appeared at Camelot as William Ferguson in "Sockdology," Connie Rivers in "Grapes of Wrath," Daryl in "Shakespeare in Hollywood" and Sidney Purvis in "Meet Me in St. Louis." 
 The production team for Dancing at Lughnasa includes Camelot's resident designers: costumer Emily Ehrlich Inget; set designer, properties master and master carpenter Don Zastoupil; lighting designer Bart Grady and sound design by Brian OConnor. Stage management is by Bart Grady; assistant stage manager is Brandon Manley. Sound and light board operator is Tana Watkins. "Dancing at Lughnasa" previews at 8 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday April 30 and May 1, opens Friday May 2 and runs through May 25. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sundays with a special pay-what-you-can performance at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7. Tickets are $10 for previews. All other regular performances are $16 for students and seniors and $18 for adults. Reserved seating is available for an additional $2 per ticket. Tickets are available online at at www.CamelotTheatre.org, by phone or in person at the theater box office from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and one hour before performances. Call 535-5250. . Tickets may also be purchased over the internet at www.CamelotTheatre.org. BRIEF Where: Camelot Theatre, 101 Talent Ave at Main St., Talent What: Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lughnasa" When: "Dancing at Lughnasa" previews at 8 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday April 30 and May 1, opens Friday May 2 and runs through May 25. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sundays with a special pay-what-you-can performance at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7. Reservations are recommended. Price: Tickets are $10 for previews. All other regular performances are $16 for students and seniors and $18 for adults. Reserved seating is available for an additional $2 per ticket. Outlet: Theatre box office (535-5250) Box Office hours are from 1 – 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and one hour before performances and over the internet at www.CamelotTheatre.org. Special Performances: Pay-what-you-can at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7.
Tags: Camelot Lughnasa
Camelot Theatre Conservatory holds auditions for its Summer Camp Production of "Suissical Jr." Saturday, April 19, 10am -1pm by appointment only. All students will need to prepare a monologue (short piece from a play, no longer than a minute and a half) and 32 bars of a musical theater song. Contact the Camelot Theatre box office at 541-535-5250. All faculty are actively performing professionals. Camp limit: 30 students. Camp Dates: July 7- August 1 (Monday-Friday, 9 am-4 pm) August 4 - August 8 (Monday-Friday, 1 pm-8 pm) Performances: Friday, August 8 at 7:00 pm Saturday, August 9 at 2:00 pm and 7:00pm Sunday, August 10 at 2:00 pm Cost: $500 Scholarships are available. Just imagine a world where anything's possible – an elephant in a tree, a person too tiny to see, a heroic child and dreams running wild! Based on the beloved characters and stories of Dr. Seuss, "Seussical Jr." follows the adventures of Horton, an elephant who one day hears voices coming from a speck of dust. Horton has always known, that 'a person's a person, no matter how small.' The impish Cat in the Hat hosts Horton, Jo-Jo, Mayzie, Gertrude McFuzz, the Grinch and a whole planet of Whos in this musical extravaganza that brings all of your favorite Seuss characters off the page and onto the stage! With a score that includes pop, gospel, blues and R & B, theTony Award-winning team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty ("Ragtime" & "Once on This Island"), have brought to the stage a contemporary and fun filled re-imagining of Dr. Seuss. Camelot Theatre box office: 541-535-5250
Tags: Camelot
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