Tidbits

Little bits of news to share this week :

Fall Actor’s Playground classes are in full swing, and the kids are having a blast! Looks for some upcoming pictures and guest blogger, Seth Maisel, Director of Education, in the coming weeks.
• Auditions are posted for two more shows in the 2012-2013 Season: Forever Plaid and 9 to 5: The Musical. More details here.
• We are getting ready for Colorado Gives Day, December 4, 2012. Stay tuned for a fun interactive lead up to this great fundraising day for Colorado non-profits!

That’s it for this week everyone have a great weekend!

Hat’s Off to Town Hall’s New Season Croquet Tournament a Great Success!

The planning committee of the fall fundraiser, “Hat’s Off to Town Hall’s New Season Croquet Tournament,” is basking in the glow of a wonderfully successful event! Kathy Graveley (Chair), Barb Delong, Margie Drake, Anne Prather, Barb Simasko, Ellen Stewart and Joanne York raised over $4000 for programs at Town Hall.

Nearly 50 players gathered on a lovely September day competing for prizes and enjoying food. Many thanks to Barb & Bob Delong who hosted the event at their home and to our many sponsors:

Major Sponsors:

Berenbaum Weinshienk PC
Cheryl James, Metro Brokers Gold Realty
Linda Scott
Walmart Neighborhood Market/Littleton

 Wicket Sponsors:

Avenue Theater
Centennial Vacuum
Garage Art Gallery
Retirement Planning Specialists

Other donations:

Ellen Stewart
Columbine Country Club
Walmart Neighborhood Market
Prizes: Arne Wellness Center, Ciao Bella Day Spa, Delizios Coffee & Wine Bar, Lido Wine Merchants, Littleton Hair Company, Reinke Brothers

Thank you to everyone who donated and participated!

One day ’til Sweet Charity Opens

We’re well on our way to opening Sweet Charity on Friday! Tonight is final dress rehearsal, and I know the set building will be down to the wire, but our Technical Director Kelly Sorvig will get it done!
Steven Neale, Stage Manager for Sweet Charity, took some great videos over the past week in the hope that press would pick up on them. We don’t think we have made it onto any of the news stations this week, but let us know if you saw us.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzhGd2fkm2M&w=420&h=315]

There are some others posted, so check them out. Can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow night!

Welcome Back!

It’s been a while, but welcome to the redesigned and relaunched Town Hall Arts Center Blog!

We are really excited about all of the great things we have in store for you and the plan is to be THE place to get your weekly fix on the happenings from Town Hall. Not only will you get to see weekly posts with updates and photos from rehearsals of the current show, but we will also have guest bloggers’ thoughts on shows, announcements on upcoming events, and information about availability of tickets, as well as any other tidbits of news we can get out to you.  We want you to be “in the know” about what it takes to put a show on at Town Hall. So, without further adieu…

Big Spender

Rehearsals are in full swing for Sweet Charity, and WOW does it look great! The show is directed and choreographed by Henry Award winning Nick Sugar (The Who’s Tommy) and he writes in his Directors notes, “Sweet Charity was originally directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. He won the Tony in 1966 for his signature style of dance including rolled shoulders, tilted heads and jazz hands, making it difficult to imagine this show danced any other way.  This production is inspired by Mr. Fosse’s legendary style and my hope is to convey his timeless spirit through movement.”

Rhythm of Life

And making it sound great with Musical Direction is Donna Debreceni. Yes, the Henry Award (The Who’s Tommy) winning duo is back and this show is sure to please. An added bonus: there will be a live band!

Sweet Charity opens Friday, September 14, 2012 and runs through October 14, 2012. Show times are Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. (& 2:00 p.m. on 9/29) & Sundays at 2 p.m. (& 6:30 p.m. on 10/7).
Ticket Information: Reserved seat tickets are currently on sale, priced $20.00-$40.00 at the Town Hall Arts Center box office, 303-794-2787 ext. 5 (M – F, 1 – 5 pm) or on-line at www.TownHallArtsCenter.com.

You’re Gonna Love ‘Guys & Dolls’

Last night I came to the ‘Guys & Dolls’ dress rehearsal. I try to do this for every show so I can take some great photos of the show before there is an audience. It’s easier to  move around the theatre for some great shots. So, I’m a completely biased opinion, but I loved the show! And I only saw the first act. This show has it all…terrific talent, costumes, choreography, music, set, props…..etc. Yes I am biased, working here and all, but director, Bob Wells has put together a great cast and crew and the result is a great show!
First there is the live ‘nag’ at the beginning. This is the part where you are reminded to turn off your cell phones etc. Jim Miller, Rich Cadwallader and Matt LaFontaine turn this nag into hilarious entertainment. These three are terrific throughout the show with wonderful animated expressions and actions. Add to that Scott McLean as Nathan Detroit and Heather Doris as Adelaide. You can’t help but love them. And oh, the amazing singing talent of Elisa Spencer as Sarah Brown and David Ambroson as Sky Masterson! Everyone in the cast was wonderful. (See more of the photos I took at http://www.townhallartscenter.com/castGuysDolls.asp)

Jim Miller also brings his talent to the costumes. They are perfect and blend nicely with the set, designed by our favorite set designer, Tina Anderson. Kay Chambers, is the properties designer that brings those wonderful special touches to the set, like the authentic magazines on the news stand. And don’t forget all the award winning talent running the show….director Bob Wells, music director, Donna Debreceni and choreographer, Kelly Kates.
Okay, I am biased, but I still think you will love this show!

“Sylvia” a Success

“Sylvia” just closed yesterday and the tech crew have already started putting up the set for the next show. Today we received a wonderful email about “Sylvia” that we wanted to share:

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You may remember my contacting you about tickets to Sylvia for Columbine High School for last Thursday’s performance.  I just wanted to let you know what a smash success it was and hoped you might pass the word along to the director, cast, and crew.

The class I brought is called ACE (Alternative Co-operative Education), and it is made up of kids who have been identified as at-risk.  They generally do not like school or literature, most have never been to a live theatre performance, and a number of them were very grumpy about being made to dress up and go to a play at night.  On the bus back home, they were unanimously begging to go to another play.  I just finished grading their reviews, and every one of them was gushing with praise.  They were particularly amazed at Mr. Cullum’s ability to portray three different and distinct characters, and half the boys are madly in love with Ms Hines.  They were captivated by every actor.  They were also impressed by the way the small space was used.

In the past, I have taken my ACE classes to the DCPA, so the Town Hall Arts Center was a first for me.  I am always careful to choose a play I know will shake up kids’ expectations of “theatre,” so I can’t guarantee that we’ll always choose the Arts Center, but it’s certainly on my radar.

Thank you,

Paula Reed

The Day After

The transformation from 'Grease' to 'Oliver'
The transformation from 'Grease' to 'Oliver'

‘Grease’ closed with the last show on Sunday at 2:00. The tech crew immediately started tearing down the set and pulling the light cannisters. By this morning they were already starting to put some ‘Oliver’ set pieces into place. The light cans are lined up in the aisles like they are waiting to parade onto the stage. The tech guys have been working on the ‘Oliver’ set pieces in the workshop in the basement. Now they will bring them up to the stage, put them together and put on all the finishing touches.

Friday at the Theatre

So it’s Friday and there are two more weekends left of ‘Grease.’ If things are going good the phone in the box office should be ringing with people calling to purchase tickets for the weekend. Today has been a little quiet. The good news is that we have already sold a lot of tickets for ‘Grease.’ Wait…it sounds like things are picking up out there. Don’t hesitate to call or purchase tickets on our website if you would still like to see ‘Grease.’

So it’s Friday in the theatre and there are two more weekends left of ‘Grease,’ but most of us behind the scenes already started working on the next production, ‘Oliver.’ It is pretty quiet. The phone rings, an occasional patron comes in to buy tickets. I can hear the occaisonal bumps and thumps and power tools as the tech crew works on building the set for ‘Oliver.’ It kind of feels like the calm before the storm on Fridays. If I stay here late enough, things start to pick up. The night crew and volunteers start to arrive. The production crew and actors start to arrive. And of course eventually patrons start to arrive. The whole theatre comes to life.

Welcome to Littleton, Town Hall Arts Center’s new blog. We wanted to add a new way for you to stay informed on everything happening at Town Hall Arts Center. We also wanted an easy way for you to give us your feedback.