HOTTEST TICKETS!

For those who like it hot, this summer is going to sizzle with performance excitement! 
PNC Broadway Across America has been sending up flares all season to alert theatre-lovers of their three-week Louisville premiere engagement of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit musical Jersey Boys, July 28-August 15. This show, the story 
of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, has broken box office records on Broadway and all across North America – and tickets are going like hot cakes here! Better get them now.

Music Theatre Louisville’s season ignites next month in the Bomhard Theater. They are very excited about another relaxed and fun summer season in The Kentucky Center, with great shows, close up seats and all kinds of snacks and ice cream that you can carry right to your seat. There will be a free Music Theatre Louisville season kickoff show on the riverfront in New Albany on Saturday, June 5, and at Iroquois Amphitheater Sunday, June 6, both at 7:30. The season begins with the historical musical 1776, June 25-July 3; continues with the musical comedy Nunsense, July 18-25; and ends with Annie, one of the world’s best-loved musicals, August 6-15. Come see the July 3 special performance of 1776 at 6:30 pm and be right there on the Belvedere for the city’s fireworks show! Good seats are still available. An MTL subscription is a great value – 3 shows for just $75 – including parking!

Louisville Orchestra’s July Summer Classics series lights up the Ohio River with its own special Independence Day Celebration July 3 at the Jeffersonville RiverStage. This Fourth of July celebratory concert begins at 8:30 pm led by associate conductor Jason Weinberger, featuring Sousa Marches and other patriotic favorites. No coolers or open containers permitted but food baskets or tote bags are OK. 
Then, continuing through the end of the month, beginning July 9 at 7 pm, the Louisville Orchestra will perform an all classical program under the baton of Jorge Mester, Music Director, at two very different and unique venues: Thursdays indoors at Ballard High School’s Sandy Allen Fine Arts Center and again on Saturdays outdoors at Jeffersonville’s RiverStage on the Ohio River. The Thursday performances at Ballard High School will be $10 and payable at the door or avoid the lines at the door by calling in advance at 502.587.8681. The Saturday performances at RiverStage in Jeffersonville’s are being performed for a suggested donation of $10.

For a complete list of all summer performances, as well as new season information, go to the Audience Calendar here on our web site. From there, you can link directly to group venues and buy tickets. Audience will be giving away two tickets this month to the Music Theatre Louisville production of 1776, so don’t forget to register online.

Don’t forget to come back to The Audience Blog to let me know how you liked these performances!

HOTTEST TICKETS!

It’s going to be a WICKED good spring! Right after Derby fever comes WICKED fever! After breaking Louisville box office records in 2009, Wicked, the smash-hit musical, will return to Whitney Hall, May 5-23, as a PNC Broadway Across America Special Presentation. This is the untold story of the witches of Oz before Dorothy dropped in.

“Long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland, two girls meet in the land of Oz. One – born with emerald green skin – is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for the most completely satisfying new musical in a long time." – USA Today “On Broadway and around the world, WICKED has worked its magic on critics and audiences alike. Winner of 26 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony Awards, WICKED is ‘Broadway's biggest blockbuster.’" – The New York Times

Tickets sold out quickly last year so don’t be left out this time! Go to KentuckyCenter.org or Ticketmaster.com/wicked or call 502.584.7777. To get more information, go to www.broadwayacrossamerica.com.

Don’t forget to come back to The Audience Blog to let me know how you liked these performances.

Enjoy the show!

BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE!

On Saturday, April 17, when the Ohio River becomes the stage for Thunder Over Louisville, the best viewing areas for the Derby Festival’s opening ceremonies are at our own arts venues. Rated as one of the top 100 events in North America, more than 500,000 people attend Thunder Over Louisville each year! The Kentucky Center will open its doors to provide a warm space with a roof over your head, a la carte food, bouncy houses for the kiddos, full access to The Kentucky Center lobbies and restrooms as well as to the spacious west Belvedere behind the Center for viewing of the fireworks and air show. Tickets are on sale now at kentuckycenter.org or call the box office at 502.584.7777. Just down the street, Louisville Ballet will host its own viewing party at their 315 East Main studios. For an all-inclusive ticket that includes food, beverage, indoor bathrooms, live music and prime views of the fireworks, call 583-3150 or visit www.louisvilleballet.org.

Enjoy the show!

My Valentine Day Gift to My Readers

HOTTEST TICKETS!

Here is my Valentine Day gift to my readers: my picks for the hottest tickets to give your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day:

Louisville Orchestra will be presenting a special Valentine’s Day concert on February 13 in Whitney Hall. Joining the Louisville Orchestra and Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt will be pianist, Michael Chertock and singing sensation N’Kenge. Next month’s Pops concert, March 13, will feature Mary Wilson, one of the founding members of the most popular female trio of all time – The Supremes. Another romantic evening idea would be the February 20 L.O. W.O.W! event – Cirque de la Symphonie. For information on these and other upcoming Louisville Orchestra performances, go to www.louisvilleorchestra.org.

Louisville Ballet’s Three Reflections, February 26 & 27, would make a really romantic gift. The evening will feature a trio of dance delights: Lila York’s Celts, Adam Hougland’s Cold Virtues and Smiling Underneath, a World Premiere by Amy Seiwert. Their final performance of the year will be Swan Lake, April 9 & 10, another great Valentine’s gift suggestion that you can look forward to. For more information, go to www.louisvilleballet.org.

Kentucky Center Presents has a couple of great selections! Trumpeter Chris Botti performs on March 5, and the amazing dance company Pilobolus performs on March 12, both at the Brown Theatre. Neither should be missed! If you are not familiar with either of these names, go to www.chrisbotti.com to hear some of Chris’ music; and to www.pilobolus.com to see the innovative work that Pilobolus does. You will be glad you did. For more info on their Louisville shows and to order tickets, go to www.kentuckycenter.org.

Actors Theatre of Louisville also has a few selections that would make a heart sing. First of all, if you have not seen Ella yet, go quickly before it ends on February 20. This musical tribute to Ella Fitzgerald is a magical evening of talent and song. I loved it! My next suggestion is to be a part of the 34th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays (February 21 - March 28). Theatre lovers from around the world converge here in Louisville every March to get the first look at the future of the American theatre. What a great gift to give someone tickets to see a few of these new plays before they go out to the rest of the world! For more information, go to www.actorstheatre.org.

PNC Broadway Across America – Louisville tickets to any of the remaining Broadway shows would be a sure-fire hit. Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps will be here March 16-21. Next, Wicked comes back for an extended run may 5-23; Legally Blonde The Musical hits town June 8-13; and the final piece de resistance will be the July 28-August 15 run of Jersey Boys. Getting tickets to Jersey Boys will make anyone’s heart skip a beat! To get more information, call 502.584.7777 or go to www.broadwayacrossamerica.com.

Don’t forget to come back to The Audience Blog to let me know how you liked these performances.

Enjoy the shows!

Happy New Year!

2010.

A New Year.

A new day dawning.

Ring out the old, ring in the new!

Turning of the page.

A fresh start.

The first day of the rest of your life!

We annually embrace these seasonal metaphors, chocked full of optimism and resolution, because we are, for the most part, believers – believers in the power of hope and creativity to nurture the human spirit, inspire change, and extoll beauty over ugliness and oppression. The celebration of this new year is an invitation to reinvent, to rethink, to adapt and to support those performing arts institutions that nurture us and sustain the best of humanity.

Best wishes to all our readers for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

JIGU! Thunder Drums of China: review

Wow, what a fun performance. Two friends and I decided that this would be an interesting show to attend, especially after seeing the wonderful drumming on the opening of the Olympics. We got to the box office 1 hour before the show started at the Brown Theatre and were pleasantly surprised by being able to buy "rush tickets" which were only $10. We were way in the back but with an intimate theatre as is the Brown, there are no bad seats. Over half the crowd was children who were all very excited to be going to this show. The performers would change the number and types of drums for each composition; these ranging in size from small drums you could hang around your neck to a giant drum which was wheeled in by 2 men and was at least 6' across as it was suspended on its side. As would be expected, the drum sounds filled the hall but were not overpowering. I really liked the tonal aspect of the different drums and how the composer used them to create visuals with their sounds. The costumes added to the drama as did the choreography of each of the drummers as they played their instruments. The children (and adults) really enjoyed the horn-type instruments played during the “Duck” song (about fighting ducks) and the dancing that went with it. It was a great show and we had a lot of fun!

HOTTEST TICKETS!

Up for a little razzle-dazzle? PNC Broadway Across America – Louisville brings the hit musical Chicago to the Kentucky Center this week, October 29-November 1. Chicago is the winner of six Tony Awards®, two Olivier Awards, and a Grammy®. This sensational tale of sin, corruption and all that jazz, set in prohibition era Chicago, is full of great dancing and great songs. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and choreography by Bobb Fosse (my favorite choreographer!). Chicago is currently the eighth longest-running Broadway show ever.

To get in on the glitz and glam of Chicago, call 502.584.7777 or go to www.broadwayacrossamerica.com.

Don’t forget to come back to The Audience Blog to let me know how you liked the performance.