Taylor Mac’s Wild and Beautifully Absurd, 24 Hour, History of America. Audience Participation Required.

It took a while for the magnitude of Taylor Mac’s new show to sink into my understanding all the way out here in Arizona.  There was an article in the NY Times this past weekend, but I skimmed through it and thought it odd what New Yorkers find entertaining.  Then, as oftentimes happens, I was listening to NPR in the car and caught this segment on All Things Considered.  Thanks NPR, I would have missed the significance without you.

A 24-Decade History of Popular Music will happen coincidentally, on my birthday, October 8th, at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn.  Taylor Mac will be delivering the most raucous, unusual and compelling combination of so many things, I’m sure it will be a memory of a lifetime for anyone hardy enough to stay the course of the 24 hour performance.

Read and listen yourself!

• NPR’s All Things Considered.  A Musical History of the U.S., With An Extra Dose Of Glitter
• Taylor Mac.Org
• Performance of 6 of 24 Decades at Joe’s Pub with MASS MoCA

 

 

 

September 23, 2016September 23, 2016 by kbennes Categories: Culture, Music, STEAM, TheatreTags: 24-Decade History of Popular Music, All Things Considered, Glitter, History, Musical, New York, NPR, Something Different, St. Ann's Warehouse, Taylor Mac Leave a comment

At the Tonys, Moments to Remember

Photo, from left: Renée Elise Goldsberry, Leslie Odom Jr., Cynthia Erivo and Daveed Diggs.CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times 

In a Tony Awards night shadowed by the tragedy in Orlando, Fla., prizewinners and other performers worked hard to strike a balance between joy and reflection. Here are some moments to remember:

The Hardest-Working Man in Showbiz

Soon after delivering a tremulous speech addressed to the TV audience (“Hate will never win”), the Tonys host, James Corden, dove into a breathless mash-up of 20 Broadway hits, concluding with some elegant hoofing to “We’re in the Money” from “42nd Street.”

#TonysSoDiverse

“Think of tonight as the Oscars, but with diversity,” Mr. Corden joked in his opening monologue. And the show delivered: In a first for Broadway, Tony voters gave the four musical performance awards to black actors: Cynthia Erivo of “The Color Purple” and Leslie Odom Jr., Renée Elise Goldsberry and Daveed Diggs of “Hamilton.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Sonnet

Lin-Manuel Miranda accepted the award for best score for “Hamilton” at the Tony Awards with a sonnet addressing his wife, Vanessa Nadal, as well as the shooting in Orlando, Fla.

TONYS 2016 By CBS 00:28

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Sonnet Video

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/video/players/offsite/index.html?videoId=100000004467857

A Poem for the Moment

In his acceptance speech for best score for “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda provided the broadcast’s emotional high point, reading a sonnet he had written that cited “senseless acts of tragedy” and included the repeated “and love is love, is love, is love, is love” that brought down the house.

Asked later why he decided to address the situation this way, he said: “We live in this world where beautiful and horrible things exist at the same time. You can’t let that go by, particularly when theater doesn’t exist without the L.G.B.T. community.”

Read more of the NY Times article here.

June 14, 2016 by kbennes Categories: Arts, TheatreTags: New York, New York Times, Orlando, Tony Awards Leave a comment

Several Events Taking Place @ GCC

 

Are as follows….

FORENSICS TEAM CAMPUS SHOWCASE

Wednesday May 4th 3:30-5:30

MU2-151                                     

This event will feature team performances and will be open to the campus and community to attend.

STUDY FEAST

Wednesday May 4th 6-10pm

SU-104

Free food, school supplies and tutoring to aid in a smooth end to the semester

PERCUSSION CONCERT

Wednesday, May 4, 2016, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Performing Arts Center

Performances by the GCC Percussion Ensemble. Directed by Dr. D. Nottingham.

Free & open to the public.

PIANO CONCERT

Thursday, May 5, 2016, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Performing Arts Center

Performances by the GCC piano studio.

Directed by Dr. Christina Eide

Free & open to the public

GAUCHO AWARDS FOR THEATRE EXCELLENCE

Friday, May 6, 2016, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m

Performing Arts Center

The Glendale Community College Delta Psi Omega Drama Club recognizes the quality of excellence in the areas of performance, design, and technical achievements during the current theatrical season. Productions that will be in contention for recognition include The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, The 39 Steps, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, and The Glass Menagerie. A scene from each play, as well as other acts, will be performed.  New students will be inducted into the national chapter of Delta Psi Omega, scholarships will be awarded, and the new Drama club officers will be announced. Light refreshments will follow the GATE ceremony.  Come share in the celebration!

Admission is free and is open to the public.

Light refreshments will be served following the ceremony.

DJ PERFORMANCE

Friday, May 6, 2016, 7 – 10:30 p.m.

MU2-151

Performance by the MUC 135 Student D.J.s.

GCC GUITAR ENSEMBLES

Friday, May 6, 2016, 7:30 – 9 p.m.

Performing Arts Center

GCC Guitar Ensembles 

GCC’s award-winning classical guitar program presents an evening of guitar ensemble music featuring the Glendale Guitar Quartet, Glendale Guitar Sextet, and Guitar Orchestra. Always an exciting program, the ensembles have featured composer spotlight programs and a multitude of world premieres. Come hear what the fret buzz is all about at GCC! For more information contact Chuck Hulihan at charles.hulihan@gccaz.edu or 623.834.3715.

Friday May 6, 7:30pm

Free & open to the public

GCC Performing Arts Center

GCC CHOIRS: 42ND ST – BROADWAY CLASSICS

Saturday, May 7, 2016, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Performing Arts Center

GCC Choirs present: 42nd St – Broadway Classics

 May 7, 7:30 p.m. GCC Performing Arts Center            

Free & open to the public

Join the GCC Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, Community Choir, and Vocal Jazz as they take a trip to 42nd St. and sing some of your favorite Broadway Musical Classics.

 

 

 

 

May 4, 2016May 4, 2016 by steamgcc Categories: Arizona, Arts, Culture, Dance, Event, GCC, Interdisciplinary, STEAM, TheatreTags: Glendale Community College, Performing Arts Center Leave a comment

SECRETS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA….TODAY AT THE PERFORMING ARTS CTR ON GCC CAMPUS

When	Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 12 – 1 p.m.
Where	Performing Arts Center
Event Title	Secrets of the Sierra Nevada: Exploration
Contact E-mail	robert.reavis@gccaz.edu
Contact Name	Robert Reavis
	Dr. Gergus will describe his explorations in the Sierra Nevada range.

April 20, 2016April 20, 2016 by steamgcc Categories: Arizona, Arts, Culture, Environment, Event, GCC, Geology, Science, STEAM, TheatreTags: Arizona, Art, Glendale Community College, Science, Secrets of the Sierra Nevada, Sierra Nevada Moutains, STEAM Leave a comment

The Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams

 

Directed by David Seitz

THE STORY: Amanda Wingfield is a faded, tragic remnant of Southern gentility who lives in poverty in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura. Amanda strives to give meaning and direction to her life and the lives of her children, though her methods are ineffective and irritating. Tom is driven nearly to distraction by his mother’s nagging and seeks escape in alcohol and the world of the movies. Laura also lives in her illusions. She is crippled, and this defect, intensified by her mother’s anxiety to see her married, has driven her more and more into herself. The crux of the action comes when Tom invites a young man of his acquaintance to take dinner with the family. Jim, the caller, is a nice ordinary fellow who is at once pounced upon by Amanda as a possible husband for Laura. In spite of her crude and obvious efforts to entrap the young man, he and Laura manage to get along very nicely, and momentarily Laura is lifted out of herself into a new world. But this crashes when, toward the end, Jim explains that he is already engaged. The world of illusion that Amanda and Laura have striven to create in order to make life bearable collapses about them. Tom, too, at the end of his tether, at last leaves home.

April. 1, 2, 7*, 8, 9 at 7:30 p.m.

April 7th at 2:30 p.m.

$8 general admission

$5 student/alumni/senior

You can order tickets by clicking here…

March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 by steamgcc Categories: Arizona, Arts, Culture, Event, GCC, Interdisciplinary, STEAM, TheatreTags: Arizona, Glendale Community College, STEAM, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Theatre Leave a comment

Johnny Depp @ ASU Tonight for Origins Project

Tonight!  Listen via live stream, go free if you are an ASU student, or check out tickets starting at only $12.

Join Golden Globe winner and renowned actor, producer and musician Johnny Depp and Origins Project director Lawrence Krauss for An Origins Project Dialogue, Finding the Creativity in Madness.

This dialogue is associated with a closed scientific workshop in partnership with the National Institutes of Health that will be held to spark discussions of big, unanswered questions on how the brain and machines process patterns, aimed at understanding consciousness, intelligence, and madness. This on stage discussion will explore Depp’s experience as an actor and author uncovering the creativity in madness. – See more at: http://www.asugammage.com/shows/asu-gammage-welcomes/depp-and-krauss-an-origins-project-dialogue#sthash.wx9jXgkZ.dpuf

March 12, 2016March 12, 2016 by kbennes Categories: Arizona, Culture, Interdisciplinary, Science, STEAM, TheatreTags: Arizona, asu, Creativity, Johnny Depp, Lawrence Krauss, Madness, Origins Project, STEAM Leave a comment