Oberon Theatre Ensemble - Winter Rep 2009 - Much Ado About Nothing and American Rapture

OBERON THEATRE ENSEMBLE‘S WINTER REP 2009
12th Anniversary Season: Shakespeare, Saroyan & Dinelaris

OBERON THEATRE ENSEMBLE is pleased to announce Winter Rep 2009, celebrating the company’s 12th Anniversary Repertory Season. The company will be presenting William Shakespeare’s Much About Nothing in conjunction with the series called, American Rapture, which includes Hello Out There by William Saroyan and world premiere plays by Alex Dinelaris (nominated Lucile Lortel/Drama Desks).

Brad Fryman, Oberon Theatre Ensemble Artistic Director, believes, "Although written over 400 years ago, the primal, the Machiavellian, the sultry and the romantic desires captured by The Bard, prevail in modern society. The two plays present contrasting looks at similar themes. In Much Ado, we see two true romantics on the road to marriage and another couple quite opposed to marriage who finally fight their way into each other's arms. In American Rapture the characters are also fighting to find their way, whether it's through relationships, self examination, or violence.”

Winter Rep 2009 will play a three-week engagement at The Beckett Theater at Theater Row (410 W 42nd St). Performances begin Thursday, February 12th, and continue through Sunday, March 1st. Tickets are $20.00 and $13.75 students/seniors. For reservations, please call 212-279-4200 or visit www.ticketcentral.com to purchase tickets online. Tickets may also be purchased in person at Theater Row’s box office, open daily from 12pm-8pm.

Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare
directed by Mark Karafin

Benedick and Beatrice have vowed to remain single and appear to enjoy their battle of wits too much to ever call a truce. Young lovers Hero and Claudio conspire to change their minds. A romantic comedy about winning the one you didn’t know you wanted most.

Thursday, Feb 12 at 8pm
Friday Feb 13 at 8pm
Monday, Feb 16 at 7pm
Tuesday, Feb 17 at 8pm
Wednesday, Feb 18 at 2pm
Saturday, Feb 21 at 8pm
Sunday, Feb 22 at 3pm
Wednesday, Feb 25 at 8pm
Thursday, Feb 26 at 8pm
Friday, Feb 27 at 8pm
Saturday, Feb 28 at 2pm

American Rapture
Hello Out There by William Saroyan and world-premiere plays by Alex Dinelaris
directed by Alex Dinelaris

An evening of short plays, some humorous, some tragic, explore the unique mixture of loneliness and hope, which make up the American Experience. Playwright/director Alex Dinelaris, who was nominated for a Lucille Lortel (Best Musical) and two Drama Desk Awards (Book & Lyrics) for his work on the off-Broadway hit, ZANNA DON’T!, weaves his way through modern relationships, religious hypocrisy, love, loss and the endless cycle of violence that threatens to swallow our society whole. The evening culminates with William Saroyan’s Hello Out There, the powerful tale of two outcasts who find love at the most unlikely of times, in the most unlikely of places.

Saturday, Feb 14 at 8pm
Sunday, Feb 15 at 3pm
Wednesday, Feb 18 at 8pm
Thursday, Feb 19 at 8pm
Friday, Feb 20 at 8pm
Saturday, Feb 21 at 2pm
Monday, Feb 23 at 7pm
Tuesday, Feb 24 at 8pm
Wednesday, Feb 25 at 2pm
Saturday, Feb 28 at 8pm
Sunday, Mar 1 at 3pm

----------
Visit www.oberontheatre.org for more information.

Please check out The Fab Marquee as well as Kampfire Films PR for information as well.

The Fab Marquee: A Theatre Site With Class and Pizazz!

Just to let you know, I've been asked to be a contributor for The Fab Marquee and I'm very excited about this opportunity. I sometimes do reviews of various entertainment venues on here on Voodoo Jive - usually it's music or sometimes places to go/eat or in NYC; I haven't done a theatre review on Voodoo Jive in...well, hell, I don't know when. Which is ironic since I'm immersed in the NYC theatre world it seems now...and have been immersed in the entertainment industry to some extent my whole life through my family.

Please stop by The Fab Marquee - it is run by amazing people, one of whom is an incredible whirlwind of energy in the PR industry, Antonio Miniño; another is a fabulous playwright who recently wrote the smash hit "Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell" produced by their theatre company, MTWorks. It includes several talented writers.

I'm so very thrilled to be asked to come on board as a theatre reviewer for their site, which is already considered to be an important place to see works reviewed and latest news on the pulse of NYC Theatre Scene. Please stop by, and check it out! I have just started, so as of this post, I only have one review on there, but will be reviewing two shows I saw this past week that will be coming up this week. I hope you'll come by and make comments (like how AWESOME I am) and enjoy the site as a whole.

:)
Dianna
aka Billychic

RIP Paul Newman

The only time I ever met Paul Newman was very brief, although I had seen him walking around a million times. It was in the OLD building of the Actors Studio NYC (the real one, back when it was a real place to be revered, and not the joke that it kind of is now) over on...I believe it was 45th street. There was a time I spent a lot of time there as a kid. My mom was in several shows there, and once in a show put together by the folks who did Best Little Whorehouse; my dad directed several plays, and then dad directed Mom and a bunch of other people (including Thomas G. Waites, Francis Fisher, in Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending. And it was during this time, that I was hanging out there a lot again...a 15-year-old, bored out of my mind because I wasn't always allowed to watch rehearsal (I think some of the actors complained) and other times I would sneak into an area where they couldn't see me and watch anyway.

Mr. Paul Newman was the Artistic Director, I believe, at that time; and I would see him walking around here and there and think to myself, "Wow, Paul Newman!" even though by that point I'd met so many actors...He came up to me one time and was like "who are you?" and when I explained, he just said, "oh, okay" and took off. He seemed to be an intense man who was concerned about the Actors Studio, and he should have been. Most certainly he should have been. I wonder what was going through his mind over the last 20 years since it went from being a beacon of honor among actors, where so many of our greatest actors used to participate and it was an honor to be a member (hundreds would audition every year and only a handful, literally, IF THAT, would get in) because it meant something; to the way it is now, where one doesn't necessarily have to have any kind of acting gift, they can just either sleep with the right person, drop a name, or take a series of classes and at graduation - even if you suck - you can become a member, thanks to their collaboration with both the New School and now Pace. I wonder what Mr. Newman was thinking...watching all these young faces disembark into what had once been a place with dignity and honor among the acting community.

I didn't know him, just met him, but I had respect for him. And hell, I sure do love that Peach Salsa. The following was sent to me by my friend Nathan who used to be the original drummer for the Flaming Lips and has an awesome wife, my dear friend Jamie, and two lovely kids.



Paul Newman was a wonderful, brilliant actor and he will always be remembered by those of us who are well aware that we have just lost another great one - as three "celebrities" spring up every day...and it's a shame because there are fewer and fewer actors out there who really know what's going on in The Work.

Ann Wedgeworth's Tony Award Acceptance Speech (a.k.a. Mommy)

Some of you may know that my Mom won the Tony Award in 1978 for Best Supporting Actress in Chapter Two. My pal Mike at work got a his hands on a copy and after giving me a dvd of it (recording it off a Betamax tape) he put it on YouTube.

It's so awesome. She's adorable. Check out her hair...lol

The Job Interview

This was something a friend turned me on to...
I made something similar to this in a film class several years ago, and I also acted all the parts and shot it, etc... but I didn't go into nearly as much depth with the characters...and it was about auditioning as opposed to the job search/interview.

This guy is amazing - totally hilarious. He's a trip and a half. Thank GOD for YouTube...