News
BPA seeks full-time Technical Director
Bainbridge Performing Arts, a non-profit community performing arts center on Bainbridge Island, is seeking a full-time, year-round Technical Director. We are looking for a conscientious person who enjoys working collaboratively with a small staff to produce high quality theatre. Under general supervision by the Executive Director and Production Manager, the Technical Director also works closely with other production personnel to assist with all technical aspects of mounting our Mainstage productions, Theatre School productions, Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra shows, rentals and special events. Read more.
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"Long list of impressive things" about A CHORUS LINE, May 10 - 26
A Chorus Line earns rave reviews from Kitsap Sun's Michael Moore, who says, "Audiences will remember 'A Chorus Line' for its energy, its humanity and
the way it faithfully captured the spirit of a show that’s about, well,
spirit." Read the full Kitsap Sun Review below. Photos by Kim Scott-Olson.
LOCAL THEATER: BPA richly captures the 'singular sensation' of 'A Chorus Line'
Hard work shows in a production that's long on casting, courage and commitment
- By Michael C. Moore mmoore@kitsapsun.com 360-792-9218
- Posted May 11, 2013 at 3:41 p.m., updated May 11, 2013
at 3:25 p.m.
Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/
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http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — I’ll get around in short order to congratulating All Concerned for their on- and off-stage contributions to the opening-night performance of Bainbridge Performing Arts’ production of “A Chorus Line.”
But first, I’ve got to tip my hat to
them all just for making it through the rehearsals.
Despite its straightforward and spartan trappings, “A Chorus Line” is a hot-blooded bitch for a community theater group to even think about attacking. The choreography is staggering, the songs compositionally complex and vocally demanding, and the whole concept — musical theater stripped of its lavish sets, lush costumes and other accoutrements, in favor of a parade of human backstory and a whole lot of pedal-to-the-metal song and dance — challenging, to say the least.
The amount of preparation required by director Stephen Fogell and co-director—choreographer Joanna Hardie’s BPA company is ... well, we already used the word “staggering” once, didn’t we? It’s a load and a half. What’s amazing is that the whole bunch of them weren’t staggering out of the customary “hell week” and into the first weekend of performances.
You know the players, who portray a gathering of dancers in a make-or-break audition for a new Broadway production, had to be tired, and bruised, and sore, and quite possibly under the weather, even before they hit the stage for opening night. But you wouldn’t have known it from the energy and trumped-up smiles (they are, after all, in an audition) and downright outstanding dance acumen to which they treated the opening-night full house.
That’s what show biz is all about:
You work yourself ragged on the journey, and have to look like a million bucks
at the destination.
That’s what BPA bunch — some of them trained dancers, some not so much — managed on opening night, and that’s probably the most impressive thing on a long list of impressive things about this production.
And they don’t just dance. Backed by musical director Chris Kolbegger’s tight, brassy baker’s dozen set up behind the stage, the vocal sound is full — so much so that when the whole cast is cranked up, you’d swear Kolbegger’s got a few extra singers stashed back there somewhere, too. Individually, they start at good and get better. And amid all the crooning and hoofing, the show is acted well enough that the audience comes away caring about all of them.
The show’s hardest-hitting number is dependent on a triple-threat performance — sing, dance, emote — and BPA gets a dandy from Rebekah Witt as Cassie, perhaps the most desperate of those auditioning for spots in the chorus.
I was excited when I saw that Witt — who’s been oustanding in previous BPA productions of “The Producers” and “Chicago” — was cast as Cassie, and she more than lived up to expectations, singing and dancing the daylights out of the show-stopping “The Music and the Mirror,” and deftly trading crackling dialogue with Paul Bryan’s Zach — who, as it turns out, is a lot more to her than just a prospective director.
But the cast are all good. Port
Townsend’s Jennifer Ewing was a potty-mouthed charmer as Val; her “Dance Ten;
Looks Three” was a highlight. Diane Peterson’s Sheila was all attitude on the
outside, all insecurity on the inside, and she handled some of the show’s
trickier lyrics with aplomb. Bremerton’s Xavier Euzarraga was both funny and
empathetic in his part of “Hello Twelve,” and Evan Louis Thomas was winning in
an all-too-brief turn in “I Can Do That.” DeSean Halley and Ryan O’Donnell,
both BPA regulars. were their usual strong selves. Hardie, adding the role of
Zach’s assistant, Lorraine, to her duties, danced every step as if the world
depended on it. Elizabeth Grant (Maggie) added another strong singing voice,
and Elizabeth Racely maxed out the matter-of-fact emotion of “What I Did For
Love.”
And if I didn’t mention someone by name, it doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate and admire their work. I did. All of them.
The lights (by Mark Sell) and costumes (by Barbara Klingberg, who, incidentally, worked on the original Broadway production of “A Chorus Line”) are, by necessity, pretty stark, but effective nonetheless. And several touches Fogell added to the staging of several numbers — particularly with a half-dozen full-length mirrors/backdrops — were inspired. The sound (by Matt Hadlock), with the big orchestra in full vigor and a score of remote microphones in play, was remarkable.
Audiences will remember “A Chorus Line” for its energy, its humanity and the way it faithfully captured the spirit of a show that’s about, well, spirit. I hope Fogell and All Concerned are able to remember it that way, too, and not for all the stubbed toes, falls and collisions, hard knocks and endless, exhaustive labor that got them to opening night.
Just like the troopers they play, they’re all special.
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The dynamic artistic team behind BPA's smash hits The Rocky
Horror Show and Chicago delivers "One Singular Sensation" - A Chorus
Line, May 10 – 26. Seventeen dancers face a bare stage in an empty theater,
where casting for a new Broadway musical is almost complete. This audition
offers the chance of a lifetime. Every drop of sweat, every hour of training,
and every moment of dancing comes together in this musical for anyone who's
ever had a dream and put it all on the line. Read more.
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2013 - 2014 Season Subscriptions are NOW available!
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Drop in for free first-Sunday Juggling every month!
BPA is pleased to offer monthly juggling on the first Sunday of each month. Experienced
jugglers, beginning jugglers, and closet jugglers are encouraged to drop in or
become regulars in this invigorating new gathering - FREE for all
ages and all levels. Bring your own juggling implements or borrow ours. Meets 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., first Sunday of every month at BPA. Info: Tom Challinor at 206.842.8569. Read more.
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BPA awarded Best Season, Best Musical, and more by Kitsap Sun
In a county rich with outstanding community theater, the Kitsap Sun has once again awarded BPA best overall season. Congratulations to our outstanding directors, actors, volunteers, and supporters!
Best Musical: The Who's Tommy
Best Play: Private Eyes
Best Director: Kate Carruthers (Private Eyes)
Best Actor, Musical: Jesse Smith (Tommy)
Best Actress, Play: Keiko Green (Private Eyes)
Best Season: Bainbridge Performing Arts
Honorable mentions to: Ted Dowling (Full Monty), Ricky Coates and Ken Enright,
(Private Eyes), Barbara Deering (The Full Monty), Steven Fogell (The Women),
Theresa Thuman (Tommy), The Full Monty, The Women, and Hansel and Gretel. Read more.
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