NC Theatre Celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation Week!

Where would NC Theatre be without our incredible corps of volunteers? We applaud our dynamic board who support us with their time, talents and treasury; our Curtain Callers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to support our efforts on stage and our Emeritus Board whose generosity and advocacy humbles us. We honor everyone who does the heavy lifting to keep our mission alive through their voluntary contributions and will celebrate them with a special reception at Bonefish Grill at the Lassiter at North Hills on Sunday, April 25 from 4-6pm. If you are interested in joining the Curtain Callers, please contact our President, Mary Marcantonio at marymarc40@hotmail.com.

Share the Stars: Guest Blog

We received a very lovely letter from a teacher at Credle Elementary School after she took some of her students to see Cinderella. This was made possible by our generous corporate sponsors who participate in ourShare the Stars program. You can make other kids' dreams come true by participating as well!

Lisa,

THANKS Soooooooooooooooo MUCH for making it possible for these kids & families from C.G. Credle Elementary School in Oxford to experience tonight's FABULOUS performance of "Cinderella"!!

With 24 hours notice I was able to secure a county activity bus and we ended up taking 42 on the bus, and four other families drove on their own.

Your GENEROSITY opened the eyes of these kids to a whole new world, allowing them to begin to see and experience that DREAMS they never even imagined ARE POSSIBLE.

Although we rode down in an old activity bus, for a few hours this evening you turned their PUMPKIN into a GOLDEN CARRIAGE giving them the opportunity to ATTEND THE BALL, a memory that will stay with them forever!

More letters from the kids will be forthcoming, but I couldn't go to sleep tonight without letting you know HOW WONDERFUL this experience was for these young people, many of whom rarely, if ever, travel more than 5 miles away from their home.

Again, THANK YOU for making this evening POSSIBLE!!!

Cindy, Music Teacher

Bringing Broadway Home

North Carolina Theatre is thrilled to announce Bringing Broadway Home, a spectacular benefit concert on Monday, June 21st at 8 PM in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

This one-night-only event will celebrate 27 seasons of Broadway at North Carolina Theatre and stars Clay Aiken, Lauren Kennedy, Sharon Lawrence, Terrence Mann and Quiana Parler.

Clay Aiken is a multi-platinum recording artist and is set to release his sixth album, Tried and True, this summer. Since his meteoric rise to fame on the hit TV show American Idol in 2003, Aiken has launched eight tours, authored a New York Times best-selling book called Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life, starred on Broadway in Monty Python's Spamalot, and has guest starring roles in TV's Scrubs, 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live. Before all of these accomplishments and more, Aiken performed on the North Carolina Theatre stage in Shenandoah and 1776 in 1996.

Lauren Kennedy has numerous Broadway credits to her name since she moved to New York from Raleigh, her hometown. She starred as Lady of the Lake in Monty Python's Spamalot, appeared in Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close, and received acclaim as Fantine in the final year of Les Miserables. Kennedy has dazzled audiences in a number of NC Theatre productions, most recently starring alongside Country music singer Larry Gatlin in Annie Get Your Gun.

Sharon Lawrence is a four-time Emmy nominated actress and is known for many roles on the hit TV shows NYPD Blue, Desperate Housewives, Monk, Law & Order: SVU, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Grey's Anatomy. In addition to film and Broadway work, Lawrence has performed a myriad of roles on the NC Theatre stage and starred alongside Terrence Mann in the theatre's first production, Camelot, in 1984.

Terrence Mann currently stars on Broadway in The Addams Family. He made his Broadway debut in 1982 in the Tony Award-winning musical, Barnum, and has been a fixture on the Great White Way ever since. In 1987, his portrayal of Javert in Les Miserables earned him his first Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, which he reprised years later. He originated the role of the Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, earning another Tony nomination. Other Broadway credits include Rags, Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Getting Away with Murder, The Rocky Horror Show. Mann served as an actor, artistic director and director for many NC Theatre productions throughout the years.

Quiana Parler has shared the stage with an array of national artists, from Keith Sweat to Clay Aiken; Miranda Lambert to Kelly Clarkson. Her performances have been seen on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show, The View, The Tyra Banks Show, Good Morning America, The Academy of Country Music Awards and Saturday Night Live. Additionally, her vocal talents have been sought out by recording industry leaders such as David Novik, Walter Afanasieff and David Foster. Her debut in 2008, as Effie, in NC Theatre's Dreamgirls became one of the most talked about performances of NC Theatre's 27 year history.

Tickets

Ticket prices range from $50 to $100 with a VIP option of $150 that includes an exclusive, one hour pre-show reception and complimentary parking.

Week of April 12th: On sale to NC Theatre subscribers only

Week of April 19th: All tickets open to the general public

To purchase, call the NC Theatre Box Office at 919-831-6941 x6943 OR x6944. Sponsor packages also available.

Paolo & Jessica Around Town!

I had the pleasure of spending a few mornings with Paolo Montalban, the Prince, and Jessica Rush, Cinderella, last week. I took them on several media interviews. It's always great to talk to the actors outside of rehearsal and get to know them a little bit better! Here are a few photos I took.

On the set of My Carolina Today with Page Crawford

In the 93.9 KISS FM studio with Dave Kent

Here is a link to the My Carolina Today interview: http://www.mycarolinatoday.com/. Scroll to the story labeled 'Cinderella by Kim Green' and check it out!

Paolo was also on WRAL's Noon News last Friday. Click here for the interview!

Click here for Paolo and Jessica's interview on MIX 101.5.

Tracey Early also had Paolo and Jessica in the studio for an In Depth interview on the show. In case you missed it, click here.

As you can see, we had a great time! Hope you enjoy these interviews.

Cinderella Production Photos

The Prince is giving a ball!

One of the adorable mouse puppets

Everett Quinton as the Stepmother with Jessica Rush as Cinderella

Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother (Harriett Foy) and mice during "Impossible"

Cinderella on her way to the ball

Paolo Montalban stars as the Prince

Do I love you because you're beautiful?

The slipper fits!

The Fairy Godmother during the finale

All photos courtesy of Curtis Brown Photography.

Q&A with Gabriel Barre, director of NCT's Cinderella!

DIRECTOR’S QUESTIONS

1. When did you first see or read or hear about this show? Have you ever worked on a previous production of this show? If so, when and where?

I collaborated with Tom Briggs and Andrew Lippa in adapting this show for the stage in 1999 from the original version written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for television in 1957. I then directed the production of the show in 2000 which toured the country for three years starring Eartha Kitt, Jamie Lynne Siegler, Deborah Gibson and Paolo Montalban. I have since directed this production at other theaters including the Papermill Playhouse in New Jersey, and the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine starring Leslie Uggams.

2. What do you like BEST about this show? What made you WANT to direct it?

I was very interested in helping create a fresh view of this beloved tale and to rediscover its relevance, particularly for an American audience. The themes about beauty coming from within and the importance of the imagination and dreams to survive any hardship also resonate deeply with me.

3. Briefly summarize the PLOT of this show in your own words. Please explain the SITUATION at the start of the show and how the various CHARACTERS fit in. (In your summary, please indicate the ACTOR’S NAME in parentheses following the character’s name.)

Most people are familiar with the story of Cinderella so I will use this opportunity to point out some of the features of other versions of the tale that we are incorporating into this production. The story itself goes back to the 7th century in China, hence the notion of equating beauty with small feet and the idea of a dainty lost slipper to be used to identify the Princes bride to be. There have been hundreds of incarnations of the story and every country has their own cultural version. The most commonly known here was written in France in the 1600's which led to our Walt Disney cartoon version that came out in the 1950's and was undoubtedly the version that Rodgers and Hammerstein would have been most familiar with. Ideas that we have taken from other versions of the tale include the notion of the Fairy Godmother as the spirit of Cinderella's deceased mother; the idea of a tree in Cinderella's back yard which is planted over her mothers grave; and the addition of an entourage of animals as Cinderella's friends and confidents. It has been very interesting to understand the significance fairy tales have on our own maturation and the way children learn.

4. What MAJOR CHALLENGES does staging this show present to you as a director -- and to your cast and creative team?

Every show has it's challenges and this one includes the magical elements of the story that really have to be delivered to an expectant audience in a spectacular way. It's also important to surprise the audience even though they will all know the story going in. We are blessed to have a great cast, crew and design team to realize this vision and to do so within the budgets of time and money one inevitably faces in any theatrical endeavor.

5. Please describe the SET:

The original designers and I worked hard to remove the show from the Austrian / middle European normal setting for the fairy tale and create a sort of modern parallel fantasy kingdom....using Gaudi and more middle and far eastern influences. The setting is lyrical and simple and introduces some of the elements from other versions of the story.

6. Please describe the LIGHTING:

The lighting will be colorful and poetic while really helping the audience follow the action and isolate the events the way a camera might (especially important considering the show was originally written for television).

7. Please describe the COSTUMES:

Fitting in with the fantasy kingdom mentioned above, the costumes are very colorful and bold. Featuring a lot of asymmetry and, especially in the case of the stepfamily, outlandishness and humor.

8. Is there ANYTHING ELSE about this show -- or your production -- that it is important for the audience to know ahead of time? If so, what?

Just that this is the 10th year that this production has been entertaining audiences and that it has brought a lot of new and young fans to the material of Rodgers and Hammerstein and we are proud that the production contains important, positive and meaningful messages for those audiences, young and old....

Dinner & Drama with Cinderella!

Take advantage of this great offer for fabulous food at one of three downtown Raleigh restaurants and great entertainment at Cinderella. Dinner & Drama is available for the following performances: Tuesday, April 13th, Wednesday, April 14th and Thursday, April 15th

Enjoy dinner at one of three Empire Eats restaurants and experience the drama as it unfolds on stage during Cinderella! Make it a date night, girls night out or a family affair - all for $50* per person for a cultural night out that includes:

• one three-course, prix-fixe dinner at The Duck & Dumpling, Gravy or Sitti in downtown Raleigh followed by
• one mezzanine ticket to Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

Call 919-831-6941 x6943 now to make your reservation for a fabulous meal and a memorable theatre experience!

*Retail value for this package is $80 per person. All seats are best available in the mezzanine section subject to availability; cannot be applied to previously purchased tickets; dinner packages do not include beverages, tax or gratuity; restaurant reservations subject to availability. No refunds or exchanges, packages not redeemable for cash and must be purchased 24 hours prior to dinner/performance.

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