Cal Rep concludes with tribute to National Guard

(Photo courtesy of the Cal Rep website.)

The California Repertory company will perform "And the War Came" at Long Beach's National Guard Armory, its last production of the 2008-2009 season titled "This Could Be America," on April 23-May 9.

Tickets cost $20 for general admission; $17 per student; $15 for seniors, military and CSULB faculty and staff; and $12 for groups of 10 or more. You can purchase tickets at the campus's theater box office, the Carpenter Center or at the Cal Rep box office website.

According to Lauren Morris, director of marketing for Cal Rep, the production is based on interviews with men and women serving in the Iraq war. CSULB students with Master of Fine Arts degrees and in the theatre and dramatic writing program wrote the script.

"The focus of the stories in the play is not on the Iraq war itself, but on the effects of the war on family members here at home," Morris said.

Joanne Gordon, chair of the theater department, is the play's creator and director. She was inspired to make this production due to Cal Rep's connection with the National Guard at the Armory, she said.

Play and ticket information and more information about Cal Rep can be found here and under the "About Us" section at the official website.

New musical reveals new way of hearing laughter

(Photo courtesy of the CSULB theater website.)

CSULB will present a new musical titled "That Beautiful Laugh"* at the Players Theatre March 27-April 18. Tickets cost $15 per person and $12 per student and senior, and can be purchased here.

The comedy gives a new meaning to laughter through original and renditions of old songs, according to LAFestival.org. The CSULB Theatre website additionally sums it up: "Simply hilarious and amazing...with a whole lotta mess."

Orlando Patoboy, director and creator of the musical, said that upon finding out when laughter becomes beautiful, he turned to his five-year-old son for help in writing the script.

Children possess "laughter that [has] the least amount of cynicism in its texture," Patoboy said. "So my son writing the opening monologue seemed natural to me and essential."

The play will take part in 2009's Festival of New American Musicals, Patoboy said.

More information about the musical is found at the CSULB theater website.

More information about this year's Festival of New American Musicals is found at the event's official website.

*According to Patoboy, the CSULB Theatre website's poster (shown above) displays the title as "A Beautiful Laugh," and should be corrected as "That Beautiful Laugh."

New York meets So. Cal. at Carpenter Center

(Photo courtesty of the Carpenter Center website.)

On Mar. 21 at 8 p.m., the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center at CSULB will host "Armitage Gone! Dance," an artistic ballet and modern dance performance.

Tickets can be purchased at Carpenter Center online or by calling the Arts Office at (562) 985-7000. Ticket prices are $50 for general admission and $45 per student and senior.

The Carpenter Center website describes the performance as having two parts. One part titled "Ligeti Essays" will focus on a dance routine that moves to classical music composed by György Ligeti. The other part titled "Time is the echo of an axe within a wood" is praised by the New York Times.

According to the press release sent out by Michael Field, director of marketing at the Carpenter Center, "Armitage Gone! Dance" began in New York and has taken stages throughout the United States, Italy, France and Mexico. The critically acclaimed performance will make its premiere in Southern California on Mar. 21.

Sarah Garcia, CSULB junior, finds it "intriguing" that the performance mixes classical music with both ballet and dance styles. "I would definitely consider going to see it," she said.

More information about the performance can be found here.

Shakespearean play arrives on campus

(Photo courtesy of the CSULB theater website.)

The upcoming play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will take the stage at CSULB's Studio Theatre March 13-21, according to the CSULB Theatre Arts Department website. William Shakespeare's play will be directed by Elizabeth Swain and performed by the University Players.

General admission is $15, but students and seniors will only have to pay $12 to see the show. You can purchase tickets online by accessing the link provided in this post, by phone at (562) 985-5526 or at the box office at the theater building.

The website describes "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as "Shakespeare's mystical romp. Comedy, romance...and fairies."

David Cowan, a theater student, believes that the indoor play may not impress as much as it would if it were performed outdoors. He explained that he had performed the play outside with his theater group, because the show takes place in the woods.

The play holds "a magical quality," he said. "But it might be lost by having [the play] indoors. Hopefully it will be good."

Information about the play can be found here.