Aida splashes onto the Dr. Phillips Center stage.

Posted on by Thor

Encore! Cast Performing Arts presents Elton John and Tim Rice‘s Aida at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts  (155 East Anderson Street Orlando FL). Alice Ramadan from the Dr. Phillips center had invited me to sketch the dress rehearsal on July 14th. More than 160 cast, chorus and orchestra appear on stage. Juan Torres the shows production manager welcomed me when I got to the Disney Theater. Tech was still in full swing with stage hands checking lights and sound. At the security check some core cast were taking a break since they had been rehearsing all day. I realized that the actresses who signed out were slave girls in the show.

The chorus entered the theater and entered the theater filling up the front rows. They looked around in amazement at the new theater and took selfies to prove they were there. This was the first time everyone had a chance to experience the space and perform on the set. Alice got on stage and welcomed everyone. which caused enthusiastic whoop from the huge chorus! She thanked everyone for believing in the arts center and she got choked up as she told us it was our theater now. Her love for the place could soften any heart.

There were a few sound problems that stopped the rehearsal at several points. All the core cast had microphone headsets and they didn’t always work but that is why there are rehearsals, to work out the kinks. When Aida’s mic needed to be adjusted, she had to lean forward while a stage hand adjusted the electronics at her hips. Some of the chorus laughed since her pose was rather provocative. She heard this and coyly rotated her hips and arched her back which heightened the irony and soon everyone was laughing.

At the Nile’s edge, the enslaved Nubian princess, Aida (Jerusha Cavazos) becomes
romantically entangled with the Egyptian captain, Radames (Natale Pirrotta), who is
betrothed to the Pharaoh’s
daughter, Amneris (Hannah Berry Matthews). As their forbidden love grows deeper, Aida is forced
to find balance between her heart’s
yearning for Radames, and
her responsibility to lead her people.  Aida and Radames’s love for one
another becomes a shining
example of true devotion
that ultimately transcends the vast cultural differences between their
warring nations, heralding a time of
unprecedented peace and
prosperity. Elton John and Tim Rice‘s Aida is a timeless love story,
featuring an award-winning pop/rock score
from the seasoned pop duo
who brought musical life to Disney’s The Lion King. Rousing rock numbers
and heart-wrenching ballads bring
the ill-fated lovers into a
new era.

I’ve seen one other production of Aida, so I knew the music and story. I love many of the musical numbers in this show so I was swaying to the beats while I sketched. Having this many voices singing gives the show a power I hadn’t experienced before. Amneris’s song “My Strongest Suit” is a hilarious take on living a life of fashion and splendor. It is clearly an ironic look at spoiled Hollywood brats of today and the digital age’s superficial fixation on youth and fashion. It is the shows “Sex in the City” fashion runway moment. Despite having it all there is a yearning for connection that fashion doesn’t provide. The show is entertaining and often inspired.

Mark Your Calendar!

The final performance of Aida is tonight, Thursday, July 16, 2015.

Show time is 7:30 PM.

Tickets start at $33.75

AIDA

Posted on by Thor

Years ago I saw the opera “AIDA” at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center. It was an excruciating experience with a Nubian princess singing endlessly about her impending death. She would pause for a long moment and I would think, “Finally.” But then she would start singing again and I would be thinking “Die already!” I dug my fingernails into my palms to stay awake. This new Clandestine ARTS production with music by Elton John and Tim Rice, is a refreshing new take on the story.

 On the banks of the
Nile, unfolds the triumphant tale of love that transcends warring
nations and brings a country together. A contemporary musical take on
the classic tale of timeless love. An enslaved Nubian princess, Aida (LaDawn Taylor), finds her heart
entangled with Radames (Tony Flaherty), an Egyptian soldier who is betrothed to the
Pharaoh’s daughter, Amneris (Emily Grainger). As their forbidden love blossoms, Aida is
forced to weigh her heart against the responsibility she faces as leader
of her people. Aida and Radames’s love for one another proves
transcendent of cultural differences and ushers in a time of
unprecedented peace between the warring nations.

Before the run through of the show, Emily had to rehearse several frantic costume changes. She was the first actor to arrive at The Venue and she was singing and dancing as she entered. Two seamstresses were at there sewing machines completing costumes during the rehearsal. In the scene, Emily sang a song about her strongest suit which happened to be her looks and fashion sense. In the final moments of the scene, she ripped off her red dress with the help of two slaves and then she was showered with golden pedals. The dress was held on with Velcro and it was a challenge to fling the garment behind her fast enough. The scene had to be rehearsed again and again which gave me extra time to sketch. The song is hip and seems to perfectly apply to today’s selfie generation. 

The music kept reminding me of the Disney Animated Features I worked on in the 1990s. The princess singing about he lack of freedom reminded me of Jasmin from Aladdin. LaDawn’s strong African American chiseled features made her a perfect fit as AIDA and she sang beautifully. Tony as Radames had some strong chemistry in his love scenes with AIDA. As in the Opera, the two lovers were destined to die yet their love softened the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter. Produced and directed by Derek Critzer, this is a huge extravagant production with projections offering exotic settings. Derek keeps the production hip and playful, like a scene in which a male dancer comes out in a costume covered in plastic bubbles. A runway was built up the center isle allowing the cast to walk out into the audience. At times, the chorus sang from the back of the theater giving a full surround sound experience. This is a huge, fresh, yet intimate production with strong singing and dancing, who could ask for more!


Mark your calendar! Show times…
June 14,16,19,20,21,22,26,28 @ 8:00 PM
June 27 @ 7:00 PM
June 29 @ 3:00 PM

Performances are held at “The Venue” located at 511 Virginia Drive, Orlando FL.
Tickets are $20.00 and may be purchased at www.clandestineorlando.com
Industry Night Special Offer Monday June 16th @ 8:00 PM
Tickets will be $15.00 Each!

Next Fall

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l have begun a project called “LifeSketch” where individuals are interviewed by an author while I sketch. The sketch is then matted along with the person’s life story making a unique present and memorable keepsake. Actor and instructor Thomas Ouellette bid on a LifeSketch at a fundraiser and he won. I had forgotten about that auction item which sold many months ago, but Thomas contacted me and invited author Mary Hill and myself to a play called “Next Fall” at the Mad Cow Theater. I asked to be seated in a back row in case I needed a book light to sketch. I arrived right after work and sketched the theater which is right down the street from Avalon Art Gallery. After I was seated, I rifled through my bag looking for my book light. It was nowhere to he found.

The Mad Cow Theater will soon be moving to Church Street so “Next Fall” would be the last show produced in the Magnolia Street address. The theater was small and intimate with the audience sitting on opposite sides of the central staging area. Next Fall was a beautifully structured play that was non linear. Thomas played Adam who didn’t believe in religion yet he fell in love with Luke who was a firm believer. Adam would constantly poke fun and even denigrate his partner’s beliefs. When Luke is in an auto accident, Adam finds he can not visit him in the hospital because he wasn’t “family”. He shouted, “I want more time!” I welled up. A young woman seated directly across from us was also in tears. Seeing her reactions often pushed me over the edge. The actor’s every step and breath was deeply felt in the intimate setting. I’m glad I wasn’t sketching, because it might have distracted me from the overwhelming emotional force of the play.

Luke’s father was a man’s man who refused to admit his son’s sexuality. He loved his son however and when he collapsed in grief, it was Adam who held him, comforting him with Luke’s words of faith. Perhaps Adam had a deep well of faith that he chose to ignore but tragedy brought that faith and hope to light. When the lights came back up, I had to wipe my eyes.

After a standing ovation, the actors sat center stage for a talk back. They confided that they talk about the audience backstage. We were a particularly engaged audience that laughed loudly when things were funny. They knew we might be devastated when they dropped the boom.This play, written by Geoffery Nauffts, started in a tiny theater similar to Mad Cow. Elton John went to see the play and he was so moved by the production, that he decided to invest six million dollars to bring the play to Broadway. It is success stories like this that keep some actors in this business, whose main rewards are emotional, rather than financial. So many times I am finding my mission to sketch people every day has caused me to care deeply for the people I observe. In this way, artists are blessed.