Monday, March 30, 2009

People We're Glad We Know: Margaret Ward at the Mike Thornton Agency

New Hire: Mike Thornton Agency

The Mike Thornton Agency has hired Margaret Mascelli Ward of Falls Church, VA to help streamline operations and to grow the business. An accountant, litigation attorney and special education teacher, Margaret brings expertise to the agency that will help to serve current clients more efficiently and to build the client base without sacrificing personal service and hands-on support.

Margaret received her Juris Doctorate from Catholic University in 1988, and her Bachelor of Science, Accounting from Wilkes University. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Special Education from University of Virginia, Curry School of Education. 

Friday, March 27, 2009

My Dad's 90th Birthday

I was honored to participate in my Dad's 90th birthday party, given to him by his friends on Marco Island, FL. It was a terrific event; he has great friends and buddies. He's alert and active because of his friends.

Two local Marco Island FL newspapers feted my Dad on his 90th birthday. (The recession has hit the newspaper industry, so fact-checkers and spell-checkers at both papers have apparently been laid-off.)

http://marcoislandflorida.com/articles/2009/03/27/columns/meet_your_neighbor/0040_myn.txt
http://www.marconews.com/news/2009/apr/02/eagle-i-marco-tennis-community-celebrates-90th-bir/

Way to go, Dad !

Calendar Listings: PACE presents "Falsettos"

P.A.C.E./Pioneer Arts Center of Easthampton
presents the musical
FALSETTOS
Music and lyrics by William Finn
Book by William Finn and James Lapine

Friday, May 1, 2009 at 8PM
Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 8PM
Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 2PM
Friday, May 8, 2009 at 8PM
Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 8PM
Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 2PM
Academy of Music
274 Main Street
Northampton, Massachusetts

The P.A.C.E. production of "Falsettos" is directed by David Fried Oppenheim. Musical Director is Marnen Laibow-Koser and musical staging is by Joseph Rich. Vocal coaching is by Dan Inglis.

Performance sponsors to date include: The Valley Advocate, The Daily Hampshire Gazette, WGBY, 88.5FM/WFCR, NPR News and Music for Western New England and 640AM/WNNZ, WFCR's AM Broadcast Station.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Amherst and Northampton Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

P.A.C.E.'s production of "Falsettos" follows on the heels of their critically acclaimed and hip-hop restaging of "West Side Story" in 2008.

"Falsettos" is two one-act musicals from "The Marvin Trilogy" by William Finn with James Lapine. The first one-act, "March of The Falsettos", opened Off-Broadway in the 1980-81 season. The second, "Falsettoland" (where Lapine collaborated), opened Off-Broadway a decade later. They were combined into one evening at Hartford Stage; that revision moved to Broadway in 1992, where the musical won two Tony Awards. It ran on Broadway for over 480 performances and toured nationally.

Both musicals in "Falsettos" deal with the same characters: Marvin, a gay Jewish man, his ex-wife, their son, the family shrink, Marvin's male lover, and the lesbians next door. There are multiple themes, but the major one deals with HIV/AIDS (which is never mentioned by name in the musical).

Ticket Prices:
General Admission by Section
Patron Seating $40.00 (first two rows of loge)
Orchestra: $30.00
Balcony and Loge: $20.00
Students, Seniors, and PACE members: $2.00 OFF above prices
Groups of 10+ are $5.00 OFF above prices with advance reservation
Telephone Orders: 800-595-4TIX
Ticket information: www.pacetheater.com
Tickets also on sale at Pride & Joy, Crafts Avenue, Northampton, MA and PACE, 41 Union Street, Easthampton, MA

About P.A.C.E.:

The Pioneer Arts Center of Easthampton (P.A.C.E.) educates and engages the public in the full life cycle of the creative process in the performing arts from concept through completion. Its mission is to make this process and product accessible to the entire community both as audience and participants; to inspire and encourage artistic expression through education, performance, and craftsmanship; and to broaden the cultural horizon of the individuals and the community. PACE is now in its seventh year of operations and has produced 6 musicals, more than a dozen non-musical theatrical productions as well as hundreds of concerts. PACE runs classes in theater performance and production. It has produced two professional CDs that are used as fundraisers including a limited edition recording of Godspell to which writer/composer Stephen Schwartz granted the rights from PACE's acclaimed 2007 production at the Academy of Music. Recently PACE was the higher bidder at auction for the purchase of a 125,000 mill building in the middle of downtown Easthampton. The facility has the opportunity to serve as a functional endowment through rental income while providing arts facilities currently not available in the Valley. For information: www.pacetheater.com

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Top of The Charts

My Connecticut Ballet colleague of years gone by and longtime friend, Carol Kroesche, sent me an email with a game. One's supposed to look up the #1 song on their date of birth and forward it along to their friends.

The website for this important information is: http://joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm

I learned that The Theme from "The Third Man" (Anton Karas) was hot on the date of my birth. So, I thought it easier to change my birthdate to a better song. I rolled back the clock to The Young Rascals' "Groovin" and knocked 17 years off my life in seconds. Now, I look like I've aged poorly, but hey, I know my new birth date song by heart.

Advance Press for Says You ! in Camden, ME

Advance Press for Says You ! Performances in Camden, Maine

Village Soup's (Belfast, ME) Arts & Entertainment News: National Public Radio's Says You Featured in Time Magazine: http://waldo.villagesoup.com/aande/story.cfm?storyID=151169

Village Soup's (Belfast, ME) Says You Announcement: http://waldo.villagesoup.com/AandE/story.cfm?storyID=150607

For tickets to the performances: www.saysyou.net

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Event: P.A.C.E. Presents "Falsettos"

Event: P.A.C.E. Presents "Falsettos"
May 1-3 and 8-10, Northampton, MA

P.A.C.E./Pioneer Arts Center of Easthampton will present the double-bill musical "Falsettos" on May 1-3 and May 8-10 at The Academy of Music in Northampton. "Falsettos" features music and lyrics by William Finn, and book by William Finn and James Lapine.

"Falsettos" is two one-act musicals from "The Marvin Trilogy" by William Finn with James Lapine. The first one-act, "March of The Falsettos", opened Off-Broadway in the 1980-81 season. The second, "Falsettoland" (where Lapine collaborated), opened Off-Broadway a decade later. They were combined into one evening at Hartford Stage; that revision moved to Broadway in 1992, where the musical won two Tony Awards. It ran on Broadway for over 480 performances and toured nationally.

The P.A.C.E. production of "Falsettos" is directed by David Fried Oppenheim. Musical Director is Marnen Laibow-Koser and musical staging is by Joseph Rich. Vocal coaching is by Dan Inglis.

P.A.C.E.'s production of "Falsettos" follows on the heels of their critically acclaimed and hip-hop restaging of "West Side Story" in 2008.

P.A.C.E. hopes to follow each performance with a "Talk-Back", where audience members can chat with the cast and the production team about the musical. It's my hope to incorporate an HIV/AIDS awareness component into the talk-backs, and we're approaching some HIV educators to provide that service. Talk-Backs will be free.

Ticket Prices: "Falsettos":

General Admission by Section
Patron Seating $40.00 (first two rows of loge)
Orchestra: $30.00
Balcony and Loge: $20.00
Students, Seniors, and PACE members: $2.00 OFF above prices
Groups of 10+ are $5.00 OFF above prices with advance reservation
Phone Orders: 800-595-4TIX
Ticket information and to order online: www.pacetheater.com
Tickets also available at Pride & Joy, Crafts Avenue, Northampton.

Event: "Step Back": Mike Thornton with the Jay Cooley Quartet

"Step Back": Mike Thornton with the Jay Cooley Quartet
April 17, Yorktown Bistro, Arlington, VA

Washington-based jazz vocalist Mike Thornton and The Jay Cooley Quartet will perform selections from their CD "Step Back" at a jazz/dinner concert on Friday, April 17, at the area's new jazz venue, The Yorktown Bistro, 5171 Lee Highway, in Arlington, VA. The first dinner seating is at 7:00PM. The performance begins at 8:30PM. Thornton, best known for his performances with the nationally-acclaimed comedy/satire group "The Capitol Steps", will be joined by Jay Cooley on keyboards, Bruce Swaim on saxophone and flute, John Pineda on bass, and Dominic Smith on drums. The group will perform selections from "Step Back", Thornton's recording with The Jay Cooley Quartet.

For additional information on Mike Thornton: www.mikethorntonjazz.com

The Yorktown Bistro has developed a special menu for this jazz concert dinner. A portion of the proceeds benefit "Relay For The Cure" (The TJ High-Rollers Team). A three-course dinner, soft drinks, and concert admission is $36.00 per person. Advance reservations are recommended and tickets are available at The Yorktown Bistro, by telephone at 703-532-6060 and online at www.yorktownbistro.com.

Friday, March 13, 2009

New Client: Pioneer Arts Center of Easthampton / P.A.C.E.

New Client: P.A.C.E.

Pioneer Arts Center of Easthampton, best known locally as P.A.C.E., provides a variety of arts programs for local performing and visual artists. In addition to performance opportunity, P.A.C.E. offers classes or teens. The non-profit organization is also developing space at the Green Mill Project at 15 Cottage Street in Easthampton (which will become P.A.C.E.'s new home).

P.A.C.E. will present the Tony Award-winning "Falsettos", the William Finn / James Lapine musical double-bill at The Academy of Music in Northampton on May 1-3 and May 8-10. Performances coincide with Northampton PRIDE. You'll find performance and ticket information soon at www.pacetheater.com or 800-595-4TIX

Friday, March 6, 2009

New Client: Says You!

Pipit & Finch, producers of public radio's "Says You!", have asked us to partner with them on some marketing and tour promotion activities. The program is a witty word game heard coast-to-coast on public radio stations, and the cast often tapes performances for broadcast in front of live audiences.

I produced a live taping of "Says You!" as part of WFCR's Special Events Series in 2006. It was a pleasure to work with host Richard Sher and company; I became a fan of the weekly show immediately. It will now be a great opportunity for several of my colleagues and me to partner with the "Says You!" team to bring live shows coast to coast.

The Says You! troupe kicked off 2009 with a New Year's Eve performance in Seattle; they recently returned from Valentine's Day performances in Los Angeles. Upcoming performances on the schedule include: Camden, Maine in March and San Francisco in May.

Details on those performances, including ticket information, are available at the show's website:
www.saysyou.net.

Says You! has a Facebook page. Anyone can join, if they're a member of Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42156535838&ref=ts

It will be a great opportunity for my colleagues and me to partner with the "Says You!" team to bring live radio coast to coast. If you're interested in bringing "Says You!" to your town, let me know.