Friday, September 09, 2011

And so it begins…

Tonight is opening night for “Lend Me A Tenor,” which is essentially the first show of the new theater season. For a theater critic, it feels like some mix of the first day of spring and the first day of school: All sorts of fresh material, a giddy excitement about new challenges, and a certain comfort about the constants that carry over from year to year. “Tenor” has a cast made up mostly of very familiar faces and it’s being directed by Scott Wichmann, who really arrived as a director (IMHO) with “Take Me Out” two seasons ago. I’m eagerly awaiting the latest product of his leadership and I’m taking some tough little critics as my companions to see if the appeal of the work is cross-generational. It should be fun.

If you want some background on the logistical reasons why “Lend Me A Tenor” is kicking off this season, I’d recommend reading Mr. Miller’s insider’s story posted on the Barksdale Buzz.

As Bruce mentions, also beginning this weekend is the Tennessee Williams festival, a collaborative effort between Firehouse and Triangle Players. As detailed on the great website they’ve constructed just for the event, “A Streetcar Named Desire” will be showing at the Byrd on Saturday. It’s classic Brando, classic Williams, just about as good as it all gets.

And while I hope you are as giddy as I am about the start of the new season, that’s no reason to forget celebrating the previous one. Tickets are moving for the RTCC awards. Information is now on the Barksdale website and advertising will start showing up next week. So get your tickets now before the best ones are taken!

Also, tune in next week for even MORE exciting details about the RTCC awards event... It just keeps getting better and better!

1 comment:

philcrosby said...

Thank you for the compliment on the TW Celebration web site! It (like the accompanying print brochure) were designed by John MacLellan, who has been responsible for RTP's grpahics for over a decade. He is one the most talented men in town, and we are thrilled that he works with us!