OLT changes plans for summer musical

The Opelousas Little Theatre was denied the rights to Beauty and the Beast because of the extended national tour.  So the committee has decided on an alternate production, Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. The audition times previously scheduled for Beauty and the Beast will be used instead forInto the Woods.  The dates and times are Wednesday, April 28th from 5 to 7 pm and Saturday, May 1st from 4 to 6 pm.

For more infomation, contact Duncan McBride at 337-351-3822 or Dana Reed at 337-351-2591.

Shelton's Jazz Groove Project Plays Jazz Night at Bisbano's

Shelton's Jazz Groove Project consists of:
     Shelton Skerrett - guitars
     Denny Skerrett - saxophones
     Paul Tassin - keyboards
     Frank Kincel - drums
     Ed Coussan - bass

The band plays purely improvisational jazz, straight from their collective mind, to the mind of the audience.  The band is influenced by Joe Zawinul, Weather Report, Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, Michael Brecker, John Scofield, John McLaughlin, and other great music from around the world.


The band will start at 10 pm at Bisbano's Cellar Door Underground Bar on Thursday, April 29th.

The UL-Lafayette School of Music presents the Louisiana Brass Quintet in recital

The UL-Lafayette School of Music is presenting the Louisiana Brass Quintet in recital of The More, The Merrier.  This Spring recital features pieces that require more than the usual complement of 5-- they add Mark Duhé, trombone, for Ingolf Dahl, and Jeff Crabtree, trumpet, for the Böhme Sextet.  The concert takes place this evening (Tuesday, April 27th) at 7:30 pm at Asbury Methodist Church (101 Live Oak in Lafayette).

The LBQ, music faculty at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette includes Paul Morton and Joshua Moorer, trumpets, Catherine Roche-Wallace, horn, Mark McLain, trombone, and Scott Landry, tuba. Since its inception over 25 years ago, the LBQ has brought its eclectic style of brass playing to audiences throughout Louisiana. In addition to their formal recitals, the LBQ acts as "brass ambassadors" for the UL School of Music, presenting programs in high schools across the state.

The concert is free, the public is cordially invited to attend.

Firelight Performing Arts of Louisiana presents Oliver

Firelight Performing Arts of Louisiana’s spring musical theatre offering, Oliver, will open on April 30th for a three-weekend run, closing on May 16th. The play, set in Victorian England, showcases the acting, singing,and dancing talents of 30 children, 10 adults, and one dog.

Oliver, based on the Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist, and directed by Laura Blum, will have performances on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:00 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday matinees beginning at 2:00 p.m. Tickets, which cost $15 for adults and $10 for students, are available at
the door or via the Internet at www.firelightenterprises.com. Reservations, which are highly recommended, can be made at 857-6991. The theatre is located at 501 Church Street in Youngsville, across the street from Youngsville Middle School.

PASA sponsors Essentially Ellington Regional High School Band Festival

Thirteen high school jazz ensembles from four states will gather on Saturday, April 24 to perform at the first Louisiana Essentially Ellington Regional High School Band Festival, a project of the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana (PASA).

The Louisiana Regional festival is a partnership between PASA, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington program, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Festival International, with support from Popeyes—the Louisiana Regional's Founding Sponsor. The festival will take place at Angelle Hall on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with bands from Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas slated to participate.

The Louisiana Essentially Ellington Festival is the official southeastern regional event. This non-competitive festival is one of five Essentially Ellington Festivals in the country that offers high school jazz ensembles the opportunity to play original transcripts of recordings from some of the biggest names in jazz music including the Duke Ellington Orchestra, “The King” Benny Carter and the music of Mary Lou Williams, including the arrangements she wrote for the Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman Orchestras.


Angie Doyle, Director of Marketing for TMC foods dba Popeyes, says, "Popeyes is proud to be the founding sponsor of the Louisiana Essentially Ellington Regional High School Jazz Band Festival. As a company, we are supporters of culturally enriching and educational opportunities for all students. The introduction of this festival to our state supports and continues the development of jazz music as an important art form in school music programs."

Ensembles competing in the festival will be required to perform three selections. Each band will receive immediate feedback from an Essentially Ellington adjudicator. The Festival's adjudicators include Dr. Ronald Carter, Professor of Music and Coordinator of Jazz Studies
at Northern Illinois University and one of the most versatile and sought-after clinicians in jazz education. Carter will be joined by Dr. William J. Hochkeppel, Director of Bands and Associate Professor of music at U.L. Lafayette and Dr. Stephen C. Massey, Chairman of the Music Department for Foxboro Public Schools in Foxboro, Massachusetts, who serves as a member of the Essentially Ellington Band Director's Academy faculty. Trombonist Andre Hayward, a former member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, who is in great demand as a performer and teacher, rounds out the panel of judges.

The ensemble selected best by the panel of adjudicators will perform with Andre Hayward as their guest artist at Festival International at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, April 24 at the Scene Popeyes stage.

Andre Hayward is an educator extremely gifted trombonist who has been compared to the late musician J.J. Johnson. He performed with trumpeter Roy Hargrave for a European tour and record with singer/bandleader Betty Carter for five years in her acclaimed "Jazz Ahead" program with other notable performers including; Joe Williams, Slide Hampton, John Lewis, Mingus Dynasty Big Band, Gerald Wilson, Kirk Whalum, Jimmy Heath, The Duke Ellington Orchestra and Illinois Jacquet's Big Band. In addition to serving as adjunct trombone professor at The New England Conservatory and New York University, Hayward has performed as a member of The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and with The San Francisco Jazz Collective led by Joshua Redman.

Jackie Lyle, PASA executive director says, “The Louisiana Essentially Ellington festival is an important opportunity for band directors and their students to hear each other perform before an audience as well as to receive comments and suggestions from our distinguished panel of adjudicators. Jazz--our American music--is as fun to play as it is to hear and some of the most talented high school jazz musicians from Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas will be fired up for what is sure to be a swinging day of jazz."

All ensembles participating in the Festival are members of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2009-2010 free Essentially Ellington program. Schools that join this program are eligible to participate in the regional festival and have the option to submit a recording for the national E.E. High School Jazz Band and Competition festival held annually in New York City at the Fredrick P. Rose Hall, the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. As part of their membership, Band Directors received three original Duke Ellington Orchestra transcriptions and three original arrangements by Mary Lou Williams, as well as reference recordings, teaching guides, newsletters and other resources.

Bands begin performing at 9 a.m. on April 24 and continue throughout the day, with a final performance by the ULL Jazz Ensemble. Awards will be announced at 5:15 p.m. and the band that receives the highest marks from adjudicators will perform with Andre Hayward at 7:15 p.m. at Festival International at Scene Popeyes stage.

Volunteers are needed for to serve in a variety of roles on the day of the festival. Interested individuals are asked to call the PASA office at (337) 237-2787 for more information and to register. The Louisiana Regional Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Festival is free and open to the public. For more information go online to www.pasaonline.org or call the PASA office at (337) 237-2787.

AUI casting Bat Boy: The Musical

Auditions for Acting Unlimited, Inc.'s production of Bat Boy: The Musical will take place at Cite Des Arts on Thursday, April 15th at 6pm and Saturday, April 17th at 3pm.

Bat Boy is the Lucille Lortel- and Outer Critics Circle Award-winning re-imagining of the story of the eponymous Weekly World News star. This high-energy, emotionally complex show brings to life the story of the Bat Boy, dragged out of his cave and taught by a veterinarian's family how to act like a human. When he innocently attempts to fit in with human society in the economically crippled town of Hope Falls, the desperate people turn on him. This darkly comic and hysterically tragic musical, which examines what it is to be human and how the past never leaves us, is recommended for adults due to controversial subject matter (Auditioners must be 18+ or 16+ with written parental permission--forms will be available at auditions and on the production blog).

Please prepare an upbeat contemporary Broadway musical number for auditions, and bring sheet music. An accompanist will be present. If you do not have sheet music you may contact the production team--we will have several selections from appropriate shows at the theatre. Some suggestions for appropriate musicals are Rent, Ragtime, Avenue Q, Wicked, and anything from the works of Stephen Sondheim.

The second part of the audition will be cold readings from the text. Auditioners are welcome to read for as many characters as they would like. There will also be a dance audition, so dress to move.

The production will run July 29-August 14 on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

The roles are:

EDGAR (the Bat Boy): Young tenor to play 16. Charming, innocent, eager, but with an animal side.
SHELLEY PARKER: This role has been pre-cast.
MEREDITH PARKER: This role has been pre-cast.
DR. THOMAS PARKER: Tenor, 30-50. The town's veterinarian, the patriarch of the family who takes in the bat child. Charismatic, intelligent, with a dark secret and a willingness to protect it by any means.
SHERIFF REYNOLDS: Baritone to play 30-up. The only face of law enforcement in Hope Falls; good-hearted if not too bright, the Sheriff tries to keep his town from chaos.
RICK TAYLOR: Baritone/tenor to play 16-18. Shelley's boyfriend, Rick bears a grudge against the Bat Boy, and does what he thinks is right--often without considering the consequences.
REV. BILLY HIGHTOWER: Tenor OR alto to play 30-up. The traveling evangelist who tries heroically to raise the spirits of the citizens of Hope Falls.
MAYOR MAGGIE: Mezzo-soprano to play 30-up. The mayor of Hope Falls.
MRS. TAYLOR: Tenor OR alto to play 30-50. Rick, Ron, and Ruthie's sadistic mother.
PAN: Tenor OR alto, any age. The forest spirit Edgar and Shelley encounter in the woods.
RON TAYLOR: Mezzo to play mid-teens, pants role. Rick's youngest sibling, the gentlest of the Taylors.
RUTHIE TAYLOR: Any vocal range (no solos) to play young teen. Rick and Ron's sister, the middle Taylor sibling, who is bitten by the Bat Boy.
NAMED TOWNSPEOPLE (Lorraine, Daisy, Mr. Dillon, Bud, Roy, Ned, Clem): Various vocal types, ages, and genders. The desperate people of Hope Falls, struggling to survive when the second industry their town attempts fails, now willing to find a scapegoat.
CHORUS TOWNSPEOPLE

Depending on audition turnout, double- and triple-casting is likely.

The Dream of the Marionettes at Cite Des Arts

The Dream of the Marionettes, a burlesque-inspired musical, features an all-star cast of Lafayette locals, with music performed by a live band. The show begins each night at 6:30pm with Cirque du Cite, in the Cite des Arts lobby, featuring fortune tellers, jugglers, stilt-walkers, and an assortment of circus side shows. The play begins at 7:30pm.

In Les Marionettes, a hard, task-driving puppetmaster is cast aside by a freedom-seeking band of marionettes, who begin to express their hidden dreams and aspirations in song. The play was co-written by local artists Christine Leichty and Johanna Divine, with an original score by Divine and Daniel Coolik, and choreography by New Iberia native, John Vincent.

Divine and Leichty hope Les Marionettes offers something different to audiences; “We want to create a new experience – a unique piece that showcases the incredible talent found in Lafayette,” Leichty says. They also hope the piece helps re-define the concept of burlesque; “A lot of people think of burlesque as being risqué, “ Divine says, “but we’re presenting it as it was at the turn of the century, focused on parody and satire. It’s a comedy, first and foremost.”

The show is running as a part of Festival International de Louisiane from April 21 to April 25, 2010. Pre-show festivities begin at 6:30 each night, so come early for the best seats! For pre-sale tickets, contact Cite des Arts at (337) 291-1122 or at www.citedesarts.org.

McKinley St. Function has been named the winner of the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana’s (PASA) singing contest to open for their April 13 presentation of a capella singing sensation Rockapella.  The contest is a companion to the upcoming performance of Rockapella at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13 at the Heymann Performing Arts Center.

PASA Executive Director Jackie Lyle says, “We are pleased to announce McKinley St. Function as the winners of our Rockapella singing contest. We felt this group best embodied the spirit of Rockapella and their unique style of music. “We want to invite everyone to come out and cheer on this talented quartet on as they make their Acadiana debut as a performer on the series.”

McKinley St. Function will kick of the night of music opening the show at 7:30 p.m. followed immediately by the evening’s headliner, Rockapella. The members of  McKinley St. Function will perform a few selections and have the opportunity to meet with and take photos with Rockapella after their concert.

Known for their rock infused harmonies, Rockapella are the originators of a unique flavor of contemporary pop music; one that has spread virally across the United States, Asia and Europe. The group’s widespread appeal has built legions of fans throughout the USA and across the globe.  Rockapella got their start in 1986 after a producer heard them performing on the streets of New York and recommended them as a featured performer on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) television special Do It A Cappella, hosted by acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee.  Shortly after their appearance on that show, PBS contacted them to write and record the theme music for the hit show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and asked that the group star in the show as the house band.  Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?  went on to become the second longest running children’s game show in U.S. television history.

Rockapella’s next major appearance was in the HBO inventive hit family series, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child which also included Whoopi Goldberg & Denzel Washington. Since 2003, Rockapella has traveled the country with their annual “A Rockapella Holiday” tour. They have collaborated and performed with the Boston Pops orchestra to sold out audiences across the United States.  These HBO and PBS television programs ignited the flame that placed Rockapella in demand by North America’s top media outlets.  Rockapella has appeared with the best – The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,NBC’s Today Show with Katie Couric & Matt Lauer, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC, the CBS Early Show with Bryant Gumbel, CBS’s Orange Bowl Parade - the list goes on.

Tickets for the April 13 Rockapella performance are on sale now and available through TicketMaster outlets, by phone at (877) 745-3000 or online at www.pasa-online.org.

Rockapella is sponsored by Sir Speedy, Capital One Bank Accel Security, and Centennial Wireless, the official wireless provider for PASA.

For more information about the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana please visit us online at 

www.pasa-online.org or contact PASA at (337) 237-2787.

Acadiana Symphony Orchestra presents Opera Spectacular

The Acadiana Symphony Orchestra will present the final concert of its 2009-2010 season on Saturday, April 10th at the Heymann Center with Opera Spectacular.   Esther Heideman (soprano), Katherine Drago (mezzo), Brian Jagde (tenor) and Shawn Roy (baritone) will perform arias, duets and ensembles from a variety of well-known composers.

The production is sponsored by Cherie and Ralph Kraft and the Moody Foundation.

PASA seeking volunteers for the High School Jazz Band Festival

Music fans unite! The Performing Arts Society of Acadiana (PASA) is looking for volunteers to help staff their newest event, The Louisiana Essentially Ellington Regional High School Jazz Band Festival. This one-day festival will be held on Saturday, April 24 at Angelle Hall on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The debut of this festival in Louisiana is a result of a partnership between PASA, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington program, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Festival International, with support from Popeyes—the  Louisiana Regional's Founding Sponsor.  High school jazz bands from Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas are slated to participate.

 PASA is actively recruiting a spirited team of volunteers to ensure that the festival runs smoothly and all participants have a memorable experience. Approximately 30 volunteers are needed to who help in various ways, from serving as hosts for bands to giving directions and ushering. Volunteers will be assigned to one of three teams: Audience Services, Band Management Team and Band Host Team.

Each team will be lead by a Team Coordinator who is responsible for tracking the team and managing any questions. Team members must be available for at least one full shift, either 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Members of the Band Host team and Team Coordinators must be available for all shifts throughout the day. Interested individuals are asked to call the PASA office at (337) 237-2787 for more information or, go online to www.pasaonline.org to read more detail on the open positions and register for a volunteer shift.   

Bands begin performing at 9 a.m. on April 24 and continue throughout the day, with a final performance by the ULL Jazz Ensemble.  Awards will be announced at 5:15 p.m. and the band that receives the highest marks from adjudicators will perform with notable trombonist, Andre Hayward at 7:15 p.m. at Festival International’s Scene Popeyes stage.

The Louisiana Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Festival is the official southeastern regional event. This non-competitive festival is a free event and, is one of five Essentially Ellington Festivals in the country that offers high school jazz ensembles the opportunity to play original transcripts of recordings from some of the biggest names in jazz music. Some of the transcripts available for bands to play include: the Duke Ellington Orchestra, “The King” Benny Carter and the music of Mary Lou Williams, including the arrangements she wrote for the Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman Orchestras.