Monday, Aug. 18, 2014

AUDITIONS

Cavalier Players looking for actors for upcoming production

jake-penrod

Music is on the menu this month in the Ark-La-Tex with fantasy and tributes topping the bill of fare.

The Bossier Parish Community College Cavalier Players have announced auditions for the upcoming production of the musical fantasy, “A Year with Frog and Toad.”

Tryouts will be held at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 20 and 21 in the Performing Arts Theatre, Building C, on the BPCC campus, 6220 E. Texas St. in Bossier City.

There are a number of roles of varying types available. The Players suggest that those auditioning prepare a one-minute contemporary monologue and a short musical selection. Auditioners are also asked to bring sheet music. Readings and singing selections will be provided for those who do not bring their own. Prior to the audition dates, scripts are available for overnight checkout at the BPCC Theatre Department. Contact Mary Lyle-Mitchell, administrative assistant, for more information at 678-6021 or by email at theatre@bpcc.edu.

“A Year with Frog and Toad” was adapted from the books and stories of Arnold Lobel with book and lyrics by Willie Reale and Music by Robert Reale. “Frog and Toad” follows Lobel’s characters, a cheerful, popular Frog and a grumpy Toad as they journey through four seasons. 

Waking from hibernation in the spring, Frog and Toad plant gardens, swim, rake leaves, go sledding and learn life lessons along the way, according to the show’s website. The two friends discover and learn to appreciate the differences that make them unique and special.

The show is licensed through Musical Theatre International and was nominated for three Tony Awards – including Best Musical. MTI describes the production as “part vaudeville, part make-believe, all charm, ‘A Year with Frog and Toad’ tells the story of a friendship that endures, weathering all seasons.” The score is jazzy and upbeat with melody and humor that makes it an exuberant and enchanting musical for the whole family, according to MTI. 

Dr. Ray Scott Crawford, dean of communication and performing arts at BPCC, will direct this Tony Award-winning musical. Performance dates are set for at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 19 and 26. This show and the other shows of the BPCC Theatre 2014-15 Season are sponsored by Aneca Federal Credit Union.

Fundraiser

Meanwhile, back at the plantation, Alan and Martha Yarborough of Mansfield, are throwing a party on their front lawn this Labor Day as a fundraiser for the Opera House Theatre Players of Jefferson. It’s being billed as a “Hoedown with Hank,” and tickets are already being sold.

Board President Dorothy Craver sold the first three tickets to the event to film actress Joanna Cassidy and a friend on a recent trip to Jefferson. The Labor Day weekend event is being staged at the Yarborough’s Twin Oaks Plantation in Mansfield, not far from Cassidy’s Shreveport home.

The fundraiser is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 31 and will highlight Jake Penrod, a Hank Williams tribute artist, who has performed as Williams on numerous legends tribute shows at the Gladewater Opry, Texas Star Opry and the Louisiana Jamboree in Shreveport. Penrod describes his music as “sounding like Hank Williams’ and Kitty Wells’ love child.”

Also appearing will be Sheila Clark, a country and western singer who recently sang at the Country Music Awards Festival, said OHTP Director Marcia Thomas. Thomas said Clark has “three songs currently being played on the radio. She is planning a European tour in the fall of 2015 and will have CDs and DVDs out by Christmas this year of her songs.”

Clark bills herself as a singer, songwriter, musician, drummer and CDL truck driver. She’s from Marshall and lives in Karnack. 

Thomas said the home was built in the 1960s to replicate the Devereux mansion in Natchez, Miss.

Also on the bill for the evening are Aston and Isaak Chance, a brother act that plays a variety of music on keyboard and guitar. The brothers, who have entertained at other Players events, are the great-nephews of one of the theatre’s board members. According to Thomas, a Texas Longhorn from a local ranch is scheduled to be on display to offer a photo opportunity for souvenir hunters.

Tickets are $40 per person and include food, beverage and entertainment. Donation tickets may be purchased at OMG Lulu’s at 116 S. Polk St. in Jefferson, or online at www.JeffersonOperaHouseTheatrePlayers.com. The theater is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization, and all donations are fully tax-deductible.

ON STANDS NOW!

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