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FALL A&E GUIDE
Plays and musicals
Fall A&E Guide
10/28-11/12//CHARLOTTE
'For the Love of Harlem'
This acclaimed musical documenting
the best and brightest African-American
and LGBT artistic geniuses of the
1920s and 1930s Harlem Renaissance
makes its return to Charlotte. Written by
Jermaine Nakia Lee. Produced by On Q
Productions. "For the Love of Harlem"
celebrates the courage, achievement
frailty and hardship of these creative
ones; whose artistic contributions
have had profound impact not only on
African-American culture but redefined
how America, and the world, views
the African-American. "For the Love of
Harlem" takes us on a musical journey
that shadows these brave artists who
refused to be inauthentic, no matter what
the black public or white public thought
Duke Energy Theater. Various prices.
blumenthaiarts.org.
9/9-25//CHARLOTTE
The Music Man'
An affectionate tribute to Smalltown, USA,
this acclaimed Broadway classic follows
fast-talking salesman Harold Hill as he cons
the citizens of River City, Iowa into buying
instruments and uniforms for a boys' band
he vows to organize. His plans to skip town
with the cash are spoiled when he falls for
Marian the librarian, who transforms him
into a respectable citizen. Theatre Charlotte.
Various prices.
theatrecharlotte.org.
9/14-10/1//CHARLOTTE
'In The Next Room'
Humorously called "The Vibrator Play," "In
The Next Room" won a 2010 Pulitzer Prize for
Drama finalist and was a 2010 Best Play Tony
Award nominee. A funny, touching, and dare
we say, stimulating story set at the dawn of
the age of electricity! In a seemingly perfect
Victorian home. Dr. Givings innocently invents
an extraordinary new device for treating "hys
teria" in women (and men!). While treating his
patients, his wife wonders exactly what he is
doing "In The Next Room." This play is a pro
vocative, laugh-ouMoud look at love! Actor's
Theatre of Charlotte. Various prices.
actorstheatrecharlotte.org.
10/11-16//CHARLOTTE
'The Addams Family'
The weird and wonderful family comes to dev
ilishly delightful life in "The Addams Family."
This magnificently macabre new musical
comedy is created by "Jersey Boys" authors
Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Drama
Desk-winning composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa
("The Wild Party"), choreographer Sergio
Trujillo ("Jersey Boys") and Olivier Award
winning director/designers Phelim McDermott
and Julian Crouch ("Shockheaded Peter")
with creative consultation by four-time Tony
Award-winner Jerry Zaks. This is definitely
not the same old song and dance. Ovens
Auditorium. Various Prices.
blumenthalarts.org.
10/19-29//CHARLOTTE
'Cloud Nine'
Set in Victorian Africa and contemporary
London, Caryl Churchill's comic, inventive
and surrealistic look at sexual and racial op
pression and role conditioning broke ground
when it premiered in 1979, winning Churchill
an Obie Award in 1981. Clive, a white man.
imposes his ideals on his family; Betty, his
wife, is played by a man because she wants
to be what men want her to be; and Joshua,
their black servant, is played by a white man
because he wants to be what whites want
him to be. The play confronts sexual taboos
and gender stereotypes head on, flaunting
extreme behavior for both its humor and its
instruction. For mature audiences. Presented
by UNC-Charlotte. Various Dates. Various
prices, performances.
uncc.edu.
11/1-6//CHARLOTTE
'West Side Story'
More than 50 years ago, one musical
changed theater forever. Now it's back, and
mesmerizing audiences once again. From
the first note to the final breath, "West Side
Story" is the greatest love story of all time.
Directed by David Saint, using Tony Award
winning librettist Arthur Laurents' Broadway
direction, "West Side Story" remains as
powerful, poignant and timely as ever. The
new Broadway cast album of "West Side
Story" recently won the 2010 Grammy Award
for Best Musical Show Album. The Bernstein
and Sondheim score is considered to be
one of Broadway's finest and features such
classics of the American musical theatre as
"Something's Coming," "Tonight," "America,"
"I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere." Belk
Theater. Various prices.
blumenthalarts.org.
11/3-5//CHARLOTTE
The Tempest'
Prospero, Duke of Milan, Is exiled to an
enchanted island with his daughter Miranda,
where he harnesses the powers of magic and
masters the spirits and creatures that dwell
there. With the help of the spirit Ariel he rais
es a storm at sea, bringing within his grasp the
enemies who robbed him of his dukedom. This
culminating masterpiece of Shakespeare's
career pits the desire for revenge against the
demands of love and forgiveness. The produc
tion features five actors who play multipje
roles from the touring company Actors From
The London Stage and is co-sponsored by the
Shakespeare-ln-Action Center. Presented by
UNC-Charlotte. Various prices.
performances.uncc.edu.
11/10-27//DURHAM
'Radio City Christmas Spectacular'
The grandest holiday show of all time comes
to the Triangle for the first time ever! Fill your
heart with Christmas as the world-famous
Radio City Rockettes travel to Durham. Adults
will love the precision of the Rockettes in
numbers such as Parade of the Wooden
Soldiers and Christmas in New York. Children
will love Multiplying Santa's and the elves in
Santa's Workshop. Everyone will be inspired
by the stunning reenactment of the very first
Christmas in The Living Nativity. Durham
Performing Arts Center. Various prices.
dpacnc.com.
11/29-12/7//CHARLOHE
'25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'
This hilarious story of overachievers' angst
chronicles the experience of six adolescent
outsiders vying for the spelling championship
of a lifetime. Even in the throes of puberty, and
overseen by grown-ups who barely managed
to escape childhood themselves, they learn
that winning isn't everything and that losing
doesn't necessarily make you a loser. A Tony
Award-winning show, it features a quirky yet
charming group of young people for whom
a spelling bee Is the one place where they
can stand out and fit in at the same time.
Presented by UNC-Charlotte. Various dates.
Various prices, performances.
uncc.edu.
Leaders of the pacic
continued from page 1
that will hopefully help them have a seamless transition from
being a student to a being a professional."
Easley, Crider and Withem all say they've experienced a
culture of welcoming and affirmation at Al, That celebration of
diversity also makes Al special, they say.
"We celebrate diversity of all kinds and I prefer not to boil
it down to just the LGBT community," Crider says. "We have a
diverse group of professors, staff, faculty and students. I think
that reflects the spirit of the creative world which sees things
through multiple lenses and not just a single lens."
The school's welcoming culture has always been a con
stant, but Withem and Easley say they've seen progressive
change in their time there.
"It's been an evolution," Easley says. "I think we and other
people have been able to begin to shift and create a culture
of not only being inclusive, but being open in terms of your
life and lifestyle and partners, which was something that was
kind of ironic that you were an arts school, but maybe were
not as progressive."
"Six years ago when I got here it was welcoming, but
people would ask, 'Are you married?" and I'd look at them and
say, 'No,'" Withem recounts. "The three of us have done a bet
ter job in terms of educating the general public."
Easley add, "What's wonderful is that it's not only changed
the culture for faculty and staff, it's also created a kind of open
ness and willingness for students to again step into their own
and walk in their own truth."
10 qnotes Sept 3 16 2011
Al's career-minded focus for students means that faculty
like Crider, Easley and Withem are constantly pushing commu
nity involvement to their students, though in a city like Charlotte
that can be easier said than done. The art scene here, they say,
is lacking some of the unique features that make other cities'
arts communities more vibrant and dynamic.
Withem says the city lacks an all-important street culture.
In return, the city loses out on the collective creativity it might
otherwise experience. Easley, a former board member for the
now-defunct OutCharlotte LGBT arts and cultural festival, says
the local art scene has always felt corporate and mainstream.
"On paper it all looks good, but when you begin to dig down
it all comes down to accessibility," Easley says. "To me that's
when a city has truly embraced its commitment to art, when it's
politics and culture aren't just about those who are Uptown and
who live and work in that environment. It's when you can be a
student at Garinger and grow up on the eastside in a marginal
ized community and feel that not only am I a part of this culture
and contributing to it but that I also have access to it."
That mix of art, culture and politics is reflected in the move
ment for LGBT equality, the three men say. Crider, in particular,
feels as though social affirmation and dynamic creativity go
hand-in-hand.
"I do think they are directly correlated; cities that offer a
lot of artistic freedom tend to be cities most accepting of LGBT
people," Crider says. "The community tends to gravitate toward
centers where they do feel an ability and freedom to express
themselves as out and proud people. A lot of artists and cre
ative people fall into that category."
Easley says Charlotte's local arts scene and the level of
acceptance for LGBT people will continue to shift and change,
especially as the city continues to experience an influx of new
residents moving from the northeast or the west coast Withem
agrees and says those newcomers are bringing more open
ideas that are becoming a part of a new city-wide culture.
"There are so many people here from everywhere else,"
he says. "Major corporations are bringing people in from large
metropolitan areas who have a different take on the issues. It's
not unusual for people to come in and ask, 'Are you gay?' or 'Do
you have a partner?' or 'When can I meet him?"'
Crider, too, already sees much positive groundwork already
laid. Equality and vibrancy are here, he says. Like the best of ail
grassroots movements, it's starting at the bottom and growing
its way to the top.
"I think of all the cities I've visited, Charlotte at its core is
a very accepting city," he says. "It's just Charlotte's governing
powers are the ones who aren't quite as accepting."
Crider adds, "This place has seen huge changes. We're just
at the cusp and we're not even beginning to understand how
much better Charlotte can be as-we become more open to dif
ferent ideas and more people move here from different parts of
the world. All that makes Charlotte a great place."::