Newburgh's Railroad Playhouse Announces Exciting Events for April

THE RAILROAD PLAYHOUSE is SHOWering Newburgh this April with everything from an Award-winning director to a Slam-poet who paints.

Event Details Below:

• Artist of the Month is Iyaba Ibo Mandingo *see unFRAMED* below

• Mastering the Reveal: The Director's Challenge with Award Winning Director/Writer, Robert Celestino Saturday, April 2 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Award winning Director/Writer, Robert Celestino, brings his workshop entitled "Mastering the Reveal: The Director's Challenge" to The Playhouse. This will be an all day intensive look at the filmmaking process from the eyes of a true visionary. He will discuss in great detail the process of effectively breaking down a screenplay, working with actors, collaborating with key crew members and demystifying what filmmaking is all about by learning how to turn information into revelation. There will be discussion, hands on exercises, film viewing and much more. This workshop is geared towards beginners and professionals ages 16 and up. More information on Mr. Celestino can be found at his website, www.robertcelestino.com.

$50 tickets in advance at rrplayhouse.org
$65 tickets the day of the course at box office

• The Bioregional Bash! Friday, April 8 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm

The bioregional bash is an event to celebrate the activist community in the Hudson Valley. We wish to create a diverse space for people to engage in critical dialogue, network and have fun. Collectively, we realize that environmental, social, political, and economic issues are all intimately connected. We must strive to support diverse movements in order to span local, regional, and global divides.

This is a Benefit event FOR: Hudson Valley Earth First! Active Potential Community Collective &
Railroad Playhouse

$10 tickets at rrplayhouse.org

• Jimmy Gnecco Saturday, April 9 8:00 pm

International recording artist Jimmy Gnecco will be performing an intimate acoustic performance of his new record "The Heart" at Railroad Playhouse. Jimmy has worked with world-renowned producers Steve Lillywhite, Ethan Johns, Tim Palmer and Rick Rubin. He's also collaborated with Brian May from Queen on the Spiderman 2 soundtrack. Jimmy has toured all over the world with his band Ours with such artists as Pete Yorn, the Wallflowers, the Cult, Blue October, Filter, A-ha, Live, Radiohead, and somehow even Marilyn Manson. His music translates across all genres and has no boundaries. His emotional style of singing and dynamic vocal range has earned him the respect and love throughout the music and film communities. For more information please visit www.JimmyGnecco.com.

$20 tickets at rrplayhouse.org

• Low Cut Connie Friday, April 15 8:00 pm

Low Cut Connie is bringing a new take on classic, tear-jerkin' rock-n-roll to the Railroad Playhouse! In the summer of 2010, when on a co-headline tour in Portugal, two songwriters from opposite sides of The Atlantic decided to join forces and get people dancing and making out again. The eccentric piano-pounder and blues howler from New Jersey known as Ladyfingers (aka Adam Weiner) and the punky bop-cat guitar strummer from Birmingham, England, Swampmeat (aka Dan Finnemore) are definitely a pair of soul brothers from another mother. Both of these musical road warriors have spent the last six years touring the world, grooving and inventing new dance moves in dive bars and juke joints from Green Bay to Sao Paolo.

You can listen to their whole album (and buy a copy too) at www.lowcutconnie.com.

$20 tickets at rrplayhouse.org

• ReadNext Poetry Squad's Hip Hop Seasons April 21-23

A weekend of celebration to the art form, the culture and most of all the music that is Hip Hop. The 4th annual Hip Hop Seasons is a weekend long Hip Hop festival that takes place in the Hudson Valley region of New York and the NYC metro area. In 2008, The ReadNex Poetry Squad decided that the Hudson Valley was in need of Hip Hop's positive images. The same images that helped cultivate the native Hudson Valley social justice band. We are living in a time when poverty, the environment, racism & ignorance (the continuation of social disparity) has become more and more prevalent amongst us all. Our communities have become more condensed, thoroughly separated and structurally divided. This is similar to what happened in the South Bronx during the 1970's when Hip Hop was born. Let's band together once again and continue the fire of love that came out of such difficult times.

This is a FREE community-based event. There will be movie screenings, DJ workshops, gallery viewings, live performances and additional events taking place there. If you thought last year's festival was phenomenal just wait until this year's.

Visit www.daybeforesoundtour.blogspot.com for event listings.

• unFRAMED April 29 and May 13 8:00 pm

Using canvas, paint, poetry, prose and song, Iyaba Ibo Mandingo, formerly Kenny Athel George DeCruise - painter, poet, husband, father, son, and undocumented immigrant from Antigua - evolves the story of his life transformation.

At the age of eleven, Iyaba is plucked from the tropical comfort of his boyhood and taken to life in America where he must navigate his way to manhood without the guidance of a father; from "Mommy Me No Wanna Go Merrica", a prophetic piece that hints at the many trials he will face in a new land, to his powerful political poetry that that would lead to his arrest and attempted deportation in post 9/11 America.

Iyaba shares his rage, his determination, and his hope while he paints a self-portrait and successfully struggles to redefine his humanity, rediscover his smile, and truly accept himself for the first time.

Show includes a talk-back with the artist.

Tickets are $20 at www.rrplayhouse.org

• Aesop Bops! April 30 3:00 pm

Fast-paced, funny, and packed with audience participation, David Gonzalez's Aesop Bops! features a potpourri of Aesop's classic stories including The Lion and the Mouse, The Fisherman and His Wife, and The Turtle's Shell. This feast of funky, physical storytelling leaves young audiences feeling like they had just performed the show too! The Yak-Yak Band rocks, and rolls out the red carpet - inviting kids to join in the fun.

David Gonzalez is proud recipient of the 2011 International Performing Arts for Youth "Lifetime Achievement Award for Sustained Excellence". He was also named the Joseph Campbell Foundation Fellow for 2010. Mr. Gonzalez was nominated for a 2006 Drama Desk Award for "Unique Theatrical Experience" for his production of The Frog Bride at Broadway's New Victory Theater.

$10 tickets available at rrplayhouse.org

• • •

Tickets for all events are available at www.rrplayhouse.org

Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theatre ½ hour prior to the events.

Save these dates for great events in May: 

May 13: UnFRAMED
May 14-15: Fabulous Divas of Broadway
May 19: North Sea Gas
May 28: New Fangled Theatrer presents a staged reading if gentlefucknation by John Michael Rossi

THE RAILROAD PLAYHOUSE is dedicated to the revitalization of Newburgh and the preservation of Newburgh's historic West Shore Railroad Station by providing a space for high-quality, artistically creative performing arts experiences.

The Railroad Playhouse will strive to provide a home for playwrights to workshop and showcase new plays; present local, national, and International Artists of all genres; create partnerships with local businesses and organizations to continue revitalizing the area; implement after school programming and a summer arts camp for local children; and create teaching-artists residences in local schools.