A Ride With Bob at Topfer Theatre
Dates: (2/20/2013 - 2/24/2013 )
Topfer Theatre |
202 South Lamar Blvd
Austin,TX
Phone: 512-476-0541 x1
Tickets: $35-$75
SUBMIT UPDATES
ZACH Theatre hosts the Austin farewell performances of
A RIDE WITH BOB, Feb. 20-24
Musical drama chronicles the life of Bob Wills
WHO
ZACH Theatre– Austin’s Theatre and Texas’ longest running theatre, in collaboration with Bismeaux Productions presents:
WHAT
A RIDE WITH BOB: The Bob Wills Musical
Co-written by ANNE RAPP (author of Cookie’s Fortune and Dr. T & the Women) and RAY BENSON (nine-time GRAMMY award winner)
Starring RAY BENSON and ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
The play that started as a commemoration of Bob Wills’ 100th birthday in 2005 is coming back to Austin for one final week of shows in February 2013. This first-ever musical drama about the legendary Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys debuted in Austin in 2005 and has since enjoyed great success in more than 70 performances in 19 cities.
“Every true-blue Texan needs to see this musical!” —PegasusNews.com
In 1973, just after the release of Asleep at the Wheel’s first album, young bandleader Ray Benson was invited to Dallas to meet the great Bob Wills. Upon his arrival, he learned Wills was not feeling well, and the meeting was postponed for the next morning. But the conversation Benson was so eager to have with his idol never happened; that same night Wills had a stroke and went into a life-ending coma. In A RIDE WITH BOB, Benson finally gets to have his long-anticipated conversation, albeit with the Spirit of Bob, who visits him on the Asleep at the Wheel bus late one night.
The fascinating and sometimes outrageous stories of Wills’ career, his contribution to American music, and his raucous personal life unfold in thrilling theatrical detail, and through the process Benson rediscovers his own passion and commitment as a bandleader and standard-bearer for Western swing music. The drama includes live performances of 15 of Wills’ most famous songs, including “San Antonio Rose,” “Faded Love,” “Cherokee Maiden,” “Take Me Back to Tulsa,” and many more.
Ray Benson comments “I can’t think of a better way to bring the play back to Austin. The brand new Topfer Theatre will knock everyone’s socks off. It is by far the most intimate, yet accessible space that we’ve ever presented in. A RIDE WITH BOB is going to swing once more in February!”
The two-act play features an all-star cast: Ray Benson (as himself), Asleep at the Wheel members including fiddler Jason Roberts (as young Bob Wills), and an all-star cast of actors including Marco Perella (as spirit of Bob Wills), Timothy Curry, Steve Uzzell, Walt Roberts, Taylor Maddux, rising star on the Austin music scene Ruby Jane Smith and 10-year-old fiddling virtuoso Colby Sheppard. Production credits also include CK McFarland (original production director), Robert Tolaro (production stage manager), Christopher McCollum (set designer), and Bill Peeler (lighting designer).
A RIDE WITH BOB debuted with six sold-out shows at the State Theater in Austin, Texas in 2005. It was an instant hit with audiences and critics, garnering several nominations from Austin Circle of Theaters Awards and fueling a four-city tour in Texas and Oklahoma that fall. In 2006, the show “rode high” into San Antonio, Ft. Worth, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. where President and Mrs. Bush were in attendance at the renowned Kennedy Center. Since then, the play has continued to introduce many to the legend of Bob Wills as well as remind others of a bygone era. Response to the play has been glowing. Liz Smith calls A RIDE WITH BOB, “The most entertaining night in Texas.” And the Tulsa World wrote that the play is “…as raucous, spirited, and joyous as the music that inspired it.” The Washington Post lauded the performance as “…crisp and rousing.”
WHERE
ZACH’s new Topfer Theatre, 202 South Lamar Blvd.
(corner of Riverside Drive and South Lamar Blvd.)
WHEN
Performances begin Wednesday, Feb. 20 and continue through Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013.
Showtimes:
Wednesday-Friday: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.
TICKETS
To order tickets call 512-476-0541 ext. 1 or visit www.zachtheatre.org. Tickets range from $35 - $75. Bar opens one hour before showtime and remains open for one hour post-show.
For real-time updates on ZACH Theatre news, events and happenings, visit http://www.zachtheatre.org/blog, be a fan of ZACH Theatre on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/zachtheatre, and follow ZACH on Twitter @zachtheatre http://www.twitter.com/zachtheatre.
About ZACH Theatre
ZACH Theatre is Austin’s leading professional producing theatre. Founded in 1932, ZACH is the longest running theatre company in Texas, serving 85,000 adults and youth annually. ZACH creates its own nationally recognized dramatic, musical, and comedic productions that elevate, motivate and stimulate the human spirit under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley and Managing Director Elisbeth Challener. Now in its 80th season, ZACH continues to expand and engage with Austin, with the new 420-seat Topfer Theatre doubling ZACH’s capacity while retaining its hallmark intimate theatre-going experience. The Topfer Theatre Campaign has currently raised more than $20 million of its $22 million goal. Visit www.zachtheatre.org for more information.
ZACH Theatre is sponsored, in part, by Applied Materials, Austin Catering, Holiday Inn-Lady Bird Lake, Kirk Tuck Photography, OnRamp, Austin American-Statesman, KXAN Austin News TV 36, and Time Warner Cable; and by grants from The Shubert Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division, which believes an investment in the arts is an investment in Austin’s future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.
About Bismeaux Productions & Ray Benson
Bismeaux Productions is the south Austin home of nine-time GRAMMY winners Asleep at the Wheel, Bismeaux Records and Studio. At a towering 6’7”, the Philadelphia-born leader of Bismeaux, Ray Benson, is considered a giant in the industry. For 40 years, Ray has been the driving force behind Asleep at the Wheel and has overseen the release of more than 25 albums, countless tours, and has won nine GRAMMY Awards. 2009’s CD release of Willie & The Wheel with collaborator Willie Nelson garnered another GRAMMY nomination for Best Americana Album.
Ray’s honors include 2012 People’s Plaza Honoree at ZACH Theatre, 2011 Texan of the Year, 2011 Texas Medal of the Arts Award for Multimedia, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association, the TEC Les Paul Award, and, in 2004, the official Texas State Musician. A sought-after producer, he has worked with such artists as Willie Nelson, Aaron Neville, Carolyn Wonderland, Aaron Watson, and Suzy Bogguss. Additionally, Benson is the founder of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, an organization that supports aging R&B artists from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s that have reaped little financial benefit from their music. He is also an active advocate and board member for the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians and sits on the board of St. David’s Foundation. Since 2010 Benson has hosted the highly successful Texas Music Scene television series, which broadcasts weekly across the top 16 cities in Texas, showcasing live performances of today’s talent in the Texas and Red Dirt music circuit. For more information visit www.aridewithbob.com, www.asleepatthewheel.com, and for interviews with Mr. Benson, contact mj@asleepatthewheel.com or call MJ Mendell at 512-444-9885.
Cast and Creative team for A Ride With Bob at Topfer Theatre
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